Mission Faithwalk

                   Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3)                   Let’s consider. According to Scripture, the universe was created about 6000 years ago and within a week was a fully functional, “mature” universe. According to Sciencism (the belief that whatever they call “science” automatically has the only answer), the universe is either eternal (steady state), oscillating, or came into existence 14 billion years ago, probably due to the Big Bang. I don’t care what other possibilities you might propose for how the universe was formed. The point really is that you weren’t there and neither does anyone else ...

              I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)                 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.    I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,    and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3: 7-11)       ...

                  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ( Hebrews 12:1-2)                 Another of those well-loved passages. We imagine ourselves in a spectacular race, as spiritual Eric Liddells with our heads thrown back, crossing the finish line and winning the gold. We imagine the audience consists of God, plus the angels, plus the Christians who have gone before us, and maybe some Christians alive around us. And we think we need their applause and cheers (and we may well be right!) What we don’t tend to consider is that our audience isn’t limited to those listed above. It also includes the demons, our enemies, and those who are wondering what’s going on. ...

                   Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.   When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”   But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son...

              Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. (Psalm 119:18-19)                  Hikikomori (Japanese): Pulling inward; shutting oneself in.                 I seem to keep coming back to the idea that wisdom is dealing with reality as it is rather than as we want it to be. And in Scripture, we find wisdom that goes even a little deeper, not only describing how reality is, but also how it was designed to be. In the past month or so, I’ve also read at least part of two books that sound alarms about the direction things appear to be going. I have always felt like an outsider, so the mention above of being a stranger on the earth is nothing new.            ...

                     Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. (Psalm 112:5)                 Are you as generous as you suspect you should be? Do you lend freely (expecting no interest or even repayment? As you absolutely just in all your dealings? Does your answer change when we change the subject from money to time, opinions, skills, expertise, help, equipment, or some other thing that you value?                 These are exam table questions, and my answers are No, no, no, and yes. I think I am more generous with things other than money. The point of my questions isn’t to make you feel guilty. They are questions we all need to take to God and let Him work in our lives. Our evaluations are likely to be based on bad sta...