verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! Wise people treasure knowledge,  but the babbling of a fool invites disaster. Proverbs 10:14 NLT My inclination is to look out at the "babbling fool" and point that person out...but if Proverbs is not a weapon but a mirror, then this Proverb invites me to consider 2 things about me: 1. Where and when am I the "babbling fool"? And  2. How well am I treasuring knowledge? Mmm I'm thinking I've got room to move in both these areas...notice when and where my words are getting away on me and not reflecting who I want to be in the world. And considering what I am treasuring - am I undervaluing knowledge, wisdom? What is this Proverb inviting you towards today? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep 

Romans 8:31-32 NLT What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?  Romans 8:31-32 NLT All of these wonderful things Paul has described in this chapter  shows that our God is for us. For you. God is for us. Paul asks us the question then "who can ever be against us?" And it feels like the whole world some days. Every thought, every emotion, the choices and actions of others that impact us.  God is still for us. On the days that I can't believe it, God is still for us. Paul's evidence? He points us to Jesus.  God is for us. #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere  #Godisforus #weareBeloved 

Romans 8:31 NLT [31] What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? What wonderful things is Paul talking about? That there's going to be a glorious revealing of who we really are, who we were made to be - v18-23 We are adopted into God's family - children of God - with all that goes with being His children v23 We received this hope of adoption, of belonging, when we were saved - v24-25 We have the Holy Spirit who helps us out, advocates for us, and translates our heart to God v26-27 We have a God who works our story for good, who knows us, chose us, called us, and made us right with Himself v28-30 And somehow is making us glorious! v30 "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?" Romans 8:31 NLT #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

[28] And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. Romans 8:28-30 NLT Not only is v28 connected to the Holy Spirit working in our weakness and groanings in this world, but to this whole redemptive strand that flows through these verses... Called. Known. Chosen. Becoming like Jesus. Called home. Made right with God. Given glory. We live in the "now and the not yet" where these things are true and becoming true, where our story, who we are, our day-to-day lives, are held in our God's Big Redemptive Story. We are Beloved. #letters #redemptivestr...

Psalms 28:8-9 MSG [8-9]  God is all strength for his people, ample refuge for his chosen leader; Save your people and bless your heritage. Care for them; carry them like a good shepherd. John 10:11, 14 NLT "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep." "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me..." Matthew 18:10, 12-14 NLT [10]  "Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do?  Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?  ...  In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish." As we track the redemptive strand from David, through our Heavenly Father to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, perhaps you know what it's l...

Sunday Psalms; Please listen to my prayer and my cry for help,  as I lift my hands toward your holy temple. Don't drag me away, Lord,  with those cruel people, who speak kind words, while planning trouble. Treat them as they deserve!  Punish them for their sins. They don't pay any attention to your wonderful deeds.  Now you will destroy them and leave them in ruin. Psalms 28:2-5 CEV If we have ever wanted revenge, things to be made right, justice, and have expressed it in ways that have been angry, unloving, then we are in good company - because this song of David says just what is going on for him. He wants God to fix it. To sort out those who have caused him harm. And then he ends his song with this redemptive strand, with a return to complete trust in God, to knowing that whatever he is facing, God as shepherd will hold him. May we know the closeness and love of the Shepherd today... I praise you,  Lord,  for answering my prayers. You are my strong shiel...

Romans 8:26-28 NLT [26] And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. [27] And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. [28] And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.  Romans 8:26-28 NLT I've plucked v28 out many times and while it holds truth for us on it's own, it's idea of God's purposes for us being worked out is connected to the Holy Spirit working in our weakness, pleading for us, the groanings that come from being in a world that is not how it should be. In that context v28 is an expression of God's love for us, acknowledging the reality of a world where every part of creation is experiencing the now and the not yet of the...