Category: Rebecca Noord

  • GIVING UP CONTROL

    Connect The TestamentsGenesis 30; Matthew 22:23-23:36; Ecclesiastes 7:6-12 We are born bent on our own ambitions. It’s in our nature to control and compete. And pride—often the source of this behavior—keenly notices the pride of others. Often, we want to point out the failing of the equally prideful and impose our own wills on them,…

  • CHEER UP, PREACHER

    Connect The TestamentsGenesis 28-29; Matthew 21:23-22:22; Ecclesiastes 7:1-5 Things are getting serious for the writer of Ecclesiastes (“the Preacher”), and sometimes confusing for us, as we follow him through the labyrinth of his discourse on the meaning of life. Death is better than birth, mourning is better than feasting, and sorrow is better than laughter?…

  • AVOIDING THE UNAVOIDABLE

    Connect The TestamentsGenesis 24; Matthew 16-17; Ecclesiastes 5:8-11 It’s common to put people in our lives on hold, even if we love them, until something forces us to pay attention. Forgetting those who are closest to us is a frightening thought. Peter, Jesus’ disciple, likely realized that people were making a similar mistake in their…

  • FEAR GOD

    Connect the TestamentsGenesis 21:22-23:20; Matthew 15; Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 In Ecclesiastes 5, the author stops to consider God’s place in the heavens and our place on earth. He acknowledges that there is a great gulf of understanding between who God is and who we think He is. This realization should affect our entire posture before Him.…

  • WHAT KIND OF HEARER ARE YOU?

    CONNECT THE TESTAMENTSGenesis 18-19:29; Matthew 13:1-43; Ecclesiastes 4:1-7 While parables were often told to make truth tangible, in Matt 13, we find that this wasn’t always the case. When His disciples question why He speaks in parables, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah: “For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears…

  • NOTEWORTHY STORIES

    Connect The Testaments: A 365-Day Devotional with Bible Reading Plan Genesis 16-17; Matthew 12; Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 When God’s promises are lavished on Abram in Genesis, we can’t help but feel a bit surprised. It seems undeserved—mainly because we know nothing about Abram. We haven’t had a chance to weigh his wisdom or foolishness, something Ecclesiastes…

  • CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

    A 365-Day Devotional with Bible Reading Plan Genesis 14-15; Matthew 11; Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 JUDGING THE TIMES AND SEASONS We often have difficulty judging the events in our lives and then responding appropriately. Although God has placed eternity “in our hearts,” we don’t know the reason or the outcome of our life’s events (Eccl 3:11). The…