Mission Faithwalk

              Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, (Ephesians 2:19)           Chances are that when you were growing up, you recognized rules in your household or in your community you didn’t like. You may have looked forward to moving into your own place where you would set the rules, even if the one rule were “there are no rules.”                     We don’t tend to like rules, but they are necessary. Decades ago, a school located near a busy highway observed that the children tended to stay close to the building during recess. When the school erected a fence to separate its property from the highway, the children ran and played. The “rule” of the fence made them feel safer. Among the rules with which you grew up, som...

                 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. (I Corinthians 14:34) (See also I Corinthians 11:2-16) In 57 AD, Paul wrote I & II Corinthians, then Galatians. As we come to these verses two thousand years later, Paul seems to be flip flopping. But the letters were written to specific groups of people in response to specific circumstances. In Corinth, the problem was with people being out of control, or licentiousness. In Galatia, the problem seems to have been legalism. Paul made it clear that neither option was acceptable. That is the first lesson from these verses. The second lesson is one with which our society struggles. Sadly, the church joins in and plays by society’s rules. We’re told th...

                 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. ” (John 6:29) Have you ever tried to believe? Sometimes, we find ourselves in circumstances in which we think (or are told) that if we just had enough faith or believed a little more, everything would work out. We are disappointed when we don’t get what we want, and either walk away from God or punish ourselves for not being good enough. In today’s verse, Jesus is quoted as saying that the work of God is …to believe in the one he has sent. One way to understand this is that believing is the work or task that we must accomplish. We should work on our belief. It’s foolish to accept just any old claim without a proper measure of investigation, though quite often, we’re content to do so. A second understanding for the same statement is that it is God’s work to produce belief in the one he has sent in us. He makes it clearer a short time later...

             You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)           The goal described above is peace. The condition that produces peace is a steadfast mind. That means that to have peace requires that we have minds that are resolutely firm and unwavering. It means the matter is settled. No other opinions matter. As a friend put it, there are no “yabbits” (“yeah, but…”)  One of the things I’ve learned about rabbits and yabbits is that they both tend to run in circles.           The thing is, this doesn’t say our hearts (will) or bowels (emotions) are steadfast. It says minds . Monomania comes to mind. Something that helps me with this is having hymns and Christian music playing in the background. Even while I’m busy with other things, the music speaks to my soul.     ...

              For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)           Recently, my brain kicked in as I locked the deadbolt on my back door. As I turned the key left, it said, “Elvis has left the building.” I chuckled. When I came back home and unlocked the door, it chirped up with “You have the right to enter.” I nearly teared up. I’ve lived in this house nearly all my life, but for most of that time, it was my parents’ house. Even once it was signed over, it was my parents’ house.           In a way, it’s not a bad thing that I hold on to some possessions a little loosely. But at least part of the time, I distance myself from things and people out of fear or disapproval. Don’t get me wrong, ther...

            Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!” (Proverbs 26:18-19) Remember the woman who carried a “bloody head of Trump” on stage as part of her comedy routine? Or the scene in Jaws where the kids made a shark fin and went snorkeling, only to come up in a ring of boats filled with men aiming rifles? Or all those quips and putdowns that were and are used in media. Technically, most of those aren’t deceptions of neighbors, but consider how often “JK” is added to something on social media as a disclaimer, so everyone knows that the person who just said the hurtful thing should not be held responsible for the pain it caused. “It was a joke” seems to be considered a universal antidote for the burns received.  But saying, “I was only joking!” not only does not make the injury caused disappear, but it tells everyone that what was said was a lie and that any fault fo...

                 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2) There are basically two catalysts to our love. The first is choice, the second is response. In a perfect world, once the first choice is made, it’s an unending cycle of responses. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Once-upon-a-time, one of the favorite sorts of stories was the knightly un-requited love story, in which the knight chose, and chose, and chose to love even though the lady never responded. The story in today’s passage begins with a choice. The Lord created man. His love was not only unrequited, it was rejected. Then, the Lord chose to love, and man responded until response was inconvenient, then rejected the Lord’s love again. In today’s passage, the man cried out for help, and the Lord chose to love again. And the man responded with ...

              When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:18-19)           I woke up this morning from dreams of crises. I’m not sure what the crisis of each dream was. I almost think that in my dreams, I woke from dreams of crisis to find myself in a crisis. I’ve told people that I have caught myself worrying about nothing. This morning, I woke worrying about the will-o'-wisps of my mind. And the verse above was the verse of the day on my Bible platform. I don’t know whether to chuckle or sigh. Dissection time.           To begin, the writer doesn’t say “When my foot slipped.” This line describes my dream(s). The writer and I both responded as if there was a crisis. Was there a crisis? Could I be facing a crisis that my ...

            He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)           Graciously: in a benevolent, courteous, helpful manner. (Oxford Languages Dictionary, online.)           Whenever God’s giving is mentioned, the idea some get is that God will give us whatever we want. According to this verse, not only will He give us all things, but He’ll do so graciously. The definition above tells us that God doesn’t have to give us everything we want. He is still gracious if He withholds things that would be bad for us. He’s still gracious if He says, “No” to things we want that won’t help us.           The first thing God gives us when we seek Him is Himself. His giving up of His Son to and for us is a demonstrati...

              By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:8)           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)           When it says the Lord directs his love, there can be two understandings. The first is that He directs whatever His love is toward us. His love is given to us. The second is that He directs us because we are His love. His love is given through us. While I often don’t like ambiguity, in this case, it’s accurate. God can and does do both because loving someone often involves directing them. It’s not either/or. It’s both/and. Another intriguing idea that connects the two verses above is that they...

              I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)           If you can find the Big Dipper, and therefore the North Star, you will be able to estimate your direction as long as it’s dark and the sky is clear. If you live in Erie, generally speaking, named streets run north and south, numbered streets run east and west, the lake is north and “uphill” is generally south. There are undoubtedly exceptions, but if you keep the lake on your left, you’re headed east. If it’s on your right, you’re headed west. That actually does a better job than using the sun, which angles north and south of east and west through the year.           That may not keep you from getting lost. GPSes aren’t without error either, though I’m sure they’re better than they used to be and I depend on th...

            Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life . (I John 5:12)           Imagine a beautiful woman or a hunky guy with a fancy muscle car with some gorgeous landscape in the background. The wind blows through her/his hair, and from the look on his/her face, life clearly could not get better. I don’t watch TV, so I don’t know if they still use that advertising ploy, but social media is full of opportunities for me to become a great writer, a self-reliant homesteader, a better Christian, or otherwise to reach the “life clearly could not get better” point – for a small fee. Maybe you’re not as gullible as I am, and don’t get as many offers.           Into that marketing maelstrom, various religions and philosophies ply their wares, including today’s verse. And, in true Lewisian fashion, we must con...

               For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)           What does this mean? I understand the part about dying being gain, but what does it mean by “to live is Christ”? It’s something I suspect we twist and complicate. Where do we even look for an example? Paul would be the obvious choice, except he lived 2000 years ago and we don’t have a way to watch his daily routine. Was he able to have a conversation about tentmaking without Jesus being mentioned in every sentence? Yes, I’m going to extremes but if we put living being Christ on my notorious exam table, what does it look like? What are its parameters and rules?           The answers aren’t easy. We want to say that to live being Christ is lifegiving, life-affirming, and wonderful, but it involves dying to self. We want to set rules about praying, Bible study and m...

                      But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. (II Corinthian 10:17-18) Let’s start by pointing out a couple of things that should be obvious. First, one doesn’t need to boast, in ourselves or in the Lord. Boasting is not legally required, but we seem incapable of not doing it. Even before we start telling people what we did, we shout, “Watch me!” Later, when our command of the language is better, we tell others what we wanted them to watch because they weren’t there to see.   We all have a need to be loved and valued, but while we think we must earn the love and value of others through our accomplishments, the “I earned it” claim – even when accurate – doesn’t work well. We earned it last week, but this week we fell a little short. Maybe the standards have changed. No, we need to be loved and v...

              Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (II Corinthians 7:1)           We’re talking about perspectives again. It would be easy to read this verse and think of the drudgery of giving up or giving away everything that we hold dear. And, in a sense, we must give up or give away the things we hold dear to take hold of something worth far more.           Is it unreasonable to suggest that if you propose marriage or accept a proposal, you would stop dating all the other folks? If you take a job for one company, would you be surprised if they were not happy to find you are also working for their competitors (and not as their spy)? If you decide to make a chocolate cake, would you think it drudgery to not throw peppers, sand, and mol...

                      If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8) So, we’re supposed to give up our lives for God. And women are supposed to willingly enslave themselves for their families as “trad wives.” And men are supposed to work long hours with no recognition to meet their family’s needs. And children? Not only are they required, they are expected to follow along meekly in their family traditions. We’re all supposed to be slaves. Different groups have different standards for slaves. One former presidential candidate told a Black radio host that if the radio host had any difficulty figuring out for whom to vote, “You ain’t Black.” Others have stated that Blacks who don’t behave according to their stereotypes aren’t Black. No matter what group you’re part of, there are expectations of some measure of enslavement.  You c...

              “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation .” (Revelation 3:14)             And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5)             My first response to the verse from Revelation was “What am I supposed to write about that ?” My second response was “Let there be…Amen.” Amen is a solemn agreement. I’ve heard it described as “So be it.” For ever “Let there be” there was an “and it was so.” For every “Let there be” there was an “Amen.” It wasn’t recorded as being said, but it w...

            For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do . (Ephesians 2:10)           This is a verse I probably write about too often, but it’s the verse of the day on my Bible platform, and it resonates today. “The Chosen One” is one of those themes, especially in fantasy fiction, that one faces whether one wants to or not. In fact, in the Harry Potter series, Harry is told that the reason that he was the Chosen One was because his enemy chose him – by mistake, not because of anything actually connected to Harry.           In Christianity, of course, we have a Chosen One, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Unlike Harry, Jesus fully deserves the status of Chosen One. But without going into the quagmire of a discussion of predestination, today’s verse suggests that we are also chose...

            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 6:19-20)           I’ve heard a pastor say that he was moving from preaching to “meddling” when he got too personal, and too close to home. Somewhere between worshipping your body and abusing your body, there is a line – and it may be a thick line – that involves treating your body with respect. We need to find that place, but that’s not what this passage is talking about.           How would you treat the home of a dear friend who happens to be wealthy, powerful, and important? We tend to think of our bodies as belonging to us, so we can turn the question around. How do we treat our own homes when a dear friend who happens to...

                      I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. (Psalm119:14) Hyperbole? Poetic exaggeration? Really? Assuming that the author wasn’t of the opinion that wealth was a great burden over which one should either mourn or grind his teeth, this verse (and many others in this psalm) seems unbelievable. With great riches, one can do what one pleases. One can stop worrying about every purchase. One doesn’t need to fear hard times. Having to memorize and meticulously obey a bunch of rules doesn’t compare. However, have you see the finger waving, thumbs upping videos on social media. They begin with a fairly typical way of doing things, then wave their finger, telling us, “No, no, no, a thousand times, No!” Then they show us a hack that, if we do as they instruct, will make life so much easier, and we’ll get a thumbs up instead of the finger wave. If we don’t fume about the finger-wave...

             A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. (Proverbs 12:4)           My first thought on reading this verse this morning was that I’m single. My second thought was of a blog I wrote some time ago about Proverbs 31. One of the points in that post was that the author happened to be a mother teaching her son about what sort of wife to find. Had the mother (or father) been teaching a daughter, it wouldn’t have been very different. Yes, the description of the quality or its application might have been different, but the same qualities would likely have been praised:           A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown.           A husband of noble character is his wife’s crown.          ...

            Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7)           Last night was a tough night. There are some circumstances that aren’t as I want them to be, or that they aren’t looking like they’re going to be what I want them to be. That led to spiritual warfare. I didn’t like how I was handling it. Where was my faith? Where was my love? All I could really find was impatience, greed, and shame because I couldn’t make the reflection in the metaphorical mirror a pretty one. In a word, I was disgusted with myself. It didn’t help that I couldn’t fall asleep. And then I come to the Bible passage suggested by Biblegateway.com for today and find “Many Sparrows.” Thank You, Father.         ...

   Wisdom Folly She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, (Prov 9:3) She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, (Prov 9:14) “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, (Proverbs 9:4 & 16) “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight." (Prov 9:5-6) “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”(Prov 9:17)               This comparison of wisdom and folly intrigues me. I haven’t quoted all of it, but the point should be made. The first point of interest is that the Folly seems to live at the highest point of the city. In Old Testament terms, high places were often places of worship, meaning that they were as...

            Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction . (Proverbs 29:18 NIV)           Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)           I’ve been putting off looking at this verse again, because I know I’ve written about it more than once. But it’s been on my mind. Granted, I learned it in the King James translation. I have long loved and hated this verse, because while I long for revelation, vision, or direction, there’s part of me that is convinced that the best way to not get something is to ask God for it. It’s not that God is mean, but that anything I ask for must be somehow the wrong thing for me to have. It’s a huge lie, straight from the serpent and Genesis 3, but if I’m not paying careful a...

              If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)           Confess : late 14c., transitive and intransitive, "make avowal or admission of" (a fault, crime, sin, debt, etc.), from Old French confesser (transitive and intransitive), from Vulgar Latin *confessare, a frequentative form from Latin confess-, past participle stem of confiteri "to acknowledge," from assimilated form of com "together" (see  con- ) + fateri "to admit," akin to fari "speak," from PIE root  *bha-  (2) "to speak, tell, say."           Yes, one of the words in today’s verse is “con” word. In English, we tend to lose the sense of “with” or “together,” but originally, it had the idea of saying with or agreeing with someone. ...

            Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” (Exodus 3:1-3) The main question that comes to mind as I think about this passage is whether I’d notice a bush burning but not being consumed. I grant, I might notice a bush burning. I’d call 911 and maybe try to try to keep the fire from spreading. I’d be likely to pull out my phone (or preferably, my camera.) I’ll grant, I think I’d notice if someone appeared among the flames and called me by name. And the silly point is that I need to give God more credit. As oblivious as I think I...

            This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:2-3)             Jeremiah and Judah were under attack, again. The very buildings of the city of Jerusalem would be used to make weapons that would be used against them. It was at this point that God said to call to Him. If someone were calling you multiple times each day, or even once per day, would you feel the need to tell them to call you? On the other hand, how often do we want to tell people that if they need us, they shouldn’t hesitate to call us? And how often do they call no one, or on anyone and everyone but us? And how does it make us feel (at least when we are not being selfish)?      ...

                 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7) God said this about Eliab, David’s oldest brother. David was so little thought of that his father didn’t even call him to join the family either for this important social engagement (dinner with the Seer!) or for the requested review of his children to be made by the same prophet. While Joseph was given a coat of many colors, David may not have been given a coat at all. I’m not suggesting that David’s family was abusive, but I am making a comparison of parental predispositions. We have predispositions toward ourselves as well. Filling the full range from self-worship to self-loathing. What’s more, like Samuel, we tend to base those predispositions o...

                 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)   Yesterday’s passage suggested that we see God, but of course, since God isn’t a material being, our visual range is so small, and even Moses didn’t get to see God’s face, seeing Him is a problem. Today’s passage tells us to do basically the same thing, but it adds a helpful detail. We are to imitate God as we find Him in Scripture, keeping in mind that we’re still children, and so not granted the power to imitate in the grand, miraculous acts. Instead, we’re to do what Scripture teaches us to do because in doing so, we imitate our Father. Some may complain that there are problems with the Book, or that they can’t imitate unless they have a manifestation on which to base their imitations. But the self-help book industry is valued at $12B. They often tell us how to meet our goals by imitating  the author (who may ha...

                      Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11)           I know I’ve shared this before, but there’s a great scene from Jaws that this verse brings to mind. ( Father And Son ).  I could probably stop writing because it’s such a good commentary on this verse all by itself, but I’m a writer, and I need the words even if you don’t.           First, we have a choice. We are going to imitate someone or something, even if we think we’re striking out on our own or being original. But we can choose who or what we imitate.           Secondly, as with the son in the movie, our imitation must come after the act (or after so many repet...