Furthering thoughts for Tuesday June 18th 2019

I always catch myself saying the phrase, “keep it simple”. Whether it is within ministry, family and my daily life, I always repeat those words, “keep it simple”. Simplicity is the resistance against all things complicated . And you and I know very well know how are very “un-simple”.

“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” [Ex16:3]. On one hand, “God had delivered them from Egypt, routed their enemies, and promised a land flowing with milk and honey” yet they were afraid as if they were all alone in the Exodus.

And of course, as we look back upon the Israelites, it is quite easy to cast judgment on them as God had already delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh. Plague after plague, the Passover, and to the crossing of the Red Sea, they were led by the power and grace of the Almighty Lord. You would think they would wait for the Lord and His promises. Yet they quickly went into panic mode and fell to disbelief.

We do the same.

“When we need something, worry and anxiety can consume our minds. Instead of trusting God, our needs scare us as our faith waivers”. How we all relate to this! Yes, we always hear the adage, “count your blessings”. And so true this is! Yes, we have many blessings to count, but our greatest blessing is the life-saving work of Jesus Christ!

Yet, we waver, as we are tossed to and fro by the devil, the flesh and the world. Decision after decision, day after day, week after week, the demands never seem to let up and so quickly are we consumed by the flesh and the world. All the meanwhile, we forget the true blessings of our Lord. And though at times it seems like an “un-simple” never-ending uphill battle, God is always there.

We look around and thank the Lord for all that He has given to us. “It never hurts to take inventory of the daily bread already given us by God…so great is His love that He gave His only-begotten Son over to death to save us from sin”. “I am the bread of life” Jesus says in John 6, and in faith we are secure in His name. For it is our Lord who delivers His blessed assurance through His body and blood shed on the Cross, and His victorious empty tomb.

I need to hear this all the time. There is never enough of Jesus. But every single day, how important it is to dwell upon the Lord whose thoughts are above my thoughts, and whose ways are above my ways. And there, I say to myself, “keep it simple”. How?

Recite the Creed.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Read Scripture

Rejoice in your Baptism, and be on your way! [Lk17:19]

In the name of The Father and of The + Son and of The Holy Spirit. Amen.