verseoftheday

1 John 2:22-26 CEB [22] Who is the liar?  Isn't it the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This person is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.  As for you,  what you heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will also remain in relationship to the Son and in the Father. This is the promise that he himself gave us: eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are attempting to deceive you.  1 John 2:22-26 CEB Maybe you have been caught up in arguments about the inerrancy of the Bible, or End Times, or something...or maybe there are days when we can't make sense of the world and the decisions of others...John is reminding his readers of this letter to come back to the heart of the Big Story: Jesus is who he said he is. Follow Jesus, and everything else fl...

A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV A pilgrimage is about movement, from somewhere, to somewhere. I'm wondering when David wrote this song about how good living in community with others is, whether he was experiencing that in the moment, or looking back.  When we're on the journey, on the move, transitions, change, shifts, are not easy.  The unknown. And we look back on the good, and at the same time, look forward with hope...this journey is taking us to where we belong better, fit better, and ultimately, into the fully aliveness of communion with God and people.  There are days, weeks, months, where the journey can feel slow, arduo...

A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV I'm pretty good at looking to others, my church, people I know, family, and putting the weight of this song, this call to live in unity, this call to living together, onto others. As I head into Monday morning I'm wondering where this is up to me? Where is it up to me to be that glue that joins one person to another? Where is it up to me to start with a smile? Where is it up to me to reach out (even when part of my brain says "It's not your turn" or "you shouldn't have to"). Where is it up to me to bring peace? Where is it up to me to love with patience? To love with kindness...

Sunday Psalms: A song of pilgrimage. Of David. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 NRSV The NRSV uses the word "kindred" here for the Hebrew "ach" which carries the broadest of meanings, family, belonging, belonging. On his pilgrimage David may well have been looking back on gatherings of people that have been a blessing to him, and perhaps at the same time, looking forward to gathering again, in new ways. You get the picture of the preciousness of communion and community and belonging. On our pilgrimage, our journey, our ascent, we get moments, glimpses, and one day, our belonging will be complete, our communion ongoing, meeting all our needs. Maybe today we can...

Isaiah 54:2, 5 CEB Enlarge the site of your tent, and stretch out the drapes of your dwellings;  dont hold back. Lengthen your tent ropes and strengthen your stakes. ... [5] The one marrying you is the one who made you - the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.  The one redeeming you is the holy one of Israel, the one called the God of all the earth.   Isaiah 54:2, 5 CEB When we feel like pulling back, making ourselves small, taking the safe option, when it all feels too much, when we don't think we have the energy to maintain our current tent, we get given this picture: The Lord of Heavenly Forces, the One who made us, the Creator, is also the One who enters into this closest of relationships with us.  He is with us. On our side. And it is He who redeems us, buys us back, buys us out of the things that bind us and hold us down.  It is He who walks us into freedom.  The freedom to "stretch out the drapes of your dwelling", to breathe, to Live. As we si...

Friday! Proverbs! Hear,  children,  fatherly instruction;  pay attention to gain understanding. I'll teach you well.  Don't abandon my instruction.  Proverbs 4:1-2 CEB  As we listen to these Proverbs we're invited to hear them as fatherly instruction - for some that might be helpful as they had a Dad who was present, on their team, wanting the best for them, but for others their experience is quite different.  So we have to use our imagination - imagine the heart of a great Dad who wants the best for you, giving the best of his wisdom and experience - and now listen. The second thing that struck me from this little introduction in Ch4 is not to "abandon" his instruction. How easy in this world is it to move on, to find more voices that might seem more interesting, more relevant, more current than the ancient wisdom . It's like an invitation to slow down, to mull over, to hold these things, spoken in love, with a heart for our thriving, and let them gui...

1 John 2:17 CEB And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.   1 John 2:17 CEB There's more. More to this story. When the misery and grief of this world seems too much, there's more. When we feel stuck, there's more. When the world's systems of power seem immovable, there's more. When we run out of hope, there's more. When things seem out of control, even our own thoughts, our own desires seem uncontrollable, there's more. The things, the way of being that our world tells us is important is going to fade away, but the things of God, our Life In Him, there's more. There's more. The person, you & I, the important parts of us, there's more Life for us. There's more. #lettersfromJohn #testimony #weareBeloved