Today’s Verse: And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. ~Mark 9:17-18 Have you experienced a power outage? If you have, you must realize how much you take the use of electricity for granted. When there is a power outage,

Today’s Verse: The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight…. The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. ~Proverbs 15:8, 29 Proverbs 15 has a strong emphasis on the words of our mouth. Our words are our means of communication. Relationships are made, sustained, or broken by our words. Our words can be soft, or they can be hard. Our words can be encouraging, or they can be discouraging

Today’s Verse: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. ~Matthew 13:8 Many years ago when I was in college, my first employer had purchased a newly constructed home in a nice, upscale area of Contra Costa County. He discovered that his house was sinking in the front. A soil test was conducted to determine if the soil was buildable soil. Needless to say, it was not, and he was involved in a lengthy lawsuit

Today’s Verse: And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? ~Mark 8:17 Discernment is the ability to make good judgment on a matter or subject. It is being able to take a set of facts and come to a reasonable and proper decision. A vital aspect of spiritual maturity is our ability to discern good from evil, good doctrine from bad doctrine, and what God is trying t

Today’s Verse: Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. ~Isaiah 37:23 I read a story about an elderly woman who walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely. "The front row, please," she answered. "You really don't want to do that," the u

Today’s Verse: And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ~2 Samuel 24:24 A chaplain was ministering to a soldier in the hospital and said, “You have lost an arm in the great cause.” The soldier replied, “I didn't lose it; I gave it.” This morning, we want to consider a

Today’s Verse: And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ~Revelation 20:4 When we look at things from a human or earthly perspective, we think that bad things t

Today’s Verse: And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. ~Numbers 7:89 Mercy is sympathy exercised towards someone who is under fire for a crime. It is compassionate forbearance shown toward an offender or enemy. It is the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or

Today’s Verse: And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? ~Exodus 17:7 How strong is your faith in God? The strength of our faith is best determined during times of difficulty and testing. It is always when our resources are lacking and there are no immediate answers. It is when we receive unexpected news and we feel like our world has crash

Today’s Verse: O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. ~Psalm 119:97 When you are very much in love with your spouse, you are described as head over heels in love. For several consecutive verses in Psalm 119, the psalmist has indicated the stress and difficulty that he has had in his afflictions and how much God’s Word has sustained him. It is a lesson on how and why we must cling tightly to God’s Word for our life. In Psalm 119:97-104, we see the psalmist excl

Today’s Verse: And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. ~Mark 6:5 In Mark 6, the emphasis is on the mighty work of God. A mighty work implies something accomplished by superior power or strength. It is an accomplishment not possible by human power. It is demonstrative of God at work. However, when Jesus returned to the villages of Galilee where He grew up, we are told that “he could there do no mighty work.” How

Today’s Verse: She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. ~Mark 14:8 Have you ever found yourself dreaming about what you would do if you had a substantial amount of money or talent? Maybe something like, “If I had $10,000,000, I would do something big.” “If I had that ability, I would use it to solve some problem.” The truth is, we have in our possession a lot more than we realize, and much of it is not being put to as good a use as

Today’s Verse: Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: ~1 Corinthians 5:7 The Feast of the Passover was deeply embedded into Jewish life. On the night that the Passover was instituted, every household was to take an unblemished lamb of the first year, kill it, apply its blood to the doorposts and threshold, roast the body with herbs, and eat it. What they did that might was a beaut

Today’s Verse: But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: ~Ezra 3:12 When we think of our physical, spiritual, and emotional makeup, we can echo what the psalmist said that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The trichotomy of man—spirit, soul, and body—are so intricately tied together.

Today’s Verse: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. ~1 Corinthians 13:13 First Corinthians 13 has been labeled “the love chapter.” The Greek word for love or charity refers to God’s uninhibited and boundless love. It is loving as God loves. It is the highest virtue of the spiritual life that incorporates God’s holiness in its attributes. Of the three virtues of faith, hope, and charity, the greatest is love. We see the preem

Today’s Verse: And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. ~Mark 5:15 Are you someone who has a sound mind? This means that your thoughts and passions are under control. It implies the idea of being sober-minded, sane, and in the right frame of mind. This morning, we see a man who is sitting next to Jesus who is described as being in his right mind. Let us see wha

Today’s Verse: And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. ~Genesis 37:5 Guards who stand on duty to protect people, property, and security do so at great cost to their bodies and lives. They accept their responsibility, knowing the cost. There is a cost associated with doing anything important or doing it for someone who is important. This morning, let us see the cost of duty as seen in the life of Joseph. Joseph pictures for us

Today’s Verse: Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. ~Colossians 4:6 Do you like food that is bland and tasteless? If you are like me, you probably like your food seasoned with salt. Salt gives food just the right taste! It takes something ordinary and gives it just that right balance to make it palatable and delicious. Paul uses the metaphor of salt to help us understand the importance of saying the right

Today’s Verse: Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. ~Haggai 2:19 If you grew up in the city, you might take for granted the importance of the seeds that need to be sown and planted for fruits and vegetables. If we lived in a rural country setting, we would most likely preserve the seeds of the vegetables and fruits that we eat and replant them for a

Today’s Verse: But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. ~Proverbs 4:18 When traveling, it is always important to know that you are on the right path. We can easily find ourselves going in the wrong direction if we do not follow a map, make a wrong turn, or ignore the instructions. This morning, let us see the importance of being on the right path for our entire life. We see that it is restricted. The path of the just i