Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD January 17, Sunday THE WONDERFUL ONE David H. Roper There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  Revelation 4:2 Revelation 4:4–11 Genesis 41–42; Matthew 12:1–23 In  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,  Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion return to Oz with the broomstick that empowered the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard had promised, in return for the broomstick, that he would give the four their deepest desires: a ride home for Dorothy, a brain for the Scarecrow, a heart for the Tin Man, and courage for the Cowardly Lion. But the Wizard stalls and tells them to come back the next day. While they plead with the Wizard, Dorothy’s dog Toto pulls back the curtain, behind which the Wizard spoke, to reveal that the Wizard isn’t a wizard at all, he’s just a fearful, fidgety man from Nebraska. It’s said that the author, L. Frank Baum, had a serious problem with God, so he wanted to send the message that only we have the ...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 16, Saturday MIGHTY Winn Collier [Goliath] looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy.  1 Samuel 17:42 1 Samuel 17:32, 41–47 Genesis 39–40; Matthew 11 Baby Saybie, born as a “micro-preemie” at 23 weeks, weighed only 8.6 ounces. Doctors doubted Saybie would live and told her parents they’d likely have only an hour with their daughter. However, Saybie kept fighting. A pink card near her crib declared “Tiny but Mighty.” After five months in the hospital, Saybie miraculously went home as a healthy five-pound baby. And she took a world record with her: the world’s tiniest surviving baby. It’s powerful to hear stories of those who beat the odds. The Bible tells one of these stories. David, a shepherd boy, volunteered to fight Goliath—a mammoth warrior who defamed God and threatened Israel. King Saul thought David was ridiculous: “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior ...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 15, Friday ALL ROADS? Dave Branon Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  John 14:6 John 14:1–7 Genesis 36–38; Matthew 10:21–42 “Don’t get on the expressway!” That text came from my daughter one day as I was leaving work. The highway home had become a virtual parking lot. I began trying alternate routes, but after experiencing gridlock on other roads, I gave up. The trip home would have to wait till later in the day, so I drove in the opposite direction to an athletic event my granddaughter was involved in. Discovering that no roads would lead me home made me think about people who say that all roads lead to an eternal relationship with God. Some believe the road of kindness and good behavior will get you there. Others choose the road of doing religious things. Relying on those roads, however, leads to a dead end. There’s only one road to take to God’s eternal presence. Jesus clarified this when He said, “I am the way and the truth and th...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 14, Thursday OUR COMPASSIONATE GOD Patricia Raybon You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes.  Psalm 138:7 Psalm 138 Genesis 33–35; Matthew 10:1–20 The winter night was cold when someone threw a large stone through a Jewish child’s bedroom window. A star of David had been displayed in the window, along with a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. In the child’s town of Billings, Montana, thousands of people—many of them believers in Jesus—responded to the hateful act with compassion. Choosing to identify with the hurt and fear of their Jewish neighbors, they pasted pictures of menorahs in their own windows. As believers in Jesus, we too receive great compassion. Our Savior humbled Himself to live among us (John 1:14), identifying with us. On our behalf, He, “being in very nature God . . . made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6–7). Then, feeling as we feel and weeping as we weep, He d...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 13, Wednesday WHAT’S YOUR SONG? Mike Wittmer So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.  Deuteronomy 31:22 Deuteronomy 31:15–22 Genesis 31–32; Matthew 9:18–38 Most Americans knew little about Alexander Hamilton—until 2015, when Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote his hit musical  Hamilton . Now schoolchildren know Hamilton’s story by heart. They sing it to each other on the bus and at recess. He’s their favorite founding father. God knows the power of music, and He told Moses to “write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it” (Deuteronomy 31:19). God knew that long after Moses was gone, when He had brought Israel into the Promised Land, they would rebel and worship other gods. So He told Moses, “This song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants” (v. 21). Songs are nearly impossible to forget, so it’s wise to be selective about what we sing. Some songs are just for fun...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 12, Tuesday BREAKING THE CYCLE Alyson Kieda If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 Genesis 29–30; Matthew 9:1–17 David’s first beating came at the hands of his father on his seventh birthday, after he accidentally broke a window. “He kicked me and punched me,” David said. “Afterward, he apologized. He was an abusive alcoholic, and it’s a cycle I’m doing my best to end now.”  But it took a long time for David to get to this point. Most of his teen years and twenties were spent in jail or on probation, and in and out of addiction treatment centers. When it felt like his dreams were entirely dashed, he found hope in a Christ-centered treatment center through a relationship with Jesus.  “I used to be filled with nothing but despair,” David says. “Now I’m pushing myself in the other direction. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I tell God is tha...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 11, Monday LIFT UP YOUR EYES Glenn Packiam My help comes from the  Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:2 Psalm 121 Genesis 27–28; Matthew 8:18–34 The clouds hung low, blocking the horizon and limiting visibility to only a few hundred yards. The minutes dragged on. The effect on my mood was noticeable. But then, as afternoon approached, the clouds began to break, and I saw it: beautiful Pikes Peak, the most recognizable landmark of my city, flanked on each side by the mountain range. A smile broke over my face. I considered that even our physical perspective—our literal line of sight—can affect our spiritual vision. And I was reminded of the psalmist singing, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains” (Psalm 121:1). Sometimes we simply need to lift our eyes a bit higher! The psalmist pondered where his help came from, maybe because the hilltops around Israel were dotted with altars to pagan gods and often contained robbers. Or it could have been b...