verseoftheday

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him,  "why was this man born blind?  Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. John 9:1-3 NLT "Have you been good this year?  If you have then Father Christmas will bring a you a present." Maybe it's only my generation who were bribed like that! The disciples were reflecting something of their culture which said someone has sinned and this is payback from God.  Someone wasn't good enough. Someone didn't keep the rules. Look, here's the evidence of that.  It must've been him or his parents...which one was it? If we look hard enough we'll find where someone, him, his parents broke the rules, weren't good enough. Underneath that is this view that I'm not a blind beggar because I'm better.  Better than him. God's favour is...

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar... 1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.  2 "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" John 9: 8, 1-2 NLT Jesus and his team are in a city where that's not their home, they won't know who this man is, what his story is.  V8 tells us that he is not just blind, but a beggar. In v1-2 he is already identified as being blind from birth.  Jesus can't have just seen him on the side of the road, he must've stopped between v 1&2 and had a conversation. Something has gone on between v 1 & 2. Jesus has stopped and seen this person as worth meeting, worth talking to, worth hearing his story, worth listening to. What do I do between v 1 & 2? Am I standing by and watching someone else do that? Or following Jesus in the gap between v 1 & 2 and stepping towards those society steps...

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!" At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. John 8:58-59 NLT There's been a long argument with people in the temple with Jesus - they accused him of being a Samaritan, of being demon possessed, of having some kind of messianic complex that he was greater than their famous patriarch  Abraham, who God made a covenant with.  He gave us a description of the devil, a murderer, a father of lies, one who lies because he is a liar Finally Jesus completely winds the people up by claiming that he, Jesus, is the fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham, and he is from before Abraham.  He is from God. He is who he says he is. And the people in the crowd who did not believe him, wanted to end all this blasphemy right then. And suddenly Jesus was not available. They'd heard about the miracles, some may even have been fed by Jesus. They'd ...

See how very much our Father loves us,  for he calls us his children,  and that is what we are! ...Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. but we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 1 John 3:1-2 NLT Right now. Children of God. This is our status and our identity. We are safe here, secure here. But wait there's more...there's a transformation to come, a shift to come where we will be like Jesus.  I wonder what that means? Still being me yet being like Jesus. Maybe those negative thoughts that plague me sometimes will no longer do that.  Maybe there's more to this than (finally) dealing with all my flaws, maybe there are new dimensions to being fully human that we don't yet know about, new senses, maybe some of the limits of our humanness will be removed... Whatever this means, it's a good thing. Because our Heavenly Father has good things for us, and this...

A prudent person sees evil and hides himself, But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty. Proverbs 22:3 NASB Can we see a picture of Jesus in this proverb? He saw evil, but chose not to hide from it, not to take refuge, but to step towards it. Steps that took him to the cross. Does that make Jesus the opposite of the "prudent person" here?  When you look up the antonym for prudent you get; unwise imprudent incautious and extravagant! Jesus was all of those things. He was not prepared to give up on us, his actions say that we're worth it.  Not sure that we can call Jesus naive, but it does carry the meaning of innocent, seeing the best, being straight forward...and Jesus definitely paid the penalty. He sees the best in us.  The best in you. Paid the penalty. And with his; unwise imprudent incautious and extravagant love made a way, became the way for us. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #extravagantlove #lovethatmadeuschildrenofGod #lovethatseesthebestinus #lovethatnev...

So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am - that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me.  The One who sent me stays with me.  He doesn't abandon me.  John 8:27-30 MSG "When you raise up the son of man" doesn't seem to be referring to what the word means, to exalt, to lift up, because the religious leaders never did that, it's a pointer for us about how he will die, and who will be responsible. Jesus was on mission, and some people will only get it afterwards.  When you're standing for what is right, for justice, standing against the tide, the norms of this world, not everyone will get you. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe those who need it, take care of the sick, those in prison, help those without resources, the vulnerable, the hurt, those injured by others, those kept on the edge, the outer...etc... people may not get it.  May not ...

So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am - that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me.  The One who sent me stays with me.  He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe. John 8:27-30 MSG "He doesn't abandon me" Jesus faces opposition, unbelief, was rejected, abandoned by his family and his team, sweated blood alone in the garden before his crucifixion, and even cried out that he had been abandoned while on the cross.  In those moments it must've felt like it.  Felt abandoned. Felt forsaken. If these are familiar feelings you're not alone, but Jesus words here speak of a different reality: The One who sent me stays with me. He does not abandon me. Somehow, sometime, we will see that we never were abandoned. Like a small child who loses sight of a parent we can feel lost at times. But we are...

They still didn't get it, didynt realize that he was referring to the Father.  So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am - that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me.  The One who sent me stays with me.  He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe. John 8:27-30 MSG Even Jesus struggles to be understood, to be believed.  Eventually more people "got" what he was about, but not everyone.  If you struggle to be understood, if you're not believed, you're in good company.  The thing with Jesus was that despite opposition, despite unbelief, he stayed on mission, stayed in tune with God.  In tune with God or the people around us?  The choice isn't often that stark, and who wants to be out of tune with the people in your family, in your community? We all want acceptance.  Love. With our Heavenl...

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,  "If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "We are descendants of Abraham", they answered him, "and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" John 8:31-33 CSB They seem to have conveniently forgotten about being enslaved in Egypt, and that they were currently colonised by the Romans. Perhaps because their culture and religion was intact they saw that they were still free as a people. But Jesus is niggling away here that there is truth that you're not grasping, and on the other side of that truth is freedom. A deeper freedom. Continue in the word. The logos. That's the path to freedom.  I like to shortcut that and just listen to a pastor or preacher, let someone else do the work.  Jesus tells these people to continue in the word, for themselves. The logos, the word, was right ther...

As he was saying these things, many believed in him.  Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,  "If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.  You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 CSB This long part of chapter 8 is full of the Pharisees not seeing Jesus, not listening to what he was saying, and not believing in him at all. In the middle of all of that drama with the religious elite, ordinary people believed in Jesus.  And he gave this gem to stick with him, to follow him, and from that freedom will come. These religious rules being imposed on you by people who don't recognise Jesus is not what our Father had intended.  They were still Jews, still under Roman rule, but with Jesus there's a freedom in the mind and the spirit, a hope of restoration of all that has been broken. There's a new culture that operates, and it's from following Jesus. #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #Jesusatthecentre #freedom

Then they asked him, "Where is your Father?" "You know neither me nor my Father," Jesus answered.  "If you knew me, you would also know my Father." He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. John 8:19-20 CSB Back to our running dialogue with the Pharisees.  They were getting more and more isolated and desperate as politicians seem to get when their power seems to be dwindling. God, the one who had brought them out if Egypt, who had given them the law, the one they worked so hard to follow, he's who the Pharisees were interested in.  And Jesus is saying, if you see me, you see Him. Yahweh. If you took a moment to get to know me, you'd get to know Him.  The one who was accessible through cleanliness and ritual by the priests, the one who made Moses face shine from just a glimpse, well, He is my father, and if you just reach out your hand, you'd know. But they would...

Friday! Proverbs! The rich and the poor meet together;  the Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2 ESV When we meet other people, so often we focus on what is different, we put people in categories because of what they do, what they drive, where they live. We attach labels based on how they look, what they wear, their family (or lack of one), where they've come from, but this proverb jolts us into challenging that first, foundationally, we are all God's creation. Those things that would hold us apart, keep us apart, are our social constructs, our way of valuing people, not who we are before our Maker, not recognising how He values people. Whether I'm looking "up" at someone, or tempted to look "down" on someone, this wee proverb encourages me, encourages us, to look as God does. And the best way to do that is to follow Jesus, to see others as he did.  #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift  & not from works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 CSB Not only does Paul repeat the "saved by grace" he hammers home it's not from what we do. It's a gift. Not our works.  We haven't earned God's grace and we can't. He's come from a culture where that's what you did.  We love to compare don't we (or is that just me?). That person we look up to that has an awesome ministry, they write or sing or teach or save the world in some way, rescue the abandoned, feed the hungry...that person is no more saved by what they do than you and me. It's a gift. A gift unconnected with what we do. A gift that is connected with who we are. Who we are in God's sight. Dearly loved children. Chosen. Adopted. Loved. When the voices in our minds say that we're not enough, when the world pushes in and says we're not enough, when the Liar speaks ...

You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:5-7 CSB Saved by grace. But wait, there's more! Somehow we are already made glorious in Jesus, already transformed into all the potential that was built into us from before time.  In some sense we're already complete. Yet we know that we're not, that we have these frailties and failings and things about us that so need redeeming.  One day that redeeming will be complete, due to the immeasurable riches of His grace. It's his kindness to us.  Being kind is more than being pleasant. Jesus kindness took him to the cross. It's OK to ask why would God love me.  Why me? The answer is because He chooses to, He chooses to love you. Chooses you. This is Grace. Amazing Grace. #grace #hisgraceisenough #somethingtorestin

5 You are saved by grace!  8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift Ephesians 2:5, 8 CSB Sometimes I don't want it to be grace. Like a child who sees someone older and wiser complete a complicated task and says "I'll do it", "I can do that" at times I want to be able to be responsible for my own salvation. Just like Adam. Just like Eve. But I know that my best efforts will not get me there.  Grace then is the only way, the free gift of another, the free gift of an eternal God who wants us, loves us. And we get to rest in that.  Rest, because Grace is not dependent on my performance, whether I do enough, whether I never fail, get it wrong.  Grace depends on the giver. And He is so big, his love so extravagant that it is more than enough.  So I strive to live worthy of that love not to gain it, but because of it.  Always safe. Always secure. His grace is sufficient. Rest in that today :) #dearlyloved #c...

But God,  who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.  You are saved by grace! Ephesians 2:4-5 CSB Death to life. Clearly to be reading this we must already be alive, so Paul is talking about a different kind of life. The word in Greek is "suzoopoieo", which means "to make alive together with".  The focus here then is about being made alive together with Jesus. This new life is not on our own, but with Jesus, wrapped in, entwined in some way, merged even. Made alive with. There's times when we can feel so alone, but this verse indicates a deeper spiritual reality. I don't know how it works, but I do know it's an act of grace, an action, an outcome of grace.  Somehow you and I have been made alive together with Jesus. Let's just let that sink in today... #dearlyloved #madealivewithJesus #somethingtorestin

But God,  who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.  You are saved by grace! Ephesians 2:4-5 CSB "Rich in mercy." Ever known anyone who is rich in mercy?  Is being rich mean that I can stack it up, store it away? Or is it more like a rich vein of a precious metal like gold or silver and you keep mining and there's more of it? Or is it like a character trait, it's just who God is. Somehow I think it's a combination of all of those things. His mercy is like me needing a cup of water from the resovior that is the size of Lake Taupo.  I run out of mercy, but God will not. If we wade out into the lake there's more and more and more. Mercy is who God is.  And His heart is for us. For you. Mercy doesn't wait.  Mercy sees. Mercy acts, it doesn't sit on the sidelines...mercy acted in Jesus.  Mercy sees us as we are and doesn't wait. No matter where you are right now,...

But God,  who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.  You are saved by grace! Ephesians 2:4-5 CSB Paul has just written about how far away we were from God. "Dead in trespasses". Strong language! We were so far away that we couldn't bridge the gap...God is holy and there's just no way I'm holy. But God. Why on earth would he bother? But God. In the gospels we see Jesus moved with compassion. But God. Are we worth it? Are you worth it? But God. Re read Eph 1:4-6.  He's seen us in all that we can be, all the potential, & chosen us, adopted us into his family.  He wants you. He wants me. That picture of adoptive parents travelling around the world, seeing a child that needs adopting, needs a home, spending their money, fighting bureaucracy, reaching out in love and mercy to wrap that child into a new family, doing whatever it takes. But God. He chose you. That's qui...

Friday! Proverbs :) Rather than wealth, choose a good reputation,  esteem over silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1 cjb I'd like it all thanks.  Just been imagining being offered $10mil or a good reputation, and my heart says "take the money - with that you can build your reputation & you will be held in esteem". The world doesn't work like that but my heart does.  In my heart I want it all. But a good reputation, being held in esteem can't be given or inherited or won or purchased. These things come from a life of love and care and serving.  But my shakey heart thinks they can - I connect wealth and power and authority with character, and often that is not true.  What about you? What would you choose? Jesus chose to leave wealth and power and join us, become one of us. He came and washed feet. He'd be at church early Sunday cleaning the toilets and vacuuming the floor. He gathered no wealth (left all his money with Judas) and didn't seek a good reputation e...

This is what God, the Lord, says - who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it -  "I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose,  and I will hold you by your hand." Isaiah 42:5-6 CSB Jesus spoke to them again:  "I am the light of the world.  Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12 CSB "Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus.  "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore." John 8:11 CSB So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1-2 NLT And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Romans 8:38 NLT Seen. Known. Called. Redeemed. Freed. Loved. The creator of all knows.  Knows yo...

Jesus spoke to them again:  "I am the light of the world.  Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life."  So the Pharisees said to him... John 8:12-13 CSB The Pharisees are back. Not sure if the crowd is still there but it seems likely. The woman who has just  been released from the bondage of her past may well still be there too, and had these words spoken over her life too. Just follow me. Step into the light. Don't wait.  The Pharisees would have you fix yourself first, sort out all your stuff, become gooder. Don't wait. Come as you are. You don't have to deal with the darkness because that's my job.  I'm the light. You don't have to generate it, make it or be it  I'm the light. Follow me. Jesus knew that the cross was ahead, but redemption was right there for these people, right then.  The self righteous Pharisees who only wanted Jesus gone.  The crowd who were interested in Jesus teaching. The pe...

When Jesus stood up, he said to her,  "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord", she answered.  "Neither do I condemn you", said Jesus.  "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore." John 8:10-11 CSB Jesus almost seems surprised...this group of powerful men who had surrounded Jesus, surrounded her, accusing, provoking and questioning, were silenced not by great oratory, not by great lumps of truth, not by fire or threats, but by simply knowing God's heart and expressing that on behalf of the accused woman, and at the same time weighing the motives of the Pharisees hearts. Their corruption and deceit was exposed (as corruption and deceit should be), the victim received words of life, and Jesus spoke into being a little more of the restored kingdom that he was working towards. Jesus was interested in what's next for this person. The Creator of the Universe has taken away my condemnation, and yours. It's slunk away ju...

When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, he said to her,  "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord," she answered. John 8:9-11 CSB The Pharisees couldn't stay with the moral purity of Jesus words to them. They knew there was sin in their hearts and they were not without sin from their own efforts. Their own attempts to perfectly keep and enforce the law were not enough  And their heart motivation had been exposed.  And Jesus stood up facing this person who moments before was facing death, in the middle of the crowd, there must've been complete silence, and Jesus almost seems surprised...the people accusing you have gone...(& the people trying to trap me too). The accused. The saviour. Standing face to face. One day that will be our experience too, as we will stand face to face with Jesus. Unlike this person, we'll see his scars...

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her." Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men.  Only he was left, with the woman in the center. John 8:6-9 CSB Maybe Jesus was writing out Deuteronomy 17:7 which says the witnesses should cast the first stone, and maybe the charges against this woman were made up (just to try & trap Jesus). Jesus reframed the law back into its original intent, that it's about how we thrive as a community, together. Not one group against another, but for all of us to examine our hearts.  For our hearts to be aligned with God's. Where have those with power gone astray, created systems that benefit them at the expense of others.  Where have they lost sight of the person as an image...

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman... making her stand in the centre... Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. John 8:3, 6 CSB I wonder what was going through this woman's mind as she was brought to stand in the middle of this crowd... "What's going on?  Last time they accused me I thought they were going to kill me, but they decided a fine would be OK. But they're really angry today.  If they kill me, who's going to look after my little girl?  I don't know what's going on. They seem to be even more angry with this guy. I've heard about him, everyone has. He seems different. He's really winding them up by writing on the ground. If I wiped away the tears I might be able to read it, but I'm too scared to move. These guys don't even know my name, what choices I had when I was divorced and kicked out.  This Jesus tho, he seems different.  It's like he knows.  Knows about rejection.  Knows me. He...

Friday! Proverbs! The horse is prepared for the day of battle,  But deliverance is of the Lord. Proverbs 21:31 NKJV The word that has popped into my mind is faithful. Being faithful. Not having to carry the weight of completion, not having to carry the weight of victory, but being faithful to what God has called us to. To love God.  Loving someone changes us, and when we love God, we change, little by little, so that more of his image that we bear becomes visible  To love people. Loving people can be a battle.  A battle against my selfishness, against my biases.  A battle for justice. A battle for their healing, their thriving. We can enter into the battle but leave the weight of deliverance, of salvation, with our God. Being faithful to prepare, to front up, to turn up, to love God and allow Him to shape us, to step towards our neighbour and to love them, that's our call.  What do you think? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #faithful

"In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  So what do you say?" They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them... John 8:5-7 CSB Do you wonder how long Jesus was writing in the dirt? The Pharisees were weaponising the Bible, and in the face of their aggressive tactic Jesus just let them go. Quite a good thing to remember when things get heated. The law was given so that the people would know who God is, and that they would thrive (Deuteronomy 6). It's not a weapon to accuse, to weild power against the vulnerable, to get my way or to prove my point.  It's God's revelation of who He is, how He wants to restore what has been broken, it points to our Redeemer, the one who came to speak life and healing and hope. And Jesus was right there.  They were so annoyed, so wanting to hold onto t...

"In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.  Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. John 8:5-6 CSB Jesus is teaching a crowd of people and the Pharisees roll in and interrupt. What would I do? Tell them to clear off? Tell them to come back later? Jesus just lets them say their piece. Lets them ask their question.  (It seems that Jesus knew their heart intent - wouldn't it be good to be able to know that without asking?) But he doesn't respond with an answer or a question, but an action. He stoops down and writes in the dirt and dust. Ever wondered what Jesus wrote? Who he wrote to? Was he just doodling while he waited for the Pharisees to finish? Was he writing to them? My guess is that there's one person who's eyes have only been on the ground, the woman who has been dragged into this public humiliation, the person wit...

At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center.  ... 6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. John 8:2-3, 6CSB The Pharisees were losing their grip over the people and seemed to be getting desperate. John in V6 exposes their heart intent - they were prepared to do anything to trip Jesus up, to trap him. We don't know how John knew this - maybe he overheard them talking, maybe Nicodemus told him, or maybe the Holy Spirit revealed it to him.  Jesus is teaching, there's a crowd, and the Pharisees make their way in and bring a woman in and put her in the middle of what was a pleasant morning. They didn't care about her, what she had or hadn't done, she was a prop in their piece of theatre. They're deliberately shaming her to try and achieve their goal.  Their g...