A Re-post from David C. Egner of Our Daily Bread

Play In Pain

June 19, 2013 — by David C. Egner

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Lamentations 3:1-3, 25-33

Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion. —Lamentations 3:32

Bible in a Year:
Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37

Baseball Hall-of-Fame catcher Gary Carter was a follower of Jesus. During his 19-year career, he drew strength and endurance from his faith in God to compete day after day. In an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal shortly after Carter died of brain cancer at age 57, writer Andrew Klavan told how Carter had influenced his life.
In the late 1980s, Klavan had sunk to a low point in his life. His mind dwelt on suicide. Then he heard Carter interviewed after a game. His team, the New York Mets, had won, and the aging catcher had helped by running hard at a critical point in the game. Carter was asked how he could do that with his aching knees. Klavan heard him say something like this: “Sometimes you just have to play in pain.” That simple statement helped draw Klavan out of his depression. “I can do that!” he declared. Encouraged, he found hope—and later became a believer in Christ.
The comforting truth behind Carter’s statement comes from Lamentations. We may face sorrow, pain, and hardship, but we don’t have to sink into self-pity. The same God who allows our suffering also showers us with His compassion (Lam. 3:32). With God’s love lifting us up, we can—if we have to—“play” in pain.

Along life’s pathway troubles come
That God will help us bear;
Then we can look beyond the pain
To those who need our care. —Branon

God will either spare you from suffering or give you the grace to bear it.

A Re-post From Marvin Williams of Our Daily Bread

Every Word Matters

June 18, 2013 — by Marvin Williams

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Read: Deuteronomy 4:1-10

You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God. —Deuteronomy 4:2

Bible in a Year:
Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22

Kim Peek was a savant (a person with extraordinary memory) who memorized all of Shakespeare’s plays. During a performance of Twelfth Night, Peek noticed that the actor had skipped a word from one of the lines. Peek suddenly stood up and shouted, “Stop!” The actor apologized and said he didn’t think anyone would mind. Peek replied, “Shakespeare would.”
Words matter. But especially when they are the very words of God. Moses warned Israel, “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God” (Deut. 4:2). Moses often reminded Israel of God’s mercy and faithfulness to them in the past. But he also stressed the importance of obedience to God’s commands as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. He told them that obedience would result in blessings of life and a rich inheritance (vv.39-40). Every command and regulation mattered to God. The value His people placed on God’s Word showed their view of Him.
Today, when we value God’s Word, handle it with great care, and obey what it says, we give God the reverence He truly deserves.

The Bible stands, and it will forever
When the world has passed away;
By inspiration it has been given—
All its precepts I will obey. —Lillenas

God’s Word needs no additions or subtractions.

A Re-post From Dennis Fisher of Our Daily Bread

Imaginary Friend?

June 14, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher

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Read: Romans 1:18-25

Abraham believed God . . . and he was called the friend of God. —James 2:23

Bible in a Year:
Ezra 9-10; Acts 1

Not long ago, I heard about this billboard along the highway: “God is an imaginary friend—choose reality. It will be better for all of us.”
Obviously, the bold statement compares Christians to children whose vivid imaginations invent a make-believe companion. But is that what God is—an imaginary friend?
Actually, the evidence favors His reality. Ponder these ideas: The creation of the world shows there is a Designer behind the universe (Rom. 1:18-20). The conscience indicates a Lawgiver behind each human’s sense of right and wrong (Rom. 2:14-15). The creativity we express in music and art reflect the same attribute that the Creator possesses (Ex. 35:31-32). Christ reveals what God is like in human form (Heb. 1:1-4). And the communion or fellowship of the Spirit in the Christian heart manifests the reality of God (Gal. 5:22-23).
The Bible tells us there will be those who deny the reality of God (2 Peter 3:4-6). But James reminds us of His reality and how an Old Testament believer befriended Him: “‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23). Have you met the redeeming God? He gave His Son to become your real, eternal Friend (John 15:15).

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him. —Small

The dearest friend on earth is but a mere shadow compared to Jesus. —Chambers

A Re-post Form C. P. Hia of Our Daily Bread

Stay Connected

June 13, 2013 — by C. P. Hia

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Read: Psalm 119:33-40

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105

Bible in a Year:
Ezra 6-8; John 21

I woke up one morning and discovered that my Internet connection was not working. My service provider conducted some tests and concluded that my modem needed to be replaced, but the earliest they could do so was the next day. I panicked a little when I thought about being without the Internet connection for 24 hours! I thought, How am I going to survive without it?
Then I asked myself, Would I also panic if my connection with God was disrupted for a day? We keep our connection with God alive by spending time in His Word and in prayer. Then we are to be “doers of the Word” (James 1:22-24).
The writer of Psalm 119 recognized the importance of a connection to God. He asked God to teach him His statutes and give him understanding of His law (vv.33-34). Then he prayed that he would observe it with his whole heart (v.34), walk in the path of God’s commandments (v.35), and turn away his eyes from looking at worthless things (v.37). By meditating on God’s Word and then applying it, the psalmist stayed “connected” to God.
God has given us His Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path to lead us to Him.

May the mind of Christ my Savior
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say. —Wilkinson

To recharge your spiritual battery, plug into the Source.

A Re-post From Anne Cetas of Our Daily Bread

Where Did I Come From?

June 8, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

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Read: Acts 17:22-31

[God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. —Acts 17:26

Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 30-31; John 18:1-18

My 7-year-old African-American friend Tobias asked me a thought-provoking question the other day: “Since Adam and Eve were white, where did black people come from?” When I told him we don’t know what “color” they were and asked him why he thought they were white, he said that’s what he always saw in Bible-story books at church and in the library. My heart sank. I wondered if that might make him think he was inferior or possibly not even created by the Lord.
All people have their roots in the Creator God, and therefore all are equal. That’s what the apostle Paul told the Athenians: “[God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). We are all “from one blood.” Darrell Bock, in his commentary on the book of Acts, says, “This affirmation would be hard for the Athenians, who prided themselves in being a superior people, calling others barbarians.” However, because we all descended from our first parents, Adam and Eve, no race nor ethnicity is superior or inferior to another.
We stand in awe of our Creator, who made us and gives to all “life, breath, and all things” (v.25). Equal in God’s sight, we together praise and honor Him.

Every life has been created—
God’s handiwork displayed;
When we cherish His creation,
We value what He’s made. —Sper

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.

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

Show And Tell

June 2, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Read: John 13:5-17

I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. —John 13:15

Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 17-18; John 13:1-20

If you take a course on writing or attend a writer’s conference, you’ll likely hear the phrase, “Show, don’t tell.” In other words, “show” your readers what is happening, don’t just tell them. Don’t tell readers what you did; describe doing it.
One of the reasons we tend to tell rather than show is that it’s easier and faster. Showing how to do something requires time and effort. In teaching, it’s easier to tell students what’s wrong with what they did than to show them how to do it right. The latter, however, is more effective.
For thousands of years, the Jewish people had only the law telling them what to do and what not to do. But then came Jesus Christ, who showed them how to live the life God had been telling them about all along. Jesus didn’t just say, “Be humble”; He “humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8). He didn’t just say, “Forgive others”; He forgave us (Col. 3:13). He didn’t just say, “Love God and your neighbors”; He demonstrated love by His actions (John 15:12).
Christ’s perfect example of love shows how great God’s love is for us and how we are to show His love to others.

Bless the Lord for love victorious,
Love that conquered on the tree;
For His grace so great and glorious
Flowing out from Calvary. —Peterson

Love is God’s will in action.

A Re-post From Bill Crowder of Our Daily Bread

I’m Bored

June 1, 2013 — by Bill Crowder

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Read: John 10:7-14

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. —John 10:10

Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 15-16; John 12:27-50

When our kids were teens, we repeatedly had the following discussion after their church youth group meeting: I asked, “How was youth group tonight?” And they responded, “It was boring.” After several weeks of this, I decided to find out for myself. I slipped into the gym where their meeting was held, and I watched. I saw them participating, laughing, listening—having a great time. That night on the way home I asked about their evening and, once again, they said, “It was boring.” I responded, “I was there. I watched. You had a great time!” They responded, “Maybe it wasn’t as bad as usual.”
I recognized that behind their reluctance to admit they were enjoying youth group were things such as peer pressure and a fear of not appearing “cool.” But then I wondered, Am I similarly afraid to get too excited about spiritual things?
Indeed, there is nothing in this universe more worthy of our enthusiasm than who Christ is and what He did for us. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). That’s the opposite of boring! At any age, we have a gift from the Savior that is worth celebrating. Our salvation is something to get excited about!

Father, please fill my heart with the joy of Christ.
I desire that the abundant life I have found
in Him might contagiously reach
out to others around me.

If you know Christ, you always have a reason to celebrate.