Daily Bible Verse

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John 2:22 KJV
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.


Reading Backwards

Reading the last chapter of a mystery novel first may sound like a bad idea to those who love the suspense of a good story. But some people enjoy reading a book more if they know how it ends.

In Reading Backwards, author Richard Hays shows how important the practice is for our understanding of the Bible. By illustrating how the unfolding words and events of Scripture anticipate, echo, and throw light on one another, Professor Hays gives us reason to read our Bibles forward and backward.

Hays reminds readers that it was only after Jesus’ resurrection that His disciples understood His claim to rebuild a destroyed temple in three days. The apostle John tells us, “The temple he had spoken of was his body” (John 2:21). Only then could they understand a meaning of their Passover celebration never before understood (see Matthew 26:17–29). Only in retrospect could they reflect on how Jesus gave fullness of meaning to an ancient king’s deep feelings for the house of God (Psalm 69:9; John 2:16–17). Only by rereading their Scriptures in light of the true temple of God (Jesus Himself) could the disciples grasp how the ritual of Israel’s religion and Messiah would throw light on one another.

And now, only by reading these same Scriptures backward and forward, can we see in Jesus everything that any of us has ever needed or longed for.Reflect & Pray
What difficulties concern you about your future? When reflecting on your life, how are you learning to understand and believe God’s story that's best understood and loved when read with eternity in view?Father in heaven, thank You for letting me live long enough to see Your ability to show up and reveal the wonder of Your presence in ways I could not have foreseen.


Insight
John’s gospel is commonly accepted as the last of the gospel accounts to be written. The apostle wrote to a specific group of readers—believers in Jesus with a Hellenistic (Greek) background—and spent time reflecting on the life of Jesus. John 2:13–22 provides an important insight into faith. John linked the belief of the first disciples with Jesus’ resurrection. After He rose from the dead, the disciples’ belief in Him was confirmed and solidified in a way that reinforced Christ’s own words (vv. 19–22).

Those early disciples didn’t have all the pieces to their puzzle of faith. We, however, have been given a fuller account of Jesus and can see the relationship between His life and His actions. John said the point of his gospel is that we “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name” (20:31).
 

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James 2:26 KJV
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.


Faith in Action

A tornado blew through a community on a June evening in 2021, destroying a family’s barn. It was a sad loss because the barn had been on the family property since the late 1800s. As John and Barb drove by on their way to church the next morning, they saw the damage and wondered how they might help. So they stopped and learned that the family needed assistance with cleanup. Turning their car around quickly, they headed back home to change clothes and returned to stay for the day to clean up the mess the violent winds had created. They put their faith into action as they served the family.

James said that “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). He gives the example of Abraham, who in obedience followed God when he didn’t know where he was going (v. 23; see Genesis 12:1–4; 15:6; Hebrews 11:8). James also mentions Rahab, who showed her belief in the God of Israel when she hid the spies who came to check out the city of Jericho (James 2:25; see Joshua 2; 6:17).

“If someone claims to have faith but has no deeds” (James 2:14), it does them no good. “Faith is the root, good works are the fruits,” comments Matthew Henry, “and we must see to it that we have both.” God doesn’t need our good deeds, but our faith is proven by our actions.

Reflect & Pray
Why do you think it’s important that we do good deeds? What can you do out of your love for God?

May I serve You out of my faith in You and love for You today, dear God.

Insight
James 2:14–26 challenges the idea that faith can exist on its own apart from good actions. James said an opponent of this idea might argue that some believers in Jesus have faith, while other believers have works (v. 18). The opponent seems to be suggesting that either are valid strengths. James rejected the idea that faith and action can be put in separate categories, however, saying that true faith is impossible to verify without good actions (v. 18). He emphasized that true faith always flows into service on behalf of society’s marginalized and economically vulnerable (vv. 14–17).
 

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Ecclesiastes 10:14 KJV
A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?


Trusting Our Future to God

In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first purchase with bitcoin (a digital currency then worth a fraction of a penny each), paying 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas ($25). In 2021, at its highest value during the year, those bitcoins would have been worth well more than $500 million. Back before the value skyrocketed, he kept paying for pizzas with coins, spending 100,000 bitcoins total. If he’d kept those bitcoins, their value would’ve made him a billionaire sixty-eight times over and placed him on the Forbes’ “richest people in the world” list. If only he’d known what was coming.

Of course, Hanyecz couldn’t possibly have known. None of us could have. Despite our attempts to comprehend and control the future, Ecclesiastes rings true: “No one knows what is coming” (10:14). Some of us delude ourselves into thinking we know more than we do, or worse, that we possess some special insight about another person’s life or future. But as Ecclesiastes pointedly asks: “who can tell someone else what will happen after them?” (v. 14). No one.

Scripture contrasts a wise and a foolish person, and one of the many distinctions between the two is humility about the future (Proverbs 27:1). A wise person recognizes that only God truly knows what’s over the horizon as they make decisions. But foolish people presume knowledge that isn’t theirs. May we have wisdom, trusting our future to the only One who actually knows it.


Reflect & Pray
Where do you see temptation to control the future? How can you better trust God with your coming days?

Dear God, help me to simply trust You today.


Insight
The book of Ecclesiastes is perfectly suited for a postmodern world like ours. Why? Because it looks at life through a rather cynical perspective until the very end of the book when faith in God is once again lifted up. The keys to understanding this book are found in its opening chapters where the author, believed to have been Solomon, used repetitive phrases to lay the foundation of his argument. “Meaningless! Meaningless!” (1:2) speaks of both the brevity and emptiness of life, and “under the sun” (v. 3) refers to life lived according to the values and priorities of this world system as opposed to the values and priorities of God Himself. The author’s own disgruntled worldview is captured in 2:17, where he wrote, “So I hated life.” The response to such despair? “Remember your Creator” (12:1).
 

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Proverbs 13:12 KJV
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.


Hopes and Longings

When I moved to England, the American holiday of Thanksgiving became just another Thursday in November. Although I created a feast the weekend after, I longed to be with family and friends on the day. Yet I understood that my longings weren’t unique to me. We all yearn to be with people dear to us on special occasions and holidays. And even when we’re celebrating, we may miss someone who’s not with us or we may pray for our fractured family to be at peace.

During these times, praying and pondering the wisdom of the Bible has helped me, including one of King Solomon’s proverbs: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). In this proverb, one of the pithy sayings through which Solomon shared his wisdom, he notes the effect that “hope deferred” can have: the delay of something much longed for can result in angst and pain. But when the desire is fulfilled, it’s like a tree of life—something that allows us to feel refreshed and renewed.

Some of our hopes and desires might not be fulfilled right away, and some might only be met through God after we die. Whatever our longing, we can trust in Him, knowing He loves us unceasingly. And, one day, we’ll be reunited with loved ones as we feast with Him and give thanks to Him (see Revelation 19:6–9).


Reflect & Pray
When have you felt sick because of an unfulfilled longing? How did God meet you in your time of need?

God our Creator, You fulfill my deepest longings. I give You my hopes and my desires, asking You to grant them according to Your wisdom and love.


Insight
Proverbs 13:12–19 includes two metaphors that concern life: “a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (v. 12) and “the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life” (v. 14). The first mention of the “tree of life” in Scripture is in Genesis 2:9, a reference to a God-given resource for immortality. After the disobedience of our first parents, access to this life-source was denied (3:23–24). Revelation speaks of a time when access will be restored (22:2, 14). Proverbs uses the “tree of life” language metaphorically as a symbol of health and long life, success, and happiness (see Proverbs 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4). Similarly, the “fountain of life” (10:11; 13:14; 14:27; 16:22) refers to a resource from which something healthy and life-sustaining springs forth. Reverence for God is one of the blessed fountains from which we may drink (14:27).
 

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Revelation 21:4 KJV
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.


Enduring Hope

Doctors diagnosed four-year-old Solomon with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-degenerating disease. A year later, doctors discussed wheelchairs with the family. But Solomon protested that he didn’t want to have to use one. Family and friends prayed for him and raised funds for a professionally trained service dog to help keep him out of that wheelchair for as long as possible. Tails for Life, the organization that trained my service dog, Callie, is currently preparing Waffles to serve Solomon.

Though Solomon accepts his treatment, often bursting out in song to praise God, some days are harder. On one of those difficult days, Solomon hugged his mom and said, “I’m happy there’s no Duchenne’s in heaven.”

The degenerating effects of sickness affect all people on this side of eternity. Like Solomon, however, we have an enduring hope that can strengthen our resolve on those inevitable tough days. God gives us the promise of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Our Creator and Sustainer will “dwell” among us by making His home with us (v. 3). He will “wipe every tear” from our eyes. “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (v. 4). When the wait feels “too hard” or “too long,” we can experience peace because God’s promise will be fulfilled.


Reflect & Pray
How has acknowledging God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth comforted you? How can you encourage a hurting friend with the enduring hope of God’s promises?

Loving God, thank You for strengthening my resolve with the surety of my enduring hope.


Insight
One aid to understanding the book of Revelation is to recognize that it includes numerous Old Testament allusions. Prophetic echoes from Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah resound throughout the book. Consider two such reverberations from Revelation 21. Verse 1—“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ ”—echoes Isaiah 65:17: “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” And Revelation 21:3—“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them”—sounds like Ezekiel 37:27: “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
 

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Hosea 14:2
Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.


Blessed Repentance

“BROKE” was the street name Grady answered to and those five letters were proudly emblazoned on his license plates. Though not intended in a spiritual sense, the moniker fit the middle-aged gambler, adulterer, and deceiver. He was broken, bankrupt, and far from God. However, all that changed one evening when he was convicted by God’s Spirit in a hotel room. He told his wife, “I think I’m getting saved!” That evening he confessed sins he thought he’d take with him to the grave and came to Jesus for forgiveness. For the next thirty years, the man who didn’t think he’d live to see forty lived and served God as a changed believer in Jesus. His license plates changed too—from “BROKE” to “REPENT.”

Repent

That’s what Grady did and that’s what God called Israel to do in Hosea 14:1–2. “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. . . . Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.’ ” Big or small, few or many, our sins separate us from God. But the gap can be closed by turning from sin to God and receiving the forgiveness He’s graciously provided through the death of Jesus. Whether you’re a struggling believer in Christ or one whose life looks like Grady’s did, your forgiveness is only a prayer away.


Reflect & Pray
What sins separate you from God? Are you ready to confess your need for Him and receive the forgiveness that He’s provided through His Son, Jesus?

Father, search my heart for anything that may contribute to my downfall and distance from you. Cleanse me, forgive me, and use me for Your honor.

 
Insight
Hosea 1:1 provides the reader with something of a time stamp that opens the so-called Minor Prophets (not minor in significance or value, but books that tend to be smaller in size than the major—larger—prophetic books like Isaiah and Jeremiah). Hosea began his prophetic role during the reign of King Uzziah and continued even into the reign of King Hezekiah. This lets us know that Hosea served during the years prior to Israel’s exile to Assyria and Judah being taken into Babylonian captivity. The prophet’s primary message was to call the people of Israel back to covenant faithfulness and to remember the Deuteronomic laws that were given to guide them in walking with God. Nevertheless, the seeds of spiritual rebellion that would provoke Israel’s captivity are found throughout Hosea’s writings. In fact, the verses in today’s reading (Hosea 14:1–4) are the prophet’s recommended prayer of repentance for Israel’s repeated idolatry, which constituted spiritual adultery against God.
 

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Titus 2:11 KJV
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,


Walk with Me

A few years ago, a popular song hit the charts, with a gospel choir singing the chorus, “Jesus walks with me.” Behind the lyrics lies a powerful story.

The choir was started by jazz musician Curtis Lundy when he entered a treatment program for cocaine addiction. Drawing fellow addicts together and finding inspiration in an old hymnal, he wrote that chorus as a hymn of hope for those in rehab. “We were singing for our lives,” one choir member says of the song. “We were asking Jesus to save us, to help us get out of the drugs.” Another found that her chronic pain subsided when she sang the song. That choir wasn’t just singing words on a sheet but offering desperate prayers for redemption.

Today’s Scripture reading describes their experience well. In Christ, our God has appeared to offer salvation to all people (Titus 2:11). While eternal life is part of this gift (v. 13), God is working on us now, empowering us to regain self-control, say no to worldly passions, and redeem us for life with Him (vv. 12, 14). As the choir members found, Jesus doesn’t just forgive our sins—He frees us from destructive lifestyles.

Jesus walks with me. And you. And anyone who cries out to Him for help. He’s with us, offering hope for the future and salvation now.


Reflect & Pray
What do you need Jesus to change in you today? How desperate are you for Him to do it?

Dear Jesus, I need You. Forgive my sins, free me from destructive habits, and change me from the inside out.


Insight
Titus was one of many young protégés that the apostle Paul had mentored in ministry. In addition to traveling and serving with him, Titus also carried messages back and forth between Paul and the troubled church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:6–9). A gentile who had come to faith in Christ (Galatians 2:3), Titus eventually was entrusted with leading the work of the gospel in the church of Crete (Titus 1:5). The theme of grace is a regular one for Paul in many of his letters (see especially Galatians and Ephesians), and it’s at the heart of today’s text: “The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11). Paul was continually drawing people away from a faith rooted in religious works and focusing instead on God’s free gift to us in Christ.
 

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Matthew 25:40 KJV
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.


A Hot Meal

Barbecue chicken, green beans, spaghetti, rolls. On a cool day in October, at least fifty-four homeless people received this hot meal from a woman celebrating fifty-four years of life. The woman and her friends decided to forgo her usual birthday dinner in a restaurant, choosing instead to cook and serve meals to people on the streets of Chicago. On social media, she encouraged others to also perform a random act of kindness as a birthday gift.

This story reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40). He said these words after declaring that His sheep will be invited into His eternal kingdom to receive their inheritance (vv. 33–34). At that time, Jesus will acknowledge that they’re the people who fed and clothed Him because of their genuine faith in Him, unlike the proud religious people who did not believe in Him (see 26:3–5). Although the “righteous” will question when they fed and clothed Jesus (25:37), He'll assure them that what they did for others was also done for Him (v. 40).

Feeding the hungry is just one way God helps us care for His people—showing our love for Him and relationship with Him. May He help us meet others’ needs today.


Reflect & Pray
What acts of kindness can you do today to show God’s love to others? How are you also caring for Him when you help meet their needs?

Gracious God, please help me to show Your love through my actions today.


Insight
Matthew describes a life of service devoted to the “least of these” who are “brothers and sisters of mine” (Matthew 25:40). The idea of serving those in need being a way of serving God indirectly is also captured in Proverbs 19:17, which says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”

Since elsewhere in Matthew, Jesus’ “family” is defined as those who do “the will of my Father in heaven” (12:50), Matthew here seems focused primarily on the treatment of believers in Jesus who were vulnerable and in need due to taking great risks in service to Him. Since Jesus was sending His followers to do dangerous work on behalf of His kingdom, His words here would have assured them that He was with them in their struggles.
 

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Proverbs 15:1 KJV
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.


Warning Sounds

Ever had a close encounter with a rattlesnake? If so, you might have noticed that the sound of the rattle seemed to get more intense as you moved nearer to the viper. Research in the scientific journal Current Biology reveals that the snakes do increase their rattling rate when a threat is approaching. This “high-frequency mode” can cause us to think they’re closer than they are. As one researcher put it, “The misinterpretation of distance by the listener . . . creates a distance safety margin.”

People can sometimes use increasing volume with harsh words that push others away during a conflict—exhibiting anger and resorting to shouting. The writer of Proverbs shares some wise advice for times like these: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). He goes on to say that “soothing” and “wise” words can be “a tree of life” and a source of “knowledge” (vv. 4, 7).

Jesus provided the ultimate reasons for gently appealing to those with whom we enter into conflict: extending love that reveals us to be His children (Matthew 5:43–45) and seeking reconciliation—“[winning] them over” (18:15). Instead of raising our voice or using unkind words during conflicts, may we show civility, wisdom, and love to others as God guides us by His Spirit.


Reflect & Pray
Why can it be difficult to be gentle and loving in a conflict? How can the Holy Spirit help you carefully choose your words and actions?

Heavenly Father, help me to lovingly address issues with those with whom I disagree.


Insight
The power of our words is a common theme of Scripture. Four of today’s seven proverbs (Proverbs 15:1–7) address the importance of how we use our tongues. Many of the statements contrast the positive and negative use of words. Solomon noted that our words reflect what’s in our hearts: words of knowledge reveal that a person is wise, but a “fool gushes folly” (v. 2).

Jesus repeated this wisdom in Matthew 15:1–20. In discussing what makes a person unclean, He said it isn’t what goes into a person but rather what comes out of the mouth that makes one unclean, for that which comes out of the mouth reveals what’s in the heart. Defiled speech reveals a defiled heart (vv. 11, 18–20).
 

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Hebrews 3:13 KJV
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.


Mutual Encouragement

After another week of being beaten down by more medical setbacks, I slumped onto the sofa. I didn’t want to think about anything. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. I couldn’t even pray. Discouragement and doubt weighed me down as I turned on the television. I began watching a commercial showing a little girl talking to her younger brother. “You’re a champion,” she said. As she continued affirming him, his grin grew. So did mine.

God’s people have always struggled with discouragement and doubt. Quoting Psalm 95, which affirms that God’s voice can be heard through the Holy Spirit, the writer of Hebrews warned believers in Jesus to avoid the mistakes made by the Israelites while wandering in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:7–11). “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God,” he wrote. “But encourage one another daily” (vv. 12–13).

With our lifeline of hope secured in Christ, we can experience the power-packed fuel we need to persevere: mutual encouragement within the fellowship of believers (v. 13). When one believer doubts, other believers can offer affirmation and accountability. As God strengthens us, His people, we can offer the power of mutual encouragement to one another.


Reflect & Pray
How has God used the affirming words of someone in your life to comfort and encourage you during a difficult time? How can you encourage others with your words today?

Loving God, help me live for You and lift others up in love with my words and actions.


Insight
Because of severe persecution, Jewish believers in Jesus were pressured to revert to Judaism (Hebrews 10:32–39). To encourage them to persevere in their faith, the writer of Hebrews told them to fix their thoughts on Jesus as their supreme example (3:1–6; 12:2–3) instead of their unfaithful ancestors who missed the blessing of entering the promised land (3:7–11). With an emphasis on “today” (vv. 7, 13, 15), he urged them to obey God daily and help each other every day, so they wouldn’t develop an “unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (v. 12) and thus forfeit the blessings of salvation (v. 18).