Mission Faithwalk

                   In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea   and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”    This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,     make straight paths for him.’” (Matthew 3:1-3) Continuing to think about ministry, today’s passage doesn’t use the word, but it describes what John the Baptist did. He fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3. He prepared the way for Jesus. This wasn’t a joyous task, necessarily. His job was to call people to repentance. There would be joy over those who repented, but “Repent” just isn’t a happy message. “The kingdom of heaven coming near” might be seen as either good or bad. It certainly would mean changes in the status quo. The point is that our ministries may not be what we expect them to ...

              He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (II Corinthians 3:6) Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm  8 :2)           An idea that has been wandering through my head for months involves ministry . If I am going to change my perspective about my writing, the Master Gardeners, or my involvement in church, in my neighborhood, or at my job, I need to stop examining Exhibit Me, and figure out how to do whatever it is God wants me to (or even that I want me to), I would do well to learn what it means to minister. The basic definitions concern taking charge (administering), representing, and serving.           Ther...

                 Jesus wept. (John 11:35) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn . (Romans 12:15) But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44) My Bible platform chose a passage I’ve written about more than once in the past ten years. If they continue in the passage tomorrow (as they probably will), I may return to them, but today’s verse came to mind as an alternative. It’s not a verse I think is really explored much, so, why not? To put the verse in context, Jesus had received word that his friend, Lazarus, was sick. We don’t know how far Jesus was from Bethany, but instead of packing up and hurrying there, He had announced that this sickness wasn’t “unto death” and the ministry team had remained where they were. Sometime later, Jesus had said that Lazarous had fallen asleep and He was going there to wake him. When ...

                 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10) Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.  (Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life ) Once again, definitions are essential. Some people tend to think that being humble is wallowing in self-degradation. We are nothing. We have nothing . We have done and can do nothing. Too bad the people around us aren’t worthy of our better effort.  Humility is often another opportunity for Exhibit Me to be put on the examination table. Have I been humble? Let me look at myself to find out. The second quote above has been attributed to C. S. Lewis, but when I looked it up to get the words right this morning, I discovered he didn’t say it. Rick Warren did. Again, however, did I think of myself less? Exhibit Me comes out again. As I contemplate this, I find myself smirking. At least if I’m crafting, cleaning, cooking, g...

                  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Ephesians 4:8)           Two days ago (because I’m writing a little ahead!), a friend shared a post about not complaining for 24 hours. I also shared it, along with some suggestions. I began by considering forgetting the 24-hour bit. That takes too much concentration. Try one minute, several times per day. You might try one minute during an upset, when you’re most likely to complain.           I also suggested that you replace the complaining with something, because “I will not complain” is likely to end with you complaining about your complaining. One option is to find something to do t...

              Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)           Two days ago, the subject was “Do Not Judge.” The verse my Bible platform shared today specifically says that “if someone is caught in a sin…”  Tied up in all of this are some big words: toxicity, narcissism, gaslighting, codependence, and intervention. It may come down to the question of motives, and even there, it can get difficult. The obvious claim is “It’s for your own good!” or “I’m just trying to help!”  But those claims can hide manipulation.           So, wisdom and prayer are needed.  Are we truly interested in helping the person caught sinning, or are we more interested in looking good, being right, or credit for “fixing” someo...

                 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 1:5) Wisdom, Direction, Attitude. Those have been my automatic prayer requests for years. I suspect wisdom is on many people’s lists. Technically, if I had wisdom, there would be no question of my direction or my attitude. It’s all about wisdom. The first problem is that God doesn’t answer my prayer. I don’t open a book (even the Bible!) and put my finger on some wisdom. No light shines. No note descends from Heaven on a fishhook. I don’t have flashes of insight with which to impress someone. Life just goes on, disappointed because God doesn’t answer my prayers. And as life goes on, I find that I’ve learned a thing or two. I respond differently and it works. I realize that, while God can certainly teach us in a flash of insight, He tends to teach over time. The gift of wisdom isn’t...

       “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?   How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)   “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.   If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to...

                 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8) Usually, when people talk about these verses, they think in terms of seeds. At least, I have. If you plant tomato seeds and you get no tomatoes but giant hogweed, there’s a problem. Either the tomato seeds were bad or they weren’t tomato seeds – and you probably need to call in professionals to deal with the hogweed. (PSA in case you don’t know: DO NOT TOUCH GIANT HOGWEED! It looks like giant Queen Anne’s Lace but it’s NASTY to skin.) The seed idea is there, but there’s another parallel that is also critical. Yes, we should expect to reap what we sow, but where we sow, into what soil, and from what soil we reap will also determine whether our harvest gives us destruction or life. You c...

                 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. (James 1:2-3) The phone rings. You pick it up and the voice on the other end says, “It’s ____ (your neighbor.) Get out of your house! It’s on fire!” There are times and reasons when an abrupt beginning is necessary. James may not have had time to write a longer letter, or the situation might have been that dire. I think it more likely that James was just that sort of person. He didn’t want to waste their time with platitudes or give them cause to misunderstand what he was trying to say. He begins his letter, From James. To the Twelve Tribes. Hi. Trials are good for you. The Twelve Tribes were used to all sorts of trials: slavery under Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Iran (Medes and Persians), and the Greeks, inconvenient commandments, famine, drought, and pov...

              Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Jesus Christ took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)           Lord, how does a person work toward becoming “like Christ” without spending all one’s time focusing inward on oneself?  How does one balance inward and outward life?           About a week ago, I wrote the second quote above in response to something I had read or thought. The problem, of course, is my mental examination table and my tendency to spend a great deal of time fussing over how exhibit Me, or some small aspect of ...

                      No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)           Are you as disappointed by the first line of today’s passage as I am? It’s comforting in a way, but the drama queen in me wants my temptation, my drama to be award winning. I simultaneously want to be invisible, but to have others notice and value me. If my temptations are mass produced on an assembly line, I’m just a cheap bit of refuse rather than something to be repurposed, reused, recycled, reclaimed, redeemed, rescued, or otherwise valued.           Of course, if my temptations were one-of-a-kind, they wouldn’t be relevant or relatable. The fact tha...

  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:14-16”) “OK, God, get me moving…” There are mornings when I grumble as I get out of bed. I sound like someone trying to start a motor that just won’t catch. “Help, God. Left…right…hup, two, three, four.” Grumble, grumble, grumble. I am working on doing this less, but there are body parts that grumble at me, and sometimes it helps if I grumble back. And as my body and mind start, I get into gear and I don’t think I grumble, or at least not as much. Then, of course, there is the whining. Paul didn’t mention whining, but I suspect it’s a form of arguing, or flat-out rebellion. “I caa – aan’t.” We’re not even talking one-syllable. ...

                 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” (Job 1:6-7)   For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:14-15) There’s a major gathering of angels and Satan shows up. Why would Satan show up? Why would the angels at the gate let him in? Why didn’t God attack him, bind him, throw him in hell, or whatever? How do you read the Job passage above?  Did God say, “Hey, have a seat. Want some coffee? Where’ve you been?” Or is it closer to the tone of a mother? “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you for the past century! Just look at you....

            To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)           I can’t quite claim that this passage is “nonmagical.” It is, but I think a better description is that it’s universal and basic. If we hold to anyone’s teachings, we are their disciples because that’s what a disciple is: a person who follows teachings. If you follow the teachings of Christ,  you’re a disciple of Christ. If you follow the teaching of the Buddha, or Mohammed, Bart Simpson, or either Dr. or Mr. Spock,  you are their disciples. If you try to follow the teachings of more than one teacher, unless their teachings are identical, you aren’t a disciple of either.           The other part that isn’t magical is that the truth will set you free...

                 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (I John 4:20-21) I felt the need to check an interlinear Bible, to look at the Greek as well as the word-for-word translation, centering on the words “a brother or sister.” First, of course, “or sister” wasn’t there because brother was understood in a universal sense that took in both male and female. But that wasn’t what I was looking for. I wanted to know about the article. The NIV says “ a brother.” The interlinear says “ the brother of him. ” So, the NIV version is “his brother” made politically correct. And I’m not criticizing, just verifying. So, keeping in mind that the sibling language was used to indicate fellow Christians, it come...

                 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of  r econciliation: God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (II Corinthians 5:18-20)             Sometimes, I think we see evangelism as a contest, as if every person we “win” to Christ shows up as a point in our favor on some celestial scoreboard. Years ago, a Christian I know was approached at work by an evangelist. When she declined to follow his script, he and his friend basically shook the dust off their sandals and declared themselves free of blame for her fate. I suspect many who share their faith are...

            So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 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 3:26-28)           Maybe it’s because I’m an Introvert. Maybe it’s because I’m of a certain political persuasion. Maybe it’s because I have been studying passages like today’s. It could even be because I was raised in the 60s and 70s. It could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, I tend to think that how a person thinks and what a person believes is ultimately more connected to who they are than one’s race, ethnicity, class, or gender/sexual preferences. And in a sense, those who disagree with me prove my point, because they believe that those things are more important than anything else.  ...

              But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them. (Psalm 103:17)           What these verses, together with the verses from the last two days is that God is leaving a legacy. But the legacy God gives is not the sort of legacy given to Trust Fund Babies. It is not a legacy that produces people who are shallow, entitled, narcissistic, and nihilistic. Instead, it is meant to teach us to love God and other people properly. While some will disagree because they don’t understand what the idea entails, it is meant to make us more like God, not less.           And that may give us the clues we need. Leaving a legacy is about lovingkindness, not only to the immedia...

                 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too, is vanity and a great evil. (Ecclesiastes 2:21) This verse brings to mind a term we don’t hear as much as we used to: Trust Fund Baby. At one point, it referred to someone whose parents or grandparents set up a fund so that the child would never have to work. Generally speaking, these trust fund babies were depicted as shallow, entitled, narcissistic, and nihilistic. Unfortunately, I don’t think the trust fund babies disappeared. I think the malady spread to a larger chunk of the population, even among those whose parents and grandparents couldn’t afford to set up such a fund. And if the parents or grandparents can’t afford it, they expect the government to step in. And the man in the verse above refers to the parents or grandparents who labored with wisdom, knowledge, and sk...

             A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.  (Proverbs 13:22)             Legacy : 1) Money or property you receive from someone after they die; 2) Something that remains from part of your history or that remains from a previous time.             Originally, legacy was associated with a rank or position that was delegated. There might, or might not, be land or wealth involved, but the title or responsibility were. Today, it seems to have more to do with a contribution to the general good, or the basis on which one’s reputation after death is based. There doesn’t seem to be much in Scripture that speaks of a legacy. Tomorrow’s verse is the only one that uses the word. But there are a few references to “children’s children,” starting with today’s....

  It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood  shall be  on his own head, and we  shall be  free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood  shall be  on our head if a hand is  laid  on him. (Joshua 2:19) The Lord will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know  it : Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. (I Kings 2:32) then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. (II Chronicles 6:23) His mischief will ...

                 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate . (Proverbs 31:30-31) Today’s passage tells us that the things the world tends to think are vital to women’s lives, the ability to delight, please, or manipulate others, and beauty, aren’t as important as fearing the Lord. The world also tells us that fearing the Lord is being phobic or living in constant terror. But fear also means to revere Him, which means to respect Him. What does that mean? The short answer is that she loves the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength and loves her neighbor as herself. The longer version is that she lives in a way that gives those around her confidence that she will do them good. She takes an interest in her life and fulfills her responsibilities. She take...

                 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:28-29) One of the problems immediate family members have is that, quite often they know the others in their family too well. Oh, if we are polite or loyal, we’re likely to be mildly positive or silent about those we know best. Some of us might even heap on praise because their looking good makes us look good or our praise makes us look good. See what good relatives we are? Granted, some people consider me jaded or cynical, but what would you think about someone who regularly told you what a bad job their parents did in raising them, or that they were rather pathetic? Now, the king’s mother may have been one of those perpetually positive, over-the-top sorts, especially when giving advice, but let’s go with it. What is needed to earn this sort of praise – honestly? Let’s s...

           She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (Proverbs 31:26-27) Ah, WDA (Wisdom, Direction, and Attitude) in action. My favorite prayer is answered in this woman. What comes out of her mouth is worth listening to, but she doesn’t just tell others how to live their lives, she lives what she speaks.  We don’t learn to be like her by paying for a webinar. We learn by the way she lives.Granted, she didn’t have social media vampires living in her home, but the gossip machine existed in a more basic form. Instead, she not only didn’t join in the gossip, but she also gave them very little to gossip about. “Yep, Ruby’s house was in order today. Did you know she bought a shovel to replace the one that snapped in half? She made 12 sashes for the businessmen. Her attire was practical, well-made, clean, discrete, and in good condition. Not o...