Author: Jon Harris

This week I traveled alone across the ocean and back.

I stayed in a hotel alone, met with Italian officials at the Chicago Consulate alone, walked the streets of Chicago alone, went to a baseball game alone, and went for a bike ride along the beautiful Chicago lakeshore alone.

Except because of my faith, I wasn’t really alone. We’re never really alone, especially when we invite God’s Holy Spirit into our lives. I faced major travel hardships, loneliness, along with worry and doubt over the appointments with the officials. Through this, I found so much peace with the sense of God’s presence and him calling me to lean on him and trust him. He carried me and continued to prove his faithfulness, and I’m so grateful.

I shared this story because it ties to today’s verses as a reminder that our omnipotent God sees all and knows all, Jesus is coming soon, and we will all be judged. We can run from him, but we cannot hide.

Today once again, we have the story of the wise and foolish servants:

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51)

My takeaway (apart from the metaphor that this is about the return of Jesus) is the contrast, and it all comes down to a matter of the heart. Is my heart focused on putting me first or others and God’s will?

From this passage, I see these contrasts-

The faithful & wise:

• Serve others
• Treat others with respect
• Exhibit honorable behavior even when no one is looking
• Recognize their position was given to them
• Stay focused on their mission
• Remain diligent and sober
• Anticipate the return of their leader
• Will be granted more responsibility and an honorable reward

The foolish & wicked:

• Focus on self
• Become deceived and disregard the consequences of their actions
• Are two faced, behaving differently when they think no one will notice
• Abuse others
• Seek the pleasures of this world
• Will be punished severely

At the end of this passage we find death and separation, the punishment for our sin. Any one of us can admit to being guilty of being put in some sort of leadership position but yet falling victim to sin; being of the world instead of having our hearts focused fully on the Kingdom of Heaven.

The beauty is that faith in Jesus Christ is what can and will redeem us. Until we get to Heaven we will have a sin problem. Meanwhile, we can repent and submit to the one who was and is perfect. The one who knew of our sinful nature and sacrificed his body and blood so that we do not receive the punishment we deserve. Thank you Jesus.

Today’s other reading: Psalm 134

Last Saturday the four of us went out for a nice family meal in the city center of Florence, Italy. We had wonderful conversation, great food, and great service. After that we did some exploring on foot to walk off the dinner and to continue the relaxing evening. As we we became tired from the long day filled with walking adventures, we began our journey to walk back to the hotel.

Preston and I were ahead of Amy and Peyton, and we eventually lost them. A few minutes later Amy messaged me asking if I wanted an American beer from the store they stopped into.

After being in Italy for over three weeks, the thought of an ice cold American beer sounded wonderful and nostalgic! As excited as I was for the beer, I was grateful for the thoughtful gesture.

Later we reconvened at the hotel and went to sleep soon after. The next day’s itinerary was long and full of travel.

After a good sleep we quickly packed up, got ready, and had breakfast at the hotel. We checked out and were on our way to the train station with plans to go separate ways for the week.

My plans were to meet with work counterparts to take the train to Milan, then rent a car get us to a hotel close to one of our plants which we would visit the next day. After this we would visit a different plant, traveling city to city via car, train, taxi etc. all week.

Amy and the boys were also headed to the train station en route to the sea for a few days since I was busy with work.

With suitcases and backpacks in tow, we were about two minutes from the train station in central Florence when Amy said, “hmm… my purse feels light”.  She looked inside and said, “I think I lost my wallet”. Panic set in. We frantically looked through the rest of our luggage and began to mentally retrace our steps.

Big tourist towns are known for pickpocketing so that was my first thought. Second thought was, I have to get on that train in about 15 minutes. Our credit and debit cards were the same, and she didn’t have cash. If we had to cancel all of our cards, it would be a complete disaster.

We decided I needed to catch the train and Amy and the boys would retrace their steps since the night prior. We prayed, gave hugs, and I gave her some cash along with one of my credit cards.

I went on my way, and what should have been a joyful reuniting of work brothers had a dark cloud over it. I was sick to my stomach. Amy felt devastated and miserable and guilty. She felt like it was her fault, we didn’t know what we were going to do.

Really all I cared about was Amy and the boys. I felt so horrible for her. I knew she’d put all the blame on herself, and I didn’t like her feeling that way. I couldn’t focus, my mind going in circles wondering what could have happened.

Amy and the boys went to the hotel and scoured the room with no luck. They made the hotel aware of the situation and received some sympathy, but that was it. After that they thought might as well go to the store where Amy was the night prior; the last place the wallet was seen.

The store wasn’t open yet so they waited outside. Finally a light came on and a man opened the door to let her in. Language barriers in play, she was able to explain that she had lost her wallet.

After a long pause which to her seemed like an eternity, the man reached below the counter and slowly pulled the wallet out! He said that he waited until after midnight at the store to see if she would return. What joy!!! I literally had tears in my eyes (in front of the guys) when Peyton sent this picture to me!

Shortly after this lost and found story, I laughed out loud when I looked at my assigned verses for this week… how appropriate, God works in mysterious ways!

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:8-10 & Psalm 122

On April 18th & 19th, 2018, a team of movers came to our house to pack and ship what we wanted with us in Italy. The goods consisted of beds, chairs, a couch, tables, clothing, cooking accessories, photos, and cabinetry such as dressers and armoires. The packed items were then taken to a warehouse and further prepped for a very long journey, placed in a giant shipping container, sent (perhaps by train or truck) to Chicago, then placed onto a ship that would make its way for the next few weeks across the ocean. In case you’re curious, it is almost two months later and we still do not have our things… maybe a topic for a future post on patience!

Leading up to this move we had hundreds (perhaps thousands) of decisions to separate our possessions into what goes to Italy, what to send to storage and what to let go of. The items chosen to send to Italy are planned to be used for the next three years. Conversely, the storage items would sit for three years unused. Then the rest of it was deemed unnecessary; useless to us.

Arriving into Europe there was a similar pattern of separation. US currency no longer accepted, and many electronics do not work (or would be fried) due to the difference in voltage.

As humans we separate, and so does our creator:

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)

These words are tough to take in. The thought of being thrown into a fiery furnace with weeping and gnashing of teeth is truly the ultimate worse case scenario. We often wish these words weren’t true, we’d like to think that perhaps everyone is “good” and we all end up happily ever after.

The fact is that God is real, so is his book, and so are his promises. His judgment is fair (whether we like it or not). Knowing the harshness of eternal separation, he gave us a gift, grace and mercy through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ. Jesus was tortured and killed as he took the penalty so that we would not be separated from him. It is ours to choose; not someone choosing for us. Eternity with him or without him.

Today’s Psalm: Psalm 110

Recently I was fortunate enough to spend time with a very good friend (we’ll call him Dave), one of my favorite people in the whole world. This friend is someone I learn a lot from, both in positive and negative situations.

Dave faced a hardship in our time together. His mood quickly changed from joy to sadness, it was so obvious, like a darkness had come over him. As a friend, an observer, I was able to witness it first hand from the onset.

The thing was, the hardship wasn’t that bad. What was bad was Dave’s response to the hardship. Initial pain turned to anxiety, anxiety turned to fear, fear turned to anger, and the anger manifested itself through words and spread into other thoughts like a contagious disease for himself and those around him.

As I watched Dave go through this I realized these are similar stages we all can go through when something bad happens. The enemy tries to deceive us into thinking the worst, that all is lost, that we can never recover. He tries to bring us into darkness. He wants us to lean on ourselves instead of Jesus, the light of the world.

³³ “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.  (Luke 11:33)

This passage has Jesus encouraging us to let our light shine, and point to him as our savior, and our Father God as the all powerful creator. We have the choice to allow him to shine through or to choose darkness in our minds and hearts… Let him shine today!

³⁴ Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” (Luke 11:34-36)

Today’s Psalm: Psalm 98

This web site has been delivering daily bread to our readers since 1/1/2016 (daily in 2016 & 2017, and six days per week in 2018). Today’s post is number 836 and so far there have been 49,279 page views (add one more for your viewing)! God is good!!!

The primary reason for creating this site was to facilitate Christian spiritual growth with the mindset that we grow through daily habits. We grow through prayer and allowing God’s word to penetrate our every thought, decision, and action.

Give us this day our daily bread, (Matthew 6:11)

Seven words, a request that sounds simple, yet it speaks volumes about who God is. He is our sustainer, the ultimate giver.

A few days ago I was feeling down and overwhelmed, then a friend spoke some unexpected words of encouragement to me. It wasn’t like “nice job on that project”. It was out of the blue, unrelated to existing topics which is why I so deeply appreciated it. This act of giving changed everything in a single moment. It lifted my spirits and corrected my attitude. Ultimately I saw this situation as sustainment, as the bread my heart and soul needed at the perfect timing.

Today I am thankful for Jesus showing us how to pray. For God being an interactive God, seeking relationship with us. He wants us to talk to him, to ask him to meet our needs. He wants to show us that we can trust him and lean on him for everything; for each breath, for each morsel of food, for salvation, for eternity with him.

Forgive me Lord for taking so much for granted. Thank you for sustaining us physically and spiritually. Thank you for friends and family who speak out of love and encouragement. Thank you for speaking to us and thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our daily bread. Amen.

I’ll close with a few verses from Psalm 74 as it has a beautiful and poetic description of God as king, savior, creator, sustainer, and ruler…

¹² Yet God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³ You divided the sea by your might;
    you broke the heads of the sea monsters^[d] on the waters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵ You split open springs and brooks;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷ You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made summer and winter. (Psalm 74:12-17)

Psalm 62 “My Soul Waits for God Alone”

Our family is in the midst of packing up for a move across the ocean and phase one of the move (shipping our belongings to Italy) is only a few days away.

The Middle of the Night

I’ve been waking up around 3:00AM-4:00AM in a sweat almost every day these last couple weeks. Mind and heart racing. Lists growing, deadlines approaching. Fear. Panic. What ifs. Worry. Stress.

Then I pray and eventually come to repentance when I remember all this worry and fear is not Godly. It is me selfishly trying to control things.

Regardless of any earthly, human outcome, God has it. He holds you and me in his hand. He is a refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
  pour out your heart before him;
  God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 64:8)

The Peace of Dawn

Then morning brings a new day, a new perspective, a new opportunity to get it right and continue to learn to lean on Jesus.

Today’s Sermon on the Mount Content… lust!

Today’s verses from the Sermon on the Mount are Matthew 5:27-30 where the topic of lust is addressed. I posted on this on February 9th, 2016. Here’s a link:

Do Not Open This Door

2 Samuel 18 articulates the events that lead to the death of King David’s son Absalom.

Absalom rebelled against King David, waging war against him with the hope to take over the throne. Absalom ultimately hung on a tree alive then had three javelins thrust into his heart. King David mourned deeply for the demise of his son. It was a broken relationship, and much like most broken relationships, sin was at the heart of it all.

Like Absalom, we’ve all gone astray. We rebel, wage wars, seek selfish results, we have broken relationships, and we even put others at risk when with our sin, just like Absalom.

Today, Good Friday 2018 we reflect on another man who hung on a tree because of sin. Except the sin he was paying for was not his own; his name was Jesus and he was innocent.

Matthew 27 provides an account of Jesus being brought to trial, the crucifixion and his death. Can I ask you to read this today aloud with friends and/or family to reflect on who Jesus was and the price he paid to set us free from the bondage, death, and separation of sin?

Today’s reading: 2 Samuel 18 & Psalm 50