SCRIPTURE: Luke 20:1-8 Sometimes when people question God, their motives are impure. Like when we shout to God ‘what are You doing about evil in the world?’, to which God replies ‘what are you doing?’ Jesus sees through the religious leaders – they are not genuinely looking to hear from God. They dismissed John the Baptist,…
Author: Norm
The fullness of God in Jesus!
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 97 “Clouds and thick darkness surround him.” (Psalm 97:2) God is a mystery and will always be one. When we use words to describe God, or our God-experiences, the words fall far short. No matter what we say about God, it will always be a cosmic understatement. The Psalmist tries to describe God – the…
God’s frustration
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 7-13 We have to imagine the situation behind these words to appreciate them. God is not losing His cool or bullying innocent people. Things were really bad… REALLY bad; we have no idea. Child sacrifice (Jeremiah 7:30-31) was one extreme, but the crimes of these days would make our world look like a school of…
A den of robbers?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:45-48 Ouch, Jesus burns the religious leaders for turning God’s house of prayer into a den or robbers. Sometimes I wonder whether He would say the same about what we have done with the church. Yesterday someone commented to me about the vast church wealth in its buildings alone, and compared that to the…
Disappointed peace envoy
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:41-44 Jesus is a disappointed peace envoy. Right now many are urging Israel to stop fighting in Gaza. But Israel is determined to solve their problems with war. But no matter how justified they may feel, bombs will not produce peace. Jesus stepped into our world, offering a way of peace. Israel then did…
If only we really knew… Jesus!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:28-40 Two days ago we read Psalm 96, which talked about the creation rejoicing in God’s greatness. Here Jesus says that the stones on the road are crying out in praise. If we really knew Who God was, we would sing, sing, sing with praise. The same is true for Jesus, as He enters Jerusalem……
Will I invest?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:11-27 Jesus tells this parable to make it clear that God’s kingdom would not appear at once. From the story line, it seems that He will go away for a time, and leave His servants in charge. They will work for Him while He is away, and then give an account when He returns….
If only we really knew… God!
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 96 If only we really knew Who God is, and what God is like. If only we understood all that God does, and how dependent we are on Him. If only we stood before God for just a moment, and had a glimpse of His awesomeness… We would tremble, our jaws would drop in…
God, frustrated lover!
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 1-6 Though these words seem harsh, you need to hear God’s heart through them. How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. (Jeremiah 3:19) This is God’s…
Change me like this!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:1-10 “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8) Whoa, what just happened here… giving half of what he has to the poor?! Paying back four times the amount he has cheated…