Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD November 22, 2017 Wednesday MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.  Psalm 98:4 Psalm 98 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 18–19; James 4 Back when I was searching for a church to attend regularly, a friend invited me to a service at her church. The worship leaders led the congregation in a song I particularly loved. So I sang with gusto, remembering my college choir director’s advice to “Project!” After the song, my friend’s husband turned to me and said, “You really sang loud.” This remark was not intended as a compliment! After that, I self-consciously monitored my singing, making sure I sang softer than those around me and always wondering if the people around me judged my singing. But one Sunday, I noticed the singing of a woman in the pew beside me. She seemed to sing with adoration, without a trace of self-consciousness. Her worship reminded me of the en...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 21, 2017  Tuesday HELICOPTER SEEDS Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  John 12:24  John 12:23–33 Bible in a year :  Ezekiel 16–17; James 3 When our children were young, they loved trying to catch the “helicopter seeds” that fell from our neighbor’s silver maple trees. Each seed resembles a wing. In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter’s rotor blades. The seeds’ purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees. Before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . [U]nless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:23–24). While Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to be honored as the Messiah, He came to give...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 20, 2017 Monday TAKE A NUMBER Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  John 14:27 John 14:15–27 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 14–15; James 2 We have an ancient cherry tree in our backyard that had seen better days and looked like it was dying, so I called in an arborist. He checked it out and declared that it was “unduly stressed” and needed immediate attention. “Take a number,” my wife, Carolyn, muttered to the tree as she walked away. It had been one of those weeks. Indeed, we all have anxious weeks—filled with worries over the direction our culture is drifting or concerns for our children, our marriages, our businesses, our finances, our personal health and well-being. Nevertheless, Jesus has assured us that despite disturbing circumstances we can be at peace. He said, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus’s days were filled with distress and disorder: He was beleaguered...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 18, 2017 Saturday HIDE AND SEEK In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3 Ezekiel 8 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 8–10; Hebrews 13 “You can’t see me!” When small children play “hide and seek,” they sometimes believe they’re hiding just by covering their eyes. If they can’t see you, they assume you can’t see them. Naïve as that may seem to adults, we sometimes do something similar with God. When we find ourselves desiring to do something we know is wrong, our tendency may be to shut God out as we willfully go our own way. The prophet Ezekiel discovered this truth in the vision God gave him for his people, exiled in Babylon. The Lord told him, “Have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 17, 2017 Friday SERVE AND BE SERVED You were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.   Philippians 4:10 Philippians 4:10–19 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 5–7; Hebrews 12 Marilyn had been ill for many weeks, and many people had encouraged her through this difficult time.  How will I ever repay all their kindnesses?  she worried. Then one day she read the words of a written prayer: “Pray that [others] will develop humility, allowing them not only to serve, but also to be served.” Marilyn suddenly realized there was no need to balance any scale, but just to be thankful and allow others to experience the joy of serving. In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul expressed his gratitude for all those who shared “in [his] troubles” (v. 14). He depended on people to support him as he preached and taught the gospel. He understood that the gifts provided for him when he was in need were simply an extensi...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 15, 2017 Wednesday HOW MUCH MORE! If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!  Luke 11:13 Luke 11:5–13 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 1–2; Hebrews 11:1–19 In October 1915, during World War I, Oswald Chambers arrived at Zeitoun Camp, a military training center near Cairo, Egypt, to serve as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth soldiers. When he announced a weeknight religious service, 400 men packed the large YMCA hut to hear Chambers’s talk titled, “What Is the Good of Prayer?” Later, when he spoke individually with men who were trying to find God in the midst of war, Oswald often quoted Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The free gift of God thr...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 14, 2017 Tuesday  GREAT LOVE 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 3:1–8 Bible in a year:  Lamentations 3–5; Hebrews 10:19–39 Recently, we took our twenty-two-month-old granddaughter, Moriah, overnight for the first time without her older brothers. We lavished lots of loving, undivided attention on her, and had fun doing the things she likes to do. The next day after dropping her off, we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. As we did, without a word Moriah grabbed her overnight bag (still sitting by the door) and began following us. The picture is etched in my memory: Moriah in her diaper and mismatched sandals ready to depart with Grandma and Grandpa again. Every time I think of it, I smile. She was eager to go with us, ready for more individualized time. Although she is as yet unable to vocalize it, our granddaughter feels loved...