verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! Don't speak to a fool,  for he will despise the insight of your words. Proverbs 23:9 CSB Last day of 2021 and this is what Proverbs gives us! It's not saying to treat everyone like a foolish person who doesn't appreciate our great wisdom about everything, but this proverb can give us a useful boundary as there are times or subjects that some people just don't get us, don't hear us, and this proverb gives the freedom to not engage. Sometimes it's wiser not to go there.  When I read this proverb for the first time I see me as the hero, the wise person, the one with insight in his words. But how often am I the foolish person that others don't expend their words with becuase I won't listen, I won't hear them out, I don't try to understand where they're speaking from. People have put their boundaries in place to keep themselves safe from me, from my attitude. So yes, keep your boundaries to keep yourself safe, but as 2021 ticks

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 CSB Some gifts we give out of obligation. Or is that just me? But most of the gifts we give we love to see that they're accepted, wanted, that the person receiving the gift gets some joy or blessing. We love to see that they get the thought, the meaning that goes with it, that they get the love that propels it.  The gift says "I was thinking of you". These gifts on the first Christmas were loaded with meaning, prepared well in advance, were at risk of being stolen along the way, at risk of being rejected. God's gift for us on that first Christmas was loaded with meaning, loaded with hope, loaded with grace, loaded with love. Our Heavenly Father thought of us, and prepared that gift well in advance, and took the risk, the risk that His Gift would be rejected.  He wanted us to see His heart in the Gift, to see the love that propels it to us.  The gifts we get might

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 CSB Quite a thing to have these people who likely travelled for weeks to get there, who came from another place, another culture, and turn up with amazing, valuable, meaningful gifts.  Gifts fit for a king. Gifts fit for a God. It says something about how valued the intended recipient is.  Treasures. Taonga. It's also a picture of God's gift to us, where he prepared long in advance to bring his most precious treasure to join us, to become one of us, not just because he could, but as a gift. We are the recipients of God's treasure, his taonga. When we feel that we have no worth, Christmas says something different.  When we feel that we have no value the gift of God's treasure says something different. You are of immeasurable worth.  The gift is for us, but it's also personal.  It's for you.  This is the real mystery and magic of Christmas, that God is for us

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 CSB Sometimes we put a lot of thought into gifts, we search out in advance, order from AliExpress and hope it arrives in time, create something, because we care about the person the gift is for.  Gold, frankincense and myrrh were gifts for a king, these same three items were apparently among the gifts, recorded in ancient inscriptions, that King Seleucus II Callinicus offered to the god Apollo at the temple in Miletus in 243 BCE, gifts fit for a God. Frankincense is a perfume or incense (we love the aroma of candles that are calming and fill our senses). Myrrh is an annointing oil.  Research has been done into the healing properties of frankincense.  These are not random gifts, but loaded with meaning, because the giver knew who the gifts were for, knew what was important, and were symbolic of how important to the giver the recipient was. Gifts fit for a King. Gifts fit for a God.

Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 CSB Mary knew something amazing was going on. Part of her response is recorded in Luke 1, but I wonder about Joseph. In our social context would we call him the step-dad? He stuck with Mary and now this unasked for, unplanned baby was here.  And so were a bunch of clearly very smart guys from somewhere else who were worshipping the Baby. I wonder how long they stayed, if they had a shared language, how Joseph felt.  Things had gotten real for Joseph in so many ways, real fast.  Sometimes God sends messages of what He is about. In this case it was unmissable! At least 2, but who knows how many guys camping in your house and cracking out gifts! Often though those messages are much smaller and quieter...an unexpected gift that arrives, a message of encouragement, a smile, some

Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 CSB Not sure if this is the first Boxing Day, or even the first visitors, but what did they do? Worshipped Jesus.  He was a baby, hadn't done anything, yet they recognised him for who he was from what they knew.  Had the Old Testament scriptures found there way to these "wise men from the east"? Or did they have some other revelation from God? They certainly knew who Jesus was, and worshipped him.  I wonder what that worhsip looked like?  This is like church day#1, with some guys from a different culture, different ethnicity, almost certainly a lot older than the teenage parents, worshipping at the feet of Jesus, the baby.  And then they crack open their treasures, their gifts.  They came prepared to give Jesus the best of what they had.  There was no prescrip

Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. Proverbs 23:6-8 NKJV Yes it's Christmas morning, and surely we should be thinking about mangers and babies and hope and goodness. Yet it is here.  The One who came into creation as a baby is found here. Eat and drink he says. I am the water of life, I am the bread of life. There was nothing miserly about Jesus. His heart and actions and life were completely aligned, and his heart, rather than being "not with you", Jesus is completely with you.  Emmanuel. God with us. (Matthew 1:23, John 14:16). Yes, our God is found here as the anti-miserly person, as the One who wants communion with us, to share a meal without any barriers, to be nourished by the Grace and Love of our Heavenly Father.  Yes Jesus is found here, in the One wh

Friday! Proverbs! Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. Proverbs 23:6-8 NKJV Wow! What a proverb for Christmas Eve! Ever been with that person who you just know is calculating in their head what this is costing them! I've been that person.  There's been times when my heart has been calculating the cost.  Or wishing that I was free to do something else.  My heart hasn't been with you in the present, but somewhere else. And when my heart is somewhere else, you can tell, and whatever goodness I've placed in front of you, whether it's food or words or actions, it makes you feel a bit sick. This proverb gives you the freedom that when you see that my heart is not with you, you don't have to stay around or accept it.  Maybe it is relevant this Christmas if y

Jesus wept.  So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" John 11:35-36 CSB Jesus wept. What do you picture? A staunch guy with a few tears on his cheeks? In a few seconds he regains composure, all emotions in check? This word for weep is only used in this one place in the Bible, to cry or weep without words.  Jesus had no words, just tears. Tears. It's OK to just cry.  It's Biblical.  Sometimes there are no words, and that's OK. Jesus cried so much that those in the vicinity saw it as a sign of how much he loved Lazarus, his friend who had died. Jesus wept. I think Jesus sat with Mary and cried.  No words, just tears.  Tears for what was ahead - separation from his Father, tears for what had happened, separation from someone he loved, tears for Mary in her loss, tears that flow down the centuries and find us in our loss, our separations, our hurts. And Jesus cries.  The logos, the word, has no words, just tears.  It's OK to cry, to have no words, to sit with tho

When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.  "Where have you put him?" he asked. "Lord," they told him, "come and see."  Jesus wept. John 11:33-35 CSB Jesus wept. Jesus wept because of death, because he is Life itself. Jesus wept at the separation death caused him personally with the separation from his friend Lazarus. Jesus wept at the impact of death on the community of people in front of him. Jesus wept as his own death was just around the corner, a week or so away. It's Christmas, what's all this talk of grief, yet isn't that the real story of God entering in, Emmanuel, God with us, born as a helpless dependent baby, but always with the mission to reconcile us, his people back to Himself, to make a way, and Jesus is that way. Jesus is the anti-death, he is Life. Because he is Life, absorbing death for us is infinitely destructive and pain filled, and Jesus wept.  And

The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there. John 11:31 CSB Who were these people? We have no idea who they are, but we do know this, that four days after Lazarus has been buried they're still there, supporting and caring for Mary. Sharing in her loss, her grief.  They stayed close.  In my (church) culture I've noticed that we're quite good when a crisis hits, but not so good when pain is chronic, when things don't get better quickly, when families don't work, when relationships end, when depression hits. We don't know how long Mary's people were prepared to stay, but it seems her community were there, attending, attentive, walking with her in this.  At Christmas there's a massive focus on the nuclear family, and there's these unwritten rules that everyone should be happy. But for some their family is a source of pain, some ar

Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." John 11:28 CSB Jesus had met with Martha, and now Martha has come back to the house, a house full of people, to talk to Mary. Talk to her on the down low. Jesus hasn't turned up with his team making an entrance and a big noise, he's waiting outside the village, sending a quiet message, gently calling Mary.  Jesus is not coming in to overwhelm her grief, or make it all about him, but to quietly, gently, humbly, meet with her.  Some days I just want Jesus to arrive with power and fury and fix what's broken, like a super hero, save the day. Here, he gently calls for Mary in her grief, and wants to meet with her in it.  Jesus loves. In our grief and hurt, Jesus loves.  And Jesus uses someone in her community to get the message to her. Interesting parallel with Luke 1 as we head towards Christmas with angels bringing big loud messages, but in v

As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died!" When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.  "Where have you put him?" he asked. "Lord," they told him, "come and see."  Jesus wept. John 11:32-35 CSB Jesus is on a divine mission that started well before the first Christmas, but his human journey, God in person, Immanuel, God with us started then. And here, Immanuel, God with us, is crying.  Crying over the death of his friend. And crying because of the sorrow of Mary and the people with her.  Jesus is moved to tears because of Mary's. Jesus is not immune to her suffering.  I wonder how long they sat together, crying, mourning, sitting in that space. Jesus came close and was affected, deeply affected.  Jesus who was the agent of creation, God incarnate, is changed by p

Don't wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop!  As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. Proverbs 23:4-5 CSB Part 1 of this proverb reminds us that we simply know better, and part 2 the reminds us that the things we can be convinced of as being so important, really are transient.  In Matt 22 Jesus gives us a frame to help us figure out what's really important: Love God Love people In Isaiah 58 God lets us know what to "wear ourselves out" doing:  feeding the hungry bringing justice to the oppressed This proverb isn't about having wealth or nice things or good businesses, we have been made in the Creators image, to make and build and create and enjoy good things.  This is about what we make THE thing.  Don't make THE thing in your life something that will make wings for itself and disappear.  #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #loveGod #lovepeople

Friday! Proverbs! Don't wear yourself out to get rich;  because you know better, stop!  Proverbs 23:4 CSB Well that's blunt. Just stop. You know better. Just stop. If it's so obvious, why is this proverb here? I think it's because my heart is so easily captured by things.  Our culture paints wealth as a high value, a marker of worth, status, value.  This proverb isn't saying that working hard is wrong, or that wealth is wrong, its about our heart, our motivation, what's driving us, what desire in our heart is pushing us. This proverb also tells us that we have the power to change. You can change focus, direction, vocation, and it gives us a clue where to start.  It says "you know better". If we spend time in God's Word, sharing our heart with Him, our values, what's important, shifts. This is where we get to "know better".  Don't let the world's ideas push us around, determine who we are, let God's word, His truth, love an

Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."  "Your brother will rise again," Jesus told her. Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"  "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world." John 11:21-27 CSB Martha got it.  Got who Jesus is, her faith was crystal clear, even in the midst of her suffering.  And I think Jesus knew that. This declaration of Jesus wasn't for Martha, but for the audience. The disciples. Back in v15 Jesus told the disciples this is about them, and what they believe, and they've just heard again

As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Then Martha said to Jesus,  "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.  Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." John 11:20-22 CSB Somebody let the sisters know that Jesus was coming, and it seems it must've been someone who was there when Jesus said he was going to wake Lazarus up, 'cos Martha has this wee bit of hope there.  Hope in a hopeless situation. Hope for a miracle. Hope for a supernatural intervention from the Father.  Three things from Martha here to consider; Martha isn't putting any expectation or demand on Jesus.  Martha isn't carrying the weight of what Jesus does or doesn't do on herself. And Martha is OK asking the tough questions of Jesus.  Remember our frame for this story: Jesus loves her. There's a bigger story.  Whatever you face today, even if it seems hopeless, maybe the

As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. John 11:20 CSB I don't know if Martha was breaking protocol or the cultural norm by going to meet Jesus or if Mary was by staying put. Maybe it says something about their personality, what makes them tick as people.  Maybe it was about different responses to grief, to loss.  I wonder how old these people were. Lazarus, Mary, Martha. I picture them as Jesus contemporaries, about his age, 33. None of it bothers Jesus.  Our start point is that Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. He loves their differences, their personalities, their unique humaneness that is full of goodness and hope and frailty.  He says come as you are. You're enough. You're welcome here. I love you. In your unique humaneness, your goodness and hopes and frailties, you are dearly loved. The Bible uses this term: beloved. You are beloved  Rest in that today. #Jesuslovesyou #thereisaBigStory

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away). Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. John 11:17-19 CSB Interesting details in the middle of this story. Jesus had been in Jerusalem and just left across the river Jordan, so he wasn't far away. Two miles plus a bit.  He could've gotten there sooner.  Maybe this is John subtly reminding us that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus and being so close to Jerusalem it was wise to stay away. Lazarus was in the tomb 4 days. Apparently there was a belief that the spirit of a person who died remained close to the body for 3 days after death before departing. Lazarus was well past that.  Others had come to support Mary and Martha in their loss. But not Jesus.  He had let Lazarus's death and the grieving to take their course and he had deliberately stayed away.  And at the same time, Jesus loves them.  There'

He never sinned,  nor ever deceived anyone.  He did not retaliate when he was insulted,  nor threaten revenge when he suffered.  He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.  He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.  By his wounds you are healed. 1 Peter 2:22-24 NLT In contrast to our Proverb from yesterday, Peter paints this picture of Jesus for us. It was the "no deceit" that brought us to this passage, unlike those with power, we can fully trust Jesus. Maybe today it's something else in this picture that you need to be reminded of; - how Jesus responded when insulted - what he did about revenge - what he did for us, taking our sin into himself, so that we can live for what is right - that simple, powerful truth that because of what Jesus did, there is healing for us.  One day we're going to experience the full impact of that healing, all that is broken will be unbroken, ever

When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite; don't desire his choice food, for that food is deceptive. Proverbs 23:1-3 CSB Who knew that "put a knife to your throat" was in the Bible! The first part of this proverb held a warning about the agenda's of others, of those in power, but the writer doubles down on this with a graphic picture of how deceptive people can be, how they make their deception seem so attractive.  And.  Just how easily I can fall for it. My heart can be deceived.  Which is why the writer here is so graphic about protecting ourselves, protecting our hearts which can be so easily deceived.  Protecting our boundaries.  The Bible is clear about the ugliness that abounds in our world, and to protect ourselves from it. We also have an obligation to protect those who are young, those who are vulnerable, the marginalised, those who can't see the deceit, can'

Friday! Proverbs! When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you... Proverbs 23:1 CSB Well I don't sit down with the Queen very often, but I think this proverb is a warning about people with power.  The word here for "what" is "asher", a word that can mean "who" as well. Who has the person with power got sitting next to you, what's going on, what's their agenda? People abuse their power in every sphere of life. Church, family, work, the places we study, where we go to have fun or do things we enjoy, because sin permeates everything.  This is a warning, to be aware that people have agendas.  And it's a warning to me too. There's areas in my world where I have power, how am I using it?  I also know that my own heart can be deceptive about motive and that's where community is so important, to check, to check in, to ask the tough questions of motive.  I need to check my own heart, that as a follower of Jes

Then the disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well." Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep.  So Jesus then told them plainly, "Lazarus has died. I'm glad for you that I wasn't there so that you may believe. But let's go to him." Then Thomas (called 'Twin') said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go too so that we may die with him." John 11:12-16 CSB Jesus focus in this story is not Mary, Martha, or even Lazarus, but the disciples, and by extension, us. He has something important he wants them to understand that they wouldn't have seen if they had been there when Lazarus was unwell or died.  Something about believing. Something about faith. And then there's Thomas who wants to be in the middle of the experience, to physically be part of it all. If Lazarus has died and Jesus is going to bring him back, Thomas wants in on that too.  Just may

He said this, and then he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm on my way to wake him up." John 11:11 CSB Ok so this story suddenly gets strange, not so much from our vantage point, because we know how the story ends, but from the disciples perspective.  Jesus somehow escaped a death threat back there, the news of Lazarus's death came 2 days ago, and now Jesus wants to go back.  Then the disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well." John 11:12 CSB Not unreasonably the disciples are trying to make sense of this and this is a good shot at it.  The message can't have been quite right, he's sick but not dead.  In PNG a colleague went to hospital to collect his brother who was dead. I gave him time off, was very sympathetic for his loss. Turns out that "dead" can be very sick, but "dead finish" is the final level. He wasn't dead finish, but from my perspective I didn't have a full

Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.  "Rabbi," the disciples told him, "just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you're going there again?" "Aren't there twelve hours in a day?" Jesus answered.  "If anyone walks during the day, he doesn"t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him." John 11:5, 8-10 CSB All these very human responses, Jesus love for his whanau, the disciples concern for his safety, the hostility of the Jews because they felt threatened, and Jesus takes it all to a different place:; A journey. Darkness v Light.  Stumbling or not. Stumbling or not because of your relationship to the Light. It's almost as if Jesus isn't speaking to his disciples at all, but directly to us, about our relationship to the Light, to Jesus.  It's not about never making a mistake, never getting things wrong, that's just be

Then after that, he said to the disciples,  "Let's go to Judea again." "Rabbi," the disciples told him, "just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you're going there again?" "Aren't there twelve hours in a day?" Jesus answered. John 11:7-9 CSB Jesus can say some obscure things, talk in pictures, pictures that may well have carried particular meaning to the disciples, but here it seems that Jesus is saying that something has shifted in the Big Story of redemption that says today we will go back. Something has moved in the Kingdom beyond the disciples understanding. From their perspective 2 days ago this news wasn't enough to move Jesus, this is the wrong thing to do, it's dangerous there.  And Jesus says well times moved on, let's go back.  Something has shifted but the disciples can't see it, aren't let in on all that's going on. And that's where I find myself sometimes, a bit mystified by God's timing,

Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.  So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Then after that, he said to the disciples,  "Let's go to Judea again." "Rabbi," the disciples told him, "just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you're going there again?" John 11:5-8 CSB Suddenly Jesus wants to go back to Judea and the disciples don't get it. "We've all just left there, and we left because people were about to kill you! And we walked!" In there humanity none of this made sense, they didn't get it, and they let Jesus know. Jesus loves Martha, Mary & Lazarus. What Jesus does, or doesn't do, is not easy to fathom for those closest to him. There's a bigger story here.  Just as the disciples are limited people, so am I. I don't get God's action, and I really don't get His inaction. And its OK to let Jesus know that. In our story, Jesus loves us.  He does,

Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. John 11:5-6 CSB Jesus action, or in this case, inaction, seems so strange. Doesn't it? Start with Jesus loves them, loves Lazarus, and, he doesn't come when they call.  Jesus answer is not to rescue them from this most human of situations.  And Jesus loves them, loves Lazarus. I want Jesus to act with power and authority and love and reach out and heal Lazarus.  And Jesus loves them, loves Lazarus. I want Jesus to show who He is, to fix this, make it right. And Jesus loves them, loves Lazarus. Can't Jesus just get rid of sickness, banish death?  And Jesus loves them, loves Lazarus. And Jesus loves us, loves you.  When there's sickness and death and need, call out to Jesus, send him a message. And Jesus loves us, loves you. Somehow when the answer is silence, we hold to the truth that we are beloved. And Jesus loves us. Loves you.  When t

Friday! Proverbs! Do you see a person skilled in his work?  He will stand before kings;  He will not stand before obscure people. Proverbs 22:29 NASB In our modern kiwi world this proverb jars. Bangs up against some of our values that everyone is kind of even, and we do things because they're right, not for the fame or recognition. (These values seem to be eroding in front of our eyes, maybe they're already gone). What this does reflect are the systems of power that do exist. None of us "stand before" our peers, our friends, or those who have similar skills or talents, we sit with them, share coffee or a meal. This proverb highlights power, those who have it, kings in this case, and those who don't, the ordinary, the unseen, the obscure.  Yet in God's economy, there are no "obscure" (see yesterday's votd). Jesus was the one who left being a king, to become obscure, ordinary, unseen, and he calls us to follow him.  The accolades of kings, those im

Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. John 11:5 CSB Maybe John had a moment where he forgot Mary's name! He mentions her specifically in v 1&2 so why skip her name here? Perhaps he's just human like us. None of us get it right all the time, and that's OK. There's some difficult things to read in this chapter, in this story, and that's why this verse is so important.  Jesus loves them. Loves Martha. Loves Mary. Loves Lazarus. No matter what happens in this story, Jesus love for them is Truth.  A truth to hold on to. In the middle of our stories, in the middle of your story, Jesus loves you. Loves you. No matter what happens in your story, this is True. True for you.  Jesus loves you.  #truthtoholdonto #truthtorestin

So the sisters sent a message to him:  "Lord, the one you love is sick." When Jesus heard it, he said, "This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." John 11:3-4 CSB I'm not going to pretend that I understand all that this is about. At a human level it seems cruel that Jesus would allow Lazarus to die and his family to suffer in this way.  It is in some way a picture of our lives though, that we will die, and there will be life after this life, and that will bring glory to Jesus because that life is only achieved through his death.  It's a picture too of what Jesus was going to walk through, his death was not far away.  The other thing that Jesus indicates here is there is more going on in the spiritual realm around our lives, about our lives than we might realise. Lazarus's life had a greater meaning and purpose than Mary or Martha could see.  Our lives, your life, matters. It matte

Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent a message to him:  "Lord, the one you love is sick." John 11:1-3 CSB This is a long account that starts with a message about a sick person and ends with death threats and Jesus going to ground and hiding away.  At the beginning is this most human of stories, a story repeated again and again in our lives and the lives of those we care about, beautifully wrapped up in 7 words: "Lord,  the one you love  is sick." People caring about those they love and getting a message to Jesus.  Those people who are on our hearts today, those in need, those not well, let's get a message to Jesus today. Lord,  The one you love is... #lovepeople #pray

Paul,  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith.  Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Timothy 1:1-2 CSB Paul gives a snapshot of who he is, wraps in Timothy, the person he is writing to, and then gives this beautiful blessing: Grace,  mercy,  and peace  from God the Father  and Christ Jesus our Lord. The word for peace here is "eirene" and it carries the meaning of one, of  peace, quietness, rest. Peace of mind.  Because of Grace, because of God's mercy, we can have peace.  Oneness. Peace of mind.  Seems hard when all we might be listening to is negative stories, the world pushing in, my own negative thoughts. But Paul says start with Grace. Add mercy. It's God's story and He is entering into it in a humble, sacrificial, beautiful way, to meet us, to make a way to reconcile.  He has stepped towards us. Grace and mercy. Because He is love, and

Paul,  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith.  Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Timothy 1:1-2 CSB Paul wraps Tim in to his whanau here. Reminds him that no matter what circumstances he finds himself in, no matter what pressure he might be under, no matter how lonely he might feel, Timothy has someone who has his back, will fight for him in the spiritual battle, and in life. Paul was an apostle which kind of puts him on a different level from the rest of us, and calling someone your true child in the faith feels a bit presumptuous or something, but maybe there's someone who needs to know that you have their back, that you're on their team, they're in your heart, they belong, they're whanau. Who needs to hear that from you? When Jesus said he would leave the 99 safe and go to find the lost 1, when he said he was the way, when he said he is comin

Don't move an ancient boundary marker that your ancestors set up. Proverbs 22:28 CSB Why do I even need to be told this? Because my heart can be so sneaky that my desire for more will just crib a bit off you, make that deal a little sweeter for me, take an advantage wherever I can. It really is a heart thing.  Jesus moved the boundary markers, not in his direction, but in ours. Paul in Philippians 2 describes him as a servant. Serving us! Have I ever been tempted to sneak the boundary marker in my neighbours direction?  Every time we give without expecting or wanting anything in return, every time we reach out, step towards encourage someone without our own agenda, every time we sit and listen without having to speak or fix, every time we wait with or wait for someone who is hurting, suffering in some way, every time we serve with contentment, give joyfully, we are moving the boundary marker towards our neighbour.  May we find a way today to nudge a boundary today. #proverbs #wisdo

Friday! Proverbs! Don't move an ancient boundary marker that your ancestors set up. Proverbs 22:28 CSB Sure. No problem.  In our modern age of surveyors and land titles what does this proverb matter? Deuteronomy 19:14 says that the ancient boundaries were put there by God, and 27:17 pronounces a curse on anyone who moves them. God's view of land was something more important than a commodity to be carved up and bought and sold, that His intentions for His people are connected to the land. Connected to a sense of place and belonging.  What relevance in our modern world though is this instruction?  If I move a boundary marker it's not likely I'm doing it to make my land smaller, but to make mine bigger.  A land boundary marker affects not just me, but my neighbour, when my land gets bigger, my neighbours gets smaller, so implied here is this is me being sneaky and gaining something at my neighbours expense, taking something I have no right to. Perhaps moving the boundary l

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:  1 Timothy 1:1 CSB I don't write a lot of letters, but they usually start with "Hi", "Hello", "Happy birthday" or "Kia ora". When we meet people we try to place them in some way, ask where they're from, what they do. Or we place them or ourselves by our whakapapa, the places and people who are part of our story. And that's what Paul does in 19 words.  "No matter what else you may have heard about me, this is the important stuff: God's called me. I'm doing his work. Jesus is my boss. And my hope." What jumps out at you from Paul's placement statement? For me it's "Christ Jesus my hope". Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, had a miraculous healing, completely turned his life around, been through life threatening situations, been hurt and abused, planted churches, wrote half the Bible (Ok maybe not half

So he departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him and said, "John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true." And many believed in him there. John 10:40-42 CSB People met Jesus, and everything that John had said about him lined up with the reality.  John wasn't the saviour, or the miracle worker, but he was pointing to Jesus. May that be our witness, my witness too, may what I do and say be as accurate a picture of Jesus as possible, so that others might say that too: everything he said about Jesus was true.  It's getting more difficult to ask people to church with restricted numbers, but Jesus wasn't found in church here. Church is not needed for someone to meet Jesus, just people like John who are making a way, making space, being open and representing who Jesus is well. And we can leave the saving to Jesus. #belikeJohn #loveotherswell

Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. So he departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. John 10:39-40 CSB Could Jesus have stayed and kept arguing? Perhaps even have won some of them over to believe in him? Kept using his power to keep himself safe? Yes I'm sure he could have, but at least for the short term putting a boundary in place was better.  Jesus while moved with compassion for people, he also gave himself space.  Maybe there's something  in this for us, to be OK with having boundaries, to having space, especially from those who have their own agenda, are toxic towards us, want us to conform to their view of us. Jesus had superpowers that we don't have, and still decided that a boundary was better.  Are there people, places, activities, that we would be better off "crossing the Jordan River" from? After those confrontations with the Jews, the threats, the opposi

Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. John 10:39 CSB Jesus was having a convo with the Jewish leaders, and they didn't agree with what he had to say. In v 31 they were preparing to stone Jesus, kill him with rocks.  In v 33 they tell us why - blasphemy - claiming to be God.  This was not just some heated theological discussion going on here, they'd already seized him at least once, a group of men prepared to kill another becuase of who he claimed to be, becuase of his words.  Words matter. Ideas matter. Jesus told them don't just listen to my words but see what I've been doing, my life speaks of who God is. But for this group of people their ideas were the ones that should prevail.  I don't think Jesus breaks their grip with strength, does a runner becuase he's stronger and faster, he shows them that he is God by just walking away from their grasp. A miracle worked not just in front of them, but in them.  A group of people had Jes

Don't agree to guarantee another person's debt or put up security for someone else.  If you can't pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you. Proverbs 22:26-27 NLT With the benefit of our place in history we can glimpse Jesus in this proverb.  Jesus knew the price that he would pay for guaranteeing our debt. There's a vulnerability in losing your bed, having no where to sleep, and Jesus knew that too (see Matthew 10). Jesus knew there was a greater price to pay, and paid it.  He was the only one who could.  And as a result, we are set free.  Free from the debt my sin creates.  I don't always "get" that, don't always grasp the grace of that, the love that is woven into what Jesus did, but that doesn't make it any less true.  On the other side of truth is freedom.  Freedom from having the burden of being enough, being good enough, because my forgiveness, your forgiveness, ours, does not depend on us.  Everything was snatched from Jesus, ye

Don't agree to guarantee another person's debt or put up security for someone else.  If you can't pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you. Proverbs 22:26-27 NLT Some feedback on this proverb yesterday included other areas where we take on responsibility, or the debt of others.  That might be someone else's emotional debt, trying to rescue them from their feelings and what's going on for them by taking it on myself.  And then there's parenting where we don't want to see our children hurt or fail so we take on all the responsibility for them (while at the same time knowing that failure isn't fatal and some of our own most important growth happened in those times).  In Mark 10:17 Jesus meets a young man who has a question for him. Shortly after this meeting Jesus is going to go to the cross to take on all this man's debt, take full responsibility for his sin into himself, yet in this account, Jesus in his humanity let's the young man l

Friday! Proverbs! Don't agree to guarantee another person's debt or put up security for someone else.  If you can't pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you. Proverbs 22:26-27 NLT This proverb is all about thinking carefully before you agree to be part of a financial deal involving someone else. You might actually have to pay up, and are you prepared for that? The likelihood of having to pay seems small, so we kind of write off the potential consequences quickly and jump in.  It's just practical wisdom. And I wonder if it has a wider application in our lives. Maybe it's alcohol, drugs, the things we consume on the internet, food...I can convince myself easily that there won't be any consequences, any price to pay for me.  Or at a deeper spiritual level...I don't need Christian community, I can get by without opening my Bible...the consequences seem so small or unlikely or far away in the future... This proverb encourages me to think that there a

Come,  let's worship and bow down;  let's kneel before the Lord our Maker.  For he is our God,  and we are the people of his pasture,  the sheep under his care. Psalms 95:6-7 CSB Here in the middle of this song we get this beautiful invitation to gather together. The psalmist uses the picture of sheep, not scattered, not alone, but together under the care of the great shepherd.  Safe. The people of his pasture seems to acknowledge who's world we live in. And together we bow down.  Together we worship. Not a lot of bowing down in my church when we meet together to worship. Not a lot of kneeling down. Quite easy to write that off as a cultural thing, that I'm bowing down in my heart, or raising holy hands inside, and yes it is a heart thing, and worship is not all about a set of rituals, but I wonder if we resist bowing down because our hearts are not quite there? We are an embodied soul and what we do with our bodies does matter.  No matter how we express it, let's a

For the Lord  is a great God,  a great King  above all gods.  The depths of the earth are in his hand,  and the mountain peaks are his.  The sea is his;  he made it.  His hands  formed the dry land. Psalms 95:3-5 CSB It seems that the psalmist here is looking for the most powerful things, the biggest and most expansive things that are in his experience. The power of Kings and the power that the gods seem to have over people. Whatever it is that goes on inside the earth. I wonder if he had ever seen a volcano or a lava flow? The height of the mountains  The expanse, the power, the wonder, of the sea. Everything he attributes to Yahweh, to God.  The psalmist is grounding us the best way he can in God's world. Placing us firmly in God's world. May we today, Plant ourselves In God's world. May we today Open our eyes To his creation To his beauty To what he has made And see Him in it. Know that  We are part of it May we today See the power The height The depth The expanse  Of Go

Come,  let's shout joyfully to the Lord,  shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let's enter his presence with thanksgiving;  let's shout triumphantly to him in song. Psalms 95:1-2 CSB In the midst of all the noise and the shouting and the praise to God, in the midst of the crowd raising it's collective voice, in the midst of the emotions and stirring of hearts, there's a still point. Thanksgiving. A heart of thanks. A heart of gratitude. I'm not sure that I have cultivated this well in my own life. I can focus on what I don't have so easily. I can find the negative without any effort.  Today I'm choosing to start with Thanksgiving. For the psalmist the focus is on God, so that's where I'll start too.  Jesus summed up the whole of the Old Testament with Love God and Love people, so that will be next, thankful for the people He has graciously put in my life.  Start in the stillpoint of Thanksgiving. Of gratitude.  #thanks #psalms #psalm9

Come,  let's shout joyfully to the Lord,  shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Psalms 95:1 CSB Shouting seems to have its place in our culture. When I'm angry. During the haka. And when we used to win rugby or cricket matches... But in church? In worship? Sometimes when we're singing we can let those emotions roll and shouting God's goodness  happens...but David is calling us here to shout.  Shout with joy  Shout with triumph Not about anything that we have done or achieved, not about anything that is even going on in our lives, but it's about who God is.  When we really let our minds consider the Lord, Yahweh, the rock of our salvation, then it may well lead to shouting. Fortunately for us the Psalms are songs, so shouting out in song is OK! I have a collection of songs on Spotify called Battle Songs. Songs I need sometimes to shout about and to God. It's OK to do that.  The psalmist says to get those battle songs, victory songs, Thanksgiving songs

"If I am not doing my Father's works, don't believe me.  But if I am doing them and you don't believe me, believe the works.  This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father. John 10:37-38 CSB Jesus isn't interested in some intellectual argument, he's saying look at my life. Take your blinkers off and look at my life. Put your biases aside and look at my life. Put your agenda aside and look at my life. As we do that today, we see Jesus who is moved with compassion, who acts, steps in, steps towards, brings healing and hope.  He's the same today, and calls us to simply follow him. Be moved with compassion. Take action. Step in, step towards, bring healing and hope.  May our lives tell the gospel, so that when the world, the culture, those around us want an answer, it's not our words but our life that tells the story.  Yes we mess it up, get it wrong, don't paint the accurate picture that Jesus does, but it's abo

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,  or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV I wonder if the writer of this proverb wrote it today, what might be included in things that can snare us, snare our soul, our personhood.  Would it be the influence of social media on our lives, on what is important, of what beautiful looks like, the danger of not measuring up to some social ideal? Would it be the ideas of our age, how they can capture us into thinking they are the only way to live, that their values are paramount? Would it be the normalisation of violence and abuse in our homes? Would it be the belief that change is not possible, that hope is not real? The world is a complex place and this proverb acknowledges the challenges, and quietly reminds us that we do have the power to choose.  The power to choose who we spend time with, to limit time with those people who are toxic, to ask for help. We get to

Friday! Proverbs! Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,  or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV Good advice. And this proverb reminds us that we are influenced by those we spend time with, influenced in ways we may not have considered - our emotional responses. The warning about getting yourself ensnared is literally snaring your soul. The word for soul here is "nephesh"; a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion. It's the emotional centre of who we are is at risk of being trapped by someone else's way of responding. So be careful who you spend lots of time with. It's really difficult when we don't have a choice, when that person is our boss, a parent, teacher. We can't always just manage our time with them, so being aware of the influence of others is a good start.  Putting in boundaries for ourselves, asking for help to do that, he

They replied, "We're stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:33 NLT What an insight into how we humans are...they didn't seem to be able, or willing, to ask themselves the question "what if Jesus is who he says he is?". What if he isn't being blasphemous but honest? Way back in John 1:46 they already had an idea that Jesus couldn't be the Messiah becuase of where he was from. Their cultural ideas were clouding their view of Jesus.  It can be really hard to step out of our culture to see Jesus. Our cultural ideas of Church, worship,  community, or even of what Jesus looked like (see Isaiah 53:2). These people wanted to keep Jesus in a box of their own making, so much so that they wanted to stone Jesus right there. They were judge, jury, executioner.  Sometimes in this complex world I can lose sight of the simplicity of the gospel, of what Jesus said, and the truth of who he is.  Matthew 22:34-40

Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him. Jesus replied,  "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?" "We aren't stoning you for a good work," the Jews answered, "but for blasphemy, because you - being a man - make yourself God." John 10:31-33 CSB This group of people were crystal clear that Jesus had claimed to be God. Interesting that they were willing to accept the miracles and signs as being from God, things that a person could do - in John 9 it was a person who was born blind. That person didn't have his sight restored, because he'd never had it. Jesus created sight in him. This is a taste of becoming a new creation in Jesus. Anyhow it seems that the Jews could somehow accept that Jesus works were God working through someone, not God at work, right in front of them. They couldn't accept Jesus claim that he was the son of God, the Messiah they'd been waiting for, looking for. 

"My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.  No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30 CSB What jumps off the page (or more likely off the screen) for you from these verses? Maybe it's that Jesus knows us.  Or that we have this thing called eternal life. Maybe it's this intertwining of God the Father and Jesus...for me today it's safety.  No one can snatch us from Jesus' hand. No one can snatch us from the Father's hand.  Implied in that is there are people or forces at play who want to, who are trying to, tear us away. But they cannot.  We're kept safe not through our effort or strength or work, but Jesus'.  We are safe in him. Safe. Safe. #truth #truthtorestin

Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's Colonnade.  The Jews surrounded him and asked,  "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." "I did tell you and you don't believe," Jesus answered them.  "The works that I do in my Father's name testify about me." John 10:22-25 CSB This sounds like an unfriendly press conference. Jesus surrounded, facing the questions, because several times we've heard of these guys arguing amongst themselves, not sure what to believe about Jesus.  Is he who he says he is? Because if he is, if he is the Messiah, we need to get on his team.  And Jesus response? I've told you who I am. That hasn't changed, so I'm not going to argue that with you.  And. Look at what I've been doing. That's my testimony.  What I say and what I do have integrity, they say the same thing.  I wond

Don't rob a poor person because he is poor,  and don"t crush the oppressed at the city gate,  for the Lord will champion their cause and will plunder those who plunder them. Proverbs 22:22-23 CSB When this proverb talks about the poor who comes to mind? When it mentions the oppressed who pops up? Who are those stuck at the city gate who can't get in and be part of society? The very fact that I can think that I'm "in the city" and that there are poor relative to me, that there are those in the margins relative to me, shows me that at least in some ways, in some areas of life, I am privileged. And it can be so fleeting. Status, health, wealth, whatever it is that gives me that privilege can go so easily. Jesus came to usher in a new kingdom, an upside down kingdom where the things that separate us are removed, demolished.  Where love rules. Love for God, and love for those around us.  Where oppressive systems are flipped. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #l

Don't rob a poor person because he is poor,  and don"t crush the oppressed at the city gate,  for the Lord will champion their cause and will plunder those who plunder them. Proverbs 22:22-23 CSB There's a bit more to this proverb than a moral requirement...God's heart for the poor, his heart for the oppressed, the marginalised, the vulnerable, is exposed.  The other thing that's exposed here are the systems that marginalise people and keep them there. As we sit with this proverb questions pop up like why are there people living at the margins, at the city gate, vulnerable to being plundered? What are the systems that allow that to continue? What makes it OK for society? There is hope here for those trapped in poverty, in abusive families, trapped at the margins, at the city gate.  God sees you. And He is not happy about the way people's hearts have structured things to benefit some and exploit others, use others, abuse others. Some days it would just be better

Friday! Proverbs! Don't rob a poor person because he is poor, and don't crush the oppressed at the city gate, Proverbs 22:22 CSB Why would someone rob a poor person?  Doesn't it seem like high risk, low reward? A poor person is vulnerable.  A poor person has less power. A poor person has no one to call to, or no one who will believe them, or no one will care.  Don't rob a poor person becuase you can get away with it. Who is it that's at the city gate? The vulnerable, the left out, the excluded. Excluded from society for some reason. Illness, disability, ethnicity... maybe poor choices, maybe circumstances that have been beyond their control.  But they're people.  I'm quite subtle in my crushing work. It's a joke, or joining in a conversation about someone, or a label that pops into my mind that I don't challenge.  It's in not seeing the vulnerable person in front of me, because I haven't cared enough to hear their story.  "Lord, help me

Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and he's crazy. Why do you listen to him?" Others were saying, "These aren"t the words of someone who is demon-possessed.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" John 10:19-21 CSB Jesus was right there and they didn't get him.  His words challenged the status quo and people tried to put labels on him to explain him away.  Crazy. Possessed. But they could not deny his works.  Today in our culture Jesus can be just as divisive, maybe the labels aren't the same, but they are there. (Good person, good teacher, irrelevant etc). But what of his works?  As followers of Jesus perhaps it's our works that people will see. Our acts of kindness, of healing, of care, of justice, of feeding the hungry, clothing those who need it. When those things seem too big, it's smiling, being kind to those we live with, study with, work with. Small steps of grace.  This is

But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:16 CSB I've heard some interesting views on these words of Jesus that this is an indication that there's life on other planets...but as he's talking to the Jews, and just letting them know it's time to look outside your group.  These barriers that we've created between people based on how they look, or where they come from, or what language they speak, they've got to go. Jesus' vision here is that those things we use to separate one another will be gone.  Gone. There is no "them" with Jesus, there's just us. #nolabels

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own,  and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.  I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15 CSB One thing that's crystal clear here is that Jesus loves us. Loves you. His picture of the shepherd and the sheep, and the shepherd willingly sacrificing himself for his sheep is a picture of love. This picture says something of the deep worth that Jesus sees in us.  In you. When we feel unworthy, when we think that we're not enough, not good enough, Jesus says "I know you, I see your worth, your value, and I willingly lay down my life for you. For you. You are worth it." There's a quote attributed to Brene Brown: "You are worthy of love and belonging" This is so good.  But Brene Brown doesn't know us.  Jesus does.  And Jesus says that you're so worthy of love, my love, so worthy of belonging with me, that I lay down my life for you, because I know you.  You are enough. Res

The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesynt own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming.  The wolf then snatches and scatters them.  This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn't care about the sheep. John 10:12-13 CSB Do you notice the actions of the wolf? The wolf gets a hold on the sheep and scatters them. We are made for community. Made for relationships. The wolf, the enemy, the anti-shepherd, scatters, isolates, makes us think we have to do this life on our own, in our own strength.  The shepherd brings us together, gathers, holds us together.  When there is joy and goodness and victories, celebrate together. When the weight of the world is bearing down, when hope is hard to see, we need one another more than ever, don't get isolated. That isolating is the work of the anti-shepherd.  In Matt 18 and Luke 15 is the parable of the lost sheep. The one sheep who is separated, isolated from the rest.  Jesus gathers and restores the los

The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming.  The wolf then snatches and scatters them.  This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn't care about the sheep. John 10:12-13 CSB Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 CSB I've been wondering as I am called to imitate Jesus, just how often I am much more like the hired hand.  When things get tough I leave it for someone else.  When things get messy I can justify walking away. When the cost is personal I'll set my limits.  Jesus didn't do that.  And he calls me to follow him. At the same time, we're limited creatures, we're not Jesus. But every time we put aside our own agenda for someone else we look less like the hired hand, and more like Jesus. Every time we treat someone with kind

The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn't own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming.  The wolf then snatches and scatters them.  This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn't care about the sheep. John 10:12-13 CSB Such an interesting picture Jesus paints here, contrasting himself with the hired hand, and the wolf as the enemy. Who's the hired hand that looks after the sheep until it gets tough? The hired hand has their own agenda.  Maybe that points at their community leaders who were the elite, those gaining wealth and power. Maybe it's the government, or simply the ideas of our culture that we ascribe to without real thought or challenge. Maybe for some you can see the hired hand in your own family.  For some you might see an ex partner or spouse in this hired hand picture. But Jesus says he's not like any of those. His agenda is love. Love for us. Love that when the wolf demanded something to devour, the only way t

Friday! Proverbs! Haven't I written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge, in order to teach you true and reliable words, so that you may give a dependable report to those who sent you? Proverbs 22:20-21 CSB This little dialogue with an unknown person is here for a reason...it seems that they've been sent to the author to learn something and then take it back to those who have sent our unknown person.  And the author, the writer, says I've given you 30 pieces of wisdom.  The implication seems to be that's enough to get you going.  That's enough for you to live by or change your trajectory.  The implication is that you need to live out what I've taught you, don't worry about more wise sayings until you live these out. Wisdom is more than knowledge.  Do you have a few Biblical guideposts? Here's some of mine in no particular order; Matt 25:35-40 Matt 22:34-40 Eph 4:1-3 1 Cor 13:4-7 Luke 20:25-37 John 8:10-12 Rev 21: 4a More than enough to live

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:10-11 CSB Jesus, the anti-thief, comes to give lots of life. He is good. He is for us. We're so valued, so valuable, that the good shepherd is prepared to die to save us.  The shepherd who values his sheep more than himself.  Our wee cat is now at the end of her days. I'm prepared to pay the vet for treatment, but there are limits. If the vet said I can save your cat if you die in her place...I love her, but know that she's not worth giving my life for.  Jesus sees us, and says that we are worth it.  His way, the Father's way, to this 'lots of life' that Jesus wants us to have, is via the cross.  Jesus sees us, and says we're worth it.  When the thief says you're not worth it, when our own internal voice says we're not worth it, Jesus says th

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:10-11 CSB Jesus syas "I am the good shepherd." What does that make me? A sheep.  A sheep does not understand the ways of the shepherd, how the shepherd sees the world, why he or she does what they do. A sheep doesn't understand or see all the forces at work in the world, why it has to leave one place for another, why it needs drenching, or shearing. A sheep can't always see a coming storm, or drought, or danger.  Sheep in those days did get to know their shepherd's voice. Jesus has just compared himself as opposite to the theif who comes to steal and destroy, he comes with life. Lots of life. And he is good.  Even though we can't see what Jesus sees, when the world pushes in, when we face tragedy, heartache, loss, in the good and the toughest of times,

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:10-11 CSB Jesus continues painting his word picture, kind of two pictures really; One is of a thief.  A thief who has one purpose - to steal, kill, destroy. Our enemy is a Liar, and this is what his lies do  Steal from us Kill us Destroy us Often the lies promise life, but they do not contain it because their purpose is destruction. Jesus word picture of himself is life.  It's his purpose, to bring life. The word here "in abundance" is 'perissos', which means more. Jesus is about more life.  The word for life here is 'zoe', both physical life now, and spiritual life in the future.  Jesus purpose is about more life.  These two pictures are stark and it's easy to choose life.  But in the everyday, that's where the battle is. Choosing more lif

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philippians 4:23 NLT We started this little journey in Philippians with a lockdown view on August 18 - certainly didn't expect half our population still to be in it as we let Paul's closing words seep into our bones. What a beautiful way to end a letter, to end a conversation; "May the grace  of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." And it's more than just a closing remark...all through his letter Paul has been encouraging us in our faith, and gently showing how to live it out in the world in which we live. A world that needs grace. And so do I.  Paul knows I'm still in need of grace.  Grace in the everyday, grace in the pressures, the decisions. In here I think is grace for how we see ourselves. How I see me.  Grace is for others, yes, but it's also for you.  Jesus heart is for you, his grace is for you.  People love all kinds of things. Maybe it's a painting, or an old car, a piece of

All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. Philippians 4:22 NIV Embedded in this closing  blessing to his letter is anither lockdown lesson. Paul used the circumstances of his lockdown to bless those around him.  There's a church inside Caesar's house. God's upsidedown kingdom was growing in a surprising place, and the implication is that at least in part it's because Paul is in lockdown. At the very least he's communicating with Christians in Caesar's house.  Thinking back on conversations over the last few weeks, whether I agree with the govt or not, vax or not, how often have I missed an opportunity to build community, to strengthen and encourage, to share the good news of Jesus, to be the church in "Caesars household", to be part of the upsidedown kingdom of Jesus... Paul's circumstances did not alter his calling, let's not let our circumstances alter our calling either. More and mor

Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus.  The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. Philippians 4:21 NIV Lockdown lesson #58 Don't go it alone. My guess is that Paul wasn't terribly happy with the government - he was quite possibly going to die in jail where they are holding him. But even there he had a team. We all need a team.  People who we can lean on, lean into when things feel tough. People we can be honest with, disagree with, challenge, encourage, and love. Life can be tough.  Some days it can seem too much and there are less and less options. Having a team then gives perspective, and hope. It would've been easy for Paul to have pulled back and pulled away from people, but he maintained relationships with people in his life during the tough times.  Teams don't have to be big, they can be found in surprising people, but don't go this alone. Reach out today if you need to. The person who sent you this message today is on your team. #lockdownl

Friday! Proverbs! So that  your trust may be in the Lord,  I teach you today,  even you. Proverbs 22:19 NIV Even you. "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Jer 31:3 Even you. "He rescued me because he delights in me" Ps 18:19 Even you. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1 Even you Nothing can separate you from God's love. Romans 8:38-39 Even you. I've come that you might have life. Jesus. John 10:10 Even you. I have seen you, known you since before time. I've loved you so much that I've chosen you, adopted you, made you an heir to all that I am.  That's how precious you are. Ephesians 1:4-14 Even you. Even you. Even you. Even you. How often have we heard God's truth and even shared it with others, but when it comes to me, if you knew me, then there's no way you'd say that.  But He does. You are enough.  Even you.  John 3:16-17 Our God said I love you, I haven't come here to c