Four Lakes Community Church

06/18/2026

Our Daily Bread Ministries

June 17 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3

With Friends Like These . . .

To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13

READ Job 11:7-20

“I know you better than you know yourself!” As a young man, I heard that confident declaration from a friend. Her intentions were good, but my complicated life as an adopted missionary kid had been shaped across four continents and cultures. She didn’t really know me.
Zophar, a friend of Job’s, sounded wise in his assessment of Job’s difficulties. “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?” Zophar asked him (Job 11:7). “They are higher than the heavens above” (v. 8. Who can argue with that? But then Zophar dared speak of something he couldn’t know: Job’s heart. Without evidence, he proclaimed, “If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then . . . you will stand firm and without fear” (vv. 14-15).
Job responded sarcastically, “Wisdom will die with you! But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?” (12:2-3). Job’s reality was so complex that even he didn’t know what was taking place (see Job 1-2). He correctly said, “To God belong wisdom and power” (12:13). It didn’t come from Zophar, who presumed to have authority and insight that weren’t his.
Our friends may need our loving counsel from time to time. But usually friends in crisis need us to bring their names in prayer to the one who truly does know them.
By Tim Gustafson

REFLECT & PRAY
When has someone been truly helpful to you in a crisis? How can you help another in a difficult situation today?
Heavenly Father, please help me rejoice and relax in the wonderful truth that you truly know me and still love me.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Some scholars have claimed that the remarkable story of Job is mere allegory and didn’t really happen. The Scriptures, however, refer to Job as an historical figure. Ezekiel twice mentions “Noah, Daniel, and Job” (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). And James writes of Job’s perseverance and how God used it (James 5:11). These writers of inspired Scripture considered Job to be real. His story warns us against the dangers of offering mere words instead of compassion and understanding as we comfort suffering friends. Instead of telling them where they’re wrong, how much better it is to listen to them and pray with them.
Tim Gustafson

06/18/2026

Wednesday, June 17
Greater Works

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12

It is the nature of God’s economy for there to be a continual state of increase. The seeds in the apples on a single apple tree will produce multiple times more trees. Even Jesus spoke of Himself as a singular vine from which multiple branches bear an abundance of fruit (John 15:1-8).

Recommended Reading: Acts 1:8-9

Jesus told His disciples that they would produce “greater works” than He did. In the original Greek text the word “works” does not appear—only the adjective “greater.” “Works” is a good translation because Jesus had just mentioned “works” in the first part of John 14:12. But some modern translations have supplied “greater things,” which broadens the scope of what Jesus may have been predicting to include everything Jesus did, not just the miracles He mentioned in verse 11.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you should expect to duplicate His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit (verses 16-17). Ask God to show you the “greater works” He wants you to carry out.

“The unfinished task which lies before us is no greater than the unlimited power of God behind us.”
Fred D. Jarvis

06/17/2026

Tuesday, June 16
Evidence of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is…peace. Galatians 5:22

Like many lists Paul creates in his letters, his list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 should not be taken as exhaustive. Rather, they are nine godly characteristics of those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. They could also be taken as characteristics of Christ.

Recommended Reading: Philippians 4:6-7

It is helpful to note that “fruit” is singular while the list that follows is not. We could substitute the word “evidence” for the word “fruit” in verse 22—“the evidence of the presence of the Spirit is.” And peace is a significant part of the evidence of the Spirit’s presence and empowering. That is, if we are anxious and worried, we are displaying evidence that we are not trusting the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life in that situation. How do we maintain peace in trying circumstances? By following Paul’s teaching in Philippians 4:6-7. Instead of being anxious, commit every concern to God through prayer, with thanksgiving, and receive God’s peace in your heart and mind.

If you are anxious, commit your concerns to God in prayer and trust that His peace will replace your worries.

“The Christian should resemble a fruit tree, not a Christmas tree!”
John R. W. Stott

06/16/2026

Our Daily Bread Ministries

June 16 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47

The Way of Holiness

A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Isaiah 35:8

READ Isaiah 35:8-10

After Jennifer was diagnosed with early onset dementia, she couldn’t read the Bible easily, so she started listening to it. Scripture passages now mean something new to her. For example, she gets lost easily, often doesn’t know who people are, and sees hallucinations of wild animals. When she’s disoriented and fearful, she receives God’s comfort as she hears Isaiah speak of “the Way of Holiness” set aside “for those who walk on that Way” (Isaiah 35:8). On that road will be no wicked fools, “nor any ravenous beast”; instead, “only the redeemed will walk there,” those whom God rescues (v. 9).
The prophet Isaiah shared God’s promises to His people, those exiled from their home. Away from the temple, where they would experience His presence, they must have felt bereft and forlorn. The promises, therefore, of the Way of Holiness, the path to God, would give them hope and strength. To think of entering “Zion with singing,” without fear or sorrow, would lead them to rejoice (v. 10).
Even as Jennifer holds on to these assurances from centuries ago, so too can we who believe in Jesus trust that as we journey with Him, we’ll know gladness and joy (v. 10). Whatever trials we face in this life—however taxing or life-altering—we know that God’s way leads us home to Him.
By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY
What do these promises from God mean to you? As you experience trials outside of your control, how can you turn to Him?
Saving God, please help me to release my fears to You as I walk on the Way of Holiness. I long to be with You.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Isaiah prophesied that the Israelites would be disciplined and exiled to Babylon for their covenantal unfaithfulness (Isaiah 39:6-7; see Jeremiah 25:11). He also prophesied that once the seventy-year chastisement was completed, God would bring them back to the promised land and restore and prosper their land (29:10-11). Isaiah pictures them making their way back to Him on “the Highway of Holiness,” traversing “a great road . . . through that once deserted land . . . only for those who walk in God’s ways” (Isaiah 35:8 nlt). In our journey of faith, God wants us to come to Him with our fears and struggles. The prophet says, “Let us go to the house of God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his path” (2:3 nlt ). This road of repentance, redemption, trust, and obedience is the road He wants us to take: “This is the way; walk in it” (30:21).
K.T. Sim

06/16/2026

Monday, June 15
Tenacious Love

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

Mildred O’Connell, a U.S. Army combat nurse, fell in love with Martin Molnar, an Army Air Corps pilot who flew more than 250 combat missions during World War II. The two became engaged in 1942, but both were called into service before they could be married. They didn’t see each other for two years, but they exchanged more than 4,000 pages of letters. After the war ended, they married. Their son, Ken Molnar, is planning a book based on their letters, which demonstrate the tenacious nature of genuine love. (1)

Recommended Reading: 1 John 3:16-23

God’s primary and greatest commandment to us is to love Him with all we are. The second is to love others. That’s how others can tell we are Christ followers. We have to be tenacious in our love for others. It’s not easy amid the conflicts and separations of life. But we cannot give up.

If you’re having trouble loving someone amid conflict, go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open your heart to them. Ask for a tenacious love that will not give up.

“Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.”
C. S. Lewis

1) Dan Chalk, “Sanford Native Turns Parents’ WWII Love Letters into a Book Series,” Midland Daily News, February 9, 2026.

06/15/2026

Our Daily Bread Ministries

June 15 | Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 1-3; Acts 2:1-21

Giving from God’s Gifts

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that . . . you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

READ 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Stanley’s generosity never ceased to amaze me. He often bought meals and gifts for elderly church members, cleaners in his neighborhood, or anyone who needed cheering up.
Equally amazing was that even though Stanley wasn’t wealthy or savvy at investing, his small investment did impressively well, enabling him to keep giving. Whenever someone thanked him, he’d point upwards and smile, as if to say, “It came from God, not me.” God, he often said, helped him to help others.
This was what Paul alluded to in 2 Corinthians 9 as he wrote about giving. Proud of the Corinthians’ readiness to help fellow believers (v. 2), he hoped to pick up a collection they had started (v. 3). Imploring them to give generously and cheerfully, he noted that God would not only reward those who gave (vv. 6-7) but also bless people so they could give even more (v. 8.
God doesn’t expect us to give what we’re unable to give (8:12). Rather, He entrusts us with money, time, or talent to “abound in every good work” (9:8), and He supplies what we need so we “can be generous on every occasion” (v. 11). That’s why we can give in faith and with a cheerful heart (v. 7), knowing that we give only from what we’ve been given. In the process, we bring praise to God’s name (v. 13).
By Leslie Koh

REFLECT & PRAY
What has God given to you? To whom can you give today, sharing from what you’ve received?
Dear God, please open my eyes to Your blessings and open my heart to bless others generously and cheerfully.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The instructions in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 about the generous giving believers in Jesus at Corinth should employ weren’t given in a vacuum. In the previous chapter, Paul had described the ultimate model for giving—what Christ has given us (8:9)—as the example that should also characterize our giving. The Macedonians had already embraced this heart of generosity (vv. 1-6), and as the Corinthians had displayed growth in so many other areas, the apostle wanted them to know the joy of giving as well (v. 7). Today, we can experience the blessing and privilege of giving cheerfully from what God has given us.
Bill Crowder

06/14/2026

Our Daily Bread Ministries

June 14 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 9-10; Acts 1

Serving Side by Side

“Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. Nehemiah 2:18
READ Nehemiah 2:17-18; 3:6-12

Serendipity Bookstore, a popular spot in Chelsea, Michigan, needed to expand. The owner found a building twice the size just a block away. She wanted to make the move quickly instead of closing the store for days and boxing up all the books. So she requested help from the community. More than three hundred people showed up! They stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a human conveyor belt, and passed the books from one person to the next, moving 9,100 books in just under two hours. The owner said, “[The bookstore] is really a part of the community, and [the people] have ownership.” They all enthusiastically worked side by side.
When Nehemiah, a Jew who was the trusted cupbearer to the Persian king, learned that the wall surrounding Jerusalem lay in shambles, he cried out for God’s guidance (Nehemiah 1:3-11). The Babylonians had destroyed the walls in 587 bc. After investigating, Nehemiah recruited help from the community. He said to the Jewish leaders, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins . . . . Come, let us rebuild the wall” (2:17). Chapter 3 describes how leaders and citizens alike willingly repaired the section of the wall that was right in front of each one. They worked side by side.
We too can impact our community by serving together under God’s direction and in His strength.
By Anne Cetas

REFLECT & PRAY
What are your God-given abilities? How might He be calling you to work side by side with others?
Please open my eyes, dear God, to those around me so I might serve You in ways that help my community.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Cooperation is on display in Nehemiah 3 as people with various gifts, talents, and callings stacked their hands to accomplish one good work. Among them were priests (vv. 1, 22, 28) and Levites (v. 17); goldsmiths, perfumers, and merchants (vv. 8, 31-32); rulers (vv. 12-19), and others. The wall-building project, like other worthwhile community endeavors, required good leadership, and Nehemiah provided that. A survey of his qualities reveals that he was a man of prayer (1:4; 2:4), vision (2:5, 11-16), good communication skills (2:7-8, 17-18), and courage (vv. 19-20). Today, we can also serve others by working together with God’s strength.
Arthur Jackson

06/14/2026

06/14/2026

Our Daily Bread Ministries

June 13 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 6-8; John 21

Dependent on God’s Strength

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

READ 2 Corinthians 11:23-29

Tungsten is something of a paradox. It has the highest tensile strength of any pure element, making it extremely difficult to pull apart. But the Mead Metals website notes, “In terms of impact strength, tungsten is weak—it’s a brittle metal known to shatter on impact.” It’s fascinating that tungsten, the strongest natural metal, is also so weak and brittle.
Human beings display a similar characteristic. Though capable of great strength both physically and mentally, we’re easily crushed under the weight of this fallen, broken world. Paul experienced this personally. In 2 Corinthians 11, he described experiences that overwhelmed him (vv. 23-29). But God encouraged him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul resolved, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul had written, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed” (4:8). There’s hope, even though the strongest child of God knows all too well that this world is simply too much for us. We’re happily dependent on the strength of His grace if we are to endure. May we, like Paul, embrace our weaknesses so God’s power can carry us through.
By Bill Crowder

REFLECT & PRAY
When did you experience a moment that felt like it would crush you? How will you rest in God’s strength the next time you’re in a crisis?
Dear Father, please help me to rest in Your strength to carry me through life’s crushing moments.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
When we feel weak and powerless, God wants us to turn to Him. As Isaiah wrote, our “everlasting God, the Creator of the [earth],” doesn’t “grow tired or weary” (Isaiah 40:28). “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (v. 29). When we put our trust in Him, He renews our strength (v. 31).
Paul reminds us that when we turn to God in our weakness, we can rejoice because through our weakness God’s power is seen (2 Corinthians 11:29-30; 12:9). Romans tells us that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” and “intercedes for us” even when we don’t know how we should pray (8:26). We can find hope, comfort, and joy “through him who gives [us] strength” (Philippians 4:13). God provides what we truly need to persevere and to live for and serve Him.
Alyson Kieda