Daily Bible Verses

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…

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 …

13 ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. …

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.

13 ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 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. (Matthew 5)

Jesus advocates an identity characterized by…

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.

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.…

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.

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. (Matthew 5:15)

Archbishop Romero (who was murdered while leading worship by the authorities in Argentina) said:  

A Christian community is evangelized in order to evangelize. A light is turned on in order to give light. “People do not light a candle and put it under a basket,” said Christ. “They light it and put it up high so that it gives light” (Matthew 5:15). That is true community. A community is a…

Heavenly father
give us grace to do what is righteous today and every day. 

¹⁷ “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
¹⁸ For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law,
until all things are accomplished. 
¹⁹ Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so,
shall be called…

Heavenly father
give us grace to refrain today from labelling others as fools 

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.’ ²² But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause  will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’  will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.

Heavenly father
give us grace to go out of our way to be reconciled to others today, remembering that we are never the completely innocent party

²³ “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar,
and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 
²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 
²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way;
…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be careful with our looking at and our thinking about other people today,
and give us grace to allow evil no place in our minds and bodies

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said,  ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
²⁸ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 
²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.
For it is more profitable for you…

Heavenly father
give us grace to avoid doing things which have the semblance of being right, but which we know to be wrong,
and give us discernment to know what to do when all the options open to us seem wrong. 
 

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
³² but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress;
and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

Heavenly father
give us grace to be simple and clear in what we say today.

³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones,
‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’
³⁴ but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 
³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
 ³⁶ Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or…

Heavenly father
give us grace to never repay evil for evil, but to confront it with goodness

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 
³⁹ But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
⁴⁰ If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. 
⁴¹ Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 
⁴² Give to him who asks you, and…

43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour^[i] and hate your enemy.” 44 …

Heavenly father
give us grace to love those who do not love us, so that we may be your children today. 

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’
⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 
⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.
For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends…

Jesus taught them, “But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” —Matthew 5:44 

Richard Rohr describes how loving our enemies is a practice of “integrating the negative,” accepting what we find unacceptable within ourselves: 

Our enemies always carry our own shadow side, the things we don’t like about ourselves. We will never face our own shadow until we embrace those who threaten us (as Francis of Assisi embraced the leper in his conversion experience). The people who turn us off…

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Rev. James Lawson (1928–2024), an influential teacher of nonviolence in the civil rights movement, insists on the effective power of nonviolence: 

There is impracticality to violence. It’s ineffective and has been ineffective throughout the world for too many years. We must not let people who romanticize or mythologize violence persuade us that it has proven to be efficacious…. It has proven to be the most ineffective weapon. It drains emotional, psychological, moral,…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be like you in not just loving those who love us today

⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 
⁴⁷ If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 
⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

There is a common misperception that deeply distorts the reading of the Scriptures and much spirituality. I call it “spiritual capitalism,” which centers around a common philosophy of “I can do it, and I must do it, and I will do it.” This is the mindset of early-stage ego consciousness. It puts all the emphasis and total reliance on “me,” my effort, and my spiritual accomplishments. It has little active trust in God’s grace and mercy.

Unfortunately, the driving energy is fear and more effort, instead of quiet confidence and gratitude.

It becomes about climbing instead of…

6 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving^[a] before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no…

Heavenly father
give us grace to give today without drawing attention to ourselves. 

¹ “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them,
or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 
² Therefore, when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men.
Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. 
³ But when you do…

Heavenly father
give us grace to pray today, heart to heart

⁵ “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 
⁶ But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door,
pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 
⁷ In praying, don’t use…

‘But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’   MATTHEW 6:6

Father God, you invite me to spend time with you. I accept!

‘The Christian spiritual journey is responding to God’s invitation to personal encounter in love. Prayer is our response. Prayer is the place of encounter. Growth in prayer is growth in loving intimacy with God.’ (David Benner, Opening to God…

Heavenly father
give us grace to …

⁹ Pray like this:

“‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰ Let your Kingdom come.
    Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² Forgive us our debts,
    as we also forgive our debtors.
¹³ Bring us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the…