verseoftheday

Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good!  His faithful love  endures forever.  ... It is better  to take refuge  in the Lord  than to trust in people.  It is better  to take refuge  In the Lord  than to trust in princes. Psalms 118:1, 8-9 NLT People People in power Sometimes they're simply not trustworthy, not worthy of your trust.  And sometimes people are, we are, I am, a fallible, fallen, imperfect person... This song is about choosing better. Choosing God as our place of refuge. His Word His Spirit His person, the true prince, Jesus, He is our refuge, it's his body that takes the attacks of the enemy, it's his grace that absorbs our sin, his love that guides us in what is right, his light that leads us home. Choose Jesus as your place of refuge. He is not fallible Not fallen Not imperfect He is the place, the person, to run to. #better #choosebetter #psalms #psalm118 #refuge

Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:51-52 NIV The disciples were there with 10,000 people, 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, everyone ate, everyone was filled, and each collected a basket of leftovers. It must've been miraculous. And they were in the middle of it. Just 9 hours earlier. And they didn't get it. I wonder what they didn't get that required Jesus to send them into the storm, to be under real pressure, to scare them witless, to calm the sea... They must've misinterpreted what they'd witnessed, what they'd been a part of. Was it that they were sent away, away from the response of the crowd? Because they were wanting to be connected to power. An overthrow of the external structures of Rome... They missed that Jesus is who he said he is, the Messiah, he does have authority and power, but his kingdom is of the heart. Heart...

Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified... Mark 6:48-50 NIV Richard sent this thought earlier in the week about the storm the disciples were in, & Jesus intending to walk on by: "Maybe Jesus was never going to intervene without the disciples first asking him. Maybe we can assume at times that Jesus will just make it all better but he's waiting for the invitation into our difficult situation." Learn something in the storm? Cry out to him for help? How do you know which is right? Maybe it's both.  Both live in and through the storm even when you think you're at the end of your resources and capability, AND cry out to Jesus, not in fear as the disciples did, but in faith.  Both are actions of faith  The disciples didn't expect Jesus to be close by. They thought he was far away, ...

Friday! Proverbs! Many will seek the favor of a generous and noble man, And everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts. Proverbs 19:6 AMP The rich and famous! The powerful. We're attracted to them. The person who gives gifts, seems generous. "Seek the favour" literally means to be weak or sick for...we make ourselves weak or sick for those we see as influential and powerful...and today we follow people on Instagram with the hope something will rub off, we flock to celebrity chefs, business gurus, sports players, even pastors. Yet the one we follow, Jesus, left the limelight to wash feet  Walked away from the crowds to pray alone Told those he healed to keep quiet Launched his kingdom in a poor persecuted country and died a humiliating death at the hands of the rich and famous. Where our hearts may sometimes want to take us, is not the way of Jesus kingdom. The poor, the lost, the hurt, the marginalised, the vulnerable, the weak are who we are called to make our hearts we...

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever. .... The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. Psalms 118:1,7 NKJV Quite a few versions interpret verse 7 as looking in triumph over those who hate me, the enemy...but this seems to be the literal interpretation of that verse. My desire. Could it be that my "desire", what I want for my enemy can change? The psalmist had never heard the gospel of Jesus - does that change anything? In the light of "the Lord is good, his mercy endures forever", maybe that changes things. And who is my enemy? Yes sometimes it is an actual army, an institution, a person (esp someone with power, or who had power over us before). Sometimes it's the culture around us. What it says is OK. And sometimes the enemy is within. My own thinking, what I read into others words or actions... Today Lord, may my heart rest in your love that endur...

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  ... The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalms 118:1, 6 NIV Well, people can do a lot of damage, a lot that can (rightly) make us afraid. However. The psalmist only had the law, God's work in history to reflect on, and his personal experience. So what can't people do? Change God's character Shift God's redemptive pans Destroy God's covenant promises. Defeat God's justice. We get the advantage of looking back on the New Testament too. No one can separate us from God's love. We are chosen and adopted into God's family with an inheritance sealed by the Holy Spirit. No one can change that. We have the Bread of Life, the Living Water, treasure being stored in heaven untouchable by people. Yes this world & the poeole in it can hurt. But they cannot steal our joy and the Living Hope that we have. Step into today secure in that....

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever. ... I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. Psalms 118:1,5 NKJV I called on the Lord. In my distress. Implied in my prayer was my trust in God, that He is good, that his love, compassion, kindness and mercy towards me are beyond my ability to measure. But I didn't say it out loud. So this morning that's where my prayer starts. "Father in heaven, You are good. I know that you love me, and I know that you love the people I care about. This is what's going on right now..." That changes things. And that broad place, that open field, I get a wee glimpse of. And. The psalmist was in distress. Trouble. Literally a tight place. It's OK for us to feel like that too. Thanks God. You are good. You love beyond measure. Right now I'm going to walk in that truth no matter what. Amen. #sobeit #psalms #psalm118 #lovedbe...

And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them... Mark 6:48 ESV Really? The disciples are in the storm. In the dark. Making painfully slow progress. And Jesus comes by, fully intending to walk on by! Why would he do that? Maybe Jesus was happy with the progress that they were making, knew they'd be OK, and that there was something important to learn in this storm. Recently I had a time when I was at the end of what I had to offer, it felt like everything was lost. All I could do was cry and give it to God. He saw the painfully slow progress I was making and had something for me to learn. A couple of verses latter we get a clue about the disciples hearts, but Jesus had a different perspective from outside the boat. Sometimes when the progress is painfully slow, we need to trust Him. Hard to see that when we're in the boat! ...

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalms 117:1-2 ESV Ever wanted to memorise a whole chapter of the Bible? This could be the one! This is a great song to sing when things are going well, when the job is landed, the exam went well, the child is born healthy. It's still true that His love is steadfast and for us, and His faithfulness endures forever when we face tragedy, loss, when we're hurt, lost, in despair. Even when it doesn't feel like it and our circumstances scream that it's not true, His love is steadfast and for us, and His faithfulness endures forever. The psalmist didn't have Jesus to look back to, but we do. We get to see steadfast love and faithfulness become one of us. We see steadfast love and faithfulness full of compassion to those hurting, bringing healing and hope We see steadfast love and compassion d...

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape. Proverbs 19:5 ESV Can we see Jesus here? He was the true witness (& yet was punished). Jesus was God walking amongst us, who he was, the way he lived, point us to God. Jesus was a true witness. When he said "It is finished", to love God & love people, that he's coming again, that love is the way, that he is the way, truth, & life, I believe him. He breathed out the truth (& yet did not escape). He took on himself what I deserved, and even in his last words, they breathed out love. He is the redeemer. The one who's love we cannot be separated from, who breathed out life and created this place, who breathed his last breath to redeem it, and one day will make all things new, all that is broken will be unbroken, all that is hurt, unhurt. Yes Jesus can be seen here. #redeemed #known #chosen #childofGod #dearlyloved

Friday! Proverbs! A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape. Proverbs 19:5 ESV If only this were true! That person who I know has not told the truth, they who breathe out lies (love that phrase; breathe out lies) just seem to get away with it... Where's the justice? And then, there's me. I've breathed out lies. And sometimes there's been justice, and sometimes not. Do I want more justice on me? And then there's the lies of the enemy, the father of lies, who would use anything to turn us from God. And then there's the lies of the world, our culture, which try to tell us what success looks like, how we should live. And then there's the lies that seem to have taken up residence in my mind, that pop up to tell me I'm not, and never will be good enough...maybe you have your own version of those... One day the father of lies will be punished. All that is broken in this world will be unbroken. And the ...

What can I give back to God for the blessings hes poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation - a toast to God! I'll pray in the name of God; I'll complete what I promised God I'd do, and I'll do it together with his people. Psalm 116:12-13 MSG The psalmist in his not OKness cried out to God, and now takes the next step...remembers the blessings of God in his life. And from that place of remembrance, of knowing, he chooses to praise God. And then he chooses to live his life in the light of remembering that God is good. Even when he's not OK, he  chooses to praise God. (When we're not OK that might be just getting up in the morning & being thankful for a new day, turning up at church, offering the shortest of prayers, finding the shortest verse in the Bible to read...and that's OK) And he chooses community over going it alone. #psalms #psalm116 #itsOK #choose

I believed in you, so I said, "I am deeply troubled, Lord." In my anxiety I cried out to you... Psalms 116:10-11 NLT Ever wondered if it's OK not to be OK? The psalmist is not OK. Anxious Troubled. Deeply troubled. Not OK. "I believed in you". His faith in God was not wavered by the thoughts and feelings that were threatening to overwhelm. And from that place of belief, of faith, he was confident to cry out to God, to let Him know his anxious thoughts. Our God is OK with that. The end of verse 11 he gets quite specific about what is concerning him. We can do that too. Writing our prayers can be helpful, write it, pray it out loud. Pray it with a friend. It's OK Start with "I believe in You" and share your heart with Yahweh. #choose #faith #dearlyloved #psalms #psalm116 #itsOK

He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves... Mark 6:48 NLT This morning I woke up way too early with a feeling of inadequacy around the things I'm involved in. A mini storm. And I also had time to pray. Pray for some people and for strength & wisdom in my mini storm. Yesterday these thoughts on the storm arrived in my messages: "If He plucked us out of the storm, how would we ever develop muscles to row against it? Or how would we develop a mind sharp enough to navigate the storm? It makes me wonder sometimes if he leaves us where we are so that we would grow up and grow stronger. Just a thought." This shifted my perspective. In my mini storm I chose to pray On Sunday night a friend shared that they chose to trust God more in the storm. It's a dangerous and difficult prayer when we're in the storm to ask "Lord strengthen me, sharpen me, show me where I need to grow, even here, in this st...

Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves... Mark 6:47-48 NLT We spent a lot of time last year on this passage so won't repeat all that, but the storms of life do hit again and again right? Remember how the disciples day started? Tired and hungry they set out across the lake to get some peace and quiet. The people guessed where they were going and 10,000 people were ministered to then everyone was miraculously fed. Then Jesus sent them back across the lake. And now they're in serious trouble. In the middle of the lake In the middle of the storm In the middle of the night. Ever felt like that? And where is Jesus when you need him? All you can hear is the storm All you can feel is the rain All you can see is the darkness And in that, Jesus sees them. Alone on the land, he sees. He sees us. I know Jesus ...

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. Mark 6:45-46 NASB We've got 10,000 people miraculously fed. If ever there was an opportunity to build Jesus popularity, his support base, his donors, his "church", political movement, his followers, it was then. Work the crowd. What does Jesus do? Sends his team off in the boat, sends the crowd home, and goes to pray. Alone Up the mountain In this desolate place, as the crowd is wandering back home, Jesus goes up the mountain. Jesus Kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. It wasn't then, and it's not now. His kingdom is a kingdom of the heart. And that takes time alone with our heavenly Father. If Jesus went missing to pray, then it's OK for us to do that too. #pray #upsidedownkingdom #sunday #worship

Wealth adds many friends, But a poor man is separated from his friend. Proverbs 19:4 NASB Can you see yourself in this proverb somewhere? I've tried to stay connected to people because of their success in the world. And allowed relationships to drift where someone is poor (financially, poor in spirit, chronically ill). Where is Jesus in this proverb? Can we get a glimpse of Him? He became the poor man. Gave up heaven, to become poor. And he was separated. Separated from the Eternal, so that, we don't have to be. He came as a servant, wasn't good looking, had no assets, no success at all in the things of this world so that we wouldn't be attracted by his wealth or power. But by his love. His heart for us. He was separated and forsaken. So that we don't have to be. Loves sacrificially. Joins up what has been separated. #accepted #dearlyloved #somethingtochewon

Friday! Proverbs! Wealth adds many friends, But a poor man is separated from his friend. Proverbs 19:4 NASB It's not often that Proverbs brings a tear to the eye. To lose your friend for being (relatively) poor is sad. How often have I wanted to meet, get to know, become the friend of someone because of their (relative) wealth. How often I've looked past, not connected with, not given time to someone because they seemed (relatively) poor. I easily equate external success with value. But we digress. Why would the poor person be separated from their friend? Could it be that they have no choice, they are affected by disaster and have no resources, illness and can't travel, forced to live in a refugee camp, fleeing from those with power, the actions of someone else that the poor person has no resources to fight, have to move away to find work and survive... Do we just accept that this is the way the world is? In our little piece of the planet we can make a differ...

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13 ESV Beautiful words that encourage us in how we are to (try) and live in this world. Today though, focus in on 5 words: "as I have loved you" You and I are the object of Jesus love. You are the loved one. The one he laid his life down for. Rest in that today. Step forward in that today! At LifeGroup last night the question was asked "if you could be anyone for a day who would you be?" Just for a day. A few famous people's names popped out, then someone said "someone who lives in real poverty". Suddenly the perspective changed. Jesus didn't just step out of the heaven for a day, but became one of us, took on all our stuff. He left heaven for our poverty, not just to experience it, but to absorb it! "as I have loved you" I can't be good eno...

For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,  that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:7-9 NIV The last part of these verses gives us a "purpose statement" a "so that". Why does He pull me back from death, wipe my tears and hold me up? So that I can walk with God. Echoes of Genesis and walking in the garden. But doesn't God just dwell in the tabernacle in the Holy of Holies? The psalmist knows the relationship with God is way closer than that, centuries before Jesus. Walking before God is literally about his face. Living before the face of God (when no one could) And not out in the future sometime (heaven) but now, in the land of the living. Living before the face of God. Coram Deo. His strong hand pulls us back from death His gentle touch wipes our tears He is the shoulder we can lean on So that we can live before, stand facing the living God, and live our lives before...