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OUR DAILY BREAD October 14, 2017 Saturday HELD BY GOD Monica Brands I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.  Psalm 131:2 Psalm 131 Bible in a year : Isaiah 43–44; 1 Thessalonians 2 As I was nearing the end of lunch with my sister and her children one afternoon, my sister told my three-year-old niece, Annica, it was time to get ready for her nap. Her face filled with alarm. “But Aunt Monica did not hold me yet today!” she objected, tears filling her eyes. My sister smiled. “Okay, she may hold you first—how long do you need?” “Five minutes,” she replied. As I held my niece, I was grateful for how, without even trying, she constantly reminds me what it looks like to love and be loved. I think sometimes we forget that our faith journey is one of learning to experience love—God’s love—more fully than we can imagine (Eph. 3:18). When we lose that focus, we can find ourselves, like the older brother in Jesus’s para

OUR DAILY BREAD October 13, 2017 Friday A NEW NAME Jesus looked at him, and said, . . . “You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).  John 1:42 John 1:35–42 Bible in a year : Isaiah 41–42; 1 Thessalonians 1 In the article “Leading by Naming,” Mark Labberton wrote about the power of a name. He said: “I can still feel the impact of a musical friend who one day called me ‘musical.’ No one had ever called me that. I didn’t really play an instrument. I was no soloist. Yet . . . I instantly felt known and loved. . . . [He] noticed, validated, and appreciated something deeply true about me.” Perhaps this is what Simon felt when Jesus renamed him. After Andrew was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he immediately found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus (John 1:41–42). Jesus peered into his soul and validated and appreciated something deeply true about Simon. Yes, Jesus saw the failure and impetuous nature that would get him into trouble. But more than tha

OUR DAILY BREAD October 12, 2017 Thursday THE GOOD SHEPHERD He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.  Isaiah 40:11 Isaiah 40:6–11 Bible in a year : Isaiah 39–40; Colossians 4 I sat in the hospital room with my husband, waiting anxiously. Our young son was having corrective eye surgery and I felt the butterflies jostle in my stomach as I fretted and worried. I tried to pray, asking God to give me His peace. As I leafed through my Bible, I thought about Isaiah 40, so I turned to the familiar passage, wondering if anything fresh would strike me. As I read, I caught my breath, for the words from so many years ago reminded me that the Lord “tends his flock like a shepherd” as He “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (v. 11). In that moment my anxiety left me as I realized the Lord was holding us, leading us, and caring for us.  That was just what I needed, Lord,  I breathed silently. I felt enveloped in God’s peace during an

OUR DAILY BREAD ctober 11, 2017 Wednesday TWO-WINGED SUN [The Lord says:] I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  Isaiah 38:5 Isaiah 38:1–8 Bible in a year : Isaiah 37–38; Colossians 3 For five years, an ancient clay seal remained in a closet in Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology. After the seal was dug up at the foot of the southern part of Jerusalem’s old city wall, initial examination failed to establish the significance of the nearly 3,000-year-old object. But then a researcher carefully scrutinized the letters on the seal, resulting in a major discovery. The inscription, written in ancient Hebrew, reads: “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah.” At the center of the seal is a two-winged sun surrounded by two images symbolizing life. The archaeologists who discovered the seal believe that King Hezekiah began using this seal as a symbol of God’s protection after the Lord healed him from a life-threatening illness (Isa. 38:1–8). Hezekiah had been pleading

OUR DAILY BREAD October 10, 2017 Tuesday WAKE-UP CALL! Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.  Revelation 3:2 Revelation 3:1–6 Bible in a year : Isaiah 34–36; Colossians 2 During the years when I traveled frequently and stayed in a different city every night, I always scheduled a wake-up call when I checked into a hotel. Along with a personal alarm, I needed a jangling telephone to help get me out of bed and moving in the morning. The book of Revelation contains a spiritual wake-up call in the apostle John’s letters to the seven churches in the province of Asia. To the church in Sardis he wrote this message from Jesus Himself: “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God” (Rev. 3:1–2). In the midst of spiritual fatigue, we may fail to notice the lethargy t

OUR DAILY BREAD October 8,2017 Sunday ENOUGH They ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.  2 Kings 4:44 2 Kings 4:42–44 Bible in a year : Isaiah 30–31; Philippians 4 When my husband and I were first asked to host a small group in our home, my immediate reaction was to decline. I felt inadequate. We didn’t have seats for everyone; our home was small and couldn’t hold many people. I didn’t know whether we had the skills to facilitate the discussion. I worried that I’d be asked to prepare food, something for which I lacked both passion and funds. I didn’t feel like we had “enough” to do it. I didn’t feel  I  was “enough” to do it. But we wanted to give to God and our community, so despite our fears, we agreed. Over the next five years we found great joy in welcoming the group into our living room. I observe similar reluctance and doubt in the man who brought bread to God’s servant, Elisha. Elisha had instructed him to give it to the people, but the man quest

1. If your pastor can not lead(instruct) you 2. If your pastor's action doesn't encourage you 3. If he can't discipline you 4. If his words and character doesn't reflect in your daily action 5. If he can't interfere in your personal life 6. If you can still criticize him 7. If it keeps coming to your heart to leave the church 8. If you don't plan on how to fulfil ministry goals and vision 9. If all he does is wrong 10. If you are willing that his faults be exposed to all 11. If you are the one taking his weakness to his enemies 12. If you feel he is uneducated to pastor you 13. If you see him as your equal 14. If you want him to accept your faults and wrong doing 15. If you feel he is impartial as to how he treats you and others 16. If you are always questioning his set goals and action 17. When you fight the people he nominates for a specific assignment 18. When you feel you are the best person for every assignment 19. When you disregard his

OUR DAILY BREAD October 6, 2017 Friday IF I KNEW THEN . . . In his great mercy [God] has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3 1 Peter 1:3–9 Bible in a year : Isaiah 26–27; Philippians 2 On the way to work, I listened to the song “Dear Younger Me,” which asks: If you could go back, knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self? As I listened, I thought about the bits of wisdom I might give my younger, less-wise self. Most of us have thought about how we might do things differently—if only we could do it all over again. But the song illustrates that even though we have regrets from our past, all our experiences have shaped who we are. We can’t change the consequences of our choices or sin. Praise God we don’t have to carry the mistakes around with us. Because of what Jesus has done! “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from

OUR DAILY BREAD October 5, 2017 Thursday HOVERING OVER US He shielded him and cared for him . . . like an eagle that . . . hovers over its young.  Deuteronomy 32:10–11 Deuteronomy 32:7–12 Bible in a year : Isaiah 23–25; Philippians 1 Betty’s daughter arrived home from an overseas trip, feeling unwell. When her pain became unbearable, Betty and her husband took her to the emergency room. The doctors and nurses set to work, and after a few hours one of the nurses said to Betty, “She’s going to be okay! We’re going to take good care of her and get her healed up.” In that moment, Betty felt peace and love flood over her. She realized that while she hovered over her daughter anxiously, the Lord is the perfect parent who nurtures His children, comforting us in difficult times. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord reminded His people how, when they were wandering in the desert, He cared for them as a loving parent who hovers over its young. He never left them, but was like an eagle “t

OUR DAILY BREAD  October 4, 2017 Wednesday  DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.   Luke 18:40–41 Luke 18:35–43 Bible in a year:  Isaiah 20–22; Ephesians 6 Experts agree that a staggering amount of time is consumed each day by interruptions. Whether at work or at home, a phone call or an unexpected visit can easily deflect us from what we feel is our main purpose. Not many of us like disruptions in our daily lives, especially when they cause inconvenience or a change of plans. But Jesus treated what appeared to be interruptions in a far different way. Time after time in the Gospels, we see the Lord stop what He is doing to help a person in need. While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified, a blind man begging by the side of the road called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:35–38). Some in the crowd told him to be quiet, but he kept calling out to Jesus. Jesus sto

OUR DAILY BREAD October 2, 2017 Monday THE PERFECT PRAYER PARTNER [Jesus] is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Romans 8:34 Romans 8:31–34 Bible in a year : Isaiah 14–16; Ephesians 5:1–16 Few sounds are as beautiful as hearing someone who loves you praying for you. When you hear a friend pray for you with compassion and God-given insight, it’s a little like heaven touching earth. How good it is to know that because of God’s kindness to us our prayers can also touch heaven. Sometimes when we pray we may struggle with words and feelings of inadequacy, but Jesus taught His followers that we “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). God’s Word shows us that one of the reasons we can do this is that Jesus Himself “is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34). We never pray alone, because Jesus is praying for us. He hears us as we pray, and speaks to the Father on our behalf. We don’t have to worry about the eloquence of our