Bible Verse for Today

Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
— Psalm 96:9 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Don't you really appreciate the phrase "the splendor of his holiness" and long to behold that splendor? It conjures up reminders of Isaiah's encounter with God in Isaiah 6 or John's vision of Jesus in Revelation 1. God's essence -- known in the Old Testament as his glory and his holiness -- can be described only as splendorous! Our only fitting response is...

 

For our God is a consuming fire.
— Hebrews 12:29 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...We should worship God with reverence because he is a consuming fire! Mmm. What does that mean? Is the focus on his holiness? Does this warn of judgment? Is this an expression of his purity? Yes, YES, YES! You see, God is holy and pure and righteous. Our imperfections, flaws, failures, and sins stand out glaringly in comparison to his perfection. Yet, rather than destroying us with his holy fire, he can...

 

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge ...
— Psalm 91:4 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Life is filled with many uncertainties. You never know when something unexpected is going to happen. You have no idea when the next disaster will strike. In a world filled with hate and terrorism, none of us has a clue when the next horrible atrocity will take place. So what do we do when we can't be sure of our circumstances? We take shelter under the wing...

 

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
— Exodus 15:13 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...As a minister, I am privileged to be present at many of the most important events in people's lives. Good or bad, to be there at the crossroads of life is a sacred trust. In those moments that are hardest, dying and death, verses like this one fill my heart with strength and remind me why I answered a call to...

 

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you -- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
— Exodus 15:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...With whom do you compare the incomparable? How do you grasp the infinite with a finite mind? When the quintessence of majesty is the God you contemplate, how can you ever speak of majesty about anything else? God exhausts our superlatives. God's glory bewilders our imaginations. God's greatness exceeds our wildest dreams...

 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
— Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Peace is more than the mercurial, vaporous, whimsical wish of folks who just want everyone to get along and things to be calm. The peace the apostle Paul is describing here, peace with God, goes much...

 

If you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
— 1 Samuel 12:15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Dietrich Bonhoeffer said more than 50 years ago that grace had become cheapened. I wonder what he would say today? I'm all for grace, but I'm horrified at the cost by which it came. I can't for the life of me understand how we can so often claim to have received it and yet bear no resemblance in character to...

 

That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
— 1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Following a list of vices, both scandalous and common, Paul finishes with this incredible word of grace. We all have a tendency to live in the land of "I-used-to-be." For some of us, our past accomplishments become our excuse to live in the arrogant afterglow of yesterday...

 

Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.
— Proverbs 19:15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...I was raised in a family with three boys. Dad had a theory: A certain amount of testosterone had to be burned off by each boy every day. If it weren't burned off daily, the house would quickly become unlivable. Dad didn't have to memorize Proverbs 19:15 - it was embedded in his DNA! Growing up, I didn't appreciate the importance of hard work. I knew they didn't call it...

 

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
— Psalm 5:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...The last several years have not been easy for believers. Persecution around the world is at an all time high. In the United States, mass murderers specifically targeted those who believed in God. Though executed for their faith, their witness to the LORD has been as inspiring. We have...