Mission Faithwalk

    So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.   As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.   When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. (Exodus 17:10-12)     Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ …   Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,   for each one should carry their own load. (Galatians 6:2 & 4-5)           How do you help others? I tried to find something about how various personality types help people, but I couldn’t find anything. It ...

  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)           As noted in yesterday’s brief comments, if we are Christians, we don’t belong to ourselves. Our bodies are not ours, they belong to God. They belong to God even if we aren’t Christians, but in our rebellion against Him, we think they are ours. How dare God impose Himself on our lives, to make us miserable with His lousy rules? Even as Christians, we can and sometimes do resent this intrusion.           Today’s passage tells us that God doesn’t impose His rules in order to make us miserable. He gives us those rules because They are part of what is necessary for us to fulfill the reason we were created in the first place: to do good works in Christ Jesus and to do what was prepared in advance for us to do. We need to obey those rules, we need to subm...

  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)           We like to think we belong to ourselves. That’s the argument made whenever you tell someone they shouldn’t get an abortion: “My body, my decision.” That’s what we’re told if we tell someone they shouldn’t be in a sexual relationship with that other person (whoever it might be): “Consenting adults, no one is hurt, not your business!”           Scripture tells us that idea is bad thinking on our part. Our bodies don’t belong to us. They’re loaned to us. They belong to God. It’s not “my body, my choice.” It’s not “Consenting adults, as long as no one gets hurt” (define “hurt.”) It may not be our business, but it’s not theirs, either.    ...

    Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7)           There’s a scene in Jaws in which Sheriff Brody’s son mimics him. Children look up to their parents – sometimes not wisely – but it’s one illustration of what this passage is talking about. For us, it’s not to be a blind mimicry. We’re to evaluate their lives and mimic their faithful behavior.           There are some challenges to this. First, I don’t tend to be too impressed by most people I meet. They’re people. If I’m going to imitate someone, I want someone who is larger than life. There are few who fit that description today, and the ones I’m tempted to think did so in the past aren’t really available for study. Oh, I can read what they wrote or what was written about them but that will only tell me what they or some other person wishe...

    For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.   For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”   Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?     For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.   Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,   but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,     but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.   For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,...

  “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!   But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!   Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.   From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.   They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53) Whenever there’s a crisis – even a made-up crisis – one of the calls that rings forth is that we need to unite to solve the problem, survive the disaster, or otherwise make it through said crisis. And, as Christians, we’re called to be united as the Body of Christ. The problem is, when calls go out to be united, there’s always a side to which we’re supposed to unite. Technically, ...

       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.   Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4)           This summer probably qualifies as trials of many kinds. How’s your joy? I’m not asking if you’re delighted with everything that’s going on. I read a description of joy as being a firm conviction that one is cared for. Do you believe God cares for you? Do you have a deep conviction that God cares for you as you are facing the many trials of the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest?           If I think about it, I recognize God’s care in my life. He has been generous beyond measure. I am not privileged, I am blessed. But I don’t think about it enough. What I think about instea...