One Verse Devotional

Do we truly understand how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is?

Today, I pray that you would be strengthened with the power of God through His Spirit. I love Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. To start of this week, I want to make this my prayer for you, as well. Through God’s glorious riches, He will strengthen us and give us His power. How many riches does God have? Does He need anything? Of course not! It is so easy to get caught up in the small details of life and forget that we serve a God and have a Father who needs nothing. He has everything. And it is out of those riches that He blesses us and provides for us! Through His Spirit, God will comfort us and give us power to live out our purpose in this world and to love others. I pray this for you today. May you be strengthened by His Spirit!

In the Old Testament, only the High Priest could come into the Presence of God, and it was just one time per year. Now, God allows us to encounter His presence whenever we choose. Do NOT take prayer for granted. It is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us.

We have an enemy who is ready to take us out at every opportunity. That is why it is so important to stay alert, stay connected to God, and stay connected to each other. Like my football coach used to teach me, you need to keep your head on a swivel.

The Apostle Peter was one of Jesus’s closest friends. He also helped to start the Church movement with his sermon at Pentecost. So, when Peter gives some guidelines and instructions for the Church, we should probably pay attention. Do Peter’s words describe the Church today?

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” -Psalm 100:4. Psalm 100 is only five verses, but is so uplifting. It is a feel-good passage, for sure! But it also a great reminder to praise God’s name. He is worthy of our praise. How many times do we (spiritually) drag into church each week, look at the pastor, and basically say, “Please give me something to make it through another week.” I understand. I’ve been there countless times. Sometimes life is on fast forward and we can’t keep up. But can I be real for a second? Maybe a little tough love? How many times is that actually on us? I’m not saying we can never be tired. We all have those times. But in general, are we always showing up to church like that? Are we starving ourselves throughout the week and then trying to score a quick spiritual meal on Sunday mornings? No wonder your spirit is tired. Just like in the real world, feeding yourself once a week is not very healthy. I don’t know about you, but I want to enter His gates with a song

This world is troubled, but take heart! Jesus has overcome the world. There is no doubt that our world is troubled. I can hardly watch the news, and actually avoid it most nights. Scene after scene of violence from around the country and around our world. Jesus warned us that we would experience trouble in this world. I always thought He meant that we would experience hard times in our lives. That is true, of course. But I think He meant even more than that. Our entire world would be troubled. But Jesus reminds us of two very important things in our One Verse today. In John 16, Jesus is at the Last Supper talking to His disciples. As Jesus was going to the cross in just a few short days, do you think those words were important? Yeah! He tells the disciples that He came to bring us peace. The teachings of Jesus and going to the cross were meant for us to find true God-peace in Him. In Jesus. And then Jesus reminds us of something very important. He tells us that we will experience trouble in this world. “But t

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Did you know the Golden Rule was Jesus’s idea? Our culture needs the Golden Rule now more than ever! A phrase that’s easy to forget that came from the Bible is the Golden Rule. It comes straight from the mouth of Jesus and it is today’s One Verse. Many times, we think the Golden Rule was something we learned as a child, so we discredit it. It was childish thinking. Be nice, share your toys. Old school. But I would say that our society, our country, and our world needs the Golden Rule now more than ever. How could our country change if we all started living by this simple rule? Maybe you’re a cynic and think, “Matt, there is no way everyone is going to start living this way.” Ok. I’d agree with you. But what if YOU start living this way. And I start living this way. Could we still make a difference? Could we start a ripple of kindness and love? I think we can. One more thing to remember: When Jesus gave us the Golden Rule, he started this paragraph telling us to

The greatest leaders don’t say, “This is how great I am.” The greatest leaders say, “This is how I can serve you.” Jesus always has a different way of looking at things. That is probably one of the greatest reasons I love being a Christian. The true message of Jesus is radical. Over and over, Jesus would say, “You’ve heard it said…, but I say…” or “You’ve been taught [that], but I’m teaching you [this].” Many times, these teachings are major ways to view the world. Today’s One Verse is a great example. While on the road traveling from city to city, the disciples were arguing with each other. Jesus asked them what they were arguing about, but they were too embarrassed to answer. Of course, Jesus already knew. So, He answered their question anyway. The question? Who among us will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Jesus? They thought Jesus was coming to set up an earthly kingdom and overthrow Rome. In Mark 9:35, Jesus gave the answer: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Living for Jesus isn’t always easy. The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever told. For almost three chapters in the book of Matthew, Jesus lays out many of His core teachings. Over and over, He calls us to a new way and a new outlook on life. In Matthew 5:11, He says, “Blessed are you when people insult you because of me.” What Jesus? How is that a blessing? Persecution is a blessing when it is for Jesus. Are we standing firm in our beliefs? Or are we going with whatever is popular at the time? This is tough, because there is a good chance that we are going to disagree on some issues. The Bible is complex and deep. Jesus calls us to draw close to Him, study His Word, and stand firm in our faith. Maybe we won’t always agree, but we CAN stand firm and stand together on the name of Jesus! Maybe we will be insulted, even persecuted. That’s ok. Jesus reminds us that we will be blessed, and our reward will be great in heaven.

When we are in a season of waiting for God, don’t look around and compare yourself to the success of others. Wait. On. God. It can be hard when you are in a season of waiting. You feel helpless. You are ready for things to move ahead, to discover that next step. For whatever reason, though, God is making you wait. When we are in a season of waiting, it can be easy to look around at others and compare our lives. Our One Verse today warns against that. We don’t know what is going on in their lives. We don’t know the circumstances behind the scenes. Instead, keep our eyes on God and focus on Him. He is working in your life to form your spirit and prepare your future. Trust Him. Don’t look around at others. Wait on God.

You are God’s work of art, and He has created a purpose and a plan for your life. It can be hard to receive a compliment, can’t it? You aren’t sure how to react and you wonder, deep down, if it’s really true. So, what if someone called you a work of art? That you were a masterpiece? That can be hard to hear. Really, me? What if that person was God? Because that is exactly what the Bible says in Ephesians 2:10. This verse is jam-packed with wisdom and encouragement. In just 22 words, we learn that we are God’s handiwork--His work of art. We then learn that God has a purpose for our lives to do good works in His name. Finally, our One Verse teaches that God has a plan for our lives that He has been preparing for a long time! This may be hard to hear, but you are God’s work of art, and He has created a purpose and a plan for your life. Your mistakes don’t matter. That is why God has given us grace and Love. You are not disqualified from the purpose and plan God has created for your life. You are His masterpiece.

Will God give you more than you can handle? Yes! It forces us to depend on Him. Have you ever heard the phrase, “God won’t give you more than you can handle” or even used it yourself? The problem is, it never shows up in the Bible. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true. God WILL give us more than we can handle so we have to seek after Him, depend on Him, and allow Him to work in our lives. So, where did this phrase come from? From today’s One Verse. Well, a misquoting of today’s verse. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. When it comes to temptation, God will never place us in a situation that we can’t get out of. The verse even ends with a promise: God will always provide a way of escape. We can never say, “God did this. He led me to temptation.” We can’t even say “the devil made me do it!” No, it is on us. But we have a LOT of help in God. He is with us, and He will always provide a way out. We are all in this together. You will never face a temptati

Going through a tough time? God may be allowing you to go through the fire in order to purify you like gold! In our One Verse today, Job faces a problem that many of us do from time to time: He can’t find God. He looks East, West, North, and South, and Job still can’t find God. Have you ever felt like your prayers were just “hitting the ceiling”? This is where Job is at in Job 23. But then he says, “But He knows the way that I take.” Job knew God was always there, even when it didn’t feel like it. These can be difficult times when you can’t hear from God. But God is testing you, and He is in the process of turning your life into gold.

When we dedicate our lives to following God’s path of righteousness and love, we discover true life, prosperity, and honor. When we spend our lives chasing God and His plan for the world (righteousness and love), our lives will be filled with contentment. We will discover full lives that can only be found in Jesus. Others will view us with respect and honor. Life, prosperity, and honor. I’ll take some more of those!

Our world is filled with fear and hate and acts of terror. How can God be good while all of this is happening? Why does He allow it? I can’t answer those questions. It’s much bigger than me. I don’t think anyone other than God can. But I trust Him. I can’t explain it. If you came across this episode of this podcast, and you are struggling with this, maybe today’s One Verse is for you. Taste and see that the Lord is good. That is the start of Psalm 34:8. It is like God is allowing us to test Him: “Spend time with me. Trust me. And you will experience my goodness in your life.” I can see this in my own life. I have experienced heartache and tragedy and fear for the future, yet God has always been good to me. Life isn’t perfect, but His Love sustains me. If you’ve never experienced this, there is nothing I can do to explain it. But once you taste the goodness of God, you will know it! I encourage you to spend some time with God today, both in prayer and in His Word. I hope you experience His goodness today.

The knowledge you have isn’t as important as the Love you give. In two short verse, Jesus tells us three different times to love one another. This was one of the final commands Jesus gave us before going to the cross. This is how people will know you are a follower of Jesus: by showing love.

What the world needs now is Love. A HUGE amount of Love. Our world is broken. It has been broken since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. But the brokenness in our world is so evident today. Our One Verse comes from some of the last words of Jesus at the Last Supper. Right after predicting his betrayal by Judas and right after reminding His disciples that He would go away, Jesus gives them a new command: Love one another.

Jesus tells a story of a man who found hidden treasure in a field. Can you imagine being this man? He’s just walking through an empty field. It’s barren. No crops. No fruit. And then he stubs his toe on something. As he looks down, he uncovers something special. Hidden treasure! What would you do? Jesus tells us that the man went immediately and sold everything he owned so he could buy the field. Can you imagine what his friends thought? Why would he sell everything for one field? What a waste! But the man knew what he found. He was excited about his treasure. Wouldn’t you be! And this brings up a very tough question. Jesus said this man was like the Kingdom of heaven. So here is the question: When was the last time you were as excited about your faith as this man is about his field? Do you see your faith as a hidden treasure or something you almost apologize for? Do you want to share your amazing find with the world or hide it in shame? These are tough questions. They are tough for me to answer. I don’t know

In order to experience all that God has for you, you must let go of your past. God has! Yesterday, we learned that God is doing a new thing in our lives. He is creating streams of life-giving water in what sometimes feels like the wilderness of life. Today, we learn another critical piece to this puzzle. The verse prior to yesterday’s One Verse explains HOW we can experience the new things God is doing in our lives. Isaiah 43:18 teaches us that we have to stop dwelling on the past and forget the sins and mistakes we’ve made. And here is the best part, God is the one speaking! He doesn’t want to judge you. He doesn’t want to hold you back or keep you down. He wants you to move on into the future blessings that He has for your life! Let’s finally forgive ourselves. God has. It’s time to let go of the past and move forward into the future that God has laid  out for us!