verseoftheday

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalms 23:5 CSB Who does that? Who has the power, the authority, to make you dinner in the presence of those who are against you? This is a picture of a victorious king.  A king who has no fear of your enemies or mine. The victorious king says that you are safe here. Because I Am with you. A victorious king, and a person the king says is worthy to be at his table  A person of worth. You and I, seen as worthy by the King.  Worthy of His care. Rest in that today. #psalms #psalm23 #dearlyloved #childoftheKing

After this,  Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside,  where he spent time with them and baptized. John 3:22 CSB Ever been on a camping trip? Long days, lots of yarns, preparing meals, eating together. Restful. Rejuvenating. I wonder how long this camping trip with Jesus lasted? What they talked about? Who did the dishes? Did they have a rugby ball to throw around? There's a glimpse here of Eden, of communing together, and a glimpse of heaven... It's good to take some time out with Jesus.  I wonder how often tho when I've had some time out from the ordinary that I've just made time for me.  This week, whether it's time alone somewhere, going for a walk, maybe instead of netflix or eating a meal, have some time with Jesus, have some questions, some 'camping trip' questions for him. Let him rejuvenate, and give you rest. #gospelofjohn #commune

"For everyone who does evil  hates the light  and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by  the truth comes to the light, so that  his works may be shown to be accomplished by God. John 3:20-21 CSB Jesus pulls no punches when talking with Nicodemus.  We're either walking towards the Light, or hiding from it.  I'm sure that it was not lost on Nicodemus that he was seeking the Light but sneaking around in the dark to do it! This is where the battle is though for me...the dark things in my heart that I don't want exposed.  Live by the Truth and we will be drawn to the Light.  The Truth he just spoke a  couple of verses earlier was that he has not come to condemn,  but to save,  that God is love, that love stepped in and made a way,  that God wants all of us to be restored to fellowship with Him. Even these tough-to-hear words of Jesus are given in the context of love,  of grace,  of our Go...

For God loved the world in this way: He gave  his one and only Son, so that  everyone  who believes in him  will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,  but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 CSB It's the middle of the night and Jesus is meeting on the DL with one of the big spiritual and cultural leaders of his time. And in the middle of the part of their convo that is recorded here, Jesus drops in God's mission statement: I love you. I want everyone to be with me. I love you more than you can imagine.  I'm sending Jesus. Because I love you. Because to me you are valuable, you have worth.  You're worth me sending my son to die for you.  This is my way of saving you.  You're important to me.  So important that this crazy course of action, makes sense to me. Is there someone in your life who you'd give anything to help, to take away their burden, anyone who you might ev...

There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus,  a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him at night and said,  "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him." John 3:1-2 CSB This is awesome. Nic has a background, a story.  His story is his education, his mana, his job in the life of his people. He's an important person. And he's got questions. Questions for Jesus. So why would he seek Jesus out at night? Jesus doesn't say "come to Church on Sunday where everyone will see you and it will be awkward for you" or  "come to my office tomorrow" or "change first, then I'll meet you". Jesus says  "come as you are.  I'll meet with you, hear your questions.  Bring your story,  your background,  your questions.  I'll meet with you. Come as you are". Jesus never rejects anyone because of their story.  Never. He has not and will not rejec...

Friday! Proverbs! The Lord's lamp sheds light on a person's life, searching the innermost parts. Proverbs 20:27 CSB What's going on in the "innermost parts"? The place where our deeply held beliefs are, where our thoughts come from, our deep feelings. The Lord's lamp...Psalms tells us it's the Word that is a lamp, John's gospel opens with Jesus as the Word, and he says he is the Light. The lamp sheds light. Light shows up the good, and the not so good.  It gets to our beliefs and thoughts and feelings.  The Word, Jesus, his light is illuminating and it's healing, and it gives us a way forward. His light shines truth into the lies that we believe, the lies we listen to, the lies that make us feel less than, unloved.  Unworthy. Jesus says "I love you".  "I chose you" "My Father has adopted you" "I went to the cross for you. No matter what, that was enough". "Come to the banquet that I am preparing for you....

While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.  John 2:3-25 CSB This looks like success!  But it was all about the signs...look at the next verse: Jesus, however, would not entrust himself to them, since he knew them all and because he did not need anyone to testify about man; for he himself knew what was in man. What an interesting insight into Jesus ' his  ministry - he wasn't getting carried away with the initial response of people (& in that is a warning to us not to get carried away by the praise of people). He knows my heart. Knows how easily it can be captured by something big/new/bright/shiney. I can easily think that the sign is the thing. But a sign by definition is pointing to somewhere, or something, or someone. The signs are pointing to a more wonder full reality. A person. A person who is God. God who entered the story as a person, made himself small enough, humbled himself. God in ...

For I have endured insults  because of you,  and shame  has covered my face. I have become  a stranger to my brothers  and a foreigner to my mother's sons because zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. Psalms 69:7-9 CSB "Because zeal for your house has consumed me." There's a lot going on in this Psalm, a person crying out to God in real distress, asking God to come and deal to his enemies, and in this middle part the insults, the shame, the split in the family, the rejection. This phrase about zeal for God's house is what the disciples remember and is recorded in John Ch 2. And now this Psalm comes alive in a whole new way as it points us to Jesus.  The disciples are joining the dots between the Bible that they had (the Old Testament) and Jesus.  Jesus, who knows all about shame.  And who bears ours. Willingly. He's the only one who can. Jesus zeal is for us, it's us, the church, his people...

He told those who were selling doves,  Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father's house  into a marketplace! And his disciples remembered that it is written:  "Zeal for your house will consume  me." John 2:16-17 CSB We were made for fellowship with God, and the place for that fellowship, that communion together,  was Eden. God has been at work on the restoration project ever since, and this is another picture of it - wanting to restore to the original design, the original purpose. And that's what he wants for you and for me:  To return me to Gods design for me, to be a place of fellowship with Him, to be in fellowship with Him. To be near. And he approaches that task with zeal, energy. He is for us  But if he came in divine power he would overwhelm us. He constrains his power even when cleaning up. This last part of the clean up he simply says to the people with the doves you take some action now.  You're part of this clean up.  D...

After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers' coins and overturned the tables. He told those who were selling doves,  'Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father's  house  into a marketplace!" John 2:15-16 CSB I always had this picture of Jesus losing his rag and rampaging around, but he made a whip out of cords. Not sure how long that takes, where he got the cords from, but it was not some random action. Jesus was very deliberate. And his actions towards the money changers and dove sellers were different.  Maybe the money changers were trying to pick up their cash while the sheep were moving out... could've been quite a show! When Jesus is at work in our hearts he is deliberate too. There's things that need driving out. Things that need pouring out. Words to be spoken. Will I allow Jesus in to act, to speak. What table will he overturn in my heart? #gospelofJohn...

The Jewish Passover was near,  and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep,  and doves,  and he also found the money changers sitting there. John 2:13-14 CSB If Jesus turned up today and cane to his Father's house, what would he find? If he came to the place where God dwells, what would he find going on there? If my heart is now the place where God dwells, if the church is us, that God is now dwelling in us, what would Jesus find there? What rules my heart? What hijacks it from time to time? After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers' coins and overturned the tables. John 2:15 CSB What would Jesus want to drive out of my heart today? We're made to worship.  The people Jesus found in the temple that day were worshippers, but had lost sight of God, they'd put something else, something created in His place.  They weren't bad things, b...

A wise king  winnows  out the wicked... Proverbs 20:26 NIV Allow the picture of winnowing, of air blowing through, sit with you. The air blowing through is a picture of the Holy Spirit at work, the breath of God.  As we allow Him to blow through us, He wants to remove the chaff in our hearts.  Remove the lies. Remove the half truths, and leave the truth. Remove my selfishness, my ability to deceive myself, and others  Remove the corrupted desires. The things I strive after and want that are not after God's heart. The winnowing is gentle though as it leaves the grain in tact, whole, clean, purified. "God sees us as we are,  loves us as we are, & accepts us as we are. but by his grace he does not leave us as we are." He loves us too much to leave us as we are. Will I allow the Spirit to blow through me today, gently winnowing out the chaff of my heart... #itsaheartthing #removethechaffofmyheart

Friday! Proverbs! A wise king winnows out the wicked;  he drives the threshing wheel over them. Proverbs 20:26 NIV To winnow grain you have a current of air blow through it to remove the chaff. Seems like a gentle process. But this guy says to do it by running it over! Who have we got here... The wise King = God Wisdom = zero chaff Zero chaff = holiness Surely the bad people are the chaff. Am I the grain. But I know there's chaff in me as well, so I too am destined to be run over by the wheels of God's holiness and justice. Except for Jesus. He becomes the chaff. He is run over by the wheels of God's holiness and justice. In my place. And I am free. Free. This is love, that someone would do that,  willingly,  for me.  For you. For us. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #thisislove #lovethatdemandsaresponse

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.. After this, he went down to Capernaum, together with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they stayed there only a few days. John 2:11-12 CSB From miracle to, well, the everyday...I wonder what the conversation was about on that journey...there was no mistaking the miracle - 6 jars at 100 litres each, 600 litres of the finest wine. The disciples believed in Jesus. Would they be trying to get more understanding of what this all means? Jesus is who he says he is, and he has transformational power. Did they start to think about who will be most important and be able to use this power? Was Judas among the disciples who believed in Jesus that day? Was Jesus talking to his Mum about putting him in an awkward situation? And where is Joseph? Does anyone know what happened to Jesus earthly Dad? Maybe Jesus already knows the grief of losing his Dad. From the miracle ...

When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from - though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom... Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. John 2:9, 11 CSB He called the groom. Jesus first sign is at a wedding, a time of celebration and feasting, where there is a banquet, and there is plenty. In so many ways this picture is what Jesus was about, the bridegroom coming for his bride, entering into a covenant relationship with her, committed to her flourishing. And we, the church, are that bride. And Jesus is that groom.  But Jesus went way further than any groom for his bride...he really did give his life for her, for us.  Sacrificed everything. Sacrificed everything for his chosen.  Above all the ordinary stuff of life, intertwined with our day-to-day struggles and joys and wins and grief's, is this great love story of a ...

When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from - though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom and told him, "Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now." John 2:9-10 CSB I once heard a lecture from Dallas Seminary on this passage, and almost in passing the professor said something like this: The best wine.  The best wine is aged.  What the head waiter judged to be the best wine had just been created, moments before. Just maybe Jesus created wine that was already aged. He created it old. Just maybe when the earth was created and populated with plants and animals it was created already aged. Animals fully mature (several years old) Adam & Eve were created as mature people it seems. Trees created fully mature (decades or centuries old) Rocks that were created old. Stars that were created ancient. Earth created already...

... a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee.  Jesus's mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. When the wine ran out, Jesus's mother told him, "They don't have any wine." "What has this concern of yours to do with me   woman?" Jesus asked. "My hour has not yet come." "Do whatever he tells you," his mother told the servants. John 2:1-5 CSB Do you have a picture of Mary, Jesus mum? I'm often stuck with the idea of a teenage girl, pregnant, kind of being tossed around by her circumstances.  This is 30 years later but Mary is right in the middle of this wedding. Jesus and his crew are in town so they got to go as well.  But Mary had mana here.  She got told there was a problem, she enrolled Jesus to fix it, and the team working the wedding followed her instructions. There's more to Jesus mum.  It will be interesting to find out what that 30 years was like for her, what her struggles and jo...

Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons. "Fill the jars with water," Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. Then he said to them,  "Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter." And they did. John 2:6-8 CSB Ordinary jars. So ordinary that they're used for cleaning.  Ordinary water. Somewhere in there Jesus transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. The stone jars look the same, but what comes out of them now is different. Transformed. There were no words, no drama, just change, as people followed Jesus words.  It almost seems to easy...the ordinary is transformed, change happens, when people simply follow Jesus. Follow his words. His words are light when it all seems dark, hope when it feels like there is none, truth when all seems untrue, and when life seems too much, he speaks life.  Listen for his voice today. He has truth for you Hope for you Light for you He has Life fo...

On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee.  Jesus's mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. When the wine ran out, Jesus's mother told him, "They don't have any wine." John 2:1-3 CSB On the the third day...the third day since Jesus baptism it seems. The third day since something major shifted in Jesus life. And Jesus mum is at the centre of this wedding.  This was pre-Covid when everyone got invited :) Did Mary know that Jesus could or would miraculously fix this problem? Or was this a very human request? Son, there's a problem. You're a practical guy, can you fix this? Maybe there was an element of both in this, that a mum just needed some help with a problem, and sensed that there was something bigger going on here... The thing not to miss is Mary's heart for the bride and groom. It would be embarrassing to run out part way through the celebration, and she saw the problem and wanted to help. A...

Friday!  Proverbs! It is a trap  for anyone to dedicate something rashly  and later to reconsider his vows. Proverbs 20:25 CSB It's a trap to change your mind? It's about "dedicating" something, and then walking back on that decision.  The word here is "qodesh". To set apart Sacred. Holy  This word is used in reference to things, to places, and to people. I can get caught up in the excitement of a conference or a concert (do you remember when we did those things?) & commit things to God that I simply couldn't deliver when the excitement faded. Our God often seems to want us to move nearer to Him in small steps. Because the rash vow is more about me than it is about God.  The rash vow says that my heart has been captured by something. The excitement of the moment, the desire to make a big statement, to seem important, to make an impression... What's the opposite to rash? Considered. Purposeful. Intentional. And in those words we see Jesus. He stil...

The Lord is the strength of his people; he is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed. Save your people,  bless your possession, shepherd them,  and carry them  forever. Psalms 28:8-9 CSB Something really significant has shifted in the last part of David's song. David's orientation has shifted as his song has developed from focusing on himself,  then his enemies,  then who God is,  and now at the end, on others. Be real about our stuff. Our hurts, what's going on. Name our enemies, the things, people, circumstances, and even our own thoughts and desires that are against us. Look to God.  He is our strength, our shield. He didn't come in power, but in humility, and the shield He used was himself. In that realisation of who God is, that He is love, love that redeems and makes a way, David encourages us to sing. And then to look outward  He sees the needs of others.  What do we need? Saving Blessing Shepherding and  Carrying Do you need ...

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleading.  The Lord is my strength and my shield;  my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates,  and I give thanks  to him  with my song. Psalms 28:6-7 CSB The focal point of this Psalm is David's orientation. His heart orientation is to God  Towards God. At the beginning of the song he wasn't even sure that God was listening, but here he's gone back to what he knows is true. The Lord is my strength  He is my shield I trust in Him His circumstances haven't changed, but he has been heard.  His heart is reminded again of who God is, and that brings thankfulness and song. I wonder if there's a pattern here that we can follow when life hurts, our hearts hurt... Cry out  Name what's going on Remember who God is and be thankful. Know that we are heard, are important, are loved. And rest in that. David also wrote his own songs...maybe try that too :) Have a last read of...

Do not drag me away with the wicked,  with the evildoers,  who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors  while malice is in their hearts.   ...Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of his hands... Psalms 28:3, 5 CSB In the first couple of verses David cried out in his hurt to God, and here he opens up about what is going on. There's people in his life who say one thing, seem nice, even seem to be for him, but in their hearts there is something else going on that shows up in what they do. This points us to Jesus and people coming to him with questions but in their hearts plotting to kill him, and eventually following through on that.  Perhaps these circumstances are familiar to you, hurt by the actions of others masked behind friendly words. A heart that is not for us. The psalmist gives us the freedom to name what is the cause of our hurt, to look beneath at the motivation of others, to say out loud what is going on in our world...

Lord,  I call to you;  my rock,  do not be deaf to me.  If you remain silent to me,  I will be like those going down to the Pit. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help,  when I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary. Psalms 28:1-2 CSB David shows us how to pray when we are in trouble. Maybe he's been calling out to God and it seems like He is deaf. Silent. This is a prayer of someone who is really hurting. Really hurting. And in his hurt he is still crying to God. My rock. When things are good it's easy to see God as our rock. The solid place. The foundation. The safe, secure, strong place. And David reminds us that when we're hurting,  really hurting, He is our rock then too. And there's the freedom to cry, to cry out, to plead.  Last night I did some pleading with God. In Church.  But we don't have to be there, we can do this anywhere. This Psalm, this song, not only gives us the freedom to cry out to God in our ...

Then he said,  "Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God  ascending and descending  on the Son of Man." John 1:51 CSB Jesus tells Nathanael the best is yet to come and then throws this in. This seems to be a direct reference to Genesis 28 and Jacobs dream. In that dream standing next to Jacob, giving him a promise was Yahweh. God himself. Perhaps he wanted Nathanael (& us) to know that God is close. Right here. That he is the God of that promise. Here it is: Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.  I will bring you back to this land,  for I  will not  leave you  until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15 CSB I'm with you. I'm here to fulfill this promise. That ladder that joins heaven and earth, you don't see it yet, but it's me.  And the way this promise gets fulfilled is not with spectacular power, but in sacrificial giving. It's fulfilled by way of the cross. I so easily con...

Jesus responded to him, "Do you believe because I told you  I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than this." John 1:50 CSB Nathanael, this made you realise that I am who I say that I am. But my kingdom, me, I'm about much more than this. Do you know what? The best is yet to come. This is just a taste. The best is yet to come. When we're at our best, Jesus says the best is yet to come. When we're at our worst, when the hurt, the grief feels overwhelming, the best is yet to come! When we're tired. Weary. Stuck. When we need to change,  make change,  progress,  when we're in the wilderness,  when we're in the valley of the shadow,  Jesus says the best is yet to come. And when we're on the mountain top, Jesus says the best is yet to come. One day we'll see those nail scarred hands, and our names tattooed there, and we will know, the best is yet to come. #gospelofJohn #hope #Jesusatthecentre

Friday! Proverbs! Even a courageous person's steps are determined by the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24 CSB We have this love affair with control and want to control our own future.  The reality is that we can't control everything.  This word translated "courageous person" is the word a person who's a warrior, a protector of the ordinary person, the "anyone". Even a warrior is directed by God. The ultimate warrior, who came to fight for us, the "anyone's", who on the cross was a human shield for us, his steps were determined by his loving heavenly Father. And we can trust in Him too. Yes our choices are important, they make a difference in our lives and the lives of others, but just as Jesus kept going back to the Father to keep in line with him, how much more do I need to. Not even a warrior is strong enough to carry the weight of the future. Leave that with our loving Heavenly Father. #somethingtochewon #sa...

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,  I saw you," Jesus answered.  "Rabbi," Nathanael replied,  "You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!" John 1:48-49 CSB The cynical Nathanael who had insulted Jesus because of where he came from, who pushed back against Jesus honest and uplifting description of him, is now completely turned around. His words to Jesus are words of acknowledgement and  honour. What changed? Jesus saw him.  Saw him under the fig tree.  We don't know what happened there, but it must've been something intensely personal to Nathanael.  Maybe he was at his best; giving, sharing, encouraging, saving a life. Maybe he was at his worst;  hurting, blackmailing, taking. Maybe he was being hurt. Abused. Hated. We're not told when he was under the fig tree, today, yesterday, last year, 10 years ago, as a child, or where it was. But those words of Jesus turne...

Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, "Here truly is an Israelite  in whom there is no deceit." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. John 1:47-48 CSB How do you, this person from Nazareth, from "there", who I've never heard of, know who I am? Jesus had a read on Narhaneal's identity and his character that resonated with him, but he still pushed back. "How do you know me?" Jesus can't have known those things just from seeing him walk, just from what was visible on the outside. Jesus seems to be saying: I see you. I see what's important to you. I see what gives you identity. I see you. While Nathanael was busy judging Jesus from the external things, Jesus was interested in the heart. The character. Jesus is not interested in what separates us, but in stepping over or through or around those things. He wants to draw near.  He sees you. Knows you. And wants to draw near. #gospelofJohn #seen #known #loved

Philip found Nathanael and told him,  "We have found the one Moses wrote about...Jesus... from Nazareth." "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nathanael asked him.  "Come and see," Philip answered. John 1:46 CSB Philip found Nathanael, he must've been an important person in Philip's life to track him down and tell him about Jesus. That this Jesus is the one that the prophets had written about. The one we've been waiting for, looking for.  He's here.  Nathanael pushed back on Philip. Maybe he'd heard these claims before, maybe he was sceptical, or maybe he just didn't care. But it seems that Philip cared.  Cared for Nathanael enough to keep the invitation going. Come and see. Come and see for yourself. It's personal.  I've met Jesus, you're important to me, I want you to meet Jesus too, and I can handle the push back. There's a book about the life of Brian Welch, lead singer of the band Korn, who was lost in a wo...