Category Archives: Daily Bread Devotional

The Guide
Grace Andrews of Independence, MO, USA

“If our lives are centered in the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit.” -Galatians 5:25 (JB Phillips version)

We make multiple decisions every day. Some are easy-like, should I get up in the morning or lie in bed? Should I eat breakfast? Should I feed the cat (or dog)? Some are more difficult-like, how can I divide my time between the mundane and the sacred? What do I need to do today that will be of worth? Some are major-like, should I share my life with this one or wait for someone else? Should I quit this job and look for another position? How will I know if I should retire now, or later?

And further, while driving to work, which road should I take? Yogi Berra once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it!” Such a fork in the road occurred many years ago as we traveled with our family. Back then, GPS was not even a glimmer in the sky. We had only usually outdated maps for guides. We knew our destination, but with poorly marked roads, when we came to a Y, we faced a dilemma-which way to go? Once because we lacked knowledge and experience, we turned the wrong way. Our faithful GPS of today would have immediately “recalculated.” We, therefore, ended up miles and miles in the wrong direction before realizing we had made a huge error. To our frustration, we had no choice but to return to that point and begin again in the right direction. The result-we were very late to an important event.

Life is like that. We don’t always know which way is the right way. If we listen for our personal “GPS” -God’s Precious Spirit-which is always available to direct us, we will absolutely be led in the right way. As I look back over my life, I am overwhelmed to see the many, many times the Spirit has helped me choose one path over another.

If I tune my spiritual hearing to the Holy Spirit of truth which is promised to walk along beside, direct, encourage, strengthen, teach, warn, remind, and guide, I will find myself safely at Home.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

For the Least of These…
Deb Crowley of Urbandale, IA, USA

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?  But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; -1 Peter 3:13-15

Our congregation has taken a non-profit organization called JOPPA under our wings. It is an agency that fights to end homelessness and works with the marginalized, those that fall between the cracks in existing agencies.

While working at JOPPA, filling medicine boxes this week, a couple walked in for service. Pat, the manager of the area, began helping them. They were looking for boots and blankets.

Overhearing part of the conversation, I questioned the lady about her circumstances. Did she live in a tent? No, their tent was stolen. They are living in a truck…for the past two and a half years. She said she just needed warm things because sometimes it got so cold that the skin on her hands would peel right off. She suffered from a brain injury which prevented her from working.

Sadly, JOPPA didn’t have boots that fit. They were out of tents. And the fleece blanket she cuddled to her cheek was lap size. Still, she was ever so grateful. As they were about ready to leave, she timidly asked if they could get a bag lunch.

I thought of the nice warm boots sitting in my closet at home not worn for two years as I have three other pairs. I thought of the blanket my husband bought me years ago that has a plug in for a car battery. It has been nested in our trunk unused for several years. I immediately made plans to take the blanket and the boots to JOPPA. Maybe this couple won’t be the recipients, but the manager knows who is in need and they will be a bit warmer because I can share from my overabundance.

What amazes me every time I work at JOPPA is the large number of folks walking in the doors seeking help. The compassion shown by Pat as he calls them by name, asks questions about their lives, assures them he will help however he can…it’s incredible! Even more incredible is the attitude of the needy. They continually share of their faith, their gratefulness for whatever they receive; and the smiles as they have been shown a bit of compassion and love are priceless.

Do you have any warm blankets, warm boots, warm hoodies, or tents to spare? Can you afford to purchase some hand warmers? There are never enough for those living in the cold. The needs are REAL. Everywhere. Take them to your local helping agency.

When we do it for the least of these…

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Blessed to Be a Blessing
Joann Condit of Phoenix, AZ, 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

Thelma joined our class in the middle of my senior year. She sank into her assigned seat trying to fold herself into invisibility. She was older, tall and thin. No one smiled or spoke to her.

I went home for lunch and burst inside to tell my mother about this addition to our class, laughing as I described her. Mother spoke not a single word until I began to eat, and then she said, “Joann, I am so ashamed of you.”  Mom was a firm disciplinarian, but she rarely used negative terms. I knew she meant what she said, and why. I had not been reared to be unkind. Mother continued, “Joann, when you return to school today, you welcome this girl. You find something about her that is beautiful. You tell her. Do you understand me? And remember, I will know if you are lying to me.”

I trudged into study hall just before Thelma crept in, her face blotched, and sat down at her desk. I knew I’d lose my courage if I waited, so I sat down next to her and said hello. I asked her where she was from, and she told me she was living with her grandmother now. Conversation was stilted, so I looked carefully at her, my eyes lighting on her hands, long hands with slender fingers, her nails short and cared for. I took a deep breath and said, “Oh, Thelma, you do have such beautiful hands.” She smiled hesitantly, and I returned to my desk.

I made a point of speaking to her each day, as did others. She never became a close friend of anyone, but she was no longer an outsider. She did her work well, and when the school year ended, she disappeared. I never saw her again.

One summer vacation, I saw Thelma’s grandmother, and I asked about her. She had joined the Air Force and was now a commissioned officer. I was astonished when she said, “Joann, I have wanted to thank you for years for what you did for Thelma.” I had no idea what she meant.

“Thelma,” she said, “was always tall and thin, and she had a difficult home life. She was socially awkward, and school was difficult because her classmates were unkind. She wanted so badly to join the Air Force, but she had to have a high school diploma. She gave up and quit halfway through her senior year, but the dream did not go away. When she was 19, she came to stay with me to finish school. She came home for lunch that first day weeping and said she could never go back, that nothing had changed. I talked her into returning in the afternoon, promising that if she couldn’t stand it after that, she could quit. You told her she had pretty hands. She does have pretty hands. Her tall body wears her uniform with distinction. She is making the military her career. Thank you, Joann.”

Many times, a few kind words can change the life of another. How much time does it take to look for something to praise, to offer a cheerful comment? Bless my mother! She set for me a habit that endures. I am grateful to her for living out her life believing she was to be a blessing to everyone she met. She lived Christ’s mission.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Someone Is Always Watching
Dianna Vanderkarr of Flushing, MI, USA

 “Those who desire life
    and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
    and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
    let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” -1 Peter 3:10-12

When Craig and I moved in 2014 to our new place, we made an effort to meet our new neighbors. We have elderly couples in our neighborhood and some who are single. We have made sure that certain driveways are taken care of during the winter. Our neighbor next to us (Marty) is a single lady, so we make sure her driveway is always cleared. She notices and always thanks us with a Christmas gift. Linda, who lives across the street, lost her husband this past December. She has no close family in the area, so make sure to connect with her every couple of days. She calls to see if we can take her to doctor appointments, the drug store, or other things, which we are happy to do.

Kelly is another single lady we have come to know. We have been given the opportunity to share our faith with her. Once she was in need spiritually and asked for the laying on of hands. Another evangelist and I offered that sacrament to her. A few years ago, she lost a pet that was, in essence, her child. Now Kelly has a new puppy named Maverick. In this last year Kelly and Maverick have spent a lot of time with us. We sat out on the back porch during the summer and listened to Kelly share her concerns. She now calls us the therapy house for her and Maverick, and she knows she can blow off steam and we will listen. She has had many struggles this last year with her job, not to mention the struggle with a puppy who wants to play in our yard but needs training.

One day as we were chatting, she mentioned the candle she sees every morning through the window of my office. I mentioned that is my meditation time, and I always use a candle. She said she feels connected with me in spirit and that we are in meditation together every morning. I was taken back a bit, not having given any thought to someone seeing my candle burning. So, we never know who is watching, but someone is always watching. I rejoice knowing that I can share the love of Jesus Christ through the window with a candle.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Snowflakes
Shirley Remmenga of Ft. Collins, CO, USA

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
    Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! -Psalm 117

The big, lacy snowflakes fell from the sky like feathers from a giant bird, landing gently on tree branches; fence posts; dead lawn grass; and dirty, oil-spotted streets. They covered every surface with a pure, white, fluffy blanket.

I stood at my window and watched them. I was full of awe and wonder and overwhelmed with the knowledge that every flake carried the DNA of God.

If God is in everything, as I believe, then everything has deep meaning and purpose regardless of whether it seems to enrich or disgust, has beauty or is ugly, is valuable or is trash.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God-in everything” (Matthew 5:8).

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

God Within
Becky Savage of Lee’s Summit, MO, USA

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. -John 14:16-17

My mom was active. She was working at Outreach International, serving as pastor, writing, and singing. She was an awesome grandma, mother, sister, aunt, and wife. Dad was ready for retirement, and they were looking forward to traveling together. Then mom started tripping and falling. Items dropped from her grasp unexpectantly. Doctors were perplexed. The symptoms were difficult to diagnosis. Obviously, something was wrong, but what? It was difficult to not question, “Why, God? Why now?”

Despite family members’ questions and spiritual distress mom remained steadfast. She received a terminal diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Still she remained assured of God’s continued loving presence. Her body lost muscle and nerve function gradually over five years. She needed canes, then a walker, then a wheelchair, and finally was bedbound. Still she remained confident that God blessed her. Even when her only movement was from her neck upward, her spirit remained strong.

We knew Mom was dying. Mom convinced us that God remained with her. Because she stayed faithful, we stayed strong as we journeyed with her through her final stage of life. Her faith sustained us. We now know no matter our circumstances, God is within.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Spirit
Julie Conway Sword of Gainesville, FL, USA

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him[(David] in the midst of his brethren; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David…then David took a harp, and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well . . .” -1 Samuel 16:13

It was a rinky-dink upright grand piano at the campgrounds. It had been in the lodge for years through all kinds of weather, temperatures, and camper pounding. Every year it was tuned, and, surprisingly, the tone was not too bad.

Prior to the sharing service I began playing a mixture of classical music and hymns. My thoughts and hands glided over the keys, not of my own power. There had been other times when I felt the Spirit playing through me: before the Graceland College student assembly; on the Temple organ for Prayer for Peace. The music flowed effortlessly; the assembly was stilled and singing, praying, and scripture reading ensued. With a grateful heart, I praised the Lord for blessing me.

It reminded me of the “rag-tag army” in The Way of the Wolf-the Lord picked them up, dusted them off and set them on their way again, empowered by the spirit of the Lord. “Is anything too hard for the Lord? No!”

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

18 Inches
Mark Murphy of Everett, WA, USA

So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. -Proverbs 4:23 (The Passion Translation)

The Lakota (Sioux) Nation says, “The longest journey you will take in your lifetime is [the 18 inches] from your head to your heart.” I was unexpectedly forced to take a part of that journey in 1996 in Birmingham, Alabama, during a Human and Civil Rights Conference. Despite being a strong supporter of rights for all people, I confess that I had reached a point of fatigue, tired of all the hyphenated American identities, complaints about racism and discrimination, and tired of being too often bludgeoned by the incessant hammering on the need for more cultural diversity. Why? I asked myself. We’re Americans, not hyphenated Americans. No progress is going to truly be made until the past is put behind us and forgiveness extended. Let’s just let go and move on. And all these thoughts coming from a proud, bleeding-heart liberal.

On the last morning of the conference, a Sunday, I went to the (in)famous 16th Street Baptist Church where on the morning of September 23, 1963, in an act of domestic terrorism committed by white supremacists, “four little girls” (ages 11 and 14) were killed, along with 22 wounded. I sat in the sanctuary for worship, one of only three white people in the congregation. Truthfully, I felt very out of place. I knew that I stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb and that everyone else was looking at me, wondering what the white dude was doing in their church. Suddenly it hit me, this experience I was having was merely the tiniest glimpse of what so many African American (Black) people go through on a nearly daily basis as they live in a majority white populace, rightly believing that many of these Caucasians, many of them Christians, still look at them with subtle suspicion and superiority. They know that in far too many cases, African Americans are blamed for the continuation of racial problems that would go away if Blacks would just “get over” their anger and history with oppression.

I realized in that moment that while I spoke of and argued for the worth and equality of all persons, my heart was far away from where my head was and the words I was speaking. The thoughts I described above came from a failure to honestly empathize with the reality my black brothers and sisters face every day and from my attempt to force them to fit into my white privileged views of how they should respond to their lived experiences.

That Sunday morning in the 16th Baptist Church, the Spirit, in a moment of compassion and grace, opened my eyes and taught me that I had to be more honest with myself, and that I have some distance to go on that 18-inch journey. I wonder how many Daily Bread readers are on that journey with me.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Coming into Focus
Jan Hill of New Brighton, MN, USA

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

When I was in the fourth grade many years ago, my parents took me to the eye doctor because they thought I was not seeing like I should. We lived in a small town in southern Iowa; and to see an eye doctor, we had to travel to the city that was big and unfamiliar and two hours away.

After I had my eyes tested, we took the script to the place that would grind the lenses and set them in the frames. It wasn’t a one-hour wait like it is at some places today. It was going to take the rest of the day, but we were assured that the new glasses would be ready by closing time that afternoon.

I remember the ride home with my new glasses on. It was getting dark, and when we got away from the bright lights of the city and rode through the dark countryside, I looked out the car window and realized for the first time that those fuzzy white blobs I had been seeing were really pinpoints of light, sparkling and dancing in the sky.

Then the song made sense to me:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
like a diamond in the sky

Those stars had been there all the time. I just couldn’t see them until I put on my new eyes and looked upward, and then they came clearly into focus.

I wonder how many more diamonds I would see if I took the responsibility, like the blind man in the scriptures, for washing the mud from my eyes.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Giving Generously
Merna Short of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” -Matthew 25:40

Giving generously encompasses many areas. I heard a story recently that caused me to think of various acts of generosity. Some of these include our finances and how we use them.

The church and its mission need our support. Welfare organizations need money and volunteers. Opportunity shops recycle second-hand goods with the profits going to those in need. People share time uplifting a friend or neighbor, supplying a meal for someone who is sick or housebound. Others donate time and goods for food pantries. There are many areas of giving in hospitals, care centers, and the community-manning the shops, chaplaincy, music ministry, reading, and visiting the sick or lonely.

But where do all those wigs for cancer patients come from?

Victoria liked her long hair. It was brown and straight. Her grandmother told me, “I would watch her brushing her hair until it gleamed.” I wondered why Victoria didn’t cut it, as short hair would have suited her. One day when I was visiting, I noticed her hair had been cut short. She looked lovely. Her sister was holding a parcel. In it was a plait (Victoria’s hair) ready to be sent to make a wig for a child with cancer.

Two or three years later, I noticed her hair growing longer again. When I asked her about it, Victoria said, “I think it’s about time I did something for someone else, so I’m growing my hair for another wig to donate.”

Open my eyes. Open my heart. Here am I, Lord. Use me.

Prayer Phrase

In God we all belong.

Spiritual Practice

Sustaining Our Connections

Many find themselves isolated around the world to protect each other and the most vulnerable during this global pandemic. Spend time prayerfully imagining those people that you might normally come into contact with on a regular basis, known and unknown. Remember all the connections that sustain our lives each day. Even in this time of intentional separation, how are you experiencing deep, intrinsic belonging in God?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.