Mission Faithwalk

                     Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)                 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 new earth, where righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:10-13) For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to f...

                   This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5:2-5)                 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one . (Ephesians 6:16)                 The main thing God gets out of your life is not the things you do, but the person you become. (Willard, Dallas, Renewing the Christian Mind .)        ...

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 heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14) They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)                 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.   Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua  5:7-9)   For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities ,...

                      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 heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land . (II Chronicles 7:14)                 I know I’ve written about this verse before. I don’t remember whether it was for Independence Day, but if there was ever a day on which this verse should be considered, Independence Day is such a day. First, let’s deal with the obvious. This was written to and for the Jews. There are some who would say that no one else has a right to claim the verse, but God doesn’t stop being God, which means that He’s not likely to treat non-Jews the opposite of the Jews if the non-Jews do as the verse describes. But, it also doesn’t mean that the promise will be kept in the same way, even if those ...

                   The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)                 The condition of receiving God’s revelation and of holding God’s truth is one of the heart, not one of the head…God is not grasped by thought, but by feeling. (Bounds, E.M., A Treasury of Prayer: The Best of E.M. Bounds , p. 48)                 I’m reading the Bounds book quoted above, and the first chapter seems to be all about feelings. Others I’ve talked to don’t see that, but particularly when I got to the quote above, I did. It brought the verses from Jeremiah to mind as well as “The Lord’s Prayer.” When p...

                   For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)                 The Woke community agrees with Scripture on this point. We should not think more highly of ourselves than we should. Of course, they go on to claim that no matter how moderate our impression of ourselves is, as white people, it’s too high. They hold that their opinion of themselves is exactly as it should be, granting them the right and authority to dictate to everyone on the subject. Of course, they aren’t the only ones. They’re just the current “Victorians.”                 There are others who see not thinking of ...

                 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9) Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16) We’re coming up on a holiday in which we celebrate America as independent from kings. We have a carefully crafted governmental system with checks and balances that are designed to prevent the government from the sort of abuses kings tend to inflict. At the same time, there is a push toward “No Kings” in our culture, which is also a push toward the whole world being under a single leadership. That single leadership, we’re told, will have no kings because the people will govern themselves, will plan their society and their economy. The people will make the decisions. Of cour...

    Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”         When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:1-6)   After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb....

                 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 . (II Peter 3:9)                 Have you considered how patient God is with you? Today’s verse specifically mentions that God is patient with us in waiting so that everyone can come to repentance. That is of great importance. But if God is willing to wait patiently for us to come to repentance, does it make sense that He should be impatient about everything, or anything else? This isn’t to say that He never says, “Now!” But just for a moment, today, think about it. What are the things that elude you as a Christian? Does your prayer life lack? Do you worship/praise as you should? How about sharing your faith? Is giving hard? Have you failed to be the Christian, employee, citiz...

                     Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.    For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. (Matthew 16:24-27)                 There’s a saying that has been going around for a while. “When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your stupidity.” Peter seems to me to be a great example of this. The passage above comes right after Peter gets done scolding Jesus because Jesus told the disciples He...

                 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)                 Here’s the verse Jesus quoted (in part) as the second part of “the greatest commandment.” Putting it in its original context is enlightening. We have two possibilities: seeking revenge/bearing a grudge and loving. Put another way, we can either hate or love. Put even more clearly, we can either not love or love. It’s not a difficult concept, until our human nature gets involved. At that point, we start trying to pretend that our hatred is not hatred because, of course, hatred isn’t nice and we want to be seen as nice.                 The whole “nice” bit is a pitfall for us, because to be nice means we must accept, ...

                       For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 1:4)                 Not long ago, we explored some of what Paul wrote about false teachers. Today, let’s look at what Jude wrote. As a reminder, Jude was one of Jesus’ half-brothers, like James. In this letter, he wanted to write something about what he and his audience had in common: their salvation, but something had happened or been said that took the letter in a different direction. This is a common theme in the New Testament, so while we may be tempted to ignore it, we need to pay attention.              ...

                     For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)                 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. (Matthew 10:29) When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest He returning chide; "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need Either man's work or His own gifts; who best B...

                       Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives  strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:27-31)                 Feel free to sing the last couple of sentences. Then, let’s begin with the Lord, the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not grow tired or weary. Youths grow tired and weary. Though it doesn’t say it, old folks grow tired and weary. In fact, the point is that old folks look at youths an...

                 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:7-8) Harm: physical or mental damage : injury ( HARM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ) The Lord will keep you from all harm. I’ve no doubt there are people who consider that statement proof that God is a liar or doesn’t exist. After all people, even Christians, are harmed every day. Probably every second. If God is going to keep us from all harm, doesn’t that mean no splinters, no bumps, scrapes, bruises, common colds, addictions, cancers, disappointed romances, unplanned pregnancies, lost jobs, less than perfect evaluations, etc.? Who gets to decide what constitutes harm? If preventing the harm of bruised knees or embarrassment requires that a child be prevented from trying to learn to walk, then not doing a small harm does a greater harm. The same is...

                   You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,   persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.    But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,    and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (I...

                 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—    having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, the...

                 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.    And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (II Timothy 2:22-26) I looked in a couple of commentaries, and “evil desires of youth” seems to refer to things like impulsiveness, pride, envy, anger, and a desire for recognition, all things that can be found in a person of any ae, but particularly in younger folks. Take a look at society in just about any age, and you...

                 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (II Timothy 2:14-19)                 The first step in any discus...

                 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him,     we will also live with him;   if we endure,     we will also reign with him. If we disown him,     he will also disown us; If we are faithless,     he remains faithful,     for he cannot disown himself. (II Timothy 2:8-13)                 To begin, II Timothy was written around 66-67 AD, when Nero was persecuting the Christians and before the destr...

                 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (II Timothy 2:1-7)             At some point, Dallas Willard suggested that we should burn grace like a jet burns fuel on take-off. I’m not entirely comfortable with this idea, because a jet burning fuel de...

  And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (II Timothy 1:13-14)                 In today’s passage, Paul continues his discussion of the gifts that God had given him and Timothy. Paul was given a gift of appointment as 1) a herald, 2) an apostle, and 3) a teacher. One gift in the sense that they came together, but three gifts. We’re not limited to one. Paul also didn’t indicate what Timothy’s gift was for some reason. That’s a good thing, though. If he had mentioned that Timothy’s...

                      He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (II Timothy 1:9-10)                 “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” ― Robert Jastrow, G od and the Astronomers (1978)             ...