The scripture for today, March 18, is Ephesians 3:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“…[you] may have power, together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
We can never escape! It’s everywhere! The love of Christ! No matter where we go! It follows us! His love is behind us and ahead of us. It is above us and below us.
His love will never,
never,
never let us go!
The scripture for today, March 19, is Habakkuk 3:19 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
”The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
The little book of 
Habakkuk was written during a period when the leaders were oppressing the poor. Habakkuk complains to God, “Why do you tolerate wrong?”. God answers that he’s getting ready to put an end to it. Not satisfied, Habakkuk pretty much asks the same question again. God tells him to put in writing (a prophecy) of what God plans to do to the oppressors.
That done, Habakkuk’s faith is renewed. His faith is strong again. So strong that he feels as though he is “on the heights.”
Everyone grows impatient when leaders are doing wrong. But we must understand that we see just part of the problem, and that God is waiting until the right time to put an end to it ~ a time when people are so desperate with helplessness that even unbelievers can’t help but know God intervened.
So when times come in your own life when everything seems to be going wrong, read the little book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament and know that God is still in control, he has not forgotten you, and he has special plans for you.
The scripture for today, March 16, is John 3:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Many people have heard that there is such a scripture as John 3:16, but they do not know what it says. And among those who do know what it says, many do not understand what Jesus dying on the cross has to do with going to heaven.
It is important for us to read the entire Bible so we can understand the isolated scriptures we hear or read. There was a song written several years ago called, “No Man Is An Island.” No scripture is an island either. Just as every person influences other people in some way, every scripture influences other scriptures.
The meaning of John 3:16? Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is [spiritual] death.” Jesus, the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God, died spiritually and physically in our place for our sins, so that we would not die forever. Such an amazing scripture ~ John 3:16. There are other amazing scriptures in the Bible. Give it a try.
The scripture for today, March 14, is Philippians 3:14, as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus knew that, out of jealousy, the religious leaders were trying to kill him. So for awhile he stayed out of Jerusalem where the religious headquarters was. But eventually the time came for him to put himself in their hands. Was it easy for him to do? Definitely not! For he knew his death would be by torture.
“They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid” (Mark 10:32).
Jesus pressed on. He did not want to go through the crucifixion. Hebrews 5:7 says that “during the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.”
As difficult as it was for him, Jesus pressed on toward the goal to win the prize. But the prize was not for himself; it was for us ~ eternity in heaven instead of hell!
None of us has to go through what he did for our salvation and avoidance of hell. Our little bit of sacrifice is nothing by comparison. Shall we throw away the prize Jesus sacrificed so much for so we can have a little more fun, accumulate a few more things, be a little more important to our friends?
Are you throwing away your prize?
The Scripture for today, March 13, Is Ezra 3:13 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”
Solomon’s great temple had been destroyed and the Jews forced to go to Babylon. Now, 70 years later, they were back and had rebuilt the temple. The older Jews who had seen Solomon’s temple wailed in grief because it was not nearly so grand as Solomon’s. The younger ones shouted for joy because at least they now had a temple again. So the laughing of the young people and the crying of the old people mingled.
Sometimes the laughing and crying around us get too loud and put our lives in confusion. We don’t understand what is going on. Sometimes the laughing or crying is our own. Sometimes we need to get away from the loud laughing and crying.
Turn off the television. The radio. The telephone. The computer. Don’t answer the door. Go into a room where you can be alone in complete silence. Then pick up the Bible and begin to read Luke about the life of Christ, or Philippians about peace, or the Psalms about overcoming adversity, or James about the direction your life is going. Read the whole book in one sitting.
Be still. Hear it now?
It is God calling your heart to his heart.
The scripture for today, March 12, is Ezekiel 3:12 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“The Spirit lifted me up and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound ~ May the glory of the Lord be praised in his dwelling place!”
This is quite interesting because, despite some who preach being “slain in the Spirit,” the Spirit does not make people fall down. The Spirit lifts people up. The Spirit did this to Ezekiel on several occasions; always, if he was sitting or lying down, the Spirit lifted him up onto his feet.
There are so many things we think we know about the Bible, but when we begin to investigate, it just isn’t there. Just like Eve eating an apple ~ we don’t know what kind of fruit it was. Or three wise men visiting baby Jesus ~ there were three gifts, not necessarily three men. Or Bethlehem being a little town ~ it was a walled fortress. Or everyone going inside the temple to worship ~ only priests were allowed inside the building.
Read the Bible for yourself. You are smart. You can do it!
The scripture for today, March 11, is Ecclesiastes 3:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men….”
People have always thought about eternity. Everyone wonders sometimes why we are here and what happens when we die. All people hope to live on.
That instinct is God speaking to us saying, “Yes, there is an eternity, and I want to be part of yours.”
Indeed, there is a God-shaped emptiness in the heart of man. God wants to fill it. We want him to.
But how bad do we want him to? If we spend each day so busy pursuing things and pleasures and power, it’s easy to forget about him.
Then our heart aches, and we do not understand why.
It is eternity calling out to you. It is God calling out to you. Listen! He’s calling you in His Word ~ the Bible. Open it, and listen….
The scripture for today, March 10 (3/10), is Colossians 3:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Did you ever make something with your hands and were so proud of it that you would stop at nothing to take care of it and make sure that it lasted forever? You were its creator and it was, in a sense, a part of you.
Do you resist knowing the Bible because you think of it as being full of rules from a God who doesn’t really like you and is just giving you a hard time so you can’t have any fun? Think again. He is our Creator. He loved us enough to make us, and we are a part of him. Now he wants to take care of us so that we can last forever.
The scripture for today, March 9, is Ephesians 3:9f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“To make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Ever wonder why God created the world? Here it is. The “mystery” as expanded upon in this book, is Jesus paying the price for our sins and setting us free so that we have full forgiveness ~ and it is available to everyone in the whole world.
Who does God want to explain this to? Rulers and authorities in heavenly realms ~ angels, demons and Satan. You see, Satan does not want anyone to be forgiven. He spends a lot of time and energy encouraging people to sin through the wrong kinds of fun or power, for he doesn’t want to be the only one going to hell. But God is more powerful than Satan. Even when Satan is successful and we sin, God just negates it and forgives us. There is nothing that Satan can do that God cannot undo.
God is great!
The scripture for today, March 8, is Philippians 3:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
Wow! Paul, who wrote this, considered everything he had previously owned and every position he had ever held as rubbish ~ garbage ~ compared with belonging to his Lord. Paul apparently came from a well-to-do family since he was born in today’s Turkey but went to school in Jerusalem. He also apparently held a position in the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin, since he could vote on whether to execute someone. So he probably owned a lot of things and had an honored position.
The King James Version of the Bible says he considered it all as dung ~ manure.
Where are your priorities? What do you spend most of your time on? The things you just have to own, physical pleasures you just have to have, the power you just have to claim? All to enhance the little inch of your life on earth? Or the deep and unconquerable love of Christ Jesus your Lord who will enhance your eternity?
