Mission Faithwalk

                 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,   filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Ephesians 1:9-11) On the one hand, there is love that abounds because you’re around the person and get to know them and they make you feel happy (or some such.) On the other hand, there’s love that abounds because you get to know the person and can find ways to help, encourage, support, challenge, or bless him/her. Paul seems to have been writing about the latter. Our love is to abound in knowledge and depth of insight so we may discern what is best. It’s also to abound in knowledge (etc.) so that we may be pure and blameless. I think that when I’ve read this verse in the past, I’ve thought of pur...

                 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (I Corinthians 11:2-3) Have you ever been cheated on? Have you ever cheated on someone? It doesn’t even have to have been a lover. It could have been a friend. Whether or not you have, you’ve probably seen cheating around you or encountered in on TV or in a book. As hard as it is to stomach someone sneaking around, meeting in dim and dingy places to avoid being seen, it must be far harder if the cheater parades around town, displaying infidelity to anyone and everyone - even the one he/she’s cheating on. Paul is describing cheating of slightly different kind: cheating on Christ. And we may never darken the ...

                 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8) Once again, the heart was considered the seat of the will, not the emotions. The pure in heart, therefore, are those who don’t have mixed motives. A couple of months ago, someone asked each member of a group why they were doing what they were doing. Most of the people said something about helping others, and I’m all for helping others, but when it came to my turn, I couldn’t say that. I was crocheting afghans and shawls, and I was happy that the would be used to help cancer victims and those in needs of some love or compassion, but the truth was and is that I crochet them for something to do. I crochet them to keep me (at least some of the time) from being distracted by other things while I’m listening to someone, and, I’ll admit that part of it is that I am amused by the reactions of others to my crocheting while walking. Please don’t be im...

                 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. (Proverbs 16:2) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) When I was too young to remember it, my parents abandoned me. It was only for a couple of days, and the hospital where they took me for tests basically demanded it, but I didn’t understand all that. When I was in college, I struggled with over-the-top responses to rejection/abandonment. It was years before I worked through the situation, and I still watch for signs of that response. It might not be surprising, then, that when my father needed help, I felt I had to shoulder the burden myself, because I could not abandon him. I’m not telling you this for pity or your understanding of me. I’m sharing it because things in our lives influence future choices even when we don’t remember them. And what...

                 The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight. (Proverbs15:26)   Yesterday’s soulcare idea was grace, partly because this was today’s verse. And I must begin with a negative approach because I suspect we encounter “gracious words” from the mouths of manipulative people. They butter you up to make you taste better when they eat you or feed you to the wolves. (I like that description!) We think we’re wise when we are suspicious of smooth talk. And there’s good reason for this. Unfortunately, we may learn to respond to all kind words with that suspicion, and that’s as big a mistake as believing what the manipulators say. Wisdom doesn’t put all its eggs in one basket. If gracious words are pure in God’s sight, shouldn’t we learn to use them? It’d be nice if there were classes or books, but there used to be and people misunderstood the purpose, either thi...

                 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:4) Abigail Maxina shared this meme, and it struck a chord with me. In some ways, it speaks to the issue of purity that I’ve been exploring. It even fits today’s verse. Our good Sunday School response to this is “Yes! Hurrah! Yippee! Thank You, God!” And it is a good response. We should consider it a good thing. But there are a lot of buts involved. God may not be afraid of our messes, but we may be. If nothing else, God cleaning them up might be painful. I think of Eustace in The Voyage of The Dawn Treader . Then there’s the problem: while it’s a mess, it’s ours.  We’re used to it. Even if we don’t like it, we’re still uncomfortable having someone else come along and decide about it. If God would only ask our opinion about His plans for our mess each step, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard. And since it’s our mess, saying, “Her...

                 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. (Psalm 19:9) “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” (Abraham Lincoln, and/or lots of other people.) The Hebrew word translated fear is transliterated “yirah,” which is also translated to “awe.”  So, when the Bible talks about fear , it’s not really describing phobias or even running away screaming. It still seems a little odd that the psalmist would describe the fear of the Lord as pure. At the same time, it makes perfect sense. Any emotion that isn’t mixed up with other emotions is pure. Any emotion that does this and leads us to do good or improves our relationship with God is pure. For that matter, emotions that support good, healthy relationships with other people are pure. ...

                 Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? (Job 4:17)           It’s probably not wise to base any doctrine on a claim made by someone who is later rebuked by God for all he said. Just sayin’. Eliphaz isn’t a guaranteed best source of Godly wisdom. However, there’s something about human nature in this passage that it might be useful to consider.           When you make a claim or do something - most of the time - do you do it knowing and agreeing that what you are doing is impure or evil? When Eliphaz asked this question, the obvious answer was “No.” Those who claim to be Christians would undoubtedly say, “No.”  Of course, a mortal can’t be more righteous than God. That being acknowledged, what do we do with Abram, Moses, and a few others who have argued ethical qu...

  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)   The word pure isn’t in this verse, but it was the verse of the day on the Bible platform I use, and while it doesn’t include the word, it adds to our understanding of it. We are to be free. Freedom is pure. But, we must not use our freedom to indulge our flesh, because indulging our flesh introduces impurities to that freedom. When I put it that way, it seems easy. It’s black and white. Murder, theft, rape, abuse, treason, adultery, drug abuse - these all clearly contaminate. No problem. But let’s say I put a few grains of salt in your morning coffee or a drop of black paint in your gallon of white paint. Is your coffee or your paint contaminated? Several years ago, I learned a neat trick. Adding a little salt to bitter coffee removes the bitterness. Salt can make things taste good and can help preserve t...

                 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. (II Samuel 22:27)  Shrewd: Having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute. (Archaic, of weather) Piercingly cold. God has the right to respond to people in different manners. Sometimes, as with Peter (most notably) and the other disciples, He could be loving and kind one moment and rebuke them in the next. But another possibility suggests itself. Suppose two people stood side-by-side and somehow even blinked at the same time, meaning that they both saw the same thing at the same time from the same physical perspective. It’s likely that in telling what happened, they would describe it differently. Is that at least what David was celebrating? The song from which this passage was taken was sung because God had protected David from Saul. Chances are good that “the pure” to whom David refers includes himself. The de...

                 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. (Exodus 25:11)   See also Exodus 25: 17, 24, 29, 31,36,38, 39; Exodus 28:14, 22, 36; Exodus 30: 3, 35, 35; Exodus31:8, and Exodus 37:2, 6, 11,16, 17,22,23, 24, 26, and 29. If you read on through the rest of Exodus and Leviticus, there are more references there. Quite simply, whenever gold was used in the construction of the Tabernacle or the Temple, pure gold was the rule. The Jews were not to mix silver, copper, zinc, nickel, palladium, cobalt, or anything else with the gold. Doing so would probably have made the gold, which is a soft metal, stronger, harder, and possibly less expensive, but if anything is clear anywhere in Scripture, it’s clear that just any old gold was not acceptable. The Jews had to find and refine it, or buy it, and either way, it would be an expensive process. Nothing was to be done to cheapen ...

                 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) Last week was a good but tough week, and the weekend involved trying to get things done that I didn’t have time to do during the week. I’m tired and quickly running out of time to write this. That may be part of why this passage - or just one word - is striking deep. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. Pure . Not mixed with stuff. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the books we read, the shows we watch, the people we think are friends, the authorities we obey are all polluted. We’re polluted by chemicals, our sins, and the sins of others. The idea of purity has been polluted because, more often than not, it’s limited to a sexual condition. I susp...

                      God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them . (Hebrews 6:10)       “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)   First, the book of Hebrews was written to people of the Jewish cultural persuasion. Since God is God, He isn’t likely to forget the work and the love shown to Him and His people by someone of another background, but the promise is technically made to those of Jewish descent. The problem is that God’s...

                 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways ! (Romans 11:33 NASB1995) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33 NIV)   Same verse, two translations. The NASB1995 is probably closer to the original Greek, but the NIV puts it in simpler language. Most of us don’t think in terms of “unfathomable.” According to statistics I looked up (but didn’t validate or check for accuracy), novice chess players can see three to four moves ahead. Super grandmasters are reputed to see fifteen to twenty moves ahead. Novices are likely to be distracted by a move made by the opponent, even if it doesn’t interfere with their battle plan. Super grandmasters aren’t likely to care what the opponent is doing to some pawns on the other side of the bo...

            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)   If you ever watched a coach, chances are good that you’ll have heard them shouting things like, “No, no, no. Aren’t you ever going to get it right? Do it again!” If the athlete does it wrong in a game, the coach will likely be more colorful in his commentary. But if the athlete gets it right, the coach may well cheer. And if it’s during a game and results in a victory, the coach will likely be more colorful in his commentary. The better an athlete the athlete is, the more quickly the coach can move from correction to praise. Of course, God isn’t our coach. He’s our Father. That means that He’s not only interested in our helping him put another game in the victory column. He wants us to grow up strong and healthy and would much ra...

                 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) At the time this was written, how a body is formed in the womb was a mystery to at least 99% of the people in the world. In spite of advances in science and claims of knowledge, the percentage is probably still correct. Oh, we may cite such things as germinal stage, embryonic stage, and fetal stage, or claim that something doesn’t happen until week Q, but even much of that involves arbitrary distinctions and nearly “magical” handwaving. This is the same problem with those scientific “experts” who so often issue dire warnings about the environment. Much of what we think we understand simply scratches the surface, yet they pronounce that all matters are clearly understood, and their list of actions is the only possible solution. But I have seen “s...

              So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.    But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (II Peter 3:14-18) A few weeks ago, we were told that som...

                      But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a n...

                 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13) I was going to continue in II Peter, and I’ll probably go back there tomorrow, but I struggled with a recurrent attitude problem this morning, and this passage came to mind. I don’t know quite how I stumbled into “Boo hoo, I’m such a failure,” but there I was, ankle-deep in the muck. I started praying honestly about the situation. The truth is that I am a failure. I told Him that the only way I could not be a failure (in my own eyes) would be for me to be as perfect as God. Then I corrected myself. The only way I coul...

                 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.    I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and ...

                           These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”   If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,...

                 Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord.    But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.   With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!    They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness...

                 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;   if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless    (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—   if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.   This is especially true of those who follow t...

                      But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.   (II Peter 2:1-3) This is something people don’t understand. Let’s start with the fact that Peter wasn’t writing only about the Church here, even if he thought he was. No matter what group you examine, if there are not currently false teachers, there have been and will be.  If you have not been a false teacher, you probably have been or will be. Some false tea...

                 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 5:15) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness . (I John 1:9) Oooo… Shows like Maury Povich, and memoires are popular because we like to hear all the salacious details as some confesses their sins. And making it a competition can be exciting. But oh… the idea of telling someone, anyone, or everyone that we have done something, have something, or are something for which they would be justified to reject or condemn us… that’s hard. However, have you ever spent time trying to keep a secret? Trying to hide or pretend that everything is fine when it’s not? One of the ways sin traps a person is by making the person ashamed or afraid to admit it has power. This is the reason people in ...

                 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit . (II Peter 1:19-21)   “I can see that you are a prophet.” (John 4:19 b)   Prophesy: the ability to receive a divinely inspired message and deliver it to others in the church.               I used to believe that prophecy had to do with foretelling the future. That made the comment by the woman at the well confusing to me. Jesus had...

                 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.   He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”   We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (II Peter 1:16-18)   Mountaintop experiences. God caused His glory to pass by Moses on the mountain, and Moses got to see His “back.” Elijah ran to a mountain to get away from Jezebel, and God spoke to Him in a still small voice. Jesus took Peter, James, and John onto a mountain and was transfigured before them. Then there was Daniel in the lion’s den and his three friends in the fiery furnace with a fourth person. And let’s not forget the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud at t...

                   So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.   I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (II Peter 1:12-15)   As people reach a certain point in their lives, they sometimes become concerned about their legacies. Good parents may not think in terms of “legacies,” but they still hope to raise children who will be good. This is what Peter was writing about here. He longed for the people who read the letter to be changed by what he said and to be his legacy. But it wasn’t so much about its being Peter’s legacy as it was about the content of the le...

               Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . (II Peter 1:10-11) Calling. Election. Both have to do with our being selected or chosen to do, to have, or to be something. I don’t know if everyone longs to know their calling or to confirm their election, but I suspect that many do. The idea tends to send our thoughts into realms of influence, power, fame, and fortune. I mean, what possible good would it do to “call” someone to be a stocker at a grocery store or to flip burgers at a fast-food place? This is another case of our focus being turned in the wrong direction. Our calling and election is in cultivating faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love in our lives. I...