Mission Faithwalk

                      Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. (Psalm 54:4)   It happened again yesterday. It happens almost every day. Someone comes to the checkout counter with a cart cluttered with items. It usually happens in one of two ways. One is that the customer will start telling me how many of each specific type of plant they have. The garden center where I work charges by the container type, so their “two of this, and five of that” is really “seven three-packs.” The other way it happens is that even after I’ve said, “Leave everything there,” they have to pull everything off the cart and put it on the counter. I then have to pick everything up that they’ve already picked up and reorganize and pack it. A third way just came to mind. I clear a section of the cart so I can put a box in the clear spot, and the customer just has to spread things out and reorganize things into the spot I’ve just cleared. And today, someone started taking things from the bo

                    But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (Psalm 103:17-18)   I’ve read recently that hummingbirds at least sometimes choose to nest near birds of prey because the hawks or eagles either chase away or eat the animals that are likely to feast on hummingbirds while the hawks and eagles are likely to leave the hummingbirds alone as something too small to waste time on. No doubt, you’ve heard the aphorism that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” These come to mind in connection with today’s passage. The hummingbird that does not nest near an eagle cannot complain that the eagle isn’t doing its job. The wheel that makes no noise cannot complain that it’s not getting greased. The person who walks away from God isn’t loved less by God, but has rejected that love. They choose not to receive it. God doesn’t say

           Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15)                  Jesus wept. (John 11:35)               There are lengthy explanations for the shortest verse in the Bible. It might be because when we think of God (the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit) we tend to think in terms of what is bigger, stronger, wiser, and more in control than we are, and the idea that God, the Son, might blubber just because others were seems to reduce Him somehow in our eyes. This is even the reason provided for some Roman Catholics about why they pray to saints and to Mary. God is too busy, too important, too exalted to take an interest in their pain. So, they go to someone more accessible, more in tune with their struggles.             It’s probably not wise to reduce Jesus’ experience to the current infatuation with the concept of empathy – if for no other reason than that those who claim it tend to put it forth as a sign that they (or at least empaths)

                       However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)               When I read verses like this, I tend to either get depressed or angry. Why can’t I live like Paul? What’s wrong with me that I can’t so thoroughly dedicate myself to finishing the race and completing the task the Lord Jesus has given me? Why aren’t I some super-saint or super-evangelist? I know perfectly well that even if I were as gifted in evangelism as Paul, and dedicated to it, I couldn’t face the abuse and deprivation he did, unless God provided miraculous endurance, strength, courage, etc.             The first rational response to this is that God provided Paul with miraculous endurance, strength, courage, etc. God met all Paul’s needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, not according to Paul’s. If God were to put me in tho

               For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)               What more could possibly be said about this central tenet of Christianity? It, and the more famous verse that comes before it have been taught to most of us from childhood. And yet…and yet. How many of us are more thrilled with Revelation and Daniel than John 3? We know the world deserves to be condemned. We may even look forward to it, thinking, “Justice” when what we really long for is for “them” to get “theirs.” How many more of us think that He’s doing a bad job, and think the old saw, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”? If only we’d listen to them, we’d make progress toward saving the earth ourselves!             What is the right perspective to take of this verse? How should we read it? The first thing to notice is that we aren’t mentioned. God sent His Son into the world to save the world. That is the goa

                 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19)   Pat Benatar sang a rousing anthem, “Invincible” in which she declared, “We have a right to be angry!” Black Lives Matters and other groups regularly raise their fists in the air with the same proclamation. I’ve written before that I used to look for things to get angry about, because it helped me focus and gave me energy. But anger has costs, and one of those costs is loss of control. I’m not referring to someone flipping out, exhibiting road rage or anything that most people would notice immediately. I’m referring to the idea I shared recently that habits are hard to break. If anger becomes your coping mechanism, your automatic reaction, or your weapon of choice, sooner or later, you will find it a matter of your character – something that eats at you constantly, like the need for a drug. Being slow to anger, then, is for your

                 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)   There are people who love to trot out parts of this passage. For them it’s a weapon with which they hope to defeat and silence their enemies: Christians. And sometimes, it’s a good thing they do, because too often, Christians make the sinner the target. But Jesus taught that we are to treat others as we would be treated. Even pagan philosophers taught that in a discussion, attacking people is wrong. The issue is the proper sub

                 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up (Romans 15:2)             Suppose your neighbor had a house that desperately needs work and you agreed to work on it. How would you respond if the neighbor asked you to put in an inground pool half of which extends into the house ten feet? Or, if they told you to install holes in the roof? Suppose they insisted that you install wiring that is not to code, or that you mount razor blades on the floor. Would you insulate with asbestos? Would you do it to please them?             Most of us would like this verse to end with the word neighbors  when we are the neighbor to be pleased but we’re all about deciding what is “for their good” if we’re the ones called on to do the pleasing. We think we know best how to build our own houses as well as the houses of our neighbors. We’d never put asbestos in the walls or razor blades in the floor, or expose the neighbors to the cold they’d face if they had a

               You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. (Galatians 5:13)               This verse happens to have come up in Biblegateway.com on a day when I’m reading about the body/flesh in Renovation of the Heart. One of the points that Professor Willard makes is that the body can and does learn. It is a habit builder. That’s why you don’t consciously have to think about every move your body makes when it’s driving a car, or cutting apples, or walking across a room. Much of what the body has learned to do has low levels of reward for it. For most of us, driving a car, cutting apples, or walking across a room don’t measure up to our guilty pleasure, whether those are pornography, eating, using alcohol or other drugs (including caffeine,) or even anger and attention-seeking behaviors.             This is why replacing bad habits with good habits is so difficult. Your mind an

                 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10)               I tend to not like this verse much because people (including me) who read it tend to think it means that all those who claim the name of Christ should think the exact same thing about each and every idea that comes along. We’re to chuck our brains in the garbage at the door and become “Stepford Wives” of Christ. What that means is that if I have an “original thought” (granting that there is “nothing new under the sun,) I am automatically wrong. Of course, this problem would be resolved immediately if everyone else were to obey this verse by agreeing with what I say and not dividing themselves against me – if you were all perfectly united in mind and thought with me as the standard.             That idea

               May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)               When the passage above says that God gives endurance, encouragement, and the same attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had, it’s tempting to think that means that we are like spiritual Popeyes. When the going gets rough, we pull out a can of spiritual spinach and proceed to wipe up the floor with our spiritual enemies. We know it doesn’t work that way, but we’d like it to. Instead, God gives us endurance, encouragement, and the same attitude of mind more like we are given a good education – over the course of 16 to 20 years.             And, we’re tempted to think in terms of our own glory, though verse 6 says that the goal of the endurance, the encouragement, and the same mind is the glorification of God the Father

                But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)   I think I’ve defined these terms before, but it’s worth looking at them again, because I may have learned something. Pure : not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material, without any extraneous and unnecessary elements, free of any contamination, wholesome and untainted by immorality, especially that of a sexual nature, (of a sound) perfectly in tune and with a clear tone, (of an animal or plant) of unmixed origin or descent. Peace-loving : inclined to avoid conflict or aggression. Considerate : careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others, (Archaic) showing careful thought. Submissive : ready to conform to the authority or will of others; meekly obedient or passive. (Full of) Mercy : compassion or

                 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Psalm 139:23)   Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  (Philippians 4:6)   One of the meta-thoughts (thoughts about thoughts) I’ve been considering over the past week is the idea that a condition is not the same as a feeling. Put another way, my feelings may not be my condition, or may not reflect my condition. One can feel “in love” without loving or being a loving person. One can be afraid while recognizing that there really isn’t anything to be afraid of. When I was in Toastmasters, one of the things I learned was that there’s little physiological difference between anxiety and excitement, but we associate bad things with anxiety, and good things with excitement. And, we associate bad things with our situation when we’re focused on the situation, and good things about our situation when we’r

                 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!   “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”   “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”   For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:13-36)   Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? (Isaiah 40:13)   Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me. (Job 41:11)   As a quick prelude, the verse from Isaiah and Job are the cross-references for the passage in Romans. The nice thing about it is that it shows that even the “greats” like Paul didn’t feel they had to come up with original phrases with which to praise Him. We don’t have to be poets like David. We can quote as long as the quote connects to our souls. Now, to the passage. Last night, I got some bill

              “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17 NASB 1995)   The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV)   I’m sharing today’s verse in both New American Standard (1995) and New International versions because it was a misreading of the NASB that first impressed me with the verse. As I read the verse about 20 years ago, what I read was that He will quiet me in His love. Me? Quiet? While part of me desired that even then, a bigger part of me laughed because the idea that I could be anything but loud, forceful, and longwinded was laughable. About this time, I was also angry about some things that had taken place and bound and determined I was not going to “pretend to be someone I w

                      As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things . (Ecclesiastes 11:5 NIV)   The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit… You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?” (John 3:8&10 NIV)   We’ve made a lot of (supposed) progress since Solomon wrote today’s passage. We tend to think that we know all that’s needed to know. We have surgeons who perform surgery on babies while they are still in the womb. We have satellites that let us track high and low-pressure systems and make more accurate predictions of what weather is going to be like in given places. We went to the moon using less technology than is found in our laptop computers. We can use the sun, the wind, the tide, river currents, the heat of the p

                 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 13 9:13-14)   It’s said that familiarity breeds contempt and I suspect most of our lives would prove that with respect to our bodies. Even those who seem to take good care of their bodies probably do so against their own inclinations or fail to do so in every area. They’re our bodies and we have a right to do with them as we will – a right that we defend almost exclusively when we are doing something that isn’t good for us. The truth of the matter is that while we are familiar with our bodies, we don’t tend to really understand how it all works. Even doctors fail to understand it all. When I’ve read or heard about things the body does – much of it without our awareness or attention – I have to agree with David. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. The complexity and elegance

                 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100) I’ve written a number of times about catching my thoughts after they’ve gone in the wrong direction for too long. One of the things Dallas Willard repeatedly notes is that we can’t really combat feelings directly. Sometimes, we can talk ourselves out of our bad thinking, but “you shouldn’t feel that way” and “calm down” don’t really work well unless they are combined with our taking our thinking in another direction. It is thinking differently that changes our emotions. So today, and every day, I try to make sure to play some music that

                A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life (Proverbs 31:10-12)   Before we launch into the passage as a whole, let’s begin with the fact that the whole passage was counsel Solomon’s mother gave him with regard to seeking a wife, and with all of the wives and concubines he had, I suspect he didn’t follow it. If she had been teaching a daughter, she would have talked about a husband of noble character, and it would have slightly different instructions – but probably not as different as we might think. Similar lists could be made for parents, children, neighbors, and even rulers. The same complaint could be made: “A ________ of noble character, who can find?” While the topic at hand is wives, the problem is universal. What does it take to be a person of noble character? But women have been beating themselves ever si

               Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)   And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12)   Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”   Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)     We have big problems with forgiveness. When we are the ones who have wronged, we tend to want forgiveness to be automatic and absolute but without our needing to change or even really thinking we’ve done anything that needs to be forgiven. We think we can continue to do as we’ve done, because now we’re forgiven, and somehow, what we do is entirely disconnected from who we are. And, more than anything else, we want there to be no consequences for what we’ve done. But when we are the ones who have been wronged, we tend to want to deman

               He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me . (Matthew 18:2-5)   This is Jesus’ answer to a question from the disciples about who would be the greatest in heaven. Much has been said about the characteristics of a child such as innocence and lack of pretense. And those are undoubtedly true, but picture the scene in your mind. Why did the disciples ask about it? Were they seeing Jesus, perhaps, as a means to an end? Were they thinking about themselves? Were they looking at Jesus, while their minds wandered through images of themselves blessing people as they walked or rode by? In answer to the question, Jesus calls a child. Clearly, the child goes to Him, because o

  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1)   I love “con” words. Generally speaking, the con- prefix is an intensifier and has a meaning of with . In the case of condemnation , if you look at the next four letters ( demn ) you can probably guess where it comes from. The interesting thing about the definition given in the Mirriam Webster Dictionary is that it’s not just a declaration that something/someone is evil, wrong, or reprehensible, but that they are so after weighing the evidence and without reservation. It is, in short, a legal term when properly used. It is also a final judgment. All the appeals have been tried. There is no doubt of guilt. But this is the problem. We tend to think that condemnation is something done by a judge and jury (official or otherwise.) But the reality is that condemnation is the state of

                 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossian 4:5-6)   The commentaries I checked on this passage (only two of many available) either didn’t mention “full of grace,” described it as “the kindly, winning pleasantness which makes the talk of a good and thoughtful man attractive.” [1] I suspect that there is a lot that can be included in speech that is full of grace. There must be love and truth, not one or the other. “Love” that leaves a person under the influence of lies is not love. There should be kindness (the lending of your strength to the other,) and gentleness (the application of the least force possible under the circumstances.) It might be better to consider what doesn’t belong in our conversation: hatred, rage, anger, bitterness, bad language, pride, dominance, assault, shame, name-calling… It see

                 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonian 5:16-18)               It’s easy to rejoice and give thanks when something has just turned out well, and even easier when they turn out the way we want when they seemed to be heading in a different direction. It’s not too terribly difficult to pray when things are not going well, and we have a need we can’t get met another way. But how do we do all three of these things all the time?              One idea that comes to mind is that when things aren’t as we would like them to be, we have the opportunity to see God at work in our lives. We can give rejoice and thanks in our anticipation as we continue to pray over the situation.             We can rejoice and give thanks, even as we pray because we know that in addition to God’s being at work in the situation, He’s also at work in us.             There’s another issue that – on thi

  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.    When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3)               Talk about an indictment. This is one of those passages that, in some ways, is comforting to me. Sometimes, the early Church is described as this wonderful, perfect entity that we, in our modernity, have corrupted. The reality is that the early Church was as human as we are. That doesn’t mean we can shrug and not bother to try to do better, but it does mean we don’t need to perceive ourselves as being a lost cause – because people we might look up to might not have been better.             Today, I want to focus mostly on the fifth sentence: “You do not have because you do not