verseoftheday

Sunday Psalms; Pe Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them!The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. I pant with expectation, longing for your commands. Come and show me your mercy, as you do for all who love your name. Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. Ransom me from the oppression of evil people; then I can obey your commandments. Look upon me with love; teach me your decrees. Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions.  Psalms 119:129-136 NLT While there seems to my ears some "over the top" language in this part of the Psalm, some things seem to jump out, maybe it that's because it's what I need to hear today... Your word gives light - so even the simple can get it - in our modern world we can tend to make things so complicated - maybe that's what I need reminding of, inviting into, the simple truths of God's story, His love, His desire to redeem and reconnec...

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Galatians 5:16-18 NLT Here Paul gives his manifesto for living in freedom, to get in tune with the Holy Spirit and to let Him not just be our guide (which is like an external thing) but to change our desires! To change what we want. Are we prepared, am I prepared, to give up that kind of control to God? "Jesus, allow the Holy Spirit reign in my life to shape and change my heart, my desires, to line up with You today, help me to let the Spirit win that internal battle, let me give Him more and more contro...

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...