verseoftheday

For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him  is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem  Israel  from all his iniquities. Psalms 130:7-8 ESV To redeem: deliver,  by any means,  ransom,  that are to be, let be redeemed,  rescue, surely By any means. The psalmist is looking forward to redemption that is to come. We get to look back. The ransom, the price, for our freedom, has been paid. Yes our iniquity, our sin, is still with us, we can't entirely shake that off, but the weight of it, we no longer have to carry.  We can step into today knowing the price, the ransom was paid. By any means. That means was the person of Jesus. The holy one The one in who there was no sin. By any means. Our heavenly Father decided that we were worth the ransom.  Was there even a decision?  He paid.  Because He Loves. Us. #psalms #psalm130 #byanymeans #dearlyloved #childrenofGod

O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. Psalms 130:7 ESV This song is a cry  From the depths From the soul And it's a personal  Journey of forgiveness And waiting  And hope Here at the end the song broadens and gets expansive and says there's room here for all. For you. No matter who you are. Redemption is plentiful. Sometimes we think God's grace is enough for others, but if God in knew my heart, my stuff, well, He'd walk away. His redemption is plentiful.  More than enough. If God only saw the real me he'd walk away. He does. And His love is steadfast. Locked in. Unchanging. This song includes the nation, all the people in the writers world.  The New Testament makes it clear that the mandate is bigger. It's all people. Our hope,  Is in the one  Who's love is steadfast And who's grace is plentiful #psalms #psalm130 #hope #hopeforall

my soul  waits for the Lord  more than  watchmen for the morning, more than  watchmen for the morning. Psalms 130:6 ESV Waiting part 2. Why does a watchman wait for the morning? What does the dawn represent? A new day perhaps, when the danger he's been on alert for is over  The sun rising, speaks of hope after the dark night perhaps. Maybe he gets to go home. And someone else gets to stand guard, someone else keeps him safe, and he gets to truly rest. What is it that our soul longs for like that? For the psalmist it's the Lord  Yahweh He's the only one that can hold the weight of our longing, truly meet those deepest needs.  In Him, we get to truly go home  To find rest To be safe #psalms #psalm130 #goinghome #hope

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,  and in his word  I hope; Psalms 130:5 ESV This song, starts with crying out to God from the depths of who the psalmist is. Then there's the recognition of his own sin, and knowing God's forgiveness. And now waiting. Waiting. I wait  My soul, the essence of who I am, my thoughts, my feelings, me. I wait. Waiting on God. How can I be OK with waiting? Our world says you don't have to wait for anything or anyone.  The clue here is that the psalmist trusts the One who he is waiting for.  I wait for the Lord. In his word I have hope. Waiting tests our faith. Waiting tests our trust. Do I trust God. Do I trust God even when I don't hear, when I don't get, when I wait. If my God is small enough to do what I want, when I want, then He's not worth worshipping.  I know that my heart cannot be (fully) trusted, but God can. I dislike waiting because I see that waiting is all about me, my kingdom come. Waiting does not come easily for...

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,  Lord,  who could stand? But  with you  there is  forgiveness... Psalms 130:3-4 NIV These songs that David has written are so personal, a glimpse into the heart of someone aware of his own sin. And yet he knows: If God measured any of us with our own goodness we would all come up short, not even close to being holy enough for a holy God. And he knows that our God keeps no record.  It's like He doesn't even know. And David knows forgiveness.  And this is before Jesus. Before the cross. We can drop the weight. We can "not see" the stain. We can not worry about not being holy, sufficient, enough, because we have One who is. Holy Sufficient Enough And His death made us Holy  Sufficient Enough There is no record of my sin, because it's on Jesus record.  Forgiven. He alone is worthy of our worship. #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #psalms #psalm130 #loveisHisdna

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord,  hear my voice.  Psalms 130:1-2 NIV Hear my voice. Do I really matter? Does my voice matter? If my words Are going out To an impersonal Universe Devoid  Of meaning If there is  No Ultimate  Light Does my voice matter? There is Light And He  has revealed  Who He is A loving father running towards a returning rebel A gentle rabbi blessing children A shepherd seeking the one lost in the dark A compassionate forgiver who shows the way forward when there seemed to be none. A washer of feet. A perfect Yet suffering Saviour Yes  To Him your  voice  matters #psalms #psalm130 #thisisourGod #yesyourvoicematters

Friday! Proverbs! A false witness will not go unpunished,  and he who breathes out lies will perish. Proverbs 19:9 ESV Breathing is something we (usually) do without any concious thought, it's like automatic. There is one who constantly breathes out lies, and he is the enemy, the father of lies. And one day, we will no longer be concerned with his constant stream of fake news. But for now we do. And some days I have to fight not to be like him, and breathe out lies that make me look better, that hide secrets, that obscure truth I don't want to face, that justify my behaviour or choices...I am at times my own fake news generator that I happily believe... I need God's Word to challenge my thinking, chip away at the bits of my heart that are, well, rotten is probs the only word that fits. Lord, help me today to walk in the light, the light that you shine into the dark places of my heart. May I live in,  and breathe out,  your Truth  today.  Amen. #proverbs #wisdom ...

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord ;  Psalms 130:1 NIV Our world doesn't want us to go there.  To the depths. To the deep. It doesn't want to hear you.  Even church can feel like that sometimes. Put on your happy face. Don't bring anything from the depths. But the psalmist doesn't care about putting on a mask, he's keeping it real with God (& with us) And in that, allows us to do the same.  To visit the depths. To go to the core of who we are. And from there cry out. To. To the Eternal. There's days when I wish God would just do what I want. But when I visit the depths, that would be a god who's too small to cry out to, a god of my own making. If I could fully understand Him, why would I need Him? God would be smaller than me. At the depths I cry to the Eternal, to the Mystery, to Yahweh. And yet He has revealed himself in a way we can (at least partially) grasp.  God made flesh. Jesus too cried out to the Father from the depths. It's OK  Our God c...

And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. Mark 7:24 ESV I wonder some days if someone came to my house how well would Jesus be hidden. If someone met me, asked me about my life, how well would Jesus be hidden. How long would they have to probe before they found Jesus. And if they did discover Jesus there, would they be surprised? Why do I keep Jesus hidden? Is it so I don't have to do things that take me out of my comfort zone? Is it because I just don't live or respond in ways that are consistent with my faith in Him? I don't have to rewind the tape of my life very far to see where I've kept Jesus hidden, where I could've done or said something differently. What would today look like if I just didn't hide Jesus? If my place, my life, was a place, a life where "yet he could not be hidden". #somethingtochewon #Godsgym #gospelofmark

And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know... Mark 7:24 ESV This very human Jesus who just needed some space, who needed to get away from the crowds and the noise. This human Jesus who wept at his friend's grave. This human Jesus who got angry and over turned tables in the temple. This human Jesus who sweat drops of blood, was humiliated, beaten, stripped, spat upon, disregarded, discarded, despised, rejected. This happened to Jesus the person.  He knows. He knows. He knows the physical impact of abuse, and the mental and emotional impact of hurt and loss and rejection. He suffered for us. The human Jesus. And somehow he suffers with us. But never without hope! Yes there's the cross. And there's the resurrection. Both. And we get glimpses of that resurrection in our own lives and in the lives of others, glimpses of the Living Hope that is Jesus #gospelofmark

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. Mark 7:24 ESV This doesn't sound very God like.  Did Jesus not want the pressure, the drama...did he just want some downtime?  Was he just tired? Maybe he just wanted to be treated like a normal person... Just for a day. Just for a couple of hours. This is a glimpse of the human Jesus. And in this little glimpse we get the OK to feel tired, overwhelmed by our circumstances, what's going on. When it all feels a bit much. Jesus knows. He's just like us. It's OK to not be OK. It's OK to be human. #gospelofmark

O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever. Psalms 131:3 NASB Here's the end of David's song, he's the king, and who does he point to? We've all got a little bit of power and authority somewhere, maybe you have a lot, just like David. Where do you point people to? Israel was called to represent God to them world. And David, the king, reminds them again, and reminds himself again, just where their hope really lies.  Hope in the Lord. Today. Right now. With what's pressing in on you. Hope in the Lord going forward.  Jacob in Gen 32 was given this name Israel after seeing "the face of God" yet surviving it.  God had something for him to do. A future. From this time forth. He has something for you to do. Step into that. And forever. We have this forever hope of restoration of the broken, of unhurt, of renewal. This hope is not in the power structures of this world, but in the now and coming, upsidedown kingdom of Jesus. Our Living Hope. #psalm...

But I have calmed  and quieted  my soul,  like a weaned child  with its mother;  like a weaned child  is my soul within me. Psalms 131:2 ESV What's the picture here? A child with it's Mum, (a perfect mum) The child: quiet content not hungry not looking for what mum can provide sitting with close communing without speaking knowing knowing you are loved known touched acknowledged The mum: sees hears the child's breathing touches thinks about dreams about its future hopes for longs for is fiercely protective of loves My soul, the real inner me seen known longed for hoped for loved by the Living God #psalms #psalm131 #songs #wordpictures

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever gets sense  loves his own soul;  he who  keeps understanding will discover good. Proverbs 19:8 ESV This is a bit odd. Who "gets sense"? The words here mean to get or to acquire. What is it we are to get or acquire? The "leb", the inner you, the heart, mind, will. It's like he is saying get hold of the real you, discover what's at the heart of who you are, and discover the good there.  Love that person. And I get the sense that's the person God wants to know and commune with. When we've dropped the face we show the world, drop the baggage we often carry, there's an image bearer of the Creator there at the centre of who we are, there is goodness at the centre of who we are, there is a person who God misses, longs for and loves, and wants to connect with.  #somethingtochewon

O Lord,  my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;  Nor do I involve myself in great matters,  Or in things too difficult for me. Psalms 131:1 NASB In our age of self promotion and making ourselves look bigger, better, more successful, this song, this private reflection between David and his God, starts with humility. Who's eyes are haughty? Someone who looks down on others, who thinks they've "made it". David says I'm not that person.  My heart is not proud.  Because he is talking to Yahweh! To God. There's things that we do and achieve that we should rightly be proud of, but when we stand before God, well, our perspective certainly shifts.  And this is what leads to the stillness in David's soul that's in V2. That stillness of the soul that our world and our hearts crave for, David found that by humbly meeting with God. There's some stuff about God that's hard to understand, but we can step into today confident in the things that are clear:...

But I have calmed and quieted my soul... Psalms 131:2 ESV Our world can be full of noise, activity, expectations, drama, pressure. We have apps that clamour for our attention, incessant marketing telling us what we need, what will change our lives, and we have the constant chirping of our own hearts about what isn't right, what's not satisfying...and sometimes this nagging doubt that I'm not good enough, not something enough, and surely I need to do or be something to be important in the eyes of others, and of God. And in the midst of that The psalmist gives us these words: I have  calmed and quieted my  soul This short song starts with speaking to God, and ends with hope in God, and in the heart of that is a deliberate quieting of the soul. What does that look like for you today? How can you and I quiet and calm our souls today? Orient towards God Speak to Him Hope in Him #psalms #psalm131 #calmyourfarm

He replied,  "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:  'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" Mark 7:6 NIV Jesus doesn't get grumpy about much, but he certainly does here. Hypocrites who teach about God but for their own gain, make their own rules more important. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29 which is all about God's judgement, and Jesus is not being subtle at all...he's saying "I'm judging you now on this because I am God" Jesus is really grumpy at them. For me, the words "honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me" jumps off the page.  Jesus was after their hearts then, and He's after our hearts today...the whole story of the Bible is about that. What's the opposite of a heart far from God? One that is close. Our heavenly Father's arms are open wide to welcome us close, to hold us close, to walk with Him. Arms of acceptance Arms of fo...

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. Mark 7:1-2 NIV Rules are important. Just imagine driving without any rules... Put a bunch of children together and they'll create a game with rules. We like rules These guys loved the rules so much they kept making more, and the keeping of the rules became more important than anything.  And they missed Jesus. Wash your hands so that you are clean enough, worthy enough, good enough for God. And He is right there. I can't wash my hands enough, do enough, be good enough, but Jesus is right here. He is enough. And it's by grace that I am clean. Purified. That once and for all sacrifice of the Holy One is enough. So now I try to follow God's rules, but not to make me right with Him, but because I'm right with Him. Jesus is right here.  His scars tell the story of what he did to make ...

The guards replied,  "Never [at any time] has a man talked the way this Man talks!" John 7:46 AMP Never. There's never been anyone who talks like Jesus. Never.  Not before  Not since  His are the words of life because He is the Word of Life. In Him is Life Life that is Love Love for the whole of humanity And love that is so personal that it reaches from heaven directly to your heart.  Never before. When he said "it is finished" I believe him. What he did on the cross was enough. Enough to cover, no not cover, absorb my sin.  Never before. He is God in a body. Shrunk and humbled and living as a servant.  Washing feet.  Forgiving with a word. Healing with a touch. And one day He is coming again to restore all that is hurt and broken in this world, and in me, and in you. Unbroken. Today as the guards did, listen for His voice, his words of love, forgiveness, hope and restoration... #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #hope #onedayallwillbemadenew

All the brothers of a poor man  hate him; How much more do his friends  abandon him!  He pursues them with words,  but  they are gone. Proverbs 19:7 NASB Can you see glimpses of Jesus? Abandoned by his friends. Rejected by his family. Hated by so many that they had him crucified. He pursued his Father with words...why have you forsaken me? Forsaken, so we are not Abandoned, so we will not be Rejected, so that we never will be. Hated. So that we can forever dwell in God's love. Resurrected. And we live with glimpses of ressurection and the hope of the fullness that is to come. Jesus became the poor man. For us. He stooped down, bent low, chose, to become poor for us, to become a servant...& he calls us to follow him... #upsidedownkingdom #followJesus

Friday! Proverbs! All the brothers of a poor man  hate him; How much more do his friends  abandon him!  He pursues them with words,  but  they are gone. Proverbs 19:7 NASB What are the words that you're hearing? Can you help me? Would it be OK if...? Why...? "Poor" here means poor, or to be in want. Someone I know needs something, has the courage to make their need known, and I'm walking away... The powerless The marginalised The lost The lonely Those who don't fit in with me, and I'm walking away. All his brothers hate him, turn against him.  Why does his family abandon him?  The only info we have is his status.  Just because proverbs says this is a reflection of our hearts (mine anyway) doesn't mean we have to accept it, we need to flip this. Listen to the words of others (even if it's uncomfortable to hear their story) Walk with rather than walk away, (even if we have to change our direction) Accept (not abandon) #proverbs #somethingtochewon #i...

The Lord  is my strength  and my song;  he  has become  my salvation. Psalms 118:14 ESV Where was his salvation before? My own strength. I can do this, if I am good enough, do enough, then God will love me, bless me... My own song. It's all about my story, how I see the world. We do have a story and it is important, who you are matters, and you do have strengths and gifts and talents...as image bearers of the creator, given to shape the world, to relate to God and people not to save ourselves, but to point ourselves and others to Him His love is not conditional on my performance. We've been adopted by a love that does not waver or weaken, that is not dependent on us. And as we sit in that, live in that, the Lord, Yahweh, is our salvation, and becomes our salvation. His strength saves His song becomes mine His heart for this world and it's people becomes mine... Or something like that :) Rest today in the truth that He is your salvation. #faith #hope #love #psalm...

Oh give thanks to the Lord,  for he is good;  for his steadfast love endures forever!  ... I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,  but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song;  he has become  my salvation. Psalms 118:1, 13-14 ESV Ever been pushed over?  Where is the other person?  They are close. This is not about some far away enemy, but someone up close, personal. And they've really knocked  you off balance. People hurt one another, and those closest to me are probably the ones I've hurt the most. The psalmist knew what its like to be pushed over. But the Lord helped me. How? How does becoming my song help? I think that "my song" is the words and the story that is playing inside of me when even those close are pushing me over. The Lord is good. His love does endure He is for me I am OK I am accepted I am loved by the creator of the universe. Because of the cross I h...

After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.  They brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was.  Wherever he went - in villages, cities, or the countryside - they brought the sick out to the marketplaces.  They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. Mark 6:53-56 NLT After a second night without sleep the disciples must've been really tired...and then the story stretches and you can imagine the flurry of activity in a village when people hear that Jesus is there and they bring their sick friends, relatives, and all are healed. Imagine the joy, and the hope. A glimpse of heaven. Yet all of those people who were healed, later died. It was just a glimpse of heaven. Do you see glimpses? We had a baptism on Sunday and the person shared a testimony of moving from despa...

Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good!  His faithful love  endures forever.  ... It is better  to take refuge  in the Lord  than to trust in people.  It is better  to take refuge  In the Lord  than to trust in princes. Psalms 118:1, 8-9 NLT People People in power Sometimes they're simply not trustworthy, not worthy of your trust.  And sometimes people are, we are, I am, a fallible, fallen, imperfect person... This song is about choosing better. Choosing God as our place of refuge. His Word His Spirit His person, the true prince, Jesus, He is our refuge, it's his body that takes the attacks of the enemy, it's his grace that absorbs our sin, his love that guides us in what is right, his light that leads us home. Choose Jesus as your place of refuge. He is not fallible Not fallen Not imperfect He is the place, the person, to run to. #better #choosebetter #psalms #psalm118 #refuge

Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:51-52 NIV The disciples were there with 10,000 people, 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, everyone ate, everyone was filled, and each collected a basket of leftovers. It must've been miraculous. And they were in the middle of it. Just 9 hours earlier. And they didn't get it. I wonder what they didn't get that required Jesus to send them into the storm, to be under real pressure, to scare them witless, to calm the sea... They must've misinterpreted what they'd witnessed, what they'd been a part of. Was it that they were sent away, away from the response of the crowd? Because they were wanting to be connected to power. An overthrow of the external structures of Rome... They missed that Jesus is who he said he is, the Messiah, he does have authority and power, but his kingdom is of the heart. Heart...

Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified... Mark 6:48-50 NIV Richard sent this thought earlier in the week about the storm the disciples were in, & Jesus intending to walk on by: "Maybe Jesus was never going to intervene without the disciples first asking him. Maybe we can assume at times that Jesus will just make it all better but he's waiting for the invitation into our difficult situation." Learn something in the storm? Cry out to him for help? How do you know which is right? Maybe it's both.  Both live in and through the storm even when you think you're at the end of your resources and capability, AND cry out to Jesus, not in fear as the disciples did, but in faith.  Both are actions of faith  The disciples didn't expect Jesus to be close by. They thought he was far away, ...

Friday! Proverbs! Many will seek the favor of a generous and noble man, And everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts. Proverbs 19:6 AMP The rich and famous! The powerful. We're attracted to them. The person who gives gifts, seems generous. "Seek the favour" literally means to be weak or sick for...we make ourselves weak or sick for those we see as influential and powerful...and today we follow people on Instagram with the hope something will rub off, we flock to celebrity chefs, business gurus, sports players, even pastors. Yet the one we follow, Jesus, left the limelight to wash feet  Walked away from the crowds to pray alone Told those he healed to keep quiet Launched his kingdom in a poor persecuted country and died a humiliating death at the hands of the rich and famous. Where our hearts may sometimes want to take us, is not the way of Jesus kingdom. The poor, the lost, the hurt, the marginalised, the vulnerable, the weak are who we are called to make our hearts we...

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever. .... The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. Psalms 118:1,7 NKJV Quite a few versions interpret verse 7 as looking in triumph over those who hate me, the enemy...but this seems to be the literal interpretation of that verse. My desire. Could it be that my "desire", what I want for my enemy can change? The psalmist had never heard the gospel of Jesus - does that change anything? In the light of "the Lord is good, his mercy endures forever", maybe that changes things. And who is my enemy? Yes sometimes it is an actual army, an institution, a person (esp someone with power, or who had power over us before). Sometimes it's the culture around us. What it says is OK. And sometimes the enemy is within. My own thinking, what I read into others words or actions... Today Lord, may my heart rest in your love that endur...

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  ... The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalms 118:1, 6 NIV Well, people can do a lot of damage, a lot that can (rightly) make us afraid. However. The psalmist only had the law, God's work in history to reflect on, and his personal experience. So what can't people do? Change God's character Shift God's redemptive pans Destroy God's covenant promises. Defeat God's justice. We get the advantage of looking back on the New Testament too. No one can separate us from God's love. We are chosen and adopted into God's family with an inheritance sealed by the Holy Spirit. No one can change that. We have the Bread of Life, the Living Water, treasure being stored in heaven untouchable by people. Yes this world & the poeole in it can hurt. But they cannot steal our joy and the Living Hope that we have. Step into today secure in that....

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever. ... I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. Psalms 118:1,5 NKJV I called on the Lord. In my distress. Implied in my prayer was my trust in God, that He is good, that his love, compassion, kindness and mercy towards me are beyond my ability to measure. But I didn't say it out loud. So this morning that's where my prayer starts. "Father in heaven, You are good. I know that you love me, and I know that you love the people I care about. This is what's going on right now..." That changes things. And that broad place, that open field, I get a wee glimpse of. And. The psalmist was in distress. Trouble. Literally a tight place. It's OK for us to feel like that too. Thanks God. You are good. You love beyond measure. Right now I'm going to walk in that truth no matter what. Amen. #sobeit #psalms #psalm118 #lovedbe...