Mission Faithwalk

            His 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.   Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires . (II Peter 1:3-4) “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22) Over the past few days, I’ve been transplanting seedlings into larger pots. It’s becoming a challenge to find places to put them that has the light they need, but it calls to my mind God’s promise that the seasons will follow one another. In setting up the world to work this way, He has given us what we need for agriculture, which supplies many of the things we need for physical life. Throughout the Old Testament, He made promises about the Messiah and salvation. A book I’ve just f

            In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8) This morning on one of my social media platforms, someone asked whether I would give supplies to someone coming to the door in a disaster, assuming that I had some supplies. I answered that it would depend on the nature of the crisis, the supplies in question, and (probably) the attitude of the person at the door. It’s a question that bothered me before it was asked, because part of my reason for trying to become more resourceful is so that I can provide for and otherwise help others in an emergency. But, one of the basics of emergency response training i

               For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)           One of the feelings we can have when the going gets tough is feeling lost. We don’t know how to get to where we think we need to be. While we tend to think of the passage above as referring to those who are not saved, those who are saved can find themselves lost in other ways, including losing their lives. But today’s passage gives us a promise that even if we lose our lives, Jesus will come and save us. So, when the going gets tough, we may suffer, but we need not worry. Jesus will seek us and save us.           This isn’t really news. Jesus taught that He would leave the ninety-nine to find the one, but again, we tend to associate that lost one with someone who has not yet been saved, but again, it could also refer a member of His flock, but my immediate response is that while it’s perfectly respectable to be directed by God, it’s embarrassing to need to be found.           When I was v

             To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:27-28) When you were a kid, were you impatient to grow up? Did you wonder why it seemed to take so long? And now that you are 20…40…60…80… do you wonder if it’s ever going to happen? Or do you regret your impatience as a child, wishing you could have enjoyed those first 20 years instead of wasting it by longing for adulthood? Or, do you think you’re an adult, entitled to be treated like one? Let’s ask the same question a different way. When you struggle with things, do you get impatient with yourself, thinking that somehow, by this age, you should be past that “childish” or “basic” problem? We like to think ourselves mature, no matter how old we are. What if we’re wrong? What if this stag

                 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,   because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.   Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.   (James 1:2-5)             Trust in the  Lord  with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)             On my walk this morning, I found myself thinking about two of my felt needs. I need to understand, and I need to be in control. I need to lean on my own understanding, and to do that, I have to reduce creation and God to my level of understanding. I know I’m not alone in those needs and I also know that when the going gets tough, we tend to need them more. The challenge here is th

            It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” (Revelation 14:11)   In the end, we don’t win. I know there are a lot of people who try to face tough times by saying “I read the end of the book, we win.” And in a sense, we do win. We win just like we win when the team we’re rooting for wins. We didn’t do anything, but it’s “our team.” There are problems that come to mind with regard to “we win.” First, it implies that we had something to do with the victory. That’s not what this passage says. It tells us that our fate is just like everyone else’s. We’re all going to bow. The question will be whether it brings us joy or bitterness. There are people who get excited about the idea of the government coming to get their guns. They seem to imagine themselves as Rambo, taking on the army of the United State with their guns, then their knives, and finally hand-to-hand and coming out the winner. I susp

            Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope.   And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)           Remember Jaws ? There’s a scene when Brody, Quint, and Hooper are drinking, and start comparing scars. “I got this when…” and the male bonding and competition begins. Think of movies like Rocky and The Karate Kid. Think about the story of David and Goliath, or (the ultimate story of it’s kind) the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Think of the memes that surface on social media every now and again, “If you think you have it bad, consider how it bad it is for …” Again, there’s a hierarchy of suffering, and yours most likely doesn’t meet the standards needed for you to be able to glory in them – but you’ll try.           Paul isn’t

            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)           When the going gets tough, it helps to remember. First, we should remember that we have eternal life. We’re all nearsighted. We can see what’s an inch from our noses pretty well, but that splash of light at the other end of the examining room, the one with the dark blur in the center of the top? Yeah, we know the dark blur is an E (for eternity, in this case.) We know it because it’s always an E, but we can’t see it. It’s always been an E before, so we have faith that it’s still an E.           That eternal life was given to us by Jesus, and in this passage, Jesus is telling the Father that He has give it to us, and what the result will be: they will never perish. Are we going to say that Jesus was lying to the Father?

            “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:55-57) A fter they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.   When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.   (Acts 16:23-25)   When the going gets tough, the tough get…praising? Maybe I’m wrong, but I suspect that most of us have a hard time praising on our own unless it’s a response to something that happens. We praise when we get together and sing worship music, or when we turn on worship music at home, and that’s certainly allowable, but I know that when I wake up in the morning, my tendency isn’t to start o

          In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:   Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.   For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.   They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.   But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (II Timothy 4:1-5)             We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;   if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;   if it is to encourage, then give encour

            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 1:8) Before we get to the Kristallnacht and pogroms, with people being locked in concentration camps or killed in Colosseums, we endure what might be worse. What can be worse than seeing everything we own destroyed or stolen and being tortured and killed? Laughter, derision, ridicule, gaslighting, peer pressure, and brainwashing. You see, if you are being beaten for your faith, as hard as it is, you have your why. You’ll either endure or you’ll die and the latter puts you in the arms of Jesus. It’s hard, really, really… really hard, but not as hard as the constant back of forth of battery and seduction of our minds, hearts, and souls. In fact, the abuse of our bodies, short of death, is often another means of trying to force our minds to bend the knee or break, accepting what others insist is right, good, and sane. If you begin w

             Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8) One of the malicious quips made by antagonists in stories is the same advice made by doctors giving the worst possible diagnosis: get your affairs in order. It’s hard when a loved one dies, but when a loved on dies owing other people money, or dies with finances and paperwork a mess, it becomes far worse. I know someone who basically destroyed a car well before it was paid for and left it on the side of a highway. He refused to pay any more on it, since he didn’t have it anymore. Imagine having to try to clean up that mess when/if the creditors show up at some point after the person died. When the going gets tough, it’s more important than ever that you have things taken care of, because it’s possible you won’t survive. Rather than burden family with the problem you’ve created, and rather than make your family look bad to the wo

              In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,   while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.   But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,   and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,   so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:12-17)           Yes, tough times happen in the lives of those who wish to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. They get persecuted. Tough times also take happen in the lives of those who do evil and pretend to be someone they aren’t. They go from bad to worse. So, what’s the solution? Hold on. Continue. Fasten your seat belt.          

            Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.   Six days you shall labor and do all your work,   but the seventh day is a sabbath to the  Lord  your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.     For in six days the  Lord  made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the  Lord  blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)             One of the issues I struggled with during the past six months is trying to rest more on Sundays. Oh, I’ve tried to not work on Sundays, not exercise except as part of walking the dog, but over the past six months, I’ve tried to be more disciplined about it. I’m not suggesting I’m doing it right, yet. But last Sunday, I found myself facing the same attitude problem I’ve noticed several other times. There’s a frustration that I am doing thin

               They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,   always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.   Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.   But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. (II Timothy 3:6-9)           The sort of people described in yesterday’s past, the sort we don’t want to be are precisely the sort of people who turn up when the going gets rough. Consider why people get taken in by the “extended warranty” ploy. Isn’t it because they are afraid that their warranty has run out, or that they’re going to get stuck with huge bills if they don’t? “Tough times are a-coming, you’d better prepare! And isn’t this your lucky day, because I hav

            But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.   People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,   treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—   having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (II Timothy 3:1-4)           Oh dear! Do you see what I see in the passage above and in the world? We’re in the last days! Of course, the problem is that Timothy lived in the Roman world, were all of these things were also common. Come to think of it, those things very likely describe mankind from the day Adam and Eve sinned. They were disobedient to their Father. They were proud. They were lovers of themselves. I’m going to suggest that since the Resurrection, we have been in the last days, but they don’t compare with The L

            Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.     Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.   And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.   Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,   and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (II Timothy 2:22-26) But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (I Peter 3:15) When I was in college, my radio alarm clock was set to a Christian radio station. I enjoyed much of what I heard but there was something that grated

              In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.     Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (II Timothy 2:20-21)           Articles of gold, silver, wood, or clay. What are they? Articles for special purposes and common uses? What are they? For some reason, I seem to have considered them to be people. Some people are gold and silver. They include the apostles and great Christians who win lots of people to Christ. While other people are wood, clay, and straw (I tend to add that one) and no matter what they do, they just don’t live up to the standards of those gold and silver folks. And, woe is me, I’m see myself in the wood, clay, or straw category.           But the passage tells us that if we cleanse ourselves from the latter, that we will become the former.

              Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.     Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,   who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.   Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (II Timothy 2:16-19)           Some folks say that we should T.H.I.N.K. before we speak. We should ask ourselves Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?           If it’s not all of those things, we should keep our mouths shut. Of course, what I think is true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind may not be what you consider true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, or kind. The last is perhaps the most dangerous for us, because w