Verse of the Day 11/28

Verse of the Day 11/28

Colossians 3:15 Holman Christian Standard 

15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.

Today's verse is a good one for the transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It ends with being thankful, thankful for all that we have, all that we have and will be blessed with through Jesus Christ.  It begins with the "peace of the Messiah".  It is for the here and now but it is also for our future here and into eternity.

The heading for the passage in the Holman Christian Standard Bible states "The Christian Life".  It speaks of putting on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as well as being forgiving.  If we incorporate those things into our lives in the power of the grace of God and by His grace, we can experience peace in our lives.  We are to "let it dwell richly" in us.  It should overflow.

It is a verse and a passage we should return to often during the coming month as we prepare to celebrate the first coming of our Savior, the Messiah, while we look forward to His second coming.  Come Lord Jesus Come.

Titus 2:12-13 New Living Translation. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Colossians 3:12-17

Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Christian Life

12 Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Verse of the Day 11/23

Verse of the Day 11/23

Psalm 100:4-5. Holman Christian Standard Bible

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations.

Most of us will be getting together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving from now through the coming weekend.  In many household several generations will "gather together" and share memories and give thanks for God's blessings and His provision for us over the years.  In our home we will have 4 generations of our family represented, kids, parents, grandparents and great grandparents.  We will also remember those whom have gone before us but are still are in our hearts and minds.   For our family, that would make it six generations of blessings going back to the late 1800's.  (My grandfather was born in 1898.)

Verse 5 gives us a good starting point for the things to praise God for and to be thankful for - God is good all the time, all the time God is good; His love is eternal - it never ends; and His faithfulness has been there through all of our generations and for generations to come until the Lord returns to bring us to our eternal home where we will meet our family members again.

As you gather over the next few days, take some time to remember God's blessings to all of the generations in your family that can be remembered and praise Him for them.  Perhaps take a few minutes to sing a hymn or a chorus of thanks as you sit down for the Thanksgiving meal.

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Numbers 6:24-26 Holman Christian Standard Bible

24 May Yahweh bless you and protect you;

25 may Yahweh make His face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Psalm 100

Holman Christian Standard BiblePsalm 100

Be Thankful

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God.
He made us, and we are His[a] —
His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations.

Verse of the Day 11/21

Verse of the Day 11/21

Romans 4:18 Holman Christian Standard Bible

18 He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.

I read Romans 4 this morning as I was preparing for our men's Bible study as we will be going through this chapter tomorrow.  As you can tell by the verse, hope will be something that we'll be talking about tomorrow.  Have you ever believed, hoping against hope, hoping when seemingly, all hope was gone?

This verse brings my mind to our son Jeff.  Injured and disabled by a traumatic brain injury in a car accident when he was 16, he now says that "hope is my favorite thing to have."  He spent 5 weeks in a coma followed by 8 weeks in a rehab facility before returning home.  Some doctors told us that we should find a good home for him.  All basically said that he would never walk or talk again and that whatever he gained back within 6 months was about all that he would get back.   We were hoping against hope, but still trusting, God had more for him.  He didn't speak his first words until 2 years after the accident.  Now, just about everything he says is with joy, with thanks and in praise to God.

Everyone that comes to know him is blessed by his joy and his "woo-whos".  We've even coined a new phrase about it, halle- woo-who jah!

Abraham believed that God would provide a son, he waited for more than a few years, didn't have a son (by natural birth) until he was 99 years old.  And from that hope he became the father of nations.

Whatever you or a friend or family member may be facing today, may you believe, even hoping against hope.  

Steven Curtis Chapman expounds on the hope that we have in God in the following words from his song "With Hope".

And we can cry with hope
We can say good-bye with hope
'Cause we know our good-bye is not the end
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true

Hebrews 6:19-20  Holman Christian Standard Bible

19 We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Romans 4:13-24. Holman Christian Standard Bible.  

The Promise Granted through Faith

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.[a] 14 If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise is canceled. 15 For the law produces wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. 16 This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to those who are of the law[b] but also to those who are of Abraham's faith. He is the father of us all 17 in God's sight. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations.[c] He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. 18 He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations[d] according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.[e] 19 He considered[f] his own body to be already dead (since he was about 100 years old) and also considered the deadness of Sarah's womb, without weakening in the faith. 20 He did not waver in unbelief at God's promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness.[g] 23 Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, 24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Verse of the Day 11/18

Verse of the Day 11/18

Hebrews 11:6.  New King James Version

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Today's verse comes from Hebrews 11 and the great "Hall of Faith".  Alongside Romans 8, it is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  I read the chapter on a day that would turn out to be the most overwhelming and life altering days of my life: that of our son Jeff's accident which left him permanently disabled.  That event could have been tied to that chapter in my mind in a negative way but instead it has been something to hold onto.

John Piper has stated "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him".  You can read through chapter 11 and see this on display in the hearts and lives of the people chronicled in this great chapter.  They, along with others through history who have held onto their faith can be an inspiration for us to hold onto.  We can also look to family members and church family members in the same way.

We can have this faith as an anchor of our souls when we put our faith and trust in Him, and praise Him through the storms of life.

I'm reminded of the Bill Gaither song "Because He Lives", it reflects that attitude of one who pleases God by trusting in HIm and glorifying Him in the process.

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Hebrews 4:14-16

Hebrews 11:1-6

New King James Version

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the [a]substance of things hoped for, the [b]evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

3 By faith we understand that the 

worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Verse of the Day 11/14

Verse of the Day 11/14

Romans 5:1-2. New King James Version

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

I've said before that my oldest son Jeff, who is disabled, often says "hope is my favorite thing to have.  Because of his attitude, his testimony, any time that I read of hope in the Bible it catches my attention.  Today's verses and today's passage put hope front and center.  Any time that you see something repeated 3 times within a few verses, as is the case here, we should pay attention.

Verse 2 above tells us that we stand by His grace by faith and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  It is looking beyond the here and now to a future hope, an eternal hope.  That is what Jeff is looking for, and what he has, a hope that is certain, reserved in heaven for him.  It may not be realized now, but has been secured for us by what Jesus has done for us.

In church this morning we sang the song "What Can Take Away My Hallelujah" which brought these thoughts peace, faith and hope together.

Peace, be still
Calm this soul
I need You here now
Restore my hope
I confess
I've been afraid
Remind my heart, Lord
Increase my faith

So I will run into the waves
As courage comes to take fear's place
With perfect love, perfect love

O, what can take away
My hallelujah
No darkness can contain
My hallelujah
Your cross has made a way
For my hallelujah
My hallelujah

The heading for the passage below, states "Faith Triumphs in Trouble."  May you experience peace today by the grace of God that we have by the faith in which we stand.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Hebrews 4:14-16

Romans 5:1-2

New King James Version

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith,  we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Verse of the Day 11/10

Verse of the Day 11/10

Hebrews 4:16. New International Version

16 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I mentioned the other day how I look forward to certain books, chapters and passages that come up in my reading through the New Testament each year.  They serve as reminders of the blessings that we have, the power that we can draw upon and the grace that we receive from Jesus Christ every day of the year and our lives.

The reminder in today's verse is that we can approach God with "confidence" in the NIV and with "boldness" (NKJV below) to receive the grace and strength we need in and through the challenges and trials in our lives.  We don't have to approach Him sheepishly or like a dog with our tail between our legs, no with confidence.

We come, we draw near to God to receive, obtain, mercy, being spared of the punishment or judgment that we deserve; also, to receive grace, God's undeserved help and strength when we need it most.  The two are intertwined and prayer is the channel to receive them.

John Piper writes, "Prayer is the form of faith that connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for tomorrow's ministry. Timing really matters..... The point is that prayer is the way to find future grace for a well-timed help. This grace of God always arrives from the "throne of grace" on time. The phrase "throne of grace" means that future grace comes from the King of the universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:7).  

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may find grace for a well-timed help. "(Hebrews 4:16, my literal translation)

What are you facing today?  Go boldly to Him to find "grace for a well timed help."

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Hebrews 4:14-16

New King James Version

Our Compassionate High Priest

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Verse of the Day 11/9

Verse of the Day 11/9

1 Timothy 4:14-15

New King James Version

14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

Our Tuesday morning Men's Bible Study went through this passage this morning and as we did, these verses reminded me of what we recently looked at from Hebrews 2:1-4 and considered how we are not to "neglect" our salvation and drift away.  Today's verse follow the same thought process in regards to using our gifts.  If we don't use them we will drift away from them.

Are we building on our faith, are we exercising in putting it into practice, into action?

When I was a teenager I played baseball and was a pitcher and shortstop.  Years later, in my mid thirties I joined a church softball team and when asked what I played i said "shortstop".  I had drifted away from the game and when I went back to put it into practice, I realized that I had lost more than a step.  Ground balls that would have been easy to field at one time now went right past me.  I ended up playing third base.  Would I have been able to resume playing shortstop if I had kept playing?  Probably, making adjustments as I aged, but jumping back in, no.

Don't let your spiritual gifts diminish, keep building them up, keep growing, keep adjusting to your place in life in your faith.  May your continual progress be known to and recognized by all.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

1 Timothy 4:12-16

New King James Version

Take Heed to Your Ministry

12 Let no one [a]despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, [b]in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to 
doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Verse of the Day 11/6

Verse of the Day 11/6

Hebrews 2:1 New Living Translation

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

I began reading through the Bible. every year over 25 years ago at a Promise Keepers event back in 1994.  Each year since then I've looked forward to reading several books of the New Testament; especially the Gospels of Matthew and John and then Romans and Hebrews.  Today's verses are a reminder of why daily Bible reading is so important.

Most of us have probably been to modern waterparks which have a "lazy river".  You get in a tube and simply sit back and relax and the current winds through the park and eventually brings you back to the place where you got in.  Some people expect that to happen in their spiritual lives, they can just sit back and eventually things will bring them back.  They may be drawn back to the faith but the trip will not be one of being carefree with easy meandering.

Reading through the Bible regularly will bring us to favorite books and passages.  It will also force us to read and be reminded of some of the more "sobering"passages that we need to read and take to heart.  Today's passage fits both categories.  We have this reminder of not drifting away and also verse 3 which warns us "not to neglect" such a great salvation.  Drifting is just that, neglecting our salvation.

John Piper writes: "Do you respond to the greatness of your salvation? Or do you treat it the way you treat your last will and testament, or the title to your car, or the deed on your house? You signed it once and it is in a file drawer somewhere, but it is not a really great thing in your mind. You rarely think about it. It has no daily effect on you. Basically, you neglect it.

Only what is it really — this great salvation? What he's really saying is:

Don't neglect being loved by God.

Don't neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by Almighty God.

Don't neglect the sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross.

Don't neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith.

Don't neglect the removal of God's wrath and the reconciled smile of God.

Don't neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ.

Don't neglect the radiance of God's glory in the face of Jesus.

Don't neglect the free access to the throne of grace.

Don't neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God's promises.

This is a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. Don't neglect so great a salvation. Because if you do, you will perish without escape."

Have you been drifting?  Get off of that lazy river and get back into the Word.  Be reminded daily of this "great salvation".

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Hebrews 2:1-4

New King James Version

Do Not Neglect Salvation

2 Therefore we must give [a]the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just [b]reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts[c]

 of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?