Mission Faithwalk

                 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) This morning’s walk with Oh My Goodness Gracious! is meshing nicely with this passage. She didn’t do her wind up/wind down-run, run, run, or the pinball game that she sometimes does, but she flung herself on her back to be dragged through the grass, and she rolled onto her back on the road for belly rubs several times. And she did go to everyone she thought she could to get some attention. In other words, it was a grand morning for a walk and she was enjoying herself. The fact that a car or golf-cart could come down the road, or that someone could have hurt her didn’t enter her mind. She’s like the oblivious characters in a movie who go along with their shopping, unaware that they’re being s...

                 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. (Job 23:10-11) Some people would read this with an emphasis on I and my , and that’s certainly a possibility. However, when I read it, especially when I read it as my own statement, I put the emphasis on he and his . This is especially the case at the moment, when I fall asleep at night thanking God for the wonderful day I’ve had but begging Him to cause me to love Him, trust Him, and walk in accordance with His will. On the one hand, the fact that I desire these things shows that He’s been at work. On the other hand, the fact that I feel the need to beg means that I don’t quite trust that He’ll do it unless I keep Him on the job. He must not be doing a very good job if I’m still this wretched. Of course, that belief on my part comes from years o...

  Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.   (Psalm 73:25-26) But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him,  but he will not return to me.” (II Samuel 12:23)           Some people like to post question on social media like, “Who will be the first person you look for in heaven?” And while I have a list of people I’d like to see, and a bigger list of people I’d like to meet, there are verses like Psalm 73:25-26, which came up as the verse of the day on Biblegateway.com. Part of me looks at the part of me with the list and says, “Hey! Heaven is about God!”           Most people would probably say, “Well, yeah. Of course, God, but He’s a given who doesn’t need to be mentioned.” They might quote II Samuel 1...

                 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)           “I ain’t got no fear of nobody, nowhere, no how. (Except spiders.)” That’s how I come across to some people. To some, I have no fear. To others, I have little but fear hidden behind double negatives and denials. Having read Sea Wolf , I would quickly point out that I do have fears, because without fear, I could not be brave and I’d rather be brave than fearless.           But that’s not what Paul is really talking about here. In the previous verse, he urged Timothy to fan the flames of his spiritual gift(s.) Paul never mentions what that gift is, but if nothing else, Timothy was a pastor. He seems to have been what some folks are calling an empath, or perhaps a people-pleaser. And Paul’s admonition about th...

               Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth . (I John 3:18) But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (James 2:18) There are memes that tell us that it doesn’t matter what you think or believe. All that matters is what you do. There are also memes that tell us that other people don’t need our minds when they’re going through a struggle. They just need for us to be there. The second reminds me of a scene from Harvey in which a psychiatrist tells Mr. Dowd that his dream is for someone to listen to him and pat him on the head, saying, “There, there” at appropriate intervals. I can’t think of a more demeaning way to treat someone. Today’s passages don’t allow Christians to divide themselves that way. We aren’t to love with words or speech, but with a...

                 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (I John 4:9) A number of posts in the past have mentioned or discussed the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I’ve also shared my belief that love is seeking what is in the best interests of the beloved. In today’s passage, God is shown as a giver of gifts. He gave His Son to us, for us, and in our place, and He gave His Son permission to give Himself for all those purposes. He could have told Jesus He wasn’t permitted but He gave Him permission to do what love required of Jesus, knowing the cost, and He allowed Jesus to take the responsibility He chose to and to suffer the pain that such a responsibility required. In giving His Son, God served our needs. In coming, Jesus served our needs. The 33 years that Jesus spend in Palestine are far removed from ours, but because of the records of His tim...

                   D o not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[ a ] is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (I John 2:15-16) I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  (John 17:14-16) Yesterday’s topic was settling in and living in exile in Babylon. Today’s examines the other side of the coin. God instructed the Israelites to settle in the land and live their lives, but they were to remain Israelites, because if they became Babylonian, they would have no reason to look forward to returning...