Author: Norm

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:25-32 “Now let me, your servant, go in peace.” (Luke 2:29) St. Augustine once said, ‘Our hearts find no rest until they rest in God!’ Like Simeon, we are rest-less until we experience God’s love through Jesus. The Holy Spirit is at work in us too, prompting us to look for God and Jesus. Some…

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:21-24 Circumcision symbolized the bond between God and Abraham’s family (passed through the male seed). A new mother giving birth to a son was unclean for 7 days; for a daughter it was 14 days (Leviticus 12). After a cleansing time (33 days for a boy, 66 for a girl), the family presented the child…

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 69 Have you ever been ridiculed for your commitment to God and Jesus? I have not, except one incident from my childhood, teased by my friend for going to church. David is zealously committed to God, yet people (even family and friends) laugh at him. When he struggles, they mock him, ‘let your God…

SCRIPTURE: Job 4-10 After the Lord finished speaking to Job, he spoke to Eliphaz the Temanite. He said, “I am angry with you and your two friends. You have not said what is true about me, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7) Before we go on, we need to hear what God says to Job’s friends….

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:15-20 “Like a secret treasure in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) I like this line, it describes something I’ve felt before. I’ve had secret treasures that were not good in my heart. But I’ve also experienced God’s loving forgiveness deep in my heart. Deep down feelings, bubbling inside of me, good and bad. Though I sometimes…

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:8-14 When Jesus comes again, He will come with angels, and every eye will see Him (Matthew 25:31, Revelation 1:7). For His first coming, the angels appear too, but not everyone gets to see Him. Yet the shepherds do… how curious that they get to see Jesus and the angels. This good news announced only to…

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:1-7 The census of Quirinius was in 6/7AD (Josephus), but Jesus was born in the days of Herod (Luke 1:5), who died in 4BC. Proof, say critics, that Luke made this up. Apparently it depends on how a word is translated: ‘protos’, first or before. N.T. Wright addresses this issue here, and concludes: “I suggest,…

SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:76-80 Here we see the difference between a prophet and a Messiah. A prophet points the way, the Messiah makes the way. John the Baptist was a prophet, showing people how to be saved, how to be forgiven. Jesus is the Messiah, saving the people, accomplishing their forgiveness. John knew this; when his followers…

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 68 When he went up to his place on high, he led a line of prisoners. He received gifts from people, even from those who refused to obey him. The Lord God went up to live on Mount Zion. (Psalm 68:18) This is a victory song sung by people desperate for victory over their enemies….