"Walking"

 

“Walking”

 

(Please read the previous posting “Don’t Give In!” before this one.)

As I wrote about Karen’s experience after her foot operation I became curious about walking. In my medical chaplaincy work we used the abbreviation ADL for “activities of daily living” which in part measured a patient’s improvement or decline. A key component in evaluating one’s condition is walking. Much of the work of physical therapists is assisting their patients in restoring this ability after an accident or surgery. There’s great rejoicing when the desired result is achieved.

Walking involves activity, progress, a step-by-step process and moving towards a goal. It’s a skill which we often take for granted without thinking about the blessing it is to us until circumstances hinder our mobility. It’s a cause for celebration when the walker, crutches and cane are no longer needed and life returns to some sense of normalcy.

“Walk” in its various forms appears more than 400 times in the King James Bible. As I checked it out in Strong’s Concordance it seems that it’s used primarily in the physical sense in the Old Testament and metaphorically in the New Testament (where the newer translations often render it “live”). Here are some examples:

*Colossians 1:10 (NASB)—“,,,Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord….” (see 1 Thessalonians 2:12).

*Ephesians 4:1 (NKJV)—“…Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called….”

*Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV)—“Walk as children of light.”

*Romans 13:13 (NKJV)—“…Walk properly….” (other translations render it “decently”).

*Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)—“…Walk in love….”

*Ephesians 5:15 (NASB)—“…Be careful how you walk….”

*Colossians 4:5 (NKJV)—“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside….” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:10).

*1 John 2:6 (NKJV)—“…Walk just as He (i.e. Jesus) walked.”

(Emphasis added in each case.)

I’m asking us to do two things as we think about the above:

*Substitute “live’ for “walk” in each admonition and consider how it affects a Christian life-style.

*As we walk around a neighborhood, park, mall or somewhere else view it in terms of how we’re doing in our walk with Christ (i.e. am I active in His work, making step-by-step progress and pursuing the goal of pleasing Him?).

It’s time to put on our walking shoes.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

 

"Don't Give In!"

 

“Don’t Give In!”

 

This past September Karen had a third corrective toe surgery. She used crutches for a couple of days then graduated to a post-surgical boot for five weeks. As I write this in mid-November she’s back to driving, standing with the church choir and other normal activities. We thank God for seeing her through this procedure.

During her recovery period she had to consciously walk upright and not give in to the natural tendency to compensate by stooping over. “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” (to borrow a song title by Irving Berlin from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun”) can be comfortable in circumstances like Karen’s but it’d lead to bad walking habits in the future.

We have an inner battle between “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” and what God desires of us. The Apostle Paul describes his struggle of his old nature vs. his new in Romans 6:11: “…Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” But then he shares his heart and frustration: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15,19,24-25, emphasis added). He realized that in himself he couldn’t avoid “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” but in Jesus he could win the victory (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”—Philippians 4:13, NKJV, emphasis added).

Every time God gives a command He’s telling us to act contrary to our human nature. For example, our tendency is to fear—circumstances, people, the future, you name it—but God in His Word says “Fear not” 365 times. (A devotional Karen read recently observed, “Fear is faith going in the wrong direction.”) Our archenemy will never give up on us—we must never give in to him. And never forget God’s promise: “…Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NLT). Amen!

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Mountains"

 

“Mountains”

 

During 2022 a New Hampshire friend completed a bucket list item when he scaled the last of the 48 4000’+ peaks in the state. Some years ago a Denver Seminary (my alma mater) professor joined an exclusive fraternity when he finished climbing all 58 14,000’+ mountains in Colorado. By contrast, Briton Hill (near the Alabama border in the Florida Panhandle) is the state’s highest point, rising a majestic 345’ above sea level.

As I imagined the joy these two men experienced when they stood at the summits of these lofty sites which fulfilled their goals I thought about events which took place atop mountains in Scripture. According to the study helps in the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, which I’ve used as a resource for more than 60 years, there are 23 named peaks in God’s Word. Some we know little about but others were the locale of some of God’s greatest works. A few examples:

*Mount Ararat, where the ark settled as the flood waters receded and from which Noah and his family began repopulating the earth (Genesis 8:4,16-17).

*Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac then provided a ram (Genesis 22:1-14).

*Mount Sinai, where God met Moses and gave him His Law to pass on to the Israelites (Exodus 19:20; 31:18).

*Mount Carmel, where God showed His power and authority over Baal, the false god Israel worshiped at the behest of Queen Jezebel and its prophets, through His prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:16-40).

*Mount of Transfiguration (exact identity uncertain but likely Mount Hermon), where Jesus was seen in His glory by Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1-8).

*Mount of Olives from which our Lord ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9-12) and to which He’ll return to rule on earth (Zechariah 14:4).

In time my friends had to leave the exhilaration of the mountaintops and return to their lives and responsibilities below. So did Noah who drank too much of the fruit of his labors (Genesis 9:20-21), Abraham whose beloved wife Sarah died not long after (Genesis 23:1-2), Moses who witnessed Israel’s worshiping an idol (Exodus 32:19-20), Elijah who wanted to die (1 Kings 19:1-5) and Jesus who descended to see His disciples’ lack of faith (Mark 9:14-29). Remember that Peter wanted to stay on the mountaintop rather than face the real world (Luke 9:33-36)—we probably would have too—but God had other ideas for him and his companions.

Many of us have had a “mountaintop experience” at a camp, revival meeting or somewhere else. But God didn’t let us stay there—there are no mountaintops without valleys below—He used it to prepare us to serve (“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord….”—1 Corinthians 15:58, emphasis added). How’s my (and your) follow-through been?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Returns"

 

“Returns”

 

I paid my seminary expenses by working as a warehouseman for Sears, which at the time was the world’s largest retailer. The company had a very generous return policy—basically they took any undamaged item back for credit or a refund, a practice that was abused by many customers. For example, I lost count of dining room sets returned after Thanksgiving and Christmas and TV’s after New Years’ Day Bowl Games for reasons such as, “We didn’t like it!” My all-time favorite rationale for sending a purchase back was a furniture order with the explanation, “Wife didn’t have authorization to buy!” (I’d like to have been a fly on the wall during that family “discussion”—maybe a battle for control.) A Florida friend who owned several retail home furnishings franchises told me his procedure for returned purchases was similar to that of Sears with the observation, “You always try to make the customer happy!”

Our Sunday School class recently finished a study of Hosea, a prophetic book dealing with Israel’s sin and its consequences. The Lord’s servant concludes with a challenge and message of hope: “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall…Who is wise? (Let them) realize these things. Who is discerning? (Let them) understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” (Hosea 14:1,9, emphasis added). Both the Hebrew word (which is used more than 1000 times in the Old Testament) and its Greek equivalent in the New Testament mean turn back, go in the opposite direction or the military term about face. A close synonym is repent, which literally means think differently in Greek. Jesus (Mark 1:15), John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2) and Peter (Acts 3:19) all called for it in the lives of their hearers--and God still does today (“…he commands all people everywhere to repent.”—Acts 17:30).

Perhaps the most familiar returnee in Scripture is the rebellious young man in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). When he hit bottom he made the decision to return home, not knowing how he’d be received. But his father (representing God) welcomed him with open heart and arms and restored him to the family. When wanderers see their need to place God back into His rightful place in their lives He receives them gladly (“…Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”—John 6:37, emphasis added).

Maybe you’re praying for a child, grandchild or someone else to return to God. In his helpful book, Good News About Prodigals, Tim Bisset cites research that most of them return to their faith and families. So don’t give up! “…Pray continually….” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) for God’s work to be done to His glory.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan