Our Daily Bread Podcast | Our Daily Bread

A scientific study which sought to explore how much of people s musical sensitivity is cultural and how much of it is instinctual played drum rhythms for newborn babies while monitoring their brain wave activity. Occasionally, the researchers would omit a beat from the rhythm. Amazingly, they found the infants brain waves spiked right when the note was left out showing their young minds were already anticipating that beat and reacting to its absence. The study brings to mind the amazing way that God has created us. He s even wired us to embrace the wonderful gift of music and respond to it with joy. And, as the psalmist David writes in Psalm 30, to respond to God s grace with music of our own songs of praise to his holy name (v. 4). Yet pain, exhaustion, regret, or grief can sometimes weigh our hearts down and threaten to silence our songs of praise. Experiencing despair, even fearing death, David pleaded with God to deliver, asking What is gained if I am silenced? . . . Will the dust praise you? (v. 9). David did experience God s faithfulness as joy was restored once more, as God turned his wailing into dancing and clothed [him] with joy (v. 11). As God heals our hearts and fills them with the rhythms of joy we were born to dance to, we too can testify: Lord my God, I will praise you forever (v. 12).

Ben had bought pirated computer software for years, simply because it was cheaper. Even though it was illegal and broke copyright laws, he didn’t fell that it was morally wrong. After all, everyone did it, and why should he buy expensive original software? Who would check? After hearing a talk on daily examples of living by God’s standards, however, Ben, a new believer growing in the faith, began to wonder, What does it mean to do the right thing? Ben decided to replace all his software with original versions. It cost a lot more, but, as he explained to his friends, “God knows. And He calls us to do what’s right, right?” In Amos 7, God reminded the Israelites that His standards were impartial and absolute. There was to be no compromise: they applied to all, including His favored nation. His laws and moral standards were like “a plumb line” (v. 8)—a weighted line used by builders to ensure structural integrity by showing if a wall wasn’t being built perfectly vertical. While He may extend mercy, God can’t compromise His justice—which is why He sent His Son Jesus to die in our place as payment for our sin. The Bible shows us whether we’re walking in His way or not. By His grace, God helps those who believe in Jesus to live in a way that pleases Him and brings honor to Him—to do what’s right.

After a fifty-five year wait, England’s soccer team finally made it to the European Football Championship Cup finals. Locked in a tie with Italy, the game was decided by a penalty shootout. England’s last chance fell to a young player named Bukayo Saka. But as Saka kicked the penalty shot, Italy’s goalkeeper deflected it. England fans wept; the Cup was lost. Few will forget what happened next, though. England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, walked over to the devastated Saka and embraced him. Southgate knew how Saka felt. In 1996 it was he, as a young player, who had missed the penalty shot that cost England a place in the semi-finals, and England’s then-manager Terry Venables had comforted him in the very same way. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul says, “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Just as Southgate passed on to Saka what he’d received from Venables, Paul discovered that God’s comfort in his distress enabled him to comfort others in theirs, building their endurance (v. 6). Nothing is wasted with our “God of all comfort” (v. 3). He can use our disappointment for good. One day Bukayo Saka will probably comfort a young player the way Southgate comforted him. Let’s do the same, passing on God’s comfort to create an endless chain of encouragement.

Sentenced to life in prison, Vic shared with friends his sense of longing. When they said that Jesus would fill the empty spaces in Vic’s life, he mocked their statements. To Vic, Jesus being a man who died yet still lived today seemed fantastical. Although skeptical, sometime later he began listening to a Christian radio station and even reading the Bible. Eventually, he asked God to reveal Himself to him.   Vic’s anxieties and fears began to fade. He reflected, “Physically, I was incarcerated in a prison with two massive cage-like fences keeping me in, but mentally I was free and protected like Daniel when he was in the den with the lions.” Shortly thereafter, he received Jesus as his Savior. Vic read the Old Testament story of Daniel, an exile from Judah who was thrown into a den with lions. Daniel had refused to stop praying to God three times a day, even when the king signed an edict disallowing all prayer for thirty days except to himself (Daniel 6:6–10). The king was “greatly distressed” and regretted having to punish him with a certain death by the lions (vv. 14, 16). But God, revealing His power and authority, kept Daniel safe, and “the king was overjoyed” (v. 23). Whatever our circumstances, including great hardship, God never leaves us. We need only to turn to Him.

After a lengthy journey, my wife and I finally neared our street, but a large road closed to thru traffic sign blocked our path. I felt the urge to drive around it because home was just ahead, and I didn’t like being rerouted. But then I saw why the road was closed: A downed power line lay across the road. Had I ignored the warning, I could have driven into danger. In Acts 16:6-10, Paul and his companions were eager to preach the gospel in the province of Asia, but the Holy Spirit closed that door. Detours aren’t always rejection, however. They can be divine redirections. Like the roadblock on our street, God rerouted Paul from entering the province of Bithynia. It must have been frustrating to be blocked, especially while Paul was striving to do his best. But then he received a vision in which a man said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (v. 9). God said “no” to something good because He was preparing them for something greater—taking the gospel to the people of another continent (v. 10). Rather than seeing “no” as punishment and rejection, we can see it as His Spirit-led redirection. His detours are often pathways to divine appointments. Let’s not simply trust His direction when the roads are open, let’s follow when He closes them too.

Dragonflies are dainty insects with some of the most amazing flight and endurance capabilities. Their aerial abilities have been studied to improve flight technology. Scientists recently found that with its wings beating thirty times a second, a dragonfly that has fallen upside-down can right itself in just 0.2 seconds. Its eyes process an incredible two hundred images per second to determine which way is up and the tiny adjustments needed to get back on track.  God’s creativity and wisdom are on display all throughout our natural world, particularly when we’re able to observe creation closely. In the book of Job, the main character struggles to reconcile his suffering with God’s goodness and righteousness. God responds by asking Job, “Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” (38:33). God begins to describe many animals from birds and goats to the world’s largest predators. He knows what each animal needs for survival and is aware of the hungry cries of their young (38:39–41). God has given each of them distinct characteristics, such as the speed of an ostrich or the strength of an ox, so they can thrive. How exactly does a dragonfly maneuver so incredibly? We have a lot to learn. In the meantime, we can trust that the all-knowing God who designed these creatures is the same One who knows how to bring us from the darkest night into the light and joy of His presence.

A famous athlete sat tall in his seat as he prepared to fly to the championship bout he knew he’d win. A flight attendant walked by and said, “Sir, please fasten your seat belt.” The man smiled, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” She replied without missing a beat, “Superman don’t need no airplane. Buckle up.” And he did. Success can swell our heads. We don’t need a seatbelt or a flight attendant telling us what to do. We can take care of ourselves. If we bring this attitude to church, we’re like an eye that says to the hand, “I don’t need you!” or a head that says to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (v. 21). The truth is, every part of the body is needed, and “those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (v. 22). We are made in the image of the triune God, the Father, Son, and Spirit who thrive in an interdependent community of love. The God who exists in perfect relationship within Himself made us to be in relationship with others in life and in the church. We’re not all the same, and that’s a good thing. “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?” (v. 17). We’re not all the same but we’re all “indispensable” (v. 22). Who helps you at your local body of Christ? Tell them you notice, that you see them, and thank them for their service. And ask God to show you where you can serve other believers.

A fifty-ton female humpback whale swam into a web of crab lines off the coast of California, trapping her in a tangled mess. Hundreds of feet of line and hundreds of pounds of traps wrapped around her body as she struggled to stay afloat. Four divers came to her rescue, swimming under her belly. For an hour, they cut rope—dangerous work since one flap of her tail could have killed them. After they freed her, rather than immediately escaping, she swam to and gently nudged each diver. “It felt to me like she was thanking us,” one rescuer said. Whether or not whales are able to express gratitude, being thankful is truly an important part of being human. It’s vital for our life with God. Many of us thank Him for larger blessings (the birth of a child or healing from a disease). However, Paul tells us to offer gratitude for every gift we receive, for every bit of goodness we encounter. We’re to be “always giving thanks to God,” the apostle writes (Ephesians 5:20). Not sometimes. Not only for exceptional moments. Always. And to make sure he’s made his point, Paul adds a bit more. “[Make] the most over every opportunity“ and give thanks “for everything,” he says (vv. 16, 20). Genuine gratitude is more than an occasional word we offer; it’s the posture of our lives. Gratitude turns us to God over and again, always giving thanks in celebration.

Jay owned a Gideon’s Bible, yet his analytical mind didn’t permit him to accept its miracles. One thing haunted him though: the genuine faith of his friend. So Jay offered a strange prayer. He told God, “If you want me to believe in You, then do something I can’t explain.” One day, something drew Jay to look for his Bible. It was gone. How could that be? He never lost track of things. He drove in the rain to his teaching job at the University of Zurich. Stepping out of his car, he spotted a Gideon’s Bible on the wet pavement. That’s strange, he thought. Picking it up, he noticed the Bible was totally dry despite the rain. Something he couldn’t explain! Gideon Bibles are named for an Old Testament hero of Israel. When God chose Gideon to lead Israel into battle against a vast army, Gideon had huge doubts. He told God, “I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece . . . , then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand” (Judges 6:37). God answered Gideon’s challenge not once but twice (vv. 39–40). Doubt-filled prayers aren’t a pattern for us to follow. They can, however, reveal God’s character. Gideon led a tiny army to a smashing victory (Judges 7). Jay put his faith in Jesus, recognizing that his prayer had been answered by a loving God who does things we can’t explain.

Daniel was born into a Romanian orphanage. For seven years, he only left his crib to go to the bathroom. When he turned eight, a family from another country adopted him. They knew about attachment disorders—that Daniel could have difficulty attaching to them as his parents. Slowly, Daniel started to trust them. Over time, though, he began to rage to the point his parents hired a bodyguard to protect them from Daniel’s outbursts. They decided on a controversial therapy: for the next five years they were never away from Daniel even if he had a meltdown. On his thirteenth birthday Daniel broke down and for the first time told his parents he loved them very much. His mother summarized the experience: “Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental. Love is a battlefield.” We’re all born knowing that something or someone is missing. Like Daniel, we have an attachment disorder. But God “so loved the world” so much that he took drastic action—“he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16), meeting us on earth’s battlefield in what we call the incarnation. “Light has come into the world” (v. 19). God took drastic measures to demonstrate His great love for the world. For you. His strong, determined Father-heart beats to hear from us the words Daniel’s parents finally heard: “I love you very much.”

Pieter kisses a framed picture of his elderly parents every night. It’s been many years since he was last with them. As a young adult, when he became a follower of Jesus, his family and community pressured him to give up his newfound belief. When he didn’t, his parents disowned him. “In the Bible, God promised He’d help His children in difficult times, and I believed Him,” Pieter said. “Choosing to follow Him brought suffering, but He has helped me endure.”        Pieter has the assurance from God that He keeps His word, so Pieter is able to trustingly act on God’s promises. We read in Genesis that Joseph, at the end of his life, was also confident in the promises of God. He told his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Genesis 50:24). Joseph was sure that God would keep His promise to take His people to Canaan. So he instructed the Israelites, “You must carry my bones up from [Egypt]” (v. 25).    Four hundred years later, during the exodus from Egypt, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him” (Exodus 13:19). Eventually, “Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem [in Canaan]” (Joshua 24:32). Let’s follow Joseph’s example of faith (Hebrews 11:22), showing our faith in God’s promises by acting on them.

Bulgarian lifeguard Yane Petkov won a world record for swimming with his hands and feet tied together. He swam 3,380 meters through the water, but added something to intensify the challenge—he wrapped his body in a sack.             The patience and strength required to keep moving despite being so “tied up” amazes me. The apostle Paul also displayed rugged resistance to obstacles as he served God in the days of the early church.  He faced many physical challenges—fatigue, hunger, sleeplessness, and beatings. Through it all, Paul continued to preach and write letters of encouragement and instruction to his fellow believers. Paul penned his last letter to Timothy when he was isolated in a Roman prison, awaiting execution. Although shackles restricted his body, he noted that the good news could not be chained (2 Timothy 2:9). Nothing could stop the spread of the good news or make it ineffective. “Therefore,” Paul said, “I endure everything” to give others the chance to hear and accept the truth about Jesus Christ (v.10). God can help us endure any kind of difficulty that stands in the way of serving Him. Physical limitations such as illness, injuries, and disabilities require care and attention, but they can’t ultimately surpass God’s power, which is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Let’s give God the glory when He works through us to do things we cannot do on our own.

The angels were there all along, but no one alive had seen them. They adorned the walls of the Old North Church in Boston, looking down from on high, but had been covered with layers of paint more than a century ago. Church records indicated a contract with a member of the congregation to paint them in 1730 when the church was undergoing construction. A recent restoration project that commenced in 2017 led to the discovery of the angels. Scripture speaks of supernatural beings—real, not painted—that were present when others were not aware. On one occasion, the prophet Elisha was surrounded by the army of the king of Aram. When his servant saw the hostile forces, he cried out, “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). “ ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them’ ” (v. 16). Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened, and “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17). Angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), messengers of God sent to help us. We may or may not see them, but they’re there because God has more ways of watching over us than we can imagine. And that should cause us to praise Him, like the angels do.

“You’re good at playing the guitar,” I said to a new friend playing at the church I’d recently started attending. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s my ministry.” There was that word again. Ministry. I didn’t know what that was or how someone “got” a ministry. I realized much later that my friend was using the musical ability he’d been given to serve others. When I took a class about spiritual gifts and discovered that one of my gifts was exhortation, or encouragement, I was a bit disappointed. It felt too plain. But I realized that as the Care Leader of our small group, I delighted in writing encouraging notes or calling our members. I was using one of my spiritual gifts without even knowing it. As believers in Jesus, we’re each given spiritual gifts to serve in the church (1 Corinthians 12:6). Sometimes we don’t know what they are, so we simply serve where there’s need. The Holy Spirit will do the rest (vv. 4-6,8-11). Just as our body has many parts with different functions, in Christ, “we though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12: 5-6). Teaching, encouraging, giving, and showing mercy are just some of the spiritual gifts mentioned in this passage (vv. 6-8). Whatever spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit entrusts us with, let’s use them to serve others in the church—the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

For centuries, people have been fascinated by the Holy Grail—the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. The legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the round table obsessed over the search for the cup. They believed it had magical powers. In film, Indiana Jones and his father, Henry, fulfilled Henry’s lifelong pursuit of the Grail. While this makes for fascinating storytelling, the truth is much more straightforward. The cup itself has no special powers. The real power is found in what it represents. Matthew describes the scene in the upper room the night before Jesus went to the cross: “Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ ” (26:27-28). The cup is a picture of the blood that Jesus would shed on our behalf. John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” And Paul wrote that Jesus himself is our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Christ paid the penalty for our sins. How thankful we are for the shed blood of our Savior, the Lamb!

After Joni Eareckson Tada s mother died, Joni thought about Paul s second letter to the Corinthians where he described how our bodies are like jars of clay that hold the treasure of Christ s presence. She mused about a twenty-first century equivalent to describe our earthly bodies a cardboard box. She knew her mother s box with its worn-out corners and bends was now empty but, she reflected, it was a box they d treasured, the vessel in which the treasure of the Spirit of Christ had dwelt. As Joni notes, those who follow Jesus let Him shine through them, often in spectacular ways through the creases and holes as their boxes falter and begin to collapse with age. In this she followed Paul s words about the treasure appearing in jars of clay because it would reveal that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7). Although Paul was hard pressed and perplexed with what he suffered, he was not crushed or destroyed (vv. 8 9). Through his sufferings in his body he knew that Christ s life would be revealed. How s your cardboard box? You might feel the creases grow larger as you groan under the weight of pain or disease. Know, however, that Jesus is being revealed in your body (v. 10). As you submit to Him, He ll shine His light through you, that those who are in darkness may receive His love and His life.

Nafi and Kamran joined a military coup. They fought for years, and when their side won, were given desk jobs in the capital. It s not going well. There s little to do so they go online. Nafi says that many of his comrades, including me, are addicted to the internet, especially Twitter. Kamran adds, The real test and challenge was not during the [war]. Rather, it s now. At that time, it was simple, but now things are much more complicated. Citing the various temptations he found on the Web, he added, Many . . . have fallen into these seemingly sweet, but actually bitter traps. Kamran s right that we re most vulnerable to let down our guard when we re at ease, as he was after a war. In Scripture we find a similar caution in the story of David s adultery with Bathsheba. It all began when he sent others off to war but remained behind in the capital. Like an undisciplined man scrolling the internet, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace (2 Samuel 11:2). He put himself in harm s way. And when he saw a woman bathing, he didn t turn away (v. 3). We avoid the postwar letdown by remembering we re still at war. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil. So, as He helps us, we put on the full armor of God and prepare to stand our ground (Ephesians 6:12 13).

In 1905 a scruffy young man holed up in his apartment in Bern, Switzerland, engaging in complex thought experiments regarding the nature of the universe. With frenzied focus, the physicist worked and reworked his calculations. Four mind-crunching months later, this man had rewritten much of what was known about how the world works. The man was Albert Einstein. He was twenty-six. The year 1905 is now famously called the miracle year, the moment Einstein peered into God s design of the universe. Yet despite possessing a great scientific mind, Einstein said, The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don t know. The Bible frequently points to the majesty of God reflected in His creation: The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), and Job predated Einstein s words: Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens (Job 11:7 8). But God s creation glory is even greater than the expanse of universes: In the beginning was the Word. . . .The Word became flesh (John 1:1, 14). There are no mathematical calculations that can explain God s extraordinary act of entering humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. God is not just out there in a universe we cannot begin to know, but He s here alongside us, the Word among us, the light of life (1:4) whom we can know personally and intimately. When Christ was born in Bethlehem, that was the true miracle year.

After great-grandma Clara passed away, her ten-foot-long prayer list became a family heirloom. On the long roll of paper were typewritten names of people for whom she prayed regularly. There were many extended family members, her friends, and people her friends were praying for, and the names of high-profile evangelists, pastors, and ministries. New family members and specific prayer requests are handwritten in the margins. I became emotional seeing my mother s name on the list, added when she was just a child. The apostle Paul wrote to the early church, Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12). In his letter, Paul exhorted believers to do many things that displayed love in action hating evil and loving good (v. 9), honoring others above yourself (v. 10), passionately serving God (v. 11), and practicing hospitality (v. 13). All these good works would be empty without the love of Christ working in us. That s where faithful prayer comes in. Paul called his friends to join [him] in [his] struggle by praying to God for [him] (15:30). Specific requests for safety from opposers and a favorable reception in Jerusalem (v. 32) were on Paul s list. I wonder if they ended up on the private prayer list of a great-grandma in Rome too. Prayer empowers us to live in a way that overcomes evil with good (12:21). Though we may not always see the outcome, it creates a legacy of faithfulness for generations to come.