Daily Bible Verses

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. …

‘I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.’   COLOSSIANS 2:4

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul expresses a deep pastoral concern: that believers should not be misled by teachings that sound great but are ultimately false. ‘I am saying this,’ he writes, ‘so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments’. It’s a timely warning. Then, as now, Christians face a barrage of persuasive voices – some subtle, some less so – that…

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.  (Matthew 9v10)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-23-around-us-part-2-get-close-r25

The community of believers was of one mind and one heart. None of them claimed anything as their own; rather, everything was held in common. Acts 4:32

The book of Acts is all about the early community of Jesus’ followers that formed after Jesus’ ascension. Communities of followers of the Way—as they’re called—start to form and what we find in Acts 4 are descriptions of what started to happen in these communities. Another way to say it is that this is what it looked like when people…

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…

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…

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

How do we foster embodied presence and joy? I believe we do it through practice and through meditation. Left to your own devices, the natural state of the human brain is a wandering and critical mind. Meditation helps bring that chaos into a more peaceful state. If it’s difficult, begin with sitting in silence.…

your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-18-fully-real-r25

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…

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…

‘It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.’  COLOSSIANS 1:28

I’ve got a five-year-old who’s currently football mad. He’s making lists of the most important pieces of kit to buy, asking, ‘Is this good food for footballers?’ before every meal, reading football encyclopaedias (yes, they do exist!), and training every morning before school with his mates. He’s making sure that his time alone in…

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-16-around-us-part-1-get-your-eyes-open-…

Isaiah 61:1–2
God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, 
to bind up the broken hearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, 
and release to the prisoners, 
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

Deep reading: Read slowly and pause on any word or phrase that especially speaks to you, touches you or awakens something in you.  
Deep meditation: Allow yourself time to reflect on whatever in the text calls to your attention and…

“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus sent out his disciples two by two? No phones, no maps, and no bags – just each other and their annoying habits.

Watching the fifth series of Race Across the World has caused me to rethink Jesus’ strategy of sending them this way. Pairs of disparate disciples are about to discover what it’s like to get up…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-13-at-one-with-god-r25 

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
…

In the Solentiname Islands of Nicaragua, Ernesto Cardenal reflected on the Gospels each week with communities of campesinos  living in poverty. Commenting on the Beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 6:20), Cardenal shares their conversation: 

ÓSCAR’S MOTHER: “It seems to me that the kingdom is love. Love in this life. And heaven is for those who love here, because God is love.”…

‘…so that he might come to have first place in everything.’  COLOSSIANS 1:18

Since NASA first began releasing them in 2022, the pictures coming back from the James Webb space telescope have been breathtaking, showing the sheer scale and beauty of our universe. To be useful, though, the images have to be razor-sharp. So, to ensure no opportunity is ever lost, there is a constant process of recalibration going on, involving tiny adjustments to the precision-engineered lenses and…

Jesus said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (John 21:6) 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3v5,6) 

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-11-timing-…

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…

Jesus had to flee persecution as a child when his parents escaped to Egypt. Throughout his life and in his death Jesus faced horrors you and I can’t imagine. And he knew what it was to be without a home. In Matthew 8:20 Jesus says, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’

Just as Jesus walked alongside people in crisis with compassion and mercy, We remember the plight of the 123 million refugees and displaced people in…

‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. Matthew 14:17

Some thoughts based on Richard Rohr’s thoughts…. 

The Gospel accounts include two traditions of open table fellowship: one of bread and wine, the other of bread and fish. The bread and fish stories emphasize surplus and outside guests. At the end of each event, there…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-6-do-you-think-r25

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
    let me never be put…

.. the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ …

The thrust of Jesus’ message is about inclusion—shocking, scandalous inclusion: the kingdom of God is available to all, beginning with the least. Yet Jesus often warns people of the possibility of missing the kingdom. “Unless you become like a little child,” he said, “you shall not enter the kingdom” (see Matthew 18:3). So the possibility is real: the kingdom of God that is available to all can be missed by some.  

What we need is a requirement that those who wish…

https://www.thefuelcast.com/library/2025-06-4-fatherhood-r25 

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you…