Today’s Verse Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. ~Psalm 20:7 Perhaps one of the most powerful names in the world today is President Donald Trump. When he first became president, there were many skeptics, doubters, and mockers. Yet, he has proven himself a strong, resolute, and unflinching leader. Regardless of what you think about him, his name is held in high regard among world leaders. There is a greater name that every believer can have 100% trust and faith in: the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us see how the name of the Lord gives us unfailing help. We see the praying in His name. “Now know I that the LORD saveth his anoint

Today’s Verse For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. ~Jeremiah 42:20 The Apostle Paul uses the term “itching ears” in 2 Timothy 4:3 to describe people who want teachers who tell them what they want to hear. These are people who want to hear what pleases them or what coincides with what they want to do. In Jeremiah 42-45, we have the tragic results of itching ears. We see the concern. “And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God,

Today’s Verse Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? ~Daniel 3:15 We live in an age where there is an increase in the number of people who either do not believe in God or say that they are undecided. However, like in Nebuchadnezzar’s day, everyone has a god they bow to. In his case, he made a monstrous, golden image of himself that he demanded everyone in the kingdom to bow to.

Today’s Verse Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. ~Jeremiah 38:8-9 The name “Ebedmelech” means “servant of the king.” It most likely was a name given to him by King Zedekiah since he was an Ethiopian by ethnicity. Ebedmelech is a lesson about doing the right thing with the information you have. He is a lesson on the passion of a committed servant. We see his alertness. “Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs

Today’s Verse The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. ~Daniel 2:47 Have you ever had a dream that you couldn’t remember? Have you ever had a dream that you couldn’t remember and asked other people to tell you what the dream was about? That’s what King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did. All of the men who practiced astrology and occultic witchcraft could not help him. When Daniel found out that all the wise men in the kingdom were to be slain for their inability to tell the king what he dreamed, Daniel asked for a little time to pray over this situation. Dani

Today’s Verse Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: ~Isaiah 7:6 The king of Israel and the king of Syria made an alliance to fight with the king of Judah. This evil alliance said, “Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us.” The phrase “make a breach therein” means to rip open, divide, or break down. Cities were protected by high exterior walls. On these walls were towers for watchmen to be on the lookout. The way into a city would be to breach the walls. These walls were a first line of defense for the safety of a city. This morning, who or what is tryi

Today’s Verse And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? ~Judges 13:18 Growing up as a kid, other kids who were friends would sometimes come to me on the side and say, “Do you want to hear a secret?” Of course, if it is a secret, they shouldn’t be telling me! However, there is something about the nature of a secret that captures our attention. It is being privy to information that supposedly only privileged people have access to. The government uses the term “classified information” and adults tell each other “privileged information.” In reality, many secrets wind up being gossip or hearsay. This morning, the angel of the Lord asked Mano

Today’s Verse And he must needs go through Samaria. ~John 4:4 The word “necessity” implies something of the highest priority. It is what we have to do. It is what we make essential and imperative. As we consider the Christian life, we must be clear on what the high priorities of our life are. Jesus was returning to Galilee and had to go through Samaria to get there. Let us consider the urgency of necessity. There is the “must need” of the gospel. “And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent” (Luke 4:43). The gospel is for all men. In Acts 1:8, God commands that the gospel be preached in cities, in counties, on coastlines, in the count

Today’s Verse He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. ~Psalm 18:16 Perhaps the most heart-pounding programs to watch are the ones that have filmed daring and heroic rescues. Some of the most incredible rescues I’ve seen are those of people trapped in raging waters. These people are swept up by the torrent of the ocean or river water. They are in great jeopardy as they are being pummeled by the waters. David uses a similar simile to compare how he was in very bad trouble and needed help. Let us see how the Lord delivers out of many waters. We see David’s distress. David wrote Psalm 18 to praise the Lord for delivering him from Saul and all his enemies. It is recorded in

Today’s Verse There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. ~Proverbs 30:18-19 Solomon drew illustrations from the natural world to teach us practical, scriptural principles. In today’s study, he uses an eagle in the air, a serpent slithering on a rock, and the way of a ship in the midst of the seas as powerful metaphors. An eagle soaring in the air looks harmless until it sees prey that it wants from a distance, and then it descends at lightning speed to catch it. A serpent slithering on a rock looks harmless as it

Today’s Verse Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. ~James 5:1 Is it wrong or a sin to be rich? Does God despise rich people? When we read James’ epistle, we see that he had to address many things that were wrong about those who were rich. These rich people were being warned so that they would repent of their behavior. James gave them a stern warning about coming judgment if they did not repent. In effect, he told them that they would be rich men who would become poor men. Let us see, this morning, God’s Word concerning riches. We see the understanding. A rich man is someone who has much more in accumulations, money, and wealth than others. He is s

Today’s Verse And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: ~Luke 10:41 Do you ever get overwhelmed? By this, I am referring to feeling forgotten, overloaded, stressed, underappreciated, and anxious. It is one thing to feel overwhelmed with family cares, financial burdens, and long-term illness. It is another thing when we are overwhelmed because we are “cumbered about much serving.” We see the reason. Martha was “cumbered about much serving.” The word “cumbered” means that she was over-occupied and too busy about a thing. In short, she was overwhelmed. Some of us have a perfectionist way of doing things, and when things do not match u

Today’s Verse To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ~Ephesians 1:6 Every high-school senior sits on pins and needles from February to June as he anxiously awaits receiving letters from colleges that he has applied to for college. There is a great feeling of elation and jubilation when the opening sentence of a letter says, “The college of admissions has accepted you into its program this Fall.” “Accepted” implies “approved,” “confirmed,” “preferred,” and “welcomed.” This morning, let us see one of the great assurances of our salvation in the beautiful phrase “accepted in the beloved.” We see the favor. This is one of the spiritual blessing

Today’s Verse And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: ~2 Chronicles 26:17 A whistleblower is someone who makes a public disclosure regarding behavior that is corrupt and wrong. He is someone who is willing to accept the ramifications of retaliation and setback in order to do the right thing. This morning, we see a powerful incident when a righteous man blew the whistle on the highest-ranking man in Judah. We see Azariah and his consecration. Azariah was the high priest in the nation of Judah. He was a man set apart for the service of God. He was a descendant of Aaron. He was responsible for the Passover and the Day of Atone

Today’s Verse A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. ~Proverbs 22:3 Foresight is the ability to plan and look ahead. It is taking known facts, experiences garnered, and wise counsel in making good preparations. Solomon said that a person who uses foresight is prudent and wise. Let us see, this morning, how foresight is proactive, preventive, prudent, and a priority. We must have foresight for our stress. Stress is the pressure and anxiety we feel when unplanned problems or setbacks come into our life. Stress affects every area of our life. Even though we cannot anticipate when unplanned problems come, we can be proactive in how we deal

Today’s Verse He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. ~Song of Solomon 2:4 Today is my wife’s birthday, and I rejoice in how God has blessed her life. It is also Valentine’s Day, a day symbolizing love and romance, especially for husbands and wives. Some people would say that “love is in the air” on Valentine’s Day. The Shulamite woman had a very beautiful description of the love that Solomon had for her. She said, “His banner over me was love.” The word for banner is the same word that describes the standard that the tribes of Israel displayed outside of their respective camp. This banner, or flag, represented who they were and that they were not ashamed of i

Today’s Verse But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. ~Isaiah 63:10 Grief is sorrow that we experience when someone we know or love passes away. The use of the word “grieve” has a broader meaning. It means to have hurt, pain, sadness, aching, and suffering. The word “vex” is closely associated with the word “grieve.” Isaiah speaks about the Holy Spirit being vexed, or grieved. Perhaps one of the most overlooked areas of our spiritual life is when we have vexed, or grieved, the Holy Spirit. We see the cause. “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit.” Our disobedience is a major reason why the Holy Spirit is grie

Today’s Verse Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. ~Philippians 2:30 The recent passing of a famous and talented sports personality in a tragic accident gripped the hearts of our nation, the basketball community, and his hometown where he played. When news of his tragic passing occurred, everyone was stunned. One retired sports personality said that this news changed his priorities and how he treated his relationships. Epaphroditus was “nigh unto death.” If you knew that you did not have long to live, how would this affect your priorities in life? It should affect our work. Epaphroditus was a servant of the L

Today’s Verse And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. ~ 2 Kings 4:9 Hospitality is when we open our hearts and our homes to take care of other people. It is a means of making a visitor feel welcome, accepted, and encouraged. A woman who lived in Shunem opened her home up to Elisha the prophet. She did not know he was a prophet at the time, but extended hospitality to this stranger who came through her city more than once. She recognized that there was something uniquely different about this stranger that she entertained. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passe

Today’s Verse Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. ~Leviticus 18:2 Words that recur in a book of the Bible, in a chapter, or in a verse are given to get our full attention. In the book of Leviticus, the dogmatic phrase “I am the LORD your God” is used 45 times. The use of this phrase underscores and emphasizes the preeminence of God’s holiness in our life. We see the explanation. “I am the LORD your God.” First, it refers to our redemption. God has redeemed, or bought, us out of sin through the precious, shed blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been bought with a price. Second, it refers to our relationship. We have a personal relationshi