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Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. — Matthew 5:11-12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... For many of us, the sentiments of this verse feel foreign and upside down to the world we know. However, those who have studied the persecution of Jesus' followers over the centuries remind us that current believers in Christ are enduring perhaps the greatest amount of persecution in the history of Christianity. However, many of us live in places where belief is tolerated. Christians are just considered a bit out of touch with reality and a bit naive, but tolerated. However, with worldliness creeping into God's people from every direction, maybe we should be thankful that Christian living makes us different enough from our cultures to be noticed, even if that notice is a bit unfavorable...

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 until the day of Christ. — Philippians 1:9-10 Thoughts on Today's Verse... I don't know about you, but my hardest decisions aren't about choosing between good and bad. I usually know what is good and what is bad, especially when bad involves evil. My toughest choices are when I have to choose between good, better, and best. My love for God usually overcomes my weaknesses, and I choose good over bad - or at least recognize good over bad. But unless I've placed myself before God's word and surrendered my heart to him in prayer, asking to be led by the Holy Spirit, I have a very tough time choosing between good, better, and best. In my heart of hearts, I want "to discern what is best" and "be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." Yet I'm convinced that much of what Go...

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. — John 3:20-21 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Truth is seen in what it does and whom it seeks. Let's live as children of light and seek after the Father who dwells in unapproachable and glorious light ( 1 Timothy 6:16 ) so we might be light to a world darkened by evil ( Matthew 5:14-16 ). Let's not hide, play, or flirt with the darkness, but come to the light and receive the light of life ( John 1:4 , 8:12 ) as we live as light in our dark world ( Philippians 2:15 ). My Prayer... Father of the heavenly lights,* I ask you to correct me gently as I place myself, my imperfections, failures, and sins before you, bringing them into the light of your presence. Please forgive and cleanse me by the blood of Jesus so that I might be spotless ...

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. — 1 Corinthians 2:14 Thoughts on Today's Verse... The Holy Spirit is God's abiding gift, God's seal, our anointing, and our promise of future glory.* The Spirit is our assurance that what God began with Jesus' sacrificial death and our participation in it through faith and baptism, he will bring to completion at Jesus' return. But the world cannot understand this great promise, just like it cannot understand much of Scripture. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, their eyes only see what they can touch with their fingers and cannot fully see what is true in God's heart and what God has revealed in his Word. * The things said about the Holy Spirit come through clear statements in the Scriptures from places like John 14:18-23 ; Romans 8:9-39 ; Titus 3:3-7 ; 2 Corinthians 1:22...

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. — Matthew 6:33 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus is speaking in his Sermon on the Mount. He wants us not to worry about all the stuff we often pursue. So, let's seek (pursue relentlessly) God's Lordship over our lives and his righteousness, which reflects his holy character in our daily dealings. Everything else we pursue is temporary. Only God and his Kingdom remain. As we pursue God's Kingdom and his righteousness, Jesus promises that the one who gives us his Kingdom and his righteousness will also bless us with what we need in this life, as well! My Prayer... Holy LORD, only in you do I find what satisfies my soul's deepest desires. The things that have captured my eye are boring after only a short while. The artificial things I have pursued, all of my addictive interests, have left me empty, enslaved, and in debt. I find hope and help only in you alone. I join with ...

We know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. — Hebrews 10:30-31 Thoughts on Today's Verse... God hates injustice, unfairness, brutality, and abuse. In a world where the greedy, the murdering, the thieving, the raping, the mugging, the abusive, and the bullies often get away with their shameless and despicable behavior, God is the ultimate assurance that justice will be done. The wicked will not triumph. The evil will have to give account to the one who will judge them ( Acts 10:42-43 ; 1 Peter 4:3-5 ). While those who love and serve Jesus expect his return with anticipation and joy, those who are evil and vile will find out what a dreadful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. The hands that wipe away the tears of Jesus' wounded disciples in heaven ( Revelation 7:17 , 21:4 ) will also be the hands that avenge those who ...