verseoftheday

To those who listen to my teaching,  more understanding will be given,  and they will have an abundance of knowledge.  But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,  For they look, but they don't really see.  They hear, but they don't really listen or understand. Matthew 13:12-13 NLT Jesus disciples are asking about parables, stories they didn't always get, and if they didn't always get them, how are we supposed to? The invitation here is to keep returning to what Jesus had to say. Jesus words are not once-and-done I've got that let's move on. Revisit Jesus words, sit with them, sit with them at different stages of your life, let them speak into different circumstances. Listen. And listen again.  Remember too that his words were not written down but spoken, there's something in his voice that connects, read them out loud, listen for his voice.  Jesus also sa...

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:16-17 CSB God is so easy to blame. I have blamed him for my problems, the problems others have caused, the pressures of this world, I have blamed him when things haven't worked out or gone my way. James is gently reminding us that we can be misled, deceived into believing that God is not good. And he asks us to look up.  Go to a spot on a clear night away from man-made light and look up. Look up and ponder the Father of Light.  He is the opposite of the Enemy who shifts around and who's language is lies. Look up and use that name, I choose to trust today in the Father of Light.  There's no shadow in Light.  When we're inclined to blame God we can take James' invitation to look up, to look towards the Father of Light and hold the truth that He is Good. #James #truthtorestin

Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland. Psalms 78:40 NLT This Psalm documents rebellion and God's actions and what He ended up doing through the other Psalmist David.  And it's long. Seems way too long to sing, I imagine it as some kind of spoken word poem...and while we're imagining, consider this little phrase "and grieved his heart". God, Yahweh, the Eternal, the One outside of space and time who made all we can see and find and discover, His heart is grieved.  Seems a very human response to rejection.  While God is not like us, we are made in His image so at the same time He is like us.  Somehow. His heart grieves at rejection, just like us. To become known in a whole new way He became one of us and walked around experiencing again the grief that comes from rejection, and all the other things it is to be human.  He knows what it is to be human.  #Psalms #psalm78 #beinghuman #somethingtochewo...

We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,  about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob;  he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them - even the children not yet born - and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Psalms 78:4-7 NLT Asaph is reminding his people, and reminding us that God's stories matter.  Pass them on. Pass on the stories of God in your life whether you have children or not.  Pass on the stories and let each generation "set its hope anew on God".  A second-hand faith is helpful, it points us in the right direction, it reminds us that there is a Bigger Story here that is intergenerational, that's bigger than us, we're part of something t...

O my people,  listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying,  for I will speak to you in a parable.  I will teach you hidden lessons from our past - stories we have heard and known,  stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,  about his power and his mighty wonders. Psalms 78:1-4 NLT Last night we shared a story of living in a country with very limited health resources, and what seemed to be a serious health problem cropped up.  At the same time an American specialist was volunteering (for just a few weeks) at the nearest hospital and found some equipment needed to diagnose the problem in a cupboard that hadn't been used for years and no one knew if it would work.  He was able to diagnose the problem & give peace of mind about what was going on. We don't believe that was a set of happy coincidences.  Asaph in th...

"Listen!  A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them." Matthew 13:3-4 NLT Jesus told a lot of stories and parables of which this is just one (see v2).  Maybe you've heard someone say "the Bible is clear" when Jesus wasn't. He spoke often in stories. Stories that may have made more sense or provided more connection to people 2000 years ago. Stories that may have been designed to get his listeners to think, to interact, to respond to the story, because no one was reading these, just hearing them.  None of them were on YouTube or TikTok or whatever the current thing is.  I wonder if Jesus had some favorites that he repeated often, his "go to" stories.  And I wonder what stories Jesus would tell us today? Would he want us to sit and ponder stories, to wonder, to think, to talk with others about it? When our modern day interviewer is pushing their question,...

Friday! Proverbs! An arrogant person stirs up strife,  But one who trusts in the Lord will prosper. Proverbs 28:25 NASB The imagery in the Bible is so good...the word here translated "prosper" is "dashen" which means "fat", or "to grow fat".  And the "arrogant person", well that's a person who's "nephesh", their soul, emotions, desires, the life within, are "rachab" which carries the meanings of arrogant, broad, large, proud, spacious. It seems to be saying that without trust in Yahweh, trust in God, something gets bigger inside us that isn't good, because it stirs up strife, creates contention, which is the opposite of shalom, the opposite of peace. When I lose sight of who God is, the Big Story, His heart for people, His heart for me, my thoughts can get away on me, my emotions can take charge, and there is strife in my mind and soul. Trusting is intentional.  It's found in our habits, our choices a...

Don't be misled,  my dear brothers and sisters.  James 1:16 CEB Easy to skip over these words from James, but there's 2 things jump out; James heart for his people. Jesus looked at people with compassion, and James is expressing that here.  Aroha Love Compassion  Care He wants good things for his readers, good things for us all these centuries later, because that is God's heart for us.  "Don't be misled" is a simple reminder that we are easily misled.  Whether it's the information I focus on, particular news, authors, or people who's views and I absorb uncritically. I'm misled sometimes by me.  My own thoughts, & emotions can mislead me, and as this passage from James talks about, so can my desires.  We can doubt our doubts, challenge our thoughts, invite others in to our tangled hearts, and to do that we need a "we", others who are trustworthy who we can share and walk with. We need one another.  James is expressing his care in writi...

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12 NLT This is a bit like the Sermon in the Mount, calling us "blessed when". There is more context (vv13-16) & the idea that temptations come from our own heart desires (v14) can be quite challenging. Let's just consider this idea of how we live with trials and temptations. He's writing to communities scattered all over the place. He's not writing to "me" alone,  but to "us", together. We're not supposed to face the tough things alone.  Met someone in church on Sunday who was looking for a builder. I pointed one out and told him we have an electrician too, and this guy's a lawyer if you need one. I pointed him to community.  If he had said he just got diagnosed with cancer would I have been able to say "you can talk to this person, they've been through that, that...

When the Red Sea saw you,  O God,  its waters looked and trembled!  The sea quaked to its very depths. ... Your road led through the sea,  your pathway through the mighty waters - a pathway no one knew was there! Psalms 77: 16, 19 NLT When he is in distress, not only does Asaph make himself remember who God really is, he gets specific and goes back to an event when God directly intervened. Was Asaph there at the Red Sea crossing?  Or is he recalling something from the collective history of his people? The point is to get specific, whether it's an answered prayer, a changed life, a moment of clarity, a story from your people or from the Bible, get specific.  Verse 19 was shared with us omce at a specific time, that was part of shaping our path.  This verse spoke hope and courage to take the next step.  When I feel in despair, I can remind myself of who God is, and I can go back to that day v19 was shared and the events that followed as a reminder o...

You don't let me sleep.  I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs.  I search my soul  and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever?  ... Is his unfailing love gone forever?  Have his promises permanently failed? ... Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Selah And I said,  "This is my fate;  the Most High has turned his hand against me." But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;  I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts.  I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. O God, your ways are holy.  ... Selah Psalms 77:4-15 NLT Asaph gives us a model here for when we're stuck in our thoughts.  He's hurting, and it feels like God has rejected him too.  He's seeing his current circumstances as all that there is.  This chapter defines the whole story. This scene in the movie is al...

Sunday Psalms: I cry out to God;  yes, I shout.  Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble,  I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,  but my soul was not comforted.  I think of God,  and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help.  Selah.  Asaph starts this song in a place that may be familiar. Despair. Distress. Crying out to God and getting no answer.  (Can you imagine singing this song in church?  In community?  I wonder what realities that people are facing might surface if we did? I wonder what opportunities might arise to share our burdens together? I wonder what walls might come down?) Asaph is the person who is keeping it real.  He's found a way to express how things really are.  And it's in the Bible.  So it's OK to find your voice, find the words (or colours, shapes, pictures, music, etc) to express where you're at, what's going on for you. It's...

For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass;  its flower falls off,  and its beautiful appearance perishes.  In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities. James 1:11 CSB This part of James letter seems to be an echo of Jesus sermon on the mount "Blessed are the poor". He connects the poor with being humble before God, it's like he's saying that wealth, the pursuit of it, the maintenance of it, the belief that somehow it's going to "save" us, that in the Kingdom it might still mean something, insulates us from all that God has for us.  Perhaps rather than a warning there's an invitation here. An invitation to where all our energy is going, what or who it's invested in, what the "activities" are that we are pursuing when our life force starts to dry up and wither... Perhaps there's an invitation to shift our focus because our of our hearts connection with the giver of ...

Friday! Proverbs! He who robs his father or mother, saying,  "It is not wrong," is a companion to the man who destroys. Proverbs 28:24 NLT Not sure who the "man who destroys" is, but maybe it's supposed to invoke an image of who our mates are when we convince ourselves that wrong is right.  Maybe it's a picture of who we might become.  A destroyer.  Because this proverb is not so much about the action (stealing from your parents is just wrong, right?), but about the self deception.  This person is deceiving themselves that wrong is right.  I'm wondering, while I might not steal from my parents, where else do I convince myself "it's not wrong"? Is it how I treat my partner, children, friends, clients, patients, flatmates, neighbors, the person on the checkout, the person driving the car that cut me off, the land, the water, the place we live in... a heart that just wants what is easy and pleasurable for me, a heart that has convinced itself ...

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him.  This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT It doesn't seem that I have some supernatural power that will feed 5000 or heal a blind person, but there is a power that moves me to love, moves me away from selfishness, moves me to step towards, to listen, to slow down, to bend down, to be patient, to be kind...yes not all the time, but it's there. But this power Paul is talking about is about the power to step through death itself.  In some traditions Ash Wednesday was this week where a priest marks with ash a cross on your forehead as a reminder of the dust we came from, and where we'll return. But it's 40 days before Easter which holds all the hope, and the power, of resurrection.  And somehow we now get to hold this resurrection power that w...

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called - his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 NLT What a prayer that Paul prayed for the people in Ephesus. Know that as this message has been sent this morning, this prayer is being prayed for you: "May your heart be flooded with light this morning. May you understand a little more of the hope that we share as God's people, as His taonga, His treasure.  We are held in His love.  May you and I be able to hold all of today's joys and sorrows, struggles and wins, in the light of the hope we have in Jesus. No matter what is in front of you today, know that you are known, chosen, and dearly loved. Amen" #ephesians  #prayer #youareBeloved 

Jesus asked,  "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then he pointed to his disciples and said,  "Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!" Matthew 12:48-50 NLT  Jesus wasn't saying that his family didn't matter, but pointing to the Kingdom which is bigger, broader, not concerned with who your parents were, not concerned with who's important in the eyes of the world, the hierarchies are gone.  The things that might have brought us status are gone.  And the things that might have put shame on us, they're gone too.  Jesus was being asked to prioritize over the person in front of him, and he wouldn't do it.  Love the person who is right here seems to be the Kingdom message.  #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #lovepeople  #belong #youareBeloved

But he must ask in faith... because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6, 8 BSB Anxiety has been described as  fear + uncertainty. When we're double-minded, uncertain of who we have our faith in, that uncertainty can lead to anxiety. There's so much uncertainty in our world, in our lives, so many things that toss us around like a wave being bossed by the wind, but our anchor, what holds us in the storm, is knowing that Jesus is who he said he is. Stand firm in Him when it's calm, when the storms hit, when the sun is shining, and when you can't even see the sun.  Hold to the anchor.  #james #keepingitreal #faith #anchor #anchorinthestorm

Sunday Psalms; You stand up to judge those who do evil,  O God,  and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Selah Psalms 76:9 NLT  This is a song written by Asaph and seems focused on some event where God intervened. There's days when that's what we long for too, when it would be wonderful if God would just sort out the suffering whether it's the Ukraine and Gaza, the person who gets paid $1 per day to make my clothes, the person who can't get the medical treatment that they need, or the person in my town, my church, who has been abused, harmed, is lonely, rejected... There's oppression everywhere.  And Asaph reminds us in the middle of his song that our God is for the oppressed.  His rescue plan went to a whole new level when Jesus turned up, and one day, all will be made new.  Every tear valued.  And all oppression will end.  #Psalms #psalm76 #onedayallwillbemadenew

If wisdom is needed, ask the Great Spirit, for he freely gives wisdom to all who ask and never holds back. But when you ask, you must put all your trust in him without doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave in the sea tossed about by the wind.  James 1:5-6 FNVNT What's the asking all about here? It's about asking for wisdom.  And what's the doubting? Is it doubting that you'll receive wisdom?  Or doubting in the one you're asking? Or both? What is James getting at here?  So often this lack of wisdom, what I'm asking God for is a really specific question, like should I take this job, buy this house or something.  But is that what James would he writing to the scattered Jewish Christians about in the first century?  Is that the "wisdom" he's got in mind?  The previous part of his letter is about testing. What people were facing.  Perhaps we can slow down and consider what James would have us take into our world today about testing, about do...

Friday! Proverbs! In the end,  people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery. Proverbs 28:23 NLT In the end. In the end means that it might take some time for another to appreciate honest criticism.  How do I know this?  Because it's my experience of honest criticism, that it has taken reflection, thought, consideration to accept, to see the other person's perspective, and to acknowledge my own error.  So if it can take a while for me to get there sometimes, it's likely that the same is true of others, and navigating that space with grace, patience, kindness, is not easy.  With proverbs it's about the heart, the heart that flatters others, and the heart that offers honest criticism - why do I do either? What motivates my flattery? What motivates my honest criticism? Would we all be better off sometimes without either? #proverbs  #wisdom  #somethingtochewon  #itsaheartthing 

"A tree is identified by its fruit.  If a tree is good, its fruit will be good.  If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right?  For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you." Matthew 12:33-37 NLT Jesus was very unhappy with the people he was talking to here, but this interaction is here for a reason, and I don't think it's about judgment day and giving an account. It's about the treasury of the heart.  A treasury doesn't just appear, it's collected, earned, gathered, little by little over time.  What's going in to the treasury of our hearts?  What are we watching, who are we liste...

"But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you." Matthew 12:28 NLT Jesus goes between doing things and telling people to be quiet about it (see vv15-16) and announcing that everything has changed, that the Kingdom is here.  Jesus was announcing, declaring, stating, that the world has shifted.  The Kingdom that they had been waiting for, longing for, was here, it's just not what they expected.  Maybe we're not much different in that we want to see God move and act in the ways that we want, that I want, that will make things better for me.  The Kingdom of God is here, and maybe we're missing it.  Maybe we look but don't see, listen but don't hear.  When we hear the birds, the wind, the trees, laughter, music, when we see the stars, the sky, the colours, when we eat, touch, smell the goodness of the world around us, when we love, and are loved, we may see that the Kingdom of God is here.  Jesus was invi...

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.  James 1:5 NLT Does it seem odd that James needed to tell his readers that God wouldn't rebuke them for asking? He's already described our God as generous, so makes you wonder what the "Jewish believers scattered abroad" were thinking about who God is, about what He is really like? I wonder what James would write to us?  What characteristic of God he would emphasize in response to how we see Him in 2024? James is writing to a disconnected people inviting them to reconnect with God, to reconnect with God who is for them, who is welcoming. Perhaps James message wouldn't change all that much.  Today in Aotearoa NZ is Waitangi Day, and perhaps there's an opportunity to reconnect here too, to the land, to our sense of place, of belonging, of seeing one another. The Bigger Story is about that reconnection with the land, creation, one another, ourselves, and with...

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:3-4 NLT Yesterday I got to hold a small child, born just a few days ago. One thing children do is grow, but it's small steps every day.  If I want to run 5km, I start by walking 100m and add to it little by little, testing walking further, then starting to jog part way, building up endurance, testing what is possible. What if James has the same kind of idea in mind about faith? Our spiritual muscles grow little by little as we test our endurance. That means when we are able to walk 100m there'll be people who can run 5km, and that's OK. It shows us it can be done. And if we can run 5km and meet someone who can walk 100m what could we do?  Perhaps slow down and walk with them.  Encourage them in their journey, because when we hold a tiny baby we are reminded that we wer...

Sunday Psalms; We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near.  People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds. God says, "At the time I have planned,  I will bring justice against the wicked. When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil,  I am the one who keeps its foundations firm." Interlude Psalms 75:1-3 NLT The intro to this song is: For the choir director. A song of Asaph. To be sung to the tune of "Do not destory!". Wondering if that was a popular song back in the day...a church favorite? Anyhow this song of Asaph seems to be a reminder that when the world is in turmoil it's not necessarily God's judgement.  That's gonna happen in some way, some time but not now.  So. Rest in God.  Know that He is good. That He is near. I can leave the things that are outside my circle of responsibility to him. That's most people, most of the problems of the world.  When the world is in turmoil... Rest in God.  Know that He is good, that H...

My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy.  After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4 CEB Some translations of the Bible use words like "trials of many kinds", but the word James uses is "peirasmos" which means "an experiment, a trial, temptation", and it's usage is  (a) trial, probation, testing, being tried,  (b) temptation,  (c) calamity, affliction. And his context is that it's like going to the gym, running uphill, pushing testing, challenging our faith that strengthens it is what this is all about.  This is not some general instruction to absorb any pain, hurt, abuse, suffering or loss with some kind of "joy".  In a faith sense it's like saying I can usually run 5km, but today I need to run 6km.  James doesn't want us to avoid the faith ...

Friday! Proverbs! A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth  And does not know that poverty will come upon him. Proverbs 28:22 NASB2020  The word "evil" here is "ra" which also just means "bad". A person with a bad eye, who just sees the world, sees people in a way that doesn't line up with how God sees them.  A person with a bad eye goes after things that they think is going to satisfy them. A person with a bad eye doesn't see the consequences on others, or even on themselves.  I wear glasses almost all the time, because I just can't "fix" my "bad eye" on my own. We need one another in this life to sharpen us, shape us, challenge us, nurture us, love us.  We need one another to help us "see".  To help us see the "poverty" that can arrive, and to see the beauty, the goodness, the life, the hope, the opportunity, the strength in ourselves, in each other, and in this world that we live. This proverb in...

Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand... ... Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. Matthew 12:9-10, 13-14 NLT This is wild! The Pharisees, the religious and political leaders of their people called a meeting to figure out how to out a "hit" on Jesus because he healed a man's arm on the Sabbath! The implied part is that their power and position was going to be replaced by Jesus. Jesus actually could heal.  And he wasn't going to line up under their rules, their authority.  And they clearly couldn't see that he was who he said he was. But let's not miss the beautiful picture of seeing, noticing, healing & restoration. It's a picture, a taste, a forerunner of when we get to see Jesus face-to-face. We will be seen. Noticed. Healed. Restored. None if us w...