2011 October | Our Daily Bread

Surprise!

By C. P. Hia on October 31, 2011

Awriter for The Washington Post conducted an experiment to test people’s perception. He asked a famous violinist to perform incognito at a train station in the nation’s capital one January morning. Thousands of people walked by as he played, but only a few stopped to listen. After 45 minutes, just $32 had been dropped into the virtuoso’s open violin case. Two days earlier, this man—Joshua Bell—had used the same $3.5 million Stradivarius for a sold-out concert where people paid $100 a seat to hear him perform.

Father Of Lies

By Joe Stowell on October 30, 2011

Satan’s sway over mankind began when he turned the minds of Adam and Eve against God. In order to pull it off, he had to lie to them about God—and they had to fall for it. In that defining moment, he lied to them about God’s goodness, God’s Word, and God’s intentions (Gen. 3:1-6).

Why Me?

By David H. Roper on October 28, 2011

Recently I read Psalm 131, one of my favorite psalms. In the past, I viewed it as an encouragement to understand that mystery is one of the hallmarks of God’s character. It challenged me to let my mind be at rest, since I am unable to understand all that God is doing in His universe.

Zero Tolerance

By Marvin Williams on October 27, 2011

When Shayla McKnight applied for a job for an online printing company, she was surprised to learn that they had a zero-tolerance policy for gossip. The employees are encouraged to confront one another, instead of gossip about their fellow employees. If employees are caught gossiping, they are reprimanded, and if they continue, they are fired.

Divine Appointments

By Dave Branon on October 26, 2011

Have you ever been stuck in an airport? For 24 hours? In a city where you can’t speak the language? Four thousand miles from home?

Poetic Justice

By Julie Ackerman Link on October 25, 2011

For nearly a year, a former publish- ing colleague lived under a cloud of fear that he would be fired. A new boss in the department, for reasons unknown, began filling his personnel file with negative comments. Then, on the day my friend expected to lose his job, the new boss was fired instead.

Stuck In The Mire

By Dennis Fisher on October 24, 2011

Jeremiah has been called “the weep- ing prophet.” He may have had a sensitive and melancholic disposition that was compounded by his heartbreak over God’s judgment on disobedient Israel. His capacity for sorrow is amazing: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night!” (Jer. 9:1).

He Guards Me Well

By David C. McCasland on October 23, 2011

During the quiet moments before a Sunday morning service, the organist played a hymn that was new to me. I turned to the page noted in the hymnal and read the words of the song “The Lord My Shepherd Guards Me Well,” a beautiful paraphrase of Psalm 23:

So Long

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt on October 22, 2011

My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!

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