SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:26-33 “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33) – this is the good news in this story. Governments and ruling powers come and go, they rise in favour and fall from favour. A Stephen Harper or Barack Obama or Rob Ford promise great things… and people are hopeful. But their ‘kingdom’ (the world according to…
Author: Norm
“The Lord has done this FOR me!”
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:21-25 Childlessness is usually a difficult emotional burden for a couple. Hopes ignited then dashed, well-meaning comments or questions from others, techniques and technologies that promise results, yet often disappoint, and perhaps the growing anger, “the Lord has done this TO me!” I cannot explain why good or bad things happen to some people….
Pointing the way back to God
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:5-20 The Jewish Bible (or ‘Old Testament’) has many symbols meant to show the loving goodness of God, the danger of sin, and the importance of love and loyalty to Him. In this passage we have several of these symbols: — priests: symbols of love and loyalty to God, communicators of God’s love and…
The Father heart of God
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 66 “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:10-12) My primary concept of God is as Father, whose…
Called… for such a time as this!
SCRIPTURE: Esther 1-5 “Who knows? It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.” (Esther 4:14) The story of Esther is fascinating, a gripping page-turner… what will happen to Esther and the Jews? What is also fascinating is that God is nowhere mentioned in this book – really, and it’s in the Bible! Though…
The multifaceted treasure of Jesus
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:1-4 Who is the ‘most excellent Theophilus’ (whose name means ‘friend of God’)? Is he a person (actually named ‘Theophilus’) or a pseudonym to protect his identity (‘friend of God’)? Either way, the gospel writer Luke wants to bring together the many stories about Jesus into one orderly account (see also Acts 1:1). John makes…
He’s got our back!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 16:14-20 (There is disagreement by Bible Scholars as to whether these verses are from Mark, or a later addition. I am not qualified to decide this, so I will focus on the parts that agree with the rest of the Bible). Some people use 16:18 to justify handling poisonous snakes. I prefer to focus…
How much you have to be thankful for!
This was sent to me by MUB. Think he’s trying to tell me something? Thanks MUB! How to Inherit “An Embarrassment of Riches” by Alex Green Turn on the TV today and you’re likely to hear stories about war, disease, corruption, terrorism, political dysfunction and nuclear proliferation. It’s easy to feel down, even depressed, about…
I know that He is living, whatever people say!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 16:9-13 “But they did not believe it.” (Mark 16:11) Have you ever tried to explain to someone that Jesus is real, is alive! It is not surprising that many people have a hard time believing it. It’s just another resurrection myth, no one comes back from death like this, there’s no proof. But try as…
If God is with us… (Part 4)
(Borrowed from Richard J. Vincent, God In The Ordinary) If we lived in light of God’s presence we would see God in everything. Every aspect of life would be transformed. 4. When we see God in everything, we expect to meet – to hear, to experience, to touch – God in everything. Where do you…