Verse from 1 Peter

Repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called. 1 Peter 3:9

When Denis started his candy company in an economically depressed neighborhood, a potential investor asked about his rate of “churn.” Churn is how many employees quit because they hate their job. “Not one person,” Denis said. The investor was surprised. But Denis’ low churn described the workplace he’d set out to build—a kind place where he’d learned everyone’s name, greeted each worker every workday, and ensured all felt seen and valued. He’d created an atmosphere where “everybody felt recognized, safe, and respected.”

His commitment to creating a kind workplace isn’t unlike the harmony the apostle Peter urged believers in Jesus to live out in our homes, churches, and communities. “All of you,” he wrote, should “be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult” (1 Peter 3:8-9).

This instruction was sent to first-century church members scattered throughout Asia Minor, where persecution, put-downs, and poor treatment of believers in Jesus were common. But in response, “repay evil with blessing” and “seek peace and pursue it” (vv. 9-11), said Peter.

In a world where online anger, workplace wrath, road rage, political fury, and family flare-ups seem sadly common, we can ask God to tone down any rage within us. As believers in Christ, His Spirit can fill us with His love and light.

Verse from 2 Kings

“Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” 2 Kings 6:5

When the Bible that Matt Williams kept in the back of his car was stolen, he feared he’d never see it again, and the precious photos he kept tucked in its case would be lost. So he offered a short prayer: “Lord, it breaks my heart. I got a lot of stuff in there that means a lot to me, and I’d like to get it back. But not my will but yours, like you always say.” Just days later, Williams was stunned to learn that his Bible was found in a stolen car. It had been placed next to a Bible the original car owner kept on her passenger seat. Being reunited with his prized possession seemed impossible, but God answered Williams’ prayer.

In 2 Kings 6:1-7, we read about the prophet Elisha facing a seemingly impossible situation. He and a group of prophets were by the Jordan River getting wood to build a larger meeting place. As one of the prophets cut down a tree, “the iron axhead fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed!’” (v. 5). The distressed prophet showed the prophet Elisha where it fell. “Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float” (v. 6). The prophet was miraculously reunited with the valuable lost item.

No care or concern is too small to bring before God in prayer. We can pray and ask God for help in any circumstance, and He can answer our prayers in unexpected ways.

Verse from John

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. John 20:1

In addition to Mary the mother of Jesus, the New Testament mentions several other women named Mary. One of them is Mary Magdalene (from the Galilean town of Magdala). Luke records that she was among those who followed Christ: “The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out” (Luke 8:1-2). 

Her personal experience with Jesus, along with witnessing His words and works, undoubtedly fueled her devotion, a devotion that didn’t end after she stood near the cross during Christ’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40; John 19:25). The last time she’s mentioned in the Bible is when Jesus appears to her at the tomb (John 20:11-18). 

Mary’s story is a reminder to us of God’s faithfulness and can help us also become people who stand for Him.

Verse from Proverbs

“As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.”

(‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26:21)‬ ‭

Scroll to the bottom of many online news sites and you’ll find the “Comments” section where readers can leave their observations. Even the most reputable sites have no shortage of rude rants, uninformed insults, and name-calling.

The book of Proverbs was collected about 3,000 years ago, but its timeless wisdom is as up-to-date as today’s breaking news. Two proverbs in chapter 26 seem at first glance to contradict each other, yet they apply perfectly to social media. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (v. 4). And then, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (v. 5).

The balance in those statements is in the “according to”: Don’t answer in the way a fool would answer. But respond so that foolishness is not considered wisdom.

Are we ourselves foolish at times? Have we at times posted a sarcastic comment or turned someone else’s statement back on them. God hates it when we treat our fellow human beings with such disrespect, even when they’re also being foolish. 

God gives us an amazing range of freedoms. We are free to choose what we will say, and when and how we say it. And we are always free to ask Him for wisdom.

Verse from Genesis

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife. Genesis 25:21

Josephine Cochrane (1839-1913) was tired of having her dishes damaged by handwashing, so she decided to create a dishwasher. Shortly after she began her design, her husband passed away, leaving her in debt. Those circumstances reinforced her need to succeed. In 1886, with a mechanic’s help, she built and then patented the first commercially successful hand-powered dishwasher. At first her dishwasher didn’t sell, but then hotels and restaurants began purchasing them. It wasn’t until the 1950s that dishwashers became popular in homes.

Sometimes it takes time and struggles for plans to come to fruition. The same is also sometimes true of God’s promises. Abraham and his descendants were promised they’d become a great nation, yet Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never saw it happen. Abraham was one hundred years old when Sarah gave birth to a son, Isaac (Genesis 21), and Isaac was sixty when Rebekah finally gave birth (25:20-21, 26). When Jacob settled in Egypt during a famine, his family numbered only seventy persons (46:27). It wasn’t until the time of Moses (about 400 years later) that the Israelites became a great nation.

As Isaac waited for a son, he did what we’re all called to do: He “prayed to the Lord” (25:21). Bring your hopes and struggles to God. He’ll bring you comfort, guidance, strength, and blessings as you wait.

Verse from Psalms

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭

In a time of conflict with other nations, Israel received a word from God: “Be still” (Psalm 46:10). “Stop striving,” He said in essence, “just follow what I say. I will fight for you.” Israel was not being told to be passive or complacent but to be actively still—to obey God faithfully while yielding control of the situation and leaving the results of their efforts to Him.

We’re called to do the same. And we can do it because the God we trust is sovereign over the world. If “he lifts his voice [and] the earth melts,” and if He can make “wars cease to the ends of the earth” (vv. 6, 9), then surely, we can trust in the security of His refuge and strength (v. 1). The burden of control over our life isn’t on us—it’s on God.

Verse from Ephesians

“of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭

A woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, fell asleep on the couch after her husband had gone to bed. An intruder sneaked in through the sliding door, which the couple had forgotten to lock, and crept through the house. He entered the bedroom where the husband was sleeping and picked up the television set. The sleeping man woke up, saw a figure standing there, and whispered, "Honey, come to bed." The burglar panicked, put down the TV, grabbed a stack of money from the dresser, and ran out.

The thief was in for a big surprise! The money turned out to be a stack of Christian pamphlets with a likeness of a $20 bill on one side and an explanation of the love and forgiveness God offers to people on the other side. Instead of the cash he expected, the intruder got the story of God’s love for him.

Saul, later called Paul, must have been surprised by God’s grace toward him, which he called “a gift”: “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” (Eph. 3:7).

Have you been surprised by God’s gift of grace in your life as He shows you His love and forgiveness?

Never measure God’s unlimited power by your limited expectations.