OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY
Our Daily Bread for today is here. Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
The word of God is food to the spirit man. “Eat and digest” the word of the Lord for today and let its unchanging power nuture your faith and help in your daily walk to Christ.
The Topic of Our Daily Bread For 18th April 2025 is “No Longer Alone”
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 3-5: Luke 14:25-35
Memory Verse: Matthew 27:46
Jesus cried out . . . “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Today’s Scripture & Insight: Matthew 27:41-51
Matthew records three events and their aftereffects that occurred at the moment of Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:51–53). First, the temple curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom. Many theologians have written that this symbolized God removing the barrier that separated people from His presence (only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and only once a year with a blood sacrifice). Second, there was an earthquake. This caused rocks to split and tombs to open. An earthquake was a fitting response of creation to the death of its Creator. Finally, after Jesus’ resurrection, the dead from the open tombs were brought back to life and entered the city—another fitting result. When the Giver of life defeated death, the power that raised Him spread to others who had died.
By: J.R. Hudberg
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ODB MESSAGE FOR TODAY
As an atheist, Deb had always lived how she pleased, but after years of having her heart broken by one destructive relationship after another, she was desperate. High on heroin and contemplating suicide, she stumbled upon a Gideon’s New Testament and there discovered that after death, she would have to give account to God for her wasted life.
That terrified her. So she crept into the back of a church on Good Friday, and heard the reading—today’s verses—that would change her forever. She sobbed uncontrollably, realising that she was no longer someone defined by rejection but as God’s beloved daughter.
The detail that struck Deb in her desolation was, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Many theologians believe that this phrase, together with the midday supernatural “darkness . . . over all the land” (v. 45), indicates that on the cross our sin separated Jesus from the presence of God the Father. But the thick “curtain of the temple” keeping people out of the most holy place was then “torn in two” (v. 51), symbolising how Jesus’ death destroyed the barriers between us and God. Jesus had been forsaken on the cross so that we no longer have to be.
Harmful relationships bring shame, and addiction feeds off shame. Additionally, loneliness is a silent, ongoing pain. Thanks to Jesus, however, we are united with God, our shame removed. We’re never truly alone again.
By: Tanya Marlow
Reflect & Pray
What makes you feel far from God? What comfort do you draw from Jesus’ forsakenness on the cross?
Our Daily Bread 2025 Devotional is written by Con Campbell and published by Our Daily Bread Ministries. Read more
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