Bible Verse for Today

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
— Luke 3:8 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Grace is given to us as a free gift. It cannot be earned or merited. But salvation that does not move us out of our self-destructive and rebellious ways is counterfeit. Repentance is a life change. It is a realization that we have been going the wrong way on a one-way street. It is an acknowledgement that trying to guide our own lives is always going to end in disappointment, disaster, and death...

 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
— 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Far from being a vindictive God looking for some reason to condemn us, God wants all people, of all races and languages, to come to know him, to turn to him in repentance, and follow his Son as Lord and Savior. That's why Jesus came (cf. John 3:16)! That's why Jesus' return has...

 

How can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
— Romans 10:15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...How beautiful are your feet? People with beautiful feet are either "sending folks" or they are "going folks" who share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Which are you? If we're not one of those two options, we're Christians with ugly feet. Now would anybody want that to be said of him or her? So let's make a...

 

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
— 1 Thessalonians 1:2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Why is it so hard to share with others that we have thanked God for bringing them into our lives? God let his Son Jesus know his love and approval. Remember his words at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration? "This is my Son, whom I love ...." The apostle Paul also let the struggling churches he started know that he was praying for them regularly (cf. Philippians...

 

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Paul gives the Philippians this promise only after he has emphasized to them that he had found the Lord's grace sufficient in good times and tough times, in times of plenty and in times of lack. The key to this promise is not just God's provision, but also our trust in him to satisfy what we most need in Christ Jesus. When our hearts yearn to be...

 

Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
— Psalm 10:12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...We are very much aware that we live in a broken world. Unfortunately, our broken world is also filled with broken people. In days of pain and anguish, in days when those who hurt know their helplessness, we have no other source than God to whom we can turn. The LORD, the covenant God of Israel, who kept his promises, preserved his people and produced his Messiah, is also...

 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
— James 1:27 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Yesterday James reminded us how important our "talk" is. Today he reminds us about our walk. True religion is not all talk. We must live and love as Christ did. Caring for widows, orphans, and others who are forgotten and overlooked while we are keeping ourselves holy...

 

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
— James 1:26 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse..."It's no big deal!" That's the whine of a believer rationalizing vulgar, inappropriate, or hurtful speech. However, a friend confessed to me a long time ago, "Our moral plunge in the office began when we let our language slip. It didn't seem like that big a deal at the time, but what it led to was...

 

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
— Psalm 10:14 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Just as God saw the plight of the Israelites in Egypt and heard their cries for help, he still sees and hears today. But now, he hears not only because he is omnipotent; he hears also because of the intercession of his Son and our Savior, Jesus. Jesus has been here. Jesus has faced the...

 

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
— Acts 2:41 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Wow! Wouldn't it be great to see 3,000 added to God's people in church today? Those who accepted Peter's message at Pentecost were baptized and the early church started with an incredible bang. Earlier that day, only a small group of Jesus' followers had met to pray just as they had done for several days since Jesus' ascension. As...