Tag: REBECCA VAN NOORD

  • LOVE, PRAISE, FORGIVENESS

    Connect The TestamentIsaiah 20:1–22:25; Luke 7:36–8:15; Job 5:8–16 Our praise for God is often directly connected to accepting and confessing our brokenness. Our capacity to love Him is tied to the realization of how much He has forgiven us. The woman in Luke 7 who anointed Jesus’ feet is described with one phrase: She was…

  • DISTORTION

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 14:24–16:14; Luke 6:1–49; Job 4:12–21 If attending church and small group or even reading the Bible and praying become activities that we do out of obligation, then we have a bigger problem than we might realize. If our hearts are disengaged, our religious motions and listless obedience serve only as a security…

  • FEELING ENTITLED

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 10:20–12:6; Luke 4:1–44; Job 3:17–26 Familiarity breeds contempt, so the saying goes. But the line from Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Lion” wasn’t meant to imply that we often take those closest to us for granted. Rather, the fox fails to properly acknowledge the lion—the king of all beasts—because he doesn’t…

  • IN GRIEF

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 7:1–8:22; Luke 2:22–52; Job 2:11–13 It’s difficult to know how to respond to people suffering grief. Those brave enough to speak often attempt to rationalize another’s grief with ill-timed theological truths. Those who feel inadequate or awkward about reaching out to grieving people sometimes avoid them altogether. Job’s friends are well known…

  • SMALL PLAYERS

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 2:6–4:6; Luke 1:39–66; Job 1:13–22 A priest should know better. A man representing the spiritual state of God’s people shouldn’t be so quick to question God’s promises. But for Zechariah, obedience became complicated. When the angel Gabriel told him he’d have a son, he responded with doubt: “By what will I know…

  • DESTRUCTIVE PEOPLE

    Connect The Testaments2 Samuel 22:1–51; Jude 1:1–16; Psalm 147:1–20 Some destructive people don’t realize the carnage they leave in their wake. Others intentionally cause rifts and pain, driven by selfish motives. Jude’s letter, which contains succinct prose, startling imagery, and a swift warning, is unlike anything we read in Scripture. The letter equipped early Christians…

  • I WILL LAUD YOUR DEEDS

    Connect The Testaments2 Samuel 19:1–43; 2 Peter 3:1–13; Psalm 145:1–21 I grew up in a family of stoics. Through example, my siblings and I were taught to keep our emotions to ourselves. Displays of excessive affection or sorrow were regarded with some suspicion, and this played out in our expressions of faith. Psalm 145 directly…

  • SLAVES TO GOD, EQUIPPED TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

    Connect The Testaments2 Samuel 13:1–39; 2 Peter 1:9–15; Psalm 140:1–13 I used to think that I was powerless when it came to sin. Christ had saved me from my sinful state, but I was still wretched and helpless. Even though I knew I was no longer a slave to sin, I didn’t always think about…

  • SERVING THE GLORY OF GOD

    Connect The Testaments2 Samuel 5:1–6:23; 1 Peter 4:1–11; Psalm 136:1–26 When we avoid community, we may develop an inflated opinion of our own character. It’s easy to think we’re kind people when we’re not held accountable to others. It’s easy to think we’re always right when no one disagrees with us. Conversely, it’s in our…

  • JACK-IN-THE-BOX PRIDE

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 28:1–29:11; 1 Peter 2:13–17; Psalm 130:1–131:3 It’s dangerous to become too confident in the maturity of our own faith. Our pride is like the spring of a jack-in-the-box: Just when we think it’s broken or that we’ve gotten the lid on tight, it springs back to life. It rears its ugly…