Roundtable: Simeon, Jeremiah, and Craig in Albia
Mike brings it together with Simeon, the weirdo hanging around the temple, as the picture of un-shiny faithfulness, and admits the other side of his story — feeling drained and half-mad at God while half-hearted believers look happy. Dan answers with Jeremiah's perpetual broken heart, Mike contrasts Moses' waffliness with David's confidence and the Instagram preachers, and Ben presses the Craig thought experiment: the pastor in Albia who never leaves for 50 years might be either faithful or rebellious, and the amount of visible change is no measure of the Holy Spirit's movement.
More on Humility
-
The New Testament case for human shaping
- What does the New Testament actually say about spiritual authority and submission?
Ben walks the New Testament texts: Hebrews 13:17 ('obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls') presumes a soul-watching laborer, not a rule-maker;…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
-
How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
-
Evaluating the event: Elijah, Josiah, the sign of Jonah, the donuts test
- How do we tell whether a church element has become the thing itself rather than pointing to Jesus?
The hosts work through evaluation tools for curated experiences: Elijah didn't ask God to repeat the fire, and Jesus refused to repeat signs for the Pharisees ('you get the sign…
-
Dear LFTP: the untidy grandchildren's home
- How can I tell my son's family that visiting their untidy home increases my anxiety without offending them?
Mike reads a letter from a grandmother anxious about her son's untidy home; the hosts diagnose persnickety-vs-oblivious wiring (Ben's sock-on-the-floor example, Martha), advise…
From No. 589 · There Must Be A Reason