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Jesus left with his disciples and went to the lake. A large crowd followed him because they had heard what he was doing.  They were from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the area surrounding Tyre and Sidon. Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him so the crowd wouldn't crush him. He had healed so many people that everyone who was sick pushed forward so that they could touch him.  Mark 3:7-10 CEB The Pharisees were so diaturbed that Jesus broke their Sabbath rules by healing someone in front 8f them that they were plotting his death. And Jesus is so popular, with crowds pushing in from all over the place, all wanting to touch him,  desperate for healing, he had to put some boundaries in place, speaking to people from a boat on the lake. It seems that in his humanity, Jesus had limitations and limits, just like us. Whatever we're facing, going through, whatever is in front, honouring our limitations and limits is OK, putting in bou...
Friday! Proverbs! Don't accuse anyone without reason,  when they haven't harmed you.   Proverbs 3:30 CEB Don't make stuff up, guess, fill in the blanks - the parts we don't know - with assumptions. The Hebrew word here is "riyb" which means to grapple, wrestle, contend, dispute, quarrel.  When there's been no harm, no cost, this proverb is inviting us to find other ways to communicate without the contention, the disputing, the wrestling. Ever got through a dispute or an argument with someone and wondered what it was all about? Perhaps start with naming the problem, the issue, and when we start there, new ways of resolving it can open up.  My brain is good at jumping over any missing information, any unknowns, creates it's own little story or justification and goes straight to "you always" or "you never"...just as this Proverb highlights, accusing without reason, without taking the time to know person's heart or intent. If nothin...
The person loving a brother and sister stays in the light, and there is nothing in the light that causes a person to stumble. But the person who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and lives in the darkness, and doesn't know where to go because the darkness blinds the eyes.   1 John 2:10-11 CEB How we see people matters. This expression of John's on loving others, loving our neighbour, must've been in response to something that was going on in the church, in the lives of his readers. Some kind of oppression of others. Some kind of abuse. Some kind of seeing others as "less than", of treating some group, some people as less worthy...and when we do that we're like someone stumbling around in the dark, not even knowing that it's dark, that any memory or idea of the Light seems to have gone. How we see people matters.  #lettersfromJohn  #Light  #livingintheLightequalslovingothers #loveGodlovepeople #liveintheLight
[5] But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete.  This is how we know we are in him: [6] The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked. 1 John 2:5-6 CSB Love made complete. Walk just as he walked. Do we want love to be made complete? Yep. Keep his word. Walk as Jesus walked. Maybe this is not so easy - if we read Matthew Ch5-7 for what keeping his word might look like, when we consider Matthew 22:37-40 (love God with all your heart, soul & mind, & love your neighbour as yourself), when we see Jesus homeless, rejected, abandoned, persecuted, abused, and killed, is that what John means we have to be like? For me the clue is found in Ch2 v1 where John addresses his readers as "my little children". As small children this is about learning, taking small steps, getting it not quite right, getting picked up, dusted off, trying again after a nap, being nurtured and loved as we grow and step towards maturity. It's about a di...
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.  He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins - and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 1 John 2:1-2 NLT Often in the court of my own mind, where I do the accusing, and where I do the judging, there usually isn't a defence attorney, an advocate, but John paints this picture for us of Jesus as that person, bringing the other side of the story. And not only is he the advocate, Jesus also pays the fine, does the time, absorbs whatever the penalty was, pays whatever price needed to be paid. Why? Because Love. Jesus leads our defence. And steps in and pays. Because Love. We are in fact Beloved. Every day, in those moments of choice thru every day, we get to honour that love and live in response to it. We are Beloved. Live like it today... #lettersfromJohn #testimony...
A pilgrimage song. From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,  but they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts,  as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. But the Lord is good;  he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. Psalms 129:2-4 NLT Can you see the writer of this song somehow looking forward and seeing Jesus? Persecuted. With literal furrows in his back. With spiritual furrows carved in him. And a Heavenly Father who did cut him free. But rather than the human response for justice found in this song, Jesus only gave back grace. Love. And this is the Kingdom that our pilgrimage journey is taking us towards.  A place called home. Where our Heavenly Father has cut us free, where we can find true rest, peace, shalom. A place where justice has already prevailed. For now, just like the writer of this Psalm, we take one step at a time, and just like Jesus, in the dark, trust our Heavenly Father. #psalms129 #journey #hopeishere #onedayall...
Sunday Psalms; A pilgrimage song. From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,  but they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts,  as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. But the Lord is good;  he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. Psalms 129:2-4 NLT This part of the pilgrimage, the journey, is acknowledging the harm that others have done. Harm that started when the writer was young, and happened over a long time. Harm that cannot be erased, the writer pictures a back that has been ploughed like a field, being bound by ropes. And this song includes God's goodness even though others have caused harm.  And this song does not demand anything of the person harmed, it actually goes on to give this very human response of wanting some kind of justice; Psalms 129:6-7 NLT "May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,  ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder." Consequences for those who have ...
1 John 2:1 CEB My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that... This letter is attributed to the Apostle John, and written in his old age. An old man bringing all the love and wisdom that he has to encourage and build his readers up. The Greek word is "teknion", little child, a little child who is deeply loved. These letters are written to build up, to encourage, to strengthen, to express love to those younger, younger in faith. That feels like me. Maybe you don't have anyone like John in your life, someone older, wiser, who dearly loves you, and wants to share what they know in kindness and love. These letters are here for us for a reason, and perhaps today, the reason is a reminder that the One who dearly loves John, who then writes with kindness and love, loves us. Loves you. We are the "teknion", deeply loved children. Right now. Deeply loved. #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #deeplyloved
Looking around at them with anger, deeply grieved at their unyielding hearts, he said to the man,  "Stretch out your hand." So he did, and his hand was made healthy.  Mark 3:5 CEB Stretch out your hand. I wonder why Jesus asked this person to stretch out their hand, the hand that was less than, the hand that didn't function how hands are supposed to function, this person's greatest weakness. Stretch out your hand. Is it a command? An invitation? It's almost like this person is presenting their failed, broken part, that part he keeps hidden away, the part that holds shame for him, that part of himself is an offering. Stretch out your hand. Maybe there's some part of us that we don't think is good enough, acceptable, that is broken, that carries our shame, that we keep hidden away, and Jesus says "It's OK, I'm  here, I want to speak life and hope and healing, will you stretch out your "hand", that part, to me? Trust me, You won't e...
He said to the man with the withered hand,  "Step up where people can see you." Then he said to them, "Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they said nothing. Looking around at them with anger, deeply grieved at their unyielding hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he did, and his hand was made healthy.  At that, the Pharisees got together with the supporters of Herod to plan how to destroy Jesus.   Mark 3:3-6 CEB Jesus seems to be saying to those in power "you're missing the Kingdom, you're missing the heart if what God is about, you're missing people, vulnerable people." And they missed Jesus.  It seems that rather than a Messiah, someone who in front of their eyes brought life & healing, all they saw was a threat to them, their systems, their way of life. And it was for that that they plotted his demise.  In the middle of this I am jolted by what Mark records was ...
Jesus returned to the synagogue. A man with a withered hand was there.  Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they were watching Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.  Mark 3:1-2 CEB When the system is more important than people. When the rules are more important than people. When power and position is more important than people, those with disability, less power, less, get used by those with more. Who we see (& don't see) in our world, our communities, matters.  Who are the overlooked, the used, those who matter less? This week it might be people who live in Gaza, people who live in Iran, people who are struggling with disability, age, illness, poverty... These few words from Mark highlight my ability to place people in categories, to judge quickly, to label. Jesus didn't come in power to tip up the systems and ideas of the world, but he came in small.  In weakness. With all the frailty of being human. With all the love of being love. He opened...
He said to them,  "Haven't you ever read what David did when he was in need, when he and those with him were hungry? During the time when Abiathar was high priest, David went into God's house and ate the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. He also gave bread to those who were with him." Then he said,  "The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren't created for the Sabbath. This is why the Human One  is Lord even over the Sabbath." Mark 2:25-28 CEB The rules, the things that God had instituted to speak life into people had become ways of sucking life out of people. Jesus said to these people who were questioning him not only stating his authority, but also the intent.  Sabbath, rest, is not a reward for working, it's not a time and space to recharge so we can be depleted doing things, but a way of being that reflects God's design for our flourishing. The Pharisees had turned it into something else - we all have t...
Sunday Psalms; A pilgrimage song. Everyone who honors the LORD, who walks in God's ways, is truly happy!   Psalms 128:1 CEB Happiness is not a commodity that we can buy. The word here is "esher" Blessedness. Happiness. This is a pilgrimage song, a song of ascents, of movement, of direction. So if we see "happiness" or "blessedness" not as a destination, but as a product of the journey, something that happens in us as a result of choosing to honour God, of walking in His ways, wherever we find ourselves. At work. On holiday. In good times. In grief. In prosperity. In struggle. When we are in good health. When we're hard pressed with our limitations. Wherever we find ourselves today, this song of pilgrimage invites us to walk in God's ways, and when we choose that, then something shifts in those deepest parts of ourselves that communes in some mysterious way with the Eternal. Whatever that pilgrimage step looks like for you today, may the result ...
Mark 2:16, 18, 23-24 CEB When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?" ... John's disciples and the Pharisees had a habit of fasting. Some people asked Jesus,  "Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but yours don't?" ... Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. As the disciples made their way, they were picking the heads of wheat. The Pharisees said to Jesus,  "Look!  Why are they breaking the Sabbath law?" Mark 2:16, 18, 23-24 CEB Everyone had questions for Jesus. Why. Questions about Jesus' choices, his disciples actions, what others noticed. It's OK to ask questions of Jesus. If he turned up at your place, at your church, met you at your local cafe, found yourself next to him on the bus, on a plane or somewhere, what would your questions be? What do you wan...
When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, "Pick twelve men from the people, one man per tribe. Command them, 'Pick up twelve stones from right here in the middle of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests had been firmly planted. Bring them across with you and put them down in the camp where you are staying tonight.'" ... "This will be a symbol among you.  In the future your children may ask,  'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you will tell them that the water of the Jordan was cut off before the LORDs covenant chest. When it crossed over the Jordan, the water of the Jordan was cut off. These stones will be an enduring memorial for the Israelites.'" Joshua 4:1-7 CEB Today in NZ we celebrate Matariki, a time to Remember (those who we have lost), to Celebrate the present, and to Look Forward to the future.  Seems that God gave the Israelites a similar idea, to have memorials of what has been, to...
We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard...about the word of life. The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.  ... This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.  ...he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we've done wrong.  1 John 1:1-2, 5, 7, 9 CEB But that's not for me. It can't be. You don't know me, my thoughts, my actions, what was done to me. Yes I believe this for you, but it can't be true for me. Can it? If Jesus is this Light that comes from Eternity, that contains no darkness, zero, nil, and if anyone has the power to forgive it's Him, if there is any w...
If we claim, "We don't have any sin," we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we've done wrong.  1 John 1:8-9 CEB This ability that we have to deceive ourselves! And John seems to connect my ability of self deception with not holding on to Truth, not letting the Truth reside in me. And then there's confession- self deception holds me back from confession- James talks of confession in community brings healing, and John here says confession to God brings forgiveness. Forgiveness. Confession to the One who is both Faithful and Just, who made the way of forgiveness possible in Jesus. Our Father's arms are open wide, in the ultimate expression of love. Forgiveness. #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #weareBeloved 
Jesus sat down to eat at Levis house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples,  "Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?" When Jesus heard it, he said to them,  "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to call righteous people, but sinners." Mark 2:15-17 CEB These experts in the law just couldn't understand what Jesus was about. They knew all the intricacies of God's law, but had missed the heart behind it all.  Tim Keller used a phrase  our "self salvation project" - where getting right with God is tied up in keeping all the rules - and only if you're good enough at that all the time. Jesus is saying by his actions it's about relationship - it's a heart thing - between peopl...
Ps127 A song of pilgrimage.  Of Solomon. Unless it is the LORD who builds the house, the builders' work is pointless.  Unless it is the LORD who protects the city, the guard on duty is pointless.  It is pointless that you get up early and stay up late, eating the bread of hard labor because God gives sleep to those he loves. No doubt about it: children are a gift from the LORD;  the fruit of the womb is a divine reward. The children born when one is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. The person who fills a quiver full with them is truly happy! They won't be ashamed when arguing with their enemies in the gate. Psalms 127 CEB The 2nd part of this song seems to read like Proverbs, a jumble of ideas from Solomon, but if we keep them in context with his opening thoughts about God being the builder of the house, then he is taking this idea into family life too. Jesus expands this idea of family, so we can take Solomon's invitation to have our God at the centre...
Sunday Psalms; A song of pilgrimage. Of Solomon. Unless it is the LORD who builds the house, the builders' work is pointless. Unless it is the LORD who protects the city, the guard on duty is pointless. It is pointless that you get up early and stay up late, eating the bread of hard labor because God gives sleep to those he loves.   Psalms 127:1-2 CEB Another song of pilgrimage, of journey, this time written by Solomon. I wonder if he is looking at all that he has built and owns and controls & is realising that he thought he could do it all himself.  That he's figured out that he's excluded God in some fundamental way. That weaving God's values, truth, way of being into the things we build, whether that's a home, a business, an artwork, a song, a family...a person... Do I think I can do it all myself...or am I inviting in, weaving in, our God into who I am? #Sunday  #worship  #thisisourGodwhowantstobeweavedin #psalms #psalm126 #pilgrimage  #itsajourney...
My son, don't let them slip from your eyes;  hold on to sound judgment and discretion. ... Don't fear sudden terror or the ruin that comes to the wicked. The LORD will be your confidence;  he will guard your feet from being snared.   Proverbs 3:21, 25-26 CEB Jesus looked to the Father, spent time with Him in prayer, sought His guidance when he was afraid, when he needed confidence, when it all seemed too much. When the forces of the Empire came to arrest him, when he was threatened by crowds, when facing court, Jesus was able to stand firm and clear, knowing that he was held by the Father. It's so easy to lose sight of what is True when noise, darkness, the storm, the demands of others seems to drown out our "sound judgment", and our confidence wanes. Maybe following Jesus example, stepping away from the noise, being intentional prayer, letting what is True centre us again...will guard our feet from whatever it is that wants to snare us... #proverbs  #wisdom #so...
Friday! Proverbs! My son, don't let them slip from your eyes;  hold on to sound judgment and discretion. ... Don't fear sudden terror or the ruin that comes to the wicked. The LORD will be your confidence;  he will guard your feet from being snared.   Proverbs 3:21, 25-26 CEB When we hold on to who our God is, that there is a Bigger Story that we're in, that there is evil in the world, that people and systems aren't always for us, but our God is, that when we overlay what Jesus did - preparing a place for us - then fear doesn't need to overwhelm us.  We can keep our fears in check. Because the "ruin" that comes, whatever that looks like, the loss, the heartache, the hurt, is not permanent, is not the end, is not all that there is.  We don't have to be snared, but can find a way through when we hold to the Truth: We are Beloved. All will be made new. In this world we will have trouble, but we can cling to the One who has Overcome on our behalf.  We need...
Jesus went out beside the lake again. The whole crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.  As he continued along, he saw Levi, Alphaeus' son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes.  Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Levi got up and followed him.   Mark 2:13-14 CEB Mark makes following Jesus seem so simple. Levi is at work, and he just seems to walk away.  Alphaseus gets a mention here to locate Levi in a family, a family it seems he is just going to walk away from. Had Levi heard Jesus teaching before, been in the crowd? Why pick him?  Why would Jesus choose to bring into his circle someone who made his living as the instrument of the Empire that was ruling over his people? He was a tax collector working not for the government, not to provide services for his people, but for Rome.  If in the New Testament there is one group of people singled out in that culture as undesirable, people to stay away from, people looked down on, it was Tax Collectors....
But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light,  we have fellowship with each other,  and the blood of Jesus, his Son,  cleanses us from every sin.  1 John 1:7 CEB  When we live in the Light everything changes. Our communion with one another is different. Our background, ethnicity, culture, upbringing, social "status", are no longer things that might keep us apart, but we find connection in the Light that we share.  Our communion with God is different, because He is not the God of myths, the God of Fear, but the God who is Light. Our communion with Jesus is different because He is the one who made a way, made us right, cleanses us, makes this firelight in the desert, in the dark, a haven, a place of peace, rest, restoration. We're invited in, the circle gets bigger, the Light is Enough. #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #GodisLight  #stepcloser #weareBeloved
This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: "God is light and there is no darkness in him at all." If we claim, "We have fellowship with him," and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully.  1 John 1:5-6 CEB It's quite easy to skip this part about "darkness", because John's next words are so  much more pleasant, about living in the light, fellowship with one another. But just maybe there's places, times, moments when I step back from that fire in the desert, get a little far from the Light, take my eyes away, my thoughts away, and I kid myself, lie to myself that I'm living in the Light. The thing about firelight is that it is always welcoming, always inviting us to step closer, to come out of the dark and into it's warmth and comfort. There's no darkness in Jesus.  But he went into the dark on our behalf and ultimately defeated it, so while there is no darkness in Him, we can find him the...
This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: "God is light  and there is no darkness in him at all." 1 John 1:5 CEB God is Light. The word John uses is "phos" which means light, firelight, luminous. Imagine being in the desert at night and the only light is the fire, it gives light, life, a future, even though surrounded by darkness. If we saw firelight in the distance we would be drawn to it. In God there is no "skotia" no dimness, no darkness. It's like light and darkness cannot coexist in God. "God is light  and there is no darkness in him at all." John says this as an announcement, it's important, he wants us to "get" something important here... what does this truth about our God say to you today? "God is light  and there is no darkness in him at all." What part of us, our culture, church, community, life, needs to be reminded of this today? "God is light  and there is no darkness in hi...
Sunday Psalms; A pilgrimage song. When the LORD changed Zion's circumstances for the better,  it was like we had been dreaming. Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter;  our tongues were filled with joyful shouts. Psalms 126:1-2 CEB A pilgrimage song, a song of journey. Something shifted in the life of the nation and it felt like waking up from what must've been a bad dream. And suddenly things were different.  Maybe you know what that's like, or perhaps you know what it's like to wake up and nothing has changed.  I wonder how often that had happened before the writer of this song penned these words? In v4 the writer gives a clue: LORD,  change our circumstances for the better,  like dry streams in the desert waste!  His story feels like a dry stream in the desert. No hope of any kind of restoration. And yet he continues to hold hope (v5); "Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts." There's hope found in our tears. ...
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,  whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him.  And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 1 John 1:1-4 NLT "Koinonia" is the word here for "fellowship" which means "what is shared in common". John's introduction is inviting his readers (or hearers) into a shared shared story, a shared experience, to hold things together with one another. And in the same way be connected with God the Father, and with Jesus. Our stories will jo...
Friday! Proverbs! My son,  don't let them slip from your eyes;  hold on to sound judgment and discretion.  They will be life for your whole being, and an ornament for your neck. Then you will walk safely on your path, and your foot won't stumble. If you lie down, you won't be terrified. When you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.   Proverbs 3:21-24 CEB These are big benefits  being claimed here! This one thing is going to help us sleep at night, end our fears, and keep us from tripping up in life! This one thing: Sound judgement & discretion = taking control of our thoughts and words. I don't think I challenge my thoughts nearly enough, some of the things I give free rein in my head to really need to be kicked out.  Because when they aren't they feed my fears, they interrupt my sleep, and I make poor choices as a result. So maybe this ancient Proverb is onto something for our modern world. I know I need the wisdom and truth of God's Word, the l...
Jesus raised him up, and right away he picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody. They were all amazed and praised God, saying, "We've never seen anything like this!" Mark 2:12 CEB This is the end of the story of the crowded room, so crowded no one else could get in, and how a paralyzed man's friends took the roof off to make a way for him to get to Jesus. And this sparked up the theologians when Jesus forgave him, something only God can do. And in the end Jesus simply raises him up & he collects his gear and walks out (& somehow the crowd made room for him to leave when they couldn't find room for him to come in.) Jesus turned the powerful leaders world upsidedown. Their power base was crumbling. Jesus turned the crowd's world upsidedown. Hope is here. And Jesus turned this man who had been paralyzed, turned his world upsidedown as he experienced two things, forgiveness directly from Jesus, and the restoration of his body to it's desi...
Mark 2:7-11 CEB "Why does he speak this way?  He's insulting God.  Only the one God can forgive sins." Jesus immediately recognized what they were discussing, and he said to them,  "Why do you fill your minds with these questions? Which is easier - to say to a paralyzed person, 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say,  'Get up, take up your bed, and walk'?  But so you will know that the Human One  has authority on the earth to forgive sins" - he said to the man who was paralyzed, "Get up, take your mat, and go home." Mark 2:7-11 CEB Jesus laid it out for these teachers and scholars, that they can't actually do either of these things, forgive or heal, but he can do both. Because he is who he says he is. Yes only God can forgive and he is doing that.  Only God has power over creation to move and reshape it and he is doing that, so that they will know he has the power, the authority, the right, to forgive, to set things right between Creat...
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,  "Child, your sins are forgiven!" Some legal experts were sitting there, muttering among themselves, "Why does he speak this way?  He's insulting God.  Only the one God can forgive sins." Jesus immediately recognized what they were discussing, and he said to them, "Why do you fill your minds with these questions?" Mark 2:5-8 CEB It seems that these scholars, theologians, people who've spent their lives and careers studying what we call the Old Testament, steeped in the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the Exodus, the plagues and the Passover, who would know what it took to keep people safe from a Holy God, are having their world shaken. They can't believe that this Rabbi is claiming he can forgive sins, and when they grumble about it Jesus seems to "know" in his spirit what's going on. And then he let's them know that they're asking the wrong question. If we...
Psalms 125:3-5 CEB A song of pilgrimage (part 2) The wicked rod won't remain in the land given to the righteous so that they don't use their hands to do anything wrong. LORD,  do good to people who are good,  to people whose hearts are right. But as for those people who turn to their own twisted ways - may the LORD march them off with other evildoers! Peace be on Israel! That part about "the wicked rod" my Bible helpfully says that the Hebrew is unclear, but this second part of this song seems to be about wanting to do right, wanting justice, wanting those who do wrong dealt with somehow. Justice. This desire and cry for justice, for things to be made right, re-made, restored, it's in all of us, and reflected here by the writer of this pilgrimage song. This song makes it seem so simple, that there are good people who's hearts are good, and those who choose their own desires and another group of evildoers. Our reality is not so easy. Within me it seems are all ...
Sunday Psalms; The people who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion:  never shaken,  lasting forever. Mountains surround Jerusalem.  That's how the LORD surrounds his people from now  until  forever from now!   Psalms 125:1-2 CEB Some days we need a song like this, a reminder, an image of how we are held.  Because there are days (or weeks, or years) when it may not feel like we are protected or safe at all. This song is about Forever. Our God who is Forever. If you read v3 of this song it doesn't ignore the realities of today, the things we face, the questions we have, the doubts we wreslte with, the things we can't make sense of, the limitations we live with, and invites us to trust anyway. To trust in the Now and Forever From Now God. To trust anyway. In the storm, when the weather closes in, we may not be able to see those mountains at all, we might even blame them for the weather, we might get glimpses of them then they're gone, a shadow, a ho...
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,  "Child, your sins are forgiven!" Mark 2:5 CEB The word "child" here is "teknon", which means a child, a descendent. Jesus said to this person I see you, and you belong, you are part of me, part of my story, wrapped into my family, right now, even with all your limitations, you are my child. As we let these words of Jesus wash over us "Child, your sins are forgiven!" where is that place of hurt, of loss, of disjoint, of disconnection that they need to land? Will we let His Grace, Love, and Forgiveness in today, into those parts that need healing... What's forgiven here? "hamartia", which is "missing the mark", and often we are our own worst critic, bringing up again and again where we've missed the mark. Let Jesus' Grace absorb that today, as He invites you into rest, into shalom, into sabbath. You are in fact Beloved. It's easy to brush aside Jesus words as...
Friday! Proverbs! The LORD laid the foundations of the earth with wisdom, establishing the heavens with understanding. With his knowledge, the watery depths burst open, and the skies drop dew.   Proverbs 3:19-20 CEB Above, beneath, before, our story, everything is held in God's  Big Story. This is kind of the end of the introduction to Proverbs, of this introduction to wisdom and understanding. And the writer uses the biggest solidist thing, the earth, and the biggest of things he can see, the skies, to place God above, bigger than. What are the biggest & most solidist things that you can imagine? Our God is Bigger and Beyond that, contains all of that and more. And it's His Wisdom and Understanding that we're invited to nibble at the edges of, to partake of, to enter into. Perhaps today there is an opportunity to sit with this idea that our God is Bigger and Beyond. Does it help a little in how we face what is in front of us today? Does it open up a different perspec...
So many gathered that there was no longer space, not even near the door. Jesus was speaking the word to them. Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralyzed. They couldn't carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,  "Child, your sins are forgiven!" Mark 2:2-5 CEB What strikes you about this story? The crowded space, where no one made room for the person who is paralysed? The determination of this person's friends who advocated and fought for him to make a way? In our often individualistic world, that there was something about their combined faith that moved Jesus to heal? Or perhaps it was that this group had to fight, to resist, to push through barriers to get to Jesus? When God seems silent, hard to find, when we need to fight something, to resist...
After a few days, Jesus went back to Capernaum, and people heard that he was at home. So many gathered that there was no longer space, not even near the door. Jesus was speaking the word to them.  Mark 2:1-2 CEB Apparently Capernaum had an estimated population on 1,000-1,500 people, so a large crowd represented a significant proportion of that town's population.  The whole place knew Jesus was back. His first disciples would've been known there, not as scholars or students of the Torah, but as fishermen, and now they were back as disciples of this Rabbi who last time he was in Capernaum was healing people miraculously. And now he is back. What would it have been like to be in the middle of this crowd on that day? People sharing tories about Jesus, some of which would've been true, exaggerations, doubters,  wonderers, & those desperate for help. And they were listening. Because at the heart of all of this is words. Jesus words. Words that can shape and change...us. I w...
Instead, he went out and started talking freely and spreading the news so that Jesus wasn't able to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, but people came to him from everywhere. Mark 1:45 CEB It seems like Jesus wanted to keep things a bit quieter.  So much quiter that he stopped staying in towns and stayed out where no one lived. And people searched him out. People desperate for their own healing or of someone they loved. Yet Jesus shied away from the spotlight, the popularity. I wonder if the fame from the healings would distract everyone from his bigger reason? I wonder if fame and popularity would become a problem for him and his disciples? It must've been overwhelming for the men who a week ago were fishermen...I wonder what they made of all this? Even though Jesus didn't make it easy to be found, people still sought him, located him, found him. Jesus can still be found. #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #Jesuscanstillbefound
Instantly, the skin disease left him, and he was clean.  Sternly, Jesus sent him away, saying,  "Don't say anything to anyone.  Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifice for your cleansing that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them." Instead, he went out and started talking freely and spreading the news so that Jesus wasn't able to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, but people came to him from everywhere. Mark 1:42-45 CEB This person moved in an instant from unwell to well. From outcast to accepted. From solitude to community. And he simply couldn't keep quiet about it (even though Jesus had told him off). And he skipped the power structures of his community altogether it seems. Jesus told him to go to those in power and follow the rules and it seems that in his heart at least, that didn't seem to matter anymore. Jesus had changed his life, and he needed to let people know. Maybe your story isn...
Sunday Psalms  A pilgrimige song.  Of David.  If the LORD hadn't been for us-  let Israel now repeat!  - if the LORD hadn't been for us,  when those people attacked us then they would have swallowed us up whole with their rage burning against us! Then the waters would have drowned us;  the torrent would have come over our necks;   then the raging waters would have come over our necks!  Bless the LORD because he didn't hand us over like food for our enemies' teeth! We escaped like a bird from the hunters' trap; the trap was broken so we escaped!  Our help is in the name of the LORD,  the maker of heaven and earth. Psalms 124 CEB Some vivid word pictures of what David saw his people had been rescued from; "swallowed us up whole" "The hunters trap" "The enemies teeth" And what was going on in their world; Being attacked by others Others being angry towards them "The torrent" that threatened to overwhelm The "raging waters...
Happy is the man who finds wisdom,  And the man who gains understanding; ... Length of days is in her right hand,  In her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness,  And all her paths are peace. Proverbs 3:13, 16-17 NKJV Even though the big idea here is seeking, finding, and gaining wisdom and understanding, part of me wants to separate that out and focus on "what's in it for me". "See Prov 3:16 says I should live to 100, I should be wealthy, and v17 says I shouldn't have any problems". To the readers of Proverbs none of these ideas (length of days, riches, honor, beauty, peace) are separate from who our God is, none of these ideas should be seen outside the context of His Story. We're invited to seek wisdom and understanding. To gain, to grow in these things. Wisdom and Understanding became a person in Jesus. And as we seek Him, learn more of Him, grow in Him, our days lengthen, we are richer, we see beauty, we can know peace, even i...
Friday! Proverbs! Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding, for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold. She is more precious than jewels;  nothing you desire can equal her. Proverbs 3:13-15 CSB In 1973, in the dawn of television in NZ, Selwyn Toogood hosted a game show on TV called "It's in the bag" & he had a often repeated line to contestants "what will it be, the money or the bag?" This proverb says that if there is wisdom and understanding in the bag, always choose that over the money.  No matter how much it is. There's a part of me that says take the money. Chase the money. But this proverb is crystal clear, wisdom & understanding are far more valuable than anything we can desire.  What are we to do with this proverb today? No one is offering me "the money or the bag", but I do wonder if my life is somehow oriented around the wrong things, and this proverb invites us to consider th...
Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him,  "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. "I am willing,"  he told him.  "Be made clean." Mark 1:40-41 CSB Not sure why there was only healing for those who found Jesus, why there wasn't some global phenomenon where there was no more illness because Jesus was now one of us. But there wasn't. So much of God was constrained and made small, and Jesus only seemed to heal those he had personal contact with.  What we do know is that Jesus is moved with compassion when he sees this person.  He reaches over the religious and cultural taboo of not touching someone with a skin disease and touches him anyway. The word here for moved with compassion is "splagchnizomai" which includes a physical response...this is just an idea that something is wrong with the world, this is not just an emotional response to seeing s...
Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.  Simon and those with him tracked him down. When they found him, they told him,  "Everyone's looking for you!" He replied,  "Let's head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too.  Thats why I've come." He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.    Mark 1:35-39 CEB Simon went out looking for Jesus because it seems that there were people clamouring to see him. Seems like the right thing to do. Yet Jesus had a different agenda, a Bigger Story was going on than what Simon could see.  Must've been a bit confusing, perhaps disorienting for Simon. Jesus wasn't where he was supposed to be. Jesus was popular, in demand, yet he is (literally) walking away to somewhere else. When we don't "get" Jesus, can't figure out what God is about in this ...
Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.  Mark 1:35 CEB You don't have to be up too early to beat the sunrise at the moment, but Jesus was up well before the sun, and headed away.  Away from the usual. Away from distractions. If you'd gone into where he was sleeping his phone would've been left by his bed... This was a deliberate effort to be alone to pray. Jesus is staying with his team, he's had the whole town at the door asking to see him, bringing those who need healing, and early the next day Jesus goes out alone. To pray. For some time. I don't do this very often.  Mark is simply recording what Jesus did and leaving it with us to consider, so I'm wondering, if this is something Jesus did, perhaps its a practice I should follow. If Jesus needed this, maybe I do too. New practices take practice, so might need to be done more than once.  Is the wilderness important? Is going out in t...
A pilgrimage song. ... Have mercy because we've had more than enough shame. We've had more than enough mockery from the self-confident, more than enough shame from the proud. Psalms 123:1-4 CEB "we've had more than enough shame." Shame can be a helpful motivator - when I've done something wrong, something that has hurt someone else, the shame of that can be a helpful motivator for me to change. It can help me to own my actions and choices and prompt me not to repeat them, and invite me into better ways of being and relating to others. But shame is unhealthy and not even ours when it's dumped on us by others actions and others choices.  This song seems to be about that type of shame. Where the words and actions of others are dumping shame on us. Maybe you're familiar with that. This song of pilgrimage, of ascent, of steps, helps us in the very first line; "I raise my eyes to you - you who rule heaven." Psalms 123:1 CEB Even if our head is down...
Sunday Psalms; A pilgrimage song. I raise my eyes to you - you who rule heaven. Just as the eyes of servants attend to their masters' hand, just as the eyes of a female servant attend to her mistress' hand - thats how our eyes attend to the LORD our God until he has mercy on us. Have mercy on us, LORD!  Have mercy because we've had more than enough shame. We've had more than enough mockery from the self-confident, more than enough shame from the proud. Psalms 123:1-4 CEB The writer is watching, waiting, hoping,  for change. Change in their situation. This is a song for when we feel stuck. Stuck becuase we are powerless.  The words of others, the actions of others have ground us down. This seems to be the place this song was written from. A song of pilgrimage, of ascents, inherent in it is movement, finding that space, that way to take the smallest of steps. And in this song the step is a movement of the eyes - metaphorically anyway - the song writer says to look up, to ...
Don't reject the instruction of the LORD, my son;  don't despise his correction. The LORD loves those he corrects,  just like a father who treats his son with favor.    Proverbs 3:11-12 CEB So Jesus said to them, "When the Human One  is lifted up, then you will know that I Am. Then you will know that I do nothing on my own, but I say just what the Father has taught me."  John 8:28 CEB A voice from the sky spoke like distant thunder,  "This is my much-loved Son, who makes my heart glad!" Matthew 3:17 FNVNT At the heart of correction are words.  Words of instruction. Words held and delivered in love. And in this Proverb, from our place in time, we get to see the connection with Jesus, who listened to the Father's instruction, His direction, and knew that he was always held in the love of the Father.  And we get joined together with Jesus, the favor that is his is ours too, because Love. Because we are Beloved. We get to choose to follow God's i...
Friday! Proverbs! Don't reject the instruction of the LORD, my son;  don't despise his correction. The LORD loves those he corrects,  just like a father who treats his son with favor.    Proverbs 3:11-12 CEB Some versions in English of this part of Proverbs have used the word "discipline" in place of "instruction" and then used passages like this as a weapon to promote or justify punishment, especially physical punishment, particularly of children. This whole chapter has been about instruction, about ideas, about trusting God in the way we live as adults, as community. Thia part is like a little summary, & wraps up this part with love. You are Beloved. So listen to the Eternal who loves you. Rejecting His words takes us back to being "wise in our own eyes". Accepting his invitation towards wisdom takes faith. This can seem easier when our days are full of success, wins, goodness. But when we are in pain, suffering from loss, struggling with our...
A pilgrimage song.   Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let's go to the LORD's house!  ... because the thrones of justice are there... Psalms 122:1, 5 CEB If there's one universal thing that people want it is justice. Every day we encounter in one way or another stories if injustice from around the world, in our own country, in the places that we live. We encounter injustice. When something, and especially someone, is lost to us, particularly through the actions and choices of others, there can be a profound sense of injustice. Something isn't right. We have been wronged. We can feel powerless and helpless. And yet this wee song of David's holds a clue for us that is a theme of the Bible, that there will be justice.  Somehow, eventually, there will be justice.  The wrongs will be righted. When I hold that to be true, when I hold by faith that in the Big Story, there is justice, I don't feel quite so helpless or powerless. When we trust that ou...
A song of pilgrimage.  "Let there be peace on your walls" ... I will pray for your good. Psalms 122:7, 9 CEB As we sit with these gentle invocations, who comes to mind who needs to hear this from you today? Who needs to know that you're praying for their good today? A spouse, partner, friend, flatmate, child, parent, sibling, cousin? That person who you don't know that well but is struggling with their health, with grief, with work or study pressure? That person who seems to have it all together, yet something in your spirit is prompting you to reach out and pray for their good, that peace might be on their walls. That person who suffered a loss and the rest of the world has gone back to "normal". That person who has some big decision to make, or has made it and now stepping into something new, "may there be peace on your walls, I am praying for your good." That person who's fear or anxiety is hard to understand, yet they're experiencing it...
Pray that Jerusalem has peace:  "Let those who love you have rest. Let there be peace on your walls;  let there be rest on your fortifications." Psalms 122:6-7 CEB Cities have walls and fortifications for a reason. The city has needed protection. Invaders. Marauders. Those who just want to take. But a city locked up behind walls, with its fortifications bristling, always on alert, that city is surviving. But it's not thriving. To thrive it needs people and goods and services to come and go, to connect and communicate with other cities. Can you see the metaphor here for us, with our walls and defences bristling. They're there for a good reason, but we need to find a way for there to be "peace on your walls" and "rest on your fortifications".  Difficult task to move a city, to cut off the danger, to shift what needs shifting to find that place of peace, the opportunity for thriving and flourishing, for reconnection. But it's worth it. Finding, or...
A song of pilgrimige.  Of David. Pray that Jerusalem has peace:  "Let those who love you have rest. Let there be peace on your walls;  let there be rest on your fortifications." For the sake of my family and friends, I say, "Peace be with you, Jerusalem." For the sake of the LORD our God's house I will pray for your good. Psalms 122:6-9 CEB What name needs to replace Jerusalem in this song of pilgrimige for you? Is it a place that needs peace? (sadly that may still be Jerusalem 3000 years after this was written). Perhaps it's a place closer to home. Maybe it's a person who's name can slot in here as your prayer today. "Peace be with you ____" Maybe it's you who needs rest,  to have peace on your walls, to stand down your defences where they aren't needed any more. That last line of compassion and care "I will pray for your good" because you're part of God's Big Story, worthy of belonging and peace, who comes to min...
Sunday Psalms; A song of pilgrimige. Of David.  I rejoiced with those who said to me,  "Let's go to the LORD's house!" Now our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built like a city joined together in unity.  That is where the tribes go up - the LORD's tribes!  Psalms 122:1-5 CEB Yesterday we went on a little journey, not a pilgrimige, but stopped in at Jerusalem up the Whanganui River. A place where the church and the place are synonomous.  Joined. Interconnected. A place of unity, peace. In a world that has more tools for connection than ever, we seem to be less connected. Less connected to place. Less connected to each other. Less connected to God. Less connected to ourselves. This is a pilgrimige song,  calling David in a direction, what seems to be a physical and a spiritual direction, they are not unconnected. There's a reconnection of people together as YHWH's tribes, with some of the other things that make us different, less imp...
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will burst with wine.   Proverbs 3:9-10 CEB If we overlay Jesus life with this Proverb, maybe something interesting will emerge. Jesus was born in poverty, was a refugee, was found in the Synagogue as a child, he was a carpenter, and then the last 3 years of his life lived as a Rabbi. Honoring God with our wealth is not about how much we have, how much we give, about rules and regulations, it's living with a heart oriented towards God. Our circumstances don't determine that. Our wealth or lack of it doesn't determine that.  Jesus trusted in the Big Story that his earthly life was part of, that the "plenty", the overflow, the bursting vats of goodness would result in God's time and in His way. We too can trust in the Big Story.  When all we seem to hold is ashes. When the day ahead seems so ordinary. When we wonder if we're making ...
Friday! Proverbs! Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will burst with wine.   Proverbs 3:9-10 CEB The problem with Proverbs like this is that they can be weaponised - when those with power decide what "Honor the LORD" should look like. Proverbs 3 starts with the author saying "My son, don't forget my instruction..." A father passing on wisdom for life and well-being. He encourages his reader to live a life of loyalty & faithfulness, to trust in YHWH with everything he has, to trust less in his own wisdom and more and more on God's. And now he is encouraging to honour YHWH with what you produce, with your wealth.  All along the way there are pictures of well-being, and v10 includes one too, of overflow, of enough and then some. This is not some transactional formula for wealth. It's a heart thing, that leads us towards well-being and thriving. Keeping our heart...
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God's presence before the creation of the world.  Ephesians 1:2-4 CEB Before the creation of the world, before any of what we see and experience around us, before us, before those who came before us, somehow,  we were known, we were held in what I can only describe as God's imagination,  we were known and seen in all we were meant to be,  and we were chosen. Seen Known Held Chosen This seems to be the spiritual blessing that we have received in the heavenly realms. Seen Known Held Chosen From before time, already known in the mind of God, in the most fully alive version of ourselves. So, Grace and Peace to you, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. When we feel unseen, unknown, neglected, alone, abandon...
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.    Ephesians 1:2 CEB Had a rough day? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Processing some difficult news? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Waiting. Unsure. Uncertain? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Struggling with grief & loss? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Got a weighty decision to make? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Caring for someone who is unwell? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Wrestling with things in your own heart and mind? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Looking forward to something good? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Stepping into an ordinary day? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and ...
A pilgrimige song:  ...the LORD is your shade right beside you.   Psalms 121:5 CEB This song was written in an environment a bit warmer than mine this week. I don't want anyone or anything putting me in the shade today, it's way too cold.  But in the environment this psalm was written, on a pilgrimige journey, having some shade could be the thing that is needed to complete the journey. To be in someone's shade is to be with someone bigger.  The song writer still has to take every step, the environment may still be harsh, but there is some shade, the LORD, YHWH, the Eternal, is right there.  He is with us. When we want something more solid than shade, when we don't want to take the next step, when the journey seems to difficult, the terrain and the environment too harsh, we hold on by faith to the truth that He is with us. The Eternal is our shade. So take the next step... #psalms  #songs #pilgrimige  #itsajourney  #shade #takethenextstep
A pilgrimige song: I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD,  the maker of heaven and earth.  God won't let your foot slip.  Your protector won't fall asleep on the job. No!  Israels protector never sleeps or rests!  The LORD is your protector;  the LORD is your shade right beside you. The sun wont strike you during the day;  neither will the moon at night. The LORD will protect you from all evil;  God will protect your very life. The LORD will protect you on your journeys -  whether going or coming - from now until forever from now. Psalms 121:1-8 CEB This is a song of pilgrimige, of journey, of journeying with God and trusting in Him. Our modern mind would like this to mean that nothing bad will happen to us, but we know that isnt true, our experience tells us something different, the person who wrote this song died a long time ago, Jesus told us that in this world we will have tr...
Sunday Psalms; A pilgrimige song. I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD,  the maker of heaven and earth.   Psalms 121:1-2 CEB This song is labelled "A song of ascents", the CEB used the word pilgrimage. "ma alah" Definition: Ascent, step, stair, elevation, degree. It's about the act of stepping up, going on an upward journey, a pilgrimige. Let's try to hold these ideas of ascent, pilgrimige. "I raise my eyes towards the mountains" takes on a destination or a place of retreat where the writer is heading, a high place, a place of safety. And as he is looking up, raising his gaze from the everyday putting one foot in front of another, he asks himself the question: "Where will my help come from?" Is it all going to be OK when I get to the mountain, the high place, get away from here? Is it all going to be OK when I stop and rest at my destination? "My help comes from the LORD,  t...
Don't be wise in your own eyes;  fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8 CSB Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.  Romans 12:16 CSB "If you want to be perfect," Jesus said to him, "go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.  Matthew 19:21-22 CSB We can find this theme of not being "wise in our own eyes" from Paul as he encourages the church in Rome how to live in what Proverbs might call the "fear of the Lord", and rather than focusing on turning away from things, Paul is inviting his readers to turn towards. Turn towards harmony, turn towards the humble. And here is this person who got to meet Jesus and ask his Big Question...
Friday! Proverbs! Don't be wise in your own eyes;  fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8 CSB "Fear" here carries a whole range of meanings from terror or dread to reverence and awe.  It would seem that the context of this Proverb it's more about reverence and awe. It's out of reverence to God, knowing His ways are right, right for me, right for us, that I will put aside what my default thoughts or actions might be, and choose to honour Him in my responses and choices.  When I allow Gods word, His heart, His Spirit to challenge and shape my will, my choices, my heart, when I put down my "wisdom" in favour of His, that is a path towards healing. Less of me. More of Him. My wisdom, left unchecked, probably isnt going to lead to the healthiest or best decisions. I don't want to fool myself by being "wise in my own eyes". As we sit with this Proverb today, where...
Mark 1:27-28 CEB Everyone was shaken and questioned among themselves,  "Whats this?  A new teaching with authority!  He even commands unclean spirits and they obey him!" Right away the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee.    Mark 1:27-28 CEB Jesus stirred everything up. He has just called his disciples not from the ranks of scholars or students, but straight from their fishing boats. He teaches in the synagogue with authority, and shows his authority over the spiritual.  People are shaken up. Jesus is not just some new flavour of Rabbi with some different ideas, Jesus is different. Radical. And people are talking about him, about what is going on where he is. Sometimes this is the Jesus we need too. Jesus who shakes things up, not just because he can, but to bring healing, hope, and ushering in a new way of being in the world. James, John, Simon & Andrew must've been wondering what they've found themselves in the middle of! Do ...
Jesus and his followers went into Capernaum. Immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and started teaching. The people were amazed by his teaching, for he was teaching them with authority, not like the legal experts.  Mark 1:21-22 CEB Week 1 for James, John,   Simon & Andrew, fresh from fishing duties they're now with a Rabbi in the synagogue seeing the amazement of those listening to Jesus. Jesus was speaking with a new authority, it's like he is from a different world... I wonder what was going on for our fishermen? What were they hearing? What was their experience? Their pathway to being a Rabbi's students was not the normal one...I'm wondering if they felt completely out of sorts, "what are we doing here? How did we end up here? What is going on? What's my part in all of this?" I'm wondering that they might have felt quite disoriented. Perhaps you know what it's like to feel disoriented, like you don't quite fit, don't...
After going a little farther, he saw James and John, Zebedee's sons, in their boat repairing the fishing nets. At that very moment he called them.  They followed him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers.    Mark 1:19-20 CEB Part 2 of Jesus Calling. Still no highly educated students of the law, but two more fishermen, this time working in the family business. The implication seems to be that James and John were already living out their destiny, firmly entrenched in the family business, working with their Dad, learning from him. And Jesus calls them. Calls them away from what they were born into, away from what they were brought up in, away from what seemed the only way for them to be in the world. Maybe it is a massive change that Jesus is calling you into, or it may be in something small, something unseen, a way of thinking, that inner voice, a way of being in the world, a habit or habitual choice that we know isn't that healthy or good for us,...
Mark 1:16-18 CEB As Jesus passed alongside the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. "Come,  follow me," he said,  "and I'll show you how to fish for people." Right away, they left their nets and followed him.  Mark 1:16-18 CEB Mark gives us zero context to this conversation except that the boys were at work that day.  Did they know who Jesus was? Had they been talking about him? Met him before? Was this normal for a Rabbi to just wander around calling people to follow? (My understanding is that disciples of Rabbis studied for years to be chosen). What we do know is that when Jesus called they moved. Moved away from the task towards people. This in many ways is a reorientation of priority. Towards Jesus heart, which is for people. In a way Jesus is repeating this call to us today..."come, follow me". Where, or to what, or to who, is Jesus inviting you to follow Him towards today...