Daily Bible Verses

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 open, often reflecting on a text or returning people’s questions with more questions. 
Rather…

Heavenly father
give us grace to keep our eyes fixed on you, particularly when we are dazzled by success and wealth. 

⁵ Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 
⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
⁷ Jesus said to him, “…

Heavenly father
give us grace to treasure you and your kingdom above all else giving you worship  today, particularly when we are in positions of power over others. 

⁸ Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 
⁹ He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan!
For it is written, ‘You shall worship…

[Sorry - Wrong version earlier]

Heavenly father
give us grace to be those who look for your light in the dark places of our lives, and in the lives of others; and are transformed by it. 

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. 
¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 
¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁵ “The land of…

Heavenly father
give us grace to turn to you today and live in the Kingdom of Heaven  

¹⁷ From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, 
“Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

¹⁸ Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother,
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 
¹⁹ He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
²⁰ …

Heavenly father
give us grace to seek first your kingdom today and to be channels of healing to others.

²³ Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the Good News of the Kingdom,
and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 
²⁴ The report about him went out into all Syria.
They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments,
possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. 
²⁵ …

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.  He said

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are…

Heavenly father
give us grace to seek you today in our poverty of spirit and our mourning, and to be a blessing to others in their poverty of spirit and their mourning

¹ Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain.
When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
² He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
  …

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who do not possess adequate resources

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    …

Heavenly father
give us grace to be merciful and pure in heart today.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they shall obtain mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Imagine living with one purpose: to have a heart centred on the will and love of God, so that this determines all our actions each day. 

Being committed to something keeps life expanding for us, even when we think that there’s nowhere else for it to go. Purpose gives us a sense of importance, of wanting to do even more, even…

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

You don’t have to have anything to get started, really: just a will, which I believe is already within you, and a way. Do the work your way, with the intention of expanding the circle of human concern and creating radical belonging for others.…  

Get to work. Build. Bridge. Belong. This call for belonging is not about saving ourselves as individuals in terms of the resources that we have or the access we have been granted. Belonging is about saving our very humanity.  

If you are not…

Blessed are the peacemakers: They shall be recognized as children of God.  
—Matthew 5:9  

Richard Rohr considers what it means to be a peacemaker:  

This verse in Matthew’s Gospel is the only time the word peacemakers is ever used in the whole Bible. Peacemakers literally are the “ones who reconcile quarrels.” We can clearly see Jesus is not on the side of the violent but on the side of the nonviolent. Jesus is saying there must be a connection, a clear consistency, a constant unity between means and ends. There is no way to peace other than…

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…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be peacemakers today, whatever the cost.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they shall be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
    for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be the salt of the earth today, and to do nothing that will cause us to loose our saltiness

(Salt  = knowing the blessing of being poor, in mourning, meek, seekers of righteousness, pure in heart, merciful, peacemakers and persecuted)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted?
It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13–16).

Brian McLaren …

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.…

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 glorify your Father in heaven.

Heavenly father
give us grace to do good works today so that people will see something of you

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 
¹⁵ Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 
¹⁶ Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.