Daily Bible Verses by Book

Heavenly father
give us grace not to be defined by our failures in the past (both our own and our families) 
 

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
² Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob, [who had a feud with Esau]
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers [who all hated Joseph]
³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, [who was raped]
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,…

Heavenly father
give us grace to continue to hope when everything is falling apart 

⁶ David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam, [who like those in bold afterwards did evil in the sight of the Lord]
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
⁹ …

Heavenly father
give us grace to see the bigger picture today
give us grace to see the importance of those who are marginalised by society (just as women in general and Mary in particular were).

¹² After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
¹⁵ …

Heavenly father
give us grace today to do seek to do what is right and what is kind 

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about:
his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together,
she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 
¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law,
and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to…

Heavenly father
give us grace to not only rejoice that you are with us today, but also to be obedient to what you command us to do today. 

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 
²¹ 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.’

²² All…

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ (Matthew 2v1-2)

Religious historian Diana Butler Bass invites readers to take a clear-eyed look at the world around us and how we participate in its healing or harm: 
Right now, we think it is hard to look at the world. It is…

Heavenly father
give us grace to worship you today, and to shepherd those who are entrusted to our care. 

¹ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod,
behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 
² “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?
For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 
³ When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 
⁴ Gathering together all the chief…

Heavenly father
give us grace to rightly value people and things today, and to value you above all.

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 
⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child.
When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

⁹ They, having heard the king, went their way;
and behold, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them until…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be attentive to hearing you and being obedient to you today 

¹² Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,
“Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you,
for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
¹⁴ He…