THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 10:16-20 “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Living with, like and for Jesus in this dark world will not be easy. He will help us, His Spirit will speak and work through us, we will not be alone. Jesus urges us to be wise, to…
Author: Norm
God’s peace through me
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 10:9-15 “Let your peace rest on it… let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:13) The Middle East had a strong hospitality culture, the disciples can travel light. But someone is inhospitable, don’t call down curses (Luke 9:51-56). Freely share your peace with everyone, and wait and see what happens. If they refuse…
Bringing the kingdom near!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 10:1-8 “Proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (Matthew 10:7) The kingdom of God (or heaven) has come near… what does this mean? When Satan tricked Adam and Eve, this world became a dominion of darkness. Violence, death, misery, sickness, injustice, inequality, poverty, despair… Every child of Adam is…
He is Lord over us!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 12 “Who is lord over us?” (Psalm 12:4) With the so-called ‘death of God’ announced by Nietzsche, our world has lost its anchor. The western world no longer has moral authority, each one can do as they feel is right. If you are familiar with the Book of Judges, you’ll know it…
God’s ‘just enough’ buffet!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 15-18 “Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” (Exodus 16:18) Jesus taught us to pray “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) He urges us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), but to trust Him for today. The Israelites learned through 40 years in the desert that God would provide…
Try being still
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 12-14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) How do you respond when things go crazy, or fall apart, or become stressful? For me, I jump into ‘panic’ mode, and try to manage and fix things. On the one hand, this is good; God wired…
Good news of the kingdom!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:35-38 “Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 9:35) When is the last time you thought about the kingdom of God? How would you respond if someone asked you about the kingdom? Or if asked about the gospel, would your answer include the kingdom? Jesus’ good news boils down to this…
Small faith, great mercy!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:27-34 “According to your faith let it be done to you.” (Matthew 9:29) This is a scary verse. If the quality of my faith determines the results, I am in trouble. This idea has also been used to explain why some people don’t get healed. But notice that Jesus does not say…
The sound of laughter!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:18-26 “The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.” (Matthew 9:24) The synagogue leader and the woman believed Jesus to reach out to Him for help. The crowds were so focused on death, they could not see the hope of life. They laughed at the prospect of hope,…
Just give me Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:14-17 “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins.” (Matthew 9:17) Einstein said insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Religion and religious practices have been tried over and over again through the centuries. But religion has not made us better, and maybe it…