Act Locally, Think Globally (Matthew 28:19)

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Coca-Cola seems to be everywhere. But how does it get there? This motto, posted in the company’s headquarters, explains it: Think Globally, but Act Locally.

What this slogan is to Coke, the Great Commission is to the church. A church that wants to obey the Lord’s command to make disciples of all nations must first be faithful in its worship of God.

The early church’s missionary outreach began when a group of sinners who had been changed by God’s Spirit and united in a unique body were ministering to the Lord (Acts 13:2).

The word minister can also be translated “worship.” As these early believers gathered to worship and pray, the Holy Spirit told them to send out Barnabas and Saul. Responding to God’s love in worship led them to take His love to the world. That’s God’s plan for the success of His work.

As we become active worshipers of God in a local church, the Holy Spirit gives us discernment to recognize those whom He calls as missionaries. He gives us the responsibility to support them with money and sustain them with our prayers.

Do we faithfully worship the Lord each week? Have we found our place in Christ’s Great Commission? If we act locally, we’ll think globally. – Dennis J. De Haan

We who rejoice to know You

Renew before Your throne

The solemn pledge we owe Your –

To go and make You known. – Anon.

To be a faithful witness, be faithful in worship.

• April 14, 1991, Our Daily Bread

Living with a Thief (Leviticus 19:11)

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A mother had trouble with one of her boys who kept finding the secret places where she hid her money, and then he would take what he wanted. Various punishments were inflicted. Finally, in desperation, the Christian mother took a sheet of paper and printed it in large letters: “Thou shalt not steal!” Putting it on the top of the box that contained the money, she hid it in a new place. When she returned from a shopping trip a few days later, she noticed that once again the box had been found, but this time, not a cent was missing. Having been brought up in a God-fearing home, the boy was conscience-stricken when confronted with one of the Ten Commandments.

We should heed the voice of conscience when tempted to steal. One night a man who swept the floors in a bank found a small pack of bills that had fallen under a counter. He thought long and hard about what to do with it. Because his family was in dire need, he kept the money. The next morning, however, he returned the currency. “Tell me,” said the bank official, “what kept you honest? It’s very unlikely we would have traced the loss to you.” “Well, Mr. Brown,” said the man, “I’m a Christian and God would know about it! Besides, I would have a troubled conscience, and I decided I just didn’t want to live with a thief!”

Have you been absolutely honest in all your dealings? If not, you’re “living with a thief.” – Henry G. Bosch

All falsehood we would cast aside,

From You, O Lord, we cannot hide;

So by Your Spirit grant that we

In word and deed may honest be. – D. J. De Haan

Honesty is the best policy. – Franklin

• April 13, 1987, Our Daily Bread

Known for Your Honesty? (Ephesians 4:28)

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When I was a young man, I worked with my father during the summer months. Each morning we would stop to pick up the early edition of a local newspaper. One day when we got to work, my father discovered he had taken two papers by mistake. He thought first of paying for it the following morning, but after thinking for a moment he said, “No, I had better go back with this paper. Someone may lose out on the morning news, and I do not want the store owner, who is not a Christian to think I am dishonest.” So my father immediately returned the extra newspaper.

About a week later a robbery occurred in that same store, and the owner remembered that only two people had come into the building at the approximate time of the theft – my dad and another man. At once he eliminated my father. “That man is honest,” he said. “He came all the way back here one day just to return a newspaper he got by mistake. The other customer must be the thief.” The police soon apprehended the culprit.

Stealing comes in many subtle forms. It may be a carelessly prepared income tax return, taking a full wage for half-hearted work, underpaying an employee, shoplifting, or keeping an overpayment. This kind of “polite theft” is prevalent in our society, and it’s easy for us as Christians to get caught up in it too. But the Holy Spirit will make us men and women of integrity if we yield to Him. Let’s be known for our honesty. – Henry G. Bosch

Lord, by your Spirit grant that we

May cast aside dishonesty

So that our words and deeds are one

In pointing sinners to Your Son. – D. J. De Haan

Some people are honest only because they have never had a good chance to steal anything.

• April 12, 1986, Our Daily Bread

Older, but Stronger (Psalm 92:14)

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What a storehouse of wisdom and spiritual power is evident in God’s “senior saints”! That’s why they shouldn’t let their advancing age and declining physical vigor stop them from doing things for the Lord. Instead, older Christians should continue to be fruitful and productive.

A man who was celebrating his 100^th birthday was told by a friend, “Well, I congratulate you, but I’m afraid you’ll not be here to celebrate a second hundred.” To this the man replied, “I’m not so sure of that. The fact is, I am feeling very much stronger to begin this second hundred than I was when I began the first.” That’s the attitude Christians need as they face their senior years.

The words of Caleb can be an encouragement for the older generation. He knew from firsthand experience that God is faithful, so he said, “As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength” (Joshua 14:11). At age 85, he was still looking to the future.

Friend, if you have reached the retirement years or are soon to experience them, remember that “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Trust God to fill your mature years with His blessing and power. No matter what your age, as you get older you can grow stronger in the Lord. – Paul R. Van Gorder

O God, don’t let my heart grow cold

As time flies by and I grow old;

For souls are dying, lost in sin;

Someone in love must bring them in. – Anon.

Old age is not coasting – but climbing!

• April 11, 1987, Our Daily Bread

Keep the Spring Pure! (Proverbs 4:23)

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Today’s text came to mind as I thought of an experience I had when I was a boy. Our family water supply came from a spring just a few feet from the house. The water, which was pure, cold, and sweet, bubbled up through a large pipe about the size of a barrel that had been sunken upright into the ground. As I was about to dip out some water one morning, I saw two huge frogs at the bottom looking up at me with doleful eyes. No one in the family wanted any of the water until we had removed the frogs and had allowed it to run over the side for several hours. We all wanted to make sure it was perfectly clean and pure again.

I see in that incident a parable. Those frogs represent bad thoughts, and the spring is man’s heart. If our thought life is evil, the words and deeds that flow from within will be contaminated. Jesus said that the blasphemous statements made by His enemies revealed their inner selves. They spoke the way they did because they had allowed evil thoughts to take control of their minds.

How important it is to guard what comes into our mind! We become what we think! If we permit hateful thoughts to remain, we will become cruel and heartless. If we let in lustful thoughts, we will become immoral. But when we dwell on lovely, pure, and unselfish thoughts, what flows from our mouths and comes forth in our conduct will be pleasing to God and a blessing to others.

Keep the spring pure! – Herbert Vander Lugt

Lord, saturate my thoughts with truth,

And let Your Word in me abide;

Thus thinking on the pure and good,

May my whole life be edified! – H. G. Bosch

Nothing so threatens Christian character as impure thoughts.

• April 10, 1987, Our Daily Bread

Wise Buy (1 Timothy 4:8)

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A product that pays for itself in a reasonable period of time is usually a good buy. That’s why I’m interested in the newspaper ad before me about a thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature of a house to the appropriate level day or night. This device ensures that in wintertime the house is 70 degrees when a person gets up in the morning, 50 when he’s at work, 68 when he gets home, 72 after dinner, and 62 while he sleeps. If what the ad claims is true, the thermostat will pay for itself in energy savings within one year. If it doesn’t, the manufacturer will buy it back. When I multiply that savings by the projected life of the unit, it is obviously to my advantage to buy it. Yet interestingly enough, I find that I’m hesitant to put out the $79 to purchase the unit. But why, if it is such a value?

The question has a spiritual counterpart. I find that I can be even slower to come up with the faith necessary to make wise spiritual investments. Even though I know God stands behind every claim He makes, my reluctance to trust Him reveals how “penny-wise and pound-foolish” I can be. Because the tendency to hold back is so common to believers. Paul advised Timothy to make every effort to be an example of the believer “in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (v. 12). He knew that discipline would be required but that posed no problem to the apostle. He was convinced that anyone who chooses to invest in godliness now will find that his decision more than pays for itself both in this life and in the life to come. – Martin R. De Haan II

What holds me back? Some earthly tie? A thirst for gain?

A strange entanglement with life? A pleasure vain?

Dear Lord, I cast it all aside so willingly;

The path of true discipleship I’ll walk with Thee. – Adams

Following Jesus costs more than anything – except not following Him.

• April 9, 1984, Our Daily Bread

An Individual Matter (Acts 8:35)

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We all like individual attention. That’s why we respond favorably to anyone who singles us out and focuses his attention directly on us.

While preparing to write a book titled In Search of Excellence, the authors studied several successful companies and found that each stressed the importance of the individual. They told about an executive whose wife had a good experience with Delta Airlines, which illustrates the importance of one-to-one contact. He explained that his wife had inadvertently missed out on a super-saver ticker because of a technicality that made her ticket invalid. She called to complain, and Delta’s president intervened personally. He was at the terminal at the time, so he met her at the gate and handed her the ticket himself. You can be sure the airline made a friend for life!

From the sports world comes another example. When first baseman Darrell Evans became a free agent after the 1983 season, he was sought by several teams. But he decided to sign with the Detroit Tigers because, as he said, “Sparky Anderson was the only manager interested enough to call me and talk personally!”

As Christians, we have the world’s greatest message – Jesus died and rose again. We must present it personally as Jesus did (see John 20) and Philip did in today’s Scripture. With genuine concern in our hearts, let’s talk to people one at a time about their need of Christ. Witnessing is an individual matter. – David C. Egner

Go to the lost, in the home, in the mart,

Delay no longer, today make a start;

Tell them of Jesus who died for their sin,

From byways of darkness bring others to Him. – H. G. Bosch

Some of the best sermons are delivered when one person is the preacher and one person is the congregation.

• April 8, 1985, Our Daily Bread

“The Fat of a Child” (John 4:34)

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To a child in Botswana, being sent on an errand by an elder is his greatest honor. This idea is captured in the Botswana proverb, “The fat [or delight] of a child is to be sent.”

The word fat has reference to the choicest part of the meat and the fat, which are always first to the elders at the family meal. After the rest of the men and the women have eaten, there is usually very little meat left for the children – only gravy. Thus, the “fat” came to refer to the most choice or delightful part of anything.

Jesus said His “food” was to do the will of the One who sent Him, and to finish His work (John 4:34). As children of God, we too should be eager to please our heavenly Father. But all too often we are reluctant to be sent. We tend to see the expenditure of our time and effort to go forth and do the Lord’s bidding as a burden, not a delight. For us, the “fat” ought to be the blessing of doing the will of God rather than the benefits we get from it.

Stop and think about it a moment. We have all been commissioned by Christ. He has commanded us to go. As God’s children, we can apply to ourselves the truth of the Botswana proverb, “The fat of a child is to be sent.” – David C. Egner

In gladness I go forth each day

Expectantly to serve and claim

The happiness that service gives

When freely rendered in Christ’s name. – Anon

Duty alone is drudgery; duty with love is delight.

• April 7, 1991, Our Daily Bread

The Only One Standing (Daniel 3:6)

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I was visiting a church in another city. The opening hymn was announced and I jumped to my feet to sing. Everyone else stayed seated. Imagine my embarrassment, I was the only one standing!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also stood alone, but for a very different reason. King Nebuchadnezzar had built a 90-foot statue, set it in the plain of Dura, and ordered the people to bow down and worship when they heard the music.

The gold statue was gleaming in the afternoon sun. The music sounded, and all the people put their foreheads in the dust. Right? Wrong! The three young men from Israel were still standing. They would not break the second commandment of Jehovah their God by worshiping an idol.

You know what happened. The king was furious. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded that the rebels be thrown in. But they didn’t burn up. They were seen walking around in the midst of the flames – and they were not alone. Someone else was in the fire with them.

As a follower of Jesus, when everyone else is bowing to idols of pride or greed or lust or prejudice, take your stand for righteousness. He will be with you, even when you are the only one standing. – David C. Egner

Just live our life before your Lord,

It matters not what others do –

Your actions will be weighed by Him

Who metes out judgment just and true. – William

He who takes his stand for Christ is not likely to fall for the devil.

• April 6, 1992, Our Daily Bread

You’re not Home Yet (Philippians 3:20)

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Today’s heroes are often overrated. Many sports personalities, entertainers, and movie stars receive acclaim that is out of proportion to the value of their achievements. On the other hand, many Christians have done work of eternal significance through prayer and faithful service for the Lord, yet have spent their entire lives in obscurity. To keep from losing perspective, we must always bear in mind that this life is but a preparation for the glory to follow.

This well-known story illustrates the point: When Theodore Roosevelt was President, he went on a hunting safari to Africa. On his return to the United States, a missionary who was retiring after 40 years of service in a remote jungle village was traveling on the same vessel. When the ship docked, cheering throngs greeted the chief executive, but not a single person was there to welcome the returning missionary. Momentarily the man of God was filled with self-pity. He thought, when a President comes home after a short hunting trip, hundreds come out to greet him. But Lord, when one of Your missionaries comes home after a lifetime of service, no one is there to meet him. immediately it was as if the Lord whispered, “But My son, you are not Home yet.”

Child of God, do you sometimes feel a little like that faithful missionary? Then look again at the blessed reality expressed in today’s text. Your citizenship is not of this world. Someday you’ll receive the real welcome. – Dennis J. De Haan

When that work is all completed,

He will gently call you Home;

Oh, that rapture of that meeting,

Oh, the joy to see you come! – Anon.

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.

• April 5, 1988, Our Daily Bread