Author: Norm

John wants to be sure that Jesus is the promised Messiah.At first he had been sure that Jesus was the Lamb of God (John 1:36).But now he is in prison, and God’s kingdom doesn’t seem to be coming.Perhaps he is second-guessing his confidence in Jesus.Even Jesus’s own disciples were wondering about Jesus.They say the signs, but…

In the Moses Law, coming into contact with death made you unclean (Numbers 19).Anything and anyone in contact with death became unclean for 7 days.Even the one administering the cleansing water was unclean for 1 day.To be unclean made prevented you from coming close to God.You would be defiling the tabernacle, the presence of God with…

Imagine Jesus saying this about the church today.An atheist or non-christian soldier asks him for help.He is known to be a good man, but is not a christian or church-goer.Jesus hears and sees in him an openness and understanding to God.“I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in the Church.” In…

Storms are inevitable in life, but collapsing in them is not.Jesus suggests that it is possible to survive the storms.The question is whether our lives are well built or not.Are we standing on something solid?Are we building with reliable building materials?Are we maintaining, repairing and upgrading it as needed? What does this analogy mean when…

At first glance I did not see something comforting or encouraging.But I the notice how Jesus sees His disciples as capable of goodness.He speaks of the good tree and the good man… is there such a thing?I don’t think Jesus means perfect goodness, like humans before the fall.Otherwise why would He even appeal for them…

In the beginning, God initiated the grace of giving.The whole creation was an amazing gift given to humanity.God freely gives this abundant blessing, and for a reason.We were made to to God’s ‘blessed to be a blessing’ family.We would continue this creation work of generous goodness.It is in giving that we receive; this is how…

This sums it up, what following Jesus is all about.Jesus describes God’s way of showing mercy like this: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28) God loves His enemies, God is good to those who hate Him.God blesses those who…

Every year at Thanksgiving we remind ourselves of how blessed we are.We point to the good things in our lives as a sign of our blessing.We are rich by comparison, and living in comfort.We are well fed, and often enjoy moments of pleasure and laughter.For the most part we are well-spoken of, or at least…

What I find most comforting in this passage is the people He calls to be apostles.Though we don’t know them all, we know something about some of them.Simon, the hard-headed disciple Jesus called ‘Rocky’ (Peter).James and John, the sons of thunder (who wanted to burn a village alive).Matthew the Jew who betrayed his people to…

God is love, and the whole creation was designed as a gift of love.It was “very good” in the beginning, something to be shared and enjoyed by all.Work and rest were built into the rhythm of life.The last day was not just a one day break, but the new reality.Adam and Eve, and all humanity,…