Daily Bible Verses

Heavenly father
give us grace today to avoid the temptation of living in secret.

55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, 
“Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? 
I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you didn’t arrest me. 
 

Heavenly father
give us grace to allow courage rather than fear motivate us today 

56 But all this has happened that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Heavenly father
give us grace today to have the courage to see things through to the end, whatever the consequences

57 Those who had taken Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, 
where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. 
58 But Peter followed him from a distance to the court of the high priest, 
…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to speak the truth particularly when we are in conflict with others

59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death, 60 and they found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward 61…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to know when to stay silent. 

But at last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, 
“This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.’”
62 The high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that these testify…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to choose our words well, particularly in pressure situations. 

63 But Jesus stayed silent. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to withstand ridicule directed at ourselves, but also to share the pain of others when they are ridiculed.

67 Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?”

Heavenly father
give us grace today to speak the truth, whatever the consequences

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the court, and a maid came to him, saying, “You were also with Jesus, the Galilean!”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 When he had gone out onto the porch, someone else saw him and…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to face up to our mistakes and mourn accordingly. 

73 After a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, for your speech makes you known.”
74 Then he began to curse and to swear, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately the rooster crowed. 
75…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to hear your voice, particularly when we are convinced that we are doing right, and we may be doing the opposite

¹ Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 
² They bound him, led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to hear your voice, particularly when we have done wrong, so that we know that we are forgiven.

³ Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, 
and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 
⁴ saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.”
…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to avoid personal involvement in buying items which would mean that we have blood on our hands 

⁶ The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, 
“It’s not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.” 
⁷ They took counsel, and bought the potter’s field with them to bury strangers in. …

Heavenly father
give us grace today to know what to say and what not to say. 

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus said to him, “So you say.”
¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. ¹³ …

Heavenly father
give us grace today to choose the ways of Christ rather than that of a zealot

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner whom they desired. 
¹⁶ They had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. 
¹⁷ When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, 
…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to pay attention to dreams, both our own and other people’s 

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, 
“Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.”

Heavenly father
give us grace today not go along with the crowd.

²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 
²¹ But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They said, “Barabbas!”
²² Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do to…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to take responsibility, both for what we do and what we don’t do. 

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, 
he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, 
saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.”
…

Heavenly father
lead us not today into the temptation of mocking other people. 

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. 
²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 
²⁹ They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; 
…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to carry the burdens of others

³² As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross. 

Heavenly father
give us grace to be alert for the important things that take place today

³³ When they came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull,” ³⁴ they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall.
 When he had tasted it, he would not drink. 

Heavenly father
lead us not into the temptation today of standing by while bad things happen

³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots
 ³⁶ and they sat and watched him there. 
³⁷ They set up over his head the accusation against him written, “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE…

Heavenly father
lead us not into the temptation of taking it out on other people when we are suffering ourselves. 

³⁸ Then there were two robbers crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on the left.
³⁹ Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads 
⁴⁰ and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are…

Heavenly father
give us grace to direct our difficult questions to you today in a way that it honest and real

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, …

Heavenly father
give us grace today

⁵⁰ Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; …

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always,…

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. 18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.…

Jesus said: ¹⁹ Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

‘… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ MATTHEW 28:20
 

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are with me always. May I become more conscious of your presence.

Think how different our lives would be if we were constantly aware of God’s presence with us – his loving, welcoming presence. If we allowed his life to flow into and through us with each breath, we would become a channel of blessing into our workplaces,…

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

THE QUESTION is not whether the things that happen to you are chance things or God’s things because, of course, they are both at once. There is no chance thing through which God cannot speak—even the walk from the house to the garage that you have walked ten thousand times before, even the moments when you cannot believe there is a God who speaks at all anywhere. He speaks, I…

Jesus said ²⁰  Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You don’t have to enter a monastery to be a mystic. 

You don’t have to renounce chocolate or forsake pop culture.

To be a mystic in our times is not about renunciation; it is about intention. 

Living as a mystic means orienting the whole of yourself toward the sacred. 

It’s a matter of purposely looking through the lens of love.

When you say yes to…

He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God  (Micah 6:8)

…

The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
(This is a test to see if the new system is working)

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the…

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to…

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
—Philippians 2:5–8

Brian McLaren shows how Jesus as the image of God changes our understandings of who God is: 

The implications of the Philippians 2 passage…

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is…

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!’  PHILIPPIANS 4:4
 
Holy Spirit, remind me in every circumstance today, whether difficult or pleasant, to rejoice in the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord! In Paul’s world and culture, rejoicing would have meant public celebration. The people of Ephesus, Philippi, and Corinth used to organise great festivals and games to celebrate their gods. Surely the followers of the Lord Jesus have far more reason to celebrate exuberantly than crowds…

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…