In case you did not know, we always have a list of themed verses on the bottom of our home page on our website. Due to the recent circumstances, we have added a new theme, "Ten Verses on Protection," for your daily reading and meditation. We hope these passages bring you much comfort, encouragement, and joy in Christ.

Here are this month's "Verses on Protection." Click on the verse reference to read the verses within their context:

• John 14:27 (NET) "'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.'"
• 1 John 5:4-5 (NKJV) "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
• Psalm 61 (NIV) "For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings..."
• Psalm 23 (NASB) "A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me..."
• Psalm 27:1-3 (NASB) "[A Psalm] of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In [spite of] this I shall be confident."
• Psalm 48:14 (NET) "For God, our God, is our defender forever! He guides us!"
• John 16:33 (NLT) "'I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.'"
• Romans 8:28 (NKJV) "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose."
• Psalm 63:7-8 (NASB) "For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."
• James 1:2-4 (NKJV) "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

These themed verses are updated each month on our home page. Simply visit our home page and scroll down to the "Ten Verses on Protection" box.

Believers, have you taken the time to consider who God is and who you are in Christ? It is a never-ending well of joy and comfort to do so, and we have made it easy with the Our God Is…We Are page that looks at 102 statements of who our God is and 123 statements of who God has made us as His children—all with Scripture references.

Visit Our God Is…We Are

We hope this isolation period has been a time of deep spiritual growth and further dependence upon God. Perhaps, you have noticed certain weaknesses and sinful responses within your hearts and homes. We wanted to share another wonderful resource called Put Off…Put On that lists a number of sinful actions, emotions, and motives to "put off" alongside related Christ-like actions to "put on" that are drawn from God's Word.

This page includes a list of 78, which ends with the hope of the gospel in Psalm 130:4 (NASB)—"But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared." (NASB)

Our hope is that you would lean in to God's abundant grace, mercy, and provision as you seek to be conformed more into the image of Christ.

Visit Put Off…Put On

Our aim has always been to deliver free online Bible study resources to serve churches and believers around the world. Little did we know this mission would be so critical during a time like this as people are turning to virtual connectivity.

We have been blessed to hear about users who use BLB in their virtual Bible studies by sharing their screens with the group.

We decided to make a brief video that shows you some of the tools that you can take advantage of to do the same.

Check out our 3-minute video by clicking the YouTube video below.

One of the treasures found on BLB is Charles Spurgeon's Treasury of David. This classic work on the Psalms was written in the 19th Century by Charles Spurgeon, and is rich with exposition and application.

Psalm 91 may be a wonderful place to begin, with its application to our global pandemic today. Early in his ministry in London, Spurgeon was confronted with ministering amidst the Asiatic cholera, which led him to visit the sick and daily attend to graveside care. He said,

"A little more work and weeping would have laid me low among the rest; I felt that my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it."

Spurgeon shared that he was confronted with Psalm 91:9–10 at that time, and in his commentary, Spurgeon went on to say,

"It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is no ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honour, death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die."

Find this and many other treasures as you meditate on Psalms with Spurgeon's Treasury of David.

Visit Charles Spurgeon's Treasury of David Index Page.

Visit Psalm 91 in the Treasury of David.

We just added ten new Scripture images on God's Protection to share with your friends and family. We pray that this is one way you can encourage others to look to God alone for our refuge and strength.

We have also made it easier for you to download images, by including all Scripture images in a zip file for you to download at one time.

Here is a sample of the new images:

Download New Scripture Images on God's Protection (3.6 MB)

Download All Scripture Images (35.8 MB)

Visit our Social Sharing page

Celebrate Passion Week by engaging with numerous resources found on our website, including videos, Scripture verses laid out according to Passion Week, and a number of audio and text resources pointing to the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Visit the Passover and Resurrection Celebration page

Immersing yourself daily in Scripture and reflection is essential to a Christian's walk. We offer three different daily devotionals that can help. Our daily devotionals can be read online or delivered to your email each day.

• BLB Daily Promises are brief reflections from Scripture that point believers to the promises and security every believer has received as a child of God.
• Day by Day by Grace was written by the late Pastor Bob Hoekstra, and offers daily reflections that seek to illuminate the grace of God and inspire the child of Christ to draw near to the heart of His Creator and gracious Benefactor.
• Morning and Evening Devotions was written by 19th-century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, offering two in-depth, biblical reflections each day.

To read on our website, click on the links above.

To sign up for daily emails, click on User Preferences. You will need to sign up for a free BLB user account, if you have not already done so, by clicking LOGIN on the top menu.

For help in setting up an account, visit our Help page article.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic restricting most of our users to staying home for an extended period of time, we created a Livestreams page for users whose churches do not yet have the resources to provide virtual Sunday services. You will also notice a special Family Hymn Sing every Tuesday at 7:15pm CT (UTC-5) from our friends at Getty Music.

For more information, go to the Livestreams page.

Stayed tuned during this time of meeting restrictions by subscribing to our ministry email newsletter.