Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD November 15, Sunday NO IMPOSSIBLE OBSTACLES Xochitl Dixon Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1 Hebrews 11:1–6, 13–16 Ezekiel 1–2; Hebrews 11:1–19 As an adult leader, I arranged a student field trip to an obstacle course. We instructed students to slip into safety gear and scale an eight-foot wall. Those who went first encouraged each climber to trust the harness and keep moving forward without looking down. One of our students stared at the barrier as we secured belts and buckles around her waist. “There’s no way I can do this,” she said. Affirming the strength of her harness, we encouraged her and cheered when she climbed up the wall and stepped onto the high platform. When we face problems that seem impossible to conquer, fears and insecurities can cause doubts. The assurance of God’s unchanging might, goodness, and faithfulness creates a strong harness of trust. This confident assurance fueled the ...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 14, Saturday INSIDE THE FIRE Jennifer Benson Schuldt I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed.  Daniel 3:25 Daniel 3:12–18 Lamentations 3–5; Hebrews 10:19–39 A wildfire in Andilla, Spain, scorched nearly 50,000 acres of woodland. However, in the middle of the devastation, a group of nearly 1,000 bright green cypress trees remained standing. The trees’ ability to retain water had allowed them to safely endure the fire. During King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon, a small cluster of friends survived the flames of the king’s wrath. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship a statue Nebuchadnezzar had created, and they told him, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it” (Daniel 3:17). Infuriated, the monarch cranked up the heat seven times hotter than normal (v. 19). The soldiers who carried out the king’s orders and tossed the friends into the blaze were burned up, yet onl...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 13, Friday WHEN GOD SPEAKS Amy Boucher Pye So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty.  Isaiah 55:11 Isaiah 55:10–13 Lamentations 1–2; Hebrews 10:1–18 Lily, a Bible translator, was flying home to her country when she was detained at the airport. Her mobile phone was searched, and when the officials found an audio copy of the New Testament on it, they confiscated the phone and questioned her for two hours. At one point they asked her to play the Scripture app, which happened to be set at Matthew 7:1–2: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Hearing these words in his own language, one of the officers turned pale. Later, she was released and no further action was taken. We don’t know what happened in that official’s heart at the airport, but we know that the “word that goes out from [God’s] mouth” acc...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 12, Thursday THE LONG WAY Leslie Koh God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  Exodus 13:17 Exodus 13:17–18 Jeremiah 51–52; Hebrews 9 As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied.  Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role.  When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shor...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 11, Wednesday RETURNING HOME Winn Collier In distant lands they will remember me . . . and they will return.  Zechariah 10:9 Zechariah 10:6–12 Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8 Walter Dixon had five days to honeymoon before he shipped off to the Korean War. Less than a year later, troops found Dixon’s jacket on the battlefield, with letters from his wife stuffed in the pockets. Military officials informed his young wife that her husband had been killed in action. Actually, Dixon was alive and spent the next 2.5 years as a POW. Every waking hour, he plotted to get home. Dixon escaped five times but was always recaptured. Finally, he was set free. You can imagine the shock when he returned home! God’s people knew what it was to be captured, moved far away, and to long for home. Due to their rebellion against God, they were exiles. They woke each morning yearning to return, but they had no way to rescue themselves. Thankfully, God promised He’d not forgotten them. “...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 10, Tuesday THE TRIUMPH OF FORGIVENESS Arthur Jackson Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Psalm 32:1 Psalm 32:1–7 Jeremiah 48–49; Hebrews 7 Mack, having struggled with drug abuse and sexual sin, was desperate. Relationships he valued were in disarray, and his conscience was beating him up. In his misery, he found himself unannounced at a church asking to speak with a pastor. There he found relief in sharing his complicated story and in hearing about God’s mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 32 is believed to have been composed by David after his sexual sin. He compounded his wrongdoing by devising a sinister strategy that resulted in the death of the woman’s husband (see 2 Samuel 11–12). While these ugly incidents were behind him, the effects of his actions remained. Psalm 32:3–4 describes the deep struggles he experienced before he acknowledged the ugliness of his deeds; the gnawing effects of unconfessed sin were undeni...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 9, Monday DOING OUR ROLE Dave Branon Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.  1 Peter 4:10 Hebrews 6:9–12 Jeremiah 46–47; Hebrews 6 When two of my grandchildren tried out for the musical  Alice in Wonderland Jr. , their hearts were set on getting leading roles. Maggie wanted to be young Alice, and Katie thought Mathilda would be a good role. But they were chosen to be  flowers.  Not exactly a ticket to Broadway. Yet my daughter said the girls were “excited for their friends who got the [leading roles]. Their joy seemed greater cheering for their friends and sharing in their excitement.” What a picture of how our interactions with each other in the body of Christ should look! Every local church has what might be considered key roles. But it also needs the flowers—the ones who do vital but not-so-high-profile work. If others get roles we desire, may we choose to encourage them...