Mission Faithwalk

  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, (Ephesians 2:19) If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.   If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.   If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’   then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. (Exodus 21:2-6)   In ancient times, slaves were considered members of one’s household, especially if that slave was of one’s extended family and Jews, as descendants of Abraham, w

  These are the names of David’s  mighty  warriors: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred  men , whom he killed in one encounter. (II Samuel 23:8)                 Who are your heroes? This question comes to mind because of recent and not-so-recent events. When I was growing up, my heroes included Batman, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Tarzan, Zorro, Steve Austin, Sherlock Holmes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. I went through a Marvel phase, with Wolverine at the top of the list. Later, Dr. Who, Robert McCall, Percival Blakeney, and Aragorn spent some time on my list. The thing you’ll most note from this list is that none of them exist. In my last job, people were proclaimed to be heroes and superheroes because they successfully solicited credit applications or convinced people to give them perfect scores on surveys. Not surprisingly, I hated the gross misuse of the term. But it led me to an important question: What makes a her

  Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)           Remember the story of Frankenstein? The doctor of the story stitched together corpses and re-animated the composite person. There are other similar stories, a pianist whose hands are irrevocably damaged in an accident receives the hands of an executed murderer and finds himself continuing the homicidal rampage. The stories are scientifically off base, but they frighten us anyway. Why? Because there is a sense in which they’re true.           When you visit a website, listen to a lecture, take a class, read a book or do anything else that involves ideas and information. The uproar over Black Lives Matters is a great example. Who would not want to be associated with a group that stands against unjust treatment of people of color? But if you read their mission statement, that’s only a small part of what they hope to achieve, and the philosophical f

            You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3) “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,”  he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward   Jesus.     But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  “You of little faith,”  he said,  “why did you doubt?”       And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.   Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:28-32)             The dumbest things can throw a person off. When I came home this spring, one of my big areas of personal prayer was for my garden. And some things have done well (lettuce, oregano, parsley) but many things haven’t (spinach, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, zucchini, turnips, beets, peppers, kale…) Over the

  And the God of all grace, who called  you  to his eternal glory in Christ,  after   you   have   suffered  a little while, will himself restore  you  and make  you  strong, firm and steadfast. (I Petr 5:10)   “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:  These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.   I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.   You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. (Revelation 2:1-3)           Thinking this morning of Kenosha, WI, Portland, OR, and the other cities who are facing violence in their streets at unprecedented levels as those seeking power employ the “time-tested” methods of Hitler and conquerors everywhere: create violence, blame the victim, and offer yourself as the solution.

  Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm 119:165)           Every time my life gets disrupted – even a planned disruption – I tend to feel as though I have to start all over, building from scratch. Clearly, that’s not true. Much of my life continues as it has. I don’t have to go back to school. I still have the benefit of my experiences. I still have probably 99.99% of what I had before the disruption, but I feel like I have to start over. In some cases, starting over might even be a good thing, but I don’t do it. I just take up with things as the disruption has made them and go on with my day.           But can you imagine if you had to approach each decision as completely new, requiring a complete analysis? If, as some claim, everything is relative, we would seem to have two choices. The first is just to go with our feelings at the time. Honestly, this is often what we do. The second is to go through something like a flow chart. You

  May the  Lord  cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the  Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 115:14-15)           I’m trying to figure out ways to eat more healthfully but without having to choke down meal after meal of food that disgusts me. Yesterday, the recommendation I read was to eat an all-bran cereal for breakfast. There are other sources of fiber, of course, but my reaction was, “Oh, please, no.” I ate bran muffins on an almost daily basis for years, and the idea doesn’t appeal. I clearly need to do some research.           But the point here is that blessings are not always pleasing, exciting, fun, flavorful, or appealing. Flourishing isn’t about getting what you want. It’s about getting what you need. Is it being blessed if you can have the house and car of your dreams, but don’t have the health to enjoy them? When it comes to blessing, we get things upside down.           Decades ago, Dr. Maslow developed a hierarchy

  When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love,  Lord , supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy . (Psalm 94:18)           Consolation. I don’t think I’ve explored that con-word. The dictionary says that it comes from con- (with, intensifier) and solari (to comfort.) Comfort is another con-word, which comes from con- (with, intensifier) and -fort (strength.)           Consolation, then, is an act of being with someone in a way that brings strength.           In the past, kindness has been defined as lending someone your strength, time, talent, or treasure. Both consoling and comforting are acts of kindness in which you lend the person your strength. That strength could include the insight that they have the strength they need to face what they’re facing, but only if that’s the truth and not a cop-out on your part.           This is another place where wisdom (understanding the other person and their needs) is useful. Consolatio

  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.   For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.   For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope   that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21)           Global warming, pollution, wildfires, extreme weather, nasty-contagious diseases (and not-quite-nasty contagious diseases.) It doesn’t require much imagination to be added to our lives to come up with the idea that the world (not just its people) are frustrated. It isn’t by man’s hand that the world has been frustrated. It’s by God’s, and I think part of the reason for the frustration is that if nature were to respond in its full fury, neither mankind nor the world would survive.           We were created to

  By day the  Lord  directs His love, at night His song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:8)           This is the verse of the day from the online Bible I use. It inspires a couple points of reflection. The first may be a moot point. Does “His love” refer to something God directs, or to someone? If he directs the thing of His love, it could be something as simple as causing it to rain (Yes, Lord – please!) That benefits everyone.           If His love is the person that He loves, it could be something as simple as inspiring that someone to go water a neighbor’s plants. It could also involve leading someone in the direction necessary to find a prevention or treatment for cancer.           His love can be either or both but what is our automatic thought on the question? I know I pray for the latter form, and I do expect it sometimes, but I suspect my automatic thoughts tend to be that what He directs is the former.           That leads, more than likely, my

  I keep my eyes always on the  Lord . With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)           Suppose you were a weakling, incapable of fighting the bullies in your life, whether those bullies are people or circumstances. Chances are good that you would be careful about where you went, afraid that the bullies would show up. No, imagine that for some crazy reason that you just don’t get, a big, strong, capable person came along and dedicated himself/herself to protect you. Would it change how you felt about the bullies? It would mine. I might even become more obnoxious and bull-headed (if that’s possible.)           That is one way to understand today’s passage. If you have God on your side, nothing else matters. The second way involves our defective spiritual eyesight. We like to think we can see just fine, but the truth is that we’re blind. We can’t see clearly what is around us. What we think is good often turns out to be bad, and vice versa, and we can’t see th

  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (II Timothy 3:16) “If you love me, keep my commands.”   (John 14:15)             A third of the fundamental ideas of Christianity is that the Bible is the Word of God. Some who criticize this assertion quickly point out that claiming that the Bible is the Word of God because the Bible says that it’s the Word of God is circular reasoning. By itself, it is not evidence that the Bible is the Word of God, and more than a bit of drivel that I write becomes a Shakespearian sonnet just because I put his name on the page, or any more than my putting Stephen King’s or Brandon Sanderson’s name on my novel would make it a best seller.           There are books on this subject, and I can’t possibly do justice to it all here. But there is one point that seems obvious but is somehow missed by most of us. If we believe the Bible is the Word of God, we should pay close attention to i

    Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.   They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”   But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.   By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.     By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (II Peter 3:3-7) When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,   telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’   If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” (Matthew 28:12-14) “Fellow Israelites,

  “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe  that I am who I am. (John 13:19)             Having established that it all depends on where we start, what are the reasons to choose either natural scientism or Christian fundamentalism over the other. Both will say of what they cannot explain, “We don’t understand everything, but someday, an explanation may be found/revealed.” Currently, the ultimate answer to the question of proof of each is “Look around. It’s here.” Of course, neither side accepts that answer from the other (and they shouldn’t.)           Often, those who reject God present the startling similarities between the DNA of this creature and that as proof that they are descended from a common ancestor. The example most often given is that Chimpanzees and humans share 96% of their DNA. Did you know that we also share more than 90% of our DNA with cats? We share almost 90% with mice, and nearly 80% with cows, 62% with fruit flies

  “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” (Matthew 6:9) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) 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 11:6)           Let’s do a thought experiment. In your mind, walk out your front door and turn left. Continue through the first cross street to where the street Ts. Turn left. At the second traffic light, turn right, Take the first left.   Are you in the parking lot at Tops Markets? Are you even anywhere near a Tops Market? If you followed my directions, you must be in the parking lot. How can you not be?           Of course, there may be two dozen houses in the universe where following those directions will get you to a Tops Market. The crux of the matter is where you start. This is the core of the problem faced in the debate between higher criticism, scientific naturalism, a

    Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.   Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)           Jesus said we’re blessed with people hate us because of Him. We’re not blessed if we go about making Dr. House and Brother Jerome seem like sweethearts. Our goal isn’t to be objectionable for the sake of objectionability (though that can be fun.) Our goal is to care more about what Jesus thinks about something than we do about what people think about it.           In the chapter of The Body that I’m reading, Chuck Colson writes about fundamentalism. Lots of people turn up their noses at the term. Fundamentalists are whacked out megalomaniacs and lunatics like snake-handlers and Muslims who fly jets into buildings. At least, that is what the world would have us believe as it dishes out the insults, persecu