verseoftheday

Sunday Psalms; Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary;  praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works;  praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn;  praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;  praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals;  praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!  Praise the Lord! Psalms 150 NLT This final song we're invited to join in is noisy! It's loud, expressive! There's praise to God where He is, for what He has done, and who He is. And then it's how. All noise! This word "praise" is a verb, an action, "halal" in Hebrew, and carries a range of meanings; - to be clear  - to shine - to boast of - to make a fool of yourself about - to rave - to celebrate  There's a freedom here to praise, to celebrate our God in ways others might see as foolish, outside ...

1 John 3:23 NLT [23] And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23 NLT Believe in Jesus. Love one another. Believe in Jesus. Love one another. Believe in Jesus. Love one another. That's it.  Yes there is complexity in the Bible, in trying to understand God, get a handle on theology, want to know if I'm in God's will, good enough, done enough, am enough for Him...and then John gives us this simple equation on the other side of that complexity; Believe in Jesus. Love one another. Believe in Jesus. Love one another. Believe in Jesus. Love one another. Just do that in the next minute, the next hour, today. See where Believe in Jesus and Love One Another takes you. This is the Plan. Believe in Jesus. Love one another. What does this open up for you? Free you to do?  To become? Free to step towards? Believe in Jesus. Love one another. #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #OneAnothers #believ...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 6:6-8 NET Go to the ant, you sluggard;  observe its ways and be wise! It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet it prepares its food in the summer;  it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. Proverbs 6:6-8 NET There's a couple of passages directed at the "sluggard". I've chosen a version that uses this word because it slows us down from using these passages as  weapons towards others.  This Proverbs invites us to look at, to observe, part of God's creation and see what we notice.  There's been plenty of times in my life when I have been lazy, a sluggard, there's been times when rest has been what I've needed most, injuries, sickness, sadness. Yet on the outside, you may not see any difference. One thing I notice when looking at ants is that there is a lot of following going on. One ant finds a crumb on my desk and then a trail of them appear following the same path.  Lots of following. Some people don't have good rol...

1 John 3:21-22 CEB [21] Dear friends, if our hearts don't condemn us, we have confidence in relationship to God. [22] We receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.  1 John 3:21-22 CEB Grace over guilt. Grace > guilt It's me, my heart that so often does the condemning, not God's. John is inviting us again and again to find rest and peace in relationship with God that is Grace filled.  Put down the inner critic. Grace over guilt. And as we follow The Way, live out this way of love more and more, we will be able to receive what our God offers... Shalom. Peace. Hope. Freedom. Light. Love. May today His Grace overcome, overwhelm all that needs quieting in us. #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #light  #graceoverguilt #livingoutLove #weareBeloved 

Dear children,  let's not merely say that we love each other;  let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:18-20 NLT I think John knows what it's like to have an "inner critic", that voice in our head that accuses us, tells us we're not good enough, not enough, don't belong, aren't accepted. He's just given one example of love-in-action, and here reminds us that when it comes to Love, compared to God, we're children, learning on the job, following His example. John encourages us to put Love into action, and as we do, know that it is Love that reflects our God's heart, and that's enough. We're like children, trying things, not always getting it right, learning, & growing in living out Love. And that's enough. ##lettersfromJohn #testimony  #light ...

1 John 3:16-17 NLT We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion - how can God's love be in that person? 1 John 3:16-17 NLT There are some days when finding compassion is really hard.  It's buried down there somewhere. Buried beneath layers of justification about others choices and all kinds of things. But John is not trying to beat us up here, but to invite us in. Invite us in to seeing again, afresh, anew, how Jesus loves us.  And as we sit in the love we have received, we're invited to see people. In that seeing we get a glimpse of Jesus seeing us: more than a collection of choices, more than a collection of memories, but as a person, worthy of love and connection. What is John's letter inviting you into today? To see someone differently? At work? Where you live? It starts with kno...

Psalms 149:6-9 NLT [6] Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands - [7] to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, [8] to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, [9] to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.  Praise the Lord! Psalms 149:6-9 NLT Wow! There is some wild imagery here in this song! How does praise for God go hand-in-hand with all this? I don't think this is some prescription for military action or violent overthrow of anyone, but a reflection of God's heart for justice, making things right. We have the advantage of reading this after Jesus life and we get to see the things Jesus was here to overthrow; Death. Injustice. Self-salvation projects. So as I sit with this language of overthrow, I'm wondering what in me needs to be put in chains? What thoughts, attitudes, actions are so far from the God we are called to praise tha...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 149:1, 3-4 NLT Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song.  Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. ... Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. For the Lord delights in his people;  he crowns the humble with victory. Psalms 149:1, 3-4 NLT Do you feel the freedom in this song? Sing a new song. Sing out loud. Sing with your voice and instruments and your body, a whole person response. There's freedom because Our God delights in you. Delights! And whether we get to experience "victory" in this life, there is a hint here that humility is going to bring something good.  What was Jesus victory over? Death.  It wasn't over someone else, but over death, so that we can have Life. Life is the reward.  I wonder what that can look like today? In all that we might be trying to hold, to keep in balance, the struggle, weight, where is Life found? Where can Life break in? #Sunday #psalms  #psalm149 #praise #...

Mark 6:18-20 NLT John had been telling Herod,  "It is against God's law for you to marry your brother's wife." So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod's approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. Mark 6:18-20 NLT John's life was all about pointing to Jesus. Here at the end of his life, the Empire has him killed.  For telling the truth. Herod appreciated John, just as Pilate appreciated Jesus.  Yet neither Herod or Pilate was prepared to give up anything to save people they saw as good. John points us to Jesus, who gave up everything to save.  To save us.  People who reject him, forget him, lose sight of him, drift away, wander back, seek restoration, question, challenge, get angry at, wonder about, give up on, and yet Jesus loves us.  He Is Love. L...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 6:1-5 NLT [1] My child, if you have put up security for a friend's debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger - if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said - follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend's mercy.  Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don't put it off;  do it now!  Don't rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net. Proverbs 6:1-5 NLT If only Herod had been able to follow the advice of this Proverb! We've got it wrong, made a mistake, don't put it off...don't let pride get in the way...step towards the problem and own it. I wonder how many times in my life things would have been so much better if I had followed this Proverb...my pride, my fear of looking like I've made a mistake, got it wrong, what others will think of me, embarrassment...it's so easy ...

Herod's daughter Herodias came in and danced, thrilling Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the young woman,  "Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." Then he swore to her, "Whatever you ask I will give to you, even as much as half of my kingdom." .... [26] Although the king was upset, because of his solemn pledge and his guests, he didn't want to refuse her.  So he ordered a guard to bring John's head... Mark 6:22-23, 26-27 CEB This is the part of the story where Herod makes an offer to his daughter who he probably expected to ask for a new horse or a holiday in Rome, but took the opportunity to work with her Mum to get something Mum wanted.  Herod, who had the power over life and death of others, could not seem to be able to overcome 2 things: His rash promise. And his potential embarrassment in front of his guests.  There's been times when I've done the same thing (on a different scale with different consequences), said...

Mark 6:14, 16 CEB Herod the king heard about these things, because the name of Jesus had become well-known.  Some were saying,  "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and this is why miraculous powers are at work through him." Others were saying... ... [16] But when Herod heard these rumors, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised to life." Mark 6:14, 16 CEB This is a sad and tragic story of power and manipulation and the inability of Herod to be able to say "I made a mistake, shouldn't have been so rash". He couldn't or wouldn't see a way to change his promise to give someone whatever they asked for.  To have all the power in the world, and yet no power to change your mind! Herod liked John the Baptist- & now Herod is full of fear- that what he allowed to happen was literally coming back to haunt him! Herod believed Jesus was John resurrected from the dead. Interesting that resurrection was even a thought but here it is,...

This is the message you have heard from the beginning:  We should love one another.  1 John 3:11 NLT John has been unpacking the Father's love for us, about being children of God, about living in the Light, the fellowship we have with Jesus, wrapped up in the message we have heard from the beginning: Love one another. Love one another. This is an outward oriented love that stands on the foundation of: - the Father's love for us - being a child of God - choosing to live in the Light -  being in fellowship with Jesus This is where the strength and courage and heart to love others is founded. Because we are already Beloved. We already belong. We're already accepted. And we're free, free to love one another.  #lettersfromJohn #testimony  #light  #weareBeloved  #freetoloveoneanother

Praise God,  all of you who are his messengers!  Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces! ... Praise the LORD from the earth,  you sea monsters... Do the same, fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind... Do the same,  you mountains...fruit trees, and every single cedar! Do the same,  you animals - wild or tame... Do the same, you kings of the earth... Do the same,  you young men - young women too! - you who are old together with you who are young!   Psalms 148:2, 7-12 CEB Do the same. This song calls all in heaven to praise God. This song calls all of creation to praise God. This song calls us to do the same. Do the same. Heaven is going to be an interesting place because my guess is that in some way we will not only experience and join in the praise of whoever it is that makes up the "messengers" and "Heavenly forces", but all parts of creation too. The rocks will cry out in some way. Maybe we will be able to experience the love...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 148 Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD from heaven!  Praise God on the heights! Praise God, all of you who are his messengers!  Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces! Sun and moon, praise God!  All of you bright stars, praise God! You highest heaven, praise God!  Do the same, you waters that are above the sky!  Let all of these praise the LORD's name because God gave the command and they were created! God set them in place always and forever. God made a law that will not be broken. Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all you ocean depths! Do the same,  fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind that does what God says! Do the same,  you mountains, every single hill, fruit trees, and every single cedar! Do the same, you animals - wild or tame - you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly! Do the same,  you kings of the earth and every single person, you princes and every single ...

1 John 3:7 CEB Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The person who practices righteousness is righteous, in the same way that Jesus is righteous.  1 John 3:7 CEB John gives us a warning and an encouragement or direction at the same time.  The warning is that we are easily deceived, and we need to be aware, awake, on our game, that there are those who will attempt to deceive.  And then the direction or encouragement to look towards those who practice righteousness like Jesus. Those who are living like Jesus.  Yes our world and context is not the same, but in it, in our time and culture, as followers of Jesus, called to live like Him, do what he did. Look to those who live like Jesus, practice His way.  We can really only do that through relationship. Seeing someone's practices can't really be found on Instagram or YouTube- glimpses maybe, but remember how John warns us about how prone we are to being deceived. John's letter is about Light and Love. And...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 5:7-14 CEB Now sons, listen to me, and don't deviate from the words of my mouth. Stay on a path that is far from her;  don't approach the entrance to her house. Otherwise,  you will give your strength to others, your years to a cruel person. Otherwise,  strangers will sap your strength, and your hard work will end up in a foreigner's house. You will groan at the end when your body and flesh are exhausted, and you say,  "How I hated instruction! How my heart despised correction! I didn't listen to the voice of my instructor.  I didn't obey my teacher. I'm on the brink of utter ruin in the assembled community." Proverbs 5:7-14 CEB This part of Ch5 continues on with this idea of "her" being something that is against what God would have for us, and uses this metaphor of a person, a person who pulls us away from the place of thriving and flourishing that our God would have for us. There is a warning here about the person...

Philippians 4:6-7 CEB [6] Don't be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. [7] Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:6-7 CEB (We revisit this verse - the first one shared - at this time of year & remind you that if you want to unsubscribe that's OK - & to feel free to pass verseoftheday on to others) What hits with these verses today is the idea that embedded in Paul's invitation here is a place of safety. It's OK, safe, to bring what's on our hearts, what's in our minds, to God. He has not and will not reject us. In a world that is full of comparing, of performance, of judging worth and value, the invitation here is just to come as we are, bring all our stuff to God, and not only will you not be rejected, but we might find a little more peace, peace that is from a way bigger source ...

He called for the Twelve and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick - no bread, no bags, and no money in their belts. He told them to wear sandals but not to put on two shirts. He said, "Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place.  If a place doesn't welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them." So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts and lives.  Mark 6:7-12 CEB Does this story strike you as a bit strange? The very specific instructions to Jesus team, what to do if they and/or their message is rejected. It's almost like Jesus wanted his closest disciples to know a bit about what it was like to be him. To have the power to not just change someone's life today, but their eternal story too, and to be rejected for it. To be reliant on others to at the very le...

God doesn't prize the strength of a horse;  God doesn't treasure the legs of a runner. No.  The LORD treasures the people who honor him, the people who wait for his faithful love. Psalms 147:10-11 CEB Interesting what the psalmist plucks from his culture about is valued - both of these things are about moving, moving people, moving things, pace, strength. And the constrast with waiting. With honouring someone else.  Waiting. I wonder what the writer of this song would make of our world, the things that we prize? As we step into today, may we choose to honour our God in all that is in front of us. And. Wait. Wait for his faithful love. #psalms #psalm147 #whatGodtreasures #weareBeloved 

[3] God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  [4] God counts the stars by number, giving each one a name. Psalms 147:3-4 CEB Same God. The same God who names the stars, can count the uncountable, sees the unseeable in the universe he created, stoops down, becomes small and gentle enough, to bind up our wounds. Jesus tells a story of a person beaten and left for dead on the roadside, and he is seen, his wounds tended, and he is put on a pathway to healing. Same God. Same Love. #psalms #psalm147 #reasonstopraise  #weareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 147:1-7 CEB Praise the LORD! Because it is good to sing praise to our God! Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!  The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem,  gathering up Israel's exiles. God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. God counts the stars by number, giving each one a name. Our Lord is great and so strong!  Gods knowledge can't be grasped! The LORD helps the poor,  but throws the wicked down on the dirt! Sing to the LORD with thanks;  sing praises to our God with a lyre!   Psalms 147:1-7 CEB The first part of this song is a skim the highlights of why David has reason to praise God: It's a good thing for him, lifts his spirit, improves his well-being. He sees God gathering in the lost, and the intimate closeness of healing the broken hearted, of bandaging up the wounds of those who have been harmed.  Then he jumps to how big and different God is to him, and then back to God's character, His heart for the...

1 John 3:5 CEB You know that he appeared to take away sins, and there is no sin in him.  1 John 3:5 CEB This word "sin" is "harmatia", a missing of the mark, an offence, an offence against God.  This seems to be turned into a weapon to beat people up with, yet this is couched within Love, and our place as Children of God: 1 John 3:1-2 CEB See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God's children, and that is what we are! Because the world didn't recognize him, it doesn't recognize us. Dear friends, now we are God's children... Jesus came to deal with our missing the mark, our rebellion, and there is none of that in Him. We are Beloved.  Children of God. Children who's Heavenly Father made a way, because He Loves Us. And in Being Loved is identity, belonging, acceptance, safety, worth, value.  We are valued and valuable. Accepted and acceptable. Because the One who never missed the mark, came for us. One day we wi...

Friday! Proverbs! Proverbs 5:3-6 CEB The lips of a mysterious woman drip honey,  and her tongue is smoother than oil,  but in the end she is bitter as gall,  sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death;  her steps lead to the grave. She doesn't stay on the way of life.  Her paths wander, but she doesn't know it. Proverbs 5:3-6 CEB Yikes!  This sounds like someone to steer clear of...but I wonder if this Proverb is really referring to a person? The word here "mysterious woman" is "zuwr" (pronounced zoor) and it's primary meaning seems to be someone (or something) from outside of the Life that God had planned for his people. So maybe it's not a person we're to avoid as much as it is ideas, activities, desires (& people) that want to draw us away from the Life God has for us. This Proverb gives a picture of something interesting, enticing, that draws us in, but in the end doesn't lead to Life at all. What are those things in you...

Mark 6:7 CEB He called for the Twelve and sent them out in pairs. Mark 6:7 CEB I wonder why Jesus chose to send them out in pairs? Not on their own, not in groups of 3 or 4 or ? What are we to make of this in our lives? Perhaps when Jesus calls us to some task, some work, some mission, we shouldn't step into it alone. Perhaps we're made for community and connection and are better together. We don't know how the disciples got paired up, but my first instinct would be to go with someone I liked, got on with, would be able to smash the mission out. But what would Jesus want me to learn if I was paired with someone who was slower, who I had to wait for, adjust to? What if I am that person? The one others have to slow down for, wait to catch up? While Jesus was sending his team "out there" on a mission, what if the real Kingdom work was being done "in" them? And therefore, in us? What is this picture of Jesus and his 12 team members going off in pairs invite ...

Mark 6:4-6 CEB Jesus said to them, "Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns, among their relatives, and in their own households." He was unable to do any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. He was appalled by their disbelief.  Then Jesus traveled through the surrounding villages teaching.   Mark 6:4-6 CEB Even though he was impacted by the rejection of his family and community, even though astounded/appalled at their unbelief, he kept moving. Moved on. Kept walking to the next place that would accept him. Perhaps there's something here for us, there's times when we need to just accept other people's views and attitudes towards us, towards what is important to us and in us, are not going to shift or change, and we need to move. Move on. Keep walking.  Jesus didn't wait around forever for his family and community to shift, to see him.  He moved. Kept walking. Their rejection impacted him dee...

Mark 6:4-6 CSB Jesus said to them,  "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown,  among his relatives,  and in his household." He was not able to do a miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief... Mark 6:4-6 CSB Jesus went back home, to his people, family, relatives, the community he grew up in, and he wasn't believed. And it impacted him. Deeply. If Jesus equilibrium is upset because he was not accepted for who he was by the people who he grew up with, if being rejected impacted his ability to do what he came to do, then just maybe, when we're not accepted, experience rejection, are misunderstood, not seen or heard by people who were once on our team, raised us, were part of our life, that might just impact us too. Jesus felt it, it's OK for us to feel it too.  Validation, love, acceptance. To be seen for who we are (not just for who we once were) is important.  It matt...

Psalms 146:6-9 CEB God:  the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,  God:  who is faithful forever, who gives justice to people who are oppressed, who gives bread to people who are starving!  The LORD:  who frees prisoners.  The LORD:  who makes the blind see.  The LORD:  who straightens up those who are bent low. The LORD:  who loves the righteous. The LORD:  who protects immigrants, who helps orphans and widows, but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!   Psalms 146:6-9 CEB At the heart of this song David reveals the heart of God that has been downloaded to him, the heart of God for justice, freedom, sight, resources, for restoration, for safety. In a world that often seems full of the opposite to these things, they are there, glimpses, and they are the things that Jesus came to bring in a new way, and asks us to join him in being part of: Justice  Freedom  Sight Resources  ...

Sunday Psalms; Praise the LORD!  Let my whole being praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with all my life;  I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. Dont trust leaders;  dont trust any human beings - theres no saving help with them! Their breath leaves them, then they go back to the ground. On that very same day, their plans die too. The person whose help is the God of Jacob - the person whose hope rests on the LORD their God - is truly happy! God: the maker of heaven and earth,  the sea, and all that is in them,  God: who is faithful forever... Psalms 146:1-6 CEB A big song of praise! A song that invites us to praise with our life. A song that carries a warning about getting distracted by following a person and not our God.  Another person, no matter how clever, articulate, passionate, charismatic, can save. David brings us back to the Eternal, the Creator, the One who holds the Big Story, who when we look at the vastness of things like the sea,...

My son,  pay attention to my wisdom;  listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you've learned. Proverbs 5:1-2 NLT When we look for Jesus in this Proverb, can you hear him speaking these words? My child, pay attention, listen well. What is Jesus inviting us to pay attention to today? What is he inviting us to listen well to? To let in to our heart? Is it the words of hope? Take courage for I have overcome the world (John 16:33) Or perhaps it's Jesus words of purpose and connection; I have come that you might Life (John 10:10) Perhaps it's Jesus words of direction:  Come, follow me (Matt 4:19). Or maybe it's Jesus 3 part invitation to love; Matthew 22:37-40 Love God with all of you. And just as important to Love your neighbour, & to Love yourself. Jesus had a lot to say to us, to invite us into, what is he calling you towards today? What is Jesus asking you to pay attention to today? #proverbs #wisdom #someth...