verseoftheday

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...