Daily Bible Verses by Book

Heavenly father
give us grace to be peacemakers today, whatever the cost.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they shall be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
    for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven…

Blessed are the peacemakers: They shall be recognized as children of God.  
—Matthew 5:9  

Richard Rohr considers what it means to be a peacemaker:  

This verse in Matthew’s Gospel is the only time the word peacemakers is ever used in the whole Bible. Peacemakers literally are the “ones who reconcile quarrels.” We can clearly see Jesus is not on the side of the violent but on the side of the nonviolent. Jesus is saying there must be a connection, a clear consistency, a constant unity between means and ends. There is no way to peace other than…

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13–16).

Brian McLaren …

Heavenly father
give us grace to be the salt of the earth today, and to do nothing that will cause us to loose our saltiness

(Salt  = knowing the blessing of being poor, in mourning, meek, seekers of righteousness, pure in heart, merciful, peacemakers and persecuted)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted?
It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Heavenly father
give us grace to do good works today so that people will see something of you

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 
¹⁵ Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 
¹⁶ Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Heavenly father
give us grace to do what is righteous today and every day. 

¹⁷ “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
¹⁸ For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law,
until all things are accomplished. 
¹⁹ Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so,
shall be called…

Heavenly father
give us grace to refrain today from labelling others as fools 

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.’ ²² But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause  will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’  will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.

Heavenly father
give us grace to go out of our way to be reconciled to others today, remembering that we are never the completely innocent party

²³ “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar,
and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 
²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 
²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way;
…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be careful with our looking at and our thinking about other people today,
and give us grace to allow evil no place in our minds and bodies

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said,  ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
²⁸ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 
²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.
For it is more profitable for you…