Daily Bible Verses

Spring arrived slowly. It felt like a long wait this year, or maybe that was just me. First, a few brave crocuses pushed through frost-hardened ground. Then blossom. Then light that stays a little longer each evening. Each piece unfolds in its allotted time.

This spring we moved allotment. Twenty metres or less, but a striking difference. The old plot was neglected by the previous tenants, fierce with horsetail and waist-high thistles, stubborn plants with roots that seemed to go down...

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honour and glory and praise!’

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is...

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
—Psalm 23:1–3 (NRSV)

While Psalm 23 is beloved for its message of consolation, Diana Butler Bass recounts how she was challenged to read it through the eyes of those who face poverty, food...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-23-jesus-heals-ten-men-with-leprosy-r26

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-25-the-coming-of-the-kingdom-r26 

20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-18-the-parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-r26 

16 Jesus told his disciples: ‘There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-16-the-parable-of-the-lost-son-r26

11 Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12 ...

The easter story starts at the tomb. 

If you ask Jewish people what the central story of their Bible is, they will usually say the Exodus, the story of their refugee ancestors being enslaved by the rulers of the Egyptian Empire, until God liberated them and led them to freedom somewhere between 1500 and 1200 BCE.

Sadly, the enslavement and mistreatment of refugees has happened too many times and to too many people over the centuries since then. ...

 
Richard Rohr points out how honor-and-shame systems play out around and within us today:
One of the best ways to study Scripture is to use the lens of cultural anthropology; in other words, to learn about the social setting in which Jesus lived and the problems with which he was dealing. What we find is that the culture of his time was overwhelmingly dominated by an honor-and-shame system largely based on externals. In truth, we still live that way in the United...

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been...

‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’
 
And God said, ‘This...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-27-the-parable-of-the-persi…

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: ...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-20-the-rich-man-and-lazarus-r26   

19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 ‘The time came when the beggar died and the...

8 ‘Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-03-11-the-cost-of-discipleship-r26 

25 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate father...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-02-27-teaching-about-prayer-r26 

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’

...

Psalm 37.1–11, NIV

Of David.

Do not fret because of those who are evil
     or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
     like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
     dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD,
     and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your...

Adam and Eve are made in the “image of God” (Genesis 1:27) and are part of a creation which is “very good” (Genesis 1:31) AND Adam and Eve ate from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” as a result of which we all carry a frailty and woundedness. Just as goodness is inherent and shared, so it seems with evil. This is a very merciful teaching. Knowledge of our shared wound ought to free us from the burden of unnecessary and individual guilt or shame and help us to be forgiving and...

Grace is the foundation of God’s restorative justice. Richard Rohr writes:
The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel affirms the unique and rarely understood notion of grace. Midway through the book, God speaks: “I am going to renew my covenant with you; and you will learn that I am Yahweh, and so remember and be covered with shame, and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I have pardoned you for all that you have done” (Ezekiel 16:62–63).
Here, the Jewish people had not even asked for or...

59 ‘“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with...

The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
...

‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’ (John 13:14–15)
 
Lord Jesus,
Thank you for your servant-hearted love that led you to the cross.
Thank you for showing us, your church, how we should love and serve one another.
Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me, so I can love and serve them.
I pray for churches around the world who are...

Read Psalm 61, NIV

Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.

 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent for ever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings...

Read Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long, LORD? Will you forget me for ever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I...

Read Psalm 88.6–18

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. 

 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
     my eyes are dim with...

Psalm 33.6–15

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-02-25-jesus-visits-martha-and-mary-r26

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the...

Psalm 104.24–30, NKJV

O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions –
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand,...

Estelle Frankel, a teacher of Jewish mysticism, describes how the story of Exodus reveals our human preference for what is known, even if something new may be better for us:

All freedom journeys require an open mind—a mind that is not conditioned by past knowledge and experience, but open to possibility. Questioning opens the doors of our imagination, enabling us to consider alternatives to the status quo. Unless one is capable of imagining another possible reality, one cannot free...

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5v7)

• Mercy is the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever, despite our sinfulness. We see God’s mercy supremely in the life of Jesus. (Pope Francis)
• The gospel merciful are… those who put themselves under another to support them, to be sensitive to them, even to feel sad with them.  (Frederick Bruner)
• whereas grace is a loving response when love is...

Psalm 48, NIV  

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, 
   in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

Beautiful in its loftiness, 
   the joy of the whole earth, 
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, 
   the city of the Great King.

God is in her citadels; 
   he has shown himself to be her fortress.

When the kings joined forces, 
   when they advanced...

43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour^[a] and hate your enemy.”...

Psalm 1

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked 
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers, 
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, 
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season 
and whose leaf does not wither –
whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the...

The poet paints a vivid image of the natural world. But there’s more going on here than meets the eye. The references to sea creatures, the stormy wind and the depths are nods to pagan mythical figures: Tiamat, the divine sea monster; Baal, the storm god believed to control the weather and ‘the depths’, a code word for the forces of chaos.  

The poet lists these scary characters with a wry smile. They’re neither gods nor demons, but simply part of nature. They depend on their...

• Psalm 46 includes three selahs – a written direction, which scholars suggest is a musical interlude - a pause.
• When we pause, we give ourselves space to hear the voice of our heavenly Father saying, ‘be still, and know that I am God’ (verse 10).
• The ‘knowing’ described here in the Hebrew is the kind gained through seeing. In verse 4, the writer sees a city, a ‘holy habitation’ sustained by a ‘river’ – a prophetic glimpse of heaven also found in John’s vision in...

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-02-23-the-parable-of-the-good-samaritan-r26

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

30 In reply Jesus said: ...

Richard Rohr describes how Moses gradually learned to trust in God’s love:
According to the book of Exodus, “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend” (33:11). And yet the Exodus text also demonstrates how coming to the point of full interface is a gradual process of veiling and unveiling. God takes the initiative in this respectful relationship with Moses, inviting him into a greater intimacy and ongoing conversation, which allows...

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2026-02-20-the-mission-of-the-seventy-r26

Luke 10

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2...

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him...

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).

The desert elders have meant so much to me, and the really great thing is that even before I quite understood them, I loved their stories. My favorite story is about Abba Moses of Egypt. Somebody sent a message to him and said, “We need you to come to the elders’ gathering because there’s someone who has committed a sin, and we need you to help us make a judgment about his behavior.” He just said...

“But who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11)

Richard Rohr reflects on God’s tenderness towards us, even when we make decisions that harm ourselves or others:
Alienated people stop trusting that reality is good, that we are good too, and that we belong — to God and to one another. By eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam’s and Eve’s eyes were opened to a split universe of suspicion and doubt.  
Adam and Eve offer the perfect...

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  (Revelation 22v1-2)

Richard Rohr identifies in Revelation, the last book in the Bible, a “return to the garden” for all of creation:...

Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths (Genesis 3:7)

Richard Rohr reflects on God’s tenderness towards us, even when we make decisions that harm ourselves or others:
Alienated people stop trusting that reality is good, that we are good too, and that we belong — to God and to one another. By eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam’s and Eve’s eyes were opened to a split universe of suspicion and doubt.  
Adam...

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! (Revelation 2:8,9)

https://www....

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

The story of Eden reminds us of the sense of wonder at the beginning of time when all was innocence, nothing yet wounded. The garden was tended by the woman and the man. They lived in...

As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed, nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:5–6

Every day we encounter examples of both healthy and unhealthy leadership. Often, the difference lies not in ability or position, but in character – and in how power is used. When power is misused, it controls and oppresses. When...

And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

The nostalgia for what has been lost remains long after childhood can impel seekers to search both within themselves and out in the world for this lost place, time and state of mind. For Thomas Merton it is the nostalgia for, or intuition of, paradise, and is a longing for a return or restoration to an original state of being which is Eden....

He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’ (Genesis 3v10)

Dr. Brian Bantum reflects on the story of Adam and Eve as one that initiates us into the freedom of individuality and difference, for good and for ill: 
When I come back to the story of humanity’s fall I still see...

Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:20)

Almost immediately after the protest [in Montgomery, Alabama] started we had begun to receive threatening telephone calls and letters. They increased as time went on. By the middle of January, they had risen to thirty and forty a day….
As the weeks passed, I began to see that many of the threats were in earnest. Soon I felt myself faltering and growing in fear…. One night at a mass...