Studies, reading plans and every single day within them, alongside devotionals and articles. Search by title, book of the Bible, passage or topic.
Bible Memory collection
A promise is only as strong as the one who gives it. These passages teach both the certainty of God's word and the promises worth carrying daily. 2 Corinthians 1:20 All God's promises find their yes in Christ, and through him we say amen to the glory of God. Joshua 21:45 Not one word of all the…
Chapter study
Philippians 4 is one of the most quoted chapters in the New Testament, and also one of the most misquoted. 'I can do all things through Christ' has been printed on posters for athletic victories and business success,…
Dig Deeper
Philippians 4:19 My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Need, not wishes, and the measure is His riches in glory. The word but ties the promise back to the gift the…
Dig Deeper
Philippians 4:6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Careful in older English means full of care, anxious. The Greek verb merimnao…
Dig Deeper
Philippians 4:11-12 Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have…
Verse study
μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε meden merimnate Greek Merimnao describes a mind divided and pulled apart by care, the same verb Jesus uses three times in Matthew 6:25-34 when He tells His disciples not to be anxious about food,…
Verse study
πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με panta ischyo en to endynamounti me Greek Ischyo means to have strength or ability; endynamoo, to empower, appears in the present tense, describing ongoing rather than one-time…
Verse study
αὐτάρκης εἶναι autarkes einai Greek Autarkes, self-sufficient, was a prized Stoic virtue achieved through detachment and reason. Paul uses the word but roots the sufficiency in Christ's strength (v.13), not in the…
Verse study
The 'but' that connects the promise to what came before Verse 19 opens with 'but,' linking it directly to the paragraph just finished (vv.14-18), where Paul thanks the Philippians for their sacrificial gift, describing…
Verse study
χαίρετε ἐν κυρίῳ πάντοτε chairete en kyrio pantote Greek Chairo, to rejoice, appears at least sixteen times across Philippians' four chapters, giving the letter its reputation as the epistle of joy despite being…
Verse study
ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν he eirene tou theou he hyperechousa panta noun Greek Hyperecho means to surpass or rise above; the peace exceeds ordinary human reasoning (nous) rather than being produced by…
52 Week Journey
Every believer meets two related but different pressures. One is the trial that comes from outside, the hardship, loss or opposition that tests whether faith will hold. The other is temptation, the pull from within to…
52 Week Journey
Scripture never treats sickness or weakness as if they carry no weight. It records real suffering, real pleading, and real healing, and it also records unanswered requests to be healed. Both are part of the honest…
52 Week Journey
The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to preach or to heal. They asked Him to teach them to pray, which suggests they had noticed something in His praying that they lacked. This week takes prayer apart the way…
Verse study
A list built for the mind, not just the mouth Verse 8 gives eight qualities across six 'whatsoever things are' clauses plus two summarizing categories (virtue, praise): true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report,…
Devotional
Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender. WEB Proverbs states a plain observation about economic reality: borrowing creates a form of servitude to the lender. This is not a moral…
Devotional
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children. WEB This proverb places two images side by side: a fortress for the one who fears the LORD, and a refuge extended to…
Devotional
James 3:5-6 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which…
Devotional
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly…
Devotional
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. WEB Three commands,…
Devotional
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. WEB Paul writes this right after describing how to restore someone caught in a fault, in verse 1. Bearing burdens is not abstract goodwill; it…
Devotional
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" WEB Jesus says this to the devil after forty days without food, at the exact…
Devotional
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. WEB This verse places sickness and sin side…
Daily reading
Read 2 Corinthians 12. It is Paul's strangest boast, because the thing he stops hiding is the thing that keeps him close to God. He asked three times, which is the same number as Gethsemane. Sufficient is present…
Daily reading
Read Psalm 46 aloud if you can. It was written to be sung by a crowd, and reading it silently hides how loud the first half is. The two landscapes: earth giving way in verses 2 and 3, a river running quietly in verse…
Daily reading
Read Isaiah 40 in one sitting. Notice that comfort comes first, in verse 1, and the eagles come last. The order is the argument. How much of the chapter is questions God asks rather than statements he makes. The…
Devotional
1 Corinthians 15:54-55 But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "Death, where is…
Devotional
John 20:6-7 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.…
Devotional
Luke 24:39 See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. WEB The disciples' first reaction to the risen Jesus is fear, supposing…
Devotional
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. WEB The week ends by taking the pressure off your…
Devotional
Luke 9:51 It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem. WEB From this verse, Luke's gospel turns and begins moving deliberately toward Jerusalem.…
Devotional
Mark 1:41 Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want to. Be made clean.” WEB The leper's request in verse 40 is careful: Lord, if you are willing, you can make me…
Devotional
Exodus 15:26 and said, “If you will diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of…
Devotional
James 5:14-15 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the…
Devotional
Luke 11:1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” WEB The request comes after they watch Him pray. Something…
Devotional
Psalm 34:18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. WEB This verse does not say God is near to those who have recovered from their broken heart. It says He is near to…
Devotional
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away. WEB This promise does not describe…
Devotional
Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do. WEB Isaiah compares God's word to rain…
Devotional
Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. WEB Jesus begins with relationship and ends the line with reverence. Father, so you may come freely. In heaven and hallowed, so you never…
Devotional
Philippians 4:6-7 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your…
Devotional
Psalm 130:1-2 A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to you, Yahweh. Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. WEB The psalm does not begin with composure. It begins in…
Devotional
Acts 2:42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. WEB The first church is described by four habits, and prayer is one of them. Not occasional prayer…
Devotional
2 Timothy 2:15 Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. WEB Paul assumes it is possible to handle Scripture badly, which is why…
Biblical concept
Israel began with God as king. Gideon refuses the crown by saying the LORD will rule over you (Judges 8:23), and when the people later demand a king like the nations, God tells Samuel they have not rejected you, they…
Biblical concept
The kingdom of God is God's rule, not a territory. Mark opens the ministry of Jesus with the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near, and calls for repentance and faith as the response. Scripture speaks of…
Biblical concept
To anoint someone was to pour oil on their head and so mark them out as chosen for a task God had given. Samuel anoints Saul and then David, and in David's case Scripture says the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him…
Biblical concept
In Exodus 12 each household killed a lamb, put its blood on the doorframe, and ate in haste. Where the blood was, the destroyer passed over. Israel was not spared because it was better but because it was covered. The…
Word and phrase
Righteousness in Scripture is relational as well as moral. It means conformity to God's standard and standing accepted before him, and Romans 3 says all have fallen short of it. Romans 1:17 speaks of a righteousness of…
Biblical concept
This is the title Jesus uses of himself more than any other. In Ezekiel the phrase simply means a human being, but in Daniel 7 one like a son of man comes with the clouds and receives an everlasting kingdom from the…
Biblical concept
The cross was a Roman method of execution, and it is the place where Jesus died. The Gospels describe the event in careful historical detail: the charge, the soldiers, the nails, the hours, the words he spoke. The New…
Biblical concept
The incarnation is the entry of the eternal Son of God into human life as a real human being. John 1:14 states it in a single sentence: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. Philippians 2:6…
Biblical concept
John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that we have seen his glory. Two things are held together: full deity from verse 1, and real humanity here. Nothing is subtracted from either. The verb dwelt…
Christian Living
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for today is holy to our Lord. Don’t be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your…
Christian Living
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. WEB philippians 4 The verse is quoted as a slogan for ambition, but its context is learning to live with plenty and with hunger. All things means…
Christian Living
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape,…
Christian Living
Psalm 27:14 Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh. WEB psalms 27 The command is repeated because waiting is the hardest kind of obedience. Notice that courage is required,…
Bible question
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. WEB Let God answer this before anyone comforts you or frightens you about it. 1 John…
Bible question
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. WEB Let God's own words set the terms before the study begins. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t…
Bible question
Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. WEB This is one of the few questions the disciples asked out loud, and Jesus answered it directly. Read his answer before any advice about…
Bible question
John 14:16-17 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, — the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know…
The Sunday Study
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.