Daily Bible Verse

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Psalm 46:10 KJV
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.


Flexing Faith Muscles

During a trip to the zoo, I stopped to rest near the sloth exhibit. The creature hung upside down. He seemed content being completely still. I sighed. Because of my health issues, I struggled with stillness and desperately wanted to move forward, to do something—anything. Resenting my limitations, I longed to stop feeling so weak. But while staring at the sloth, I observed how he stretched one arm, gripped a nearby branch, and stopped again. Being still required strength. If I wanted to be content with moving slowly or being as still as the sloth, I needed more than incredible muscle power. To trust God with every dragging moment of my life, I needed supernatural power.

In Psalm 46, the writer proclaims that God doesn’t just give us strength, He is our strength (v. 1). No matter what’s going on around us, the “Lord Almighty is with us” (v. 7). The psalmist repeats this truth with conviction (v. 11).

Like the sloth, our day-to-day adventures often require slow steps and extended periods of seemingly impossible stillness. When we rely on God’s unchanging character, we can depend on His strength no matter what plan and pace He determines is right for us.

Though we may continue to battle afflictions or struggle with waiting, God remains faithfully present. Even when we don’t feel strong, He’ll help us flex our faith muscles.


Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced God’s strength empowering you through a season of stillness? How can reflecting on His unchanging character help you persevere?

God Almighty, thank You for giving me opportunities to flex my faith muscles by trusting You to be my strength.


Insight
The final verse of Psalm 46 says, “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (v. 11), providing an echo to verse 7. Perhaps it’s those references to our security in God’s protection that prompted Martin Luther to pen one of the church’s most enduring hymns, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” But the protective imagery isn’t limited to those statements. In verse 1, we see God as a “refuge,” “strength,” and “ever-present help.” The sons of Korah, who authored Psalm 46, described the only reasonable response to understanding; namely, that our safety is found in our Creator: “Therefore we will not fear” (v. 2). God Himself gives us this encouragement in verse 10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” In a world where there’s plenty to be afraid of, our God offers us His presence (v. 11), for He Himself is our safety.
 

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Acts 16:31 KJV
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.


The Whole House

Wearing his striped jumpsuit, James walked across the steamy jail gym and climbed into the portable pool where he was baptized by the prison chaplain. James’ joy multiplied, however, when he heard that his daughter Brittany—also an inmate—had been baptized that same day . . . in the same water! When they realized what had happened, even the staff got emotional. “There wasn’t a dry eye,” the chaplain said. In and out of jail for years, Brittany and her dad both wanted God’s forgiveness. And together, God gave them new life.

Scripture describes another prison encounter—this time with a jailer—where Jesus’ love transformed an entire family. After a “violent earthquake” shook the prison and “the prison doors flew open,” Paul and Silas didn’t run but remained in their cell (Acts 16:26–28). The jailer, overcome with gratitude that they didn’t flee, took them to his house and eventually asked that life-changing question: “What must I do to be saved?” (v. 30)

“Believe in the Lord Jesus,” they answered, “you and your household” (v. 31). The response reveals God’s desire to pour out mercy on not only individuals but also entire families. Encountering God’s love, they all came “to believe in God—[the jailer] and his whole household” (v. 34). Though we’re often eager for the salvation of those we love, we can trust that God loves them even more than we do. He desires to renew all of us, our whole house.


Reflect & Pray
What difference does it make to consider how God reaches out to whole families? How can you trust God’s mercy for your family?

Dear God, please reveal Yourself to my whole family.


Insight
We see two great movements in the book of Acts that are closely linked: geographical and ethnic. The good news moves from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth and from Jews to gentiles. Jerusalem represents Judaism and God’s Old Testament promise to bring salvation to the world through the nation of Israel. This promise goes back to God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3), where God promised that He’d create a great nation (Israel) through him and would bless all people. This promise was fulfilled through Jesus the Messiah (Luke 1:55, 73; 3:34; 19:9; Acts 3:25; 7:17).
 

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1 Corinthians 13:3 KJV
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.


Useless Without Love

After taking the pieces for my special-order table from the box and laying them out before me, I noticed something wasn’t quite right. The beautiful top for the table and other parts were accounted for, but it was missing one of the legs. Without all of the legs, I couldn’t assemble the table, rendering it useless.

It’s not just tables that are useless when missing one vital piece. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul reminded his readers that they were missing one essential component. The believers possessed many spiritual gifts but lacked love.

Using exaggerated language to emphasize his point, Paul wrote that even if his readers had all knowledge, if they gave away every single thing they owned, and even if they willingly suffered hardship, without the essential foundation of love, their actions would all amount to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). Paul encouraged them to always infuse their actions with love, movingly describing the beauty of a love that always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres (vv. 4–7).

As we use our spiritual gifts, perhaps to teach, encourage, or serve in our faith communities, remember that God’s design always calls for love. Otherwise, it’s like a table missing a leg. It can’t achieve the true purpose for which it was designed.


Reflect & Pray
When have you experienced love being a missing ingredient? What is an example where love was integral?

Heavenly Father, it amazes me that You do everything in love. Help me learn to love like You.


Insight
While English gives us only one word for love, the Greek language uses several words. Eros expresses romantic or sexual love; storgē speaks of family love, as in the love of a parent for a child; phileō describes brotherly or friendship love; and agapē describes the highest form of love, a love that sacrifices itself for the one loved. This is the word frequently used in the New Testament to describe God’s love, most notably in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” The sacrifice of Christ was the ultimate expression of God’s self-sacrificial love for His lost creation. This is also the type of love on display in 1 Corinthians 13, leading Paul to affirm, “but the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).
 

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Deuteronomy 2:7
For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.


Traveling Mercies

You might start your journey in the southwest United States in a dusty town called Why, Arizona. Heading cross-country would take you through Uncertain, Texas. Bearing northeast, you’d make a rest stop in Dismal, Tennessee. Ultimately, you’d reach your destination—Panic, Pennsylvania. These are real places across the landscape of America, though not likely a trip you’d ever choose to take.

Sometimes this is exactly what the journey of life feels like. We easily identify with the Israelites’ tough life in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 2:7)—life can be hard. But do we see the other parallels? We create our own itinerary, turning from God’s way (1:42–43). Like the Israelites, we often grumble about getting our needs met (Numbers 14:2). In our daily fretting, we likewise doubt God’s purposes (v. 11). The story of the Israelites is repeated over and over in our own.

God assures us that if we follow His path, He’ll deliver us into a far better place than Dismal. He’ll provide and we’ll lack nothing we really need (Deuteronomy 2:7; Philippians 4:19). Yet as much as we already know this, we often fail to do it. We need to follow God’s roadmap.

It’s a bit more of a drive, but another six hours by car would take you from the town of Panic to the place known as Assurance, West Virginia. If we let God direct our paths (Psalm 119:35), we’ll journey in joy with Him at the wheel—blessed assurance indeed!


Reflect & Pray
What are some of the ways you’ve followed your own roadmap instead of God’s? What have you been fretting about?

Faithful God, help me rest in the assurance of Your direction.


Insight
As Moses led the Israelites into Canaan, they had to pass through the lands occupied by the Edomites and Moabites. Both nations were hostile to them, yet God forbade them from fighting them or taking over their lands because they were relatives. The Edomites were Esau’s descendants (Genesis 36:9) and the Moabites were Lot’s descendants (19:30–38). As some two million Israelites moved across Edomite territory, God even ordered them to compensate the Edomites, their cousins, for the food and water they consumed (Deuteronomy 2:2–6). God’s grace for nations hostile to His people is seen in how He made provisions for the Edomites (and the Egyptians) in the Mosaic law, allowing them to worship Him too: “Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country” (23:7).

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Psalm 19:12-13 KJV
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.


Unwanted Guests

Kyle and Allison had a wonderful honeymoon in an exotic location. When they returned home, however, they discovered that Kyle’s feet had developed a strange, itchy rash. The couple was referred to an infectious disease specialist. He informed them that small parasites had burrowed their way into Kyle’s feet through blisters caused by his new flip flops. What started out as a dream vacation ended in a challenging battle with unwanted “guests.”

David knew that if he didn’t ask God for help to fight sin, his dream of living a pleasing life before Him would turn into a battle with the unwanted guests of sin and rebellion. After declaring how God is revealed in the natural world (Psalm 19:1–6) and His wisdom found in His instruction (vv. 7–10), David asked God to protect him from inadvertent, arrogant, and deliberate disobedience. “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins,” he wrote (vv. 12–13). He recognized that he didn’t have the human resources to keep the infectious disease of sin from affecting him. So, he wisely asked God for help.

How can we make sure our dream of living in a way that honors God doesn’t become hijacked by sin? Let’s keep our eyes on Him, confess and repent of our sin, and seek divine help in keeping unwanted spiritual parasites from burrowing into our lives.


Reflect & Pray
What roles do the spiritual habits of confession and repentance play in your life? How important is living a God-honoring life to you?

Loving God, I don’t know myself as well as I should, and I fall short of what I know is right and good. Please help me trust in Your power in my battle with sin.


Insight
It isn’t difficult to imagine David as a youthful shepherd, gazing into the night sky and pondering his Creator. The first four verses of Psalm 19 focus on the heavenly expanse. David noted that these “silent” heavens announce the reality of God: “their voice goes out into all the earth” (19:4). The message is clear: all creation points to the Creator. The apostle Paul picked up this theme: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
 

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1 Peter 5:5

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.


A Humble Snack

The bag of snack chips was small, but it taught an American missionary a big lesson. Working one evening in the Dominican Republic, she arrived at a church meeting and opened her chips when a woman she hardly knew reached and grabbed a few from the bag. Others helped themselves, too.

How rude, the missionary thought. Then she realized a humbling lesson. She didn’t yet understand the culture where she’d agreed to serve. Rather than emphasizing individualism, as in the United States, she learned that life in the Dominican Republic is lived in community. Sharing one’s food and goods is how people relate to each other. Her way wasn’t better, just different. She confessed, “It was very humbling to discover these things about me.” As she began to recognize her own biases, she also learned that humbly sharing with others helped her serve them better.

Peter taught this lesson to church leaders: treat others with humility. He counseled the elders to resist “lording it over those entrusted to you” (1 Peter 5:3). And those younger? “Submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility” (v. 5). As he declared: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Therefore, “humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (v. 6). May He help us humbly live before Him and others today.


Reflect & Pray
What cultural biases do you harbor? How could you let God transform those attitudes so you humbly serve all?

Father, exchange my arrogance regarding others with Your humble love.


Insight
As Peter prepared to close his letter to a persecuted first-century church, he turned his attention to instructions for the leaders. Calling them his fellow elders, he urged them to be “shepherds” who serve their flock not out of obligation but out of love (1 Peter 5:2). Peter had already shared in their persecution through imprisonment and beatings and would eventually lose his life in his service for Jesus. He’d also seen firsthand the servant leadership of Christ, who on the night before His crucifixion stooped to wash the feet of His disciples. Jesus is the role model Peter followed, and the apostle wanted his fellow elders and shepherds to do the same (v. 1). Whatever ministry God has given to us, however large or small, we can avoid the pitfalls of pride, materialism, and authoritarianism if we’re motivated by a singular love for God and His people.
 

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2 Kings 22:8
And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.


What a Find!

While scuba diving in 2021, Jennifer’s eyes fixed on a small, green bottle at the bottom of a river. She scooped up what she describes as “a once-in-a-lifetime find.” The bottle contained a message written by a young man on his eighteenth birthday in 1926! The words requested that whoever discovered the message return it to him. Jennifer used Facebook to locate a delighted family member of the man. Although he’d died in 1995, his once-hidden note brought joy to Jennifer and the man’s family.

In 2 Kings 22:8, we read that Hilkiah made an extraordinary find when he “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” The high priest found what was likely the book of Deuteronomy. “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,” he was both deeply moved and greatly distressed (v. 11). Like the temple in Judah itself, God and the reading of and obedience to the Scriptures He’d inspired had been neglected by the people. In repentance, the king had the temple swept clean of idols and anything that would displease God as he instituted reforms for his nation (23:1–24).

Today, our Bibles contain sixty-six books that reveal God’s wisdom and instruction—including Deuteronomy. As we read and listen to them, may the Holy Spirit transform our minds and reform our ways. Dive into the life-changing story of Scripture today and find wisdom to explore for a lifetime!


Reflect & Pray
What has God recently revealed to you as you’ve studied the Scriptures? Why is it vital for you to regularly spend time in them?

Father, please help me see the things I need to change in my life.


Insight
The reforms of Josiah, Judah’s sixteenth and last good king, are described in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. He became king at eight years of age and ruled for thirty-one years (641–609 bc). Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and father, Amon, were grossly idolatrous and evil in the fifty-seven years they reigned (2 Kings 21). At age sixteen, Josiah began to seek after God. At twenty, he began destroying all the places of idolatry. At twenty-six, he ordered the repair of the temple (2 Chronicles 34:3–8). The last time the temple was repaired was ninety-four years earlier during the reign of Hezekiah (29:3). In the process, the Book of the Law was found. Josiah’s devotion to God was exceptional: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength” (2 Kings 23:25).
 

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Genesis 16:13 KJV
And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?


God Sees You

Early mornings can be painful for my friend Alma, a single mom of two. She says, “When everything is quiet, worries surface. As I do household chores, I think about our financial concerns and the kids’ health and studies.”

When her husband abandoned her, Alma bore the responsibility of raising her children on her own. “It’s difficult,” she says, “but I know God sees me and my family. He gives me the strength to work two jobs, provides for our needs, and lets my kids experience His guidance each day.”

Hagar, an Egyptian maidservant, understood what it meant to be seen by God. After she got pregnant by Abram, she began to despise Sarai (Genesis 16:4), who in turn mistreated her, causing Hagar to flee to the desert. Hagar found herself alone, facing a future that seemed bleak and hopeless for her and her unborn child.

But it was in the desert that “the angel of the Lord” (v. 7) met her and said, “The Lord has heard of your misery” (v. 11). The angel of God gave Hagar guidance on what to do, and He assured her of what the future would hold. From her we learn one of the names of God—El Roi, “the God who sees me” (v. 13).

Like Hagar, you may be on a difficult journey—feeling lost and alone. But remember that even in the wasteland, God sees you. Reach out to Him and trust Him to guide you through.


Reflect & Pray
How could knowing God as El Roi—the God who sees—change your view of your current circumstances? How can you respond to Him?

Dear God, thank You that I’ll never have to journey through life alone. I know that You see me and will always be with me.


Insight
How encouraging it is to know that those who are marginalized by what others do to them or by what they do to themselves don’t escape the attention of God. Genesis 16 emphasizes this with two names—the name of a place, Beer Lahai Roi (“the well of the Living One who sees me,” v. 14) and the name of a son, Ishmael (“God will hear,” v. 11). The words “the Lord has heard of your misery” (v. 11) show the keen nature of divine hearing. The root word of “has heard” is the oft-used Hebrew word shama‘, which means “to hear, listen, or obey.” Indeed, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry” (Psalm 34:15).
 

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Acts 3:8 KJV
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.


Live Like You’re Healed

Two sisters from India were born blind. Their father was a hard-working provider, but he could never afford the surgery that would give them sight. Then a team of doctors came to their region on a short-term medical mission. The morning after their surgery, the girls smiled wide as the nurse unwrapped their bandages. One exclaimed, “Mother, I can see! I can see!”

A man who had been lame since birth sat in his usual spot at a temple gate, begging for money. Peter told the man he didn’t have coins, but he had something better. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6), he said. The man “jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went . . . jumping, and praising God” (v. 8).

The sisters and the man appreciated their eyes and legs more than those who were never blind or lame. The girls couldn’t stop blinking in amazement and celebration, and the man “jumped to his feet.”

Consider your own natural abilities. How might you enjoy these abilities more, and how might you use them differently, if you had been miraculously healed? Now consider this. If you believe in Jesus, He's healed you spiritually. He’s rescued you from your sins.

Let’s thank the One who made and saved us and dedicate all that He gave us to Him.


Reflect & Pray
How might you use your natural abilities for Jesus? How might you enjoy serving with whatever abilities you have? Thank Him for the pleasure they bring.

Father, thank You for ears to hear You, mouths to praise You, and hands and feet to serve You.


Insight
Early in their training, Jesus sent His disciples “out two by two” (Mark 6:7). It seems that Peter and John thrived in this pattern since they’re often seen working together (Luke 22:8; John 20:3–4; Acts 3:1; 4:1; 8:14). In Acts 3:1–10, we see them together at the temple. The Jews had three daily times of prayer: 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. (see Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10; Acts 10:30). The temple would’ve been crowded with Jews who’d come to offer their prayers. As devout Jews, Peter and John may have come to the temple to offer their evening prayers too. Additionally, and more likely, they might have come to tell the crowd gathered there about Jesus (Acts 3:11–4:2; 5:20–21, 42). Beggars were apt to gather at the temple because devotees who came to seek God’s blessings were more willing to give alms in the hope of impressing Him with their generosity.
 

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2 Peter 1:8 KJV
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Called to Grow

The sea squirt is a strange creature. Found attached to rocks and shells, it looks like a soft plastic tube waving with the current. Drawing its nutrients from the passing water, it lives a passive life far removed from its once–active youth.

The sea squirt starts life as a tadpole with a primitive spinal cord and brain that helps it find food and avoid harm. As a juvenile, it spends its days exploring the ocean, but something happens when it reaches adulthood. Settling on its rock, it stops exploring and growing. In a macabre twist, it digests its own brain.

Spineless, thoughtless, flowing passively with the current. The apostle Peter encourages us not to follow the sea squirt’s fate. Since maturity for us means taking on God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4), you and I are called to grow—grow mentally in our knowledge of Christ (3:18); spiritually in traits like goodness, perseverance, and self-control (1:5–7); and practically by exploring new ways to love, offer hospitality, and serve others through our gifts (1 Peter 4:7–11). Such growth, Peter says, will stop us from living “ineffective and unproductive” lives (2 Peter 1:8).

This calling to grow is as vital for the seventy-year-old as it is for the teenager. God’s nature is as vast as the ocean. We’ve barely swum a few feet. Explore His unending character, take new spiritual adventures. Study, serve, take risks. Grow.


Reflect & Pray
What character trait do you feel God calling you to grow in? What service opportunity is He leading you to try?

Father God, please help me to grow more like You each day.


Insight
The book of 2 Peter begins and ends on a similar note, highlighting the words grace and knowledge: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (1:2); “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (3:18).

The word grace (“God’s favor freely given”) appears in the book only in these two verses; however, the word knowledge (or knowing) appears seven times in the book using two different Greek words. The word knowledge in 2 Peter 3:18 (also twice in 1:5–6) is gnōsis (knowledge, information, facts). Such information about God is crucial for our growth and development in our life in Christ. The word used in 1:2 (also in 1:3, 8; 2:20) is epignōsis. It’s a strengthened form of the previous word, suggesting a “fuller,” “deeper,” “experiential” understanding of the object known.