Our Daily Bread

Topic:Restored Bible in a Year: Exodus 29–30; Matthew 21:23–46 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. Joel 2:25 A 2003 infestation of Mormon crickets caused more than $25 million in lost crops. The crickets came in such numbers that people couldn’t so much as take a step without finding one underfoot. The grasshopper-like insect, named for …

Topic:Deeper Love Bible in a Year: Exodus 27–28; Matthew 21:1–22 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 When they first met, Edwin Stanton snubbed US president Abraham Lincoln personally and professionally—even referring to him as a “long-armed creature.” But Lincoln appreciated Stanton’s abilities and chose to forgive …

Topic:Adopted Bible in a Year: Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20:17–34 God sent his Son . . . that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4–5 I’m glad when a philanthropist builds an orphanage for homeless children. I’m thrilled when that person gives even more and adopts one of them. Most orphans would be delighted merely to have a patron. But …

Topic:Algae and Diatoms Bible in a Year: Exodus 23–24; Matthew 20:1–16 Stop and consider God’s wonders. Job 37:14 “What’s a diatom?” I asked my friend. I was leaning over her shoulder looking at pictures on her cell phone she had taken through a microscope. “Oh, it’s like algae, but it’s harder to see. Sometimes you need a drop of oil …

Topic:Rip the Heavens Bible in a Year: Exodus 21–22; Matthew 19 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down. Isaiah 64:1 In a recent conversation, where a friend shared with me that she’d abandoned her faith, I heard a familiar complaint: How can I believe in a God who doesn’t ever seem to do anything? This gut-wrenching question …

Topic:The Mood Mender Bible in a Year: Exodus 19–20; Matthew 18:21–35 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19 As I waited at the train station for my weekly commute, negative thoughts crowded my mind like commuters lining up to board a train—stress over debt, unkind remarks said to me, helplessness in the face of …

Topic:Righteous Among the Nations Bible in a Year: Exodus 16–18; Matthew 18:1–20 For such a time as this. Esther 4:14 At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel, my husband and I went to the Righteous Among the Nations garden that honors the men and women who risked their lives to save Jewish people during the Holocaust. While looking at …

Topic:Free from Frostbite Bible in a Year: Exodus 14–15; Matthew 17 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:35 On a winter day, my children begged to go sledding. The temperature hovered near zero degrees Fahrenheit. Snowflakes raced by our windows. I thought it over and said yes, but asked them to bundle …

Topic:A Big Deal Bible in a Year: Exodus 9–11; Matthew 15:21–39 This is the kind of fasting I want: . . . Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Isaiah 58:6 nlt A family member needed help with his December rent. To his family, the request felt like a burden—especially with their own unexpected expenses …

Topic:Trying to Impress Bible in a Year: Exodus 7–8; Matthew 15:1–20 Out of the heart come evil thoughts . . . . These are what defile a person. Matthew 15:19–20 When a college class went on a cultural field trip, the instructor almost didn’t recognize one of his star pupils. In the classroom she had concealed six-inch heels beneath her …