Our Daily Bread

Topic:We Are Dust Bible in a Year: Leviticus 6–7 Matthew 25:1–30 He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:14 The young father was at the end of his rope. “Ice cream! Ice cream!” his toddler screamed. The meltdown in the middle of the crowded mall began drawing the attention of shoppers nearby. “Fine, but we just need to do something …

Topic:Raise Praise Bible in a Year: Leviticus 4–5 Matthew 24:29–51 Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Psalm 48:10 You can generally tell where a map was drawn by what lies in its middle. We tend to think our home is the center of the world, so we put a dot in the middle and sketch out from …

Topic:Does What We Do Matter? Bible in a Year: Leviticus 1–3 Matthew 24:1–28 Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 I dropped my forehead to my hand with a sigh, “I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done.” My friend’s voice crackled through the phone: “You have to give yourself …

Topic:Mercy’s Lament Bible in a Year: Exodus 39–40 Matthew 23:23–39 My heart is poured out on the ground . . . because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. Lamentations 2:11 Her father blamed his illness on witchcraft. It was AIDS. When he died, his daughter, ten-year-old Mercy, grew even closer to her mother. But her mother …

Topic:How to Stay on Track Bible in a Year: Exodus 36–38 Matthew 23:1–22 The Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. 1 John 2:27 nlt As the world’s fastest blind runner, David Brown of the U.S. Paralympic Team credits his wins to God, his mother’s early advice (“no sitting …

Topic:God-Sized Love Bible in a Year: Exodus 34–35 Matthew 22:23–46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Matthew 5:46 I once visited an impoverished neighborhood of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Homes were made of corrugated iron, with electrical wires dangling live above them. There I had the privilege of interviewing families and hearing …

Topic:A Fire Called Holy Bible in a Year: Exodus 31–33 Matthew 22:1–22 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16 After several years of drought, the wildfires of Southern California left some residents thinking of them as acts of God. This disturbing impression was reinforced when news sources began referring to one as the Holy Fire. …

Topic:Going, Going, Gone Bible in a Year: Exodus 25–26 Matthew 20:17–34 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone. Proverbs 23:5 The mischievous artist Banksy pulled off another practical joke. His painting Girl with Balloon sold for one million pounds at Sotheby’s auction house in London. Moments after the auctioneer yelled “Sold,” an alarm sounded and the painting …

Topic:Strengthening Weak Knees Bible in a Year: Exodus 23–24 Matthew 20:1–16 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way. Isaiah 35:3 When I was a kid, I thought the song title “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need,” written by Dottie Rambo in 1967, was “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Knees.” Employing the …

Topic:Life to the Full Bible in a Year: Exodus 21–22 Matthew 19 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 The year was 1918, near the end of World War I, and photographer Eric Enstrom was putting together a portfolio of his …