Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD December 6, Sunday AUNT BETTY’S WAY Winn Collier This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  1 John 5:2 1 John 5:1–6 Daniel 3–4; 1 John 5 When I was young, whenever my doting Aunt Betty visited, it felt like Christmas. She’d bring Star Wars toys and slip me cash on her way out the door. Whenever I stayed with her, she filled the freezer with ice cream and never cooked vegetables. She had few rules and let me stay up late. My aunt was marvelous, reflecting God’s generosity. However, to grow up healthy, I needed more than only Aunt Betty’s way. I also needed my parents to place expectations on me and my behavior and hold me to them. God asks more of me than Aunt Betty. While He floods us with relentless love, a love that never wavers even when we resist or run away, He does expect something of us. When God instructed Israel how to live, He provided Ten Commandments, not ten suggestions (Exodus 20:1–17). Aware of ...

OUR DAILY BREAD December 5 THE YARD-SALE CHRISTMAS Anne Cetas Godliness with contentment is great gain.  1 Timothy 6:6 1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19 Daniel 1–2; 1 John 4 A mom felt she’d been overspending on family Christmas gifts, so one year she decided to try something different. For a few months before the holiday, she scrounged through yard sales for inexpensive, used items. She bought more than usual but for far less money. On Christmas Eve, her children excitedly opened gift after gift after gift. The next day there were more! Mom had felt guilty about not getting  new  gifts so she had additional gifts for Christmas morning. The kids began opening them but quickly complained, “We’re too tired to open any more! You’ve given us so much!” That’s not a typical response from children on a Christmas morning!  God  has  blessed us with so much, but it seems we’re always looking for more: a bigger house, a better car, a larger bank account, or [fill in ...

OUR DAILY BREAD December 4, Friday RELENTLESS LOVE Cindy Hess Kasper Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  1 John 3:18 1 John 3:16–18 Ezekiel 47–48; 1 John 3 Heidi and Jeff came home from an overseas work assignment in a hot climate and settled for several months near family in the state of Michigan—just in time for winter. This would be the first time many of their ten children had seen the natural beauty of snow. But winter weather in Michigan requires a lot of warm outerwear, including coats, mittens, and boots. For a large family, it would be quite an expensive undertaking just to outfit them for the bitterly cold months ahead. But God provided. First, a neighbor brought over footwear, then snow pants, then hats and gloves. Then, a friend urged others at her church to collect a variety of warm clothes in all twelve sizes for each member of the family. By the time the snow arrived, the family had exactly what they needed. One of the ways we se...

OUR DAILY BREAD December 3, Thursday THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER Lisa M. Samra Give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees.  1 Chronicles 29:19 1 Chronicles 29:11–19 Ezekiel 45–46; 1 John 2 Country artist Chris Stapleton’s deeply personal song, “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” was inspired by his own father’s prayers for him. The poignant lyrics reveal the reason his father’s prayers ended: not disillusionment or weariness, but his own death. Stapleton imagines that now, instead of speaking with Jesus in prayer, his dad is walking and talking face-to-face with Jesus.  Stapleton’s recollection of his father’s prayers for him brings to mind a biblical father’s prayer for his son. As King David’s life ebbed away, he made preparations for his son Solomon to take over as the next king of Israel.  After assembling the nation together to anoint Solomon, David led the people in prayer, as he’d done many times before. As David recounted ...

OUR DAILY BREAD DECEMBER 2, WEDNESDAY CHRISTMAS PRESENCE James Banks The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.  Isaiah 7:14 Isaiah 7:10–14 Ezekiel 42–44; 1 John 1 “No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.” Those words from Phillips Brooks’ much-loved hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” point to the very heart of Christmas. Jesus came into our broken world to rescue us from our sin and give all who would put their faith in Him a new and vital relationship with God. In a letter to a friend decades after he wrote the hymn, Brooks poignantly described the outcome of this relationship in his own life: “I cannot tell you how personal this grows to me. He is here. He knows me and I know Him. It is no figure of speech. It is the realest thing in the world, and every day makes it realer. And one wonders with delight what it will grow to as the years go on.” Brooks’ calm assurance of God’s presence in his ...

OUR DAILY BREAD December 1, Tuesday BEING THERE Kirsten Holmberg They sat on the ground with [Job] for seven days and seven nights.  Job 2:13 Job 2:11–13 Ezekiel 40–41; 2 Peter 3 When Jen, a theme park employee, saw Ralph collapse in tears on the ground, she rushed to help. Ralph, a young boy with autism, was sobbing because the ride he’d waited all day to enjoy had broken down. Instead of hurrying him to his feet or simply urging him to feel better, Jen got down onto the ground  with  Ralph, validating his feelings and allowing him the time to cry.  Jen’s actions are a beautiful example of how we can come alongside those who are grieving or suffering. The Bible tells of Job’s crippling grief after the loss of his home, his herds (his income), his health, and the simultaneous deaths of his ten children. When Job’s friends learned of his pain, they “set out from their homes . . . [to go] comfort him” (Job 2:11). Job sat on the ground in mourning. When they arrive...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 30, Monday GIVING OUR BEST Xochitl Dixon He will purify . . . and refine them like gold and silver. Then the  Lord  will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.  Malachi 3:3 Malachi 1:8–14 Ezekiel 37–39; 2 Peter 2 We stared at the piles of donated shoes as we entered a local homeless shelter. The director had invited our youth group to help sort through the heaps of used footwear. We spent the morning searching for matches and lining them up in rows across the concrete floor. At the end of the day, we threw away more than half of the shoes because they were too damaged for others to use. Though the shelter couldn’t stop people from giving poor quality items, they refused to distribute shoes that were in bad condition. The Israelites struggled with giving God their damaged goods too. When He spoke through the prophet Malachi, He rebuked the Israelites for sacrificing blind, lame, or diseased animals when they had strong animals to offer...