THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:21-26 “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Luke 5:24) God authorized Adam and Eve to represent Him on earth (Genesis 1:26-28). This is God’s kingdom: God-like humans ruling for God on earth. But they forfeited that authority, surrendered it to Satan. As a result, this world has become…
Author: Norm
When all else fails, I still got Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 73 “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure.” (Psalm 73:13) How do we feel when non-believers or bad people seem to do OK. Or even worse, they seem to prosper and be happy?!? In this psalm Asaph shares his honest struggle with following God. He still struggles, so is following…
Abandoned and ignored?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Job 29-31 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer.” (Job 30:20) This is one of the hardest parts of life in this sin-messed world. When we turned from God, we lost our connection to God. We cannot see God, or walk with God in the garden (Genesis 3:8) And when…
God’s Grandeur
By Gerard Manley Hopkins The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade;…
If I want to be wise…
THE STORY OF JESUS: Job 28 “The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28) Job is trying to figure out how God and suffering (evil) relate. For many people, the fact of suffering and evil prove there is no God. But Job knows that without God, there is…
Praying in faith for others!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:17-20 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:20) Did you notice whose faith Jesus responded to – “their faith”? We find no mention of the paralyzed man’s faith. Here the Lord responds to the faith of others on someone else’s behalf. What an encoruagement to…
A divine rhythm of activity!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:12-16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16) There is a quote by Martin Luther that reminds me of Jesus here. “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” The busier He was, the more He prayed – He knew…
Heart-softening grace!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 5:1-11 “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8) Did you notice that Jesus blesses Peter BEFORE Peter repents? In my experience, Christian practice has been the opposite. Before they’re allowed in the boat with Jesus, they must repent. But by this practice, are we not reinforcing the…
Time to keep moving?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 4:42-44 “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns.” (Luke 4:43) Jesus has a sense of urgency to spread the message far and wide. Once He has success, He is not content to settle in and stay. To settle in and stay… this is not…
More like good king Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 72 “Endow the king with your justice, O God, with your righteousness. (Psalm 72:1) Imagine the perfect government, led by the perfect leader. Always striking the right balance between justice and mercy. Leading with integrity, honesty, morality and fairness for all. David is praying that he will be this kind of leader….