Mission Faithwalk

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18 NASB)           Those who like the song "Imagine" would probably read this passage and say, "Yes, exactly, those who aren't caught up in a religious delusion are free ." They make two mistakes. The first is that the freedom they're describing is like being on a raft in the middle of the ocean. There is no way to make the raft go in any direction: no sail, no rudder, no oars. The second is that their vision is lawless and that no law is needed. The song demands that you put aside religion, love of country and connection to anything that is not part of its utopian ideal.          The reality is that we all have a worldview. We may not be able to put it into words, but we all have beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality, where we came from; what happened that causes us to not be as we susp...

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (I Corinthians 12:4-7)             "A gift? For me? Ah, You shouldn't have." You're right, God shouldn't have given me a gift for me, and He didn't. He gave me a gift for us, perhaps more than one. It's so human to want gifts from God for our own good, or even for our own pleasure or glory. I often want to be stronger or wiser, in order to put a "so-and-so" in his place. I want the gift of prophecy or teaching so I can say, "I told you so!" Of course, I don't particularly want the response most of the prophets got. Even the gifts of giving, hospitality or service would be nice, if I could become known for them.        ...

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)             Whenever I read this verse, I think, "Ouch!" Sharpening means that rough edges are smoothed away and dullness is honed by rubbing. Sharpening is part of the care and maintenance of the edged tool because a sharp tool does what it is designed to do better than a nicked, dull one.        This is one of the reasons we need to be part of a Christian community, and also part of the wider community. It sharpens us. It makes us better able to do what we were designed to do. This is also the reason why the more difficult, challenging relationships are actually the source of greater blessings. By difficult and challenging, I don't mean abusive or toxic, but that they demand our best. Sometimes, these are our closest relationships as well.    When we feel like we're being rubbed the wrong way, or ground down t...

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody (I Thessalonians 4:11-12)             In our age of desperate attention-seeking, overloaded with selfies and status updates, it's a bit of a challenge to consider living a quiet life that wins respect. This might be partly because in our society, there is so little consensus about what quiet person is like, or what is worthy of respect. I value being quiet, but I'm not usually either afraid or reluctant to speak my mind. I want to be invisible, but I feel driven to express what I believe to be truth. As I read through Paul's letters, I find myself concluding that I'm a third rate Paul (OK, I'm not sure I'd rank as high as a third rate.)             I'...

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (I Thessalonians 5:15).       But...she started it...he deserved it...they're evil...you made me angry. We have a lot of ways to justify getting back at someone, or making them pay. We often claim we are seeking justice. Today's Scripture not only tells us it is wrong for us to do this, but it's wrong for us to stand by and let one another (each other) do it.       This doesn't suggest that there should be no consequences for wrong doing. It demands that those consequences do not involve our doing wrong as well. As the old saying goes, two wrongs do not make a right. The rule applies not only to our "one anothers" but to everyone else as well. We are to make sure not only that we do not do this as individuals, but that those around us do not.       This goes against human nature, of course. Everyt...

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (Colossians 4:5)               Having spent some time looking at how we are to treat one another within a community, it seems appropriate to consider how to treat the "not one anothers" we encounter. The first key for me is to acknowledge that different   people warm up to both one anothers and "not one anothers" at different rates. There are a few people that I hit it off with quickly. Most take time, and when it comes to whole groups, that time may be a couple years. I have friends who seem to make instant friends with everyone. You probably know to which category you belong and I believe it's wise to work within that understanding.             For some, being wise toward outsiders (the not one anothers) seems to mean to be street smart, to protect themselves so that they are no...

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling . (I Peter 4:9)             This is one of the subjects I knew I'd face when talking about how we're to treat one another: Hospitality. Ugh. Making people feel at home in my home, my life, my chaos. It's not neat. It's not pretty. It's not even as clean as it should be. It's better and worse than it used to be. Dad is more uncomfortable around people, especially strangers, than he used to be, but at least now when the dog jumps on you, it's aggressively friendliness. I don't grumble about offering hospitality, I cringe and hide so that no one asks.          As I think about hospitality, Mary, Martha and Lazarus come to mind. You probably know the story. Jesus and His disciples showed up, Martha got overwhelmed with the hostess responsibilities and complained to Jesus (why not Lazarus?) about Mary not helping and got chided for having her f...

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)             Unless you've been hiding for the past several months, you are aware that we are in a campaign season. It seems that everywhere you go, people are telling you for whom you should vote (though their reasons why are often missing or poorly argued.) Most campaigns have a symbol or a slogan. Campaigns change the way people talk to one another, for the better and the worse. As an employee of a woman whose husband was a politician, I could tell when he was campaigning. He didn't simply ask for his wife, he took 30 seconds to talk to me. A lot of time, energy and money goes into political campaigns. Even more money tends to go into military campaigns. Decisions are made about how to use resources that could change the world.            While we may not wish to be quite as aggressive...

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.( Hebrews 3:13)           If you spend time on social media, chances are good that you will have read or heard someone who claims to be a Christian talking about how doomed America is, and how much we need to take up our guns and get ready to take this country back.. That is the draw of any candidate who talks of "making America great." This is the subtle voice of deceitful arrogance. Those who want to force America to its knees are no better. It is the same sin that Israel committed, claiming its blessing was its own doing.              Another passage in Hebrews comes to mind: Hebrews 11. The author lists a number of heroes of the Old Testament who performed mighty deeds. He also wrote of unnamed heroes: "Others were tortured and refused to be released, so t...

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (I Thessalonians 5:11) "God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform...."   William Cowper.             "Encourage" is one of those marvelous words that just begs to be taken apart. The first two letters mean "in" of course, so to encourage means to put courage in. Ah, but the "courage" part has a secret, too. The "cour" part comes from a Latin term meaning "heart." The heart only recently became associated with sentiment. For most of recorded history, it was the home of the will. The word comfort is like it, meaning "with strength" rather than "there, there. it'll be OK."             For some, encouragement is cheerleading, "YOU (pompom rustle) CAN (pompom rustle), DO (pompom rustle) IT! (Jump, twirl, pompom shakes with lots more jumping thrown in.) There is a time and...

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you .(Colossians 3:13)             "Churches provide an important incubator for civic skills, civic norms, and civic recruitment. Religiously active men and women learn to give speeches, run meetings, manage disagreements , and bear administrative responsibility." (Putnam, Robert D. , Bowling Alone, , p. 66, emphasis mine)             Somewhere, in that part of our brains that believes in talking mice and knights in shining armor defeating fire-breathing dragons, we have this notion of "happily ever after." Sometimes, it sneaks out of Cinderella and settles down for tea with us and soon, it and reality begin to argue, very politely, of course. The venom is all in the subtext. We join in, not quite sure of what's being said, but convinced that "this isn't th...

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16)             As I think about music and community is that music is one of the things that can either bring a community together or divide it. If it is too loud or dominant, it isolates; it reduces participation. If it is too quiet, other things distract. I have found that when the worship singers cannot be heard clearly, people in the congregation don't sing. When they do sing, they sing only as loudly as the singers lead them to sing. If the instrumentalists drown them out, the congregation tends to watch the performance.   Sometimes, we hear that worship is "for an audience of One." Paul sugges...

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you   (Ephesians 4:32) Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)             After spending yesterday writing about people and communities needing a mechanism for receiving and giving forgiveness, it seems reasonable to consider what that forgiveness might look like. Yesterday's passage said our forgiving of one another is to be "just as in Christ God forgave you." Today's says to forgive "as the Lord forgave you."   The answer to what forgiveness "as the Lord forgave you" looks like could fill books. Here are a couple to for your meditation:             God forgave you from the before the beginning of the world, knowing what you were going to do. He allowed you to do it. We ma...

       More than a month ago, I attended a talk about one of Shakespeare's plays at the Blasco Library. The coordinators talked about needing programming at the library without cost to the library. I suspect that's when I handed my card to one of the coordinators, explaining that I would be more than happy to put together a program. I think my idea was that if they had an idea, I could do the research and give the program. Maybe I had an idea for a program at the time. If I did, I promptly forgot both the idea and the offer.          Yesterday, my voice mail included a call from the library, offering to gladly take me up on the offer for a program. This afternoon I talked to one of the coordinators. I explained that I didn't have a formal program put together on any topic. They aren't looking for a formal program, at least not formal in the sense that I mean. They don't care that I'm not a university chair with 30 ye...

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you   (Ephesians 4:32)             All of these "one another" passages are being considered as part of an exploration of the idea of community. Today's passages focuses on forgiveness, and it's a topic that will cover several days. Have you ever thought about what a community would be like in which there was no forgiveness? This could take two forms.             The first and most obvious society is the one that rejects, exiles or kills anyone who does anything wrong. No second chances allowed. The list of wrongs might be short or long, but the moment anyone breaks one of those laws, punishment is assured and not open to discussion. The second may be a nothing more than a variation on the first. It is the society in which there is no forgiveness because there are no rules. No...

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2)           We all have them, those people whom we find it difficult to be around, let alone love. They're boring. They're pushy. They're so needy they suck the life right out of you. They think they're great, or rich, or beautiful, or cool, or intelligent, or.... For you, they are high maintenance people. Today's passage doesn't tell us to enjoy these people. It tells us something much harder. In fact, what it tells us is so hard that it would probably be easier to find something about these people that you can enjoy. We are to be completely humble - not just somewhat, and completely gentle. We're to be patient. We're to bear with one another with love even if we don't like being around them. If our bearing with is grudging, it's not humble, and may not be gentle or patient. Certainly it's not loving. In fact, Jesus told His disciples to go two m...

Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls . (Luke 11:17 b)         Over the weekend, a Muslim terrorist murdered at least 50 people in Orlando, and another was prevented from attacking a Pride event in Los Angeles. Recently, shoppers in Tel Aviv were attacked, and a rape trial ended in a sentence that has enraged Americans. It seems as if the world is overcome with senseless violence and the solutions to it seem to be just as violent.        The call for us to all live in harmony is by its nature reductionist. Their idea is correct. For there to be peace, we must all submit ourselves to the greater whole. The problem is that the greater wholes in question are by their nature divisive. The assumption is that no thinking person could disagree with the result (peace) and therefore not willingly pay the price by submitting to its dictates. What does one do with those who ...

 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  (Galatians 5:13)             Being a servant is hard work, even when the labor involved isn't difficult. Somehow, service is always needed when you're in the middle of something else. That thing you're doing may be vitally important or it may be trivial, but with uncanny accuracy, the call to serve is made when it is least convenient to answer.             Not only is the call to serve often inconvenient, it is also often unglamorous, Face it, most of the work that needs to be done in someone's life, or in the world as a whole is more likely to be on the show Dirty Jobs than it is on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Servants were the lowest of the low, slaves or one step up from slaves.       ...

  I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)               There are two sides to every coin. Today's passage makes it clear that imperfect members of an imperfect church can and should instruct one another. The first side of the coin is the instructors. People can be unthinkingly cruel. They can be arrogant and bigoted. Members of the Church should learn to deal with one another according to Biblical principles (including Matthew 18:15-18,) making sure that there is no plank in their own eyes as they deal with specks in their brothers'   but the point is that members in the Church are supposed to instruct on another. If we do not, we are disobeying God's design for the Church.             The other side of the coin is the person receiving the in...

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:7)           Let me tell you: I don't feel accepted. If you have a couple hours, I could regale you with tales of how I've been rejected. In fact, I'm so sure you're going to reject me that when we first met,   I probably treated you to my "Freak Show," giving you my lifetime of unacceptability so you walked away then, rather than waiting a few years before deciding I'm a monster. Oh? You have your own horror stories?             What makes a person feel accepted? As I ponder this question, I'm trying to think of the times I have felt accepted. It doesn't seem to me that should be so difficult, because there haven't been all that many times. At least, that's what my ego tells me. I learned a long time ago that my memory isn't accurate with regard to positive matters of my past. I te...

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.( Romans 13:8)               For most people, the idea of being in debt is just a part of life, another of the many stresses they face. But, love as a debt owed to someone? We like to think that our love is a gift to be given, or something someone else produces in us that flows from us naturally, or even something someone must earn. Maybe....maybe we owe our parents love. Look at all they do for us and if they didn't do all those things, maybe we don't owe them. Maybe we owe our spouses love. Most of the time that's one of the promises we make when we get married. Maybe our kids. If we don't owe them love, at least we hope we're making a good investment in them by loving them. At a stretch, there may be some other family members to whom we owe love as a repayment for the love they have give...

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. (Romans 14:13)                "If you love the Lord, you'll share..." or "Share if you are not ashamed of Jesus...."             "How can you not raise your hands in worship?"             Then there are   the various holidays and the greetings to which we'll respond appropriately if we're really Christians. The   seemingly unending list of things you must do and must not do to prove you are a good Christian changes constantly.           When Paul wrote the letter to Romans the debates were already raging. Some thought eating food used in sacrifices to idols was worshipping the gods or goddesses to which i...

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10)           "Don't call me. Don't text me. Don't drop by. If you live with me, speak right now because in 10 minutes my show is coming on and no one, I repeat no one, is to disturb me for the duration of the show on pain of death! "             "The Sunday evening service is cancelled so people can watch the Superbowl."           "I'm sorry, I can't work that shift. It's my mother's birthday and we always take her out to dinner."          All three statements provide evidence of devotion and honor. I've actually heard the first two. Imagine loving a tv show more than family and friends. People taking a back seat to your "relationship" with and enjoyment of something entirely imaginary. Even worse, ima...