SCRIPTURE: Psalm 40 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: For troubles surround me— too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage. Please, Lord, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me. [Psalms 40:12-13] The story behind this psalm is that David, who…
Author: Norm
the ocean depths of God
That’s me going for a walk… in the ocean. Experiencing God is like experiencing the ocean. You can only touch a small part of it, and you could never grasp the whole of it. It’s expanse, it’s depth, and the wonder that it contains, is all beyond my reach. But that doesn’t stop me from…
what are you clinging to?
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 39 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it… When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. [Psalms 39:6,11] David is going through…
sin sick
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 38 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. [Psalms 38:5] As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because…
turning tables
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 13 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God. I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room. Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back…
island paradise!
Yes, it was a wonderful week on the Island (PEI). Valerie and I enjoyed a whole week of quiet relaxation. Thank You Lord! It was also good to see our friends at Charlottetown CRC. Thank You Lord, again! And above all, it was great to see our kids again when we came home. Thank You…
a special assignment
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 12 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The Levites who returned with them were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. [Nehemiah 12:8] In this chapter, we see a specially planned and organized “thanksgiving day”, a celebration of the goodness of God. It was very formal, choreographed, yet very sincere…
all for Jesus?
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 11 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were. And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem….
what motivates us!
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 10 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Then the rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand— joined their leaders and bound…
experiencing His mercy!
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies. [Nehemiah 9:17-18] A…