Our Daily Bread -- The Power of God’s Music March 6, 2016

Read: Colossians 3:12-17 Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 10:1-31 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly . . . with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. —Colossians 3:16 The Sound of Music, one of the most successful musical films ever produced, was released as a motion picture in 1965. It won many accolades, including five Academy Awards, as it captured the hearts and voices of people around the world. More than half a century later, people still attend special showings of the film where viewers come dressed as their favorite character and sing along during the performance. Music is deeply rooted in our souls. And for followers of Jesus, it is a powerful means of encouraging each other along the journey of faith. Paul urged the believers in Colossae, “Let Christ’s teaching live in your hearts, making you rich in the true wisdom. Teach and help one another along the right road with your psalms and hymns and Christian songs, singing God’s praises with joyful hearts” (Col. 3:16 Phillips). Singing together to the Lord embeds the message of His love in our minds and souls. It is a powerful ministry of teaching and encouragement that we share together. Whether our hearts cry out, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10), or joyfully shout, “And he will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15), the power of music that exalts God lifts our spirits and grants us peace. Let us sing to the Lord today. —David McCasland Thank You, Lord, for Your gift of music. We sing Your praise together and learn more of Your love and power. What is your favorite hymn or worship song? Share yours on our Facebook page. Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life. INSIGHT: The book of Colossians has a strong emphasis on the person and work of Christ. In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul takes the time to celebrate who Christ is (see 1:15-20) and to encourage the believers there to imitate Him. Paul admonishes the Colossians not only to speak encouragement to one another, but also to encourage each other with music (3:16). In the early church, singing wasn’t just a celebration; it was a way to teach and learn theology. In fact, Colossians 1:15-20 is widely considered to be an ancient hymn. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 127 - Making Decisions

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 Making Decisions Day 127 With the death of a spouse, you are suddenly faced with a myriad of decisions you must make on your own, and these decisions bombard you right alongside your tangled, unpredictable, and overwhelming emotions. "I had never bought a car in my life!" says Gretchen. "He just all of a sudden one day would come in with a new car. We didn't particularly talk about it. He knew and I knew when the time came that he would depreciate them out, and then I would get that car, and he would get a new one." Decisions can range from what to serve the children for breakfast to how to buy a car. These decisions come daily, and they cannot be ignored. Take heart; God will give you the strength and the wisdom to make the right choices. You can trust that He is helping you even when you are not aware of it. "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). God, I must tackle these decisions one at a time. Hear my prayers for each decision and answer them—one at time. 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 -- Forward to God March 5, 2016

Read: 2 Kings 19:9-20 Bible in a Year: Numbers 34-36; Mark 9:30-50 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. —2 Kings 19:16 In the days before telephones, email, and mobile phones, the telegram was usually the fastest means of communication. But only important news was sent by telegram, and such news was usually bad. Hence the saying, “The telegram boy always brings bad news.” It was wartime in ancient Israel when Hezekiah was king of Judah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had invaded and captured the cities of Judah. He then sent a letter to Hezekiah, a bad-news “telegram” urging his surrender. Hezekiah described the moment as “a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace” (2 Kings 19:3). With taunts and scoffs, Sennacherib boasted of his past military campaigns, belittling the God of Israel and threatening mayhem (vv. 11-13). In that dreadful moment, King Hezekiah did an unusual thing with the bad-news letter: “He went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord” (v. 14). Then he prayed earnestly, acknowledging the power of God over their gloomy situation (vv. 15-19). God intervened in a powerful way (vv. 35-36). Bad news can reach us at any time. In those moments, Hezekiah’s action is a good example to follow. Spread out the news before the Lord in prayer and hear His reassurance: “I have heard your prayer” (v. 20). —Lawrence Darmani Heavenly Father, when people attack us, we tend to react defensively. Teach us to turn to You instead of taking matters into our own hands. We trust You and love You. Defend us today. Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear. INSIGHT: It is interesting that the account of King Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem and Hezekiah’s refusal to submit to him (2 Kings 18-19) is also recorded on the Taylor Prism—a six-sided baked clay document that was discovered in 1830 in the ancient Assyrian capital city of Nineveh. King Hezekiah’s answered prayer for deliverance (19:19) should underscore what we know but sometimes forget—God hears our cries, He has spoken to us through the Scriptures, and whatever we face we can trust Him. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 126 - Companionship Is Gone

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 Companionship Is Gone Day 126 Picture yourself at the dinner table laughing with your spouse. Picture your spouse in his or her favorite room or chair. Picture your spouse hugging you while you cry. "The greatest loss is the company of that person, having him there," says Nancy, who lost her husband. "He had a favorite chair. You look over at that chair, and he is no longer in that chair. He was always there to lift me up if something was wrong." Now picture yourself at the dinner table dining with Jesus. Picture yourself in your favorite room or chair with Jesus close by your side. Lastly, picture Jesus enfolding you in His arms, covering you completely with the sleeves of His robe and just pouring out His love into your whole being. Be filled with His great love today. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him…. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:9, 16) Lord Jesus, today I will crawl into Your arms of love and just rest. 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 -- For His Time March 4, 2016

Read: James 1:2-4 Bible in a Year: Numbers 31-33; Mark 9:1-29 My times are in your hands. —Psalm 31:15 When South African pastor Andrew Murray was visiting England in 1895, he began to suffer pain from a previous back injury. While he was recuperating, his hostess told him of a woman who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any counsel for her. Murray said, “Give her this paper which I have been writing for my own [encouragement]. It may be that she will find it helpful.” This is what Murray wrote: “In time of trouble say: First—God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest. Next—He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then—He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last—In His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows. I am here—by God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.” We want the instant solution, the quick fix, but some things cannot be disposed of so readily; they can only be accepted. God will keep us by His love. By His grace, we can rest in Him. —David Roper Dear Lord, it’s hard to endure times of illness and suffering. Comfort me and help me to trust You. When God permits suffering, He also provides comfort. INSIGHT: James saw himself as a servant of Christ (James 1:1), even though he was Christ’s half-brother (Matt. 13:55). He did not come to faith until after Jesus’s resurrection (John 7:3-5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:7) and eventually became a leader in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). In writing this letter to Jewish believers who had been scattered because of persecution, he focuses on Jewish thinking and values: It is highly practical, intensely candid, and wisdom-oriented. Because of its practical application, it has been referred to as the “Proverbs” of the New Testament. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family. To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2016, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution. Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.   Our Daily Bread Ministries | 3000 Kraft Ave | Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Manage Your Subscription.