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

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…

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…

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…

(My experience of forgiveness is that the bigger the sin, the more difficult it is to forgive.  God’s experience seems to be different)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me grace to be patient with others, showing them mercy, so that they may have life in all its fullness.

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…

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father help me to hold on to, and not reject, the faith that you are indeed eternal and the only God, and let it be reflected in the way in which I live today, so that at the end of today day my conscience may be clear (and that I may not have contributed to my life being a shipwreck).
Protect me and others, Heavenly Father, from the sin of blaspheme, from believing that something is from you, when…

Heavenly Father, open my eyes to all those around me today, particularly those in authority
* give me grace to have good desires for myself, and to bring these petitions to you
* give me grace to think about others in a prayerful way
* give me grace to have good desires for others, and to bring these intercessions to you
* give me grace to see the good in others and be thankful for them
* May your kingdom of peace, truth and…

‘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 among many. It’s like a secret stream, flowing along unseen, refreshing everything else we do and…

¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all…

Heavenly father,
* give me grace to put what I believe about generosity and kindness into practice, so that I will clothed with good deeds.
* give me grace to avoid the pitfalls of giving too much importance to anything which is not of eternal significance
* and help me to discern the ways in which cultural pressures can harm me.

⁹ I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, …

(In the light of Paul’s instruction in chapter 6 for slaves to show full respect for their masters)
Heavenly Father,
* give me grace to discern how you are calling me to behave in a culture that is different to 2000 years ago.
* give me grace to learn
* give me grace to be quiet when I need to be quiet
* give me grace to discern when I am being deceived
* thank you for the childbearing that brought Jesus into the world through whom I am saved.

¹¹ A woman should learn in…

Heavenly Father, give me grace
* to be faithful in my family relationships, not neglecting what is my responsibility
* to be hospitable and generous in my relationships with those outside my family
* to be trustworthy, avoiding both the love of money and the desire for dishonest gain
* to be self controlled in regard to the pleasures of life
* to be gentle, avoiding all forms of violence
* to have a clear conscience, particularly with regard to what I say
and what I pray for myself I pray for others, particularly those who are in positions of power and…

Heavenly Father
Give me grace to conduct myself as a member of your household.
In particular give me grace to live in truth - being true to you, to myself and to others.

¹⁴ Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, ¹⁵ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the…

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)
                        was vindicated by the Spirit, (at his baptism and in his resurrection)…