Posts with the category “god-s-love”

07/07/2025“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”— Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)The book of Proverbs is like a treasure chest filled with practical wisdom for life, but right here in this short verse, we find the master key to unlocking all of it: the fear of the Lord. Not fear as in terror or dread, but a deep reverence, awe, and recognition of who...  Read More

07/05/2025“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34 (NIV)In the world we live in, worry has become a common companion. We worry about deadlines, health, relationships, finances, and a future we can’t see. Jesus, in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, gently but firmly tells us to stop. Not because th...  Read More

07/04/2025“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”- 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV)Freedom. It’s a word we hear often, especially around this time of year when our country celebrates its independence. But the freedom Paul writes about in this verse goes far deeper than national liberty or personal autonomy. It’s a spiritual freedom, one that only the Holy Spiri...  Read More

07/03/2025Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”- John 20:29 (NIV)In this brief but powerful statement, Jesus speaks directly to a core struggle of faith: believing without seeing. These words were spoken to Thomas, one of His twelve disciples. After the resurrection, Thomas had famously declared that unless he...  Read More

07/01/2025“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – 1 John 4:9 (NIV)There are moments in life when words aren’t enough. Times when someone has to show their love. We’ve seen it in the parent who rushes into danger for their child, in the spouse who stays faithful through the hardest seasons, or the friend who shows up ...  Read More

06/30/2025“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:10 (NIV)Following Jesus will eventually bring you to a crossroads with the world. Today’s verse reminds us that living righteously in an unrighteous world won’t always lead to applause, it may actually lead to persecution. Yet, Jesus calls those who endure it blessed.Think abou...  Read More

06/29/2025“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”— Matthew 5:9 (NIV)There’s something deeply powerful about peace. But, even more powerful, is the person who actively pursues it. Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are the peaceful,” but peacemakers, those who roll up their sleeves and step into conflict, tension, or division with the goal of bringing wholeness and reconcil...  Read More

06/28/2025“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”– Matthew 5:8 (NIV)There’s something beautiful about watching a child gaze in wonder at the world, eyes wide, heart unburdened. They see beauty in mud puddles, treasure in dandelions, and adventure in every backyard. That kind of purity that is unfiltered, undistracted, and unguarded, that is what Jesus is talking about here. It’s no...  Read More

06/27/2025“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”— Matthew 5:7 (NIV)Mercy is one of the most beautiful yet misunderstood virtues in the kingdom of God. It’s not merely feeling sorry for someone, it’s compassion in action. Mercy sees a person in pain or need and says, “I will not just feel something, I will do something.”Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:7 are both a promise and a challen...  Read More

06/26/2025“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”—Matthew 5:6 (NIV)What are you hungry for today?We all wake up with cravings. Some of them are physical like coffee, breakfast, exercise. While others are deeper and more enduring, the longing for meaning, peace, justice, or connection. Jesus, in this fourth Beatitude, speaks directly to those deeper cra...  Read More

06/25/2025“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”- Matthew 5:5 (NIV)When we hear the word meek, our minds may jump to images of weakness, passivity, or someone who lets others walk all over them. But Jesus wasn’t praising doormats, He was redefining power. In the Kingdom of God, meekness is not weakness. It’s strength under control.In the Greco-Roman world, to inherit the earth me...  Read More

06/24/2025“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”- Matthew 5:4 (NIV)Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount are stunningly upside-down to our human instincts. “Blessed are those who mourn”—how can mourning, grief, or sorrow be a blessing? In our culture, we often do all we can to avoid pain, suppress tears, and distract ourselves from loss. Yet here, Jesus invites us to press in...  Read More

06/23/2025“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”— Matthew 5:3 (NIV)Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a paradox: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” At first glance, this sounds backwards. We don’t normally associate poverty, especially spiritual poverty, with blessing. But Jesus is teaching us something profoundly upside down by the world’s standards and beaut...  Read More

06/19/2025“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)Life can often feel like a series of battles, some small, some seemingly insurmountable. Whether it’s battling fear, temptation, grief, guilt, or even death itself, the struggle is real and at times overwhelming. But today’s verse reminds us of one central truth that changes everything...  Read More

06/17/2025“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)When life breaks us open with grief, loss, or discouragement, we often feel like we’re the only ones going through it. In ...  Read More

06/13/2025“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”—Colossians 1:13 (NIV)There is something breathtaking about rescue stories. Think about the news headlines when miners trapped deep underground are finally pulled to safety, or when a child lost in the wilderness is miraculously found and carried home. These stories grip our hearts b...  Read More

06/12/2025“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”—Psalm 30:5 (NIV)David wrote these words not just as poetry, but as testimony. This passage is his dedication song for the temple, a reflection on a life of highs and lows, failures and forgiveness, despair and deliverance. And in this single verse, Davi...  Read More

06/10/2025“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”- Revelation 21:4 (NIV)Imagine standing at the end of a long, hard journey, bruised, weary, and worn. The road has been uphill, the nights dark, and the pain real. And then suddenly, you hear these words: “There will be no more death, or mour...  Read More

06/06/2025“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”- Mark 8:35 (NIV)At first glance, Jesus’ words here seem completely upside down. In a world that screams, “Look out for number one,” “Build your brand,” and “Protect your peace,” Jesus dares to flip the script. He presents a paradox: to truly live, we must surrender; t...  Read More

06/04/2025“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”— Psalm 23:5–6 (NIV)King David’s words in today’s verse move from the peaceful pasture to a royal banquet table. And what a shift it is. He’s no longer lying be...  Read More

06.03.2025“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”— 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)There’s a moment in every person’s life when the weight of worry feels unbearable. The bills are stacking up. The medical report is unclear. The relationships are strained. The unknowns loom large. And in those moments, we instinctively grab hold of our anxieties, as if by carrying them tighter we can somehow cont...  Read More

06/01/2025“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”- Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)The words of Isaiah today stop us in our tracks. It’s as though time pauses and we’re brought face-to-face with the cost of love. Long before Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee, Isaiah painted this breatht...  Read More

05/31/2025“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”- Psalm 100:5 (NIV)Have you ever had a moment when life felt unpredictable, when the world shifted beneath your feet, and the people or plans you trusted suddenly failed you? In times like that, we long for something, someone, unchanging. Psalm 100:5 gives us that anchor: “For the Lord...  Read More

05/29/2025“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)When I was a kid, my family took a long road trip before GPS was even a thought. We had a folded paper map and my dad behind the wheel. Somewhere in the panhandle of Texas, we got lost. I remember watching my dad pull ov...  Read More

05/28/2025“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”— Philippians 1:9-10 (NIV)Paul’s words to the church in Philippi aren’t just a beautiful prayer, they’re a roadmap for spiritual growth. Notice how he doesn’t simply ask that their love incr...  Read More

05/22/2025“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”- Matthew 25:31-32 (NIV)There will come a day when every soul will stand before the King. Not as Americans or Africans, not as rich or poor,...  Read More

05/21/2025“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”— Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)There are few verses in Scripture that proclaim the depth and certainty of God’s love as powerfu...  Read More

05/19/2025“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”— Psalm 100:4 (NIV)There’s something sacred about entering a space that is not your own. Think of the times you’ve walked into a courtroom, a palace, or even someone’s beautifully decorated home. You instinctively adjust, your voice softens, your posture straightens, and you carry yours...  Read More

05/13/2025“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 4:6–7 (NIV)Life has a way of throwing us into whirlwinds, unexpected news, financial pressure, strained relationships, or the slow ...  Read More

05/11/2025“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”—Matthew 1:21 (NIV)What’s in a name? In our culture, names can be chosen because they sound nice, honor a loved one, or reflect something meaningful to the parents. But in Scripture, names often carried profound significance, describing character, purpose, or destiny. A...  Read More

05/07/2025“The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”— Zechariah 14:9 (NIV)There’s coming a day when confusion, division, and false hope will finally come to an end. Zechariah’s vision reaches beyond his own time to the glorious future when God Himself will reign supreme over all creation, not just in the hearts of His people, but o...  Read More

05/05/2025“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”—1 John 4:4 (NIV)We live in a world filled with fear, deception, and opposition. So when we read this simple yet powerful truth in today’s verse, it reminds us who we are and whose power we carry. John is writing to believers who are being bombarded by fals...  Read More

05/04/2025“But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’”— Isaiah 43:1 (NIV)There’s something deeply personal and comforting about being called by name. It implies intimacy, knowledge, and relationship. In today’s verse, God doesn’t just speak to a nation; He speaks to ind...  Read More

05/03/2025“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”—Matthew 6:25 (NIV)In a world filled with uncertainties, anxiety has become a constant companion for many. Jesus speaks directly to this in our verse today. These words are part of His famous Sermon on the Mou...  Read More

05/02/2025“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 1:6 (NIV)Have you ever started a project full of excitement, only to hit a wall somewhere in the middle? Maybe it was a home improvement task, a fitness goal, or even a new habit you were trying to build. Starting is often easier than finishing. But wh...  Read More

04/27/2025“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”—Luke 19:38 (NIV)Have you ever waited for something so long that when it finally arrived, you could hardly believe it was real? Maybe it was the acceptance letter, the long-anticipated wedding day, or the birth of a child. Joy fills your heart, and your lips can’t help but shout in celebra...  Read More

4/25/2025“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” – Psalm 34:19 (NIV)Trouble is no stranger to any of us. Whether it comes in the form of a broken relationship, financial strain, a health crisis, or the loss of someone we love, life can hit hard. And sometimes it hits the righteous hardest. That seems unfair, doesn’t it?Yet, today’s verse pulls back t...  Read More

04/24/2025“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”— 1 Corinthians 3:7 (NIV)Have you ever worked really hard on something, maybe poured your heart into a project, a relationship, or a ministry, only to see the results fall flat? Or maybe you’ve seen someone else receive recognition for something you helped start. It’s in these moments ...  Read More

04/23/2025“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”—1 John 5:14 (NIV)There is a remarkable peace that comes when we know that our prayers are not tossed into some cosmic void but are received by a loving and attentive Father. John, the beloved disciple, reminds us in this verse that we have confidence, not hesitation, not doubt...  Read More

04/22/2025“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.”— Romans 3:25 (NIV)In the Old Testament, the “mercy seat” was the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, where once a year, the high priest would sprinkle the...  Read More