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An Invitation into the Presence of Jesus

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An Invitation into the Presence of Jesus

Join millions of readers around the world!

Our Daily Bread is available in print and by email

Subscribe Today

Our Daily Bread Publishing

Inspirational. Encouraging.

Get ready for summer with an uplifting reading list!

Also your source for Discovery Series booklets—Biblical insights on topical issues.
Stories of Impact
She Lost Her Son—Now She’s Giving Others Hope

She Lost Her Son—Now She’s Giving Others Hope

“If God could change me, God can change anybody.”

Those words aren’t just something Samantha Major says—they’re the reason she spends her weekends handing out Our Daily Bread devotionals, Discovery Series booklets, and copies of The Journey wherever God opens a door.

But her story didn’t begin there.

It began in heartbreak.

As a child, Samantha endured sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Growing up in a home marked by alcoholism and addiction, she searched for relief in drugs, eventually becoming addicted to crack cocaine.

“I made a lot of wrong choices,” she says honestly. “I didn’t want to become an alcoholic like my parents, so I turned to drugs instead.”

Years later, after becoming pregnant with twin boys, she left drugs behind. But life dealt another devastating blow when her oldest son died from a fentanyl overdose in January 2020.

“It crushed me,” Samantha remembers. “I wanted to die. I laid in bed for ten days and just cried.”

Then, in the middle of her grief, everything changed.

“I finally said, ‘Okay, God, I can’t do life on my own anymore. I’m surrendering it all to You.'”

She called her former youth pastor, who invited her and her husband over for dinner. That evening, Samantha rededicated her life to Christ.

Just three days later, her husband did the same.

Soon afterward, their twin sons also gave their lives to Jesus.

Only weeks after losing her oldest son, the entire family was baptized together.

“It was beautiful,” she says. “We were all baptized as a family.”

Today, Samantha speaks openly about what Christ has done.

“God got me off drugs. He changed my life. Now I have a full-time job with benefits, my own car, my own home. He’s done so much for me.”

She smiles before adding, “I’m not bragging about me. I’m giving glory to God.”

That transformation created a new passion.

“My heart has always been for the lost, the broken, and the homeless. The Bible says those who have been forgiven much, love much.”

Long before becoming an Our Daily Bread Ministries Ambassador, Samantha was already finding creative ways to share Jesus. She distributed Bibles, encouraged children at the school where she works as a caretaker, and looked for every opportunity to remind people that God loved them.

Then she discovered the Ministry Ambassador Program—basically a way for a volunteer to connect their church or outreach ministry with the resources they need from Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada.

“I thought, because I could get my hands on so many Our Daily Bread resources, this would be such a great way to serve.”

Her first outreach event confirmed she had found exactly what she was looking for.

“We gave away almost all the Our Daily Bread devotionals,” she says. “Almost everybody already knew about Our Daily Bread. Some of the younger people even said, ‘My parents raised me on these devotionals.’ That was so encouraging.”

The Discovery Series booklets quickly became conversation starters, with their biblical insights on topical issues.

One man in a wheelchair stopped at the display and shared how he had once planned to take his own life before hearing the gospel at a Christian festival.

“He knew God had a plan for him.”

He took one of every Discovery Series booklet—and purchased a copy of The Journey, an evangelical book that answers the tough questions unbelievers or new believers often have by walking readers through the Gospel of John.

Another visitor explained that his church regularly distributes Our Daily Bread devotionals throughout their neighbourhood while inviting people to church.

“I never even thought about doing something like that,” Samantha says. “We all have our own way of reaching people.”

One of the Discovery Series titles that Samantha recommends most often is Overcoming Grief.

“I tell people that I’ve dealt with grief too. I’ve lost a son.”

At one event, a young woman who appeared to be expecting a baby stopped by the display. It turned out the woman’s newborn had died after just 26 minutes just one week earlier.

“We hugged and cried together.”

The grieving mother took a copy of Overcoming Grief with her.

“It reminded both of us that we don’t grieve without hope.”

Samantha has also found The Journey to be a powerful tool for new believers.

At the outreach event, a ministry leader purchased five copies to give away and planned to hand one to a woman who had just given her life to Christ.

Samantha said, ‘I’ll donate that one.’ The woman buying the books smiled and said, ‘Then I’ll take six.'”

Whether she’s serving at Jesus Festivals, homeless outreaches, church events, or simply encouraging people she meets throughout the week, Samantha sees every booklet as an opportunity for someone to encounter Jesus.

When asked what she appreciates most about being a Ministry Ambassador, she doesn’t hesitate.

“I love the Discovery Series catalogue. There are so many topics that speak to what people are going through.”

She explains that every season of life brings different struggles.

“If churches change the topics every once in a while, people keep coming back because there’s always something that speaks to where they are.”

For Samantha, that’s what makes the ministry so valuable.

“We’re all going through something. These resources help people find biblical answers and hope.”

She also appreciates how easy it is to serve.

“If you’re all about sharing the gospel and getting good material into churches and people’s hands, most definitely become a Ministry Ambassador. It’s so simple to do.”

After everything she’s endured, Samantha has discovered that God never wastes our pain.

Instead, He transforms it into a testimony that points others to Christ.

And every devotional, every Discovery Series booklet, every copy of The Journey, and every conversation is another opportunity to remind someone of the same truth that changed her own life:

“If God could change me, God can change anybody.”

Read Story
She Lost Her Son—Now She’s Giving Others Hope
Remembering the Life & Legacy of Mart DeHaan
It is with deep sadness, yet with the hope and joy of knowing he is home with his Lord and Saviour, that we share the news th...
Taking a Bold Step of Faith
“What brought you here today?”  As people found their seats, conversations started quietly across the rows&nbs...
Even a Little Biblical Wisdom Goes a Long Way
“I can still see her face now.” It’s surprising how a little booklet can make such a profound difference in a person’s life, ...

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Engage Deeper

The Galaxy

The Galaxy

Scientists tell us that our galaxy is home not only to our own sun and its family of planets, but to billions of other stars. They tell us that our disk-shaped galaxy is about one hundred thousand light-years wide and about two thousand light-years thick. Yet, astronomers tell us that this “cosmic disk” (itself made up of billions of stars) is only one of billions of galaxies known to exist in the universe.

It seems that thinking about such a creation should cause me to praise its Creator. But I have other emotions. I find little comfort in a God whose creation can be measured only in light-years and in billions of galaxies, each made up of billions of stars.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that if God were not greater than that which He has created we might all succumb to a creation that is out of control. But what some see through a telescope doesn’t awaken my heart in praise until I also think about what others have seen through a microscope. Through a microscope we see the infinite attention to detail that the God of the universe has given to the “little things of life.”

The inexpressible systems and details of microscopic life allow me to find great comfort and credibility in the One who reassures us that the hairs of our head are all numbered (Matthew 10:29-31), that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground unnoticed, and that we are of much more value to Him than many sparrows.

Yet, once again, as I think about the God of little things, the praise slips back into my throat. In His attention to detail, there is danger. Jesus said that we will have to give account for every careless word we have spoken (Matthew 12:36). King David said God not only knows when we stand up and when we sit down, but also what we are thinking (Psalm 139). Solomon said that on a final day of judgment God will examine the secret motives of our heart (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Once again my heart grows cold, until I think of the cross. It is at the cross that my heart finally seems to find wholehearted praise. At Calvary, I can think about the greatness of the God of the galaxies, the One who counts the hairs of my head and the steps of my feet. At Calvary, I can remember the price that it took for Him to pay for the least and worst of my sins, to buy my salvation, and to call me into His undeserved kindness. At Calvary, the God who formed the galaxies becomes the God who loves me, as much as I need to be loved. And for that, I want to praise Him. Now, and forever . . .

Does God Play Favorites?

Does God Play Favorites?

Why would a parent do more for some of his children than for others? Why does our Father in heaven seem to repeat the mistake of a well-known biblical patriarch? Jacob provoked family rivalry among his twelve sons by spoiling young Joseph in the presence of his older brothers (Genesis 37:3).

So often our Father seems to do more for new believers than for those of us who have been around for a while. Recent converts often tell stories of dramatic answers to prayer, even as those of us who have been in the family for a long time struggle under the weight of problems our Father could have lifted from our backs long ago.

Why does a Father of unlimited resources seem tight-fisted with some of His children while being so open-handed with others? And why does a Father who is everywhere at all times seem to withdraw from some while walking so closely with others? Is God like a parent who creates havoc in the family by playing favorites?

An Infant Needs Direct Help to Survive

When the Father of Israel delivered His newborn nation from the bricks and whips of Egypt, He did so with great style. With the fireworks of a great storm exploding in the Egyptian sky, and with the persuasion of mounting plagues, God tightened His grip on the throat of the pharaoh until the self-proclaimed sovereign of Egypt choked and slumped, gasping in grief and angry defeat.

Just as God gave the infant children of Israel this impressive display of His power, He often welcomes newborn believers into His family with a clear and present sense of deliverance from their sin. He may give them real and vivid experiences to show He is a God who is everything His children need Him to be.

New believers at this stage often give encouragement to the whole family of God as they describe with fresh awareness and enthusiasm what God has done for them. In telling of their experiences, however, they are not yet aware that ahead of them are mountains to scale, swamps to wade, and seasons to endure.

A Young Child Needs to Learn Boundaries

As the children of Israel walked out of Egypt they breathed free air for the first time in centuries. There were no whips cracking at their backs. No fences to confine them. No crops to plant. Their food was delivered daily. Water gushed out of rocks. The sky was big over their heads. The ground was wide under their feet. The possibilities of the future seemed unlimited.

Then came a change. At the foot of Mount Sinai, God gave His children rules. In time someone would count these rules. There were 613 in all: 365 negative commands like “don’t ignore the plight of an overloaded animal”; 248 positive commands like “return lost property to its owner.”

The school of Sinai represents the line upon line of education that is needed by all children. The God who miraculously rescued His children from bondage then teaches us the principles of freedom. With the benefits of relationship come the boundaries of family rules.

At first the rules seem overwhelming. Do this. Don’t do that. No. You’re going to get hurt. Ouch! That’s why Mom and Dad warned you! Slowly the period of God’s supernatural intervention is eclipsed by a new period of learning. As God provides for us, He wants us to learn that trust is not just a passive experience. Trusting Him on His terms means being willing to do what He tells us to do. The struggle begins.

An Adolescent Needs to Learn Self-Control

Forty years later, the children of Israel stood at the threshold of the Promised Land. They had learned some important lessons, but now they had to trust God in a new way. They were no longer just spectators of His miracles but were required to actively engage in battle and obedience.

As we grow in our spiritual journey, God’s expectations of us increase. He calls us to a higher level of responsibility and trust. It’s no longer just about receiving from Him, but about walking in obedience and exercising faith even when we don’t see immediate results.

An Adult Child Needs to Learn the Independent Side of Dependence

In the centuries that followed, God remained present with His people. On occasion, He would give them dramatic miracles of provision. As a rule, however, the wonder of His presence and provisions were clothed in the natural cause-and-effect relationships of life. He still provided daily for His people, but He did so in increasingly subtle ways.

Sometimes we become confused by the apparent absence of God in our lives. But honest reflection will show us that God is absent only in the sense that He is not giving us everything we want when we want it. He still provides for us constantly or we would not survive the need for another breath. But like a seasoned coach, a loving parent, and a wise teacher, He has gradually given us the impression that we are on our own. Does He do this so we will have to provide for ourselves? No. He does it so our trust in Him will grow, not diminish.

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