Mission Faithwalk

              Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. (Philippians 2:1-2)           If you have experienced any positive results from being a Christian…any encouragement…comfort…sharing…tenderness…compassion… then be a Christian and do the things that Christians are supposed to do. As much as I am convinced that Christianity is the best and only truly good choice, if you have received any encouragement…comfort…sharing…tenderness…compassion… from being a Muslim, a Wiccan, a toxic male, a Socialist, or a psychopath, then be a Muslim, a Wiccan, a toxic male, a Socialist, or a psychopath. I’m not suggesting anything in that list from Muslim to psychopath is something you s...

              Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (I Peter 3:8)           “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (Luke 6:27)           There are two things I doubt Charlie Kirk would have wanted as a result of his death. The first is to be made out to be better than he was. I’m not saying anything against him. I’m speaking against those who would make an idol of him. The second is to have others respond in his name in precisely the manner he rejected or to make a weapon of him. One meme I saw said something about killing him resulting in the creation of 12 million of him, but if any of those 12 million are belligerent, they are not him or his followers. To be a new Charlie Kirk means educating oneself. I suspect he would sugge...

                 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) Rejoice? On the day after the anniversary of 9/11? With all that’s going wrong in the world, the country, the state, the county, the city, the neighborhood, and our homes? Rejoice? Or let’s bring it down to the minor stuff: more than 36 canning lids and an open bowl of ketchup hitting the floor, six hours of work on a knee that is threatening to strike and a few other joints listening in and it’s the end of the day and I’m just tired. Rejoice? A sick family member needing 24/7 help? A medical diagnosis that’s not someone else’s? A family member walking away. Financial struggles? Rejoice? Rejoice ?           OK, the good Sunday School answers… God is still God. God has promised to work all things together for good for us. It builds our character. It’s all temporary and eternity looms large and wond...

                 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 120:1-2)           The past few days have been tough. I thought of writing something for yesterday’s post about 9/11, but I write the day before. Last night and this morning, the grief hit, possibly because I learned that Iryna Zarutska was killed in Charlotte (a couple of weeks ago) and Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah yesterday. In my mind, the three are separated by time and space, but irrationally, one in their message. That message is that something has been and is desperately wrong with this country. We need help.           In ancient Israel, the mountains were places of idol worship and danger. They were also the territory that had to be traveled to get to the...

            Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)           Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (I Corinthians 1:26-27) When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity . (unknown but found It's Factored In ... - Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions ) The Footprints Poem ( Footprints in the Sand Poem - I Carried You ) Like Terry Lema, I saw the quote about God factoring in our stupidity and it came to mind when I read the verse from Isaiah. Pastor Lema m...

               Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. (Titus 2:2) Oh, here we go. A single, modern (not post-modern) woman thinking I have a right to comment on the behavior of “older men.” It doesn’t make it any better because the comments are about one of the current subhuman classes. We must be ever so careful if we talk about people of certain skin-tones, or who claim to have a gender that is “new and improved,” but gutting guys, that’s a current gladiator sport. And older men? Well, they’re derelicts from a primitive age and they don’t tend to like the way things are headed, so yeah…I can attack older men with impunity. Right? There are two issues with the paragraph you just read. First, I don’t intend to attack anyone. Second, the passage above wasn’t written by me. They aren’t my words. So, trusting to God for wisdom, let’s walk on some eggshells, or ...