verseoftheday

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:1-6 NIV Familiar words that we often put ourselves in centre of...what happens if we read this song as Jesus would...try it, read it as if you were Jesus. Where would you be? What does it say about relationship, trust, faith & hope? As 2017 comes to a close, may our relationship with our Heavenly Father be strengthened, may we trust Him as Jesus did, choose to put our faith in Him regardless of our circumstances, and...

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Psalm 23:1 NIV I attended a funeral this week, and if nothing else, funerals force us to think of our own mortality. To think about what's really important. To think about what we really believe. In David's reflection he knows that he is complete, secure, free, whole, fulfilled, known...loved. There's nothing more needed. Yet this is a poem, a song, and for me reflects a partial reality in which I live...sometimes I know this in my head, but don't feel it, choose to believe even when my circumstances scream something else, wrestle with what the Shepherd is doing (or not doing). It's a song, and that partial reality will one day give way to the fullness of heaven...where we will be complete, secure, free, whole, fulfilled, known...loved. #psalms #psalm23 #hope

Friday! Proverbs! A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 NIV Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with this quote: "Comparison is the thief of joy" The 10th commandment is "do not covet". And here, the writer says envy will eat us up from the inside...it mangles up our thoughts, drives us to make poor decisions, and eventually ruins our health. So what's the antidote? The heart at peace. Where does that come from? Love. Love that says "you're so valuable, so precious to me that I died for you" Love that says it's you I love, not some version of you that society or other people might say is better...the transforming love of the Gospel. And that brings peace. The peace that allows, more than allows, strengthens us to be genuinely happy for the success of others (however that looks) and not want to grasp it for ourselves... Knowing we are dearly loved. #antidote #peace

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Psalm 23:1 NIV A shepherd operates in almost a different world to the sheep, sees things the sheep can't see, thinks about things in a way the sheep can't, looks at circumstances in a different way to the sheep... We like to think we can fathom it all, figure it all out...but if the Lord is our shepherd, then maybe there's more mystery than we know, He sees our circumstances in a different way...sees our world, us, in ways we can't fathom, loves us in ways we can't quite grasp...but shouldn't stop trying too... #somethingtochewon #mystery #psalms #psalm23

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, Matthew 2:14 NIV According to Google maps it's 860km from Bethlehem to Egypt. 10 days by foot (maybe less by donkey - but just imagine 86km per day on a donkey...in the desert...) Jesus earliest experiences were not easy pleasant fun filled days at the beach... If you're on holiday, great :) Rest, restore, recharge for the challenges ahead. And today if you're facing difficulty, hurt, loss, know that we have a saviour who walks with us through that, who's life on earth started with a difficult journey, and ended with the most difficult journey of all...to the cross, who in his humanity understands this life, and in his divinity made a way to restore it once and for all. #dearlyloved #itsajourney #inthistogether

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up", he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him". So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.. Matthew 2:13-14 NIV The first Boxing Day was not filled with leftovers and rest, but Joe & Mary getting up in the middle of the night and running for their lives! Sadly today there's still people around the world running for their lives. Closer to home there will be people we know who are lonely, hurting, in hospital...perhaps there's some time we can carve out to visit, or connect in some way with others. After all Christmas is about giving... #boxingday #lovepeople

... and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11 NIV Angels, dreams, a miraculous conception, a visit with the king, some clever GPS navigation using  the stars...what happens next? Worship. They bowed down in worhsip. We seem to get caught up in the gifts, but it's worship first. Then gifts. Mother Theresa said this: "It's Christmas every time you let God love others through you. It's Christmas every time you smile at your brother & offer him your hand" May that be our gift not just today, but for all our days... #christmas #upsidedownkingdom #loveGod #lovepeople

"...We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the peoples chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied... Matthew 2:2-5 NIV King Herod was disturbed. The whole city was disturbed. The news must've spread like a fire thru the city...and people were agitated, stirred up...on Christmas Eve something was brewing. The priests knew from their OT study this was the real deal Herod feared this was the real deal Everyone in the city was getting agitated because things were going to change... When Jesus comes, he doesn't allow us to remain the same Herod was afraid of losing power The city wanted a change in their circumstances Yet Jesus was coming not in power to bring change, but in humility, in the most humble of circumstances, to bring a heart change......

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV Christmas is about the gift, the gift of Jesus to all mankind, but without finishing well...Christmas would not really matter. If  Jesus hadn't fought for us, finished the race, seen it through, kept the faith, then where would we be? Who helps us to fight the good fight (to choose the right battle), inspires us to finish the race (to preservere to the end, to keep pushing on no matter what), and to keep the faith (to believe when it's hard, to keep our eyes on the author and perfector of our faith) When you find people who can speak into your life in those ways, journey with them, tuck in behind them when you need some shelter, and follow their example... #itsajourney #inthistogether #thanksDad

Friday! Proverbs! A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 NIV 3,000 odd years ago God's wisdom stated there's a link between our emotional and spiritual health, and our physical health. A heart at peace - how do we get that? When we know that there is an answer to the big questions of life... does my life have purpose and meaning... where did we come from... and where are we going, what's next. When we have confidence that God is who he said he is, that he entered creation because we are worth it to Him, that we are dearly loved children of God, and that relationship is the thing...and it started with Jesus miraculous birth... the first Christmas. This is the gift that gives the heart peace. Rest in it this Christmas #proverbs #wisdom #dearlyloved #childrenofGod

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end...at this time of year we look to the birth of Jesus, the miracle and mystery of new life...yet at the same time others are coming to an end...and then there's wrestling with what God's about in the in-between...sometimes we need to just embrace the mystery...the gaps...but at the same time to hang on to the truth that has been revealed... embodied in the person of Jesus - where our hope rests #christmas

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV Eternity in the human heart... we so want something to live on... It's never our business, or where we live, but it's people, relationships...love. Love matters. It cannot be just some primordial reaction in our brain that helped our ancestors survive, we know that there's something deeper and more eternal in our hearts. Love matters. So Christmas matters, as Hope was born in a stable 2000 years ago. Messiah Saviour The One who would save his people, not just to make a way, but to be the way. We give gifts in some small way to reflect the gift we've been given, the gift that today in part, and one day fully, make clear the eternity that has been placed in our hearts #lovematters #loveGod #lovepeople #itsagift #christmas

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." Matthew 2:1-2 NIV Everyone is searching for "the one", the one with the answers to the big questions of life...what is it's purpose, where did we come from, where are we going when it's all over...why are we here... These guys knew. Knew that there was something more going on here than just an earthly King of a people who were ruled by the Romans anyway...they came to literally kiss the ground at his feet... They knew he was the One with the answers, the One worthy of their worship. No matter what your story or today's circumstances, it's who we choose to seek out, who we choose to worhsip is the most important thing. As these wise men did, choose Jesus. #christmas

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave himself the name Jesus. Matthew 1:24-25 NIV Joseph's dream, the visit from the angel was enough. Enough for Joseph to change the trajectory of his life... Joe could've taken the safe way, deicded that the dream was, well, just a dream & follow his own path, but the dream was enough. Enough to take the high risk route, to take responsibility for a baby that wasn't his, enough to believe that the  baby is God's son, and is going to save the world... That belief changed Joseph's life, his choices and actions. Who we believe that baby is, does the same for us. Who we believe that baby is shapes everything... #christmas

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us"). Matthew 1:22-23NIV Not only is Jesus the God who saves, but he is God with us! No longer a God no one can see without being consumed, no longer a God who meets in the temple that must be purified, with priests as intermediaries, no longer with the power to create the universe...but born the same way we all were, a vulnerable baby, just like us, completely dependent on his parents...why on earth would God do that? Why would Jesus take that humbling, reduction? To be born in a barn. Because He loves. Us. Jesus the saviour is God with us. #christmas #itsalovestory #sunday #worship #thisisourGod

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20-21 NIV The name of Jesus... Iesous, Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew term (Yehoshua/Jehoshua, contracted to Joshua) which means "Yahweh saves" (or Yahweh is salvation) Right from the beginning his mission was not only relayed to his dad, but it was in his name. Yahweh Saves Every time we pray in that name, cry out in that name, sing that name, we can have, just like Joseph had, the confidence that God saves. He has He does He will It's his mission. It's his name. #YahwehSaves

Friday! Proverbs! A large population is a king's glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined. Proverbs 14:28 NIV For a king to rule successfully, the people need to be willing to be his subjects. We kind of have that with our Queen, but the Prince, who wants to be King, fewer people seem keen on him. We choose Presidents or Prime Ministers, and they need popular support to stay in power. And there's always princes wanting to take their place... But God's kingdom does not rely on popularity. Jesus was born in poverty, his family were refugees, he  died alone apparently power less. He didn't enter the story to get power, but to give it up! He humbled himself. And why? Because he loves. He loves the one. You. #upsidedownkingdom

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream... Matthew 1:20 NIV Joseph. All round good guy, pragmatic, thinking about others, a carpenter, practical... He'd thought about the situation, decided a course of action...and then he had a dream. An angel visited him in a dream. This word for "dream" used here is found 6 times in the NT. Joseph, the Wise Men, and Pilates wife, and they all related directly to Jesus, 5 dreams at the beginning of his life, and one at the end. God seemed to use an extraordinary means of communication for this extraordinary time... Joseph wasn't the key person in the story, yet God chose to communicate with him in an extraordinary way. Our God is interested in us, even if we feel like our contribution to his kingdom is small, that we're ordinary, sometimes he just chooses to do extraordinary things in or through us... #christmas

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:18-19 NIV If you want all the drama around this, read Like, but Matthew just gives us the succinct version... Mary. Engaged. Pregnant. God was involved. Joseph. Good bloke. Joseph here is our model for finding elegant solutions to tricky problems. He was concerned for Mary. For the person, yet wanted to follow the law...how to find a way to love the person and satisfy the law? Ironically it's the child who he eventually becomes Dad to, who with his own life loves us, and satisfies the law by dying in our place. #christmas #love #dearlyloved

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. Genesis 21:14 NIV We're at the end of Hagar's story, but the encouraging thing is that she endured some difficult circumstances, yet God was at work honouring His covenants and bringing about His purposes. We can be sure that God is at work. We may not see it, agree with Him, think He's right, but in the end we have to trust Him. The challenging thing is that Hagar still went through all of this. In the middle of it Hagar (& neither do we) know how the story ends. Do we still hold firm in our faith regardless of our circumstances? That's a challenge. Do I really want a God who'll give me what I want? Do I still trust Him? When I look at the cross, I have to say "yes". #faith #hope #love

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there..." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. Genesis 21:17, 19 NIV Was the well there the whole time but she couldn't see it? God had made a way, a way to save Hagar and it was right there. Water. Jesus said he is the living water. The water that answers our deepest questions, that addresses the thirst in our soul... And He's right there. He's made a way. He asks the question that he already knows the answer to... Hagar got water for that day that rescued her from a desperate situation...we get living water to rescue us from the desperate situation of our soul... #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #rescued #heknowsyourname

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. Genesis 21:15-16 ESV The food was long gone, and the water had run out, alone in the desert...all hope  was gone. And she cried. It's OK to cry. Hagar's circumstances were as extreme as they get (yet sadly in our world of so much wealth and plenty, not unusual. Just like Hagar & Ishamel people are forced from their homes, to see their children die because of fear, power, greed...) And she cried. Sometimes we get the impression it's not OK to cry, especially as Christians, but it is. Hagar's choicies were non existent and hope was gone. And the greater loss was of her son. Many years later another son was abandoned to die, not because of anything he had done, no...

Friday! Proverbs! The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27 NIV The snares of death...what snares us? Wealth? Fame? Power? Or is it the more subtle...comfort... Or that I talk myself up or put you down to feel better for a moment... Gossip... juicy morsels... Comparing. Jealousy. Self. -ish -orientation -salvation - if I'm good enough, obedient enough, do enough then God will bless me... The snares that eat us up, don't lead to life, but to death... But the Fountain of Life is Jesus. A fountain that freely pumps Life, available to all #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. Genesis 21:14 NIV Was Abraham paying the price for giving Sarah into the King's harem to save his own skin? Was it just Sarah being vindictive? Regretting the scheme to get a son in the first place? It certainly wasn't anything that Hagar had done, but she was paying the price. Despised. Rejected Sent outside the safety and security of her home. We too have One who paid the price for our sin. Despised. Rejected. Sent outside the gate to die a criminal's death... I've made selfish decisions just like Abraham, shown no grace or forgiveness just like Sarah, and am in need of a saviour. What a wonderful thing that  we have one :) #grace

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said...But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac. Genesis 21:1, 9-10 NIV Isaac has just been born, and Ishmael is 14 yrs old. What did he do? Probably said the baby was ugly as teenage boys are likely to do... After all God had done for them, Sarah couldn't extend a sliver of the grace that she'd been given. She reduced Hagar to a label. And as a label, it was easy to kick Hagar & Ishmael out. I've grown to love Hagar over the last couple of weeks, and was ready to rip into Sarah over this, but then I realised that I do this too...label people. And then it's so easy not to extend a sliver of the grace I've received to anyone else. I'm just like Sarah. But God does not label us. He knows your name. #dearlyloved #grace

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." Genesis 16:13-14 NIV Our neighbours had children of their own, plus an adopted daughter. This young woman didn't get the same educational opportunities as the other children, so worked in the house and the garden. Priscilla was her name. And she came and worked for us too. And one day we discovered that not only had she not had the same opportunities, but she'd never had a birthday :( Not even the simplest of celebrations. Ever. Almost invisible. There'll be people in our world who're almost invisible...people who serve in shops, the person no one greets when they come into the room, the old person...the person everyone assumes is OK - but no one asks... It's up to us to be God's hands and feet of love and if needed, even give them a birthday... #lovepeople

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. Genesis 16:13-14 NIV Why would Hagar say that to God? Because for her whole life, she'd been invisible. The servant girl. Who had no life, no aspirations, no dreams... except to do just what Sarai wants... And now for the first time, someone has seen her as an individual. As a person. She was seen. Who are the invisible in your world? The unseen. And if you feel like that, invisible, there's a place called the "well of the living One who sees me" where Hagar found out that God sees her, knows her, and loves her. #dearlyloved

The angel of the Lord found Hagar... And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai" she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her "Go back to your mistress and submit to her...I will increase your descendents...you're pregnant..." Genesis 16:7-11NIV Hagar knew where she'd come from but had no idea where she was going. But God had a plan for her. He had a future for her. Life must've seemed hopeless to Hagar. But God had a plan to make a way, to redeem what had been done. Yes I'm asking you to go back. Yes it might be hard. Oh and by the way if you didn't realise you're going to have a baby... But I'm with you in this. I'm making the same promise to you I made to Abram. You (the outcast, used, abused, & alone) are important to me. You may not know your future, but I am with you. #with #sunday #worship #thisisourGod...

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" Genesis 16:7-9 NIV Hagar is probably just a teenager, fleeing from everyone she knows, the victim of abuse, and the angel of the Lord finds her... It's never quite clear who that is, but I like to think in this case it was Jesus who found her. He looked her in the eye and gently asks "what's your story?" What's your past? And what does your future look like? Perhaps for the first time in her life, someone is interested in Hagar, someone really wants to know about her. This is what God calls us to do - to be genuinely interested in other people, to show that with open questions...to hear their story... #lovepeople

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. Proverbs 14:26 NIV A fortress doesn't mean there's no enemy. That there'll be no battles, no storms, no seiges or trouble. It does mean when those things hit we have somewhere to go... We know that nothing can separate us from God's love. Once we're in his family, we won't be kicked out. And that faith should be visible to others - in this proverb it's children, but it could as easily be our friends, flatmates etc, when they need shelter, when  they need refuge, they see in us a place to run to... #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #refuge #shelterinthestorm