PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 2:13-18 “Rachel weeping for her children… because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18) The above picture is a Jewish school in the Netherlands. The quote in the right box is Jeremiah 31:15, ‘the children are not here’. This is a reference to the Jewish children sent to Nazi death camps to die. Matthew…
Author: Norm
Finding Jesus through other religions?
PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 2:1-12 “We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) I am curious how pagan astrology pointed these men to a Jewish messiah? Here God works through another religion (likely Zoroastrianism) to draw people to Jesus. I see this story as more about God seeking the…
How we make disciples?
Being with God with Jesus!
PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 1:18-25 “They will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:23) When I talk about Jesus, I am not talking about just another human being. Jesus was fully human, like us, and yet He was more. Matthew is stressing this uniqueness of Jesus in this paragraph. He was uniquely conceived…
Will you join me?
I would love to have you join me in reading the bible and posting a few sentences of thoughts/reflections in the comment section at the bottom. Using this blog is a great way to provide encouragement and accountability. Read this post to see why I post my bible reflections online. I have set up the…
Created for good works!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 11:12-19 “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (Mark 11:14) Jesus is not being ornery just because He is hungry. This story fits with what Jesus is about to do in the temple. A barren fig tree was a very symbolic for Jews, a sign of God’s judgment. “I will…
Welcome to the family!
PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 1:1-17 “Whose mother was Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah’s wife [Bathsheba]” (Matthew 1:3,4,5) So often when I come to a list of names in the bible, I skip over it. It’s hard to think how the Lord can speak to me through a list of names. But if you pay attention to this…
Praise God on the night shift!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 134 “Servants who minister by night in the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 134:1) This psalm urges the priests not to stop working in the night shift. When no one is around, or no one is looking, or things are dark and scary. In those times too, praise the Lord and anticipate…
The wisdom of trusting Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 28 “Those who trust in themselves are fools…” (Proverbs 28:26) Does this verse mean that self-confidence is foolish? That depends on what we mean by self-confidence. A self that is confident IN GOD is wise, while confidence IN SELF is not. On our own our perspective and judgment is limited, biased, self-serving….
Who is sharpening you?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 27 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) Who in your life sharpens you as a person? Is there anyone you spend time with that improves your character? In creation, God saw it was not good for people to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Yet too many of us live…