SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:25-28 “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” … This man is not just asking about life after death, he is asking about ‘shalom’. According to Strong’s Concordance ‘shalom’ means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. How do we experience…
Author: Norm
Pray for who???
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 83 It’s hard to relate to this Psalm. Our situations are not the same, so we cannot imagine the psalmists despair and suffering. Imagine people in Nigeria or Sudan, where lawlessness reigns: a poor farmer crying out to God against the armed groups stealing or burning their crops, taking their sons, raping their daughters,…
Inspired meaninglessness!
SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 5-8 It is important to remember that this book is inspired meaninglessness. As scripture, this book is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but this does not mean each thought is God’s. God is using the wisdom of man to show the foolishness of life without God. “Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) – this is not God’s…
Satan is fallen!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:17-24 Something HUGE is happening here, and Jesus praises God because of it! The tables are being turned on the dominion of darkness; Satan is falling and the demons are running. And wonder of wonders, it is happening at the hands of ‘little children’. Standing with Jesus, the little people have the authority to…
A future filled with regret?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:8-16 The message I hear today is about unbearable regret when we realize the consequences of our choices. Makes me think of Gordon Stuckless, having to finally face the consequences for the abuses he committed in the past. Jesus is not threatening people here (“I’ll teach you for rejecting me”) but sadly grieving the…
Too busy?
A prayer to sing when listening for God
For those of you who prefer to converse with God through worship and song:
I am sending you!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:1-7 Jesus gives instructions to more of His missionaries (first the 12, now the 72). The critical line is ‘I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.’ Therefore be careful: travel light, be cautious with strangers on the road, be polite to your hosts, etc. Stay focused on the mission, stay true to the message,…
Hearing God’s voice
Jesus offers to be our Life Master. As God’s Voice in human form, He is with us, and by His Spirit He speaks to us. He helps us, warns us, teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, trains us, guides us, leads us. God speaks through Jesus by the Spirit in different ways. Below are some…
No turning back, no turning back!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 9:57-62 Jesus is not saying NO; He is reminding those who want to follow what it means. Luke ties three separate incidents together to make a point. To follow Jesus is not just to believe in Him, it is to join Him. It involves commitment, focus, sacrifice, perseverance, hardship. If it was just for…