Our Daily Bread

Topic:Beat Again Bible in a Year: Job 5–7 Acts 8:1–25 March on, my soul; be strong! Judges 5:21 In 2012, Phillips, Craig and Dean released their song “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again.” It was inspired by the true story of a heart surgeon. After removing a patient’s heart to repair it, the surgeon returned it to the chest and …

Topic:Deep-Rooted Faith Bible in a Year: Job 3–4 Acts 7:44–60 The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. Matthew 13:23 The Holy Oak stood next to Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in New Jersey for more than six hundred years until it had to be removed. At its prime, the twisting branches spanned …

Topic:Debt Eraser Bible in a Year: Job 1–2 Acts 7:22–43 [Jesus Christ] loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Revelation 1:5 Stunned is just one word that describes the response of the crowd at the 2019 graduation ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. The commencement speaker announced that he and his family would be …

Topic:Underestimating Ourselves Bible in a Year: Esther 9–10 Acts 7:1–21 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:17 The young man became his team’s captain. The professional sports squad was now led by a mild-mannered kid …

Topic:The Man in Seat 2D Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5 Acts 5:22–42 Be rich in good deeds, and [be] generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18 Kelsey navigated the narrow airplane aisle with her eleven-month-old daughter, Lucy, and Lucy’s oxygen machine. They were traveling to seek treatment for her baby’s chronic lung disease. Shortly after settling into their …

Topic:Is God There? Bible in a Year: Esther 1–2 Acts 5:1–21 I will wait for the Lord . . . . I will put my trust in him. Isaiah 8:17 Lela was dying of cancer, and her husband, Timothy, couldn’t understand why a loving God would let his wife suffer. She had served Him faithfully as a Bible teacher and …

Topic:Life to the Full Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12–13 Acts 4:23–37 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. John 10:10–11 Seventeenth-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously wrote that human life in its natural state is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Hobbes argued that our instincts tend toward …

Topic:Straight Ahead Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 10–11 Acts 4:1–22 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord . . . , not turning aside to the right or to the left. 2 Kings 22:2 It used to take the steady eye and the firm hand of a farmer to drive a tractor or combine down straight …

Topic:Dancing Before the Lord Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7–9 Acts 3 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume?” Mark 14:4 A number of years ago, my wife and I visited a small church where during the worship service a woman began to dance in the aisle. She was soon joined by …

Topic:How to Rebuild Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 1–3 Acts 2:1–21 They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. Nehemiah 2:11–18 It was nighttime when the leader set out by horseback to inspect the work that lay ahead. As he toured the destruction all around him, he saw city walls that had been destroyed and gates …