Daily Bible Verses

 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Tim 6:7

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-07-11-generosity-ms-r25 

Even though I walk     through the darkest valley
I will fear no evil,     for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, …

Your patient endurance will win you your lives” (Luke 21:19)

Spiritual transformation is often thought of as movement from darkness to light. In one sense that’s true, while in another sense, it’s totally false. We forget that darkness is always present alongside the light. We know the light most fully in contrast with its opposite—the dark. Pure light blinds; shadows are required for our seeing. There is something that can only be known by going through…

This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah” (Luke 11:29).

Richard Rohr

Soon after I moved to New Mexico in the late 1980s, I began my studies for what would become the men’s rites of passage. I read everything I could on why every ancient culture deemed it necessary in to initiate the male. It seemed that no culture assumed that men would grow up naturally, because nothing in…

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ (Jonah 1:1-2)

Shmuly Yanklowitz: What does it mean to protest? Protesting expresses the opinion that there is something wrong with the…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-07-18-what-do-you-seek-r25

¹ In you, Lord my God,  I put my trust.

² I trust in you;  do not let me be put to shame,  
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³ No one who hopes in you  will ever be put to shame,…

“What right do you have to get angry?” (Jonah 4:9)

Following his preposterous marine adventure, Jonah grudgingly obeys God’s instructions and warns the people of Nineveh that their wickedness is about to be punished. But then the impossible happens.  
The Ninevites listen to Jonah’s warning, take it seriously, and repent. And God, seeing their penitence, changes God’s mind and shows them mercy. In other words, Jonah preaches a sermon, and his congregation responds to it!…

34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 …

‘Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’ REVELATION 2:10–11

How do we make sense of world events? How can we have hope in a world at war, surrounded by injustice, persecution, and suffering? What is God’s plan to intervene? The book of Revelation is essential reading for all Christians as we seek to understand the world around us and our place in God’s salvation history. 
…

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to…

‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?”
 ‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25: 44-45)

Some…

‘Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.’
COLOSSIANS 4:6

Paul’s attempts at conversations about Jesus have landed him in chains. So you could be forgiven for wondering about his evangelistic approach, whether a combative attitude has led to his predicament. But as Paul concludes this letter from prison to the fledgling Colossian community, he appeals to them to combine a wise lifestyle with grace-laced…

Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”  Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a…

Unless I see the mark of his nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and put my hand in his side, I will not believe. (John 20.25)

While there are many who believe whose life has not been complicated by unbelief, there are also many others whose path to faith has passed through a great furnace of doubts

The fact is that doubts can be overcome provided three factors are present. 

Doubt must be honest doubt

Not all doubters…

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)

All of us must face and embrace the urgent need for deep social change - change that begins within, then spreads like ripples on a pond, and finally becomes a tsunami of love-inspired change.  All human beings, made in the image of God have the capacity to be good and to insist on good; to care for others and insist on being cared for; to stand up for the…

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Relationships of mutual concern are rooted in both love and trust. These are people we know will hold our hearts with care. We’re prone to forgive them when they make mistakes, and we hope they’ll do the same for us. We feel accountable to one another. We want to share with them our important moments, both the hardships and the joys. We thrive when we’re together.…

The foundation of Jesus’ social program is what I will call non-idolatry, or the withdrawing of our enthrallment from all kingdoms except the kingdom of God. This supports a much better agenda than feeling the need to attack things directly. Nonattachment (freedom from loyalties to human-made domination systems) is the best way I know of protecting people from religious zealotry or any kind of antagonistic thinking or behavior. …

‘I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.’   COLOSSIANS 2:4

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul expresses a deep pastoral concern: that believers should not be misled by teachings that sound great but are ultimately false. ‘I am saying this,’ he writes, ‘so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments’. It’s a timely warning. Then, as now, Christians face a barrage of persuasive voices – some subtle, some less so – that…

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.  (Matthew 9v10)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-23-around-us-part-2-get-close-r25

The community of believers was of one mind and one heart. None of them claimed anything as their own; rather, everything was held in common. Acts 4:32

The book of Acts is all about the early community of Jesus’ followers that formed after Jesus’ ascension. Communities of followers of the Way—as they’re called—start to form and what we find in Acts 4 are descriptions of what started to happen in these communities. Another way to say it is that this is what it looked like when people…

The Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8v10)

Joy deep in the heart of experience of God. 

Joy not related to, dependent upon, or derived from, any circumstances or conditions of life

Strange quality of awe in this joy, but a reflection of the deep calm water of the spirit out of which it comes. 

It is primarily a discovery of the soul, when God makes known God’s presence, where there are no words, no outward song, only the Divine…

13 ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 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…

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

How do we foster embodied presence and joy? I believe we do it through practice and through meditation. Left to your own devices, the natural state of the human brain is a wandering and critical mind. Meditation helps bring that chaos into a more peaceful state. If it’s difficult, begin with sitting in silence.…

your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-18-fully-real-r25

Joy as embodied presence is an abiding awareness of the gift given to each and every one of us, no matter our circumstances in life. I want to begin talking about joy embodied from scriptural sources. In John 15:11, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full.” In 1st Thessalonians 5:16–18, we read, “Let your joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer, and in the midst of everything, be…

The Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8v10)

The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment. We must first allow ourselves to be captured by the goodness, truth, or beauty of something beyond and outside ourselves. Then we universalize from that moment to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the rest of reality, until our realization eventually ricochets back to…

‘It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.’  COLOSSIANS 1:28

I’ve got a five-year-old who’s currently football mad. He’s making lists of the most important pieces of kit to buy, asking, ‘Is this good food for footballers?’ before every meal, reading football encyclopaedias (yes, they do exist!), and training every morning before school with his mates. He’s making sure that his time alone in…

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-16-around-us-part-1-get-your-eyes-open-…

Isaiah 61:1–2
God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, 
to bind up the broken hearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, 
and release to the prisoners, 
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

Deep reading: Read slowly and pause on any word or phrase that especially speaks to you, touches you or awakens something in you.  
Deep meditation: Allow yourself time to reflect on whatever in the text calls to your attention and…

“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus sent out his disciples two by two? No phones, no maps, and no bags – just each other and their annoying habits.

Watching the fifth series of Race Across the World has caused me to rethink Jesus’ strategy of sending them this way. Pairs of disparate disciples are about to discover what it’s like to get up…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-13-at-one-with-god-r25 

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
…

In the Solentiname Islands of Nicaragua, Ernesto Cardenal reflected on the Gospels each week with communities of campesinos  living in poverty. Commenting on the Beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 6:20), Cardenal shares their conversation: 

ÓSCAR’S MOTHER: “It seems to me that the kingdom is love. Love in this life. And heaven is for those who love here, because God is love.”…

‘…so that he might come to have first place in everything.’  COLOSSIANS 1:18

Since NASA first began releasing them in 2022, the pictures coming back from the James Webb space telescope have been breathtaking, showing the sheer scale and beauty of our universe. To be useful, though, the images have to be razor-sharp. So, to ensure no opportunity is ever lost, there is a constant process of recalibration going on, involving tiny adjustments to the precision-engineered lenses and…

Jesus said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (John 21:6) 

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 3v5,6) 

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-11-timing-…

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ (Matthew 4v4)

More than telling us exactly what to see in the Scriptures, Jesus taught us how to see, what to emphasize, and also what could be de-emphasized or ignored. Beyond fundamentalism or literalism, Jesus practiced a form of Jewish commentary called midrash, consistently using questions to keep spiritual meanings…

Jesus had to flee persecution as a child when his parents escaped to Egypt. Throughout his life and in his death Jesus faced horrors you and I can’t imagine. And he knew what it was to be without a home. In Matthew 8:20 Jesus says, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’

Just as Jesus walked alongside people in crisis with compassion and mercy, We remember the plight of the 123 million refugees and displaced people in…

‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. Matthew 14:17

Some thoughts based on Richard Rohr’s thoughts…. 

The Gospel accounts include two traditions of open table fellowship: one of bread and wine, the other of bread and fish. The bread and fish stories emphasize surplus and outside guests. At the end of each event, there…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-6-do-you-think-r25

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
    let me never be put…

.. the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ …

The thrust of Jesus’ message is about inclusion—shocking, scandalous inclusion: the kingdom of God is available to all, beginning with the least. Yet Jesus often warns people of the possibility of missing the kingdom. “Unless you become like a little child,” he said, “you shall not enter the kingdom” (see Matthew 18:3). So the possibility is real: the kingdom of God that is available to all can be missed by some.  

What we need is a requirement that those who wish…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-4-fatherhood-r25 

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you…

“Then go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come,” the master said, “so that my house will be full” Luke 14:12-23. 

Jesus once had [a conversation] with a group of religious leaders at the home of a prominent Pharisee. “When you give a banquet,” Jesus said to his host, “invite the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” He told them a parable about a man who prepared a banquet and invited many guests. When those on the guest…

We meet together….

so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.’ Colossians 1:10

We’re part of the church when we’re gathered on Sunday and equally so when we’re scattered on Monday. They’re two sides of the same whole-life-discipleship coin. Our gathered times should equip us for our scattered times, whilst our scattered times should inform our gathered times.

There’s a…

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-2-if-god-made-the-universe-then-who-made-god-part-2-r25

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’  Matthew 9:10–11

Jesus’ most consistent social action was eating…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-30-psalm-55-r25 

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;

²hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

³because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down…

Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. (Matthew 21:31) 
Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3)
Your life is now hidden with Christ in God.(Colossians 3:3)

Richard Rohr explores how chasing success is one of the greatest temptations we face. The things that Jesus cared about, such as powerlessness and humility, instead become our shadow.   
Our shadow self is any part…

But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  Luke 10v33-34

…

Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
ACTS 10:34–36
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles should hear from my lips the message…

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-26-if-god-made-the-universe…

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labour. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.  (Exodus 2:11-12)

As an outsider both among his own people and among the Egyptians who had raised him, [Moses] probably…

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)

…

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice…

Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’ (Ezekiel 37v9)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-16-dry-bones-r25 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty (“El Shaddai”); walk before me faithfully and be blameless.  (Genesis 17:1)

In the book of Exodus and elsewhere, God is El Shaddai, God of the mountain or God Almighty [Genesis 17:1; Exodus 6:3; Job 8:5]…. In the original Hebrew, the phrase simply reads “God of the mountain.” In Hebrew,…

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was…

The Mothering God gives birth to us and gives us life. The Mothering God nurtures us and provides shelter when we need it. Luke 13:34 says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” As a hen gathering her brood, the Mothering God protects us under her wings. When we feel alone and broken, God provides shelter for our brokenness, loss, and suffering. Those who suffer from the effects…

Pray constantly

We all have the spirit of life breathed into us, and life is thus a gift from God. For Desmond Tutu, we become God’s breath in the world in order to transfigure creation to look like the Creator. Tutu used to say, in his pastoral visits to churches, that you and I are placed in this world of hatred, violence, anger, injustice, and oppression to help God transform it, transfigure it, and change it so that there will be compassion, laughter, joy, peace, reconciliation,…

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-9-transformed-lives-r25 

The 2024 Happiness Report observed data on six areas which are said to create happiness. These six areas related to the average amount of money received by individual citizens, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption.  From a global and historical perspective we have much to be happy about in the UK in the 21^st Century. 

However, Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6.20-20) declared:
Happy are you poor…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-7-umbilical-r25

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    …

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-05-5-listening-r25 

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-04-30-up-the-lane-r25

14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.…

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

If the Sun is the source of flow in the economy of nature, what is the “Sun” of a human gift economy, the source that constantly replenishes the flow of gifts? Maybe it is love.

Reflecting on the abundant Juneberries she has been gifted from a nearby tree, Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer considers the gift economy of natural processes: 

This pail of…

Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!   Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. …

No one who hopes in you    will ever be put to shame (Psalm 25:3)

Death is not only physical dying. Death also means going to the full depths of things, hitting the bottom, going beyond where we’re in control. When we go into the full depths and death of anything , even the depths of our own sin, we can come out the…

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14…

In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. —Mark 1:35 

If the desert is a place of renewal, transformation, and freedom, and if the heat and isolation served as a nurturing incubator …, one wonders if a desert experience is necessary to reclaim this legacy.  

One need not wonder long when there are so many deserts within reach. Today’s wilderness can be found in bustling suburban…

5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’

…

Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-04-2-the-bible-and-violence-pa…

‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.’ 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-2
 
I pray for those in government, royalty, and all in authority in my workplace. Please give them wisdom and strength for their roles.

‘Prayer isn’t just one thing…

‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’ GENESIS 50:20
 
Lord, thank you that you know the end from the beginning. Help us to seek your perspective.

Being thankful in all circumstances is not the same as being thankful for every situation in which we find…

‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ JOHN 16:33
 
‘Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’ (Revelation 7:12)

The act of rejoicing is something quite different from naïve optimism. It is not subject to the ups and…

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” Romans 12:21

That is the heart of the challenge—what do we believe? What is our ground? What narratives have shaped us and are shaping us? We must have the clarity to name evil for what it is, yet without losing ourselves in othering, understanding that in some way or form, we are part of what we are naming. We must engage not just with what’s out there but with what’s within us as well. History is filled with…

Not Following the crowd 

A preacher gets up, quotes scripture, and reminds the gathered congregation that God loves the outcast—those in fear for their lives—the poor, prisoners, the disabled, and the oppressed. 

In response, an outraged mob tries to kill the preacher…. 

Jesus spoke directly to the congregation saying that God loved widows and those stricken with leprosy—implying that his neighbors had not treated widows and lepers justly. They…