United in Christ October 9, 2016

Read: Mark 3:13-19 Bible in a Year: Isaiah 32-33; Colossians 1 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.—Mark 3:14 When we come across a list of names in the Bible, we might be tempted to skip over it. But we can find treasures there, such as in the list of the twelve apostles whom Jesus called to serve in His name. Many are familiar—Simon whom Jesus called Peter, the rock. Brothers James and John, fishermen. Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. But we could easily overlook that Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot must once have been enemies. Matthew collected taxes for Rome, and therefore, in the eyes of his fellow Jews, collaborated with the enemy. Tax collectors were despised for their corrupt practices and for requiring the Jewish people to give money to an authority other than God. On the other hand, before Jesus’s call, Simon the Zealot was devoted to a group of Jewish nationalists who hated Rome and sought to overturn it, often through aggressive and violent means. Although Matthew and Simon held opposing political beliefs, the Gospels don’t document them bickering or fighting about them. They must have had at least some success in leaving their previous allegiances behind as they followed Christ. When we too fix our eyes on Jesus, the God who became Man, we can find increasing unity with our fellow believers through the bond of the Holy Spirit. —Amy Boucher Pye Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You exist in perfect harmony. May Your Spirit dwell in us that the world might see You, and believe. Our strongest allegiance is to Christ, who gives us unity with each other. INSIGHT: The Twelve had two things in common. They were the first to become Rabbi Jesus’s disciples. Accepting the role of a rabbi’s disciple in ancient Israel meant living in the rabbi’s presence full-time, diligently absorbing his teachings, and recruiting more followers. Aside from Judas Iscariot, all lived up to the demands of being a disciple. Second, aside from John, all of the faithful eleven disciples gave their life spreading the message of Jesus. Only John appears to have died of natural causes. This is one of the reasons we often hear about the cost of discipleship. Though we will not all pay that cost in the same way, every disciple will face the challenges and struggles of following Jesus. Bill Crowder Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 344 - Record a Living Eulogy

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 Record a Living Eulogy Day 344 You can record a living eulogy on a videotape or audiocassette. Plan a time when your loved ones are all together. Each person could share a favorite song and Bible verse. Go around the room and ask specific questions, or have each person share something nice about the person next to him or her. Reminisce happy memories that include those in the room. Also, share thoughts and memories about loved ones who are no longer with you. Pastor Buck Buchanan says, "The benefit I've seen is the event itself, just getting the family together. There's a lot of crying; there's a lot of laughing; there's a lot of exchange. You see the family's relationships coming out. It is extremely helpful in healing." This is the perfect opportunity to let those around you know how much you love and value them for who they are. Sometimes in grief you will cling too tightly to family members who are still living because you fear losing them as well. This does not make them feel loved and valued; that behavior is based on fear. Bring the family together. Plan a special evening of living memories, laughter, favorites, questions, and tears. Let God's love flow through you. "These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city … that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants" (Esther 9:28 nkjv). Father God, You created me to be in a family. Teach me to cherish my loved ones in a way that is healthy and true. 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

The Drinkable Book October 8, 2016

Read: John 4:7-15 Bible in a Year: Isaiah 30-31; Philippians 4 The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.—John 4:14 Because it is so difficult in parts of the world to find clean drinking water, an organization called Water Is Life developed a wonderful resource called “The Drinkable Book.” The paper in the book is coated in silver nanoparticles that filter out almost 99.9 percent of harmful bacteria! Each tear-out page can be used and reused to filter up to 100 liters of water at the cost of only four pennies per page. The Bible is also an unusually “drinkable” Book. In John 4, we read of a particular kind of thirst and a special kind of water. The woman at the well needed much more than to quench her physical thirst with clean, clear liquid. She was desperate to know the source of “living water.” She needed the grace and forgiveness that comes from God alone. God’s Word is the ultimate “drinkable” Book that points to God’s Son as the sole source of “living water.” And those who accept the water that Jesus gives will experience “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (v. 14). —Cindy Hess Kasper Father, we yearn for the satisfaction that only You can give. Help us discard the things that leave us empty and thirsting, and exchange them for the satisfaction of the living water You offer.   Tell us your story of how you came to know Jesus as the Living Water at odb.org or Facebook.com/ourdailybread. Jesus is the sole source of living water. INSIGHT: The Samaritan woman thinks of “water” as purely material—just H2O. So, in her conversation with Jesus, she is stuck on having to trudge tiresomely back and forth daily to this well—perhaps a hundred feet deep—and use muscle power to draw and hoist the container of water homeward. Jesus’s statements symbolize salvation and satisfaction in what is both essential and enjoyable in water; He wants to ratchet up her understanding of eternal life in Him (John 4:14). Perhaps the closest thing to a definition of “eternal life” is found in John 17:3: “This is eternal life: that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life means having a relationship with God by knowing Jesus Christ. Jim Townsend Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 343 - Living Eulogy

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 Living Eulogy Day 343 A eulogy is typically a formal, prepared statement of commendation. But eulogy can also be defined as "high praise" (Merriam-Webster). You have the opportunity daily to give a living eulogy to those you love. Rev. John Coulombe explains: "Living eulogies should start at the crib with hands laid on the infants, speaking to them good things about who they are, God's will for them, and God's blessing upon them. Living eulogies should continue through those childhood years and adolescent years and adult years and death years. It should be a lifestyle. A living eulogy is the greatest gift that you can give. It is telling someone he or she has value and wishing God's best upon his or her life." Pray the following Scripture for those you love, and let them know that you desire God's blessing on their lives: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26). Amen. Let this prayer be the start of a living eulogy. 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

Grasping the Cross October 7, 2016

Read: Philippians 3:7-12 Bible in a Year: Isaiah 28-29; Philippians 3 Not that I have . . . already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. —Philippians 3:12 In 1856, Charles Spurgeon, the great London preacher, founded the Pastors’ College to train men for the Christian ministry. It was renamed Spurgeon’s College in 1923. Today’s college crest shows a hand grasping a cross and the Latin words, Et Teneo, Et Teneor, which means, “I hold and am held.” In his autobiography, Spurgeon wrote, “This is our College motto. We . . . hold forth the Cross of Christ with a bold hand . . . because that Cross holds us fast by its attractive power. Our desire is that every man may both hold the Truth, and be held by it; especially the truth of Christ crucified.” In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he expressed this truth as the bedrock of his life. “Not that I have . . . already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). As followers of Jesus, we extend the message of the cross to others as Jesus holds us fast in His grace and power. “I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Our Lord holds us in His grip of love each day—and we hold out His message of love to others. —David McCasland Lord Jesus, Your cross is the focal point of history and the turning point of our lives. Hold us tightly as we cling to Your cross and extend your love to others. We hold to the cross of Christ and are held by it. INSIGHT: Driven, disciplined, and focused might be accurate adjectives to describe Paul’s zeal in persecuting the church before he came to Christ. But when Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, his life took a decided turn (Acts 9). Paul was now called to be an apostle, and many marveled that he preached the gospel he once sought to destroy. The man who had been driven by self-righteousness now preached grace-righteousness.  Dennis Fisher 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.