Mission Faithwalk

                  Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because He is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before . (Joel 2:23)                 This was the verse chosen by BibleGateway.com for the day. I try to use them so I’m not writing about the same things all the time. It’s also a verse I’d like to hold God to. In fact, I’d like Him to provide summer rains, too. Of course, the passage makes it clear that it wasn’t a promise, and it was specific to Zion, not to me on a hill over one of the Great Lakes, where water is available whenever we want it, as long as we pay the price. So the verse might not seem to apply to me, or to you wherever you are.                ...

                  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)                 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. (James 3:7-9)                 It’s not unusual for people to think that attacking another person is the means by which to convince them to change their minds. In some circles, these attacks are recognized as ad hominems attacks, and wi...

               Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4)                 First, to be very clear, this isn’t a call for “us” to make the interest of everyone on Earth more important or more valid than ours. It addresses our behavior toward other Christians in our community. This is not to say that we should never look to the interest of non-Christians. It simply means that doing so is not the same as looking to the interest of our fellow-believers, and not as high a priority. It also does not mean believing, saying, feeling, or doing whatever someone wants us to. Looking to the interest of another can mean confronting them about what they believe, say, feel, or do with both love and truth.    ...

                  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:3-5)                 For those of us who are older, or have been attending church longer, we tend to read the first sentence and agree. Yes, those are standard “big sins” that should be avoided. We may not have as much against them personally as we might, but they’re the traditional things to avoid. But then the passage says “Nor should there be…” and things get a little more difficult. No obscenity? No foolish talk? No...

                    Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)                 Wisdom and understanding don’t really happen without activity.  You do something stupid, fall, and hurt yourself and if you gain wisdom, you understand that you shouldn’t do that stupid thing. You might learn the same by watching someone else go through the process, but too often, we take their failure as a challenge. “They did it wrong, we will do it right/better . ”                 If we are wise, we should show it, not by impressing others with our wisdom, but by doing what is right. Doing something stupid or wrong doesn’t help you or anyone else. Perhaps more importantly, according to James, wi...

                 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord . (Proverbs 16:2) “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1) Generally, we think that this means all a person’s ways seem purely right or good to them. I suspect that it’s often true. But a person’s ways can also seem purely worthless, evil, hopeless, etc. The point is that our estimation of what we have done and who we are is often so like the story of the size of the fish that got away. We can’t imagine that our perceptions are skewed. This thing we care about is important! And it is, but part of what is important to us is being seen as what we think is good. God sees what we do, and He not only knows what we’re doing but why we do it. If we do things to look good to others or for their praise, and we get that praise, we...