SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 21-27 It seems that whenever humans are in charge, things become pretty bad. “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes…
Author: Norm
The Name above all Names
According to Muslim tradition, there are 99 Names of God (Allah). Reading this list, all of them are true for Jews and Christians too. But how these names are understood depends on which Name takes priority. For Jesus, the Name that takes priority over all others is “Father”. This is the starting point, and this Name/Idea gives…
Little deed, big difference!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:18-21 The kingdom of God is this world as God meant it to be. And that means us being (and living) as God meant us to be. Jesus says that living like God, though appearing weak, is really powerful. How can the act of forgiveness change a life? How can patient, gentle love transform…
Oh happy day!
The day of my birth reminds me that I am God’s much loved child. And the day of my rebirth is when God reminds me that I have significance and purpose. I am not here for myself, but for God and others. As long as we remain slaves to self-absorbed living, we remain dead. But…
You are set free!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:10-17 God gave the gift of ‘sabbath’ (rest) to remind us that we are free. We are not slaves – to God, to time, to work, to our employers. In the beginning, sabbath (rest) was the culmination of God’s creation work. After the resurrection, sabbath (rest) is the foundation of our new life in…
Make a life, not a living!
Crap makes the best fertilizer!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:1-9 There’s an expression that goes something like this: ‘manure happens’. People were asking Jesus about some crappy situations – they thought only bad people had bad things happen to them. Jesus says that ‘bad things’ are a reminder to all of us of our need for God. To repent is to come to…
Feed just one
THINK!!!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 12:54-59 Do you notice how we become experts at minors things, but remain novices at what counts? I can turn on the TV with my phone, but I can’t seem to stop wasting my time watching it. I can get places faster with my car, but I don’t know where my life is going….
Hopeless prayer?
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 88 When I grew up, Heman was the master of the universe. But this Heman is not doing so well: overwhelmed with troubles, like one without strength! This is the desperate cry of someone who is depressed, defeated. It is the only Psalm (that I am aware of) that does not end in hope….