Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 27, Sunday WANDERING OFF Cindy Hess Kasper Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.  Luke 15:6 Luke 15:1–7 Isaiah 3–4; Galatians 6 Living near cattle ranches as he did, humorist Michael Yaconelli noticed how cows were prone to wander while grazing. A cow would keep moving, always looking for the fabled “greener pastures.” Near the edge of the property, the cow might discover some cool fresh grass under a shade tree. Just beyond a broken-down part of the fence was a tasty clump of foliage. Then the cow might push far beyond the fence and out to the road. It slowly “nibbled” its way into being lost. Cows aren’t alone in their roaming problem. Sheep also wander, and it’s likely that people have the biggest tendency of all to stray. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons God compares us to sheep in the Bible. It can be easy to meander and “nibble our way” through reckless compromises and foolish decisions, never noticing how far away from the truth we’ve straye...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 26, Saturday PROMISE-KEEPER Arthur Jackson After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.  Hebrews 6:15 Hebrews 6:13–20 Isaiah 1–2; Galatians 5 Gripped by the gravity of the promises he was making to LaShonne, Jonathan found himself stumbling as he repeated his wedding vows. He thought,  How can I make these promises and not believe they’re possible to keep?  He made it through the ceremony, but the weight of his commitments remained. After the reception, Jonathan led his wife to the chapel where he prayed—for more than two hours—that God would help him keep his promise to love and care for LaShonne. Jonathan’s wedding-day fears were based on the recognition of his human frailties. But God, who promised to bless the nations through Abraham’s offspring (Galatians 3:16), has no such limitations. To challenge his Jewish Christian audience to perseverance and patience to continue in their faith in Jesus, the writer of Hebrews recalled G...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 25 LOVE LOCKS Lisa M. Samra Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm.  Song of Songs 8:6 Song of Songs 8:5–7 Songs of Songs 6–8; Galatians 4 I stood amazed at the hundreds of thousands of padlocks, many engraved with the initials of sweethearts, attached to every imaginable part of the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. The pedestrian bridge across the Seine River was inundated with these symbols of love, a couple’s declaration of “forever” commitment. In 2014, the love locks were estimated to weigh a staggering fifty tons and had even caused a portion of the bridge to collapse, necessitating the locks’ removal. The presence of so many love locks points to the deep longing we have as human beings for assurance that love is secure. In Song of Songs, an Old Testament book that depicts a dialogue between two lovers, the woman expresses her desire for secure love by asking her beloved to “place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on yo...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 24, Thursday NEVER TOO SINFUL Julie Schwab You are a forgiving God . . . abounding in love.  Nehemiah 9:17 Nehemiah 9:17, 27–31 Song of Songs 4–5; Galatians 3 “If I touched a Bible, it would catch fire in my hands,” said my community college English professor. My heart sank. The novel we’d been reading that morning referenced a Bible verse, and when I pulled out my Bible to look it up, she noticed and commented. My professor seemed to think she was too sinful to be forgiven. Yet I wasn’t bold enough to tell her about God’s love—and that the Bible tells us we can  always  seek God’s forgiveness. There’s an example of repentance and forgiveness in Nehemiah. The Israelites had been exiled because of their sin, but now they were allowed to return to Jerusalem. When they’d “settled in,” Ezra the scribe read the law to them (Nehemiah 7:73–8:3). They confessed their sins, remembering that despite their sin God “did not desert” or “abandon them” (9:17, 1...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 23, Wednesday GOD-PAVED MEMORIES Xochitl Dixo Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me. Deuteronomy 4:10 Deuteronomy 4:3–10 Song of Songs 1–3; Galatians 2 When my grown son faced a difficult situation, I reminded him about God’s constant care and provision during his dad’s year of unemployment. I recounted the times God strengthened our family and gave us peace while my mom fought and lost her battle with leukemia. Highlighting the stories of God’s faithfulness stitched into Scripture, I affirmed He was good at keeping His word. I led my son down our family’s God-paved memory lane, reminding him about the ways He remained reliable through our valley and mountaintop moments. Whether we were struggling or celebrating, God’s presence, love, and grace proved sufficient. Although I’d like to claim this faith-strengthening strategy as my own, God designed the habit of sharing stories to inspire the future generations’ belief...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 22, Tuesday A RISKY DETOUR Leslie Koh Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season.  2 Timothy 4:2 2 Timothy 4:1–5 Ecclesiastes 10–12; Galatians 1 What a waste of time,  thought Harley. Her insurance agent was insisting they meet again. Harley knew it would be yet another boring sales pitch, but she decided to make the most of it by looking for an opportunity to talk about her faith. Noticing that the agent’s eyebrows were tattooed, she hesitantly asked why and discovered that the woman did it because she felt it would bring her luck. Harley’s question was a risky detour from a routine chat about finances, but it opened the door to a conversation about luck and faith, which gave her an opportunity to talk about why she relied on Jesus. That “wasted” hour turned out to be a divine appointment. Jesus also took a risky detour. While traveling from Judea to Galilee, He went out of His way to speak to a Samaritan, something unthinkable for a Je...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 21, Monday MAKING PEACE WITH TROUBLE Adam R. Holz In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33 John 16:25–33 Ecclesiastes 7–9; 2 Corinthians 13 We were almost home when I noticed it: the needle of our car’s temperature gauge was rocketing up. As we pulled in, I killed the engine and hopped out. Smoke wafted from the hood. The engine sizzled like bacon. I backed the car up a few feet and found a puddle beneath: oil. Instantly, I knew what had happened: The head gasket had blown. I groaned. We’d just sunk money into other expensive repairs.  Why can’t things just work?  I grumbled bitterly.  Why can’t things just stop breaking? Can you relate? Sometimes we avert one crisis, solve one problem, pay off one big bill, only to face another. Sometimes those troubles are much bigger than an engine self-destructing: an unexpected diagnosis, an untimely death, a terrible loss. In those moments, we yea...