Mission Faithwalk

                  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)                “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ( Matthew 11:28-30)                  Freedom is important to us, but we don’t understand it as much as we should. For some, freedom is the ability to do whatever they want. They aren’t free unless they can leap over tall buildings or go into space without a space suit. If those things and others like them aren’t true, there is only an illusion of freedom. Either freedom is absolute (for that indi...

                 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith ? (Matthew 6:30)                  He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:26)                 I mmediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)               Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? (Matthew 16:8)                 H e replied, “Because you have so...

                      Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.   Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14) I can do all this through him who gives me strength . (Philippians 4:13)                       Having thought about what has gone before and remembered things for our future reference, there comes the point at which one needs to escape from the past and move forward. It’s easy to dwell in the past, to get bogged down in failures and bad habits. ...

                 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, (Deuteronomy 31:6)                 The most important aspect of remembering forward is remembering that we do not go alone, and the One who goes with us will not fail  or forsake us. I don’t tend to remember this well. I struggle to focus on one of the few promises I’ve grasped – that God will guide me; He won’t let me miss my next exit or turn. At the very least, I’d like Him to be more like a GPS, which tells you how far away your next turn is, which way you’ll have to turn, and what highway or street you’ll be taking. God doesn’t necessarily give you much warning. We’re supposed to trust that He will give us as much warning as we need.                But the t...

                 “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome.                Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.   But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable.                  “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes— one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay. Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of th...

                 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)                  The Jews of Jesus’ day understood that when Jesus said, “I am…” He was making a claim of Godhood. Somehow, it seems to me that this verse is seen in terms of salvation or what might be called global life. He’s the light of the world . That involves out there somehow. But our meditations of late have had more to do with our memories, or what is in here.                We’ve considered the healing of memories and their stirring. Today, pray that God would illuminate your interior world. Ask Him to shine His light into the dark places in your soul. Some of them may be frightening or difficult, but with Him at your side, you can face them ...

                 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled . (Joshua 24:17)                  Yesterday was about the healing of memories. Today might be said to be about the stirring of memories. I remember that when I was little, I looked through encyclopedias, and – as I recall it – I told myself that when I grew up, I wanted to know about the animals, plants, gemstones, and other things whose pictures caught my eye. Since 2011, I’ve been learning to recognize the birds in my area, I’ve learned a little about gemstones for a job, and I’m learning about butterflies. My knowledge isn’t extensive, but within the last eleven years, I have done more to ...