Tag: REBECCA VAN NOORD

  • TRANSFORMERS

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11; Titus 1:5-9; Psalm 92:1-93:5 Some people are like spectators in their faith communities—they simply watch while others interact, serve, and reach out. But Paul’s instructions to Titus about overseers show us that communities need people who will do more than just show up. “For it is necessary for the overseer…

  • IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 26:1-27:34; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Psalm 89:23-52 I like to operate when I feel like I’m in control. When I haven’t gathered enough information or I feel uncertain of my circumstances, it’s tempting to avoid making a decision or taking action. Paul knew that this type of outlook was detrimental to Timothy’s…

  • THROUGH DESPAIR

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 23:1-23:32; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Psalm 88 Sometimes we go through dark periods in our lives where the misery feels never-ending. Trial hits, pain hits, and just when we think life might get “back to normal,” we are hit by yet another difficulty. At times like these, we may feel forgotten by…

  • A LONGSUFFERING GOD

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 18:1-20:8; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; Psalm 85 God is longsuffering, but sometimes we take this for granted. How often have we given into temptation, expecting to be obedient at a later date? Psalm 85 gives a testimony of God’s faithfulness in the past: “O Yahweh, you favored your land. You restored the…

  • MOTIVE IS EVERYTHING

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 11:1-47; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; Psalm 80:1-9 It’s not often that we take an honest look at our motivations. But it’s important to reevaluate them regularly. When our sight is not fixed on God, we might become entranced with goals that conflict with godliness. Even though we might initially be performing the…

  • A HIGHER CALLING

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 6:1-81; 1 Timothy 4:6-16; Psalm 78:13-29 It’s easy to get self-absorbed when we’re criticized—or when we think others are criticizing us. Because of our real or imagined defects, we start to believe other people don’t take us seriously. It’s easy to get off course in an attempt to defend ourselves. As…

  • DYSFUNCTIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 3:1-4:23; 1 Timothy 3:8-16; Psalm 77:1-20 When I locate a problem, I often fixate on it. I think that if I analyze it enough, I can solve it. This is a problem when I come to difficult issues that require someone else’s expertise. Stubbornly, I want to figure out the problem…

  • SMALL STARTS

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 2:1-55; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Psalm 75:1-76:12 In Paul’s qualifications for overseers, he mentions a necessary trait for anyone who wants to lead in a community: “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household,…

  • SHIPWRECKED

    Connect The TestamentRuth 3:1-4:22; 1 Timothy 1:12-20; Psalm 73:1-28 “I am setting before you this instruction, Timothy my child, in accordance with the prophecies spoken long ago about you, in order that by them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience, which some, because they have rejected these, have suffered…

  • OLD, WISE, AND DESPERATELY IN NEED OF GOD

    Connect The TestamentJudges 18:1-19:30; Philippians 4:10-20; Psalm 71:1-24 Sometimes we expect that we’ll naturally grow in faith as we grow older. We tend to see elderly people as those who have been molded and shaped by life—rock-solid in their faith and untapped sources of wisdom. That, or we speed around them in the grocery aisle,…