Giving All - OUR DAILY BREAD

Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. —Romans 12:1

During his only inaugural address as the US President, John F. Kennedy issued this challenge to Americans: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” It was a renewed call for citizens to surrender their lives in sacrifice and service to others. His words especially inspired the sons and daughters of men and women who had served their country in war.

His meaning was clear: What their parents purchased, often with their very lives, must now be protected by peaceful means. An army of volunteers arose to answer that call, and through the decades they have accomplished an immeasurable amount of humanitarian work around the globe.

Centuries earlier, the apostle Paul issued a similar call to Christians in the opening verses of Romans 12. Here he urges us to give our bodies as “living sacrifices” in service to the One who paid with His life for our sins. This spiritual sacrifice must be more than mere words; it must be an investment of our lives in the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of others.

Best of all, our serving can be done right where we are.

Father, show me this day the many ways my life can be surrendered to You, and then give me the strength to begin to act.

Don’t always ask Jesus what He can do for you; ask Jesus what you can do for Him.

Love and Light - OUR DAILY BREAD

The land which you cross over to possess is a land . . . for which the Lord your God cares. —Deuteronomy. 11:11-12

Friends are starting to plan their summer vegetable gardens. Some get an early start by planting seeds indoors where they can control the conditions and provide the best environment for sprouting. After the danger of frost has passed, they will transplant the seedlings outdoors. Once the garden is planted, the work of weeding, feeding, watering, and guarding against rodents and insects begins. Producing food is a lot of work.

Moses reminded the Israelites of this before they entered the promised land. While living in Egypt, they had to do the hard work of irrigating crops by hand (Deut. 11:10), but in the place where God was taking them He promised to ease their work by sending spring and autumn rains: “I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains” (v.14 niv). The only condition was that they “faithfully obey the commands” He gave them—“to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (v.13 niv). The Lord was taking His people to a place where their obedience and His blessing would make them a light to those around them.

God wants the same for us and from us: He wants our love to be displayed in our obedience so that we might be His light to people around us. The love and obedience we have to offer, though, is far less than He deserves. But He is our provider, blessing us and enabling us to be a light that the world will notice.

Loving God doesn’t make life effortless, but having His strength makes it easier.

The Book Behind The Story - OUR DAILY BREAD

Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart. —Psalm 119:111

Millions of people around the world have seen Gone with the Wind, which premiered in the United States on December 15, 1939. It won 10 Academy Awards and remains one of Hollywood’s most commercially successful films. It was based on Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, which sold one million copies within 6 months, received a Pulitzer Prize, and has been translated into more than 40 languages. An epic movie often has its source in a powerful and timeless book.

The book that’s the basis for the Christian faith is the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, it is infused with God’s plan for His creation, including us. Psalm 119 celebrates the power and necessity of God’s Word in our lives. It lights our path (v.105), revives our souls (v.107), and guards our steps (v.110). Through the Scriptures we find wisdom, guidance, life, and joy. “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (v.111).

Jesus our Lord calls us to base our lives on His Word and share the joy of knowing Him with people who are longing to find life. “I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end” (v.112).

What a book! What a Savior!

Dear Lord, Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep Your decrees to the very end.

The Bible, God’s eternal truth, can be trusted today.

Giving All - OUR DAILY BREAD

Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. —Romans 12:1

During his only inaugural address as the US President, John F. Kennedy issued this challenge to Americans: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” It was a renewed call for citizens to surrender their lives in sacrifice and service to others. His words especially inspired the sons and daughters of men and women who had served their country in war.

His meaning was clear: What their parents purchased, often with their very lives, must now be protected by peaceful means. An army of volunteers arose to answer that call, and through the decades they have accomplished an immeasurable amount of humanitarian work around the globe.

Centuries earlier, the apostle Paul issued a similar call to Christians in the opening verses of Romans 12. Here he urges us to give our bodies as “living sacrifices” in service to the One who paid with His life for our sins. This spiritual sacrifice must be more than mere words; it must be an investment of our lives in the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of others.

Best of all, our serving can be done right where we are.

Father, show me this day the many ways my life can be surrendered to You, and then give me the strength to begin to act.

Don’t always ask Jesus what He can do for you; ask Jesus what you can do for Him.

Hope Lives - OUR DAILY BREAD

Your faith, being much more precious than gold . . . may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:7

When unspeakable tragedy shatters people’s lives, they search for answers. Recently, a mother who had lost a teenager said to me, “I can’t figure it out. I don’t know if I can believe anymore. I try, but God doesn’t make sense to me. What does it all mean?” There are no easy answers to such big concerns. But for those who have trusted Christ, there is hope—whether we are basking in blessings or grinding through grief.

Peter spells this out in his first letter. In glowing terms, he praises God for our “new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3 niv) through our salvation. That hope can bring joy even in the middle of tragedy. He also assures us of the permanence of this hope (v.4). He then tells us of the heart-breaking reality that we may “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (v.6 niv). Those who have suffered loss turn hopeful hearts toward Peter’s next words: These come so that “your faith . . . may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (v.7).

Trials—seemingly random and inexplicable—can be seen differently in the light of these words. In the midst of tragedy, the power and beauty of our salvation can shine through because of our great Savior. And that may be just enough light to get a troubled person through another day.

Lord, You assure us that the grand salvation You provided is proved genuine in our pain and that it leads to glory for You. Help us to begin each new day with renewed hope in You.

The light of salvation shines clearly even in the darkest night.

Now Go! - OUR DAILY BREAD

Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. —Exodus 4:12 (niv)

More than 10,000 evangelists and Christian leaders sat in a giant auditorium in Amsterdam in 1986 listening to world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham. I sat among them, listening as he narrated some of his experiences. Then, to my surprise, he said, “Let me tell you: every time I stand before the congregation of God’s people to preach, I tremble and my knees wobble!”

What! I wondered. How can such a great preacher who has enthralled millions with his powerful sermons exhibit trembling and wobbling knees? Then he went on to describe not fear and stage fright, but intense humility and meekness as he felt inadequate for the daunting task to which God had called him. He relied on God for strength, not on his own eloquence.

Moses felt inadequate when God sent him to deliver the enslaved Israelites from their 400-year captivity in Egypt. Moses pleaded with the Lord to send someone else, with the excuse that he had never been a good speaker (see Ex. 4:10,13).

We may have similar fears when God calls us to do something for Him. But His encouragement to Moses can also spur us on: “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (v.12 niv).

As Billy Graham said that day, “When God calls you, do not be afraid of trembling and wobbling knees, for He will be with you!”

What task does God have for you to do today? Depend on Him by asking for His help.

Wherever God sends us, He comes alongside us.

A Happy Ending - OUR DAILY BREAD

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32

A friend told me about the time he was watching football on TV as his young daughter played nearby. Angered by his team’s bad play, he grabbed the closest thing and threw it down. His little girl’s favorite toy was shattered, along with her heart. My friend immediately embraced his daughter and apologized. He replaced the toy and thought all was well. But he didn’t know how much his fury had frightened his 4-year-old, and she didn’t know the depth of her pain. In time, however, forgiveness came.

Years later he sent an identical toy to his daughter when she was expecting a baby. She posted a photo of the toy on Facebook with the words, “This gift has a very long story going back to my childhood. It wasn’t a happy story then, but it has a happy ending now! Redemption is a beautiful thing. Thanks, Grandpa!”

The Bible urges us to avoid angry outbursts by putting on the new self, “which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). And if we are the victim of anger, God asks us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (v.32).

Restored relationships are not easy, but they are possible by the grace of God.

Lord, my temper can sometimes run hot. Grant me the grace to stop and think before I act or speak and the grace to apologize when I’ve hurt someone. Thank You for the gift of forgiveness.

Repentance and forgiveness are the glue that can repair a broken relationship.

We're Community - OUR DAILY BREAD

[The Lord] gave some . . . for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. —Ephesians 4:11-12

A pastor’s wife was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. That put the family in a difficult, stressful situation. The pastor wondered how he was going to be able to take good care of her while he still had responsibilities for his church family. But he needn’t have worried because church members stepped up and volunteered to assist him with meals and some of her care.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about the purpose for which the Lord gave them their spiritual gifts. Before he listed the diversity of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, he reminded them that “a spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (v.7 nlt). God does not give His spiritual gifts for our own selfish use but to serve others, and in so doing, we serve Him.

We are all given different gifts to be used at different times and in different ways. But they are all to be used in love for the “edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). Wherever God has placed us, we can use what He has gifted us to do as we see the need, remembering that we are all part of the church—the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13-14).

Thank You, Father, for the wonderful gifts You have given Your church. Help me to understand how You have gifted me to encourage other believers, and to spread the message of Your love to the world.

Use your gifts to exercise care for others.

The Best Fishing Holes - OUR DAILY BREAD

He was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words. —2 Corinthians 12:4

My friend Gus passed away a few months ago. Gus was a fellow trout fisherman. Weekends usually found him in his little boat on a nearby lake, casting for fish. I got a letter from his daughter Heidi the other day. She told me she’s been talking about heaven with her grandkids since Gus went to his home in heaven. Her 6-year-old grandson, who also loves to fish, explained what heaven is like and what Great-Grandpa Gus is doing: “It’s really beautiful,” he mused, “and Jesus is showing Grandpa Gus where the best fishing holes are.”

When Paul reported his God-given vision of heaven, words failed him. He said, “I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words” (2 Cor. 12:4 nlt). Words cannot convey the facts of heaven—perhaps because we humans are unable to comprehend them.

While we might gain some comfort from knowing more details about heaven, it is not the knowledge of heaven that assures us; it is our knowledge of God Himself. Because I know Him and I know how good He is, I can leave this life and everything in it with utter confidence that heaven will be beautiful and Jesus will show me “where the best fishing holes are”—because that’s the kind of God He is!

Let us beg and pray Him day by day to reveal Himself to our souls more fully, to quicken our sense, to give us sight and hearing, taste and touch of the world to come. —John Henry Newman

Nothing on earth compares to being with Christ in heaven.

Too Much For Me - OUR DAILY BREAD

O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. —Matthew 26:39

“God never gives us more than we can handle,” someone said to a father whose 5-year-old son had just lost his battle with cancer. These words, which were intended to encourage him, instead depressed him and caused him to wonder why he wasn’t “handling” the loss of his boy at all. The pain was so much to bear that he could hardly even breathe. He knew his grief was too much for him and that he desperately needed God to hold him tight.

The verse that some use to support the statement “God never gives us more than we can handle” is 1 Corinthians 10:13, “When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (niv). But the context of these words is temptation, not suffering. We can choose the way out of temptation that God provides, but we can’t choose a way out of suffering.

Jesus Himself wanted a way out of His upcoming suffering when He prayed, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. . . . O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt. 26:38-39). Yet He willingly went through this for our salvation.

When life seems too much to bear, that’s when we throw ourselves on God’s mercy, and He holds on to us.

Father, I feel vulnerable and weak. I know You are my refuge and strength, my help in trouble. I call upon Your name, Lord. Hold on to me.

Come To Me - OUR DAILY BREAD

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. —John 20:29

Charlotte Elliott wrote the hymn “Just As I Am” in 1834. She had been an invalid for many years, and though she wanted to help with a fund-raiser for a girl’s school, she was too ill. She felt useless, and this inner distress caused her to begin doubting her faith in Christ. She wrote “Just As I Am” as a response to her doubt. The crux of her distress is perhaps best expressed in these words:

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come!

Three days after His death and burial, Jesus rose from the grave and invited the disciple whom history has nicknamed “Doubting Thomas” to examine the marks of His crucifixion (John 20:27). When Thomas touched Jesus’ wounds, he finally believed in the resurrection. Christ responded, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v.29).

As Christians today, we are the ones who have not seen but still believe. Yet at times our earthly circumstances create serious questions in our souls. Even then, we cry out: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Jesus welcomes us to come to Him just as we are.

Dear Jesus, help me to trust You when life doesn’t make sense. Please take my doubt and replace it with fresh faith in You.

The risen Christ opens the door for you to have fullness of life.

Pain With a Purpose -OUR DAILY BREAD

[Jesus said,] “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” —John 16:22

I asked several friends what their most difficult, painful experience in life had been. Their answers included war, divorce, surgery, and the loss of a loved one. My wife’s reply was, “The birth of our first child.” It was a long and difficult labor in a lonely army hospital. But looking back, she said she considers it joyful “because the pain had a big purpose.”

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers they were about to go through a time of great pain and sorrow. The Lord compared their coming experience to that of a woman during childbirth when her anguish turns to joy after her child is born (John 16:20-21). “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (v.22).

Sorrow comes to us all along the road of life. But Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2), purchased forgiveness and freedom for all who open their hearts to Him. His painful sacrifice accomplished God’s eternal purpose of opening the way to friendship and fellowship with Him.

The joy of our Savior outweighed His suffering, just as the joy He gives us overshadows all our pain.

Dear Father, Your precious Son Jesus chose suffering for me. Thank You for His sacrifice on my behalf. Thank You that even my pain can be a tool in Your hands to make me more like Your Son.

Suffering can be like a magnet that draws the Christian close to Christ.

Foley Artists - OUR DAILY BREAD

Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. —2 Corinthians 11:14

Crunch. Crunch. Whoosh! In the early days of film, Foley artists created sounds to support the story’s action. Squeezing a leather pouch filled with cornstarch made the sound of snow crunching, shaking a pair of gloves sounded like bird wings flapping, and waving a thin stick made a whoosh sound. To make movies as realistic as possible, these artists used creative techniques to replicate sounds.

Like sounds, messages can be replicated. One of Satan’s most frequently used techniques is that of replicating messages in spiritually dangerous ways. Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” Paul is warning us about false teachers who turn our attention away from Jesus Christ and the message of His grace.

Jesus said that one purpose of the Holy Spirit living in us is that “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). With the help and guidance of the Spirit, we can find the safety of truth in a world of counterfeit messages.

We need You, Holy Spirit, to help us discern truth from error. We can be easily deceived by others or even by our own hearts. May we be open to learn from You and not be led astray.

The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Teacher.

A Good Name - OUR DAILY BREAD

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. —Proverbs 22:1

Charles Ponzi’s name will be forever associated with the financial fraud scheme he elevated to a way of life. After some minor financial crimes and brief times in jail, in early 1920 he began offering investors a 50 percent return on their money in 45 days and a 100 percent return in 90 days. Although it seemed too good to be true, the money poured in. Ponzi used money from new investors to pay prior investors and fund his lavish lifestyle. By the time his fraud was discovered in August 1920, investors had lost 20 million dollars and five banks had failed. Ponzi spent 3 years in prison, was later deported to Italy, and died penniless in 1949 at the age of 66.

The Old Testament book of Proverbs frequently contrasts the reputations of wise and foolish people: “The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. . . . He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known” (Prov. 10:7,9). Solomon sums it up by saying, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold” (22:1).

We seek a good name, not to honor ourselves but to glorify Christ our Lord whose name is above all names.

Lord, You know what is best, and You desire to lead us in paths that are right and good. Give us the courage to trust and to follow You in the way of right living for Your name’s sake.

A good name honors our great God.

Experienced with 3D background!

Start With Me -OUR DAILY BREAD

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 

| Bible in a Year:Numbers 34-36; Mark 9:30-50

I call them Mell Notes—little comments my daughter Melissa made in her Bible to help her apply a passage to her life.

In Matthew 7, for instance, she had drawn a box around verses 1 and 2 that talk about not judging others because, when you do, “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Next to it she wrote this Mell Note: “Look at what you are doing before you look at others.”

Melissa was an “others-oriented” teen. She lived the words of Philippians 2:4. Her classmate Matt, who knew her from church nursery through her final days in the eleventh grade when she died in a car accident, said of Melissa at her memorial service: “I don’t think I ever saw you without a smile or something that brightened up people’s days.” Her friend Tara said this: “Thanks for being my friend, even when no one else was as nice and cheerful as you.”

In a day in which harsh judgment of others seems to be the rule, it’s good to remember that love starts with us. The words of Paul come to mind: “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).

What a difference we’ll make if, when we look at others, we say, “Love starts with me.” And wouldn’t that be a great reflection of God’s love for us?

Lord, thank You for the great love You lavished on us when You sent Your Son to die and be resurrected so that we could be with You eternally. In response, help us to love others. Lord, we want to be like You.

Embracing God’s love for us is the key to loving others.

Mirror, Mirror...-OUR DAILY BREAD

Read: James 1:19-27 | 

Bible in a Year:Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22

How often do you see your reflection in a mirror? Some studies say that the average person looks in a mirror 8 to 10 times a day. Other surveys say it could be as many as 60 to 70 times a day, if glancing at our reflection in store windows and smart phone screens is included.

Why do we look so often? Most experts agree that it’s to check our appearance, especially before meetings or social gatherings. If something is amiss, we want to fix it. Why look if we don’t plan to change what’s wrong?

The apostle James said that reading or hearing God’s Word without acting on it is like looking in a mirror and forgetting what we’ve seen (1:22-24). But the better alternative is to look closely and act on what we see. James said, “He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (v.25).

If we hear God’s Word without taking action, we fool only ourselves (v.22). But when we examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and obey His instructions, God liberates us from all that keeps us from looking more and more like Him each day.

Thank You, Lord, for the Bible, Your Word to us.
Give us wisdom and guidance as we
read its pages. Make us sensitive to Your
voice and give us hearts to obey.

The Bible is a mirror that lets us see ourselves as God sees us.

What Money Can't Buy - OUR DAILY BREAD

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14 | 

Bible in a Year:Exodus 34-35; Matthew 22:23-46

“There are some things money can’t buy—but these days, not many” according to Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can’t Buy. A person can buy a prison-cell upgrade for $90 a night, the right to shoot an endangered black rhino for $250,000, and your doctor’s cell phone number for $1,500. It seems that “almost everything is up for sale.”

But one thing money can’t buy isredemption—freedom from the stranglehold of sin. When the apostle Paul began writing about the rich nature of God’s plan of salvation through Jesus, his heart erupted in praise: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us” (Eph. 1:7-8).

Jesus’ death on the cross was the high cost of delivering us from sin. And only He could pay that price because He was the perfect Son of God. The natural response to such free but costly grace is spontaneous praise from our hearts and commitment to the God who bought us through Jesus (1:13-14).

Praise to our loving God—He has come to set us free!

What amazing love You have for us, heavenly Father!
That You gave Your Son who willingly
died in our place. It seems too good
to be true. Thank You!

Only Jesus’ death could purchase our freedom.

Blended Together - OUR DAILY BREAD

Blended Together

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. —Ephesians 2:10

My wife, Janet, bought me a new Dreadnought D-35 guitar for my 65th birthday. Originally developed in the early 1900s, the Dreadnought style is larger than most guitars designed during that time, and it’s known for its bold and loud tone. It was named after the large World War I British battleship the HMS Dreadnought. The back of the D-35 is unique. Because of the shortage of wide pieces of high quality rosewood, the craftsmen innovatively fit three smaller pieces of wood together, which resulted in a richer tone.Read: Ephesians 4:5-16 | Bible in a Year:Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22

God’s workmanship is a lot like that innovative guitar design. Jesus takes fragments and blends them together to bring Him praise. He recruited tax collectors, Jewish revolutionaries, fishermen, and others to be His followers. And down through the centuries Christ continues to call out people from varied walks of life. The apostle Paul tells us, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Eph. 4:16nlt).

In the Master’s hand many kinds of people are fit together and are being built into something with great potential for praise to God and service for others.

Thank You, Lord, that you have placed us
in Your family—that You are using us
individually and together to bring You
honor. Help us to live in Your power.

We can accomplish more together than we can alone.

Closing Door -OUR DAILY BREAD

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2 |

 Bible in a Year:Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

Beep, beep, beep, beep. The warning sound and flashing lights alerted commuters that the train door was about to close. Yet a few tardy individuals still made a frenzied scramble across the platform and onto the train. The door closed on one of them. Thankfully, it rebounded and the passenger boarded the train safely. I wondered why people took such risks when the next train would arrive in a mere 4 minutes.

There is a far more important door that we must enter before it closes. It is the door of God’s mercy. The apostle Paul tells us, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Christ has come, died for our sins, and has risen from the grave. He has opened the way for us to be reconciled to God and has proclaimed for us the day of salvation.

Today is that day. But one day the door of mercy will close. To those who received and served Christ, He will say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you” (Matt. 25:34). But those who don’t know Him will be turned away (v.46).

Our response to Jesus Christ determines our destiny. Today Jesus invites, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9).

Today Thy gate is open,
And all who enter in
Shall find a Father’s welcome,
And pardon for their sin. —Allen

There’s no better day than today to enter into God’s family.