Isaiah 16-20: Verse of the Day

"At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images. In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips" (Isa 17:7-10).

Syria was punished because they failed to honor God. Israel too was rebuked by the Lord. Heed these words lest we too fall to such a condemnation.

Isaiah 11-15: Verse of the Day

"and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." (Isa 11:3b-4).

Isaiah is speaking of the stem of Jesse, the Branch of David, on whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest. The judgment of the Christ is in view and it will be on the basis of His Words. There are times when man's opinion matters, but the judgment is not one of them.

Isaiah 6-10: Verse of the Day

"Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." (Isa 6:10).

The Word of God serves two purposes: it will draw close those who seek Him and will drive away them that refuse to acknowledge Him.

Isaiah 1-5: Verse of the Day

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." (Isaiah 1:2).

This is the theme of Isaiah's vision. We are the children of God. When we sin against Him, He sees our rebellion. The question is, do we see it? Or do we think, "I'm a pretty good person that could do a little better". We must be called to see hypocrisy and rebellion as He sees through His eyes.

Song of Songs 5-8: Verse of the Day

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned" (Song 8:7).

Of the gifts and pleasures under the sun, love is wonderful and glorious. When our love is for Christ, we have something that will never be done away.

Song of Songs 1-4: Verse of the Day

"I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please" (Song 2:7; 3:5).

There is a time for love to be awakened and to be filled therewith.

Ecclesiastes 11-12: Verse of the Day

"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl 12:14).

God created this world and life for our enjoyment, but there will be a judgment and we will be accountable for our actions.

Ecclesiastes 6-10: Verse of the Day

"Lo, this only have I found, that God hat made man upright; but they have sought our many inventions" (Eccl 7:29).

God has not abandoned us or set us up to fail. We have sought out failure because it seemed fun at the time. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefor the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Eccl 8:11).

Ecclesiastes 1-5: Verse of the Day

"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they." (Eccl 5:8).

Injustice happens in this life, but there will be an accounting.

Proverbs 26-31: Verse of the Day

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" and "He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue." (Prov 27:6, 28:23).

From a band by the name The Hold Steady, there's a line that says "I've had kisses that made Judas seem sincere". This is a reminder to me not to desire the approval of wicked men. We all want to be respected, but the righteous rebuke/encouragement of a friend is always worth more!

Proverbs 21-25: Verse of the Day

"If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?" (Prov 24:11-12).

We too have been commanded to be merciful. We may convince men, and even ourselves, that we didn't see injustice, but God knows our hearts.

Proverbs 16-20: Verse of the Day

"All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives" (Prov 16:2).

There is a single source of truth and by that we are judged.

Proverbs 11-15: Verse of the Day

"There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Prov 12:18).

Here's one I need to work on. Sarcasm in very limited quantity may be enjoyable, but I must use my words with the purpose of building up my fellow man. Just like money, our words are tools that are provided to us for the work of the Lord.

Proverbs 6-10: Verse of the Day

"With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him... Until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life" (Prov 7:21, 23).

Fornication and adultery are not things to be played with. This is to the old and young alike. It leads only to destruction!

Proverbs 1-5: Verse of the Day

"My son, do not jeject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, for whome the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he delights" (Prov 3:11-12).

God's testing of us is a sign of His love. He desires to make us stronger against the schemes of the devil.

Job 36-42: Verse of the Day

"And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning" (Job 42:12).

God never really explains his actions to Job at the end of the book. Obviously, the situation was recorded and we know that this was initiated by Satan. What God did was to demonstrate His power to Job that he might see that he is no one to question or instruct the almighty. In the end, God rewarded Job's faithfulness.

Job 31-35: Verse of the Day

"[God] opens the ears of men, and selas their instruction, that He may turn man aside from his conduct and keep man from pride; he keeps back his soul from the pit and his life from passing over in Sheol" (Job 33:16-18).

Though Elihu makes some false rebukes against Job, but does make good arguments for God's activity. The Lord tries to keep us from sin. He calls us on our conscience and helps us to know His instruction where we desire.