Bible Verse for Today

And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
— 2 Corinthians 8:5 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Paul was surprised at the Macedonians' generosity to the Lord's work for two reasons. First, they were very impoverished and didn't have much to share. Second, rather than viewing what they had as their own, they gave themselves to God and then to his servants who were asking for their help in ministering to...

 

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
— Acts 8:4 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...When someone tries to stomp out the flame of dry broom weed, the sparks fly upward and ride upon the wind, spreading the flame far and wide. As Satan tried to use persecution to discourage the early church, the very martyrdom and persecution that drove these Christians from their homes was used by God to spread the message wherever they went. Each believer was a spark...

 

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
— Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God gives us two gifts that fulfill the Law's righteous demands, but which the...

 

... through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
— Romans 8:2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Praise God! We are delivered from law-keeping and enabled to live out the will of God in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit!

My Prayer...Thank you, dear Father, for your grace and mercy. Praise you, God Almighty, for your incredible sacrifice to bring my pardon. Glory and honor to you, O Sovereign LORD, for your gift of the Holy...

 

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
— Psalm 8:1 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...These two concepts seem to be contradictory, or at least unconnected. On the one hand, God's name is majestic in this plain ol' transitory space we call earth, but at the same time he is glorious and above the highest heavens. This collision of different worlds is played out in the life of Israel. It is made clear in the life, death, and...

 

For this world in its present form is passing away.
— 1 Corinthians 7:31 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...This often repeated theme in the New Testament and from the lips of Jesus should be the great reminder that we shouldn't spend our lives working for what is temporary.

My Prayer...Lord God Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the Eternal I Am, thank you for being what everything else in the world cannot be. Please awaken my heart to things of eternal significance and open my eyes...

 

At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?"
— John 7:30-31 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...The enemies of Jesus had tried repeatedly to seize him. Yet the Gospel of John reminds us again and again that no one could seize Jesus until he offered himself up to them. Jesus followed God's timetable just...

 

"Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
— 2 Samuel 7:29 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...God had blessed King David incredibly -- from a shepherd boy to King, from an errand boy to a war hero, from a small town to the leader of a great empire. David's concern, however, was that God stay close to him and his...

 

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
— Matthew 7:28-29 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Unlike the teachers of his day, Jesus didn't have to shore up his teaching with obscure quotes from past teachers. Jesus, the Word of God, spoke the very words of God. He did and said what the Father willed. His life and his words had the ring of authenticity and an...

 

"But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
— John 7:27 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God in human flesh is how John 1:14 describes Jesus, God's ultimate message (cf. Heb. 1:1-3). Of course this is a mystery that we cannot fully fathom. It is beyond our human experience and limited reality. Jesus' critics want to easily characterize him as someone who cannot be Messiah because they think they know where he is from. They are wrong...