Mission Faithwalk

                 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Shakespeare wrote, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways.” When it comes to our hearts (AKA: wills), we can replace the word love with deceive . I doubt I’ll come close to an exhaustive or comprehensive list, but here we go… You’re good enough. (Or not good enough.) You’re better than _______. (Or worse than.) You’ve worked hard. You deserve it. You can handle it. It’s been a hard day. Everyone else…             You’re a good person, therefore, what you want must be OK.             No one will know - or care.             You’re too ___________.             If you do, everyone will say _________. (Whether good or bad things.)             You need it.             If you love ________, you’ll _________

                 “ But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16) “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.   I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” (Joshua 1:2-3) “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven .” (Matthew 5:1)                                     One of the things that Henry Blackabee wrote about in Experiencing God is that God reveals Himself when He is going to do something and that when He reveals Himself, He reveals His name and/or His character. That led me to question how God revealed Himself to me. The first answer was as my Guide. If I have learned anything or experienced God in any way, I am more sure that it is as my Guide than I am of any other thing. He has guided me. He is

                 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13) If you’re like me, at times you look at your life and think that you are so far from being even 10% of the way to what you’re supposed to be.  Your life is such a wreck that those who might try to help you bring brooms and dustpans, not screwdrivers or a tow truck. Those are the bad days, usually, they’re bad days because we’re not getting our way, we’re not performing to the level we want to, and/or no one is telling us how wonderful we are. If you’re like me,  you might even be in the habit of whining to God about what a miserable louse you are. (Yes, I know, we shouldn’t do that!) And we go to the doctor to complain about this or that, and he focuses on something we hadn’t even noticed or that we were proud of. Today’s verse brings to mind a video I’ve watched more than once of a doctor who was preparing to give a baby a shot. He tapped, tickled, and tosse