THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 21:1-4 “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” (Luke 21:3) It is not the size of the gift, but of the giver’s heart, that counts. God can do more with this widow’s penny, than with the sizable donations of the rich. God doesn’t need…
Author: Norm
Does the church value ministry at work?
“In the almost thirty years of my professional career, my church has never once suggested that there be any type of accounting of my on-the-job ministry to others. My church has never once offered to improve those skills which could make me a better minister, nor has it ever asked if I needed any kind…
Who is our teacher?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 20:41-47 “Beware of the teachers of the law.” (Luke 20:46) I need to take these words to heart for myself, as ‘a teacher of the law’. I am someone who devotes my time to studying and teaching scripture. We speak with authority, quote Greek and Hebrew as we tell people what God…
Sinners in the hands of a loving God!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 98 “Let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.” (Psalm 98:9) In my experience, talk about the coming Judge did not elicit songs of praise. We were warned that the Judge was angry, and would only pardon the penitent. The Judge was not our friend but a…
Is faith disconnected from everyday life?
In Robert Banks’s groundbreaking book, Redeeming the Routines, he identifies the enormous gap between belief and everyday life. He points out that this gap shows up in ten worrying ways: Few of us apply or know how to apply our belief to our work, or lack of work. We only make minimal connections between our…
Hungry to hear His Voice!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Jeremiah 14-15 “When your words came, I ate them.” (Jeremiah 15:16) In this book, sometimes God speaks to Israel, and sometimes to Jeremiah. In this verse Jeremiah is complaining to God about his own struggle. He recalls how he responded when God first called him: he ate His words up. This expression describes…
God’s plan for our happiness!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Jeremiah 11-13 “Obey me… and you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jeremiah 11:4) In some ways, God sounds like a bully: obey me or else! But context matters, and the context here is a corrupt, messed up world. Slavery, violence, injustice, perversion, murder… these were normal and common….
Punctuation matters
This is beyond me!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 20:27-40 “Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.” (Luke 20:36) Death is such a ‘normal’ part of life for us, we cannot imagine no death. We know and are learning many things about this life. But the life that follows the final resurrection is beyond our…
The best citizens of all!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 20:20-26 “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Luke 20:25) Jesus did not advance the kingdom of God by advocating rebellion or revolution. Caesars were unrighteous leaders, but they were God-appointed. (Romans 13:1-2) Our focus should not be to displace governments, but to demonstrate goodness. We need…