Our Daily Bread

Topic:Chosen to Forgive Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 17–18 John 13:1–20 Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 1:76–79 As a middle-schooler, Patrick Ireland first sensed God had chosen him for something. But what? Later as a survivor of the horrific Columbine (Colorado) High School massacre where thirteen were killed and twenty-four wounded, …

Topic:Needing His Leading Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 15–16 John 12:27–50 From the ends of the earth I call to you. Psalm 61 Uncle Zaki was more than a friend to scholar Kenneth Bailey; he was his trusted guide on challenging excursions into the vast Sahara. By following Uncle Zaki, Bailey says that he and his team were demonstrating …

Topic:Easy Does It Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 13–14 John 12:1–26 It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12–18 My father and I used to fell trees and cut them to size with a two-man crosscut saw. Being young and energetic, I tried to force the …

Topic:The Maker of the Moon Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 7–9 John 11:1–29  “I will be their God and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33–37 After astronauts set the Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He was the first human to walk on …

Topic:Good Measure Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 4–6 John 10:24–42 Give, and it will be given to you. Luke 6:32–38 At a gas station one day, Staci encountered a woman who had left home without her bank card. Stranded with her baby, she was asking passersby for help. Although unemployed at the time, Staci spent $15 to put gas …

Topic:Why Me? Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 1–3 John 10:1–23 Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? Job 7:17–21 The Book of Odds says that one in a million people are struck by lightning. It also says that one in 25,000 experiences a medical condition called “broken heart syndrome” in the face …

Topic:Sweeter Than Honey Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 28–29 John 9:24–41 Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:1–2, 21–24 His topic was racial tension. Yet the speaker remained calm and collected. Standing on stage before a large audience, he spoke boldly—but with grace, humility, kindness, and even humor. Soon the …

Topic:Remembering Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 25–27 John 9:1–23 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:9–17 On Memorial Day, I think of many military veterans but especially my dad and uncles, who served in the military during World War II. They made it home, but in that war hundreds …

Topic:Talking Tables Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 22–24 John 8:28–59 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. Acts 2:42–47 Loneliness is one of the greatest threats to our sense of well-being, affecting our health through our behaviors on social media, food consumption, and the like. One study suggests that nearly two-thirds of all people—regardless of …

Topic:Keepers of the Light Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 19–21 John 8:1–27 For God . . . made his light shine in our hearts. John 8:12–16 They call them “Keepers of the Light.” At the lighthouse on the cape of Hatteras Island just off the North Carolina coast of the United States, there’s a memorial to those who’ve tended …