Daily Devotional (Page 4)
Getting Away with It
Getting Away with It From Our Daily Bread – July 10, 2017 Read: Genesis 4:1–12 By faith Abel still speaks.—Hebrews 11:4 In June 2004, at a Vancouver art gallery, Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott received an Olympic gold medal. That’s interesting, because the Winter Olympics had been held in 2002—in Utah. Scott had won bronze behind two athletes who were disqualified months later when it was learned they had used banned substances. It’s good that Scott eventually received her gold, but…
A Joyful Heart
A Joyful Heart From Our Daily Bread – July 9, 2017 Read: 2 Chronicles 7:1–10 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. —Psalm 100:1 My granddaughter’s favorite tune is one of John Philip Sousa’s marches. Sousa, known as “The March King,” was a US composer in the late nineteenth century. Moriah isn’t in a marching band; she’s only twenty months old. She just loves the tune and can even hum a few notes. She associates it with joyful times. When our…
A Day to Rest
A Day to Rest From Our Daily Bread – July 8, 2017 Read: Exodus 23:10–13 Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work.—Exodus 23:12 One Sunday, I stood by the gurgling stream that wends its way through our North London community, delighting in the beauty it brings to our otherwise built-up area. I felt myself relax as I watched the cascading water and listened to the birds chirping. I paused to give the Lord thanks for how He helps…
Verse of the Day – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 KJV
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
The Ultimate Good
The Ultimate Good From Our Daily Bread – July 7, 2017 Read: Philippians 3:1–11 I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.—Philippians 3:8 As I was growing up in Jamaica, my parents raised my sister and me to be “good people.” In our home, good meant obeying our parents, telling the truth, being successful in school and work, and going to church . . . at least Easter and Christmas. I imagine this definition of…
Going First
Going First From Our Daily Bread – July 6, 2017 Read: 1 John 4:7–21 We love because he first loved us.—1 John 4:19 We worked patiently to help our son heal and adjust to his new life with our family. Trauma from his early days in an orphanage was fueling some negative behaviors. While I had enormous compassion for the hardships he experienced in his early days, I felt myself begin to withdraw from him emotionally because of those behaviors. Ashamed, I…
Could I Say That?
Could I Say That? July 5, 2017 Read: Genesis 45:1–11 It was not you who sent me here, but God.—Genesis 45:8 “The perception of favoritism is one of the biggest factors in sibling rivalry,” said Dr. Barbara Howard, a developmental behavioral pediatrician (“When Parents Have a Favorite Child” nytimes.com). An example would be the Old Testament character Joseph, who was his father’s favorite son, which made his older brothers furious (Gen. 37:3-4). So they sold Joseph to merchants traveling to Egypt and…
Celebrate Freedom
Celebrate Freedom From Our Daily Bread – July 4, 2017 Read: Romans 6:15–23 The law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.—Romans 8:2 After being kidnapped, held hostage for thirteen days, and released, New Zealand news cameraman Olaf Wiig, with a broad smile on his face, announced, “I feel more alive now than I have in my entire life.” For reasons difficult to understand, being freed is more exhilarating than being free.…
Destroying the Divides
Destroying the Divides From Our Daily Bread – July 3, 2017 Read: Joshua 7:1–12 I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.—Joshua 7:12 A writing deadline loomed over me, while the argument I had with my husband earlier that morning swirled through my mind. I stared at the blinking cursor, fingertips resting on the keyboard. He was wrong too, Lord. When the computer screen went black, my reflection scowled. My unacknowledged wrongs were doing…
Taking Shortcuts
Taking Shortcuts From Our Daily Bread – July 2, 2017 Read: Luke 9:57–62 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.—Luke 9:23 Sipping her tea, Nancy gazed out her friend’s window and sighed. Spring rains and sunshine had coaxed a riotous expanse of color from a well-groomed flowerbed of lilies, phlox, irises, and evening primrose. “I want that look,” she said wistfully, “without all the work.” Some shortcuts are fine—even practical. Others short-circuit…
Cleaning House
Cleaning House From Our Daily Bread – July 1, 2017 Read: 1 Peter 1:22–2:5 Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.—1 Peter 2:1 Recently, I switched rooms in the home I rent. This took longer than expected, because I didn’t want to simply transfer my (extensive) mess to a new room; I wanted a completely fresh and uncluttered start. After hours and hours of cleaning and sorting, bags of stuff sat by the front…
Time to Flourish
Time to Flourish From Our Daily Bread – June 30, 2017 Read: Luke 13:1–9 “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.”—Luke 13:8 Last spring I decided to cut down the rose bush by our back door. In the three years we’d lived in our home, it hadn’t produced many flowers, and its ugly, fruitless branches were now creeping in all directions. But life got busy, and my gardening plan…