Mission Faithwalk

              For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,   by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, (Ephesians 2:14-19)                 The last verse is the conclusion toward which we are working, but to get there, we need to wander the estate. We have been welcomed in, given a room, and...

                 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. (Galatians 5:22-23)                 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’” (Leviticus 23:22)                 Jumping from the idea of gifts to that of fruits. As a gardener, I tend to think a little selfishly about fruit. I want my crops for my use. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just not experienced enough to know how much is enough for me. I have told my north neighbors that anything that grows through the fence is fair picking for...

               Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:14-16)             Again, today’s passage flows after the verses about gifts that we should, if we have them, put to use for others in our community. The ability to bless those who persecute you is a gift. If you think that forgiving someone who has harmed you or something you care about is hard, releasing them from your justice is nothing compared to doing them good! (Keep in mind that doing them good doesn’t involve putting yourself or anyone else in harm’s way. “Good” could involve their being put in jail, which will limit the amount of harm they can do to others.) We desperately need to ask for that one to ...

                Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.    Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.    Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13)                 Today’s passage continues from yesterday’s, in which Paul was writing about gifts. There’s no obvious, real break in the text, so it’s reasonable to suggest that the topic is still the use of gifts, lots of gifts and the quality of some of them. It’s the qualities that caught my attention because there’s another word that could be used, another gift that makes the others even better. Attitude, which is defined as “a settled way of thinking or feeling about s...

                     We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)                 Let’s begin with a deep breath. Release it. There is no reason to believe that this list of gifts is complete. If you lack these particular skills, you’re not giftless. If you’re not the greatest in the world at something, you’re not giftless. Even if you’re sure you’re a nobody, that doesn’t mean you are a nobody (or that a nobody is what you think it is.) If you think you may as well stay home because no one is go...

                Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165                 A good thing about working in the men’s department of a certain store was that I got to work with color. One of the challenges that my customers and I sometimes had was distinguishing between dark blue and black. Fortunately, the store’s colors were black, khaki, and white. I almost always wore black slacks, and often a black top, so I would take the garment of uncertain color and lay it across my black clothing. Granted the shade of black or blue in the material might not be the right shade for the item they already have at home, but at least it was closer.                 The Law is my black pants or shirt. Putting something up against it lets a person identify whether...

                    I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 116:17-19)                 As poetry and song, the psalms are sometimes (often?) dramatic. Even when they’re about level ground, there doesn’t seem to be a level ground. Things are either on mountain tops or in the valley of the shadow of death. They emotion of this psalm is gratitude, and when the psalm was written, one of the ways to express gratitude was to sacrifice. It might be said that they’re to throw an inclusive party. In addition to the animal sacrificed, which had to be eaten the same day, they had to make several different kinds of bread to share with the congregation.    ...

                 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. (Psalm 94:18) When your foot slips, what do you do? Last Wednesday, I was helping a friend weed a large garden bed at my church. It’s a “specimen” garden, with a variety of bushes and lots of mulch in a mound, meaning that once you step off the grass, you’re on an incline. I lost my balance more than once and grabbed at the twigs along the branches. It tends to surprise me that something less than ¼” in diameter can hold my weight sufficiently  along its length to keep me from falling. Of course, if I’d grabbed a twig above me, its strength might not be sufficient to hold my weight. It would bend or break, but the point is that the help we need when our feet slip need not be great or dramatic. Dramatic, and possibly great, is what we want and want to give. I won’t go so far as to say that if my foot slips, I want to be swept off my fee...

                 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) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ( James 1:2) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn . (Romans 12:15) All things ? There are some things that I would like, but thank God, God doesn’t give them to me because they wouldn’t be good for me or for someone(s) else. There are things that probably wouldn’t be as dangerous for me to have, but God doesn’t give me those, either. Some things He could give me would be useless to me. There are lots of things God doesn’t give us, because all things doesn’t mean all things, and we wouldn’t want it to. If all things meant all things , after all, it would include nasty, contagious diseases, poverty, broken relationships, and several other tragedies. One is bad enough...

                  The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! (Psalm 21:1)                 The first thing that comes to mind as I read Psalm 21 is that God doesn’t give me victories. He doesn’t display His strength to me or on my behalf. Oh, of course, there was Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Yes, that counts, but you know what I mean. Ultimate victory doesn’t change the lack of present victory. It doesn’t make me feel victorious, at least not yet. I suspect there are at least times when you feel the same way.                 But, I’ll admit that I tend to have dramatic expectations of victory. I want the explosion of the shark or the Death Star . I want my enemies destroyed or humiliated. I want walk...

                   I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)                 You get into your car. Someone gets in the passenger seat next to you, or you put a destination into your GPS/phone. Tell me something. Relative to you, where is your passenger or GPS? They’re at your right hand, and if you aren’t sure where you’re going, that’s the direction you turn to for advice and direction.                 Considering yesterday’s post about discipline, there’s another tip in today’s verse. If we keep our eyes always on the Lord, and keep Him at our right hand, we will develop a discipline of looking to Him and for Him, and (we can hope) of doing what He does and/or what He advises or commands. After all, a GPS doesn’t do much go...

                    Discipline your children, for in that there is hope, do not be a willing party to their death. (Proverbs 19:18)                 According to the authors of Generations , each generation seeks to correct the errors it believes the preceding generation or two made. One result is that the rearing of children swings like a pendulum between too domineering and too smothering, or between too attentive and virtually negligent.  The Millennials were seen, it seems to me, as golden children. They were our future, our hope, and could do nothing wrong, but we expected a great deal of them. The I-Geners or Z-Geners seem to have been, in some ways, the heir of the Millennials, reigning supreme but with no real expectations of them except “self-realization” in whatever form they decide to take it. Others may, of course, have very different ...

                   Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (I John 5:12)                 What is life? How do we know when someone is alive? Dead? Medically, someone is generally considered alive if they are breathing, have a heart rate or pulse, are moving, have blood pressure and vital signs (yep), and, though it wasn’t listed, brain activity.  The list is somewhat redundant, and there are always stories of people who appeared to be dead but somehow are revived, often dramatically as the result of medical intervention. As a general rule, however, dead is dead.                 When we shift our perspective from the physical to the spiritual, we sometimes start thinking in magical terms. We assume that spiritual aliveness is eter...

                       Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. (Proverbs 18:2)                   This morning, I found a post on Facebook calling for us to pass laws that prevent communists from holding office in America and asking who agreed. Then I found this verse in Proverbs 18. At the risk of being one of those fools who delight in airing their (my) own opinion, it seems to me that this verse is a warning that we desperately need to heed.                 One of the warnings we hear about communists is that they are authoritarian. They take away people’s rights, etc. And I have read enough history, philosophy, and psychology to believe that. When you are in control of things and expected to make everything “wonderful...

                 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the Lord detests them both . (Proverbs 17:15) There’s a lot of acquitting and condemning going on, and those who are doing it are sure that they are acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. But of what are they innocent or guilty? How can we determine it? For some (and I am not among them) the guilty and innocent include anyone within certain collectives: one skin color is guilty, another is innocent. One income bracket is guilty, another is innocent, etc. And above all else, those who agree with someone are innocent, while those who disagree are not only guilty, but guilty of all of the worst possible crimes. Those who disagree are “literally Hitler” even if they don’t agree with anything Hitler believed or did. Some people believe that what makes a person guilty or innocent is entirely up to the subjective perspective of the observer. If that is the case,...

                 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) While this doesn’t look like a collective verse, it still has the “we.” This allows the verse to be both about us as individuals and us as a community. There are two questions that need to be addressed. The first and obvious question is what contaminates our bodies and spirits, either as individuals or communities? The obvious answer is “sin,” but  sometimes what contaminates doesn’t seem bad. Pray about it and see what God tell you. The second question is what are we willing to give up, or take on, out of reverence for God. Do we revere God? If we do, what does that mean in our lives? What should it mean? This is one of those “exam table” questions that I automatically answer negatively. I don’t think I revere God, or...

                 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. (Romans 14:1-4)                 When Paul wrote this, it was common for the meat that people served to have been sacrificed to some god, including God. Some people thought that it was evil to eat meat sacrificed to any god except God. It’s not quite the same thing, perhaps, but would you eat a meal that was prepared in honor of Adolph Hitl...

       The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1)                 God: the supreme or ultimate reality: such as a: the being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of the universe ( GOD Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ) Priest: someone who is authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God (ST Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ) Religion: commitment or devotion to a god or gods, a system of beliefs, or religious observance : the service and worship of a god, of multiple gods, or of the supernatural ( RELIGION Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster   Note: this is the second definition as the first is, in my opinion, circula...

               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) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken . (Ecclesiastes 4:12)                 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25) (Yes, again.)                 We’re back to the individual/collective bit, and once again, we is both. You and I are God’s handiwork, but like blue and yellow, like two bricks. We each do a job. Together, we are God’s handiwork as well. We make green and part of the temple...

                    The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24)                       Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”   “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus repli...

                   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. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  (Genesis 1:26-28) This isn’t the beginning of community. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all the angels were a community before Adam was created. It is, however, the beginning of human community, and it consisted of God and two humans: one male, one female. Both the male and the female human were created in the image of God, which gives each t...

                   And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)                 Yes, I mentioned the second verse in today’s passage yesterday. I’m still thinking about the concept of community. I’m sure there are people who have the whole community thing figured out. I think God may be working on me in this area. I don’t think I have it figured out. I don’t even want to figure it out. I’d much rather give up meeting together, except online (perhaps). I want to be invisible. I want to hide. I don’t want to deal with people because they’re going to decide that I’m a freak, a monster, or a loser and walk away. It’s happened too many times. ...

                 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (I Corinthians 12:12-14)   not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25) One of the things I discovered while going to Hillcrest RV Resort that they had lots going on. There were two clubhouses, and activities all the time. When I came to Erie for the summer, it seemed as if the community disappeared. After a time, I figured out that the key to community is, in large part, having a place to get together. That’s generally lacking in Erie. The closest I could come was our churches, most of which...

                   For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isaiah 33:22)                 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)                 Yes, this is yesterday’s verse, but as I was not sleeping last night, I was thinking, and a couple of thoughts seemed interesting enough to explore. The first deals with culture and pronouns. The verse repeatedly says that God is our ____. For Americans, the emphasis here is that God is your _____ and my _____ therefore our ___. Individually. What happens between you and God should not have anything to do with what happens between God and me. In the Israeli...

                 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isaiah 33:22)                 Two possibilities immediately leap to mind that really have nothing to do with God, and everything to do with politics. The first is that the government should never be God, even though throughout history, that’s precisely what happened. The second is that the functions listed above are ones for which some level of responsibility has also been given to mankind, with God as the supreme judge, lawgiver, and king. This is the idea that the Founding Fathers used when designing the federal government. No king, but a panel of judges, two large bodies of lawgivers, and no king but a president. And they set up checks and balances designed to prevent any of these from usurping the power of the others.    ...

                 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130)                 Once upon a time, if someone decided to go somewhere, they pulled out a map. Generally, they were folded in 12” by 3-4” rectangles, and you would have to unfold it, locate where you are, then where you want to go, and figure out how to get from one to the other. It wasn’t really practical to have the whole map unfolded for the whole trip, so you refolded the map so you could see the part of the trip you were map open. There would be times when you might have to unfold it and refold it a different way, to make another part of your journey visible. If you were alone in the car, that could make life difficult. And no, you never seemed to get the map folded back the way it was when you bought it. Now, of course, we have...