Today’s Verse: Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. ~Jeremiah 17:7-8 On the back of the U.S. dollar is the phrase “In God We Trust.” This has been a hallmark phrase of our country that goes ba

Today’s Verse: And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. ~Isaiah 37:14 Have you ever received a troublesome message by letter or email? Maybe you've received a notice saying that you owed money for something that you were unaware of. Maybe you've received a legal notice that was worded with an expected deadline and an “or else” consequence. Maybe it was an emai

Today’s Verse: And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. ~1 Samuel 27:1 Our text this morning says that “David said in his heart.” David had been thinking for a long time about his situation with Saul. Despite the fact that God had repe

Today’s Verse: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. ~Psalm 127:1 Whenever I get the opportunity to visit the home of a friend or church member, I ask them, “Who is your builder?” The name of the builder tells us something about the type of houses that this builder builds. There are very good builders who stand proudly behind their workmanship. There are others who are simply in the

Today’s Verse: A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ~James 1:8 Are you able to make good decisions? Or are you someone who vacillates between decisions? The children of Israel were guilty of worshipping the Lord and worshipping Baal. Elijah confronted them by asking, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” This morning, let us examine the doubleminded man. There is the description. A doubleminded man is someone trying to derive the best of two worlds. On one hand

Today’s Verse: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. ~Colossians 1:16-17 The Bible begins with, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This is the starting point for everything. It establishes the eternality and preexistence

Today’s Verse: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ~2 Timothy 4:7 The Apostle Paul was in the Mamertine Prison when he wrote 2 Timothy. He knows that his execution is very soon. He gives his protégé in the faith, Timothy, strong and encouraging words for him to remain faithful and fruitful in the work of the ministry. As Paul closes this touching letter, he wants Timothy to see that he was determined to finish his journey strong. Paul

Today’s Verse: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. ~Micah 5:2 I’ve grown up in the city all of my life. I am used to large masses of people, public transportation, traffic on our freeways, multiple shopping centers, restaurants galore, major sports teams, top educational institutions, leading medic

Today’s Verse: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ~Romans 5:9 Have you ever described the virtue of a product, tool, appliance, or benefit and then, in your excitement, say, “But there is much more”? The term “much more” implies that there is a plethora more of goodness, resource, or power than what we understand or imagine. “Much more” is a wonderful, expressive term that is used in Romans 5 to describe the riches of s

Today’s Verse: The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. ~Proverbs 21:31 A battle royal is when two or more contestants meet for battle and the last one standing is the declared winner. Battle royals are sometimes referred to as knock-down, drag-out contests that have little predictability as to the winner. In the spiritual warfare that we are in, we know that the battle that we are in is intense. However, our Scripture this morning gives us

Today’s Verse: Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? ~1 John 5:5 One of my favorite hymns that we sing in church is “Victory in Jesus.” It is a hymn that gives us great assurance that once a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, he has entered into a life where he is on the winning side. We live in victory because of what Christ accomplished on the cross when He died for all of our sins. There is no victory apart f

Today’s Verse: Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. ~Psalm 40:4 Psalm 40 was written during the time David was in the wilderness of Judaea trying to avoid being caught by King Saul. David had seasons when his faith was strong and other times when his faith would waiver. He embodied what we go through: sometimes we are strong, and other times, we feel weak. It could be that David wrote this psalm afte

Today’s Verse: By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. ~Hebrews 11:22 When a person says, “I make no bones about it,” what he means is, “I make no mistake.” It is a statement of absolute confidence. It is a statement that is fearless and having no doubt. It is a statement of assurance about a fact. The writer of Hebrews highlights one area of the faith of Joseph. He speaks about the fai

Today’s Verse: And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: ~Luke 21:3 Back in the day, it was very difficult to be a widow. A widow was considered a plight of poverty. With her husband gone, she basically lived in survival mode. She got by with what she could. However, her clothing, frugal lifestyle, and branding by society indicated that her life was hard. Jesus uses a poor widow woman as an example of sacrifice and devotion.

Today’s Verse: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ~John 14:1 Several years ago, I received a phone call from someone I know that a loved one of theirs passed away unexpectedly. I was in shock and speechless as this dear person wept and grieved on the phone. There is a sadness, grief, hollowness, and inadequacy that I feel at this moment. Words are insufficient to replace the loss this person just experienced. My acquaintance is grasping for

Today’s Verse: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. ~Hebrews 11:33 How would God score your faith on a report card? Hebrews 11 is call God’s Hall of Faith, or God’s Westminster Abbey of Faith. It is the incredible account of the faith of men and women of the Bible. It inspires people like you and me what real faith can do. Without faith it is impossible to please God. In the absence of faith, God will never

Today’s Verse: By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. ~Hebrews 11:27 When I was a kid growing up, comic books advertised the power of x-ray glasses. These so called glasses would enable the user to see through curtains and coverings. This was a sham promotion used to generate sales. However, there was intrigue at the thought of being able to see what someone else could not see. Moses was a man who could se

Today’s Verse: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: ~1 Thessalonians 3:7 Did you know that your faith matters to other people? Did you know that your faith is either an encouragement or discouragement to someone else? The believers at Thessalonica were very precious to Paul. They received the gospel with great joy in spite of much opposition. Paul wrote this letter to them to express how much they meant to him. He w

Today’s Verse: The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. ~Nahum 1:7 Years ago I was acquainted with a company that did product development for Betty Crocker™ food company. This local company was the research and development arm for Betty Crocker™ for new foods to introduce into the marketplace. One of the positions was the “tasting position”. The people in that capacity had the delightful job of tasting food samples all day!

Today’s Verse: And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. ~Luke 5:5 Poor Peter! He and his colleagues had fished all night and caught nothing. It was one of those rare fruitless nights. Fishermen made their living on the catch of the night. Seaside villages and surrounding communities depended upon the catch of the night for food and sustenance. So, when Jesus approached hi