Mission Faithwalk

          And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,   quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.   Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.   Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.   They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—   the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:32-38)          

            By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. (Hebrews 11:23)           I can’t help but love Rahab. I suspect I’ll be overwhelmed when I meet her, not because of her former occupation, but because of her personality. In my imagination, she’s a people person. She knew how to seduce, put people at their ease, gain their trust, manipulate them, and lie to them. She was faithful and loving to her family, had the brains to look at what happened with Israel and Egypt mixed it up forty years earlier (very likely before she was born,) and she was smart enough to put it all together and figure out that the only way forward for her and her family was with the Israelites. She got a chance and didn’t lose it through indecision, and she was able to transition between being a Canaanite and being a Jew.             In fact, she found a Jewish guy named Salmon who was willing to marry her (I like to imagine he was one o

           There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)         This was the verse of the day when I opened my Bible app this morning, and I feel led to respond. We’ll get back to the Hall of Faith tomorrow.          There’s a lot of talk about how we should treat one another. We should be kind. We should be inclusive. The list could go on for a long time. Memes are shared of kids of European and African descent playing together, with the message that we are taught to hate. The probably unwitting, probably unintended message of that meme is that there are nasty parents out there who teach their kids to hate, and we should hate them! There are also people whose response would be, “Yes, and that hate is all the fault of toxic White men.” (To which I say, “Um, you clearly learned your lessons well.”)          The reality is that we are all likely to learn to hate just by living. We see

           By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.   He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.   He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. (Hebrews 11:24-28)             The kid in the basket grew up, surrounded by the best and brightest of Egypt. He wasn’t godless, as the Egyptians had many gods, but he would have had little exposure to the idea of God, beyond scoffing references to that part of the descendants of Israel who refused to sacrifice to the gods. What percentage of the Hebrew children worshipped God after four hundred y

          By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (Hebrews 11:23)            Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children be killed. I’ve no doubt that Amram and Jochebed were only one couple among thousands who tried to hide their baby boys. They very likely had talked to people who told of what had worked, what hadn’t, and who had betrayed parents. I wonder how many mothers found ways to put their boys into the care of Egyptians.           Jochebed had chutzpah. I don’t think she put Moses into a basket in the Nile on the day, at the time that she did by coincidence. I’m not even saying that it wasn’t a coincidence because God was in control. I mean that I suspect she knew the Pharaoh’s daughter liked to hang out there, along with her entourage of women, at least some of whom would have been of child-bearing age. Of all the people in Egypt, who better than

          By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.   By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.   By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. (Hebrews 11:20-22)           The author of Hebrews skims over Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph with honorable mentions: three portraits in three verses. In each, one of the patriarchs shows faith through his words. Isaac and Jacob are both described as blessing. The word “blessing” isn’t used for what Joseph says, but he was blessing with with a vision of a positive future after a difficult time.           But do you notice something odd in these verses? In the first sentence, the author of Hebrews says that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. If you remember the story, Esau sells Jacob his birthright, and then Jacob steals the blessing that Isaac was p

          By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19)                        H ow could a good God ask any parent to kill his/her child? In our society, the question seems to be the reverse: how could a good God ask any mother not to kill her child? But in this case, Isaac wasn’t just Abraham’s child. It was the child he and Sarah had spent decades waiting for, the miracle child, the promised child through whom all the other promises would be received. How could a good God promise all that He had promised, and just as the boy was heading into manhood, demand his life? Isn’t that the epitome of cruel jokes?           It’s similar to another cruel j

          All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.   People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.   If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.   Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16)           The author of Hebrews brings the tour to a screeching halt as he swings his arm back to the portraits we’ve passed. Those five folks that he has been praising? At no point in their lives did they get what God had promised. That creates a bit of a problem for the folks who insist, “If you just had enough faith.” And didn’t Jesus say that if we had enough faith, a mountain could be cast into the s

          By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.   And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.   And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. (Hebrews 11:8 – 12)            When we first met Abraham in Genesis, he was living in Ur. God told him to leave his homeland and his people and go where He led him. He promised to give him a great land and the numerous and countless descendants described in today’

          By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. (Hebrews 11:7)           In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. (Genesis 7:11-12)           Ah, our next portrait is of someone we’ve heard about. See all those animals in the background? See the rain and lightning behind them, and the jeering people in the foreground? Yes, it’s Captain Noah. Like so many of the great figures in Judeo-Christian history, we’re told he never existed, that there was no flood. It’s curious. They find evidence of great floods, and there are flood stories in many cultures, spread across the globe, but it’s not possible that the flood rea

          By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11: 5-6)             When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch . . .. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.   Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:18 & 20-24)             Yesterday’s photo was “Mr. Everyone,” or “Mr. Average Joe.” It seems as if his main claim to fame was that he died. Today, we have the opposite. Enoch seems to have be

         By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11:4)           Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.           N ow Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.             Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?   If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, si

          Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.   By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-2)             Let’s continue exploring what faith is. The first verse above tied it to what we believe and hope. The third verse claims faith is the means by which we understand. This extends yesterday’s ideas. A materialist looks at the fossil record, the geological record, and the cosmos and says, “evolution.” A creationist looks at the exact same evidence and says, “creation.” I can completely understand the logical argument for the evolutionary perspective (not the details of the chemistry, physics, and math.) It makes perfect sense of the evidence. I can also completely understand the logical argument for the creationary perspective. It all depends on the presupposition of the believer. If you r

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.   By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-2)             I love these verses, but when people say that they are the definition of faith, I have to shake my head. Faith is assurance? OK, so what’s assurance? Faith is confidence? Of course it is, because confidence is con fideo : “with faith.” And what is hope? Once again, put faith on the table. Give me something to measure - to examine. That’s what the author of Hebrews is going to do through the rest of the chapter. I keep coming back to these issues of definition.           Hope is believing or holding onto the idea that something is going to happen… things are going to be a certain way, someone is going to arrive. It involves preparing for and watching for the desired outcome. We must use the w

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.           You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”   But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. (Hebrews 10:22-39)               We are coming to the heart of the matter. According to the commentarie

           If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.   Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30  For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”   It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26 to 31)           Today’s passage is one of those cited by people who believe that salvation can be lost. Its logic also follows for the person who hears and understands the gospel message and says, “Nope, not for me.” Which ever way yo

          Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood   Jesus, y a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,   and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.   And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ot giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25)             We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.   In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you t

          It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.   For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.   Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.   Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.   Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,   so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:23-28)             Some folks talk ab