Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading titled Got Your Nose was written by Mike Whitmer.

Why are the statue's nose's noses broken?

That's the number one question visitors ask Edward Blyberg,

curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum. Blyberg can't blame it on normal wear and tear.

Even two-dimensional painted figures are missing noses. He surmises that such destruction must have

been intentional. Enemies meant to kill Egypt's gods. It's as if they were playing a game

of Got Your Nose with them. Invading armies broke off the noses of these idols so they couldn't breathe.

Really? That's all it took? With gods like these, Pharaoh should have known he was in trouble.

Yes, he had an army and the allegiance of a whole nation.

The Hebrews were weary slaves led by a timid fugitive named Moses. But Israel had the living

God, and Pharaoh's gods were pretenders. Ten plagues later, their imaginary lives were snuffed out.

Israel celebrated their victory in Exodus 12 and 13 with the festival of unleavened bread

when they ate bread without yeast for a week.

Yeast symbolizes sin, and God wanted his people to remember their rescued lives belong entirely

to him.

Our father says to idols, got your nose, and to his children,

got your life. Serve the God who gives you breath, and rest in his loving arms.

Today's our daily-bred devotional scripture reading is from Exodus chapter 12, verses 12 through 19.

On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals,

and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.

I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood,

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