Hi again and thanks for joining us for today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Elisa Morgan wrote our reading for today and titled it, Caring Letters.

Decades ago, Dr. Jerimoto discovered the power of a caring letter. His research found that simply

sending a letter expressing care to discharged patients who had previously attempted suicide

reduced the rate of recurrence by half. Recently, health care providers have rediscovered this power

when sending caring texts, postcards, and even social media memes as follow-up treatment for the severely depressed.

21 books in the Bible are actually letters, epistles, careingly written to first-century believers who struggled for a variety of reasons.

Paul, James, and John wrote letters to explain the basics of faith and worship and how to resolve conflict and build

unity. The Apostle Peter, however, specifically wrote to believers who were being persecuted by the

Roman Emperor, Nero. Peter reminded them of their intrinsic value to

God, describing them this way in 1 Peter, Chapter 2, verse 9. You are a chosen people, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. This lifted their gaze to God's great purpose for them

in their world, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness

into his wonderful light. Our great God himself wrote a book filled with caring letters to us,

inspired scripture,

that we might always have a record of the value he assigns us as his own.

May we read his letters daily and share them with others who need the hope Jesus offers.

Today's Our Daily Bread Devotional Scripture reading is from 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 4 through 10.

As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him,

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,

offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For in Scripture it says,

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