Mission Faithwalk

                 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)                 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)                 Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)                 Today’s first verse comes from the account of the devil’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness as Jesus’ answer when Satan challenged Him to turn stones into bread to prove He was the Son of God.  The second verse is wh...

                 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you”…“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:17 & 27) Well, God can’t make a square circle, two to equal zero (or a google). God can’t make the universe cease to exist while simultaneously causing it to exist. It could be said that it is too hard for Him to hand His godhood over to someone who is not His equal or better. This isn’t sacrilege.  It’s simple logic. These are illogical, nonsensical, and simply definitional. There are some who try to claim that if God cannot do these things, then He is not actually omnipotent. In other words, they’re saying this verse is a lie because they raise questions about what God can’t do. Not only do they violate simple logic, but they also ignore the context in which this verse is found. In fact, after ...

                   In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6)                 Can you imagine anyone saying this about you? Or about your home church? Let’s start with a definition. What would someone praying with joy look like? Did Paul dance around the room clasping his hands to his chest, just bursting with positive emotion over what the Philippians were doing? Maybe. Did he sit, looking up with a beatific smile? Maybe. Or, maybe he looked forward to praying for them because he’d heard good news.                 I pray through a list of people on an a...

                          Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   Ephesians 3:20-21)                 It seems to me that when I hear someone talk about this passage, it goes something like this: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Amen.” Even if I’m the someone . It’s natural and normal in our fallen world to turn to our benefit and forget about the details.                 Then, when something good does happen, it’s not unusual for us to say something ...

                 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. (Psalm 135:3)                 Finally, brothers and sisters whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)                 Many years ago, there was a documentary about Stonehenge in which acoustical engineers analyzed the structure, and determined that the bending of the drumbeats back upon the priest at the center, especially along with drugs, had a powerful affect on the priest’s brain. Other studies have shown the great influence music has on people. It can help them remember, it can calm or excite, etc. So, the notion that singi...

                   For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. (Psalm 18:31-34)                 It would be so nice to have the feet of the deer and be able to stand on the heights. It’s be really cool to be physically in a condition in which I could do battle, and to have the training to do so. But why? For my area, I live fairly near what would be called the heights. The watershed isn’t that far. The Appalachian Mountains aren’t too far from here, but when I think of the heights, I think of the Rockies. The psalmist may have had great reason for having feet like deer so that he could stand on the heights, but that’s not somethi...