Mission Faithwalk

                  …and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of the harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a  heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan.  So the waters that went down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. (Joshua 3:15-16)                At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time…For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised… So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their place in the camp till they were healed.”    (Joshua 5:2, 5, 8)                

                 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (I Corinthians 9:24)                  We’re almost there. Some people will spend this weekend celebrating having made it through 2022, and that is an accomplishment. Others will spend it celebrating the beginning of 2023. That’s not a bad thing. But if you were going to meet someone important the next morning, would you really stay up until midnight? If something really mattered the next day, would you party?                I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t greet the new year. This isn’t about giving you a case of guilts. But I’m inviting us both to think. How well would a runner do if he spent the six weeks before a race not running and eating enough for two people? Obviously, not nearly as well as he would if he followed a strict training schedule and diet. For the athlete, training and diet matter.                How often do we, who a

                 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)                  The verse above was the one chosen by Biblegateway.com, and my cold has brought an interesting idea to mind. Years ago, during another battle to the death with another cold, I went to see a physician’s assistant, who told me that part of the problem with illness is that it doesn’t allow the patient to rest. The body is on high alert, at war with the virus that has invaded it, and even if one is in bed – or even sleeping – one isn’t getting the rest one needs. Rest requires more than a cessation of activity.                Once again, I find myself thinking in terms of bodies of water. A river might be said to be at rest if the water flows in it at a rate that doesn’t stir up the sediment. There are no rapids, no whirlpools, no wild horses stampeding through it. A lake is a wide place in a river, but there are still currents. A body of water without current

                 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is.    And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”                The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.    Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. (Joshua

                      Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you  doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)                     Yes, it’s the last week of December, and I’ve just written about the rest that comes before the beginning. So how do I begin today? With anxiety about unfinished projects and the direction for the new year. In other words, the doubts are creeping in. Some are whispering. Some are screaming.                    A nd doubts aren’t always a bad thing. They’re part of preparation. If we didn’t have doubts and fears, we couldn’t be courageous. I’ve written before that one of the ways I know something is from God is if my reaction is “no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” But today, it feels like Jesus is holding His hand out, and I’m holding on to the side of the boat and having a tiny meltdown.                     Another memory surfaces – of a time when I tried waterskiing for the second and last time. The first trip was most

            And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:5b)             Christmas is over. Oh, there are some who will continue – and more power to them. According to tradition, one can leave Christmas decorations up until Candlemas Day – which is Groundhog’s Day. Others say the Day of the Kings – which is January 6 th . But if you’ve read my blog, you know that I’ve been (getting) ready to end the year since Thanksgiving. I’ve been especially ready to end the year since I got sick. Let’s get over this whole mess and move on! I am soo over 2022 and all this coughing. But we have this stupid week…not a day, but a whole week in which the rest of the world is winding down and gearing up, so by the time 2023 arrives, I’m pretty much over it, too. It took the rest of you so long to get here that I’m bored. And yes, I know, that problem is all mine, not yours.                But I find myself returning to a point that is an infrequent chorus in my blog: the

                It’s Christmas. Happy Birthday, Jesus.                     As I’m getting ready to do all the stuff I’m going to do, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable. I’ll go to church (unless my head won’t let me) and sing songs of praise. I may bustle about and make another dish to take to dinner. After said dinner, I’ll probably go to visit friends to watch whatever movie they picked out.                But let’s say it was your birthday, and throw in a little more of what is “normal Christmas” for people. You wake up and the kids are all excited about what gifts they’re going to receive. You go to what should be a birthday party, and find that once your friends and family greet you, they talk to each other more than they do you. They go home and get ready for a family or another community celebration of your birthday, where the focus is on who brought what dish, who is wearing what, and how much effort getting ready for your birthday dinner was or how much they spent on pres

                 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 2:11-14)                  Who are you this Christmas Eve? There are lots of possibilities. Let’s start with the world. All the people around the globe who didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t know that something was going on. They went about their business, oblivious to anything special, and might have been contemptuous if someone had given them the news. “The doorbell is broken. No knocking.” This group may have included most of the people at the inn.                There were the shepherds, the fast-food workers of the day, with a boring job when they weren’t being attacked, and considered

                     Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love  endures forever . (I Chronicles 16:34)                  With as much whining and kvetching as I’ve been doing over the past week to ten days because of my illness, I’m feeling the need to spend a little time taking a wider view. Some may think I’m bragging, and they have the right to make that judgment. To me, this is a practice of “I can’t____, but I can ____” or perhaps “I don’t have ______but I do have ____.” And part of the purpose is to perhaps encourage someone else to take a wider view. It’s time to count some blessings.                     While I’ve been whining about being sick, I’ve been taking care of – at current count – eight monarch caterpillars and Grace. Grace is higher maintenance, but both the butterflies and the dog are blessings in my life. I can’t imagine life without a dog, and while the butterflies are … well… butterflies, as I added another today, I am glad I can do this small thing t

                 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of  three strands is not quickly broken . (Ecclesiastes 4:12)                  This is the verse I planned to share yesterday, and I’m still not sure I’m ready to address it today. It’s not hard to discuss, but the past few days have been such a failure. Part of the failure is precisely the absence (in my own mind!) of what this verse talks about. I told someone else that I’d really like a knight in shining armor, or a masked man on a white horse to show up – and clean and organize the trailer and read and love my books. You know – to make everything all better.                Of course, if such a mythical being showed up, I’d be horribly embarrassed and more suspicious of his reaction to my books. After all, wish fulfillment of that sort tends to negate the likelihood of honesty. But the wish itself gives some indication of the failure of my thinking. Because I’m sure there have been people praying

                 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)   This wasn’t my planned post for the day, but as I took myself to my “sick bed” for a nap this afternoon, I invited Jesus to visit. Then I immediately began whining and moaning, because, after all, I’m sick. What else is one supposed to do? Of course, part of my complaint was about not feeling well, but another half had to do with guilt about what a big baby I’m being about a “stupid head cold” and how I should be up doing things. Then He asked me, “Do you really think you’re keeping Me from doing something more important?” The point isn’t that I’m important, but that He is God, and can spend a leisurely afternoon holding my hand while I feel miserable without neglecting the excitement of one particular electron so that it moves out into the outer shell and can therefore somehow bond or be exchanged or what

                 But Lot’s wife  looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)   Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and  looks back is fit for service  in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)                  The first passage today is one that perplexes me. Some suggest that “looking back” involved hanging back and looking with longing. In the second passage, the problem of looking back is more established. If you look back while you’re plowing or driving, chances are your row will be crooked or you’ll drive off the road. Looking back is one of the things the Israelites did as they traveled toward the Promised Land.                   And as we head into 2023, we may be tempted to look back. It may have been easier to live without the changes we’ve decided to make. And it’s not just our minds that may betray us. Every part of us has a memory. We can easily find our bodies, emotions, thoughts, wills, and even our friends and family looking back with l

                 Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?   And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ (Matthew 15:8-9)             Beethoven once wrote a piece of music about his rage over a lost penny: Beethoven - Rage Over a Lost Penny [60k special] - Bing video . In today’s passage, Jesus talks about a woman’s joy at finding a lost coin. According to the study notes, the coin in question was worth about one-tenth of a day’s wages, so at $15/hour and an eight-hour day, we’re talking about a coin worth $12, not $0.10 or $0.25. But Jesus still makes it clear that the value we’re talking about isn’t much. It's not the value of the coin nearly so much as the fact that it’s lost that is the story's focus.           But what impresses me today is that Jesus didn’t make light of the value of the missi

             Give thanks to the  Lord , for he is good; his love  endures  forever.        (I Chronicles 16:34)                          A week from now is Christmas. As week ago, I began saying, “Am I coming down with a cold? Nahhh.” Four days ago, I admitted that I had a cold. Mark Twain supposedly said that visitors are like fish. After three days, both stink. I’m either on day four or day seven. That means it’s like one of Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days… except it’s not. It’s more like being pecked to death by ducks. Every “bite” is insignificant – more an irritation than an injury. Perhaps almost every bite. There choir’s anthem tomorrow is a song I wanted to sing. It’s not likely to happen. That bite hurts.                It's 4 pm and I was supposed to have this blog written this morning (yesterday to you.) But I don’t even have a passage from Scripture. And part of me says that I should be writing something upbeat about next year. It’s “bad busine

                 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)                  With all the other things we can consider as we head into 2023, we should consider our time. Undoubtedly, there are things we know waste our time and things we aren’t doing that we should. This is a huge problem for me because while I’m trying to simplify my life, simplification seems to involve an unending line of projects, most of which work out for my benefit, but before they’re done, distract me from more important things.                None of these things are evil in themselves, but the distraction they cause may be. Again, this is an area in which we need to pray. Books on time management talk about urgent things, important things, necessary things, and other things – must-dos, should-dos, and would-like-to-dos. Too often, t

                  Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)                  Another issue that deserves our consideration as we prepare for a new year is the question of our associations, which strikes close to home. I have worked for, been associated with, and had friends who did me no good. I knew it at the time, but I thought I could do good in their lives, but instead, it seems to me that I was dragged down.                This isn’t a suggestion that we become snooty. It’s not about only associating with the best and the brightest or with those who can get you where you want to go. It’s not about thinking you’re too good for this person

                   In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,   to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:26-28)               When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with  you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12)                  Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest   and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”                “Who are you, Lor

                 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)                  Today is one of those minor revelation days. For the past three years (or more) I have been procrastinating getting business cards to hand out as a writer. Part of the reason for my using a pseudonym was so that I could be invisible. Another part (I think) was so that I could distance my writing from me. “I didn’t write that. Allyn Ransom wrote it.” That was safe in two ways – if you don’t like me, I’m not the one who wrote the books, so you can like them. If you don’t like the books, I’m not the one who wrote them so you can like me. There’s logic there. Another reason I didn’t get proper author’s business cards is that I don’t like the way I look. I look fat, ugly, old, stupid, tired – and very unauthorly. A fourth reason was that I’ve had the conviction that to sell my books or myself is arrogant, selfish,

                 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.                When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.    The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:1-6)                    I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)                  Some ma

                 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)                   No doubt, you’ve heard the old adage about not praying for patience, because you’ll “get it” – through hardships and troubles. As we consider directions and goals for 2023 in terms of things Scripture suggests, that seems to often be the case. There’s no need to be strong and courageous if everything’s pleasant. We don’t need faith when we have everything we want. There’s no reason to seek freedom if we aren’t enslaved or under attack. We aren’t even likely to notice “the other guy” if our own relationship with God is right.                     Some time ago, I read The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. In it, they talk about people having the quality of anti-fragility. While modern America seems to think people will break under pre

              When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”                Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”                 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”                  But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” Deuteronomy 18:20                  Yesterday, the discussion centered around freedom. And many of those things we need to seek freedom from get in the way of our following Him. Today’s passages deal with ways we get off track when we’re trying to follow Jesus – ways we need to pray for power against. The first is the other guy… the person God seems to like better than us, the spiritual giant who