Today's Verse: …Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. ~Ezra 10:2b   Hope! This one word is the thread by which people hang from day to day. It is the anticipation that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the assurance that the sun will come up in the morning. It is the belief that a loved one will be seen again. As one person has said, “Hope springs eternal.” The people of Judah had grievously sinned against God and were weeping and confessing thei

Today's Verse: Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. ~Isaiah 39:4   When you were a child growing up, did anyone ever accuse you of being a “show-off”? As the term implies, a show-off is someone who purposely tries to impress other people with what they have or who they are. They are trying to send the message that they have a “one-up”

Today's Verse: For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. ~Hebrews 5:12   Meat is a good source of protein for proper nutrition. There are some people who strongly feel that they need to have meat at every meal and do not limit the portion of meat they consume. Even though some would prefer to eat a different source o

Today's Verse: Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. ~1 Corinthians 15:34   Do you ever find yourself lacking in a commodity that you would like to have, but you don’t have it? If you do, you might feel like you are what is called “a have not”. The Apostle Paul referred to a group of people as “have nots”. There is an important essential they need to have but they don’t. This morning, we should be concerned ab

Today's Verse: For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. ~Psalm 38:4    Have you ever felt like you were in over your head in something? Being in over your head is an idiom that describes how you feel about a situation that is occurring in your life. David was in over his head in a situation that he could not undo. Everyone who knew something about David’s situation doubted his credibility. He was bewildered and at an extreme m

Today's Verse: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. ~1 John 3:2   There are two striking things about either a married couple or a family. In a family, it is the resemblance that children have to each other. With couples who have been married for a long time, it is how similar they look in resemblance as well. Our passage this morning speak

Today's Verse: But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.  ~Ezekiel 44:14 As children mature, parents will often put the oldest child in charge of the house. This means the oldest child takes responsibility for conduct and order in the household until mom and dad return home. This morning, we are considering the important responsibilities that God vested in the Levites for the house of God and

Today's Verse: And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ~Numbers 21:23   What is the most gigantic problem you have ever faced? Whatever it may have been, it stood between you and success. This morning, let us see an incident that teaches us the importance of not letting the giants in our life intimidate us or cause

Today's Verse: And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. ~Acts 27:20   A few years ago, I watched a documentary on the Weather Channel about a cruise ship called the Oceanos and its ill-fated sinking during a storm off the eastern coast of South Africa. Amazingly, no one lost his life, and all 571 passengers were rescued. There were many tense moments before the ship sank when th

Today's Verse: What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?  ~Psalm 34:12 People, as they get older, will sometimes tell their family and friends, “I’ve lived a good life.” By what means are we qualifying a good life? Is it our comfort level? Is it our success? Is it our career achievements? Is it our travel? David gives us the biblical perspective on what constitutes a “good life.” Everyone wants a good life and Psalm 34 tells us how it is a

Today's Verse: And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. ~Acts 23:11   What do you do when you’ve been rejected, scorned, and written off as a loser and enemy? This morning, let us see how Paul was encouraged and helped by our Lord when he was at one of the lowest points in his life. Let us see how the Lord is always there for us.    We see the scornfu