Daily Bible Verse

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Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;


The Joy of Good News

One evening in 1964, the Great Alaska earthquake shocked and writhed for more than four minutes, registering a 9.2 magnitude. In Anchorage, whole city blocks disappeared, leaving only massive craters and rubble. Through the dark, terrifying night, news reporter Genie Chance stood at her microphone, passing along messages to desperate people sitting by their radios: a husband working in the bush heard that his wife was alive; distraught families heard that their sons on a Boy Scout camping trip were okay; a couple heard that their children had been found. The radio crackled with line after line of good news—pure joy amid the ruin.

This must have been something like what Israel felt when they heard these words from the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (61:1). As they looked over the wasteland of their wrecked lives and grim future, Isaiah’s clear voice brought good news at the very moment when all seemed lost. God intended to “bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives. . . . [To] rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated” (vv. 1, 4). In the midst of their terror, the people heard God’s assuring promise, His good news.

For us today, it’s in Jesus that we hear God’s good news—this is what the word gospel means. Into our fears, pains, and failures, He delivers good news. And our distress gives way to joy.


Reflect & Pray
Where do you need to experience good news? When has God’s good news replaced your fear and worry with joy?

God, I need some good news. I hear bad news all the time. I need to hear what You say about things. I need the joy You bring.


Insight
Jesus read from Isaiah 61 not long after He began His public ministry (Luke 4:18–19). Then He proclaimed to an astonished synagogue audience in Nazareth, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21). Interestingly, as He read Isaiah, Christ stopped before the last part of Isaiah 61:2, which reads, “and the day of vengeance of our God.” This omission was surely intentional. Jesus was likely signaling two things: He was declaring Himself to be the long-awaited One, and He was informing the people this wasn’t a time for judgment. It was the time for proclaiming good news, setting captives free, and comforting the brokenhearted. Salvation had arrived.
 

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Proverbs 14:30
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.


Choosing Celebration

Writer Marilyn McEntyre shares the story of learning from a friend that “the opposite of envy is celebration.” Despite this friend’s physical disability and chronic pain, which limited her ability to develop her talents in the ways she’d hoped, she was somehow able to uniquely embody joy and to celebrate with others, bringing “appreciation into every encounter” before she passed away.

That insight—“the opposite of envy is celebration”—lingers with me, reminding me of friends in my own life who seem to live out this kind of comparison-free, deep, and genuine joy for others.

Envy is an easy trap to fall into. It feeds on our deepest vulnerabilities, wounds, and fears, whispering that if we were only more like so-and-so, we wouldn’t be struggling, and we wouldn’t be feeling bad.

As Peter reminded new believers in 1 Peter 2, the only way to “rid [ourselves]” of the lies that envy tells us is to be deeply rooted in the truth, to “have tasted”—deeply experienced—“that the Lord is good” (vv. 1–3). We can “love one another deeply, from the heart” (1:22) when we know the true source of our joy—“the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23).

We can surrender comparison when we remember who we really are—beloved members of “a chosen people, . . God’s special possession.” We're called “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (2:9).


Reflect & Pray
What examples of comparison-free joy have influenced your life? How does remembering your place in the body of Christ free you from the need to compare yourself to others?

Loving God, source of all that’s good, help me to let go of envy’s lies, the kind of lies that suck out joy and “rot the bones.” Help me to instead celebrate the countless beautiful gifts of life in Your kingdom.


Insight
Scripture often uses food metaphors to describe its value. Peter urges us to adopt the attitude and appetite of hungry “newborn babies . . . [who] crave pure spiritual milk” so that we “will grow into a full experience of salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 nlt). As we grow and mature, we move from drinking milk to eating “solid food” (1 Corinthians 3:2), for “solid food is for the mature” (Hebrews 5:14). Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Job treasured the words of God more than his “daily bread” (Job 23:12). Ezekiel ate God’s words to satisfy his hunger, testifying, “So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 3:3). We can emulate Jeremiah’s excitement and satisfaction: “When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16).
 

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Ephesians 6:19
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,


A Friendly Conversation

Catherine and I were good friends in high school. When we weren’t talking on the phone, we were passing notes in class to plan our next sleepover. Sometimes we rode horses together and partnered on school projects.

One Sunday afternoon, I started to think about Catherine. My pastor had spoken that morning about how to have eternal life, and I knew my friend didn’t believe the Bible’s teachings the way I did. I felt a burden to call her and explain how she could have a relationship with Jesus. I hesitated, though, because I was afraid she would reject what I said and distance herself from me.

I think this fear keeps a lot of us quiet. Even the apostle Paul had to ask people to pray that he would “fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). There’s no getting around the risk involved with sharing the good news, yet Paul said he was “an ambassador”—someone speaking on behalf of God (v. 20). We are too. If people reject our message, they’re also rejecting the One who sent the message. God experiences the sting along with us.

So what compels us to speak up? We care about people, like God does (2 Peter 3:9). That’s what led me to finally call Catherine. Amazingly, she didn’t shut me down. She listened. She asked questions. She asked Jesus to forgive her sin and decided to live for Him. The risk was worth the reward.


Reflect & Pray
Whom might God want you to speak to on His behalf? What’s stopping you? What effect would prayer have on this situation?

Dear Father, give me the courage to reach out to people who don’t know You. Give me wisdom to know when and how to start conversations about You.


Insight
Paul’s instructions on prayer in Ephesians 6:18–20 addressed the reality of spiritual warfare and the Ephesian believers’ need for spiritual armor. The spiritual conflict before them was made all the more daunting because of the rampant idolatry and occult practices that prevailed in their community (see Acts 19:19, 25–27). In Ephesians 6:10–17, the apostle described for this church family the challenges they faced and the resources available to them. Nevertheless, even with the elements of spiritual armor in place, Paul made it clear that prayer is a key component for living out their faith in such a harsh place. In battling spiritual forces, we need to enlist the aid of the greatest spiritual power in the universe—the true and living God Himself.
 

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1 Peter 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.


Managing Our Gifts

In 2013, British actor David Suchet was filming the final TV episodes as Agatha Christie’s beloved Belgian detective Hercule Poirot—and also starring in a stage play—when he took on “the biggest role in [his] life.” Between those projects he recorded an audio version of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation—752,702 words—over two hundred hours.

Suchet, who became a believer in Jesus after reading the book of Romans in a Bible he found in a hotel room, called the project the fulfillment of “a 27-year-long ambition. I felt totally driven. I did so much research on every part of it that I couldn’t wait to get going.” Then he donated his wages.

His recording remains an inspiring example of how to glorify God by stewarding a gift, then sharing it. Peter urged such stewardship in his letter to first-century believers. Persecuted for worshiping Jesus, not Caesar, they were challenged to focus instead on living for God by nurturing their spiritual gifts. “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). Like all gifts, we can develop them “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

Suchet offered his talents to God. We can do the same. Whatever God has given to you, manage it well for His glory.


Reflect & Pray
How would you describe your God-given talents and spiritual gifts? What could you do to manage or steward them better for His glory?

Heavenly Father, at times I’ve squandered my gifts and talents. Sharpen my commitment to manage the gifts You’ve given me so the world praises You.


Insight
In 1 Peter 4:10, Peter highlights the importance of spiritual gifts: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.” All believers in Jesus have been given spiritual gifts to use in service to God. The apostle Paul names a number of these gifts in three of his letters. Romans 12:6–8 includes prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, and leading. First Corinthians 12:8–10 includes a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits, different tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Paul stresses that the Holy Spirit distributes these gifts “just as he determines” (v. 11). Paul’s final list, found in Ephesians 4:11–13, includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These gifts are vital for the church to build each other up in the faith and knowledge of Christ.


 
 

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1 Samuel 23:16
And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.


Encouraged in God

In 1925, Langston Hughes, an aspiring writer working as a busboy at a hotel, discovered that a poet he admired (Vachel Lindsey) was staying there as a guest. Hughes shyly slipped Lindsey some of his own poetry, which Lindsey later praised enthusiastically at a public reading. Lindsey’s encouragement resulted in Hughes receiving a university scholarship, furthering him on his way to his own successful writing career.

A little encouragement can go a long way, especially when God is in it. Scripture tells of an incident when David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying “to take his life.” Saul’s son Jonathan sought David out “and helped him find strength in God. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel’ ” (1 Samuel 23:15–17).

Jonathan was right. David would be king. The key to the effective encouragement Jonathan offered is found in the simple phrase “in God” (v. 16). Through Jesus, God gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). As we humble ourselves before Him, He lifts us as no other can.

All around us are people who need the encouragement God gives. If we seek them out as Jonathan sought David and gently point them to God through a kind word or action, He’ll do the rest. Regardless of what this life may hold, a bright future in eternity awaits those who trust in Him.


Reflect & Pray
How did someone provide special encouragement to you in your faith journey? What can you do to strengthen someone’s faith today?

Loving God, there’s nothing like the encouragement You give. Please give me opportunities to help others find new strength in You.


Insight
The relationship between David and Jonathan was truly remarkable. Jonathan was the son of King Saul and heir to the throne that David had been anointed to occupy. Jonathan believed so strongly in God’s selection and anointing of David as king, however, that he helped and encouraged his friend, at great personal cost. In a sense, Jonathan was doing what Jesus described as the mark of a true friend when He said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Jonathan was laying aside much of what his life might have been to be a friend to David.
 

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Luke 12:15
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.


Unshakable Faith

Kevin walked into the nursing facility after his dad passed away to pick up his belongings. The staff handed him two small boxes. He said he realized that day that it really didn’t take an abundance of possessions to be happy.

His dad, Larry, had been carefree and always ready with a smile and an encouraging word for others. The reason for his happiness was another “possession” that didn’t fit into a box: an unshakable faith in his Redeemer, Jesus.

Jesus urges us to “store up . . . treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). He didn’t say we couldn’t own a home or buy a car or save for the future or have numerous possessions. But He urged us to examine the focus of our hearts. Where was Larry’s focus? His heart was set on loving God by loving others. He would wander up and down the halls where he lived, greeting and encouraging those he met. If someone was in tears, he was there with a comforting word or listening ear or heartfelt prayer. His mind was focused on living for God’s honor and the good of others.

We might want to ask ourselves if we could be happy with fewer things that clutter and distract us from the more important matters of loving God and others. “Where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also” (v. 21). What we value is reflected in how we live.


Reflect & Pray

Are there ways in which your priorities are out of order? What changes do you think God might want you to make?

I love You, dear God, and want You as my greatest love. Show me how I can become more like You.


Insight

In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus teaches His disciples by using comparison. By comparing earthly treasures with heavenly treasures, He shows that what we cherish exposes our hearts. “Treasures in heaven” (v. 20) most likely refers to spiritual wealth. Bible commentator Craig Blomberg suggests it’s “the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs.”

In comparing good and bad eyes (vv. 22–23), Jesus is telling His listeners that what they focus on will fill their hearts. These examples lead to the comparison of two masters—God and money (v. 24). The word serve is key to understanding this verse. Serve is related to the term doulos, which refers to a slave rather than an employee. Jesus is saying that a slave’s loyalty is undivided. That’s the kind of undivided devotion Jesus calls His followers to—a “hatred” of anything that distracts from devotion to Him (see Matthew 10:34–39; 12:30; Luke 14:26).
 

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Psalm 32:7
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.


Safe Hands

Like the unraveling of a rope, the threads of Doug Merkey’s life were breaking one by one. “My mother had lost her prolonged battle with cancer; a long-term romantic relationship was failing; my finances were depleted; my vocation was foggy. . . . The emotional and spiritual darkness around me and within me was deep and debilitating and seemingly impenetrable,” the pastor and sculptor wrote. These collective events, combined with living in a cramped attic, became the setting from which his sculpture The Hiding Place emerged. It depicts Christ’s strong, nailed-scarred hands openly cupped together as a place of safety.

Doug explained the design of his artwork this way: The “sculpture is Christ’s invitation to hide in Him.” In Psalm 32, David wrote as one who had found the ultimate safe place—God Himself. He offers us forgiveness from our sin (vv. 1–5) and encourages us to offer prayer in the midst of tumult (v. 6). In verse 7, the psalmist declares his trust in God: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

When trouble shows up, where do you turn? How good it is to know that when the fragile cords of our earthly existence begin to unravel, we can run to the God who has provided eternal safety through the forgiving work of Jesus.


Reflect & Pray
What has it meant or what will it mean for you to find shelter, safety, and forgiveness in Jesus? How does He provide what you need for your cares, fears, and burdens?

Father, You know the times I’ve sought to piece my life together without You. Help me to forsake my misguided plans for safety and to run swiftly to You.


Insight
Psalm 32 is one of the great penitential psalms in which the writer confesses his sin to God. It’s intriguing that David makes mention of his bones in verse 3. “Bones” as understood here is representative of his physical health. David uses the same terminology in Psalm 6:2, where he says, “Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony,” and the term appears frequently throughout the Psalms and Proverbs. It’s dangerous to assume that physical affliction is a sign of God’s judgment (see the book of Job), but the biblical poets knew well that sin wears us out emotionally and physically. A failure to repent will have an adverse effect on our spiritual and physical health. Confession is good for the soul and for our entire being.
 

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Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.


Tongue-Tied in Prayer

When my baby brother underwent surgery, I was concerned. My mother explained that “tongue-tie” (ankyloglossia) was a condition he was born with and that without help, his ability to eat and eventually to speak would be hindered. Today we use the term tongue-tied to describe being at a loss for words or too shy to speak.

Sometimes we can be tongue-tied in prayer, not knowing what to say. Our tongues tie up in spiritual clichés and repetitive phrases. We arrow our emotions heavenward, wondering if they will reach God’s ears. Our thoughts zigzag along an unfocused path.

Writing to first-century Roman believers in Christ, the apostle Paul addressed what to do when we struggle to know how to pray, inviting us to find help from the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). The concept of “help” here is to carry a heavy load. And “wordless groans” indicates an interceding presence as the Spirit carries our needs to God.

When we’re tongue-tied in prayer, God’s Spirit helps shape our confusion, pain, and distraction into the perfect prayer that moves from our hearts to God’s ears. He listens and answers, bringing the exact kind of comfort we may not have known we needed until we asked Him to pray for us.


Reflect & Pray
When have you not known what or how to pray? How did God help you through that situation?

Dear God, thank You for Your Spirit’s help when I don’t know how to pray.


Insight
Romans 8 is significant in understanding the role of the Spirit of God in the lives of believers in Jesus. The chapter’s emphasis on the Spirit’s ministry includes His role as liberating us from sin and death and empowering us to please God (vv. 2–8). His powerful indwelling presence (vv. 9–11) helps us in overcoming our fallen human nature (vv. 12–13). He’s the One whose ministry brings us into the family of God and who bears witness to our status as His children (vv. 14–17). The Spirit’s assistance in prayer comes into focus in verses 26–27. But not only do believers in Jesus have the Spirit’s help in prayer, Christ also intercedes for us: “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (v. 34).
 

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Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!


Beautiful Feet

John Nash was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994, recognizing his pioneering work in mathematics. His equations have since been used by businesses around the world in understanding the dynamics of competition and rivalry. A book and a full-length movie have documented his life and refer to him as having “a beautiful mind”—not because his brain had any particular aesthetic appeal, but because of what it did.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah uses the word beautiful to describe feet—not because of any visible physical attribute but because he saw beauty in what they did. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7). After seventy years of captivity in Babylon resulting from their unfaithfulness to God, messengers arrived with encouraging words that God’s people would soon be returning home because “the Lord has . . . redeemed Jerusalem” (v. 9).

The good news wasn’t attributed to the military might of the Israelites or any other human effort. Rather it was the work of God’s “holy arm” on their behalf (v. 10). The same is true today, as we have victory over our spiritual enemy through Christ’s sacrifice for us. In response, we become the messengers of good news, proclaiming peace, good tidings, and salvation to those around us. And we do so with beautiful feet.


Reflect & Pray
Who brought you the good news of Christ’s sacrifice? To whom can you deliver that news?

Thank You, Father, for sending people into my life to share the news of Christ’s sacrifice. Help me to share it joyously with others.


Insight
In the book of Isaiah, the prophet brings two distinct messages to the people of God. In chapters 1–39, he brings warnings of certain judgment because of their continued idolatry and rejection of God. In chapters 40–66, however, the prophet’s message becomes one of hope and rescue—continuing to offer many references to the promised Messiah. Bible teacher Warren W. Wiersbe wrote that this significant messianic component to Isaiah’s prophecy accounts for how frequently the New Testament cites this important book. The apostle Paul, a trained Jewish scholar, quoted from or alluded to Isaiah’s prophecies at least eighty times, and the Servant Song (52:13–53:12) is cited almost forty times by New Testament writers. As such, Wiersbe contends, “Isaiah is much more than a prophet: He is an evangelist who presents Jesus Christ and the Good News of the Gospel."
 

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Psalm 36:6
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.


All Creatures Great and Small

Michelle Grant trained a baby beaver named Timber to return to the wild. When she took him for swims in a pond, he’d come back to her kayak to snuggle and rub noses. One morning Timber didn’t return. Michelle scoured the pond for six hours before giving up. Weeks later she found a beaver skull. Assuming it was Timber, she began to cry.

My soul ached for Michelle and Timber. I told myself, “Snap out of it. He’s just a large, aquatic rodent.” But the truth is, I cared—and so does God. His love reaches high to the heavens and down to the smallest creature, part of the creation He calls us to steward well (Genesis 1:28). He preserves “both people and animals” (Psalm 36:6), providing “food for the cattle and for the young ravens” (147:9).

One day Michelle was kayaking in a neighbor’s pond and—surprise—there was Timber! He’d found a beaver family and was helping them raise two kits. He surfaced beside Michelle’s kayak. She smiled, “You look well. You have a beautiful family.” He cooed, splashed his tail, and swam to his new mom.

I love happy endings, especially my own! Jesus promised that as His Father feeds the birds, so He will supply whatever we need (Matthew 6:25–26). Not one sparrow falls “to the ground outside your Father’s care. . . . So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (10:29–31).    


Reflect & Pray
What care do you need to give to your heavenly Father? What need of others might He want you to meet?

Father, I lift up my cares and worries to You.    

Insight
Psalm 36 is found in Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41), which, along with Book Two (Psalms 42–72), features the majority of David’s biblical psalms. Many of his songs in this portion of the Psalter are laments, cries for God’s mercy and help in the dark and difficult seasons of life. In Psalm 36, however, the poem’s tone is very different. Here, David saw those who were living apart from God as individuals marked by an absence of the fear of God (vv. 1–4), and their example prompted David to pray for God’s continued lovingkindness to him and those who sought to live in right relationship with Him (vv. 5–10). The singer then concludes with a plea to God to protect him from the dangers of his own pride and the influence of those who’d turned from Him (vv. 11–12).