Category: Verse of the Day

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”

Hebrews 11:17-18

A Difficult Sacrifice

Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice is probably one of the greatest examples of human faith that we have in the Bible. The fact that Abraham was obedient and willing to sacrifice his son means that he lived for something greater than himself; he lived for God alone. Does this mean he did not love his son? By all means, no! Isaac was the son of the promise. He knew that if God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac, there was a reason. Just as Abraham raised his sword to sacrifice his beloved son, God stopped him and provided him with a ram for the sacrifice instead. God wanted to see the depths of his faith, but He was not going to let Abraham sacrifice Isaac.

God is not asking you to sacrifice those you love today, but He may be asking you to sacrifice bad relationships or perhaps material things that stand in the way of Him. Take some time to pray and ask Him how you can better serve Him by showing your faith.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May my faith be greater everyday. Help me trust in you and show you how much faith I have in you. Amen.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5: 22-23

Fruit of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit produces all that is good in our lives. Alone, we are sinful and stray away from the Lord. But with His help, we produce love for the world to see, a joy that affects others, a peace that is attractive to those around us, patience for others, kindness to those who need it most, all the goodness inside of us, faithfulness to those we love, gentleness when it’s hard, and a self-control to live in His Word. The beautiful part of this is that there is not a law against all of these things. We can never have too much fruit for the world to see! These fruits make Christiianity beautiful to others and lead them to the love of the Father.

Look at each of the fruits. Is there one that is harder than the others? Maybe you have a hard time with self-control. Maybe it’s gentleness in tough situations. Maybe you have a hard time keeping your promises and being faithful. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you with that area of your life today.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May the fruit in my life be pleasing to you and attractive to others. May they see you when they see me. May my fruit draw them to you. Help me live like you would have me to live. Amen

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Isaiah 26: 3-4

Fix Your Thoughts

Part of trusting in the Lord is fixing your thoughts on Him. You can’t fully trust Him if you don’t continually focus on godly things and in Him alone. He brings about peace when we place our trust in Him. Is it because He protects us from bad things happening? This is not the case at all. He doesn’t promise that we will never experience heartache or pain, but that we will always experience His peace that passes all understanding as Philippians 4:7 tells us. We trust in Him because He is the eternal rock. Nothing shakes Him off His throne. Nothing scares or surprises Him. He is trustworthy in everything.

So fix your eyes on Him and His will. Know that when you set your mind on things above, He will bless you and bring you peace to endure. He is the friend that sits with you, walks with you through difficulties. He is the Father who watches over you and cares for you. He is the Savior who rescues you and restores you. He alone is trustworthy.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
You alone are trustworthy. You know what the future holds. You know my past and my struggles. You promise to fill me with your peace when I trust in you. Help me trust in you everyday! Amen

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.

2 Peter 1:10

Work Hard

In this life, you have to work hard to accomplish anything, whether that is a career, education, or anything else. The Christian life is no different. You must work hard, investing in your knowledge and understanding of the Word, so that you can run this Christian race well! This verse says that if you run the race well, work hard to prove that you are called, then you will never fall away! Does this mean that the Christian faith is based on works? Absolutely not! Works grow out of a love for the Lord. If you are truly investing in your spiritual life, then your calling will be known to everyone around you.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the promise that salvation is forever. May I always work hard in my faith so that others can come to know you. Amen.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

2 Peter 1:8-9

Growing in the Lord

When you are focusing on your spiritual growth and wanting to be more godly, then the more productive and useful you will be for the kingdom. It is like a tool. The more you use it, the more you will understand it. You will more than likely use it more often when you understand how it works. Godliness is the same way. The more you invest in your spiritual life, the more you will grow in the Lord. You will be productive and useful when focused on the kingdom.

If you are not focused on your spiritual growth, then the opposite can happen, as verse nine states. You will be shortsighted and blinded, forgetting what Christ has done for you. So spend time in the Word everyday so you will grow closer to the Lord!

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
You are worth every moment I spend in the Word. I long to spend time with you everyday. Give me the opportunities I need to grow in you. Amen.

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 28:7

Trusting Him

What a beautiful promise in this Psalm. God is our strength and shield. He helps us and fills our hearts with joy. This Psalm of David is a beautiful picture of his relationship with the Lord. David understood where his strength came from; therefore, he trusted God with all his heart. As a result, God later calls him a man after his own heart. God longs for us to recognize where our strength and help comes from me. When we do, our hearts will fill with joy and songs of thanksgiving, just as David.

Trust in Him in everything: with your big life-changing decisions, your little day-to-day decisions, and everything in between. Who better to guide your life than the God of the Universe who made the heavens and the earth and knows what will happen tomorrow. Go to Him in prayer today, trusting that He will walk with you in this life.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
I put my trust in you today. I know that when I trust in you, I find hope, joy, peace, and praise. Help me choose you everyday in my big life decisions and my little, everyday decisions. Amen

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Psalm 51:12

Restore Your Joy

Sometimes when we go through hard times, we lose the joy that God has placed in our hearts. David understood this very well when he wrote this Psalm. He had fallen away from the Lord and had committed damaging sin, and what was worse was that he didn’t even realize how bad it was until his friend Nathan came and described it to him. He became very grieved over his sin and wrote this Psalm. David had lost his joy, the joy of when he first met the Lord and experienced his salvation.

Joy is a different emotion than happiness. Happiness is a fleeting feeling; it is temporary. We experience this feeling when someone tells us something we like or when something happens that makes us happy. However, it is fleeting. It goes away as fast as it came because most of the things that bring us happiness go away as well. Joy is an eternal emotion. When God brought salvation, he instilled joy into the hearts of his people. So it isn’t really an emotion that goes away. It’s always there, but sometimes we cloud our view of joy by throwing distractions over it so we can’t see it. David pleaded with God to restore his joy once again. Do you need to plead with God to restore your joy today?

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Only you can give the type of joy that is eternal and never goes away. I cloud my view of joy all the time. Bring me joy once again. May I remember what it was like when I experienced your salvation. Restore to me the joy of that salvation once again. Amen

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

1 Peter 5:10

A Firm Foundation

We all suffer in this life, some more than others. Bad things happen. Natural disasters destroy homes and lives. Relationships and friendships sometimes end. Divisions split churches, families, and friendships. Loved ones get horrible diseases and pass on to the next life. Accidents can ruin the lives we’ve built. Faith can even cause suffering. This life is not perfect; we live in a fallen world. As long as we live in this world, we are going to experience heartache. However, God gives us several promises we can hold on to. First, he will restore what’s been broken. Whether it happens in this life or the next, He will bring restoration. Second, he will support us and strengthen us so we can endure the heartache. We don’t have to go through it alone. He promises He will never leave us. He will place us on a firm foundation: that firm foundation is the gospel of Christ. We can endure because Christ endured and we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. As long as we are allowing Him to advocate for us, we will be on a firm foundation.

We also have the promise of life to come. We have eternal life. We know that this life is only a stopping place. We are foreigners in this land. Are you living as though this isn’t your home? Are you looking forward to the kingdom to come?

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for your presence. I know I never have to go through this life alone. I always have your presence right here with me. Help me endure and give me your strength to go through these hard times. Amen

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16

A Better Place

I love this verse because it tells so much about the men and women of faith. Their faith was so great; they were constantly looking forward to heaven and the salvation of Jesus. It was because of that faith that God was not ashamed to be called their God. Even in the midst of their mistakes, He was still proud to be called their God. He was creating a city for them because of their faith.

He has prepared that place for you too if you know Him as your Lord and Savior. No matter what is going on in your life today, trust in Him and look forward to the beautiful city He has prepared for you!

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
You said that you were going to prepare a place for us. Help me hold on to that hope every single day. May you be proud of my faith as well. Amen.

Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.

Hebrews 11:14-15

Following God

The men and women Hebrews 11 mentions all had one thing in common: they were looking forward to the hope of salvation. They knew that God was making a way; He had been revealing that to them since the beginning of time. They lived their lived in such a way that illustrated their devotion to this hope. Ruth is a perfect example of living out a hope like this. She left her family, land, and faith that she knew to follow the God of Naomi, her mother-in-law. She followed after God and new life in the hopes that her faith would be counted as righteousness.

Are you living your life today in light of the hope you have found in Jesus like Ruth did and so many others from the Bible? Spend time in prayer and seek after the Lord daily.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
You are my hope and the light of my life. May I seek after you daily! Amen.