Mission Faithwalk

                 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (II Timothy 1:7) Some people think I’m not afraid of anything. I think I’m afraid of everything. But fear isn’t really what this verse is talking about. There is a difference between being afraid and being fearful or timid. Being afraid is circumstantial. Being timid or fearful is behavioral. They are habits. I suspect I’m timid. Or maybe that’s just a lie I tell myself .           But today’s passage tells us that this isn’t the way we’re supposed to be. God has given us a Spirit of power. Put aside the superhero image. Power is the ability to act, so your having power may mean you can cook a meal or say “Hello.” And what is to supply that power? Love - the commitment to doing what is for the good of the other. Love is activated by self-discipline, because it’s easy to procrastinate when it comes to loving. In its turn, self-discipline is motivated and empowered by lov

       The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.   For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (II Corinthians 4:4-6)   Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”   Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains . (John 9:39-41)   First, a note. Some manuscripts do not include the words “Jesus said,” in the last paragraph of the second passage. It does not change the understanding o

  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)   I’ll admit it. This morning - possibly because I’m listening to Sherlock Holmes stories, and partly as a result of some recent events, I’m feeling logically argumentative. I hope it’s of use to you at some point when you encounter the same idea.           Let us suppose that I have put these two mugs on the table before you:           I grant that one has the handle pointing left, the other has the handle pointing right, and that one has flowers nearer it, but those are not real differences. If I asked you to describe them, you might say that they are usable, identical white, 12 oz mugs and ask that I pour us both cups of coffee. I might tell you that you’re wrong. They’re not identical: one has a tiny hole in the bottom, and they are light gray.           The biggest point is that we cannot both be right and honest. We may both be honest if one or both o

                    Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it . (Proverbs 4:23) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. (Matthew 23:27)           We all like to see ourselves as pretty good folks. We’re not perfect. We may even admit that we are sinners saved by grace, but we’re not murderers, rapists, or abusers of children, women, or animals. Some of us alternate this view with the conviction that we are miserable, worthless worms who can’t do anything right, but at least we’re not murderers, rapists, or abusers of children, women, or animals. You can add whatever horrible thing that you don’t do to the list. It always proves that we aren’t as bad as we could be.  At the very least, our int

                 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)   Yesterday’s post was all about the need for wisdom. I went to bed last night telling God that I want to trust Him. I just need something specific to trust Him in, with, for, or about. At midnight, I got up and checked BibleGateway.com’s verse for today, and this is it. Even if there is not something specific, I need to learn to really trust that He knows the plans He has for me, and that they’re good. At whatever point I am anxious, whether it’s about a bill due in ten months, or what I’m going to get done today, God knows the plans He has for me. And here’s where the issue really comes in. He knows. I don’t. That irritates my desire to control. If He gives hints or

            The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. (Proverbs 14:1) She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue . (Proverbs 31:26)   Wisdom: Correctly applied knowledge   The definition above is not one you’ll find in the dictionary, but it serves here. The first verse haunts me. It’s one of the reasons I ask people to pray “wisdom, direction, attitude” for me. There are two sides to this anxiety. The first is a fear that I’m doing a bad job of caring for my house and that I’ll go home and find it a pile of rubble or it will become a pile of rubble around me. But instead, I’m spending money to do things I want to do and that I think God wants me to do. The second reason is that building a house also applies to building a life. For years, my life was pretty well set out. I would work my full-time job and take care of Mom. Then Mom died before Dad, and he became the one I cared for. Anything more than that wa

  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.    They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”  (Acts 12:21-22)   Yes, I know, it’s February, not December, but in December, we focus on the first two phrases. Today, I want to focus on the first of the titles in the list: Wonderful Counselor. In the Bible, wonder refers to God’s supernatural ability. What’s interesting about the second passage is that it was about Herod. It was normal for the Ceasars in Rome and other imperial sorts, but Herod wasn’t a Ceasar. I wonder what would have happened if he had lived and Ceasar found out. Instead, he died. It might seem unfair for God to have killed him because of what others said about him, but he accepted the p

                The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.   We love to look down on others, and Jonah is a great example. We read something about him, and we smirk. How stupid, weak, unspiritual, disobedient, or _______ he was. God told him to go to Ninevah and he ran away. Yes, and God taught him a thing or three. And we chuckle. And then God calls on us to do something -if you’re like me – the answer is “Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” I treasure the knowledge of that reaction because it’s one of the ways I can discern whether something is from God. Then God and I get to work on my attitude. This is especially true when God calls on us to love our enemies. Jona

                  This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:5-9)   Don’t you just look forward to weekends and vacations? You work hard all week, or all year, and finally, you get to kick back and take it easy. You might take a trip or just pop the top on your favorite tipple. I know people who claim that the whole time they spend in Florida during the winter is a long vacation. Sometimes, when it comes to Christianity, I think people sometimes think tha

                 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) Delight: please (someone) greatly   How does a person delight in anything? Yes, I’m trying to put delight on the table so we can examine it. This leads to two more questions. How do we recognize delight? How do we sustain it? Last night, I watched an episode of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett as the famed detective. I’m also listening to The Scandal in Bohemia on CD. Three things for which Holmes is renowned are his passion for mysteries and puzzles, his logical mind, and his use of cocaine to endure the times in which his mind is not occupied. I like Brett’s interpretation of Holmes, but last night, I noticed that when problems or ideas were introduced, he expanded like a sponge soaking up water. He lit up. He paid attention. It was almost as if the robot came suddenly to life or like a child reaching for something new. Even if the child were incapable of speech, everyt

  A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel . (Proverbs 15:18) 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) It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows . (Proverbs 20:25) It seems to me that a fair portion of the park in which I live needs to be put in a time out or sent to their rooms (homes up north?) until they are ready to be civil. There have been at least three incidents in which people are acting out in their irritation, and others decide it’s an opportunity to announce to the world how absolutely rude everyone in my park is. Of course, they don’t include themselves in the list even though they are being as rude as anyone else. And if someone referred to me specifically as being the rudest of the lot, I might agree with them. I’m not looking for anyone to tell me I’m too hard on myself. I am simply not

                   In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (I Peter 1:6-7)               fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)               And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Yes, again .             The devotional I seem to be peaking at has to do with joy. We often think of joy, as we do of love, as being felt. We fall into it and out of it – and seemingly, somehow, mostly out. We don’t think of it as something we can influence or choose.

  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, (Colossians 3:23)             When you get to your job interview, it turns out that your employer is God. He doesn’t need to ask you those silly questions, because He already knows you. Feel free to speculate about what sort of work He might call you to do, but that’s not the focus here. What would He tell you the requirements and responsibilities of the job are? What would it mean for you to do the job with all your heart? What would it look for if you worked for the Lord?             Often, we seem to think that we’re only “hired” by God if God gives us some major ministry. Pastors, priests, and prophets are hired by God. Christian entertainers, evangelists, and educators are hired by God. Store clerks, gardeners, cooks, parents, custodians… they are not hired by God. Today’s passage says that whatever your job, to do it as though God were the one who hired you, the one who evaluat

                 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) Babies don’t know how to love. From the little I’ve heard about them; they don’t even realize that the things that make them feel comfortable or happy are separate from themselves. They are entirely narcissists. According to an article in Psychology Today, around the age of two, they begin to notice and learn about love. And if they don’t learn enough about it within the next few years, they are likely to be emotionally handicapped. We learn to love because someone else loves us. Ultimately, of course, God is the teacher. He shows love to those babies who need to learn to love by giving them parents whose job it is to teach what they have learned. That’s how it’s designed to work, even though humans break the design and fail in their responsibilities. As babies grow into children, they’re taught things like sharing, manners, and basic soci

                   “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)             Now, let’s start with the Greek. The word for love is transliterated agape . It’s not philos , which is brotherly love or friendship. In other words, we’re not called to like one another. We’re called to love one another – to look out for what is in the best interest of, and to be committed to maintain a relationship with the other person. This command given by Jesus doesn’t involve our loving those who aren’t Christians. That’s elsewhere. This is tough because Christians are humans and humans can be world-class jerks. This is what some folks don’t seem to get – it’s not the Christians, the Atheists, the Whites, the Blacks, the educated, the uneducated, the right, or the poor that are jerks. It’s people .           But one of the two major functions of any rel

                 Love never fails…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 8a & 13) Did you know that the wonderful section of I Corinthians we’re examining is a rabbit trail of a sort? The main topic Paul was addressing was spiritual gifts and their proper use. In the middle, he interrupts himself to say (in effect) “but let me tell you about something that’s lots better than these gifts: love.” In the quote above, the ellipses (…) are a summing up of what he’d said about gifts, with verse 13 as a summation of his whole argument about stuff that won’t last forever, and stuff that will. But now, let’s get to our tough stuff again. Love never fails? Really? So why do 50% of all marriages end in divorce? And why didn’t I, as daughter and caregiver, enjoy taking care of my father, relishing the idyllic occupation? Why do people start out full of passion for their jobs, and end up grinding their teeth or crying on the way

                 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.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.    It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:4-7) We love because he first loved us. (I John 4:19)   Yesterday, I defined love as a commitment to do what is in the best interest of the beloved while maintaining a healthy relationship with the beloved. Today’s passage is a description of what that looks like. In the past, I’ve suggested that you look in a mirror and recite the passage while looking in your eyes. The first time, change the word “love” to “God” and add “to me,” “with me” or whatever is needed to make yourself the direction object of God’s actions. The second time, change “love” to “I” and add a direct object of someone in your life. Stop whenever you fin

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) Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)   As we approach St. Valentine’s Day, the thoughts of many who “observe” the day turn to lust. The thoughts of some turn to love. For me, it’s an opportunity to sing the praises of love and to contrast it with what the world says. As a sort of an aside, let’s start with the apparent contradiction. Jesus said laying down one’s life for one’s friends was a demonstration of the greatest love, but Paul said that if we give over our bodies to hardship…but do not have l

              “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) “We ought to get together for coffee sometime.” “Come see me.” Invitations. We get them. We give them. And “everyone knows” they aren’t meant. Oh yeah, sure, if we show up (or they show up) everyone will be polite, but everyone knows everyone involved would be so much happier if neither we nor they knocked at the door. And it’s even worse if someone comes along who can’t seem to open his mouth without complaining. Yeah, if you want to come over to hand me half of the million bucks you just won, feel free! The first problem is that “everyone knows” is fallacious unless you have talked to everyone in the world, and they all tell you they know the invitation isn’t meant. There are people who like people to drop in. In fact, I’ve read statistics that suggest between 25 to 50% of the population prefer to have people around. People energize them. But we make assumptions and leap

                 For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. (Psalm 149:4-5)   Today’s devotional from Jesus Always by Sarah Young points out that we often try to allow others to see in us only what we want them to see. We show them what we think they’ll find acceptable or what we find unacceptable in them by showing our perceived superiority. One of the problems we have with God is that He is a little too like Toto in The Wizard of Oz. Even if He doesn’t pull back the curtain, revealing that we are a sham, He still sits and watches us try to fool everyone else. The problem for us is, of course, maintaining the lie. Often, it’s not even just one lie. We must remember to whom we have lied about what and who knows the truth. And at all costs, we must keep those to whom we have lied and those who know the truth apart. All this requires a lot of attention and energy. And as

            “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous . (Matthew 5:43-45) I know, it hasn’t been long since I wrote about this passage, but in light of yesterday’s post urging you to hate evil, it seems appropriate to go with Biblegateway.com’s choice of this as the passage for today. To reiterate, we are clearly and definitely to hate evil, even if doing so costs us our physical lives. But, we are also to love our enemies and pray for those who do evil. At the same time. This is not a contradiction and it is a command given us by Jesus (for those who think only that which is in “red letters” is important.) It’s what some folks call “Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner.” As you read through the list below, pray for the blessing an

                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) This verse got an initial “Huh?” from me. Those who love the Lord are to hate evil because God guards their lives…? It’s what the ancients called a non-sequitur (It does not follow.) On second – more prolonged – look, it does. Start with the realization that “hate” does not mean “don’t like.”  You probably don’t hate Brussels Sprouts, Castor Oil, or getting up at six in the morning. You might not want to have anything to do with them, but if your neighbor wants to get up at six and read for two hours – so long as she’s not disturbing you, I doubt you’ll object. And if that same neighbor wants to eat Brussels Sprouts or take Castor Oil, you’d probably say, “More power to ye.” Love as been defined as seeking what is in the best interest of the beloved; seeking to do good to and for the beloved. Hatred, then, is seeking what