Daily Pause

Habakkuk 3:1-2, 17-19 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. 2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud    and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails    and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen    and no cattle i...

Luke 11:5-9 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, e...

Luke 11:5- 9   5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you...

Ephesians 2:13, 17-22 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of...

Colossians 1:15-23 15  The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  17  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  18  And he is the head of the bo...

John 3:5-10,14-17 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going....

Matthew 3:13-4:1 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, a...

Ephesians 3:14-19 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[ a ] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with...

Friday - Acts 2:42-47 The Fellowship of the Believers 42  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.   43  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  44  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  4...

Thursday - Acts 2:37-41 37  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far o...

Wednesday - Acts 2:22-24, 32-36 22  “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  23  This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  24  But God rais...

Tuesday - Acts 2:14-21 14  Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  15  These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!  16  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17  “‘In the last days, God says,     I will pour...

Monday - Acts 2:1-12 When the day of Pentecost came, they wereall together in one place.  2  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  3  They saw what seemed tobe tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  4  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the...

Friday – Exodus 31:18 - 32:4 18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. 32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out...

Thursday - Psalm 40 (selected verses) I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. 4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who do...

Wednesday – Luke 11:9-13 Jesus continued, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him...

Tuesday – Acts 1:9-14 9 After Jesus said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in t...

Monday - Acts 1:3-8 3 After his suffering, Jesus presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For Joh...

Friday – Ephesians 2:4-10   4  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  5  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  6  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  7  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expresse...

Thursday – Ephesians 1:18-23 18  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,  19  and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength  20  he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand i...

Wednesday – Jeremiah 1:4-10    4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[ a ] you,    before you were born I set you apart;    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say wha...

Tuesday – Matthew 9:35-38        35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are...

Monday – Matthew 28:16-20   16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Ho...

Friday – 2 Corinthians 5:17-20  17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[ a ] The old has gone, the new is here!  18  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  19  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of re...

Thursday – Acts 1:3-8       3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 Fo...