verseoftheday

Romans 1:8 CSB [8] First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. Romans 1:8 CSB Lots of things pop into mind when I read this; 1. How do I get on Paul's top 10 list of Christians? 2. Their church must be "the" place to be on Sunday 3. Am I doing enough? Maybe I need to do more What comes to mind for you? And then I look again at what Paul is reporting to others about? Their faith. The Greek word Paul uses is "pistis" which means persuaded by, carries the meaning of a guarantee, a warranty. Paul is holding these people up as a model to the world not because of what they do, but who they are. We are not human doings, we are human beings. They have been persuaded by, moved by, live by, the truth claims of Jesus. That's what makes them famous in Paul's world. Whatever our story is, our circumstances today, we are invited to be persuaded anew by Jesus, who He is, listen for His voi...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 12:5 CSB "Because of the devastation of the needy and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up," says the Lord.  "I will provide safety for the one who longs for it." Psalms 12:5 CSB David starts this song complaining about people - there are no good people left. None. That's how it feels to him at that time. His experience with people seems to have left him exasperated. Frustrated. Angry. In despair. Lost sight of the good. The good people in his world may well be there but he can't see them right now. And it's in his Despair he holds on to the Truth, that in the Big Story we are heard, that our God does make a way. And from our place in time we can see David's song fulfilled in Jesus. And in Him we can continue to hold the hope that our God does hear us, and is and will make all things new.  The redemptive strands are here. There are good people here. When we're stuck in frustration, anger, despair, we have a voice her...

Romans 1:5-7 CSB Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, including you who are also called by Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:5-7 CSB "including you" Paul is writing to the church in Rome which seems to be mainly people who are not Jews, who the Good News of Jesus did not initially seem to include...but it always did. "including you" Sometimes there's part of us that seems to think we don't belong  "including you" Our story includes being excluded  "including you" When we feel judged, left out, not good enough "including you" To all who are in Rome (to you, wherever you are, in your struggles, in your story, including you, you are), loved by God, called as saints.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the L...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 9:1-3 NLT [1] Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. [2] She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. [3] She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. Proverbs 9:1-3 NLT The invitation is here. Everything is ready, laid out like a great feast. And all we have to do is accept. Step towards.  I wonder what stops me stepping towards God's Widsom? Sometimes it's the myth that it's all about the rules, it's restrictive. Sometimes it's my own heart. I know best. I'll decide.  Can you imagine the builder of this house, the preparer of the food who has carefully laid it out, and is now calling people in, to see them walk by. To choose something else. To choose a second rate counterfeit, to choose junk food in a cardboard box over the great banquet and the table set and waiting. And even when we do, He still loves us. And keeps inviting...

Mark 8:8-9 NLT [8] They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. [9] There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. Mark 8:8-9 NLT It seems that when Jesus fed people there was not "just enough", there was an abundance. Leftovers. And it was the disciples that did the cleanup, the collection of the the surplus, the abundance. Maybe Jesus was pointing them towards a Kingdom of abundance. They came to him with scarcity and he supplied abundance.  It seems that Jesus wanted them to see something, and it's about more than food. It's in Jesus Kingdom that what we really need gets met, and gets met with abundance. These people needed food and Jesus supplied with abundance. What does our world need? And as Kingdom representatives are we, the Church, supplying? Food. Clothing. Housing. Care. Connection. Healing. Hope. Faith. What are "we" supplying in abunda...

Mark 8:5-6, 8 NLT [5] Jesus asked,  How much bread do you have? Seven loaves, they replied. [6] So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces... ... [8] They ate as much as they wanted.  Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. Mark 8:5-6, 8 NLT Seven - 7 - is a number that seems to be about completeness, wholeness. And we see it repeated here in this story: 7 loaves found. 7 loaves blessed. 7 loaves broken. 7 baskets of leftovers. I wonder what Jesus is telling us here? Does he want us to go back to 7 days of creation, blessed, broken, and one day made new, in abundance. Maybe it's about us, his people, the "church", found, blessed, broken, and restored. Maybe it's about Him. Broken. Looking forward to Easter. And the Abundance that will flow from that, the way, the invitation into reconnection with His Beloved. Us. As we sit with this story today...

Mark 8:1-5 NLT About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,  "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance." His disciples replied, "How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?" Jesus asked,  "How much bread do you have?" Mark 8:1-5 NLT Mark Ch6 doesn't seem all that long ago. In Ch6 Jesus miraculously multiplied the small amount of food that the Disciples located and fed a massive crowd. And it seems like they're in a similar situation. And the Disciples seem to have forgotten, because they ask "how are we supposed to fix this?" And Jesus appears patient and steps thru the same process with them. When we come back to Jesus with the same things, the same ...