Mission Faithwalk

                  Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near . (Isaiah 55:6)                 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)                 God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. Why should we have to seek Him? How can we not call on Him while He’s near, since He’s always near? Of course, when you get absorbed in a book, you can be physically present with someone, but also be a million miles away. Or when you’re angry with someone, you may be in the same household, but you’re distant. Parents may “stand back” and allow a child to struggle. They seem to be distancing themselves from the child, b...

                        Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1)                   Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)                 Scripture warns us about boasting about tomorrow and about worrying about tomorrow for roughly the same reason. We aren’t in control of what will happen tomorrow. This isn’t the same as not planning. It might be better to say that it is planning with one’s ego or emotions firmly attached. Another way to put it might be to say that planning is OK, but not trusting God is not.                 Th...

                 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near . (Isaiah 55:6)                 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)                 God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. Why should we have to seek Him? How can we not call on Him while He’s near, since He’s always near? Of course, when you get absorbed in a book, you can be physically present with someone, but also be a million miles away. Or when you’re angry with someone, you may be in the same household, but you’re distant. Parents may “stand back” and allow a child to struggle. They seem to be distancing themselves from the child, but it teaches the child things ...

                 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (I Peter 1:3)                 Something happened this morning that isn’t unusual to me, but that connects to this verse, at least after a fashion. As the communion crew finished prepping for tomorrow, one of the team collected stuff to throw out. She’d already flattened the box, which wasn’t of interest to me, but there were two gizmos that, when pressed down on the grape juice bottles, formed a handle so one could pick up two at the same time. I asked for those gizmos. If they do what I want them to, they’ll make watering plants easier. We’ll see.                 I say this isn’t unusual becaus...

                 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.  (Proverbs 29:25)                 What are you afraid of? Chances are good, you’ll answer with something like spiders, snakes, death, or public speaking. You might suggest something like lions, tigers, bears, or Great Whites. The key involved is that these all provoke great aversion. I used to stop gardening once the spiders showed up on the plants. I’ll admit that I’m not likely to want to swim in the ocean, especially off the coast of South Africa and if there were a tiger on the loose in my area, I’m not likely to sit outside, even knowing that tigers are rarely man-eaters. That’s one kind of fear.                 And someone could have that sort of fear of other people, while ot...

                                   “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)                 Let’s start with the obvious. This does not say that we should take pleasure in being abused by others. It is not a call to be masochists. Insults, persecutions, and lies aren’t meant to produce rejoicing. Instead, it’s the stuff behind the insults, persecutions, and lies that should make us rejoice. It’s what’s behind or beneath the insults, persecutions, and lies that should lead to rejoicing. Jesus was insulted, persecuted, and lied about. The prophets were insulted, ...