Our Daily Bread

Topic:Only a Gypsy Boy Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21 You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. 1 Peter 2:9 “Oh, it’s only a gypsy boy,” someone whispered with disgust when Rodney Smith walked to the front of the chapel to receive Christ during a service in 1877. Nobody thought much …

Topic:Destroying the Shroud Bible in a Year: Ezra 3–5; John 20 [God] will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples. Isaiah 25:7 A brutal car wreck devastated Mary Ann Franco. Though she survived, the injuries left her completely blind. “All I could see was blackness,” Franco explained. Twenty-one years later, she injured her back in a fall. After waking from …

Topic:Abby’s Prayer Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 32–33; John 18:19–40 I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1 When Abby was a sophomore in high school, she and her mom heard a news story about a young man who’d been critically injured in a plane accident—an accident that …

Topic:Don’t Miss the Chance Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 28–29; John 17 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1 “Don’t ever miss the chance to show your babies the moon!” she said. Before our mid-week prayer service began, a group of us talked about the previous night’s harvest moon. …

Topic:More Than Just Waiting Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 16–18; Luke 22:47–71 [Jesus] gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Acts 1:4 Police charged a woman with reckless driving after she drove off the street and onto the sidewalk and back because she …

Topic:Praying the Distance Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 12–13; Luke 22:1–20 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2 Kevin wiped a tear from his eye as he held out a slip of paper for my wife, Cari, to read. He knew Cari and I were praying for our daughter to return to faith in Jesus. “This …

Topic:Understanding Life’s Trials Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 6–7; Luke 20:27–47 To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13 My friend’s father received the dreaded diagnosis: cancer. Yet, during the chemo treatment process, he became a believer in Jesus and his disease eventually went into remission. He was cancer free for a wonderful eighteen …

Topic:What God Sees Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 23–24; Luke 19:1–27 The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 Early in the morning, I quietly pad past a family-room window overlooking a wilderness area behind our house. Often, I notice a hawk or owl perched …

Topic:Unexpected Winners Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 10–12; Luke 9:37–62 Many who are first will be last. Matthew 19:17-30 Perhaps the most preposterous, spellbinding moment in the 2018 Winter Olympics was when the Czech Republic’s world champion snowboarder Ester Ledecka won an event in a completely different sport: skiing! And she took the first-place gold medal even though she …

Topic:Unexpected Winners Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 10–12; Luke 9:37–62 Many who are first will be last. Matthew 19:30 Perhaps the most preposterous, spellbinding moment in the 2018 Winter Olympics was when the Czech Republic’s world champion snowboarder Ester Ledecka won an event in a completely different sport: skiing! And she took the first-place gold medal even though she …