Tagged: verse for the day

“Pass through the city [through Jerusalem] and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it.” –Ezekiel 9:4 The Lord destroyed the idolators of Jerusalem. Only those marked with a cross-like figure on their foreheads were spared (Ez 9:6). This was a prefigurement of the end of the world. Only those with the seal of the Lamb of God will be saved (Rv 7:3). Those with the mark of the beast (Rv 13:17) will be damned. We can receive the seal of the Lamb of God only by...

“Open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.” –Ezekiel 2:8 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to eat a scroll covered with messages of “lamentation and wailing and woe” (Ez 2:10). This hardly sounds like a tasty treat, but Ezekiel found it “as sweet as honey” in his mouth (Ez 3:3). “How sweet to my palate are Your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps 119:103) God’s Word, including even the most difficult of His words, is sweet, nourishing, and fulfilling. God’s Word is not only like honey but also like bread, milk, and meat (Mt 4:4; Heb 5:12;...

“Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”–John 12:24 Jesus gives us His very self — everything He has. In return, we should give Jesus everything at every moment. The world in its wisdom teaches us to save for the future. The rich man who planned to tear down his barns to build bigger ones (see Lk 12:18) seems to practice the best of worldly “wealth management,” but Jesus calls him a “fool” (see Lk 12:20). Later in the Gospel of Luke,...

“Peter spoke up and said, ‘Lord, if it is really You, tell me to come to You across the water.’ ‘Come!’ He said. So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, moving toward Jesus.” –Matthew 14:28-29 If you had asked Peter the day before he walked on the water: “Can you walk on water?”, Peter would have answered “No.” Peter could not walk on water unless Jesus told him to, and Peter obeyed Jesus’ command. This is a basic principle of the Christian life. For example, we must love our enemies (Lk 6:27, 35)...

“For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint.” –Habakkuk 2:3 God has given us visions, promises, high hopes. Over the years, some of these have not happened, and we have forgotten about them. Sometimes we remember these promises but do not hold on to our hopes because we don’t want more disappointments. However, the Lord tells us: “If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late” (Hab 2:3; cf 2 Pt 3:9). We must live by faith and not be afraid to expect God’s power in our...