Mission Faithwalk

                  Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice . (Proverbs 13:10)                 Of course, my first though on reading this is, “Oh, this perfectly describes those _______. They’re all about strife.” Fortunately, my conscience is strong enough to point out that I tend to point fingers, too. I like to argue in the formal sense. There are two points past which it is unsafe to go. The first is to venture into the land in which winning becomes the focus. I win. You lose. The second is the trek into the jungle in which the people are the focus. I’m good, smart, right, educated… You’re wicked, stupid, wrong, uneducated… The safe territory keeps the focus on the ideas. This is right, valid, justified. That is not. The goal is agreement, not conquest.      ...

            “Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3:29) Nebuchadnezzar said this right after he invited Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the fiery furnace into which he had thrown them because they had refused to bow down to the 90’ statue he’d had built. Once the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego impressed Nebuchadnezzar, he tried to co-opt Jehovah, making Him one of Nebuchadnezzar’s gods and threatening to punish anyone who even spoke badly of Him, just as he’d tried to punish Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You’d think it was abundantly clear that God didn’t need Nebuchadnezzar’s protection, but no doubt he thought G. od would be impressed with his zeal. Eight hundred to a thousand years later, another king did roughly the same t...

                  Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:20-21)                 We have heard quite a bit in the past decade about “checking our privilege” and being humble, mostly from people who think they have the right to dictate to everyone what to believe or do. They’re right, we should check our privilege and be humble. We should consider what others have to say and what they do. We should pray, observe, meditate, and study. We should listen to advice and accept discipline. None of this requires that we do precisely what we’re told because we were told, but those are the activities and practices of a wise person. It’s like being an athlete. There are specific skills and character...

                   The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. (Psalm 10:16-18)                 We’re about a month from the mid-term election, and no matter to whom you listen, the song is about the same. “We have to get out the vote because if the other side wins, it’ll be the end of the world!” And let me just say, “Get out and vote!” because it’s your responsibility as a good Christian and as a good citizen. There are candidates who are likely to cause more harm than good and you should vote for the candidates who will do more good than harm, but the point of the passage above is that it is the Lord who defends the fatherless ...

                      I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” (Isaiah 43:11-12)                 How many times was Israel saved? I almost feel as if I should tally it. Of course, it depends on your definition of “saved” and where you set the bar for it, but a quick look online gave answers from 7 to over 40, and I suspect it was many more times than that. Sure, we can easily pick out the dramatic ones like the exodus from Egypt and several different battles, but how many times did He do so quietly?                 How many times has God saved you or your loved ones? I’m not talking about eternal salvation. Do yo...

              You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)                 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who [ a ] have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)                 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope .  (Romans 5:3-4)                   You might not be as eloquent as David. I know I’m not. But when are the times when this verse describes you? Is it when you’re lonely? Bored? Feeling out of control...