Mission Faithwalk

                 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24) I know I’ve done this passage before. It’s from a favorite psalm, it’s the passage of the day on Biblegateway.com, and, it goes nicely with yesterday’s thoughts. In fact, it’s a sort of an “outside the forest” view of the situation. Inside the forest, we don’t ask God to search our hearts or test our thoughts because we’re in our hearts and thoughts and doing the Chicken Little routine, partly because that’s where things can fall on our heads. When we’re outside the forest, we can ask God to search, test, and lead The good news is that outside of the situations that while we may need to excuse ourselves, pitch our fits, and return – described yesterday – knowing that our little fits are nothing more than a way to use energy and calm down so we can subm...

                 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. (Isaiah 25:1)           Yesterday evening was difficult. Something that was supposed to take 30 minutes took two hours, so I didn’t get to the prayer meeting. I am not making as much progress on the phrase count checks as I’d like. Never mind the fact that what I’d like would require that I check 439 phrases per day, some of them with more than ten occurrences. So far, I’ve averaged around 260 per day. Next week, I have 4431 individual words to check (738/day). Yeah. I know. Reason has nothing to do with it.           Today started out comparatively well, until I was on my way home from errands. Then I got stressed again. Ignore the fact that I reviewed 87 phrases while making signs a...

                 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy  6:6-7)   A little over a week ago, I shared statistics about how much we remember of what is taught to us, and the top of the list was that we retain 90% of what we say and do. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense that we also supposedly retain 90% of what we teach. So when Moses called on the Israelites to teach their children the Law, it wasn’t just so the children would know the Law. God’s Word isn’t wasted. The thing with teaching our kids things is that we know once is never enough. We repeat things. Then, especially until recently, another child was born and we started over, teaching the same things. And it’s not long after the last child is born that the first grandchild ...

                 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. ( Matthew 19:16-22) This passage is interesting. First off, when Jesus lists the commandments, He skips the on...

                 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:16) Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27) On of the claims of an agnostic I know seems to fit nicely with the passage from Isaiah. He wouldn’t say that God’s thought or ways are “higher” but that an o...

                 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12)           I’ve just come upstairs from sanding seven pieces of wood that I’m going to turn into signs. A few days ago, I bought a sander and I watched a couple tutorials that gave me a couple of good tips. Yesterday, I sanded with the coarsest grit. Today, I touched up a few places with that, then used a medium grit and a fine grit paper. One of the things the tutorials taught me was not to press down on the sander. I’m supposed to let it do the work. Another is to sand with the grain. Unfortunately, sanding isn’t about running the machine over each part of the surface for a certain amount of time and it’s guaranteed to be done. Some areas may not need much attention, but others may refuse to smooth even when ...

                 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.  Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:18-22)   I noticed something I don’t remember ever reading before. The man who came up to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go,” was a teacher of the law. He was a lawyer, a scribe – a person of authority and very likely of some measure of wealth. Matthew tells us what Jesus said, but not the way He said it. Did He show contempt for the teacher? Was He simply trying to show the teacher what following would cos...

                 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (II Timothy 1:7) In physics, power is the amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time. Put in terms of human life, it’s the ability to do work, whether as an individual or a group. Love is wanting what is in the best interests of the beloved. Self-discipline is producing positive outcomes or dealing effectively with the negative outcomes. I describe it, metaphorically and rather crudely, as learning to use the toilet or change your own diaper. It's easy to be timid, fearful, or overwhelmed. All it takes is a moment of idle hesitation because one moment grows into two and more. To overcome it, we need something that is bigger or stronger.  In this verse, we find several of the old “journalist’s questions.” We also find three weapons with which to overcome fear. The first question is Who? The answer i...

                      See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  (I John 3:1-2) “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, fr...

            Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.    For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.   But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified. (I Corinthians 14:1-5) Let me begin by saying that my focus on this passage has nothing to do with Tongues and everything to do with what Paul wrote about Tongues. He noted that anyone who speaks in a tongue doesn’t...

              This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the 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.   I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)   Today’s passage contains the beloved verse “For I know the plans I have for you…” To read Scripture correctly, we...

              This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:   “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.    Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:1-9) What are yo...

                 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. (Proverbs 14:1) I feel as if I’ve been negative over the past several days (Weeks? Years? OK – decades!), and I feel as if I am writing way too much about myself. But today’s verse seems crucial. I’ve told people for months that I’m trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I’ve begun a new phase in my life, and I’m trying to figure it out. The good news is that there are parts of the old phases that are still useful. No matter how much I feel like each new phase – or even each seeming interruption of a phase – is a completely new deal, in which I have to start everything all over again; it’s not. I can still wear jewelry, still take pictures, still look back on Florida as part of my life, etc. I shouldn’t tear down my “old” house. Instead, I should build onto it. But this is often the way we think. When we start a n...

                 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (I John 4:18) This probably won’t have much to do with the verse, but it has a lot to do with it. I’ve admitted to being a coward in other areas of my life. I may as well bite the bullet and admit what people probably already know. I’m a coward when it comes to relationships, too. Or, perhaps it’s that I grew up with such a fear that even if I’m not afraid, that’s the mode from which I work. I have been sure that people would abandon me, so I tried to convince them to do so “now” instead of “later” so it wouldn’t hurt so much. I think I’ve gotten a little better. The place I’ve lived for the past 9 winters helped me practice some – and mostly more successfully than not (or so I like to think.) I considered what it was about the place that allowed “community” to develop, a...

                 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (I Corinthians 12:17) Among born again adults, the percentage that say they have heard of spiritual gifts but do not believe God has given them one jumped from 4% in 1995 to 21% in 2000. The number who say they are not sure if they have a gift, or what it might be, has declined slightly, from 28% five years ago to 20% today. ( Awareness of Spiritual Gifts Is Changing - Barna Group ) Some of the theme of the last week has been to find Scriptures that are tied to specific “parts” of a person. One of those parts is our relationships. I’ve shared verses about loving and praying for our enemies, and loving one another often enough, but today, let’s approach it from an area that sometimes causes us anxiety. We read the Bible and discover that we’re supposed to have gifts. Oh boy! Where is it? Being gifted will be so cool. Gifted people matter....

                 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians5:22-23) And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,   because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”   Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? (Hebrews 12:4-7)   The word of the day is discipline, which is embodied in the fruit of the Spirit as “self-control.” I tend to either be very self-disciplined/self-controlled, or I lack it entirely. There’s no middle ground. One of the ways I practice d...

    Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.   If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special...

                 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   (Romans 8:38-39)           Oh, I have to chuckle. Yesterday, I spent several hours trying to come up with something to write about these verses, and ended up switching to Colossians 3:1-2. Today, these verses were my Bible platform’s verse-of-the-day. You think God might want me to look at them?           But I really did need yesterday’s lesson first. If you’re like me, the instant you focus on verses like today’s your mind either sticks its fingers in its ears and says “Na, na, na, na, hmm, na, na. I can’t hear you,” “Liar,” or something similar. An...

                 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2) This is part of a passage I’m memorizing, and I can generally quote these two verses without difficulty. But today, two similar images come to mind.  One is my own experience, and the other gets talked about online a fair amount. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to put something somewhere only to have it fall, flip, or otherwise end up somewhere I didn’t want it to be. I pick it back up and try again, and sometimes I must set it in place three or four times, usually chiding myself for being clumsy. The other image is that of a cat, which – if the memes are to be believed, cannot seem to tolerate anything on any surface if the cat can nudge it off. To make it more challenging, the passage ...

              “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body…   Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 6:12-13 & 19-20) In Man’s Search For Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote about learning to insert time between stimulus and response. His words led me to differentiate between a “reaction,” which is what we mindlessly do in response to a stimulus, and a “response,” which is what we choose to do  after we’ve taken the time t...

                 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans12:1-2)             I’ve been thinking about prayer quite a bit. One of the things I’ve begun to do is to organize my prayer time. I begin with big categories: Church, Family, Community, Authorities, Enemies, and Myself. I’m working on subcategories, but the only one I’ve succeeded with is “Myself.” I use Dallas Willard’s model of a person: Heart/Spirit/Will, Mind/Thought/Emotions, Body, Relationships, and Soul. After that, I add things I have given to God: my ho...

                 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   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. (I Corinthians 13:7-8)           One of the rules of good argument is that one should never use the words always and never. This rule refers to accusations against someone, not compliments to them. Today’s passage ends the famous description (not definition) of love with four always and one never. That’s 80% positive, and since the negative negates a negative, it’s positive, too.           If you have been keeping up with the “read it looking in a mirror” exercise,  you’ll already have noted that there are two directions to be considered. First, in God’s love for us: He protects, ...

                 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (I Corinthians 13:6) Let’s start with the quick reminder of the “read it in front of a mirror” exercise.           At the heart of today’s verse is one issue that can be said in two ways. It’s evil v good and lie/deception v truth. Which will we choose as our cause for celebration? We’d like the choice to be simple and obvious. White hat v black hat, or (better yet) everything I delight or rejoice in being good and true, and everything I don’t like being evil and a lie.           As we consider love in connection with good and evil or lies and the truth, we face a dilemma. How do we discern what is good and true and what is evil and deceitful? Do we focus on private or public good? Who gets to decide what is good and true? Today, on the one hand, we’re being told...

                   It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  (I Corinthians 13:5)           Feel free to repeat yesterday’s exercises with this verse. Today’s selection from this famous passage demonstrates something worthy of consideration. It (love) does not…is not…is not…keeps no. Yesterday’s selection included two positives (patient, kind) but three negatives (not envy, not boast, not proud.) In this famous passage, we are told seven things that love is or does, and nine things that love is not and does not.           The first point for today: Love does not dishonor others. The Greek Interlinear translation I have says, “does not act unbecomingly.” There’s some cultural influence here. What dishonored others or was unbecoming a century ago may not be now...

                 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  (I Corinthians 13:4)           I’ve suggested an exercise for this passage before. Stand in front of a mirror and read this verse aloud. Replace the word love with God and add to/with/? me after each description. Look in the mirror as much as you can – tell yourself, “God is patient with me. God is kind to me. God does not envy me. God does not boast to me. God isn’t proud toward me.” Then change God to I and me to the name of someone else, and repeat. “I am patient with ____. I am kind to _____. I do not envy ____, I am not proud toward ______.” Change it out more times with different names, ending with “myself.” If any of those ignite an emotional response, take note of them as something to discuss with God.           I’m readin...