Mission Faithwalk

                  Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2 NSAB1995)                   Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 2 NIV)                 Same verse, two versions. Normally, I share NIV, but I learned this verse with the word prosper in it, and it seems to be missing something without it. I have to begin by saying that I’ve been experiencing this verse for the last seven to ten years. I will admit that I have prospered, at least according to the judgment of some, but I didn’t feel prosperous. It always felt as if I were under someone’s heel or thumb. I won’t bother with the d...

                 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Matthew 26:63) Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!"   (Acts 5:29) If you don’t know the story, King Nebuchadnezzar had built a statue of himself, and issued an irrevocable command that anyone who didn’t bow down to it on command was to be thrown in a fiery fu...

                   This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10)                 Two ideas come to mind about what this verse says. The first is the idea of the dying god. There are a number of supposed gods who died and rose again, including Adonis and Osiris. For this reason, some dismiss Jesus’ death and resurrection as Christianity stealing an overused trope as a means to power. This idea faces two problems. In the stories of the other dying gods who rose again, it was not as a sacrifice for anyone’s sins. If it was associated with anything, it symbolized the seasons. Like the plants, the god died and returned in the spring. That made life more convenient for people, but it didn't change anyone's eternal fate. In addition, the deaths and resurrections w...

                      Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.   For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. (Romans 13:1-5...

                  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 ...