Our Daily Bread -- Abba, Father June 19, 2016

Read: Romans 8:12-17 Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. —Psalm 68:5 The scene belonged on a funny Father’s Day card. As a dad muscled a lawn mower ahead of him with one hand, he expertly towed a child’s wagon behind him with the other. In the wagon sat his three-year-old daughter, delighted at the noisy tour of their yard. This might not be the safest choice, but who says men can’t multitask? If you had a good dad, a scene like that can invoke fantastic memories. But for many, “Dad” is an incomplete concept. Where are we to turn if our fathers are gone, or if they fail us, or even if they wound us? King David certainly had his shortcomings as a father, but he understood the paternal nature of God. “A father to the fatherless,” he wrote, “a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families” (Ps. 68:5-6). The apostle Paul expanded on that idea: “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.” Then, using the Aramaic word for father—a term young children would use for their dad—Paul added, “By him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Rom. 8:15). This is the same word Jesus used when He prayed in anguish to His Father the night He was betrayed (Mark 14:36). What a privilege to come to God using the same intimate term for “father” that Jesus used! Our Abba Father welcomes into His family anyone who will turn to Him. —Tim Gustafson Heavenly Father, I want to be part of Your family. I believe that Your only Son Jesus died for my sins. Please forgive me and help me live a life that pleases You. A good father reflects the love of the heavenly Father. INSIGHT: The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and is the source of our spiritual life (Rom. 8:9-14). He is the seal and guarantee (Eph. 1:13-14) that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:5). As His children, we have a duty to the Father not to live according to the sinful nature (Rom. 8:12) but to “put to death the misdeeds of the body” (v. 13; Col. 3:5-11). We are to be “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16-18) and to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). In the Spirit's power, God’s children display the characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (vv. 22-23). Sim Kay Tee Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

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 232 - Decide to Move Forward

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 Decide to Move Forward Day 232 The most important thing to understand if you are stuck in grief is that only you can make the decision to get unstuck. Only you can make the decision to move on. Dr. Tim Clinton observes, "You close yourself off from interactions in life that normally would be healthy for you. You're so sorrowed that you close your world in. You start disengaging from life to control your world. But the more you disengage, the more you've cut off that life supply." Choose to move forward in your grief—rebuild relationships, serve others in your community, express your emotions, share your story, begin a new sport, hobby, or activity. Your effort to control your life and cut off relational ties will not help anyone, least of all you. When Ruth lost her husband, she did not disengage from life. Boaz commented on this and said to Ruth, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge" (Ruth 2:11-12). Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David through whose physical lineage came Jesus. Jesus, I know that I must move on. I am making the decision right now to get myself unstuck from this place in my grief. I need You to replenish my life supply. 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 -- Defeat or Victory? June 18, 2016

Read: 1 John 5:1-13 Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22 Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. —1 John 5:4 Each year on June 18 the great Battle of Waterloo is recalled in what is now Belgium. On that day in 1815, Napoleon’s French army was defeated by a multinational force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. Since then, the phrase “to meet your Waterloo” has come to mean “to be defeated by someone who is too strong for you or by a problem that is too difficult for you.” When it comes to our spiritual lives, some people feel that ultimate failure is inevitable and it’s only a matter of time until each of us will “meet our Waterloo.” But John refuted that pessimistic view when he wrote to followers of Jesus: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). John weaves this theme of spiritual victory throughout his first letter as he urges us not to love the things this world offers, which will soon fade away (2:15-17). Instead, we are to love and please God, “And this is what he promised us—eternal life” (v. 25). While we may have ups and downs in life, and even some battles that feel like defeats, the ultimate victory is ours in Christ as we trust in His power. —David McCasland Lord Jesus, Your ultimate victory in this fallen world is assured, and You ask us to share in it each day of our lives. By Your grace, enable us to overcome the world through faith and obedience to You. When it comes to problems, the way out is to trust God on the way through. INSIGHT: There is an interesting connection between being born of God, keeping His commands, and overcoming the world. If we are children of God, then we will keep His commandments, and this is how we overcome the world. This suggests that the world is against God’s commands and that to be born of God is to be separate from the world. J.R. Hudberg Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

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 231 - Look for the Exceptions

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 Look for the Exceptions Day 231 Think of something good that has happened to you lately. If you do not feel you can label anything as good, think instead of the "exceptions" to your sorrow. Think of any times this past week when you were not focused on your sorrow. What were you doing during those times? "The mind can't occupy itself with two thoughts at a time," says Jim Grassi. "If you focus on those things that are good and pure and right and fun and new and exciting and challenging, it's going to be harder for those other thoughts to seep into your head." Your healing journey will contain positives, or exceptions to the negative, as you continue forward. Teach yourself to recognize these forward steps. "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps" (Proverbs 14:15). Lord, I know I cannot walk aimlessly through grief; it is too tangled and torturous. Show me the positive steps I have made so far, so that I can be encouraged by them. 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 -- Marathon Reading June 17, 2016

Read: Nehemiah 8:1-8 Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. —Nehemiah 8:8 When the sun came up on the first day of the seventh month in 444 bc, Ezra started reading the law of Moses (what we know as the first five books of the Bible). Standing on a platform in front of the people in Jerusalem, he read it straight through for the next six hours. Men, women, and children had gathered at the entrance to the city known as the Water Gate to observe the Festival of Trumpets—one of the feasts prescribed for them by God. As they listened, four reactions stand out. They stood up in reverence for the Book of the Law (Neh. 8:5). They praised God by lifting their hands and saying “Amen.” They bowed down in humble worship (v. 6). Then they listened carefully as the Scriptures were both read and explained to them (v. 8). What an amazing day as the book that “the Lord had commanded for Israel” (v. 1) was read aloud inside Jerusalem’s newly rebuilt walls! Ezra’s marathon reading session can remind us that God’s words to us are still meant to be a source of praise, worship, and learning. When we open the Bible and learn more about Christ, let’s praise God, worship Him, and seek to discover what He is saying to us now. —Dave Branon Lord, thank You for this amazing book we call the Bible. Thank You for inspiring its creation by the writers You chose to pen its words. Thank You for preserving this book through the ages so we can learn Your people’s story and the good news of Your love. The goal of Bible study is not just learning but living. INSIGHT: Nehemiah was the “cupbearer to the king” (Neh. 1:11), a position of great trust and influence in ancient cultures. The cupbearer was responsible to serve wine at the king’s table and would be positioned at the king’s side as an advisor during times of deliberation. Since ancient monarchs were often assassinated by poison, the cupbearer was sometimes required to taste the wine before serving. The person who handled the king’s cup was important and needed to be trustworthy. Bill Crowder Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

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.