Category Archives: Daily Bread Devotional

The Ugliest and the Prettiest
By David Lloyd of Blue Springs, MO, USA

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace… —Colossians 1:19–20 NRSV

Four years had passed since my father left our home and family in emotional and financial shambles. My mother had grown up with the belief that she would be the stereotypical late-1960s housewife. She now faced the realities of single parenting and finding a career in the early 1970s. My older sister had just secured her first job as a 16-year-old and planned to buy our first Christmas tree in four years.

My sister and I went to a tree lot and found some shabby trees in our price range in the back. One tree in a bargain bin looked especially full, tightly wrapped in white plastic netting. My sister handed over her hard-earned cash for the tree, and we dragged it home on my sled.

Our first try setting it up showed the trunk was too wide for our tree stand. After a few hours of sawing, it fit. Then the weight of the tree broke the stand. After another few hours fixing the stand, the tree was finally upright, and we cut it loose from the plastic netting. Branches sprang in all directions—one even cracked a window. What emerged was not a Christmas tree, but more of a bush—wider than it was tall.

At first, my sister, my mother, and I were frustrated and angry. This was NOT the tree we had waited years for—it was all WRONG! My sister’s gift resulted in a reminder of what we had lost rather than that which we tried to regain.

Then, mom placed an ornament on a branch—it looked ridiculous. My sister wiped the tear from her cheek and began to laugh. We added tinsel, twine to hold the tree upright in its broken stand, lights, and finally the star. As we darkened the room and turned on the tree lights—it was both the ugliest and prettiest sight ever.

When remembering past Christmases, our family remembers THIS Christmas with nostalgia and fondness. Much like the first Christmas, it was not a go-as-we-planned-it event. In our pain and loss, our family found purpose and hope in the ridiculous gift. We were now moving from where we had been to new possibilities. This “tree” became a symbol of how the expected Christ brings joy, love, and hope in unexpected ways—treasure in our unfolding lives.

Prayer for Peace

Compassionate God, help us know our present burdens are temporary, and that we may one day see them as transforming experiences. Help us find peace in our present circumstances so we may apply our efforts to Christ’s mission.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Joy

Prepare room in your heart for the Christ child. Prepare room in your heart for joy. Think of the many ways you experience joy in the Advent season: lighted trees, bells, candles, lights, carols, special food, gift giving, time spent with family and friends—all part of celebrating the birth of Christ. Reflect on the many ways you can share joy in the Advent season: giving to those in need, making a place for everyone at the table, greeting strangers, helping others, being a presence. Continue your own list. Thank God for the joy you experience and the opportunities to share it.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will look again at a seemingly ugly or unwanted gift and find grace in the intent of the giver.

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A Stable Environment
By Greg Savage of Lee’s Summit, MO, USA

…they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. —Matthew 2:9–10 NRSV

“We want to raise our children in a stable environment.” During Advent, we can imagine this as a “punny” caption for a picture of the manger scene with the Christ-star wrapping the stable in light.

My parents raised my brother, sister, and me in such an environment with extended family and church family. However, I know this is not always the case for children who live in poverty. Many do not know Christ. Many do not know joy. Through the Mission Initiative Abolish Poverty, End Suffering, we see congregations at work to show God’s stable love.

In my work with mission funding, I have visited congregations that are seeking to provide a stable environment for children in their communities. One of these programs is a backpack ministry for elementary and middle school students living in poverty. Each week congregation members pack food in backpacks for the students and their families to supplement weekend meals. Each program started out slowly with just a few students but has grown to include other agencies, organizations, and churches. They are fulfilling their goal to provide a stable community for children, the presence of the Christ child, a community of joy, hope, love, and peace.

Though the path may not be easy, new horizons capture you
and the truths that you discover draw your maps of God anew.
Do not weary of the journey; boldly venture with each stride.
In a stable wrapped in starlight, joy, hope, love, and peace abide.

—“When the Present Holds No Promise” by Danny A. Belrose, © 2005 Danny A. Belrose, CCS 430

Prayer for Peace

Loving God, wrap us in Love’s pure light. Help us provide an environment of the nativity, with all of its joyful mystery, for our children in this Advent season. Help us provide an environment of peace.

Spiritual Practice Advent—Joy

Prepare room in your heart for the Christ child. Prepare room in your heart for joy. Think of the many ways you experience joy in the Advent season: bells, candles, lights, carols, special food, gift giving, time spent with family and friends—all part of celebrating the birth of Christ. Reflect on the many ways you can share joy in the Advent season: giving to those in need, making a place for everyone at the table, greeting strangers, helping others, being a presence. Continue your own list. Thank God for the joy you experience and the opportunities to share it.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will prepare for Christmas by centering on stable issues.

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Who Will Cross Your Path Today?
By Gary Piper of Fort Gratiot, MI, USA

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” —Luke 4:18–19 NRSV

As Christians, we are to be disciples of Jesus. While being a Christian and a disciple go together, as Christians we are followers of Jesus and as disciples we are doers for Jesus. Jesus’ mission statement comes alive in the fourth chapter of Luke. What does it mean for us?

Today people will cross our paths needing to hear God loves them and cares for them. They may be family members or co-workers. They may be strangers on the street or ones who oppose us. Because the Holy Spirit is alive in us, we will know who they are. And because the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, we will know what to do and what to say. It may be as simple as a smile, an arm around their shoulders, or it may be much more.

During Advent we wait for and celebrate the birth of Christ. Please read today’s scripture passage again. God sent Christ to fulfill a mission of compassion. As disciples, Christ sends us to do the same. When we tell the captives they are free and tell the blind they can see, imagine how it will bless us well. When we unselfishly give of ourselves sharing God’s love and compassion, Jesus’ reality will be our reality—our mission.

May I suggest we start each day by asking God to point out that one person who will cross our path and needs to hear of God’s love and see the “doing” of Christ’s mission.

Prayer for Peace

Compassionate God, you have sent us the perfect example of a mission-oriented life. Help us follow Christ and share a life that reveals his peace.

Spiritual Practice: Abolish Poverty, End Suffering

Read and reflect on John 21:15–17 as a meditation. Direct your mind to places where people have no homes. Think of the wars and natural disasters that destroy the homes of refugees. Be aware of the hungry and homeless who wander the streets or live in shelters. Let the images fill your mind. Offer a prayer for those who suffer. Imagine Christ tending those sheep. Think of ways you might end their suffering as part of your mission. Throughout the day, carry in your mind the voice of Christ saying: “Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep.”

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will attend to those crossing my path and be aware of their needs.

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Recipe for Discipleship
By Vera Entwistle of Eugene, OR, USA

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. —Philippians 4:9 NRSV

I was visiting my friends who were teaching school in Peru. I was alone in their home with only a Peruvian housekeeper for company. I remembered that my friends had always enjoyed a British pastry I made for them many times when we lived in Oregon. I wandered into the kitchen to hunt for the ingredients.

When my friends arrived home from school the warmth and aroma of the pastry greeted them. The pastry looked like what I had made dozens of times before. If anything, it looked even better as the pastry had browned beautifully. Quickly we put the kettle on and sat around the table in expectation of a tasty treat.

Sheyne was the first one to take a bite of the pastry, and she called out, “Yuk!” We looked up in astonishment. Gingerly we took small bites and our reactions were the same, “Yuk!”

It soon became clear that what I had found in the pantry and thought was sugar was, in fact, salt! What a disappointment! One wrong ingredient ruined my surprise. Now whenever I make that pastry I am once again in the kitchen in Peru, reliving my mistake. I am much more careful when lining up the ingredients! I learned from my mistake.

When we fall short in our service, God forgives us. When we mistakenly use salt instead of sugar…pride instead of humility…tolerance instead of acceptance…we learn, we try again. We are continually reforming as disciples of Christ, with God’s blessing.

Prayer for Peace

Forgiving God, we praise you for your grace. We thank you for your patience. We will make mistakes again, knowing you will help us learn. We will do a better job of sharing Christ’s peace.

Spirituality Practice: Develop Disciples to Serve

Read and reflect on Psalm 42:1–2. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our call is to respond to people and their needs. The call to journey inward can restore us in times of physical or spiritual depletion. Imagine you can feel a vessel at the center of your being (a clay jar, a crystal vase, a metal bucket, or other container). Imagine drawing something from the vessel to share with another person, but as you reach inside you find only a tiny pool of stagnant liquid. You are thirsty and dry—empty. Listen prayerfully again to the psalm, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” As you feel restored, thank God for the opportunity to be a responding, serving disciple while you move into the outward journey. Remember this exercise as you drink water throughout the day.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will extend grace to others as you have to me.

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Pause Here…Attend to the Symbols
By Katie Harmon-McLaughlin of Wickliffe, OH, USA

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. —John 15:11 NRSV

It was one of those days of lingering despair and a weighted heart. Seasonal darkness encompassed me as I drove to the store in the fading light. Harsh winter winds greeted me as I opened my car door. I needed just a few items, but wandered down the aisles searching for something I could not name.

Normally, I try to avoid impulse shopping, but I left the store with two unplanned items that had caught my attention: a blanket and a candle. Arriving home, I placed the pine-scented pillar candle in a holder and lit it. I focused my attention on the flickering flame. I curled up under the blanket on the couch and spent a few moments in the silence, trying to make sense of what was stirring within me.

In those sacred moments of enclosing cold and darkness, I realized slowly that these two items were not spontaneous buys, but symbols of my soul’s deep longing. They were what I needed to get through this wintertime.

Advent is a season for mining the treasures of expectant darkness. In the Northern Hemisphere, the light itself matches the season. Each day, the minutes of darkness outnumber the minutes of light. The contrast reminds us of what we might not see in the full light of the summer sun.

We may want a quick fix or to move quickly to a season of great warmth and light, but the Spirit invites us to pause here and pay attention. What about this season signals the deeper needs of your soul? What can you learn from these deeper needs? How does this awareness form within you the promise of new life?

Sometimes practices of spirit are this simple. Wrap up in a blanket for comfort and warmth on cold days. When the uncertain darkness increases in your soul, center on Christ, and light a candle of hope. Greater light will come, but for now appreciate the light that is, even if it is rare. Find the symbols of your soul’s deep longings that you might see more clearly in the dim light of the fading sun.

Prayer for Peace

Eternal Light, help us not take your light for granted. When it is dark, and we need it most, you are there with us, waiting for the morning, waiting for the peaceful light.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Joy

Prepare room in your heart for the Christ child. Prepare room in your heart for joy. Think of the many ways you experience joy in the Advent season: bells, candles, lights, carols, special food, gift giving, time spent with family and friends—all part of celebrating the birth of Christ. Reflect on the many ways you can share joy in the Advent season: giving to those in need, making a place for everyone at the table, greeting strangers, helping others, being a presence. Continue your own list. Thank God for the joy you experience and the opportunities to share it.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will wait for your gift of light and share it with joy.

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Sing for Joy
By Deb Crowley of Charlotte, MI, USA

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. —Isaiah 12:2–6 NRSV

The headline predicted the date the world would end. Christ’s return was imminent. A denominational magazine warned readers to get their lives in order and be ready! To an 8-year-old, this news was just plain scary. Mother never talked about the article, so my imagination ran wild.

Jesus’ promise to his disciples is one of unexpected joy. He promised to return, and he did. Not expecting him, they walked with him, but did not know him. Today, we have learned to expect him every day. He is with us every day

Life is full of unexpectedness. Earthquakes, floods, disease, death, job loss. Natural, personal, unanticipated setbacks stop us in our tracks and shatter our world of order. Our “end of the world” may come tomorrow. Christ’s message of joy is that we need not live in fear of what may happen. We should get our act together and live in Christ-like love every day—live expecting Christ’s presence every day. Don’t wait to do a kind deed, mend broken relationships, get involved in making the world a safer place for everyone, or spend more time with God.

Do it now!

Live in the promise that Jesus, God’s Son, whose coming birth we celebrate, is with us and for us. We do not face the future alone. Sing for joy, “for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Prayer for Peace

O God, our Hope for years to come, we sing for joy in your promises. Let us not worry about shortness of time or delay in working for peace. Joy is here, and he is Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Joy

Prepare room in your heart for the Christ child. Prepare room in your heart for joy. Think of the many ways you experience joy in the Advent season: bells, candles, lights, carols, special food, gift giving, time spent with family and friends—all part of celebrating the birth of Christ. Reflect on the many ways you can share joy in the Advent season: giving to those in need, making a place for everyone at the table, greeting strangers, helping others, being a presence. Continue your own list. Thank God for the joy you experience and the opportunities to share it.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will share my experiences of joy in the presence of the Lord.

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Becoming Rich toward God: Asking the Right Question
By Deb Crowley of Charlotte, MI, USA

‘…This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” —Luke 12:20–21NRSV

Jesus told a parable about a rich man whose crops one year were so good he was overwhelmed with money! When he realized his good fortune, he began to ask, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

God called the man foolish and declared that he would perish that very night. Then what would become of his “stuff”?

Jesus is not putting down hard work that gains profit. He teaches that good stewards multiply what they have earned in order to gain more—not to bury treasures, but multiply them. Saving for the future is proper stewardship.

The problem is living in a culture of I as possessions, talents, and time increase. Notice how many times the rich man used the word I. He did not consider sharing his overabundance with others whose crops may have failed, those without access to land to grow crops, or the widows or orphans. The lack of a generous spirit toward others was not “being rich toward God.”

Living in the culture of I does not bring joy or peace and is not God’s vision for creation. After all, God as creator makes increase possible. The rich man also forgot that death is a reality…and you can’t take “stuff” with you. There are no storage facilities in heaven!

Jesus says it’s not about greedily gathering more. When we become rich toward God, the first consideration of wealth, time, or talent is not I, but “Who is in need?” or “How can I share?” Can we do anything less in response to God who gave us the Son?

Prayer for Peace

Generous God, help us respond to the needs of others before we worry about how to store our “stuff.” We would not hide our love or our compassion. How much more valuable they are than our possessions. We would not hide nor hoard the peace of Christ.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Peace

Pause amid this busy season and open yourself to be mindful of the source of your life-giving breath. Reflect on where that breath blows you. Pray it leads you to Pursue Peace on Earth. In this short time of reflection, close your eyes, close out the noise of the holiday crowds, and prepare yourself for the coming of the Messiah. If your mind wanders to the commercial clamor, allow God to pull you back to focus on Christ, the center of Christmas. Expose your soul to God’s signature and the writing of the covenant of Christ’s peace on your heart.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will find a creative way to share my “stuff.”

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You and Me, God
By Julie Meisinger of Independence, MO, USA

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things…He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness… —Psalm 98:1, 3 NRSV

I went to all the wonderful children’s programs at the Stone Church Congregation where I found a book called My Friend God. I grew up with My Friend God.

I walked down the center aisle of the Auditorium with Jon Meisinger at graduation. Duty in Vietnam delayed our wedding for several years after which we were married in the Auditorium Chapel. We taught our kids how to walk on the ramps. We spent over 50 good years working in the Auditorium.

One Christmas Day everything changed. Doctors admitted me to the hospital, and I knew nothing for the next month. I heard nurses say, “She’s not supposed to be alive,” but they didn’t know the power of My Friend. I returned to consciousness nearly unable to do anything. As I relearned to turn over, sit up, and dress myself, I saw life as far more than mere challenges.

Life is victories—tiny, often-overlooked victories.

As I faced each new challenge, I muttered my mantra. A nurse once asked me what I had said. I had not realized it before, but I always said, “You and me, God.” Through prayer, friends and family lifted me to the place that I am safest, in My Friend’s strong hands.

Wrapped in a loving shawl created by church women who use their time and talents to comfort a patient they’ll never know, I’ve grown stronger daily. That shawl reminds me I am always supported by friends I’ve yet to meet, uplifted by coworkers I’ve spent a lifetime getting to know, and loved unconditionally by My Friend who is always there.

Yesterday I walked to the corner—a stroll for you, a marathon for me. Today, I climbed my back stairs, alone… except for My Friend. My Friend walked me home!  

Prayer for Peace

Constant Companion and Friend, may we always be aware of you by our side. Whether we mutter your name under our breath, or sing to you in clear, harmonic tones, we know you hear us. We know you are sure to respond and bless us with peace.

Spiritual Practice: Many Names of God

In many languages, God’s name contains the sound “Ahhh,” a sound we make when we are breathing out or sighing. Our prayer will use the Ahh names for God with a gentle arm movement that opens us to God’s presence. Begin with hands in front of you at chest level and move them up and in a large arc or circle as you breathe out each name for God. You may either speak the name of God or find a single musical note to hold or chant as you sing God’s name. Pray or sing each name several times as you call on the God of many names: Yahweh, Adonai, Jehovah, Yeshua, Sophia, Allah, Alpha, Omega, Abba, or “My Friend.”

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will be a faithful friend to another, as you have been to me.

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Advent: Joy to the Waiting World
By Jan Kraybill of Stilwell, KS, USA

This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace…!” —Luke 2:12–14 NRSV

I served as organist for a Lutheran church early in my career as a church musician. Having grown up in a different tradition, I was unfamiliar with the ways of this denomination and congregation. Much was new and strange to me, but I did my best to embrace the rhythm of the church year and worship practices of this new place. But when it came to Advent, I balked.

“What do you mean, we won’t sing any Christmas hymns until Christmas Day?!?” I responded when told the musical plans for Advent. My favorite music is Christmas music. I couldn’t imagine the period I had always called Christmastime, between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, without the regular singing of those favorites. The joy of the season would be totally lost! How depressing.

But, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do….”  Sigh.

To me, that December lasted forever. Although I could, of course, hear Christmas music elsewhere, there was none of it in my worshiping community. The congregation, the choir, the bell choir, the soloists, other musicians, and I, as organist, practiced and performed only Advent music—with no exceptions. We sang and played about watching and waiting—endlessly watching and waiting—in our services on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. I said many times I couldn’t wait until Christmas Day when this horrible Advent journey would be over.

But in that journey lay transformation. The first sign, to my surprise, was when I woke up on Christmas morning: I couldn’t wait to get to church. And what a glorious morning it was!  Suddenly the whole musical world was open to us again! We sang and celebrated, with gusto, the great news that Christ arrived, and it was NEWS because we hadn’t already sung it over and over. The joy I thought was missing multiplied a hundredfold because we had watched and waited for weeks in expectation.

It has been a few decades since that Advent and Christmas. I still remember it as one of the most transforming and memorable experiences of my spiritual life.

JOY TO THE WORLD! (but, not just yet…)

(Editor’s note: Jan Kraybill is the principal organist for the Dome and Spire Organ Foundation, an affiliate of Community of Christ International Headquarters.)

Prayer for Peace

God of promises and patience, help us through the preparation time—it is central to our formation as disciples. We sing, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” as we wait for your Peace Child. We know the “world is about to turn,” and we look with hope to what you, O God, are about to bring.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Peace

Pause amid this busy season and open yourself to be mindful of the source of your life-giving breath. Reflect on where that breath blows you. Pray it leads you to Pursue Peace on Earth. In this short time of reflection, close your eyes, close out the noise of the holiday crowds, and prepare yourself for the coming of the Messiah. If your mind wanders to the commercial clamor, allow God to pull you back to focus on Christ, the center of Christmas. Expose your soul to God’s signature and the writing of the covenant of Christ’s peace on your heart.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will sing as I wait.

Suggested Advent Hymns: “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” CCS 400 and “Canticle of the Turning” CCS 404

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Am I Prepared?
By Janet Mortimore of Clio, IA, USA

The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high; he filled Zion with justice and righteousness; he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. —Isaiah 33:5–6 NRSV

As I was visiting an elderly friend one day, she made the comment, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus came to lunch today!” Then she saw her pastor drive up to her house, and she quickly tidied up the living room.

Since then I have pondered the incident and questions come to mind. If I should unexpectedly meet Jesus on the street, would I have to tidy up my life? And then I remembered the meeting on the road to Emmaus. Even though I may not recognize him, Jesus accepts me just as I am.

I know I am not perfect in modeling my discipleship on Jesus, and I should continually tidy up my life so I am ready to meet him whenever or wherever that may be.

Then I wonder if I have unknowingly met Jesus on the street already. Did I meet his expectations? Did I respond to the least of my brothers and sisters, as I would respond to Jesus? Did I respond to a new baby as if he were the Christ child for whom I prepared?

It is perhaps easier to send aid to far-off hurricane victims and the poor across the world than to face the stranger up close and personal. But up close and personal is what Jesus is all about. I pray that my response to the stranger is the same as my response would be to Jesus. Would Jesus see in me a person of peace? Would he know by my life I loved him well?

Prayer for Peace

Mysterious God, we might meet Jesus on the street and not know him. Help us prepare to meet the Christ by seeing him in everyone, by responding to all as we would to Christ. Help us share the peace of Christ with everyone we meet.

Spiritual Practice: Advent—Peace

Pause amid this busy season and open yourself to be mindful of the source of your life-giving breath. Reflect on where that breath blows you. Pray it leads you to Pursue Peace on Earth. In this short time of reflection, close your eyes, close out the noise of the holiday crowds, and prepare yourself for the coming of the Messiah. If your mind wanders to the commercial clamor, allow God to pull you back to focus on Christ, the center of Christmas. Expose your soul to God’s signature and the writing of the covenant of Christ’s peace on your heart.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will prepare my house as a place of peace, where Jesus would feel at home.

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