June 2022 - Daily Faith Walk

Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God in Christ Jesus

By Galen Harrill / June 29, 2022 June 29, 2022

I’ve had opportunity to think about Romans 8 this week as I was preparing for a talk at Camp Manatawny. Romans wasn’t my main focus, but who can help but get drawn into how in Christ nothing can separate us from God’s love? That’s verses 37-39. So I found myself exploring more about the extent of that bond we have and focusing on life and death; angels and demons; present and future; powers; height and depth; and, well, everything in all creation – but mostly death.

I think as long as we’re breathing, we kind of have this attitude that we’ve got enough fight in us to withstand a lot of what life throws at us. Our sense of self-preservation kicks in and we tend to avoid a lot we believe could undo us. Even the penultimate demonic fear really pales in comparison to the ultimate; after all, I can resist the devil and he’ll flee from me (James 4:7). It’s the death thing that gets us. We don’t get out of this life alive.

But I think we misunderstand on several fronts because if I’m not recognizing the dangers presented in that list I may live my life a bit too cavalierly, not recognizing the true power of being in Christ – and as Christians, we are in Christ. But death calls us to attention. So let’s break it down.

When we’re baptized into Christ, we are in Christ. He is our actual life according to Colossians 3:4. We enter into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6). So how accurate is it for us to buy into the idea that ultimately, we all die alone? Do we really? Because we have so many passages like John 5:24 that talk about having passed from death into life, present tense. Present tense – not as some future reality, but now. Or how Jesus is now our life (Colossians 3:4). So, when Romans 8 talks about how death cannot separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus, it makes me think….

…And this is what I think – When Jesus hung on that cross and cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried out those words so that no one would ever have to cry out those words again. In Christ, we have already been united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, and since death no longer has mastery over him (Romans 6:9), it really has no mastery over those in Him.

I don’t know how all of this will play out when I finally lay my body down – but I have God’s word, faithful and true – nothing can separate us from His love in Christ – not even death….

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Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer On Father’s Day

By Galen Harrill / June 20, 2022 June 20, 2022

Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer On Father’s Day (Video link below outline) Learning from the Heavenly Father – Matthew 6:6-14 Fathers are in relationship with their children

They know their kids! – v. 8
Fathers should be approachable…. v. 9

Fathers have a responsibility to be honorable…

Comparison and contrast – we are not God, nor are we holy. But we can be honored.
- Matthew 6:9; Exodus 20:12
Ephesians 6:4
Colossians 3:21

Good fathers should be heeded….

Matthew 6:10 – We have responsibility to make God’s will ours and make that obvious to our children.
“My son(s)” used 18 times in the first 7 chapters of Proverbs….

Fathers provide!

Matthew 6:10
Matthew 7:9-11
Contrast: I Timothy 5:8

Fathers forgive!

Matthew 6:12
Luke 15:11-32
I Corinthians 13:4-8

Fathers protect!

Matthew 6:13
Contrast:
- Matthew 18:6; Romans 1:28-32 – we know parents who have done this….
Ultimately, good fathers bring their children to God!
- Proverbs 3:1-8

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Taking Stock

By Galen Harrill / June 16, 2022 June 16, 2022

This has been a week of taking stock at the Harrill household, otherwise known as spring-cleaning. All the furniture is moved away from the walls so they (and the back of the furniture) are wiped down, polishes are applied to various surfaces, things that have been lost for a number of months are found, and minor repairs are done. This year we added carpet cleaning to the mix, so everything is taking a bit more time. But the finished rooms look, feel, and smell great!

Suffice it to say, spring cleaning is not a weekly event – it is taking stock – getting us out of routine and allowing us to determine if maybe our routines need a little tweaking. “Perhaps such and such would stay cleaner if we did such and such,” or “This isn’t really serving us well,” or “Why in the world are we holding on to that??” Of course, “take stock” events are important, and not just in the area of house cleaning.

You probably know where I am going with this. In our spiritual lives, if we’re serious about our daily walk with God, it’s critical to take stock and to think about what is working and what is not. Sure – maybe I’m reading my Bible and praying regularly. Maybe I’m going to church every week. Maybe I’m reading devotional material. And surely all of that is good. But am I really letting the Spirit transform me daily? Do I find myself more open to service? Am I allowing God to speak to me through my brothers and sisters for my betterment? And as we take stock, we can clean out those habits that are not bringing us closer to God’s heart and replace them with those things that will.

Below are some links that remind me to take stock:

James 1:22-25

Matthew 7:3-5

Romans 12:2

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Late Thoughts on Uvalde

By Galen Harrill / June 14, 2022 June 14, 2022

The world is broken. It broke in Genesis 3. Most of the time, the world limps on, not noticing the injury until something comes along and smashes the broken bits to shards. Like Uvalde. We use words like “shattered” and “devastated” to talk about the lives that are affected. Then we move on, leaving the grieving and wounded to themselves as just another fracture in the broken world we live in.

I thought about this a couple of days after my middle daughter’s graduation from high school. Eight years from now, those who survived the Uvalde massacre will walk across a stage and pick up a diploma. Nineteen families will not participate. The thought made me sick. What made me sicker was the large swath of our society that is willing to allow for such casualties to fight against a non-existent threat to a perceived right. But what can I do?

I can remember this – God is especially interested in justice for those who are the weakest of society. Widows, orphans, and children are held tightly in His heart, and He expects His own to hold them in their hearts too – and protect them. There is no room or excuse for negligence in this area. A society that fails this responsibility is under God’s judgement. While it’s true we Christians live in the world but are not of the world, we have an obligation to the world – to hold out the truth and to be a prophetic voice if necessary; to call people to Jesus’ exclusive Lordship; to stand for the weak in the face of the strong.

Speaking this way, or marching, or signing petitions and writing to congress to call for God’s justice to be done is part of what a college professor I had centuries ago called “messy forays” into the world. I can’t just shut up and say, “The world is thus, I’m not of it” and walk away. I can’t neatly compartmentalize Caesar’s part of the world and God’s. In no sense is faith ever to be a private affair where my church life is separate from the rest of my life. We stain the world with marks of eternity when we get involved.

This website is called “Daily Faith Walk.” I’ve explained before why, but it merits stating again. Our faith is to be active. It is not simply nor primarily a mental exercise. It requires action. It is a walk. As children of God, let’s get to it.

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Against Favoritism

By Galen Harrill / June 13, 2022 June 13, 2022

Against favoritism

James 2:1-13

Original context

Wealth – seen as a sign of God’s favor, Jesus worked against this concept.
James has in mind visitors probably. It is rude to not make room for a guest to sit and insulting to have someone sit at your feet.

Rationale

We are believers in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ – “Glorious” is a loaded word, often tied to the second coming and judgement. Matthew 16:27; 24:30; Titus 2:13. Connect this judgement to v. 12 and 13.
God choses the poor for richness in faith and Kingdom inheritance… v. 5
- Mark 10:17 – rich young ruler has trouble following Jesus because trust is in wealth
- Those who are most needy are often those most receptive to the Gospel.
Practically speaking, why would we favor oppressors? V. 6 – not axiomatic, but those with power have a tendency to abuse power.
But it is also God’s way to not show favoritism – v. 8; Leviticus 19:15; Matthew 5:43-48

Present application – the rest of the sermon almost preaches itself. Think about the ways we discriminate. Jesus will not have it….

Wealth
Nationality
Skin color
Political affiliation
Fill in the blank

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A Defense of Thoughts and Prayers

By Galen Harrill / June 9, 2022 June 9, 2022

Sometime within the last couple of years the onslaught against “thoughts and prayers” became oppressive. It’s almost dangerous to say such a thing out in public or social media these days, with anecdotes of venom against those who dare. As Christians, however, I don’t think we need to be afraid, as long as we keep some things in mind.

First, many of those who take offense to offerings of thoughts and prayers seem mostly to come from the unbelieving set. It should not surprise us at all that such a one would take offense. While we affirm the power of prayer, an unbeliever has no set anchor to prayer or to our God to whom those prayers are addressed. In their minds, joy and hardship are not rooted in anything spiritual and our affirmation otherwise is the offence of the gospel.

What is far too obvious in their minds, however, is the second point I want to make. Unbelievers see action and inaction very clearly – and, let’s be honest, many of those who have so cavalierly offered their thoughts and prayers to the suffering, especially in the public forum, also don’t seem to have much faith as it is biblically defined. I am mindful of James 2:14-17. James writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says they have faith but not works? Can that faith save them? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is it? So also, faith alone, if it does not have works, is dead.”

That’s what I think the main complaint against “thoughts and prayers” really is. Unbelievers see too much talk and not enough action among those who profess to be God’s children. When folks offer these and chose not to act, they are, in essence, abandoning their duty to serve by kicking it up to God when all the while God wants action.

And that leads to the third point. It is very true that sometimes situations are so out of our ability or understanding of how to help that all we can do is pray. But besides that, as a believer, I know prayer should come first and foremost, even before situations develop. We should swim in prayer, knowing God holds answers to questions we haven’t even thought to ask. When we do that, we won’t be caught off guard by the world’s madness and will have a much greater chance of knowing exactly what needs doing when it needs done. Now imagine; What do we think the impact will be when non-believers see us acting in justice, mercy, and humility, speaking to their pain in actual work, and not fearing to sweat when trouble comes? What happens when we then tell them we’ve been praying all along? The world will then covet our prayers indeed.

As to “thoughts,” maybe that’s not so defensible after all….

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God’s Word and Pure Religion from James 1

By Galen Harrill / June 6, 2022 June 6, 2022

God’s Word and Pure Religion from James 1

Outline: Proper speech part 1….

The word is planted within us, what words are we using?
How we accept the word is important – do we accept it with the proper attitude?
Does it transform our language to others?

The mirror….

Sometimes, we don’t want to look in the mirror.
Sometimes, we are too distracted to see what we really need to see.
We need to look into the mirror closely and make adjustments….
- This is self-focus
- This is not a once and done
- Requires action

Pure religion….

Ties to the mirror examination.
Second reference to speech
Looking after widows and orphans – justice
Keeping from being polluted by the world….

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The Source of Spiritual Resilience

By Galen Harrill / June 2, 2022 June 2, 2022

I am honored to be with you tonight as we honor the class of ’22. This is about you, a celebration of your accomplishments and we are so very glad to share in your joy tonight. Resilience. That is the theme for this evening, and for this class, I can’t think of a much better one than that! I want to go to Judges 6 as a jumping off point to address this theme. What we find recorded there is a truly pathetic situation. It has only been a hundred years or so before that God had led His people into the land of promise, having delivered them from Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, passing them through the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River (at flood stage) on dry ground. God fought for them and had given them houses and vineyards they hadn’t worked for in the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But now, Judges 6 has them fearing for their lives, impoverished by oppressors, living on the margins in caves and under the clefs of rock. Now, I’m not the biggest camping fan – but even the biggest fan probably wouldn’t like this kind of long-term living arrangement, dragging out for seven years without the comforts of home. Israel cries out to God, who makes it clear this has happened because of disobedience. But that’s not really what to focus on – I’d rather focus on the plan. Because God has a plan, like He always does, and goes to visit Gideon. And the plan is this – Gideon, you are my mighty warrior. You’re going to save my people.

Gideon has some objections – yes, he’s heard the history of deliverance from Egypt, but he’s living a different reality. He’s been camping out like the rest of his people for the past seven years. He’s seen the hoards of enemies swarm down like so many locusts and take everything. Even their camels are as uncountable as sand on the seashore. The Midianites are overwhelming, powerful, wealthy, superior in technology, and ruthless. He answers God, “This is where we are, and God, you put us here.” God ignores all that and simply tells him, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from Midian’s hand.”

Yeah. About that strength thing. You see, there are a couple of other pieces of information you may have overlooked. I’m from the weakest clan in Manasseh and I’m the least in my family. Go in the strength that I have? I haven’t got much.

I think I know what Gideon was looking for. Moses was looking for it to when God told him to speak to Pharoah. Elijah in I Kings 19 when he fled to Mt. Horeb also had the issue. But God answers. He makes clear – “Go in the strength you have.” Outnumbered? Go in the strength you have. Desperate living conditions? Go in the strength you have. Overwhelming odds? Go in the strength you have. A global pandemic? Go in the strength you have! The worst political divisions in our lifetime? Go in the strength you have! Gas as $4.70? Go in the strength you have! A major land war in Europe? Go in the strength you have! Hostile spiritual environment? Go in the strength you have! Do we honestly think God doesn’t see the challenges? He knows them all, intricately! Gideon – weakest in your tribe, youngest in your family – Go in the strength you have….

And Gideon. One other thing. You have forgotten. I already said it when I greeted you at first, but I’m going to say it again… Yes. Go in the strength you have….

….and I will be with you! Oh boy. That makes all the difference. That’s what Gideon needed to hear, and let’s be honest, that’s what we need to hear! If God says to do something, He will be right there with us while we’re doing anything He’s telling us to do! And it is precisely this knowledge that has empowered God’s people for millennia! It is what allows David to sing in Psalm 3, I will not fear the tens of thousands who have set themselves against me – why? Because you, O Lord are a shield about me and the lifter of my head.

How about this?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing greatness is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. II Corinthians 4.

Or this?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8.

Now we made a shift there from Old to New Testament and Gideon didn’t understand it all fully, welcoming things more from afar (Hebrews 11:13). He constantly needed reminders of God’s presence, that’s what that fleece thing is all about, and that’s not something we need anymore as vessels of the Holy Spirit – but that’s not where I’m going – we’re shifting from the Old to the New Testament and we’re talking resilience. And resilience, like most good things, ultimately has its roots squarely planted in the Gospel! And what is that Gospel? Simply the thing that Paul declares is of first importance, the thing that is the bedrock foundation for all our faith, that which without we are to be pitied above all people, and it is this – that Christ died for our sins according the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day….

Death – burial – resurrection.

What could be more resilient than passing from death to life?! What could be more resilient than resurrection?! And it is the living out of the risen Christ and being daily filled with the Holy Spirit that allows us to mount up on eagles’ wings, running without growing weary, and walking without being faint!

Good ol’ Ben Franklin famously said the two things in life that are sure are death and taxes. Well, Jesus took care of death. But we will face our Midianite army, we will face the tens of thousands, just like we have faced them the last couple of years as a group. That is certain, straight from the mouth of Jesus – “In this world you will have trouble” But what is the next part of that verse? “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” So. In whatever step we take tomorrow. Go and live the resurrection! Go in the strength you have! And go in the knowledge that we serve a God who will never leave you or abandon you, a God who says, as you live out my will, “I will be with you!”