Mission Faithwalk

                 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. (II Corinthians 2:7-8)                  We don’t do forgiveness well, but today’s verses highlight an area of particular weakness. Paul was told about a man who was sleeping with his father’s wife, and the church was proud of it. Paul corrected them and told them how to deal with him and his stepmother. Apparently, the church had responded – possibly a little too vigorously. He had repented, but they were maintaining their distance from him. Even more than individual forgiveness, group (family, church, society) discipline and forgiveness are a challenge.                Part of the problem is that discipline and forgiveness are similar to the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief. With a situation needing discipline, there is denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, and not all members of the group are in th

                 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. (Hebrews 10:18)                  Today’s verse brings us full circle. We began with the notion that forgiveness requires sacrifice. Now, the author of Hebrews says that forgiveness doesn’t require sacrifice.  Which is it? Is Scripture being contradictory?  I don’t believe so. First, there is the fact that the sacrificial system described in Leviticus was part of the Old Covenant.  Christ fulfilled the law through His death and resurrection, and we live under the New Covenant. The formal requirement of sacrifice has been set aside.                Secondly, and more importantly, the passage in Leviticus requiring sacrifice approached the topic of forgiveness from the present. Those who seek forgiveness must sacrifice. The act of forgiveness requires sacrifice from the one who forgives. Today’s verse deals with forgiveness in the past tense. The people involved have made their sacrifices.

                  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters . (Romans 8:29)               Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots . (Luke 23:34)                  Being a Christian means following Christ, which is supposed to involve our becoming more and more like Him.   So, while today’s passage from Luke is a really high bar, this is the direction we’re supposed to head, not as an “Ugh, I have to forgive that good for nothing _____, again! ” but in the same sense that Jesus did. “Father, forgive them, for they haven’t a clue.”                We like to think we don’t mean harm when we do wrong to others. When they do wrong to us, however, they knew full-well what they were doing and they meant it. As we consider the worst of the worst: the Hitlers and serial killers, we’re sure that th

                   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)                  Yesterday, Jesus taught us to forgive the same person for the same sin seven times per day – as a minimum. He wasn’t suggesting that when the person confessed the same sin to you for an either time, you got to say, “Oops, you reached your limit! No forgiveness for you!”                In today’s passage, Peter approaches Jesus and proves he’s been listening. “Up to seven times? That’s what you said, Jesus. Am I right? I’m right, aren’t I.” Can you imagine the big grin on the face of the man who thought himself Jesus’ star disciple?                I suspect Jesus may have smiled back. After all, seven times is much better than an eye-for-an-eye. But then Jesus drops a bombshell. Not seven times but sevent

                 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)                  Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” (Luke 17:4)                One of the complaints the Pharisees and teachers of the law had against Jesus is that He claimed to be able to forgive people. Yesterday, we considered verses from Leviticus   that discussed the sacrifices needed for sins to be forgiven according to the law. So, here’s the logical question that should be considered. If someone took the appropriate sacrifices to the priest and the priest performed the sacrifices, did God forgive the sin? Does it make sense to say that a follower of God would then not forgive them? Could then not forgive them?   At the very least, shouldn’t this have sparked some discussion among law teachers?  We fac

 ... and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven… He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven…   They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven…   They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven. (Leviticus 4: 20, 26, 31& 35)                  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forg

               “This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. (Genesis 50:17)   Someone shared something about forgiving today, and while I’m not feeling specifically led to address the issue raised (yet,) I do feel led to look at the subject. It’s been said that the first time something is mentioned in the Bible is significant – it’s important to look there, and the passage above is it: ten verses or 244 words from the end of Genesis. It’s not mentioned in connection with Adam and Eve, Cain, Able, Seth, or any of their family line down to Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth, Canaan, Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob or Esau. Even here, it’s not mentioned in connection with God. The word pardon doesn’t show up until Judah pleads to Joseph for his brother's life. Excuse doesn’t

          Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9)                  Oh, it’s so tempting… You don’t know any of the people involved. I could give them fake names. They aren’t likely to read my blog. I’m not malicious, I’m just providing an example of the passage… or, I just want to hear your wise answers to how I should deal with this situation… or I want you to recognize that I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve been there.                Yeah. This is one of those temptations that we succumb to all too frequently.  Some clever person came up with the idea to think before saying things, meaning to ask ourselves: T - is it True? H - is it Helpful? I - is it Inspiring? N - is it Necessary? K - is it Kind?                 But let’s be real. Even if we could remember the words that went with each letter of think at the time when we need to, chances are good that we would find some justi

                 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.   The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.   Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)                  This passage reminds me of I Corinthians 13:1-4 and the passage in which Jesus warns people that they may say tell Him all about how much good they did, and He will say “Away from me. I never knew you.” It also reminds me of horror movies. Even if you haven’t seen them  you’ve heard enough about them to know – the vampire or zombie are “undead,” meaning that they have the appearance of life without actually being alive. It doesn’t seem kind to say it but there are a lot of people out there who are

                 Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. (Psalm 119:132)                And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, (Exodus 34:6)                  This morning I find myself returning to a mental chorus: “Lord, have mercy.”  One of the popular definitions of mercy is “not getting what we deserve.” Grace is “getting what we don’t deserve.” And compassion is (among other things) “concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” As I prayed, “Lord, have mercy,” I wondered what I needed mercy from God for. What did I do that I wanted God to not treat me as I deserve?                When nothing specific came to mind, it came to mind that the word I was using might be wrong. Might I be looking for grace? To be treated in a way I didn’t deserve? That was closer, but not quite it, either. The next candidate was “comp

                 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.   For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit . (Romans 8:1-4)                  You’re on the horns of a trilemma. On the one hand, there’s housecleaning to do and dinner to make. On the other hand, you have a friend who isn’t feeling well emotionally. On your way home from spending time with her, you can stop at a shop and pick up yarn to make chemo caps for cancer victims. On the third hand, there’s that book you have out of the library that needs to be returned soon.  For some folks,

            The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work . (I John 3:8)             The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. (Deuteronomy 7:22)                 The Israelites who entered the promised land likely thought  that God was going to hand them the whole land, wiping out all their enemies in a day. God warned them He wasn’t going to do that. Later, the first town God handed them was made a ruin as they watched. The second town cost them dearly because they didn’t do things right in the first town. Eventually, some of the Israelites came to complain to Joshua because they didn’t have enough land, but they hadn’t done anything about it for themselves.                When we hear, then, that the reason the Son of Go

                 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10)                  No, we’re not done with love as a topic just because it’s after St. Valentine’s Day. In fact, this is one of the “better” verses about love, because it challenges our understanding and smashes our self-satisfaction. This is the standard to which we are to aspire. God created us. We rebelled against Him. We continue to rebel against Him and it’s not some secret that He doesn’t know about. We didn’t love Him. We still don’t love Him as we should and He knew we wouldn’t. And yet, He loved and loves us enough to send His Son (who loved us enough to come) to atone for our sins.                Love isn’t “I like being around him, he makes me laugh (or happy, or feel good, or whatever.)”                Love isn’t “The sex is great with her.” Or “He’s hot .”                  Love isn’t “He fulfills me” or “She is my better h

                 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)                  Today, let’s look at this whole idea of loving one another from another perspective. I don’t know if I’ve suggested this before, but my day today combined with this verse equals, leads my mind in this direction. Currently, I have something going on every day of the week except Tuesdays. I haven’t had a chance to go to the parks that I have gone to over the past three years, so today, I left the trailer around 7:45 and got home at 4. Now it’s after 6 pm and I’m just getting started on my blog for tomorrow morning, the daily chores aren’t done and let’s just say Grace is glad I’m back. There’s not a reason in the world why I shouldn’t have gone on this daytrip. I had a great time. I got 169 pictures, some of which have already been processed.                S

                 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known . (I Corinthians 13:8-12)                  Again, we seem to have a summary, this time to the last four verses. From “Love is patient” through “always perseveres,” Paul was saying that love never fails, but he also uses it as an introduction to another thought – a conclusion to the argument that our doing all those spectacular works but not having love makes the deeds worthless.  This time, he focuses on tongues

               Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:6-7)                  Here, Paul breaks the pattern he began in yesterday’s passage. We should have a sentence with five characteristics, followed by a sentence with six. Instead, we have a sentence with two, and another sentence with four. The other pattern that might be worth noticing is that Paul began yesterday’s passage with the word Love , but uses the pronoun it for the rest of what he wrote. But today’s passage again begins with Love. That suggests that each time he uses the word Love , he is beginning a new thought. So, love is not about having power over, but about sharing power and using power for the good of others.                And now, love is about truth. In Ephesians, Paul describes truth as the belt that holds up one’s clothes, serves as a place to keep one’s tools and weapons, and protects one’s bowel

            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 not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs . (I Corinthians 13:4-5)             In the past, I’ve gone through these verses looking at each characteristic of love separately. This time, let’s look at them by sentence. First, Paul lists two characteristics of love.  To be patient means to withhold the use of force and allow someone to work it out on their own, to not demand immediate, full compliance. On the other hand, kindness is about lending someone else your strength and helping them accomplish what would be more difficult or impossible on their own. Both involve the use of strength and power. One withholds, and the other provides.                Next, Paul lists three characteristics of love: it doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, and isn’t proud. The one who loves isn’t threatened by what the beloved has or can do. It’

                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. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)                  Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?”                  Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)                  With St. Valentine’s day coming up, this passage had to be shared. That’s not saying it’s not a good

               We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. (II Thessalonians1:3)                  I’ve been trying to be more appreciative of people lately – being thankful for their help, their encouragement. Sometimes, I don’t do it very well, and people think I’m putting them down. Maybe they’re right, but in my mind, I’m trying to express love to them and gratitude for them. In today’s passage, Paul wrote about how it was right for him to be thankful to God for them because God was causing them to grow in faith and love. It’s right for us to be thankful to God when people grow – not just in their faith and love, but in other ways. It’s also right that Paul told the Thessalonians about it, because Paul’s thankfulness, expressed to both God and the Thessalonians, would act as spiritual sunshine, producing further growth.                This i

                 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’   But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.    If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.   Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)                  Oh, what a can of worms. “Don’t resist an evil person?” What about self-defense? Wait, someone who slaps you on the right cheek is evil? And what’s this stuff about “an eye for an eye”? Isn’t that Draconian?                Let’s start with some background. Moses taught what is called “Lex Talionis.” It’s the law of retaliation. People sometimes think it evil, but “an eye for an eye” is a huge improvement over the justice of other cultures of the time. In the ancient world, if you insulted a king, you, y

                 Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)                  For now we  see  only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall  see   face   to   face . Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known . (I Corinthians 13:12)              “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)                  Here we go. This isn’t the only verse about hating evil. There are ten others that use the phrase, and lots more than discuss one aspect or another of hating evil. We are supposed to hate evil. For Christians, this isn’t a new tension. There’s an old adage about hating the sin but loving the sinner. That’s not an easy thing to do. Just ask anyone to whom it is suggested that they love Hitler, the most recent spree-killer, or someone who abuses children or animals. Love those monsters? They are evil!               

                 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21)               Prosperity : successful in material terms; flourishing financially.                  Today is one of those days when I have to do something I don’t like to do (and yet, I love to do it): disagreeing with a definition. Most people would agree that prosperity means doing well financially or materially, but it comes from Latin terms meaning “doing” and “well.” The financial part is something we moderns have added. I’ve mentioned before that joy is the sense that one is being cared for by someone ready, willing, and able to do the job. If one is being cared for by someone ready, willing, and able, then one is doing well. If one can do good to others, one is doing well. I’ve found that life is better, and I feel I’m doing well if I’m doing good to others, which is when I’m loving. And doing good also tends to lead to honor. In a sense, these are all the same, or all

           T o him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)                  Obviously, the Him involved is God. But consider what’s being said about Him. He is able to keep us from stumbling. Jude is writing about spiritual stumbling, but let’s consider physical stumbling. I stumbled walking through the door the other day. The only damage done was that I spilled coffee.  Yes, that was slightly traumatic, but I survived. About 18 months ago, I stumbled and cracked a tooth. It cost more than a thousand dollars to fix it, and it could go bad. I know more than one person who stumbled and broke an arm, or a tail bone, or a hip. Jude tells us that God can keep us from stumbling – from having that moment of panic in which we either only spill a little co

            Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among  your  people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)   And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)   The verse from Matthew is the verse that follows Jesus’s statement that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is supposed to be very important. I have to say, it’s also hard. I don’t like my neighbors much.  It’s not that I dislike them. I don’t hope something bad happens to them. I don’t wish I could throw up whenever I think of them. My “not liking” people is more like being perfectly comfortable with not having to deal with people, especially if I figure they’re not really likely to want anything to do with me. The problem is that the things I want to do or learn to do seem to end up with me interacting with other people, to which my reaction tends to be “Yay, things.

            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)                  I’m writing this after 6 pm the day before it will be available to read. It’s been a busy day. I helped set things up for the Mission Committee’s Yard Sale, got the ingredients I still needed to make scones for the bake sale part of it, made the scones, walked the dog 4 times, did a little housecleaning, and spent a good chunk of that time trying to figure out what Bible passage to write about. Someone shared this passage  with no idea what I was searching for, and it sparked an idea.                It's not unlike the idea I’ve shared before that it seems to take forever when you don’t know the path. If you have landmarks or benchmarks, you feel like you’re making progress. Walking through your life, it sometimes seems as if you’re wandering in circles or that the path branches off a

                 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— ( I Corinthians 2:9)                  There’s  story about two little boys, both given a shovel and put in a room with a pile of manure. The first boy great angry and wanted out. The other book dug energetically, saying that with as manure as there was, there had to be a pony somewhere. And we all laugh at the naivete of the busy boy, because we’re the angry one. Sooner or later, he’ll learn that life has lots of manure, but not many ponies. I would probably be the angry little boy, and part of my anger would be that someone had made a mess of a perfectly good room. The other part would be anger because no one told me where to shovel the manure to – no doors or windows were open. How could I be a good little boy and help out if no one tells me what to do? And I would agree with those who said that the ha

                 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength . (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)                  “If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15)                  This is the Old Testament version of the first half of Matthew 22:37-39, and of Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27. Years ago, when I was struggling with discerning my mission statement and had basically given up, I came across the verses in Matthew. Somewhere along the line, I discovered that Jesus was  paraphrasing the Shema, which is what the Jews called the passage above. This is the first and greatest commandment. I’m convinced that these verses are our true mission statements. This is what we were created to do. But there are two problems.                The first is sin. We want to be God, not love Him. The second, and our focus today, is the problem of method. How do we love God? Gary Chapman would say we love Him