Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD January 10, Sunday PAPER CROWNS Jennifer Benson Schuldt The Lord’s people will judge the world.  1 Corinthians 6:2 1 Corinthians 6:1–6 Genesis 25–26; Matthew 8:1–17 After a holiday meal at my house, everyone opened party favors filled with candy, small toys, and confetti. But there was something else in the favors—a paper crown for each of us. We couldn’t resist trying them on, and we smiled at each other as we sat around the table. For just a moment, we were kings and queens, even if our kingdom was a dining room littered with the remnants of our dinner. This sparked a memory of a Bible promise I don’t often think about. In the next life, all believers will share ruling authority with Jesus. Paul mentions this in 1 Corinthians 6 where he asks, “Do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?” (v. 2). Paul referenced this future privilege because he wanted to inspire believers to settle disputes peacefully on earth. They had been suing each other and co...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 9, Saturday DIG IT UP Anne Cetas Get rid of all bitterness.  Ephesians 4:31 Ruth 1:3–5, 20–21 Genesis 23–24; Matthew 7 When Rebecca’s brother and sister-in-law started having marriage problems, Rebecca prayed earnestly for their reconciliation. But they divorced. Then her sister-in-law took the children out of state and their dad didn’t protest. Rebecca never again saw the nieces she dearly loved. Years later she said, “Because of trying to handle this sadness on my own, I let a root of bitterness start in my heart, and it began to spread to my family and friends.” The book of Ruth tells about a woman named Naomi who struggled with a heart of grief that grew into bitterness. Her husband died in a foreign land, and ten years later both her sons died. She was left destitute with her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah (1:3–5). When Naomi and Ruth returned to Naomi’s home country, the whole town was excited to see them. But Naomi told her friends: “The Almighty ha...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 8, Friday GOD OF THE INVISIBLE James Banks God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people.  Hebrews 6:10 John 1:35–42 Genesis 20–22; Matthew 6:19–34 “Sometimes I feel as if I’m invisible. But I so want God to use me.” Ann was tidying up the exercise room at the hotel I was visiting when we struck up a conversation. As we talked, I discovered she had an amazing story. “I used to be a crack addict and prostitute living on the streets,” she said. “But I knew God wanted me to put down my pipe and walk with Him. One day years ago I knelt at Jesus’ feet, and He set me free.” I thanked Ann for sharing what God had done for her and assured her she wasn’t invisible—He had used her in our conversation in a beautiful way to remind  me  of His power to transform lives. God loves to use people others might overlook. The apostle Andrew isn’t as well known as his brother Peter, but the Bible recounts ...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 7, Thursday SOUND THE TRUMPETS Lisa M. Samra At your times of rejoicing—your appointed festivals and New Moon feasts—you are to sound the trumpets.  Numbers 10:10 Numbers 10:8–10 Genesis 18–19; Matthew 6:1–18 “Taps” is a trumpet call played by the US military at the end of the day as well as at funerals. I was amazed when I read the unofficial lyrics and discovered that many of the verses end with the phrase “God is nigh” (God is near). Whether before the dark of each night settles in or while mourning the loss of a loved one, the lyrics offer soldiers the beautiful assurance that God is near. In the Old Testament, trumpets were also a reminder to the Israelites that God was near. In the middle of celebrating the feasts and festivals that were part of the covenant agreement between God and the nation of Israel, the Jews were to “sound the trumpets” (Numbers 10:10). Blowing a trumpet was a reminder not only of God’s presence but also that...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 6, Wednesday DEPTHS OF LOVE Elisa Morgan See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1 1 John 3:1–6 Genesis 16–17; Matthew 5:27–48 Three-year-old Dylan McCoy had just learned to swim when he fell through a rotted plywood covering into a forty-foot deep, stone-walled well in his grandfather’s backyard. Dylan managed to stay afloat in ten feet of water until his father went down to rescue him. Firefighters brought ropes to raise the boy, but the father was so worried about his son that he’d already climbed down the slippery rocks to make sure he was safe. Oh, the love of a parent! Oh, the lengths (and depths) we will go for our children! When the apostle John writes to believers in the early church who were struggling to find footing for their faith as false teaching swirled about them, he extends these words like a life-preserver: “See what great love the Father has lavished o...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 5, Tuesday A RIPENING PROCESS Amy Boucher Pye When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.  Jeremiah 15:16 Jeremiah 15:15–18 Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26 Early in his fifty-year ministry in Cambridge, England, Charles Simeon (1759–1836) met a neighboring pastor, Henry Venn, and his daughters. After the visit, the daughters remarked how harsh and self-assertive the young man seemed. In response, Venn asked his daughters to pick a peach from the trees. When they wondered why their father would want the unripe fruit, he responded, “Well, my dears, it is green now, and we must wait; but a little more sun, and a few more showers, and the peach will be ripe and sweet. So it is with Mr. Simeon.” Over the years Simeon did soften through God’s transforming grace. One reason was his commitment to read the Bible and pray every day. A friend who stayed with him for a few months witnessed this practice and remarked, “Here was the secret of ...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 4, Monday A LIFESTYLE OF WORSHIP Xochitl Dixon Worship the  Lord  with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Psalm 100:2 Psalm 100 Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4 As I waited in the breakfast buffet line at a Christian conference center, a group of women entered the dining hall. I smiled, saying hello to a woman who stepped into the line behind me. Returning my greeting, she said, “I know you.” We scooped scrambled eggs onto our plates and tried to figure out where we’d met. But I was pretty sure she’d mistaken me for someone else. When we returned for lunch, the woman approached me. “Do you drive a white car?” I shrugged. “I used to. A few years ago.” She laughed. “We stopped at the same traffic light by the elementary school almost every morning,” she said. “You’d always be lifting your hands, singing joyfully. I thought you were worshiping God. That made me want to join in, even on tough days.” Praising God, we prayed together, hugged, and...