Bible Verse for Today

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
— Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Did you know that God is an artisan? Even more importantly, did you know that you are one of his masterpieces? God has designed us to be beautifully useful for doing good things! So let's not let anyone, especially not the evil one, convince us that we are not worth anything to others or to God. His grace has made our...

 

"Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!"
— Habakkuk 2:9 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...In our "dog eat dog" world, in our race to get to the top and leave all our rivals in a heap at the bottom, God tells us both "Whoa!" and "Woe!" He tells us to stop and realize that Kingdom values are different from worldly values -- that there is no success without service. He also warns us that he will bring us to ruin if we ignore...

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.
— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...As a child, I loved to receive gifts. In such a simple time of life, a gift meant I was loved. I didn't worry about the significance or hidden message in a gift. I wasn't concerned about the "strings attached" to the gift. It was just a gift -- a free expression of love I didn't...

 

... the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
— Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...We are God's creation. He fashioned and formed our original ancestors out of the dust of the ground. He molded each of us and created each of us in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13-16). Like Adam, God fills us with his breath and blesses us with life. We are his workmanship, his artistry, made to...

 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
— Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Jesus is our center! He is the hub around which we turn. Rather than trying to add on to the truth of Jesus, we must learn to accept it and trust it in child-like faith. But that child-like faith must be nourished and grown. As Jesus remains our...

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...
— Philippians 2:5-6 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...What a glorious thought! What a lofty aspiration! What an incredible challenge! I am to have the same attitude as Jesus had. It's almost unthinkable. But just almost! You see, God calls us to this glorious, lofty, and unthinkable height because he calls us his children. He wants us to...

 

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.
— Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...We have no claim to bring to God! We have no right to demand salvation! We have no power within us that can hold on to life! Only God's love can bring us life, hope, and grace. Only God's mercy can bring us salvation. Only God's gift of Christ can awaken us from the...

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
— Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Humility is recognizing who God has made us to be and using that recognition to serve and redeem others. Living in humility as Jesus did, we don't just practice the golden rule, but we go one step better -- we treat others better than we would treat ourselves. Are we instructed to do this because we're unworthy or unfit? No...

 

From inside the fish Jonah prayed ... "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry."
— Jonah 2:1-2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Jonah was disobedient, rebellious, and selfish. He had run from the Lord. He had shunned the Lord's command. He had endangered the lives of those on the ship where he had tried to hide. Yet even in the middle of his rebellion, God heard his cry and delivered him. If...

 

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
— 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...John wants to prevent even one sinful event in the lives of those he loves. He is concerned because he knows that even one sinful event can be used by Satan...