Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 20, Sunday STOPPING RUMORS Amy Boucher Pye Do not spread false reports.  Exodus 23:1 Exodus 23:1–3 Ecclesiastes 4–6; 2 Corinthians 12 After Charles Simeon (1759–1836) was named the minister of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England, he faced years of opposition. As most in the congregation had wanted the associate minister to be appointed rather than Simeon, they spread rumors about him and rejected his ministry—even at times locking him out of the church. But Simeon, who desired to be filled by God’s Spirit, sought to cope with the gossip by creating some principles to live by. One was never to believe rumors unless they were absolutely true and another was “always to believe, that if the other side were heard, a very different account would be given of the matter.” In this practice, Simeon followed God’s instructions to His people to cease the gossip and malicious talk He knew would erode their love for each other. One of God’s Ten Commandments reflec...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 19, Saturday IN FOCUS Patricia Raybon By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.  Acts 3:16 Acts 3:2–8, 16 Ecclesiastes 1–3; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 Author Mark Twain suggested that whatever we look at in life—and how we see it—can influence our next steps, even our destiny. As Twain said, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Peter too spoke of vision when he replied to a lame beggar, a man whom he and John encountered at the busy temple gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:2). As the man asked them for money, Peter and John looked directly at the man. “Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ ” (v. 4). Why did he say that? As Christ’s ambassador, Peter likely wanted the beggar to stop looking at his own limitations—yes, even to stop looking at his need for money. As he looked at the apostles, he would see the reality of having faith in God. As Peter told him, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 18, Friday FIXING ELEVATORS Sheridan Voysey Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the  Lord .  Leviticus 19:18 Leviticus 19:9–18 Proverbs 30–31; 2 Corinthians 11:1–15 Sarah has a rare condition that causes her joints to dislocate, making her reliant on an electric wheelchair to get around. On her way to a meeting recently, Sarah rode her wheelchair to the train station but found the elevator broken. Again. With no way of getting to the platform, she was told to take a taxi to another station forty minutes away. The taxi was called but never arrived. Sarah gave up and went home. Unfortunately, this is a regular occurrence for Sarah. Broken elevators stop her from boarding trains, forgotten ramps leave her unable to get off them. Sometimes Sarah is treated as a nuisance by railway staff for needing assistance. She’s often close to tears. Out of the many biblical laws governing human relationships, “love your neighbor as yourself” is key (Leviticus 19:18;...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 17, Thursday DON’T BE DECEIVED Alyson Kieda [The devil] is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44 Genesis 3:1–7 Proverbs 27–29; 2 Corinthians 10 The spotted lanternfly is a pretty insect with speckled outer wings and a splotch of bright red on its inner wings that flashes when it flies. But its beauty is a bit deceptive. This insect, first seen in the US in 2014, is considered invasive to North America, which means it has the potential to harm the environment and economy. The lanternfly will “eat the innards of practically any woody plant,” which includes cherry and other fruit trees, and leaves a sticky goo that leads to mold—killing trees outright or leaving them with little energy to grow fruit. In the story of Adam and Eve, we learn of a different kind of menace. The serpent, Satan, deceived the couple into disobeying God and eating the forbidden fruit so they would “be like God” (Genesis 3:1–7). But why listen to a serpent? Did his words alone enti...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 16, Wednesday GIVE IT ALL YOU’VE GOT John Blase Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give.  2 Corinthians 9:7 2 Corinthians 9:6–11 Proverbs 25–26; 2 Corinthians 9 Scaling.  It’s a term used in the world of fitness that allows room for anyone to participate. If the specific exercise is a push-up, for example, then maybe you can do ten in a row, but I can only do four. The instructor’s encouragement to me would be to  scale  back the push-ups according to my fitness level at the time. We’re not all at the same level, but we can all move in the same direction. In other words, she would say, “Do your four push-ups with all the strength you have. Don’t compare yourself with anyone else. Scale the movement for now, keep doing what you can do, and you may be amazed in time you’re doing seven, and even one day, ten.” When it comes to giving, the apostle Paul was clear: “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). But h...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 15, Tuesday COMPASSION ON THE JOB Jennifer Benson Schuldt [Jesus] had compassion on them and healed their sick.  Matthew 14:14 Matthew 14:1–14 Proverbs 22–24; 2 Corinthians 8 My friend Ellen calculates payroll for an accounting firm. This may sound like a straightforward job, but there are times when employers submit their information later than requested. Ellen often makes up for this by working long hours so employees can receive their money without delay. She does this out of consideration for the families that depend on those funds to buy groceries, purchase medicine, and pay for housing. Ellen’s compassionate approach to her job points me to Jesus. On earth, He sometimes ministered to people when it was inconvenient for Him. For instance, Christ wanted some alone time after He heard that John the Baptist had been killed, so He boarded a boat in search of an isolated place (Matthew 14:13). Perhaps He needed to grieve for His relative and pray thro...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 14, Monday GOODBYES AND HELLOS Bill Crowder God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 21:3–4 Revelation 21:1–5 Proverbs 19–21; 2 Corinthians 7 When my brother David suddenly died of cardiac failure, my perspectives on life changed dramatically. Dave was the fourth of seven children, but he was the first of us to pass—and the unexpected nature of that passing gave me much to ponder. It became apparent that as age began to catch up with us, our family’s future was going to be marked more by loss than by gain. It was going to be characterized as much by goodbyes as hellos. None of this was a surprise intellectually—that is just how life works. But this realization was an emotional lightning bolt to the brain. It gave a fresh, new significance to every moment life gives us and every opportunity time allows. And it placed a huge new value on the reality of a future reunion, where no goodbyes will ever...