Tag: REBECCA VAN NOORD

  • LOVE AND PEACE

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 4:1-5:19; 1 John 4:16-21; Psalm 109:1-15 “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in you.” Augustine’s prayer, spoken so many years ago, is still poignant for us today. It appeals to our created purpose: bringing glory to God. When we’re living outside of that…

  • MAN VS. NATURE

    Connect The TestamentEzra 9:1-10:44; 1 John 4:7-12; Psalm 107:23-43 As a teenager, I devoured stories about men and women at odds with nature. These man vs. nature struggles always told of a battle of wills. Nature was always at its most magnificent and most frightening: untamed, unwieldy, and heartless. The characters seemed to be living…

  • WHAT IS LOVE?

    Connect The TestamentsEzra 5:1-6:22; 1 John 3:19-24; Psalm 106:30-48 I find it easy to talk about myself. I like to get to the root of why I act the way I do. Sometimes this is helpful—it helps me nail down where I struggle. But this tendency also reminds me that I’m geared inward. The danger…

  • NOT PERFECT?

    Connect The TestamentsEzra1:1-2:70; 1 John 3:5-10; Psalm 106:1-15 Sometimes sin can discourage us to the point that we loathe ourselves. At first glance, John’s letter seems to encourage this. Addressing a struggling church community, John seems to call for perfection: “And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away…

  • REMEMBERING GOD

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 33:1-34:33, 1 John 2:18-27, Psalm 105:1-22 My mom discovered scrapbooking when I was a teenager. At first, the craft seemed time consuming and burdensome; paper scraps, pictures, and double-sided tape were constantly strewn over the kitchen table. But as the books came together, I began to appreciate her new hobby. A…

  • CONFLICT CREATORS AND PEACEMAKERS

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 29:1-30:27; 1 John 2:7-14; Psalm 104:1-15 Conflict can be good. And in communities, it’s inevitable. The ways in which we respond to it can display and develop character. But what if we are the ones responsible for creating conflict with others? John addresses the root of chronic conflict in a letter…

  • A GOD WHO IS PRESENT

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 103:1-14 It’s sometimes difficult to grasp that the Creator of the universe cares about us—that He bothers with miniscule people like us. Because we tend to forget about others and focus on our own tasks and needs, we’re prone to think that God isn’t concerned with…

  • BADLY ALIGNED

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Titus 3:12-15; Psalm 101:1-8 Like a car with bad alignment, we are prone to drift off course when we’re not focused on steering our faith. Often, we use intellectual pursuits to disguise our drifting. It’s easier to argue an opinion than to respond faithfully. It’s stimulating to have a theoretical…

  • BEING MADE NEW

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Titus 3:1-7; Psalm 97:1-98:9 We often fall into old habits that reflect the way we once were. Although we’ve been made new, we haven’t been made perfect, and sometimes it shows. People within our church communities might have one perception of us, but others may have experienced another side—one that…

  • WHEN WORDS ARE ENOUGH

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Titus 2:9-2:15; Psalm 96:1-13 It’s not often that words change the course of history. But Shemaiah, a little-known prophet, was given such an opportunity. We can easily pass over these life-altering moments if we’re not looking for them. Rehoboam had assembled 180,000 chosen “makers of war” to fight against Israel…