verseoftheday

Very early on Sunday morning,  just at sunrise,  they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other,  "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. Mark 16:2-4 NLT Mary, Mary and Salome went to the tomb of Jesus knowing that it had been sealed, but something in them compelled, led, gave them the courage, to go anyway. They went towards a dead Jesus, and found the living Jesus.  They went towards a sealed tomb and found the stone had been rolled away.  They went in faith about one thing (wanting to bless the dead) and found life.  They kept moving in faith and found something unexpected. And they went together. Maybe there's something here for us this Easter Sunday, as we are prompted to move, to step forward in faith, to do that with others, are we open for the unexpected?  #Easter #hopeishere #inthistogethe...

Saturday evening,  when the Sabbath ended,  Mary Magdalene,  Mary mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus' body.  Mark 16:1 NLT These three women are recorded by Mark in Ch15:40 as being at the crucifixion of Jesus.  They knew Jesus was dead.  And it seems that they did the next thing that those in their culture did when someone you care about dies (or in this case killed by the Empire that was running the world that they lived in). In the face of heartbreak and tragedy these three did the next good thing.  They didn't know what might have been going on in whatever place Jesus was, they didn't know what Sunday held, but chose to do the next step in grieving, the next good thing, for the person who they loved.  Sometimes that's all we can do too. In these days that we live between Redemption and the Restoration of All Things, we grieve loss, and do the next good thing for ourselves, and for those ...

"Would you like me to release to you this 'King of the Jews'?" Pilate asked. (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. Pilate asked them,  "Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?" They shouted back, "Crucify him!" "Why?" Pilate demanded.  "What crime has he committed?" But the mob roared even louder, "Crucify him!" So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.  He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.  Mark 15:9-15 NLT Pilate could sense the injustice, he knew something was off with all of this, seeing the envy that drove the religious leaders, wondering why the Jews wanted an end to someone who carried the label of "King".  And yet he took the expedient...

Today, as we head towards Easter, a blessing written by Kate Bowler. Jesus,  from that mountain  high among the olive trees, it would have been an easy walk  down to the city, to Jerusalem,  which lay below. So why choose to make your way  on a donkey, on an everyday beast of burden,  your feet almost dragging on the ground? And who are these people running,  bending low, to spread their precious cloaks on the road before you, waving palm branches and shouting, "Save us! Hosanna to the Son of David!"? What is the raw and urgent hope that rises in their songs? "Blessed is he who comes  in the name of the Lord!" And,  Jesus,  why are you smiling? Because it is true what they are saying, though they can't yet know the whole of it. It is happening. It is unfolding  in slow motion, the fulfillment of that promise from of old: their savior would come, humble, and riding on a donkey. Blessed are we, on this side of history shouting, "Come,...

But don't just listen to God's word.  You must do what it says.  Otherwise,  you are only fooling yourselves.  James 1:22 NLT As we have been seeing in Matthew Jesus concern about the religious leaders he was bumping into, this verse from James got me thinking about the religious leader in me.  That part of me that is so concerned about what someone else believes as a way of categorising, labelling, maybe even deciding if they are like me enough.  Don't get me wrong, there's important work figuring out our beliefs, what's truth and error.  But at the same time James is encouraging us to live it out. Live out what I do know.  I do know that love is patient, and that I can exercise patience. I do know that love is kind, and that I can be kind to those I live with, meet in my workplace, study, community, even in church.  Pastor Trey in his book Theologizin Bigger (which I recommend btw) puts it this way when discussing the church in Acts: "Perha...

Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. "Watch out!" Jesus warned them. "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Matthew 16:5-6 NLT Ouch.  V7 tells us that the discipiles were arguing, blaming (& maybe they just wanted Jesus to miraculously fix their mistake, their problem). In v12 Matthew gives some commentary that they'd finally figured out Jesus wasn't talking about bread but about the deceptive teaching that they seemed to be embodying.  That came out as arguing and blaming. So I'm wondering if this is what Jesus wants me to get: when my response to something is arguing & blaming, pointing the finger, what is it that I'm believing that is more aligned to the Pharisees & Sadducees than to Jesus? What is the yeast that is permeating through me that needs to be replaced with the yeast that Jesus gives? Jesus was using an everyday thing (their re...

He replied,  "You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times!" Matthew 16:2-3 NLT Sayings about the weather have been around a long time, and even Jesus uses them! The religious leaders had come to Jesus demanding a miracle to prove his authority.  He gives them nothing.  In the next couple of verses he gives them a telling off and walks away.  They're coming at Jesus from a place of their own authority. Demanding.  Requiring. Challenging. I guess Jesus knows their hearts and understands their motivations which is not really to find out about Jesus, but to discredit him. It's like Jesus is saying to them "I'm as easy to read as the weather.  Just look. Lift up your eyes, look outside and you can see the weather. Lift up your eyes and see me, hear what I have to s...

O God,  do not be silent!  Do not be deaf.  Do not be quiet,  O God. Don't you hear the uproar of your enemies?  Don't you see  that your arrogant enemies are rising up? Psalms 83:1-2 NLT Can you see Asaph writing this song? Imagine what's going on for him...what's going on in his world that isn't right. He then goes on to tell God specifically what is wrong, exactly what God should do, and just what the outcome will be if God would simply listen to him. I think this is an invitation to us to do the same, to tell God specifically what is wrong.  (Not sure that's going to be a song we will all sing in church next week, but who knows, maybe we should). When we write down what's wrong, write down what we want God to do,  and write down what the outcome would be in can help us see what we need, what's really important.  Writing it down gets it out of our head.  Writing it down lets us see where we can shift things. Telling God let's Him know...

Jesus replied,  "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance..." Matthew 15:3-4 NLT The local teachers of the law were having a go at Jesus because his team were ignoring their traditional of ceremonial hand washing before eating.  Nothing wrong with having traditions. Nothing wrong with washing your hands. However, Jesus is not so keen on elevating current, local ways of doing things to the level of the 10 Commandments.  And he's even less keen on the hypocrisy of those who for reasons of tradition or power or control or their own comfort or benefit, want  things to stay the same. The freedom of being a follower of Jesus was upsetting the status quo for this group.  We all have "shoulds" This is the way things should be. We don't always say them out loud but they're there.  I think Jesus convo with the Pharisees is an invitation to us to relook at our "shoulds" in the light of the good news of Grace...

Friday! Proverbs! He who remains stiffnecked after much rebuke will be suddenly and incurably broken. Proverbs 29:1 CJB  Ouch! Welcome to Proverbs Ch29! What is it about us that refuses to admit we are wrong, refuses to turn our neck so that we can see another perspective, another view, another person. This proverb makes me wonder where in my life I am like that...where I just won't consider anyone else's view... I'm wondering about some of those internal stories that we keep telling ourselves, the lies that we sometimes believe and won't allow to shift. Those places where we would give grace to others, but not to ourselves...where we go it alone and won't let others in... We're made for community, for communing, for letting others in...those who are trust worthy...perhaps we need to invite Jesus in to some of those places to see what He has to say... #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon  #changeispossible

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him,  "You of little faith,  why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:31 CSB Peter was walking on the water...until he wasn't.  We often focus on Peter getting distracted by the storm, takes his eyes off Jesus, and sinks. But Jesus isn't concerned about the storm, or the sinking, but in what is going on in Peter's heart.  Doubt.  Doubt about who Jesus is. And the Doubt arrives when faith shrinks, when faith is too small.  "Why did you doubt?" I wonder what Peter's answer was to Jesus question. (Spoiler alert - see v33 for the group answer). I wonder if this will be a question Jesus asks me; "Why did you doubt?" And maybe that's where this story being found in the storm, in the middle of the night is helpful. When things are against us, there's fear, we can't see the shore, lost sight of where we've come from and where we're going, we're tired, we've ju...

Just then Jesus spoke to them,  "Be encouraged!  It's me.  Don't be afraid." Jesus turned up in an unexpected way, at a time when his team didn't expect to see him, in the storm. The storm didn't change. The work the disciples had to do to cross the lake didn't change  It was still 2am or something and everyone is still working. And the unexpectedness of Jesus turning up that way freaked his team out. I wonder why Matthew includes this story? And just after his description of Jesus way of teaching with parables? I'm wondering if it's there because Jesus wanted to show those closest to him, those who were hearing his teaching every day, that he is a Rabbi, and he is more.  Rabbi's can't walk on water.  Maybe they were starting to put Jesus in a box.  Perhaps this story is here as a reminder to us too when we are tempted to put Jesus in the "good teacher" box. #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #beencouraged #dontbeafraid

But Jesus said to them, "There's no need to send them away. You give them something to eat." Matthew 14:16 CEB Jesus looked on the crowd with compassion (see v14). Even though he was wanting time alone, processing the death of John the Baptist.  The disciples were seeing the crowd as the problem and wanted to send them away. Jesus saw the lack of food as the problem and saw the people through the lens of compassion. I'm so easily with the disciples, "them, they, those people are the problem", and I value problem solving so fixing it seems easy - send them away to find their own food. But Jesus looks through the lens of compassion, and unlike my compassion, his never wavers or seems to get tired or overwhelmed.  Jesus asks his disciples to change their stance towards the crowd and to find a different solution, and this one was going to need something supernatural, something beyond what the disciples could see.  Whether there's a miracle or not, Jesus invi...

Then Jesus told them,  "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family." Matthew 13:57 NLT There's a bit of "tall poppy" cutting down someone successful, not able to celebrate them because it makes me look bad, small, unsuccessful (see v55-56) Is this Jesus offended that his whaanau, his people, don't get him, don't believe in him? Or is this Jesus just keeping it real, aligning himself with those who know what it's like to be misunderstood by those we want most to understand us. Those who know what it's like to be rejected by those we most want to be accepted by.  Those who are not seen for who we really are now, not seen by thoae who continue to hold some image of who we were then, and cannot, or will not, acknowledge any change, or growth, won't see us for who we are now. Jesus knows the sting of that rejection, the wound of that unseenness. He knows. #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #Jesusknows

Sunday Psalms; Give justice to the poor and the orphan;  uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless;  deliver them from the grasp of evil people. Psalms 82:3-4 NLT Asaph is crying out to heaven to change things in his world. Not sure if he sees himself or his people in these descriptions: Poor. Orphan. Oppressed. Destitute. What he is doing is 2 things: 1. He sees the sufferers. He doesn't turn away, pretend people aren't being harmed, that there isn't oppression and injustice even if it's not what he is experiencing right now.  He either is suffering, or he aligns himself with the sufferers.  2. He cries out, speaks up, writes his song, beseeches heaven to shift something, he does not stay silent, forget, sweep it under the carpet.  He uses his voice for those who may have no voice. These categories are in the middle of our Bible for a reason, and maybe today our God is inviting you to stand with the poor, orphan, oppress...

When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase. Proverbs 28:28 NKJV I put a gap in the proverb because there's a gap between the wicked arising and their perishing or reducing in power.  And we stand in that gap. We may not have any influence with Russia or Israel or Palestine, but we can stand for finding peaceful solutions that protect the innocent. We may have little influence on our own government or the institutions that it runs on our behalf, but we can advocate for equity, fairness, justice in the way people are treated in those institutions. We may not feel that we even have power in our own families to do anything about those who have used their power to harm us. But we can find our voice, find trusted people to share our story with, and break the cycles, be the change in the places that we live, work, create, rest, worship. We can join with others in how we spend our money, time, resources, the things we write, the songs we sing, ...

Friday! Proverbs! When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase. Proverbs 28:28 NKJV When those who would hold and grasp power for themselves, those who seek to grow their own kingdom are in charge, others shrink, get smaller. I just wonder when I've been that person, when I've got what I want at the expense of someone else? When I've only considered my thriving? And maybe there's times when you've made yourself small because someone had power that they were using for their own gain? Or only come "back to life" when someone else's power diminished? We can see this proverb worked out in countries, communities, families, and personally. We can see it in institutions and systems, and in culture. And maybe we can even see it inside us, what thoughts we give power to, and what parts of us shrink as a result.  That's why the truth that you are Beloved,  that the One who loves you will never let you go, that one ...

Then he added,  "Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old." Matthew 13:52 NLT We get the impression sometimes that Jesus had it in for all the religious leaders, but this little quote tells us something else...that while some may have been caught out in their hypocrisy, there is gold in those who have steeped themselves in (what we call) the Old Testament. As people grow into being disciples of the Kingdom of Heaven, they see things differently, see what they've learned differently, seen their experiences differently, and find the gold. As we grow into being disciples of the Kingdom of Heaven, may we find the gold too.  The gold in our stories. And discover the new, what it is to be followers of Jesus in 2024, the gold that is in our world, in those around us, and within each of us. There is gold in you! #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #youareBelo...

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement,  he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again,  the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value,  he sold everything he owned and bought it!" Matthew 13:34-36 NLT Mmm so what does the pearl, the treasure in field represent? Who is it who is on the lookout? Looking for hidden or buried treasure? Looking for the choice pearls? What did Jesus want his listeners to hear? What does he want you to hear? Could it be that you are the treasure, that you are the choice pearl, that you have been searched for, that your value is recognised by the one searching (even though it might be buried to the world or hard to distinguish from all the other pearls). Could it be that you're worth searching for. That you are valued. That you are Beloved. #wordsofJesus  #redletterBi...

Jesus also used this illustration:  "The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.  Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough." Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.  Matthew 13:33-34 NLT The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast worked into the dough, and baked into bread.  I wonder what Jesus wanted his hearers to hear in this parable? What does he want us to hear? What do you hear as you sit with this story? Jesus never spoke to crowds of people without a story, without creating a metaphor to connect them with him, to help them connect with his teaching, so just maybe we need to sit with these parables too and wonder a little.  Wonder about yeast, flour, the process of kneading, baking, a finished loaf, and the Kingdom of Heaven that we aspire to be "in" or "go to", ma...

Here is another illustration Jesus used: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds,  but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree,  and birds come  and make nests in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32 NLT Can you picture Matthew writing down some of Jesus' stories?  Which ones to keep? Which ones made more sense to him? I wonder how many times Jesus shared this one. What does Jesus want us to see when he describes the Kingdom of Heaven in this way?  What strikes you about the story? The mustard seed? The field? The unknown planter? The tree? The garden? The birds? The nests? Or is it the arc of the story that we're supposed to see? Is it about what's not there that we seem to think Heaven is full of, clouds, angels, harps, or whatever? Or is it wondering about the last image, a tree, fully formed and flourishing, providing safety and nourishment for the small, the co-flourishing of the tre...

Sunday Psalms: Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven's Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. Psalms 80:19 NLT Asaph's song notes it's to be sung to the tune of "Lillies of the Covenant".  Some of the rhythm of the song may be lost in English but it tells a story and has this refrain of asking the God of Heaven's Armies to step in, to make things right.  Asaph isn't after compassion or love, but military action, enemies defeated, big movement, God entering into the story with POWER.  It feels like God has turned away. "Our enemies treat us like a joke" v6. Again and again in this song the singers, the community, ask God to shine His Face on them.   What can we take from this song? Maybe as you read it, the images relate to something you're suffering or struggling with. This song says it's OK not to be OK with events in the world, the actions of others, injustice, oppression, when things are not r...

Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. Proverbs 28:27 NLT Today's fun question is how do I close my eyes to poverty? I do it in this way. I believed that everyone (in the world) has the same opportunity to succeed.  Even as I learned more about the world I still carried this story that at least in our country everyone is equal and has the same opportunity if you just choose to work hard.  It's taken some time, and entering in to the stories of others to shift that presumption. How does that belief make me blind? Because it makes it easy to blame the person for where they are.  It's all about them, their poor choices, and if only they made good, smart, better choices (like I would) then they wouldn't be in the place that they are now. But I wasn't born into their family, in their body, had their experiences, had the expectations of their family, peers, culture, community.  My parents weren't migrants...

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. Proverbs 28:27 NLT The word here translated "close" is literally "to conceal".  We look away, choose not to look at all.  And there are times when we have to look away or have boundaries about what we see for our on well being. But when we never look at the cause of poverty, never enter in to another's story, then we can tell ourselves "it's nothing to do with me". We never have to consider causes.  Or privilege. Or who I vote for. Or what sort of society we want. Or is what I do, what I buy, helping or making things worse? This proverb offers an antidote to my selfishness: to be generous. By giving, even in the smallest of ways, we are shifting the story, and even if the results don't seem big or tangible, giving makes space in our hearts for others. It has the opportunity to enlarges us, to allow us to walk in the world wit...

Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away." Matthew 13:24-25 NLT Matthew gives us this story from Jesus straight after the one about the seed and the types of soil the seed is planted in.  Again its some kind of description of the Kingdom of Heaven.  This one has a farmer too who is planting seed. Good seed. And the problem is not the soil, and the problem is not the soil but some other party. Someone is sneaking in in the night. An enemy.  I wonder what Jesus wanted his 1st century Jewish audience to hear? How is this describing the Kingdom of Heaven?  (It seems to be a place in the here-and-now). (It seems to be a place with goodness, and with problems, enemies). Does this seem weird that an enemy would plant weeds amongst your crops? What's the enemy's objective? (Our enemy is sneaky and decept...

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. James 1:19-21 NLT Remember everything James says here is couched in, held in, "dear brothers & sisters". There's something about our anger that can take us away from the best that God has for us.  Anger at injustice reflects Gods heart, but James is indicating that often underneath our anger is not a righteous cause, but something else.  Something that needs to be got rid of because it's at odds with God's Word. Seeing those things and finding them is not always easy on our own, we're in this together to help one another with our stuff. What's underneath that needs a nudge, needs to go from my life? What are the boundaries I nee...

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  James 1:19 NLT This is the third time on one page that James has used this term "my dear brothers and sisters". He is not telling, directing, yelling, putting himself higher, but coming alongside, equals, encouraging, we're in this together. The word here for "anger" can also mean passions, its like he's saying sometimes we can let our emotions take charge.  Our emotions tell us something, but in the moment don't always give us the right words to say, direct the right responses in some situations. We may need to learn to slow down. Slow down anger. Slow down speaking. And step up our listening game. These things all happen in relationship with others. Workmates, classmates, customers, patients, bosses, staff, parents, children, spouses, partners, flatmates, friends...we have relationships with people all over the place.  And James walkin...

"The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced." Matthew 13:22NLT Jesus was explaining both his use of parables and this particular parable to his disciples, around 2000 years ago. Even then the worries of this life crowded in.  Even then the lure of wealth captured people's hearts. And that was without smart phones, instagram, celebrity gurus, sports people, musicians, actors, and people who are famous for being famous pushing their brands, ideas of beauty, and solutions for everything into our lives at every opportunity. They didn't have live lotto draws, pokie machines, or a media obsession with money and the lure of instant wealth promoted as the way to solve everything.  They may have compared each other, but couldn't do that with millions of other people living their best life anywhere.  Is it any wonder G...

Sunday Psalms; O God,  pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession. They have defiled your holy Temple and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven.  Psalms 79:1-2 NLT Actual war.  Asaphs psalm could be written today if you live in Ukraine, Gaza, parts of sub-saharan Africa, Sudan, Myanmar... Asaph thinks that God is angry (v5), he thinks God is blaming them for the sins of others (v8), their own sins (v9), he tries to tell God to sort this out to save Gods reputation (v9, v12), tries provoking Gods compassion (v8, v11), and ends the psalm telling God how faithful and worshipful his people will be forever, after God has stepped in and sorted it out (v13). Asaph is trying everything he knows to prompt God to intervene. And it follows Ps78 which outlines the peoples rebellion against God, how they forgot Him, forgot His interventions, how they rejected Him, turned away & "stubbornly te...

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,  But whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:26 NKJV This proverb, with the benefit of our place in time, holds a hint of a deliverance that is bigger than me, bigger than today's circumstances, bigger than perhaps what we can imagine.  Bigger than God making a way for his people through the Red Sea.  Jesus said that he turned up so that we can have Life in all its fullness.  There is a deliverance that has arrived. And there's more.  A new earth, but without the weeds, the tears, the hurts, where all the broken connections to the land, to each other, within us, and with God, will be restored.  The New Testament describes the path of wisdom as Faith, faith in Jesus, the deliverer.  With our 2024 perspective we have more resources than ever to walk in wisdom, to follow Jesus.  Jesus was never in a rush, just walked, one step at a time. That's all we need to do too, one step of faith at a time......