verseoftheday

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