Category: Verse for the Day

Verse for the Day – 2 Peter 1:3

Carolyn
Every day when I look for a verse, I’m amazed at how many there are! God’s Word does give us all we need for life and godliness. That’s then where I found today’s verse, in 2 Peter 1:3:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (ESV)
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you have given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness by your divine power and through the knowledge of You who has called us to Your own glory and excellence. We want full and abundant life and godliness in You; in fact, we don’t just want it, we have it in You. Let us grasp that which You have given to us. Let the knowledge of You, the One who called us by and for Your own glory and excellence, transform and purify us by the grace of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Verse for the Day – Jude 24-25

Carolyn

Jude 24-25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” (NKJV)

God is able to keep us from stumbling. My Bible notes point out that we can’t really stumble unless we are already walking or running – as in a race, like we read in Hebrews 12:1-2 last week. Remember we are in a race. God can keep us from stumbling.

He can also present us faultless, without blame, and with great joy, before the presence of His glory. My Bible notes (The Nelson NKJV Study Bible) point out: “Faultless is a Greek word used of sacrificial animals that had no blemish and thus were fit to be offered to God. Only God can save us, cleanse us from our sins, and present us to Himself as faultless, for God is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (see Heb.12:2).” Again a reference to our verses last week – He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, originating it and keeping it.

PRAYER: Lord, we praise You that You are able to keep us from stumbling. Help us to look to You for help in our race of faith. Praise You that You are able to present us faultless before You by the blood of Jesus and His righteousness. We say and affirm Jude 25 then, “To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

Verse for the Day – Isaiah 26:8

Carolyn

The words of this verse have been running through my head the last day or two.

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)

I’ve been thinking a lot about those two things. Walking in His ways, and His Name and renown.

In our culture, it can be hard to walk in His ways. So many things conspire against us. Some days you can almost feel the tidal wave sucking you under with the lies of our world. So many things that are against God are actually celebrated in our culture. It can come at you from every direction, and you must fight against it to believe otherwise.

We really can’t walk in the ways of the Lord if we don’t know truth and what those ways are. And we can’t know truth and His ways if we don’t know His Word. So stay in the Word.

Then what is the desire of our hearts? That’s a big question, isn’t it? Even if we think we know, we might not. Is the Lord’s name and renown (fame, widespread repute) our heart’s desire?

I think one of the most natural tendencies we have as humans is to be concerned with ourselves, to be self-absorbed, to think about our wants and needs and desires, to crave to be known, to matter, to have attention on us. I see it in myself often – pride and selfishness.

Yet the Lord can radically redirect that when we submit to Him. Rather than my own desires being first in my mind, He can become first in my mind. And as I seek Him and His ways, He redirects my passions and desires to those that truly satisfy and bring joy. Those are all found in Him! And somewhere along that path, walking in His ways, looking at Him, we see He is everything, and His Name and renown become the desire of our hearts. He will be at the center of our lives, on the throne.

You will often get mixed messages about these things, but look to God and His ways, and watch as He becomes your heart’s greatest desire – to make Him known – all for His great glory and your incredible satisfaction and joy.

PRAYER: Lord, may we walk in your ways by knowing them through your Word and following You in the power of Your Spirit. May we resist what isn’t true and give up selfish desires to see You, Your Name and renown, indeed become the desire of our hearts. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Verse for the Day – 1 Peter 5:7

Carolyn

When I was “chaplain” of my college sorority, each time we met, I would get to bring a devotion. (If you know me, you can imagine this was a great challenge, not so much in thinking of what to share, but in the act of public speaking before my peers!)

One week I made bookmarks for everyone in the sorority with today’s verse, and that worn bookmark still sits in my college Bible. Today’s verse is short and simple:

1 Peter 5:7: “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (ESV)

Sometimes I realize as I am going through my day that I have several small things on my mind. They aren’t things I’m overly concerned about, and yet they cause just the slightest uneasiness in me. I often don’t pray about them because they do seem minor, and sometimes, if I’m honest, I actually don’t want to take the time and thought that prayer requires to bring these anxieties to the Lord. But I’m trying to remember this verse and present them before the Lord, as He invites us to do, because He cares for us.

The verse says to cast “all” your anxieties (fears, cares, concerns, worries) on Him, because He cares for you! Isn’t that a wonderful reminder that God cares for you. He welcomes and invites you to bring these things to Him, which, along with other Scriptures, indicates to me that He can handle them and give you peace, knowing they are with your heavenly Father.

This morning, I took time to lay all those things, small and big, that have weighed on my heart before the Lord. It was interesting to see how as I did, He even convicted me about some things in these areas of anxiety in my life. I’m looking forward to seeing how He provides in each circumstance.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank you that you are such a personal, caring, and intimate God that you welcome us to bring our needs and cares before You. Thank You that You are more than able to handle these things and provide for us abundantly in them. Please give us peace as we give these burdens to You. And may we see You working as we do this and be encouraged to do it over and over again. We praise You this day, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Verse for the Day – Psalm 51:7

Carolyn
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When I woke up and looked out the window, I immediately thought of Psalm 51:7 which says:
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (ESV)
Though we may be tired of all the snow this winter, it is breathtakingly beautiful to me. When it first falls, it’s so clean and white, and we can understand what this verse is telling us. When Jesus washes away our sins, we are white as that snow. As the LORD also says in Isaiah 1:18, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isn’t that a beautiful picture?Psalm 51 was written by David after he had committed adultery and murder. It is a “penitential” psalm, a prayer of repentance. Hyssop was the small bushy plant used by the Israelites that first Passover when they brushed the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, so that the LORD would pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to enter their houses and strike them with the death of their firstborn as happened to the Egyptians (Exodus 12).David is saying, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” I love David’s confident declaration and belief that if God would purge and wash him, he would be clean. He doesn’t say, “Purge me and I might be clean” or “Purge me, and I’ll try to live life better.” He says, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” It’s a fact. True repentance leads to forgiveness of sin by the One able to give it.Jesus is the One who can do that. He is the sacrificial Lamb whose blood was shed and used to purge us and cleanse us and wash us and make us whiter than snow! White as snow! Clean and beautiful and able to walk then forward in the forgiveness Jesus has given us. Not by the works we have done, but by the blood of the Lamb, given for us. Praise the Lord!

PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, help us to understand and to know, like David, that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and that through Jesus, we are clean. Let us today remember the great cost by which you gave your Son and by which He paid for our sins, and let us walk in the freedom from sin that He has provided. Thank you for full and complete redemption in Jesus’ Name. Amen.