Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 3

Our daily bread devotional pdf

Our daily bread daily devotional free download pdf. Our daily bread devotional 2021 pdf. How do i order the daily bread devotional. Our daily bread devotional 2022 pdf. Our daily bread devotional phone
number. How do i get my daily bread devotional.

Sunday,January 1, 2023Choose JoyRejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 Keith was feeling down as he trudged through the produce aisle.

His hands trembled from the first signs of Parkinson’s disease. How long before his quality of life began to slide? What would this mean for his wife and children? Keith’s gloom was shattered by laughter. Over by the potatoes, a man pushed a giggling boy in a wheelchair. The man leaned over and whispered to his son, who couldn’t stop grinning. He
was noticeably worse off than Keith, yet he and his dad were finding joy where they could. Writing from prison or under house arrest as he awaited the outcome of his trial, the apostle Paul seemingly had no right to be joyful (Philippians 1:12–13). The emperor was Nero, a wicked man who had a growing reputation for violence and cruelty, so Paul had
reason to be concerned. He also knew there were preachers who were taking advantage of his absence to gain glory for themselves. They thought they could “stir up trouble” for the apostle while he was imprisoned (v. 17). Yet Paul chose to rejoice (vv. 18–21), and he told the Philippians to follow his example: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it
again: Rejoice!” (4:4). Our situation might seem bleak, yet Jesus is with us now, and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. Christ, who walked out of His tomb, will return to raise His followers to live with Him.
As we begin this new year, may we rejoice! — Mike Wittmer What personal suffering or injustice causes you to languish in your sorrow? How might the truth of Jesus bring you joy?Father, please raise my eyes above my circumstances. I look to You alone for joy. For further study, read Why? Seeing God in Our Pain.Bible in a year: Genesis 1–3;
Matthew 1 Signup to receive Our Daily Bread at home. (Form works only on mobile devices) Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.© Copyright 2022 Our Daily Bread Ministries--Grand Rapids, MI 49555 Dear Patron: Please don't scroll past this. The Internet Archive is a nonprofit fighting for universal access to quality information, powered by online donations averaging about $17.

Join the one in a thousand users that support us financially—if our library is useful to you, please pitch in. Large Print “I felt so useless,” Harold said. “Widowed and retired, kids busy with their own families, spending quiet afternoons watching shadows on the wall.” He’d often tell his daughter, “I’m old and have lived a full life. I have no purpose
anymore. God can take me any time.” One afternoon, however, a conversation changed Harold’s mind. “My neighbor had some problems with his kids, so I prayed for him,” Harold said. “Later, I shared the gospel with him. That’s how I realized I still have a purpose! As long as there are people who haven’t heard of Jesus, I must tell them about the
Savior.” When Harold responded to an everyday, ordinary encounter by sharing his faith, his neighbor’s life was changed. In 2 Timothy 1, the apostle Paul mentions two women who’d likewise been used by God to change another person’s life: the life of Paul’s young coworker, Timothy. Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice, his mother, had a
“sincere faith” which they’d passed on to him (v. 5). Through everyday events in an ordinary household, young Timothy learned a genuine faith that was to shape his growth into a faithful disciple of Jesus and, eventually, his ministry as leader of the church at Ephesus. No matter what our age, background, or circumstances, we have a purpose—to tell
others about Jesus. In 1982, pastor Christian Führer began Monday prayer meetings at Leipzig’s St. Nicholas Church. For years, a handful gathered to ask God for peace amid global violence and the oppressive East German regime. Though communist authorities watched churches closely, they were unconcerned until attendance swelled and spilled
over to mass meetings outside the church gates. On October 9, 1989, seventy thousand demonstrators met and peacefully protested. Six thousand East German police stood ready to respond to any provocation. The crowd remained peaceful, however, and historians consider this day a watershed moment. A month later, the Berlin Wall fell. The
massive transformation all started with a prayer meeting. L we turn to God and begin relying on His wisdom and strength, things often begin to shift and reshape.

Like Israel, when we cry “out to the Lord in [our] trouble,” we discover the God who alone is capable of profoundly transforming even our most dire predicaments and answering our most vexing questions (Psalm 107:28).
God stills “the storm to a whisper” and turns “the desert into pools of water” (vv. 29, 35). The One to whom we pray brings hope out of despair and beauty out of ruin. But it’s God who (in His time—not ours) enacts transformation. Prayer is how we participate in the transforming work He’s doing. Every Moment Holy is a beautiful book of prayers for a
variety of activities, including ordinary ones like preparing a meal or doing the laundry. Necessary tasks that can feel repetitive or mundane. The book reminded me of the words of author G. K. Chesterton, who wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing,
dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” Such encouragement reorients my perspective on the activities of my day. Sometimes I’m inclined to divide my activities into ones that appear to have spiritual value, like reading devotions before a meal, and other activities I think have little spiritual value, such as doing the dishes after the meal.
Paul erased that divide in a letter to the people of Colosse who had chosen to live for Jesus. He encouraged them with these words: “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (3:17). Doing things in Jesus’ name means both honoring Jesus as we do them and having the assurance that His Spirit helps strengthen
us to accomplish them. “Whatever you do.” All the ordinary activities of our lives, every moment, can be empowered by God’s Spirit and done in a way that honors Jesus. When Bill Pinkney sailed solo around the world in 1992—taking the hard route around the perilous Great Southern Capes—he did it for a higher purpose. His voyage was to inspire
and educate children. That included students at his former inner-city Chicago elementary school. His goal? To show how far they could go by studying hard and making a commitment—the word he chose in naming his boat. When Bill takes schoolkids on the water in Commitment, he says, “They’ve got that tiller in their hand and they learn about
control, self-control, they learn about teamwork . . . all the basics that one needs in life to be successful.” Pinkney’s words paint a portrait of Solomon’s wisdom. “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5). He invited others to examine their life goals. Otherwise, “it is a trap,” said
Solomon, “to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows” (v. 25). In contrast, William Pinkney had a clear purpose that eventually inspired 30,000 students across the U.S. to learn from his journey. He became the first African American inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame. “Kids were watching,” he said. With similar
purpose, let’s set our course by the deep counsel of God’s instructions to us. My friend’s eyes revealed what I was feeling—fear! We two teens had behaved poorly and were now cowering before the camp director. The man, who knew our dads well, shared lovingly but pointedly that our fathers would be greatly disappointed. We wanted to crawl
under the table—feeling the weight of personal responsibility for our offense. God gave Zephaniah a message for the people of Judah that contained potent words about personal responsibility for sin (Zephaniah 1:1, 6–7). After describing the judgments He would bring against Judah’s foes (ch. 2), He turned His eyes on His guilty, squirming people (ch.
3). “What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem” God proclaimed (3:1 nlt). “They [are] still eager to act corruptly” (v.
7). He'd seen the cold hearts of His people—their spiritual apathy, social injustice, and ugly greed—and He was bringing loving discipline. And it didn’t matter if the individuals were “leaders,” “judges,” “prophets”—everyone was guilty before Him (vv. 3–4). The apostle Paul wrote the following to believers in Jesus who persisted in sin, “You are storing
up terrible punishment for yourself. . . . [God] will judge everyone according to what they have done” (Romans 2:5–6 NLT). So, in Jesus’ power, let’s live in a way that honors our holy, loving Father and leads to no remorse. “Wash me!” Though those words weren’t written on my vehicle, they could have been. So, off to the car wash I went, and so did
other drivers who wanted relief from the grimy leftovers from salted roads following a recent snowfall. The lines were long, and the service was slow. But it was worth the wait. I left with a clean vehicle and, for compensation for service delay, the car wash was free of charge! Getting cleaned at someone else’s expense—that’s the gospel of Jesus
Christ. God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, has provided forgiveness for our sins. Who among us hasn’t felt the need “to bathe” when the “dirt and grime” of life have clung to us? When we’re stained by selfish thoughts or actions that harm ourselves or others and rob us of peace with God? Psalm 51 is the cry of David when temptation
had triumphed in his life. When confronted by a spiritual mentor about his sin (see 2 Samuel 12), he prayed a “Wash me!” prayer: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (v. 7). Feeling dirty and guilty? Make your way to Jesus and remember these words: ”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). From the spiral staircase to the expansive bedroom, from the hardwood floors to the plush carpeting, from the huge laundry room to the well-organized office, the realtor showed a potential home to the young couple. At every corner they turned, they raved about its beauty:
“You’ve picked the best place for us. This house is amazing!” Then the realtor responded with something they thought a bit unusual yet true: “I’ll pass along your compliment to the builder. The one who built the house deserves the praise; not the house itself or the one who shows it off.” The realtor’s words echo the writer of Hebrews: “The builder of
a house has greater honor than the house itself” (3:3). The writer was comparing the faithfulness of Jesus, the Son of God, with the prophet Moses (vv. 1–6). Though Moses was privileged to speak to God face to face and to see His form (Numbers 12:8), he was still only “a servant” in the house of God (Hebrews 3:5). Christ, as Creator (1:2, 10),
deserves honor as divine “builder of everything” and as Son “over God’s house” (3:4, 6). God’s house is His people. When we serve God faithfully, it’s Jesus the divine builder who deserves the honor. Any praise we, God’s house, receive ultimately belongs to Him. Nothing could pull Aakash out of his dark depression. Severely injured in a truck
accident, he was taken to a missionary hospital in Southwest Asia. Eight operations repaired his broken bones, but he couldn’t eat. Depression set in. His family depended on him to provide, which he couldn't do, so his world grew darker. One day a visitor read to Aakash from the gospel of John in his language and prayed for him. Touched by the hope
of God’s free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus, he placed his faith in Him. His depression soon left. When he returned home, he was afraid at first to mention his newfound faith. Finally, though, he told his family about Jesus—and six of them trusted Him as well! John’s gospel is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. In it we read that
“whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). We discover that “whoever hears [Jesus’] word and believes [God] has eternal life” (5:24).
And we hear Jesus say, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (6:35). Indeed, “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (3:21) The troubles we face may be great, but Jesus is greater. He came to give us “life . .
. to the full” (10:10). Like Aakash, may you place your faith in Jesus—the hope of the world and the light for all humanity. David Willis had been upstairs in Waterstones Bookshop when he came downstairs and found the lights were turned off and the doors locked. He was trapped inside the store! Not knowing what else to do, he turned to Twitter and
tweeted: “Hi @Waterstones. I’ve been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for 2 hours now. Please let me out.” Not too long after his tweet, he was rescued. It’s good to have a way to get help when we’re in trouble. Isaiah said there’s Someone who will answer our cries when we’re trapped in a problem of our own making. The prophet
wrote that God had charged his people with practicing their religious devotion irresponsibly. They were going through the motions of religion but masking their oppression of the poor with empty and self-serving rituals (Isaiah 58:1–7). This didn’t win divine favor. God hid His eyes from them and didn’t answer their prayers (1:15). He told them to
repent and display outward acts of caring for others (58:6–7). If they did that, He told them, “you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I ‘If you do away with the yoke of oppression with the pointing finger and malicious talk’ ” (v. 9). Let’s get close to the poor, saying to them: “I am here.” For God hears our
cries for help and says to us, “I am here.” Neither Orville nor Wilbur Wright had a pilot’s license. Neither had gone to college. They were bicycle mechanics with a dream and the courage to try. On December 17, 1903, they took turns piloting their Wright Flyer on four separate flights. The longest lasted only a minute, but it changed our world forever.
Neither Peter nor John had a preaching license. Neither had gone to seminary. They were fishermen who, filled with the Spirit of Jesus, courageously proclaimed the good news. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Wright brothers’ neighbors didn’t
immediately appreciate their accomplishment. Their hometown newspaper didn’t believe their story, and said that even if true, the flights were too brief to be significant. It took several more years of flying and refining their planes before the public recognized what they had truly done. The religious leaders didn’t like Peter and John, and they ordered
them to stop telling others about Jesus. Peter said, No way. “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (v. 20). You may not be on the approved list. Perhaps you’re scorned by those who are. No matter. If you have the Spirit of Jesus, you’re free to live boldly for Him! Type: PDF Date: December 2019 Size: 393.5KB Author: Sancta
Maria Servus This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA DOWNLOAD as PDF DOWNLOAD as DOCX DOWNLOAD as PPTX This is a non-profit website to share the knowledge.
To maintain this website, we need your help. A small donation will help us alot.

You might also like