Today’s Verse: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ~Proverbs 15:1 We live in a very angry and enraged society. It is a society where many people live on the edge of being very defensive against accusations, confrontation, rudeness, and presumed personal attack. When two people meet regarding an area of concern, there is a strong likelihood that one of them will blow up and go off on a verbal tirade against the other. In the end, strong and hurt

Today’s Verse: My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. ~Psalm 45:1 Of the many descriptions of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must never neglect the fact that He is King. Being a king implies absolute authority, a conqueror, dominion, control, power, and majesty. There is no one higher than a king. A king leads and conquers. A king acquires and possesses. A king is deserving of the adora

Today’s Verse: Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. ~Judges 4:21 One of the basics of carpentry is the use of a hammer and nail. Nails are essential for putting and keeping an object securely fastened. A hammer is needed to pound the nail into the object so that it can be secured. Sometimes, we

Today’s Verse: In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. ~Psalm 31:1 In a Moody Monthly from many years ago was the following story: “Shott's drug store in Galveston, Tex., was open continuously day and night for twenty-six years. At the close of this long period all their filled prescriptions were displayed, above them read this sign: 'Trusted One Million Times.'" The signage was a powerful testimony that the little, family

Today’s Verse: Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. ~2 Samuel 14:29-30 In baseball, a batter is considered “out” when he has three strikes. A strike is when he has had an opportunity to try to hit the

Today’s Verse: The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. ~Deuteronomy 33:27 The occasion of our Scripture reading this morning is the final days of Moses’ life. Moses lived 120 years. At his death, we are told that his eye was not dim nor his strength abated. Amazingly, his vision was clear and his strength never diminished from his younger days. Just before his pass

Today’s Verse: Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. ~Proverbs 27:18 This morning, we see the keeping of a fig tree as a metaphor for a powerful principle concerning success. A landowner would hire servants to help make good use of the land for agricultural purposes. A servant would prepare the soil, plant the seeds for a fig tree, and nurture them. Every day, the fig seeds would be watered. Fertilizer woul

Today’s Verse: And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. ~1 Samuel 3:19 Most people desire to be successful. For some people, success is having a lot of money and wealth. For others, success is fame and popularity. For others, success is having just enough to meet their needs. Biblically, success is determined by the hand of God upon our life. Without the Lord, we can do nothing. Without the Lord, we have no hope. Without th

Today’s Verse: Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. ~Acts 3:6 Marquis de Lafayette was a French officer who provided invaluable assistance to George Washington and the struggling American army. After the war was over, he returned to France and resumed his life as a farmer of many estates. In 1783, the harvest was a terrible one, and there were many who suffered as a result. Lafa

Today’s Verse: And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. ~Matthew 5:41 When Jesus spoke these words, the audience had a very firm understanding of the background. In those days, it was not unusual for a Roman centurion to approach a Jewish man and tell him to carry the soldier’s burden for a mile, and then, as the mile had been accomplished, to tell that Jewish man, “Now, go another mile for me.” The Jews despised this cruel behavior of the Romans. It w

Today’s Verse: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. ~Psalm 30:5 The superscription to Psalm 30 is the dedication of the house of David. During this time, David was experiencing a time of serious trials. He was in a dark place in his life. His enemies were causing him to have doubts and even second guess himself. It was at this time that he learned some valuable things about God’s working in

Today’s Verse: I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. ~Psalm 119:63 Ben Franklin said, “Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.” Aristotle the philosopher said, “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” The phrase “on the same page” refers to a very close friendship among people who have common objectives and desires. It refers to a friendship bond that exists because of mutual commonalities including beliefs, pr

Today’s Verse: And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. ~Matthew 28:2 Here in California, we live in earthquake country. We have both the San Andreas and Hayward Faults running through our landscape. Some island countries such as Taiwan and Japan are also prone to earthquakes. A strong, violent earthquake that is more than 6.0 on the Richter scale and lasts fo

Today’s Verse: And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. ~Acts 6:8 One of the great Christians in the New Testament is Stephen. Acts 6-7 places a holy spotlight on Stephen and the impact that he had on many lives. Stephen’s name in Greek is “stephanos,” which refers to a crown. It was a wreath woven together in the shape of a crown that was awarded to the winner of an Olympic race. This morning, we see a Christian whose life teache

Today’s Verse: And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. ~Acts 14:19 Head injuries can have very serious short-term and long-term implications. A concussion can result in ongoing migraine headaches, memory loss, and other serious neurological disorders. Some football players and boxers have had their wellness of life greatly debilitated. In our passage,

Today’s Verse: Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. ~Isaiah 52:2 It is amazing how dusty things around the house can get if we do not regularly vacuum, sweep, and dust. Especially books that we have placed on the bookshelf can collect dust. I have had more than one occasion of carrying books that I’ve taken off of the bookshelf that got my clothes very dusty. Well, when you get dus

Today’s Verse: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. ~Mark 6:50 I am very good at recognizing people I know when we are both in a familiar setting and location. However, take me out of that setting, and there are times that I will see someone I know but will vaguely recognize them. We will look at each other, and many times, the other person will be surprised by my non-recog

Today’s Verse: He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. ~John 21:17 Love is the highest and most powerful of human emotions. Love is what draws and keeps us together. Love is a bond that keeps people together. Love is the motivating reason why a man and

Today’s Verse: And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. ~Genesis 15:11 Have you ever heard of the saying “This is for the birds”? This saying means that the thing being referenced to is worthless and has no value. It is used to describe something that is not worth your time or effort. In our passage this morning, God is about to “cut the covenant” with Abram. Cutting the covenant represented laying animal sacrifices on two sides with a path betwe

Today’s Verse: I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ~Psalm 16:8 There are many things in life that are trying to pull our attention. It can become very confusing and overwhelming for some of us to know the right priority in life. David made a proclamation about the right priority in his life. He said, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” He was saying, “First things