Tag: REBECCA VAN NOORD

  • MERCY AND JUDGMENT

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 32:1–33:33; Revelation 16:1–21; Job 37:9–15 “God is judge,” we like to say—especially when someone is struggling with injustice. When we get to the book of Revelation, though, we might struggle to understand God’s judgment. Yet even as John describes God dispensing judgment, he emphasizes God’s righteousness and loving nature. He tells us…

  • MERCY AND JUDGMENT

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 32:1–33:33; Revelation 16:1–21; Job 37:9–15 “God is judge,” we like to say—especially when someone is struggling with injustice. When we get to the book of Revelation, though, we might struggle to understand God’s judgment. Yet even as John describes God dispensing judgment, he emphasizes God’s righteousness and loving nature. He tells us…

  • PERSIST, DON’T JUST EXIST

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 28:1–29:21; Revelation 13:11–14:13; Job 36:24–33 The phrase “patient endurance” brings to mind the pasted-on smile of a parent regarding a misbehaving child—a parent clinging to the hope that someday this stage will pass. In Revelation the term is used in a much different way. “Here is the patient endurance of the saints,…

  • KINGDOM POLITICS

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 24:1–25:17; Revelation 11:15–12:17; Job 36:1–12 We sometimes jump on the bandwagon with politics. Yet if we put our full trust in political candidates, or believe their rise to power is an indication of our future—a common campaign platform—we’re putting our hope in something transitory. No earthly person or kingdom has absolute rule.…

  • THE POWER BEHIND THE DRAMA

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 21:1–22:31; Revelation 10:1–11; Job 35:1–8 The concerns that make up our mini-narratives can sometimes distract us from the great drama in which we have been cast. When a mighty angel appears with a scroll in John’s revelation, the apostle’s part in God’s great redemptive drama suddenly becomes very clear. He swaps his…

  • ABSENSE OF PAIN, PRESENCE OF GOD

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 17:1–18:32; Revelation 7:9–8:13; Job 34:16–30 When life is difficult, we often take refuge in knowing there’s a life to come—one in which we’ll be free from pain and the worries of this world. The thought brings us comfort. During the difficult times, the life to come might even be more appealing than…

  • WE WANT OUT

    Connect The TestamentsEzekiel 14:1–15:8; Revelation 5:1–14; Job 33:29–33 We’ve all had those moments when we just want out, when the chaos of life seems overwhelming. We want an end to the struggle with sin. We want relief from the things that are part of living in a broken world. We know Christ reigns, but we…

  • KEY PLAYERS AND MAIN NARRATIVES

    Connect The TestamentsMalachi 2:10–4:6; Acts 28:1–31; Job 31:23–40 The book of Acts ends on a somewhat unsatisfying note. After all that Paul has been through—imprisonment, trial, shipwreck—we expect a showdown with Caesar or mass conversions of the Jews. Instead, the plot seems to sputter out. Paul arrives in Rome and appeals to the Jews living…

  • TURNING THE TABLES

    Connect The TestamentsZechariah 12:1–14:21; Acts 26:1–32; Job 31:1–8 When Paul presents the gospel before King Agrippa, we expect him to be defensive. But Paul is ready to shift the spotlight. He offers a surprisingly simple explanation of recent events and a testimony of his faith, and then he describes how the resurrection of Jesus changes…

  • UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES

    Connect The TestamentsZechariah 8:1–9:17; Acts 23:23–24:27; Job 30:1–15 When we are busy doing the work of the kingdom, how do we respond to obstacles that get in our way? Do we expect God to blast a path straight through so that we can proceed? We might read the drama of Paul’s life through this lens,…