Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 6, Sunday FAILED AGAIN David H. Roper After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?  Galatians 3:3 Galatians 3:1–6 Psalms 148–150; 1 Corinthians 15:29–58 Back in my sermon-making days I approached some Sunday mornings feeling like a lowly worm. During the week before, I had not been the best husband, father, or friend. I felt that before God could use me again I had to establish a track record of right living. So I vowed to get through the sermon as best I could and try to live better the coming week.  That was not the right approach. In Galatians 3 it’s said that God continually supplies us with His Spirit and works powerfully through us as a free gift—not because we’ve done anything or deserve it. Abraham’s life demonstrates this. At times he failed as a husband. For example, he twice put Sarah’s life in jeopardy by lying to save his own skin (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18). Yet his faith “was credited ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 5, Saturday GOD UNDERSTANDS Xochitl Dixon Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.  Psalm 147:5 Psalm 147:1–11 Psalms 146–147; 1 Corinthians 15:1–28 After a recent move, Mabel’s seven-year-old son, Ryan, fussed as he prepared to attend a summer camp at his new school. Mabel encouraged him, assuring him that she understood change was hard. But one morning, Ryan’s out-of-character grumpiness seemed excessive. With compassion, Mabel asked, “What’s bothering you, Son?” Staring out of the window, Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know, Mom. I just have too many feelings.” Mabel’s heart ached as she comforted him. Desperate for a way to help him, she shared that the move was hard for her too. She assured Ryan that God would stay close, that He knows everything, even when they couldn’t understand or voice their frustrations. “Let’s set up a visit with your friends before school starts,” she said. They made plans, grateful that God understands ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 4, Friday SPEAK UP! Arthur Jackson Pray . . . that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.  Colossians 4:3 Colossians 4:2–6 Psalms 143–145; 1 Corinthians 14:21–40 Brittany exclaimed to her coworker at the restaurant, “There’s that man! There’s that man!” She was referring to Melvin, who first encountered her under different circumstances. While he was tending to the lawn of his church, the Spirit prompted him to start a conversation with a woman who appeared to be a prostitute. Her reply when he invited her to church was: “Do you know what I do? They wouldn’t want me in there.” As Melvin told her about the love of Jesus and assured her of His power to change her life, tears streamed down her face. Now, some weeks later, Brittany was working in a new environment, living proof of the power of Jesus to change lives. In the context of encouraging believers to be devoted to prayer, the apostle Paul made a twofold...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 3, Wednesday IRRATIONAL FEARS Anne Cetas I will not forget you!  Isaiah 49:15 Isaiah 49:14–19 Psalms 140–142; 1 Corinthians 14:1–20 It makes no logical sense, but when my parents died within a three-month period, I feared they would forget me. Of course they were no longer on earth, but that left me with a large uncertainty. I was a young, unmarried adult and wondered how to navigate life without them. Feeling  really  single and alone, I sought God. One morning I told Him about my irrational fear and the sadness it brought (even though He knew it already). The Scripture passage that came from the devotional I read that day was Isaiah 49: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast . . . ? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God reassured His people through Isaiah that He had not forgotten them and later promised to restore them to Himself through sending His Son Jesus. But the words ministered to my heart too. It’s ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 2, Wednesday THE WHISPERING GALLERY Elisa Morgan In my distress I called to the  Lord;  I cried to my God for help.  Psalm 18:6 Psalm 18:1–6, 16–19 Psalms 137–139; 1 Corinthians 13 In the towering dome of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, visitors can climb 259 steps to access The Whispering Gallery. There you can whisper and be heard by another person anywhere along the circular walkway, even across the enormous abyss nearly one hundred feet away. Engineers explain this anomaly as a result of the spherical shape of the dome and the low intensity sound waves of a whisper. How we long to be confident that God hears our agonized whispers! The Psalms are filled with testimonies that He hears us—our cries, prayers, and whispers. David writes, “In my distress I called to the  Lord;  I cried to my God for help” (Psalm 18:6). Over and over again, he and other psalmists plead, “Hear my prayer” (4:1), my voice (5:3), my groans (102:20). S...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 1, Tuesday SUFFERING TOGETHER Winn Collier If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.  1 Corinthians 12:26 1 Corinthians 12:14–26 Psalms 135–136; 1 Corinthians 12 In 2013, seventy-year-old James McConnell, a British Royal Marine veteran, died. McConnell had no family, and staff from his nursing home feared no one would attend his funeral. A man tapped to officiate McConnell’s memorial service posted a Facebook message: “In this day and age it is tragic enough that anyone has to leave this world with no one to mourn their passing, but this man was family. . . . If you can make it to the graveside . . . to pay your respects to a former brother in arms, then please try to be there.” Two hundred Royal Marines packed the pews! These British compatriots exhibited a biblical truth: we’re tied to one another. “The body is not made up of one part, but of many,” Paul says (1 Corinthians 12:14). We’re not isolated. Just the opposite: we’re bound in Jesus. Scrip...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 31, Monday  THE SERVANT HEARS Glenn Packiam The  Lord  came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  1 Samuel 3:10 1 Samuel 3:1–10 Psalms 132–134; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 Had the wireless radio been on, they would have known the  Titanic  was sinking. Cyril Evans, the radio operator of another ship, had tried to relay a message to Jack Phillips, the radio operator on the  Titanic —letting him know they had encountered an ice field. But Phillips was busy relaying passengers’ messages and rudely told Evans to be quiet. So Evans reluctantly turned off his radio and went to bed. Ten minutes later, the  Titanic  struck an iceberg. Their distress signals went unanswered because no one was listening. In 1 Samuel we read that the priests of Israel were corrupt and had lost their spiritual sight and hearing as the nation drifted into danger. “The ...