verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! A stone is heavy, and sand a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. Proverbs 27:3 CSB A nice word picture here of heavy things in the physical realm, things that can be hard to shift, and comparing them with the words and ideas of people in our lives.  How do we shift heavy stones? If they're too big, too heavy we need to recruit someone to help.  Maybe it's the same when someone is "winding us up" or "wearing us down" with their aggravation, we need to recruit someone to help.  To help us gain perspective, to get some distance, to devise a strategy or response so that the other person's aggravation, whether it's about us or someone or something else, doesn't become our burden, our weight to carry.  I wonder what the writer of this Proverb would advise us today when the sources of aggravation can come at us through tik tok, Instagram, snapchat, the radio, TV, internet and there's noise all the time.  I wond...

Our bodies are buried in brokenness,  but they will be raised in glory.  They are buried in weakness,  but they will be raised in strength. 1 Corinthians 15:43 NLT There is going to be a fundamental change to us.  Paul recognises that in this life there is brokenness and there is weakness in us, and that is going to be transformed! Brokenness to glory. Weakness to strength. Good is going to come from those things, I don't know how that works, but it is.  The impact down the generations of sin, the impact of others actions and our own will be reversed, redeemed into something good.  This is the hope that we have. #corinthians #hope #thebestisyettocome

And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 NLT Paul has quite a go here at the church in Corinth - there must've been people saying that this life is all there is.  Without Jesus resurrection there is no resurrection for any of us.  Without Jesus resurrection Paul is saying following Jesus is just a bit sad.  Easter is just around the corner, a time when we rightly remember the cross and all that means, Jesus not just entering into the story but becoming human, suffering as we do. Paul reminds us here that it's the empty tomb that is just as critical for our hope as the cross.  We have a hope for this world, and it's more than that.  We hold hope for a new heaven and a new earth, where all injustice is dealt with, where all our aches and pains and tears are completely redeemed....

May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced.  May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor.  But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Psalms 35:26-27 NLT "Give great joy to those who came to my defense." It can be the easiest thing to look away, look the other way, pretend we didn't see, didn't hear, don't want to know when someone has been hurt.  We excuse it with "I don't know what to say" or "I don't know how to help". We minimise the harm someone has suffered.  Harm and hurt occur in community, and so does healing. "Give great joy to those who came to my defense" shows that. David's saying his moral community stood with him.  Stood with the one who was harmed, stood against the one who did the harming.  David wasn't in this alone, and neither should those in our community who need our care, support, honour, love, to bring healing and hope.  "Give great joy to...

O Lord, you know all about this.  Do not stay silent.  Do not abandon me now, O Lord.  Wake up!  Rise to my defense!  Take up my case,  my God and my Lord. Declare me not guilty,  O Lord my God,  for you give justice.  Don't let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.  Don't let them say,  "Look, we got what we wanted!  Now we will eat him alive!" Psalms 35:22-25 NLT David is in the middle of something and this is his cry.  He's not saying God isn't there, just wants him to act.  To sort it.  To fix it.  He's been treated unjustly and simply wants justice, someone to stand with him, be on his team.  There's days when we all want that, need that.  From our perspective in time we can look back and see that God had intervened many times in the Hebrew world, and yet God's people kept moving away from Him.  And then Jesus arrived.  God dwelling with us, which always reminds us we're not aban...

Sunday Psalms: O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.  Fight those who fight against me.  Put on your armor,  and take up your shield. Prepare for battle,  and come to my aid.  Lift up your spear and javelin against those who pursue me.  Let me hear you say,  "I will give you victory!" Psalms 35:1-3 NLT This feels like a BIG song, an epic call on God to bring victory, yet it seems that really it's about justice.  Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Psalms 35:10 NLT They repay me evil for good.  I am sick with despair. Psalms 35:12 NLT David is crying out for justice. For things to be put right.  And he doesn't have the resources to do it.  Can you relate? And he asks God to armour up on his behalf, to take up his cause and make things right.  In this song we don't know what the injustice is, but we can hear his heart that he expresses through this picture of wanting God to pick up his javelin and deal to whoever it is w...

I'm the least important of the apostles. I don't deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God's church. I am what I am by God's grace, and God's grace hasn't been for nothing.  ...it wasn't me but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 CEB Paul hadn't forgotten his past, that's not something we can just do, but his focus is on God's grace at work both in him and through him. "God's grace hasn't been for nothing" is as true for you and me today as it was for Paul.  God's grace hasn't been for nothing in you.  God's grace hasn't been for nothing in you.  Will we let Grace continue its work in us today. Will we let Grace work it's way into our world, bringing hope where there has been none, justice where there has been none, water to allow life to spring up, light where there has been darkness.  Let the grace of God that is in you out into the world that needs it, needs you as it'...

Friday! Proverbs! Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth;  a stranger, and not your own lips. Proverbs 27:2 CEB Do you ever read part of the Bible and go "hold up, not sure I agree with that!" Today's proverb is one of those.  We don't know what the situation is that the writer is thinking of, and what the community was like that he lived in. Perhaps in his community there's someone who keeps talking up all that they're doing and never stop to listen, are never interested in others. In an ideal world our good work is seen and acknowledged.  In an ideal world we don't need any validation of others.  But in this messy world there are pockets of people, children, young people, adults, who's good work has not been seen, they've not been validated and encouraged, and verses like this are just used as weapons to push them down or around.  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we've done a good job.  Be proud of our achievements.  ...

Then Jesus told him,  "Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." Matthew 4:10 CSB Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy: Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you... Deuteronomy 6:13-14 CSB Jesus was at the end of human endurance and was being given an opportunity to make life easier in that moment. And what does he do? Goes back to scripture, relies on something bigger than his own human ability to combat Satan and his lies.  He gives us a template when our situation feels out of control, overwhelming, when the lies are running around in our head, to take charge by going back to the truth. Bible memory can be tough work and Jesus would've done that as a child, so he had it stored away.  Whether we have it in our memory or not, we literally have God's truth at our fingertips anytime of the day.  And we get to quote Jesus: "No, this opportunity ...

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;  he saves those whose spirits are crushed. Psalms 34:18 CEB Maybe today is one of those days when all we know is crushed.  When everything feels broken. Maybe that was yesterday. Or maybe it's just around the corner. If ever there's common ground with David the Psalm writer it's here: when we're smashed by hurt, loss, grief, fear sadness, injustice. He knows what it's like. So there's at least one person who gets you.  One of the Lies we've absorbed is that there's something wrong with us if we're brokenhearted and/or our spirit is crushed.  The Truth is, there's nothing wrong with you.  So it's OK to express that just like David, it's OK to be with people who care for you, and not be on your own in this, because that's what people who love one another do.  They willingly, as an act of love, wait.  Listen. David is writing to his people and pointing them to God. Community and communion with one ...

I sought the Lord,  and he answered me  and rescued me from all my fears. Psalms 34:4 CSB There's a couple of things about this Psalm that are interesting: It's a Hebrew acrostic poem with each verse starting with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  And it was written as some kind of response to David's actions in 1 Samuel 21, where rather than be rescued from his fears, it seems he gave in to them.  So I wonder if this Psalm, this song is aspirational, this is who David aspires to be even though he's human, limited, and a little lost at times.  Just like us.  David has fears.  Just like us. Fears that he wants rescue from. Does that rescue bring a picture to mind for you? God rescuing me from my fears.  What is my fear that I need rescuing from? What would a rescue look like for me? How would my day, this moment be different? David sought the Lord over his fears. That sounds like more than a quick prayer but a long deep inquiry, a search...

Turn away from evil  and do good.  Search for peace,  and work to maintain it. Psalms 34:14 NLT Often peace, or lack of it, is about something wrong between us.  I'm wondering if David is pointing us first to an internal peace.  The word for peace is "shalom" which means  completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.  Search for shalom. And when you find it, work to maintain it (because it won't be maintained by doing nothing).  And he gives us a clue on where to start: Turn away from evil, turn away from some things. This might be places, things, people, thoughts, choices.  And do good. Doing good is often actions. Actions towards ourselves or others.  It's vague, because we're all different and need different "good" at different times of our day, our week, our lives.  Doing good today might mean working or resting, eating or fasting, giving or receiving, being with people or being on your own. What's "do good" look like for you? What w...

Sunday Psalms; I will bless the Lord at all times;  his praise will always be on my lips.  I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad.  Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me;  let us exalt his name together. Psalms 34:1-3CSB Can you feel the psalmists energy here, calling us in, joining us together, leading us in worship.  It starts with the personal, with his own internal consideration of who God is, and then it finds an expression out loud...and who gets to hear it? The humble.  I wonder how much I goodness I miss becuase my heart is not right, I'm thinking about the person, what they're wearing, their choice of words or whatever, and I miss what God is wanting me to hear, miss the opportunity to worship together 'cos my mind is on my stuff.  May we find some space today to join in with the psalmist and exalt His name together. #sunday #psalms  #psalm34 #inthistogether

Don't boast about tomorrow,  for you don't know what a day might bring. Proverbs 27:1 CSB For you don't know what a day might bring: Sometimes we look for Jesus in Proverbs, but today I wonder if we can let him speak from this one. What might this day bring? Will you ask him? Prayer is often a solitary thing but I'm not sure it's meant to be, so maybe pray this with someone who you trust... "Jesus, what might this day bring?  What or who would you have me step away from, or step towards, what do I need the courage to end, or start, or take the next step in, where would you want me to grow, to find rest in, to seek challenge in, to find peace in? Speak to me in the quiet, in creation, in community, in a song, in your word, in your Spirit.  Thanks that you hear our prayers. Amen." #proverbs #wisdom #liveinthenow #somethingtochewon #dangerousprayers

Friday! Proverbs! Don't boast about tomorrow,  for you don't know what a day might bring. Proverbs 27:1 CSB There are enough proverbs about storing food for tomorrow etc, so this one can't mean you shouldn't anticipate good things in the future or plan or work for them. I wonder if this is about us holding the future lightly, and as I sit with that 2 things come up: The future is just that, the future, and I can't live there. Yes I can plan and work towards goals and things I want to do, but I can only live in today, and the fears and anxieties I might have about the future I can also plan or prepare for which helps to stop them jumping into today. And the second thing is that if I'm so focussed on tomorrow, I miss today.  I miss the people in front of me. The moment with that person.  I miss the beauty of today. I miss the magic of today, the communing of who we are with the world around us, the people around us, with God Himself. As you consider this wee prov...

But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" 1 Corinthians 15:35 NLT Ever wondered how this works?  What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. 1 Corinthians 15:36-38 NLT If only the seed could see what it's going to become when it grows into the plant God envisioned it to be.  That seems to be the picture for us, that somehow out of the seed of the life we have, something else is going to become.  When God gives us the new body he wants us to have.  If we could ask the seed to imagine what it's going to grow into, it would have no idea, no concept of the plant, the tree, the flower, the fruit, the shade, the shape, the size, the colour it will become.  If you could ask the seed ...

Jesus responded,  "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the Lord your God'". Matthew 4:7 NLT These words of Jesus was not just in response to the situation that the Liar put him in, but to his use of scripture.  Jesus responded with a quote from Deuteronomy 6, which points back to Exodus 17 and the people camping with no water and complaining and Moses strikes the rock and water gushes out.  At the end of that passage is this: Moses named the place Massah (which means "test") and Meribah (which means "arguing") because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord here with us or not?" Exodus 17:7 NLT Perhaps Jesus wanted us to get this, that when our situation is difficult, when we question that God is with us (or even out there), even when scripture is used as a weapon against us, He is still with us, still for us. #wordsofJesus #heiswithus

The best-equipped army cannot save a king,  nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don't count on your warhorse to give you victory - for all its strength, it cannot save you. Psalms 33:15-17 NLT We tend to put our faith in all kinds of things...David is thinking about his stuff, and we do the same. Health, money, property, business...all kinds of things.  As I am wrestling with Covid this week I realise that my health is a fragile thing. And at some point it's going to fail me completely.  Having our faith in something, in someone bigger means that while I might not like this, or anything else that we're facing, in the Big Story, we're going to be OK.  #psalms #psalm33

For the word of the Lord is right,  and all his work is trustworthy.  He loves righteousness and justice;  the earth is full of the Lord's unfailing love. Psalms 33:4-5 CSB Love does fail us.  People fail us, fail one another, fail the planet, but David is soaring here, thinking of who God is, that His Love is not the place of failure, His creation shows who He is.  And what does God love? Righteousness and Justice.  If you've been treated unjustly our God is for you. A good thing to remember.  Then it's almost like David says "look outside and see..." The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.  He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;  he puts the depths into storehouses.  Let the whole earth fear the Lord;  let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  For he spoke, and it came into being;  he commanded, and it came into existence. Psalms 33:6-9 CSB #psa...

Sunday Psalms: Rejoice in the Lord,  you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful.  Praise the Lord with the lyre;  make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.  Sing a new song to him; play skillfully on the strings,  with a joyful shout. Psalms 33:1-3 CSB What a song for this Sunday! What is it that stands out for you? Read it again... For me it's freedom.  Freedom to bring what is in your heart. Freedom to play whatever instrument you have. Freedom to sing.  Freedom to write a song.  Maybe today is a good day to write a few words, a few lines, a new song...as we think of who God is, of "rejoice in the Lord", just jot down the words that come up.  If you're in church today, try it there, if you're working or got something going on today can you take a few moments to contemplate... to muse... to consider who God is right now, the good, the not so good, He's OK with it, with our offerings today...in fact, He delights in it. #psalms...

He answered, It is written:  "Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4 CSB Jesus words are taken from Deuteronomy: Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 CSB Wilderness. 40 days/years. Hungry. Tested. The difference is that God provided manna, food for the people when they were stuck & hungry. Jesus is being sustained by the Word, and becomes the bread that gives us life.  What Matthew has recorded here has us looking back, back to when everyone was in the wilderness, tested, hungry, and God pr...

Friday! Proverbs! A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin. Proverbs 26:28 CSB When I crush something, a can, a cardboard box, it's difficult, probably impossible to restore it to what it was.  The lies of others causes damage. Have you experienced that? And flattery - what harm can that do? We seem to be living in a time where flattery is being celebrated especially on tiktok, Instagram etc. This proverb from literally thousands of years ago sounds a warning to us.  I wonder if I sit with this proverb and I'm the only person there. What lies am I believing? What lies about me am I repeating (or just letting be repeated)? What's that doing? When we stop repeating the lies, and let the truth of who's we are and who we are seep in, the crushing is reversed. And there's restoration. Life. Hope. Where are you seeing the effect of flattery, of lying? How can we be part of crushing and ruin, can we be restorers and rebuilders? Where can I ...

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  But John tried to stop him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?" Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John allowed him to be baptized. Matthew 3:13-15 CSB These are the first words of Jesus recorded in Matthew's gospel.  John was a big character and you can imagine his distress at having been speaking and teaching about Jesus the Messiah for so long, and now here he is, and wanting to kind of line up under John's spiritual authority - he just didn't get it.  And Jesus says trust me, there's a bigger story here that you're a part of, that you can't see right now.  When we follow Jesus, when we love our neighbour and get nothing back, when we are rejected and show grace, when we're forgotten or excluded and don't keep a record, when we give whether we're thanked ...

For you are my hiding place; Psalms 32:7 NLT Did you have a place where you went that felt safe? Maybe it's somewhere in your mind? Perhaps it's under a heavy blanket on a cold night with the rain hitting the roof... Sometimes our hiding places are not that healthy - food is sometimes my "go-to". A place of hiding, avoiding really, a kind of false sense of safety. 'Cos there's times when we all need a hiding place, a safe place, a covering. David says that God is his hiding place.  Perhaps that's a good place to start, as it raises our view, can change our perspective when we start with "Lord, you are my hiding place", this keeps our faith front and centre, shifts some of the weight off us and onto Him, and allows us to find some peace. Let's try it: "Lord you are my hiding place, my covering, cover me today with your love and grace, give me your wisdom and peace.  No matter what is in front of me today, may I rest in You Amen." #ps...

...but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. Psalms 32:10 NLT We can't always see something for it to be true. We can't always feel something for it to be true.  Unfailing Love surrounds me today. Unfailing love surrounds you today! So. What don't I need to worry about? Whether someone else likes me, agrees with me, notices me even.  Whether I succeed or fail at what I'm doing today.  Whether I make a mistake, misstep, say the wrong thing. I'm free to get on, get in amongst what's important and good for me today. That might be rest. Restoration. Re-creation. Work. Study. Play. Providing. Encouraging. Caring. Having a Sabbath. Whatever is in front of you today, step into it knowing that you are surrounded by Unfailing Love! As you do, what shifts inside? What's freer for you? #psalms #psalm32 #unfailingLovesurroundsyou #youareBeloved

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel. Psalms 32:8 CSB The Lord says,  "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Psalms 32:8 NLT Ah that's what I want! Just guide me in my life choices, show me which course, which job, which person, which car park you've picked out for me... And then a more literal translation gives a different perspective; I will guide you with My eye. Psalms 32:8 NKJV How does someone guide with their eye? Seems that we have to be close. And we see something in those eyes that gives us the courage to choose, to take the next step. Because God's eyes tell us that we are seen, held, and dearly loved. And with that love comes the freedom to move, to try things, to fail, to take a wrong turn, to find our way back... #psalms #psalm32 #youareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; When I kept silent,  my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. Psalms 32:3 CSB Quite a picture...I can't imagine he's actually groaning all day long, but it can feel like it.  And our thoughts, where our heart is at, can and does affect our body, but "my bones became brittle" speaks to a feeling of fragility, of being easily broken, that one more knock will be enough and he would crumple, crumble.  And why? Because he's kept it all in, kept it all locked in, not allowed any expression of what's going on. His groaning must've been all in his head, things going round and round and round.  Because he didn't speak. When we speak, we're no longer alone. When we speak, things can be named and contained. When we speak we can start to find the next step. When we speak, what may have felt unspeakable starts to lose its power. When we speak we may be able to see a way forward, to take the next step.  When we speak, give voice to t...

So also you - since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:12 CSB Paul has just given the church at Corinth a lesson in what love is, becuase it seems he's writing to the church to help them in areas that they need building up or are getting away from the gospel of Jesus.  And the next part of his letter is about spiritual gifts, and this verse jumped out! Paul seems to be saying that you don't have to be zealous for spiritual gifts, but because you are, that's all good, but keep your focus on "us", not on "me". Seems relevant advice in our (it seems increasingly) individualistic culture. Paul's letters are all about "us". This mixed up collection of fallible, limited, wonderful, beautiful, fragile, strong humans who together are the face of God to one another. Whatever it is we are zealous about, use it to build up "us". That's where Paul wants us to excel, in building...

Friday! Proverbs! The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone - it will come back on him. Proverbs 26:27 CSB The author of these proverbs would've loved those 'fail' videos, or those Roadrunner cartoons where the coyote sets up the roadrunner and it all backfires.  As we sit with this proverb a little, there's only one person in it. A person who is setting out to trip up or harm another. And during, or as a result, will actually harm themselves. When I set out to harm someone else, it's going to harm me.  Sobering.  Because sometimes we have to take up a cause, fight for justice for ourselves or someone else, and it's so easy for harm to another to creep into or be part of our motivation. And now we're at the heart.  My heart.  My heart who's motives are not always great, and sometimes needs this challenge, who's motives are sometimes mixed and a bit shady.  I'm kidding myself if I think my motives are always completely go...

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love - but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 CSB If there's a contest, love wins.  Where we are in a place to rank values between faith and hope and love, love wins.  This word "remains" is interesting. Remains, stays, abides, stays the same. Faith, hope and love remain. They remain after the prophecies and words and knowledge of v8 end, they remain after what is partial is made complete, they remain after the mirror is gone and we see face to face.  Somehow, faith, hope and love are going to remain. To be.  It seems forever.  Even when we no longer need faith, even when hope is swallowed up in reality, somehow they will remain. Even when we are face to face with Love, the way we have loved somehow will remain.  I think this is supposed to evoke something in us, like an emotion, like feeling the sun on your face, breathing in the sea air, holding a small child, looking in someone's eyes and knowing t...

All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT There's more.  Even the smartest and most learned (of which Paul was in that category in his day) don't know it all, don't get it all right all the time. Because there's more.  And as this part of Paul's letter is all about Love, then this is part of Love. It explains our striving, our wanting to know, our knowing that there's more... And. We can rest in the truth that while we are limited and don't know, our God knows us fully, and in that knowing, loves us.  Loves you.  Loves me. Fully known, and Loved.  #corinthians #youareBeloved