A Re-post From Bill Crowder of Our Daily Bread

Terrifying Moments

April 28, 2013 — by Bill Crowder

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Play MP3 (Mobile)

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Psalm 23

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. —Psalm 23:4

Bible in a Year:
1 Kings 3-5; Luke 20:1-26

When our first child was born, my wife, Marlene, was in labor for more than 30 hours, creating tremendous stress for both her and the baby. The doctor, a fill-in for her regular physician, was unfamiliar with her and her pregnancy. As a result, he waited too long to make the decision to perform an emergency Caesarean section, and the resulting trauma put our infant son in the neo-natal intensive care unit. There was nothing they could do to help our baby to overcome his trauma-induced condition.
By God’s grace, Matt recovered—but I cannot remember any moment in my life as terrifying as when I stood by his crib in intensive care. Yet I knew the Lord was near as I talked with Him through prayer.
In the terrifying moments of life (and all the other moments as well) nothing can bring comfort to the hurting heart like the reality of God’s presence and care. The psalmist David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
When fear is overwhelming, the Lord is there. His comforting presence will carry us through our deepest trials.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll—
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.” —Spafford

Peace is the presence of God.

A Re-post From Anne Cetas of Our Daily Bread

Calling You

April 27, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Play MP3 (Mobile)

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

The Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” —1 Samuel 3:6

Bible in a Year:
1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:28-48

A couple of co-workers and I had just gone through airport security and were walking to our gate when I heard my name: “Paging Anne Cetas. Paging Anne Cetas.” It’s not a common name, so we knew it had to be mine. I assumed I had absent-mindedly left something at the check-in point. I checked with an airline agent, who told me to pick up a red phone, give my name, and ask why I was being paged. I searched for a phone and called, but the operator said, “No, we didn’t page you.” I said, “It was definitely my name.” He replied twice, “No, we did not page you.” I never did find out why I had been called that day.
A young boy named Samuel heard his name being “paged” long ago (1 Sam. 3:4). The Scriptures say that he “did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him” (v.7), so the temple priest Eli had to help him understand who was calling him (vv.8-9). God then revealed His plan for Samuel’s life.
The Lord has a plan for us as well, and He calls to our hearts: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). That’s His call to us to receive the gift of His salvation, rest, and peace.
The Savior is calling us to come to Him.

Jesus calls me—I must follow,
Follow Him today;
When His tender voice is pleading,
How can I delay? —Brown

Christ calls the restless ones to find their rest in Him.

A Re-post from Jennifer Benson Schuldt of Our Daily Bread

Faithful To The Finish

April 24, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Read: Hebrews 12:1-4

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. —Hebrews 12:1

Bible in a Year:
2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 18:1-23

After running 32 kilometers (20 miles) of the Salomon Kielder Marathon in Great Britain, a runner dropped out and rode a bus to a wooded area near the finish line. Then, he re-entered the race and claimed third prize. When officials questioned him, he stated that he stopped running because he was tired.
Many of us can relate to the exhaustion of a worn-out athlete as we run the race of the Christian faith. The book of Hebrews encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (12:1). Running with endurance requires that we lay aside the sin that stands in our way and shed the weights that hold us back. We may even have to press on through persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).
To prevent weariness and discouragement in our souls (Heb. 12:3), the Bible urges us to focus on Christ. When we pay more attention to Him than to our struggles, we will notice Him running alongside us—supporting us when we stumble (2 Cor. 12:9) and encouraging us with His example (1 Peter 2:21-24). Keeping our eyes on “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2) will help us stay close to the source of our strength and remain faithful to the finish.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
—H. H. Lemmel. © Renewal 1950. H. H. Lemmel

We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.

A Re-post From David C. McCasland of Our Daily Bread

Now I See

April 23, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Play MP3 (Mobile)

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: John 14:15-27

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. —John 14:26

Bible in a Year:
2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17:20-37

Deborah Kendrick loves to attend Broadway musicals even though she is blind and always struggles to understand the setting and the movements of the characters onstage. Recently, however, she attended a play that used D-Scriptive, a new technology that conveys the visual elements of the stage production through a small FM receiver. A recorded narration, keyed to the show’s light and sound boards, describes the set and the action as it unfolds onstage. Writing in The Columbus Dispatch, Deborah said, “If you ask me if I saw a show last week in New York, my answer is yes . . . I genuinely, unequivocally mean that I saw the show.”
Her experience struck me as a vivid illustration of the Holy Spirit’s role in our understanding of God’s Word. Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers that “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
As we open the Bible to read or study, the Spirit of Truth is with us to guide us into all truth (16:13). On our own we are blind, but through the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit we can see.

Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea.
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. —Lathbury

The Father gave the Spirit to teach us from the Word.

A Re-post From Julie Ackerman Link of Our Daily Bread

Dust Art

April 22, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Play MP3 (Mobile)

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Genesis 2:1-7

The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. —Genesis 2:7

Bible in a Year:
2 Samuel 14-15; Luke 17:1-19

When God chose dust as His artistic medium to create Adam (Gen. 2:7), He didn’t have to worry about running out of material. According to Hannah Holmes, author of The Secret Life of Dust, “Between 1 and 3 billion tons of desert dust fly up into the sky annually. One billion tons would fill 14 million boxcars in a train that would wrap six times around the Earth’s equator.”
No one has to buy dust, for we all have more than we want. I ignore it as long as I can in my house. My reasoning is this: If I don’t disturb it, it’s not as noticeable. But eventually it accumulates to the point that I can no longer pretend it’s not there. So I haul out my cleaning supplies and start removing it from wherever it has found a resting place.
As I remove the dust, I see myself reflected in the smooth surface. Then I see another thing: I see that God took something worthless, dust, and made it into something priceless—you and me and every other person (Gen. 2:7).
The fact that God used dust to create humans makes me think twice about labeling someone or something worthless. Perhaps the very thing that I want to get rid of—a person or problem that annoys me—is the artistic medium God has given to display His glory.

Lord, too often I want to quickly ignore
or dismiss difficult people and circumstances.
Help me to be open to learn from
You through them and to see Your glory.

Being all fashioned of the self-same dust, let us be merciful as well as just. —Longfellow