Daily Bible Verse

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Daniel 6:22 KJV
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.


Out of the Lions’ Den

When Taher and his wife, Donya, became believers in Jesus, they knew they risked persecution in their home country. Indeed, one day Taher was blindfolded, handcuffed, imprisoned, and charged with apostasy. Before he appeared at trial, he and Donya agreed that they wouldn’t betray Jesus.

What happened at the sentencing amazed him. The judge said, “I don’t know why, but I want to take you out of the whale’s and lion’s mouths.” Then Taher “knew that God was acting”; he couldn’t otherwise explain the judge referencing two passages in the Bible (see Jonah 2; Daniel 6). Taher was released from prison and the family later found exile elsewhere.

Taher’s surprising release echoes the story of Daniel. A skilled administrator, he was going to be promoted, which made his colleagues jealous (Daniel 6:3–5). Plotting his downfall, they convinced King Darius to pass a law against praying to anyone other than the king—which Daniel ignored. King Darius had no choice but to throw him to the lions (v. 16). But God “rescued Daniel” and saved him from death (v. 27), even as He saved Taher through the judge’s surprising release.

Many believers today suffer for following Jesus, and sometimes they even are killed. When we face persecution, we can deepen our faith when we understand that God has ways we can’t even imagine. Know that He’s with you in whatever battles you face.


Reflect & Pray
How do you respond to the story of Taher and Donya’s commitment to Christ? How can you trust in the unlimited power of God?

Saving God, help me to trust in You when the obstacles feel insurmountable.


Insight
Daniel 6 indicates it was unlawful for a Persian king to take back an official decree (vv. 8, 12, 15). So, despite regretting his edict (vv. 14, 18), King Darius allowed Daniel to receive the decreed sentence.

Being thrown into the lions’ den was a kind of sentence sometimes called “innocence by ordeal,” where someone accused is put in a situation that should result in death (such as death by lions, fire, or poison). If, by divine intervention, the person is miraculously saved from what should’ve been certain death, it was considered proven that they were innocent of wrongdoing.
 

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Revelation 5:5 KJV
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.


The Rest of Our Story

For more than six decades, news journalist Paul Harvey was a familiar voice on American radio. He would say with a colorful flair, “You know what the news is, in a minute you’re going to hear the rest of the story.” After a brief advertisement, he would tell a little-known story of a well-known person. But by withholding until the end either the person’s name or some other key element, he delighted listeners with his dramatic pause and tagline: “And now you know . . . the rest of the story.”

The apostle John’s vision of things past and future unfolds with a similar promise. However, his story begins on a sad note. He couldn’t stop crying when he saw that no created being in heaven or on earth could explain where history is going (Revelation 4:1; 5:1–4). Then he heard a voice offering hope in the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5). But when John looked, instead of seeing a conquering lion, he saw a lamb looking like it had been slaughtered (vv. 5–6). The unlikely sight erupted in waves of celebration around the throne of God. In three expanding choruses, twenty-four elders were joined by countless angels and then by all of heaven and earth (vv. 8–14).

Who could have imagined that a crucified Savior would be the hope of all creation, the glory of our God, and the rest of our story.


Reflect & Pray
What fears and sorrows do you have that need the hope found in Jesus? How does thinking of Him as both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb help you worship Him?

Almighty God, You deserve all power, praise, and love.


Insight
In today’s passage from John’s vision recorded in Revelation (5:1–10), we’re given a picture of the unexpected ways of God. Jesus is first described as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (v. 5), but when John looks up, he sees not the regal figure of a lion but a mortally wounded lamb (v. 6). God’s victory was won not by the mighty lion but by the humble lamb who appeared defeated.

Both images, the lion and the lamb, are used elsewhere in Scripture to speak of God’s Messiah and the work He would do. On his deathbed, as Jacob pronounced a blessing on each of his children, he proclaimed to his son Judah that he was “a lion’s cub” from whom a ruler would come (Genesis 49:9). And John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
 

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Romans 9:3 KJV
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:


The Crowd

“Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them,” observed philosopher and author Hannah Arendt (1906–75). She added, “ut few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons.” As a Jew, Arendt witnessed this firsthand in her native Germany. There’s something terrifying about being rejected by the group.

The apostle Paul experienced such rejection. Trained as a Pharisee and rabbi, his life was turned upside down when he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Paul had been traveling to Damascus to persecute those who believed in Christ (Acts 9). After his conversion, the apostle found himself rejected by his own people. In his letter we know as 2 Corinthians, Paul reviewed some of the troubles he faced at their hands, among them “beatings” and “imprisonments” (6:5).

Rather than responding to such rejection with anger or bitterness, Paul longed for them to come to know Jesus too. He wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people” (Romans 9:2–3).

As God has welcomed us into His family, may He also enable us to invite even our adversaries into relationship with Him.


Reflect & Pray
How have you responded when you experienced exclusion? What makes rejection so hard?

Loving God, help me to point others to You and a place in Your kingdom despite personal hurt or disappointment.


Insight
The opening verses of Romans 9 remind us that Paul wasn’t setting out to write a theological treatise (although Romans is widely considered his greatest work theologically). But it’s difficult to miss his passion concerning his fellow Jews and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. So deep was his distress (“great sorrow and unceasing anguish,” v. 2) that he declared himself willing to be “cursed and cut off from Christ” (v. 3). The Greek word anathema, translated “cursed” or more literally “accursed” (nkjv), refers to something that’s laid up or dedicated as an offering, a sacrifice. Being “cursed” would mean being cut off and separated from Jesus. Paul’s deep desire for his countrymen to share in the salvation brought through Christ led him to wish that he, like Jesus, could be made an offering for the sake of his people.
 

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Psalm 120:2 KJV
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.


A New Beginning

“Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie,” Eugene Peterson wrote in his powerful reflections on Psalm 120. Psalm 120 is the first of the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. And as Peterson explored this in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, these psalms also offer us a picture of the spiritual journey toward God.

That journey can only begin with profound awareness of our need for something different. As Peterson puts it, “A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. . . . [One] has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.”

It’s easy to become discouraged by the brokenness and despair we see in the world around us—the pervasive ways our culture often shows callous disregard for the harm being done to others. Psalm 120 laments this honestly: “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (v. 7).

But there’s healing and freedom in realizing that our pain can also awaken us to a new beginning through our only help, the Savior who can guide us from destructive lies into paths of peace and wholeness (121:2). As we enter this new year, may we seek Him and His ways.


Reflect & Pray
How have you become accustomed to destructive ways? How does the gospel invite you into ways of peace?

Loving God, help me yearn for and work for Your ways of peace through the power of Your Spirit.


Insight
Psalms 120 and 121 are among the Psalms or Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), which were most likely memorized and sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover (Unleavened Bread), Weeks, and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). Some of these ascent psalms are assigned to David (Psalms 122, 124, 131, 133) and one is attributed to Solomon (Psalm 127), but most have no listed author. This diverse group of psalms includes lament psalms, thanksgiving psalms, a royal psalm, wisdom psalms, and more. Yet although they may not have been written to be used as ascent psalms, they were later used for that purpose. Psalm 120 is an individual psalm written by someone far from home longing for the peace of Jerusalem (vv. 5–7), while the reassuring words of Psalm 121 instill confidence in pilgrims making the journey to Jerusalem. Today, the Psalms of Ascent continue to be significant in worship for both Jews and believers in Jesus.
 

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Habakkuk 3:18 KJV
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.


From Lament to Praise

Monica prayed feverishly for her son to return to God. She wept over his wayward ways and even tracked him down in the various cities where he chose to live. The situation seemed hopeless. Then one day it happened: her son had a radical encounter with God. He became one of the greatest theologians of the church. We know him as Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

“How long, Lord?” (Habakkuk 1:2). The prophet Habakkuk lamented God’s inaction regarding the people in power who perverted justice (v. 4). Think of the times we’ve turned to God in desperation—expressing our laments due to injustice, a seemingly hopeless medical journey, ongoing financial struggles, or children who’ve walked away from God.

Each time Habakkuk lamented, God heard his cries. As we wait in faith, we can learn from the prophet to turn our lament into praise, for he said, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:18 italics added). He didn’t understand God’s ways, but he trusted Him. Both lament and praise are acts of faith, expressions of trust. We lament as an appeal to God based on His character. And our praise of Him is based on who He is—our amazing, almighty God. One day, by His grace, every lament will turn to praise.


Reflect & Pray
What are your laments today? How can you turn them into praise?

Dear Jesus, remind me of who You are and of what You’ve done in my life.


Insight
Habakkuk’s prophecy records a dialogue between God and the prophet over the spiritual condition or desperate need of His people. That conversation includes the great statement of Habakkuk 2:4—“the righteous person will live by his faithfulness”—which is referenced three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Habakkuk 3, however, is different. It has the characteristics of a psalm, even to the point of including musical instructions for how it was to be presented—“On shigionoth” (v. 1). One scholar says this description refers to highly emotional poetry. Also, some translations add the term Selah at the end of verses 3, 9, and 13—a term often used in psalms. Finally, in verse 19, additional instructions are offered: “For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.” As such, this song becomes a good example of a national or corporate lament (see the Insight for January 3).
 

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Matthew 5:6 KJV
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.


Be Filled

The horrific assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. happened at the height of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. But just four days later, his widow Coretta Scott King courageously took her husband’s place in leading a peaceful protest march. Coretta had a deep passion for justice and was a fierce champion of many causes.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). We know that someday God will come to deliver justice and right every wrong, but until that time, we have the opportunity to participate in making God’s justice a reality on earth, just like Coretta did. Isaiah 58 paints a vivid picture of what God calls His people to do: loose the chains of injustice . . . set the oppressed free . . . share your food with the hungry . . . provide the poor wanderer with shelter . . . clothe [the naked], . . . and [do not] turn away [from those who need help]” (vv. 6–7). Seeking justice for the oppressed and the marginalized is one way our lives point back to God. Isaiah writes that His people seeking justice is like the light of dawn and results in healing for them as well as for others (v. 8).

Today, may God help us cultivate a hunger for His righteousness here on earth. As we seek justice His way and in His power, the Bible says we’ll be satisfied.


Reflect & Pray
What’s one injustice that draws your attention? How could you take a step toward doing what’s just and right today?

Give me a hunger for justice, God. Help me be a part of Your work in doing what’s right.


Insight
The reference to fasting in Isaiah 58:6 is God’s response to an accusation the people had made against Him. They asked, “Why have we fasted, . . . and you have not seen it?” (v. 3). They expected God to respond to their fasting, but He saw it as a lifeless formality. “You do as you please and exploit all your workers. . . . You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (vv. 3–4). God wanted them to seek Him in true humility and to treat others fairly and compassionately—especially the needy (v. 7).
 

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John 11:23 KJV
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.


Never Late

As a visitor to a small West African town, my American pastor made sure to arrive on time for a 10 a.m. Sunday service. Inside the humble sanctuary, however, he found the room empty. So he waited. One hour. Two hours. Finally, about 12:30 p.m., when the local pastor arrived after his long walk there—followed by some choir members and a gathering of friendly town people—the service began “in the fullness of time,” as my pastor later said. “The Spirit welcomed us, and God wasn’t late.” My pastor understood the culture was different here for its own good reasons.

Time seems relative, but God’s perfect, on-time nature is affirmed throughout the Scriptures. Thus, after Lazarus got sick and died, Jesus arrived four days later, with Lazarus’ sisters asking why. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). We may think the same, wondering why God doesn’t hurry to fix our problems. Better instead to wait by faith for His answers and power.

As theologian Howard Thurman wrote, “We wait, our Father, until at last something of thy strength becomes our strength, something of thy heart becomes our heart, something of thy forgiveness becomes our forgiveness. We wait, O God, we wait.” Then, as with Lazarus, when God responds, we’re miraculously blessed by what wasn’t, after all, a delay.


Reflect & Pray
What are you waiting for God to do or provide on your behalf? How can you wait by faith?

For You, Father, I wait. Grant me Your strength and faithful hope in my waiting.


Insight
Jewish customs mandated a corpse be buried within twenty-four hours of death. In John 11, we’re told that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived (vv. 17, 39) to show the magnitude of the miracle. This wasn’t an emergency situation where a person in cardiac arrest was successfully resuscitated. Lazarus was well past the timeframe for this. Jesus had previously raised two other dead persons (Luke 7:11–17; 8:49–56), but these resurrections took place before decomposition of the bodies had begun. According to rabbinic beliefs, the spirit of the deceased hovers around the body for three days in the hope of reuniting with it. But the spirit will finally leave when the body has decomposed. This would have been the case for Lazarus: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (John 11:39).
 

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Ezekiel 14:6 KJV
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.


Heart Problem

“Do you see it, brother Tim?” My friend, a Ghanaian pastor, flashed his torchlight on a carved object leaning against a mud hut. Quietly he said, “That is the village idol.” Each Tuesday evening, Pastor Sam traveled into the bush to share the Bible in this remote village.

In the book of Ezekiel, we see how idolatry plagued the people of Judah. When Jerusalem’s leaders came to see the prophet Ezekiel, God told him, “These men have set up idols in their hearts” (14:3). God wasn’t merely warning them against idols carved of wood and stone. He was showing them that idolatry is a problem of the heart. We all struggle with it.

Bible teacher Alistair Begg describes an idol as “anything other than God that we regard as essential to our peace, our self-image, our contentment, or our acceptability.” Even things that have the appearance of being noble can become idols to us. When we seek comfort or self-worth from anything other than the living God, we commit idolatry.

“Repent!” God said. “Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (v. 6). Israel proved incapable of doing this. Thankfully, God had the solution. Looking forward to the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, He promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (36:26). We can’t do this alone.


Reflect & Pray
When stress hits you, where do you turn for comfort? What might you need to turn away from today?

Father, show me the idols in my heart. Then help me destroy them and live in Your love.


Insight
As part of their subjugation strategy, the Babylonians forcibly exiled Jewish royalty, military leaders, and skilled workers to Babylon (2 Kings 24:10–16; Daniel 1:1–5), including the prophet and priest Ezekiel. He was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon when he started ministering (Ezekiel 1:1–3) to the Jews in exile (3:11) as well as to those still residing in Judah (12:10). After condemning the false prophets who taught that God wouldn’t punish His people for their sins (chs. 12–13), Ezekiel confronted the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy and idolatry and urged God’s people to repent and turn from their idols (14:1–8).
 

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Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;


But I’m Telling You

“I know what they’re saying. But I’m telling you . . .” As a boy, I heard my mother give that speech a thousand times. The context was always peer pressure. She was trying to teach me not to follow the herd. I’m not a boy any longer, but herd mentality’s still alive and kicking. A current example is this phrase: “Only surround yourself with positive people.” Now while that phrase may be commonly heard, the question we must ask is: “Is that Christlike?”

“But I’m telling you . . .” Jesus uses that lead-in a number of times in Matthew 5. He knows full well what the world is constantly telling us. But His desire is that we live differently. In this case, He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul uses that very word to describe guess who? That’s right: us—“while we were God’s enemies” (Romans 5:10). Far from some “do as I say, not as I do,” Jesus backed up His words with actions. He loved us, and gave His life for us.

What if Christ had only made room in His life for “positive people”? Where would that leave us? Thanks be to God that His love is no respecter of persons. For God so loved the world, and in His strength we are called to do likewise.


Reflect & Pray
When’s the last time someone extended love to you when you weren’t “positive”? What’s a tangible way today that you can show love to an enemy?

Father, it’s tempting to surround myself with only those who love me. But that’s not living, at least not the kind of living You desire for me. Help me to love even my enemies.


Insight
The teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) was a corrective to the teaching and practices of popular religion in His day. Thus, He repeatedly said, “You have heard that it was said . . . . But I tell you” (5:21–44). Of note is His command to “be perfect” (v. 48). As with the other commands, Christ calls His followers to a higher standard. However, the perfection that’s in view isn’t moral perfection (sinlessness). The Greek word teleios (from telos,) translated “perfect,” means “completeness” or “maturity,” something arriving at an intended end. Jesus calls His followers to “relational” maturity—an indiscriminate, mature love like the love of the heavenly Father. It’s a love that’s undeterred by pedigree or label, the kind of love modeled by the Samaritan in the parable in Luke 10:25–37.
 

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Song of Solomon 8:6 KJV
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.


Love like Blazing Fire

Poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake enjoyed a forty-five-year marriage with his wife, Catherine. From their wedding day until his death in 1827, they worked side by side. Catherine added color to William’s sketches, and their devotion endured years of poverty and other challenges. Even in his final weeks as his health failed, Blake kept at his art, and his final sketch was his wife’s face. Four years later, Catherine died clutching one of her husband’s pencils in her hand.

The Blakes’ vibrant love offers a reflection of the love discovered in the Song of Songs. And while the Song’s description of love certainly has implications for marriage, early believers in Jesus believed it also points to Jesus’ unquenchable love for all His followers. The Song describes a love “as strong as death,” which is a remarkable metaphor since death is as final and unescapable a reality as humans will ever know (8:6). This strong love “burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (v. 6). And unlike fires we’re familiar with, these flames can’t be doused, not even by a deluge. “Many waters cannot quench love,” the Song insists (v. 7).

Who among us doesn’t desire true love? The Song reminds us that whenever we encounter genuine love, God is the ultimate source. And in Jesus, each of us can know a profound and undying love—one that burns like a blazing fire.


Reflect & Pray
Where have you encountered strong love? How does Jesus’ love encourage you?

Dear God, please help me to receive Your love and share it with others.


Insight
Scholars have long had difficulty interpreting Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon). Perhaps uncomfortable with its theme of intimate love, many have attempted to turn the book’s storyline into allegory. Most scholars today, however, view the song as a description of physical love between a man and a woman. In today’s reading (8:5–7), the woman initiates the intimacy. Her reference to the “seal over your heart” (v. 6) represents her desire to claim mutual ownership of her beloved. She has exclusive rights to him and all that he has, as he also has those rights with her.

The book can also be viewed as symbolic in representing genuine marital love as a complete commitment to each other. This comprises an apt representation of the church as the bride of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:2).