Daily Devotional

“Give us this day our daily bread” – Matthew 6: 11

This past Sunday we celebrated World Communion Sunday. Churches around the world gathered and celebrated the gift of Holy Communion. Communion is one of the most significant acts in our faith. When we celebrate Communion, we encounter the life-giving gift of God’s grace. We find forgiveness for our sins, and the power of God to live the life God intends for us to live.

Just before we shared Communion with one another, we prayed together. The prayer we said was The Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is found in the Gospel of Matthew. It appears right in the middle of The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7).  In the middle of the prayer that Jesus taught is the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Mathew 6:11) I have thought about this phrase several times since that worship.

The phrase “our daily bread” is a reminder to everyone who prays this prayer of how God constantly cares for His children…

The Apostle Paul helped to start the church in Philippi. He started this church on his second missionary journey. Philippi was a city in Greece, situated on a major road that connected Rome to much of its territory to the east. It was a great city for Paul to establish a church where the good news of God could travel freely throughout the empire.

Unlike most of the churches that Paul started, Philippi was not started within the Jewish community. Most of the people who made up this church were Roman citizens. The church was made up of people from various walks of life. Like the city of Philippi, the church was economically and culturally diverse. It is to this church that Paul writes the letter known as Philippians.

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul writes about a great many things. Perhaps the most important topic that Paul discusses is found at the end of this great letter. Paul acknowledges that there are difficult situations in his life and the lives of those to whom he is writing. However, Paul shares his “Secret” (4:12) to a life of contentment…

Dr. Long’s message about Barnabas, on September 24, reminded me of the power of our words.  Truth be told, while Barnabas is only mentioned 24 times in the Book of Acts, his influence in my life has been life-changing.  Words often contribute to the defining moments of our life.   The right words, at the right time, have the power to change lives.

For example, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform until his death in 2019, delivered a speech at Howard University for the 2000 Education Leadership Summit.  Listen carefully to a few of his words:

“In the early morning, South Baltimore traffic toward I–95 and Washington, I passed near the elementary school that I attended nearly 40 years ago. I spent most of my elementary school training as an unhappy member of what then was called the 3rd group—what we today call special education.

To this day, I remember the cold, incredulous, rejecting words of my 6th grade school counselor. “You want to be a lawyer? Who do you think you are?”

Megan Krafty is a student who lives in Huron, Ohio. Sadly, Megan will not be able to attend her senior homecoming dance. Megan suffered a severe seizure in May and soon after was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Fighting cancer is challenging enough for a 17-year-old, but missing those special moments like homecoming, make her fight even more difficult. Megan is in a rehab clinic, working to recover from the damage the cancer has done to her. She currently requires the use of a wheelchair but is working hard to regain the full use of her legs.

Thankfully, the staff at the hospital where Megan is staying had compassion for her struggle, not just her health, but her desire to experience homecoming with her boyfriend, Tommy. They first began to plan a nice dinner for her and Tommy. They could not stop there!

Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to cone another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
to him who spread out the earth upon the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;

Just over half of the world’s religious population traces their spiritual lineage back to one person. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all consider Abram to be, in some way, a significant part of their cultural and religious heritage.

Abram and his family lived first in Ur and then moved to Haran, which is in modern day Turkey. God spoke to Abram and called him to go to a new home where Abram and his wife Sarai would give birth to a “great nation.” It was an amazing calling and promise given to Abram and Sarai. When they departed Haran, Abram was 75 years old.

Few people are looking to start over and move to a new place at age 75…

My daughter and I were running a few errands together. We had a great afternoon. One of our stops was to pick up my suit from the cleaners. My dry cleaners are located just up the street from my house. It is in a very convenient place, right on my way to work. They always do a great job on my clothes. They are excellent at removing the many stains I seem to collect throughout the week.

I don’t just go to these cleaners because of the convenient location, or because they do a great job removing stains.  I go to my cleaners because of how I am treated every time I walk in the door. I am always greeted with a warm smile and most often I am greeted by name. It is amazing to me that they know my name. After all, I know I am not their only customer…

We often struggle with the notion that God has given each of us gifts to share. I have had many conversations with people who feel like they do not have gifts to share. This could not be further from the truth. The scriptures are clear, “each has received a gift.”  

I was recently thinking about my mother and how she used her gifts in service to God. My mother was not a musician, preacher, Bible study teacher, or many of the other things we think of when we hear about the gifts God has given. However, I can tell you that many of my mission trip experiences were made special because of the work my mother did for our mission in advance…

Several years ago, we took a family vacation to Branson, Missouri. I took the wrong exit and, the next thing you know, we were almost to Arkansas. We had no intention of visiting the Natural State before we arrived in Missouri, but a wrong turn, great family conversation, and a little bit of inattentiveness led us off our predetermined path.

This trip was before GPS and iPhone that could tell us where to go. Now we were off schedule and off our printed map. It was not a great way to start our vacation. It was a setback to our schedule.

Life is full of setbacks. Some are small, like a wrong turn in Tulsa. Some setbacks are big. So often we have plans and dreams that get interrupted. The Apostle Paul knew about setbacks all too well…