Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our Reading titled, We Are Strangers, was written by Anne Cetus.

Everything felt drastically different in their new country, new language, schools, customs, traffic, and weather.

They wondered how they would ever adjust. People from a nearby church gathered around them

to help them in their new life in a new land. Patty took the couple shopping at a local food market

to show them what's available and how to purchase items.

As they wandered around the market, their eyes widened and they smiled broadly

when they saw their favorite fruit from their homeland, pomegranates.

They bought one for each of their children and even placed one in Patty's hands in gratefulness. The small fruit and new friends

brought big comfort in their strange new land. God, through Moses, gave a list of laws for his people,

which included a command to treat foreigners among them as your native born. Love them as yourself, God further

commanded. Jesus called this the second greatest commandment after loving God in Matthew 2239,

for even God watches over the foreigner. Besides obeying God, as we help new friends adapt to life in our country,

we may be reminded that we, too, in a real sense, are strangers on Earth,

and we'll grow in our anticipation of the new heavenly land to come.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Leviticus, chapter 19, verses 32 through 37.

Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere your God, I am the Lord.

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.

The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.

Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

I am the Lord, your God.

Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length,

weight, or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest Ifa and an honest hen. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them.

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