Bible Verse for Today

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
— Romans 6:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...In baptism, we are united with Christ in his death (see Romans 6:1-14 for the background of this devotional meditation). Our old sinful selves are crucified with Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are alive in Christ -- the one whom sin could not master and death could not conquer. His life is now our life. His victory is our victory. His future is our...

 

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.
— Psalm 10:15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...It is hard not to get discouraged when evil and wicked people get away with what is reprehensible. Christians on every continent have things that greatly trouble them about the evil perpetrated in their corner of the world as corrupt power abuses those who belong to God's people. Let's join together, believers from all around the...

 

I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
— Ezekiel 38:23 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...In a time when God's people were in shambles physically and spiritually, he promises judgment -- judgment on them and their oppressors. But he also reveals why. He will show his greatness and holiness so they will know him, YAHWEH -- God of "his people" and also of all nations. I would love for God...

 

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...