verseoftheday

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;  ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes,  speak up for the poor and helpless,  and see that they get justice.  Proverbs 31:1-9 NLT Who are the invisible? Those who have no voice. Who are the ones who cannot speak for themselves? Those who have no voice. Having a voice somewhere is what makes us human. It was the voice of God that brought all we know into existence, Jesus was named the logos, the word, he spoke healing and hope. The first interactions of people with God required voice.  We're made in God's image and that includes having a voice. Some of our deepest hurt comes when we believe we have no voice. In this Proverb, King Lemuel's mum encourages us to restore the voice of those it has been taken from. That is the start of justice. This may be the holiest work there is. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtosay #somethingtochewon 

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 31:1-9 NLT The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him. O my son,  O son of my womb,  O son of my vows,  do not waste your strength on women,  on those who ruin kings. It is not for kings,  O Lemuel,  to guzzle wine.  Rulers should not crave alcohol. For if they drink,  they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed. Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress. Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.  Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;  ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes,  speak up for the poor and helpless,  and see that they get justice.  Proverbs 31:1-9 NLT What does King Lemuel's Mum have to say? 1. Where you have power, use it to benefit those who have less.  2. Don't get caught up in what your culture, your world is trying to tell you to spend your life in o...

"Then the King will say to those on his right,  'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry,  and you fed me.  I was thirsty,  and you gave me a drink.  I was a stranger,  and you invited me into your home. I was naked,  and you gave me clothing.  I was sick,  and you cared for me.  I was in prison,  and you visited me.'" Matthew 25:34-36 NLT Jesus gives his Kingdom manifesto. If we ever wonder what God's will for us might be, what His calling might be, how He thinks His Kingdom will come on earth, then here it is.  Jesus Kingdom is a place where needs are met, physical needs, relational needs, a place where community and people are valued higher than anything else, a place where reaching out, seeing others, being generous, is normal. A place where there is no "them", only "us". #wordsofJesus #redletterBible  #manifesto #kingdomwork #lovewin...

"Again,  the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip.  He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last - dividing it in proportion to their abilities.  He then left on his trip." Matthew 25:14-15 NLT This story is another installment of Jesus answering the disciples questions about when the Temple will be destroyed & rebuilt, and Jesus gave them stories about watching, being ready, prepared, and now this one about using what they have been given wisely.  Because the Kingdom is not static, it's about things getting done.  Makes me wonder what this means about me - what does this story invite me into? What does it invite you into? If the Kingdom is a heart thing, not some external thing like the temple, a heart that is not expected to remain the same, but change and develop and be invest...

Don't worry about anything, but in everything,  through prayer and petition with thanksgiving,  present your requests to God. And the peace of God,  which surpasses all understanding,  will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 CSB This was the first verseoftheday and each November 12 we revisit it (& remind you that it's OK to unsubscribe anytime). Missed Nov 12 this year, but here we are with an annual reminder about worry "Don't worry about anything" just seems too difficult.  The stuff I have, the concerns, the fears, the hurts, the burdens, the unknowns, the knowns.  Yet Paul doesn't just tell us to stop worrying, he invites us into an alternative. A place where we are heard.  A place where what matters to us, matters. A place where we don't have to guard our hearts quite so much, because something bigger is doing that - the peace of God. Even Paul has a struggle nailing down this peace, defining it, holding it, but it...

But stay away from the godless myths that are passed down from the older women. Train yourself for a holy life! While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come. This saying is reliable and deserves complete acceptance. We work and struggle for this: "Our hope is set on the living God, who is the savior of all people, especially those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:7-10 CEB This "holy living" Paul is inviting us to train in is the word "eusebeia", sometimes translated "godliness", and it seems to mean our inner response to God that then finds its expression in the way we are in the world. This is the heart training Paul asks us to step towards. Just like going for a run or any kind of exercise, once doesn't really help, it's the regular practice that makes small gains, small shifts over time. And it's combined with where our hope is: In the Livin...

Sunday Psalms; Praise the Lord,  all you nations.  Praise him,  all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful;  the Lord's faithfulness endures forever.  Praise the Lord! Psalms 117 NLT Is this the shortest psalm in the book? It stands as an invitation for everyone everywhere to join together, for others to join with us, and for us to join with others, to join in in languages we may not be fluent in (or even understand) in places and ways that might be unfamiliar, but joining together with hearts that praise our God. This song gives two reasons to praise our God: Unfailing Love. And Enduring Faithfulness. When our circumstances are tough, when the world seems against us, when our thoughts are difficult to harness, when our emotions are all over the place, when we're calm, when things are good, when our plans are falling into place, praise our God for these 2 things: Unfailing Love. And Enduring Faithfulness. They're always true.  #p...

1 Timothy 4:6 NLT If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed.  1 Timothy 4:6 NLT Sometimes it is in the sharing with others, discussing ideas, the teaching, the figuring out our theology together in the world that we live in, that's when the best learning happens, that's when we get nourished the most. So don't let your pastor or Bible teacher or small group leader get all the nourishment, there's enough goodness for all of us. Let's share what we learn, what we discover, how our theology works in this world that we live in. #letters #lettertoTimothy  #itsallaboutsharing

Friday! Proverbs! For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife. Proverbs 30:33 NET "Churning", "punching", and "stirring up" are actually the same word in the Hebrew: "mits" This word is about extracting juice from grapes, about pressure that inevitably produces what is inside. To make sense of that it is translated as churning of milk inevitably produces butter, punching someones nose inevitably causes bleeding, and the heart that intentionally stirs up anger produces ongoing disputes, lawsuits, issues between people that drag on. Contention. Strife. Anger is such an interesting thing. It tells us that something is wrong.  Anger can be the fuel to motivate us towards change, towards righting wrongs, towards justice.  But just like the milk was OK being milk, and my nose was working fine, anger doesn't need to be stirred up, to be punched, to be brought to life by us...

Matthew 25:13 NLT "So you, too, must keep watch!  For you do not know the day or hour of my return." Jesus disciples, his closest team were asking about the Kingdom, when Jesus would return, and Jesus explains it with stories. This is a story of waiting. Waiting when it seems that nothing is happening. Waiting faithfully. Waiting patiently. Waiting in community. Waiting trusting in the Bigger Story that we are part of. Waiting isn't something I'm good at and being able to access what seems like the whole world via a screen I keep in my pocket sometimes doesn't help me learn how to wait.  Jesus says to his team wait, and trust me.  "Jesus, what do you have for me in this waiting?  Help me, be with me in the waiting. Help me to wait well.  Amen." #wordsofJesus #redletterBible #dangerousprayers #faith #ittakesfaithtowait

Matthew 24:36 NLT "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." Jesus shares all kinds of  mysteries in this dialogue, some which seem clear, and some that don't. This part is though. We crave certainty. And Jesus tells his team, and us, that there are unknowns, mysteries, things yet to unfold in the Big Story, and here we are 2000 years later...and I don't think Jesus would want us sitting around looking at the sky, or bothering to try and figure out all the mysteries, he'd encourage us towards love, justice, faith, doing good, lifting up others, allowing ourselves to be lifted up, becoming the Kingdom. Whatever is in front today, become the Kingdom. #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #wearetheKingdom

"Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed.  You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.  And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come." Matthew 24:9-14 NLT Jesus disciples were wanting to know what will happen next, how it all ends. And it doesn't start well. If you're a disciple following your Rabbi and get told the next thing is you'll be hated on and killed and it will seem that the Kingdom dream is dead.  But there's a Bigger Story at work here, a Story where Jesus wants everyone to be embraced in God's Kingdom, that even when the Good News seems to be lost, buried, overcome, it is...

Psalms 116:3-4 NLT Death wrapped its ropes around me;  the terrors of the grave overtook me.  I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Please,  Lord,  save me!" Psalms 116:3-4 NLT There are days when things can feel too much. And if you can't find the words to express how things are for you, they're usually here in the psalms somewhere. This song covers despair, and losing sight of the future. There's no platitudes here, no "just be positive" but the writer is aware of their emotions, and takes a step towards God, towards someone bigger. Please Lord,  save me. Sometimes that's all we have when we can't see the way forward, when despair threatens to overwhelm, Please Lord, save me. We get to choose to trust God on the mountain tops and in the valleys.  This song is about trusting Him even though we walk in the valley. #Monday #Godsgym #trust #faith #rememberweareBeloved

Sunday Psalms; I love the Lord because he hears my voice  and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen,  I will pray as long as I have breath! Pdalms 116:1-2 NLT The next few verses of this psalm, this song, express how deeply distressed the writer is, yet still chooses to start the song with this beautiful picture of our God who hears,  our God who stretches out,  bends down,  moves towards. Our God's ultimate moving towards was Jesus, God in a person, listening, bending down, leaning in to humanity, to people, to speak to us, to show that we are Beloved. The psalmist knew that before Jesus somehow. Maybe he experienced it in creation, the eyes and hands of others, some kind of connection in his spirit, but he knew: Our God listens. Bends down. Stretches towards. Loves. #truthtorestin #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #weareBeloved 

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you,  O mortal,  what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly  and to love mercy  and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:6-8 NIV We think we can fix things with God, be accepted and acceptable by doing more and more of the right things. But the prophet Micah invites us to see life differently, that you're already beloved, your life is short, so walk humbly with God, and as we do, love mercy, and act justly.  Seems so simple.  Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 that the important things were justice, mercy, and faithfulness, not tasks, but attitudes, ways of being in the world...

Friday! Proverbs! If you have been foolish by exalting yourself or if you've been scheming, put your hand over your mouth. Proverbs 30:32 CSB The things this Proverb is warning about seem easy to spot in others. But not so easy to see in ourselves. And I think that's because our own hearts are so easily self-deceived. We lose sight of what really matters. This is not warning us about being proud of our achievements or planning things, but about a heart that is scheming, lifting ourselves up above others, sees itself as better-than. This proverb is inviting us to check in ourselves, listen to our own words, check in on our own thoughts and what really needs discarding or left to float out of our minds.  Not every thought that pops into my mind has a right to stay there, or find its expression in words. It's an invitation to check in on our heart. #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #rememberweareBeloved

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones Gods messengers!  How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me." Matthew 23:37 NLT Jesus is giving the religious and political leaders a massive telling off, and yet he cannot help but love, express love, show his heart of love by describing the Eternal Creator of Everything as being like a hen looking out for her chicks, gathering them under the protection of her wings, wanting to make sure that they're all OK. Jesus is letting these people know that they're miles away from him, yet, His heart is still for them, he just wants to gather them in. When we're furthest away from God, His heart is for us, and wants to gather us back in. Because we are Beloved. #wordsofJesus  #redletterBible  #weareBeloved

"Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father', for only God in heaven is your Father. And don't let anyone call you 'Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:8-12 NLT Jesus is challenging all the power structures that people have created,  particularly religious ones, but he also challenges here family too, and society structures that put some above, and some as less than. Today in Aotearoa NZ our government is apparently going to apologise for generations of harm caused to people in care of the state. Abuse and harm caused by those with power. The State, religious organisations, those holding power over others. This problem is no smaller today than the one Jesus pr...

Psalms 115:6-11 NLT They have ears but cannot hear,  and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel,  and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. All you who fear the Lord,  trust the Lord!  He is your helper and your shield. Psalms 115:6-11 NLT  The psalmist is reminding those who we think shouldn't need reminding to trust in our God. Those who have experienced the redemption of the nation from slavery. The priests, the religious professionals whose job it is to trust in God. All of us at times need reminding, because of 2 things: Stuff happens. Tragedy, loss, hurt, sadness, things that threaten our faith. Stuff happens in our life that we can't make sense of. And we're human, we don't always get it right, stay th...

Sunday Psalms Psalms 115:2-7 NLT Why let the nations say, "Where is their God?" Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak,  and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear,  and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel,  and feet but cannot walk,  and throats but cannot make a sound. Psalms 115:2-7 NLT This song seems to be a bit of a challenge about what we put our faith in. We may not have the household gods or the temples to the gods that may have been the thing when this song was written, but we do put our faith in things: The economy Money  Business  Countries Governments  Democracy  Technology  Our own resilience  Health  What makes your list? This psalm reminds us to return our faith to the Living God, to the Big Story that has and is continuing to unfold, a story of Love. Even when toda...

1 Timothy 4:1-5 NLT Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.  These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.  Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.  1 Timothy 1:4-5 NLT There's a freedom here that Paul is warning Timothy to teach about that is so easily lost. Good things become rules that will supposedly save us.  The rule is, if God has made it, it's good.  These around food whether cultural or religious, as a follower of Jesus you don't have to worry about.  Paul is standing against things that were going on on his day, ...

There are three things that walk with stately stride - no, four that strut about: the lion, king of animals, who won't turn aside for anything, the strutting rooster,  the male goat,  a king as he leads his army. Proverbs 30:29-31 NLT There's some odd things in this chapter, and this seems the oddest.  It seems that these are things that impress us, certainly the power of a lion is impressive, the attitude of a rooster or a goat, these animals are all running on instinct, standing firm in the world in who they are. But the king is different - the crowning of King Charles was certainly impressive for example -  but a king has no power without his army. I wonder why Agur (son of Jakeh) wrote this - and is there a connection with v1, his opening complaint to God about being weary & worn out. Perhaps he's tired of all the posturing.  What do you think? #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon  #oddpassages

But when I am afraid,  I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?  What can mere mortals do to me? Psalms 56:3-4 NLT Are there places in the Bible that you go back to regularly when you feel under pressure, when you need a reset, when the ground feels shakey...this is one of mine... "But when I am afraid..." affirms our emotions, allows us to have them, expects them. "...I will..." There's a choosing here when there's things going on. "...put my trust in You" I choose to trust in someone bigger, a Bigger Story. And them at the end of this piece the song writer reminds me that it's often fear of people, what they think, what I think that they think, that is beneath my fear, so I choose to trust in our God anyway.  Do you have a "go to" passage?  Let God's word and His Spirit minister to you in the places that you need it today. #psalms #psalm56 #firstaid #weareBelo...

Jesus replied,  "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important:  'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:  "What do you think about the Messiah?  Whose son is he?" Matthew 22:37-42 NLT The religious (& political) elite in their culture were trying to trap Jesus, and Jesus uses the Bible that they knew, taking a verse from Deuteronomy and one from Leviticus and making something new, pointing to the Kingdom that was meant to be, and the Kingdom that Jesus was ushering in. And then Jesus sets his own trap, challenges the Pharisees at their own game.  But that question still stands for us: "What do you think about the Messiah? Who's son is he?" It's all good knowing our theo...

For God loved the world in this way:  He gave his one and only Son,  so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,  but to save the world through him.  John 3:16-17 CSB What is it that you need to hear today? Do you need to hear that God loves you? That he made a way? That Jesus is the Way? That it's not about our effort, our doing enough, doing more, but about choosing to believe in Jesus. Faith is enough, because you're aleeady enough. Is it something about Life you need to hear?  Or that Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save.  Not to condemn, but to save.  If Jesus isn't condemning you, then maybe you don't need to either.  Today let Jesus's words speak life to those parts of you that need it most. For God loved the world in this way:  He gave his one and only Son,  so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal ...

Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:  Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. 1 Timothy 1 3:16 NLT  If Paul still writes to Timothy about the mysteries of Jesus then it's OK if we don't always fully grasp it all either.  It's OK to have wonderings, questions, things we don't get. And the big thing at the centre of it all is Jesus, becoming a person, and entering the story as one of us. God with us. God in person. God is a person. No matter what we face today, we get to hold faith in the Big Story that there is this Life, and there is More.  More to this story (even if we can't see it now). More to come (even tho we don't know exactly what that is). We get to trust the Big Story of Jesus. #itsOKnottoknowitall #mystery  #letters #lettertoTimothy #faith 

Sunday Psalms: When Israel came out of Egypt - the house of Jacob from a people who spoke a foreign language - Judah became his sanctuary, Israel, his dominion. The sea looked and fled; the Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills, like lambs. Why was it,  sea,  that you fled?  Jordan,  that you turned back? Mountains,  that you skipped like rams?  Hills,  like lambs? Tremble,  earth,  at the presence of the Lord,  at the presence of the God of Jacob,  who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a spring. Psalms 114 What a picture the psalmist is painting of a world that has suddenly changed, and come alive. After being colonised, held captive for so long, they were brought into freedom. The freedom of their indigenous language. The barriers that held them were gone, and the world came alive, as God turned rocks and flint into pools and springs...the work that he does in us, and through us in this world, an...

The expert came to him. "Wisdomkeeper," he asked, "which instruction in our tribal law stands first?" Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered him, "'You must love the Great Spirit from deep within, with the strength of your arms,  the thoughts of your mind,  and the courage of your heart.' This is the first and greatest instruction. "The second is like the first," he added.  "'You must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves.' The Law and the words of the prophets all find their full meaning in these two instructions." Matthew 22:36-40 FNVNT  #wordsofJesus #redletterBible  #loveGodlovepeople #itsaheartthing  #keepitsimple #Jesussumsitallup

Friday! Proverbs! Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: ants are not a strong people, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are not a mighty people, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; locusts have no king, yet all of them march in ranks; a lizard can be caught in your hands, yet it lives in kings' palaces. Proverbs 30:24-28 CSB I wonder why Agur (son of Jakeh) has shared these observations? And why are they in our Bible? Perhaps they are there to remind us that when we feel small in the eyes of the world, that doesn't mean we're of no value, that our wisdom doesn't matter.  In God's economy the small are valued.  Perhaps it's to remind us that unique gifts, ways of being in the world that are a little different to others, to others expectations, are OK and valued.  Perhaps its to remind us there is value in community where all are equal. Perhaps it's a reminder to look for wisdom in others even if the world bypasses...