Month: July 2022

Listen here…

Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!

Psalm 70.1

One of the things I love about King David is that he’s real. He’s believable because, quite frankly, most of us have been there. Our emotions swirling about our circumstances and in complete conflict with good theology. I identify with David’s “humanness.” But the notion of God being in a hurry, well, just ain’t so. Is God so far off that He needs to cover some ground to rescue us? Or is He surprised by our plight? Quickening God’s pace insinuates that He has been caught off guard or is somehow indisposed with something else. I understand David’s anxiety, but God is an ever-present Helper with us. He can attend to every need of every person simultaneously without breaking a sweat. Do we have confidence that our God will always be “on time?”

Listen here…

Many of us are struggling with Culture and Tradition (C/T) in the midst of modern Christianity. Lately, I’ve been looking at how Jesus delt with the problem of C/T eroding true discipleship. One of His antidotes to the C/T problem is simplicity. In Luke 10 we see the Simplicity of Ministry, Obedience, and Intimacy. First the Simplicity of Ministry. Jesus sends the disciples out two by two with nothing but the power to heal and a simple kingdom message. They see the results prophets and kings long to see. (Luke 10.1-24) Then the Simplicity of Obedience; Love God and Love People. Note that loving one’s neighbor has no miracle associated with it. The Samaritan simply takes care of the man the best he can. (Luke 10.25-37) And lastly the Simplicity of Intimacy. (Luke 10.38-42) Mary just wanted to be with and hear from Jesus. Martha, like C/T, tends to complicate things and breaks down relational intimacy. What areas are we burdened with C/T and need to simplify?