Mission Faithwalk

                 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?   What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?   What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them      and walk among them, and I will be their God,      and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them      and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing,      and I will receive you.”   And, “I will be a Father to you,      and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (II Corinthians 6:14-18)                Some people seem to think that one can marry someone of another faith, philosophy, or culture (please note that I did not say “race.” These differences are all internal), and all that matters is that the

                 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29)   Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  (Romans 5:1)   Work: to perform or carry through a task requiring sustained effort or continuous repeated operations ( Work Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster )   Work has both a positive and a negative reputation within Christianity. In most (possibly all) other religions, if salvation can be gained or assured, it is done on the basis of works. You earn it. According to Paul, we aren’t justified by works, we are justified by faith. But Jesus said that the work of God is to believe in Him. We’re supposed to work, and work hard, but it doesn’t produce salvation. It produces goods and services that benefit others and us. But we’re not supposed to lose sight of the distinction between the two. I’ve been asked why I can’t “just believe.” I’ve heard othe

                 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (II Corinthians 5:16-17)   for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.   There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27-29)   Other translations say that those who are in Christ are new creations. Think about this for a few minutes.  If you join the military, you go through some sort of basic training. You are separated from everyone you know. You are stripped of your individuality – same haircuts, same food, same bedroom (barracks) and same drill instructor screaming at you and telling you that you’re nothing. The same concept

                 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself . (Luke 10:27)   Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up . (Galatians 6:9)   Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law . (Romans 13:10)     If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.   If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.   Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is no

                Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (II Corinthians 4:16-18)   This is what happened when we have hope. There may be moments, or even a few days, when we lose focus, but as long as we keep or can return to the hope that things can and will get better (if only in heaven,) we’ve won half the battle. The other half involves keeping things in perspective. I addressed that a little yesterday, but it’s important enough to deserve at least two days. To have the right perspective, or, as Viktor Frankl puts it, to have a “why” makes all the difference. If you know your why, he says, you can endure any “how.” I’m not sure he’s completely right about that, but he’s at

            So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,  because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (II Corinthians 4:12-15)              I almost passed this by as being too “pie in the sky, by and by” or too impractical. After all, it’s basically a statement that someday, all the pain and suffering is for God’s glory, and we’ll thank Him for it. Quite frankly, I’m not in the mood. I want something to help me get through today and solve problems now.           The problem is that some problems can’t be solved now, and the problem is that getting through today tends to just end up with needing to get

                 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.    For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  (II Corinthians 4:8-11)   I watched Romeo and Juliet last spring, and my major reaction was largely negative. It’s not that the play wasn’t well-written; it’s that the level of teen angst was off my charts. Yes, when I was under thirty, it probably would have been “normal.” But as I watched, my general reaction was, “Will someone, please, turn them upside down and bang them on their heads a few times? And when you get done with the teens, move on to the parents, priests, and nobility?” Like some/most people, I am more tolerant of my own levels of drama than I am of anyone

                 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;   persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.    For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. (II Corinthians 4:7-11)        Sometimes, it seems that when people discuss themselves as “jars of clay,” they are referring only to their physical bodies. This is an old dualism, the idea that the body was a negative thing, while what was inside and intangible: the soul, the spirit, the mind, the heart… all were pristine, beautiful things – the treasure that Paul mentioned. When we are finally free of these miserable bodies, what glory! But in the meanwhile, our

            Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.  (2 Corinthians 4:1-2 NIV)   Or…   Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2 ESV)    I’ve told this story many times, but déjà vu all over again. Years ago, I struggled with trying to write a mission statement because the guide I was using said that a mission statement had to do with what you wanted to be, what you wanted to do, what you wanted to have, and how you wanted to go about bein

  I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)   This goes back to the issue of defensiveness, and its solution. But what does it mean for the Lord to be at our right hands? In ancient culture, the right hand was the place of honor. To be at the king’s right hand meant you were his number one. To have the king at one’s right hand meant that one honored him and were intimate with him (the wife’s position, closer to his heart than the right-hand man.) To have someone at your right-hand means that, in a moment, you can be back-to-back, protecting one another. It also means that you can easily lean closer and share some words of wit, wisdom, comfort, courage, or restraint. It means having a friend you can trust, and who trusts you and knows you well enough to know when to put a restraining hand on an arm or shoulder. To have someone at your right hand is to have a partner – and in this case, a partner in goodness, not crime. The o

  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (I John 5:12)   I’m still limping after yesterday’s emotional crash and burn. I left my blog as raw as it was – not cleaning it up to make myself look better – because it vividly demonstrates the pit that our defensiveness protects us and others from. But yesterday’s pain makes the balm of today’s verse welcome. It’s not about feelings. It’s about Him. No matter how undeserving, pathetic, ugly, or hellish I may be, if I have Him, I have life, period. If I have Him, therefore, it is possible, and possibly assured, that over time I will exhibit evidence of that life, even if I can’t see it and even if the me in the pit suggests otherwise. Therefore, at least in theory, there is hope. The verse finishes with a negation. If you don’t have the Son, you don’t have life. If doesn’t matter how pretty, nice, kind, tolerant, loving, wise, and generous you are. It doesn’t matter how many positive things c

  The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?   (Ecclesiastes 1:1)     This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.    Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)   Recently, someone asked, “What is your self-image?” Other people have asked, “Why can’t you just relax?” And the answer to the first question echoes the mood of today’s passage above. “Failure, failure.” The answer

                 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)              Why does one grow weary? One blog I read suggested that we become weary when the outcome of our actions disappoints us, when we must wait, and when we compare ourselves to others. [1] Other reasons come to mind: we’re trying to do it on our own, we are trying to do too much, we have refused to rest and replenish our souls. I am sooo guilty, but there’s one more that should be mentioned: we get weary of doing good because we spend so much energy on defending ourselves or building our fortress and stockpile of weapons for when we need to defend ourselves. If you have five gallons of gas to get yourself to a location that requires four gallons of gas, and you use three gallons of gas running errands that have nothing to do with getting to that location, of course, you’ll run out of gas or have to stop somewhere and buy more.        

                But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends . (II Corinthians 10:17-18)             When you feel defensive, what do you do? Fight or flight? Dominate or withdraw? Or both? Right now, verses that seem to address other things vibrate in harmony with this issue of defensiveness, and that’s how it should be. The fruit of the Spirit aren’t love, joy, peace, etc. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc. In the same way, the fruit of the flesh aren’t this, that, and the other – this, that, and the other are the fruit of the flesh. The Spirit and the Flesh are the sources.           Defensiveness tends to involve either building walls to keep ourselves in and/or other people out, or it involves what amounts to a public trial. Let me explain how I am the victim, or maybe how I am the monster, so that people victimize me on my terms. They walk or run away now rather

           Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (II Corinthians 7:1)   We’re still on my hobbyhorse of defensiveness, and today, my name comes into play. Did you know that Karen means pure ? Don’t worry, I’m not going off the deep end. But I am going to play. To be Karen, I must be pure, meaning I must be Karen. But if I am defensive, I must hide and protect at least part of myself. If you saw me doing something,  you might think worse of me. Or, since I know someday you’ll catch me doing something, and you will think worse of me, so it’s better to just open the carnival freak show right now and save everyone time and misery. The problem is, if I must hide Karen, then I cannot be Karen, or at least I can’t be pure Karen Jam is another way I can look at the idea of being pure. Some folks make pure strawberry jam. The only fruit in their jam i

                 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)   Yesterday’s post was about giving up defensiveness. To summarize it as briefly as I was longwinded yesterday, the keys were in the context in which we are to do so: where Christ dwells and in the differentiation between the action of defending oneself from harm and the attitude of defensiveness. It so happens that I am reading a book that deals a lot with defensiveness. The author describes defensive people as feeling singled out, attacked, silenced, shamed, guilty, accused, insulted, judged, angry, scared, and outraged. She says that they exhibit a variety of behaviors: crying, physically leaving, emotionally withdrawing, arguing, denying, focusing on intentions, seeking absolution, and avoiding. They turn the attack on others and deny responsibility. [1] Then, of course, there is Kubler and Ro

  The second element in the spiritually transformed social dimension of abandonment of all defensiveness. This, of course, could occur only in a social context where Christ dwells – that is, among his special people. (Willard, Dallas, Renovation of the Heart , p. 202)   It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:7)   Yesterday’s Sunday School class needed to be about ten weeks long. We began with the quote from Renovation of the Heart and a question about whether or not we are defensive. My answer was “very.” And the memories have been slithering up, the first of which was working on the khaki pants part of the men’s department twenty years ago and praying, “God, I can’t not fight. I don’t know how to not fight,” and “If I did somehow stop fighting, no one would protect me.” The goal isn’t a pity party for me. There are too many injuries – most seemingly insignificant. There are too many attackers who wouldn’t be helped by my retellin

                 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)   Many years ago, I parked a car on my patio area while Dad and I decided what to do with it. Some nights, when I glanced out the window, I could see the moon reflected in the back window. It seemed to me that God was giving me the moon. He might also give it to everyone else, but He was giving it to me, not only in that moment but through all of my life. It wasn’t mine in the sense that I could refuse it to anyone else, but it was mine because I gained the benefit of it. This might be a challenging concept to some, but others will get it. As I look at today’s verse, I get some of the same feelings. God prepared work for me to do. When? The only way He could prepare it is to have prepared for it from before the universe was created. In a sense, the whole universe was created so that I could have significant work to do – a purpose. He

                 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)   Lots of conviction here. The best way to describe it is that I have lost the war with my body. It not only doesn’t glorify God, but most of the time, it’s a disgrace. I could come up with a list of excuses, but the reality is that I don’t want to expend the time, money, and energy required to focus on doing the things that would discipline my body and cause it to be what I think would glorify God. If I did them, I suspect I wouldn’t glorify God as much as I would glorify myself. There are several things I don’t do: I don’t drink, smoke, or otherwise use alcohol or those substances generally considered “recreational drugs.” I’m not sexually active. My “snack food” is popcorn (sprayed with butter-flavored spray, not drizzled with bu

       for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)   Sadly, I can’t find the other passage I wanted to use today. It had to do with some people having tender consciences, but it wasn’t about eating foods sacrificed to idols. The point of the two verses was to introduce an idea shared by John Ortberg yesterday about guilt. As Romans 3:23 points out, we are all sinners. We are all guilty. Christians have been forgiven, our sins have been atoned for, and so we are declared “not guilty.” Sometimes there’s more than a little reason to wonder about the “not-guilty”-ness of some, but that’s another issue. And concerning some specific sins, there are probably many who are not guilty. The key here is that at this point, we are talking about a legal condition. One is either guilty, or one is not guilty. There was a time when this was fairly well-recognized in society. But in addition to the condition of guilt, there is also a feeling of guilt. You can feel guilty