verseoftheday

I appeal to you...for my son, Onesimus.  I became his father while I was in chains. Philemon 1:9-10 CSB Something shifted with Paul and Onesimus.  He's not "like my son", he says he IS my son. And just so we don't miss it he repeats it in a different way: "I became his father". Onesimus the slave, is now a son. The son of Paul. And Paul is now fighting for him. Onesimus the slave, the unseen, unknown, used, owned, is now seen. Known Chosen Adopted Loved  There's that saying that "blood is thicker than water", but Paul is saying that love is thicker than blood. It's love that moves someone from slavery to freedom. And so it is with us. No longer slaves but we have been seen. Known Chosen Adopted Loved We have become children of God. Children of the God who made a way, became the way. Children of the God who is Light, and wants us to live in the Light. Children of the God who is Love, and wants us to love like He does. Children of the God who...

I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,  because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 1:4-5 CSB Paul and Tim are busy people. Busy praying for people.  Two things that Paul & Tim were doing that  challenged me this morning: How often do I pray for people by name? And what am I grateful for about them? This otherness must've been a permanent feature of their prayer life.  I guess this "otherness" orientation must've been part of who they are so that their prayers were full of names and gratitude. As I follow Jesus, who's entire life was "otherness" may that become more and more who I am. May my prayers be full of names.  And full of gratitude. #somethingtochewon #lovepeople

Friday! Proverbs! The one  who shuts his ears  to the cry of the poor  will himself  also call out  and not be answered. Proverbs 21:13 CSB Ouch. This word "poor" here seems to carry the meaning of low, poor, less than, dangling. It's going to cover the hungry, the lonely, the poor, the abused. The victim. Who's cry have I heard and ignored? Been unmoved? Yes we're finite creatures with finite resources, and the problems of the world are so big, but those who cry out are often close at hand, and we can do something. It may be to acknowledge. To listen. To touch. To give. To welcome in. To feed. To ask. To pray. To cry with. To sit with. To honour. To see. To love. We are not without resources and choices, but it starts with our hearts being open to others. A heart that is moved. Maybe '21 is a year that our God wants to nudge our hearts just a little. To open our borders just a little. To step towards others just a small step at a time. #itsaheartthing #lovepe...

To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,  to Apphia our sister,  to Archippus our fellow soldier,  and to the church that meets in your home.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon 1:1-3 Grace to you. And peace. From God our Father And from Jesus our Lord  What a greeting! Grace to you.  Not my grace, but the supernatural grace that comes from Jesus. Not my peace, but the peace that comes from someone immeasurably bigger. Grace and peace to you. That's what Paul is communicating to this whanau, to this community, to these people. Grace and peace to you. How well am I communicating Grace and Peace? Paul is being a conduit here, a conduit of God's peace, Gods grace.  The grace I've received from our God who gently and quietly pursues and nudges, who forgives me, who encourages me, I want to pass on. The glimpses of peace that I have in this troubled world from knowing that all will be made new, that someone bigge...

To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,  to Apphia our sister,  to Archippus our fellow soldier,  and to the church that meets in your home.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon 1:1-3 CSB A quick look at commentaries on this verse shows people trying to define the relationships here.  Was Apphia Philemon's wife? Is Archippus their son? Who's home was the church in? Maybe it's vague for a reason. That this little church was led by a collection of people who chose one another, chose to be family.  In my culture family is quite an exclusive concept, and as long as my immediate family are OK then all is well with the world. When we lived in PNG family in the community around us was much more inclusive and fluid. Everyone knew that they belonged.  Our culture today is crying out for belonging, for all our electronic connectedness we still long for connection.  Just maybe if we saw the place where we live as ...

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus,  and Timothy our brother: To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,  to Apphia our sister,  to Archippus our fellow soldier,  and to the church that meets in your home. Philemon 1:1-2 CSB More labels, but this time they're about others. Fellow soldier. Sister. Co-worker. Brother. Inclusive labels that don't hold people at bay, but they're labels that wrap people in. Labels that include. And then there's the label attached to Philemon translated "dear friend". This word is "agapétos" which means "beloved". Beloved. Dearly loved. Greatly loved. Someone you love. Beloved. Paul calls Philemon that.  Beloved. What a great label to use.  Our heavenly Father uses it to label Jesus. And in Romans 1:7 it is used to label us. Beloved. You are beloved. #restinthat #dearlyloved

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:  God is light,  and there is absolutely no darkness in him. 1 John 1:5 CSB God is light. Theos; God Phos; light eimi; I am, I exist Our God is not a source of light, he IS light. This literally reads a bit like Yoda would say it: "God Light I Am" He is not a created source of light like the sun, He IS light. John says it anyway, that there is no darkness in Him. It simply cannot be. Yet in this world there is both. Light and darkness. We see it every minute of every day of every year in our world the work and actions of darkness.  People's choices.  And it's in me.  My thoughts, my words, my actions, my choices, my mind, my heart, my being...no matter how hard I might try, there is darkness there.  An expression of Grace is that Light just doesn't arrive in all it's power and glory because I would be consumed by it, obliterated by it.  Pure light, Light I Am, would be the end of me. And yet...

The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near.  So his brothers said to him,  "Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he's seeking public recognition.  If you do these things, show yourself to the world." (For not even his brothers believed in him.) John 7:2-5 CSB You've got to be seen. Popular. You need to be at this festival, get your name out, get your insta followers up. In the next verse or two Jesus just says "no". He's not about meeting his culture's view of success.  In this celebrity age we need to be careful how we measure success.  Jesus just said no to the cultural expectations. He also said no to being manipulated into more signs and wonders.  The expectations of others, their agenda, the pull of popularity, what our friends, family, people tell us we should do...often these things interact with our hearts and we find we're drifting away from being ...

Friday! Proverbs. The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;  he overthrows the wicked to their ruin. Proverbs 21:12 CJB Yes! Righteous justice is meted out on those who deserve it! I've even got a list on where our God can start! The sooner the better.  Does this proverb give us 'righteous' ones the mandate to mete out justice ourselves? To bring ruin on those who have ruined lives? Some days I'd like nothing more. Today this proverb makes me slow down and consider the wicked within.  The things in my heart that need overthrowing.  The realisation that if the wicked are brought to ruin, I am one. And my need for a saviour becomes clearer.  He is ruined so that I am not. He is overthrown so that I am not. So I can rest in that. That the God of Justice, the Righteous One has seen, and He has made a way. And he wants us to pursue justice, correct oppressors, and on the flip side of the justice coin defend and plead the case of the marginalised, the oppres...

Learn to do what is good.  Pursue justice.  Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless.  Plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17 CSB Learn Pursue Defend Plead. Isaiah calls us to action, the first one is to learn. Learn what is good. In these days of information overload, the place to learn what is good is from the Author of Goodness, our God who is Good. Jesus calls us to follow him, to pursue, defend, plead.  To defend and plead the case of others. As he is The Light in the darkness, he calls us to let his light shine out of us. Learn Pursue Defend Plead Amanda Gorman ended her poem at the US presidents inauguration with these words: "There is always light If only we are brave enough To see it If only we are brave enough To be it." May we be the light in this world, in our own small corner. Learning what is good. Pursuing justice Correcting oppressors Defending & Pleading the cause of the marginalised. See the Light  Be the light. #seetheLight...

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust;  I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalms 56:3-4 CSB Do you have a "go to" verse?  A fave? "When I am afraid I will trust in You" Ps56:3 This is one of mine, as it speaks to what is going on in my heart often.  "When I am afraid I will trust in You" Ps56:3 Last night I was over thinking some aspects of my future. "When I am afraid  I will trust in You" This Psalm helps to lift my view out of myself, raises my eyes to the bigger reality of who God is, where my hope lies. "When I am afraid  I will trust in You" It helps me remember that I can call on the One who is with me "When I am afraid  I will trust in You" When I was worried about someone else I did what I could and gave my fears to the One who can hold them. "When I am afraid  I will trust in You" When my feelings take me to a dark place, when my thoughts are ...

Learn to do what is good.  Pursue justice.  Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless.  Plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17 CSB It's Martin Luther King day in the US. His last march was in support of pay rates for sanitation workers. This kind of call to bring justice in concrete ways did not make him popular.  "White America was ready to demand that the Negro should be spared the lash of brutality and coarse degradation, but it had never been truly committed to helping him out of poverty, exploitation or all forms of discrimination. The outraged white citizen had been sincere when he snatched the whips from the Southern sheriffs and forbade them more cruelties. But when this was to a degree accomplished, the emotions that had momentarily inflamed him melted away. White Americans left the Negro on the ground and in devastating numbers walked off with the aggressor." The disparities in our society are still there and seem to be growing. Health, educa...

After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. John 7:1 CSB Could Jesus have gone to or through Judea and survived?  Could he have miraculously made himself invisible or unable to be captured and/or killed? Yes. But on this day he chose to avoid the drama, avoid the confrontation and go somewhere else.  Some days, that's what we should do to. Simply choose another route.  Jesus left them to it. Left them to it. And went his own way. There's been times when I should've done this, times when I have.  We don't have to fight every battle :) Some days it's better to go through Galilee and avoid Judea, and just leave them to it. #gospelofJohn #chooseGalileetoday

Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ... So he got up from supper,  laid aside his outer clothing,  took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin  and began to wash his disciples' feet  and to dry them with the towel tied around him. John 13:1, 4-5 CSB Jesus time was almost up. He didn't have a bucket list, just a bucket. He put on the clothing of a servant. He took the posture of a servant. He did the work of a servant. He washed feet. And he dried them. One by one. Up close. Personal. Sacrificial. Touch. Giving. Serving. Cleaning. Cleaning the dirt of this world. I wonder how long it takes to wash and dry 12 people's feet?  Jesus did this to show that he loved his team. Loved his people. He calls us to follow him, to clean off the dirt of this world, the stench, the stains. To get up clos...

From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. So Jesus said to the Twelve,   "You don't want to go away too, do you?" Simon Peter answered, "Lord, to whom will we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69 CSB As difficult as some of your teaching is to understand, as challenging to the status quo of our culture, as personally challenging your call is on my life, I believe that you are who you say you are. The bread of life. The living water. God of heaven with us. Peter says on behalf of the disciples who remained "I believe in you Jesus". Every other choice and action and word then follows from that foundation. It sets our course. It impacts our identity. Our hope for the future. Our choices and responses in the moment. It actually changes everything. "I believe in you Jesus" Jesus question gets straight to our heart, straigh...

Friday! Proverbs? When a scoffer is punished,  the simple becomes wise;  when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. Proverbs 21:11 ESV We have a scoffer, someone who mocks others.  We have the simple, the inexperienced, the learner, someone growing up. And we have the Wise. I like to think I'm always in that category, gaining knowledge, growing in wisdom.  Some days maybe. Some days when I see the effect of people's choices, then I do learn something. There's some increment in wisdom. And some days I'm much more aligned with the mocker, the scoffer, the one who thinks they have the answers to everything (or at least some things) There's a 4th person here too. The person standing outside all of this seeing the scoffer, the simple, and the wise, and that's the author, Solomon, who in a sense represents God, seeing us in all our frailties and mixedupness, with all our strengths and weaknesses, sees the reality of who we are, and loves us anyway. Chooses us ...

Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said,  "This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?" Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them,  "Does this offend you?" From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. John 6:60-61, 66 CSB Jesus words created dissension & led to people walking away. Some must've been following for the free food! What was so controversial? I am the bread of life. I am the living bread. I have come from heaven. If you want life, you need me. There is no one else. I have come for everyone.  Jesus words, his life, death, and resurrection cause grumbling and arguing to this day. His claim to be the only way, the only truth, the only life draw people in, and cause others to walk away.  Some to be offended. His words, his life, his death, and his resurrection are all about love. Love for us. Love is not forced or coerced, but offered freely with the risk ...

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." At that, the Jews argued among themselves,  "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" John 6:51-52 CSB A little tweak in Jesus word picture... "I am the living bread..." Previous verses; "I am the bread of life" Both times Jesus tells where he is from.  Heaven. Heaven has come to earth. Both times the Jews rather than engage with Jesus argue amongst themselves. Because they couldn't possibly be wrong. No matter who we are Jesus words will challenge us. What is it that challenges you today? That's nice that Jesus came for everyone but I'm not good enough. I haven't done enough (yet). Jesus was a good guy, but who comes down from heaven? And why? Jesus tells us why; To give his life. For us. This is love in action. Our God, making himself small, bending down, ...

"Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.  Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness,  and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. John 6:47-50 CSB The people Jesus was talking to would've connected with Moses and manna from heaven. What happened then is part of their history, their culture, a reminder if when God was at work and saved their ancestors, and in effect, saved them. But Jesus says that with him there is more.  The manna was bread from heaven, but they still died. I'm different. I'm more. This bread is more than life giving, it's eternal life giving. The manna was just for the Hebrews, this bread is for everyone. With Jesus, we're going to get out of this wilderness and make it to the promised land. This bread is our hope. And it's for everyone. #comeasyouare #believeinJesus #stepfromdeathintolife #Jesusisthebreadoflife

Jesus answered them, "Stop grumbling among yourselves." John 6:43 CSB Twice in this passage Jesus calls these guys out for "grumbling among yourselves". Yesterday I was at a family gathering and for a while there was grumbling among ourselves about Covid at the border & the US political situation.  Lots of grumbling. From me too. There was no room for different perspectives or views.  Lots of grumbling. Jesus when talking to this group of people tells them to stop this grumbling about how it can't be.  I'm right here.  Talk to me. There's a different perspective, a different way of seeing this. And it starts with believing in me.  Get out of your little circle that just reinforces your thinking, and listen to me. Believe in me.  I'm good at grumbling. Especially with people who agree with me. It reinforces something in my heart that I am right.  The way I see things is right. Jesus says grumble at me, I'm right here. And what's more, Life...

"I am the bread of life," Jesus told them.  "No one who comes to me  will ever be hungry,  and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty  again. But as I told you, you've seen me, and yet you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven,  not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son  and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:35-40 CSB The gospel. Believe in Jesus. He is the bread of life. The picture is the essentials to life, food and water, thats what Jesus is.  The essentials. Believe in him and you can never be lost. You can never be lost.  Never be lost. It's the Father's will, and Jesus...

Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said,  "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying,  "Isn't this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" John 6:41-42 CSB We know where Jesus came from, and it's nowhere important, his people are not important, he's not important. How often do I fall into the same thinking? That my measure of someones value and worth, whether I'll listen to them, is tied to my cultural view of success. These people had just the day before been miraculously fed by Jesus, and now he's explaining what's really going on...that it was a sign pointing to himself... that there's so much more here...don't miss it. And they dismiss him. He's from "there". He's one of "them". He's not like us.  When the crowd wanted to make him a celebrity Jesus walked away. God is content, mor...

Friday! (in case you forgot what day it is) Proverbs! The soul of the wicked desires evil;  his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. Proverbs 21:10 ESV Not the most uplifting of Proverbs to start the year with! However it is a true reflection of who we can be, can become. The person who's wants, who's desires override, over rule, the call to love our neighbour. There is no mercy in their eyes. To anyone.  Power. Money. Success. The deal. Sex. Control.  And it all comes from the heart.  The word for soul is "nephesh" Definition: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion This is the seat of who we are and good things can get so easily corrupted by us.  By me. What happens if we flip this proverb? My neighbour finds mercy in the eyes of the good person who's heart is for good. A heart who's orientation has moved from selfishness to selflessness. A heart that loves others. Looks for their good, even though it might be costly. ...

Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, Moses  didn't give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then they said, "Sir, give us this bread always." "I am the bread of life..." John 6:32-35 CSB They'd eaten the bread (& fish) that miraculously multiplied.  Jesus just told them it's not the bread.  But there still seemed to be confusion. Give us this bread all the time. "I am the bread of life" There must've been nothing "God like" in Jesus appearance, nothing outward that showed them that Jesus was not like them. They were still looking for the "bread of life" in the created. And I can be just the same. The bread (& fish) were good things. They had life in them. But they weren't Life. Relationships, music, art, sport, business, work, money, family, ministry, church, food, le...

"Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." Jesus said to them,  "Truly I tell you,  Moses  didnt give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven." John 6:31-32 CSB The people Jesus was conversing with were missing the True Giver. They were giving honour to Moses that didn't belong to him, but to God. I wonder how often I do the same thing? Honour the person and miss God's hand in their life, their words, their actions. Moses did represent God to the people, but Jesus IS God with us. It's right to honour and be grateful for and encourage those who represent God in our lives. It's right to see God's goodness and grace in the created world. Tangible things that help us to see who God is. But let's not fall into the trap of worshipping those things or people, putting them in the place of God.  We are all image bearers.  But we're not the ima...

Jesus replied, "This is the work  of God - that you believe in the one he has sent." "What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?" they asked. "What are you going to perform?  Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." John 6:29-31 CSB What are you going to perform!!??!! These people, some of them at least, had already just been right in the middle of a "sign". The day before Jesus had "performed".  But they wanted more performance.  More signs. I've done this too. Maybe not demanded a sign but asked God to perform. Bargained with Him. Can't you just fix this? Heal this? Bring justice here? Jesus had just told the crowd the work is to believe in the one is sent. Believe in me. Believe in Jesus. That He is who he says He is.  That he is God (& I am not) That he has given signs before, that justice will roll down like water, that al...

Jesus answered,  "Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw  the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Don't work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man  will give you, because God the Father  has set his seal of approval on him." "What can we do to perform the works of God?" they asked. Jesus replied,  "This is the work of God - that you believe in the one he has sent." John 6:27-29 CSB Not only were the people caught up in the signs, they then wanted to be able to do them.  If Jesus has the Father's approval we want that too.  And the way to get that approval is to be able to do these signs and wonders. How do we do that? And Jesus says no.  The signs point to me. The only work that you need to do is to believe in me. Believe in Jesus. Believe in Jesus. Believe in Jesus. When we need a miracle, when life feels crushing, when we've been hurt, when thing...

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him,  "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered,  "Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw  the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Don't work for the food that perishes  but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father  has set his seal of approval on him." John 6:25-27 CSB The people caught up with Jesus and really wanted to know just how he crossed the lake! Jesus just sidesteps their questions and goes straight to their hearts. You're really looking for me because of the free food.  The great free food. Jesus tells them they're after the wrong thing. The food was just a sign, a sign pointing to me. Often at this time of year we're talking about resolutions and plans for the year.  Jesus reminds us not to get caught up in the external things. Not to let our hearts be captured by those ...

The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.  They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone.  Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. John 6:22-24 CSB The next day after Jesus had fed everyone & the crowd is trying to figure out what happened - there was one boat, Jesus wasn't on it, but we can't find him. Imagine the rumours and the theories, if only they had FB they could've pieced it together because one of the disciples would've sent an update from the storm of Jesus climbing on board in the middle of the lake.  Hard to know if the people were hungry for more bread, or were chasing down the person they wanted to be king.  Or both. But they...

...And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. ...you have a special place in my heart. ...I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation - the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ... Philippians 1:3-11 NLT While Paul looked back and encouraged his people, he was also looking forward. It's good to declare things in our lives that we want to change, to resolve to do something different.  Paul starts with a declaration: our God is at work in you.  So let Him keep working, 'cos it's a lifelong thing :) Resolve to understand more of what really matters. Why? So that our lives are pure and...