Author: Norm

Welcome to Jill Hamming, a friend of mine from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and a regular participant on this web page. She will share her reflections on the readings from Luke 1-2. SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:1-4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Wouldn’t it be interesting to be able to read all those ‘many’ accounts of Jesus’ life on earth? Luke was a…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 10:17-25 OBSERVATION: 1. There are 3 voices speaking: God announcing judgment (17-18), the people of Israel experiencing judgment (19-22) and Jeremiah pleading for mercy (23-25). 2. These 3 voices represent important themes in our relationship with God, themes that are seen elsewhere in the Bible as well. 3. Theme #1, that God is in control,…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 10:1-16 OBSERVATION: 1. Jeremiah contrasts the God of Israel with the gods of the nations, statues made by hand. There’s no comparison (6). 2. If people only knew how awesome and unfathomable God is, they would naturally revere Him. How can people think that a statue made by hands can compare with the invisible,…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 9:17-26 OBSERVATION 1. Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord, calls for funeral mourners to mourn for the nation, and the city, and the loss of life and peace (17-22). 2. At first glance, is makes us wonder how God can describe Himself as one who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness (24) when He allows violence,…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 9:7-16 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Here we see that God disciplines His people to refine them. The reason we criticize God for being so harsh is because we minimize our sin, we tend to dismiss its seriousness and to see God as extreme. In reality, our sin is VERY SERIOUS, and it has devastating consequences for all…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 8:18-9:6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: It is not clear to me who is speaking here, but as I read through it I concluded that it was God. This is remarkable, because He speaks of needing comfort in His sorrow, of His heart being weak as He hears the cry of His people suffering the consequences of their…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 8:4-17 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I find this passage very applicable to me. I hear God saying to me, why do you keep on returning to your selfish, sinful ways? There are specific sins that the Lord is bringing to my mind. I can say that its not that serious, that everything is OK (‘peace, peace when…

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 7:30-8:3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Child sacrifice… Cannot imagine how anyone could do this, to sacrifice their children for their lifestyle (i.e. religious) choices. Hmm, put that way, it seems that many people actually do this. I have heard someone compare abortion (for most, not all) to child sacrifice, putting unborn children to death because they do…

Feel free to leave your comments. My comments are coming soon! SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 7:21-29 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: PRAYER:

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 7:1-20 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The problem here is not just that God is mad at the Israelites for neglecting Him or His ‘religion’. The people were living cruel, immoral, selfish and shameful lives, then going to ‘church’ (the Temple) and pretending to be pious, God’s special and protected people. God has finally stopped appealing for them…