verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with a gossip [who talks freely or flatters]. Proverbs 20:19 AMP Well this is straight up! People who talk about other people, who gossip, who give up others stories, just avoid them. The end. Except that can be me. Prov 18:8 & 26:22 describe gossip as a juicy morsel, and who doesn't want something that tastes so good. Or to pass on something.  And I can justify it by only telling you, or you'll hear about it anyway or whatever. Rather than exercise the fruit of the Spirit (love, patience, kindness, self-control) there's something corrupted in my heart. The reality is I gossip because it feels good.  For me. It's all about me. Holding someone's story is a treasure,  and if someone has trusted me with (a part of) their story,  I should be trust worthy to hold it. To hold it like a treasured possession. This proverb is a sobering reminder of my corrupted heart, and that to

When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said,  "Father, forgive  them, because they do not know what they are doing." And they divided his clothes and cast lots. Luke 23:33-34 CSB Naked Abused His worldly possessions being gambled over. Jeered at and rejected by the people. Abandoned by his friends. All of the power of the most powerful empire on the planet against him. Surrounded by criminals, crucified on a cross, in the place called "the Skull", and soon to be abandoned by God, Jesus words are of forgiveness. And words of love. Jesus sees those who have abandoned him, spat on him, walked away, accused, betrayed him, and driven nails into his hands as something more.  As worth loving. As worth forgiving. As worth dying for. This is love. Love without measure. No matter what you and I might think of ourselves, Jesus words, and Jesus actions declare that you

When Jesus stood up, he said to her,  "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord," she answered. "Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go,  and from now on do not sin anymore." John 8:10-11 CSB This is love. That sees us,  knows what we need,  Love that makes a way. This is love. That knows our story, the choices we made to survive, how we got to where we are. Love that makes a way. This is love Love that is unflinching.  Love that does not abandon or walk away This is love That is not interested in a theological argument, but is interested in a hurt person. This is love that is more interested in our future, our choices today and tomorrow, the orientation of our hearts. This is love. Love that forgives  Love without measure. Love that made a way to live not under condemnation of the law, or under condemnation of people, or under condemnation of God. This is love Love without measure. I wonder as this person stood there w

Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus. Seeing their faith  he said,  "Friend, your sins are forgiven." Luke 5:19-20 CSB This is love That this man's friends stuck with him, got creative, did everything they could to support him. This is love. That even though we come to Jesus with our brokenness, He knows what we really need first, something only He can give. Forgiveness This is love  That Jesus doesn't say you're not good enough, come back when you've fixed this or that, come back when you can walk on your own. He says,  come as you are.  This is love. Love without measure. #dearlyloved #forgiveness #lovewithoutmeasure

But a Samaritan  on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over to him  and bandaged his wounds... Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  The next day  he took out two denarii,  gave them to the innkeeper,  and said,  Take care of him.  When I come back I'll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend. Luke 10:33-35 CSB This is love. Jesus saw us,  hurt broken unable to fix ourselves This is love Jesus saw us, and moved.  His compassion lead to action. He stepped towards us He crossed the road. This is love Jesus got in the mess, bandaged up our wounds, used up His resources, took care of us. This is love. That paid. Love paid the price. And promised to come back. To pay whatever it took. This is love. Love without measure. All this for a stranger. An enemy Someone from a different group, for one of "them". This is love. Rest in this love today. And Jesus asks us to follow Him.  To love like

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him  should not perish  but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world  might be saved through him." John 3:16-17 ESV This is love. Jesus' life given, so that we can live. This is love. That it's not about being good enough, wise enough, strong enough, do everything right, we just have to believe. This is love. The way to Life is not through condemnation. There's no finger pointing, no "you should", no "you stupid," no ",you're not good enough", no "you're not enough". The way to Life is through Jesus.  Through Jesus act of, way of,  life of,  very essence of,  love. This is love. God's son,  the only one who could, with arms that were stretched wide on a Roman cross,  with hands scarred with nail holes,  those hands,  those arms welcoming us in,  welcoming us home

This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us  and sent his Son  as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 NIV This is love. The creator loving his creation. Before we knew Him, we are loved. This is love. Love that took action, not just some small token action.  God sent His son. This is love. And why? To be the sacrifice.  To atone. To make things right. Not for Himself, but for us, because He loves us. This is love. Love that does not and cannot be counted or measured. This is love. Love Without Measure. Love that stepped towards us, stoops down, made himself small, gave everything, so that we might live. This is love. The love we get to rest in today. The love we are called to live out today. #dearlyloved #lovewithoutmeasure 

Friday! Proverbs! Finalise plans  with counsel,  and wage war  with sound guidance. Proverbs 20:18 CSB Good advice.  Get help in when there's big decisions to be made. And waging war? The point here is to slow us down, not to wage war on emotion.  This is written by Solomon, the king with all the power, power of life and death over others, with the power to send others into war, to face death just because he says so. When we have power, slow down. Get advice.  Jesus picks up on this in Luke 14 when he talks about the cost of being a disciple, a follower of his, and are we, like a king going to war, counting the cost, prepared to pay the price? This proverb mentions sound guidance.  That means the 'king' must be listening. When we have power in some area, listening requires humility, slowing down, asking and waiting. We take time to dial down our emotions, and as Jesus was always asking, what's the heart motive. What's my heart motive when I, the king, want to go to

For if you possess these qualities  in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless  or unfruitful  in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8 CSB We want to be useful. Fruitful. We want our knowledge of Jesus to grow. Stuff gets in the way though right? Our own thinking, our circumstances, the pressures of this world, our enemy and his lies. This verse points us back, back to Peter's pizza of ingredients, and points us forward with the call to grab them all, and to grab more and more. This is about our trajectory. Our direction. It's not about how fast we grow, but are we heading in the right direction. Small steps. Increasing measure. Some are about looking up to God, and some about looking out to others, and we need to grab hold of more and more of all of these things... #peterspizza #faith #goodness #knowledge #selfcontrol #endurance #godliness #careforoneanother #love #smallstepsintherightdirection

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,  knowledge with self-control,  self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness godliness with brotherly affection,  and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1:5-6 CSB Love are the final ingredients. Love for one another, and the agape love of God that He also wants for us to find and find a way to express. This is the love that Jesus expressed by walking around with his team, feeding people, teaching, healing, and the love that took Him to the cross, to "spend himself" completely, to give himself, to submit to destruction and separation from God. So that  We can find freedom. So that We can be renewed So that  We can be called children of God  This is the love that Peter wants us to know and to live out. The love that changes us, and changes the world. #peterspizza #faith #goodness #knowledge #selfcontrol #endurance #godliness #careforoneanother #love

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,  knowledge with self-control,  self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness... 2 Peter 1:5-6 CSB Let's get back to Pete's pizza and the next ingredient... godliness. This word here is "eusebeia" seems to have the meaning of reverence, of a heart response. We like to keep our heart responses in check, to keep them within "acceptable" boundaries, not to be OTT. What if we gave our heart permission to respond freely to who God is, to Jesus being God's very essence wrapped into a person just like us, to the holy one, perfect, and yet became sin for us.  That our God wants everyone to dwell with Him and our job is to love others enough to show them a glimpse of who God is through how we live, how we love. Today give your heart permission to respond, however that looks... #peterspizza #faith #goodness #knowledge #selfcontrol #endurance #godliness #

Jesus wept. John 11:35 CSB Yes this is the answer to a Bible trivia question about shortest verses in the Bible, and yes there's a lot going on in this account of the death of Lazarus. But one of the things these two words tell us is that things, events, loss, hurts, people, loss, grief, these things hurt. And it's OK not to be OK. Jesus wept. It's OK to feel the hurt. It's OK to cry. You're allowed. There's no shame in that, it's not something we have to cover up, push down or hide.  Jesus wept.  It's OK to feel and share in the hurt of others. Jesus wept. And it's OK to cry over our own losses.  Jesus wept. Our God, the Eternal, the Creator, made himself small, put aside all the power, entered into the story, became one of us, and felt what we do.  He knows. This is love, that He hurts with us.  With you. #jesuswept #onedayallwillbemadenew #everytearabsorbed

In the beginning was the Word,  and the Word was with God,  and the Word  was God. He was with God  in the beginning. All things  were created  through him,  and apart from him not one thing  was created  that has been created.  In him was life,  and that life  was the light of men. That light  shines in the darkness,  and yet  the darkness did not  overcome it. John 1:1-5 CSB What is it that you need from this passage today? Just read it again.   What jumps off the page for you? Read it again. What does your heart need today? May the gentle Spirit of God speak into your heart today. May His love, His grace, His truth bring light, life and hope to you today. Amen. #thisisourGod #sunday #worship

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,  knowledge with self-control,  self-control with endurance... 2 Peter 1:5-6 CSB Endurance. What comes to mind when you think about endurance?  For me it's a long distance runner.  And then it's someone with chronic pain. This word endurance ("hupomone") literally means to "remain under". An athlete chooses to "remain under" their coach or training regime.  Someone in pain has less choice. What is Peter asking us to "remain under" here?  He's asking us to "remain under" the promises of God, the "I will never leave you or forsake you" promises that change and transform us to be like Jesus (see v 4) Remain under His promises. Remain under the shelter of His love. Remain under all that He has given us for Life (see v 3) This isn't about how much we can put up with, how strong we have to be, how we perform. It

Friday! Proverbs! Food gained by fraud  is sweet to a person,  but afterward  his mouth is full of gravel. Proverbs 20:17 CSB Deception. Lies. Theft. When we "get one over" someone else, win at their expense, the fruit, the result, can feel good. But. We have a conscience. A sense of right and wrong that turns that "win" sour.  Like chewing gravel. My teeth can't win against gravel, so I'd have to spit it out, let it destroy my mouth, or swallow it. And eventually my conscience gets worn down. I've chosen the sweet taste of the "food" and I've gotten used to eating gravel. Maybe it's just my heart that works like this. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 that God is at work renewing our minds, putting off the old, and on with the new, becoming more like Jesus, changing my heart, restoring my  conscience.  This is the direction I want to keep heading... #livelikeJesus #lovelikeJesus #itsajourney #smallsteps #restoration #renewal

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,  knowledge with self-control... 2 Peter 1:5-6 CSB We've got our base of faith, and have added goodness  knowledge & today self-control. It's self control that gets us up some mornings, that makes wise choices for our future, that puts off the old & puts on the new, that chooses light over dark, truth instead of lies, goodness, not evil. It allows us to love. It's self-control that gives, gives up, sacrifices. It holds us back when our desires and wants threaten to take over  It allows us to step towards the needs of others. Love requires it, because love is a choice, an action, an orientation of our hearts that requires a reining in of me... I need that self-control that is prompted by and empowered by God's Spirit. Just think for a minute about what happens when people have no self-control, or choose not to exercise it.  What an ingredient! #peterspizza #fai

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,  knowledge with self-control... 2 Peter 1:5-6 CSB Pete's pizza! We've got a base of faith, and now we're adding goodness knowledge I've often heard "I have a simple faith" as some kind of reason not to engage with life's tough issues, to bring our faith to bear in the hard places of life, and the hard places of our hearts. Keep learning. Our God has more for us.  More depth More goodness  More grace Have you heard this quote? "God loves us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us as we are". He has more for us, and one way to get to the more is from learning.  God has revealed Himself in his word, and the more we learn, the more there is. The internet has brought us free resources - here's a few good ones: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Account/Invite/crossroadsnz https://courses.dts.edu/ Nothing beats being in God's Word for yourse

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness... 2 Peter 1:5 CSB For this very reason...takes us back to the previous verses about sharing in the divine nature, about living in, and living out God's promises, and about life and godliness. Faith is required first.  Peter's first letter was all about Jesus.  Our Living Hope. Verses 1&2 frame this letter that it's all about faith in Jesus.  Jesus as Lord. (Creator & sustainer of all that we see and can discover in this universe) Jesus as Saviour. (shrunk himself, constrained into a human body He entered his creation and gave himself, so that we might live) Add to this faith then, goodness.  We can all do good things, but this is about more than that, this is about character, who we are, who we are becoming. Moral goodness is the meaning here.  And for that we need an external reference. We can't rely on our own judgement for what is good or not. God's word, Jesus words and life

See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us,  that we  would be named  and called  and counted  the children of God! And so we are! 1 John 3:1 AMP Do you ever feel that you don't belong, don't fit in? A bit lost? I have. Named, called, counted. Our God knows your name. He is not some impersonal force in the universe, and you & I are not just numbers. He knows your name, calls you by it, and knows when you go missing. We're not trophies of God's, or things he treasures.  We're children. Children who He loves. Named Called Counted When you feel unknown, alone, that you don't belong, the Truth is something different.  Hold this truth, speak it, pray it. Even children with the best parents sometimes don't feel loved, that their parents don't really know them, get them.  But the truth is that they are loved. That hasn't actually changed. Today, no matter how it might feel, our God loves you. And me. We belong. #named #called #cou

See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us,  that we  would be named  and called  and counted  the children of God! And so we are! 1 John 3:1 AMP Our daughter worked at Door of Hope in Johannesburg for a few months several years ago. A place where abandoned babies were nurtured until they were adopted by their "forever family". These young children didn't understand the position that they were in. Adoptive parents did all the work. Travelled, paid, went thru all the paperwork and processes, and chose a small person to join their family.  Some were chosen even though they had a disability, were HIV positive. They weren't chosen because of how well dressed they were that day or how well they behaved. They were chosen because their "forever family" loved them.  We, you, me, have been seen, and named, and called Children of God. Chosen. Adopted. And here we belong. Not because of how we look today, what we did or will do, but because our H

By these he has given us very great and precious promises,  so that  through them  you may share in the divine nature,  escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire  2 Peter 1:4 CSB In the Big Story, God's promises have already rescued us. We have been born again into the Living Hope who is Jesus (ref back to 1 Peter). But in my small story, the everyday, the corruption of the world pushes in. These "evil desires" are found in my heart, and they're found in the behaviour & choices of others that push in on us.  Our escape route is God's promises.  His Big Story promise of Jesus return, of God's Kingdom restored, and the small story promises that as we anchor our lives in these, God's divine nature gets more and more entwined with ours.  Find His promises. Write them. Pray them. Meditate on them. Live in them.  Let who God is, His nature, His heart, small step by small step, make us more like Him #smallsteps #Godspromises #with

Friday! Proverbs! Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners. Proverbs 20:16 ESV What is this business advice written 3,000 yrs ago doing in the Bible?  Sometimes a man's coat was all he had to keep warm, to keep him alive, and could be taken as security if obligations were not met. (See Deuteronomy 24:12-13 where God's law evens up the power imbalance between the rich and the poor who only has his coat as security.) This proverb teaches that there are consequences to our decisions and promises. The last word in the proverb translated foreigner can also hold the meaning of seductress. When an opportunity or scheme seems so good, too good, and we allow ourselves to get pulled in. This proverb also points us to one person who's clothes were taken for me, who's life was pledged for mine,  who made a commitment and paid the price not for anything he had done, not for anything He owed,  b

By these he has given us very great and precious promises,  so that  through them  you may share in the divine nature... 2 Peter 1:4 CSB So that.  These promises, given by God, out of His glory and goodness are so that we get a taste, no more than a taste, we get to share in who God is. A sharer A participant We belong here.  Not outsiders looking in, but participants.  With God. You belong. As we pray those promises, meditate on them, live in them, somehow, we take on God's nature. I don't know how that works.  "I will never leave you or abandon you" Lord sometimes I feel abandoned, forsaken, alone, but your promise is that I'm not. I trust you, trust your Word, and hold this promise now. Today I choose to live in its truth. Amen Find His promises. Pray them. Mediate on them. Live in them.  Our personal loving God wraps us in, welcomes us in. You belong. #dearlyloved #childofGod #belong

By these he has given us very great and precious promises... 2 Peter 1:4 CSB So much goodness packed into this verse :) "By these" points us back to verse 3, by God's own glory and goodness, He has given us His promises.  This is all a one way street! It's all goodness and promises pouring in our direction! God isn't waiting for us to change or be good enough or deserving, He's already decided what He's doing.  He's saying I love you now, and here's my promises. What are the promises that are precious to you? My favourite is Deuteronomy 31:6+8/Joshua 1:5/Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor abandon you"  Not forsaken. Not lost. Not alone. Even if it feels like we are sometimes, we are not.  Even if it feels like there is no hope sometimes, we are not hope less, because our hope is not reliant on us, but on God's glory and goodness.  Rest in that today. #dearlyloved #notforsaken #chosen #dearlyloved #childrenoftheKing

His divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness  through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 CSB Do you ever wrestle with the thought that you're not good enough for God? I do. The things I've done, the things I've thought about,  if He knows my heart, why would He love me? Why would Jesus leave the 99 & come looking for me? At least part of the answer is in this verse.  His heart of love is for us because His heart is Love. In Deuteronomy 7 there's a couple of verses where God tells the people why He loves them. It's because He does. God is love. He loves us. He's called us, chosen us, loves us because He loves us. Loves you. His love for us is not reliant on our performance, how good we are, whether we "measure up", do the "right" things. He loves you because He loves you. We visited a home last night where there is a new kitten.  That kitten doesn't know what love

His divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness  through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 CSB Every now and then I read some scripture and say "really?"  Do I really have everything I need for life? And godliness? I'm miles away from there. Yet that's what this says. And Peter gives us the way to discover the truth here...it's through knowing Jesus. Not knowing about him through someone else's sermon or book or podcast (even tho they're good and helpful things) but by engaging with Jesus through the Word, through his words, through his story, through his Spirit, through the life of others,  through following Jesus in seeking the lost, through following Jesus in serving others, through following Jesus in stepping towards those who are hurting, by standing against injustice... Get to know who Jesus is and we will discover we have what we need for life, and for godliness. #monday #Godsgym

May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God  and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2 CSB Grace and peace. If there's 2 things we need more of grace and peace would be near the top.  Peter's blessing for us comes through knowing God, knowing who He is.  Reminding ourselves again of the big story of creation, the fall, Gods pursuit of us, and the coming of Jesus the redeemer. The big story of the hope that we have that one day all will be made new. All that hurt will be unhurt.  All that is broken, restored, unbroken. And knowing Jesus. Not just knowing who He is, but knowing him as Lord.  This is not about supporting Jesus team, but pledging allegiance, choosing to follow him, allow him to direct our paths, our choices. To let his words dwell in our hearts and minds.  To worship Jesus as Lord  King  Redeemer So today, may grace and peace be multiplied to you and in you, through the knowledge of God  and of Jesus our Lord Amen #graceandpeace #sunday #worship

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1 CSB Peter starts this letter telling his readers, telling us, who he is.  A servant.  This word is "doulos". A bond-slave. Someone who belongs to another,  who has no ownership rights of their own. Who is Peter a "doulos" to? To Jesus. And he is an apostle.  A person who is sent on a mission, a messenger. Peter's identity is a servant and a messenger of Jesus.  And then he tells us how he got there, through faith in Jesus. And in the middle of it all is this little phrase "equal to ours". There's something levelling about faith in Jesus.  Our culture would overlook servant, emphasize apostle, and say that the writer (Peter) is more important than the reader (us). Peter's words level us up. Faith is equal, puts us all on the same level, no matter who we are, because our

Friday! Proverbs! There is gold and a multitude of jewels,  but  knowledgeable lips  are a rare treasure. Proverbs 20:15 CSB Our world is full of good things, opportunities to learn, work, be entertained, to find joy...it's full of rare and wonderful people. But words. Words define us. Shape us. Words give us direction. Words give us hope. Who has those words for you? And what is the source? Jesus wasn't called "The Word" by accident.  God's word speaks into our lives if we let it. God's Spirit speaks into our lives if we let Him. And those rare treasures, Gods people who speak His Word into our lives. Stick with them. There's lots of good things in this world, even in 2020 (the year that started so ordinary), but the best thing are words of Truth.  Seek them. Seek the words of Truth & the One who is Truth, the rarest treasure of them all. And listen to His voice. His words He speaks truth, justice, love, and life. Listen to His words for you today. &q

By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 1 Peter 5:12 ESV Peter is referring backwards to his whole letter, writing to the church that is being persecuted, encouraging them to stand firm. Firm in the grace of God. Firm in who Jesus is. No matter what happens. Not sure what you're facing today, whatever it is, stand firm in that grace. What you might face tomorrow, stand firm in that grace. Living Hope Living Stones Loved by a personal God who sees you, knows you.  Stand firm in that grace  I wonder if Peter's mind flicks back to his denial of Jesus as he calls us to stand firm. That he remembers his epic fail. Or maybe it was Jesus reinstatement, the words of grace spoken over his life & his (re)new(ed) calling that encourages him to stand firm. What must've felt like complete failure, grace redeemed and repurposed for good. This same grace is at work for

I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. 1 Peter 5:12 NLT Pete didn't have to mention Silas. But he did. Not only did he mention him but highlighted an aspect of his character that he really appreciated. I'm not sure I'm very good at that. I like to take the credit, not share it. And rather than tell us what to do, Peter simply demonstrates it.  He's thankful for Silas He knows Silas well enough to be share something about him. And he says it. We can't, and were never designed to, live this life alone. People come into our lives for a time, maybe a short or a long time, and Peter shows us the way to be thankful for them, thankful for that character trait that has blessed or encouraged or taught...and to build others up in their character, and in the eyes of others. This is love in action. #lovepeople