verseoftheday

Sunday Psalms; [7] For the king relies on the Lord;  through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken. Psalms 21:7 CSB This is an intriguing song, it seems to be written by David about his victories as King, full of imagery that isn't easy to grasp from this distance. When we look for the redemptive strand though, it is there... "For the king relies on the Lord;  through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken." Unlikely that we will head a nation, but we can follow David here as he "relies on the Lord". And we can stand as David did in the "faithful love of the most high". In that love, David says "he is not shaken". What is it that shakes us today? What tries to knock us down, push us over, push us aside? It can be the noise, the voices of the world, of others, sometimes our own inner critic, our circumstances, the result of our own choices or the actions of others... Whatever we face, perhaps David's song here wi...

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.  But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them,  "Let the children come to me.  Don't stop them!  For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16 NLT There's a warning embedded in here that I can be like the disciples sometimes and decide what is and what isn't important to Jesus, or who is, and who isn't important to him.  Children, vulnerable, without voice, without power, welcomed in, held, blessed by Jesus (even tho by excluding them the disciples likely thought they were doing the right thing, culturally, practically, Jesus has big people and big ...

Friday! Proverbs! [6] The godly are showered with blessings;  the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.  [7] We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away. Proverbs 10:6-7 NLT The "godly" (righteous, just) compared to those who are not...yet the first comparison seems a bit off, one getting blessings, the other concealing a heart intention different to their words. And in the second it's the memories of someone compared to their "name". This disjoint seems intentional, so while I'm tempted to apply these Proverbs to others, Proverbs invites us to look in...to my motivations behind my words, to consider where I might not be speaking with integrity. To think about my "name", and am I trying to protect something about me that will just rot? Where can I be investing in what will last? Proverbs is a bit more nuanced than first glance- what are these Proverbs inviting you towards today? #Proverbs #wisdom  #somet...

Romans 6:19 NLT [19] Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. Romans 6:19 NLT Paul is using something he hopes the people in the church in Rome will understand as they wrestle with what he is teaching. There's a slavery here, a coming under the authority of, but there's this element of choice involved too. What we let be in charge in our hearts and minds. Is it the righteousness that reflects God's character that I'm choosing to come under more and more? If the main thing is Love, am I choosing to love? Love. (Patience, kindness, etc) Justice. Those on the margins. Maybe that all seems too big and too much, so start with where I am this morning, and how can I express love for God this morning? How can I ...

Well then,  since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not! Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?  You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.  Thank God!  Once you were slaves of sin,  but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.  Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Romans 6:15-18 NLT Does that mean I'll never sin again? Of course not! There's been a status change - I'm no longer sins slave, and I'm free to follow Jesus, to keep stepping towards being the person He envisions for me (see Eph1:4). I'm no longer bound to sins ideas, but free to embrace God's ideas. He is Love and Light so I get to embrace those ideas and ways of being in the world. I now have a way forward, a way out when the pressures of this world, the de...

Romans 6:12-14 NLT [12] Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. [13] Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. [14] Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace. Romans 6:12-14 NLT Paul is not weaponising this so that there's a list of things that start with "Do not..." This is part of Ch5 and 6 where he has reminded us how our relationship with God has changed because of Jesus, that it's faith, it's grace, and we have been set free from being slaves to sin, and this is the invitation to live in that. We have New Life, that is a Life of Freedom under God's Grace. So live like it! Take the next step. Choose. Move. "Today I ...

Romans 6:5, 7-11 NLT [5] Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.  (This takes us back to Paul talking about baptism and how that signifies connection with Jesus death) [7] For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.  (A reminder again that we are free from sin's power) [8] And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.  (And we have now entered into Life!  Don't rush past this truth today! "We know we also live with him" - how good is that?) [9] We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. (This is our sign, our security - death no longer has any power over Jesus, and we're alive with him, so we're all good)  [10] When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.  (No rerun needed - it's done.) [11] So you also should con...

Sunday Psalms; In times of trouble,  may the Lord answer your cry.  May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.  May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem. May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.  Interlude. Psalms 20:1-3 NLT The first part of this song of David's is looking out at the people he cared about.  Looking out, and looking up. Looking out, looking up, and trusting God in "times of trouble". Looking for our God in times of trouble. David invites us to keep it real, and this song of his takes me to Jesus words, the last recorded words we have to his team before he heads towards death... John 16:33 NLT "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world." The redemptive strands can be seen from David, to Jesus, to us. There will be, is, times of trou...

Romans 6:5-6 NLT [5] Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. [6] We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.  Romans 6:5-6 NLT We can feel the redemptive strand pulling us from death towards Life. And the things that drove us no longer have to. The things that are not reflective of our God's character, His heart, become less and less...our desires and thoughts and what's most important shift...to align with God's... Love. Justice. Truth. The least. The world, sometimes in league with our own heart desires and the lies of the enemy tries to tell us that this is not freedom, but Paul is reminding us that this is where freedom really is, when we live in the truth that he has been going on about that we are made right with God by Grace that comes through Jesus. And in that is freedom. Breathe that in today... #letters  ##GodsGraceR...

Friday! Proverbs! [3] The Lord will not let the godly go hungry,  but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.  [4] Lazy people are soon poor;  hard workers get rich.  [5] A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. Proverbs 10:3-5 NLT So easy to use these Proverbs as weapons against others. If we start with the first one, well, God's people do go hungry, so it would seem that we're being invited into something deeper... So if I turn this lens that Proverbs gives me inwards what questions does it invite? The injustice that there are poor people? Where is God when people who love Him are hungry? Is there a harvest going on that I am sleeping through? What are the "riches" that come to mind? Is this what God intends for me? What are my cravings that God wouldn't want to satisfy? As you read these Proverbs what jumps off the page for you? Why? What action is our God inviting you towards? What deeper story does it invi...

....now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well then,  should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father,  now we also may live new lives. Romans 5:21 - 6:4 NLT We are invited into new life now! To keep stepping away from the things that separate us from God, not because His Grace isn't enough, but because His Grace IS enough. This is not once-and-done but a journey that continues as we live out this new life in the reality of our hurt and damaged and beautiful and wonderful world. Maybe there's an encouragement to keep step...

Romans 5:21 NLT [21] So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21 NLT Some days it doesn't feel like God's Grace rules does it...but what we can be assured of is that God's Grace does rule in our relationship with Him. And because it is God's Grace that rules there, our relationship with, our standing with Him doesn't depend on us. The weight is off. So put it down. God's Grace rules. Whatever we had in place of God's Grace is not in charge, does not make the rules, it's a fake, fraud, or just a poor substitute. God's Grace rules through Jesus, and the result is Life! May not feel like it, but it's true. Whatever is in front of us today we get to live in the truth that God's Grace rules our relationship with Him, and we already have Life. #letters #GodsGraceRules #hopeishere...

Romans 5:12, 18-19 NLT [12] When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.  ... [18] Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. [19] Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Romans 5:12, 18-19 NLT Paul is reinforcing again and again this redemptive truth that through Jesus we are made right with God.  And this is Good News. Because it is all about Jesus and what he did, and it doesn't rely on me and what I do or don't do. One of the toughest things to put down can be the idea that I have to be good enough, be enough, reach a standard, to be acceptable to God. Paul reminds us again and again that it's what Jesus did. Author and Pastor Tim Keller used the term "our self salvation project". I ...

Psalms 19:14 NLT [14] May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 NLT This is how David ends his song, his psalm, his thoughts that he has written out about and towards our God. Have you tried writing to God? Writing to Him about what is happening in your world, what is going on with people you love, what is going on in your mind, your heart, writing it all to God, and ending with David's phrase; "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Give it a go :) #psalms #redemptivestrands #weareBeloved  #Monday #Godsgym

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 19:1-4 NLT The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak;  night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word;  their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world... Psalms 19:1-4 NLT The story of who God is painted in the sky, seen in the stars, found in the created world. It's right here. How easy is it not to look up? Take a moment to look up today...look for God's proclamation in the sky... As the stars and the skies proclaim God's glory without speaking, I'm wondering what that invites us into...how our lives might be proclaiming God's glory without speaking? #sunday #psalms #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Romans 5:15-17 NLT ... But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one mans sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:15-17 NLT Seems quite easy to get into some kind of blame game with Adam here, but the reality is that sin and death have been, and often seem to be, in charge. In history, in the world, and in me... And there is this second reality that Paul reminds us of here: "But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness" God's Gr...

Friday! Proverbs! Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. Proverbs 10:2 NLT Surely money is just money, and wealth is just wealth? This proverb is inviting us to consider the idea that everything is connected to our heart, that nothing is neutral, where things come from, how they're created or gained matters. In our context this might get us thinking about where we buy things from, the impact on others, the environment, sustainability, conservation. It might get us thinking about the work we do, how our world works, and where we can make change or make a difference. It might get us thinking about this idea of "right living" and how that can "save your life" - what does that mean for you? "Right living".  Mmm. Proverbs is a heart thing,  so as we sit with this one today, let it percolate in our hearts... "Tainted wealth has no lasting value,  but right living can save your life." #proverbs  #wisdom #itsaheartt...

[38] John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn't in our group." Mark 9:38 NLT What had the disciples just been caught out doing? Arguing about who would be the greatest. Next minute, they're trying to contain the gospel, keep Jesus for themselves. They didn't get it.  The gospel, the good news of Jesus isn't for them, isn't about the way they are with Jesus, isn't to be contained, it's for everyone, and the flavour might change, and you might not like it, but the Good News of Jesus is bigger than one group, one culture, one way of being... John gives me a little insight into me...I like church, my faith, to be expressed how I like it, what I'm used to. But the  Gospel is too big, too important to be contained by what I like and what I'm used to... Let the redemptive strands go where they need to, to meet people where they are... #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #invitati...

Romans 5:7-11 NLT [7] Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. [8] But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. [9] And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. [10] For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. [11] So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:7-11 NLT But God. But God showed his great love for us. Now we are Friends of God. But God showed his great love for us. But God. #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

But they didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,  "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me." Mark 9:34-37 NLT This child must've belonged to the household that they were staying in (see v33). Why does Jesus use a child to make his point with his team? Perhaps it's because they were talking about power, prestige, being "great", and this child gave none of that.  A small child has nothing but needs to be met.  He or she has no power, no prestige, can do nothing for them, and yet welcoming this small child, picking her up, giving protection, security, connection, is...

Mark 9:33-34 NLT After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, "What were you discussing out on the road?" But they didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.  Mark 9:33-34 NLT There's something wonderfully honest about this dialogue - would've been so easy for Mark to leave this out as it seems that all of them were part of this discussion, "arguing about which of them was the greatest" (including Mark). Wonderfully honest? Deeply honest? Honestly honest? Perhaps this dialogue is here to invite us to be honest today...honest about my actions, choices, motivations. The disciples had some kind of heart desire to be seen as or known as the most important one, or more important ones in the Group. What are some of my motivations? How do I want to be seen in the group? Amongst my peers, workmates, the people I live with? Are there things I wouldn't want to tell Jesus if he asked ...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 18:4-6, 19 NLT [4] The ropes of death entangled me;  floods of destruction swept over me.  [5] The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.  [6] But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help.  He heard me from his sanctuary;  my cry to him reached his ears. ... [19] He led me to a place of safety;  he rescued me because he delights in me. Psalms 18:4-6, 19 NLT This is a long song that David wrote after God had rescued him (particularly from Saul). In this song he describes feeling overwhelmed. And in that place where it all seemed too much, he cried to our God. We have a model here, yes of crying out to God, but also of acknowledging that things can overwhelm us, we don't seem to have the resources to stand. That's what happens sometimes. And we can cry out to God. Verse 19 is a truth we get to remind ourselves of anytime, when things may seem overwhelming, going fine, or anywhere ...

Mark 9:30-32 NLT Leaving that region, they travelled through Galilee. Jesus didn't want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them.  He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead." They didn't understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. Mark 9:30-32 NLT One interesting thing about Jesus here - he prioritised teaching his team rather than spending time with the crowds of people who clamoured after him  for healing and teaching. If it's OK for Jesus to have boundaries and set priorities, then that's OK for us too. And one interesting thing about the disciples  - even though they knew Jesus well, had been living with him every day, heard his teaching, they were still afraid to ask him what he meant.  What was it they were afraid of? Embarrassment that they didn...

Friday! Proverbs! [1] The proverbs of Solomon: A wise child makes a father glad, but a foolish child brings sorrow to his mother. Proverbs 10:1 CEB This word "wise" is "chakam" which is an adjective, a doing word, it includes skill, good judgement, and it's about the working out of wisdom. And it's couched in the idea of a parent and child. I'm wondering if that is because it can be easier to see wisdom and foolishness in others than it is in ourselves.  Proverbs is not a weapon, but a mirror, an invitation into something deeper, so how does it look in that other parent/child relationship, with our Heavenly Father and me? And now it's the joy and sorrow that God experiences from my actions and my choices... What does this Proverb encourage us, invite us towards and away from? Wisdom is applied in our actions...how can I live that out today? #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep

[6] When we were utterly helpless,  Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6 NLT This is the redemptive strand. When we, people, humanity, had no ability to get ourselves right with God, Jesus stepped towards us.  He moved. This is what Love does, steps towards the Beloved. While we sit with this today, we're also called to be followers of Jesus, which could mean stepping towards those we love. That may be an invitation to some self-care today. What fills you up? And it might mean stepping towards someone you love.  Perhaps someone who is on their own, not included. Perhaps someone who has put up barriers for some reason who you can try again with. Is there someone who the Spirit is prompting to 'be like Jesus' with and step towards? #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved  #takethenextstep 

Romans 5:4-5 NLT [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:4-5 NLT "For we know how dearly God loves us" Hope is here, wrapped in, contained in, enshrined in, packaged in, Love. "For we know how dearly God loves us" Whether our day ahead holds joy, despair, goodness, discouragement, fun, difficult things, work, study, rest, community, time alone, decisions, choices, pressures, planning...we get to hold on to this Truth and take it with us today: "For we know how dearly God loves us" Start here: "For we know how dearly God loves us" #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Romans 5:3 NLTRomans 5:3 NLT [3] We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. Romans 5:3 NLT Let's just take a look at v3, and this word that is translated "problems and trials" or in some versions "afflictions", "sufferings", "tribulations" - according to Biblehub it is "thlipsis" which is "pressure" - (what constricts or rubs together), used of a narrow place that "hems someone in"; that causes someone to feel confined (restricted, "without options"). There's a different word "stenoxoria" which is about external pressure from outside circumstances. So what does this mean for us as we read this passage? It doesn't seem to mean that we rejoice when something or someone has hurt or harmed us.  That's external. It's when we feel hemmed in, under pressure internally, that these verses pull us back to the Bigger Story. ...

Romans 5:1-5 NLT [1] Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing Gods glory.  [3] We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:1-5 NLT Easy to pull vs 3&4 out and kind of glorify struggle and because it builds all the things in v4. But it's all built on the foundation of the Big Story, that we are made right with God by faith in Jesus, and the hope we have of fully aliveness wit...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 17:1, 8, 15 CSB [1]  Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry... [8] Protect me as the pupil of your eye;  hide me in the shadow of your wings [15] But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence. Psalms 17:1, 8, 15 CSB Something from the beginning, the middle, and the end of this song, this prayer of David's. He starts by asking, crying to God, having already considered his reason. It is a just cause he is bringing to God. In the middle he recognises his own vulnerability, his need. And at the end, it's like he has woken from a dream, or maybe he is looking forward to life fully in God's presence, when all will be made new, a future hope. This prayer invites us to bring what's important to us to Him too.  To acknowledge our vulnerabilities and needs. And reminds us to hold hope in our God who will make all things new... #sunday  #worship #thisisourGod  #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #...

Matthew 5:9 CSB Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 CSB In NZ we take time today to remember - remember those who lost their lives because there was no peace, because there was war. For there to be a need for peacemakers there must be a lack of peace - we see that every day in the news - countries, leaders, people groups at war with one another, disconnection, greed, envy, hatred. It's "out there", and it's inside us too. Jesus reminds us that being a peacemaker reflects the heart of God. Peace with Him. Peace with creation. Peace with ourselves. And peace with one another. As we remember the losses and the horrors of war, may we find ways to step towards peace, to being a peacemaker in the spaces where we do have power, where we do have influence.  #beapeacemaker #anzac

Friday! Proverbs! The woman named Folly is brash.  She is ignorant and doesn't know it. Proverbs 9:13 NLT So easy to weaponise Proverbs as we see these attributes in others.  But if Proverbs is more of a mirror, then it makes me wonder when I am ignorant and don't know it, where my opinions equal truth for everyone, when I have no idea about how someone else has had to manage things in their life and yet I judge them by my experience...so many places where I am ignorant and can't see it...easily anyway... When we hold up Proverbs as a mirror, the Bible as a way into our hearts to see where we may be ignorant, perhaps that's the beginning of wisdom that Proverbs bangs on about. Perhaps starting with Loving God, and loving others.  And it's not using Proverbs to beat ourselves up with either, but a gentle inquiry into the workings of my heart... "Jesus, may the Holy Spirit prompt me today where I might be the one who is brash, where I am ignorant and not know it,...

Romans 5:1-2 NLT Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. Romans 5:1-2 NLT Not only have we through faith been made right with God, are at peace with Him, we stand in a place of privilege, and in that place that we stand we get to look forward to something else! Something glorious! I don't know what Paul means by "sharing God's glory" but it certainly seems like a step up! This place we stand in is not from our achievements or actions, but by faith.  Nothing can shift us from this place. And so standing here, right with God, at peace with Him, looking forward to "sharing God's glory", what does that let us put down today, or step into today? #letters #truth #redemptivestrands...

Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Romans 5:1 NLT Peace with God. Whenever we don't experience or believe we have peace with God, it's not coming from Him. Any lack of peace that may have existed has been absorbed by Jesus, and by faith, we are now OK, made right, righteous. Lack of peace with God must be coming from somewhere else then: The lies of the Enemy. The pressures of the World. The things, the desires of my own heart.  The battle isn't with God, but perhaps at least in part it's to restore or rebuild, to strengthen connection with Him. Whatever is going on in us, come back to the Truth: "Therefore,  since we have been made right in God's sight by faith,  we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." #letters #truth  #redemptivestrands  #waverfreefaith

Romans 4:19-25 NLT And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead - and so was Sarah's womb.  Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abrahams benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:19-25 NLT The redemptive strands that flow from Abraham to Jesus, to us! Abraham had received a promise from God but he can't have imagined the story that would flow from his believing in God. Abraham's faith ...

Romans 4:18 NIV Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed... Romans 4:18 CEB When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations... Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Iron 4:18 FNVNT When all hope seemed to be gone, he trusted in the promise... Romans 4:18 NLT Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping... When our circumstances are trying to tell us there is no hope, that our God isn't who He says He is, that's the hope that Abraham models for us.  When our hope in the Big Story of our God's redemptive promise, the making new of all things, is hard to see, seems lost to us, we're encouraged to hold hope anyway.  #letters #hope  #weareinaBigStory #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 16:5, 7-8 CSB [5]  Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. ... [7] I will bless the Lord who counsels me - even at night when my thoughts trouble me. [8] I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalms 16:5, 7-8 CSB This song wrestles with the concerns in David's life. And it includes 3 things that David does in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty: 1. Reminds himself that God holds his future securely. No matter what, look up, our future is secure. 2. When his thoughts "trouble" him he looks outside himself to God's truth for counsel - when our thoughts race or we're stuck, look to God's truth to shift things. 3. He lets the Lord guide him. Inviting our God into that decision making space isn't always easy, but it seems to be a choice that David makes. Hiw can I choose that today? How can we let the redemptive strands of this song shape our choices today, be ou...

Mark 9:9-10 NLT As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by 'rising from the dead." Mark 9:9-10 NLT Peter, James and John had just experienced something on the mountain with Jesus that radical,  extraordinary, supernatural. And Jesus was talking about rising from the dead. Yet more radical, extraordinary and supernatural talk. They couldn't fully grasp it, grasp the meaning of it, and Jesus was right there.  It's no wonder that we might struggle to grasp what Jesus went through, what "rising from the dead" means, making sense of God becoming human and dying to defeat death and rising from the dead into Life, Life that we are invited into too... Maybe we're not supposed to be able to grasp it all, make sense of it all, and leave room for mystery...room for faith...and that's OK... #gos...

Friday! Proverbs! Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.  If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. Proverbs 9:10-12 NLT This word "multiply" is about abundance. It may not mean more, but better. More abundant days. That's what we're invited into when we stand on the foundation of Wisdom, on the knowledge of who our God is. Let that foundation underpin our choices in this moment, this hour, today...in taking the next step...knowing that we have a firm foundation beneath us. What does this Proverb invite us towards today? #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep 

That's why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God's grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham's descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. Romans 4:16 CEB Paul is writing to the early church in Rome, and actively removes barriers based on religion, ethnicity, where people have come from, religious expectations, and places everyone together on the basis of faith.  Standing securely on God's Grace. When we feel a bit wobbly in who we are, what the future holds, what our past might be shouting at us, we get to come back to this firm foundation: God's Grace. Freely given. Because He Loves. Because He Loves Us. God's Grace. Freely given. Because He Loves. Because He Loves Us. And as we come back to this foundation, my hope is that 2 things can happen, we get to put down something that is a burden, and somethin...

For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.  Romans 4:3-5 NLT Our being right with God has 2 components: 1. We're people, the object of God's love. 2. We put our faith in God.  Believe Him. Paul even uses a very modern example of the transaction that we make with society, employers, bosses, employees where we trade our labour and energy for income, and reminds us that faith in God is NOT like that.  Belief, faith counted Abraham as righteous. Right. OK  Accepted  Acceptable  And Paul reminds the church in Rome it's the same for them, the same for us. There is no transaction.  And in this space we get to experience Grace. Grace that steps towards, that makes a way.  What does that invite us i...

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, "This is my Son,  whom I dearly love. Listen to him!" Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.   Mark 9:7-8 CEB Peter, James, and John had been given a glimpse of something bigger, mysterious, powerful, deeper. A glimpse behind scenes. Behind the story that they were living in, they got a glimpse of the Bigger Story that holds it all... Behind the life that Jesus lived, there was more, there is more.  Sometimes with one another we get a glimpse into a person's inner story, or understand the bigger story of their life, and here Peter, James, and John get the curtain pulled back on something way bigger, a relationship, a reality, that must've been hard to grasp and understand. I read this account and don't understand it.  We are invited just like our brothers 2,000yrs ago were invited to glimpse, a Bigger Story, big enough to hold us, all that we might wreslte with...

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone.  He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus.  Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, "Rabbi, its good that we're here. Let's make three shrines - one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He said this because he didn't know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified.   Mark 9:2-6 CEB Six days after Jesus had been telling them about his death, asked them that question "who do you say that I am?", Jesus takes just three of his team to the mountain where they experience something mind blowing! We hear from Peter because we all respond to things differently, Peter is the one who says things out loud and wants to act, to move, to do something. James and John were terrified too. ...

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 15 CEB Who can live in your tent, LORD?  Who can dwell on your holy mountain?  The person who lives free of blame,  does what is right,  and speaks the truth sincerely; who does no damage with their talk,  does no harm to a friend,  doesn't insult a neighbor; someone who despises those who act wickedly, but who honors those who honor the LORD; someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts; someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against any innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble. Psalms 15 CEB David's song seems to be him trying to figure out what it takes to be right with God. And he gives us a great list. There's lots of goodness in his list, and if I read it quickly enough there's days when I might even meet this "standard". But the reality is I can't even consistently manage the first thing on the list...which is one reason why we need Jesus. And His Grace. And His...

Romans 3:23-26 CEB All have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.   Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his righteousness in passing over sins that happened before, during the time of God's patient tolerance. He also did this to demonstrate that he is righteous in the present time, and to treat the one who has faith in Jesus as righteous. Romans 3:23-26 CEB Paul reminds us that we're all in the same boat - all miss the mark, all of us.  I'm not sure which words jump out at you from this passage, but notice these: "freely" "freely by his grace" "faithfulness" "mercy" "patient" And notice the "direction" - it's God stepping towards us, making a way. Because Love. Love is who God is and what He does.  ...

Friday! Proverbs! The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD;  the knowledge of the holy one is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 CEB Verses like this one have been used as weapons to bring about some kind of external compliance with "the rules" - often wielded by someone with power (like parents wanting children to do something or not do something.) But Proverbs is not written to children.  Translating ancient Hebrew into English must be incredibly difficult - take this word "yir'ah", which is found 41 times in the Old Testament, and includes fear and reverence, and awesome. If Proverbs is about our heart, what does this Proverb invite us into or towards? Wisdom. Wisdom in Proverbs seems inseparable from God's character. Will we open ourselves up to knowing more of our God? That might include facing fears, and being reverent, and sitting in awe. This Proverb is also inviting us into a journey. Relationship with God is not static, it's moving,  vibrant, ...

John 21:6 CEB He said,  "Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn't haul in the net.  John 21:6 CEB I'm sure someone has written a book on the "7 principles of net casting for a successful life" from this passage, but I don't think that is what this is all about.  The disciples in the boat having been out fishing at night didn't recognise Jesus at all.  He was just some random guy on the shore giving fishing advice. It was the result of that advice that made them realise it was Jesus. This miracle pointed them to Jesus.  Through what happened they were able to see Jesus clearly for who he is. The Kingdom isn't pointing us to material prosperity, but pointing us to Jesus.  Our culture wants to make it about the fish.  The resurrected, back in his body, saviour of the world, fishing advisor, friend, conqueror of death, Jesus, that's who is at the centre of the...

John 21:3-5 CEB Simon Peter told them, "I'm going fishing." They said,  "We'll go with you." They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn't realize it was Jesus.  Jesus called to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him,  "No." John 21:3-5 CEB Ressurection. And Jesus just turns up like it's an ordinary day... But it's not an ordinary day. Jesus team have had their world turned upsidedown, Jesus was beaten, tried, killed, buried, and rose again. He's appeared to them. And disappeared again. And his team do what a lot of us would do, go to something familiar, something that feels solid, doing anything but sit around (which is Peter's character right?!) And Jesus turns up like it's an ordinary day... Our turmoil filled, disrupted world, or maybe it's the mundane, the ordinary, keep your eyes ...

Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them.  "Peace be with you," he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! Luke 24:35-37 NLT Jesus turned up again in a way they did not expect! Startled. Frightened. Out of their normal experience, trying to make sense of Jesus appearance. Perhaps there's times when we are struggling to "Make sense" if Jesus, they way others experience him, the way we have experienced him, but one thing we can take from this story is that Jesus arrived in their midst with "Peace be with you". His message to his team that day resonates down the centuries to us today:  "Peace be with you" There's plenty to be worried about in this world:  "Peace be...

That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.  As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them,  "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?" They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days." Luke 24:13-18 NLT Everything had changed, and yet these followers of Jesus didn't realise it. Even though it was Sunday, they were living as if it was still Saturday. Even though they had heard a report of Jesus resurrection, they were living like it hadn't happened. And I'm wondering if there are days when I am just like Cleopas and his companion...

Luke 24:40-43 NLT As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet. Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.  Then he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched. Luke 24:40-43 NLT Jesus didn't just arrive in a body like ours, live in a body like ours, die in a body like ours, he came back in a body too.  The Divine, the Eternal, fully embracing humanity. The ordinary.  "Do you have anything here to eat?" And he carried his scars through death and into Life. Scars that didn't stop him walking, or holding his food (or needing food).  Resurrection. Where Jesus scars are signs of Life, Renewal, Resurrection. He is God with Us. Hope is Here. And it's OK not to "get" it all, understand it all: "Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder." But we do get to accept that our God so loved the world, so loved us, so loved me,...

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.  At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli,  Eli,  lema sabachthani?" which means  "My God,  my God,  why have you abandoned me?" Matthew 27:45-46 NLT Not only abandoned by his friends and family, his community and the State, the human Jesus experienced all the worst that humanity can experience. And the divine Jesus, experienced abandonment from the Eternal, the relationship that had been Forever. Yet God. Yet God was at work bringing about a redemptive story, a victory over all the abandonment stories, especially the biggest of them, death itself. Saturday can seem dark. It is.  And it's not the end. Not the last word.  #lovewithoutmeasure #redemptivestrands #hopeishere

Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified - one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said,  "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.   The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed.  "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A sign was fastened above him with these words: This is the King of the Jews. One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed,  "So youre the Messiah, are you?  Prove it..." Luke 23:32-39 NLT Mocked and ridiculed by the Empire, the crowd, religious leaders, even by one of the men suffering in the s...

Mark 8:34-37 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Mark 8:34-37 NLT When Jesus asks a question, it's worth sitting with, and here he asks the crowd 2 questions: What do benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? The word "soul" is the same word translated as "life", "psuche", psyche, soul, the inner part of us. Jesus is asking us about our inner life and what's most important - the outer life that others can see? Or the inner life, the "who I am" part of me? "Is anything worth more than your soul?" Jesus. Easter give...

Mark 8:34-35 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it." Mark 8:34-35 NLT What is this "life" that Jesus is talking about? The word here is "psuche", from which we get the word psyche, or soul. Biblehub defines it this way; 1. soul, inner being or life 2. (literally) breath 3. (figuratively) the heart's desire, the drive or passion of one's soul (i.e. that which brings satisfaction to one's being) Jesus seems to be inviting us to give up our life, our inner life, our desire, our breath, to him. And by doing that, we won't be diminished or lessened, but we somehow be made fully alive... And at Easter Jesus modelled that by giving up his life.  Why? Because it seems he think...

Mark 8:34 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said,  "If any of you wants to be my follower,  you must give up your own way,  take up your cross,  and follow me." Mark 8:34 NLT In Mark's account Jesus had been talking with the Disciples about rejection, suffering, death and ressurection, and here he is launching into a teaching to the crowd to "take up your cross" if they want to follow Jesus. Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell the crowd there's a lot more going on here than people getting healed, some kind of celebrity Rabbi thing. Maybe the clue is in the phrase before "take up your cross", which is "give up your own way". I'm not good at giving up my own way. But maybe this Easter we are being invited like this crowd was, like the disciples were, to put something down of our "own way". What could that be? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #invitation  #easter

Romans 3:23-24 NLT For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.  Yet God,  in his grace,  freely makes us right in his sight.  He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  Romans 3:23-24 NLT Yet God. Yet God. Yet God. It was our God who IS Love chose us. Yet God. He stepped towards us. He made a way. In His Grace. Freely. He chose us.  We can wonder why all we like, but we don't have to make sense of Love. Love is.  Love acts. Love acts for the Beloved. This is the Easter story, the redemptive strands that flow from our God through the Cross to bring us Life and Hope. Grace. Freely. Something to chew on right here today...Beloved. (I wonder how I can freely express a tiny piece of the Grace I have received towards this world, towards someone, towards me, today) #letters #Easter #yetGod #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Sunday Psalms; Psalms 14:1, 7 NLT [1] Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." ...  [7] Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?  When the Lord restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. Psalms 14:1, 7 NLT This is a bleak psalm/song.  There's days, maybe weeks, months, when our world is bleak.  If that has been or is your experience, then maybe this psalm/song while written 3000 years ago in a different culture and language tells us we're not alone in how we feel or experience life. David starts by it seems reminding himself of Truth, that even when God is silent, seems distant, when the world is bleak, don't take from that that there is no God.  And then right at the end, the strand of hope, the redemptive strand we're looking for; "When the Lord restores his people..." Restoration will arrive. We get the benefit of reading this after the first Easter, knowing that Jesus death is the way of restoration,...

Mark 8:29-32 NLT Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter replied,  "You are the Messiah." But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.  As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. Mark 8:29-32 NLT Peter got it.  Got who Jesus is. But didn't get it all. Because Jesus for what seems the first time is unpacking more of his mission, or perhaps it's the "how" his messiahship will actually work, not the way Peter wanted or expected. Peter is the voice (& often the doer) of the things others want to say or do. He just says out loud what the others may well be thinking - "you're the Messiah, saving us doesn...

Friday! Proverbs! [9] Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Proverbs 9:9 NLT This Proverb is suggesting a cumulative effect of wisdom and learning. That wisdom and learning get multiplied in some way. Hoe does this Proverb land when we are the person doing the teaching, the sharing, giving the instruction? "Instruct the wise,  and they will be even wiser.  Teach the righteous,  and they will learn even more." I'm wondering how this lands differently when I am the receiver of wisdom, when I am being taught...how well am I allowing the cumulative impact of wisdom to shape me, my heart responses? Where is wisdom building on wisdom in me? Where am I getting wisdom? #proverbs  #wisdom  #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep 

Romans 3:21-22 NLT But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. Romans 3:21-22 NLT Paul has spent some time telling the church in Rome that none of us can keep the law in it's entirety all the time. The law can't make us right with God. It can help us see where sin has a grip on us and where we might want to focus, but making us right with God? Nup. It's faith in Jesus. That's it. Faith in Jesus changes everything. Does part of us want to add something? A "yes but..." or "yes and..."? How about today we just sit with this Truth that Faith in Jesus is enough... #letters #redemptivestrands #faithinJesus #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Romans 2:15 NLT [15] They demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.  Romans 2:15 NLT Paul has just unpacked how we're all in trouble before a holy God, and then he drops this wee gem in, that the "Gentiles", those who hadn't been given God's law, hadn't had it impressed on them for generations have this deep internal knowledge of what is right and wrong. It's built in. The redemptive strands are there in all of us, and always have been. I wonder if we're so busy  listening and scrolling to voices from the outside we've lost connection with that inner voice that is connected to Our God's Voice... #letters #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #weareBeloved 

Mark 8:27-29 CEB Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples,  "Who do people say that I am?" They told him, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets." He asked them,  "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" Mark 8:27-29 CEB John the Baptist's death is recorded by Mark in Ch6, not long ago, and news wouldn't have travelled as quickly as it does today. It seems that people were saying Jesus was some kind of reincarnated prophet! He was the second coming of someone else. And then Jesus asks his team; "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" And this question continues to echo down the centuries, all the way to us today... "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" Is Jesus in a category with others? Comparable? Is he like someone else? "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?" This question invite...

Mark 8:25-27 CEB [25] Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. [26] Then Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village!" [27] Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Do you wonder why Jesus first led this man out of the village and then told him not to go back, but to go home? I'm wondering if a clue is found in the next thing Mark gives us here...Jesus asking his team "who do people say that I am?" As good and wonderful the miracle of returning lost sight is, it's not the Big Story of what Jesus is about. Maybe he was concerned about becoming a celebrity. As followers of Jesus what are we concerned about? In our current culture which seems to value celebrity, profile, followers, Jesus seems to take a different path, and what doe...

Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly.  Mark 8:25 CEB One day we will see Jesus face-to-face, he will touch our eyes, our sight will be restored, and we will see everything in a new way. For this man who had been blind, and then seeing people like trees, then having his sight fully restored, everything changed.  He was the same person, and he was different. I wonder what fears, what hurts, what griefs this person was able to put down after Jesus touched his face again? What today are are we being invited to start putting down, maybe not perfectly or completely, but just a little? Where can we let the light in a little more as we wait for that face-to-face encounter with Jesus? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #invitation  #weareBeloved 

Taking the blind man's hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him,  "Do you see anything?" The man looked up and said, "I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around." Mark 8:23-24 CEB Can you see Jesus taking this man by the hand and walking with him? He's blind. And his hand is being held by Jesus. Jesus the person Jesus the divine, the Eternal, the creator of it all. Crazy picture And then Jesus spits on his eyes and asks "do you see anything?" And the man who was blind can see something, but it's not clear. People like walking trees. Unclear. Something, but knowing there's more. Seems to be a picture of where we are, Jesus is close, his hand is holding ours, we can see, but we know everything there's more, more clarity to come... We stand like this not quite blind man in the now and the not yet, with our hand held by Jesus, but we can't see ...

Friday! Proverbs! Whoever instructs the cynic gets insulted; whoever corrects the wicked gets hurt.  Don't correct the impudent, or they will hate you; correct the wise, and they will love you. Proverbs 9:7-8 CEB Somedays I just want to correct everyone! This Proverb invites us to dial down our reactions to others, to consider their character before jumping in. Pick your battles, not on the importance of the battle, but the character of the other person...something to chew on there... And now I'm wondering if I'm not being corrected because I'm not seen as wise, that I might not love the person who brings correction into my life! #proverbs  #wisdom #somethingtochewon 

As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees walking around." Mark 8:22-24 CEV This man's experience with Jesus seems quite different to some of the other people we have met in Mark's gospel. Before he met Jesus he already had a community of people who wanted to help him.  When I read these accounts I'm tempted to see me in the story, as the person in the middle who's life is changed by the transforming touch of Jesus. But if I place myself as one of the Blind Man's support team, one of many who are advocating for, working for solutions for someone else, it chamges the view... We can see this man's team waiting in the village, hoping,...

Romans 1:20-23 NLT For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. [21] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.  And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:20-23 NLT The thing with this discussion from Paul is that it describes me - when our God seems too mysterious, distant, quiet, difficult to understand, doesn't step in and solve my problems, then I do what Paul describes here, I make stuff up about God. I lose site of the Creator. The ever-living One. And then make things up about...

Romans 1:20 NLT [20] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature... Romans 1:20 NLT When we're stuck, lost, unsure, need to reconnect to the Big Story, Paul invites his readers to go outside. Go outside and grow something. Sit in the sun. Look at the stars. Listen to the birds. Go visit the ocean. Get a cat.  Sit in the forest. Feel the sun on your skin. Reconnecting with the created world helps us reconnect with the Creator of the world. What can we do today to reconnect, to see a glimpse of who our God is in the world He has made? #redemptivestrands #hopeishere 

Romans 1:15-17 NLT So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight.  This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.  As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Romans 1:15-17 NLT Paul is keen to get to Rome, to share the Good News wherever he can...the ever expanding Kingdom...the Kingdom that has room... In my church the teaching currently is based around this idea of making room. Making room. And the key that opens the Kingdom is not my talent, abilities, achievements, how "good" I am, my church, it's traditions, my family, my history, what resources i might or might not bring, but one thing...Faith. Paul reminds us the start and finish is Faith. What does that Truth invite us to put down to...

Sunday Psalms; But I have trusted in your faithful love.  My heart will rejoice in your salvation.  Yes, I will sing to the LORD because he has been good to me. Psalms 13:5-6 CEB This song is repeats the question "How long Lord?" several times. How long Lord? If David asks the question then it's OK for us to ask it too. How long? When will this change? What's going on? How much more? David doesn't give us some neat answer, he looks back at God who he knows, he looks up in faith and trust, and he looks in and knows that he is held, held in the Bigger Story of God's Love, and then he looks out and chooses to sing anyway... When we have these questions of how long, how much more, David's song invites us into a deeper understanding and place of communion with our God, a place where we get to follow the redemptive strands deeper... #sunday #worship  #thisisourGod  #invitation #redemptivestrands #hopeishere #onedayallwillbemadenew 

Mark 8:14-16 CEB Jesus' disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He gave them strict orders: "Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod." The disciples discussed this among themselves, "He said this because we have no bread." Mark 8:14-16 CEB What was Jesus trying to teach his team? What is the "yeast of the Pharisees" and the "yeast of Herod"? Maybe it's something like this...Jesus has just fed crowds from small amounts of food, we're good people, Jesus will sort this for us now, we deserve it...the yeast of the Pharisees... Jesus has fed crowds with his power, just use that now and feed all of us...the yeast of Herod... In the next few verses Jesus reminds his team of the surplus generated at those two events where the crowd was fed...perhaps Jesus was wanting them to see that they had already squandered or lost His provision for th...

Friday! Proverbs! [4] "Whoever is naive turn aside here," she says to those who lack sense.   [5] "Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.  [6] Abandon your simplistic ways and live; walk in the way of understanding." Proverbs 9:4-6 CEB Invitations abound here...invitation to turn aside... What is it that Wisdom would call us to turn aside from today? To give up. To put down. To step away from. The invitation to step towards the feast Wisdom has prepared...what is it that Wisdom invites us to partake of today? To choose. To take up. To step towards. The invitation to abandon something that is unhelpful, unhealthy, and choose Life instead...an invitation to walk in the path of understanding...where do I need that? Step towards Living Wisdom. #proverbs  #Wisdom  #somethingtochewon #itsaheartthing #takethenextstep  #invitation 

[13] I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I planned to visit you many times, although I have been prevented from coming until now. I want to harvest some fruit among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles. [14] I have a responsibility both to Greeks and to those who don't speak Greek, both to the wise and to the foolish. Romans 1:13-14 CEB This passage and the next few verses in Romans give us an insight into what motivates Paul...but tucked in there is something else... Recently I was in a conversation about God's plan for your life... Paul wanted to visit Rome, planned to, and something happened, it didn't work out. He doesn't blame God, doesn't turn these events into a question about whether he is living in God's plan or not - this seems to just be life for Paul - we make plans and they don't always work out. Paul (just go back and read the first few verses of this chapter) is in a bigger story, a calling, and that intersects with stu...

Mark 8:11-13 CEB The Pharisees showed up and began to argue with Jesus.  To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven. With an impatient sigh, Jesus said,  "Why does this generation look for a sign?  I assure you that no sign will be given to it." Leaving them, he got back in the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake. Mark 8:11-13 CEB Jesus wasn't entering into their game, didn't buy into their argument, their test, and walked away. This can't have been the first time because Love is Patient, but Jesus patience had run out. Maybe that's part of being human.  Perhaps he could see that there was nothing he could say that wiuld shift the Pharisees because they weren't coming to Jesus wanting to learn, or discover, or understand, anything about him.  And Jesus walked away. Where does Wisdom say that we should just walk away, not enter in to someone else's agenda, someone else's argument, someone else's problem? #gospelofMark #GoodNews  #...

Romans 1:12 CEB [12] What I mean is that we can mutually encourage each other while I am with you. We can be encouraged by the faithfulness we find in each other, both your faithfulness and mine.   Romans 1:12 CEB Paul isn't trying to be some kind of guru, but wants to sit in this learning space too. None of us have all the answers. None of us have it all together all the time. We need one another. What can we discover together? What can we encourage one another in? How does your faith encourage me? How does mine encourage you? When we walk together with this mutual learning in mind, what shifts, what opens up (especially about faith)? #letters #redemptivestrands  #inthistogether