Daily Bible Verses

Heavenly Father,
Give me grace to respond to you in my inner being as Jesus did
Thank you for the hope that I have in Christ for all time and eternity

By common consent, great is the mystery of the inner response to God
            He appeared in the flesh, (at his birth)
                    …

Heavenly Father
* When I am tempted, give me grace to turn my eyes to my saviour Jesus
* When I find myself in despair, give me grace to turn my eyes to Jesus and find hope.
* When I am heard hearted fill me with your generosity
* When I am unforgiving fill me with your mercy
* When I encounter injustice make me a channel of your…

Heavenly father give us grace to seek to do what is right, rather than to seek to profit from doing right.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people (that you rescued from those who captured them), and take the goods for yourself.”  ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,…

Heavenly Father give me grace to turn away from what is indiscriminately destructive
* Give me grace to value interdependence with all of your creatures

⁸ God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 
⁹ “I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living…

Heavenly Father Thank you for your many kindnesses to us
* for giving us clothes to help us feel less vulnerable
* for making temporary our lives which have so much difficulty and pain and suffering arising from our misuse of free will,

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
²¹ The Lord God made…

Heavenly Father
* Give me grace to be thankful for all the resources in the world, particularly those that have life within them;
* give me grace to respect all life; and
* give me grace to respect all those who are made in your image.

¹ God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 

² The fear…

Heavenly Father
            in amongst all the destruction that takes place in this world,
            give me grace to do what is right
            and give me grace to allow you and others do what I cannot do (e.g. “close the door of the ark”)

¹ Yahweh said to Noah…

Heavenly father, give me grace today to be responsible for my own actions (rather than playing the blame game)

¹¹ And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

^…

Heavenly father give me grace to turn to you when I am disappointed at life and at myself.
I repent of the unkindness which arises from my jealousy of others.
Give me grace to rejoice with my brothers and sisters when they succeed, particularly when I don’t.

4 Adam^[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she…

Heavenly Father, pour out your grace on me so that I may be attentive to the needs of others
* so that I may look after their interests
* and so that I may hear cries of injustice.
* What I ask for myself I ask for those who fail to see the humanity in those affected by their actions.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am…

Heavenly Father
Make me a channel of your grace to those whose self inflicted misery is more than they can bear.

¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. …

Heavenly Father
* give me grace to turn away from what is indiscriminately destructive
* give me grace to value interdependence with all of your creatures

⁸ God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 
⁹ “I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature…

Heavenly father
* give us grace to seek first the Kingdom of God, rather than to seek to make a name for ourselves.

¹ The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.  ⁴ They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the…

Heavenly father
* give us grace to appreciate those people who act as bridges between us and You (priests). 
* give us grace to share your blessings with others

¹⁸ Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and ¹⁹  blessed Abram, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: ^20…

Heavenly father give us grace to do the things that we can do in difficult situations, so that it is you who are at work in us.

⁸ The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah lost in battle against other kings  ¹¹ who took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, ¹²  and also Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods…

Heavenly father give us grace to hear your voice, to lift up our eyes, to receive grace, to “get up and go” and to make space for you in our lives

¹⁴ Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, ^15…

Heavenly father give us grace to make wise decisions to avoid strife in our close relationships, and to avoid wickedness.

⁵ Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together. 
⁷ There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s…

Heavenly Father
give us grace to return to the places where we have experienced your presence in the past, and to call on you.
(whether these are physical places or frames of mind or social settinns)

¹ Abram went up out of Egypt—he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him—into the South. ² Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. …

Heavenly father give us grace to call on your name (like Abraham), particularly in hard times so that we bring blessing to others rather than misfortune (unlike Abraham)

⁷ Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” ^[a]

He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had…

Heavenly Father,
give us grace to look forward to the next part of our lives, to know what we must leave behind, so that we can be a blessing to others.

¹ Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make of you a great nation. I will…

Heavenly Father give us hope when we face tragedy and new circumstances.

²¹ Noah was the father of Shem, father of^:10 Arpachshad, father of ¹² Shelah, father of ¹⁴ Eber, father of ¹⁶ Peleg, father of ^20 …

Heavenly Father
Give us grace to set our hope on you,
Give us grace so that we may be rich in good works and generous in giving and communicating.

¹⁷ Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy;…

Heavenly father
give us grace, mercy and peace today and always

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, ² to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Chapter 2 so far:
¹¹Jesus has done the first of his signs and revealed his glory.

Reading:
²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.^[d]…

¹ Yahweh is my shepherd:
    I shall lack nothing.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures.
    He leads me beside still waters.
³ He restores my soul.
    He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
^4 …

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from helping me?
² My God, I cry, but you don’t answer

³ But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of your people.
⁴ Our fathers trusted in you, and you delivered them.

^6 …

¹ I rejoice in your strength and your salvation, Yahweh!
² You have given me my heart’s desire,

³ For you meet me with the blessings of goodness.
⁴ I asked life of you, you gave it to me, even length of days forever and ever.
⁶ You make me glad with joy in…

¹May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble.
²     send you help and ³ remember all your offerings and sacrifices.
⁴ May He grant you your heart’s desire

⁵ We will triumph in your salvation.
    In the name of our God, we will set up our banners.
…

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God and show his handiwork
² Day after day they pour out speech,
    and night after night they display knowledge.
⁴ Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
    their words to the end of the world.

^7 …

¹ I love you, Yahweh, my strength.
² Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
³ I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised;
    and I am saved from my…

Hear, Yahweh, my righteous plea;
    Give ear to my prayer, that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips.
³  I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.
⁴     I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
⁶ I have called on you, for you will answer me, God.
    …

¹My relationship with you, God, is my safe place,
 ²for it is the source of all goodness.

³I delight in seeing how your goodness flows in the lives of others
⁴and I turn away from other life sources which give rise to much sorrow

⁵ I…

¹ The earth is Yahweh’s, and those who dwell therein.
⁴ Those with a pure heart who have not lifted up their soul to falsehood, ⁵ shall receive a blessing from Yahweh, ⁶ whom they seek

The next bit was probably about  lifting out of the way the heavy doors in the temple…

¹ Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity.
    I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering.
² Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me.
    Try my heart and my mind.
³ For your loving kindness is before my eyes.
    I have walked in your truth.
…

¹³ Jesus went to celebrate God’s gift of freedom (in the feast of Passover) at the place set aside for worship (the temple).
¹⁴ Instead of being a place which focused on God and His gifts, the temple was a place focussed on things to be bought and sold.
^15-17 Jesus drove out those whose primary concern was money saying “Stop turning my…

Jesus taught us to pray “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
The kingdom of heaven is of primary importance, what happens on earth is important but is secondary.
 How does that work out in practice:

¹ On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had…

¹ In you, Yahweh, I take refuge, ³ for you are my rock and my fortress,
    therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
    ⁴ Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me,
    ⁵ Into your hand I commend my spirit.
⁶ I hate those who regard lying vanities,
    but I trust in Yahweh ^14…

¹ I will extol you, ² Yahweh my God, for I cried to you,
    and you healed me ³ and raised me up
⁴ Sing praise to Yahweh, and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment.
    His favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
    …

¹ Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty,
    ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
² Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name.
    Worship Yahweh in holy array.

⁴ Yahweh’s voice is powerful.
    Yahweh’s voice is full of majesty.
⁷ Yahweh’s voice strikes with flashes of lightning.
⁸     Yahweh’s…

¹ To you, Yahweh, I call.
    My rock, don’t be deaf to me;
    lest, if you are silent to me,
    I would become like those who go down into the pit.
³ Don’t draw me away with the wicked, who speak peace with their neighbours,
    but mischief is in their hearts.

^6…

¹ Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
    Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
    Of whom shall I be afraid?

³ Though an army should encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
    even then I will be confident.

⁴ One…

¹ To you, Yahweh, do I lift up my soul.

⁴ Show me your ways and ⁵ Guide me in your truth,
    For you are the God of my salvation.

⁸ Good and upright is Yahweh,
    therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
⁹ He will guide the humble in justice.
¹⁰ All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth
^11 …

Lord God, who shall live with you?

² Those who do what is right,
speak the truth in their hearts;
⁴  despise all evil thoughts and actions
honour those fear God, and
are faithful…

Heavenly father,
open my heart to an understanding of the goodness that is only to be found in you,
that I may seek after you
and lead me not into the foolish temptation of thinking that there is no such goodness, and no such God

¹ The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt.
    They have done abominable deeds…

^1-3Why do those with power seek to use it against people rather than for people?

^4-7From the perspective of our Father in Heaven, the one with real power, it is laughable that people should think that this is what power is for.

Laughable, this is, if it wasn’t so serious.
God rebukes them in his anger, and points them to how power is really exercised, by His Son on a hill top on…

Blessed are those who do not follow advice which is based on wanting to do others down
Blessed are those who don’t stop attempting to do what is right.
Blessed are those who don’t ridicule what is loving and good.
Blessed are those who delight in who God is, as shown in the bible.
Blessed are those who day and night think about
* the one who brings peace to families (like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob)
* the one who brings peace to those who are abused (like Hebrew slaves in…

Heavenly father
give us grace to die to the things of this world so that we might live in Your song
and thank you that when we are faithless in this, Jesus is still faithful.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the offspring^[a] of David, according to my Good News, ^9…

Heavenly father
give us grace to serve you today with a pure conscience.
give grace today to those whose sincere faith nurtured us in the faith.

³ I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day ⁴ longing to…

Heavenly father
stir up in us your gifts of power, love and self control.

⁶ For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. 

Heavenly father
give us grace to know your Son, the bringer of life and immortality

⁸ Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God, ⁹ who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be faithful and loving today through your Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

¹³ Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us…

Heavenly father
give us the strength that we need to face today’s hardships, strength which flows from the grace that is in Christ Jesus

¹ You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same things to faithful men, who will be…

Here’s my problem:

O Lord, so many things, people and systems seem to be against me, and more seem to keep cropping up. - how many are my foes! Many are rising against me.
Many of those who know of my faith in you are saying to me “There is no help for you in God”

What do I know of my heavenly Father?

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me…

I say to God

Answer me when I call to you,
    my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
    have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

God replies:

² How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
    How long will you love delusions and seek false gods…

¹ Listen to my words, Lord, ² hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God, for to you I pray.
    ³ In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice and I wait expectantly.

⁴ For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;…

¹ In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you advise me to hide?

² Yes, the pure in heart do come under attack
³ and the foundations are being destroyed

⁴ But I know that the Lord  is on his heavenly throne.
and sees into hearts of all, seeing…

¹ Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

² Everyone lies to their neighbour;
they flatter with their lips
but harbour deception in their…

Heavenly father, give me grace to be thankful for the past (my experience of you in love, grace, creativity, trust, truth, humility, joy, peace, hope, mercy, healing and justice)

¹ I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Heavenly father, give me grace to delight myself in you today (in all of the above)

…

When things go wrong, LORD, you seem distant,
almost as though you are hiding yourself,
and I don’t understand why.
 

I am troubled both by the suffering of those who are weak,
and also by the success of those who have no room for God.
It seems particularly wrong that those who are helpless
suffer at the hands of those who are arrogant and greedy,
 

So, Arise, LORD, and do something for those who are helpless,
for I know that you see…

AAARRRGGGH!

¹ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me? (your attention seems to be elsewhere)
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts (I have to deal with stuff on my own)
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
…

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name.
Heavenly Father open my eyes today to see more clearly your character (your name)
and give me grace to give you honour today by displaying child-like trust.

¹LORD God, Our God
How majestic is your name in all the earth (and for all people)
You have given (us all) your splendour (and it is) above the heavens.

(And yet)  ^2 …

I know that I am weak:

            ¹ Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
 save and deliver me 
from everything and everyone that ²  can tear me apart

and yet I know that I have a certain moral strength

^…

¹ Lord God - things aren’t going well in my life
and I wonder whether it is, in part, because I have, by my own actions, brought this upon myself
and am feeling your just anger and wrath.

² OK! But I wish to repent, put this in the past and find healing
because I’ve run out of energy and am in pain.

³ I feel out of…

Heavenly Father
give us grace today to do this: 

¹ The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me,
    because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,
    to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and release to those who are bound,
 

Heavenly Father
Give us grace today to hear your voice calling us back to you whenever we speak evil in matters about which we are ignorant

¹¹ whereas angels, though greater in might and power,
don’t bring a railing judgement against them before the Lord. 
¹² But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed,
speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their…

Heavenly father
give us grace today to discern signs of the kingdom of heaven on earth

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 
² But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 
³ In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’
Hypocrites! You know how to discern…

Hear the Lord saying this about you…..

¹⁴ “Because you have set your love on me, therefore I will deliver you
    I will set you on high, because you have known my name.
¹⁵  You will call on me, and I will answer you.
    I will be with you in trouble.
    I will deliver you , and honour you. 
¹⁶ I will satisfy you with long life,
 …

Heavenly father
give us grace today to be careful not to waste the precious resources you have given us.  

³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 
³⁸ The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 
³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to…

Heavenly Father
give us grace today to be patient as we wait for your kingdom to come and your will to be done

²⁰ Your sun will not go down any more,
    nor will your moon withdraw itself;
for Yahweh will be your everlasting light,
    and the days of your mourning will end.
²¹ Then your people will all be righteous.
    They will…

Heavenly Father
Give us grace today to look for what is good in those in authority

¹⁰ but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority.
Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; 

Heavenly father
give us grace today to receive what you give us with thanks, and to use it, particularly for the benefit other others. 

³⁵ He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 
³⁶ and he took the seven loaves and the fish.
He gave thanks and broke them,
and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 
 

⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.’

¹¹ For he will put his angels in charge of you,
    to guard you in all your ways.
¹² They will bear you up in their hands,
    so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and cobra.
    You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.

Heavenly father
give us grace today to have compassion for those around us.

³² Jesus summoned his disciples and said, 
“I have compassion on the multitude,
because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat.
I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
³³ The disciples said to him,
“Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so…

Heavenly Father
give us grace today to allow you to be our light, so that we are governed by peace and righteousness

¹⁷ For bronze I will bring gold;
    for iron I will bring silver;
    for wood, bronze,
    and for stones, iron.
I will also make peace your governor,
    and righteousness your ruler.
¹⁸ Violence shall no more…