verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.  These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. Proverbs 2:12-13 NLT We sometimes hear this story that hurt people hurt people, and I know that people's lives and motivations are complex, but Proverbs cuts through this where someone's words have power over us in some way, they are choosing their path. At some point in their journey they've chosen that wrong is right, that what is not OK is OK for them, and they've stayed on that path. With intention. And Wisdom helps us see that.  We often need the Wisdom of community to help us see that. We need one another to help keep the vulnerable safe. We need God's heart revealed in His Word and by His Spirit to guide us, to help us see. And we too get to choose the path that we stay on, and it's OK to ask for help to shift if that is what we need to do. Proverbs says that Wisdom is available to us. We get to choose to...

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.  Galatians 5:13-15 NLT Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18 to his readers "love your neighbor as yourself" - my guess is providing that connection with the law that was so important to the readers of this letter. He continues the invitation into freedom in faith in Jesus by adding to the freedom to serve one another in love, with the freedom to love my neighbor without biting, devouring  or destroying them. A workmate brought her 15mth old Rottweiler dog into work this week. There was no barking, growling, biting or devouring, just open inquistive exploring and meeting us all where we were at. Paul is...

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13 NLT Instead. Freedom in Jesus is not some "get out of jail free" card or some removal of consequences to our choices, but the freedom to become the people we were made to be. To serve one another in love. What does "serve one another in love" mean? Mmm. It seems to be intentionally vague, bit it is about community, one another, thinking about, considering, wanting the best, the good for others. An otherness mindset that holds everything in love. I know i can't do that without tapping into the source, the awa, the water of life. This "serving one another in love" is going to look different for everyone depending on our capacity, capability, it's not a thing or something we do, but a way of being in the world. Tapping into the source of love and ser...

This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. Galatians 5:9-10 NLT When we hold on to something that is not the Gospel, when we make that small thing The Thing, then it impacts on all parts of us. That's the warning. And then Paul does something interesting - he doesn't go after the person who is giving this false teaching, he has spent time in this letter restating what's true and simply invites his readers and hearers to stick with that, to let God's spirit keep the community on track together. When we focus on what is True, what is false loses its power. When we focus on what is True, the lies we've believed lose their power.  Paul's letter is about the freedom we have in Jesus, when we accept His gift of Grace and express that faith in Love. Let's stick with that. #letters #G...

You were running the race so well.  Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn't God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.  Galatians 5:7-8 NLT Ever been running, walking, moving in a direction and someone holds you back? Grabs your shirt. Gets in the way. Sends you in the wrong direction, down the wrong path, slows you down... In a race that's just illegal, against the rules, there'd be a disqualification. But in this life there's a lot of freedom, and Paul is warning that there are people who will exercise their freedom against you. To hold you back, steer you away from God's Truth, from Freedom. In our world these are often "the shoulds". The shoulds come from outside, social media, peers, friends, pastors, parents, family...and inside voices...and mostly the shoulds are good things, and sometimes they're conspiring to steal our shalom, hold us back from the freedom we have in Jesus. To express faith in Love. Love for G...

Sunday Psalms; Ayin Don't leave me to the mercy of my enemies, for I have done what is just and right. Please guarantee a blessing for me. Don't let the arrogant oppress me! My eyes strain to see your rescue, to see the truth of your promise fulfilled. I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love, and teach me your decrees. ... Truly, I love your commands more than gold, even the finest gold. ... Psalms 119:121-128 NLT At the heart of this part of Ps119, nestled between the psalmists cries for help and putting his trust in God, is this: "My eyes strain to see your rescue, to see the truth of your promise fulfilled." In the midst of his troubles he is holding on to faith, and gives this very human response too, "I can't see You at work in this". Does that resonate? Health, finance, relationships, loss, tragedy, pressure, change, the world pushing in, and I'm holding on to faith, holding to the truth that our God is Good, but "I can't see...

Wisdom will rescue you from the evil path, from people who twist their words.   Proverbs 2:12 CEB If there's a group of people that Jesus stood against it was those who deceived others, who twisted God's words for their own benefit, to maintain power.  Jesus came to redeem the world, and we personalise that which is OK, but he stood against the power structures that led to injustice, the systems that oppress & marginalise. The law repeated the need to care for the alien, the stranger, the poor, the widows, Jesus said he quoted Isaiah in Luke 4 that he had come to bring healing and freedom for the oppressed, Jesus brother James wrote that true religion is caring for orphans and widows (those without, in need). We can see Jesus in this proverb, He is the Wisdom that acts and rescues from those in power, and Jesus invites us to join Him in that work in our world too. This joining in always starts small, the kindness of giving someone our attention, choosing connection, s...