Our Daily Bread -- A Loving Father June 21, 2015

Read: Psalm 103:7-13 Bible in a Year: Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42 As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. —Psalm 103:13 The parents were obviously weary from dragging their two energetic preschoolers through airports and airplanes, and now their final flight was delayed. As I watched the two boys running around the crowded gate area, I wondered how Mom and Dad were going to keep the little guys settled down for our half-hour flight into Grand Rapids. When we finally boarded, I noticed that the father and one of the sons were in the seats behind me. Then I heard the weary father say to his son, “Why don’t you let me read one of your storybooks to you.” And during the entire flight, this loving father softly and patiently read to his son, keeping him calm and focused.  In one of his psalms David declares, “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:13). The word pities refers to showing love and compassion. This tender word gives us a picture of how deeply our heavenly Father loves His children, and it reminds us what a great gift it is to be able to look to God and cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). God longs for you to listen again to the story of His love for you when you are restless on your own journey through life. Your heavenly Father is always near, ready to encourage you with His Word. —Bill Crowder I rejoice in Your presence and Your love for me, Lord. Today I choose joy in knowing Your love is constant and unchanging, forever fixed. God’s great love for His child is one of His greatest gifts. INSIGHT: Commentator Adam Clarke provides this background to Psalm 103: “The inscription in the Hebrew, and in all the Versions, gives this Psalm to David; and yet many of the ancients believed it to refer to the times of the captivity, or rather to its conclusion, in which the redeemed Jews give thanks to God for their restoration. It is a Psalm of inimitable sweetness and excellence; contains the most affectionate sentiments of gratitude to God for his mercies; and the most consoling motives to continue to trust in God, and be obedient to him.” Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 236 - Experiencing Closure

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Experiencing Closure Day 236 By now you have recognized that everyone grieves in different ways and for different amounts of time. Closure is also an individual experience. Closure in grief is when a particular struggle, emotion, or problem either ends or gets to a place where you are free to move on from it. For some people closure occurs over a long period of time. For others, it occurs at specific moments. Closure can come through the words or comfort of another person, an important memory, a letter, a graveside visit, a Scripture, a new understanding, financial help, or a service to another. God will provide a healing closure for you, and He will bless you in that closure. Pray for closure and look for it. In this biblical account, God blessed the widow with financial provision and by enabling her to keep her sons at home when she feared she could not. "My husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves." Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil." Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. (2 Kings 4:1-6) This financial provision was enough to pay off all her debts and to bring an end to the desperate economic crisis that her husband's death introduced. God will help you to find closure for the many struggles you face in grief. Keep in mind, though, that God provides for each person in different ways. He will meet your needs in His time and by His perfect plan. Holy Spirit, bring me to the point of closure and peace so that I can think of my loved one with a smile on my face and reassurance in my heart. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Our Daily Bread -- A Missing Sheep June 20, 2015

Read: Luke 15:1-10 Bible in a Year: Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21 We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. —Psalm 100:3 Laura loaded a borrowed goat and sheep into a trailer to transport them to church for a rehearsal of a live nativity. The animals head-butted and chased each other for a bit and then settled down. Laura started for the church but first had to stop for gas. While pumping the gas, she noticed the goat standing in the parking lot! And the sheep was gone! In the commotion of getting them settled she had forgotten to lock one of the latches. Laura called the sheriff and some friends who searched frantically along a stretch of businesses, cornfields, and woods during the last daylight hours. Many were praying that she would find the borrowed animal. The next morning Laura and a friend went out to post “Lost Sheep” flyers at local businesses. Their first stop was the gas station. A customer overheard them asking the cashier about posting a flyer and said, “I think I know where your sheep is!” The sheep had wandered to his neighbor’s farm, where he had put it in the barn for the night. The Lord cares about lost sheep—including you and me. Jesus came from heaven to earth to show us His love and provide salvation (John 3:16). He goes to great lengths to seek and find us (Luke 19:10). When the sheep was found, Laura nicknamed her Miracle. And God’s salvation of us is a miracle of His grace. —Anne Cetas Heavenly Father, as we care for the things dear to us, how much more do You care for us, Your children! Thank You for answered prayer and for the miracle of Your grace. The Good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep. John 10:11 INSIGHT: Jesus’ association with the outcasts of society (vv. 1-2) offended the self-righteous Pharisees and religious leaders who saw themselves as the only people fit to go to heaven. Their statement that “this man receives sinners and eats with them” (v. 2) was meant to be a scathing attack on His character, but it accurately affirmed what Jesus came to do (Matt. 9:10-13). In response to this criticism, Jesus told three parables: the lost sheep (vv. 4-7), the lost coin (vv. 8-10), and the lost son (vv. 11-32). All three parables follow the same pattern: something is lost, it is found, and then there is rejoicing. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 235 - Resuming Life

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Resuming Life Day 235 When a loved one dies, the week of the funeral is usually very busy. It is filled with details and obligations and visits from friends. But in the weeks and months that follow, if you are honest, you may be surprised to see those around you resuming their normal, everyday lives. You may feel, "How could they?" Yet you know this is natural. Life does go on, but you may wonder how you will ever be part of that life again. You cannot merely "turn off" your grief; you will carry a part of that grief with you always. But as you walk through your grief journey, you must take conscious steps forward each day. Jodie, whose husband died, says, "I got tired of getting up the next morning with puffy eyes and all of that, and I thought, You know, there's got to be an end to this. But all I could do was just keep asking the Lord, 'Lord please just help me get over this. Please just get me to a point where I can handle it.' "Slowly I got better. But every once in a while the feelings will come, and I just know that the Lord collects those tears, and they're special to Him. Just cry out to the Lord because He's the healer." Let the Scriptures motivate you to press on forward. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained" (Philippians 3:14-16). Lord Jesus, guide me in Your Word and show me what You want me do today. Empower me with Your Spirit to live. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Our Daily Bread -- Look at the Tassels June 19, 2015

Read: Numbers 15:37-41 Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37 Remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them. —Numbers 15:39 Best-selling author Chaim Potok began his novel The Chosen by describing a baseball game between two Jewish teams in New York City.  Reuven Malter, the book’s main character, notices that the opposing players’ uniforms have a unique accessory—four long ropelike tassels that extend below each teammate’s shirt. Reuven recognizes the tassels as a sign of strict obedience to God’s Old Testament laws. The history of these fringes—known as tzitzit—began with a message from God. Through Moses, God told His people to create tassels containing some strands of blue thread and attach them to the four corners of their top garments (Num. 15:38). God said, “You may look upon [the tassels] and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them” (v. 39). God’s memory device for the ancient Israelites has a parallel for us today. We can look at Christ who consistently kept the whole law in our place and obeyed His heavenly Father (John 8:29). Having received His work on our behalf, we now “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:14). Keeping our eyes on God’s Son helps us to honor our heavenly Father. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt Dear Jesus, thank You for being my spiritual role model. Help me to walk in Your steps so that I can honor and obey God with the Holy Spirit’s help. If Christ is the center of your life, you’ll always be focused on Him. INSIGHT: The book of Numbers is part of the opening segment of the Old Testament Scriptures. It is book four of the five-book Pentateuch, referred to in Judaism as the Torah (the Law). These books were written by Moses as a record not only of the beginning of time and life (Genesis), but also the beginning of the nation of Israel (Exodus through Deuteronomy). This book received its name because of Moses’ order to number the population of the tribes. Jewish names for the book of Numbers include “and the Lord spoke” and “in the wilderness” (both names coming from Num. 1:1). Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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