Daily Bible Verses

Heavenly father

give us grace to desire to do your will and to seek your glory
and thank you for the understanding and truth that will flow as a result.

¹⁴ But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 
¹⁵ The Jews therefore marvelled, saying, “How does this man know letters, having never been educated?”

¹⁶ Jesus therefore answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 
^17…

Heavenly father
give us grace to judge between what is good and what it not good in our traditions and habits.
and give us grace to look beyond superficial appearances

(While people at the time were right to generally do no work on the seventh day, they failed to see that healing someone might be the right thing to do, even on the Sabbath)

¹⁹ Jesus said  Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
^20 …

Heavenly father
give us grace, like Jesus, to speak what is true openly, because of the truth we find in you
give us grace, like many in the crowd, to believe in your Son, Jesus.

²⁵ Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill? ²⁶ Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ? ²⁷ However we know where this man comes from, but when the…

Heavenly father
give us grace to get rid of unrealistic expectations of Jesus
give us grace instead to believe in Jesus, so that rivers of living water flow from within us.

³³ Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me. 
³⁴ You will seek me, and won’t find me. You can’t come where I am.”

³⁵ The Jews therefore said among themselves, “Where will this man go that we won’t find him?
Will he go…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-07-21-stooping-r25

4 They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 
5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ 
…

And you will know the truth , and the truth will set you free  (John 8: 32) 

Based on some thoughts of spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr

One of the things it means to be fully human is to bow at the feet of your everyday existence, with its disappointments and dramas, its peaceful mornings and luminous nights, and to honour yourself just as you are…. . When we…

“Lord, I believe,”  (John 9:38)

Disability rights activist and author Amy Kenny challenges the implications of Jesus’ healing of “the blind man” in John 9, whom she refers to as Zach or Zechariah, which means “God remembers.” 

Zach is so much more than his blindness…. Structurally, the focus [of John 9] is not on the physical but on something deeper and richer that Jesus offers to Zach. It is true that Jesus cured people’s bodies as part of his ministry, but this passage is often misinterpreted to perpetuate the notion that disabled people require physical…

1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him…

Heavenly father, give us grace to hear your voice and be obedient to what you call us to do. 

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

 

I am 
the bread of life - i will provide for you
the light of the world - I will bring light to you
the gate - I will open opportunities for you  - a way through to safety and my presence
the good shepherd - I will lead you well, I will heal you and protect you 
the resurrection and life - I have overcome death and I do bring life
the way, the truth and the life - and the truth will set you free
the true vine - I will cause you to be fruitful 

https://www.thefuelcast.com/…

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’
 
When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that…

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”

Jesus Wept John 11:35

Richard Rohr considers Jesus a model of prophetic tears.  

The realisation that all things have tears, and most things deserve tears, might even be defined as a form of salvation from ourselves and from our illusions. The prophets knew and taught and modelled that anger must first be recognised, allowed—even loved!—as an expression of the deep, normally inaccessible sadness that each of us carry. Even Jesus, our enlightened one, “sobbed” over the whole city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and at the death of his friend Lazarus (John…

Jesus wept

I keep being more and more convinced that tears are an appropriate response to reality. I think they always will be, yet I don’t equate that with modern depression or cynicism. It’s the acceptance of what we cannot change that normally makes people cry: He’s dead forever; I’m never getting well; the church I love has never been perfect. The part of us that can surrender to that reality is somehow bright. Remember, God is always present in reality as it is, not merely as it should be. When we meet people who can smile in the presence of sadness,…

13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.…

‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ 
John 13:34-35

https://www.…

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)

All of us must face and embrace the urgent need for deep social change - change that begins within, then spreads like ripples on a pond, and finally becomes a tsunami of love-inspired change.  All human beings, made in the image of God have the capacity to be good and to insist on good; to care for others and insist on being cared for; to stand up for the vulnerable and stand against injustice; to love and be loved.… 

I know this to be…

Remain in me as I remain in you” (John 15:4) 

We go through our lives, our years on this Earth, thinking of ourselves as separate. That sense of separateness basically causes every stupid, sinful, silly thing we ever do. The little, separate self takes offense when people don’t show us proper respect. The separate self lies, steals, and does unkind things to other people. When we’re separate, everything becomes about protecting and defending ourselves. It can consume our lives. 

One word for overcoming that false sense of separateness, that illusory self, is heaven;…

Heavenly father
give us grace to “see” Jesus and understand Him, so that we may understand His name
and give us grace to ask for those things that are in His name

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip?
He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ 
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the…

Heavenly father
give us grace to obey your commandments (of love), and to be open to your Spirit of Truth 

15 If you love me, keep my commandments. 
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor,  that he may be with you forever: 
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him.
You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. 
18 I will not leave you orphans. I…

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot)…

Heavenly father
give us grace to live in Christ and for Christ to live in us, 
give us grace to keep your commands and love you

19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me.  (after the resurrection)
Because I live, you will live also. 
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 
21 One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me.
One who loves me will be loved by my…

Heavenly father
pour out your Holy Spirit on us today so that we may be taught by you and have the grace to keep and obey your words 

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him,
“Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word.
My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. 
24 He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my…

Heavenly father
give us grace to remain untroubled and pure in the face of the prince of this world

27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you.
Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. 
28 You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’
If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’
for the Father is greater than I. 
29 Now I have told you before it happens so that when it…

Heavenly father give us grace to remain in you and bear fruit today

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. 
² Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away.
Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 
³ You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 
⁴ Remain in me, and I in you.
As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you…

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. ² Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in them will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. —John 15:5  

Richard Rohr understands Jesus’ vine and branches metaphor as an illustration of mutual indwelling: Christ in us and us in Christ.  

The motivation, meaning, and inherent energy of any action comes from its ultimate source, which is the person’s foundational and core vantage point. What is their real and honest motivation? What does the seeing? Is it the cut-off branch, the egoic self, trying to work…

Heavenly father
give us grace to bear much fruit today, particularly in our love, obedience and joy

⁷ If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
⁸ “In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. 
⁹ Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. 
¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love;…

⁹ Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ^14…

Joy as embodied presence is an abiding awareness of the gift given to each and every one of us, no matter our circumstances in life. I want to begin talking about joy embodied from scriptural sources. In John 15:11, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full.” In 1st Thessalonians 5:16–18, we read, “Let your joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer, and in the midst of everything, be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Jesus Christ.” In James 1:2–3…

‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.’  JOHN 15:11
 
Lord, thank you that your joy is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). I celebrate your great love for me.

Joy is essential to our spiritual lives. Jesus reveals to us the Father’s love so that his joy may become ours and that our joy may become complete. Joy is the experience of knowing that we are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even…

Heavenly father give us grace to love one another in such a way that is life giving to those we love

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. 
¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 
¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. 
¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does.
But I have called you friends…

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. …

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s own life for one’s friends” 

Love is a firm commitment to act for the well-being of someone other than yourself. It can be personal or political, individual or communal, intimate or public. Love will not be segregated to the private, personal precincts of life. Love, as I read it in the Bible, is ubiquitous. It affects all aspects of life.…  

An oft-quoted passage in the New Testament says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” [John 3:16]. The Greek word used by the New Testament…

‘You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.’   JOHN 15:14–15
 

Lord, I long for true friendship with you. Help me to hear your voice and obey your commands.

Pray Continually: One way to acknowledge God’s presence with us throughout the day is to talk with him, as with a…

Heavenly father
give us grace to be obedient to your command to love all others, particularly when there is pressure not to. 

¹⁷ “I command these things to you, that you may love one another. 
¹⁸ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. 
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own.
But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 

Heavenly father
give us grace to endure the pain of suffering when we have done what is right. 

²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 
²¹ But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me. 
²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse…

Heavenly father
give us grace to receive your Spirit of truth today
give us discernment to know what truth needs speaking, whatever the consequences

^15:26 “When the Counsellor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. 
²⁷ You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

^16:1 “I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble. …

Heavenly father
give us all grace to be open to the Holy Spirit, our Counsellor, so that we may have conviction about sin, righteous and judgement arising from our saviour Jesus. 

⁵ But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 
⁶ But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart. 
⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It
is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counsellor won’t come to you.
But if I…