Mission Faithwalk

and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me      to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners      and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:17-19)           Today’s passage is another mix of the two themes on my heart: the reason He came and freedom. He was sent, and therefore, He came, to proclaim good news to the poor and freedom for the prisoners and the oppressed, recovery of sight for the blind, and the year of the Lord’s favor. Twice, He said He was sent to proclaim freedom.           These proclamations were given to specific people: the prisoners and the oppressed. He didn’t put th...

          And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1:76-78)           “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” C. S. Lewis            Another prophecy about Christ’s coming, made to John the Baptist by his father. It brought to mind the quote by C. S. Lewis. Once upon a time, there was another, whose name in Hebrew means “shining one, light-bearer.” It was his job to enlighten others. Instead, he withdrew light from others, cast them in...

... that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)             One of the characteristics of the world today is the belief that heaven on earth is possible. If we would just get with the program of well-indoctrinated youth like Greta Thunberg. If we would only appreciate the superiority of the political correctness dictated on college campuses and walk in fear that an idea that makes us uncomfortable is not only dangerous to us, but to the world (and that the only possible response is violence.) If we would fall in line with the wisdom of Bernie Sanders, and AOC and their friends. Or, if we would only bring prayer back into schools (because, of course, there’s no way something like that could end up twisted.)          In today’s passage, Paul wrote that creation itself is in bondage to decay. The Second Law of Thermodynamics w...

          But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)           Today’s Christmas themed verse from Bible.com returns my thoughts to the question of why Jesus came. It’s one of those obvious old ones that you’d likely answer if you were asked. In fact, we might all be tempted to say that the verse(s) that talked of Jesus coming to bring salvation covers today’s verse, too. And we’d be right, but the wording puts a slightly different spin on it.           He would come to save us from our sins. Point one: sin is bad. We know that, but do we really know that? Murder, rape, assault, abuse, and poll...

            But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives  freedom , and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do . (James 1:25)            Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that   gives  freedom , (James 2:12)            Let’s continue yesterday’s consideration of freedom. Today’s passages are both from James, and his Christianity had a strong Jewish flavor. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we keep it in mind as we consider what he says. The Jews were a people who were repeatedly subjugated to other nations. Their freedom from those other nations was tied to their obedience to the law.           Individually, our freedom is also dependent on obedience to the law, whether that law is natural law or the law of the land. While we may th...

           It is for  freedom  that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.   (Galatians 5:1)             If you were a slave who was freed, would you let someone enslave you? If you were an abused child or spouse who escaped that abuse, would you ever let yourself be abused again? If you were a convict who had served his time, would you let yourself commit a crime that would result in your going back to prison? If you were ever addicted and fought your way to freedom, would you ever let yourself to back to that substance? If you’re like me, you’d like to shout a resounding “No!” but history and research show that we do return.            When you talk to people, you find that just as many fear success as fear failure. That’s even one of the reasons I am using a pseudonym in my writing, so that if and when s...

         Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant, (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from  our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, has raised up a horn  - to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember  his holy covenant,    the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all of our days.      (Luke 1:68-75)           Today, we look at a song sung by a priest named Zachariah and return to the theme of redemption. Concepts he links with that idea include salvation, showing mercy, and remembrance of a covenant or promise. The result of these things would be both rescues from enemies, and enablement to serve without ...