OUR DAILY BREAD

Bread For The Coming Day
Matthew 6:9-13

- Marvin Williams

Not long ago, I traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to lead a Bible conference. I took in the beauty of the Nyungwe Forest and Ruzizi River, which separates Congo from Rwanda. I experienced the amazing hospitality of the Congolese people, and I was moved by their sincere faith in God’s provision.

Because unemployment, poverty, and malnutrition are serious problems there, the people often don’t know where their next meal will come from. So each time they sit down to eat, they thank God and ask Him to provide the next meal.

Their prayer sounds a lot like Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” The word bread refers to any food. The phrase “this day” indicates provision that came to them one day at a time.

Many first-century workers were paid one day at a time, so a few days’ illness could spell tragedy. “Daily” could be translated “for the coming day.” The prayer would read: “Give us today our bread for the coming day.” It was an urgent prayer to those who lived from hand to mouth.

This prayer calls Jesus’ followers everywhere to recognize that our ability to work and earn our food comes from God’s hand.

Lord, thank You for our daily bread
And everything that You provide;
Increase our faith and help us see
That Your supply is deep and wide.
—Sper

Our problems are never a strain on God’s provision.

365 DAYS DEVOTIONAL READING PLAN - Day 38

The Waiting Room
Hebrew 6:13-20

Waiting might well be the hardest single thing we ever have to do. We wait in traffic. We wait in the doctor’s office (in the waiting room!). We wait to hear news—good or bad.

We’re not patient people. Most of us resemble a child at Christmastime, eagerly anticipating the time to open presents. Each hour seems like an eternity. When the designated time arrives, we can’t move fast enough to get to the Christmas tree and tear open all those tantalizingly wrapped gifts.

But try as we might, we can’t make time go any faster. Waiting is a part of our modern life. No matter how fast-paced and hectic our daily schedules may be, we still run up against times and places where we have no choice but to stop and sit or stand in line.

The Bible often connects waiting with faith. Sometimes Scripture even uses the two words interchangeably. While we might not like it, waiting serves an important role in our Christian life. The work God does within us while we wait is just as important as whatever it is we’re waiting for. Of course, none of us finds waiting easy. In fact, it might bring pain and will almost certainly try us and test us. Waiting demands patience and exacts a price. It’s the toll on the road that each of us must pay.

God promised Abraham a blessing: “I will . . . give you many descendants” (Hebrews 6:14). But to receive his blessing, Abraham had to wait—day after day, year after year. In time God did fulfill his promise. And Abraham’s waiting turned out to have been his greatest blessing; he was to become the father of the Jewish nation.

We also hear the promises of God and long for God to fulfill them. Yet we often wait. If Abraham’s story teaches us anything, it’s that God proves himself faithful again and again. As guys, we want something to do —some action to take. But sometimes our part is simply to wait, with a confident, disciplined and patient assurance that God will keep his promises. He will come through. While such times aren’t easy, in the end we can honestly reflect that “it was worth the wait.” Indeed, waiting can result in our greatest blessing.

Taken from NIV Men’s Devotional Bible

OUR DAILY BREAD

I'm With Him
Luke 23:33-43

- Cindy Hess Kasper

On my husband’s T-shirt is a cartoon of a sheep walking on two legs and addressing a wolf who is barring the sheep’s passage through a gate.

Standing by the sheep is a familiar-looking man. He has a beard, compassionate eyes, and a look of authority. The sheep speaks to the wolf as he gestures toward the man and says, “I’m with Him.” The sheep’s trust in his Shepherd gives him great confidence.

On the day Jesus died, three crosses were raised. Jesus hung on the center one between two criminals. One of the men mocked Jesus, but the other said to Him, “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus answered, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). Imagine the man’s thoughts as he took his last breath. He had paid a horrible penalty for his crimes. But now, because he put his faith in Jesus, he was welcomed into heaven as a child of God. Perhaps he said with confidence, “I know I don’t deserve to be here, but I’m with Him!” gesturing toward Jesus. And Jesus would have confirmed it: “He’s with Me.”

Like the thief on the cross, we all face a choice. Have you made the decision to trust Jesus? Can you say with confidence, “I’m with Him”?

We are with Him and He with us;
Great confidence this gives
To face life’s trials and even death
Because our Savior lives.
—D. De Haan

Facing death with confidence comes from trusting Christ.

365 DAYS DEVOTIONAL READING PLAN - Day 37

Eternal Hope
Isaiah 40:31

For nearly half of my adult life, I was a video producer, meaning that I traveled around the world capturing video for Bible study curriculum. My crew and I shot in such places as Trafalgar Square in London, Hiroshima in Japan, the pyramids in Egypt and Masada in Israel, among others. Dream job, right? I loved my job, and I loved the people with whom I worked, but one day I woke up, and that job was gone. Suddenly I found myself trying to decide what to do next.

I had spent many years confident that I was square in the middle of God’s will for my life, but then, in the blink of an eye, I wasn’t sure anymore. I felt confused but never alone. God quickly began to teach me to trust in him and lean on him with a whole new urgency. He continually drew me to his Word and set me on a new path. Here’s the deal though: I still don’t know exactly what that path is, so I’m learning to trust him each day. Sometimes it’s hard to wait. Truth be told, some days I don’t want to get out of bed. Hopelessness creeps in. It’s in those times that God gives me an extra measure of hope through friends, strangers, circumstances and his Word. So I wait patiently for his plan for my life to unfold. I’m excited to see what he will do next.

I don’t know your circumstance, but if you find yourself in a place similar to the one I’m in — uncertain about the future — please know that the same God who is there for me every single day is there for you too. Allow him to be your hope.

Debbie Beavers

Taken from Fulfilled

OUR DAILY BREAD

No Record Of Our Sins
Psalm 130

- David Roper

Out of the depths” the psalmist cries to God (Ps. 130:1). His problem surfaces: terrible guilt for things done and undone in the past. “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (v.3).

But, thankfully, God forgives. He does not keep an account of past sins, no matter how many or how grievous they have been. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). God’s forgiveness then leads us to fear Him (Ps. 130:4). We worship and adore God, for grace and forgiveness cause us to love Him all the more.

But what happens if we slide back into old sins? What if sin lingers? We are to repent and “wait for the Lord” and be patient while God works (vv.5-6). We are not hopeless cases. We can “hope” in the One who will deliver us in His time.

We now have these two assurances: God’s unfailing love— He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). And God’s promise of full redemption in due time—He will redeem us from all our iniquities (Ps. 130:8) and present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 24).

We’re forgiven! We’re free! With the psalmist, let’s worship the Lord as we await His coming.

How blest is he whose trespass
Has freely been forgiven,
Whose sin is wholly covered
Before the sight of heaven.
—Psalter

When we’re forgiven, no record is kept of our failures.

365 DAYS DEVOTIONAL READING PLAN - Day 36

Victory Cry
Joshua 6:20

Picture yourself at your niece’s final soccer game of the season. If they win, they will be in the playoffs. The team has been behind the entire game, and they look exhausted. But just in the last few minutes they’ve tied the score. Now the seconds are ticking away. The game is almost over. The parents are white-knuckled. The fans are holding their breath. Your niece makes a great move and takes the ball down the field. You’re shouting at the top of your lungs, “Go, go!” She makes an incredible pass across the field. You know this is it . . . just one goal away from victory.

The Israelites had waited 40 years to shout the victory cry. Now they’re at the goal. For six days they had followed God’s commands and had marched silently around Jericho, with only the sounds of trumpets blown by the priests. Now it was the seventh day. Imagine the suspense . . . would God himself appear to tear down the walls? Would the inhabitants of Jericho surrender without a fight? Would the Israelites make the right play? Then God gave the go-ahead: Sound the trumpets; shout for victory, and the walls of the city will collapse. Just as God promised, “the trumpets sounded, the army shouted,” and victory was theirs. The Israelites conquered the city of Jericho, finally claiming their rightful place in the promised land.

The Israelites must have felt so relieved to claim a victory after so many years of waiting and preparing. Can you relate? Have you been feeling that you are in a holding pattern, that your circumstances are not changing? Do you long to have resolution, to have even a small victory? God is working even while you are waiting. Think of this time of waiting as a process that will eventually culminate in a victory. In the meantime, remain faithful and know that God is there with you, preparing you for the battles, goals and victories to come.

Taken from NIV Women’s Devotional Bible

OUR DAILY BREAD

Giving God Our Best
1 Chronicles 22

- Julie Ackerman Link

We had rehearsed the song for several weeks, and it sounded good. But there was one tricky section that we just couldn’t get right. We were ready to call it good enough. Our choir director seemed to agree. He too was weary of rehearsing the same few measures over and over.

Finally he said, “We’ve worked hard on this. You’re tired. I’m tired. We’re running short on time. And 99 percent of the people won’t know whether or not we sing it right.” As we started to put away our music, he continued, “But we’re going to sing it right for the 1 percent who know the difference.” We groaned as we reopened our music to the rumpled page.

On Sunday morning when we sang it right, few people knew. But that didn’t matter. What really mattered was that we were singing from our heart for an audience of One—One who deserves excellent praise. King David wanted an “exceedingly magnificent” house built for the Lord (1 Chron. 22:5). So before he died, he made sure his son Solomon had everything he needed to build the temple—an abundance of gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, stone, and skilled craftsmen (vv.14-15).

Whatever we do, our audience of One deserves our very best.

O worship the King,
All glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His power and His love.
—Grant

When we worship God, only our best is good enough.