Mission Faithwalk

                     Th erefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:21)                 One of the things about roller coasters, movies, drugs, moral filth, an evil is the law of diminished returns. First, it’s exciting. Then it isn’t enough, so we add more. Eventually, there just isn’t enough, but in some cases, at least, walking away is impossible.                 God is the means of getting rid of the moral filth and evil in our lives and one of His main tools is His Word. This isn’t necessarily an instant, miraculous, magical transformation. It’s simple psychology. Read this carefully. Do not think about an elephant. Chances are very good that you now have an elephant stuck i...

                  “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.   If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” (John 15:18-21)                 Let’s start with a pet peeve. There are people in the world who are being beaten, raped, sued, imprisoned, and killed because of their faith. They deserve our respect, our love, and our prayers. I’m not dismissing what they face. At the same time, other people are being ridiculed, laughed at, ridiculed, and cancelled/rejected. I believe they also deserve our respect, ...

                 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)                   What does the last paragraph above look like in your imagination? From tracts I saw decades ago, I got the impression some people ...

                 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)                 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)                 Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)                 Today’s first verse comes from the account of the devil’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness as Jesus’ answer when Satan challenged Him to turn stones into bread to prove He was the Son of God.  The second verse is wh...

                 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you”…“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:17 & 27) Well, God can’t make a square circle, two to equal zero (or a google). God can’t make the universe cease to exist while simultaneously causing it to exist. It could be said that it is too hard for Him to hand His godhood over to someone who is not His equal or better. This isn’t sacrilege.  It’s simple logic. These are illogical, nonsensical, and simply definitional. There are some who try to claim that if God cannot do these things, then He is not actually omnipotent. In other words, they’re saying this verse is a lie because they raise questions about what God can’t do. Not only do they violate simple logic, but they also ignore the context in which this verse is found. In fact, after ...

                   In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6)                 Can you imagine anyone saying this about you? Or about your home church? Let’s start with a definition. What would someone praying with joy look like? Did Paul dance around the room clasping his hands to his chest, just bursting with positive emotion over what the Philippians were doing? Maybe. Did he sit, looking up with a beatific smile? Maybe. Or, maybe he looked forward to praying for them because he’d heard good news.                 I pray through a list of people on an a...