https://hesedwords.com/ Devotional reflections by Norm Reed. Scripture, justice, and the love that holds. Written for the road. en-au https://hesedwords.com/reflections/i-am-like-an-olive-tree.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/i-am-like-an-olive-tree.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Two men stand in the same psalm under the same verb. Doeg trusted in the abundance of his riches; David answers, but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. Batach — the same posture, different ground. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/coincidence.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/coincidence.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 The book of Esther never once names God, and reads at first like a story about luck — until nahafokh hu, it was turned about, arrives at the pivot. A reflection on the dice that named Purim, and a Friday-the-thirteenth morning that turned the same way. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/the-sacrifice-of-thanksgiving.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/the-sacrifice-of-thanksgiving.html Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Psalm 50 opens like a courtroom, and the first thing God says is that he is not hungry — the offerings were never supply. What he wants: offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving; the one who offers thanksgiving glorifies me. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/understanding.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/understanding.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Reading Psalm 49, a state funeral came back to me. 'Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish.' Not intelligence. Da'at — the knowing of God that is not in the head but in the hands. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/in-the-midst-of-the-temple.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/in-the-midst-of-the-temple.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:30:00 +1000 Psalm 48 builds the city — and then Selah. When the pause ends, the question surfaces: not what does the city look like, but what is it for? If hesed is what Zion is built on, does my life exude it? Does the church? https://hesedwords.com/reflections/see-me-trying.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/see-me-trying.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 I had misread Nehemiah's prayer as ledger-keeping. It is the vulnerability of worship itself: a child carrying a crayon drawing to their father. Not asking for payment. Asking to be seen. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/is-there-not-a-cause.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/is-there-not-a-cause.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 I wanted a cause to die for. The King rides for truth, meekness, and righteousness — not toward them but on account of them. They are not the objective; they are what the ride is made of. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/not-the-lesson-i-first-thought.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/not-the-lesson-i-first-thought.html Sun, 19 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 In Ezra 4 the neighbours offer to help build, and Zerubbabel refuses. They raised worship; he answered architecture. They thought they were building a house. They were meant to be gathering worshippers. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/our-god-sponsored-projects.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/our-god-sponsored-projects.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Ezra–Nehemiah records what men finished and could not keep. Jesus is building what he has not finished — and therefore cannot lose. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/a-place-for-salt.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/a-place-for-salt.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Ezekiel's river heals the Dead Sea — and then one line no one preaches: 'but its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.' In the greatest picture of renewal in the prophets, the salt stays. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/i-cannot-pray-this.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/i-cannot-pray-this.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Psalm 41 stops me at verse twelve — 'you uphold me in my integrity.' The release was one verse earlier: 'you delight in me.' Delight comes first, integrity second. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/church-leadership-marching-orders.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/church-leadership-marching-orders.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 The wisdom of God does justice. Chokmah is not what happens before mishpat — it is the root of which mishpat is the fruit. The test at every table is not 'have we been fair' but 'has anything been healed.' https://hesedwords.com/reflections/a-shepherd-is-what-a-shepherd-does.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/a-shepherd-is-what-a-shepherd-does.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 In Ezekiel 34 the fat sheep trample the pasture, and the lean sheep go thin — yet the weak sheep are corrected not once. Whose correction costs me something? https://hesedwords.com/reflections/selah.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/selah.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Twice in Psalm 39 the reading stops on the same word — hevel, a mere breath. Selah's meaning is unknown, but its function is to stop you, and to stop you somewhere in particular. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/star-wars.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/star-wars.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Four Hebrew words — hesed, emunah, tzedaqah, mishpat — given the dimensions of creation. Psalm 36 is the bar where the orchestra stops accompanying and simply states the theme. https://hesedwords.com/reflections/idle-words.html https://hesedwords.com/reflections/idle-words.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000 Ezekiel was mute for a season, yet never stopped communicating — his life became the conversation. His silence was the opposite of idle. It worked.