verseoftheday

Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Mark 4:16-17 NIV There's two things working in tandem here... My heart of rock And no roots Taking root carries the meaning of having descendents...when God's truth takes root in my heart, and has descendents, children, things change I am a child of God. Let that sink in to your heart. What are it's descendents? My future is secure My hope is fixed My inheritance is safe I am loved I am chosen I am accepted I can never be lost Let those take root...and things will change...the rocks will start to break down, and when my circumstances are tough, when I'm getting a hard time for being a Christian, when I get bad news, when the storms if life come... When Those children of the truth that have taken root will still hold...and flourish...

Horses have bits and bridles in their mouths so that we can control and guide their large body. And the same with mighty ships, though they are massive and driven by fierce winds, yet they are steered by a tiny rudder at the direction of the person at the helm. And so the tongue is a small part of the body yet it carries great power! James 3:3-5 TPT Our words are important. What we say, what we think. What words do I say (or think) about me? About you? About others? At my core, are words Beliefs Our words direct us, shape our path, set our direction. And the thing is this, we can choose them. We're not stuck with some of those words that we may have come to believe The Enemy is a liar. That's his thing. Lies Counterfeit Fake Not the truth The world, our culture has words for us and about us Are they true? Jesus is The Word. Logos The Truth Who does He say I am? His dearly loved child. Chosen. Important Redeemed Made holy Clean Accepted Words are im...

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right...think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV Whatever is right. Paul's letter to the church is full of encouragement and hope. Why is that? Because we need it. We stuff up, make mistakes, get stuck in sin. All of us. And the key thing Paul calls us to use here is our mind. What we think about, what we fix our minds on. It's not about what pops into our mind but what we encourage to stay there. To dwell on. Today it's what is "right". This is about what is just. Fair. Impartial. My natural bias is to what I think is fair for me! Hardly impartial. So this forces me to try & think from the only just/right perspective. God's. Hard to do, but He has revealed himself in his word, in the person of Jesus so we have some clues. Will I try to think like Jesus? #thinkonthese #truth #honour #right #jesusatthecentre

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble...think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV The NLT version says "Fix your thoughts on..." We get to choose what we fix our thinking on, and this is a great list... Whatever is true. Whatever is noble. Noble is not a word we hear a lot of. It is honourable, it's things that carry weight. So much of our media and entertainment is lightweight, & is not honourable to the people involved, we laugh at people's fails, their embarrassments, and call it entertaining. Paul says to fix our thoughts on what is noble, what gives people honour and dignity as they are image bearers of our God. We get to choose where to fix our thoughts. Choose well today :) #finally #thinkonthis #truth #honour #thesource #jesusatthecentre

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true...think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV Whatever is true. How easy it is for us to believe the not true, the part true, the lies. They're attractive. They seem good sometimes They seem like they have answers for us. They seem easier than the truth. Jesus said "I am the Truth". He is the representation of the Father. And his word is truth On those things we can rely. The Truth. What I feel, what my culture tells me, whatever or whoever prompts our values, choices, and actions, they may contain truth, but The Truth, our measure, our start place, our refuge, is the person of Jesus. He is Truth His word is true. Paul final exhortation, his desire for us, call to us is to think on the truth, meditate on it, get it into us. #finally #thinkonthis #truth #thesource #jesusatthecentre

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 OK time to do some work... take a phrase, a verse, or this whole passage and personalise it for you, rewrite it as God speaking to you today. And/or write it into a prayer. Here's mine today: Lord guard my mind today. Guard it from thoughts that derail me from seeing you, the last word, the Living God. Help me to remember that You are near. Thank you that you hear my prayers. Amen. There are rich veins of truth in this passage for each of us. Dig yours out today :) #truth #thewordgiveslife

Friday! Proverbs! Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right. Proverbs 16:13 NIV Honesty and integrity. Soemtimes we think those with authority and power don't want honesty, but Solomon says they do. They value the truth. If you're the boss, the parent, the celeb, the one in the spotlight, up front...value the honesty of your friends, those in your life... And not just Kings. We're masters at the mask, the veil, the less than honest response... if we're not good and need someone to lean on its OK to say, OK to ask... we're just walking each other home :) And there's One who can always handle our honesty, because He Loves, loves without measure. #truth #honesty #speakthetruthinlove #walkingeachotherhome

...Jesus...the wilderness... After fasting forty days...he was hungry..."If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written... Matthew 4:1-4 NIV Jesus was at the end of his physical resources. Completely done. And the testing started in a way that had some truth in it, and connected directly to Jesus situation. If you're the son of God (.oh yep that's me) then just turn these stones to bread (and your hunger will be resolved! You can do this easily...) It's often the same with us. Our testing starts with some truth in it... You're a good person, worked hard, deserve this... you can do this easily, no one needs to know, it will fix your situation... But Jesus goes back to God's word. Because he knows it. Ok Jesus has an advantage over us in that, but Bible memory is an area of real opportunity for us to cement Gods word in our hearts, ready and available when testing times come. So we're going to...

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:1-4 NIV This week we watched a YouTube programme on fasting. The average male can fast for a max of... 40 days! After 40 days you'd be at  the end of your physical resources, all energy stores in your body would be depleted. That's where Jesus was. At the end. Hungry. And then the testing begins. The testing wasn't the going without food, it was what are you going to rely on when you get to the end of your resources... What do you believe when your strength is gone? Jesus relied on God's Word. #truth #faith #testing #believe

Friday! Proverbs! The godly hate lies; the wicked cause shame and disgrace. Proverbs 13:5 NLT The Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year for 2016 is "post-truth". This is when "objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief" This leaves a lot of room for lies...this proverb is clear that this won't work out well in the end... The flip side of hating lies is loving the truth. Jesus said that knowing the truth will set you free! Our source of truth is God's word and that needs to be our foundation and our start point in this world where opinion, emotion & the individuals personal belief is shaping our culture. #readyourBible #resolution #truth #sourceoftruth #proverbs #wisdom #somethingtochewon

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over... Romans 1:28 AMP "Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work, whereas economics represents how it actually does work" Freakonomics. When governments and those in authority lose their moral stand, the only thing left is economics. And we're so much more than economic units of production. Just as in Paul's day big chunks of our world no longer bother to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing...and yet at a micro level...in my heart...how often do I do the same thing? What does God know about my situation? How is His truth ? If we ignore God He'll let us run our own way...but if we keep choosing to acknowledge Him & consider Him worth knowing, He'll walk with us... #Romans #keepingitreal #Godisworthknowing #truth

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. Romans 1:20 NLT If you look around, dig beneath the surface, look at  the created order with an open mind...it will point you to the Creator. If we just contemplate on what's been made...even the system that allows us to read these words...the eye...how it works...God's handiwork is everywhere to be seen and points us back to Him His divine nature is revealed in creation. Truth Justice Light Love These things are there to be seen...if we'd just look... #Romans #loveGod #lovepeople #truth

My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. Psalms 119:71-72 NLT Helen Keller said Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Will we allow whatever pain, struggle, hurt, loss, disappointment we go through point us back to God and His truth? To the point that God's Word is the most valuable thing we have and strive for? That is deeply challenging. But encouraging too, for no matter what we are going thru we're not alone, that God is with us #faith #truth #inthistogether #theroad

Ephesians 4:25-26 NLT So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body Been a month since we were last in Ephesians...maybe it's time for some honesty in your life. Burying or avoiding the truth does not help the "body" Sometimes we lie to ourselves, justify what we do, sometimes we believe the lies of the world, of things that have happened to us, events of the past. A healthy body needs the truth. And sometimes I need to hear the truth about me... God's story is a love story. Love, forgiveness, grace, sacrifice,  restoration, second chances, restored relationships...that's His truth...all found in Jesus. #truth #stoptellinglies #truthwillsetyoufree #youaredearlyloved

Ephesians 4:15 NLT Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Growing in every way to be more and more like Christ. This is the target that Paul asks us to aim at...as we live out God's truth, we will be transformed (transformation for the  is not an option) not to be better, to be improved,  but to be more like Jesus.  Different. Changed. Not something we can do, but only by allowing God to work in us and through us where ever we are and whatever we are doing... #instead #speak #truth #love #lovepeople #betransformed #wow

Ephesians 4:15 NLT Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Instead of what? Instead of being tossed about. That's good. Then? We will speak the truth in love. How many times have I used those words as a reason to tell someone else what they are doing wrong...just maybe this is about sharing the truth of God, His story, who He is...but doing it in a way that reflects His love, grace, compassion... And to speak God's truth I need to know it...so...study the Word, meditate on it, dig into it, live it... Speaking is not just words...but choices we make everyday, the way we live, who we are & who we are becoming... #instead #speak #truth #lovepeople

Ephesians 2:8 ESV For by grace you have been saved... #grace #saved #simple #truth