Daily Bible Verses

Jesus said ²⁰  Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You don’t have to enter a monastery to be a mystic. 

You don’t have to renounce chocolate or forsake pop culture.

To be a mystic in our times is not about renunciation; it is about intention. 

Living as a mystic means orienting the whole of yourself toward the sacred. 

It’s a matter of purposely looking through the lens of love.

When you say yes to…

He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God  (Micah 6:8)

…

The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
(This is a test to see if the new system is working)

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the…

The Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8v10)

Joy deep in the heart of experience of God. 

Joy not related to, dependent upon, or derived from, any circumstances or conditions of life

Strange quality of awe in this joy, but a reflection of the deep calm water of the spirit out of which it comes. 

It is primarily a discovery of the soul, when God makes known God’s presence, where there are no words, no outward song, only the Divine Movement. 

This is the joy that the world cannot give. 

This is the joy that keeps…

The Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8v10)

The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment. We must first allow ourselves to be captured by the goodness, truth, or beauty of something beyond and outside ourselves. Then we universalize from that moment to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the rest of reality, until our realization eventually ricochets back to include ourselves! Yet we humans resist both the awe and, even more, the surrender. The ego resists the…

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to…

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
—Philippians 2:5–8

Brian McLaren shows how Jesus as the image of God changes our understandings of who God is: 

The implications of the Philippians 2 passage…

The foundation of Jesus’ social program is what I will call non-idolatry, or the withdrawing of our enthrallment from all kingdoms except the kingdom of God. This supports a much better agenda than feeling the need to attack things directly. Nonattachment (freedom from loyalties to human-made domination systems) is the best way I know of protecting people from religious zealotry or any kind of antagonistic thinking or behavior. While there are certainly things we are against, we must…

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is…

The 2024 Happiness Report observed data on six areas which are said to create happiness. These six areas related to the average amount of money received by individual citizens, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption.  From a global and historical perspective we have much to be happy about in the UK in the 21^st Century. 

However, Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6.20-20) declared:
Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours.
Happy are you who are hungry now, you will be filled!
Happy are…

‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!’  PHILIPPIANS 4:4
 
Holy Spirit, remind me in every circumstance today, whether difficult or pleasant, to rejoice in the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord! In Paul’s world and culture, rejoicing would have meant public celebration. The people of Ephesus, Philippi, and Corinth used to organise great festivals and games to celebrate their gods. Surely the followers of the Lord Jesus have far more reason to celebrate exuberantly than crowds…

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…

⁶ In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.’  PHILIPPIANS 4:8
 
Holy Spirit, please make me aware when I am feeding my mind with anything unhelpful. I choose to focus on what is noble, right, pure, and lovely.

We have choices about what fills our mind. Our culture often encourages a toxic diet of all that is wrong in the…

rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

4:11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

4:12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

4:13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

4:14Yet it was good of you to share…

³ Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you.
    Bind them around your neck.
    Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favour,
    and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
⁵ Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
    and don’t lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make your paths straight.
⁷ Don’t be…

⁵ Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
    and don’t lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make your paths straight.