Bible Verse for Today

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
— Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Jeremiah was telling God's people that 70 yeasrs after the devastation, God would deliver and restore them. Despite the fact that they had repeatedly abandoned God, he would not abandon them or his promises to them. He would be faithful. In fact, God was planning and preparing a bright future for...

 

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
— Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...This is God's promise to his people after their Messiah comes with healing and power to bless them with the Lord's favor. In many ways, this is our promise as Christians. We do rejoice greatly...

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
— 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Confessing our sins means that we view our sin the same way that God does -- the same revulsion and disdain for them. This kind of confession opens our hearts to the flood of heaven's grace (see Psalm 51). God shares with us the sweet liberation from sin that Jesus purchased at Calvary; our sins are not only forgiven, but we...

 

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
— Micah 6:8 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Sometimes what we need to do is very simple and plain, isn't it? I need to handle those around me justly -- practicing patience and dealing with others in fairness, without partiality. I need to practice mercy -- blessing others in need with what they don't deserve but so greatly need. I need to...

 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
— Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God wants us to seek his blessings. This is not because he wants to manipulate our lives, but because he longs to bless us and have us know the gifts in our lives come from him. So let's seek his presence, his grace, and his blessing.My Prayer...Dear Father, I do need your blessing and guidance. Please bless me in several areas that weigh...

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
— Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Trust. It can't be half-hearted. Either it is full trust or it is clouded with suspicion. So as we face the everyday challenges of life, or as we look for answers in deep and difficult problems, let's put our full trust in the LORD. Let's ask for his wisdom and guidance as we make our...

 

[bless the LORD] who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
— Psalm 103:5 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God is a God of renewal and blessing. His desire to renew and bless us is not just a desire to bless us once with our salvation. God desires to bless us daily. His steadfast love is new every morning as he faithfully pours out his blessings (cf. Lam. 3:23). But more than just giving us what we want, he satisfies us with good...

 

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
— Romans 6:3-4 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Baptism is far more than getting wet or checking off another thing on our obedience to do list. You see, what saves is Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor...

 

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
— Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...The real question behind this promise is very simple: How do I define success for my plans? The answer is very simple as well: bringing glory to God for his grace (see Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). Committing our works and plans to God means surrendering them to God's will (James 4:13-15), trusting that God will be glorified in them (Col. 3:17), and recognizing that it is not in our...

 

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
— Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...This is just another way of saying, "Love your neighbor as yourself!" Jesus came to bear our burdens and carry away the stain and pain of our sin. (Read Isaiah 53 for a powerful description of God's Suffering Servant, a passage quoted in the New Testament in reference to Jesus.) He now asks us to live redemptively, in practical ways, toward those around us...