Category: Verse of the Day

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

2 Peter 3:9

God is Patient

God is a patient God. This verse says that he does not want anyone to perish, but he wants all to come to know his saving grace. This could be one reason why time means nothing to him. He is patient and waiting for people to come to know Him.
The King James Version of the Bible uses the word “longsuffering” instead of the word patient. Even though God is patient, that does not mean he doesn’t suffer when his people reject him. He is a gentle and gracious God.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for your grace and love. Your love is everlasting. I praise you that you waited on me and gave me your salvation. Amen.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

2 Peter 3:8

God’s Timing

A day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day. What this verse tells us is that God knows no boundaries. As people we are often limited by the boundaries of time. We must complete something in a certain amount of time. We feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we need to accomplish. Even our own lives are constrained by time. However, God knows no time boundaries. That means that his plans are not always our plans and our plans are not always his plans. He may not necessarily answer a request immediately since he is not restrained by time.

When we pray and bring our requests to Him, we must understand that he will answer them in his own time. His timing is always perfect.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me trust in your time and your plan. I know that your timing is perfect. Amen.

Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

2 Peter 2:3-4

The Last Days

Ever since Jesus ascended back into heaven, We have been living in the last days. We do not know when the end will come or when Jesus will return for his people. But we do know that we are one day closer than we were before. So this verse is very true. Today scoffers have come and they mock Christians and their beliefs. They do follow their own desires, rather than following Christ.

It can be so easy to follow the world instead of following the Lord, but we must keep our eyes on the prize. We must remember why we are here. We became followers of Christ at the moment of our conversion. That means that we will spend our lives following after him. Do not listen to the world and their lies. Only rely on Jesus Christ and His redemption.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me not listen to the scoffers and their lies. May I stay close to you so I can hear your voice. Amen.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.

2 Peter 2:20

Entangled Again

As Christians we must be careful when it comes to our past. Even though God has rescued us from our former lives, we have to guard ourselves against the devil and his schemes. If he can entice us with our past sins or former lives, then that is what he will do. He will do anything he can to take our focus away from the Lord.

This verse is very clear about going back to our former lives. If we become entangled in sin again, then we are worse off than we were before. Spend some time in prayer every day, thanking God for rescuing you from your past sins.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May I stay close to you and bask in your love and grace so that I will not become entangled in sin again. Amen.

So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

2 Peter 2:9

A Redeemed Life

God is a just God. He will punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Sodom and Gomorrah, is a good example of this very thing. God punished the wicked, and destroyed the two cities. Yet he rescued Lot because he was the one righteous person living within those cities. God is able to rescue you. And the beautiful thing about it is that no matter how deep your sin is, how much you’ve done, or how ugly your past is, he will rescue you anyway. Lot had made that decision to live near Sodom and Gomorrah. However, he turned from sin and followed the Lord.

All it takes is a true repentance of turning away from sin and wickedness and following after the Lord. If you do that, he will be able to rescue you, no matter what.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May you rescue those I love. May I lead them to you so they will see what a redeemed life looks like. Amen.

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

Hebrews 2:28-29

Worthy of Praise

The kingdom of God is unshakable. It can never be shaken or destroyed. The earth is temporary and everything will pass away, but heaven is eternal. It will always be! Since we have been rescued for the Lord, let us give Him thanks and praise! Let us worship Him always. He is worthy of our praise. He is a devouring (or consuming as some other versions say) fire. He consumes everything- He is that powerful.

Spend some time in prayer today, thanking and praising Him for who He is. Thank Him every morning and every evening. He is worthy of your praise!

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for who you are and all you do for your people. I will always praise you! Amen.

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Hebrews 11:2

Focusing on Him

How do we grow our faith in this life? We keep our eyes on Jesus. He is the champion, the one who initiates and perfects our faith. He will continue to shape us into the person He wants us to be. Jesus endured the cross, all of the pain and suffering that went with it so that we may come to know God the Father. If we keep our eyes on Him as our champion, we will stay the course.

The minute we take our eyes off of the Lord, we will begin to fall. Look at Peter. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk across the water to Jesus. The second he focused on the raging sea, he began to sink. If we focus on the world, we will drown. We myst keep our eyes on the King.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me keep my eyes on you , Oh Lord. May I always focus on you and the cross. Amen.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

A Crowd of Witnesses

As a body of Christ, we are surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses in this life of faith meant to encourage us. We were never meant to go through this life alone. We have each other just as the men and women of old had each other too. The disciples walked together, serving Jesus. If we decide to walk alone, we will feel alone, and we will not be able to minister to others as good without the support of each other.

Spend some time in prayer for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Fellowship with them. Do Bible studies together. Open your lives up to each other. There is no better way to live.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the crowd of witnesses in my life. May I be a witness to others as well. Amen.

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Hebrews 11:39-40

A Good Reputation

How do people gain a good reputation? What amount of good do they have to do to be considered good? Who considers them good? The men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 gained their good reputation because of their faith. Their faith determined how good they were, not their words or actions, but their faith alone. They did not even receive all God had planned because it was not yet time. He had even more in mind planned for us.

Take some time today to pray and ask God to increase your faith. Then and only then will you be a person with the “good reputation” that the Bible talks about here.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May I gain a good reputation so that others will see you in me. May my faith lead them to you. Amen.

They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

Hebrews 11:38

Too Good for this World

I love the end of Hebrews 11. These men and women of faith were too good for this world. They were motivated by eternity. It drove everything they did. It spurred them on in evangelism and discipleship. They led lives of faith, always trusting that God had something better for them. They had to hide because their faith threatened others. They lived their lives as Jesus lived His: serving people, knowing they would eventually come against Him.

What about you? What will be said of your faith at the end of your life? Could others say that you were too good for this world? What an honor that would be! Live your life in such a way that others will see your faith.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the many people who were too good for this world. May their faith continue to inspire and spur me on. Amen.