Mission Faithwalk

                  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) (James 2:19)                 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder . (James 2:19)                 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)                 Like just about anything popular, I’m not fond of this verse. It’s not what it says, I think, as the sense that so many people seem to treat it so exceptionally. Or maybe part of it is because it’s one of those all-inclusive vers...

                 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:6-7) And today, love isn’t red but continues in black before – thankfully – turning white. Love does not delight in evil. And today, that’s a huge problem. We do evil. I would go so far as to say that we are evil. We may struggle against it, but when the day is done, it’s highly doubtful that any of us got through it without doing anything evil. And we tend to want others to accept and approve of our evil. We may say they should forgive our evil, but in reality, it’s not about forgiveness. It’s easy to claim things we (or our loved ones) do are not evil, and give ourselves permission to delight in them, but that’s not love. But, ahh. We finally turn from everything that is not love or loving, or that love is or does not, to things love does. Rejoices with the truth. Always ...

                 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (I Corinthians 13:4-5) Ah, love, as I said yesterday, not a definition, but a description, and at least in today’s description, it’s mostly about what love doesn’t do. It begins with being patient, which for some of us is a negative word. It means that it doesn’t give up on its object, but gives its object time to do whatever the lover wants. There are times in disagreements with others when they say they’re done or that they won't answer my question. They are taking command and ending the discussion because I’m not worth their effort, and they’ve run out of patience. Sometimes, that’s the answer I get as soon as I disagree with them. Since I wasn’t seeking their love, that’s OK. It just occurred to me that this is what’s going...

                 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3) This is a tough one, because people are divided, and both sides have far to many people who claim to be Christians, but who read this verse and effectively say, “Yeah, you worthless piece of roadkill that claims to be a Christian, you talk big but where’s your love?” So, I’m going to begin with a clear statement: I am nothing. I will probably always be nothing. I will gain nothing. Because I can probably guarantee that you’ll decide that I don’t love unless I live according to your dictates. If I d...

                 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”   He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. (Matthew 12:9-14) We tend to think that Jesus didn’t minister to the Scribes and Pharisees and that He disapproved of them. After all, His words sound (to put it mildly) negative. But the first point is that the Scribes and Pharisees considere...

              While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50) Jesus was creating a stir. The authorities weren’t happy with Him, and His family decided to step in to fix things. I wonder what Mary thought of this intervention. Maybe, as with the wedding at Cana, she thought a little push might produce some good results. Maybe she thought He was stepping on too many toes and needed a vacation and some advice to complete His mission. Maybe she was trying to convince His siblings that they needed to back off and came along ...