Daily Bible Verse

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Mark 5:19 KJV
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.


From Mess to Message

Darryl was a baseball legend who nearly destroyed his life with drugs. But Jesus set him free, and he’s been clean for years. Today he helps others struggling with addiction and points them to faith. Looking back, he affirms that God turned his mess into a message.

Nothing is too hard for God. When Jesus came ashore near a cemetery after a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, a man possessed by darkness immediately approached Him. Jesus spoke to the demons inside him, drove them away, and set him free.

When Jesus left, the man begged to go along. But Jesus didn’t allow it, because He had work for him to do: “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (Mark 5:19).

We never see the man again, but Scripture shows us something intriguing. The people of that region had fearfully pleaded with Jesus “to leave” (v. 17), but the next time He returned there, a large crowd gathered (8:1). Could the crowd have resulted from Jesus sending the man home? Could it be that he, once dominated by darkness, became one of the first missionaries, effectively communicating Jesus’ power to save?

We’ll never know this side of heaven, but this much is clear. When God sets us free to serve Him, He can turn even a messy past into a message of hope and love.


Reflect & Pray
What has Jesus set you free from? How can you share with others what He’s done for you?

Beautiful Savior, I praise You for Your amazing power! No darkness can stand against You! Help me to walk in Your light today.


Insight
Jesus has power over all creation, as is clear from today’s passage (Mark 5:1–20). This includes the spiritual world as well. The owners of the pigs would have suffered a large loss when their herd was destroyed in an instant. But we might wonder how the Jewish observers reacted. Bible teacher D. A. Carson makes the point that Jesus’ Jewish audience would have seen the loss of the pigs as of little consequence. Pigs were considered unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7). In 167 bc, Syrian tyrant Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes) had even sacrificed a pig on the altar in the temple—a despicable act of sacrilege in Jewish eyes.
 

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Isaiah 43:19 KJV
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.


Move Your Fence

The village vicar couldn’t sleep. As World War II raged, he’d told a small group of American soldiers they couldn’t bury their fallen comrade inside the fenced cemetery next to his church. Only burials for church members were allowed. So the men buried their beloved friend just outside the fence.

The next morning, however, the soldiers couldn’t find the grave. “What happened? The grave is gone,” one soldier told the reverend. “Oh, it’s still there,” he told him. The soldier was confused, but the churchman explained. “I regretted telling you no. So, last night, I got up—and I moved the fence.”

God may give fresh perspective for our life challenges too—if we look for it. That was the prophet Isaiah’s message to the downtrodden people of Israel. Instead of looking back with longing at their Red Sea rescue, they needed to shift their sight, seeing God doing new miracles, blazing new paths. “Do not dwell on the past,” He urged them. “See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18–19). He’s our source of hope during doubts and battles. “I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, [providing] drink to my people, my chosen [people]” (v. 20).

Refreshed with new vision, we too can see God’s fresh direction in our lives. May we look with new eyes to see His new paths. Then, with courage, may we step onto new ground, bravely following Him.


Reflect & Pray
What new thing would God like to accomplish in your life? What new ground has God led you to and what will you do with it?

Merciful God, thank You for providing fresh perspective for my life in You. Refresh my sight to see new ground to walk with You.


Insight
God refers to Israel as “my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself” (Isaiah 43:20–21). But why would He select one family from all others, especially one so unworthy (vv. 22–28)? The answer, alluded to in verse 21, echoes God’s explanation to Abraham in Genesis. He chose one family for a special role in His plan to bless all (Genesis 12:1–3). The story unfolds at Sinai where God tells His chosen people that as witnesses to His rescuing power, He’s making them into a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:4–6). Later, Peter would use similar words to explain how God is now choosing people of all nations to be a new kind of kingdom, priesthood, and witness to the One who calls us out of darkness into the light (1 Peter 1:1–2; 2:9–10). We’re chosen to be witnesses to the living, all-powerful God of grace.
 

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2 Corinthians 2:15 KJV
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:


The Sweet Aroma of Christ

I knew a rancher who lived near Lometa, Texas. His two grandsons were my best friends. We would go into town with him and follow him around while he shopped and chatted with the folks he knew. He knew them all by name and he knew their stories. He’d stop here and there and ask about a sick child or a difficult marriage, and he’d offer a word of encouragement or two. He would share Scripture and pray if it seemed the right thing to do. I’ll never forget the man. He was something special. He didn’t force his faith on anyone, but he always seemed to leave it behind.

The elderly rancher had about him what Paul would call the sweet “aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15). God used him to “spread the aroma of the knowledge of [Christ]” (v. 14). He’s gone to be with God now, but his fragrance lingers on in Lometa.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a mere mortal.” Put another way, every human contact has eternal consequences. Every day we have opportunities to make a difference in the lives of people around us through the quiet witness of a faithful and gentle life or through encouraging words to a weary soul. Never underestimate the effect a Christlike life can have on others.


Reflect & Pray
What do you think about the statement, “There are no neutral contacts”? What difference could it make in the way you view every contact and conversation throughout the day?

Fill me, Holy Spirit, with love, gentleness, and kindness toward others.


Insight
Paul often used military metaphors in his letters to illustrate spiritual truths. He writes of our spiritual warfare and the weapons needed to secure victory (2 Corinthians 10:3–5; Ephesians 6:10–18). He describes his coworkers using military terms: “fellow soldier” (Philippians 2:25); “good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). In 1 Timothy 1:18, he encourages Timothy to “fight the battle well.” In 2 Corinthians 2:14–17, Paul describes a Roman triumphal procession where the conquering general displays the captives and spoils of war in a victory parade through the city. Paul applied this image to himself in 1 Corinthians 4:9 and in Colossians used this triumphal metaphor to depict Christ as the victor over sin and Satan: “[Christ] canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (2:14–15 nlt).
 

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Jeremiah 1:8  KJVBe not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.


Unbreakable in Jesus

Louis Zamperini’s military plane crashed at sea during the war, killing eight of eleven men onboard. “Louie” and two others clambered into life rafts. They drifted for two months, fending off sharks, riding out storms, ducking bullets from an enemy plane, and catching and eating raw fish and birds. They finally drifted onto an island and were immediately captured. For two years Louie was beaten, tortured, and worked mercilessly as a prisoner of war. His remarkable story is told in the book Unbroken.Jeremiah is one of the Bible’s unbreakable characters. He endured enemy plots (Jeremiah 11:18), was whipped and put in stocks (20:2), flogged and bound in a dungeon (37:15–16), and lowered by ropes into the deep mire of a cistern (38:6). He survived because God had promised to stay with him and rescue him (1:8). God makes a similar promise to us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). God didn’t promise to save Jeremiah or us from trouble, but He has promised to carry us through trouble. Louie recognized God’s protection, and after the war he gave his life to Jesus. He forgave his captors and led some to Christ. Louie realized that while we can’t avoid all problems, we need not suffer them alone. When we face them with Jesus, we become unbreakable.

Reflect & Pray
What problem is causing you stress? Tell Jesus that you believe His promise to stay with you through this trial. Let Him carry you.Jesus, You’re stronger than any storm. Please carry me through the one I’m facing!

Insight
Of all the passages in Scripture showing us the sovereignty of God, this is one of the most direct. God says to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (1:5), and He singles him out to be “a prophet to the nations” (v. 5). God spoke these words specifically to Jeremiah, and they had a special application for his particular mission. God would use him to “uproot and tear down” kingdoms as well as “to build and to plant” (v. 10). God may not use us to uproot kingdoms, but the principle of His sovereignty applies to us every bit as much as it did to Jeremiah. He knew each of us before we were even conceived, and He’s chosen us for His good purposes.
 
 
 

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Luke 19:5 KJV
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.


An Unexpected Guest

Zach was a lonely guy. When he walked down the city streets, he could feel the hostile glares. But then his life took a turn. Clement of Alexandria, one of the church fathers, says that Zach became a very prominent Christian leader and a pastor of the church in Caesarea. Yes, we’re talking about Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1–10).

What prompted him to climb the tree? Tax collectors were perceived as traitors because they heavily taxed their own people to serve the Roman Empire. Yet Jesus had a reputation for accepting them. Zacchaeus might have wondered if Jesus would accept him too. Being short in stature, however, he couldn’t see over the crowd (v. 3). Perhaps he climbed a tree to seek Him out.

And Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus too. When Christ reached the tree where he was perched, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (v. 5). Jesus considered it absolutely necessary that He be a guest in this outcast’s home. Imagine that! The Savior of the world wanting to spend time with a social reject.

Whether it’s our hearts, relationships, or lives that need mending, like Zacchaeus we can have hope. Jesus will never reject us when we turn to Him. He can restore what’s been lost and broken and give our lives new meaning and purpose.


Reflect & Pray
What relationships in your life can Jesus help restore? What will it mean for you to be restored by Him?

Jesus, thank You for seeking me when I was lost in sin and for redeeming my messed-up life.


Insight
Tax collectors had a reputation for extorting money from others. Their position would make it easy for them to imprison others with false accusations, so people had no choice but to cooperate. Some would even initiate bribes with tax collectors in hopes of preventing higher fees.

It’s likely that the wealthy Zacchaeus was guilty of such behavior, something he seems to tacitly acknowledge in Luke 19:8 (“if I have cheated anybody”). But Jesus’ willingness to be Zacchaeus’ guest prompted a response of repentance in Zacchaeus, who promises to give half of his possessions to the poor and make four-fold restitution for anyone defrauded by him. Paying “four times the amount” (v. 8) is likely an allusion to Old Testament law regarding retribution (see Exodus 22). Zacchaeus’ words show he recognizes his behavior as theft requiring additional compensation.
 

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Exodus 23:1 KJV
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.


Truth, Lies, and Vigilantes

During the 2018 baseball season, a Chicago Cubs coach wanted to give a baseball to a young boy sitting by the dugout. But when the coach tossed the ball toward him, a man scooped it up instead. Video of the event went viral. News outlets and social media skewered this “brute” of a man. Except viewers didn’t know the whole story. Earlier, the man had helped the young boy snag a foul ball, and they agreed to share any additional balls that came their way. Unfortunately, it took twenty-four hours before the true story emerged. The mob had already done its damage, demonizing an innocent man.

Too often, we think we have all the facts when we only have fragments. In our modern gotcha culture, with snippets of dramatic video and inflamed tweets, it’s easy to condemn people without hearing the full story. However, Scripture warns us not to “spread false reports” (Exodus 23:1). We must do everything possible to confirm the truth before leveling accusations, making sure not to participate in lies. We should be cautious whenever a vigilante spirit takes hold, whenever passions ignite and waves of judgment swell. We want to safeguard ourselves from “follow[ing] the crowd in doing wrong” (v. 2).

As believers in Jesus, may God help us not to spread falsehoods. May He provide what we need to exhibit wisdom and to make certain our words are actually true.


Reflect & Pray
Take a moment to recollect a time when someone was falsely accused. What was the damage, and how was the wrong made right?

God, with things moving so fast these days, it’s often hard to know what’s real. Help me to listen, pay attention, and speak only the truth.


Insight
God gave the Ten Commandments so His people could know how to love Him faithfully and wholeheartedly (Exodus 20:1–11; Matthew 22:38) and love their neighbor as they’d love themselves (Exodus 20:12–17; Matthew 22:39). Moses then laid down various stipulations that if followed would enable the Israelites to love their neighbors (Exodus 21:1–23:9). Because “the Lord is righteous, [and] he loves justice” (Psalm 11:7), Moses commanded them to “follow justice and justice alone” (Deuteronomy 16:20). “To act justly and to love mercy” is mandated of God’s people (Micah 6:8). Love for neighbors means justice for everyone. Today’s passage, Exodus 23:1–9, is an application of the ninth commandment, which ensured evenhanded, impartial justice for all: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (20:16). False accusation, malicious testimony, slander, and withholding justice because of external pressure, favoritism, or bribery all contribute to the perversion of true justice and repudiation of neighborly love.
 

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Malachi 4:2 KJV

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.


Frolicking in Freedom

A third-generation farmer, Jim was so moved when he read “You who revere my name . . . will go out and frolic like well-fed calves” (Malachi 4:2) that he prayed to receive Jesus’ offer of eternal life. Vividly recalling his own calves’ leaps of excitement after exiting their confined stalls at high speed, Jim finally understood God’s promise of true freedom.

Jim’s daughter told me this story because we’d been discussing the imagery in Malachi 4, where the prophet made a distinction between those who revered God’s name, or remained faithful to Him, and those who only trusted in themselves (4:1–2). The prophet was encouraging the Israelites to follow God at a time when so many, including the religious leaders, disregarded God and His standards for faithful living (1:12–14; 3:5–9). Malachi called the people to live faithfully because of a coming time when God would make the final distinction between these two groups. In this context, Malachi used the unexpected imagery of a frolicking calf to describe the unspeakable joy that the faithful group will experience when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (4:2).

Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this promise, bringing the good news that true freedom is available to all people (Luke 4:16–21). And one day, in God’s renewed and restored creation, we’ll experience this freedom fully. What indescribable joy it will be to frolic there!


Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced freedom in Jesus? What other images help you to visualize joy?

Jesus, help me to live joyfully as I remember the freedom only You provide.


Insight
The two word pictures used in Malachi 4:2—“the sun of righteousness” and “healing in its rays—”stand in contrast with the verses on either side. Judgment comes into focus in verse 1, “[the day] will burn like a furnace,” and in verse 3, the prophet says the wicked “will be ashes under the soles of your feet.” On the other hand, how exhilarating it is to think of “healing rays” from the “sun of righteousness” (referring to the manifestations of God’s kindness; see Luke 1:78–79). Then there’s the lively activity pictured in the words, “And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves” (Malachi 4:2). The blessed well-being vividly portrayed in this verse is the portion of those “who revere my name.” Revere is the translation of the Hebrew word yaw-ray'. This word is also used in 2:5 and 3:5 to remind God’s people to revere and fear Him in their worship.
 

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Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.


The Whatevers

Every Friday evening, the national news my family views concludes the broadcast by highlighting an uplifting story. In contrast to the rest of the news, it’s always a breath of fresh air. A recent “good” Friday story focused on a reporter who had suffered from COVID-19, fully recovered, and then decided to donate plasma to possibly help others in their fight against the virus. At the time, the jury was still out on how effective antibodies would be. But when many of us felt helpless and even in light of the discomfort of donating plasma (via needle), she felt it “was a small price to pay for the potential payoff.”

After that Friday broadcast, my family and I felt encouraged—dare I say hope-filled. That’s the power of the “whatevers” Paul described in Philippians 4: “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (v. 8). Did Paul have in mind plasma donation? Of course not. But did he have in mind sacrificial actions on behalf of someone in need—in other words, Christlike behavior? I’ve no doubt the answer is yes.

But that hopeful news wouldn’t have had its full effect if it hadn’t been broadcast. It’s our privilege as witnesses to God’s goodness to look and listen for the “whatevers” all around us and then share that good news with others that they may be encouraged.


Reflect & Pray
What’s a “whatever” story that’s encouraged you lately? Who might want or need to hear your story?

Father, I know that behind whatever is excellent and praiseworthy is You. I love You.


Insight
Joy is a recurring theme in Philippians (1:4, 25; 2:2, 29; 4:1). “Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul says. “I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). He prays with joy for his beloved brothers and sisters, rejoicing because of their growth in faith, their firm stand and union in Jesus in the midst of persecution (1:27–2:2), and their faithful partnership in the gospel work (1:5, 18). As he closes his short letter, Paul acknowledges their great concern for him (4:10, 14–18), describing the believers as his “joy and crown” (v. 1). He encourages them to rejoice even in unfavorable and difficult circumstances, for joy in Christ transcends circumstances. (Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter, 1:14.) He affirms that even if he’s killed for preaching the gospel, he’ll rejoice, and he commands the Philippian believers to rejoice as well (2:17–18).
 

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Psalm 42:8
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.


God Knows We Feel

Feeling overwhelmed, Sierra grieved her son’s fight with addiction. “I feel bad,” she said. “Does God think I have no faith because I can’t stop crying when I’m praying?”

“I don’t know what God thinks,” I said. “But I know He can handle real emotions. It’s not like He doesn’t know we feel.” I prayed and shed tears with Sierra as we pleaded for her son’s deliverance.

Scripture contains many examples of people wrestling with God while struggling. The writer of Psalm 42 expresses a deep longing to experience the peace of God’s constant and powerful presence. He acknowledges his tears and his depression over the grief he’s endured. His inner turmoil ebbs and flows with confident praises, as he reminds himself of God’s faithfulness. Encouraging his “soul,” the psalmist writes, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 11). He’s tugged back and forth between what he knows to be true about God and the undeniable reality of his overwhelming emotions.

God designed us in His image and with emotions. Our tears for others reveal deep love and compassion, not necessarily a lack of faith. We can approach God with raw wounds or old scars because He knows we feel. Each prayer, whether silent, sobbed, or shouted with confidence, demonstrates our trust in His promise to hear and care for us.


Reflect & Pray
What emotion have you tried to hide from God? Why is it often hard to be honest with God about difficult or overwhelming emotions?

Unchanging Father, thank You for assuring me that You know I feel and need to process my ever-changing emotions.


Insight
Eleven psalms, including Psalm 42, are attributed to “the Sons of Korah.” Numbers 16:1–3 identifies Korah as the leader of an insurrection in the days of Moses and Aaron that resulted in deaths by earthquake (vv. 31–33), fire (v. 35), and plague (vv. 46–50). Yet even though the earth literally opened up and swallowed the leaders and followers of this rebellion, Korah’s children weren’t wiped out (26:8–11). Responsible for the care of the sacred tent of worship, members of this family became worship leaders of Israel who gave us some of the most memorable words in the Psalms (Psalms 42:1; 46:1; 84:1).
 

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Matthew 11:28 KJV
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.


Rest Well

The clock blinked 1:55 a.m. Burdened by a late-night text conversation, sleep wasn’t coming. I unwound the mummy-like clutch of my tangled sheets and padded quietly to the couch. I Googled what to do to fall asleep but instead found what not to do: don’t take a nap or drink caffeine or work out late in the day. Check. Reading further on my tablet, I was advised not to use “screen time” late either. Oops. Texting hadn’t been a good idea. When it comes to resting well, there are lists of what not to do.

In the Old Testament, God handed down rules regarding what not to do on the Sabbath in order to embrace rest. In the New Testament, Jesus offered a new way. Rather than stressing regulations, Jesus called the disciples into relationship. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). In the preceding verse, Jesus pointed to His own ongoing relationship of oneness with His Father—the One He’s revealed to us. The provision of ongoing help Jesus enjoyed from the Father is one we can experience as well.

While we’re wise to avoid certain pastimes that can interrupt our sleep, resting well in Christ has more to do with relationship than regulation. I clicked my reader off and laid my burdened heart down on the pillow of Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me . . .”


Reflect & Pray
How does viewing rest as a relationship rather than a regulation change your view of rest? In what area of your life is Jesus calling you to rest in relationship with Him?

Dear Jesus, thank You for the rest You call me to in an ongoing relationship with You.


Insight
Implicit in Matthew 11:25–30 is the truth that we’re all under some type of “yoke,” that is, we each have a burden to bear in this world. Those who are “weary and burdened” (v. 28)—which at some point is all of us—have a choice to make. We can choose to remain under the yoke that comes from living in this world apart from God, or we can follow Jesus and wear His yoke. He assures us it’s easy and light (v. 30). That may be hard to believe as we encounter life’s many challenges, but choosing to run from God brings a far greater burden—one that leads ultimately to despair. Life will bring all kinds of burdens, but how much better to follow after Christ. He promises a peace that the world can’t give (John 14:27).