Bible Verse for Today

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
— Psalm 51:12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...In the face of sin and separation from God, grace is a refreshing stream that restores salvation. But the joy of salvation is found only when we realize and accept the forgiveness, grace, and restoration God has given us -- when we drink from the stream of grace. The joy of salvation is sustained in a changed lifestyle and an ongoing recognition that we...

 

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
— Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Rather than seeing this as a way to get our wish list granted, let's see it for what it really is -- an invitation to seek a love relationship with God above all other things. In finding him, we will find our priorities properly aligned and our hearts tuned to know what is really valuable and what is not. Then we will see that what we have in him is our hearts'...

 

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
— Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...If there is anything we don't like to do, it's wait. Maybe that is why God is so interested in us learning to do it! There is something purifying about remaining strong in tough times and remaining faithful when ill winds blow. So God gives us times of waiting to see if our search is really for him or merely for something new or easy.

My Prayer...Loving Father, I know you...

 

The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.
— Psalm 25:14-15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Where does true deliverance come from? Only from God. Deliverance is found in God through deep reverential respect for his holiness and might, through living in covenant relationship with him, and through maintaining our focus on him. Any other roads to deliverance are false and...

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
— Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God does so much for us. He is the Strength and Promise that undergirds our lives. He is the One who has saved us from sin and death. Our worship comes from our gratitude for what he has done, recognition of who he is, and anticipation of what he is going to do. But worship can never be compartmentalized to just fit into...

 

How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
— 2 Samuel 7:22 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse..."I am Yahweh, who saved you out of Egypt. You must never have any other god, but me!" The Lord God Almighty at the beginning of the Ten Commandments reminded us of this central, seminal, and consummate truth. What else is there to say?

My Prayer...Holy, Righteous, and Only Living God, I hold you in the highest...

 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
— Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Don't be molded by the world. Wow, isn't that a tough one to obey. It's a reminder that what we think is one of the places of greatest spiritual warfare. Sloppy thinking is more than sloppy; it's dangerous because we are fed messages...

 

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
— Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...When Israel lay devastated in the face of a ruthless enemy that would rob all the glory and strip bare the very soul of God's people, God issues his promise. While the destruction visited upon them was in response to their rebellion and sin, God's punishment wasn't punitive alone, but redemptive. In...

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
— Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...When things are tough, I find it easy to call on God and lean on his mercy and grace. He's my ripcord Savior. But I must confess, when I'm reveling in his blessings and things are going well, I am so much like the Israelites and forget to acknowledge that all the blessings I have and all...

 

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
— Psalm 62:8 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...It is so hard to share the secrets of our hearts with anyone. We want to keep our secret failings, embarrassments, and sins hidden. We fear that others would reject us and we would shame ourselves if anyone knew the secret sludge in our hearts. But hidden sin is only hidden from us. It is not hidden from our Father. Hidden sin festers in our hearts and...