Mission Faithwalk

            your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven . (Matthew 6:10)           My pastor preached on “The Lord’s Prayer” this morning, and as usual, my mind camped on this verse. If we are asking that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, it’s reasonable to ask what we’re asking for and how it differs from our experience.           The first thing it tells us about Heaven is that it’s where God’s will is done. You might think of God’s will in heaven as gravity, or air. It’s just the way things are – and even if we were to complain about it, thoughts of living outside of its influence would be silliness. It’s not that God would crush you or condemn you to hell for suggesting something that isn’t His will. It’s that such is not the way things work. At the same time, I can’t really say that Heaven is where God’s will is done and yours isn’t, because if it is your will to do God’s will then you do your own will in heaven because you do God’s wi

                 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)                 Today’s passage doesn’t discuss thankfulness. It goes farther. We’re not told to be thankful when everything goes wrong, we’re told to be joyful. Keeping in mind that joy is a deep sense of being cared for by someone who is capable of doing so – not giddy happiness – may help, but when there’s nothing? Most of us tend to think of basic food and shelter is the definition of being cared for. How could anyone think that we’re being cared for if we are homeless and starving. If a child were being treated that way, CPS would take the child from the parents, and most of us would say that CPS was right to do so. But when we’re talking about parents caring for children, we’re talki

                 “‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast. They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning. (Leviticus 7:12-15)               We’re heading into November, and I’m planning to take on a challenge to list 1000 things I’m thankful for by bedtime on Thanksgiving Day, so I’m starting to rev up my gratitude engine. It turns out that the Mosaic

                 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart ( Hebrews 4:12)                I read a lot – not nearly enough, but a lot. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to develop some themes for different times of the year. Of course, October is the month in which to read horror. I listened to some stories and poems by Edgar Allen Poe, read by Vincent Price and Nigel Rathbone. I can’t say they were frightening. I read The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It was interesting but not really frightening. I’m almost done with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. For me, this story is scary, and I probably shouldn’t be reading it right before bed, but that’s when I get to read. The thing about these stories is that the reader is supposed to be emotionally involved for a horror novel to be effective. If someone

                 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 3:16-17)               I have kept journals for years but reading them is frustrating and disappointing. The things I whined about years ago are what I’m whining about now. How can I be such a miserable failure that I somehow never learn? Shouldn’t I be past that by now? I mean, come…on… Oh, there are some things that I seem to be past, but they seem inconsequential compared to the stuff I just can’t learn.             I have a school mentality of learning.  You learn that 2+2=4, and chances are that even if you forget it you can figure it out. The capital of the United States is Washington, DC. Got that. Somewhere in the records, I earned my diploma and two degrees.   But they don’t seem to have certificates in love,

                      But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing.   What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” …Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. (II Samuel 13:11-15 & 20)       This isn’t one of the passages of Scripture we tend to like to re

                   Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction . (Proverbs 29:18 NIV)   Where there is no  vision , the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)   This verse usually comes to mind for me later in the year, when I’m looking forward to starting out fresh and clean on the first day of January and really accomplishing something in the year that follows. But while my sister and her husband visited last week, the discussion almost touched on the subject for a quarter of a second, so it’s been in the background, waiting for a chance to be given a bit more consideration to which it’s due. In general, what I wanted to explore but didn’t get a chance was the whole notion of communities developing a clear and compelling vision. I grew up in a manufacturing town in which (for roughly the first decade) “downtown” was the focus of community life. Then manufacturing moved o

                 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. …   for each one should carry their own load. (Galatians 6:2 & 5)   One of the websites I found about burdens and loads suggested that loads are things in our lives as a part of life. If you reside in a building, one of your loads is the care and maintenance of that building. Burdens are described as often being boundary problems. [1]   Another site says, “Burdens are those things that come into our lives usually for a season.  The word that Paul uses for a load describes the responsibilities that belong to us.” [2] Still another says, “The idea is that a load is the day-to-day challenges that occur quite naturally, ie., housework, schoolwork, parenting, connecting with people, what to eat for dinner, laundry, a date, being date-less, work, a flat tire… A burden is the heaviness we carry around because of the consequences of someone else’s choices, a traumatic event that h

                 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! (Proverbs 15:23)   Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:6)   Apt: appropriate or suitable in the circumstances   If you watch any program, you’re likely to enjoy it when someone says just the right thing in just the right way – whether it’s a gotcha or the word of wisdom. Those gotchas are part of the reason I stopped watching sitcoms. I not only liked to watch people get gotten, but I liked to get people, too – to put them in their place (which always involved down) or otherwise show myself to be better than they. My sister says that she retains trivia. I claim I’m trivial. In both cases, there’s a lot in our heads that may be pertinent at the oddest of times. She isn’t quite as ready to share as I am. Part of the challenge is what one person thinks is  apt, another thinks is boring, arroga

                 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3) I’ve seen memes on social media in which someone says, in effect, that if you don’t answer their text within 30 seconds, there’s something wrong with you, you’re being rude, and you must not care for the person who texted. And I’m not talking about an urgent text, like, “The appointment ended early, can you pick me up?” It’s more like, “Good morning, did you sleep well?” Polite perhaps, but it’s not something that needs an immediate answer other than to gratify the ego of the person who sent it. Then I consider my prayers this morning: Lord, touch my life, heal my brokenness, guide me, teach me, speak to me, conform me to the image of Your Son… They’re all great Sunday School prayers. I mean them all, but when I finish circling the part of the park where Grace is allowed, and nothing miraculous has happened, and I’ve had no major revelation, I get going on

                 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me . (Psalm 51:12) Restore: bring back (a previous right, practice, custom, or situation); reinstate: return (someone or something) to a former condition, place, or position: repair or renovate (a building, work of art, vehicle, etc.) so as to return it to its original condition; give (something previously stolen, taken away, or lost) back to the original owner or recipient . Grant: agree to give or allow (something requested) to. Sustain: strengthen or support physically or mentally; undergo or suffer (something unpleasant, especially an injury); cause to continue or be prolonged for an extended period or without interruption. Verbs are the first key to today’s verse, not just in terms of the definitions provided above, but also in their conjugation. The person implied by restore and grant is the second person: You . The me of the passage is requesting that God restore and gra

                 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)   But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord . (Exodus 24:34-35)   This is another of the type of verses I’ve discussed many times. The point is that if we take delight in the Lord, the desires of your heart are going to be the Lord. If we seek Him as our delight, we’ll get Him. If we seek money, we may or may not get the money, and we may regret it when we get it. Today, however, it might be useful to look at the word “delight.” What does it mean to delight? According the internet, the etymology of the term is “English word delight comes from Proto-Germanic *maganą (To be able, may.), Proto-Germanic *linhtijaną, Proto-

          Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)   Wait…wait for it… ugh. Why does sixty seconds waiting for the microwave seem like an hour, unless you leave the room to do something, in which case sixty seconds seems like ten. And in spite of evidence that the ability to delay gratification tends to improve one’s likelihood of success, we still can’t seem to tolerate having to wait. I hear of people who complain about having to use a self-check at a grocery store, and while I agree that the stores should have more cashiers, if I have to choose between a self-check that’s open and a cashier with a line, you can bet I’ll choose the former. It's not that I’m entirely impatient. There are times I am more patient with people (other people tell me) than I should be, and if I have a book to listen to, a craft to do, or research, I can be very patient and focused. There are times when I’ll wait – possibly too long, refusing to take action

                 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. (Psalm 25: 14-15)   The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:10)   The words that seem to be asking for attention today are fear, snare , and wisdom . I have written about fear in a number of senses. There are times when it is appropriate and times when it is not. Proper fear involves an awareness that there are consequences to deal with in response to our actions. If you kick something in bare feet, you hurt your foot (unless you’re specially trained.) It’s wise to fear that you’ll hurt your foot if you kick something, and therefore avoid kicking things. So, there’s at least some wisdom in fear and fear in wisdom. The other word is snare. When I’m weeding; working with yarn, cord, or string; or an elec

            May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer . (Psalm 19:14)           Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.   See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)           I remember being afraid of this verse and rebellious. God was not welcome to monitor the words of my mouth or the meditations of my heart and judge whether or not they pleased Him. Not in a million years, because is I ever allowed it, He would walk away and reject me forever. Even if I weren’t condemned to Hell, He’d give me a place to live in Heaven in a neighborhood He rarely visits. In other words, He would be disappointed with me.           Please, don’t bother correcting the failure of logic and reason above. If nothing else, it is no longer how I think. Besides, I suspect there’s no one alive – who isn’t arrogant and self-deceiving – who doesn’

                 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. (II Samuel 7:22) One of the books I read about personal mission statements said that you should be so familiar with your mission statement that if someone woke you from a sound sleep with a gun to your head and yelled, “What’s your mission in life?” you could answer. Sometimes, it seems as though we’re supposed to be just as likely to enthusiastically praise God – not just when the gun’s to our head, but as we’re talking down the street, as we’re watching the same stupid cartoon we’ve watched every day for the last ten because a grandchild loves it, as we look at a To Do list that will take ten days and should have been done two days ago – any time, in any emotional state, we’re supposed to burst into exuberant praise in perfect poetic form and without quoting anything that anyone has ever said before. And we should. God is that great. He

  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.   Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.    On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;     if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good . (Romans 12:14-21)             There’s an old warning about not discussing religion or politics, and some people think it even worse to “mix” the two, but mid-term elections are coming up, which means that f

                 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.    Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.   They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.   For I know the pla

  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. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you . (II Corinthians 4:7-12)   I’ve commented on this passage recently, I know, but this morning, I feel the need to return to it considering yesterday’s musings. To begin with, I don’t pretend that what we face today is anywhere near the level of difficulty faced by the folks in the First Century. I doubt that ninety percent of the population of the world would describe me as “suffering.” Or, if I am, it’s my fault for being