verseoftheday

But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.  "How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask.  They visit me as if they were my friends,  but all the while they gather gossip,  and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.  All who hate me whisper about me... Even my best friend,  the one I trusted completely,  the one who shared my food,  has turned against me.  Lord,  have mercy on me. Make me well again,  so I can pay them back! Psalms 41:5-10 NLT This psalm was written 1000 years before Jesus, but from our place in history can you see Jesus in this poem? Betrayed. Gossiped about. Lied about. Rejected. Betrayed even by those closest to him. Jesus knows what all these things are like, how betrayal feels.  It's impact. The difference is in the last sentence - David wants to get well to get even, with Jesus it's all open arms, wanting to forgive, to give another opportunity, and that is how much we are loved. The times I ...

Sunday Psalms: But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.  "How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask.  They visit me as if they were my friends,  but all the while they gather gossip,  and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.  All who hate me whisper about me,  imagining the worst.  "He has some fatal disease," they say.  "He will never get out of that bed!" Even my best friend,  the one I trusted completely,  the one who shared my food,  has turned against me.  Lord,  have mercy on me. Make me well again,  so I can pay them back! Psalms 41:5-10 NLT Betrayal. Deceit. Gossip. Illness. Loss of relationship. Maybe there is something familiar in David's story, maybe something comforting that even something as ugly as betrayal finds it's expression in the Bible. And guess what? This psalm doesn't end with forgiveness or some kind of resolution, David gives honest voice to his heart in the moment: "Lord,...

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Dont copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think... ... Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another. ... The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.  So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.  ... Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 12:1,13:8, 12-14 NLT Our thinking matters. Our heart orientation to love matters. And our choices, our actions matter. Paul encourages his readers to move with urgency...to "put on the shining armour of right living".  T...

Friday! Proverbs! Fear of the Lord lengthens one's life,  but the years of the wicked are cut short. Proverbs 10:27 NLT Easy to read this as some kind of promise about how long different groups of people will live  - and then it can be weaponised to guilt people into living to some standard...but if Proverbs is more about the heart, my heart, then maybe this Proverb is about something a little different... Biblehub shares this meaning of the word translated "cut short" here: "(qatsar) spans the concrete act of cutting grain and the figurative idea of being "shortened" or "impatient." Found about forty-nine times, it moves from fields of barley and wheat to the inner life of the soul..." The Message captures it this way: The Fear-of-God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life. Proverbs 10:27 MSG This is the opposite of what our culture says, which tries to tell me that following Jesus leads to a small, a "puny" life. What abo...

Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another.  If you love your neighbor,  you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.  For the commandments say,  "You must not commit adultery.  You must not murder. You must not steal.  You must not covet." These - and other such commandments - are summed up in this one commandment:  "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to others,  so love fulfills the requirements of God's law. Romans 13:8-10 NLT If we want a simple guide to our choices, our actions, our way of being in the world, a one line summary of what being a Christian is, perhaps it's here, as Paul  ties in all that he has been talking about in his letter so far into this: Love does no wrong to others,  Love your neighbour as yourself. As I step into this day, how can I make my choices, my responses, based on this: Love does no wrong to others,  Love your neighbour as yourself. As I go about all...

May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame.  May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace. Let them be horrified by their shame,  for they said,  Aha!  "We've got him now!" But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout,  "The Lord is great!" As for me,  since I am poor and needy,  let the Lord keep me in his thoughts.  You are my helper and my savior.  O my God,  do not delay. Psalms 40:14-17 NLT I appreciate that we get to hear David's inner thoughts here, the ones we have but usually don't share with anyone - we want justice! "May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame." David wants justice. If we have those thoughts it's OK to express them. David just doesn't leave it there tho - he expresses his hurt and turns again and again towards God. Nothing in his story is resolved, yet he steps  again ...

Lord, don't hold back your tender mercies from me.  Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.  For troubles surround me - too many to count! My sins pile up so high I cant see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head.  I have lost all courage. Please,  Lord,  rescue me!  Come quickly,  Lord,  and help me. Psalms 40:11-13 NLT When we've run out of courage, when it all seems too much, when the "pile" is so high it's overwhelming, we can find voice for that in this psalm. David wrote a lot more songs than this one, more lament and sadness, and more praise and thanksgiving too.  When we're in the middle of whatever "it" is, this song gives us voice, gives us an invitation to express our hearts too, and a reminder that that the middle is not the end. #psalms #songs  #voice #yourvoicematters