verseoftheday

Mark 9:33-34 NLT After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, "What were you discussing out on the road?" But they didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.  Mark 9:33-34 NLT There's something wonderfully honest about this dialogue - would've been so easy for Mark to leave this out as it seems that all of them were part of this discussion, "arguing about which of them was the greatest" (including Mark). Wonderfully honest? Deeply honest? Honestly honest? Perhaps this dialogue is here to invite us to be honest today...honest about my actions, choices, motivations. The disciples had some kind of heart desire to be seen as or known as the most important one, or more important ones in the Group. What are some of my motivations? How do I want to be seen in the group? Amongst my peers, workmates, the people I live with? Are there things I wouldn't want to tell Jesus if he asked ...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 18:4-6, 19 NLT [4] The ropes of death entangled me;  floods of destruction swept over me.  [5] The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.  [6] But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help.  He heard me from his sanctuary;  my cry to him reached his ears. ... [19] He led me to a place of safety;  he rescued me because he delights in me. Psalms 18:4-6, 19 NLT This is a long song that David wrote after God had rescued him (particularly from Saul). In this song he describes feeling overwhelmed. And in that place where it all seemed too much, he cried to our God. We have a model here, yes of crying out to God, but also of acknowledging that things can overwhelm us, we don't seem to have the resources to stand. That's what happens sometimes. And we can cry out to God. Verse 19 is a truth we get to remind ourselves of anytime, when things may seem overwhelming, going fine, or anywhere ...

Mark 9:30-32 NLT Leaving that region, they travelled through Galilee. Jesus didn't want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them.  He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead." They didn't understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. Mark 9:30-32 NLT One interesting thing about Jesus here - he prioritised teaching his team rather than spending time with the crowds of people who clamoured after him  for healing and teaching. If it's OK for Jesus to have boundaries and set priorities, then that's OK for us too. And one interesting thing about the disciples  - even though they knew Jesus well, had been living with him every day, heard his teaching, they were still afraid to ask him what he meant.  What was it they were afraid of? Embarrassment that they didn...

Friday! Proverbs! [1] The proverbs of Solomon: A wise child makes a father glad, but a foolish child brings sorrow to his mother. Proverbs 10:1 CEB This word "wise" is "chakam" which is an adjective, a doing word, it includes skill, good judgement, and it's about the working out of wisdom. And it's couched in the idea of a parent and child. I'm wondering if that is because it can be easier to see wisdom and foolishness in others than it is in ourselves.  Proverbs is not a weapon, but a mirror, an invitation into something deeper, so how does it look in that other parent/child relationship, with our Heavenly Father and me? And now it's the joy and sorrow that God experiences from my actions and my choices... What does this Proverb encourage us, invite us towards and away from? Wisdom is applied in our actions...how can I live that out today? #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep

[6] When we were utterly helpless,  Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6 NLT This is the redemptive strand. When we, people, humanity, had no ability to get ourselves right with God, Jesus stepped towards us.  He moved. This is what Love does, steps towards the Beloved. While we sit with this today, we're also called to be followers of Jesus, which could mean stepping towards those we love. That may be an invitation to some self-care today. What fills you up? And it might mean stepping towards someone you love.  Perhaps someone who is on their own, not included. Perhaps someone who has put up barriers for some reason who you can try again with. Is there someone who the Spirit is prompting to 'be like Jesus' with and step towards? #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved  #takethenextstep 

Romans 5:4-5 NLT [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:4-5 NLT "For we know how dearly God loves us" Hope is here, wrapped in, contained in, enshrined in, packaged in, Love. "For we know how dearly God loves us" Whether our day ahead holds joy, despair, goodness, discouragement, fun, difficult things, work, study, rest, community, time alone, decisions, choices, pressures, planning...we get to hold on to this Truth and take it with us today: "For we know how dearly God loves us" Start here: "For we know how dearly God loves us" #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Romans 5:3 NLTRomans 5:3 NLT [3] We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. Romans 5:3 NLT Let's just take a look at v3, and this word that is translated "problems and trials" or in some versions "afflictions", "sufferings", "tribulations" - according to Biblehub it is "thlipsis" which is "pressure" - (what constricts or rubs together), used of a narrow place that "hems someone in"; that causes someone to feel confined (restricted, "without options"). There's a different word "stenoxoria" which is about external pressure from outside circumstances. So what does this mean for us as we read this passage? It doesn't seem to mean that we rejoice when something or someone has hurt or harmed us.  That's external. It's when we feel hemmed in, under pressure internally, that these verses pull us back to the Bigger Story. ...

Romans 5:1-5 NLT [1] Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing Gods glory.  [3] We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:1-5 NLT Easy to pull vs 3&4 out and kind of glorify struggle and because it builds all the things in v4. But it's all built on the foundation of the Big Story, that we are made right with God by faith in Jesus, and the hope we have of fully aliveness wit...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 17:1, 8, 15 CSB [1]  Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry... [8] Protect me as the pupil of your eye;  hide me in the shadow of your wings [15] But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence. Psalms 17:1, 8, 15 CSB Something from the beginning, the middle, and the end of this song, this prayer of David's. He starts by asking, crying to God, having already considered his reason. It is a just cause he is bringing to God. In the middle he recognises his own vulnerability, his need. And at the end, it's like he has woken from a dream, or maybe he is looking forward to life fully in God's presence, when all will be made new, a future hope. This prayer invites us to bring what's important to us to Him too.  To acknowledge our vulnerabilities and needs. And reminds us to hold hope in our God who will make all things new... #sunday  #worship #thisisourGod  #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #...

Matthew 5:9 CSB Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 CSB In NZ we take time today to remember - remember those who lost their lives because there was no peace, because there was war. For there to be a need for peacemakers there must be a lack of peace - we see that every day in the news - countries, leaders, people groups at war with one another, disconnection, greed, envy, hatred. It's "out there", and it's inside us too. Jesus reminds us that being a peacemaker reflects the heart of God. Peace with Him. Peace with creation. Peace with ourselves. And peace with one another. As we remember the losses and the horrors of war, may we find ways to step towards peace, to being a peacemaker in the spaces where we do have power, where we do have influence.  #beapeacemaker #anzac

Friday! Proverbs! The woman named Folly is brash.  She is ignorant and doesn't know it. Proverbs 9:13 NLT So easy to weaponise Proverbs as we see these attributes in others.  But if Proverbs is more of a mirror, then it makes me wonder when I am ignorant and don't know it, where my opinions equal truth for everyone, when I have no idea about how someone else has had to manage things in their life and yet I judge them by my experience...so many places where I am ignorant and can't see it...easily anyway... When we hold up Proverbs as a mirror, the Bible as a way into our hearts to see where we may be ignorant, perhaps that's the beginning of wisdom that Proverbs bangs on about. Perhaps starting with Loving God, and loving others.  And it's not using Proverbs to beat ourselves up with either, but a gentle inquiry into the workings of my heart... "Jesus, may the Holy Spirit prompt me today where I might be the one who is brash, where I am ignorant and not know it,...

Romans 5:1-2 NLT Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. Romans 5:1-2 NLT Not only have we through faith been made right with God, are at peace with Him, we stand in a place of privilege, and in that place that we stand we get to look forward to something else! Something glorious! I don't know what Paul means by "sharing God's glory" but it certainly seems like a step up! This place we stand in is not from our achievements or actions, but by faith.  Nothing can shift us from this place. And so standing here, right with God, at peace with Him, looking forward to "sharing God's glory", what does that let us put down today, or step into today? #letters #truth #redemptivestrands...

Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Romans 5:1 NLT Peace with God. Whenever we don't experience or believe we have peace with God, it's not coming from Him. Any lack of peace that may have existed has been absorbed by Jesus, and by faith, we are now OK, made right, righteous. Lack of peace with God must be coming from somewhere else then: The lies of the Enemy. The pressures of the World. The things, the desires of my own heart.  The battle isn't with God, but perhaps at least in part it's to restore or rebuild, to strengthen connection with Him. Whatever is going on in us, come back to the Truth: "Therefore,  since we have been made right in God's sight by faith,  we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." #letters #truth  #redemptivestrands  #waverfreefaith

Romans 4:19-25 NLT And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead - and so was Sarah's womb.  Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abrahams benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:19-25 NLT The redemptive strands that flow from Abraham to Jesus, to us! Abraham had received a promise from God but he can't have imagined the story that would flow from his believing in God. Abraham's faith ...

Romans 4:18 NIV Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed... Romans 4:18 CEB When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations... Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Iron 4:18 FNVNT When all hope seemed to be gone, he trusted in the promise... Romans 4:18 NLT Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping... When our circumstances are trying to tell us there is no hope, that our God isn't who He says He is, that's the hope that Abraham models for us.  When our hope in the Big Story of our God's redemptive promise, the making new of all things, is hard to see, seems lost to us, we're encouraged to hold hope anyway.  #letters #hope  #weareinaBigStory #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 16:5, 7-8 CSB [5]  Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. ... [7] I will bless the Lord who counsels me - even at night when my thoughts trouble me. [8] I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalms 16:5, 7-8 CSB This song wrestles with the concerns in David's life. And it includes 3 things that David does in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty: 1. Reminds himself that God holds his future securely. No matter what, look up, our future is secure. 2. When his thoughts "trouble" him he looks outside himself to God's truth for counsel - when our thoughts race or we're stuck, look to God's truth to shift things. 3. He lets the Lord guide him. Inviting our God into that decision making space isn't always easy, but it seems to be a choice that David makes. Hiw can I choose that today? How can we let the redemptive strands of this song shape our choices today, be ou...

Mark 9:9-10 NLT As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by 'rising from the dead." Mark 9:9-10 NLT Peter, James and John had just experienced something on the mountain with Jesus that radical,  extraordinary, supernatural. And Jesus was talking about rising from the dead. Yet more radical, extraordinary and supernatural talk. They couldn't fully grasp it, grasp the meaning of it, and Jesus was right there.  It's no wonder that we might struggle to grasp what Jesus went through, what "rising from the dead" means, making sense of God becoming human and dying to defeat death and rising from the dead into Life, Life that we are invited into too... Maybe we're not supposed to be able to grasp it all, make sense of it all, and leave room for mystery...room for faith...and that's OK... #gos...

Friday! Proverbs! Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.  If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. Proverbs 9:10-12 NLT This word "multiply" is about abundance. It may not mean more, but better. More abundant days. That's what we're invited into when we stand on the foundation of Wisdom, on the knowledge of who our God is. Let that foundation underpin our choices in this moment, this hour, today...in taking the next step...knowing that we have a firm foundation beneath us. What does this Proverb invite us towards today? #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep 

That's why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God's grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham's descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. Romans 4:16 CEB Paul is writing to the early church in Rome, and actively removes barriers based on religion, ethnicity, where people have come from, religious expectations, and places everyone together on the basis of faith.  Standing securely on God's Grace. When we feel a bit wobbly in who we are, what the future holds, what our past might be shouting at us, we get to come back to this firm foundation: God's Grace. Freely given. Because He Loves. Because He Loves Us. God's Grace. Freely given. Because He Loves. Because He Loves Us. And as we come back to this foundation, my hope is that 2 things can happen, we get to put down something that is a burden, and somethin...

For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.  Romans 4:3-5 NLT Our being right with God has 2 components: 1. We're people, the object of God's love. 2. We put our faith in God.  Believe Him. Paul even uses a very modern example of the transaction that we make with society, employers, bosses, employees where we trade our labour and energy for income, and reminds us that faith in God is NOT like that.  Belief, faith counted Abraham as righteous. Right. OK  Accepted  Acceptable  And Paul reminds the church in Rome it's the same for them, the same for us. There is no transaction.  And in this space we get to experience Grace. Grace that steps towards, that makes a way.  What does that invite us i...

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, "This is my Son,  whom I dearly love. Listen to him!" Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.   Mark 9:7-8 CEB Peter, James, and John had been given a glimpse of something bigger, mysterious, powerful, deeper. A glimpse behind scenes. Behind the story that they were living in, they got a glimpse of the Bigger Story that holds it all... Behind the life that Jesus lived, there was more, there is more.  Sometimes with one another we get a glimpse into a person's inner story, or understand the bigger story of their life, and here Peter, James, and John get the curtain pulled back on something way bigger, a relationship, a reality, that must've been hard to grasp and understand. I read this account and don't understand it.  We are invited just like our brothers 2,000yrs ago were invited to glimpse, a Bigger Story, big enough to hold us, all that we might wreslte with...

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone.  He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus.  Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, "Rabbi, its good that we're here. Let's make three shrines - one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He said this because he didn't know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified.   Mark 9:2-6 CEB Six days after Jesus had been telling them about his death, asked them that question "who do you say that I am?", Jesus takes just three of his team to the mountain where they experience something mind blowing! We hear from Peter because we all respond to things differently, Peter is the one who says things out loud and wants to act, to move, to do something. James and John were terrified too. ...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 15 CEB Who can live in your tent, LORD?  Who can dwell on your holy mountain?  The person who lives free of blame,  does what is right,  and speaks the truth sincerely; who does no damage with their talk,  does no harm to a friend,  doesn't insult a neighbor; someone who despises those who act wickedly, but who honors those who honor the LORD; someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts; someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against any innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble. Psalms 15 CEB David's song seems to be him trying to figure out what it takes to be right with God. And he gives us a great list. There's lots of goodness in his list, and if I read it quickly enough there's days when I might even meet this "standard". But the reality is I can't even consistently manage the first thing on the list...which is one reason why we need Jesus. And His Grace. And His...

Romans 3:23-26 CEB All have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.   Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his righteousness in passing over sins that happened before, during the time of God's patient tolerance. He also did this to demonstrate that he is righteous in the present time, and to treat the one who has faith in Jesus as righteous. Romans 3:23-26 CEB Paul reminds us that we're all in the same boat - all miss the mark, all of us.  I'm not sure which words jump out at you from this passage, but notice these: "freely" "freely by his grace" "faithfulness" "mercy" "patient" And notice the "direction" - it's God stepping towards us, making a way. Because Love. Love is who God is and what He does.  ...

Friday! Proverbs! The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD;  the knowledge of the holy one is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 CEB Verses like this one have been used as weapons to bring about some kind of external compliance with "the rules" - often wielded by someone with power (like parents wanting children to do something or not do something.) But Proverbs is not written to children.  Translating ancient Hebrew into English must be incredibly difficult - take this word "yir'ah", which is found 41 times in the Old Testament, and includes fear and reverence, and awesome. If Proverbs is about our heart, what does this Proverb invite us into or towards? Wisdom. Wisdom in Proverbs seems inseparable from God's character. Will we open ourselves up to knowing more of our God? That might include facing fears, and being reverent, and sitting in awe. This Proverb is also inviting us into a journey. Relationship with God is not static, it's moving,  vibrant, ...

John 21:6 CEB He said,  "Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn't haul in the net.  John 21:6 CEB I'm sure someone has written a book on the "7 principles of net casting for a successful life" from this passage, but I don't think that is what this is all about.  The disciples in the boat having been out fishing at night didn't recognise Jesus at all.  He was just some random guy on the shore giving fishing advice. It was the result of that advice that made them realise it was Jesus. This miracle pointed them to Jesus.  Through what happened they were able to see Jesus clearly for who he is. The Kingdom isn't pointing us to material prosperity, but pointing us to Jesus.  Our culture wants to make it about the fish.  The resurrected, back in his body, saviour of the world, fishing advisor, friend, conqueror of death, Jesus, that's who is at the centre of the...

John 21:3-5 CEB Simon Peter told them, "I'm going fishing." They said,  "We'll go with you." They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn't realize it was Jesus.  Jesus called to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him,  "No." John 21:3-5 CEB Ressurection. And Jesus just turns up like it's an ordinary day... But it's not an ordinary day. Jesus team have had their world turned upsidedown, Jesus was beaten, tried, killed, buried, and rose again. He's appeared to them. And disappeared again. And his team do what a lot of us would do, go to something familiar, something that feels solid, doing anything but sit around (which is Peter's character right?!) And Jesus turns up like it's an ordinary day... Our turmoil filled, disrupted world, or maybe it's the mundane, the ordinary, keep your eyes ...

Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them.  "Peace be with you," he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! Luke 24:35-37 NLT Jesus turned up again in a way they did not expect! Startled. Frightened. Out of their normal experience, trying to make sense of Jesus appearance. Perhaps there's times when we are struggling to "Make sense" if Jesus, they way others experience him, the way we have experienced him, but one thing we can take from this story is that Jesus arrived in their midst with "Peace be with you". His message to his team that day resonates down the centuries to us today:  "Peace be with you" There's plenty to be worried about in this world:  "Peace be...

That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.  As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them,  "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?" They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days." Luke 24:13-18 NLT Everything had changed, and yet these followers of Jesus didn't realise it. Even though it was Sunday, they were living as if it was still Saturday. Even though they had heard a report of Jesus resurrection, they were living like it hadn't happened. And I'm wondering if there are days when I am just like Cleopas and his companion...

Luke 24:40-43 NLT As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet. Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.  Then he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched. Luke 24:40-43 NLT Jesus didn't just arrive in a body like ours, live in a body like ours, die in a body like ours, he came back in a body too.  The Divine, the Eternal, fully embracing humanity. The ordinary.  "Do you have anything here to eat?" And he carried his scars through death and into Life. Scars that didn't stop him walking, or holding his food (or needing food).  Resurrection. Where Jesus scars are signs of Life, Renewal, Resurrection. He is God with Us. Hope is Here. And it's OK not to "get" it all, understand it all: "Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder." But we do get to accept that our God so loved the world, so loved us, so loved me,...

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.  At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli,  Eli,  lema sabachthani?" which means  "My God,  my God,  why have you abandoned me?" Matthew 27:45-46 NLT Not only abandoned by his friends and family, his community and the State, the human Jesus experienced all the worst that humanity can experience. And the divine Jesus, experienced abandonment from the Eternal, the relationship that had been Forever. Yet God. Yet God was at work bringing about a redemptive story, a victory over all the abandonment stories, especially the biggest of them, death itself. Saturday can seem dark. It is.  And it's not the end. Not the last word.  #lovewithoutmeasure #redemptivestrands #hopeishere

Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified - one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said,  "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.   The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed.  "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A sign was fastened above him with these words: This is the King of the Jews. One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed,  "So youre the Messiah, are you?  Prove it..." Luke 23:32-39 NLT Mocked and ridiculed by the Empire, the crowd, religious leaders, even by one of the men suffering in the s...

Mark 8:34-37 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Mark 8:34-37 NLT When Jesus asks a question, it's worth sitting with, and here he asks the crowd 2 questions: What do benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? The word "soul" is the same word translated as "life", "psuche", psyche, soul, the inner part of us. Jesus is asking us about our inner life and what's most important - the outer life that others can see? Or the inner life, the "who I am" part of me? "Is anything worth more than your soul?" Jesus. Easter give...

Mark 8:34-35 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it." Mark 8:34-35 NLT What is this "life" that Jesus is talking about? The word here is "psuche", from which we get the word psyche, or soul. Biblehub defines it this way; 1. soul, inner being or life 2. (literally) breath 3. (figuratively) the heart's desire, the drive or passion of one's soul (i.e. that which brings satisfaction to one's being) Jesus seems to be inviting us to give up our life, our inner life, our desire, our breath, to him. And by doing that, we won't be diminished or lessened, but we somehow be made fully alive... And at Easter Jesus modelled that by giving up his life.  Why? Because it seems he think...

Mark 8:34 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower,  you must give up your own way,  take up your cross,  and follow me." Mark 8:34 NLT In Mark's account Jesus had been talking with the Disciples about rejection, suffering, death and ressurection, and here he is launching into a teaching to the crowd to "take up your cross" if they want to follow Jesus. Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell the crowd there's a lot more going on here than people getting healed, some kind of celebrity Rabbi thing. Maybe the clue is in the phrase before "take up your cross", which is "give up your own way". I'm not good at giving up my own way. But maybe this Easter we are being invited like this crowd was, like the disciples were, to put something down of our "own way". What could that be? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #invitation  #easter

Romans 3:23-24 NLT For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.  Yet God,  in his grace,  freely makes us right in his sight.  He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  Romans 3:23-24 NLT Yet God. Yet God. Yet God. It was our God who IS Love chose us. Yet God. He stepped towards us. He made a way. In His Grace. Freely. He chose us.  We can wonder why all we like, but we don't have to make sense of Love. Love is.  Love acts. Love acts for the Beloved. This is the Easter story, the redemptive strands that flow from our God through the Cross to bring us Life and Hope. Grace. Freely. Something to chew on right here today...Beloved. (I wonder how I can freely express a tiny piece of the Grace I have received towards this world, towards someone, towards me, today) #letters #Easter #yetGod #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 14:1, 7 NLT [1] Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." ...  [7] Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?  When the Lord restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. Psalms 14:1, 7 NLT This is a bleak psalm/song.  There's days, maybe weeks, months, when our world is bleak.  If that has been or is your experience, then maybe this psalm/song while written 3000 years ago in a different culture and language tells us we're not alone in how we feel or experience life. David starts by it seems reminding himself of Truth, that even when God is silent, seems distant, when the world is bleak, don't take from that that there is no God.  And then right at the end, the strand of hope, the redemptive strand we're looking for; "When the Lord restores his people..." Restoration will arrive. We get the benefit of reading this after the first Easter, knowing that Jesus death is the way of restoration,...

Mark 8:29-32 NLT Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter replied,  "You are the Messiah." But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.  As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. Mark 8:29-32 NLT Peter got it.  Got who Jesus is. But didn't get it all. Because Jesus for what seems the first time is unpacking more of his mission, or perhaps it's the "how" his messiahship will actually work, not the way Peter wanted or expected. Peter is the voice (& often the doer) of the things others want to say or do. He just says out loud what the others may well be thinking - "you're the Messiah, saving us doesn...

Friday! Proverbs! [9] Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Proverbs 9:9 NLT This Proverb is suggesting a cumulative effect of wisdom and learning. That wisdom and learning get multiplied in some way. Hoe does this Proverb land when we are the person doing the teaching, the sharing, giving the instruction? "Instruct the wise,  and they will be even wiser.  Teach the righteous,  and they will learn even more." I'm wondering how this lands differently when I am the receiver of wisdom, when I am being taught...how well am I allowing the cumulative impact of wisdom to shape me, my heart responses? Where is wisdom building on wisdom in me? Where am I getting wisdom? #proverbs  #wisdom  #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep 

Romans 3:21-22 NLT But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. Romans 3:21-22 NLT Paul has spent some time telling the church in Rome that none of us can keep the law in it's entirety all the time. The law can't make us right with God. It can help us see where sin has a grip on us and where we might want to focus, but making us right with God? Nup. It's faith in Jesus. That's it. Faith in Jesus changes everything. Does part of us want to add something? A "yes but..." or "yes and..."? How about today we just sit with this Truth that Faith in Jesus is enough... #letters #redemptivestrands #faithinJesus #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Romans 2:15 NLT [15] They demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.  Romans 2:15 NLT Paul has just unpacked how we're all in trouble before a holy God, and then he drops this wee gem in, that the "Gentiles", those who hadn't been given God's law, hadn't had it impressed on them for generations have this deep internal knowledge of what is right and wrong. It's built in. The redemptive strands are there in all of us, and always have been. I wonder if we're so busy  listening and scrolling to voices from the outside we've lost connection with that inner voice that is connected to Our God's Voice... #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Mark 8:27-29 CEB Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples,  "Who do people say that I am?" They told him, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets." He asked them,  "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" Mark 8:27-29 CEB John the Baptist's death is recorded by Mark in Ch6, not long ago, and news wouldn't have travelled as quickly as it does today. It seems that people were saying Jesus was some kind of reincarnated prophet! He was the second coming of someone else. And then Jesus asks his team; "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" And this question continues to echo down the centuries, all the way to us today... "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" Is Jesus in a category with others? Comparable? Is he like someone else? "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" This question invite...

Mark 8:25-27 CEB [25] Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. [26] Then Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village!" [27] Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Do you wonder why Jesus first led this man out of the village and then told him not to go back, but to go home? I'm wondering if a clue is found in the next thing Mark gives us here...Jesus asking his team "who do people say that I am?" As good and wonderful the miracle of returning lost sight is, it's not the Big Story of what Jesus is about. Maybe he was concerned about becoming a celebrity. As followers of Jesus what are we concerned about? In our current culture which seems to value celebrity, profile, followers, Jesus seems to take a different path, and what doe...

Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly.  Mark 8:25 CEB One day we will see Jesus face-to-face, he will touch our eyes, our sight will be restored, and we will see everything in a new way. For this man who had been blind, and then seeing people like trees, then having his sight fully restored, everything changed.  He was the same person, and he was different. I wonder what fears, what hurts, what griefs this person was able to put down after Jesus touched his face again? What today are are we being invited to start putting down, maybe not perfectly or completely, but just a little? Where can we let the light in a little more as we wait for that face-to-face encounter with Jesus? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #invitation  #weareBeloved 

Taking the blind man's hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him,  "Do you see anything?" The man looked up and said, "I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around." Mark 8:23-24 CEB Can you see Jesus taking this man by the hand and walking with him? He's blind. And his hand is being held by Jesus. Jesus the person Jesus the divine, the Eternal, the creator of it all. Crazy picture And then Jesus spits on his eyes and asks "do you see anything?" And the man who was blind can see something, but it's not clear. People like walking trees. Unclear. Something, but knowing there's more. Seems to be a picture of where we are, Jesus is close, his hand is holding ours, we can see, but we know everything there's more, more clarity to come... We stand like this not quite blind man in the now and the not yet, with our hand held by Jesus, but we can't see ...

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever instructs the cynic gets insulted; whoever corrects the wicked gets hurt.  Don't correct the impudent, or they will hate you; correct the wise, and they will love you. Proverbs 9:7-8 CEB Somedays I just want to correct everyone! This Proverb invites us to dial down our reactions to others, to consider their character before jumping in. Pick your battles, not on the importance of the battle, but the character of the other person...something to chew on there... And now I'm wondering if I'm not being corrected because I'm not seen as wise, that I might not love the person who brings correction into my life! #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon 

As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees walking around." Mark 8:22-24 CEV This man's experience with Jesus seems quite different to some of the other people we have met in Mark's gospel. Before he met Jesus he already had a community of people who wanted to help him.  When I read these accounts I'm tempted to see me in the story, as the person in the middle who's life is changed by the transforming touch of Jesus. But if I place myself as one of the Blind Man's support team, one of many who are advocating for, working for solutions for someone else, it chamges the view... We can see this man's team waiting in the village, hoping,...

Romans 1:20-23 NLT For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. [21] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.  And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:20-23 NLT The thing with this discussion from Paul is that it describes me - when our God seems too mysterious, distant, quiet, difficult to understand, doesn't step in and solve my problems, then I do what Paul describes here, I make stuff up about God. I lose site of the Creator. The ever-living One. And then make things up about...

Romans 1:20 NLT [20] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature... Romans 1:20 NLT When we're stuck, lost, unsure, need to reconnect to the Big Story, Paul invites his readers to go outside. Go outside and grow something. Sit in the sun. Look at the stars. Listen to the birds. Go visit the ocean. Get a cat.  Sit in the forest. Feel the sun on your skin. Reconnecting with the created world helps us reconnect with the Creator of the world. What can we do today to reconnect, to see a glimpse of who our God is in the world He has made? #redemptivestrands #hopeishere 

Romans 1:15-17 NLT So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight.  This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.  As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Romans 1:15-17 NLT Paul is keen to get to Rome, to share the Good News wherever he can...the ever expanding Kingdom...the Kingdom that has room... In my church the teaching currently is based around this idea of making room. Making room. And the key that opens the Kingdom is not my talent, abilities, achievements, how "good" I am, my church, it's traditions, my family, my history, what resources i might or might not bring, but one thing...Faith. Paul reminds us the start and finish is Faith. What does that Truth invite us to put down to...

Sunday Psalms; But I have trusted in your faithful love.  My heart will rejoice in your salvation.  Yes, I will sing to the LORD because he has been good to me. Psalms 13:5-6 CEB This song is repeats the question "How long Lord?" several times. How long Lord? If David asks the question then it's OK for us to ask it too. How long? When will this change? What's going on? How much more? David doesn't give us some neat answer, he looks back at God who he knows, he looks up in faith and trust, and he looks in and knows that he is held, held in the Bigger Story of God's Love, and then he looks out and chooses to sing anyway... When we have these questions of how long, how much more, David's song invites us into a deeper understanding and place of communion with our God, a place where we get to follow the redemptive strands deeper... #sunday #worship  #thisisourGod  #invitation #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #onedayallwillbemadenew 

Mark 8:14-16 CEB Jesus' disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He gave them strict orders: "Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod." The disciples discussed this among themselves, "He said this because we have no bread." Mark 8:14-16 CEB What was Jesus trying to teach his team? What is the "yeast of the Pharisees" and the "yeast of Herod"? Maybe it's something like this...Jesus has just fed crowds from small amounts of food, we're good people, Jesus will sort this for us now, we deserve it...the yeast of the Pharisees... Jesus has fed crowds with his power, just use that now and feed all of us...the yeast of Herod... In the next few verses Jesus reminds his team of the surplus generated at those two events where the crowd was fed...perhaps Jesus was wanting them to see that they had already squandered or lost His provision for th...

Friday! Proverbs! [4] "Whoever is naive turn aside here," she says to those who lack sense.   [5] "Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.  [6] Abandon your simplistic ways and live; walk in the way of understanding." Proverbs 9:4-6 CEB Invitations abound here...invitation to turn aside... What is it that Wisdom would call us to turn aside from today? To give up. To put down. To step away from. The invitation to step towards the feast Wisdom has prepared...what is it that Wisdom invites us to partake of today? To choose. To take up. To step towards. The invitation to abandon something that is unhelpful, unhealthy, and choose Life instead...an invitation to walk in the path of understanding...where do I need that? Step towards Living Wisdom. #proverbs  #Wisdom  #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep  #invitation 

[13] I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I planned to visit you many times, although I have been prevented from coming until now. I want to harvest some fruit among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles. [14] I have a responsibility both to Greeks and to those who don't speak Greek, both to the wise and to the foolish. Romans 1:13-14 CEB This passage and the next few verses in Romans give us an insight into what motivates Paul...but tucked in there is something else... Recently I was in a conversation about God's plan for your life... Paul wanted to visit Rome, planned to, and something happened, it didn't work out. He doesn't blame God, doesn't turn these events into a question about whether he is living in God's plan or not - this seems to just be life for Paul - we make plans and they don't always work out. Paul (just go back and read the first few verses of this chapter) is in a bigger story, a calling, and that intersects with stu...

Mark 8:11-13 CEB The Pharisees showed up and began to argue with Jesus.  To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven. With an impatient sigh, Jesus said,  "Why does this generation look for a sign?  I assure you that no sign will be given to it." Leaving them, he got back in the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake. Mark 8:11-13 CEB Jesus wasn't entering into their game, didn't buy into their argument, their test, and walked away. This can't have been the first time because Love is Patient, but Jesus patience had run out. Maybe that's part of being human.  Perhaps he could see that there was nothing he could say that wiuld shift the Pharisees because they weren't coming to Jesus wanting to learn, or discover, or understand, anything about him.  And Jesus walked away. Where does Wisdom say that we should just walk away, not enter in to someone else's agenda, someone else's argument, someone else's problem? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #...

Romans 1:12 CEB [12] What I mean is that we can mutually encourage each other while I am with you. We can be encouraged by the faithfulness we find in each other, both your faithfulness and mine.   Romans 1:12 CEB Paul isn't trying to be some kind of guru, but wants to sit in this learning space too. None of us have all the answers. None of us have it all together all the time. We need one another. What can we discover together? What can we encourage one another in? How does your faith encourage me? How does mine encourage you? When we walk together with this mutual learning in mind, what shifts, what opens up (especially about faith)? #letters #redemptivestrands  #inthistogether 

Romans 1:8 CSB [8] First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. Romans 1:8 CSB Lots of things pop into mind when I read this; 1. How do I get on Paul's top 10 list of Christians? 2. Their church must be "the" place to be on Sunday 3. Am I doing enough? Maybe I need to do more What comes to mind for you? And then I look again at what Paul is reporting to others about? Their faith. The Greek word Paul uses is "pistis" which means persuaded by, carries the meaning of a guarantee, a warranty. Paul is holding these people up as a model to the world not because of what they do, but who they are. We are not human doings, we are human beings. They have been persuaded by, moved by, live by, the truth claims of Jesus. That's what makes them famous in Paul's world. Whatever our story is, our circumstances today, we are invited to be persuaded anew by Jesus, who He is, listen for His voi...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 12:5 CSB "Because of the devastation of the needy and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up," says the Lord.  "I will provide safety for the one who longs for it." Psalms 12:5 CSB David starts this song complaining about people - there are no good people left. None. That's how it feels to him at that time. His experience with people seems to have left him exasperated. Frustrated. Angry. In despair. Lost sight of the good. The good people in his world may well be there but he can't see them right now. And it's in his Despair he holds on to the Truth, that in the Big Story we are heard, that our God does make a way. And from our place in time we can see David's song fulfilled in Jesus. And in Him we can continue to hold the hope that our God does hear us, and is and will make all things new.  The redemptive strands are here. There are good people here. When we're stuck in frustration, anger, despair, we have a voice her...

Romans 1:5-7 CSB Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, including you who are also called by Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:5-7 CSB "including you" Paul is writing to the church in Rome which seems to be mainly people who are not Jews, who the Good News of Jesus did not initially seem to include...but it always did. "including you" Sometimes there's part of us that seems to think we don't belong  "including you" Our story includes being excluded  "including you" When we feel judged, left out, not good enough "including you" To all who are in Rome (to you, wherever you are, in your struggles, in your story, including you, you are), loved by God, called as saints.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the L...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 9:1-3 NLT [1] Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. [2] She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. [3] She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. Proverbs 9:1-3 NLT The invitation is here. Everything is ready, laid out like a great feast. And all we have to do is accept. Step towards.  I wonder what stops me stepping towards God's Widsom? Sometimes it's the myth that it's all about the rules, it's restrictive. Sometimes it's my own heart. I know best. I'll decide.  Can you imagine the builder of this house, the preparer of the food who has carefully laid it out, and is now calling people in, to see them walk by. To choose something else. To choose a second rate counterfeit, to choose junk food in a cardboard box over the great banquet and the table set and waiting. And even when we do, He still loves us. And keeps inviting...

Mark 8:8-9 NLT [8] They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. [9] There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. Mark 8:8-9 NLT It seems that when Jesus fed people there was not "just enough", there was an abundance. Leftovers. And it was the disciples that did the cleanup, the collection of the the surplus, the abundance. Maybe Jesus was pointing them towards a Kingdom of abundance. They came to him with scarcity and he supplied abundance.  It seems that Jesus wanted them to see something, and it's about more than food. It's in Jesus Kingdom that what we really need gets met, and gets met with abundance. These people needed food and Jesus supplied with abundance. What does our world need? And as Kingdom representatives are we, the Church, supplying? Food. Clothing. Housing. Care. Connection. Healing. Hope. Faith. What are "we" supplying in abunda...

Mark 8:5-6, 8 NLT [5] Jesus asked,  How much bread do you have? Seven loaves, they replied. [6] So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces... ... [8] They ate as much as they wanted.  Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. Mark 8:5-6, 8 NLT Seven - 7 - is a number that seems to be about completeness, wholeness. And we see it repeated here in this story: 7 loaves found. 7 loaves blessed. 7 loaves broken. 7 baskets of leftovers. I wonder what Jesus is telling us here? Does he want us to go back to 7 days of creation, blessed, broken, and one day made new, in abundance. Maybe it's about us, his people, the "church", found, blessed, broken, and restored. Maybe it's about Him. Broken. Looking forward to Easter. And the Abundance that will flow from that, the way, the invitation into reconnection with His Beloved. Us. As we sit with this story today...

Mark 8:1-5 NLT About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,  "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance." His disciples replied, "How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?" Jesus asked,  "How much bread do you have?" Mark 8:1-5 NLT Mark Ch6 doesn't seem all that long ago. In Ch6 Jesus miraculously multiplied the small amount of food that the Disciples located and fed a massive crowd. And it seems like they're in a similar situation. And the Disciples seem to have forgotten, because they ask "how are we supposed to fix this?" And Jesus appears patient and steps thru the same process with them. When we come back to Jesus with the same things, the same ...

When the very bottom of things falls out, what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?   Psalms 11:3 CEB I keep this quote in the front of my journal and return to it regularly when it all seems too much: "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief; Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obliged to complete the work. But neither are you free to abandon it." Perkei Avot 2:16 Rabbi Tarfon The ethics of our fathers. And this one from Jesus: "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart,  because  I  have  overcome the world." John 16:33 NLT When we lose heart, look up, look out, remember that we don't have to fix it all, but work with God in it, and we are held in a Bigger Story, where it might not seem like it, but Jesus has already overcome. #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved  #allwillbeandisbeingmadenew

Sunday Psalms; When the very bottom of things falls out, what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?   Psalms 11:3 CEB  This song asks one of those Big Questions - in v1-2 it paints the picture of a world where evil is winning, and then asks "what can I do in the face of all this?" We have variations on this around our powerlessness to change anything in what we think are meaningful ways... And what does David have to say? But the LORD is in his holy temple.  The LORD!  His throne is in heaven. His eyes see - his vision examines all of humanity.   Psalms 11:4 CEB David asks us to look up. To open again our eyes of faith and remind ourselves of the Big Story that we are in. And our God does see. And He does care.  And His Justice will prevail.  [6] God will rain fiery coals and sulfur on the wicked; their cups will be filled with nothing but a scorching hot wind  because the LORD is righteous!  He loves righteous deeds.  Th...

Mark 8:1-3 CEB In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and told them, "I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them away hungry to their homes, they won't have enough strength to travel, for some have come a long distance." Mark 8:1-3 CEB This story places us as an insider, in the small group, hearing Jesus heart for the crowd, turning our mind to the problem Jesus saw, the people Jesus saw. But if I'd been there that day, I'd most likely be in the crowd.  One of many who had been listening to Jesus teaching for 3 days. One of many who had run out of food. One of many facing a long walk home on an empty stomach. One of many with no idea that Jesus saw me, saw my situation, and was doing something about it. In the Big Story Jesus has seen us, seen our situation, and done something about it. And the Cross is central to that.  The Empty Tomb is cen...

Friday! Proverbs! [27] I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. [28] I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth.  [29] I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.  And when he marked off the earth's foundations, [30] I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.  [31] And how happy I was with the world he created;  how I rejoiced with the human family! ... [33] Listen to my instruction and be wise. ... [35] For whoever finds me finds life... Proverbs 8:27-31, 33, 35 NLT This is a looong passage, this whole chapter is about the importance of Wisdom...and then theres this piece in the middle that kind of makes Wisdom "alive". Alive before Creation. Alive at Creation. Part of it. Its almost like this ancient book wants us to see Wisdom not as just an idea, more than a collection of...

Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone.  But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news.  People were overcome with wonder, saying,  "He does everything well!  He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can't speak." Mark 7:36-37 CEB If it was your friend who for their whole life couldn't hear or couldn't speak, and suddenly, miraculously, they could, you'd tell someone. If it was your daughter who was healed, wouldn't you want to let others know? It's not clear why Jesus wanted to damp things down, do things on the down low. Perhaps his message about the Kingdom was getting lost in the noise around healings, maybe even with his own team? Maybe he just needed space sometimes. But whatever Jesus' reasons were, people couldn't stop telling others about Jesus.  About what he had done in their lives. Their experience. Perhaps this is Mark's invitation to us too...to simply share ou...

Mark 7:34-35 CEB Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, "Ephphatha," which means, "Open up." At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly. Mark 7:34-35 CEB Why did Jesus need a direct line with heaven to heal this man? Just a few verses earlier and Jesus was having a conversation with a woman and almost as an aside Jesus said to her that her daughter was healed. No calling on heaven needed. Did Jesus need more help because this man's problems were particularly difficult? Mark is no help. I'm left wondering 2 things; if his cry to heaven was modelling something for his disciples for when he is no longer with them. And/or that Jesus in his humanity has a need. He can't do this healing in his own human limitation. What do you think? And what does this story mean for us? Jesus was wanting to shift something in another person's life and asked Heaven to "open up" to make away - who am I pray...

Mark 7:32-33 CEB [32] Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. [33] Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. Mark 7:32-33 CEB Do you notice the pattern in the way Jesus meets with people, the pattern in the way these healings unfold? No I didn't notice it either - they all seem different.  Crowds, no crowds, touch, no touch, distance, and this one so up close Jesus poked his fingers in the man's ears, and it seems put his spit on his tongue! Very strange! Jesus meets people in different ways. And there is no reason why given. Perhaps this is what we're meant to see, that Jesus meets with people in different ways, that comparing isn't helpful, and if we try to figure it out we probably won't get an explanation... Perhaps this is about Faith. Faith in a person who is at least as comple...

Mark 7:31 CEB [31] After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities.  Mark 7:31 CEB This is at least 2 days walk and Jesus is on the move - he's just come from Jerusalem to Tyre and now on the move again. The thing that interested me about this account is that Tyre and Sidon are now in a country called Lebanon. I tend to think of countries and borders as permanent things...but they haven't always been there. Jesus moved from place to place, no border control, no passport. That got me thinking about Jesus IN my life - He wants access everywhere but I'm the one who puts up Border Controls in my heart. Not sure I want Jesus going There. Yet He wants to keep moving. He moved around teaching, encouraging, challenging, and healing. Healing. Maybe that's what He is up to in the cross Border excursions in my heart... He wants His Redemptive Love to permeate all of me, all of us... #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #in...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 10:1, 17-18 CEB [1] Why do you stand so far away, LORD, hiding yourself in troubling times?   ... [17]   LORD, you listen to the desires of those who suffer.  You steady their hearts; you listen closely to them, to establish justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that people of the land will never again be terrified. Psalms 10:1, 17-18 CEB This song asks one of those tough questions. Where are you God when bad things happen? When the world seems to be ruled by corruption and evil. When my life, my world, is upended, when things aren't as they "should" be. And the Redemptive Strand is here. He does listen. He is close. In Jesus He did make a way. And there will be Justice. There will be freedom, shalom, peace. One day all will be made new. The hope of the Gospel, the Good News, is here.  It's OK to want to see God's Justice now, in a world where so much seems upsidedown, in the same way the writer of this song wanted to see that, ...

Jude 1:24-25 CEB To the one who is able to protect you from falling,  and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence,  to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 CEB When it seems that nothing or no one in this world can hold us, Jesus can. When our grief or hurt or despair or sense of unjustice, our fears, seem too big for us, Jude reminds us that we are held by someone bigger. When we don't believe we are enough, that in our humanity we're not good enough, and definitlely not good enough for our God, Jude reminds us that Jesus absorbs all of the blame, and sees us as complete, all we were meant to be. Jude reminds us that we are seen, known, and dearly loved. By the Eternal. Because He can. Because He chooses to. Because He is Love. We may get glimpses of what it's like to be fully known and fully loved, but one day that will become ou...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 8:1-4 CEB Doesn't Wisdom cry out and Understanding shout?  Atop the heights along the path, at the crossroads she takes her stand. By the gate before the city, at the entrances she shouts:  I cry out to you, people; my voice goes out to all of humanity.   Proverbs 8:1-4 CEB How often have I walked past Wisdom? Ignored it. Sidestepped it. This Proverb reminds us that God's Wisdom is available to us.  Wisdom is in our face. So what's my problem then? I want an easier path, something that makes a promise that seems more pleasant. My own heart can be deceiving about what Wisdom is, where I should be looking. My world is clamouring, telling me wisdom is contained in Instagram reels or somewhere. Somewhere else.  In something else. In what someone else has or does or something. Where am I looking? Where am I walking straight past Wisdom? What do I really need? #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing  #seeWisdomto...

Jude 1:22-23 CEB [22] Have mercy on those who doubt. [23] Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges.   Jude 1:22-23 CEB What is Jude's big point here as he wraps up his letter? See people.  See through their collections of choices and defence mechanisms and things that they do to isolate or insulate them from their heart aches, their need of connection with God, their doubts, and to see people through the eyes of mercy.  I'm wondering seeing others through the eyes of mercy is easy for some...and not so easy for others... And what about seeing ourselves through the eyes of mercy? Maybe we need to try that... #Jude #letters #invitation #eyesofmercy