Thinking Out Loud

Image by Wirestock People who have walked with God for years will often talk about their “quiet times” with God, the regular time they set aside to be alone with God. That time isn’t necessarily prolonged. Sure, you’ll hear stories of men and women of God spending hours in prayer and Bible reading. But duration isn’t the issue. For many believers, it is the quality of their time alone with God that makes the quantity of time a secondary matter. Think of quiet time with God is a kind of daily Sabbath, time that from a purely utilitarian point of view is “wasted.” Quiet time with God is not “productive,” not a task to check off a list. And that is the point. Just as the Sabbath is time set aside to stand down, time for rest and worship, so the daily time alone with God is a quiet moment to rest my mind and worship God, to hear from Him in His Word and to commune with Him in prayer. It is a daily touch-point to realign my purposes with His and take a deep breath in His Presence befo...

Conversion of Saint Matthew, woodcut by Jean Cousin We’re familiar with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s calling of the Twelve.  It was not unusual for popular rabbis in Jesus’s day to attract a crowd wherever they went, and Jesus’s miracles drew extra attention, so in the Gospel accounts we often see Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, walking through a town, followed by a mixed crowd of people genuinely interested in His teaching along with curious onlookers . Then we see Jesus stop and point to someone – Matthew the tax collector, collaborator with the hated Roman regime – and utter those simple and compelling words, “Follow me.” And to everyone’s astonishment, Matthew leaves his collection table and goes with Jesus. In one moment, Matthew has undergone a dramatic career change, from tax collector to disciple of Rabbi Jesus. I’ve always wondered what prompted those men to so suddenly abandon their trade – Matthew left his table, Peter and John their nets – and convert instantly f...