How Long, O Lord?

Posted on October 27, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 14 Comments

God allows us to go through difficult times. He allows us to go through dry times where it feels like our prayers never make it past the ceiling in the room. God allows the knuckleheads to remain in power both in the government and in the church. Often, he leaves us wondering why.

It is in those times when the promise of Jesus begins to bring comfort. He will be with me to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). To fix our predicament, God came down to be one of us to feel our pain and offer a solution for it. While this may not make the process easier, it should affect the result.

On bread, fish and urban ministry

I thought of a little boy who was going to a church meeting carrying his lunch. It was about two thousand years ago when Jesus was teaching the crowds and the disciples came to Jesus suggesting that he disperse the crowd so that they don’t pass out from hunger. Jesus took that boy’s lunch of bread and fish and multiplied it so that everyone could eat.

Discussion question – How do you avoid information overload?

With the amount of information available to us the potential for overload has increased dramatically. How do you deal with the volume and avoid overload?

On corruption in government

A quote from Augustine stimulated some thoughts on how Christians should respond to government corruption and the willful deceit of the people.

Good News Elevator Speech

In recent years, the business world has coined the phrase “elevator speech.” Sellers are encouraged to be able to explain their product offering to someone in the elevator in the 20 seconds or so it takes to get to their floor. Most people who have been in the church for a while have been taught […]

Nativity Battle

It is the middle of December and the time for email notifications lamenting that a community or business does not allow the display of the Nativity scene or other religious symbols. In the past, I thought that my lack of concern about this was an indication of lack of spiritual fervor. Yet, in spite of […]

Before you speak

We have all said things which cause us to wish for a rewind button. My hope in sharing these questions is that by applying them consistently we might increase the time between statements that we later regret.