verseoftheday

[1] The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. ... [5] You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,  and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalms 23:1, 5-6 NLT The redemptive strand has an end point - reconnection with God. David's song takes us on it's own journey; Starts with Yahweh as Shpeherd - The Eternal Light & Love is like a shepherd towards his sheep. There is rest, renewal, guidance, even in the darkest of places, He is with us. And then this picture of a feast, of a God who pursues us, of overflowing goodness that does not end. The redemptive strands flow through this song, through the realities of life, to a place of reconnection. A place where the disconnections of the Genesis story, from God, creation, each other, and ourselves, are reversed. A place where we will be ...

Psalms 23:1, 4 NLT [1] The Lord is my shepherd; ... [4] Even when I walk through the darkest valley,  I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalms 23:1, 4 NLT The Lord, Yahweh, The Shepherd, His rod and staff protect and comfort. It's not just our own strength we have to rely on, but His. It's not our just own capacity, but His. Because there is the "darkest valley" that we have to navigate.  We are not immune from the evils of this world, the actions of others, the frailties and limitations of our own humanity, the lies of the Enemy. David knows that. And his song invites us to join in the way through that he has found...leaning into Yahweh, remembering that even in the darkest valley, where there seems to be no light, The Lord, Yahweh, is still his Shepherd. #psalms  #songs #psalm23 #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved  #thewayisthrough

Sunday Psalms; The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows;  he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalms 23:1-3 NLT What jumped off the page today was "he". We want the rest of "green meadows", somewhere flourishing. We want the peace found near the water.  We want the strength and guidance, but each of these for David comes from The Shepherd, the Lord, Yahweh, YHWH, He is the one who is the agent, the means, the way; He lets me rest He leads me He renews  He guides I'm wondering how often that I've replaced the "He" with an "I". "Father in heaven, help me put down my idea of rest and let me find yours. Renew in me what needs renewing. Help me put down my ideas for a moment and seek your guidance, let me hear your voice today. Amen." #psalms #songs #dangerousprayers  #psalm23 #weareBeloved 

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. Proverbs 10:9 NIV When we look for Jesus in this Proverb, he is the one who walks in integrity. Even though he was misunderstood. Even though he was rejected. Even though he was abandoned. He was always held securely by the Love of the Father. Who did Jesus call out? The hyper religious who wanted the rules to save them. They couldn't do it with integrity because it ended up being about power, power over others. As followers of Jesus we are held in the same way that Jesus was (& is).  We are held securely by the Love of the Father, even if we're abandoned, rejected, misunderstood. We are in fact, beloved. #proverbs #wisdom  #somethingtochewon  #itsaheartthing #beloved

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. Proverbs 10:9 NIV Mmm interesting comparison this Proverb draws...walking securely vs being found out... The security that comes from walking with integrity is that there is no fear of being found out...it's a security of the mind, which would seem to equal peace. Peace of mind, peace of heart when we walk with integrity. Proverbs is not a weapon to beat ourselves or anyone else up with, so what is this Proverb inviting us towards? To keep moving towards living in integrity. If that's our trajectory, then we are stepping towards more peace of mind, more peace of heart. It allows me to put down the comparison to others, and to live more and more in line with my values, with what's important, with God's call. As we sit with this Proverb today, what's the invitation to step away from, and to step towards? "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but w...

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him.  "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do us a favor." "What is your request?" he asked. They replied, "When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left." Mark 10:35-37 NLT What?! Jesus has just finished telling them about the upsidedown kingdom, how the greatest will be less important, and the very next question is "hey, we want to be the greatest"! So easy to condemn James and John here but they open us up to the human condition - I don't need to be at the front in heaven, but I'm sure I don't deserve to be down the back either... James and John's question gets me thinking about what I expect, what I want, what my rights are when it comes to God's Kingdom, and there may be some ideas there that betray the pride in my accomplishments and expectations that I carry...wh...

Mark 10:32-34 NLT [32] They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him.  [33] "Listen," he said, "we're going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. [34] They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again." Mark 10:32-34 NLT We're on the other side of the resurrection, someone being flogged with Roman whips, public crucifixions are so far from our reality, but for these people walking with Jesus, wanting a Messiah to rescue them from Roman oppression is now just going to walk towards the Empire!!?? And is this talk of death and retu...