THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 6:1-6 “He could not do any miracles there…” (Mark 6:5) Imagine a new cure has been discovered for a terrible illness. But some people are skeptical; they refuse the treatment and stay sick. Doctors will not be able to heal these people because of their lack of faith. Wouldn’t this be frustrating,…
Author: Norm
“Don’t be afraid!”
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 5:35-43 “Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’” (Mark 5:36) What does Jesus mean when He says ‘don’t be afraid’? His daughter is dead, his heart is melting in grief and sorrow!? I hear Jesus saying ‘don’t give in to your despair, trust me on this one!’ Fear, grief, despair, sorrow,…
Refuse to let go!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 5:30-34 “Your faith has healed you.” (Mark 5:34) Faith is not a magic formula, nor a set of beliefs that one must hold. This woman did not know how healing worked, nor who Jesus was. But in this one desperate act, she reached out – hoping against hope. It was the hopeful…
Keep looking up!
What does faith look like when things don’t go as planned? What does it mean to trust the Lord through times of fear, frustration or uncertainty? At this very moment, we are playing the real estate waiting game. We are waiting for offers on our house – and none have come yet (and it’s 4pm). To make…
Healing touch prayer!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 5:21-29 “Put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” (Mark 5:23) These two believe that just a touch from Jesus, and they will be healed. Somehow – they don’t know how – God’s healing LIFE flows through Jesus. I have found this idea, the image of Jesus’…
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 47 “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” (Psalm 47:1) Imagine being bullied for years, then finally being vindicated. Think of your joy and gratitude for your protector and benefactor. This is the feeling behind Psalm 47, the praise of the victim vindicated. This psalm was likely…
We get what we seek!
THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Kings 14-16 “You made for yourself other gods and turned your back on me.” (1 Kings 14:9) In these chapters we see things going from bad to worse in Judah and Israel. Despite God’s warnings, the kings and the people abandoned God for corrupt living. But is God to blame for the consequences of…
Following His direction!
THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Kings 12-13 “I have been told by the word of the Lord…” (1 Kings 13:17). This poor prophet, tricked by another prophet into disobeying the Lord! Rehoboam foolishly followed bad advice, but this prophet listened to a prophet!? Both Rehoboam and this prophet learned the hard way not to listen to everyone. As a…
Look what I did!!!
Being Dutch, I am too cheap to hire a plumber. So when the P-drain snapped off from rust, I was determined to fix it myself. What you see here is the finished result, and its not leaking! Some of you may be snickering, ‘that’s not a big job’… or ‘that’s not the right way!’ Nevermind,…
A witness to fear or to faith?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 5:14-20 “The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.” (Mark 5:17) I’ve heard interesting theories as to why the spirits wanted to sent into the pigs. The reason is obvious: they wanted to scare people away from Jesus. This is how Satan works, scheming to distract, deceive, discourage and…