Mission Faithwalk

                 For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1)             Suppose that you were to walk into your kitchen at some point and discover one of them there. For you, it might be a cockroach, spider, mouse, fruit fly – whatever it is, it’s there, and if there’s one, there are probably more. I’m sure there have been sitcom episodes about the lengths one will go to get rid of some pest. Whatever it is, it must be destroyed.                             And even once it has been, we peer around corners or turn lights on suddenly, sure we’re going to find at least one more of them that we missed. Eventually, we get over it and treat our kitchen as we always have.    ...

                 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it— Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria— who say with pride and arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” (Isaiah 9:8-10) …if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)           Some time ago, there was a best-selling novel out called The Harbinger  by Jonathan Cahn. In it, the author spends quite a bit of time on this passage, especially in light of the aftermath of 9/11 when (he says) politicians quoted the last part of ...

                 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. (Deuteronomy 13:4) But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)             I’m writing this on Sunday morning after just confessing on my Facebook page that I don’t know if I’m strong enough to make today a day of rest. Things need to be put away, seeds need to be planted, problems need to be solved, writing, reading, and crafting need to be done. Each of these screams for attention. And I realize that a lot of people woul...

                 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.   Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.   And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “ Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:1-5) And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord,...

                 The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear. (Isaiah 2:17-18) The Lord says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, strutting along with swaying hips, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.” In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragranc...

  People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem? (Isaiah 2:19-22) For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God . (Deuteronomy 4:24) For the ancient Jews, repetition emphasized. It’s been said that if God says something once, we should listen. If He says it twice or more, it may be a life-or-death situation. In today’s passage, the idea that people will flee to caves and holes in the ground from the fearful ...

                 Zion will be delivered with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish.   (Isaiah 1:27-28)   if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)   One of the decisions I made before leaving Erie was to listen to the prophets on the way down. Usually, I start in Genesis, or I start in Matthew, so I never get to the prophets. I began in Isaiah, and that led to a decision to take a closer look at the prophets this fall and winter. Today’s passage brought to mind the one from II Chronicles. Both have the same idea. They are promises to and about the Jews, but the key is the same, an...