Daily Bible Verse

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KJV
Ecclesiastes 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:


Seasons

I recently came across a helpful word: wintering. Just as winter is a time of slowing down in much of the natural world, author Katherine May uses this word to describe our need to rest and recuperate during life’s “cold” seasons. I found the analogy helpful after losing my father to cancer, which sapped me of energy for months. Resentful of this forced slowing down, I fought against my winter, praying summer’s life would return. But I had much to learn.

Ecclesiastes famously says there’s “a season for every activity under the heavens”—a time to plant and to harvest, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance (3:1–4). I had read these words for years but only started to understand them in my wintering season. For though we have little control over them, each season is finite and will pass when its work is done. And while we can’t always fathom what it is, God is doing something significant in us through them (v. 11). My time of mourning wasn’t over. When it was, dancing would return. Just as plants and animals don’t fight winter, I needed to rest and let it do its renewing work.

“Lord,” a friend prayed, “would You do Your good work in Sheridan during this difficult season.” It was a better prayer than mine. For in God’s hands, seasons are purposeful things. Let’s submit to His renewing work in each one.


Reflect & Pray
When have you wanted a season to end before its time? What do you think God wants to do in you this season?

Father God, thank You for using every season for Your glory and my good.


Insight
While some dispute Solomon’s authorship of Ecclesiastes, there’s good internal evidence to support it. In Ecclesiastes 1:1 we read, “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Solomon was the only son of David to reign as king in Jerusalem, though the author identifies himself as “the Teacher” or “the Preacher.” Whereas Solomon’s sayings in the book of Proverbs offer wisdom for life in a broken world, Ecclesiastes focuses more on the difficulty of living in such a world.
 

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Exodus 20:4 KJV
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.


Places of the Heart

Here are some vacation tips: The next time you’re traveling through Middleton, Wisconsin, you might want to visit the National Mustard Museum. For those of us who feel that one mustard is plenty, this place amazes, featuring 6,090 different mustards from around the world. In McLean, Texas, you might be surprised to run across the Barbed Wire Museum—or more surprised there is such a passion for, well . . . fencing.

It’s telling what kinds of things we choose to make important. One writer says you could do worse than spend an afternoon at the Banana Museum (though we beg to differ).

We laugh in fun, yet it’s sobering to admit we maintain our own museums—places of the heart where we celebrate certain idols of our own making. God instructs us, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) and “you shall not bow down to them or worship them” (v. 5). But we do anyway, creating our own graven gods, perhaps of wealth or lust or success—or of some other fill-in-the-blank “treasure” we worship in secret.

It’s easy to read this passage and miss the point. Yes, God holds us accountable for the museums of sin we create. But He also speaks of “showing love to a thousand generations of those who love [Him]” (v. 6). He knows how trivial our “museums” really are. He knows our true satisfaction lies only in our love for Him.


Reflect & Pray
What is an area of sin that you keep secret? How will you give it to God?

Dear God, I want You to be at the center of my life. Help me rid myself of the idols I keep.


Insight
Although the wording is different, the New Testament reiterates the teaching of the first and second commandments—worship is reserved for God alone (Exodus 20:3–6). When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He replied, “The most important one . . . is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ ” (Mark 12:29–30). Paul’s teaching is in the same vein: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). Mercy from God is the basis for dedication to God. John’s teaching is succinct but sure: “keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).
 

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Matthew 18:15 KJV

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.


A Loving Warning

In 2010, a tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing more than four hundred people. But the deaths could have been prevented or minimized had the tsunami warning system been working properly. The tsunami detection networks (buoys) had become detached and drifted away.

Jesus said His disciples had a responsibility to warn fellow disciples of things that could harm them spiritually—including unrepentant sin. He outlined a process in which a believer who’s been sinned against by another can humbly, privately, and prayerfully “point out” the sin to the offending believer (Matthew 18:15). If the person repents, then the conflict can be resolved and relationship restored. If the believer refuses to repent, then “one or two others” can help resolve the conflict (v. 16). If the sinning person still doesn’t repent, then the issue is to be brought before “the church” (v. 17). If the offender still won’t repent, the individual is to be removed from assembly fellowship, but he or she can certainly still be prayed for and shown Christ’s love.

As believers in Jesus, let’s pray for the wisdom and courage we need to care enough to lovingly warn one another of the dangers of unrepentant sin and of the joys of restoration to our heavenly Father and other believers. Jesus will be “there . . . with [us]” as we do (v. 20).


Reflect & Pray
How can you humbly and lovingly confront someone regarding a sin issue? What are the dangers of unrepentant sin?

Dear God, help me to love others enough to lovingly warn them when I see them falling into sin.


Insight
Matthew 18:15–20 contains three ideas that are sometimes treated individually with no relationship to each other. However, the context of verses 15–17 determines the interpretation of verses 18–20.

Verses 15–17 discuss the process of forgiveness and restoration for a believer in Jesus who sins. They outline the responsibility that fellow believers have to one another to confront sin when it’s identified and to restore when it’s confessed. In this context, the statements about binding on earth and heaven (suggesting that the forgiveness and restoration offered by the church is done in the authority of God) and receiving what two agree on (a protection against the potential abuse of singular authority) are directly related to the forgiveness and restoration of a believer in Jesus.
 

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Romans 5:3-4 KJV

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:


Strengthened through Trials

The memories flooded back when I rustled through some envelopes and glimpsed a sticker that said, “I’ve had an eye test.” In my mind I saw my four-year-old son proudly wearing the sticker after enduring stinging eyedrops. Because of weak eye muscles, he had to wear a patch for hours each day over his strong eye—thereby forcing the weaker eye to develop. He also needed surgery. He met these challenges one by one, looking to us as his parents for comfort and depending on God with childlike faith. Through these challenges he developed resilience.

People who endure trials and suffering are often changed by the experience. But the apostle Paul went further and said to “glory in our sufferings” because through them we develop perseverance. With perseverance comes character; and with character, hope (Romans 5:3–4). Paul certainly knew trials—not only shipwrecks but imprisonment for his faith. Yet he wrote to the believers in Rome that “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). The apostle recognized that God’s Spirit keeps our hope in Jesus alive when we put our trust in Him.

Whatever hardships you face, know that God will pour out His grace and mercy on you. He loves you.


Reflect & Pray
How have trials and challenges actually helped you trust God more? How could you commit yourself to His care in what you currently face?

Ever-loving God, You promise that You’ll never leave me. Help me to hold on to Your promises even when I’m struggling.


Insight
The New Testament reveals much about the Holy Spirit. When we repent and receive Jesus as our Savior, God gifts us with the Spirit (Acts 2:38). Through Him, God pours His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). In this way, our bodies become the Holy Spirit’s temple and He lives in us (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit gives us love, joy, peace (Galatians 5:22), encouragement (Acts 9:31), and hope (Romans 15:13). He also teaches us and guides us. Jesus told His disciples, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26; see 15:26). The Spirit enables us, like Peter, to speak boldly about Christ (Acts 4:8). He also warns us (20:23) and gives us spiritual gifts (Hebrews 2:4). The Spirit of truth, our Advocate, is with us forever (John 14:16–17).
 

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Psalm 121:5 KJV
The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.


Our Place of Safety

Retired teacher Debbie Stephens Browder is on a mission to convince as many people as possible to plant trees. The reason? Heat. Extreme heat in the United States is the number one weather-related cause of death. In response, she says, “I’m starting with trees.” The canopy of heat protection that trees provide is one significant way to protect communities. “It’s life or death. It’s not just about beautifying the community.”

The fact that shade isn’t just refreshing but potentially lifesaving would have been well known to the psalmist who wrote Psalm 121; in the Middle East, the risk of sunstroke is constant. This reality adds depth to the psalm’s vivid description of God as our surest place of safety, the One in whose care “the sun will not harm [us] by day, nor the moon by night” (v. 6).

This verse can’t mean that believers in Jesus are somehow immune to pain or loss in this life (or that heat isn’t dangerous!). After all, Christ tells us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). But this metaphor of God as our shade does vividly reassure us that, whatever comes our way, our lives are held in His watchful care (Psalm 121:7–8). There we can find rest through trusting Him, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love (John 10:28; Romans 8:39).


Reflect & Pray
How have you experienced life-saving shade in God’s care? How does remembering you’re always held in His care give you courage?

Loving God, thank You for being my place of shade and safety. Help me to find rest and courage as I grow in trusting You.


Insight
Psalm 121 is one of the “Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120–134) set aside as a “mini-hymnal” within the overall psalter to give Jewish pilgrims songs to sing as they traveled three times a year to Jerusalem for the primary feast times (Passover and Firstfruits in the spring; Tabernacles in the fall). This particular psalm speaks directly to that pilgrimage—discussing the wrong (v. 1) and right places (v. 2) to look for assistance on the journey and offering promises of the specific areas of protection they can expect from God along the way (vv. 3–8). Psalm 121 is filled with confidence in God’s protection and provision. It’s an appropriate song of preparation for the worship they’d experience once they arrived in Jerusalem.
 

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Proverbs 3:6 KJV
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.


Leap of Faith

As I prepared to ride a zip line from the highest point of a rainforest on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, fear welled up inside me. Seconds before I jumped from the platform, thoughts of everything that could go wrong filled my mind. But with all the courage I could muster (and few options for turning back), I released. Dropping from the pinnacle of the forest, I whizzed through the lush green trees, wind flowing through my hair and my worries slowly fading. As I moved through the air allowing gravity to carry me, my view of the next platform became clearer and, with a gentle stop, I knew I’d arrived safely.

My time on the zip line pictured for me the times God has us undertake new, challenging endeavors. Scripture teaches us to put our trust in God and “lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) when we feel doubt and uncertainty. When our minds are filled with fear and doubt, our paths can be unclear and distorted. But once we’ve made the decision to step out in faith by submitting our way to God, “he will make [our] paths straight” (v. 6). We become more confident taking leaps of faith by learning who God is through spending time in prayer and the Scriptures.

We can find freedom and tranquility even in life’s challenges as we hang on to God and allow Him to guide us through the changes in our lives.


Reflect & Pray
What changes or challenges in your life require you to put total trust in God? What’s preventing you from taking that leap of faith?

Dear Father, please give me the wisdom and strength I need to trust You with my life.


Insight
Humanity has an autonomy problem. From the beginning, the first man and woman chose to decide for themselves what was good and what was bad and denied their Creator His place as their God (Genesis 3:6–7).

Proverbs, like the rest of the Wisdom Literature in the Bible, offers a way back—a description of what life can look like when lived the way God intended. Proverbs 3:5–8 encapsulates that mission perfectly: if we trust ourselves and set our own paths in life, we’ll retread Adam and Eve’s road toward death. But if we instead trust our Creator, lean on Him and His guidance, and submit to Him, we’ll find life and peace. Verses 5–6 describe the road back toward life in Eden: trust God with everything and let Him direct our paths.
 
 

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1 Peter 1:3 KJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,


God’s Garden

A reminder of the beauty and brevity of life grows outside my front door. Last spring, my wife planted moonflower vines, so named because of their large and round white blooms that resemble a full moon. Each flower opens for one night and then withers in the bright sun the following morning, never to bloom again. But the plant is prolific, and every evening presents a fresh parade of flowers. We love watching it as we come and go each day, wondering what new beauty will greet us when we return.

These fragile flowers call to mind a vital truth from Scripture. The apostle Peter, recalling the words of the prophet Isaiah, wrote, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall’ ” (1 Peter 1:23–24). But he assures us that God keeps His promises forever! (v. 25).

Like flowers in a garden, our lives on earth are short when compared with eternity. But God has spoken beauty into our brevity. Through the good news of Jesus, we make a fresh beginning with God and trust His promise of unlimited life in His loving presence. When Earth’s sun and moon are but a memory, we will praise Him still.


Reflect & Pray
What do you most look forward to about eternity with God? Which of His promises are your favorites?

Beautiful Savior, I praise You for the gift of my salvation. Your love lasts forever, and I love You for it.


Insight
Atonement is the act through which God and humans (who are alienated or separated from God because of our sin) are brought together in a personal relationship through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. According to Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible, the theological term atonement comes from Anglo-Saxon words that mean “making as one.” In the Old Testament, animals “without defect” (Leviticus 14:10) were sacrificed annually to make atonement for sin (16:34). When Christ came, the sacrificial system became obsolete through the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect,” who “was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (1 Peter 1:19; Isaiah 53:7). Jesus, “the Lamb of God, . . . takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). All who believe in Him receive forgiveness and new life (Ephesians 1:7). One day, His followers will celebrate with Him in the New Jerusalem at “the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).
 

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Lamentations 1:1 KJV
How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!


It’s Empty Now

My brothers and our families spent the day moving our parents’ belongings from our childhood home. Late in the afternoon, we went back for one last pickup and, knowing this would be our final time in our family home, posed for a picture on the back porch. I was fighting tears when my mom turned to me and said, “It’s all empty now.” That pushed me over the edge. The house that holds fifty-four years of memories is empty now. I try not to think of it.

The ache in my heart resonates with Jeremiah’s first words of Lamentations: “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!” (1:1). An important difference is that Jerusalem was empty “because of her many sins” (v. 5). God exiled His people to Babylon because they rebelled against Him and refused to repent (v. 18). My parents weren’t moving because of sin, at least not directly. But ever since Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden, each person’s health has declined over their lifetime. As we age, it’s not unusual for us to downsize into homes that are easier to maintain.

I’m thankful for the memories that made our modest home special. Pain is the price of love. I know the next goodbye won’t be to my parents’ home but to my parents themselves. And I cry. I cry out to Jesus to come, put an end to goodbyes, and restore all things. My hope is in Him.


Reflect & Pray
What place holds fond memories for you? Thank God for the people who loved you there. How might you make new memories today?

Father, thank You for giving me a home in Your forever family.


Insight
The book of Lamentations lyrically expresses the grief associated with the devastation of the city of Jerusalem in 586 bc. Seven times the book mentions Jerusalem by name—the chief city in the land of Israel (1:7, 8, 17; 2:10, 13, 15; 4:12). Jeremiah wasn’t the only person in Scripture who wept over Jerusalem. Jesus shed tears over the city. “As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes’ ” (Luke 19:41–42; see also 13:34–35).
 

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Hebrews 10:39 KJV
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.


Texts, Troubles, and Triumphs

Jimmy hadn’t allowed the reality of social unrest, danger, and discomfort to keep him from traveling to one of the poorest countries in the world to encourage ministry couples. The steady stream of text messages to our team back home revealed the challenges he encountered. “Okay, boys, activate the prayer line. We’ve gone ten miles in the last two hours. . . . Car has overheated a dozen times.” Transportation setbacks meant that he arrived just before midnight to preach to those who’d waited for five hours. Later we received a text with a different tone. “Amazing, sweet time of fellowship. . . . About a dozen people came forward for prayer. It was a powerful night!”

Faithfully serving God can be challenging. The exemplars of faith listed in Hebrews 11 would agree. Compelled by their faith in God, ordinary men and women faced uncomfortable and unfathomable circumstances. “Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment” (v. 36). Their faith compelled them to take risks and rely on God for the outcome. The same is true for us. Living out our faith may not take us to risky places far away, but it may well take us across the street or across the campus or to an empty seat in a lunchroom or boardroom. Risky? Perhaps. But the rewards, now or later, will be well worth the risks as God helps us.


Reflect & Pray
How can you take a risk and follow Jesus even though it might be uncomfortable? What keeps you “playing it safe”?

Dear Father, please give me strength and courage to let go of my life and entrust it to You.


Insight
The book of Hebrews begins by identifying Jesus as the full and final revelation of God. Under the old covenant, God spoke to His people through the prophets at various times and in various ways, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (1:2). What follows is an extraordinary statement about the supremacy of Christ. The Son is the creator, sustainer, and “heir of all things” (v. 2). He’s fully divine—the “radiance” or reflection “of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (v. 3). After accomplishing our salvation, He took His place at the highest position in the universe, the right hand of God the Father (v. 3).
 

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Isaiah 49:15 KJV
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.


God’s Unfailing Memory

A man owned more than $400 million in bitcoin, but he couldn’t access a cent of it. He lost the password for the device storing his funds, and disaster loomed: after ten password attempts, the device would self-destruct. A fortune lost forever. For a decade, the man had agonized, desperately trying to recall the password to his life-altering investment. He tried eight passwords and failed eight times. In 2021, he lamented that he had just two more chances before it all went up in smoke.

We’re a forgetful people. Sometimes we forget small things (where we placed our keys), and sometimes we forget massive things (a password that unlocks millions). Thankfully, God isn’t like us. He never forgets the things or people that are dear to Him. In times of distress, Israel feared that God had forgotten them. “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14). Isaiah assured them, however, that their God always remembers. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?” the prophet asks. Of course, a mother will not forget her suckling child. Still, even if a mother were to commit such an absurdity, we know God will never forget us (v. 15).

“See,” God says, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). He’s etched our names into His own being. Let’s remember that He can’t forget us—the ones He loves.


Reflect & Pray
When have you forgotten something important? How does God’s strong memory assure you?

Dear God, I’m grateful Your memory is resilient and trustworthy.


Insight
God’s people had been unfaithful and had stubbornly refused to repent and return to God (Isaiah 43:22–24). He used the Assyrian and Babylonian armies to chastise them (10:3–6; 39:6–7). Despite the severe discipline, God assured them that they were still His chosen people: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (43:1). He’d also restore them to Himself and bring them back to the promised land (49:8–13). Although He’d promised their restoration, the disillusioned Israelites charged that He’d abandoned them (v. 14). Responding to their despondency, God declared that His love for them is far deeper than a nursing mother has for her baby. Even if such maternal love failed, God said His love would never fail: “I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (vv. 15–16). It’s impossible for Him to forget His people.