The Pastor’s Quiet Time (Part 5)

You are no doubt familiar with the first miracle Jesus performed of turning water to wine, which took place at a wedding reception at Cana. After sampling a glass of this wine, the master of ceremonies pulled the bridegroom aside and said, “You have saved the best till now!” (John 2:10 niv).

As I come to the fifth blog in this series on our devotional life, I feel that way. For the last 7 years I have been invited to speak in dozens of churches as part of my work with RBC Ministries. After the service, I greet the church family personally. This is what I hear so often: “I was going through a real struggle in my Christian life. There was a heavy burden I was carrying. But the reading from Our Daily Bread on this particular day was just for me. My heart was greatly encouraged.”

I could quote from letters RBC receives from prisoners, military men and women, hospital patients, and fellow strugglers. But I want to share a personal word. Recently, my friend Leonard (a missionary in Rio de Janeiro) passed away. We had been friends for 63 years, and my sense of loss was overwhelming. But then I reread an article I had saved from Our Daily Bread. It included this beautiful description of dying by Henry Van Dyke: “I am standing at the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud, just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other. . . . And just at the moment when someone at my side says: ‘There, she is gone!’ there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here she comes!’ And that is dying.”

It reminded me of Leonard’s throng of family and friends (and my own some day) who will greet us with a glad, “Here he comes!”

This was just one of the many times I’ve been helped through the pages of Our Daily Bread. I recommend that you add this little booklet to your devotional life. And if you’ve been blessed by Our Daily Bread or another devotional, we’d love to hear about it!