verseoftheday

Know that  the Lord  has set apart  the faithful  for himself;  the Lord  will hear  when I call  to him.  Be angry  and do not sin;  reflect in your heart  while on your bed  and be silent.  Selah Psalms 4:3-4 CSB Remember that this is a song, a heart response to what's going on in David's life. The first part of the song indicates he is being lied about.  And it hurts.  This song reflects our hurt when we are lied about, when we are not believed. And here in this second verse he starts with a reminder to himself (& us) of something of God's character and his relationship with Him; God does hear me. And He has already set me apart, I'm already secure, my hope, my future is secure in Yahweh. And at the same time, I'm angry.  Angry at injustice. And it gets to me when I try to get to sleep. And I know that anger at injustice is OK, doing something vengeful or hurtful is not the answer.  Be silen...

Even what you have seen with your own eyes, do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame? Proverbs 25:7-8 BSB Can we see a glimpse of Jesus in this proverb? Even those who saw him with their own eyes did not see him the same way.  He was labelled. Judged. Some accepted him, some followed, some rejected him, even those who were looking for, waiting for, the Messiah. Because he wasn't from where they expected, maybe didn't sound like what they expected, or say or look like they expected.  (Makes me wonder who I might have overlooked, not sought out, not asked for guidance or wisdom from, because they didn't look like what I expected. One of my tutors this week has been in a wheelchair for 35 years & has full use of one arm. Easy to overlook.) Brought hastily to court. Jesus was brought hastily to court, becuase he was a problem for the powerful. We're quick to put blame on Judas but the shame really belong...

Friday! Proverbs! Even what you have seen with your own eyes, do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame? Proverbs 25:7-8 BSB Stephen Covey starts one of his books with a story of being on a train and there's two children running around yelling at each other, running around the carriage being annoying to all the passengers, and their Dad just sitting ignoring it all. Oblivious and uncaring about the impact his children are having on everyone else's quiet enjoyment of the journey. He approaches the Dad and points out what's going on and asks him to sort his family out. The Dad looks up and says "we've just come from the hospital where their Mum has just died, and I guess they don't quite know how to deal with that. And neither do I really." When I put a label on someone, judge their behaviour or choices, without knowing their story, I've taken them to my court, judged, declared guilt, and p...

He answered them, "I'm a Hebrew.  I worship the Lord,  the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him,  "What have you done?" The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord's presence because he had told them.  So they said to him, "What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?" For the sea was getting worse and worse.  He answered them,  "Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I'm to blame for this great storm that is against you." Jonah 1:9-12 CSB Are you waiting for the highlight of the story? Where's the whale and 3 days and vomiting Jonah up on the beach? While we wait for that the author makes this outrageous claim that the storm, everyone's lives being at risk was just because of Jonah!  Does that mean that all bad things happen because of someone not being obedient to God?  Who is that per...

The captain approached him and said, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won't perish." "Come on!" the sailors said to each other. "Let's cast lots. Then we'll know who is to blame for this trouble were in." So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us who is to blame for this trouble were in..." Jonah 1:6-8 CSB I wonder if these experienced sailors knew that this storm was different, unexpected in direction, intensity. Whether that's accurate or not, their world view was that someone was to blame. The pressure was really on and they feared that their ship was going down and this was their last night.  When the pressure is really on, what, or who do I put my faith in?  When were faced with suffering, the impact of other people's choices, actual storms, illness, what or who do I put my faith in? Maybe it's less dramatic. Whe...

But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. Jonah 1:4-5 CSB What is going on here? The "deep sleep" is the word "radam" which is used to describe someone extremely weary and asleep, or so deeply asleep it's like they're dead (Judges 4:21, Psalm 76:6).  My guess is the bottom of the boat was where there was less movement.  Whatever was going on for Jonah, the rest of the people on the ship were genuinely fearing for their lives. Each crying out to their god. (We don't know who wrote this story, whether it's fiction or an account of actual events, but it does give insight into our humanity, that when facing death, our belief and faith in...

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me." Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. Jonah 1:1-3 CSB Not sure how the "word of the Lord" came to Jonah, but he was running from "the Lord's presence", literally the face of Yahweh. This must've been more than some prophet, more than a thought or good idea, more than someone speaking into his life, it was unmistakable. The face of Yahweh. Wherever Jonah was at that moment he wasn't running from Nineveh, he was running from God.  He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. Jonah 1:3 CSB Running from God.  Not sure why he thought God wouldn't be in Tarshish, or what it was that made him run, but when it comes to running from God we don't always think ...