Your Daily Bible

“So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). 

 Fear drives our decisions about all kinds of things — from what to wear to where to go to school and which career to pursue. Fear can keep us in relationships longer than we need to be. It can also make us do silly things, like refuse to step on the sidewalk cracks because we don't want to break our mother's back. 

When we belong to God, fear doesn’t have to control us. Our God is the same God who spoke creation into existence. There’s no need to panic and no need to fear when He’s with us. He promises to help us when we’re scared, to hold us steady, and give us the strength to face the fears in our lives.  

 Reflect:

What are you scared of right now?

What has that fear caused you to do or prevented you from doing?

How do you need God to help you and strengthen you in that situation? Spend a few minutes talking to God in prayer. Tell Him how fear is affecting your life and ask Him for help.

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“He gives strength to the weary 

   and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31). 

When we’re exhausted, when it feels like we’re never going to get it right, God tells us to come to Him. Our human strength is limited, but God’s power is limitless. When we are operating in our own strength, we will always burn out. But God promises that when we slow down, trust Him, and move at His speed, we will never grow weary. 

 Reflect:
Are you tired today? Where do you need God to renew your strength?

Where is your hope? What or who do you look to for security, comfort, or strength?

What step could you take today to begin living like this promise is true?

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Gen 6:9
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 

Can you imagine how Noah felt when God told him all humanity was going to be destroyed and he was to build an ark? The verse we just read tells us that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, and had found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 

Even then, I think it was overwhelming for him to hear God’s command to build a ship that was 450-feet long, 75-feet wide, and 45-feet tall. After all, it had never rained on the earth, and there was no vast body of water nearby. Noah didn’t have an engineering degree or any ship-building experience. The only thing he had was a command from God. It is estimated that it took Noah between 55 and 75 years to build the ark.     

How are we to respond when God asks us to do something far bigger than we have experienced in our lives? We’re to do what Noah did when he heard God’s command—believe, obey, and walk with God one step at a time. 

As Noah walked with God in his assignment, he experienced the revelation of God through his obedience. He got to see things that only God could accomplish like the construction of a huge ship, the animals entering the ark, and his family’s survival during a flood of catastrophic proportion. God protected and provided for his family for almost a year while the earth was covered and recovering from the flood, and he witnessed the miraculous power of God firsthand. 

When we say yes to God’s command and walk with Him in our assignment, we get to experience revelation, see His mighty work, experience the orchestration of events to fulfill the work, live under God’s grace of protection and provision, and witness His miraculous power firsthand. 

Has God given you an overwhelming assignment? Will you follow Noah’s example and experience God’s work in a mighty and powerful way in your life? 

Prayer

God, thank You for the assignment You’ve given me. I choose to believe and obey Your commands in my life. I’m amazed at how You work things out for good over and over again, and I believe You will do that in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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It was an age of spiritual darkness on the earth, and it didn’t make any sense. Foretelling a massive flood. Building a boat. Filling it with animals. Proclaiming he heard from God. But Noah knew what he had heard, and he pressed on. He built the boat. He endured the ridicule. He gathered the animals. He looked to heaven and trusted God. 

Then the earth flooded. 

Surrounded by the cackle of the chicken, the lowing of the cattle, the roar of the lion, and the sound of rain ... for 40 days. There was no end in sight. I wonder if Noah’s inner dialogue sounded something like, Will the waters recede? Will I see land again? Did I hear Him right? Can God be trusted? 

In the end, a dove returned with a fresh olive leaf, proving the waters receded. God’s covenant was made complete. Sound familiar? We read the promise. We hear it. It resonates in our spirit, and we lean into it. But over time as we wait for the waters to recede, doubt enters. 

Will the waters recede? Will I see land again? Did I hear Him right? Can God be trusted? 

Generations have lived to tell the story of the Great Flood. Not because of the water, but because of the promise it carried. God’s word can be trusted. And that promise is emphasized every time we cast our eyes on a rainbow coloring the sky with its splendor. 

Perhaps today you hear His quiet whisper, reassuring your soul: 

“The waters in your life will recede. I’ll show you the way. You will see land again. Lean into My word. I can be trusted.” 

 Prayer

God, today I choose to trust in You. I believe that Your word is true, and Your promises last a lifetime. Thank You for being a light unto my path. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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The Man and Woman Sin
3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

“Where are you?” 

All-knowing God called out to the man He’d crafted with His own fingertips, asking a question yet already knowing the answer. I’ve often pictured God in this moment as a chuckling parent, standing behind Adam and pretending not to see him. But when reading this passage again, I gained a different perspective. 

In an instant, Adam learned of his vulnerable condition and faced shame followed by fear. He assumed that his disobedience ruined every- thing, and all the good times were over forever. So when he heard God walking nearby, Adam didn’t dare run into the presence of his Creator; he hid, ashamed and afraid. 

God chose not to peel back trees with a breath, revealing Adam’s hiding spot. He didn’t march through the garden broadcasting the serpent’s cunning words or send angels to evict them without getting personally involved. Instead, God affirmed His desire for relationship by inviting Adam into a conversation. 

“Where are you?”

He didn’t start with questions about what they had done, who they had spoken to, how they had disobeyed, or whose fault it was. No, God started with the question closest to His heart. Father God created us to be near, and Adam had hidden himself away. 

“Adam, I love you, I’m eager to spend time together, and you’ve placed yourself apart from Me. Where are you?” 

I imagine Adam evaluating his situation, crouched there in his patch of trees. Where am I? You know I’m here. You probably see me even though I’m trying to avoid you. I’m right here. 

In the Garden of Eden. Slouched behind these flimsy branches. Cloaked in shame. Frozen in fear. Distancing myself from You. 

Then Adam made the best decision he’d made all day. Above the noise of his failure and beyond the shouts of shame and fear, He listened to God’s voice calling for him. And he replied. 

Prayer

Lord, thank You for creating me to be near to You. No matter how many times I make the wrong choice, You still want me to be close. Today I choose to draw close to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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 Matthew 5:14–16

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” 

 Have you ever wondered why you were created? The answer can be found by looking at Adam, the first person God created. Adam lived in the Garden of Eden and spent time with God every day, yet he had a desire for something more. One day when Adam was with God, I imagine he said, “God, I love everything in the garden! I enjoy walking with You and talking with You, but I’m lonely. I have a longing for something more.”      

While that conversation isn’t in the Bible, Genesis 2:20 does say, “[Adam] gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.” 

So what did God do? “The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21– 22).     

How did God know the only thing that would satisfy the desire of Adam’s heart was a bride? It’s because He has the same desire. God desires a bride, and the bride is you! So that longing Adam had for something more? It was for God and from God! Scripture says God has placed eternity within the hearts of man (see Ecclesiastes 3:11)—not so it would drive us crazy but so it would drive us closer to Him! 

You were created to love God, but it’s your choice. You see, God created you in His image, which means He created you with a will because He has a will. He chose to create you, His bride, in hopes that you would love Him as much as He loves you. 

God’s greatest desire is you and that you would choose to love Him. Will you make that choice today? 

Prayer

God, thank You for creating me in Your image and giving me free will to choose how I will live my life. Today, I choose to live for You and to love You. Thank You for putting a desire for You in my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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53 Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.

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15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.

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11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh

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14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

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