verseoftheday

...he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Mark 6:41 NIV Jesus could've fed everybody in lots of ways. Everyone could've just felt full, and their nutritional needs met. Or bread and fish could've just appeared in front of the groups of people. But in this instance anyway, Jesus wanted his team involved, not watching from the sidelines, but sleeves rolled up and serving. Literally. Serving food. Jesus was at work, he did the miracle, and everyone got involved. He wants us involved. Not to be bystanders in his story of restoration and redemption. When we are prepared to get involved in Kingdom work, to serve, we get to see Jesus at work and participate with him. How can I today simply give some bread? Encourage someone, invite someone, bless someone somehow. Just ask God to bring a person to mind today. #sunday #worship #loveGod #lovepeople #serve

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 NASB Our words are important. They do have power. Speaking words of Life doesn't always mean that everyone will like or even agree with what we say. Jesus spoke plenty of words that left people hurt, disappointed, angry. For the hurt, the lost, the outcast, His words were full of compassion, grace, forgiveness. Speak the truth in love. Love and truth both have their Genesis, their origin, in God, not in me. My version of both is always going to be a little off, a little distorted, so the more we can get back to, closer to the source, the more our words really will speak life! #loveGod #lovepeople #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon #speaklife

And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word... Mark 4:18-19 NASB Jesus adds to the worries and decietfulness of things outside us, this big, catch-all category of our heart desire. What I want. Other things. Right now what do I want that's getting in the way, choking the Word? I want to stay in bed I want to eat I want coffee But deeper, in my heart, right now, I want comfort. I want it easy Easy for me. And suddenly this category of "the desire for other things" is a tangible thing. So this morning I choose to lift my gaze, and to ask for grace to love those He brings into my life today, no matter if it's inconvenient, disruptive, or just not what I want. That's my prayer this morning. What's yours? #noreasontofear #burdenbearers #donotlosesightofGod #up...

...the deceitfulness of riches...enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19 NASB The deceitfulness of riches. Is this one that catches you? Maybe you're immune from this but there's a few ways this bites me... The first is thinking I'll be OK, happy, secure, sorted when I have $X Which then becomes $X+ There's the thinking from our culture that more is better. That success is measured in $, that giving is optional and from the bit left over after everything else... Then there's the cost side: if I follow Jesus there, it's going to cost me. Can't someone else pay? Why should I give up my stuff? My kingdom come My will be done It's the lie that "riches" can save me. The lie that those with "riches" are worth more to God. I know these things are not  true, but they're tough lies to shake, and to live in the upside down kingdom that Jesus calls us to, where only loving God, and loving  people, i...

Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. Psalms 51:15 NLT David the song writer is saying there's days and times when I need help. I don't feel like praising God. The words just won't fall out What does he do? I can't that That's not my gift Others are so much better No He asks God for help to unlock his words. On Sunday we often use others words to praise. We sing their songs, we listen to or recite their prayers. On Monday, let's find our own words. Who is God to you? What can you thank him for? Praise for? Jot it down somewhere. What are your words? They may be simple, halting, difficult to say, but try it. Pray David's prayer... Lord, unlock my words... It's good to borrow others, to sing songs in our hearts, to use the Psalms as our prayers, but I think God longs to hear our words, whether they're eloquent & flowing or simple & hesitant... #psalms #psalm51 #itsaheartthing #loveGod

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon...do you love me...? He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, Feed my lambs. John 21:15 ESV Can you imagine Jesus asking that question? This is the risen Jesus, who'd just cooked you breakfast, so probably a good time to ask. How would I respond? He asks that question this morning. Do you love me? And then he says, there are people for you to care for, encourage, nurture, grow, bless, feed, support, teach, sing to, pray for, pray over, forgive, lead, share with, travel with, carry, bear with, serve...people who I get to meet because you're my representative in the world. Jesus says to Peter, your love for me finds its expression in loving others. Will you do that? #heisrisen #breakfast #breakfastchat #breakfastchatwithJesus #whodidthedishes? #loveGod #lovepeople

Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah... But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king's orders. They allowed the boys to live, too. Exodus 1:15, 17NLT The king had ordered the midwives to kill any baby boys that were born. And they did not. The king made the rules He was the prevailing culture. But they said no. God has said these lives are more important His values are higher. This was their battle No matter what I'm being told by the prevailing culture or the lies I am hearing, God's values, Truth, is more important. And so these two ladies found a better way. In facing the culture, at risk of their own lives, they found a way forward, to quietly do what was right. It's so easy to be swayed by the loudest voices, whether that's in the media, from the people we hang out with, or the things that run around in our own thinking, come back to what God has to say... #loveGod #lov...

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV Every now and then I return to these verses, and it can be for a number of reasons. Read them again if you have a minute... For me today it's a reminder that God has some things for me to do. Things that may make no sense to the world. The lens of grace leads to humility. Changes the way I see me, my stuff, and what really matters. That we are all in this together. My circumstances are no different to yesterday, but when I look through the lens of grace things do look different. This grace while personal coming in, is other oriented in it's expression. We work it out, live it, in community. Together. #grace #upsidedownkingdom #loveGod #lovepeople

But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn't publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him. Mark 1:45 LT It seems that this is not what Jesus wanted. People flocking to him because they'd heard about a miraculous healing. The latest celebrity pastor. The person who could fix their immediate problems. Isn't that often our way...here's the latest, shiniest, brightest idea or person, and I'm inclined to at the very least be curious... But the Kingdom is an upside-down one. It's leader washed his team's feet. Literally. And not as a marketing gimmick He had no house, no car, almost no possessions. Died in shame Despised Rejected Alone This is who we follow. Someone acquainted with grief. When I get tempted by the next big thing, the big job, the kudos, I think again of the On...

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. Psalms 34:4-5 NLT Is this David reflecting on his own actions? Looking forward to Jesus in the garden contemplating what was ahead? Inspired words that speak to us today? All of the above? Can you and I imagine living a life where there is not even a shadow of shame? Joy here is painted as the opposite of shame. And the way to get there? It seems less about looking in, looking at me, and more about seeking God, knowing Jesus, walking with His Spirit...which causes me to live out my faith in service of others...and in that purpose is (re) discovered, shame burns away like a shadow at noon, and joy is found. #seekHim #loveGod #lovepeople #nofear #shameisburned #joydiscovered #psalms #psalm34

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1 NIV This is a cool verse. Keep praising God. If you read 1 Samuel in the 20's chapters is the story of David literally on the run for his life. He faked being crazy at one point to get away. And at that time he wrote this song. I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:1-3 David is saying if you are afflicted, if it seems that the world is against you, you can't win, hurt, under pressure, then I know what that's like. Join with me. A fellow traveler, a fellow sufferer. And we'll talk to God together, remind ourselves of who He is. That He is good. He is for us. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, when we don't get God, don't feel it, choose to believe, to trust. And praise Him anyway. Sing. ...

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress... James 1:27 NIV Yesterday we thought about the "who". Today it's the "when" "In their distress" In someone's time of need will I step in? Step towards their distress, their hurt, their need. Their mess. The Greek word used for distress is "thlipsis". It means persecution, affliction, distress, tribulation. And it has the meaning of being hemmed in, without choices, when there seems no way out. So, James tells us our religion should take us towards people who are the hurt, the marginalised, the discarded, and in their distress, when they're really feeling  like there's  no way forward, no way out, when they have no choices, to walk with them to find a way out. To help find options. Jim is not prescriptive about how that looks, so it's going to look different for you and for me, so how could this...

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry... James 1:19-20 NIV Quick, slow, slow. These 3 things are a package deal, because they're really about one thing - my heart. My heart is slow quick quick Slow to listen Quick to speak Quick to take offence, quick to get annoyed, quick to get angry. I'm sure there's techniques and things I could learn to flip this, but it's a heart orientation that brings real change. When my heart is oriented towards God, it is inclined to love others. When I love people as image bearers, as valued by God, as someone He said was worth dying for, then, I'll put my stuff aside and listen. Then I'll hold back my judgement and slow down what I have to say. And then I won't quickly take offence, get annoyed, get angry. When my heart is oreinted towards me, then I'm slow quick quick When its oriented towards God, & others, I become quic...

Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. Philippians 4:15-17 NIV I wonder what the back story is here...Paul working hard out for the church's and these guys were the only appreciative ones. I wonder how long it took to send a gift and get feedback? Weeks? Lessons for me? When I'm prompted to give I should give. There's something that goes on in the kingdom when we give. Paul's desire is that more is credited to their account - is that a reimbursement of what they've given? Or is it something deeper? Be like the Philippians. Give generously. Time, talent, money, resources, words, actions, let your life speak of God's g...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV I always read this verse to be pray with thanksgiving to mean to pray believing that God has answered how I want him to answer. But when I checked that word for thanksgiving this morning it's this: "eucharistia" Yes it means thankfulness, thanksgiving, but it means "gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)" Again & again these v4-7 take us away from what we're praying for, and focus is on who we're praying to: Rejoice in the Lord The Lord is near The last word is God And eucharista-thanks as an act of worship. Kind of changes the way I pray...that petition from my place of deep need, but focussed on who I'm praying to...somehow my petition becomes part of worship :) #loveGod #pray #petition #itsaheartthing #worship

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV We love a good formula. Could probably write a book on this one, complete with notebooks with tabs for each part...Paul's 4 step plan to peace with God...or something like that. But there's other formula's in other places so that indicates that these are useful guides for us to use to move us closer to God's heart. So feel free to write the book :) For now, think about this word "petition". A petition takes effort, passion, committment to write it up and get others on board. It's not something we do lightly or on the spur of the moment. A petition is for something that has really stirred our heart. We can't let it go It's driven from something deep within. A need for justice, change, deliverance. A place of deep need. That's what the "last word", the living God, wants to hear f...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV Sometimes people write things and it has no credibility. If you only knew my story would you really say that? Paul has a history. Personally responsible for inflicting suffering on others. Then there's the shipwrecks, the beatings, the imprisonment, and whatever the "thorn" was that caused him suffering. And he was currently writing from jail, and responsible for churches all over the place. So he had plenty of reason to be anxious. It's the last word of this verse that is most important. Who we're praying to. Who is with us. Not something created. The Living God who made it all. Let's start there with the last word. And Paul's history, present concerns, anxiety about the future, are seen in a different light...and so are yours, and so are mine. #loveGod

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7 NIV Funny thing, I always thought this passage included getting what you want, what you ask for. Rejoice Live it out in the world Remember God is near Don't be anxious. Pray instead. And you'll get...peace. A supernatural peace. The other thing I think I expect is immediacy. Give me that peace right now. Instead Rejoice Live it out in the world Remember God is near Don't be anxious. Pray instead. Rinse and repeat. The only players here are God and me. My circumstances aren't mentioned, so they may not change, God doesn't change (although we can learn more about Him) so that ...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but... Philippians 4:4-6 NIV Maybe you know V6 well, as it's so easy to jump straight there when things aren't good, when we're worried, anxious, under pressure. My encouragement is start with v4 Rejoice. In God. Remind ourselves who he is, what he did. Live out the grace we find there in the world. That's an others focus. Then know that God is with you. Look up. Look out. Look at who's with you. Then let's look at what's going on in our lives...maybe, just maybe, that will change the way we see V6 and the hope it holds :) May today, this week, you know the One who is with you, may we acknowledge his grace, his love, may we live that out in the world around us. Amen. #loveGod #lovepeople

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel... Philippians 4:2-3 NIV Conflicts and difficulties between people happen. We don't always get on. We don't always agree. We just don't. Hear Paul's heart here...it's for reconciliation, and he asks someone to help. Who that is it's not clear (or is it all the church at Philippi who need to take some responsibility?) No matter, get on the same page, and help one another get there...and what's the basis for that? The gospel. Come back to the Big Story, and the small story of your conflict will find perspective...get our minds back on the gospel. The cross Jesus Why he came. It's not a strategy or a conflict resolution tool, it's how we live. It's who we are. #loveGod #lovepeople