verseoftheday

Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me; he fights and oppresses me all day long. My adversaries trample me all day,  for many arrogantly fight against me. When I am afraid,  I will trust in you. Psalms 56:1-3 CSB David was on the run, he believed for his life. But this fighting and oppressing all day long, this "trample me all day" that seems to be more about how it felt, more about what was going on in his mind. It escalated from one man, to my adversaries, to "many".  It felt like he was alone. And the whole world had turned against him. Ever been there? In that though David starts by seeking God's grace.  He knows what he needs and asks. And he just pours out what's going on to God. And he chooses to trust God, no matter what. (the picture I often go back to is in Daniel Ch3 where 3 young people are threatened with death if they don't change their allegiance, and they are crystal clear; our God can save us, but even if he doesn't, we

I am obligated by vows to you, God;  I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you.   For you rescued me from death,  even my feet from stumbling,  to walk before God  in the light of life. Psalms 56:12-13 CSB Being thankful is free, but has the ability to change my mood, my outlook, my day, my trajectory. David is thankful for the big things - being saved from death - and from the seemingly small - from tripping up. He's not only thankful for what he's been saved from, but what he's been saved for: "to walk before God in the light of life" Quite a thing to think about that we walk before God, kind of makes me think of my life a little differently. It's only in the light of Jesus life that I get to do anything in the sight of God. It's his life that sets me free. It's his life that deals with my stuff in a way I never can. It's Jesus life that I can be thankful for, the life that made a way for me, is making a way, and we are all one day closer to

They twist my words all day long;  all their thoughts against me are evil. They stir up strife,  they lurk,  they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.  Will they escape in spite of such sin?  God, bring down the nations in wrath.  This I know:  God is for me. Psalms 56:5-7, 9 CSB Have you ever wanted justice and it's not happening? "Will they escape in spite of such sin?" Justice is not happening, and David even asks God to destroy nations for him.  This is the cry of a heart that is hurt.  Hurting. And wants things put right. This psalm, this song, is about choosing to trust God even when there appears to be no justice, even when we're afraid.  Even though our circumstances are saying something else, we can cry out. It's OK to cry to God. This is a song that was sung in community so it's OK to cry out to one another about injustice, about what's going on for us...healing comes in community. David reminds himself, as we can do to, that no matter

Friday! Proverbs :) The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor,  the pursuit of death. Proverbs 21:6 NASB This word "treasures" can also mean to store, storehouses. What is it that we're collecting that we're putting our hope in? And it's not about the wealth or the business or the property or the fabric collection...God is not againdt any of those things...but it's about the heart. Gain by deceiving ourselves, then deceiving others, does not bring us the life that we want from those things. Our God is interested in our hearts more than anything. Sometimes lying seems so easy. It's not hurting anyone, and there's a gain to me. Win win. But this proverb reminds me that in that moment my heart is facing away from God, I'm placing my hope in, worshipping really, something other than God. Today may we seek treasures that are not vapour, and whatever we do, do it with a radical honesty.  #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #Gods

When I am afraid,  I will trust in you. Psalms 56:3 CSB  David was on the run literally running for his life. And he was afraid. Afraid of Saul. Then he wandered into Philistine territory and that was no better. He was afraid  "When I am afraid I will trust in you" Who is it that David trusts? In God, whose word I praise,  in God I trust;  I will not be afraid. Psalms 56:4 CSB I put my trust in me.  But I do have someone bigger to put my trust in, someone without my weaknesses. David was afraid of those in pursuit of him, afraid of dying. Sometimes we can get afraid of living. It's too much. The future seems too uncertain. Hope seems hard to grasp  "When I am afraid I will trust in you" I tend to look inward. To my own resources. But David calls us to look outside of ourselves, to look up. What are you afraid of? When I am afraid I will trust in You. Yahweh. I will trust in our God who in Jesus, became small, as a servant, to seek and to save us, us who are outc

You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle.  Are they not in your book? Psalms 56:8 CSB David's story behind this Psalm is found in 1 Samuel 20-21. He's been rejected. Outcast. And is alone. In that, or in response to that, he writes this verse of his song...he knows that he isn't truly alone. God has seen his wandering.  He is seen. His life does matter. Somehow God is recording his tears.  He knows. Knows of the loss and the hurt that he is going through, never outcast from God, while he was rejected by Saul, never by God. When we're feeling rejected, outcast, at some point we too will know that we are seen. Not lost to God. Not outcast by Him. That somehow he shares in our tears. How do we know this? Because Jesus. He was outcast from God on the cross so we don't have to be. He was rejected by people, so he knows. He shares in our tears because he cried them too.  He took all those tears and absorbed them into himself. Recorded them in

"Truly I tell you,  anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life." John 5:24 CSB Jesus launches into a massive speech to the Jews about who he is.  That he is the son of God. He gave them no room to move about his identity, and then he gives them, and us, the path to Life. This is why Jesus tracked down our guy who hadn't been able to walk, who Jesus healed in an instant. His life was changed in that moment, but not his Life. Believe in Jesus, in the Father who sent him, and step from death to Life. Does that mean we'll never waver, never have a doubt or struggle or question what God is up to? No. But stepping into Life is a one time thing and a life time thing, and that's why we need to journey together with others, who we can lean into, and they can lean into us,    as we step away from darkness, death, destruction, towards light, life, & hope. We're all just wal

Jesus responded to them,  "My Father  is still working,  and I am working also." This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him:  Not only was he breaking the Sabbath,  but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God. John 5:17-18 CSB I'm not sure if having people killed was their normal practice but Jesus actions, and now his claims were unmistakable.  He gives us no wriggle room - Jesus is either delusional, a liar, or he is who he says he is.  The Jews were so annoyed that he helped someone when he should've been having a lie down or something that they weren't prepared to find out. They just wanted Jesus gone. Sometimes I get annoyed at Jesus too. Why doesn't he work to my agenda?  Get the things done I want done? Follow my rules? But he doesn't, and he won't,  and again he quietly asks, do you believe that I am who I say I am? #gospelofjohn #trust #trust #trust

The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. John 5:15-16 CSB It was OK to heal someone apparently. It was OK to change someone's life, their present and their future, it was OK to tell someone to pack their gear and not look back, but don't do it on a day when you're not supposed to. The Sabbath was for our thriving and flourishing as people, but these guys had turned it into something to control others and exercise power in. Their power.  Power over others. They'd taken something good and corrupted it. And I do the same thing. Create my little kingdom, where my will is done. Jesus came to explode all that, he didn't come to erase the law but live it how it was intended. In Matthew 22 he summed it up: Love God Love people In that order. There's no room for my kingdom there. Jesus kingdom is founded on the law of love, love that pursue

But the man who was healed did not know who it was,  because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. After this, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him,  "See, you are well.  Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn't happen to you." The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. John 5:13-15 CSB Jesus just slipped away. This healing was so personal that no one must've seen it happen.  They saw the result, but Jesus must've looked so ordinary, and just melted into the crowd. Then he just happens to bump into our guy at the temple, because he needs to know that there's something more important than walking. Imagine our guy recognising Jesus! I'm a bit annoyed at John for only recording this little snippet of their convo,  but now our guy knows it was Jesus who had healed him, and now it's up to him what he does with that.  Just like we get to choose what to do with Jesus. Jesus who sometimes

Friday! Proverbs! The plans of the diligent lead to profit  as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5 NIV The words "profit" and "poverty" could be translated as "plenty" and "need". This is not really about money, but about how we make decisions. It's those quick, instant, in the moment decisions, when we haven't really considered the consequences that make us poorer.  Make things worse  A simple one for me is food. It's either too much, or the wrong type, or too much of the wrong type. I'm led by a craving or a desire in the moment. There's lots of things that grab our hearts in the moment that are so easy to justify... alcohol, drugs, sex, money, power...anger... selfishness... pride... Craig Groeschel has a sermon series called Habits, and the first one is about "who", thinking about who we are, and who we want to be.  Here's a link :) https://youtu.be/uvwCaaaN104 If my "who goal" is to be

After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Aramaic, which has five colonnades. Within these lay a large number of the disabled - blind, lame, and paralysed. John 5:1-3 CSB There's a festival going on, there's crowds of people, and if you want to find Jesus, where would you look? Where the outcasts are.  Where the broken and discarded are. This is where Jesus heart takes him...this is where we find him. If you've ever felt like you're the outcast, broken, or discarded, Jesus heart is for you. His heart is for you.  He knows what it is to be the outcast, to be broken, and discarded. His heart is for you. And He calls us to follow Him. Follow him to where the outcasts are and welcome them in. To bring healing to the broken and hope for the discarded. If this is where we find Jesus, may this be the place that he finds us. #gospelofjohn #followJesus #welcome #healing #hope

He replied,  "The man who made me well told me,  'Pick up your mat and walk.' " "Who is this man who told you,  'Pick up your mat and walk' " they asked.  But the man who was healed  did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. John 5:11-13 CSB Jesus slipped away.  Jesus was so anonymous and this healing may have happened so quietly that the crowd pressing around didn't realise what had happened. The Jewish leaders were so fixated on their rules being broken, they missed the sign. John is writing about signs.  Signs point somewhere. Jesus impact was unmistakable, but he was not able to be seen, except in a man who had been disabled for 38 years was now able, wandering around with his bedding. The religious practice of being good enough for God by keeping all the rules was gone. A new way, a better way, was being signaled.  Heaven met earth in our guy's life and he got up. Walked. And Jesus was seen in

"Get up",  Jesus told him,  "pick up your mat and walk."  Instantly  the man got well,  picked up his mat, and started to walk.  Now that day was the Sabbath,   and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed,  "This is the Sabbath. The law prohibits you from picking up your mat." John 5:8-10 CSB Did Jesus tell our guy to pick up his mat just to annoy the Jewish leaders? They certainly got annoyed. Our guys action of packing up his bedding showed up the heart of the people around him. They were more concerned about their system, their rules, than they were about the person. Where's the "wow! What happened to you?  This is awesome that you're walking!!" Maybe I haven't said it out loud, but my heart is betrayed when people might behave a bit outside the norm, look different...don't come to church like that...and I've lost sight of the person. Lost sight of their hurts, struggles, history, fears, hopes... When our reputation

"Get up," Jesus told him,  "pick up your mat and walk." Instantly the man got well,  picked up his mat,  and started to walk. John 5:8-9 CSB When our guy was asked by Jesus "do you want to get well?", his answer focussed on the place he was in and that no one would help him. It's like that had become his identity.  Do you want to get well? I'm the guy who's stuck here who no one helps. Yet he'd had this disability for 38 years, someone must've been helping him, bringing food, taking him to the toilet, helping him stay healthy. Do you want to get well? Yes that would be awesome!  No, his answer was all about the problem.  Jesus says take your mat and walk. Don't come back to this place.  I've healed your body, but there's something else that seems to be in those words "pick up your mat and walk". Maybe Jesus wants to ask us the same question: "Do you want to get well?" My answer is "but I can't be

When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him,  "Do you want to get well?" "Get up," Jesus told him,  "pick up your mat and walk." John 5:6, 8 CSB Sometimes what God does is easy to understand and sometimes it's a mystery. Why heal this guy? Doesn't he have to come to faith first? Isn't that the rule? When was he healed? Was it before he got up on his feet?  If that had happened, he would've jumped up on his own. Did it happen as he got up? Did it need his action? Wouldn't "get up" be enough? Why "pick up your mat and walk?" If our God was small enough to understand, he wouldn't be worth worshipping. Lysa TerKuest tweeted this yesterday: "When we're walking through circumstances that seem unfair  or hurtful beyond what we can bear,  we must allow God  to shift our perspective with truth.  In the midst of your wilderness,  let God whisper His truth that 

Haughty eyes  and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. Proverbs 21:4 ESV The only person who this would never apply to was Jesus. He came with a humble heart. It doesn't mean that he didn't right wrongs, speak for those with no voice, stand for justice, speak truth, speak light into darkness...look for the outcast...he just did it from a humble heart. While there's days I long for him to come again in power and right what is wrong, that was not, and currently is not, his way. He calls us to follow him. To live, to work, to love, before the face of God, and in the lives of others, in the same way he did, with a humble heart.  How does that look for you? I wonder what it will be like to look in Jesus eyes? One thing I am confident of is that there won't be a trace of haughtiness, not even a hint of arrogance, just love, care, compassion, grace. We're one day closer to seeing Him face to face :) #proverbs #jesus #humbleheartandlovingeyescomboburger

Friday! Proverbs! Haughty eyes  and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. Proverbs 21:4 ESV This word for lamp also seems to have something to do with plowing...so many pictures here in a few words. It's so easy to see these things in others, that haughty look, when they look down on people, or maybe even look down on you. That proud heart that pumps up achievement, success, and makes others feel small. Insignificant. When these things show the way, lead the way, plow up the ground of a heart... So easy to see. Not so easy to see in me. We should take pride in our achievements but this proud heart / haughty eyes combo speaks of something different. If it's our lamp it's leading the way, showing the way, plowing the fields of my heart. I wonder if I'll be brave enough to ask God to show me where the haughty eyes / pride combo are leading me? I wonder if I'll be brave enough to ask someone in my life the same question? #proverbs #dangerousprayers #haughtyeye

When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him,  "Do you want to get well?" "Sir,"  the disabled man answered,  "I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me." John 5:6-7 CSB If he'd known who Jesus was maybe his answer would be different.  He just thought that Jesus was a nice guy, and rather than answer with what he really needed, he does what I do, restates the situation from his perspective.  If only. This is the only way to healing. I can't see any other way forward. #1 its OK to tell Jesus how things are for us, from our perspective.  Just tell your story.  What he didn't know was that Jesus was right there. Sometimes I have a small view of who Jesus is too. #2 remember who Jesus is, and that he is close. Maybe that changes things :) #gospelofjohn #jesusisclose It's the anniversary of verseoftheday, so just

One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him,  "Do you want to get well?" John 5:5-6 CSB 38 years! Do you want to get well? Isn't that a strange question to ask - surely the answer is obvious! But when Jesus asks a question, it should make us pause. Jesus realised he'd been there a long time - was there something obvious that at this pool was where the man lived? What was the clue? Was there something that indicated that he might not want things to change? If Jesus asked me that question what would he be referring to? Do you want to stay stuck in that thinking? Do you want to stay in that toxic place? Do you want to keep me at a distance? Do you want to keep striving in business? Striving in______? You've been here for a long time. Do you want to change? Is that what Jesus is asking? He's very personal, and this is a personal question. Had this

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,  for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called,  you answered me;  my strength of soul  you increased. Psalm 138:2-3 ESV Implied here is his pattern of being thankful for who God is. It's his habit. That's quite a challenging thought, that my habit is being thankful for who God is.  I don't think I like that idea, because it makes me smaller, smaller before God. There's days when I just want God to fix things. To fix this broken thing, this hurt person, to fix my circumstances. I want Him to do what I want. But if my habit is being thankful for who He is, something shifts.  And as the psalmist writes that on the "day I called" God did answer but in an unexpected way - his problem wasn't fixed, but his "strength of soul you increased". I don't know exactly what that means, but I think I have an ink

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,  for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called,  you answered me;  my strength of soul  you increased. Psalm 138:2-3 ESV His Big Idea here is giving thanks.  Thanks not for what God has done, but for who he is.  We went to a friend's birthday a few weeks ago and people got up and were thankful, some spoke of the things this person had done, but only to illustrate the person that they are, and how grateful everyone was for who this person is, and grateful that we all knew this person.  This is what the psalmist is doing here, grateful for who God is.  I'm going to start my week here, lifting my view for a few minutes to who God is, and being thankful for Him. #psalms #songsthatbreakprisonwalls #dangerousprayers #startwithathankfulheart

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Lord, your faithful love  endures forever;  do not abandon the work of your hands. Psalms 138:8 CSB The psalmist captures beautifully the tension that I so often live in... "do not abandon the work of your hands". Sometimes it feels like God has just left us to it, evil, the effects of evil run rampant and roughshod over people.  God seems silent. Inactive.  It seems that it's OK to feel that way :) "Lord, your faithful love endures forever" He reminds himself, as I have to, that God is God, that He is Love, that He is eternal, that He is bigger, and has a bigger story that I'm just a wee part of. And then it's personal. Fulfill your purpose for me. I want to fulfill my purpose for me.  The psalmist submits what he wants to Gods purpose. Sometimes we over complicate it.  Our God is personal, and he wants us near, to be moving closer. As we get closer to someone, we see more of them, understand them better, know t

Now this was also the second sign Jesus performed after he came from Judea to Galilee. John 4:54 CSB This second sign was a all about a royal official.  An important person. And his son was very ill. He'd heard something about Jesus and came looking for him, looking for a cure. Jesus seemed a bit ticked off. We can't really see or understand a person's heart or motives unless they tell us, but Jesus knew. This guy didn't believe Jesus was who he said he was. He just wanted his son to be well (nothing wrong with that desire) and had heard Jesus did miracles. Fixed things. He had the resources to find Jesus and ask him to come and fix his son. Jesus heals him long distance, but his words in v48 echo down the centuries... Jesus told him,  "Unless you people see signs and wonders,  you will not believe." Seems ticked off to me.  Jesus didn't want belief to be tied to miracles. He seemed to want something different.  Will I trust in Jesus even if the healing I

Friday! Proverbs! Doing what is righteous and just  is more acceptable to the Lord  than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3 CSB This was written when the sacrificial system was in place.  Were the sacrifices not acceptable? If they did exactly what was required was that not enough? Or is there a deeper thing with God going on, that obeying the "rules" misses? And what is the equivalent in our culture? I go to church. I give I read my Bible I pray So, God should be happy with me. Right? He's saying that's all good stuff, but it isn't that great if you're not doing what is right on Monday. Living it out on Saturday. If you're not righting wrongs, seeking justice for those who don't have it. Our God is way more interested in how we treat other people than our attendance at church.  He's way more interested in how I see other people, because that determines how I treat them. What do you think? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing

The Lord  is near the brokenhearted;  he saves  those crushed in spirit. Psalms 34:18 CSB What breaks your heart? Mine has been broken a lot lately by the effect of the sins of others in people's lives.  Then there's the broken in a good way, when some of the things that I thought were important, that my culture taught were important, God showed that there are other, higher priorities. Then there's the heart that's  broken when I realise just how far from God's heart some of my thoughts, my attitudes, and my choices are. This Psalm, this song, says that when our hearts are broken, that our God is there. Right there. He is near  In the small quiet whisper. In the word from a friend. In the touch of another. In his living Word  In the community of His people. He is near. And He saves. If your spirit has been crushed, He saves. The weight of our own expectations. The weight of others expectations. The things we've done. The things others have done. The belief that

I will say to God,  my rock,  "Why have you forgotten me?  Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?" Psalms 42:9 Have you ever felt like this? When the sadness never seems to end? When you feel forgotten? The psalmist knows, and God in his wisdom put this song in our Bible, 'cos there will be days when this is how it is. My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me,  "Where is your God?" Psalms 42:10 It hurts. I can't get away from the words that crush me. They're accusing me, and then they accuse God.  The writer of this part of the Bible is not OK. It's OK not to be OK Why, my soul, are you so dejected?  Why are you in such turmoil?  Psalm 42:11a Then he starts talking to himself, asks himself what's going on.  I've done all the right things and it still hurts. Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalms 42:11b  There is no magic fix.  He

And they told the woman, "We no longer believe because of what you said,  since we have heard for ourselves  and know  that this really is the Savior of the world." John 4:39-42 CSB Our friend at the well just told her story. And that was enough. And then the people of her town met Jesus for themselves. We don't get quite the same opportunity to invite Jesus around for a BBQ, to stay a few nights, but somehow, through our stories, through his Word, through his Spirit, through seeking,  through being open to being sought,  through the love and kindness and grace of God's people as they live to imitate Jesus,  when the person up front at church rather than tell a well-polished story trips over their words because there mind is more on God than us, when the singer forgets they have a microphone in hand and just praises God,  when a struggling, hurting person calls out to God,  when we get a tiny glimpse of heaven, of how it should be, when we get a word of courage from s

Remember, Lord,  your great mercy  and love,  for they are from of old.  Do not remember  the sins of my youth  and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me,  for you,  Lord, are good. Psalms 25:6-7 NIV I don't think God needs reminding of who He is, or what his attributes are, it's like a child coming to a parent with "you know how you said I could talk to you about stuff and you wouldn't get mad at me... well...can we talk now?" And then the psalmist tells God how it is for him.  I've sinned against you before. I know it. And my heart is rebellious. It seeks my own way even now. I'm not good enough.  I mess up. I don't measure up. So when you look at me, look at me through the lens of your goodness & love. Look at me according to your love. For you are good. And He does.  The Gospel, the good news, is that He didn't wait for us to become good enough somehow, He didn't wait for our rebellious hearts to stop being selfish, Jes

Make your ways known to me, Lord;  teach me your paths.  Guide me in your truth and teach me,  for you are the God of my salvation;  I wait for you all day long. Psalms 25:4-5 CSB In this moment,  in this circumstance,  in this need,  in this hurt, in this grief,  In this joy, in this good thing, in this success,  guide me in your truth, teach me your paths,  make your ways known to me...I want to know your heart, your ways,  for you are the God of my salvation. It's so easy to lose sight of what I've been saved from,  and, what I've been saved for. I'll wait.  In this age where waiting, slowing down is seen as defective in some way, I'll wait for you. Because you are God, and I am not. Remind me again of not just the price of my salvation,  but the Love that permeates everything that You do,  the Love that is my salvation. Amen  #psalms #psalm25 #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #heLoves #heLovesYou