Join fellow Christians in this prayer:
“Lord we pray that you would use United Methodist churches, Global Nazarene churches, Roman Catholic Churches, and other Christian Denominational churches to alleviate poverty, stamp out malaria and HIV/AIDS, and minister to the less fortunate and overlooked in the name of Jesus.”

SCRIPTURE READING: Exodus 16:1-5
1-3 On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, the whole company of Israel moved on from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai. The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. The Israelites said, "Why didn't GOD let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!"
4-5 GOD said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration." (The Message)

KEY VERSE: The Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you" (Exod. 16:4).

Providing

In Exodus 16, the lack of bread caused the people of Israel to forget their horrible plight in Egypt, to think only of the food they had in Egypt, and to begin to grumble and complain. God promised to provide "bread from heaven" for His people (Exod. 16:4). The only conceivable way 2 to 3 million people could be fed out in the wilderness of a desert-fed for more than 40 years-would be by a miracle from God. This was exactly what God was promising: to feed His people himself, to feed them in such a way that His existence, love, and care could never be questioned nor doubted. Each day the people were to gather only enough bread for that day. This meant they would have to trust the Lord to bring the food each morning!
When things are not going the way we expect them to go, or we are hurting, there is the temptation to question and complain. We can be assured that the God who miraculously rained down bread from heaven is the same God who will provide for us. Put your trust in Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord who provides."
-David Graves

SING TO THE LORD
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" by William Williams

REACH OUT IN PRAYER
Pray for the child development programs that minister to children in Mexico and Central America.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Trust God for great things. With your five loaves and two fishes, He will show you a way to feed thousands (Horace Bushnell).

SECOND THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sacrament of Unity
The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It makes us into one body. The apostle Paul writes: "As there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17).
The Eucharist is much more than a place where we celebrate our unity in Christ. The Eucharist creates this unity. By eating from the same bread and drinking from the same cup, we become the body of Christ present in the world. Just as Christ becomes really present to us in the breaking of the bread, we become really present to one another as brothers and sisters of Christ, members of the same body. Thus the Eucharist not only signifies unity but also creates it.
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THIRD THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
On the Journey To Becoming Fully Human
written by SUE MOSTELLER
Sometimes all our education fails to make us fully human. But sometimes in friendship we find a priceless mentor, wise in the ways of humanity.
Just after arriving at Daybreak from Harvard, Henri Nouwen was asked to help Adam with his morning routine. It meant he had to wake Adam, bathe, shave, and dress him, comb his hair and position him in his wheelchair, before making and having breakfast, then brushing Adam's teeth, putting on his coat, gloves, scarf, boots, and pushing him to his day program in another building.
Henri wrote, "I was aghast! I simply didn't think I could do this..... Why should I, the least capable of all the people in the house, be asked to take care of Adam and not of someone whose needs are a bit less? The answer was always the same: 'So you can get to know Adam.'..... [But] "How would I get to know him?....Even with the support of other assistants, I was afraid walking into Adam's room and waking up this stranger."
Completely unknowing, Henri moved beyond his fears and through his desire to be elsewhere and learned Adam's routine. Before long he was surprised.. He wrote, "Gradually, very gradually, things started to change, and because I was more confident and relaxed, my mind and heart were opening for a real meeting with this man who had joined me [as a mentor] on life's journey." Adam didn't talk much, so Henri both spoke to him and was silent with him. Adam, needing presence, respect, and gentleness, fully accepted Henri's care and gave himself totally into Henri's hands. With time, Henri realized that he needed Adam as a friend, a mentor, and a guide. Henri wrote of the three essential principles that Adam gave him for becoming more fully human: "being" is more important than "doing", God's love is more important than the praise of people, and being together is better than being alone.
In his book, "Adam: God's Beloved," Henri shares these and more principles with us to help us on our journeys to become more fully human.
- SUE MOSTELLER is retired having lived for more than 30 years in the community of L'Arche Daybreak. She and Henri Nouwen were friends and Sue now works for the Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.
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FOURTH THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A Compassionate Society
What sort of society do we want? There are, for me, a few principles. A society that encourages us to break open the shell of selfishness and self-centredness contains the seeds of a society where people are honest, truthful, and loving. A society can function well only if those within are concerned, not only with their own needs or the needs of those who immediately surround them, but by the needs of all, that is to say, by the common good and the family of nations. Each one of us, I believe, is on a journey towards this openness where we risk to love.
Growth toward openness means dialogue, trusting in others, listening to them, particularly to those who say things we don't like to hear, speaking together about our mutual needs and how we might grow to new things. The birth of a good society comes when people start to trust each other, to share with each other, and to feel concerned for each other.
- Jean Vanier, Becoming Human, p. 34
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FIFTH THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Being Smart
At first glance, Tracy and Elisabeth might not seem to be on the same wavelength. Tracy is tall and long-limbed, while Elisabeth is short and trim. Tracy dresses in the latest fashions, accessorized with matching jewelry and fancy shoes, while Elisabeth dresses casually for work and sports. Tracy is nonverbal, while Elisabeth is chatty. But beneath the surface, these two friends share a deep connection. When Elisabeth talks about Tracy to a group of students, she'll start off by saying that Tracy's her friend, that they live together, that she helps Tracy with her coat and her shoes, and that they like hanging out together. Usually when I ask her, "Does Tracy talk with words?" she'll say No. But one day, she surprised me, responding, "Little bit, not too much." Curious, I asked, "Oh really, what does Tracy say to you?" She replied, "Tracy loves me." Thinking I'd prompt her into a description of how Tracy communicates through facial expression, I asked, "But how can you tell, if Tracy doesn't talk with words?" Elisabeth pointed to her head and smiled knowingly: "Just smart."
by Liska Stefko, L'Arche Daybreak
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THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ezra 5-7
1-2Meanwhile the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo were preaching to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the authority of the God of Israel who ruled them. And so Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak started again, rebuilding The Temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were right there helping them.
3-4 Tattenai was governor of the land beyond the Euphrates at this time. Tattenai, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates came to the Israelites and asked, "Who issued you a permit to rebuild this Temple and restore it to use?" Then we told them the names of the men responsible for this construction work.
5 But God had his eye on the leaders of the Jews, and the work wasn't stopped until a report could reach Darius and an official reply be returned.
6-7 Tattenai, governor of the land beyond the Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and his associates—the officials of that land—sent a letter to Darius the king. This is what they wrote to him:
To Darius the king. Peace and blessing!
8 We want to report to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to The Temple of the great God that is being rebuilt with large stones. Timbers are being fitted into the walls; the work is going on with great energy and in good time.
9-10 We asked the leaders, "Who issued you the permit to rebuild this Temple and restore it to use?" We also asked for their names so we could pass them on to you and have a record of the men at the head of the construction work.
11-12 This is what they told us: "We are servants of the God of the heavens and the earth. We are rebuilding The Temple that was built a long time ago. A great king of Israel built it, the entire structure. But our ancestors made the God of the heavens really angry and he turned them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who knocked this Temple down and took the people to Babylon in exile.
13-16 "But when Cyrus became king of Babylon, in his first year he issued a building permit to rebuild this Temple of God. He also gave back the gold and silver vessels of The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had carted off and put in the Babylon temple. Cyrus the king removed them from the temple of Babylon and turned them over to Sheshbazzar, the man he had appointed governor. He told him, 'Take these vessels and place them in The Temple of Jerusalem and rebuild The Temple of God on its original site.' And Sheshbazzar did it. He laid the foundation of The Temple of God in Jerusalem. It has been under construction ever since but it is not yet finished." 17 So now, if it please the king, look up the records in the royal archives in Babylon and see if it is indeed a fact that Cyrus the king issued an official building permit authorizing the rebuilding of The Temple of God in Jerusalem. And then send the king's ruling on this matter to us.
1-3 So King Darius ordered a search through the records in the archives in Babylon. Eventually a scroll was turned up in the fortress of Ecbatana over in the province of Media, with this writing on it:
Memorandum
In his first year as king, Cyrus issued an official decree regarding The Temple of God in Jerusalem, as follows:
3-5 The Temple where sacrifices are offered is to be rebuilt on new foundations. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide with three courses of large stones topped with one course of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal bank. The gold and silver vessels from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar carried to Babylon are to be returned to The Temple at Jerusalem, each to its proper place; place them in The Temple of God.
6-7 Now listen, Tattenai governor of the land beyond the Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, associates, and all officials of that land: Stay out of their way. Leave the governor and leaders of the Jews alone so they can work on that Temple of God as they rebuild it.
8-10 I hereby give official orders on how you are to help the leaders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that Temple of God:
1.All construction costs are to be paid to these men from the royal bank out of the taxes coming in from the land beyond the Euphrates. And pay them on time, without delays.
2.Whatever is required for their worship—young bulls, rams, and lambs for Whole-Burnt-Offerings to the God-of-Heaven; and whatever wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil the priests of Jerusalem request—is to be given to them daily without delay so that they may make sacrifices to the God-of-Heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11-12 I've issued an official decree that anyone who violates this order is to be impaled on a timber torn out of his own house, and the house itself made a manure pit. And may the God who put his Name on that place wipe out any king or people who dares to defy this decree and destroy The Temple of God at Jerusalem.
I, Darius, have issued an official decree. Carry it out precisely and promptly.
13 Tattenai governor of the land across the Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates did it: They carried out the decree of Darius precisely and promptly.
The Building Completed:
"Exuberantly Celebrated the Dedication"
14-15 So the leaders of the Jews continued to build; the work went well under the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the rebuilding under orders of the God of Israel and authorization by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16-18 And then the Israelites celebrated—priests, Levites, every last exile, exuberantly celebrated the dedication of The Temple of God. At the dedication of this Temple of God they sacrificed a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs—and, as an Absolution-Offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They placed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their places for the service of God at Jerusalem—all as written out in the Book of Moses.

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.
20 All the priests and Levites had purified themselves—all, no exceptions. They were all ritually clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for the exiles, their brother priests, and themselves.
21-22 Then the Israelites who had returned from exile, along with everyone who had removed themselves from the defilements of the nations to join them and seek GOD, the God of Israel, ate the Passover. With great joy they celebrated the Feast of Unraised Bread for seven days. GOD had plunged them into a sea of joy; he had changed the mind of the king of Assyria to back them in rebuilding The Temple of God, the God of Israel.
Ezra Arrives
1-5 After all this, Ezra. It was during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest.
6-7 That's Ezra. He arrived from Babylon, a scholar well-practiced in the Revelation of Moses that the GOD of Israel had given. Because GOD's hand was on Ezra, the king gave him everything he asked for. Some of the Israelites—priests, Levites, singers, temple security guards, and temple slaves—went with him to Jerusalem. It was in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
8-10 They arrived at Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king's reign. Ezra had scheduled their departure from Babylon on the first day of the first month; they arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month under the generous guidance of his God. Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of GOD, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.

11 What follows is the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra, priest and scholar, expert in matters involving the truths and ways of GOD concerning Israel:
12-20 Artaxerxes, King of Kings, to Ezra the priest, a scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven.
Peace. I hereby decree that any of the people of Israel living in my kingdom who want to go to Jerusalem, including their priests and Levites, may go with you. You are being sent by the king and his seven advisors to carry out an investigation of Judah and Jerusalem in relation to the Teaching of your God that you are carrying with you. You are also authorized to take the silver and gold that the king and his advisors are giving for the God of Israel, whose residence is in Jerusalem, along with all the silver and gold that has been collected from the generously donated offerings all over Babylon, including that from the people and the priests, for The Temple of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money carefully to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the ingredients for Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings and then offer them on the Altar of The Temple of your God in Jerusalem. You are free to use whatever is left over from the silver and gold for what you and your brothers decide is in keeping with the will of your God. Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels given to you for the services of worship in The Temple of your God. Whatever else you need for The Temple of your God you may pay for out of the royal bank.
21-23 I, Artaxerxes the king, have formally authorized and ordered all the treasurers of the land across the Euphrates to give Ezra the priest, scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven, the full amount of whatever he asks for up to 100 talents of silver, 650 bushels of wheat, and 607 gallons each of wine and olive oil. There is no limit on the salt. Everything the God-of-Heaven requires for The Temple of God must be given without hesitation. Why would the king and his sons risk stirring up his wrath?
24 Also, let it be clear that no one is permitted to impose tribute, tax, or duty on any priest, Levite, singer, temple security guard, temple servant, or any other worker connected with The Temple of God.
25 I authorize you, Ezra, exercising the wisdom of God that you have in your hands, to appoint magistrates and judges so they can administer justice among all the people of the land across the Euphrates who live by the Teaching of your God. Anyone who does not know the Teaching, you teach them.
26 Anyone who does not obey the Teaching of your God and the king must be tried and sentenced at once—death, banishment, a fine, prison, whatever.
Ezra: "I Was Ready to Go"
27-28 Blessed be GOD, the God-of-Our-Fathers, who put it in the mind of the king to beautify The Temple of GOD in Jerusalem! Not only that, he caused the king and all his advisors and influential officials actually to like me and back me. My God was on my side and I was ready to go. And I organized all the leaders of Israel to go with me. (The Message)
All Scripture quotations not otherwise designated are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
All hymn texts are taken from the hymnal Sing to the Lord. Copyright © 1993 by Lillenas Publishing Company.
Copyright © 2008 by WordAction Publishing Company. All rights reserved. WordAction.com


SECOND DEVOTIONAL FOR THE DAY
Unconsumed
by John Fischer

My thought for today is a brief, but profound one. So since it takes only a short time to read it, spend an additional amount of the time thinking about it, because it is a thought that demands some reflection. It comes from an old Hebrew prayer and that's all I know about its origin, because that's all I was able to write down from the Internet source where I found it.

It deals with one of my favorite concepts: Learning to see God and His truth all around us, and realizing that at any given time, there is so much more to know and experience of Him than what we are currently aware of.

The psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2).

Ever wonder where that barrage of information is going? How it must be wasted on us!

Days pass and the years vanish and we walk sightless among miracles. Lord, fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing. Let there be moments when your Presence, like lightning, illuminates the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns, unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness and exclaim in wonder, "How filled with awe is this place and we did not know it."