verseoftheday

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.  When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him... Mark 8:23 NIV When he had spit on the man's eyes! What is with that? Maybe he's back in Numbers 12 where spitting in someone's face sent you outside the camp for 7 days in shame. And here was Jesus outside the village, redeeming that by using his spit to heal. Maybe he's thinking if Isaiah 50 where the suffering one is spat upon and he takes that, absorbs it, because God is with him and he won't be disgraced. Looking forward to Jesus being spat upon as he is taking away the sins of the world. Maybe it's a mini version of shedding his blood to bring healing for all, that he spits on the man's eyes to bring healing. There is no shame that he cannot redeem, nothing so broken that he cannot heal, he is outside the camp making all things new. And in the process it's personal. You can't spit in someone's eyes from a dis...

Friday! Proverbs! Houses and wealth  are inherited from parents,  but a prudent wife  is from the Lord . Proverbs 19:14 NIV Sometimes we need some better English words! This Hebrew word translated as "prudent" carries these meanings: consider expert instruct prosper deal prudently give skillful have good success teach So a "wise, teacher who's sharp" may be a better description. And even the word for "wife" here is first used in Genesis to differentiate the woman from the man. So. The meaning of this becomes a bit clearer in a society where woman were treated as chattels, as less than men, where they could be used and discarded or replaced, this proverb is saying people and stuff are not the same. Women are not to be used, discarded, replaced.  They're sharp, wise, & can teach you. #metoo is not a modern thing, but it's here in this ancient proverb. The message here from God is that your girls and your women are important. Way more importan...

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Mark 8:23 NLT I wonder how far they walked? What did they talk about? And can you sense the compassion...Jesus could've said to the man's friends or family to just bring him along, but he didn't.  He could've healed him right there, but he didn't. Jesus reached out, Jesus stepped towards him & took him by the hand. Jesus reached out to him and met him in his infirmity. Took him by the hand and they walked out of town together. I wonder if he was thinking of the blind man, and just how dramatic it was going to be to be able to see, that he was taking him somewhere quieter, more private, where he could process his new sight slowly. Privately. And maybe he was sending a message to those watching...this is how you meet people where they are at and walk with them. Maybe it was something to do with the marginalised being kept outside the camp, and he was going with the man back outside the camp. Jesu...

Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. Mark 8:22-23 AMP No mucking around with Mark, he's straight into the next story.  Feed 4,000. Done. Next town, blind guy. I wonder who the "they" are who brought this blind person to Jesus? Being blind probably meant he had to live outside of normal society, dependent on others for support. Living on the margins. Yet "they" saw him. "They" wanted to help. "They" were on his team. Maybe someone checked in on him every day or so, made sure he had water, food, maybe someone had him stay in their house... And he had to choose to trust his team.  Trust them to lead him to Jesus. His team had not given up hope for him, and walked with him to find Jesus. Sometimes we're like the blind guy, we literally cannot see the way forward, the present and the future is dark. And we need to trust others to walk us towards Jesus. When we have lost hope, to...

Then I thought... "...I will remember the deeds of the Lord;  yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? Psalms 77:10-13 NIV In the middle of this song in the of the Bible is this pivot. Asaph is in despair.  He cannot see a way out. He's stuck. And then he changes his thinking! He deliberately turns his mind away from his own situation, his despair and discouragement and chooses in that to think about who God is. And in that choosing things shift inside. God is who He says He is. He has worked in my life in the past.  No matter what it feels like I am not abandoned, forsaken, lost. My situation doesn't change, but I do. Just a small nudge at the core, that (re)orients me back to God, gets me looking outward a little more. This Psalm doesn't end where everything is resolved or fixed, but does give us a gift that maybe you or someone you ...

The people ate and were satisfied.  Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. Mark 8:8-9 NIV Leftovers. The feeding of the 5000 there were leftovers. Here there were leftovers. A little later in the chapter Jesus expects the disciples to see a lesson in the numbers of the leftovers. Today the lesson for me in the leftovers is this: I want to wait til I've created something, a surplus, a result, and give that to God.  To give Him the leftovers. The fruit. He's been nudging "give me what you have, no matter how small it seems, and I'll use it, I'll work the miracle, and make the leftovers." But. I'm too small. I'm incomplete I'm not good enough I'm damaged I'm bruised I'll have something better to offer later. Jesus says I see you,  I know you I love you Just bring what you have. My kingdom is the upsidedown kingdom, where the small is valued, the hurt are lo...

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven", they replied.   ....The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Mark 8:4-5, 8 NIV Love is patient.  Love is not easily angered. Love is kind. These words are easy to say, but Jesus lives them out in real life. I'd be sarcastic, impatient, roll my eyes...here we go again... Jesus patiently asks the question "how many loves do you have?" Feeding 4,000 people is way too big a problem to solve. I go looking for the big answer, the big miracle, Jesus patiently asks "what do you have?" Let's start there. And we'll feed people one by one. How many loaves do you have? What do you and I have that speaks into whatever is in front of us? Maybe it seems small.  Too small to make a dent. How can my giving make a difference? How can my prayers change anything? All I can do is listen, visit, include, invite, ask, feed,...

A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping. Proverbs 19:13 NASB What does a wise son do then? The antonyms for destruction are; Creation Building Reparation Construction Restoration Those words point us directly to one person. Jesus was the agent of creation. It was Jesus who made the reparation, paid for, made amends for, my sin. It's Jesus who is all about building up and construction of his kingdom, the Kingdom of the heart  And it's Jesus who is all about restoration. Restoration of the lost. Restoration of what has been lost, broken, hurt. He calls each of us in some small way to be the same. Creators Builders Givers Restorers To be part of our Heavenly Father's restoration project as his children. #dearlyloved #childrenofGod #lovelikeJesus #seetheperson #create #build #give #restore

Friday! Proverbs! A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping. Proverbs 19:13 NASB The second part of this proverb is often used in disparaging ways regarding wives, but is it? If someone repeats to you the same thing is a problem and you do nothing, maybe your hard heart is really the issue. Where is your love response? A constant dripping implies water is dripping somewhere and may well be an indicator of a bigger problem. That is simply being ignored. And what of the first part? If as parents we are ruined by the choices our children make, maybe we're putting them in the place of God.  What's ruined? My reputation.  The family reputation. What makes our reputation, our name, more important than the person? We lose sight of the child trying to protect our reputation.  Jesus was always about the person.  If he cared about reputation, he would not have been born in a stable, or been born at all. Jesus was always a...

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled  that I cannot speak. Psalms 77:4 ESV Imagine singing this song in church! I can't sleep at night I'm so overwhelmed I can't even speak,  I have no words. Sometimes we're asked to check our week in at the door and leave our troubles "out there" somewhere, but this song, these words from the middle of our Bible tell us to bring our most difficult, most heart rending things, the things that disturb our sleep, the things that seem too big, and bring them with us into church, into community, into His light. Jesus always meets us where we are.  He doesn't say "come back when you're smiling", or command us to look happy, He welcomes with open arms. Always. The song writer here was not OK.  It's OK for us not to be OK. That this song is in the Bible tells us that our God understands the difficult times, and that there is hope. Our hope is not in our circumstances or things but in a person. The person wh...

Will the Lord reject forever?  And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?  Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?  Selah. Psalms 77:7-9 NASB Ever felt like this? 6 questions 3 pairs of questions 3 key words Rejected Unloved  Forgotten Imagine singing this song in church...yet some days it is how we feel, and how we see God. And if it's OK for the psalmist to feel that way, and OK for God to have it published, then it's OK for us to wrestle with these deep questions. And yet at the same time he recognises God's character: Lovingkindness Grace Compassion It feels sometimes that we are alone. Jesus echoed these questions with his cry to God "why have you forsaken me" In that moment he truly was rejected, unloved, forgotten, so that, we never will be! And resurrection happened. Nothing can separate us from God's love, along the way there are glimpses o...

I cried out  to God  for help;  I cried out  to God  to hear me. Psalms 77:1 NIV The writer of this Psalm is in a tough place.  This word for crying out was used to describe Abel's blood cried out from the land to God after his brother had killed him (Gen 4:10) The people cried out to Pharaoh to let them go from slavery (Exo 5:8) He's crying out to God, from the deep part of who he is. Crying to God. For help. He really needs help. And then, it's to be heard. Have you ever been with someone who really listens? How did that feel? Known, important, loved.  Here the psalmist shows he is just the same as me. He's at the end of his resources and  cries for help And cries to be heard. And he gives us permission to do the same ...cry out to God. It's OK. It's OK to be in that place sometimes, and to want to be heard.  And if we all have this need to be heard, then I can become a better listener.  #bealistener #psalms #psalm77

And his disciples answered him,  "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And he asked them,  "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." Mark 8:4-5 ESV Just two chapters earlier this same team had been part of the miraculous feeding of 10,000+ people. In between they'd seen Jesus healing people and here we are with another massive crowd of 4,000. In a desolate place. Hungry. Wouldn't your question be something like "Jesus, we're in the same boat (haha) as last week/month with this crowd. We were there when you miraculously fed them then.  Can you just do that again?" Did they just forget? It's Monday...have I forgotten the joy of worshipping together yesterday? Have I forgotten already the grace by which I've been saved? Have I forgotten already the love that brought Jesus into our world and that compels me to love others? The disciples question was "how can I fix this?" How can...

Beloved... Jude 1:3 ESV "Agapetos" Jude is greeting his readers as dearly loved, and more. Divinely loved. In this one word he tells  his readers that he loves them, and, they are divinely loved.  This is the word God used when Jesus was being baptised, my beloved son. This word carries the weight of the universe, and it's directed today towards us. Me. And you. You are beloved. And it's a status. A marker of our identity. It's who we are. Beloved. Divinely loved. To be loved is to be seen. To be known To be accepted To belong Beloved. This word echoes down the centuries from Jude's pen, and it speaks from the heart of God to you this morning. Beloved. We can put down the heavy bags we're carrying. There's nothing to prove or to be done to be beloved.  You're there.  And it's who you are. Beloved. It's God's heart for you, and your place. Rest in that today, breathe that in today, worship in response to that today. Beloved. #dearlyloved...

At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said,  "This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat..." Mark 8:1-3 MSG If there's one thing we consistently learn about Jesus is that his heart is for people. We've just had 2 healings of individuals and now this massive group that are his concern. And yes he's been teaching them, but his heart is aching for them because they're hungry. For food. Ordinary food. And Jesus calls his team together and reminds them that there are hungry people here. We don't know if they didn't notice, or were too busy, maybe they had noticed, but Jesus pulls them together anyway. "My heart aches for these people. Here's what I see" I wonder, if Jesus turned up at my church, and said "my heart aches for these people, here's what I see" who would he be looking at? Who w...

Friday! Proverbs! A king's wrath  is like  the growling of a lion,  but  his favor  is like  dew on the grass. Proverbs 19:12 ESV This is written by a king, so an interesting viewpoint.  If I insert "the powerful" into this in place of the king, it does reflect how I operate in the world. The CEO's favour is good, but that person has the power to end my job. Who are the powerful in your world? It can feel like they have power over our life, just like getting up close to a lion. But when we peel this back to The King, yes He has that power, but constrains it. Humbled himself. Walked among us. To be the dew on the grass, the refreshment in the morning, the bringing of life to a parched land. By faith we are adopted into His family and come under His favour. Let the morning dew of His love settle on our hearts as we step into this Friday. #proverbs #wisdom #dearlyloved #childoftheKing

May  mercy,  peace,  and love  be multiplied to you. Jude 1:2 ESV Peace. "Eirene" (i-ray-nay) "To join, to tie together into a whole, wholeness." Peace that comes from wholeness, when there's nothing missing. When we don't feel at peace we are not "whole", something is missing. Jude's blessing to his readers is that this sense of wholeness, of peace would be yours...and multiplied, to increase to maximum capacity. The mercy of the covenant loyalty of God The peace of wholeness The agape love, the love that is big enough to absorb our sin, that is not afraid of our pain, love that is strong enough to bend down, to become small, to wait, to walk alongside... May that mercy, that peace, that love, be maxed out in you today. Now that's a greeting and a blessing: who needs to hear that from you today? #mercy #peace #love #dearlyloved #greetings #maxedout

May  mercy,  peace,  and love  be multiplied to you. Jude 1:2 ESV What a greeting! Mercy. This is expressed in the covenant loyalty of God. God stepping towards us, making a way,  becoming smaller, slowing down, restricting himself, becoming a baby, vulnerable, one of us. Mercy that says I'm not giving up, but stepping in. Standing with you. Joining you. Mercy that says I'll bear what you cannot  Mercy that says I'll be crushed so that you don't have to be. Mercy come alive in the person of Jesus, the covenant promises of God in a person. May that mercy be ours today. Be yours today. And may you and I in some small way choose to be Mercy in the life of someone else.  How could we do that today? #mercy #dearlyloved #greetings #maymercybemultipliedtoyou

I, Jude,  am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James,  writing to those  loved by God the Father, called  and  kept safe by Jesus Christ. Jude 1:1 Msg Loved Called Kept safe This is who Jude is writing to, and this is our position. Loved. Agape. Aroha nui. Dearly loved. Sometimes that's easy to believe, sometimes it may not be. Right now you might not feel loved. Jude says you are. If today's circumstances were all we had, maybe we'd be wondering. The cross tells me something else. The cross tells me the lengths our heavenly father went to in love. Called. Invited in, called in. He knows your name, knows your story, and calls you in. Kept safe. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Nothing. I mess up all the time, but there is safety in belonging through grace. Loved Called Safe #jude

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. Mark 7:33 NIV Jesus had just healed a small girl without being in the same building, maybe not even in the same town. And here, Jesus is close. Touching. Touching the broken parts of this person's body, and bringing healing.  To put your fingers in someone's ears you're close. Your breath is mingling. Jesus spits and touches his tongue. Jesus DNA is in his saliva. The man who has not heard, hears. And as he does the only thing he sees is Jesus face  The man who cannot speak clearly suddenly can...what does he say to Jesus? This is a glimpse of heaven. We will be face to face with Jesus, the broken parts of us will be unbroken, we will hear for what seems the first time, and what will we say when we're up close with Jesus? #onedayallwillbemadenew #livinghope

And taking him aside from the crowd privately... And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:33, 36-37 ESV Not only did Jesus take the man aside to heal him, but he was very clear that the healing was not talked about. Maybe Jesus was sending us a message too that in caring for others, in ministry, that it's good thing to do that in private, in the quiet.  You don't need a crowd. Maybe he knew that the adulation of the crowd, fame, importance in the eyes of others is intoxicating. It's too much for us. Followers. Likes. Streaks. You don't need a crowd. What got the crowd captured? The healing. But Jesus is so much more than that, and if we get lost in the noise of the healing and the crowd we miss who Jesus is, his mission. We miss the lamb. Stripped, beaten, cruci...

And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment,  and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately... Mark 7:32-33 ESV Wherever Jesus went the news traveled and there were people. And there was this man's crew. Deaf Unable to speak clearly. The reasonable assumption is deaf from birth or from a young age  Jesus takes him aside privately. Why is that? There's nothing to stop a deaf person finding Jesus on his own yet his team brought him. Were they more enthusiastic about this than the man was? If he had been deaf his whole life maybe he was OK with it.  It was who he was. The deaf guy. And change was scary If you don't know what not being deaf is like. Maybe he understood the man needed the one on one attention. Some privacy. Maybe Jesus didn't want the first thing that this man was going to hear to be the noise of crowds of people, but his voice? For the man who only knew quiet, he wanted to gently introdu...

Friday! Proverbs! Good sense  makes one  slow to anger,  and it is his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 ESV This has the "don't sweat the small stuff" feel to it...if someone steals a car length off you by cutting in front of your car in traffic, let it go :) It's a bit different if they steal your car! Let go the stuff that doesn't really matter.  But it does not say don't be angry about anything. Keep being angry about what God is.  Injustice. The dark. The counterfeit gods I chase after  Our God is Light. Let His light shine into our hearts, and spill out into our world. And when someone cuts in front in traffic, it's an opportunity to love  #proverbs #wisdom #dontsweathesmallstuff #somethingtochewon

"Good answer!" he said.  "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter." And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone. Mark 7:29-30 NLT Good answer.  When Jesus asks a question he doesn't need more information, it's about checking the person's heart... this person responded in faith. She knew who Jesus was. If Jesus had a question for me today, I wonder what it would be? What would he be checking in my heart? And would my response be one of faith first, no matter what the outcome? To plead her case, and to have Jesus question her she had to get close. Close to Jesus  How often do I just want Him to fix things from afar without getting close? When I'm close, He might ask me a question... #goodanswer #lessonsfromtheleast #getcloser #gospelofmark

But Jesus said to her,  "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." Mark 7:27 NKJV At first read this seemed really harsh. A bit like reading a text message and missing the heart of the person writing...I think Jesus knew what her response would be to this "test", that he was checking that she really knew what she was asking, and who she was asking. He was highlighting to the people in the room that he was there for more than the children of Israel, he was there for everyone, including those the Jews treated and saw as beneath them, as less than. And today, Jesus words are a gentle chiding that I expect blessing ahead of others, I forget that his heart is for the lost, sick, marginalised, the children...who do I look at as "less than", as undeserving? Jesus is here for all. #outrageousgrace #Godsgym #gospelofmark

And she kept pleading with Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Mark 7:26 AMP Pleading Begged Beseeched Implored She was at Jesus feet pleading for her daughter... Do I spend 30 seconds making my case? Once. And, I expect the God of the universe to bend to my request...this seems to be one of two tests that Jesus used with this person.  Persevering.  When we have to persevere we generally learn something. Something about ourselves and/or what's really important to us.  This woman was steadfast in her request on behalf of another. Her heart was for another, and her request was to Jesus.  Her faith did not weaken or waver, but remained firm. Persevere  I wonder about the times I've just stopped. Was it my lack of faith, or did I just not care enough? It must have been exposing and vulnerable being a stranger, from a different ethnic group, pleading at the feet of a rabbi.  Perservere in faith, and praying for others. #gospelofmark #Godsgym

...And as Gods grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.  That is why we never give up.... So we dont look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen... the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:15-16, 18 NLT One of the great things to have come out of the rugby world cup has been the story of hope that has flowed from the South African team. The hope that their win would be a catalyst for change, the hope that their example of playing together for each other would change a nation for good. And with that hope they did not give up. Paul talks to us about that bigger picture, that bigger hope, about where he's fiixing his gaze, about never giving up. When the battle is on its hope that sustains The challenge for me is to keep my hope on what is "unseen", the things that will last forever... #lovepeople

...but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 ESV As I watched the aftermath of the rugby world cup, the SA team were rejoicing together. I felt sorry for the English, not because they lost, but that they all wandered around or stood alone. Alone in their loss. When people in our community are hurting from a loss, abuse, grief, live out this verse  It's easy to celebrate a win together, but takes effort, a stepping towards those hurting, entering in to their suffering with them, because when one suffers we all do. And we have a great example to follow...Jesus left heaven, and entered into our mess and hurt and suffering, wept, got angry, cried out, moved with compassion, spoke, touched, acted. #belikeJesus #lovepeople

He entered a house there where he didn't think he would be found, but he couldn't escape notice. He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro-Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter. Mark 7:24-26 MSG Love this picture of this young woman's concern for her child... she crossed social boundaries, she crossed racial boundaries, she was pleading, prepared to do anything for the life of her child. Just like the person who's feet she was looking at. He crossed every possible boundary including stepping from life to death, nothing was going to stop him, humbled himself, made himself small, for his hurt & hurting children. You and me. #thisisourGod #dearlyloved #childrenofGod

Friday! Proverbs! Luxury is not fitting for a fool;  Much less for a slave to rule over princes. Proverbs 19:10 NASB I've been staring at these words for half an hour. Surely this doesn't condone slavery! Or the monarchy. And what's the problem with having nice stuff? Difficult to understand. The fool does not appreciate what is translated as "luxury" (daintiness, luxury, exquisite delight) The time, effort, craftsmanship is ignored by the fool. As I've tried to contextualise slaves and princes as employees and business owners and how as an employee I think I know it all and could sort everything if I was just made the boss. In charge. How my boss seems like the fool. If I'm the "fool" in this proverb, where am I so arrogant that I think I should be in charge, or just take things for granted in my life...where am I missing that "exquisite delight" because I'm in too much of a hurry or miss that because I'm not looking. In creati...