country: reserved

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. —Isaiah 41:10 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... God's story through the history of his people, Israel, is one...

While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has...

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. —Proverbs 29:25 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus told us not to fear other human opponents (Luke 12:4-5). When we try to please others, when we fear what others may say or do to us, we place...

God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge — a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete. —2 Corinthians 1:21-22 MESSAGE Key Thought The test of genuine disciples and true followers of Jesus is...

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. —Romans 8:11 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... If we belong to Christ, we know the Spirit of God lives in...

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. —1 Chronicles 4:10 (KJV) Thoughts...

[When John the Baptizer was proclaiming the coming of Jesus], Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You...

I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too — your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful — I can't take it all in! Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go...

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. —Psalm 37:4 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Be careful not to misread this promise as saying that God will give us whatever we want. Notice that first emphatic phrase that qualifies this promise: "Delight...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. —Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... When the Holy Spirit is alive in our hearts, the character of God comes to life in us, the...

Whenever, though, [people] turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting...

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. —Psalm 143:10 NIV Key Thought As in this psalm, we cry out to God because we are aware of enemies who are set to attack us and of our personal sins that so easily entangle us in evil. On our own, we...

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. —Romans 8:3-4...

I wish I could have hugged the girl on the elevator. I saw her from a distance carrying what appeared to be a clear trash bag. She stepped inside the elevator just a few steps ahead of me. I looked more closely at the garbage bag and saw that she had partially filled it with clothes. Then...

And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. —Acts 5:32 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Of all the many gifts God gives, the gift of his presence in us through his Holy Spirit is among the most precious. The Spirit's...

The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses' face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new...

"And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!" —Ezekiel 39:29 NLT Key Thought God speaks of the coming of his New Covenant relationship with his people. One dynamic of that Covenant is that the...

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. —Psalm 119:1 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... As Christians, we hear this passage a little differently than those who lived under the Torah, the Law of Moses. We recognize that our blamelessness comes as a gift because...

[God, to the Israelite exiles in Babylon:] "I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my...

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. —Romans 8:1-2 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... The law of Spirit...