Tag: REBECCA VAN NOORD

  • UTOPIAN TRUTH FOR TODAY

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 8:1–10:15; Acts 4:1–37; Job 16:1–9 Wealth often tempts us to materialism, as our possessions make us feel secure, valued, and comfortable. But sometimes the lack of these assets allows this temptation to exert even more power over us, driving us to spend our lives chasing the higher salary, the bigger house, or…

  • ONLY THE VERY BEGINNING

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 3:1–5:15; Acts 2:1–41; Job 15:10–20 Beginnings are exciting. The freshness of a new project or a new relationship sharpens our senses. When that novelty diminishes, though, it’s difficult to maintain the same level of excitement. Acts 2 is all about beginnings. In this passage we get an inside view of how God…

  • DAWNING OF A NEW ERA

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 63:1–64:12; Luke 23:26–24:12; Job 14:1–10 Jesus’ resurrection brings a new era. Although Jesus told His disciples and loved ones that He would suffer, die, and be raised on the third day (Luke 9:22), they didn’t fully comprehend His promise. The women preparing fragrant spices and perfumes for a burial ritual fully expected…

  • MEANINGLESS MAXIMS

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 58:1–59:21; Luke 22:24–62; Job 13:1–12 “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay” (Job 13:12). There were bits of truth in the words spoken by Jobs’ friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Between their blundering interpretations were words that expressed God’s majesty, justice, and sovereignty. Unfortunately, they pieced together…

  • LIVES OF SPIRITUAL OPULENCE

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 52:1–54:17; Luke 20:41–21:24; Job 12:1–12 The Pharisees upheld a faulty religious system. They were supposed to be the Jews’ spiritual leaders, but they were more interested in making themselves the religious elite. They loved “greetings in the marketplace and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets”…

  • WHO IS TRUSTWORTHY?

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 48:1–49:26; Luke 19:11–48; Job 11:1–12 We might get sidetracked when reading the Parable of the Ten Minas. Businessmen aren’t sympathetic characters in our modern world. In movies and sometimes in life, they’re often flat, miserly characters who take advantage of naïve individuals and community values. Although there is often an element of…

  • COMPLAINTS

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 44:1–45:13; Luke 17:11–18:8; Job 10:1–10 Complaining can be automatic. We complain about the weather, our children, our jobs. And we might do it for any number of reasons—even something as trivial as to keep a conversation going. Although we might complain lightly, we still betray something about our hearts. We assume that…

  • THE PURSUIT OF FAILURES

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 41:1–42:9; Luke 15:1–32; Job 9:20–24 Often, when we focus too much on our own failures, we don’t reach the point where grace changes us. That’s why the parable of the Prodigal Son is so comforting for people who are caught up and brought down by their failures. In this parable it’s not…

  • NO FEAR AND FULL CONFIDENCE

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 33:1–17; Luke 11:37–12:21; Job 8:1–10 Jesus didn’t exactly follow social niceties as a dinner guest. Once again while dining with a Pharisee, He exposed the hypocrisy that was rampant among those religious leaders: “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of…

  • AT A GREAT PRICE

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 25:1–26:21; Luke 9:1–27; Job 6:1–13 It’s easy to be devoted to a leader or a vision when it doesn’t require much of us. In following Jesus, the disciples didn’t have that option. They were called to follow Jesus in difficult circumstances—ones that required them to put their lives on the line. After…