Our Daily Bread -- Easter Start March 27, 2016

Read: John 20:24-31 Bible in a Year: Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30 Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. —John 20:27 One detail in the Easter story has always intrigued me. Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? Presumably He could have had any resurrected body He wanted, and yet He chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why? I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus (John 20:27). Human beings dream of pearly straight teeth and wrinkle-free skin and ideal body shapes. We dream of an unnatural state: the perfect body. But for Jesus, being confined in a skeleton and human skin was the unnatural state. The scars are a permanent reminder of His days of confinement and suffering on our planet. From the perspective of heaven, those scars represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though, turned into a memory. Because of Easter, we can hope that the tears we shed, the struggles we endure, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones—all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. Someday we will have re-created bodies and a re-created heaven and earth (Rev. 21:4). We will have a new start, an Easter start. —Philip Yancey Thank You, Lord, for the hope that the resurrection of Jesus brings—for now and for eternity. I put my trust in You today. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our own. INSIGHT: Thomas is a disciple about whom we know very little. He is mentioned only a few times in the biblical record, and he himself speaks only in three places. Many point to Thomas’s first recorded words as a strong statement of faith and commitment to Jesus: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). 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.

Day 148 - Feeling Guilty?

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 Feeling Guilty? Day 148 After an appropriate time of grieving the death of your spouse and after experiencing personal healing from your loss, you might consider dating. New dating relationships can cause you to feel guilty. You may feel you shouldn't be having fun and that you are being disloyal to your lost spouse. These feelings are certainly natural and will take some time getting over. "When you first start dating, you feel guilty for enjoying yourself. That was a little awkward getting past," says Marie, who lost her husband. You are not betraying or abandoning your loved one by dating again. God does not want you to feel guilty about this. You are free to date, and you are free to not date. "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything" (1 John 3:19-20). Heavenly Jesus, You are greater than all my worries. I bow down to Your wisdom for my life. 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 -- Never Forsaken March 26, 2016

Read: Psalm 22:1-10 Bible in a Year: Joshua 22-24; Luke 3 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, . . . “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —Matthew 27:46 Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” With that in mind, I read an online article describing “The Top 8 Deadliest Prisons in the World.” In one of these prisons every prisoner is held in solitary confinement. We are intended to live and relate in relationships and community, not in isolation. This is what makes solitary confinement such a harsh punishment. Isolation is the agony Christ suffered when His eternal relationship with the Father was broken on the cross. We hear this in His cry captured in Matthew 27:46: “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).” As He suffered and died under the burden of our sins, Christ was suddenly alone, forsaken, isolated, cut off from His relationship with the Father. Yet His suffering in isolation secured for us the promise of the Father: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Christ endured the agony and abandonment of the cross for us so that we would never be alone or abandoned by our God. Ever. —Bill Crowder Father, thank You for making it possible for me to be Your child. I will be eternally grateful for the price Jesus paid to make that relationship possible. Thank You for the promise that You will never abandon me. Those who know Jesus are never alone. INSIGHT: Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God affected their relationship with Him, with each other, and with the good world God had created for them to live in and tend (Gen. 3:8-19). Too often we think of Jesus’s work—His life, death, and resurrection—solely in terms of what it means for our relationship with God. But the redemptive work of Christ extends beyond reconciling us to God. Jesus inaugurated a kingdom that is about restoring what was broken at the fall. 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.

Day 147 - Freedom to Remarry

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 Freedom to Remarry Day 147 God may at some point bring another person into your life, and you are then free to pursue a relationship. You may have to give yourself permission to do so because of the loyalty you feel to the spouse you have lost. He or she will always be a part of your life; you are not being disloyal by moving forward again. "I did have to give myself permission to date again," says Jodie, who lost her husband, "but I really was not looking for a second husband. I guess the Lord just opened my eyes when it was time." God will provide in a way that is right for you. In the meantime, walk in the freedom that God has for you. "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13). Lord God, make sense of my conflicting thoughts and emotions, and give me wisdom in the decisions I make today. 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 -- Three-Word Obituary March 25, 2016

Read: Romans 8:28-39 Bible in a Year: Joshua 19-21; Luke 2:25-52 Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God. —Romans 8:34 Before Stig Kernell died, he told the local funeral home that he didn’t want a traditional obituary. Instead, the Swedish man instructed them to publish only three words noting his passing: “I am dead.” When Mr. Kernell died at age 92, that’s exactly what appeared. The audacity and simplicity of his unusual death notice captured the attention of newspapers around the world. In a strange twist, the international curiosity about the man with the three-word obituary caused more attention to his death than he intended. When Jesus was crucified, the Lord’s obituary could have read, “He is dead.” But after 3 days, it would have been changed to front-page news saying, “He is risen!” Much of the New Testament is devoted to proclaiming and explaining the results of Christ’s resurrection. “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:34-37). The three-word obituary of Jesus, “He is dead,” has been transformed into an eternal anthem of praise to our Savior. He is risen! He is risen indeed! —David McCasland Lord, we rejoice in Your great victory over sin and death through Your resurrection. May we live in light of it every day. Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. INSIGHT: In Romans 5-8, Paul told the Roman Christians what Christ had done to save them and of the benefits they now have. Today’s passage is Paul’s concluding affirmation and celebration of God’s providential care. Quoting from Psalm 44:22 (in Rom. 8:36), Paul makes the point that Christians are not exempt from afflictions, suffering, or death (Rom. 8:35). Even so, we need not fear because “God is for us” (v. 31). 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.