Mission Faithwalk

                     Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.    For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. (Matthew 16:24-27)                 There’s a saying that has been going around for a while. “When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity.” Peter seems to me to be a great example of this. The passage above comes right after Peter gets done scolding Jesus because Jesus told the disciples He...

                 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)                 Here’s the verse Jesus quoted (in part) as the second part of “the greatest commandment.” Putting it in its original context is enlightening. We have two possibilities: seeking revenge/bearing a grudge and loving. Put another way, we can either hate or love. Put even more clearly, we can either not love or love. It’s not a difficult concept, until our human nature gets involved. At that point, we start trying to pretend that our hatred is not hatred because, of course, hatred isn’t nice and we want to be seen as nice.                 The whole “nice” bit is a pitfall for us, because to be nice means we must accept, ...

                       For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 1:4)                 Not long ago, we explored some of what Paul wrote about false teachers. Today, let’s look at what Jude wrote. As a reminder, Jude was one of Jesus’ half-brothers, like James. In this letter, he wanted to write something about what he and his audience had in common: their salvation, but something had happened or been said that took the letter in a different direction. This is a common theme in the New Testament, so while we may be tempted to ignore it, we need to pay attention.              ...

                     For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)                 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. (Matthew 10:29) When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest He returning chide; "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need Either man's work or His own gifts; who best B...

                       Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives  strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:27-31)                 Feel free to sing the last couple of sentences. Then, let’s begin with the Lord, the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not grow tired or weary. Youths grow tired and weary. Though it doesn’t say it, old folks grow tired and weary. In fact, the point is that old folks look at youths an...

                 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:7-8) Harm: physical or mental damage : injury ( HARM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ) The Lord will keep you from all harm. I’ve no doubt there are people who consider that statement proof that God is a liar or doesn’t exist. After all people, even Christians, are harmed every day. Probably every second. If God is going to keep us from all harm, doesn’t that mean no splinters, no bumps, scrapes, bruises, common colds, addictions, cancers, disappointed romances, unplanned pregnancies, lost jobs, less than perfect evaluations, etc.? Who gets to decide what constitutes harm? If preventing the harm of bruised knees or embarrassment requires that a child be prevented from trying to learn to walk, then not doing a small harm does a greater harm. The same is...