verseoftheday

Friday! Proverbs! A rich person is wise in his own eyes,  but a poor one who has discernment sees through him. Proverbs 28:11 CSB It's easy to fall into the "look at that person" who characterizes this Proverb, but if our start point is that Proverbs is about the heart, about my heart, what is it getting at? Is it asking me to consider where I think I'm better than someone else, where my success somehwere has elevated me, maybe it's wealth, qualifications, health, the way I look, my Instagram followers, whatever measures of success our culture values at the moment. Where am I "wise in my own eyes"? Where am I letting my relative wealth insulate me from the issues others might face on a daily basis? How has that relative wealth shaped the way I see me, others, the world I live in? And the flip side is where I am relatively poor...this Proverb says the poor can see the blind spots that the wealthy have. The Hebrew word can also mean "noble", thos...

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times,  and willing to yield to others.  It is full of mercy  and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:16-18  NLT Let's look at the last part; Wisdom from above shows no favoritism. The longer I wonder about this, the more difficult it is. This isn't about treating everyone the same, because some people are not safe for us, but it gets me thinking in the Bigger Story how do I see others? Where does favoritism show up? And then James adds that wisdom from above is always sincere! There's no faking it! We're invited to think about our biases and our good deeds and where and to whom we focus those.  Wisdom from above is not a test, a pass/fail, an assessment, but a way of being, and James invites us into that, and wraps up this idea with an agricu...

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times,  and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.  James 3:17NLT Last week we looked at those first 4 attributes of "wisdom from above"; Pure Peace loving  Gentle (at all times) Willing to yield to others James adds 4 more; Full of mercy Has the fruit of good deeds Shows no favouritism Is always sincere. Let's look at the first 2; When I'm full of mercy, when I'm bumped, tipped over, or trip over my own clumsy feet, mercy is what comes out.  Gotta say there's plenty of other things that spill out of me. But James is always inviting, always encouraging us as whaanau, so what's he inviting us to? To let more "wisdom from above in, to let mercy fill us more and more, so when we are bumped, when we do trip, that is genuinely what comes out.  The "fruit of good deeds" seems to ...

The Lord says,  "I will rescue those who love me." Psalm 91:14 NLT The song writer, and we're not told who he or she is, is pointing us to a Bigger Story than the one we are in every day. A Bigger Story of redemption and restoration. Of a world put right. Of Eden restored. This song is full of images of rescue, of being free from harm, of God being right here with us, and the things that concerned and worried us, the pressures of this world, are redeemed.  Made new. For now, today, may we see glimpses of that, hear the rumbles of renewal, not look past the beauty that is in front of us, be grateful for the blessings of people, place, the pockets of shalom that we hold and share with one another, and the hope of what is to come,  holding fast to Yahweh, the promise giver. #psalms  #psalm91 #alreadyrescued

For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:3-4 NLT I've read this song and wondered if it's some kind of promise that I'll never get sick, that nothing will ever go wrong for me.  But it can't mean that.  Because things have gone wrong, I have been sick, people I love have died. Does it make a difference if the words "deadly disease" is the Hebrew word "deber" which means pestilence or plague, and this word is first found in Exodus 5 in discussion with Pharaoh when the people were still in captivity? The song is looking back at how God acted in a specific way for their freedom.  God did act on his covenants, his promises.  He did redeem his people and set on the path to freedom. And that we can hold onto down the centuries from whenever this song was written. Our God is faithful. He ...

Sunday Psalms; Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;  he is my God,  and I trust him. Psalm 91:1-2 NLT This song is full of images that seem to be about capturing our imagination, and it all hangs on this declaration: "He alone... He is my God." I'm wondering if there's days when I don't start with that declaration, a statement of faith that changes the way that I see me, others, the world I live in, shapes the way I interpret what happens, pressures, losses, wins, joys. This song almost seems like it's written for us, because it's about finding this key thing: "Rest". We live in a world that conspires against us when it comes to rest.  The expectations and demands to stay "connected" via social media, phones, email, to always be available, to always be "on", it's not how we're designed to b...

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.  James 3:17 NLT James is giving the alternate to my selfishness. This is the first part of the alternate, the "wisdom from above." Pure. Peace-loving.  Gentle. Willing to yield to others. I'm not sure how often I really get all 4 of these things happening at the same time. There's first of all an internal component to each of these, a way of being, a way of "living".  As James is all about the expression in the world, they each find their expression in our choices, how we respond to others, what we stand for, fight for, do. Perhaps if we start with the last one, yield to others, and the classic time is when we're driving - how does this heart stance find its expression? Or consider being gentle. Have you considered who your harshest critic is? Perhaps that inner voice needs to learn to be gentle too, to hold back its power. To be ...