verseoftheday

The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Lord , save me!" Psalm 116:33-4 NIV No matter what emotions you might be feeling, you can find them in the Psalms! Can you imagine singing this song? Maybe you can...if not today, then some day. Our God can hear our strongest emotions, our deepest fears, our sorrows and hurts. In the midst of his hurt, the psalmist also shows the way forward. He calls out to God To Yahweh The Eternal Lord save me His pain & distress were the biggest things in his world. Lord save me. He chose, chose to keep looking to God no matter what. He chose to believe even when his feelings said there is no hope. There is hope. This is a song. A song that we can sing together, none of us need be alone in the things we face, in our deepest need #singout #hope #thenameoftheLord

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39 NLT Sometimes I wish this would just happen now. Jesus just say stop. Stop the craziness of war. The shooting of innocent people. Stop our children, our wives and partners from being hurt. Stop the hunger and despair. Stop the noise of this world that threatens to derail, and the selfish thoughts that bubble up in my own heart... Silence. Be still. Jesus team got a taste of that. In the middle of the night, in the middle of the storm, in the noise, and the fear... Silence Stillness For them it was found in Jesus, and for us, He is where the noise and madness of this world is silenced and stilled. We can get a taste, a glimpse of how it should be. A glimpse of the day when all tears will be wiped away, when what is hurt, will be fully unhurt, when what is broken will be fully unbroken. #onedayallwillbemadenew ...

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that were going to drown?" Mark 4:38 NLT We all have a version of this question...don't you care? The storm is too big. Too overwhelming. We're out in the dark and the boat is taking on water I'm going to drown Don't you care? This is early days in Jesus ministry, and I don't think the disciples really got who Jesus is. In the dark In the storm, it's easy to lose sight of who Jesus is. It's OK to cry out. To ask Him Sometimes the answer may be in the Jesus of Genesis 1, or Isaiah, or Job. Or the Psalms Or the quiet voice of the Spirit Or the open loving arms of a saviour who stopped at nothing to rescue. The Cross answers the "don't you care" question. #faith #hope #love

The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14 NIV We've considered faith and hope as "anti crushers" of our spirit. The third leg of that stool is Love. Who we choose to love. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he picked the 11th. Love God Easy for Jesus to say. He'd been with God, and knows. Is. Jesus is also the full representation of God, so when we love Jesus, well, we're there. Jesus has been revealed to us so that we can know him. God with skin on. Today, know too that you and I, we are loved. Loved by this God with skin on who loves us from eternity. Who loves in action Who knows us, and loves us anyway. It's this love that is the ultimate anti-crusher of our spirit This love. #sunday #worship #thisisourGod #faith #hope #love

The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14 NIV Yesterday it was faith that helps to stop our spirit being crushed. It's not what we put our faith in, but who. Part 2 is hope. We are hope driven creatures, and hope sustains us, shores up our spirit from being crushed. Our view of, perception of, our circumstances changes  based on the hope we have. We have big picture Hope. New life with God All tears gone Broken unbroken And we have the Psalm 23 hope, the "even though" hope...even though I walk in the valley of the shadow, you are with me...God is with us in our circumstances and He is at work, even if I don't get it, don't see it. And that hope is a person The God-man, who stepped into the creation story, shrunk himself to become one of us, to become the Way. Our hope is a person  A person who endured circumstances, who knows. Without hope we are crushed. It's not about what we put our hope in, b...

Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for the sake of people, and not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man exercises his Lordship over the Sabbath." Mark 2:27-28 TPT If Jesus was here today, being grilled on TV, he wouldn't be saying he's in charge of Sunday's, he'd be saying "I set this world up with meaningful work, with how relationships should work, I designed you, your minds, your creative intellect. I gave you the ability to design, to construct, to create, to develop culture, language, art, engineering, economics. I am over and in all these things. What I made is for you, for your thriving, so you'll see me in it. Look after your world. And all the other things you so desperately look for: Purpose Meaning Hope If you want to know what it's all about, about where to find these things, I AM. And then he'd say something like 'just look at my people, ask them, they carry all of that goodness too'...

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:24-25 NIV These verses start with a personal God who holds us from falling, lights our path, who presents us whole, renewed and delighted in, and ends with this massive picture of the Eternal. The I AM The One worthy of our worship. The One who always was & always will be And He is the One who holds us up, lights the way, walks with us through the valley... #faith #trust #hope #sunday #worship #thisisourGod

The next day...the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again'. So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first" Matthew 27:62-66 NIV Saturday. Jesus is dead. And buried. Were the church leaders really afraid someone would steal the body? Or was there a niggling fear that if they didn't seal the tomb somehow Jesus might just do what he said he would do and walk out? Jesus is dead His team will be grieving, replaying conversations and Jesus teaching in their minds. On Saturday it must've felt like all was lost. They were lost Ever felt a bit lost? Like living in Easter Saturday. Lost If there's even the slightest niggle in your h...

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus... Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him... Mark 1:40-41 NLT Leprosy is contagious. In his humanity Jesus risked getting infected. When he asks us to follow him into the lives of others, we too may well be placing ourselves at risk. Hearing stories that are hard to hear. Carrying burdens that are heavy Catching something. The Christian Life is not risk free. It can hurt It can cost We follow a saviour who left everything good, entered our story, not just to risk being hurt, to risk suffering, he knew. Knew what was coming And entered our world anyway. Jesus scars will tell that story for eternity. In this moment, Jesus says "my heart is broken, this is not how it should be" And in that we have hope. That what is sad will be unmade What is broken will be restored The tears. Not needed Just like my name, it's in His scars. #thisisnothowitshouldbe #trust #onedayallwillbemadenew #f...

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Psalms 34:18-20 ESV This Psalm, this song, is at a whole new level now. Who's bones were not broken? This takes us forward hundreds of years to Jesus crucifiction. Jesus bones were not broken (routinely a crucified persons legs were broken) Many were his afflictions. Even though he was the only truly righteous one He was crushed in spirit His heart was broken Sorrow and Love Flow mingled down For me. In the heart damage In the crushedness Love delivered Him But He was still crushed His heart broken And He still bears the scars He knows He knows Love and Sorrow And in those scars is the promise, the hope, that one day, all that is broken will be unbroken All that is crushed will be uncrushed God is near #psalms #psalm34 #thisisourGod ...

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalms 34:18 ESV When David wrote this he hadn't been saved, when his heart was broken, when his spirit felt crushed. Do you know what that's  like? Maybe you've said similar words. "My spirit is crushed" Or maybe there's someone you know who's there. David had not been saved as in plucked out of the situation he was in...this is a statement of hope And of trust I trust you Lord, that somehow, sometime I'm going to know I've been saved. You are near. And that's what I need. I need to know that. His nearness is found in the living Word. The touch of others Community Worship Beauty Goodness The small voice of His Spirit within. In loving others. When my spirit is crushed, my heat is broken, I stop looking at the Word. I stop reading Jesus words I pull back from others I don't sing I don't look I don't listen And I def don't serve ...

But the eyes of the Lord are on those... whose hope is in his unfailing love... We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:18, 20 NIV There's hope here Hope in the Unfailing Love And there's waiting. I don't like waiting. Queues Delays I want my stuff now, I don't want to wait for anything...as the world should revolve around me. Aren't I a customer everywhere? Even with God? And with people? I don't serve a god of my making, who does what I want. And the God I do serve tells me to love people, to "wash their feet", to be a servant. James says #quickslowslow Slow to speak. I'll wait for you. Wait for you to form your thoughts, find your words. I'll give people time. They can change. I'll wait for God. Because my hope is set on Unfailing Love It is this hope that tells us the waiting is not wasted, and allows us to wait well. #psalms #psalm33 #hope #unfailinglove

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, Psalm 33:16-18 NIV Apparently after John D Rockefeller (prob the world's richest man at the time) died, his accountant was asked; "How much did he leave?" The reply? "All of it" This part of the Psalm is about where we put our trust. David had an army, was a warrior, had horses. He's not saying any of those are bad things. But they aren't the answer to what our world, our hearts, really need. My bank account, property, job, business, education, appearance, health, abilities, relationships, family... whatever those good things are, they cannot save. May our prayer today be: "My hope today Lord, is in your unfailing love" #psalms #psalm33 #hope #trust

But the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. Psalms 33:11 NLT Not sure how you're year is progressing, but when I read the news there is still trouble, tragedy, disappointment and heartache. The psalmist is clear on one thing here. No matter what is going on in the moment, or even in the span of our lives, our God is at work. He is not time bound like we are. His thinking is not finite like ours is He has revealed Himself in creation, in his image bearers, in his Spirit, his Word, and fully in Jesus. His plans are redemptive And restorative His driving force is love He wants none to miss it He does not change He is for us And His plans stand firm forever. We, just need to trust Him #trust #faith #hope #love

Sing joyfully to the Lord... We wait in hope for the Lord ; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord , even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:1, 20-22 NIV This Psalm is not about a world where everything is good and every problem solved. The writer is realistic about the place he lives. But He start with singing. Singing with his whole heart. No distractions, for an audience of One. The One who loves us in our humanness, in our flaws. And it ends with Hope Hope in a God who is holy. Hope in a God who is just. Hope in a God who Loves. Hope that is now. Here And Hope that is coming. This is not all there is, this is not the end of the story, one day all that is broken will be unbroken, all that is hurt will be unhurt, and there'll be no more tears. In this Hope, that is personified in Jesus, we can sing Joyfully With all our hearts To the audience of One #sunday #worsh...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 NIV These verses are all good when it's not me going through "trials of many kinds", but are tough medicine when we're in the middle of "it". Anxiety, depression, work, business, money, study, relationships, health, pain...there's an almost endless list... Today's word is "because". Because tells us that the trials, the trouble, the hurt, the pain is not without some purpose. And while that may not be very comforting it does give this... Hope. That "it" will be used for good in me (as James indicates here) or through me (look at Jesus life!) Because gives us hope. Some days it may be just a glimmer, just a glimpse...but that's enough. God is at work In the world In our hearts "It" will not win There is hope. Our hope is a person #jam...

Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited expectantly for You; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls. Isaiah 26:8 AMP Eternity is in our hearts, having glimpses of who God is are part of who we are... We are made for relationship with the Eternal, and it's found in the restless nature of our souls. Our world, people, are searching for Him When things don't feel "right" it's because they aren't. Yet. One day all will be made new, all that's been broken will be unbroken, we, and our world will be redeemed. The price has already been paid, and that restoration has begun (& we are part of it!) And one day, those deepest longings of our souls will be fully met. And we will know. #hope #hopeunswervingly #onedayallwillbemadenew

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; Psalm 18:1-2 NIV David was a King. He had power, wealth, authority, yet...even he needed a deliverer. So often we think that we can deliver ourselves, save ourselves. We have tremendous resources of intelligence, tenacity, compassion...we can solve what seem insurmountable problems, achieve what seems to be impossible But When we are faced with a holy God Eternity Creation Sin We know that we need a deliverer. The Bible is full of stories of deliverance coming through one person... And we have that one person. A saviour Who not just made a way, but became the way. And why? Because He Loves You And me What a crazy story! God with us For us Adopting us...all we need to do is Believe! #psalms #psalm18 #perspective #safe #deliverer #believe #faith #hope #love

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; Psalm 18:1-2 NIV A rock is a high place, a place of safety, a place of perspective. Why do we need a place of safety? Because we're in a battle. Why do we need a different perspective? Sometimes we're so buried in activity, in doing, in life, in the battle, that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We lose sight of God's Big Story Creation Redemption Restoration He says take a breather, come up to this high place, this rock that is Me, and regain perspective. Remember who I AM That I AM with you Take another look at the battle from up here - it's already won! That's where your hope rests. The battle is on. We're in it But it's already won. #perspective #psalms #psalm18 #hope

"Come, you who are blessed by the Lord", he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." Genesis 24:31 NIV Echoes Genesis 24 is full of echoes. A servant is sent from a far away land. He's sent on a mission To find a bride And here is an invitation. Come in. I've prepared a place for you Jesus had a clear goal God went ahead He prayed for success (He prayed a lot!) He acknowledged the problems! Had a good plan And is celebrating success. Death has been conquered, and the restoration has begun, and He has invited us to be part of it. Why are you standing out there? I've prepared the house for you Just come in and join me! Echoes of God's Big Story! And one day we will see fully what we get glimpses of today, and all that is broken will be renewed :) #genesis #genesis24 #echoes #hegoesbeforeme #pray #celebrate #hope #onedayallwillbemadenew