Mission Faithwalk

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”(Romans 8:15)   ABBA "Daddy" or "Father"           This name of God is a little difficult for me sometimes. I have a good Dad, but we come from very different worlds. It's not just that he lived through the Great Depression and World War II and I didn't. It's not just that he's old and needs me to care for him. It's not just that he's a man and I'm a woman. All those things are true, but there's more. At this point there are things he can't do, and things he won't do, and those things are often things that I can do and even want to do. He's a mechanical person. I'm a words person. Put simply, I felt as if I could share my life with my mother. My life is alien to my father and his is to me.        So when I think of God as my Father, I suspect I tend to thin...

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 40:28-31)   EL-OLAM “The everlasting God”           "The Ever Ready Bunny, he keeps going and going." I don't mean to be disrespectful to God but that's what came to mind as I read, "the everlasting God." He keeps going and going, too, far longer than any battery-powered bunny ever will. In fact, this passage tells us that He has enough power and strength that He has it to spare. He can give it to us.         ...

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless . ( Genesis 17:1) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty . ( Psalm 91:1)   EL-SHADDAI “The God of the mountains or God Almighty”           For most of my life, if I turned something on and it didn't work, I called, "Da-ad." Do you have one of those MacGyver, mechanical sort of people in your life? You know, the ones you're sure they can fix anything. It's amazing how much stress that removes from your life. Have a problem? Go take a long, hot bath and when you're done luxuriating, the problem doesn't exist. Ah...that's the life. I miss it.           While I dwelt in the shelter of my father's household (and his ability remained), I rested in the shadow of his mechanical skill. That "Da-ad" response and that "...

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)   EL-ROI “The strong one who sees”          "Daddy-- watch   me, Daddy."           "Are you coming to my soccer game?"          "How do I look?"          We all want to be seen. Somehow, being seen makes us real. It makes us important. I'm not quite sure how that works. It's a paradox for me, because I also want to be invisible.            Hagar started out invisible. She was an Egyptian slave girl taken from her homeland. One day her mistress noticed her, and decided to use her to solve a problem. When it became noticeable that she was pregnant, she saw herself in a different light. She started trying to...

In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)   JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU “The Lord our righteousness"         This is one of those things that blows my mind. We've all heard of guilt by association. Anyone who voted for Mr. Trump is hateful, phobic, etc. Anyone who voted for Mrs. Clinton is hateful, corrupt, etc. We can probably provide evidence that one or more of those statements is true. But, God works in the opposite direction. He attributes righteousness by association. Abraham believed God, and it was attributed to him as righteousness. The nation of Israel was told over and over that God didn't choose them because they were righteous - because they weren't. He was their righteousness just as Christ is ours today. It's not that we do nothing wrong. It's not even really that we are learning to do what is right (though I hope we are.) It i...

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.   (Genesis 14:18-20)   EL-ELYON meaning “The Most High God”            Melchizedek, king of Salem...priest of El-Elyon. Someday, we need to spend a day or two looking at Melchizadek. Today, we're looking at his God, El-Elyon, the "God Most High" or "Most High God." Looking at the words, another way to say it would be that He is the God of gods. We begin to see this in Genesis and it continues through the rest of Scripture. El-Elyon destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah and the other towns in the area. Their gods didn't stop Him. He mocked the gods of Egypt in Exodus. As you continue to read, He defeated the gods of the Promised La...

He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD , who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)   JEHOVAH-RAPHA meaning “The Lord our healer”          I don't like to go to the doctor's office. The biggest reason is that they put me through tests, examine me and then give me orders about how I should be living my life. I will have greater health if I follow those orders. Isn't that what healing is? The problem is that I don't tend to want to follow the orders. Even when I want the benefit of good health, I don't want to do what's needed to have it.          The Lord, who heals you promised the Israelites the same thing. If they lived a spiritually healthy lifestyle, they would be healed. Today's passage sa...