Daily Devotionals - Our Daily Bread

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March 24, 2007

For Her
READ: Ephesians 5:22-33

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. —Ephesians 5:25


When my wife had dental surgery, she was out of commission for the weekend. While she was recuperating, I had the daunting task of taking care of her and the kids. I cooked, washed dishes, made special trips to the store for her, and bathed the kids. When I saw all I had done, I thought to myself, I deserve extra credit and reciprocal service when she gets better. Before I gave myself too many pats on the back, however, the Holy Spirit reminded me that what I was doing was my privilege and duty as a Christian husband.

In Paul’s time, many believed the husband’s needs dominated the household, and the wife existed to fulfill his needs and to serve him. The Christian view was quite different, however. Women were seen as persons of equal worth. The wife was transformed from an accessory to a person of intrinsic value, becoming the focus of her husband’s concern. Instead of demanding that she live for him, he was to serve her!

Ephesians 5:25 portrays Christ as loving the church and giving Himself for her. And verse 29 indicates that Jesus nourishes and cares for her. As husbands pursue Christlikeness, they have the privilege and duty to sacrifice, nurture, and care for their wives. —Marvin Williams

Despite the faults that spouses have,
Their marriage still can thrive;
But both must look to God for help—
He’ll keep their love alive.  —Branon

If you think it’s possible to love your wife too much, you probably haven’t loved her enough.

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March 25, 2007

Hearing The Sermon Again
READ: Matthew 4:12-17

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —Matthew 4:17


A story is told about a man who preached an impressive sermon, seeking to be the pastor of a new church. Everybody loved it and voted for him to become their new pastor. They were a bit surprised, however, when he preached the same sermon his first Sunday there—and even more surprised when he preached it again the next week. After he preached the same sermon the third week in a row, the leaders met with him to find out what was going on. The pastor assured them, “I know what I’m doing. When you start living out this sermon, I’ll go on to my next one.”

Jesus’ sermons had a notably recurring theme. Not surprisingly, the King of kings wanted to be sure that the people understood what was required of them to be part of His kingdom. He came to announce a whole new world order that was totally out of step with life as it was usually lived. Themes such as forgiveness, servanthood, and unconditional mercy and grace were repeatedly on His lips.

Two thousand years later we find ourselves in need of the same message. As soon as we start repenting and living under the authority, reign, and rule of Jesus our King, we will experience benefit to our lives, glory to His name, and blessing to others. —Joe Stowell

The Bible gives us all we need
To live our lives for God each day,
But it won’t help if we don’t read
And practice what its pages say.  —Sper

A sermon isn’t complete until it’s put into practice.

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May 8, 2007

The Adventure

READ: Esther 4:13-17

Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? —Esther 4:14


When I was about 7, I was in the car with my mom and two sisters when my mother pulled over to the side of the road to study the map. “Are we lost, Mom?” I was worried.

“Oh, no,” she replied cheerfully, quickly folding up the map. “We’re on an adventure.” My sisters and I exchanged doubtful glances as one of them whispered knowingly, “We’re lost.”

Adventures can be fun—and scary. They usually involve a bit of the unknown. As we walk in fellowship with God, it’s likely that our lives will have many unique adventures—opportunities to serve Him. If we’re reluctant or scared and we turn down an opportunity, we miss out. Will God still get the job done? Of course. But someone else will receive the blessing.

In Esther 4, Mordecai encouraged the young queen Esther to help rescue her people. He cautioned: “If you remain completely silent . . . deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (v.14).

Esther was naturally frightened to take this assignment. But God used her courage and faith to deliver her people. Trust God to show you the way. Adventure ahead! —Cindy Hess Kasper

For life’s adventure, Lord, I ask
Courage and faith for every task;
A heart kept clean by high desire,
A conscience purged by holy fire. —McDermand

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

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May 16, 2007

For The Children

Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them. —Mark 10:14

As the teenagers left Robin’s Nest orphanage near Montego Bay, Jamaica, many of them were in tears.

“It’s just not fair,” one girl said after their too-brief visit. “We have so much, and they don’t have anything.” In the 2 hours we visited, handing out stuffed animals and playing with the kids, she had been holding a sad little girl who never smiled. We learned that before she was rescued she had been abused by her parents.

Multiply this little girl’s plight by the millions, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. My teenage friends were right. It’s not fair. Abuse, poverty, and neglect have turned the lives of millions of little ones into a nightmare.

How this must grieve God’s heart! Jesus, who said, “Let the little children come to Me” (Mark 10:14), is surely saddened by the way these children are treated.

What can we do? In Jesus’ name, we can give monetary support to good orphanages. When possible, we can offer physical help. If we feel led, we can seek to provide homes for these precious children. And all of us can pray—beseeching God to help those for whom life is so unfair.

Let’s show children the love of God through our hearts and our hands. —Dave Branon

Reaching out to needy children,
Showing them our love and care,
Is one way that God can use us
To bring hope in their despair. —Sper

Be Jesus to a child today.

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September 17, 2007

A New Friend
 
I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. —John 15:15


While flying from Europe back to the US, I found myself sitting next to a little girl who never stopped talking from the moment she sat down. She told me the history of her family and all about her puppy, who was in the hold of the plane. She pointed excitedly to everything around us, “Look at this! Look at that!” I couldn’t help but think that 8 hours of this could make for a very long flight!

We chatted for a while until she suddenly got quiet. She pulled her blanket up around her, so I thought maybe she was going to doze off. I quickly took advantage of the break and reached for the nearest magazine. But before I could open it, I felt a little elbow in my side. I looked down at her, and she threw out her little hand and said, “Hey, Joe, wanna be friends?”

My heart melted. “Sure,” I said, “let’s be friends.”

In the midst of the turmoil of life, when we think all we want is to be left alone, Jesus extends His nail-scarred hand and invites us to be His friends. He says, “I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). We have a choice: to keep to ourselves, or to open our heart to a friendship of unlimited love and guidance. —Joe Stowell

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer. —Scriven

Jesus longs to be your Friend.

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November 6, 2008
Serve Or Die

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. —Mark 10:45

Dr. Paul Brand told me of a memorable Frenchman named Pierre, who had served in Parliament until he became disillusioned with the slow pace of political change. During a harsh winter, many Parisian beggars froze to death. In desperation, Pierre became a friar to work among them and organize the beggars themselves.

They divided into teams to scour the city for bottles. Next, he led them to build a warehouse out of discarded bricks and start a business processing the bottles. Finally, he gave each beggar responsibility to help another poorer than himself. The project caught on. In a few years he founded the charitable organization Emmaus.

Eventually, there were few beggars to be found in Paris. So Pierre went to India. “If I don’t find people worse off than my beggars,” he said, “this movement could turn inward. They’ll become a powerful, rich organization, and the whole spiritual impact will be lost. They’ll have no one to serve.”

At a leprosy colony in India, Pierre met patients worse off than his former beggars. Returning to France, he mobilized the beggars to build a leprosy ward at a hospital in India.

“It is you who have saved us,” he told the grateful patients. “We must serve or we die.”  — Philip Yancey

THINKING IT THROUGH
In Mark 10:35-37, what did James and John seek?
What did Jesus say about the world’s authority? (v.42).
How are followers of Christ to be different? (vv.43-45).


If you want a field of service, look around you.