Mission Faithwalk

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end, he will stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)           We don’t know when Job was written, or by whom. There are indications that place it around the time of Abraham, somewhere around 2000 BC. Some people suggest that it was written around the time of Solomon, roughly 1000 BC. Still, others place it about the time of Daniel, about 600 BC. He is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel (14:14) where God tells Ezekiel that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in a sinful land, they, not the sinning people, would be spared. For me, the fact that there is no mention of the Jews or anything specifically Jewish suggests the earliest date. We know that there were God-followers other than Abraham at that time, because Melchizedek, the king of Salem was a priest of God that Abraham met.           The reason all of this is important is that, at least to the best of my knowledge, the prophecies about a redeemer standing on the earth came later. This brin

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)           What do you do when you worry? Mr. Lucado talks about “What if?” That’s a big part of worrying. For me, the second part is repetition… the gerbil wheel. I’ve heard it said that dogs worry a bone. They chew on it. They may wander away, but they come right back and chew on it some more. Since I don’t chew bones, I liken it to chewing on my tongue or my lip. Tongues are handier because people might not notice.           So what do you do when you think about, or meditate on something? Don’t you examine it this way and that? You might take a break, but don’t you go back to it? The picture given for meditation is cows chewing grass, swallowing it, throwing it up into their mouths to chew on it again, and swallowing. (One, two, three, ew.) Sound f

          Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.   And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.   Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.                 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their  lands.   They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19:14-19)           After celebrating God and asking Him for help, the next step in Mr. Lucado’s prescription for anxiety is to leave our concerns with God.

             You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures . (James 4:2-3)               What prevents you from rejoicing in the Lord always? (Max Lucado, Anxious for Nothing Study Guide , p. 27)               In my reading for the day, Mr. Lucado challenged me to take a few minutes to contemplate the answer to his question. What’s your answer? I don’t want to put my words in your mouth. It seems to me, however, that they most obvious answer is that selfishness keeps me from rejoicing in Him. How can I rejoice when I am lacking this or that? How can I rejoice when He hasn’t delivered what I wanted? How can anyone rejoice in Him when the world is so messed up? Or when our lives are so much less than we ever thought they would be?             As I w

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.   Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.   That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong . (II Corinthians 12:7b-10)                  Part of the homework for the Anxious for Nothing study involves some analysis. We were asked to look at a psalm, underline all the characteristics of God we found in it, and identify which attribute we have the hardest time trusting. My answer was that I find it difficult to trust His graciousness. When I am feeling anxious, it tends to seem to me that I am the exception. He is gracious to everyone els

                When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. (Psalm 56:3)                         “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.   Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?   So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these thin

It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” (Romans 14:11)                 I suspect that there are those who look forward to this not in order to bow their own knee or give their own acknowledgment, but in order to savor the humiliation of those who refused to bow the knee to them or to acknowledge what they wanted to hear. I’m not so sure that God is going to glare at them from the throne and say, “You…will…bow…the…knee…. You… will… acknowledge….ME,” through clenched teeth and use His almighty will to force them to their knees. I don’t think the exertion on His part will be needed.  I believe that even a congenial encounter with God will be enough to drive us to our knees. If our response to angels requires angels to say, "Fear not" encountering God is, I suspect, several orders of magnitude more impressive. Of course, I readily admit that His omnipotence would not require exertion. The me

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20) 21% oxygen level on Earth is perfect for life Gravitational force is perfect for life  Distance from the sun is perfect for life (Goldilocks zone) The expansion rate of the universe is perfect for life The thickness of the Earth’s crust is just right for life The axial tilt of the Earth offers the best conditions for life The Speed of light is proper for life Strong nuclear force holds atoms together  The d istance between the stars allows for life to exist The cosmological constant is minutely right for matter to exist Earth has the right amount of seismic activity to allow life to exist Position of Jupiter protects life on Earth The balance of strong and weak nuclear forces allows life in only a very narrow range, and the balance in our universe is exactly

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?   (Romans 8:35) This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” (John 18:9)           Years ago, my response to Romans 8:35 was “Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword can’t separate me from God’s love … but I can. I mean, if you knew how pathetic I am….   That was my thinking. Of course, that wasn’t clear thinking on my part. One of Jesus’ disciples denied Jesus three times after trying to hack a guy’s head off to protect Jesus. Two others wanted to pull a Sodom-and-Gomorrah-style judgment on a couple of towns that w

Create in me a pure heart, O God,     and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence     or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation     and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51: 10-12)             Christ is Risen!                 He is risen indeed!                 Hallelujah!         That’s how we’re supposed to respond. Easter should be a thousand times more joyous to us than Christmas, and ten thousand times more exciting than Mardi Gras. And as usual, as I contemplate what to say on this wonderful, glorious, joyous, awesome, victorious birthday of all Christians, resurrection celebration in honor of our risen Lord and Savior, both God and man, Jesus Christ!                 I’m reading a pair of very similar books about how we express and experience our love for God. I know people who are better at mixing it up than I am. Some people go somewhere to watch the sunrise. Generally speaking, I’d rather t

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive . (I Corinthians 15:20-22)           This is one of those passages that bothers people. How is it fair that death should come through one man? Just because Adam and Eve at of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil doesn’t mean that you or I would have…except for the fact that we have each sinned. We may not think it’s right that we have inherited a sinful nature any more than we think it’s right that we’ve inherited a love of sweets, or boring brown hair, or a likely diagnosis of cancer or Alzheimer’s.   That doesn’t change the reality that we have inherited these things. Complaining that if we had been there, we would not have made the mistake Adam and Eve did seems to me to be a contemptuous and arrogant claim, which

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)           This passage has been a minor irritation for years. My reaction has always been, “talk is cheap.” Anyone can say “Jesus is Lord,” and not really mean it. Granted, it follows with believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. That doesn’t make it any more difficult or significant to say, “Jesus is Lord.”           Granted, back in Paul’s time, saying, “Jesus is Lord” mattered. Christians were persecuted and killed. But for most of my life, saying, “Jesus is Lord” got one labeled a boring Goody Two Shoes.            This morning as I read this passage, it makes more sense. Today, claiming that Jesus is Lord gets you labeled as being evil. People around the world are dying because they

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)           You’ve seen them: the goblet that is also two people’s faces, the old woman who is a young woman if looked at just so. Optical illusions. The latter are especially fun because once you see the picture one way, it may be almost impossible to see it the other way. If you can switch between them, that moment when you first do so produces an “A Ha!” moment. Before that moment comes, you may be willing to stake your life on the fact that the picture is absolutely, positively the way you see it.        The universe has some optical illusions, too. If you look at it one way, it certainly looks as though evolution is true. But if you look at the same picture a little differently, it’s clear that chance could not have been involved. The universe was clearly the product of a creative being. That’s why the “Look around!” answer to

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8) There he sits inside your local coffee shop Sporting a man bun and facial hair Somehow he believes although he has no job That by his 30s he will be a millionaire M-I-L L-E-N N-I-A L Gotta love millennials (Repeat Chorus) She posts lots of selfies on her Instagram With a quote that's inspirational Hopes to change the world while wearing yoga pants Armed with her dreams and knowledge of essential oils (Chorus 2X) 27 years old trying to make it on their own Maybe start by leaving your parents' home But maybe we're just wrong, hahahaha Criticism isn't easy for their ears They feel like they know most everything See they grew up with undeserved confidence 'Cause they got trophies just for participating (Chorus 2X) In a couple of years, we will have to pass the torch In a couple of years, they will be in charge And one w

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind ; nothing was gained under the sun . (Ecclesiastes 2:11)           Simplify by Bill Hybels is a good book to read if you’re feeling like you need a life. He writes about five keys to filling your bucket (soul, heart): (re)connecting with God, (re)connecting with family, doing the right work, re-creation, and exercise. Now at the end of the book, he writes about satisfaction. It’s not only important to figure out what satisfies and what doesn’t, but why those things do or don’t satisfy. Does it not satisfy because it’s too easy? Does it not satisfy because I have unrealistic and/or perfectionistic ideas? Does it fail to satisfy because there is something inherent in the activity that leads to dissatisfaction?           He lists several filters he uses to evaluate the opportunities that come his way: Will it bring true satisfaction? Does it alig

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined (Genesis 39:20)           In today’s reading in Living With Your Dreams , Dr. Seamands deals with Joseph’s imprisonment as the result of lies told to the captain of the pharaoh’s guard by the captain’s wife. He spends some time dealing with the various sorts of non-physical dungeons we face: dungeons of darkness, disappointment, and delay.           In the midst of his discussion of dungeons of darkness, he points out that while there was darkness all around Joseph, he didn’t allow the darkness to dwell in his heart. That may be some hagiography, painting of Joseph to be stronger than he actually was. Scripture doesn’t tell us that Joseph was always upbeat, a Pollyanna in prison. But he was different. He turned from his own problems to tend to the needs and problems of others, and the prison official noticed and used it to his benefit and the benefit of everyone there. If Joseph

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)             Today’s reading in Living With Your Dreams dealt with sexual purity and what to do if you haven’t maintained it. A day or so ago, one of my writer friends posted a list of beliefs held by her church that she seemed to think ridiculous – a number had to do with limiting clothing options and keeping men and women at least six inches apart.              The point today isn’t really about sexual purity. It’s about purity. The first point is that purity does not mean abstinence for the rest of one’s life. It means self-control until the right conditions are met. Biblically, the right conditions for sex focus on marriage. There are right conditions for m

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it . (Luke 9:23-24)           Picking up on my discussion from yesterday, in today’s passage, Jesus tells us again that if we want to be His disciples, we must deny ourselves and at least be willing to lose our lives. How would you describe living “the life”? For me, it usually involves not having to worry about resources, whether treasure, time, or talent. Another aspect that I would include is progress. You’re living the life if you’re headed in a good direction, getting things done.           Jesus preached that if our eyes or hands cause us to sin, we would do better to cut them out or off than to keep them and lose heaven.            Abram left home and most of his family in Ur to live in tents in a foreign land that had been promised to him. Joseph was th

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (I Peter 2:24)           There are two aspects of this that I want to discuss. The first if the idea that we are supposed to die to sins and live for righteousness. People like to ask (with hostility in their voices) if you can’t be a _________ (name your favorite hated sin) and be a Christian. The answer is “No, you can’t be a _______” and be a Christian. One or the other has to die. Jesus didn’t die so we could go on doing the things that required that He come here to die.            That being said, some people die in horrible car wrecks or terrorist attacks, (nearly) instantaneously killed. Other people die over the course of years. Some battles with sin are over in the blink of an eye. Others require a lifetime of struggle. The same goes for living for righteousness. Sometimes, there is a massive change in a person’s life. More

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)           I’ve started re-reading Living With Your Dreams by David Seamands. It’s a difficult book for me to read because it has seemed to me for a long time that my dreams … well, let’s put it as bluntly as the lie that I believed. It has seemed to me that if I dreamed of it, that it was the last thing God could allow to happen. It wasn’t that God is mean, it was that there was something very wrong with me, something that made it impossible for me to do anything other than ruin everything I touched. If He’d given me my dreams, I’d have ruined them.            And the reality is that we do tend to ruin our dreams. If we’re wise, we ruin them in little ways. If we’re foolish, we ruin them spectacularly. I can’t help but think of the celebrities who have committed suicide. I know mental illness is often involved, but I suspect there is also disappointment that the dream

There is no fear in love . But perfect love drives out fear , because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fear s is not made perfect in love . (I John 4:18)           Today’s chapter of Simplify by Bill Hybels was about fear. Fear is one of the big enemies. It’s one of the reasons I’m trying to move slowly, but also move quickly, but it’s not the fear itself that’s causing the problem. Or, maybe the better way to put it is that it’s the fear of fear that’s motivating me. Fears can work on so many levels. I am afraid to make mistakes. I know that one shouldn’t make decisions when one is too…too tired, too hungry, too upset, too angry, too afraid…. I also know I’ve gone from one enormous stressor (caring for a family member) to several: death in the family, change of financial circumstances, moving, loss of job, and probably a few others.            I also know that I’m given to an extreme. Make a change – even a small change – in my part of my life, and my knee-jerk r

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 suspect I’m repeating myself, but this morning I find myself back to the issue of truth. I’ve finished reading Waking The Dead and I am trying to apply some of what I’ve learned. The problem is, it requires that I separate truth from lies, and feelings from reality. It requires that I integrate heart, mind, spirit, body, and guts (emotions.) It requires that I stop agreeing with the lies that I’ve been told. Some of those, I’ve accepted for decades.           When I came home, I knew it would be a summer for transition. I knew there was going to be internal work that needed to be done, but I don’t think I understood how much.           Over the past several years, I’ve been hearing from others how this group or that person, because they feel ____________, must be treated as being ___

                He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17  and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:   “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me     to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners     and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”            Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21)           Yesterday's chapter of Waking the Dead has to do with freedom. Today, while watching a video that was filmed in Israel, I found myself thinking, “I think I’d like to go there.” Now, I don’t know if

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. (Matthew 10:29)           I’ve been sitting at my desk wondering what to write about for tomorrow’s blog and watching House Sparrows coming and going from the bird feeder. I put the desk where it is so I could look out on my butterfly garden and bird feeder, but most of the time, what comes to the feeder are the House Sparrows. Little brown birds. I tend to call them flying pigs. I try to mean it affectionately, but sometimes, they’re really just little flying pigs. I often wish I had more interesting birds at my feeder. Buntings, Waxwings, Grosbeaks, or Orioles would be nice. It’s rather sad when a Cowbird generates excitement. I mean, House Sparrows are an invasive species!            Not so long ago, I described myself to someone as a House Sparrow – a boring little brown bird. Back in the first century, they were sold two for a penny. I tried to do research on the c