Daily Bible Verses

14 And we urge you, brothers [and sisters], admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test…

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16–18
 
Father, I want to live out my faith in every area of my life. Please help me use these three simple guidelines to do that.

Pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Breathe in the breath of God 
Breathe out your cares and concerns 
Breathe in the love of God 
Breathe out your doubts and despairs 
Breathe in the life of God 
Breathe out your fears and frustrations 
We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation 
We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s womb 
We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being 
Breathe in the breath of God 
Breath out your tensions and…

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, fellowship, friendship, togetherness, and family, and so that people would want to be together as…

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 Juneberries represents hundreds of gift exchanges that led up to my blue-stained fingers: the Maples who…

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 peace.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our…

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, may my goal today and every day be to love.
May my desires be pure,
May my thoughts be for good, particularly for the good of others
May I be faithful in my actions, arising from the faithfulness of Jesus.
What I pray for myself I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

³ As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer ⁴ …

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help us to understand what you are saying in and around what Paul said to Timothy

We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully
We also know that the law is not laid down for a righteous person
but for those who are lawless and do not submit to rules
those who don’t respect what is holy and who miss the mark
those who don’t have reverence for and trample over what is holy
those who beat their fathers and mothers
those who murder, those who prostitute themselves
those who lie with men, those who traffic people…

Heavenly Father, when I am messing up my life and the lives of others
help me to learn what I am currently ignorant about, so that I may not act in ignorance
help me to trust what I currently don’t trust, so that I may not act from unbelief.
hen I see others who are messing up their lives and the lives of others
give me grace to see how they are acting from ignorance and unbelief
so that I may be a channel of the grace, faith and love that are in Christ Jesus

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given…

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King…