verseoftheday

Certainly you do not want a sacrifice,  or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.  The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit O God,  a humble  and repentant  heart  you  will  not  reject. Psalms 51:16-17 NET David's song isn't about scrapping the sacrificial system that God put in place, but it is about the realisation that his heart was not right with God, and that's the most important thing.  This version, the NET, uses "humble and repentant" to describe David's desired heart posture towards God.  It was it seems that David had been the opposite, proud and determined to follow his own course, knowing what God required yet believing he knew better. And this song is about taking a new course, or perhaps re-finding an old one.   In re-finding that course, David knows, and reminds us, that we can do that knowing we will not be rejected, that the offering of a humble and repentant heart will always be accepted.  #psalms #psalm51 #accept

Sunday Psalms; Have mercy on me,  O God,  because of your unfailing love. Psalms 51:1 NLT This is a 'famous' song because it's written in response to a time in David's life when he was consumed by his own desires that led him to commit several crimes.  His actions were awful.  And yet here he is knowing that our God's character, who He is, is Unfailing Love, and he wants to be covered by that Unfailing Love.  This can seem like an 'easy way out' for someone who has treated others as horribly as David did, yet he seems to get it; "...blot out the stain of my sins.  Wash me clean from my guilt.  Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion;  it haunts me  day  and  night." Psalms 51:1-3 NLT I'm not sure why David didn't recognise his rebellion when he was in the beginning of it, or the middle of it, but he does now, so I guess that's something, even though it took the prophet Samuel to wake him up.  So I wonder how different I am i

So we are always confident, because we know that while we are living in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord.  We live by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 CEB Many years ago we travelled to England for a short visit and went to some of the places our families came from.  While it wasn't "home" there was some strange sense of remembering, some sense of... something... Have you ever had that? This word Paul uses for "home" here is "endemeo", "to be in one's own country, to be home".  When we live by faith there can be these rememberings, a sense of belonging, of something, a sense of being "in one's own country, to be home".  In this busy, rushing, scrolling, noisy world, it's easy to miss, or to dismiss, the remembering of a place of home.  That sense of "home" gave Paul confidence. Confidence to face today, this world, the challenges of life, the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, to be a

Friday! Proverbs! Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied;  Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied. Proverbs 27:20 AMP Every now and then a Proverb just stops us, and our initial response can be "no that's not me!" You can't compare my heart with death and destruction... Yet.  There is that desire for more.  Sometimes it's motivated by good, but there's this niggle that's so hard to shake...if only I had one more of those I'd be happy, happier, more content. Just one more zero on my bank account, one more car, business, farm, house, child, holiday, chocolate... This proverb reminds me that there's a part of me that's never satisfied.  Sobering.  Cos it's easy for me to fool me into thinking that's not me.  One day all we need will be fully satisfied, because our eyes will see Jesus.  For now though, even in our weaknesses, we are Beloved. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon

"These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:32-34 NLT Jesus encourages us to do 4 things here: Stay in today, the now. Its easy to live in the past, and anxiety creating to always be living in the "what if" of the future. Stick with what is in front today.  Second thing is that our thoughts can dominate us. What are the thoughts that are dominating your mind today? Are they helpful?  True? Maybe it's time to flush some of those.  Then there are 2 instructions: Seek the Kingdom & Live Righteously Jesus talks a lot about the Kingdom, but in this context I think he means Himself. Seek Jesus in our stuff, our thoughts, our worries.  And live Righteously - this would seem

"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" Matthew 6:30 NLT Jesus is really concerned about the things that were worrying people, what was causing them anxiety.  So he points his listeners back to creation, back to the care that was taken over creating beauty even though it was fleeting; "And why worry about your clothing?  Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are." Matthew 6:28-29 NLT And just before that he talks about birds and how He has set the world up so that they can thrive.  So why do we have so little faith?  Perhaps spending some more time in God's creation will help, considering how His systems are designed for thriving. Perhaps it's by looking intently at the beauty & design He has created in

"Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!" Matthew 6:22-23 NLT This passage is a wee bit hard to understand right? We want a "healthy eye" that fills us with light, so perhaps that's about what we see, what information we choose to let in.  But then there's this discernment piece, that we can be deceived, that what we think is light is actually darkness!  How do we know? The context of this piece is that it's sandwiched between the warning about where we're storing treasure because that's where our heart is. (Isn't it interesting that Jesus doesn't say don't store up treasure, it's about where, that's just something people do. We all store treasure somewhere) The other side of the sandwich i

Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, and God gave us the Spirit as a down payment for our home. 2 Corinthians 5:5 CEB This very thing? Living in this world that though designed and created by Him, while full of beauty and goodness, is marred, marked, messed with, being consumed, worn away and used up, just like us.  There is a new home,  a new bod, where all the damage is undamaged, where all the hurt is unhurt, where all that has been marred and marked and messed with will be undone.  And the Spirit is our deposit.  I'm not sure that living this life is quite like paying the rent or the mortgage, but it is to be lived. Lived in all its joy and sorrow, beauty and limits, scars and goodness, drought and flourishing.  We can step into today knowing that there is more.  And that we are Beloved.  #corinthians #hope #thereismore #monday #Godsgym #stepintotodayknowingyouareBeloved

Sunday Psalms; But giving thanks  is a sacrifice  that truly honors me.  If you keep to my path,  I will reveal  to you  the salvation of God. Psalms 50:23 NLT Psalm 50 is a real rollercoaster of a story, a song of Asaph, and it's a story about God and seeking out faithful people from everywhere: The Lord,  the Mighty One,  is God,  and he has spoken;  he has summoned  all humanity  from where  the sun rises  to where it sets. Psalms 50:1 NLT And then he brings this charge against Israel, against God's chosen people, it's like the relationship has become a transaction, the people give the sacrifices and God blesses, but their hearts are not in it.  Their choices and behaviour betrays them.  What God really wants in this song is Thanksgiving.  My version of Psalm 50 might look a bit different, and different to yours, but I'm not immune to wanting to do a deal with God, or bargain about what I'm doing for Him, what I'm giving, so why won't He just fix X for m

...so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. 2 Corinthians 5:4 BSB This is part of a long passage about living in a mortal body and the hope that we have of all being made new, the mortal swallowed up by Life!  Here is Eugene Petersen from The Message, his take on this passage, may it fill you with hope today... "For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven - God-made, not handmade - and we'll never have to relocate our tents again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move - and so we cry out in frustration.  Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and were tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!  The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that well never settle

Friday! Proverbs! As a face  is reflected in water,  so the heart  reflects the real person. Proverbs 27:19 NLT Mmm this is interesting...is it about what is seen, or who is doing the looking? When you see a face reflected in water whose face is it?  I think when I see a face reflected it's usually mine. I'm doing the looking.  This proverb is inviting us into some self reflection, to do what I don't do very often, which is to consider what's going on in my heart, in the "leb", the inner person.  Will you make some time today to look? (Often when we think about ourselves we can be overwhelmed with judgements about ourselves - let's just put those down today) Quiet introspection is something our world seems to conspire against...some find it easier when they step into God's creation, maybe that would be helpful...could you do that today? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #rememberthatyouareBeloved

"Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth,  where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead,  collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust dont eat them and where thieves dont break in and steal them.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 CEB Jesus is clear.  Stop collecting treasures here, and start collecting treasures there.  The problem is that it might be reasonably straightforward to consider what the treasures on earth are, but just what are the treasures in heaven we're supposed to collect? What are they? How do you collect them? How many treasures is good?  Enough? My guess is that the last phrase Jesus gives us is the key; "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus treasure in heaven is the Father, and the treasure he is collecting and wants to be with him is us.  People.  You.  So is Jesus pointing at himself here, that He is our tr

"And when you fast, don't put on a sad face like the hypocrites..." Matthew 6:16 CEB Jesus is returning to this theme "when you pray..." with a new topic "when you fast...". Whether that's fasting for a meal, a day, or longer, the point Jesus seems to be making is not to make a big deal of it to others. If we are doing some kind of religious or spiritual activity it's a heart thing, and if we're publicising it, doing these things so that we're seen and acknowledged in some way, then our heart motivation is off.  Whether it's prayer, fasting, going to church, whatever it might be, Jesus is interested in our hearts.  That's where the Kingdom is now, where the battle is.  We don't have to put on a sad face when fasting, or a happy face when we're sad either, because we are beloved in the now.  #wordsofJesus #redletterBible #itsaheartthing

For we know that if our earthly house,  this tent,  is destroyed,  we have a building from God,  a house not made with hands,  eternal in the heavens. II Corinthians 5:1 NKJV This seems to encompass everything, the place we live, and the "tent" often refers to our body.  It's also a bit vague.  What is clear is that there is more, more to this life, more after this life, and our God has it all in hand.  So today we get to trust Him with that, with whatever is next.  Trust Him that it's good.  And that it's already ready.  There's no partially built future, no road cones or potholes, but something He has prepared for us.  Paul's been talking about the troubles of this world and lets us know that there's goodness that follows, so we can find some rest in that.  Respite.  And Hope.  #corinthians #hope #thereismore #youareBeloved

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT "That is why we never give up." Why? Because the good news of Jesus, the hope of resurrection is being shared - see from v1) "Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day." Paul just says it like it is! Will we let the renewel of our spirit continue even while we might be struggling physically?  Paul isn't minimising pain or suffering, he is pointing out that we are spiritual beings and that's the most important part of us. "For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" Paul knew what it was to be hungry, tortured, be on the brink of death, and at the same time his mind is on the Big Story, and that somehow the hurts of this world are going to become something else, something glorious.  "So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.

Sunday Psalms: "But as for me,  God will  redeem my life.  He will  snatch me from  the power  of the grave." Interlude Psalms 49:15 NLT This song is like Proverbs set to music, a song that is a reminder that some people will prosper in this life; "So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich  and their homes become ever more splendid." Psalms 49:16 NLT And is clear about the reality that "you can't take it with you" or that analogy that life is like a game of Monopoly, once the game is over, it all goes back in the box; "For when they die,  they take nothing with them.  Their wealth will not follow them into the grave." Psalms 49:17 NLT This song seems to be some kind of reality check about life and about death. And in the middle is this reminder that there is a Redeemer.  That there is more.  That our hope is not contained in the the success in this world or in collecting the things our culture defines as valuable. Our hope is in our

"Pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.  May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:9-10 NLT May your Kingdom come soon. As we live in the 'now-and-the-not-yet' of God's Kingdom, where there is goodness and beauty and joy, there is also sorrow and distress and hurt.  May your Kingdom come in all its fullness. Today would be good.  Yet we know that our God wants everyone to get to know Him: This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 NLT So we press on in the now and the not yet of the Kingdom, wanting it to appear in all its fullness, and at the same time in our small ways in our small corners of the world, in our own hearts, the Kingdom becomes.  "May your Kingdom come" is our prayer in the reality of the world

Friday! Proverbs! Those who tend a fig tree will eat its fruit,  and those who look after their master will be honored. Proverbs 27:18 CEB At first glance this proverb is about working hard for someone else will bring reward.  Sometime. Eventually. Our rule with Proverbs is that it's not a weapon to be used to get people to do stuff we want, so this is not about getting people to work hard.  What if we step back and see the fig tree.  It's a living thing that needs tending, care and protection for it's flourishing.  And it will produce fruit that those tending it get to share.  It's a picture of a system that works for everyone's good.  What if our human systems had the same objective, were looking for the same outcomes of "everyone's good"? The "master" here would be someone with power (& we all have power somewhere). Power is shared in the honouring. And if honouring is the equivalent of the fruit of the fig tree then it doesn't mea

Pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Matthew 6:9 NLT Even Jesus is concerned about God's name, His reputation.  This prayer of Jesus is famous, and maybe the words "hallowed be thy name" are familiar, and maybe changing the words changes our response a little; "may your name be kept holy" invites us in, to join in the work of God's holiness in the world, to see it in creation, in the faces of those around us, to want to be part of a process.  "may your name be kept holy" means you and I are involved in God's work, in God's world.  This is not a passive prayer, but an active one, that somehow in some way what we do in the world impacts on God's reputation, so how we care for the world, how we care for one another, matters.  "Lord, may your name be kept holy by my choices and my actions today.  Amen." #wordsofJesus #redletterBible #whenyoupray #holy #itsaninvitation #dangerousprayers

"When you pray, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" Matthew 6:7-8 NLT It would be interesting to hear these prayers that Jesus is referring to, the babbling on, the repeating...this feels slightly humourous don't you think? Perhaps in all the babbling on we're not taking the time to listen. To stop  To wait To read To meditate To ask Him what He has to say. (This doesn't mean we can't have long prayers or can't go back with the same requests - it's a heart thing - what's going on in my heart when I just go on and on?) 3 times Jesus said "when you pray" and I just wonder how often when I pray I make space to listen... #wordsofJesus #redletterBible #whenyoupray #makespacetolisten

Whenever you pray... But when you pray... When you pray... Matthew 6:5-7 CSB Jesus theme of doing things on the down low continues. That he's not that keen on things, even good religious things like prayer, being done out loud so that others can see.  It's a heart thing.  And three times he starts with the assumption that we are and do pray.  When you pray.  When you pray. When you pray.  And I'm wondering now how often I do pray? How much of my daily habits and practices is prayer? Prayer is a relational act with a personal God, so form, how we pray and the words we use are not important - its the relational bit that's important - think a small child communicating something about their day, struggling to find words, but wanting to tell you because they want you to know.  It's not the words that matter, not the stumbling or the stuttering or the repeating, none of that matters does it...because it's a person wanting to communicate with another person.  #whenyoup

But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4 CSB This verse is part of a conversation that starts in v1 where Jesus is letting us know about how we work out our religious practices, and then he uses the practice of giving to those in need as an example.  The Bible his listeners read is the Old Testament, and it's clear about helping those in need, and Jesus isn't concerned about their giving, but the heart behind it.  The heart that says "I have to give so what can I get from that? At least I'll get some social brownie points if others know what I'm doing, then I get something from following what God says". Or something like that.  Jesus is all about our heart motivation and uses this neat mechanism of giving and not letting our left hand know what our right hand is giving.  Impossible to do, to not know. 

Sunday Psalms: O God,  we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple. Psalms 48:9 NLT In the middle of this song that seems to overlay images of Mount Zion and the city of Jerusalem with God's glory, we have this response: It's God's love that the songwriter finds most compelling.  Unfailing love. Unfailing love.  There's days when that unfailing love is hard to see, difficult to grasp or believe because our circumstances seem to say something different.  This song asks us to meditate on God's unfailing love anyway, especially when we're in church, together.  Today may you get the opportunity to meditate on God's unfailing love whether you're in community with others or on your own somewhere... Meditate  Dwell on Think about God's unfailing love, towards you,  His beloved.  #psalms #psalm48 #unfailinglove #youarebeloved

Iron sharpens iron,  and one person (friend) sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 CSB Can we see Jesus tucked away in this Proverb? We are certainly sharpened, changed, shaped, made useful to meet our design, by Jesus. But does that happen to him? Luke says this: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people." Luke 2:52 CSB Did Jesus change as a result of living with the people he did? The writer of Hebrews: "Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered." Hebrews 5:8 NLT "So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people." Exodus 32:14 NLT And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14 NKJV Our God is relational, and he is not unmoved or unchanged by His interactions with us.  "...just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her" Ephe

Friday! Proverbs! Iron sharpens iron,  and one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 CSB The word for "another" here can be translated "friend".  So if this sharpening is for or with a friend then it's for our good, our mutual good.  This is not one person sharpening up the other, but a mutual work, where both people benefit. And it also implies that we need this.  An iron that needs sharpening must be a sword or a knife or a scythe or an axe, something that is not much use for what it was designed for, or at least ineffective, when it's blunt.  We need one another as equals to sharpen us both.  Iron sharpening iron could be noisy, clashing, dealing with what is blunt and giving it an edge could be uncomfortable, confronting. But it's not one person doing that to another, it's a mutual sharpening, so it might take a while, it might even be gentle, steady, quiet work.  We're in this together.  With the aim of being shaped into what (or who) we w

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 BSB Therefore: because we have this resurrection hope that is given to us by Grace, therefore, we do not lose heart.  The word here translated "lose heart" is "ekkakeo" which according to Strongs concordance is "to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted". This is way more than tired, this is something deep within us, that life source, life giving part that's not pumping anything out.  That's if we're reliant only on our own resources, but Paul reminds us that the resurrection hope wrapped up in Grace is the life giving, life producing, renewing thing that gets our inner life pumping even if the outer (represented by our bodies) is stuck with its limitations. One day, all those limitations will be gone.  Allow the resurrection hope given in the container of Grace in to those deepest parts of us to

...we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and he will bring us into his presence along with you. All these things are for your benefit. As grace increases to benefit more and more people, it will cause gratitude to increase, which results in God's glory. 2 Corinthians 4:14-15 CEB There's an odd sentence in the middle of this passage: "All these things are for your benefit". I wonder why Paul needed to say that to the church in Corinth? What weren't they understanding about the hope of resurrection with Jesus? Were they so caught up in the day-to-day stuff of life that they had no time or space for the big questions, that there's more to this life than the here and now? Or maybe they were caught up in their own effort - that was going to save them, and that's why Paul comes back to Grace. Grace is on the move, and with grace comes gratitude, and gratitude brings glory to God.  Our future hope is with Jesus.  That hope

And in keeping with what is written:  "I believed, therefore I have spoken," we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. 2 Corinthians 4:13-14 BSB Easy to read this and zoom past, with a "yep I agree", but it's almost like Paul is asking us to slow down, to speak out loud what we believe (even if it's just to ourselves, but out loud, or maybe write it down, get the words 'outside' of us) "I believe that the One who raised Jesus will also raise me" "I believe that the One who raised Jesus will also raise us, and together with Jesus, we're going to be with God" When you write or speak your version of that, who is the "us"?, who is with you? When you write or speak your version of that what image or pictures come to mind?  Some images in the Bible have Jesus seated on a throne,

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 BSB Some things that Paul writes I just don't get.  Is Paul writing about some belief in the Corinthian church here? Is it connected to the "jars of clay" idea back in v7, and/or the idea that the body is wearing out in v16? Or is it about the persecution that he has suffered and how that aligns with Jesus?  But how do you make sense of the last sentence?  "So then, death is at work in us, but life in you?" Paul does repeat that something about Jesus life and death is being revealed in our physical being.  That's interesting.  Maybe it's our limitations Jesus felt too.  He got tired, needed food, rest, could only be in one

Sunday Psalms; Clap your hands,  all you peoples;  shout unto God with a voice of triumph.  How awesome is the Lord Most High,  the great King  over all the earth!  ... God has ascended amid shouts of joy,  the Lord with the sound of the horn.  Sing praises  to God,  sing praises;  sing praises  to our King,  sing praises! Psalms 47:1-2, 5-6 BSB This song is a song of praise - I wonder how it sounded sung in the language it was written in... There's lots of clapping, shouting, horn blasting and singing. Quite different from my usual cultural expression which is currently based around good singers and a band. Other expressions this week have been waiata with no music, and joining with recorded music and keeping it all in my head.  I've been in places where songs spring with a life of their own from the community of people who are gathered together.  This Psalm, this song, is about the target, the object of our songs. How we sing, how well we sing, when, whether there's a ban

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1 CSB Jesus can be so annoying.  There's days when I do want to be seen and recognised for doing good.  But I wonder if Jesus is looking deeper than my little hints I might drop into conversations about the good, and is much more interested in my motivation for doing good.  For going to church. For my practices. Is it as Tim Keller would've said, my own self salvation project? I can rest in the truth that I don't have to do anything for my own salvation, to make me right with God, becuase I'm fully reliant on what Jesus did.  Fully reliant on Grace. Becuase I'm loved I love. Becuase Jesus served me, I serve.  Easy to write that, not so easy to live it.  If we start with just resting in the truth that we're fully reliant on Grace and Jesus' righteousness, then maybe getting to grips with that is