verseoftheday

1 John 2:22-26 CEB [22] Who is the liar?  Isn't it the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This person is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.  As for you,  what you heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will also remain in relationship to the Son and in the Father. This is the promise that he himself gave us: eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are attempting to deceive you.  1 John 2:22-26 CEB Maybe you have been caught up in arguments about the inerrancy of the Bible, or End Times, or something...or maybe there are days when we can't make sense of the world and the decisions of others...John is reminding his readers of this letter to come back to the heart of the Big Story: Jesus is who he said he is. Follow Jesus, and everything else fl...

A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV A pilgrimage is about movement, from somewhere, to somewhere. I'm wondering when David wrote this song about how good living in community with others is, whether he was experiencing that in the moment, or looking back.  When we're on the journey, on the move, transitions, change, shifts, are not easy.  The unknown. And we look back on the good, and at the same time, look forward with hope...this journey is taking us to where we belong better, fit better, and ultimately, into the fully aliveness of communion with God and people.  There are days, weeks, months, where the journey can feel slow, arduo...

A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV I'm pretty good at looking to others, my church, people I know, family, and putting the weight of this song, this call to live in unity, this call to living together, onto others. As I head into Monday morning I'm wondering where this is up to me? Where is it up to me to be that glue that joins one person to another? Where is it up to me to start with a smile? Where is it up to me to reach out (even when part of my brain says "It's not your turn" or "you shouldn't have to"). Where is it up to me to bring peace? Where is it up to me to love with patience? To love with kindness...

Sunday Psalms: A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV The NRSV uses the word "kindred" here for the Hebrew "ach" which carries the broadest of meanings, family, belonging, belonging. On his pilgrimage David may well have been looking back on gatherings of people that have been a blessing to him, and perhaps at the same time, looking forward to gathering again, in new ways. You get the picture of the preciousness of communion and community and belonging. On our pilgrimage, our journey, our ascent, we get moments, glimpses, and one day, our belonging will be complete, our communion ongoing, meeting all our needs. Maybe today we can...

Isaiah 54:2, 5 CEB Enlarge the site of your tent, and stretch out the drapes of your dwellings;  dont hold back. Lengthen your tent ropes and strengthen your stakes. ... [5] The one marrying you is the one who made you - the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.  The one redeeming you is the holy one of Israel, the one called the God of all the earth.   Isaiah 54:2, 5 CEB When we feel like pulling back, making ourselves small, taking the safe option, when it all feels too much, when we don't think we have the energy to maintain our current tent, we get given this picture: The Lord of Heavenly Forces, the One who made us, the Creator, is also the One who enters into this closest of relationships with us.  He is with us. On our side. And it is He who redeems us, buys us back, buys us out of the things that bind us and hold us down.  It is He who walks us into freedom.  The freedom to "stretch out the drapes of your dwelling", to breathe, to Live. As we si...

Friday! Proverbs! Hear,  children,  fatherly instruction;  pay attention to gain understanding. I'll teach you well.  Don't abandon my instruction.  Proverbs 4:1-2 CEB  As we listen to these Proverbs we're invited to hear them as fatherly instruction - for some that might be helpful as they had a Dad who was present, on their team, wanting the best for them, but for others their experience is quite different.  So we have to use our imagination - imagine the heart of a great Dad who wants the best for you, giving the best of his wisdom and experience - and now listen. The second thing that struck me from this little introduction in Ch4 is not to "abandon" his instruction. How easy in this world is it to move on, to find more voices that might seem more interesting, more relevant, more current than the ancient wisdom . It's like an invitation to slow down, to mull over, to hold these things, spoken in love, with a heart for our thriving, and let them gui...

1 John 2:17 CEB And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.   1 John 2:17 CEB There's more. More to this story. When the misery and grief of this world seems too much, there's more. When we feel stuck, there's more. When the world's systems of power seem immovable, there's more. When we run out of hope, there's more. When things seem out of control, even our own thoughts, our own desires seem uncontrollable, there's more. The things, the way of being that our world tells us is important is going to fade away, but the things of God, our Life In Him, there's more. There's more. The person, you & I, the important parts of us, there's more Life for us. There's more. #lettersfromJohn #testimony #weareBeloved 

1 John 2:16-17 CEB Everything that is in the world - the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see, and the arrogant pride in ones possessions - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.   1 John 2:16-17 CEB Large parts of our economy, our culture, seem to be centred around the very things that John kindly let's us know are passing away, that will not last. I found it easy to skip past the first part, but as I linger there, I find that there are things that I want that drive my choices, there are these thoughts about how others might see me or judge me based on the things I own... Does John mean that all these things are bad? Or that they're temporary and may pull us away from the things that will last? There is more to a person than the sum total of their desires, their possessions, yet that is often what our culture measures. We're inv...

Mark 3:31-35 CEB His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said,  "look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you." He replied,  "Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?" Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said,  "Look,  here are my mother and my brothers.   Whoever does Gods will is my brother, sister, and mother." Mark 3:31-35 CEB Jesus Kingdom, belonging, adoption into His Family is not bound by our cultural idea of what family is or "should" be.  Jesus wasn't rejecting his family here, but broadening the idea of who is important, who matters, who belongs.  Those who were following, listening, belong. Doing God's will in that moment was doing exactly what that crowd of people was doing - following Jesus, listening to His word. Jesus wrapped everyone in that day, and wraps us all in. #gospelo...

Colossians 3:1-4 CEB Therefore,  if you were raised with Christ,  look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God's right side. Think about the things above and not things on earth. You died,  and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ,  who is your life,  is revealed,  then you also will be revealed with him in glory.   Colossians 3:1-4 CEB This verse came up at Church yesterday, and I tried sketching it: Raised with Jesus. Look up. Look up where Jesus is with God the Father. Think about things "up there". And I've died in some sense, and my life is hidden, held, somehow in Jesus, in God the Father. And, at some future time, Jesus is going to be revealed it seems in some new way, and we will be revealed with Him. Somehow. Can you see it all? Maybe we're not supposed to see it, but to feel it. Jesus said to his team just before his death that in this world you will have trouble, but to take heart, have courage, "beca...

Sunday Psalms; A song of pilgrimage. LORD,  remember David - all the ways he suffered and how he swore to the LORD,  how he promised the strong one of Jacob: "I won't enter my house, won't get into my bed. I won't let my eyes close, won't let my eyelids sleep, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the strong one of Jacob." Psalms 132:1-5 CEB This song of pilgrimage seems very personal. David believing he had to do something for God, and this picture of not resting until it was done, and as the song goes on a kind of merging of David's prosperity and God's blessing, an interesting collection of ideas. I'm wondering what song I would write today. What I would say about who God is, what He might want or expect from me, how I relate to Him, what I might want or expect from Him? And how that might have changed, from a year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago. It's OK for our songs to reflect where we're at.  Our hopes, fears, losses...

"This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:  I promised then that the waters of Noah would never again flood the earth.  I'm promising now no more anger, no more dressing you down.  For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won't walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart." The God who has compassion on you says so. Isaiah 54:9-10 MSG "My love won't walk away from you." The Message captures something of God's heart for His people, for us, for you. "My love won't walk away from you." He has made a covenant of peace - it doesn't rely on us - so it will not fail. "My love won't walk away from you." There may well be times when we don't understand God, blame him, reject him, wonder why he doesn't just fix the things we see are wrong, wrong with this world, wrong in our world, wrong in me, and at the same time, we get to hold on to what he says: ...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 3:33-35 AMP [33] The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just and righteous. [34] Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance]. [35] The wise will inherit honor and glory, But dishonor and shame is conferred on fools. Proverbs 3:33-35 AMP Before we get carried away with God cursing my house, remember that we're in Proverbs, about 1000 years before Jesus, & God was known to intervene in some spectacular ways in the lives of his people. And this word "curses" carries with it "judgement" So what can we take from this? How about this: Our God sees all the awful things that people do to one another. He knows their hearts, and he knows mine. That there is Grace. And that Jesus took on the curse, the judgement, and made the way for us. He has prepared an inheritance for us already So we g...

Isaiah 54:2, 4 CSB [2] "Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out;  do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. ... [4] Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;  don't be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.  For you will forget the shame of your youth, and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood." Isaiah 54:2, 4 CSB Attached to this picture of growth and flourishing is the reality of the shame that we carry.  And the invitation to put that shame down.  You're worthy to stretch out your tent, to make room for yourself in this world, to put down roots.  Don't be afraid. The actions of growing and flourishing in v2 are the things that reduce the impact of shame in v4. Enlarging the site of the tent may be a small step at a time. Lengthen the ropes little by little. Drive the pegs down a little further. As we sit with these images and ideas today, what is the Spirit nudgi...

A song of pilgrimage.  Of David. Lord,  my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.  I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead,  I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother;  my soul is like a weaned child. Israel,  put your hope in the Lord,  both now and forever. Psalms 131 CSB If you feel like you're always in a rush, have something to prove, that you have to be perfect, that there's some expectation we have to live by, someone else's agenda...then sit with this song a little longer and see where it invites you, see what might bubble up... Find a moment. Perhaps it is picking up something in your life that has been put down for a long time. Perhaps it's putting something down you don't need to carry. Songs are there for to sing, to commune with, to inspire, encourage, touch our heart, make room for things to shift. As we sit with this song today, accept the invitation that our God may h...

A song of pilgrimage.  Of David. Lord,  my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.  I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead,  I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother;  my soul is like a weaned child. Israel,  put your hope in the Lord,  both now and forever. Psalms 131 CSB Does Jesus jump out of this song? In his humanity he left some things in the hands of His Father.  Jesus put his trust in Someone Bigger.  And even in the Garden of Gethsemane when it all got so big and Jesus was in distress, wanted to turn away, had those big questions, Jesus remained in touch with, in tune with, His Heavenly Father, and in that, that connection, calm returned. Jesus showed us it's OK not to be OK, and there's a way forward in our distress too. We're called to simply follow Jesus, and this ancient song invites us to do that...leaving what is too big with someone Bigger... #psalms #psalm...

Sunday Psalms; A song of pilgrimage.  Of David. Lord,  my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.  I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead,  I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother;  my soul is like a weaned child. Israel,  put your hope in the Lord,  both now and forever. Psalms 131 CSB In this song of pilgrimage, of ascents, of journey, something has shifted in David. His circumstances haven't changed, but he has.  Something has shifted in how he sees himself, how he was, the things he got involved in.  He uses a picture of a child who's content to be with his Mum, no longer about the physical nourishment that a baby is after, but the deeper personal and spiritual connection. And that's what he is inviting his people into, inviting us into, a place of trust in someone Bigger, who's heart is for us, who loves us, and as we quiet things down within  and without, we wi...

Isaiah 54:2, 5 CSB "Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out;  do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. ... Indeed, your husband is your Maker - his name is the Lord of Armies - and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;  he is called the God of the whole earth." Isaiah 54:2, 5 CSB Isaiah has a number of great pictures that our God gave him in this passage - this picture of our Maker as a husband, with all the power of heaven, holy, redeeming, sweeping us up into his care and love. A picture of security and safety. And when our future is safe, secure, we get the freedom to grow, to take risks, to "enlarge our tent", to drive down deep roots, because we're held by the Maker of Everything. As we let ourselves sit within this Big Story of our God's love and care, what opens up for you today? What are you being invited into? Maybe it's something big and significant, or it might be the smallest of sm...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 3:31-32 AMP [31] Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. [32] For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;  But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage]. Don't envy the bully. The pushy. Those who elbow their way thru. The coercive controller. The abuser. The taker. Sometimes I envy them because they get stuff. Get stuff done. Seem "successful". But something is astray in the heart, not pulling towards but pulling away from God, from His Counsel, His Wisdom, how He invites us to be in His world, with people He loves. We want to hear from Him, then perhaps He is calling us to be gentler, kinder, standing firm in what is true, and maintaining our heart orientation towards our God, towards Faithful Love, towards Home. #proverbs #wisdom  #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing  #takethenextstep 

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons.  He appointed the Twelve:  To Simon, he gave the name Peter;  and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name "Boanerges" (that is, 'Sons of Thunder");  Andrew;  Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;  Simon the Zealot,  and Judas Iscariot,  who also betrayed him. Mark 3:13-19 CSB What strikes you from this passage? Is it the choosing of these 12? Do you wonder how many others were following Jesus and why he chose these 12? Is it wondering about what they are commissioned to do? Is it wondering why some had their names changed and others didn't? Is it why would Jesus name two brothers "Sons of Thunder" and want them in his team? Why does Mark mention someones fat...

Little children,  I'm writing to you because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus' name.  1 John 2:12 CEB Perhaps this is a verse I need to commit to memory, to recall whenever the self condemning voices try to tell me something different, when I think this truth applies to everyone else but couldn't possibly be enough for me, and for when I just need reminding. "Little children,  I'm writing to you because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus' name." If we don't need reminding today, then we probably will tomorrow; "Little children,  I'm writing to you because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus' name." #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #weareBeloved #forgiven

A song of pilgrimage. [5] I hope, LORD.  My whole being hopes, and I wait for Gods promise. My whole being waits for my Lord - more than the night watch waits for morning;  yes, more than the night watch waits for morning! Israel,  wait for the LORD! Because faithful love is with the LORD;  because great redemption is with our God!   Psalms 130:5-7 CEB The second half of this song if pilgrimage, of steps, of ascent, moves from crying out to God to hoping and waiting. I'm not the best at either. I lose hope and I get impatient- maybe those things are connected? At the end the songwriter gives us his motivation- what he holds on to - our God is a Redeemer. And He is Faithful Love. Who better to put our faith in, our trust in, as we take the next step... #psalms #psalms130 #pilgrimage  #takethenextstep 

Sunday Psalms; A song of pilgrimage. I cry out to you from the depths,  LORD - my Lord, listen to my voice!  Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy! If you kept track of sins, LORD - my Lord,  who would stand a chance? But forgiveness is with you - that's why you are honored.   Psalms 130:1-4 CEB This song of pilgrimage, of journey, of steps, of ascent, starts from somewhere low, somewhere deep, from somewhere that needs to be heard, and reaching out to our God who forgives, who holds all of us, all of our contradictions and missteps and complexities and doubts and questions. Our pilgrimage, our journey, our steps, our story, is held in His Big Story. This song of pilgrimage allows us to let go of the fear. Fear that we're not good enough for our God, don't do enough, are not enough. Forgiveness springs from Grace, from Love. Forgiveness emerges from the desire for Restoration, for Relationship, for things to be Right. Forgiveness makes a way ...

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...