Our Daily Bread The Joy of Jesus

Our Daily Bread

A Lesson In Crying

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September 21, 2011 — by David H. Roper

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Revelation 21:1-7

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. —Matthew 5:4

Bible in a year:
Ecclesiastes 7-9; 2 Corinthians 13

Has your heart ever been broken? What broke it? Cruelty? Failure? Unfaithfulness? Loss? Perhaps you’ve crept into the darkness to cry.

It’s good to cry. “Tears are the only cure for weeping,” said Scottish preacher George MacDonald. A little crying does one good.

Jesus wept at His friend Lazarus’ grave (John 11:35), and He weeps with us (v.33). His heart was broken as well. Our tears attract our Lord’s lovingkindness and tender care. He knows our troubled, sleepless nights. His heart aches for us when we mourn. He is the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). And He uses His people to comfort one another.

But tears and our need for comfort come back all too frequently in this life. Present comfort is not the final answer. There is a future day when there will be no death, no sorrow, no crying, for all these things will “have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). There in heaven God will wipe away every tear. We are so dear to our Father that He will be the one who wipes the tears away from our eyes; He loves us so deeply and personally.

Remember, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).

Think of a land of no sorrow,
Think of a land of no fears,
Think of no death and no sickness,
Think of a land of no tears. —Anon.

God cares and shares in our sorrow.

John 20:19-31 "Then the same day at evening, being..." KJV - Online Bible Study

John 20:19-31 "Then the same day at evening, being..." KJV - Online Bible Study at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ²⁰ And when he had so said , he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad , when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: ²³ Whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain , they are retained . ²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came . ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe . ²⁶ And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut , and stood in the midst, and said , Peace be unto you. ²⁷ Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. ²⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen , and yet have believed . ³⁰ And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹ But these are written , that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

2 Chronicles 32:1-33

¹ After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came , and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. ² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come , and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, ³ He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. ⁴ So there was gathered much people together , who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying , Why should the kings of Assyria come , and find much water? ⁵ Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken , and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. ⁶ And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying , ⁷ Be strong and courageous , be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: ⁸ With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. ⁹ After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying , ¹⁰ Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust , that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying , The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹² Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying , Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? ¹³ Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? ¹⁴ Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed , that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? ¹⁵ Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? ¹⁶ And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying , As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. ¹⁸ Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. ¹⁹ And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. ²⁰ And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. ²¹ And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. ²² Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. ²³ And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. ²⁴ In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death , and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up : therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. ²⁷ And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; ²⁸ Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. ²⁹ Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much. ³⁰ This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west sideof the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. ³¹ Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. ³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

Psalm 88:1-18

¹ O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: ² Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; ³ For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. ⁴ I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: ⁵ Free among the dead , like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. ⁶ Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. ⁷ Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves.Selah. ⁸ Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up , and I cannot come forth . ⁹ Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. ¹⁰ Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. ¹¹ Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? ¹² Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹³ But unto thee have I cried , O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. ¹⁴ LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? ¹⁵ I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted . ¹⁶ Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off . ¹⁷ They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. ¹⁸ Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

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Daily Word Dr. James A. Lee

Home | Daily Word: "PROTECTED
My faith in God protects me.
I may feel nervous when I believe I am unsafe, uncared for or unable to do what I am called to do. Yet there is only One Power in my life and in the Universe, God the good. That power is available to me and through me as the Christ of my being. Infinite abundance, wisdom, love and peace are mine as an heir to God's kingdom.

If fear arises, I remember my relationship with God. I am loved by a perfect Love; guided by wisdom that was here before time; strengthened by the One Power. With God, there is no challenge I cannot overcome. One day at a time, one step at a time, I move beyond the limits of fearful thinking. My faith in God protects me.

In God, whose word I praise …in God I trust; I am not afraid.--Psalm 56:10, 11"

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Our Daily Bread is The Joy of Jesus

Our Daily Bread

Are You Ready?

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September 20, 2011 — by C. P. Hia

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: 2 Peter 3:1-13

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. —2 Peter 3:9

Bible in a year:
Ecclesiastes 4-6; 2 Corinthians 12

Many will remember the fall season of 2008 as the beginning of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. In the months to follow, many lost their jobs, homes, and investments. In a BBC interview a year later, Alan Greenspan, former head of the US Federal Reserve, indicated that the average person doesn’t believe it will happen again. He said, “That is the unquenchable capability of human beings when confronted with long periods of prosperity to presume that it will continue.”

Assuming that things will continue as they always have is not just 21st-century-type thinking. In the first century, Peter wrote of people who thought that life would continue as it was and that Jesus would not return. He said, “Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). Jesus said He would come back, but the people continued to live in disobedience as though He would never return. But His delay is only because of God’s patience with us, for He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (v.9).

Paul tells us that Christians ought to live “soberly, right­eously, and godly” in the light of Christ’s certain return. (Titus 2:12). Are you ready to meet Him?

Faithful and true would He find us here
If He should come today?
Watching in gladness and not in fear,
If He should come today? —Morris

Jesus may come any time, so we should be ready all the time.

John 20:1-18 "The first day of the week cometh Mary..." KJV - Online Bible Study

John 20:1-18 "The first day of the week cometh Mary..." KJV - Online Bible StudyThe first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. ² Then she runneth , and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved , and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. ³ Peter therefore went forth , and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. ⁴ So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. ⁵ And he stooping down , and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying ; yet went he not in . ⁶ Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie , ⁷ And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself . ⁸ Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw , and believed . ⁹ For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. ¹¹ But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping : and as she wept , she stooped down , and looked into the sepulchre, ¹² And seeth two angels in white sitting , the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain . ¹³ And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. ¹⁴ And when she had thus said , she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing , and knew not that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence , tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away . ¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say , Master. ¹⁷ Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

2 Chronicles 31:1-21

¹ Now when all this was finished , all Israelthat were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces , and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned , every man to his possession, into their own cities. ² And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister , and to give thanks , and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. ³ He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. ⁴ Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. ⁵ And as soon as the commandment came abroad , the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. ⁶ And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps . ⁷ In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸ And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said , Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat , and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store. ¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, ¹² And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³ And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small: ¹⁶ Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses; ¹⁷ Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses; ¹⁸ And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness: ¹⁹ Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. ²⁰ And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered .

Psalm 87:1-7

¹ His foundation is in the holy mountains. ² The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. ³ Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.Selah. ⁴ I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. ⁵ And of Zion it shall be said , This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. ⁶ The LORD shall count , when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. ⁷ As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

The King James Version is in the public domain.