Mission Faithwalk

They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”           To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.   The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives t

          For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.   But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God . (John 3:16-21)           There’s good news! God loved the world enough to send His Son! Eternal life is possible! God didn’t send His Son to condemn the world! We can all sit back with a sigh o

     Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”           Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”           “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”           Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’   The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”           “How can this

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people seeling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!? The disciples remembered that it is written, "Zeal for your house will consumer me."            The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”           Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”           They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples r

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.   When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”           “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”           His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”           Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.           Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water” ; so they filled them to the brim.           Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”           They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside   and said, “Everyone brings out the choic

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”           Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”           “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.           Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”           T hen Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”           Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”   He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and

        The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.   When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!"           When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.   Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”           They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”        “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”           So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.          Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter.) (John 1:35-42)           Wait a minute! Where’s the sea shore?

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!   This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”          Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:29-34)   One day, more than a month before this passage took place, as John was doing his hair-shirt, fire-and-brimstone preaching bit and seeing lots of people repenting and being baptized, he saw a familiar face. As Jesus stood before him, waiting to be baptized, John knew that Je

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”           They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”           He said, “I am not.”           “Are you the Prophet?”          He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”   This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was b

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.   (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)   Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.   For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:14-18)           What does God look like? There’s a story of a little boy who told his mother that he was drawing God. The mother said, “No one knows what God looks like.”           “When I’m done, they will,” the boy replied.          After church yesterday, a few of us were talking about this. One loves a picture of Jesus with his head thrown

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. H e came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.   He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.   The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.   Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—   children born not of natural descent, nor of human or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:6-13) There are some who believe that neither Jesus nor his immediate disciples believed that Jesus was and is God. Self-proclaimed “Higher Critics” claim that the Bible was “manufactured” in the Third or Fourth Century A.D., written by men who wanted to protect the idea of Pater familiaris and otherwise cement their o

  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)             In the beginning…. This is more than just a “once up a time” adverbial clause. The Word was not only present, the Word was active, involved. Neither is “with God” merely a statement of location. It is also a statement of agreement. That the Word was (and is) God is also not romantic fluff. Our words are how we cause, the expression of our selves. To the extent that our words match who we are, we have integrity. To the extent that they don’t, we are liars. God has integrity. He and His Word are one.           Through the Word, all things were made. Remember? In Genesis it says, “and God said, ‘Let there be…’” And there was

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)         I’m reading No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted . It deals with caring for people with dementia from a spiritual perspective. The first thing they deal with is something I’ve noticed in the on-line support group and in myself: guilt and resentment. Family caregivers struggle with these responses. They feel guilty because they can’t fix things or do enough. They resent their friends and relatives for not stepping in and helping enough and for not appreciating their sacrifices. They resent their charges for their neediness, inconsideration, lack of appreciation, and (sometimes) down-right nastiness. They hate the medical community for its slowness and ineffectiveness. Caregivers face a lot of temptation. That includes long-distance ca

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:14-16)           Oh, I have to laugh. Yesterday, I wrote about grumbling. Today, the passage of the day on BibleGateway.com is the one above. Do you think, perhaps, that God wants to get through to me about grumbling? Last night when I came home from doing laundry, my laptop tumbled from my car. I can’t get the electric cord to plug in, which means my computer will only last as long as my battery. I just got it last September. I’m hoping I can get it repaired quickly and without a lot of expense. When I got up this morning, the dog wanted to go out and Dad woke up. That meant taking care of his vitals. His blood sugar was low. His temp

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” (Exodus 15:22-24)           I don’t know what Bible verse to pick today, so I’m going to try this in reverse. I’ll write whatever seems to come to mind and see if it triggers. This morning is a morning when I don’t want to be angry, but I’d sure like to have the energy and determination that anger seems to provide. It’s a morning when I would like a knight in shining armor to come along and – well, perhaps not make everything better, but at least make some things better. It’s a morning for peevish whining, not because I’m in any particular pain, but just because. …and just like that, the passage shows up.           Israel passed through the Red Sea

  To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)           “I want the truth”           “You can’t handle the truth.”          Remember the scene? I didn’t see the movie, but I do. Even if I didn’t remember it, it plays out in my life on a regular basis. I tell dad something and he says, “You may believe that’s what happened but that doesn’t make it true.” Somehow, he doesn’t enjoy hearing it as much as he enjoys saying it. Ask him what happened, and he admits he doesn’t remember, but that wasn’t it. That’s the sadness of dementia.          Our society has the same disease. In some ways, it’s part of the human condition. We all want to believe we have the truth, we know the truth, we tell the truth… but the reality may not be quite that straightforward.           Jesus told us the conditions under which we would know the truth. We must hol

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (I John 4:20-21)           Is there anyone harder to love than a brother or sister? I’m not slamming my family here. I think the answer may be “yes.” It may be harder to love a spouse. For me, it’s harder to love my father. When this was written, “brother and sister” would have been used to refer to other Christians, particularly those with whom one interacted regularly, and those on whom one’s life might depend.          The principle is simple. Those close are difficult to love because they place more demands. They’re harder to ignore. It easy to love someone if “love” means sending a small check every now and again, or smiling at someone who pleases us. It’s more difficult when they know exactly what to