Our Daily Bread

When someone loves another, there is a compelling desire to express it. Hence those timeless words: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!”

The Lord uses the most unexpected situations and unlikely ways to bring people to Himself. Our responsibility as Christians is simple and clear: Share the gospel where a lost world can hear it.

Have you ever been in the presence of greatness? Perhaps you shook the hand of a world leader. Maybe you got close to a famous athlete. Or you may have had a book signed by a bestselling author.

The world is hostile to the gospel, and those who live for the Lord are not likely to be very popular. To be reproached for our own foolishness, however, is a different story.

The escalating violence in our society is alarming. Brutality ranges all the way from domestic child abuse and spouse battering to unimaginable crimes and senseless murders. As a result, politicians and police chiefs are advocating better crime prevention and stiffer penalties for offenders.

As one of Africa’s first explorers, David Livingstone loved its people and longed to see them evangelized. His journals reveal his spiritual concern and deep faith.

The owner of a Denver restaurant reported, “I first tried to sell buffalo tongue as an hors d’oeuvre at $1.75 and had no takers. So I priced it at $6.75, set a limit of two to a customer, and sold out every night.”

I once heard someone describe his troublesome life like this: “Each day is just yesterday warmed up!” Yes, life sometimes dishes up a diet of old problems disguised as new ones. It’s like the frugal housewife who feeds her family for a week on leftovers from Sunday dinner, serving the same old food in different disguises.

Before I entered the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, I had to walk down a boulevard called “The Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles.” It is lined with hundreds of trees planted in honor of people who sheltered or in other ways assisted Jews during the Nazi regime. At the base of each tree is a metal plaque bearing the name of a man, woman, or family who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust. Some of the names are familiar, like Corrie ten Boom and Oscar Schindler. But most are not.

Eat your beans! There are children in this world who’d give anything to have those!” What child hasn’t heard that kind of speech coming from parents who love them enough to encourage good nutrition?