Mission Faithwalk

                   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...

                     Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)                 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.   But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:10-13) For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to f...

                   This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5:2-5)                 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one . (Ephesians 6:16)                 The main thing God gets out of your life is not the things you do, but the person you become. (Willard, Dallas, Renewing the Christian Mind .)        ...

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14) They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)                 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.   Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua  5:7-9)   For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities ,...

                      if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land . (II Chronicles 7:14)                 I know I’ve written about this verse before. I don’t remember whether it was for Independence Day, but if there was ever a day on which this verse should be considered, Independence Day is such a day. First, let’s deal with the obvious. This was written to and for the Jews. There are some who would say that no one else has a right to claim the verse, but God doesn’t stop being God, which means that He’s not likely to treat non-Jews the opposite of the Jews if the non-Jews do as the verse describes. But, it also doesn’t mean that the promise will be kept in the same way, even if those ...

                   The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)                 The condition of receiving God’s revelation and of holding God’s truth is one of the heart, not one of the head…God is not grasped by thought, but by feeling. (Bounds, E.M., A Treasury of Prayer: The Best of E.M. Bounds , p. 48)                 I’m reading the Bounds book quoted above, and the first chapter seems to be all about feelings. Others I’ve talked to don’t see that, but particularly when I got to the quote above, I did. It brought the verses from Jeremiah to mind as well as “The Lord’s Prayer.” When p...