In the Book of Matthew in Chapter 22, Jesus shares a few parables to the spiritual leaders of His time. They were constantly trying to trap Him in His teaching to the people. The one parable that stood out this morning was the "Parable of the Wedding Banquet". In this parable, many guests are invited to the wedding banquet. First, to God's chosen people, the Jewish community, but they refuse and were too busy with their farm and others with their business (Matthew 22: 1-7). T

There is so much wrong in our world today. Everywhere we turn to, we see so much anger, fighting in the streets, and sometimes killings. Our current generation compared to our generations of the past, has become a generation so full of "self and hate". Our "self-will" has over-taken today's society even in our Christian circles. My daughter who worked at serving people at a restaurant came home and told me of a woman she knows that goes to our church that was very rude and se

Jesus once told a Pharisee, who had invited Him to his home for dinner, said the following: "But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7: 47b) We, as new-born-Christians, come to Jesus because we have come to recognize that we are sinful people and of need of a Savior. So, we give our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to come into our hearts and change us from who we have become. Many of us have led a life of great sin and others have had a life not so bad, but knew

Many of us as Christians, struggle with God's grace and forgiveness in our lives. We tend to think that we have gone too far with God's grace. We will say something like; "God, I know you can't forgive me for this sin again, I keep doing the same thing over and over again", or we think we have messed up so bad in our life, that God can never forgive us for all the things we have done and are doing. The great news is that God's grace and forgiveness never ends...If we have a r

Amazing...That seems like a simple statement to understand; Rejoice, Be Anxious for Nothing, Pray and then God's peace will follow. Let us look at the full content of the verse in Philippians: Philippians 4: 4-7 (NKJV) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace

What a great mystery this is for us to fully grasp, "the power of "Christ in Us." The Apostle Paul addresses this very mystery to the Colossians. He begins by writing to the Colossians that Jesus rescued them from the "dominion of darkness" and brought them into His kingdom of His Son, where we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1: 13-14 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in whom we

As we look at today's world and see what is happening around us, it becomes easy for us to lose focus on what should be important to us. Our family should be our priority, then our work, which provides the resources to support our family. And then we have other activities that are as important, such as time with our friends and church. All these things are good, but we tend to leave out the most important relationship in our life, our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Th

In a previous issue of Our Daily Bread entitled, "Goodbyes and Hello," we are reminded of our fragile time here on earth. Many times, we must be saying "goodbye" to a dear loved one close to us, or even harder, a family member. Those times when they do happen, can be difficult to say the least. But as we get past the initial loss and turn our eyes to our Creator, we are reminded that our life here on earth, though short, we can now focus on our future, our eternity in heaven

In today's reading of "Our Daily Bread", in the book of 2 Corinthians, we are reminded that as Christians, believers in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now have the opportunity and privilege to go before God and commune with Him on a personal level. Just as Moses did in the book of Exodus, he asked God if he (Moses) could see His glory. By the power given to us through the Holy Spirit living in us, we can go with confidence before God and talk with Him. Read the follow

As I read today in the Book of Daniel, I am reminded of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, as God used him to bring about the punishment and exile of Judah and Israel. God gave King Nebuchadnezzar the power and might to eventually become the most powerful king to rule the world. His great pride became his great downfall. Daniel: 4: 28-32 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon.

I have found by talking to many different people over my lifetime, that many Christians still face the hard truth of forgiving themselves for their past sins of themselves and of others, to the point of crippling their walk with the Lord. Upon reading a message from "Our Daily Bread" entitled, "NO FISHING ALLOWED", I was reminded many of us still go fishing in the deep waters where God has already cast our sins into. We as believers, fail to grasp, the important truth of God'

In the Book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul addressing these very issues of worrying and being anxious over the struggles of this world. Every day, there is going to be something we need...money, food, clothing, a better job. All these things can become overwhelming if these are the only things we are seeking for in our lives. Philippians 4: 6-7 (NKJV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests t

In today's world and time, our generation is becoming increasingly frightening and unbelievable of things that are going on. Murders, police killings, rapes, shootings on the freeway, just because someone cut in front of them. The darkness is constantly getting closer and closer to our immediate surroundings. What can we do to feel safe? I heard a story told by a pastor who had two children that loved to take walks with their father. One evening while walking closely to their

As I was reading in "Our Daily Bread", I was reminded that we all face sorrow in our lifetime. Whether it's losing a loved one, sever sickness, financial ruin, and so much more. It all comes down to "our perspective" in how we will go through the circumstances. The Apostle Paul writes about this very thing in the Book of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy 1:7-9 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of t

In reading today's Our Daily Bread, I was reminded how easy it is to lose focus of what is important in our lives as we try to navigate the storms of life that come our way. As Christians, we know and believe we have Jesus, our Lord, in our hearts, but sometimes the storms become so difficult we lose that focus. In Psalm 43, the writer of this Psalm, is pleading with God to come to his rescue from an ungodly nation and unjust men. He feels that God has cast him aside and has

Our God is a jealous God. He does not want only parts of our lives; He wants all of us. When I came to accept Jesus into my heart, my life, I invited Him in as my Savior, and I thought as my Lord as well. But as my relationship with my Lord grew, I came to realize that I gave Him control of only certain rooms of my life. I wanted to control those other areas of my life. As I came to realize that I still had control of these other areas, God never forced me to give them up. He

In today's "Our Daily Bread", there is a story about a place in Perth, Australia called the Shalom House, where men and women struggling with addictions go to find help. It is here that staff members introduce them to God's "shalom", which means "peace" in Hebrew. It is here at the Shalom House, lives crushed under the weight of addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and other destructive behaviors are being introduced to the transforming power of the love of God and the pow

Wow, that seems like a pretty simple statement to understand; Rejoice, Be Anxious for Nothing, Pray and then God's peace will follow. Let us look at the full content of the verse in Philippians: Philippians 4: 4-7 (NKJV) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace

In today's Our Daily Bread entitled, "Goodbyes and Hello," we are reminded of our fragile time here on earth. Many times, we have to be saying "goodbye" to a dear loved one close to us, or even harder, a family member. Those times when they do happen, can be difficult to say the least. But as we get past the initial loss and turn our eyes to our Creator, we are reminded that our life here on earth, though short, we can now focus on our future, our eternity in heaven with God