August 2021 Christ Unite Devotional Verses

31 Aug 2021 Philippians 4:19-20 (NIV), Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV)

Philippians 4:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

²⁰To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV)

Heal me, O Lord , and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

 

30 Aug 2021 Romans 1:1-6 (NIV), Hebrews 5:5-10 (NIV)

Romans 1:1-6 (NIV)

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

 

Hebrews 5:5-10

⁵ In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.”

⁶ And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

 

 

29 Aug 2021 Psalm 14 (NIV), Isaiah 44:6-8 (NIV)

Psalm 14 (NIV)

¹The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

³All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Will evildoers never learn- those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord ?

⁵There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.

⁶You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.

⁷Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

 

Isaiah 44:6-8 (NIV)

⁶“This is what the Lord says- Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

⁷Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come- yes, let him foretell what will come.

⁸Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

 

28 Aug 2021  Exodus 17:8-16 (NIV)

⁸The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.

⁹Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

¹⁰So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.

¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

¹²When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up-one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

¹³So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁵Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.

¹⁶He said, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord . The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

 

27 Aug 2021  1 Peter 4:7-11 (ESV)

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

⁸ Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹ Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

26 Aug 2021  John 20:24-29 (NIV)

²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 

25 Aug 2021  Proverbs 12:15-16 (GW)

¹⁵A stubborn fool considers his own way the right one,
but a person who listens to advice is wise.

¹⁶ When a stubborn fool is irritated, he shows it immediately,
but a sensible person hides the insult.

 

24 Aug 2021  John 1:16 (ESV)

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

 

23 Aug 2021  Proverbs 3:3 (ESV)

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

 

22 Aug 2021  Romans 8:28 (NIV), Revelation 7:17 (NIV)

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

Revelation 7:17 (NIV)

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

21 Aug 2021  1 Corinthians 11:11-12 (ESV)

Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.

 

20 Aug 2021  James 2:14-20 (NIV), Matthew 7:21-27 (NIV)

James 2:14-20 (NIV)

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

¹⁶If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

¹⁹Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ?

 

Matthew 7:21-27 (NIV)

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

19 Aug 2021 Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

18 Aug 2021 3 John 1-2 (ESV)

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

 

17 Aug Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 (NIV)

Psalm 139:1-6 (NIV)

¹O Lord , you have searched me and you know me.

²You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord .

⁵You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

 

Psalm 139:13-18 (NIV)

¹³For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

 

16 Aug 2021  Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

 

15 Aug 2021 Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (NIV)

⁶Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

 

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible Commentary

Verse 6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm,…. These are still the words of the church, speaking to Christ as she walked along with him, as the affixes in the Hebrew text show; in which she desires to have a fixed abiding place in his heart; to continue firmly in his love, and to have further manifestations of it; to be always remembered and supported by him; to be ever on his mind, and constantly under his care and protection; and to have a full assurance of interest in his love, and in his power, which is the sealing work of his Spirit, Ephesians 1:13. The allusion seems to be to the high: priest, a type of Christ, who had the names of the children of Israel engraved on precious stones, and bore by him on his shoulders, and on his heart, for a memorial before the Lord continually; or to the names of persons, engraved on jewels, wore by lovers on their arms or breasts, or to their pictures put there; not to signets or seals wore on those parts, but to the names and images of persons impressed on them: the Ethiopians {p} understand it of something bound upon the arm, by which persons might be known, as was used in their country. The church’s desire is, that she might be affectionately loved by Christ, be deeply fixed in his heart, be ever in his view, owned and acknowledged by him, and protected by the arm of his power. Her reasons follow:

for love [is] strong as death; that is, the love or the church to Christ, which caused her to make the above requests: death conquers all; against it there is no standing; such was the love of the church, it surmounted all difficulties that lay in the way of enjoying Christ; nothing could separate from it; she was conquered by it herself {q}; and could not live without him; a frown, an angry look from him, was as death unto her; yea, she could readily part with life and suffer death for his sake; death itself could not part her from him, or separate him from her love {r}; so that her love was stronger than death;

jealousy [is] cruel as the grave: the jealousy she had of Christ’s love to her which was her weakness; and yet it was very torturing and afflicting, though at the same time it showed the greatness of her love to Christ: or “envy,” that is of wicked men, she was the object of, which exceeds cruel wrath and outrageous anger, Proverbs 27:4; or rather her “zeal” {s}, which is no other than ardent love for Christ his Gospel, cause, and interest; which ate up and consumed her spirits, as the grave does what is cast into it. Psalm 119:139. Virgil {t} gives the epithet of “cruel” to love;

the coals thereof [are] coals of fire; which expresses the fervency of her love to Christ, and zeal for the honour of his name: which, though sometimes cold and languid, is rekindled, and becomes hot and flaming; and is, like fire, insatiable, one of the four things that say, “It is not enough,” Proverbs 30:16;

[which hath] a most vehement flame; nothing is, nor, common with other writers {u}, than to attribute flame to love, and to call it a fire; here a most vehement flame. Or, “the flame of Jah” or “Jehovah” {w}; an exceeding great one: the Hebrews use one or other of the names of God, as a superlative; so the mountains of God, and cedars of God, mean exceeding great ones; and here it expresses the church’s love in the highest degree, in such a flame as not to be quenched, as follows: or it signifies, that the flame of love in her breast was kindled by the Lord himself {x}, by his Spirit, compared to fire; or by his love, shed abroad in her heart by him, Hence it appears to be false, what is sometimes said, that the name of God is not used in this Song; since the greatest of all his names, Jab or Jehovah, is here expressed.

{p} Apud Ludolph. Lexic. Ethiopic. p. 341. {q} “Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amori,” Virgil. {r} “Nostros non rumpit funus amorea,” Lucan. Pharsal. l. 5. v. 761, 762. {s} hanq “zelus,” Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Marckius. {t} “Crudelis amor,” Bucolic. Eclog. 10. v. 29. {u} Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. de Nutpt. Honor. v. 16. & Laude Stilico, v. 74. So love is said to kindle a more vehement flame than at Vulcan’s forge, Theocrit. Idyll. 2. prope finem. {w} hy-tbhlv “flamma Domini,” Montauus, Mercerus; “Dei,” Tigurine version, Cocceius; “Jah,” Vatablus, to Marckius. {x} So the Tigurine version, Castalio.

Verse 7. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it,…. The love of the church to Christ, which is inextinguishable and insuperable, by the many waters and floods of wicked and ungodly men; neither by their flattery and fair promises; nor by their cruel edicts, force and persecution; by neither can they withdraw the love of the saints from Christ, nor tempt them to desert his interest: nor by all the afflictions God is pleased to bring upon them; rather their love is increased thereby, which they consider as effects of the love, wisdom, and faithfulness of God, as designed for their good: nor even by their sins and corruptions; for though, through the aboundings of these, their love may wax cold, yet it never becomes extinct; it may be left, but not lost; its fervency may be abated, but that itself remains: nor by Satan’s temptations, who sometimes comes in like a flood, threatening to carry all before him; but the Spirit lifts up a standard against him, and maintains his own work of faith and love, Isaiah 59:19; nor by the terrors of the law, and the apprehensions of divine wrath, they are sometimes pressed with, signified by waves and floods, Psalm 88:6; nor by all the hardships and difficulties, scoffs and reproaches, which attend believers in their Christian race; which are so far from alienating their affections from Christ, that they rather endear him the more unto them, and make heaven, and the enjoyment of him there, the more desirable;

 

14 Aug 2021  1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV)

Let all that you do be done in love.

 

13 Aug 2021  Ephesians 4 (NIV)

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

⁴There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called–

⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

⁸This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”

⁹(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ?

¹⁰He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

¹²to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

¹⁹Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

²⁰You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.

²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

²⁶“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.