Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD April 4, Sunday IN THE GARDEN Bible in a Year: Ruth 1–4   Luke 8:1–25 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18 Today's Scripture & Insight: John 20:11–18 My dad loved to sing the old hymns. One of his favorites was “In the Garden.” A few years back, we sang it at his funeral. The chorus is simple: “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.” That song brought joy to my dad—as it does to me. Hymn writer C. Austin Miles says he wrote this song in spring 1912 after reading chapter 20 of the gospel of John. “As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, ‘Rabboni [Teacher].’ ” In  John 20 , we find Mary Magdalene weeping near Jesus’ empty tomb. There she met a man who asked why she was crying. Thinking it ...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 3, Saturday RIDING THE WAVES Bible in a Year: Judges 19–21   Luke 7:31–50 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty and your faithfulness surrounds you. Psalm 89:8 Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 89:5–17 As my husband strolled down the rocky beach taking photos of the Hawaiian horizon, I sat on a large rock fretting over another medical setback. Though my problems would be waiting for me when I returned home, I needed peace in that moment. I stared at the incoming waves crashing against the black, jagged rocks. A dark shadow in the curve of the wave caught my eye. Using the zoom option on my camera, I identified the shape as a sea turtle riding the waves peacefully. Its flippers spread wide and still. Turning my face into the salty breeze, I smiled. The “heavens praise [God’s] wonders” ( Psalm 89:5 ). Our incomparable God rules “over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, [God] stills them” (v. 9). He “founded the world and all that i...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 2, Friday THE COST Bible in a Year: Judges 16–18   Luke 7:1–30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 Today's Scripture & Insight: John 19:25–30 Michelangelo’s works explored many facets of the life of Jesus, yet one of the most poignant was also one of the most simple. In the 1540s he sketched a pieta (a picture of Jesus’ mother holding the body of the dead Christ) for his friend Vittoria Colonna. Done in chalk, the drawing depicts Mary looking to the heavens as she cradles her Son’s still form. Rising behind Mary, the upright beam of the cross carries these words from Dante’s  Paradise , “There they don’t think of how much blood it costs.” Michelangelo’s point was profound: when we contemplate the death of Jesus, we must consider the price He paid. The price paid by Christ is captured in His dying declaration, “It is finished” ( John 19:30 ). The term for “it is f...

OUR DAILY BREAD April1 “SO HELPFUL” Bible in a Year: Judges 13–15   Luke 6:27–49 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13 Today's Scripture & Insight: 1 Peter 4:7–11 The caller to the Christian radio station said that his wife was coming home from the hospital following surgery. Then he shared something that spoke deeply to my heart: “Everyone in our church family has been so helpful in taking care of us during this time.” When I heard this simple statement, it reminded me of the value and necessity of Christian hospitality and care. I began to think that the love and support of fellow believers for one another is one of the greatest ways to demonstrate the life-changing power of the gospel. In First Peter, the apostle was writing a letter to be circulated among the first-century churches in what’s now the country of Turkey. In that letter, he compelled his readers to do something that his friend Paul wrote about in  Romans 12:13 : “...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 31 Wisely Weeding Bible in a Year: Judges 11–12   Luke 6:1–26 Search me, God, and know my heart. Psalm 139:23 Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24 My grandchildren are running around my backyard. Playing games? No, pulling weeds. “Pulling them up by the roots!” the youngest says, showing me a hefty prize. Her delight as we tackled weeds that day was how much we enjoyed plucking the weedy roots—clearing away each pesky menace. Before the joy, however, came the choice to go after them. Intentional weeding is also the first step in removing personal sin. Thus, David prayed: “Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” ( Psalm 139:23–24 ). What a wise approach, to go after our sin by asking God to show it to us. He above all knows everything about us. “You have searched me,  Lord , and you know me,” wrote the psalmist. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (vv. 1–2). “S...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 30, Tuesday GOT YOUR NOSE Bible in a Year: Judges 9–10   Luke 5:17–39 I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Exodus 12:12 Today's Scripture & Insight: Exodus 12:12–19 “Why are the statues’ noses broken?” That’s the number one question visitors ask Edward Bleiberg, curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum. Bleiberg can’t blame it on normal wear and tear; even two-dimensional painted figures are missing noses. He surmises that such destruction must have been intentional. Enemies meant to kill Egypt’s gods. It’s as if they were playing a game of “got your nose” with them. Invading armies broke off the noses of these idols so they couldn’t breathe. Really? That’s all it took?  With gods like these, Pharaoh should have known he was in trouble. Yes, he had an army and the allegiance of a whole nation. The Hebrews were weary slaves led by a timid fugitive named Moses. But Israel had the living God, and Pharaoh’s gods were pretenders. Ten plagu...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 29, Monday FACING THE BATTLES WITH GOD Bible in a Year: Judges 7–8   Luke 5:1–16 In the Lord I take refuge. Psalm 11:1 Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 11 The heroic deeds of US Army soldier Desmond Doss are featured in the 2016 movie  Hacksaw Ridge.  While Doss’ convictions wouldn’t allow him to take human life, as an army medic he committed himself to preserving life even at the risk of his own. The citation read at Doss’ Medal of Honor ceremony on October 12, 1945, included these words: “Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment. . . . He unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer.” In  Psalm 11 , David’s conviction that his refuge was in God compelled him to resist suggestions to flee rather than face his foes (vv. 2–3). Six simple words comprised his statement of faith: “I...