THE STORY OF JESUS: Numbers 1-3 “The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine.” (Numbers 3:12-13) Where did you fit in your family birth order… and does it matter? I’m the third of four children, and I had it the hardest in my family! (At least that is how I remember it, my family may…
Author: Norm
With Jesus on the water!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 14:22-36 “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27) I was asked to speak at a ‘diversity’ event for the regional government. I was asked as a Christian, and a pastor, but I was to speak to the diversity of religion. When I received the request, I turned pale as…
See what God can do!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 14:13-21 “You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16) I sit with someone in financial crisis, they tell me about all their unpaid bills. They don’t ask, but I know they are desperate for help, for hope. And I hear a voice in my heart say, ‘you help them, you give them…
Grieving with hope?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 14:1-12 “John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it.” (Matthew 14:12) All over the world there are Jesus followers in prison. Many more live under daily pressure of persecution and abuse. This is not my experience, but still it is something I feel deeply about. Faith in Jesus brings us…
The greatest wonder of the world!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 13:53-58 “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” (Matthew 13:57) When we lived near Niagara Falls, we did not enjoy going there to visit. Even though many consider it the 8th natural wonder of the world. Yet we were too familiar with it, had…
Tuning in to God’s Voice!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 19 “The heavens declare the glory of God!” (Psalm 119:1) I recall living in PEI, 20 minutes from the beaches along the north shore. When I wanted to be alone with God, I would walk along the shore. The vast sky and ocean, waves crashing on the rocks, and the smell of…
Proclaim liberty!!!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Leviticus 25-27 “Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” (Leviticus 25:10) The sabbath cycle (working 6 days, then resting) looks forward to God’s rest. It is a ‘not yet’ reality, something we look forward to. Human life in God’s creation begins with rest; Adam’s first full…
In Christ, anyone may come near!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Leviticus 21-24 “No man who has any defect may come near.” (Leviticus 21:18) We were made to be complete, whole and holy… yet no one is. These requirements for the priests seem to require ‘perfection’. The whole law of Moses seems extreme, both in its demands and its punishments. It makes one wonder,…
Unexpected treasure!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 13:47-52 “Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52) Do you have lots of stuff buried in storage? Sometimes we even forget what treasures…
Right under our nose!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” (Matthew 13:44) The kingdom of God – God’s version of this world, as it ought to be – is a buried treasure. We walk over it, we pass it by, without even realizing it. Its all around us, but we…