Mission Faithwalk

                             Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.    When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”   “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?” (Matthew 14:25-31)   When I researched Peter, I spent some time thinking about this passage. I’d read Ortberg’s If You Want to Walk on Water, Get Out of the Boat , but the more I thought, the more I concluded that he’d missed a critical point. If I were a demon or a ghost and I had just identified myself as Jesus,

                 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God . ( Hebrews 12:1-2)  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus . (Philippians 3:13-14) But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt . (Genesis 19:26) “You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?”  “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will,

  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)           This past weekend, I rediscovered something about myself. Christmas Eve, I found myself thinking about the next day. It would be busy. I had church in the morning, followed by cooking carrots for Christmas dinner, helping with the Christmas dinner, the dinner itself, and writing. The thought that shouted more loudly than the others was that I had “made it” – or nearly so. The next day I could take down the Christmas decorations and get back to normal life.           Last year at this time, I was reading about resting and reducing my workload for Sundays so I could have a day of rest. Quite often, at least at first, I found myself looking forward to when Sunday would be over, so I could get busy again. With both Christmas and Sunday as a day of rest, I tend to miss the point. I am mis-categorizing the concept.           There are things that are simply the absence of something el

                 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out  everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:11)   H is divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (II Peter 1:3) And we know that in all things God works for the good  of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)             We are coming down to crunch time. Four days from now, 2022 begins. Yesterday, I worked some more on my signs. I decided I couldn’t just change 2021 to 2022 on last year’s New Year’s sign, so after deliberation, here’s what I came up with… In 2022 Be True           It pulls together now with what I’ve been writing about for the past couple of months, at least. Is God real? Is He our Father? Is Jesus our Lord? Do we believe what Scripture teaches us, or are we just pretending? Are we going t

                 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.    Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

                      And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many, therefore, let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children, and indeed we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.” (Nehemiah 5:1-5)   The parallel I’m going to present isn’t exact, but when one is pursuing goals, sometimes the focus becomes so closely associated with reaching those goals that the preferences, desires, and needs of others get ignored. Those around us become slaves to our hopes and dreams far beyond what is reasonable. I’m reminded of the character in Bleak H

              So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:16-20)   Every year, there are a few people who think they have to get on their soapboxes to remind us that Jesus wasn’t born in December. December 25, they say, is associated with various other gods and the early church (it would have been the medieval church, but let’s not quibble) usurped that time in order to let pagan converts to Christianity carry their winter solstice celebrations into their new faith. There is a lot about these claims that we could quibble about, but the reality is: “so what?” Jesu

                 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,   and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”   Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.   Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart . (Nehemiah 4:1-6)   Today, we return to the back-and-forth w

            Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.   … and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs. (Nehemiah 3:1 & 32) Chapter three of Nehemiah is rather like the begats of Genesis 5 or the genealogy of Jesus. There are reasons that they are important, but for our purposes, we know that various groups repaired various sections of the wall, probably located near their homes, so that they were building what would protect them and theirs. We have lists of goals, and we have lists of people to whom we might call for help with those goals. Some are professionals, but most will probably be friends and relatives. Do you give all of the people on your list the task of helping you with all of your goals? I’m fairly sure your physician

                But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”   I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” (Nehemiah 2:19-20)   Yesterday, I noted that what we’re reading in Nehemiah is in “minutes” form. Here’s another example. Sanballat and Tobiah “mocked and ridiculed” them. We don’t read any of the mockery or ridicule. What is recorded is the serious legal charge made against them. Later, Nehemiah records comments about a fox jumping on the wall would collapse it, but here, he records only the accusation that they were rebelling against the king. Nehemiah had carried letters to the governors from the king, and at least one letter to Asaph, who was in charge of the ki

                 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”    I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. (Nehemiah 2:17-18)   At last, At last! Nehemiah tells the Jewish nobles and leaders what he has planned, and what he has done so far toward his goal. Unfortunately, today’s passage presents the material in true “minutes” form, not giving us the details of the announcement or of the conversation that followed. I would have liked for him to introduce the architect(s) and engineer(s) for the project and the details of the plan. Of course, I wouldn’t want it word for word, because architects and engineers might take hours to explain a project in which they have n emotional investment, but somewhere betwee

            I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days   I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.   Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;   so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate.   The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work . (Nehemiah 2:11-16)   Nehemiah reaches Jerusalem with his bodyguard of soldiers - not mercenaries, but offici

  When Sanballat  the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. (Nehemiah 2:10)   Can you imagine? People angry that someone wanted to give the land back to the Jews? People who opposed the goal of rebuilding the walls and temple in Jerusalem? It’s probably just as difficult to imagine that anyone might want to derail your goals. Oh, there might be nasty, jealous, evil people out there, but your loved ones? No, they will always support, encourage, and help you how ever they can. Right? I’m not planning to point any fingers. Some of my friends and family are better and some are worse, but if you read about people trying to change their lives, you’ll find that family and friends are some of the worst sources you can turn to for support, encouragement, and help. That’s why people join self-help groups. When you want to make a change, you’re guaranteed to find yourself among

                 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.   I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters