Mission Faithwalk

            So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)           Maybe it’s because I’m an Introvert. Maybe it’s because I’m of a certain political persuasion. Maybe it’s because I have been studying passages like today’s. It could even be because I was raised in the 60s and 70s. It could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, I tend to think that how a person thinks and what a person believes is ultimately more connected to who they are than one’s race, ethnicity, class, or gender/sexual preferences. And in a sense, those who disagree with me prove my point, because they believe that those things are more important than anything else.  ...

              But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them. (Psalm 103:17)           What these verses, together with the verses from the last two days is that God is leaving a legacy. But the legacy God gives is not the sort of legacy given to Trust Fund Babies. It is not a legacy that produces people who are shallow, entitled, narcissistic, and nihilistic. Instead, it is meant to teach us to love God and other people properly. While some will disagree because they don’t understand what the idea entails, it is meant to make us more like God, not less.           And that may give us the clues we need. Leaving a legacy is about lovingkindness, not only to the immedia...

                 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too, is vanity and a great evil. (Ecclesiastes 2:21) This verse brings to mind a term we don’t hear as much as we used to: Trust Fund Baby. At one point, it referred to someone whose parents or grandparents set up a fund so that the child would never have to work. Generally speaking, these trust fund babies were depicted as shallow, entitled, narcissistic, and nihilistic. Unfortunately, I don’t think the trust fund babies disappeared. I think the malady spread to a larger chunk of the population, even among those whose parents and grandparents couldn’t afford to set up such a fund. And if the parents or grandparents can’t afford it, they expect the government to step in. And the man in the verse above refers to the parents or grandparents who labored with wisdom, knowledge, and sk...

             A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.  (Proverbs 13:22)             Legacy : 1) Money or property you receive from someone after they die; 2) Something that remains from part of your history or that remains from a previous time.             Originally, legacy was associated with a rank or position that was delegated. There might, or might not, be land or wealth involved, but the title or responsibility were. Today, it seems to have more to do with a contribution to the general good, or the basis on which one’s reputation after death is based. There doesn’t seem to be much in Scripture that speaks of a legacy. Tomorrow’s verse is the only one that uses the word. But there are a few references to “children’s children,” starting with today’s....

  It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood  shall be  on his own head, and we  shall be  free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood  shall be  on our head if a hand is  laid  on him. (Joshua 2:19) The Lord will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know  it : Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. (I Kings 2:32) then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. (II Chronicles 6:23) His mischief will ...

                 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate . (Proverbs 31:30-31) Today’s passage tells us that the things the world tends to think are vital to women’s lives, the ability to delight, please, or manipulate others, and beauty, aren’t as important as fearing the Lord. The world also tells us that fearing the Lord is being phobic or living in constant terror. But fear also means to revere Him, which means to respect Him. What does that mean? The short answer is that she loves the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength and loves her neighbor as herself. The longer version is that she lives in a way that gives those around her confidence that she will do them good. She takes an interest in her life and fulfills her responsibilities. She take...