Mission Faithwalk

                 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25) Rabbit trail of the day:  does “fear of man” refer to man’s fears in general or specifically to man’s fear of man? Given the context, I’m inclined to think it’s the latter, but I don’t know that it really changes the overall idea. But, back to the real issue. I grew up in a real home, that include real people with their own real problems. I’m not going to say it was dysfunctional because the level of dysfunction was low. There are other families that are far worse off. But my family wasn’t perfect and there were some expectations that were hard (they may have been mine alone.) When I went to school and later to work, I faced other difficult people. Narcissism has always existed. It’s just in vogue right now.) But while my experience is minor in compared to what others face, I have seen the truth of th...

  Jesus told them another parable:  The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?”  “ An enemy did this,” he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.    Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” (Matthew 13:24-30) The perfect field, sowed with good seed, and then…weeds. I know the feeling. It often seems as if someone or something is out to ruin m...

                 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (Philippians 1:9-10) As I read these verses this morning, I wondered why Paul didn’t write “love may abound more and more in wisdom…”  or perhaps “in knowledge and wisdom…” Doesn’t wisdom consist of knowledge, depth of insight, and discernment? Paul uses “wise” and “wisdom” in letters to other churches, why not in the letter to the Philippians? And the answer is… I don’t know. I did a little research. Paul wrote to three churches in Greece: Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica. He used the word wisdom 17 times and the word wise 12 times in his two letters to Corinth, but not at all in the letters to Philippi or Thessalonica. Looking through the uses of the terms in the letters to the Corinthians, he tends to scorn w...

                 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (Jon 3:20-21) I heard a story about a little girl who visited her grandmother. The grandmother told her not to do something. Before long, the little girl told her grandmother not to watch her. Of course, she didn’t want to be seen doing what she was not supposed to. Today’s passage tells us that those who do evil hate the light. We may proclaim that we are in the light and love the light, but sometimes, we ask God or other people not to look as we slide our toes toward the shadows or even over the line into them. Other times, when bringing our evil into the light, we’re uncomfortable at best. Yeah, we love the light, but it’s way too bright over there. I’m re...

                 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (I Corinthians 2:14)   Ko ahau, e oku teina, i ahau i haere atu ai ki a koutou, kihai ahau i haere atu me te pai kupu, me te hua ranei o te whakaaro, i ahau i kauwhau ai ki a koutou i te mea ngaro a te Atua. What does the second quote above say? More than 200 thousand people in the world would recognize it, though maybe not as many could translate it. It isn’t the verse above it. That would be too easy on you. It is the first verse in that chapter, and the language is Maori, spoken by a shrinking number of people in New Zealand. But if you or I read it, it’s gibberish. It’s foolishness. Similarly, if someone were to come pounding on your door, screaming that there’s a UFO. You’d probably think the person was foo...

  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (II Corinthians 5:17) This verse came to mind last night as I contemplated and prayed about the shifts that are taking place in my life. I suspect most of us think of this as a one time thing. We accept Christ and become this new thing called “a Christian.” Once that’s done, that’s done. Oh, we may learn more of what it means along the way, but the new is done, or at best, it’s sporadic, like those “darkest valleys” mentioned yesterday. Like those darkest valleys, however, I suspect “new” is ubiquitous. New in Christ is new in a specific direction, but we all face new or can be new far more often than we might think. We can go to the same places and see the same people but respond better (or worse! Either way is new.) We may not notice it until (like the nasty wolf of yesterday) it’s in our faces, but it’s in us and growing...

                 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4) I chose this verse because as you read today’s blog, I hope to be starting the second day of my trip to Florida. And Hurricane Helene will be heading north from Florida. From the weather radar for the next 24 hours, it looks like it’s going to be wet. It would be nice if it takes the west route while I dodge south. If I come to mind, pray. However, while I might have been smirking when I chose the verse, it’s a good one for everyone every day. Every moment of every day, we may be walking through a darkest valley and not even realize it. Sometimes, we may realize there are dangers lurking, but foolishly think we’re able to either evade or defeat the danger. Then again, I suspect we’re likely to scream at every little noise when there isn’t much danger. Um – baa – baa. So no...