Ministries (Page 232)
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…
Verse of the Day – Psalms 5:11-12 KJV
¹¹ But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let the also that love thy name be joyful in thee. ¹² For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
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…
Verse of the Day – 1 John 2:15-16 KJV
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
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…
Verse of the Day – Hebrews 13:5-6 KJV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
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…
Romans 8:6-8 KJV
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Faith in Action
Faith in Action From Our Daily Bread – June 29, 2017 Read: James 2:14–26 Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.—James 2:18 As a friend drove to the grocery store, she noticed a woman walking along the side of the road and felt she should turn the car around and offer her a ride. When she did, she was saddened to hear that the woman didn’t have money for the bus…
Verse of the Day – John 3:20-21 KJV
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reprove. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Unfinished Works
Unfinished Works From Our Daily Bread – June 28, 2017 Read: Romans 7:14–25 Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!—Romans 7:24-25 At his death, the great artist Michelangelo left many unfinished projects. But four of his sculptures were never meant to be completed. The Bearded Slave, the Atlas Slave, the Awakening Slave, and the Young Slave, though they appear unfinished, are just as…
Verse of the Day – James 1:5-6 KJV
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.