You Will Receive Power

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Thursday

 

Acts 1:

8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

In this verse Jesus commands His disciples to spread the gospel and to help them do so, they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit refers to the help that the Holy Spirit would grant in their spread of the gospel.

The power of speaking with new tongues, the power of healing, the power of interpretation of The Word, the power of preaching the gospel with great effect, the power of enduring great trials and so on.

Jesus then goes on to say that they would all be His witnesses. For this purpose they were appointed disciples and to prepare them for this commission, they had been with Him for more than three years. They had seen His approach to life, His miracles, His meekness and His suffering.

They had had intimate discourse with Him, had eaten and lived with Him as dear friends. They had seen him after He had risen and were qualified to bear witness to these things in all parts of the earth. They had been so intimate with him and his plans that they were qualified to state what his doctrines and purposes were. In every respect, therefore, they were qualified to be impartial and competent witnesses.

On a more personal note, understand that this commission of Jesus is applicable to all those who believe in Jesus and His teachings. It is applicable to you and me. To help spread the gospel is what Jesus expects from you. Spreading the gospel or to evangelize does not always mean standing on a soapbox and reading the Bible to passersby.

You can evangelize by living a life by example. Every small deed that you do to further His kingdom in His name is to evangelize.

So today,
Go Spread The Word by thought (intercessory prayer),
word (sharing Jesus) and
deed (acts of charity).

Maranatha

I Will Answer You

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Wednesday

 

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Wednesday Jeremiah 33:3

This bible verse is set against the Babylonian exile of the Jews. Messages from God to His people, the Jews used to come regularly through the Prophet Jeremiah. These messages were ones of hope, peace and blessings in the future Jerusalem when God promised His people that their 70 years of exile would end and that they would return to their homeland. It also foretells of the blessings that God was eager to give to His people in times of His Messiah, Jesus. The second part foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit who will reveal the deep secrets of God to us. Things that were so far hidden by God from Man.

This particular verse is an expression of God eager to listen and ever ready to answer the prayers of His people.

On a more personal note, friends are of different types and having varying levels of intimacy with you. You have a small circle where you can freely share your innermost feelings without fear of judgement or condemnation. One or two may be so close to you that you often complement each other. One knows what the other is thinking and often you complete each others sentences.

Jesus is your friend, the closest thing to a friend you'll ever have. Period. He knows you so intimately that your thoughts, words and exactly how you'll react to any situation is an open book to Him. This is because He loves you and wants an intimate fellowship with you. Everything you do matter to Him. He wants to hear from you what is in your heart and what's on your mind. It doesn't matter that He already knows. He enjoys you and your company so much that He'd rather have you share it with Him first.

And you can enjoy the blessings that come with sharing everything with Him. Put Jesus first and feel the difference.

So Today,
Call out to Him.
And see the blessing pour out on you.

Peace I Give You

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Tuesday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Monday John 14:27

In olden times this was a common form of greeting among the Jews. It calls up, from one human being to another blessings of peace and happiness in a mere human form. In this verse however, it is much more than a mere form or an empty wish. It came from Him who had power to make peace and to confer it on whom He pleased. Here it also refers to the consolation which He offers his disciples in view of His approaching death.

Jesus states that His peace is not of this world but peace that is Heavenly or Supernatural in nature and such that only He can give.

On a more personal note, you usually experience peace when you are alone. Say, that moment at the end of the day when you are just about to drift off to sleep. You heave a deep sigh and Aaah! just slowly slip away in blissful, peaceful sleep. Peace.

Or early in the morning taking a quiet walk in the woods, or a park when there's no-one around. Just quiet silence maybe broken by the chirping of birds. Peace.

The peace that Jesus gives you through His Holy Spirit surpasses all this. This Free Gift will keep you in perfect peace in the midst of chaos and confusion. All you have to do is accept this free gift from Jesus, open it and keep it in your heart.

So today,
Accept Jesus in your heart,
Accept the free gift of the Holy Spirit,
And Enjoy the Peace that only He can give you. Forever.

Daily Bible Verse - Monday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Monday

 

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Monday Galatians 5:1

This verse comes from the letter that Saint Paul writes to the Jews in Galatia. He reminds his readers that they are now Free in Christ Jesus and are not be bound in meaningless ritualism. His letter exhorts the Galatians to renounce their conformity to the Jewish law and to become entirely conformed to the gospel.

On a more personal note, imagine for a moment that you are a criminal condemned to life imprisonment. You stare at the same dank, dark walls of your prison in hopeless despair. You have noting to look forward to. Nothing.

Suddenly, one day your cell gate is thrown open and the guard takes you out in the open and says that you have been pardoned and that you are now Free.

The wonder, the excitement, the joy is too much for you to bear. You feel that your heart might burst open in happiness and the feeling of Freedom.

Now, after being given this new freedom, will you do anything that might get you back in that dank, dark, hopeless prison?

Romans 6:17-18
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

So it is when God pardons us our sins and releases us from whatever shame or prison that our heart and soul was before. Through Jesus Christ who laid down His life for you and redeemed you with His Precious Blood.

Freedom in Christ Jesus is Forever.
When He says you're Free, He means FREE.

Daily Bible Verse - Sunday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Sunday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Sunday Jeremiah 29:11

This verse comes from the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the elders, to the priests, to the prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. The exiles at Babylon as those in Jerusalem at that time had the same determination never to submit quietly to a foreign rule.

As the exile was God's doing for their good, God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah that, they were to make the best of their situation.They were to work for the peace and welfare of Babylon because their next seventy years was linked to that of Babylon. And after the 70 year exile God would bring about a restoration of Israel.

On a more personal note, we as a species are forever making plans. For tomorrow, and for the future. Planners are of two kinds. One who plan a rigid scenario and are at a total loss when things don't go according to plan. The second kind are flexi-planners often with a plan B, who fine-tune their plans according to the current scenario.

We plan because we are looking at the easiest way to get things done.

God on the other hand is planning the best way. Which brings us to the plans of God. What does God want for you? Answer: To spend eternity with Him. And He is planning the best way by which He can develop your faith and character necessary for you to make your earthly journey to Heaven.

Read Isaiah 55:8-12.

So the next time you find your plans frustrated in-spite of your constant prayers, remember He's got it in hand. What seems to be inconveniences and irritants are really blessings in disguise because His plans and ways are infinitely better than yours because they are plans of His Infinite Love.

Daily Bible Verse - Saturday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Saturday

Bible Recollection Of The Day - Saturday Hebrews 4:8

Our God is a very personal God. Though He is the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe, the Supreme Being who created the stars, the planets and all creation including you and me, He still remains a very personal God.

Today's bible verse shows us that if we wish the favor of God, we must come to him. We cannot hope for His mercy, unless we approach Him and ask him for it. We cannot come any nearer to God than we always are, for He is always around us. But we can come nearer to Him in a spiritual sense. We may come to Him directly in prayer. But we can never hope for His favor while we remain at a distance from Him.

On a more personal note, God created you because He loves you.
He wants you to be in constant fellowship with Him.
He will not stand arms akimbo while you try to approach Him.
He will come running to you like the loving father in the parable of the prodigal son. (Read Luke 15:11-32)

So today,
Make your move towards Jesus.
Feel His Presence as He approaches you in turn.
Feel Him enfold you in His arms.
Feel His warm, welcoming embrace.

Make Your Move.
He is waiting.

 

Friday Daily Bible Verse

Friday Bible Recollection Of The Day

Friday Bible Recollection Of The Day Hebrews 4:15

A High Priest is one who mediates between God and Man. An ordinary High Priest may not always be able to sympathize with our weaknesses and failings. Because he's human like us.

This verse points us out to Jesus Christ, as our True High Priest and tells us the nature and the limitless extent of the empathy and compassion of Christ. He suffers with us, not merely showing compassion to those of us who have sinned, are suffering and are being tempted, but deeply sharing in our feelings of weaknesses. Jesus can do this because He has passed through these trials, has Himself been tempted and has overcome.

On a more personal level, whenever you face a problem, a trial or difficulty, you may not always approach your best friend for help. You will more likely than not approach a friend who has in the past faced a similar situation. This is because you expect a feeling of empathy and compassion from them to help you out of the situation that you're in. But you may not always be assured of their help, maybe they're out of town, or they're too busy or just not there for you.

Jesus is always there.
Jesus is always ready.
Jesus is always waiting for you. Just say the word.
And remember He has seen it all. Been there. Faced that. Overcome it.

So today,
Call On Him.

Thursday Daily Bible Verse

Thursday Bible Recollection Of The Day

Thursday Bible Recollection Of The Day Psalms 33:18

One of the most beautiful verses showing the faith of one who places his trust in the Lord and hopes for His Eternal Love.

The innermost feelings and workings of the human heart and soul are best known to the Creator from whom all things flow. All creation depend upon Him. And all creation seek His favor. If we are certain of God's favor towards us, then we need not fear anything that might come against us. This is put very clearly in the second part of
Romans 8:31
"If God is for us, who is against us?".

On a more personal note, God is always watching you. Not because He wants to catch you doing something wrong but because He loves you. And because He loves you, He loves looking at you, the object of His adoration. He knows your heart, your life so very intimately. He even knows when it's time for you to change your toothbrush* ( *from a very personal message from God to me which I'll share sometime later).

So today know that:
God is working behind the scenes to make your life a better one.
God is working for you to live life to the fullest.
God is asking you to take in the wonder of knowing that you're not alone.
And God is asking you to make time to share your day with Him.

Daily Bible Verse

Bible Recollection Of The Day 

 

Bible Recollection Of The Day Isaiah 58:11

We are but pilgrims on earth until, our death and reward as eternal life with God in Heaven. As we go through the seasons of life, sometimes life leads us to desolate places. We go through trials and tribulations and sometimes we break down and we feel that all hope is lost.

But in the grand plans which God makes for his people there is no such deception. The unending fountains of forgiveness, peace and joy are ever open and ever full. The streams of life giving salvation are always flowing. We as tired and lost pilgrims may go there at any season of the year and from any part of a desolate world and find them always full, refreshing and free.

When we call upon the Lord for help, He hears and answers us. In these verses He promises to lead and guide us in the way that we should go. He also promises to give us strength and nourishment for our physical bodies. And refreshing peace to satisfy our parched souls and this will continue to flow on to the end of time.

So today, let us call out to Him. Let us look to Him.
He is the Only One who is able and ever-willing to rescue us out of any desolate situation that we find ourselves in.
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Him.
And let us truly believe in our hearts of His Goodness and Love for us. Eternally.

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day Galatians 2:20

To say that this is one of the more remarkable verses in the New Testament is an understatement. Saint Paul says that just as Christ was put to death by crucifixion, Saint Paul became dead to sin, dead to the world and dead to the Jewish Law. St. Paul goes on to clarify that though he was dead, he now lives through Christ who lives within him. Or rather that he lives through the Grace of Christ who is the Redeemer.

Saint Paul now lives by his faith on the Son of God, by confidence in the Son of God, looking to Him for strength, trusting in his promises, and in his grace.

"Who loved me and gave Himself for me". Here St.Paul acknowledges the love of Christ who loved him so much that He had given Himself up to the death of the cross in his behalf.

How often have you at the end of the day, rewound and replayed the day in your mind. Most often than not, wished that you had spoken differently, acted differently and taken hot words back. Or it could be that you are facing a difficult problem. Or that your heart, mind and soul is feeling low because of your present circumstances.

In times as such, you wish you were a time traveler and could just go back a day before, a week before or even a year before and start anew. There's good news for you, God's love and mercies are always there waiting for you. Yours for the asking, any time, any place.

Put to death your old self and soak yourself in God's love and mercy. His compassion will take away yesterday with all its pain, sadness and regrets. His love and faithfulness will strengthen you every new day. And His Grace will fill you with His Holy Spirit and you will live the future a new being in Christ.

To conclude in the words of Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 31
"If God is for us, who can be against us?".

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

 

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day Acts 3:19

The explanation of this verse is simple. In order that your sins may be forgiven, you must repent. Sin cannot be pardoned before you repent of it. In the order of the work of grace, repentance must always precede pardon. You cannot truly believe that your sin is pardoned until you repent of it.

To repent is to go back home where we belong. One of the best parables of repentance is that of the prodigal son as detailed in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15 verses 11-32. Going home is not only about being forgiven and given the assurance of a new life, but also finding new meaning and a new direction for your life.

Here it's all about returning to God, renewing your relationship with God and redirecting your life to fit in with God.

When you repent God changes you from the inside. You are a new person. You are different. You abhor sin. You dislike doing things that displeases the Father. His Holy Spirit lives in you and starts making positive changes in you. This was best understood by King David in Psalm 51, after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered Uriah. David goes on to say in verses 10-12
10
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

You need to remember that repentance is not about feeling bad. It's all about admitting your sin and asking God's help with it. And God will refresh you with His Holy Spirit. The second half of today's verse tells us that true repentance leads to times of refreshing from God Himself.

This call to repentance, turning away from your sin, asking pardon and returning to the Father is open to all. Today God is telling you:
"Come Home To Me".

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day 2 Corinthians 12:9

Saint Paul in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12 tells us of a revelation that he had of Our Lord. He gives us an inkling of the remarkable vision that he had of Heaven and the extraordinary wonders that he was permitted to gaze upon.

He goes on to say that to prevent him from getting a swollen head over this special gift from Our Lord, he was given a 'thorn'. A thorn which was painful and for which he prayed earnestly to Our Lord to deliver him from. The answer he received forms the verse which we are reading now. Our Lord goes on to say that His Grace is all that Saint Paul needs to support him.

This goes for all of us today. Every day, every hour, every minute, God extends His Hand of Grace to you to help you get through whatever that you are facing.
God says:
You are weak, I am strong.
You are restless, I am restful.
You are unable, I am able.
You are powerless, I am powerful.
Where all your efforts end, let His Grace take over.

So today, accept the Grace that God is offering you and remember that nothing is impossible for Him. Surrender to Him and let Him take over your life and it's problems. And in the words of Saint Paul in his letter to the Philippians 4:4:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

To download and use the above images as a verse or a prayer on your smartphone or tablet (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please long-press image and select "Download Image".

To download and use the above images as a prayer or a verse on your computer (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please Right-Click image and select "Save As".

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

 

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day Numbers 23:19

Numbers 23:19

A fundamental aspect of God the Father's character is His Faithfulness. A realization, acceptance and unshaken belief in this aspect of God's character is the easy and sure path to the best possible life that you can have. Let me put it in another way, if you don't believe that God can be faithful enough to lead you to the best possible life that you could lead, then obviously, you will not consult Him in every decision that you have to make. Looking further, you will not be able to trust Him with your material life. And thus you will neither be able to fully enjoy the life that He has planned out for you nor enjoy His Presence in your life.

God is always awake and present and faithful to your needs. In the 6-8 hours that you sleep, you are helpless. Neither can you help others nor can others help you. But your God is always awake, aware and heedful to your needs - Faithful. Friends and Family may fail you but not your God - Faithful. Family and Friends may not be there when you are in need of them, But not your God - Faithful. Your God will always be there for you - Faithful.

Read these verses to find what the scriptures say about God's faithfulness.
Romans 8:28
Isaiah 54:10
Hebrews 10:23
Pholippians 1:6
1 Thessalonins 5:23-24

Make a resolution now to take up on God the Father's offer of the best possible life He has planned for you. Respond to the Father's faithfulness with your own and experience basking in the love and joy of a Faithful Father who loves you perfectly and completely. And always remember that God's faithfulness will outlast anything that you can imagine.

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.

 

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

 

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day Galatians 4:6-7

All of us have been created by God the Father. God loves to look upon us as His children. But our sinful nature separates us from the love of the Father. The power and grace of Jesus's supreme sacrifice for us by His passion and death on the Cross have made us children of God.

Furthermore, Jesus's love for those who have been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb is exemplified by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who resides in all of us who trust and believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, helps us to abhor sin and live a life that is acceptable to the Father.

God the Father is Holiness personified and thus expects that same holiness from each and every one of us. Be Holy As I am Holy says the Lord in the scriptures.

As children of the Father through Jesus, we are heirs to the Kingdom of God and that means eternal life with the Holy Trinity in Heaven where our real home is.

The greatest gift that the Father can bestow upon us is eternal life with Him in our Heavenly home and that is what this verse promises.

So let us live not as orphans without accepting this Truth but as children of God secure in peace and joy living in the unconditional love of the Father .

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your smartphone or tablet (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please long-press image and select "Download Image".

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your computer (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please Right-Click image and select "Save As".

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

Isaiah 12:2
God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The LORD gives me power and strength; he is my savior.
The spiritual translation of this verse is that God has given us the free gift of salvation. Since this gift is from God Himself and not any other being whether angelic, super-natural or of human origin, we can trust in the source which is God Himself.
Thus, we need not be afraid of the harmful works of other inferior beings since God is the source of this salvation and all we need to do is to trust Him completely.
God is the foundation of our confidence. We are safe in His hands. No snares or arrows or plots of the evil one shall touch us.

The verse in itself is a beautiful prayer of Faith, Hope and Trust in God.

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your smartphone or tablet (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please long-press image and select "Download Image".

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your computer (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please Right-Click image and select "Save As".

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

1 John 1:9

God the Father forgives us our sins whenever we confess them in the name of His beloved Son, Jesus. When we call upon the name of Jesus, God our loving Father, can only look at us through the wounds of Jesus. He cannot look at us in any other way.

This supreme grace is available to us sinners freely, at all times and at any number of times. With this wonderful free gift in our hands, we are always in a state of Grace. We only have to call out.

This Grace came to us free, but came at a cost to our Lord Jesus, by His Passion and Death on the Cross.

Let us not add the Supreme Sin of treating the Blood of the Lamb cheaply, by again and again falling into sin with the carefree knowledge that our sins will be forgiven by God.

When we realize the supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, we must truly repent. The key to forgiveness of sins is true repentance. With true repentance comes an aversion to sin. And with this aversion to sin, we get closer and closer to God the Father by becoming more and more like His One Beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus. 

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your smartphone or tablet (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please long-press image and select "Download Image".To download and use the above images as a prayer on your computer (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please Right-Click image and select "Save As".

Daily Catholic Bible Verse

Catholic Bible Recollection Of The Day

James 3:9

Most of us wake up in the morning giving thanks to God for the gift of another day. Some of us may pray for a good and meaningful day. The vast majority of us wake up with positive feelings.
Now, try and visualize the time just before we fall asleep. Again the vast majority of us will wonder what went wrong with our day. We recollect our mistakes, failings and often feel sadness at the thought of a day that might have been spent better. With more patience, love, kindness, understanding...you get the drift.

I'm going to try and give a situation that I face most days and show that how we can overcome. As Saint James so aptly put it in chapter 3 of his letter, the tongue is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison.

I wake up this morning, my first words are
Praise You Father, Praise You Jesus, Praise You Holy Spirit.
I walk downstairs to see my wife making us coffee. She wishes me a Good Morning with a smile. In the meantime, I find a floor-mat out of place and instead of wishing my wife a Good Morning in return, grumble about the out-of-place floor-mat. The smile on my wife's face fades and she becomes quiet. She has a great deal more patience than I have and so does not react.

As the day progresses, I keep finding faults and a little later, the whole house is in a state of negativity and full-blown blame-game is on. At this stage even if I realize my fault and want to make amends, I can't set things right because our household has 3 generations living together and everyone's feelings are hurt.

This is the case in most homes and communities where the first person to utter a sentence at the beginning of the day sets the trend for that day. A smile, a touch, an acknowledgement, a word of praise, a thank you, a kiss sets the trend for the day in our homes.

If you have time try and read the whole chapter 3 of Saint James's letter. It's a small chapter which you can finish in no time.

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your smartphone or tablet (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please long-press image and select "Download Image".

To download and use the above images as a prayer on your computer (or to use as screensavers/ wallpapers), please Right-Click image and select "Save As".

To read today's bible verses, entire chapters or just browse through the free online Bible, Click Here.