SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for–both riches and honour–so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. [1 Kings 3:13] In this passage we see the young king making shrewd political alliances (through his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter, he secures his southern border from attack). But…
Author: Norm
our merciful king
SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD’s peace forever. [1 Kings 2:33] Our rebellion against God has resulted in a curse of violence and death, from one generation to…
choosing a king
SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all…
watch and pray
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [Ephesians 6:13] Lord, this passage reminds me that I am in a battle zone, and that I am foolish to think…
saying grace… always
A great quote by G.K.Chesterton: You say grace before meals. All right, but I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen…
live as children of light
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. [Ephesians 5:8] Paul continues to explain what it means to follow Jesus. We are called to imitate Him. Paul unpacks what this looks like using a number of applications, the last of which is how…
just like Jesus
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [Ephesians 4:1-2] Lord, as I read this passage, I sense that I am called to live a radically different…
my prayer too
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. [Ephesians 3:6] Paul reveals his mission here: he has been assigned the task of letting the Gentiles know that they too have a share in…
the gift that keeps giving
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. [Ephesians 2:17] Lord, I hear Paul reminding us of what we were before You came (slaves to sin), and how Your coming – God’s great gift to us – has removed all the barriers between…
my hand with His!
It’s one thing to celebrate God’s hand in our lives, but its another thing, an essential thing, to join our hands with His, as His partners. The reason that God is not just snapping His fingers to fix the world is because from the beginning His plan was to rule this world in partnership with…