A Norvell Note

February 23, 2025 – Vol. 29 No. 08

A Peacemaker

Life lesson: Being a peacemaker is hard. 

Being a peacemaker is challenging in good times but can seem almost impossible in tough times. We are living in such a time. 

How can we help people reconcile the deep disagreements we are witnessing in our country and make peace with some of the things we are experiencing? 

How can we assist families in reconciling after causing each other pain and heartache?

How can we foster peace within a church community when pride and ego have fractured fellowship and created divisions?

How can we assist a broken soul in finding his way back to a relationship with the Lord after he feels God has failed him?

Being a peacemaker is hard, but as children of God, we must try. 

I have a few suggestions for being a peacemaker.

Pray for wisdom in choosing your words and timing before getting involved. 

Hear their pain. Understand all parties involved. Assist them in learning to listen to one another.

Recognize the need for time while emphasizing the importance of peace. 

Remind them of your love for them and your sincere desire to help. 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9

Father, help me be a peacemaker. 

A Norvell Note ^© Copyright 2025 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved

A Norvell Note

February 16, 2025 – Vol. 29 No. 07

An Undivided Heart

Life lesson: When my heart is pure, I can see God. 

What does it mean to be pure in heart? 

To be pure in heart involves having an undivided heart that is entirely focused on seeking and reflecting God’s presence. To be pure in heart means to possess an unwavering and sincere dedication to integrity, moral courage, and godly character.  

When you have a pure heart, free from deceit and distraction, it becomes a vessel through which you can experience the nearness of God. If your focus is clearly on Him, you will notice Him all around you, wherever you look in nature, people, and circumstances, and you will know He is near. 

Conversely, a divided heart plagued by conflicting desires and distractions will find its vision obscured, missing the omnipresence of the divine in the world.

After writing and reading those two paragraphs, I remember how difficult it is to be pure in heart in our world. From advertising to news broadcasts to social media to everyday life events, we constantly have opportunities that distract us from God. Being pure in heart is not easy, but it is necessary to see God. Being difficult

Look at how Jesus said it. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

“Happy are the utterly sincere, for they will see God! “(JB Phillips)

“Blessed [anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral courage, and godly character], for they will see God.” (Amplified Bible)

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (The Message)

So, the question we must answer is, do I want to see God?

A Norvell Note ^© Copyright 2025 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved

A Norvell Note

February 9, 2025 – Vol. 29 No. 06

Be Merciful

Life lesson: Be merciful. 

I find it almost unimaginable that the word merciful is getting so much negative attention in the public media and even among those who claim to be followers of God. It seems to me that being merciful is one of the most basic principles for anyone who loves God and wants to please him. 

The Old Testament Micah stated it matter-of-factly: 

“With what shall I come before the Lord

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micha 6:6-8)

Jesus did the same, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

It seems simple to me. If you are going to please God, live like Jesus, and be shown mercy by God at the end of your journey, you will be merciful. So, be merciful.

A Norvell Note ^© Copyright 2025 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved