Mission Faithwalk

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."                                                                                           (Matthew 11:28-29)               Jesus drove the money-changers out of the Temple. He pronounced seven woes in Matthew 23. He rebuked Pharisees, demons and Peter. Jesus told people over and over that He is the only way and that He is God. He is the same God who flooded the earth to wipe out every living thing, who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and who unleashed the plagues on Egypt. He is the same God who described Himself as jealous and commanded that we should have no other gods before Him. And now He says He is gentle and humble in heart? Is there a punch line we're missing?           It's all about the words. Gentleness does not mean &q

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)   And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)           One of the things I have learned in reading novels set in the past is the fact that sons and daughters of a marriageable age were often introduced to the public as adults. This is the source of our word "debutant." I don't know for certain that this custom came from a classical (Greco-Roman) source, but the classical world had a similar custom, in which a young man "became" a son upon his introduction to society as a son. At that point, he gained full rights as a son.            The visits from the shepherds and wise men told at Christmas time were special invitation announcements. This scene seems to me to be God's first Big Reveal of His Son to the world in general. The pronouncement   brings to mind Genesis 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:1

Mt 8:3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.             Years ago I read the Matthew Henry commentary on this verse. It gave a description of leprosy in all its gory details. To put it simply, the description was of a person whose flesh is rotting off. Zombie movies come to mind as a parallel. So does someone suffering from flesh-eating bacteria. To put it mildly, ew. At the end of the description, he quoted, "Jesus reached out his hand and TOUCHED the man."           Lepers were excluded from society by necessity. They might live for years with the disease, but it was contagious. It was a good picture of sin in a person's life. As Jesus looks at each one of us, He sees the rotting flesh, horror movie visages. As He reaches out and touches you, He makes this revelation: "I am willing."           The Son was, and is, willing to make the unclean clean. What fa

God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD , the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation." (Exodus 3:14-15)           Remember watching a group of people on TV standing around with Ty Pennington, and on cue shouting "Move The Bus!"? I only watched the show a couple times, but that was the moment of truth, the climax of the episode, the Big Reveal.   I love Big Reveals. Today's verses are part of a well known Big Reveal. God has lured Moses in to see what this strange thing is: a bush on fire that isn't burning up. They've had a short chat and in answer to Moses' question about what he should say if the Jews ask who sent him, God gives us this Big Reveal. He   figurativel

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” (I Chronicles 21:24)            Many years ago as I was going through one of my cycles   of learning about health and diet, I was at a church function at which cookies were served. It was being a battle. I didn't want to sacrifice eating those yummy cookies.   The thought came to mind that I could sacrifice them with an attitude of sacrifice ("Oh, woe is me, I want those cookies but I can't have them. My heart is breaking!") or, I could sacrifice them with   a positive attitude ("God, I'm giving You those yummy-looking cookies. Use them to bless someone else, and bless me in making the sacrifice.") For   something to be a sacrifice, keeping it to your own enjoyment has to be a desirable thing. Had they been serving Brussels sprouts,   lima beans, or even Jell-O or coconut crea

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-48)            Civility doesn't seem to be one of the hallmarks of our society, thanks to a large extent to political correctness. But with the presidential election about as long from now as it takes a baby to gestate, rhetoric and emotions are ramping up like a pregnant women's hormones (or at least like a bad case of PMS) along with the campaign season. It looks as if anger is going to be all th

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)      I have sung the song based on this verse for years, but it wasn't until I was in a small group study that happened to look at this verse that I made a discovery. In the song, the line is "you will rest in His love." In the New International Version it is "He will quiet you with his love." When I read it I started laughing, then had to explain. What I found so funny was the notion that anyone, including God, could quiet my opinionated, not-afraid-to-open mouth. Even funnier was the notion that anyone, including God, could quiet the gerbil wheel in my head. I meant no disrespect to God. He is omnipotent, and if nothing else, killing me would accomplish at least one of those tasks, but just the idea of me being quiet (especially internally)   is sometimes unimaginable.  

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:31-34)            If you've watched court procedural shows or read the books, if you've watched Judge Judy or one of the civil court reality shows, you've seen it. The person making the charges often lists as many possible charges as possible, in hopes that if the plaintiff is not found guilty of the greater charge, the lesser charge will "stick." They hope that if the larger settlement is not granted, that a smaller one will be. They are shrewdly determined to get some satisfaction out of the proceedings

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)         Though history, one of the characteristics of Christianity at its best has been our willingness to face trouble, hardship, persecution, nakedness, danger and the sword, because we know our time here is temporary. Christians have been martyred. They have taken stands against empires and against corrupt societies. They have cared for those suffering from plagues and leprosy, know

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose for those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.   (Romans 8:28-30)                   So often when people quote Romans 8:28, they use the NASB translation: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good.... They stop there, then they look at the circumstances. The death of a loved one? A child born with problems requiring repeated surgeries or a life with disabilities, perhaps requiring complete care for life? An abusive spouse? Abandonment? Natural disasters? An attack that leaves one physically or emotionally crippled? Cancer? Hunger and poverty? Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS, Autism, HIV/AIDS? These horrible things are good?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:26-27)           Yesterday, I suggested that our hope is exotropic, it counters, resists or reverses entropy in our lives. Our hope is weak. It is imperfect. It is human. Can you imagine what a strong, perfect, godly hope could do with respect to entropy? Just as creation eagerly waits,... and we groan as we eagerly wait, the Holy Spirit waits, and groans as He intercedes for us in accordance with God's will. Intercession involves hope. Our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God waits, and hopes for us and ultimately, the fruit of that hope will be the elimination of entropy, the defeat of death and decay, the redemption of the bodies of the saints and t

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:23-25)             Yesterday, I wrote about the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the fact that energy decreases, disorder increases and information is corrupted or lost. Right after the passage in which Paul wrote about creation being frustrated and decaying, he wrote about our hope. We patiently wait, he said, for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Just as I can't imagine what creation would be like without entropy, I can't imagine what my body would be like without entropy, not entirely. Some things are obvious: no more aging (but would there be change or growing up?), no cancer, no diabetes, no need for joint

The creation waits in eager  expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Romans 8:19-22)        Energy decreases. Disorder increases. Information is corrupted or lost. Yes, that can describe old age because "old age" is an example of entropy. Want to sound impressive to your friends? The Second Law of Thermodynamics basically says that in a closed system, energy decreases, disorder increases. While I haven't read it specifically, in the process of energy decreasing and disorder increasing, information must be lost. I believe Isaac Asimov was the scientist I heard say that the universe would freeze t

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us . (Romans 8:18)             Suffering has a bad reputation at the moment. Maybe it always has. There are few who want to suffer - not really suffer. I'm no different so I'm not pointing fingers. Suffering stinks. Suffering just because you exist or because you aren't part of the "in" or "PC" crowd is really the pits. Part of the reason for the current bad reputation, I think, is that people don't have good examples for how to suffer. The good examples are out there, but people don't know about them. Instead, our minds are filled with the heroics of those who rise up against suffering and give those who inflicted the suffering a super-sized taste of their own medicine. Karma delivered the victim is the name of the game today, even among some Christians.          We don't learn from history. Christians suffered under Roman rule f

because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory .   (Romans 8:14-17)          My sister and her family are among those who foster dogs. They take in homeless animals that have been found. The help clean them up, teach them what it means to be loved by a person, and how to love people back, and then when a "forever family" is found for them, they say good-bye. I know other people who advocate strongly for adopting shelter animals rather than buying from a pet store or breeder. I understand their thinking against breeders and pet stores, but the way I see it, from the dog's p

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will                                                           live. (Romans 8:10-13)          Imagine seeing on the news that someone has been given a million dollar grant to create a special piece of art. What would you think of that person if he spent the million on lavish parties for his friends involving all that activities that you happen to think are sick, disgusting, depraved and illegal? Would his statement that the money was given to him a

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.   (Romans 8:9)            People believe things without checking into them. When I was in college, someone told me that King James had passages inserted into the Bible that condemned witches (and perhaps others, I don't recall.) I was pretty new to the concept of apologetics at that point and I don't recall saying anything to correct her at the time. I do remember thinking that I should have told her (if I didn't) that the Bible has since been translated from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and that what she claimed were additions were in the earlier manuscripts as well.           Other people have other ideas about changes to Christianity. Some believe that Christ was not divine, and that it took several hundred years for that "myth" to develop. Of cours