Mission Faithwalk

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.   (I Peter 4:1-2)               Two words leap out at me in this passage. The first is "arm." One arms for battle. It takes time. In fact, medieval knights in shining armor had to be helped into said armor. They had to practice maneuvering in it. Even without that armor, when they took up arms, they were picking up weapons with which to fight, and they had to practice in their use. I've thought off and on about the idea of taking up fencing or archery, or even learning to shoot a gun. It might even be fun to learn to throw a knife or otherwise defend myself. Two things stop me: money and effort. I don't really want to do what's necessary to make any of those arms anything other than a hazard to m

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (I Peter 3:18-22)             "OK, Lord, so what am I supposed to say about this ?"   At some point in your life, you've read Scripture and said, "Huh?"   Often, study notes, commentaries or other reference works are helpful in making sense of these texts. The first thing my comme

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (I Peter 3:13-17)               Today's passage generates a couple thoughts. The first deals with the first question. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? Answer: an evil person. Of course, an evil person is going to harm you whether you do good or evil since it is the nature of an evil person to harm others. For those of you who are thinking that an evil person would not harm an evil pe

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”   (I Peter 3:8-12)       Just in case he missed anyone, Peter sums up his teaching on this point. In many ways, what he says fits nicely with my commentary on my word of the day for yesterday: power. Power is not the goal. We're to live in harmony with others, which means working with, not against them. We're to feel with them. We're to love them, be compassionate and humble. We're not s

Book Report: Rime of the Ancient Mariner Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge copyright: 1999 by Bedford/St. Martins, Boston PR4479.A2.F793 1999 Rate: 3        Technically, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is not a book, it's a story-poem about a mariner telling someone the story of his last sea voyage. Coleridge was a Romantic poet and I read the 1798 version so the language was not only poetic, but somewhat antiquated. As a poem it is masterfully written but it seemed to me that the poem swallowed the story. I'm guessing that I was reading the poem, and one does not simply read a poem like this. You need to take time with it - it's a slow dance. There are elements of the story that might make an interesting background for a character, or an interesting plotline.

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (I Peter 3:7)            "Yeah, husbands,..." in the same way that citizens are to submit to their government, and wives are to submit to their husbands, husbands are to be considerate of their wives. "In the same way" means that being considerate of someone is another way of saying being submissive. Considerate is defined as "careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others."   The various forms of "submit" are used thirty five times in the NIV translation of the Bible. The various forms of "consider" are used one hundred thirty four times. Of course, the number of times a term is used isn't necessarily a direct indication of its relative importance but I think the connection is worth considering. The fact tha

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,   when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. (I Peter 3:1-6)               "Oh Lord, do we have to do another passage on wives submitting? I've already said everything I can think to say..." Yes, another passage on wives submitting, but not really. I

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25) One of the justifications people give for doing wrong is the combination of "It makes me happy" and "it doesn't hurt anyone." While I grant that some of the harm sins do is not immediately physically visible and we don't have to rush anyone to the hospital for life-saving treatment,   sin harms. Sin separates people from God, from other people, and from better goods. It lures, coaxes and demands more: more sin, more money, more time, more attention.        But even if none of that were true, even if you could find one sin that actually did no harm to anyone in any way; there is still this reality: sin was the reason Jesus had to die. In some way that we cannot understand, each and ever

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (I Peter 2:21-23)           "What Would Jesus Do?" That is the question raised by the story, "In His Steps," by Charles Sheldon. In the story , the residents of a town decide to ask "What would Jesus do?"   There are many who are sure they know what Jesus would do. Some say that he'd hang out with them, after all, he was a friend to sinners. That means he'd have no problem with whatever they decide to do. Some think that he'd cure sickness, heal the injured, feed the starving and house the homeless. Some, that he would throw corrupt businessmen and politicians out. Some think that he would put all those sel

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. (I Peter 2:16-20)             For some people, this might be my confession of a guilty pleasure. I liked watching the Robocop series. No, I didn't like the crude language or humor. What I liked was the exploration of what it means to be a person. I like the Frankenstein story concept. I even enjoyed the short-lived series Intelligence. They all explore the same idea. That idea came

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,   or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men . (I Peter 2:13-15)           Are you like me? My immediate response to this is, "Yes, but ..." and my excuse is usually some form of "What about when they are wrong?" I'm descended from rebels and revolutionaries. Aren't we all? What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and Daniel, and Esther and Mordecai, and Jesus and the Apostles? And Martin Luther King, Jr.? We have a long track record of exceptions to this rule. The   thing I like to forget as I'm making my list of favorite rebels (real and imagined) is that these that I've just listed weren't exactly victorious, at least not at first glance. Shadrach, Meshach and A

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (I Peter 2:11-12)             Romans accused early Christians of cannibalism, but apparently noticed how much Christians loved one another and that the Christians were willing to die for their beliefs. When plagues ravaged Europe and north Africa, Christians nursed sick and dying pagans, knowing that they might also die as a result. One of the things I love about history is that once you get past the nonsense of names, dates, and place you had to memorize for school tests, history is filled with stories of people and ideas.   If you scratch below the surface of those stories, you often find Christianity at the heart of much of the best and brightest, not only in Europe, but found in higher frequency in &q

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I Peter 2:9-10)               Have you ever thought about working at Disneyworld? Is there some other place that you have thought would be the perfect place to work? I've heard rumors about Disneyworld and what I've heard make a lot of sense. Basically, Disneyworld is involved in the business of childhood fantasy fulfillment, which means that the employees must never do anything that disrupts that pristine image of who those princesses or other beloved characters are - down to their underwear.             I haven't worked for Disney, but I have worked for a retail corporation that was demanding about its employees' behavior. Like Disney, the ide

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. (I Peter 2:7-8)               That Corner Stone that both God and we find precious is the stone those who don't believe trip over then curse because they've skinned their knees and elbows. It's also the rock on which they stand in judgment of others, though they claim otherwise. They claim that they arrive at their ideas of justice from logic, reason, understanding and science. What they forget or ignore is the fact that the mind that created the universe is the same mind that set the rules thereof, so it's only natural that they would arrive at the same conclusions by observing and thinking. They are not the rules one finds by applying their theories of how the w

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, a nd the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (I Peter 2:4-5)             Have you ever played Jenga? Imagine, trying to pull one of the 54 blocks out without toppling the tower. To play it well, you have to pull out the one of the 54 blocks that will not only not cause the tower to topple, but which will cause the next person fail. Sometimes, it seems like people want to play Jenga with the Church. They claim that one doesn't need the Church (or a church) to be a Christian, so they pull themselves out. Often, they take others with them. They don't think it matters. Sometimes, they even try to claim they are right to

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good (I Peter 2:1-3)            Years ago I heard the sage advice that whenever you see "therefore," look back to see what it is there for. This is what obedience and purity look like.           No malice. I hear so many people say, "I love everybody." Then they hear about a pedophile, or rapist; or someone who abuses women...children...animals...; or a terrorist and they sound like the leader of the torch-bearing mob with nothing being enough to slake their thirst for vengeance. No fate is sufficiently terrible for such a monster, they say. And the Bible says, no malice. That means no intention or desire to do evil, no ill will, no hatred. Yes, those people are evil. So were we. True, something needs to be done to preven

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,   but the word of the Lord stands forever.” A nd this is the word that was preached to you . (I Peter 1:22-25)           Do we have to come back to this? Why can't we just all get along?           Oh yes, we have to keep coming back to these essentials. How do we become pure? By obeying the truth. That means submission. Not my will, but God's, even if everything in me screams "I want... I need...I deserve...I demand!" Even if it kills me, not my will but God's. Without this obedience, there is no purity.          How do we love and love deeply? By being p

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God . (I Peter 1:20-21)           Ever feel like bursting into an anthem? These verses deserve one. Think about it. It was all planned before the creation of the world. He would come as proof of God. Because of Him, we can believe in God. Because of the resurrection and ascension, we have evidence, so our faith and our hope in God is well founded.         Atheists have said repeatedly that if God exists, He should manifest Himself to them, and then they'd believe. Usually, they come up with come humiliating requirements for their manifestation. As I recall, one suggested that a fifty foot tall Charlton Heston should appear. I don't recall where the appearance was to be or what it was to do. The other demands are about as silly.        I've asked them what

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (I Peter 1:17-19)               Stranger. Yes, I understand what it's like to be a stranger. I am an introvert in a society that considers extroverts normal, a thinker among a bunch of feelers, and   person who likes black and white in a nation that seems to see everything in ten zillion shades of gray. I grew up as a white, Republican, Protestant egg-head in a blue-collar, Democratic, Catholic neighborhood. I'm not saying the kids here weren't intelligent, but   looking back, it seems most of the rest were more practical. I lived in my head   Being a stranger means never quite fitting in, being different, learning

  Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (I Peter 1:13-16) "Ready." Prepare your minds for action. Focus your attention on the finish line. "Set." Put yourself in position. Be self-controlled. "Go." Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Here's some of that hope I was talking about earlier. When we race, we don't race with the idea in mind that winning is up to us. It's a race we can't win by ourselves. But when we run out of stamina, when we trip and fall and can't get up again, Jesus takes the baton and finishes the race while the Holy Spirit picks us up, dusts us off, puts bandages whe

                   Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,   trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. (I Peter 1:8-12)               Yesterday, I wrote about our lives being stories, and stories are only interesting if they involve struggles and trials. Another element found

...and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,   who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.   These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.   (I Peter 1:4-7)        How would you like to hear a story in which the hero gets up in the morning with a good attitude, goes through a perfectly lovely day in which he accomplishes all he wishes without difficulty and goes to bed, and lived happily ever after?    It's much more interesting to read a story about a poor girl who leaves her poor aunt to go live with a rich cousin. The rich aunt and uncle leave the cousins in the care of another cous

  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (I Peter 1:3)               Remember your excitement when you were young, in the days leading up to Christmas or your birthday? You just knew you were going to get presents. There may have been some specific presents you had in mind, but you knew. You knew you would get something and that knowledge made you excited. That excitement was a manifestation of hope. To some people, hope involves the specific presents only. Even if you had nothing specific that you wanted, you still anticipated opening those presents. Some of us couldn't even stand the anticipation - that's how snoops are born. (Guilty!)             Why is it that we there were hints or even promises made: "Maybe Santa will give you that for Christmas," or "Your birthday is coming...." Sometimes, we heard abou

                Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon ) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.   The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.             But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their hands to

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. (Judges 6:36-40)          Gideon took action that wasn't popular. He obeyed God, which got Israel in trouble with the Midianites. The acclaim he might have expected didn't materialize. You've probably been there. It seems impossible to obey God today without being attacked, even by people who call themselves Christi

            The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”                 “But Lord,’” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”                  The LORD answered, “I will be with you , and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”   (Judges 6:14-16)               The least of the least. God seems to have a habit of choosing the least of the least. The "wrong" son. The "wrong" son again. The "wrong" son a third time. A slave child adopted, who grows up with anger-management issues. A woman to serve as judge and prophet, who'd have thought? Another "wrong" son who started out a shepherd and ended up a king. Much later, a very "wrong" son who saved us from our sin. But today, the least (youngest?) of a family - another wrong son from a clan that was the weakest.