Mission Faithwalk

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52)          Some time ago, I addressed the worship wars and how we should treat one another in spite of those differences. This past weekend, I found myself on one of the sides of that situation, with a slightly different take. I tend to lean toward the traditionalist side of things much of the time, believing that we must not only seek to reach those who don’t know and haven’t heard, but that we also need to continue to meet the needs of those who have been around for a long time. It tends to feel to me as if sometimes churches take their core membership for granted, and therefore think it right to “put on a show” for visitors who might or might not even be there. That’s not really giving the worship team credit for their thoughts and pra...

    Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you sill see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. (Exodus 14:13)           Waiting. Patience. Ugh. Nine days ago, Dad went into the hospital. I don’t think there’s a day that he hasn’t said, “I want to go home.” Then, at some point the physical therapist uttered to me that horrible word: “rehab.” Dad has been fighting it. Yesterday, I wore him down. He’s still complaining, but at least as of yesterday, he agreed. “But I still feel I’d be better at home.” That agreement has been forgotten in the mists of confusion.          I understand how he feels, at least a little. When I called the ambulance to have him taken to the hospital, my life came to a screeching halt, too. I can’t make him better. I can’t bring him home. I am facing the fact that I may not be...

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)          "He's eight-eight years old. He's lived a good life. Do what he wants."           "You need to do what's right for him, and what's right for you."           Both of these bits of advice were well-meant and well-received. They're both good advice. I'm not criticizing anyone who has given either piece of advice. The problem develops when they are at least apparently mutually exclusive.            Does one honor one's father by letting him do something that is harmful to him? Or by getting in the way of what he wants? Does it honor him to attempt to manipulate things in the background in his best interest as I see it, or only as he sees it? What if his way of seeing things is unrealistic?             This is ...

  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” (Psalm 32:8-10)           I hate being out of control. That’s one of the reasons I love to read and write, because then I can ignore the world around me, which is often despairingly out-of-control. The past few days, as you can no doubt tell, have been very out-of-control. That causes an existential pain that works like any other pain, the world shrinks down to the problems and pain. Nothing else exists.        Into this, God inserts Himself. He promises to instruct, to teach, and to counsel. Do you hear the echo of “wisdom, direction, and attitude” in there? My i...

           Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.          But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”           "L ord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”               “Come,” he said.           Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came to...

          I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity   to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord , I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:16-18)                   Somehow, this needs to be written tonight. When I first started Mission: Faithwalk it was meant to communicate what I was going through. Like Abram, I was leaving home and heading somewhere I didn’t know. A lot has happened since July 2015. This past few days have been trying, because like July 2015, I am having to leave what I know and go somewhere I not only don’...

         I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:14-16)           There’s a quip on Face Book, something to the effect that “I know you want me to _____________, there’s no need to nag me every six months.” As I read through the Old Testament, I’m reminded how often we need to be reminded. As I’ve discussed the existence of God with atheists, they’ve often told me that if God would reveal Himself to them in some specific way that is usually meant to humiliate God, that they would believe in Him fo...