verseoftheday

Give your burdens to the Lord... ...but I am trusting you to save me. Psalms 55:22-23 NLT The first and last lines from the last part of this song jumped off the page today; In a song that expresses all kinds of things about being betrayed, about wanting revenge, about being in despair, we get these two gems to move forward with; Actively give your burdens to God. Say what they are, let God know what's going on in your heart, mind, what's causing anxiety, grief, what's heavy on your heart.  Give your burdens to the Lord. And gem #2, trust Him to hold those things. He has saved us, is saving us, and will save us, and while it's OK to want everything fixed how we want it today (just as David did in this Psalm) trusting our God in the midst of it all is what faith is all about.  You are beloved.  One day all will be made new. Today I give my burdens to God and trust Him to save me.  #psalms #psalm55 #keepingitreal #youarebeloved #igivemyburdenstoYoutoday

Psalm 55; David continues keeping it real by expressing what he'd like to see happen to the person or persons who betrayed him, who hurt him with their actions. David found writing to God a safe place to express his hurt. We all need that place sometimes; Let death stalk my enemies;  let the grave swallow them alive,  for evil makes its home within them.  God,  who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them.  Interlude  For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.  As for my companion,  he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war.  His words are as soothing as lotion,  but underneath are daggers! Psalms 55:15, 19-21 NLT To have a friend speak good things and their actions say something different, such a betrayal.  "Lord help us not to be the people whose words are smooth and soothing but our hearts are at war and our actions like daggers.  ...

How quickly I would escape - far from this wild storm of hatred. Confuse them,  Lord,  and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.  Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city. Everything is falling apart;  threats and cheating are rampant in the streets. Psalms 55:7-11 NLT This Psalm gives us a bit of a template when our world feels like it's falling apart...it's OK to state it as it is, to be realistic about what's going on in our lives, what we're facing. And writing it down like David did, we get an opportunity to check if we're being realistic too. And then this this heartbreaking disclosure from David, that the biggest cause of his distress is not the things he is facing, but the sense of betrayal from someone close to him: "It is not an enemy who taunts me - I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me - I could have hidden from them. Instead, it...

My heart pounds in my chest.  The terror of death assaults me.  Fear and trembling overwhelm me,  and I can't stop shaking. Oh,  that I had wings like a dove;  then  I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.  Interlude Psalms 55:4-7 NLT If you've ever struggled with anxiety, felt panic, when it seemed that you just had to get out, get away, to find some sense of peace or equilibrium or shalom...then you're in good company, cos David had been there too.  And if you've never experienced that, sit with David's words for a few moments and appreciate that this is an attempt to describe how things have been for him.  We can't just fly away like a bird and find that place of quiet, its not always easy to find when the turmoil is inside our mind, the psalmist gives permission here to express what's going on for us. Maybe, when someone is going thru what this Psalm describes, you and I will be called upon to be th...

Sunday Psalms; Listen to my prayer,  O God.  Do not ignore my cry for help!  Please listen and answer me,  for I am  overwhelmed  by my troubles.  My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats.  They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down. Psalms 55:1-3 NLT This is quite a song, and the instructions to the choir director are that it's to be accompanied by stringed instruments, not sure if that's because of the content? The plea, the demand to God, David's feeling of being overwhelmed, the noise of the voices that are against him...if you've ever experienced any of these things then you're not alone, it's expressed here in the middle of the Bible.  David desperately wanted God to intervene, to show that He heard, that it all seemed too much.  If nothing else, this Psalm, this song tells us that when we feel overwhelmed, it's OK to cry out to God, to express just how it is for us, just what is pressing in.  We don't hav...

After the hay is harvested  and the new crop appears  and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing,  and your goats will provide the price of a field.  And you will have enough goats' milk  for yourself,  your family,  and your servant girls. Proverbs 27:25-27 NLT Can you hear the echoes of the garden of Eden here...a place of work and plenty and balance.  And can you hear an echo from the future of heaven...where shalom is fully restored... Can you hear Jesus voice as he says there's going to be enough for even those who this world has placed lowest. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #enough #shalom #heaven

Friday! Proverbs! After the hay is harvested  and the new crop appears  and the mountain grasses are gathered in, your sheep will provide wool for clothing,  and your goats will provide the price of a field.  And you will have enough goats' milk  for yourself,  your family,  and your servant girls. Proverbs 27:25-27 NLT Proverbs like this are sometimes weaponised and used to tell people to get to work (& work is a good thing).  But what if this Proverb is an invitation into a pace of life, a rhythm, a flow, seasons.  What if it's an invitation to see that there's enough for everyone? Enough for those who are left til last, those with the least power?  The writer of this proverb couldn't have imagined the complexities of our current world, or the way it's currently organised, but our hearts are the same. What is this proverb asking of us, of our hearts, asking us to consider just as the writer was asking something of the people it was...

Jesus said,  "I will come and heal him." Matthew 8:7 NLT There's days when I just would want Jesus to be wandering around here and I could go find him, put my case for the person I care about and Jesus would say "I will come and heal them".  Because there's suffering in this world (& yes that's stating the obvious) and we don't like it, we want to do something, and that's what this story is about: When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, "Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain." Matthew 8:5-6 NLT He's a Roman officer with significant power in some areas of life, yet in this area, where someone he cared about was suffering he did not have any power.  No doubt he would've accessed any medical help that was available as he had the power to do that, yet he ended up seeking out a rabbi from the people group that were living under his rule and authority.  He came look...

Then Jesus said to him, "Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed." Matthew 8:4 NLT In this story Matthew writes as much about what Jesus says here as the whole story of the crowd, the person with leprosy, and the miraculous healing.  I wonder why? Jesus is saying don't run around and make a YouTube video or write a book or become Instagram famous about what happened to you, follow the practice of the culture, go see the priest and pay the fee, don't make a big deal of this.  I wonder if Jesus was concerned that the healing would become the thing, the focus. That our human propensity to look for and want a spectacular story would distract people rather than help them see that God is here, that we'd miss who Jesus IS.  The person who was healed, their life then would b...

Jesus reached out and touched him.  "I am willing," he said.  "Be healed!"  And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Matthew 8:3 NLT At one level we see Jesus heart for this man, and for all of us.  "I am willing" This is what Matthew records before these words of Jesus: "Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. "Lord," the man said, "if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean." Matthew 8:1-2 NLT It must've taken tremendous bravery and desperation for this man who was "unclean", an "other" to be anywhere near the crowd, but he was.  And he approached in faith.  Jesus healing was limited by his humanity. He walked around a small area of the globe and did heal a lot of people, but not everyone who was in need everywhere. Because that's what we want right? For those we love and care about not to suffer, not to st...

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry.  In everything we do,  we show that we are true ministers of God.  We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.  We have been beaten, been put in prison,  faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity,  our understanding,  our patience,  our kindness,  by the Holy Spirit within us,  and by our sincere love. 2 Corinthians 6:3-4 NLT Not sure why Paul & Timothy felt compelled to write this, but it's a great framework to aspire to.  Even through all that they had suffered, the proof of their faith is found not in being free from suffering, not in prosperity, not in success, not in church growth, not in any of the external markers that we might look for, it's found in the personal, in their heart being lived out in the world,...

Sunday Psalms; God!  Save me by your name; defend me by your might!  God!  Hear my prayer;  listen to the words of my mouth!  Psalms 54:1-2 CEB This is a Psalm, a song, a prayer for when we are in distress, when we're struggling, when it seems that God doesn't hear.  This song gives us permission to express to God exactly what's going on for us.  But look here:  God is my helper;  my Lord sustains my life. Psalms 54:4 CEB There is this beautiful acknowledgement of who God is, helper, sustainer. And then this: He will bring disaster on my opponents.  By your faithfulness, God,  destroy them! Psalms 54:5 CEB We've all had moments where thoughts like this have been front of mind, we want justice. Justice is part of who God is and as image bearers it's part of who we are too.  I will give thanks to your name,  LORD,  because it's so good, Psalms 54:6 CEB And then he ends the song with a picture of the future where his ene...

"Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on bedrock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It didn't fall because it was firmly set on bedrock. But everybody who hears these words of mine and doesn't put them into practice will be like a fool who built a house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It fell and was completely destroyed." Matthew 7:24-27 CEB Jesus is not speaking to children, this is not a story for them, but a warning not to take Jesus words and teaching lightly, not to hear them and not let them change us, shape us, move us. Jesus tells us to "put them into practice", let them guide our priorities, choices, actions, what we invest our time, energy, money in, the values that we build our life on.  Jesus words are not theory to know, but ideas that are lived out, that come to life in the...

Friday! Proverbs! Be sure to know the state of your flocks,  and pay close attention to your herds;  for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation. Proverbs 27:23-24 BSB The word that is translated as "close attention" is our old friend "leb" which is the heart, the centre of being. The heart of your livestock matters.  Doesn't seem to be a stretch to contextualise this to where we live today, this proverb may well be asking us to consider the "heart" of the business, organisation, team, groups, communities and families that we're part of.  How's their "heart"? And this proverb is about the now, not a future that may not eventuate.  Taking care of what's important now.  Pay attention to the places and spaces we inhabit now and the wairua, the leb, the heart of those places and spaces.  What opens up for you as you take a moment with this proverb? It makes me wonder how well I am caring for the wairua, the...

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God." He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 CSB I'm not sure what "become the righteousness of God" means.  I get being made righteous before God.  He is God, holy, righteous, and because of, through, in Jesus we are made righteous.  But this says we might become the righteousness of God.  Somehow the distinction, the distance, the "otherness" of God from us is removed.  "Being reconciled to God" seems to hold something that isn't a transaction, but a belonging. That deepest part of us that needs belonging and acceptance and being known will find that completely. We will be reconciled with the Eternal, with Love.  Paul's words here seem to indicate that somehow that will affect God too. As we sit with this ...

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20 CSB So we now represent the Chosen One. It is as if Creator is speaking through us, calling out for all people to walk the path of being restored back to the Great Spirit. Second Letter from Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Pleasure 5:20 FNVNT Not only have we been made ambassadors of the Kingdom, we have a task...to be part of restoring people back to God.  Paul ("Small Man") in other letters talks about people having different gifts and so these all play a part in this bigger story of restoration.  Restoration with God.  Restoration of relationship.  We all are called to be part of that.  It starts with the small. Every act of love and grace and kindness is a marker for someone to find restoration with God, to see Him in us and in this world, to perhaps take their own small tentative step. How ...

"The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply he gave us his Son - the only Son who fully represents him. All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end, but will have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. Creator did not send his Son to decide against the people of this world, but to set them free from the worthless ways of the world." He Shows Goodwill Tells the Good Story 3:16-17 FNVNT In case you're wondering this is John 3:16-17 in a version of the New Testament that I've just discovered, the First Nations version which is written with a different cultural lens than what we're used to if English is your first language.  It's written by First People of North America and gives a wonderful view of the Bible that may well open us up to new understanding and insight.  May we get a taste today of the "life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony"   ...

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:20 CSB An ambassador, a representative.  Have you thought of yourself that way? What would we expect of an Ambassador from another country living here? Perhaps to represent the interests of the people who sent them, to represent the key values of the place they came from, to understand (as best they could) the culture of where they're from, and here.  How an Ambassador from "there" lives "here" matters.  Paul reminds us that Jesus is speaking to the world through us, His ambassadors.  How we live here matters.  #corinthians #youareJesusambassador #howyoulivematters

Sunday Psalms; The fool says in his heart,  "There's no God." They are corrupt,  and they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.  God looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise,  one who seeks God.  All have turned away; Psalms 53:1-3 CSB David is expressing God's heart for the world, his broken heart for people. Some days the world must look the same today as it did then, when it looks like "all have turned away".  Then there's this picture of what the world is doing to God's people; They consume  my people  as they  consume bread;  they do not  call on God. Psalms 53:4 CSB A picture of people being used, devoured, consumed.  This is still happening, corrupt systems, corrupt people, ignoring God's call to seek Him, to know Him, and God's children still being used, devoured, consumed.  This song does end with a picture of justice and a picture of deliverance.  God does not leav...

"Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you dressed like sheep, but inside they are vicious wolves.  You will know them by their fruit." Matthew 7:15-16 CEB In a world where we want to see the best in people, to see God's image alive in others, Jesus gives us a warning: To watch out for false prophets.  The Greek word used here is "pseudoprophétés", someone who claims to represent God, who claims to tell the truth, but their heart is somewhere else, self oriented, feeding the "wolf" within.  Jesus warning is that it's really difficult to identify this person because they look OK, sound OK. We probably can't tell.  Until we look at the fruit.  If the fruit is hurt people, used people, discarded people, injustice, hoarding, impatience, anger, chains, burdens, fear, distrust, where the person benefitting is the "prophet" then maybe there's a problem. Nice sounding words, saying the "right" things, looking "good...

Friday! Proverbs! Even if you grind fools in a mortar,  even grinding them along with the grain,  their folly won't be driven from them. Proverbs 27:22 CEB Wow! I don't believe that this Proverb is saying that some people are not able to change because that's not consistent with what the Bible teaches.  However it does seem to tell us that we simply won't be able to help some people change some things about themselves. Foolishness is baked in.  I'm wondering what is this foolishness in me?  What's in me that you see that is foolishness that seems baked in? What needs an insight from the Spirit to even see, and then to chip away at, to shift? Am I brave enough to ask Him to show me? God is never static and doesn't want us to be either. He's interested in our hearts, and moving in those places that seem impossible in us.  #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation.  The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!  All of these new things are from God... 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 CEB When we look at creation, God's world, it doesn't stop.  It doesn't say "we've made it, we're just stopping here", there's always movement, always change. I wonder if we see the "new creation" we are part of as static, done, or as an ever changing invitation into more, more of who God is and what He has for us.  What is he inviting you and me into? #corinthians #invitation #newcreation

The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: one died for the sake of all... So then, from this point on we won't recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn't how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! 2 Corinthians 5:14, 16-17 CEB Sometimes it's difficult to see people as part of the new creation.  Perhaps we've known the old person (& find it hard to believe that person could change). Perhaps we see them by "human standards" as somehow less than or excluded when we see the way they dress, where they live, what they eat, their scars, their tattoos, the way they speak.  Paul is inviting us to use the "new creation" lens as a way of seeing people. Because we're all in the same waka, we're all in the need of a saviour, Jesus, who died for us all.  U...

Therefore, you should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you;  this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 CEB Jesus starts the Keep It Simple movement, you can complicate things with rules and policies, but Jesus says let's just start with trying to step into someone else's shoes.  The context is judging others, seeing splinters in their eye, not seeing logs in our own, and Jesus changes things up again: To be treated how I'd like to be treated I have to understand your story, how you got the splinter.  I have to listen. Really listen.  And empathise. And put myself in your shoes and wonder if that was me, how would I want to be treated...and then do that.  That's why we love the rules, because we don't have to listen, or empathise, or step towards another.  Jesus simple command here actually asks for a different way of seeing people that he tells us is what the Old Testament is actually all about.  Our God who loves us, wh...

Why do you look at the splinter in your brother's eye but don't notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Matthew 7:3 CSB I kind of imagine walking with Jesus and he drops this question in: "Why do you...?" "Well it's easier to tell someone else about their splinter and what they should do/didn't do/what I would do/how I fixed it than it is to address something in my own life. In fact I like it. Pointing out others faults, shortcomings, sins, like I know all about their life and the pressures and circumstances of their world too! I'm good like that.  Jesus, I'm not sure that I really miss the logs, they can be big but are they really that bad?  And if I looked at the log I'd have to do something about it then. And who would deal with their splinter? And isn't it just a beam because it's in my eye because it's closer, not because it's actually bigger?" And then I think Jesus would keep walking, and waiting, and listening...a...

But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God;  I trust in God's faithful love forever and ever.  I will praise you forever for what you have done. In the presence of your faithful people,  I will put  my hope  in your name,  for it is good. Psalms 52:8-9 CSB Psalm 52 is a reminder that we've been looking at a Psalm each week for the last year now! Psalm 52 finds its inspiration in 1 Samuel 22 and Saul is getting more and more paranoid, and the intro to the Psalm says it's about Doeg the Edomite going to Saul with a tale about what David was up to.  The first part of the Psalm is David naming the thing that Doeg has done; "Like a sharpened razor, your tongue devises destruction, working treachery." (v2) Naming the thing that has been done makes it clear, unacceptable, and that's the first gift of this song.  Name things as they are.  The end of the Psalm is the second gift, that David is not going to be caught up in what Doeg say...

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5 NLT God already decided that he wants us in his whanau.  He knows us, and wants us anyway.  It's what brings God joy is wrapping people into His family.  Jesus is the way to this most intimate of belongings, the acceptance of adoption, the being seen, known, loved, and adopted.  You are Beloved.  Find some rest in that today. #faveverses #ephesians1 #truthtorestin #youareBeloved

Friday! Proverbs! A refining pot [is] for silver,  and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise. Proverbs 27:21YLT98 This is Youngs Literal Translation of this Proverb, and most other versions seem to put their own interpretation on  the last part, the part about people and praise.  They may well have good interpretive reasons for adding that we are tested or refined by the praise of others, just like gold or silver is refined and purified.  One version leans towards we are refined by what we praise (or who we praise) and that is what tests or refines us.  The writer of this proverb can't have imagined our current celebrity culture and the way that continual praise of a person for performance in a particular area is like being in a crucible or furnace, it can so easily destroy. What we want is what can bring ruin.  What we think will bring happiness often delivers despair.  If Proverbs is all about the heart, what is this proverb saying ab...

The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this:  one died for the sake of all;  therefore, all died.  He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 CEB I wonder what Paul is thinking of with the "all died" comment - perhaps that some part of himself that was driving him - even though (just like us) Jesus death had already happened some time before he gave up his old life and embraced the new.  It's like the weight of something has been lifted, or perhaps shifted, to Jesus when he died, yet, we still hold it, still carry it.  What's the "it" for you? Could it be giving too much thought to what others think? Too much striving for things that don't really matter? We all have an "it", probably several!  I can still go to school, to work, to sport, to make breakfast, but my worth is not measured by my success there, or whe...

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.  Either way, Christ's love controls us.  2 Corinthians 5:13-14 NLT Paul & Timothy are writing to a church here, and even they don't 'get' them! So it shouldn't be surprising when some people, maybe even most, don't understand our choices in life, because they don't get our heart motivation.  Jesus had people shaking their heads at him for spending time with all kinds of people his culture saw as unsavoury, unclean, unworthy.  Paul and Tim are OK with the voices of others not really understanding them. Because they're rock solid in this: "Either way, Christ's love controls us." Living out Jesus love can make anyone look out of step with their culture, out of line with what others think is a life worth living.  "Morena Jesus,  May your love control me today, right now, in this next few minutes.  May your love control my ch...

Even before he made the world,  God loved us  and chose us  in Christ  to be holy  and without fault  in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4 NLT Do you have a favourite verse? Or maybe some "go to" passages when you need reminding of something, when you need a dose of Truth as an antidote for something in this world, someone else's words, or the thoughts that return again and again? This passage in Ephesians 1 from v1 thru to 14 is one of mine, and this verse in particular; Even before He made the world, somehow, God loved us.  It's like we have been held in God's imagination in all we were designed to be, all we were meant to be, holy and without fault, and already loved.  And He chose us.  Somehow, The Eternal, the One who is Love,  saw you, loved you, chose you.  If you ever doubt that you are loved, the truth is you are loved.  Not just loved, but known, and chosen, and loved.  Our God's love is not some impersonal flood that dren...