Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD March 14, Sunday STORMS OF FEAR Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23–25   Mark 14:1–26 [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4:40 Today's Scripture & Insight: Mark 4:35–41 In a TV commercial I saw recently, a woman casually asks someone in a group watching TV, “What are you searching for, Mark?” “A version of myself that doesn’t make decisions based on fear,” he responds soberly—not realizing that she was just asking what he liked to watch on TV!  Whoa , I thought. I wasn’t expecting a TV commercial to hit me so profoundly! But I related to poor Mark: I too feel embarrassed by the way fear sometimes seems to direct my life.  Jesus’ disciples also experienced the profound power of fear. Once, as they headed across the Sea of Galilee ( Mark 4:35 ), “a furious squall came up” (v. 37). Terror gripped them, and they suggested that Jesus (who’d been sleeping!) might not care about them: “Teacher, don’t you care i...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 13, Saturday GOD’S STORYBOOK Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 20–22   Mark 13:21–37 God blessed them. . . . God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:28 ,  31 Today's Scripture & Insight: Genesis 1:26–31 Wanting to enjoy the beautiful day, I headed out for a walk and soon met a new neighbor. He stopped me and introduced himself: “My name is Genesis, and I’m six and a half years old.”  “Genesis is a great name! It’s a book in the Bible,” I replied.  “What’s the Bible?” he asked.  “It’s God’s storybook about how He made the world and people and how He loves us.”  His inquisitive response made me smile: “Why did He make the world and people and cars and houses? And is my picture in His book?”  While there isn’t a literal picture of my new friend Genesis or the rest of us in the Scriptures, we’re a big part of God’s storybook. We see in  Genesis 1  that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image ...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 12, Friday EVERY BREATHE Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 17–19   Mark 13:1–20 I will put breath in you. Ezekiel 37:6 Today's Scripture & Insight: Ezekiel 37:1–3, 7–10, 14 When Tee Unn came down with a rare autoimmune disease that weakened all his muscles and nearly killed him, he realized that being able to breathe was a gift. For more than a week, a machine had to pump air into his lungs every few seconds, which was a painful part of his treatment.  Tee Unn made a miraculous recovery, and today he reminds himself not to complain about life’s challenges. “I’ll just take a deep breath,” he says, “and thank God I can.”  How easy it is to focus on things we need or want, and forget that sometimes the smallest things in life can be the greatest miracles. In Ezekiel’s vision ( Ezekiel 37:1–14 ), God showed the prophet that only He could give life to dry bones. Even after tendons, flesh, and skin had appeared, “there was no breath in them” (v. 8). It was ...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 11, Thursday  OUT OF OUR POVERTY Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14–16   Mark 12:28–44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on. Mark 12:44 Today's Scripture & Insight: Mark 12:38–44 Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates made history when they launched the Giving Pledge, promising to donate half of their money. As of 2018, this meant giving away 92 billion dollars. The pledge made psychologist Paul Piff curious to study giving patterns. Through a research test, he discovered that the poor were inclined to give 44 percent more of what they had than wealthy people. Those who’ve felt their own poverty are often moved to greater generosity. Jesus knew this. Visiting the temple, He watched the crowds drop gifts into the treasury ( Mark 12:41 ). The rich tossed in wads of cash, but a poor widow pulled out her last two copper coins, worth maybe a penny, and placed them into the basket. I pictur...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 10, Wednesday PRACTICE THESE THINGS Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11–13   Mark 12:1–27 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. Philippians 4:9 Today's Scripture & Insight: Philippians 4:1–9 As I helped my son with his math homework, it became apparent he was less than enthusiastic about doing multiple problems related to the same concept. “I’ve got it, Dad!” he insisted, hoping I would let him out of doing all of his assignment. I then gently explained to him that a concept is just a concept until we learn how to work it out in  practice. Paul wrote about practice to his friends in Philippi. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” ( Philippians 4:9 ). He mentions five things:  reconciliation —as he urged Euodia and Syntyche to do (vv. 2–3);  joy —as he reminded his readers to cultivate (v. 4);  gentleness —as he urged them to employ i...

OUR DAILY BREAD M arch 9, Tuesday SNOW MUSE Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 8–10   Mark 11:19–33 He says to the snow, “Fall on the earth,” and to the rain shower, “Be a mighty downpour.” Job 37:6 Today's Scripture & Insight: Job 36:26–29; 37:5–7 Named for a tough blue-collar neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, the grassroots musical group Over the Rhine sings about a transformation that took place each year in the city. “Whenever we’d get our first real snowfall of the year, it felt like something sacred was happening,” explains band co-founder Linford Detweiler. “Like a little bit of a fresh start. The city would slow down and grow quiet.” If you’ve experienced a heavy snowfall, you understand how it can inspire a song. A magical quietness drapes the world as snow conceals grime and grayness. For a few moments, winter’s bleakness brightens, inviting our reflection and delight. Elihu, the one friend of Job who may have had a helpful view of God, noted how creation commands our atten...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 8, Monday THE REASON FOR WRITING Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5–7   Mark 11:1–18 But these are written that you may believe. John 20:31 Today's Scripture & Insight: John 20:24–31 “The Lord is my high tower . . . . We left the camp singing.” On September 7, 1943, Etty Hillesum wrote those words on a postcard and threw it from a train. Those were the final recorded words we would hear from her. On November 30, 1943, she was murdered at Auschwitz. Later, Hillesum’s diaries of her experiences in a concentration camp were translated and published. They chronicled her perspectives on the horrors of Nazi occupation along with the beauty of God’s world. Her diaries have been translated into sixty-seven languages—a gift to all who would read and believe the good as well as the bad. The apostle John didn’t sidestep the harsh realities of Jesus’ life on earth; he wrote of both the good Jesus did and the challenges He faced. The final words from his gospel g...