2) Our Daily Bread for 23 May 2026
Freedom in Christ by Winn Collier
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
7 (Ex 24:12; 31:18) If the ministry that brought death, written
and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory
of his countenance, the glory which was to fade away,
8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
9 (Heb 12:18-21; Ro 3:21-22) For if the ministry of condemnation
is glorious, the ministry of righteousness much more exceeds
it in glory.
10 Even that which was made glorious had no glory in comparison
to the glory that excels.
11 For if that which fades was glorious, that which remains
is much more glorious.
12 (2Co 7:4; Ac 4:13) Seeing then that we have such hope,
we speak with great boldness,
13 (Ex 34:33-35; 2Co 3:7) not as Moses, who put a veil over his face,
so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the end
of what was fading away.
14 (Ac 13:15; Ro 11:25) Instead, their minds were blinded.
For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the
reading of the old covenant, the veil which was done away
with in Christ.
15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is in their hearts.
16 (Ex 34:34; Isa 25:7) Nevertheless when anyone turns to the Lord,
the veil is removed.
17 (Gal 4:6; Jn 8:32) Now the Lord is the Spirit.
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 (Ro 8:29; 1Co 13:12; 2Co 4:4) But we all, seeing the glory
of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror,
are being transformed into the same image from glory
to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.
[7] But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was
glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the
face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done
away:
[8] How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
[9] For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the
ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
[10] For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by
reason of the glory that excelleth.
[11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which
remaineth is glorious.
[12] Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
[13] And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of
Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
[14] But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same
vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done
away in Christ.
[15] But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their
heart.
[16] Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken
away.
[17] Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty.
[18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord.
In 1849, Henry "Box" Brown (a US enslaved man from Virginia) folded himself
into a wooden crate marked “dry goods,” and two friends shipped him from
Richmond to Philadelphia. Brown was inside the box (3 x 2.5 x 2 feet) for the
26-hour trip, with three small holes cut for air. As abolitionists pulled
Brown from the box, he sang a paraphrase of Psalm 40, expressing his hope in
the God who promises freedom. "If you have never been deprived of your
liberty, as I was," Brown later wrote, "you cannot realise the power of that
hope of freedom, which was to me indeed, an anchor to the soul, both sure
and steadfast."
Freedom is central to how God operates in our hearts and in our world. His
wisdom leads to spiritual freedom, but false wisdom leads to oppression.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is," Paul says, "there is freedom" from sin,
death, and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:17). When we listen to God
and follow His ways, freedom results. Unfortunately the opposite is also true:
When we ignore Him and resist His invitations, we become ensnared
and confined. God liberates and transforms us by His Spirit (v. 18),
but sin and rebellion traps us.
We sometimes believe that God limits and obstructs our possibilities
and pleasure. But in truth, He's the only one who can lead us into
an expansive future, the only one who can guide us into genuine freedom.
Reflect & Pray
Where have you felt trapped in life?
How do you sense God's desire to guide you into freedom?
Dear God, please help me to be transformed and free in You.
Learn more about having a personal relationship with God.
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 4 - The Blessings of Grace Day 7 God's Bulldozer - Luke 3:5-6
5 (Isa 40:4; 42:16) Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
and the crooked shall be made straight
and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 (Isa 40:5; 52:10) and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
And the crooked shall be made straight,
And the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
When a new highway is being constructed, the roads crew work hard
in preparing for the new surface to be laid. Giant bulldozers cut through
the hillsides, moving earth, leveling, filling, evening the path out where
the roadway will run. When the work is first begun, if often looks like chaos:
and even after the highway begins to take shape, the land is still ugly,
scarred by the unsightly gashes cut through the landscape. Yet after
the work is completed and the grass and trees are replanted, we forget
the temporary upheaval and see only the
beauty of the land and the convenience of the new roadway.
In Luke 3:5-6, John the Baptist presents a prophecy of the coming of Christ,
a prophecy quoted from Isaiah 40:3-5 . The prophecy speaks of the preparation
of the world for the coming Messiah, but is also applies to the preparation
of the individual heart to receive him.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit must do major work in our hearts to prepare us for
the coming of Christ into our live. Like a bulldozer, he brings down the
mountains of pride in our lives. He fill the empty places , corrects
the crooked, grades down the rough edges of our hearts.
Often this is not pleasant work. We prefer to maintain the rugged landscape
of Self, and we do not like the ugly scars that are left after the bulldozer
has done its job.
But if we submit to the Spirit's "Construction work" in us, the way will be
paved for the Lord to enter into our lives, and others will see in us,
the way be paved for the Lord to enter into our lives, and other will see
in us the glory and salvation of our God.
Application
a) What "construction work" has to Holy Spirit done in me?
b) What restoration has taken place because of that work?
c) How do today's verses help me put in perspective the work
God still want to do in me?
4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland
Proverbs 10:22
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich ,and He adds no sorrow with it.
22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich,
And he addeth no sorrow with it.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
When you are Saddened by Loss
1 Cor 15:35-38,51-57
35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up?
With what body do they come?"
36 You fool! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare kernel,
perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 Then God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet,
for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For tis corruptible will put on incorruption,
and this mortal will put on immortality.
54 When this corruptible will have put on incorruption,
and this mortal will have put on immortality,
then the saying that is written shall come to pass:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ!
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be,
but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him,
and to every seed his own body.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember God's promises when You pray
The Lord's prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 (Mt 3:2; 4:17) Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 (Pr 30:8; Isa 33:16) Give us this day our daily bread.
12 (Ex 34:7; Ps 32:1) And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 (1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.