verseoftheday

And he answered,  "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out?  Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep!  Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:11-12 NLT Jesus has just set the religious leaders straight over gathering food on the Sabbath and he's heading to the synagogue, to church and they have another crack at him.  V9-10 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. It's Jesus who noticed the person, Jesus who saw him, the Pharisees had got lost in the rules. Jesus doesn't just answer their question about doing good because you'd do it of you were going to lose some of your business! He gets to their hearts.  They'd lost sight of the person.  And the system that they were overseeing that meant this man was probably begging.  "How much more valuable is a person?" What is a person worth? A person i

Don't let the downtrodden be humiliated again. Instead,  let the poor and needy praise your name. Psalms 74:21 NLT How often does our culture blame the downtrodden for the place they find themselves? "Everyone has the same opportunity", "all you have to do is work hard". Are those kinds of slogans going to lead to the poor and needy praising God? Asaph's song reflects the reality that people often face that the "system" is really difficult, that they're knocked down, knocked back, humiliated again. I often drive past a free food bank, great community service, yet the queue of people waiting to get in is right on one of the busiest streets in town. The downtrodden being humiliated again.  We blame victims, question their mental health when they're angry, don't really listen to what they need. We often don't slow down enough and wait for the downtrodden.  Yet that's what Jesus did.  He stopped.  He talked. He listened. He offered

Both day and night belong to you;  you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth,  and you made both summer and winter.  See how these enemies insult you, Lord.  A foolish nation has dishonored your name. Don't let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves.  Don't forget your suffering people forever. Psalms 74:16-19 NLT Asaph starts this part of his poem, his song, with who God is.  He's reminding our God who needs no reminding.   But in that he seems to be reminding himself, that our God who seems to have forgotten him, forgotten his people, who seems to be leaving his people on the brink of despair, Asaph is reminding himself that there's a Bigger Story that we're part of.  And that no matter what, we keep faith in the One who made the starlight. #Psalms #psalm74 #whomadethestarlight #faith #faithwhennothingisgoinghowwewantit #BiggerStory #weareBeloved

Sunday Psalms; O God,  why have you rejected us so long?  Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture? Remember that we are the people you chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession! And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth. Psalm 74:1-2 NLT Asaph is really not happy.  And a big chunk of his Psalm is all about the terrible things that are happening in the world. Ruined cities. Enemies running riot.  No prophets of God left. And God seems to be doing nothing, and that's why Asaph interprets that as God rejecting him, God being angry with him, actively working against him. And that's how it can seem to us too right?  When all we focus on is the mess in the world. When someone we care about is hurt, gets ill, dies. When we consider the things done to us. The hurts. The harm. And we wonder if God is our enemy.  Just like Asaph. The first thing from this song we can take is that it's OK to feel that way.  It's all here

"I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture:  'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!" Matthew 12:6-8 NLT Jesus was getting a tough time because some of his team picked some grain on the Sabbath.  Jesus pointed them back to scripture, then he not only states to his critics that he is greater than the institution they are putting their faith in, but they don't understand their Bible.  They don't get it.  The days of living under the "shoulds" is over.  The "shoulds" come from others, others ideas about what we "should" do, the voices from our culture, our upbringing.  Jesus is interested in our hearts.  He wanted this group to stop with the "shoulds" that they'd lived under and respond out of love.  With Jesus it's a heart thing. He wa

Friday! Proverbs! To show partiality is not good - yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread. Proverbs 28:21 NIV  What's going on here? Is the writer asking us to compare different "wrongs"? Is the writer justifying some actions? I wonder if the writer is asking us in a round about way to show partiality. I wonder if we're being asked to question why I have the space to consider moral judgements about things & people, when someone else is hungry.  When they don't have enough to eat. What would I do in their shoes?  It's impossible to know how we would respond if we were born into a different family, had the experiences someone else had, yet it's so easy to make judgements about other people's choices and actions.  And in this proverb at least, it's about lack of choice.  Maybe we do need to show partiality? What do you think? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon  #whatwouldJesusdo?

Dear brothers and sisters...  James 1:2 NLT When we read books of the Bible it's not only easy to forget the context in which they were written, but also the heart behind the pen (or quill or whatever James was writing with). James isn't claiming any special authority, & even though he has some tough things to say, he's coming alongside. We're in this together.  A couple of days ago I got quite grumpy with someone about his ideas and opinions. I don't think that helped him or me or anyone else (when it comes to injustice, yes being grumpy & angry are appropriate, but that wasn't what was happening here).  How different the outcome could have been if I'd started with Jame's heart of "dear brothers and sisters"? We might both have learned something. #James #itsaheartthing #inthistogether

This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am writing to the "twelve tribes" - Jewish believers scattered abroad.  Greetings! James 1:1 NLT It's easy to skip this part of the letter and jump into the "important" stuff, but this letter has a context, and the context matters. We're not Jews living somewhere in the world in the first century, so there may be some things here that might be difficult to grasp in our world, things that clash. Greetings! This is a letter written by James and while there are differing views on this, tradition is that James is Jesus brother.  Or "half brother"?  For anyone with a family of step siblings, siblings with different parents, adopted in some way, you're in good company.  Who decides what a "normal" family is anyway? James tell us who he's writing to, and his stance towards God and Jesus.  He says he is "doulos" a bond-servant without any ownership rights

Then I went into your sanctuary,  O God,  and I finally understood... Psalms 73:17 NLT In the middle of this song that Asaph wrote that is all about the problems he is facing in the world, the things that are dominating his thoughts that he couldn't make sense of, he went to the sanctuary, a holy place, and things started to shift for him.  Maybe that place for you is church,  or the mountains,  a forest, a beach,  a quiet place where you live,  a trusted person you can sit with,  savouring your favourite coffee or tea,  reading God's word, meditating, in the garden,  tending something or someone, writing, sketching, creating, building, in reciting creeds or liturgy, singing, walking... Our God is not found in one place or in one way, but invites us in to communion with Him,  to reveal Himself. And little by little we might be able to say like Asaph, I went into the holy place and I understood, understood something, something became a little clearer, my faith a little stronger,

I was so foolish and ignorant - I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. Psalms 73:22-23 NLT Asaph has realised how unhelpful, and in considering God's view, how immature and ignorant his thinking had been. Do you ever wonder what God thinks of you? Asaph gives us a clue here, when he reslises just how far away from God his thinking had taken him, he finds that God is still with him. "Yet I still belong to you". God has not and will not abandon you.. "You hold my right hand" He is right here, never letting go. When our circumstances try to tell us something different, when our world, our own conclusions tell us we're not good enough, right enough, we're too set in our ways, too weak, too far gone, too far away, our God says "you still belong, I'm right here, give me your hand, I am with you". #Psalms #psalm73 #with

Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. Psalms 73:1-4 NLT David's songs ended at 72, and these are songs written by Asaph. He seems interesting! He felt like he'd lost his footing, slipped off the path in relation to God because he was comparing.  He got stuck comparing his life to others. How would he have managed in modern Instagram world where comparison seems to be THE thing? In all the comparing, in all the questioning about choices we could have made, things I could have done differently looking back, it's so easy to do what Asaph did - lose sight of who God is, lose sight of the Bigger Story we are in, and lose sight of what's really important. At the end of John's gospel in Ch21 Peter is doing the same

The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble. Proverbs 28:20 NLT Can we see Jesus in this proverb? He was the "trustworthy person" and he got alll kinds of rich rewards. He had followers who became friends, he had supporters, didnt seem to go hungry (except for that 40 days), saw people's lives changed, turned around.  And he suffered.  Rejection, loss, abuse, death at the hands of the empire.  At his crucifixion there was little difference between Jesus and those who wanted the "quick reward" and died with him on the same day.  But there's also a Bigger Story going on, a deeper story, a story that we're part of too, that tells us there are rewards for being trustworthy, but that doesn't make us immune from suffering, but even in that carrying of both rewards and suffering our hope is found in continuing to follow Jesus. Life is found in continuing to follow Jesus, the one who suffered, and

Friday! Proverbs! The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble. Proverbs 28:20 NLT There's a price to pay when when our heart is looking for the quick fix, the short cut, the easy way out.  This seems an odd contrast, the trustworthy person and the person looking for quick riches, but its all about the heart. When our heart is set on the quick reward, we become less trustworthy.  We stop seeing other people, what their needs are, what's going on for them, because our goal is so important.  The trustworthy person may not end up with the things our culture says are measures of success, that are important.  Thomas Merton said: "People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall." This proverb is inviting us to consider what's most important, what matters most, what being trustworthy means in our lives, wha

"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." Matthew 11:29-30 NLT I wonder what "yoke" (a wooden bar that joins two bullocks together so that they can work together) Jesus wanted his listeners to put down?  He says "let me teach you" which would seem to put his teaching, his way, his yoke, to be in contrast to the religious teachers of the day who's "yoke" was heavy.  Jesus is the way of lightness, of less weight, less burden. I wonder what yoke Jesus would be contrasting with us today? With you? Where would he be saying come with me where the lightness is, where all that burden and heavy stuff that you think you must do to be accepted, acceptable, is not needed? What if success was not the burden our culture places on us? Jesus wants to walk with us, to be yoked together in lightness, in his enoughnes

Then Jesus said,  "Come to me,  all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,  and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 NLT Get closer. You're too far away. Too get the rest that Jesus offers we need to get close.  He was saying this out loud to those within hearing distance, but somehow through The Spirit he is saying it to us today. When we move closer we meet the burden carrying Jesus, the load sharing Jesus, the rest giving Jesus.  Move closer.  How can we do that today? What's in the way that needs nudging out of the way? What's stopping me from moving closer? Jesus words from the First Nations version: "Come close to my side, you whose hearts are on the ground,  you who are pushed down and worn out,  and I will refresh you." If your heart is on the ground, his arms are wide open for you. #redletterBible  #wordsofJesus #ifyourheartisonthegroundmovecloser #comeasyouare #youareBeloved

Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. Colossians 1:18 NLT This is not the only time Paul uses this analogy of the body, that we're a body, impacted in good and not so good ways by one another.  And here Paul takes this picture further with Jesus as the head.  A head and a body both need one another, they're integrated, can't be separated, can't function on their own.  Together Jesus and the Church are something, someone.  I wonder what this means for us today? One thing that seems clearer is that nothing can separate us from His love. We're too connected. We are Beloved. Inseparable. #somethingtorestin

Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king's son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors. Psalm 72:1-4 NLT If this song was written about today, not much would change.  It's a call for justice because children are being oppressed. It's a call defend the poor because they don't get the same deal as the wealthy in this world.  Its a call to share the wealth of the world, there's plenty.  It's a call to those with power to use it to help those who have less.  It's a call to those with power to understand God's heart for justice and to live that out. This song let's us know that if we're in need, have been hurt, are poor, have been oppressed, are powerless, that our God is for you.  You're not alone. A

Sunday Psalms; He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight. Psalms 72:14 CSB This song seems to be about Solomon, but it looks forward too, to a greater King, who with his actions, his words, his life, says that you and I are precious in his sight.  The redemption that Solomon could bring temporarily, Jesus brings permanently.  Because you and I are precious in his sight.  Our lives matter. It's easy to question that, but even though the world can at times make us think we don't matter, even when our own thoughts drift that way, the truth is our lives do matter.  Because you and I are precious in his sight.  Right now.  We're not loved because of what we've achieved or what we do, we're loved because we're precious in his sight.  #Psalms #psalm72 #youareBeloved

He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 CSB This verse echoes Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-2, Jesus was before the beginning of the beginning, outside of what we can know.  "Held together" accordong to BibleHub is;  sunistemi and sunistano Definition: to commend, establish, stand near, consist, I stand with, I am composed of. Jesus is fully entwined in creation. Somehow.  It makes sense that we look for that sense of peace in creation, because Jesus is there, that there is a spiritual connection, something deep within us that connects with the earth, the sea, the rivers, the plants, trees, birds, animals. Somehow Jesus is in it all.  In the ordinary.  Will we let ourselves wonder? Will we let our spirit, heart, person, find connection with God in the extraordinary ordinary of His creation? #wonder #creation  #Jesusatthecentre

Friday! Proverbs! One who works his land will have plenty of food, But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty. Proverbs 28:19 NASB We could just weaponise this proverb and drop it into today's world, but what happens if you don't have any land? And who decides what an "empty pursuit" is & what was one 3000 years ago? Do the words matter?  "Abad" is the Hebrew word for work here but it also carries the meaning of to serve, to worship.  If I worship, or live to serve my work, business, farm, etc, does that make this proverb a little uncomfortable? And the word for "empty pursuits" here is "req" which means empty or vain. How much of my time and energy is invested in vanity projects, that are about how others perceive me? How I look, what I wear, what I drive, where I live. Now this proverb has us thinking about our hearts, our motivations, our choices. This proverb is not a weapon to judge others, but a probe to ask

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he looks at p

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15 NLT We want to see God, hear what God has to say, understand something of who God is, know God's heart, know what God is about, then look at Jesus.  We have some of what Jesus said recorded, we have some of what Jesus did recorded, and when we follow Jesus, we get to know a little more of God's heart.  Follow Jesus in the world that we live in, in the pressures and places that we are, knowing that we don't have to be perfect, don't have to save the world, or even ourselves, we are simply invited to follow Jesus in the place we inhabit, in the body we have, in the community we are in.  And in that we carry the "image" of the "image".  Perhaps today that is freeing, motivating, allowing space to breathe, to find peace, to find courage, to step out, to step towards, to find healing, to rest, to rekindle hope... or to simply know that you are loved.  #jesusatthecentre #Godmadevisible #youa

"And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.  And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!" Matthew 11:12-15 NLT The Kingdom of Heaven is here.  The Kingdom of Heaven is on the move.  The Kingdom of Heaven is being opposed, violently.  (The Kingdom of Heaven is not some place in the sky that we go to sometime, but it's here!) I'm trying to listen and understand but I haven't spent my life reading the Old Testament and looking forward to Jesus.  Jesus is reminding us that the prophets were looking forward to something and someone, and that he is that something and someone. The Kingdom of Heaven is here.  Everything has changed. #wordsofJesus #redletterBible #

"I tell you the truth,  of all who have ever lived,  none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is." Matthew 11:11 NLT John was in prison and had a wavering about who Jesus is. John sent some of his team to check if Jesus really is the Messiah that John had been teaching about.  Jesus told them to look at the evidence, the blind seeing, the lame walking, and the Good News being preached not to the elite, those with power, but to the poor. This was Jesus evidence that he was interested in the small. And then he says this bit about John being great, but something fundamental has shifted.  The days of the prophets looking forward to the Kingdom and the Messiah are over.  The upside-down Kingdom is here, and I think Jesus words were intended to give his listeners a jolt (John's disciples were there listening). What sort of kingdom is Jesus bringing in where the greatest prophet ever is suddenly the least? Jesus

In you,  Lord,  I have taken refuge;  let me never be put to shame. Be my rock of refuge,  to which I can always go;  give the command to save me,  for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalms 71:1-3 NIV The writer of this Psalm, this song, has 3 expressions of "refuge" - refuge - rock of refuge - my rock and my fortress What comes to mind for you as you consider this metaphor? Perhaps it gives us the freedom to consider our own metaphors for Yahweh, how we try to manage or understand in our limited minds ideas of God who is bigger and more complex and more wonderful than we can hold with one idea.  Today's psalm is trying to grasp with this idea of refuge.  Then there's 3 ways the writer has seen themselves in relation to God; - Has taken refuge  - Wants a place of refuge that is always available - Wants to be saved, because Yahweh is their refuge We can choose God as our refuge, go to Him for refuge, and want Him to rescue us all at the same time, these things can a

Don't let any foul words come out of your mouth.  Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say.  Ephesians 4:29 CEB Put off the old words. I wonder why Paul had to write that to a church? What words did they need to stop? What would he say to my church, to my community, to me? What words do we need to put off? Put on the new words that build up, that have an "others" focus, that benefits, that does good.  The word for building here is "oikodomé" which literally is about building a home. Paul wants our words to build places that people can live and thrive and flourish in. Our words can create that.  Build that.  Paul uses the word "charis", grace, kindness, this is the way our words benefit others because the heart that they emanate from is expressing grace.  Problem is my heart isn't always full of grace, I'm not always kind.  Putting on the new is not about outward beh

Friday! Proverbs! One who walks blamelessly will receive help,  But one who is crooked will fall all at once. Proverbs 28:18 NASB On first read this is a proverb we can like. Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people.  That's the way we want the world to be. Isn't it? The word "blamelessly" is "tamim" which is complete, sound, perhaps more like integrity, where something is the same all the way through.  While we like to look up to people, the reality is that no one is blameless everywhere, no one has complete integrity in every part of their lives at all times. Even the best people have some "crooked" (which is the word "aqash" which is a verb meaning twisted), all of us embellish stories a little to look better, leave out things that make us look bad, twist things at least a little in our favor, well I do anyway.  But I think this Proverb is hopeful of a world, a place, a community, where there is justice, w

Be angry without sinning.  Don't let the sun set on your anger.  Don't provide an opportunity for the devil. Thieves should no longer steal.  Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need.   Ephesians 4:26-28 CEB In the middle of this putting off/putting on is "don't provide an opportunity for the devil" The word used is "topos", which means a place, region, seat, opportunity.  When our emotions linger, when we let our emotions lead us to sin, when we choose to continue to steal (for example) we're giving the enemy a place, a seat, an opportunity, a region to stay in.  Paul's antidote is to choose different actions that are outward oriented, that help and serve others, and to process our emotions (within our safe community).  "Don't let the sun go down on your anger" is not some special thing about sunset, but about acknowledging our emotions in a time

Be angry without sinning.  Don't let the sun set on your anger.  Don't provide an opportunity for the devil. Thieves should no longer steal.  Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need.   Ephesians 4:26-28 CEB Here's the next tranche of putting off the old and putting on the new... Paul doesn't day there's anything wrong with anger, but there can be in what we do in response to this emotion.  This may look different for you and me. "Sin" from anger could be breaking things, using words to belittle or get my way...it appears in a myriad of ways.  It takes work, and it takes the honesty from v25 to figure out what our anger is about, and what our response is about. Paul encourages us to do that work, not to let it fester.  And he asks us to turn our skills and talents from stealing to work.  But note it's the reason why that carries the weight; "so that they will h

We are part of the same body.  Stop lying and start telling each other the truth.  Ephesians 4:25 CEV Having encouraged us to put off the old and put on the new, Paul gives us some "how to's".  First he reminds us how connected we are, it's like we're all joined up, literally limbs of the same body.  The analogy kind of falls apart when we think about how many of us there are, but this idea of being connected, of being affected by what's going on for one another, in some way experiencing what one another are experiencing, joy, sorrow, victory, despair, fear, loss, grief.  We're connected.  (And that also means we're not alone). Paul's first "how to" for this interconnected new life that we're putting on is to stop something, and to start something new. Put off the old: lying Put on the new: telling each other the truth. We think lying is simple, but there can be complex reasons why we lie. We think telling the truth is easy, but there

Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God's image in justice and true holiness.   Ephesians 4:23-24 CEB Our thinking needs help.  Paul doesn't suggest more learning, more logic, but a renewing of our thinking by the Spirit! How do we do that? Practice asking God to challenge our thoughts, to be more aware of them, where they come from, are they helpful, do they line up with who Jesus is, and who he might have us be.  There was a movement 'back in the day' based around WWJD? - What Would Jesus Do? A question like that opens us up to allow the Spirit to shift, shape, renew our thinking.  Find the practices that help you.  Pray.  Ask Him. Ask the Spirit to change those thoughts.  Replace. Replace those unhelpful, untrue thoughts with Truth. What does God say about me and to me? Let His Word be our guides as we step into 2024, and jettison the unhelpful and untrue.  And Paul tells us to put on the