verseoftheday

Romans 10:8-13 NLT ...And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:  If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord  and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,  you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:8-13 NLT Shame, guilt, doubt, have I done enough, am I good enough, if God knew what I am really like there's no way I'm good enough... Paul continues in his letter writing to the church in Rome sharing his love for Jewish people and wanting them to be able to step around the rock of their own "self salvation project" (as Tim Keller describes it). ...

Romans 9:32-33 NLT ...Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him.  They stumbled over the great rock in their path. ... "But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." Romans 9:32-33 NLT Never be disgraced, (the word here is "kataischuno" which means) disgraced, humiliated, shamed. Disgraced. Humiliated. Shamed. Perhaps of all the things we fear, these are the things we fear most.  We know what shame is, and there's no way we can stand before God in shame, so we have to do more, obey more, be more right, more righteous... But Paul says here that is the great rock in the path that we tumble over, that trips us up. Paul invites us back to righteousness by faith, by trusting in God, by allowing us to be fully human, and Beloved.  We get to put the shame, the fear of shame, the fear of disgrace, the fear of not being enough, the fear of rejection by our God down, because in Jesus we are fully accepted and ...

Sunday Psalms: Psalms 35:7-8, 12, 15 CSB [7] They hid their net for me without cause;  they dug a pit for me without cause.  [8] Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,  and let the net that he hid ensnare him;  let him fall into it - to his ruin. ... [12] They repay me evil for good,  making me desolate. ... [15] But when I stumbled,  they gathered in glee; they gathered against me.  Assailants I did not know tore at me and did not stop. Psalms 35:7-8, 12, 15 CSB This is a song of David's, a sing asking, pleading, directing God to intervene, even how to do it! This is David, and the Bible, keeping it real. He is expressing his heart directly to God. David isn't doing it for commentary or for approval, but because this is what is going on for him. And that's the invitation for us - to express to God what is going on for us, unfiltered.  Perhaps you can understand exactly where David is coming from, it's OK to be unfiltered with our God. (Maybe David's ...

The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value. Proverbs 10:20 CSB Can we see Jesus in this Proverb? He jumps out as the righteous one who's words are the purest of pure silver. And he flips the script on the second part, because he sees the value in me, in us, in humanity. He values our hearts above anything it seems...when we look for Jesus in this Proverb it's the redemptive strand that emerges...Jesus words of the purest of pure silver were not some academic exercise, it is all part of the way-making that Jesus did for us, wanting (re)connection... Because we are beloved. In those moments when our words hold silver, and when our hearts seem of little value, we are in fact, beloved... #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #speaklife  #rememberweareBeloved 

Friday! Proverbs! The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value. Proverbs 10:20 CSB Here's one of those slightly mis-matched Proverbs - why does the writer compare the tongue of the righteous with the heart of the wicked? Perhaps it's just to slow us down a wee bit... To consider where our words come from (from the heart, the "leb", the centre of our being, our mind, will). If Proverbs is not a weapon to use on others but an invitation to consider my own "leb", my own heart, this Proverb seems to be asking me to consider where my heart and words don't align...i wonder how often my words are "pure silver" but my heart is not "pure silver"? "Jesus, shape my heart so that it aligns more with you, and so that more and more of my words might be silver, of greater value to me and to others, because they are coming from a heart that is being purified by You. Amen." #proverbs #wisdom #somethi...

Mark 11:12-14 NLT [12] The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. [13] He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. [14] Then Jesus said to the tree, "May no one ever eat your fruit again!" And the disciples heard him say it. Mark 11:12-14 NLT This little narrative of Mark's about the fig tree just seems strange. How come Jesus wasn't treated hospitably in Bethany and given breakfast? What had the tree done that was so bad? Why did he speak so loudly that all the disciples heard it? Strange. Until we zoom out in the story. Read where Jesus had been the day before, and what happened the next day and it starts to make sense that Jesus was using this tree as a metaphor for something else... It's a teaching tool, something he wants his team to remember going forward, everytime they see a fig tree they'll be re...

Psalms 34 MSG I bless God every chance I get;  my lungs expand with his praise.  I live and breathe God;  if things aren't going well,  hear this and be happy:  ... God met me more than halfway,  he freed me from my anxious fears.  Look at him;  give him your warmest smile.  Never hide your feelings from him.  When I was desperate,  I called out,  and God got me out of a tight spot.  God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste,  open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.  Worship God if you want the best;  worship opens doors to all his goodness.  ... Come,  children,  listen closely;  I'll give you a lesson in God worship.  Who out there has a lust for life?  Can't wait each day to come upon beauty? Guard your tongue from profanity, and no more lying through your teeth. Turn your back on sin; do so...