Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD April 3, 2016 THE BLACKSMITH AND THE KING Randy Kilgore Exodus 31:1-11 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23 In Scripture, we read of Bezalel and Oholiab, who were chosen and gifted by God to work with their hands designing the tent of meeting and all its furnishings for worship (Ex. 31:1-11). Like Mackay, they honored and served God with their talent and labor. We tend to categorize our work as either church work or secular. In truth, there is no distinction. God designs each of us in ways that make our contributions to the kingdom unique and meaningful. Even when we have little choice in where or how we work, God calls us to know Him more fully—and He will show us how to serve Him—right now. Father, grant me an awareness of my place in Your work. Help me to see You at work in the people and places where I spend my time. God will show us how to serve Him—wherever we are...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 2, 2016 TOO CLOSE David McCasland Proverbs 3:1-18 In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6 Today “storm chasing” has become a hobby for many people and a profitable business for others. The goal is to get as close as possible to a tornado without being harmed. Many storm chasers are skilled forecasters with accurate information, but I won’t sign up for a tornado tour anytime soon. In moral and spiritual areas of my life, however, I can foolishly pursue dangerous things God tells me to avoid because of His love for me, all the time believing I won’t be harmed. A wiser approach is to read the book of Proverbs, which contains many positive ways to elude these snares of life. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” Solomon wrote. “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6). Our Lord is the ma...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 1, 2016 THE GALLERY OF GOD Dave Branon Psalm 100 The Lord is good and his love endures forever. Psalm 100:5 Psalm 100 is like a work of art that helps us celebrate our unseen God. While the focus of our worship is beyond view, His people make Him known. Imagine the artist with brush and palette working the colorful words of this psalm onto a canvas. What emerges before our eyes is a world—“all the earth”—shouting for joy to the Lord (v. 1). Joy. Because it is the delight of our God to redeem us from death. “For the joy that was set before Him,” Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2 nkjv). As our eyes move across the canvas we see an all-world choir of countless members singing “with gladness” and “joyful songs” (Ps. 100:2). Our heavenly Father’s heart is pleased when His people worship Him for who He is and what He has done. Then we see images of ourselves, fashioned from dust in the hands of o...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 31, 2016 Thursday FOLLOW ME Mark 2:13-17 It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Mark 2:17 Health clubs offer many different programs for those who want to lose weight and stay healthy. One fitness center caters only to those who want to lose at least 50 pounds and develop a healthy lifestyle. One member says that she quit her previous fitness club because she felt the slim and fit people were staring at her and judging her out-of-shape body. She now works out 5 days a week and is achieving healthy weight loss in a positive and welcoming environment. Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to call the spiritually unfit to follow Him. Levi was one such person. Jesus saw him sitting in his tax collector’s booth and said, “Follow me” (Mark 2:14). His words captured Levi’s heart, and he followed Jesus. Tax collectors were often greedy and dishonest in their dealings and were considered religiously unclean. When the religious lea...

March 30 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God. – Jer 26:13 I said, “Let us walk in the field.” He said, “Nay walk in the town.” I said, “There are no flowers there.” He said, “No flowers but a crown.” I said, “But the air is thick, And the fogs are veiling the sun.” He answered, “Yet souls are sick And souls in the dark undone.” I cast one look at the field, Then set my face to the town. He said: “My child, do you yield? Will ye leave the flowers for the crown?” Then into his hand went mine And into my heart came He, And I walked in a light divine The path I had feared to see. — George Macdonald. Prayer Eternal God, teach me the way of a complete and unbroken trust. In my disappointments, and in my devotions, may my faith and hope be as immortal as my soul. May I listen for thy voice and answer thy call. Amen.

OUR DAILY BREAD March 30, 2016 Wednesday SURPRISED BY GRACE Anne Cetas Acts 9:1-19 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace. Ephesians 3:7 A woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, fell asleep on the couch after her husband had gone to bed. An intruder sneaked in through the sliding door, which the couple had forgotten to lock, and crept through the house. He entered the bedroom where the husband was sleeping and picked up the television set. The sleeping man woke up, saw a figure standing there, and whispered, "Honey, come to bed." The burglar panicked, put down the TV, grabbed a stack of money from the dresser, and ran out. The thief was in for a big surprise! The money turned out to be a stack of Christian pamphlets with a likeness of a $20 bill on one side and an explanation of the love and forgiveness God offers to people on the other side. Instead of the cash he expected, the intruder got the story of God’s love for him. I wonder what Saul expe...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 29, 2016 Tuesday GOD OF MY STRENGTH Judges 7:1-8 I will strengthen you and help you. Isaiah 41:10 No one could have mistaken the ancient Babylonian soldiers for gentlemen. They were ruthless, resilient, and vicious, and they attacked other nations the way an eagle overtakes its prey. Not only were they powerful, they were prideful as well. They practically worshiped their own combat abilities. In fact, the Bible says that their “strength [was] their god” (Hab. 1:11). God did not want this kind of self-reliance to infect Israel’s forces as they prepared to battle the Midianites. So He told Gideon, Israel’s army commander, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me’ ” (Judg. 7:2). As a result, Gideon discharged anyone who was fearful. Twenty-two thousand men hightailed it home, while 10,000 fighters stayed. God continued to dow...