Mission Faithwalk

                      Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows . (Galatians 6:7) Normally, when we read this verse, we think about something like the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Paris. The Olympic Committee made things worse by apologizing for any offense it might have caused. They’re not sorry they did it. They’re sorry you were offended. Maybe they’re sorry they got caught and called out. Some people are boycotting the Olympics. I couldn’t boycott them because that would have involved choosing not to watch them because of what they did. I had and have no plans to watch, though I’ll admit that I have watched a couple of Ms. Biles’ routines on Facebook. They’re sort of hard to avoid. Yes, she’s phenomenal and mighty, but some of the shine came off when I realized she was doing bits of the same routine on the balance beam that she did in the floor exercises. Maybe that’s normal now...

              The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9) Refuge: a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. It comes from Latin terms meaning back and to flee . I’ve provided the definition of refuge above but what does a refuge look like to you? On the 25th, I wrote about home . I suspect that the home we want is a refuge, a safe shelter, not only from actual danger or trouble, but from every discomfort. What would make it so? This isn’t what the verse is about – it’s just a rabbit trail. As I considered and prayed about the idea of refuges, one of the issues is the source of the oppression and trouble. Ultimately, it’s Satan. Penultimately, it’s the world, the flesh, and the devil. At least part of the time, the source is either “People!” or “Life!” or “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”  No matter who the oppressor or...

                 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) His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness . (II Peter 1:3) There is a book written by Charles Sheldon called In His Steps . I don’t recall if I read it or just heard about it, but it’s the source of the “What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD) bracelet thing. The people of a town decided to ask themselves that question whenever they faced a decision. But if I ask what Jesus would do, then do it, it separates me either from the thing that I do or from myself. I don’t know quite how else to describe it. But, if I ask what I - as a daughter/son of God - would do, the answer is likely to be similar (or the same) but I’m included. Maybe that’s just my broken...

                 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, (Hebrews 12:1) This morning on my prayer walk (and dog-walk) I repeated an oft’-repeated request for a verse about which to blog today. Today’s passage is Biblegateway.com’s verse of the day. It’s a beloved verse, and I’ve probably written about it too many times, but today, it will have to be too many plus one. I’ve read claims that the cloud of witnesses is angels and those who have gone to heaven. That may be, but the cloud can also include everyone living next door. I have to admit, I sort of hate this notion that there’s a spiritual drone hovering about, recording every second. I don’t want to be the star of the “Karen Show.” I tell people I want to be invisible. And I do, until I open my mouth and then ...

                 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see . (Hebrews 11:1) Today’s verse was chosen by Biblegateway.com, and I think it worthwhile to consider what Henry Blackabee said in Experiencing God . Summarizing a large part of the book, he said that God reveals Himself where He is working and in His work. This produces in us a crisis of faith. Will we join Him? What can we do? The crisis calls on us to make adjustments to our lives. What this looks like precisely differs from person to person and example to example. In other words, it’s deeply personal, spiritual, and situational. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is about giants of faith who did great things because of their faith. Sometimes they received what they wanted. Sometimes, they didn’t. But sometimes, I think we honor them for their faith because they’re in the “Hall of Faith” without really thinking about them, and that can ...

                 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Psalm 24:3-4 Sometimes, I find myself wondering about what makes a place a home. There are probably hundreds of answers. This may be just another of the mental calisthenics with which I torture myself, but calisthenics can produce health and strength if used properly. What do you think makes a house a home? Please put an answer in the comments. It doesn’t have to be long or formal. Let’s state the obvious. God and love are the primary ingredients of a home. Today’s passage suggests that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are also keys to making a home. Those things are all needed for the engineering, design, and construction of the building but one can hire the best in the business and not end up with a home. I don’t believe technical expertise was all that was meant b...

                 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:16) My inner being is being a fretful baby at the moment. I’m all caught up in decisions I’m making that deal with a future that isn’t today. In other words, as I’ve stated before, I’m dealing with the HU!NY! Syndrome, properly known as “Hurry Up! Not Yet!” It seems as if I can’t live in the present, but either struggle to escape from the past or to prepare for the future. Even as I tell myself, “Just one step” or “focus on today,” I’m kicking myself over failures in the past or whining about whatever I’m going to do months from now. And while I’m busy doing something, I can close the door to that messy room. But as soon as I don’t have something else to focus on, it’s like the monster under the bed or in the closet. It sneaks out of that room and pounces. As usual, I’m not looking f...

                 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . (Matthew 5:3 & 10) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) The verses above are the complete and comprehensive list of those who whom the kingdom of heaven belongs. The quote from John 14 makes it clear that the first two passages are not sufficient of themselves. If you are a child or poor in spirit or even persecuted because of righteousness, that you get the kingdom of heaven as your reward. In fact, seeking Heaven (as distinct from God) is idolatry. If you are after It and not Him, you will have neither. ...

                   because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)   This is my verse for the week, but I have no intention of inflicting you with it after today unless God gives me something to share later. The first item of interest deals with Paul. When you or I talk about Jesus, we might say “Jesus,” or “Jesus Christ.” Many who penned the New Testament refer to Him in those ways. Paul usually describes Him as Christ Jesus. The thing is that Jesus’ brothers and the disciples met Him as just Jesus, and discovered He was Christ. On the Damascus Road, Paul encountered the Messiah, the Christ, whose name happens to be Jesus. At least, that’s the way it seems to me. It may also be that since he was writing to gentiles, he used the gentile preference for rank (Governor, King, Emperor, Proconsul…) before name. That trivial...

                 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,…  (Romans 8:1)   The other day at work, I was dealing with anxiety that had nothing to do with work, and everything to do with HU!NY! The idea of memorizing Scripture (always a good idea) came to mind, and the verse that trailed behind it is one I clearly already memorized. I repeated the verse many times that day, and more since then. Let’s take a closer look. Therefore - because of God’s deliverance through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25) There is now - present tense. Not someday in the future, not back when you were innocent, but now, no matter how dark now might feel No - nada, zilch, zero, none Condemnation - an assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + damage "to harm, damage." More needs to be said here. The com- prefix can intensify the part of the word to which it’s attached, but it ...

                 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,   because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you .  (James 1:2-5)   This is one of those passages (or principles) that I keep coming back to. I have a solid case of HU!NY! (Hurry up! Not yet!) It’s not that my present circumstances are challenging. It’s that my future circumstances are something I can’t do much about in the present, and instead of looking at them through the lens of faith, I’m looking at them through the eyes of some measure of desperation. It’s sort of like planning a vacation for Christmas time in July and being anxious about the...

                 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)             There is a subgenre of usually young adult books that I tend to think of as pedophilic. Two of the most popular examples are Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and the Twilight series. Technically, that’s the wrong terms- so don’t get mad at me. I know. But the main character is a teen-age girl, and she is romantically (even obsessively) pursued by a vampire that is more than 300. I won’t share my entire rant on the subject, but one of the points is that after 300 years, you’d think he’d ...

                 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:7) Have you ever felt like you couldn’t do anything right, no matter how hard you tried? Have you ever been sure everything you do is somehow the wrong thing, even though you don’t know what it is you’re doing wrong? Have you ever tried to do something, and for some reason it just won’t come out right? Somehow, I don’t think I’m the only one who goes through these things. To give you a current and minor example, I’ve never been good at parking. With a tiny car, it’s not really a problem, but my last car was an SUV and my current car is a small truck. I can’t see the white lines. My turning ratio is larger. The strange thing is that I’ve learned how to back into a parking space better than I can pull into one because I have a backup camera and the computer in the truck superimposes lines that well me (roughly) where the truck is. I’ve le...

                 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.    They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;   they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)   if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from he...

                 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis1:27) 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) “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” (Hebrews 2:12) The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:28& 38)   In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Aslan calls the Pevensie boys “Son of Adam” and the Pevensie girls “Daughter of Eve.” At the end, he announces them as King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy. In Scripture, God som...

                The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”   “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest i...

  Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  (John 21:20-22)   My Sunday School class is watching a series of videos about being a disciple generally and a disciple of Jesus specifically. We didn’t discuss this passage, but it came to mind as I was making my salad. The question that is the gorilla in the room is “Am I ready to follow Him?” Are you? The good Sunday School answer is “Of course.  “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the ...

                    Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 1:9-11) 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’m sure I’ve written about this more than once, but Biblegateway.com chose the verses from Philippians, and these are thoughts those verses bring to mind. The first deals with other religions. Some claim that all religions are the same, so on one hand it doesn’t matter which you pick, and on the other hand, if one is admitted or proven to be wrong or ridiculous, they all are. These verses and others in the Bible (including the Old Testament) proclaim that Judaism and Christian...

                  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.   And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.   Am I the only person who thinks this is ridiculous? The hairs on our heads are numbered? Of course, God is omniscient, so He can’t not know, but of all the silly things for God to notice, claim, or (so to speak) keep on file. Maybe for some people, hair is that important. My hair is my hair and I ignore it as much as possible because paying attention to it is a waste of time. The sparrow bit is only slightly better. I have House Sparrows at my bird feeder a lot, and yes, I can differentiate between the males and the females, but beyond that, they all look alike - rather like my hairs. But again, God is so keen on every detail that He knows what’s going on with them and ...

                 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”   (Jeremiah 32:17) The context for this verse is Jeremiah’s purchase of a field. He gave the deeds to Baruch, son of Neriah, his scriber, who put it in a clay pot to preserve it. After this, Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, and some of its best and brightest are taken to Babylon. Israel was left in ruins, and would remain so for 70 years. Jeremiah had been predicting the fate of Israel. I’m not sufficiently knowledgeable about Israel’s history.  I know that Babylonian exiles returned to Israel, but whether Jeremiah or Baruch did is another matter. Regardless, what is evident from the context is that Jeremiah made arrangements for two steps in the future. He knew hard times were coming, but they would end, and he prepared with the end of the hard tim...

            May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:23) being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus . (Philippians 1:6) In Henry Blackabee’s Experiencing God he wrote about seven realities of experiencing God: (p 50) 1.       God is always at work around you. 2.       God always pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal. 3.       God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. 4.       God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purpose, and His ways. 5.       God’s i...

              I I mmediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) This was not what I planned to write about, but on my walk this morning, I started into an old song and dance routine about the miserable state of my faith. That naturally led to the idea of putting my faith on the table and examining it, to see what’s wrong with it. Now, I suspect I’ve done laps with this in the past, but I must have needed it again because God suggested strongly that the problem with my miserable faith is that my faith is in my faith. I want to put it on the table and examine it. I want to figure out what’s wrong with it and fix it . But what’s wrong with it is that I’m focused on my faith instead of on the One in whom I am supposed to have faith. That means it’s not unusual for me to sing the same song as the father in Mark. According to Mark, Jesus doesn’t respond to the father’s cry...

                 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.  (Proverbs 29:88 NIV)             Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law . (Proverbs 29:18 ESV)              Yes, this is the same verse as yesterday because this morning I have more to say about it than I did yesterday. As vital as it is for us to develop a vision and a means of communicating it effectively to others, it is also critical that we develop a vision that is strong enough to inspire us. This is old news. I’ve mentioned Viktor Frankl’s idea that when you have a why you can survive the how. When you have an active, real goal, you’re more likely to reach it partly because you’ll keep it in your thoughts and put more...

                 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:88 NIV)   Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law . (Proverbs 29:18 ESV)   Quite a few of the translations of this verse use the word vision instead of revelation, and it’s not always specified that it’s a prophetic vision. I prefer the term vision but for the moment, let’s make the word prophetic wait in the wings. Back in 1776, about a third of the people in the American British colonies were in favor of the American Revolution. I don’t know what portion of the population advocated for the Civil War, but on both sides, there were clear visions of the future both if they won and if they lost. World War I was the war to end all wars, and World War II a great defense of freedom. Think about the civil rights movement a...