December 2022 - Daily Faith Walk

Playing to Our Strengths

By Galen Harrill / December 20, 2022 December 20, 2022

Playing to Our Strengths

The first time I beat my dad in ping-pong was on his 40^th birthday. He proceeded to shellack me for the next few weeks, but I already digress. I loved ping-pong and was pretty good at it as long as I didn’t have to go against any southpaws. When I moved to Prague to do mission work, I bought a ping-pong table and set it up in my apartment living room as a way to reach out to folks. It was a hit and we set up a lot of Bible studies over ping-pong. Anything interesting from the world of ping-pong caught my attention, but one particular factoid I gleaned from somewhere during high school is still lodged in my head. This is where I finally get on track.

Growing up, the Chinese were almost unbeatable in world-champion and Olympic ping-pong. I read their strength came from focusing on their strengths and not trying to work on their weaknesses. They became so overwhelming in their particular strengths they never gave their opponents the chance to exploit their weaknesses.

And it strikes me – in our Christian walk, do we play to our strengths or our weaknesses? Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the false stuff the world throws at me, the myriad “reasons” why it won’t follow Christ, and why I should just keep my head down and be quiet. Truth be told, I can’t keep up with all the arguments people throw against following. It’s bewildering – the information overload is too great to process, let alone combat.

We don’t have to – not if we play to our strengths. And let’s face it, the reason why they are so powerful is because they aren’t “our strengths.” They belong to Jesus, who strengthens us. What did Jesus do? He changed people’s lives by loving them into the Kingdom. He didn’t coerce. He didn’t go for any jugulars. When He was critical, it was against people who should have known better – people with religious credibility who were keeping others out of the Kingdom by withholding compassion… mercy… love.

Think about this – we all have someone or group of someones we just can’t see coming to Jesus. I submit it’s probably because we haven’t been playing to our strengths. We haven’t been loving like Jesus….

Come Walk with Us!

The Messiah – The Willing Participants

By Galen Harrill / December 19, 2022 December 19, 2022

“The Messiah – The Willing Participants” is a lesson in anticipation of the birth of Jesus focusing on the few months before He was born. Three characters stand out as willing facilitators of God’s plan. The outline of the lesson is below the video presentation.

The Messiah – The Willing Participants

Matthew 1

Luke 1

Zechariah (from Luke)

“What was that last part?” – v. 18 – probably couldn’t get past the “You are going to have a son” part at first.
God’s purposes – His time and way.
May be painful
We may not understand.
Zechariah is finally all in – v. 57ff.

Joseph (from Matthew)

Has God’s ways in mind
- Like his ancestor David? – Acts 13:22
- Righteousness leading to mercy – v. 18-19
Fulfills a vital role
- Jesus traced to David through Joseph – v. 16, 21
- Father – names, leads, protects

Mary

Incredible risk – Matt. 1:19
Does not ask for proof, asks for clarification – Luke 1:34
Submits to God’s will – Luke 1:38
Recognizes what God is doing – Luke 1:46-55

How about us?

Like Zechariah, doing it God’s way, coming around when God leads
Like Joseph, following despite cultural norms
Like Mary, trusting and submitting fully to God.

Come Walk with Us!

Anticipating the Messiah

By Galen Harrill / December 19, 2022 December 19, 2022

Anticipating the Messiah is a lesson from Micah 4 and 5 focusing on the coming of Jesus. The outline follows the video lesson.

Anticipating the Messiah Micah 4 and 5 We are forward thinkers….

Eternity set in our hearts – Ecclesiastes 3:11
- What did Israel anticipate in the days of Micah?
- Assyrian victory over Israel; Judah threatened – II Kings 16 & 17
Deliverance is always in following God’s instruction…
- “In the last days” 4:1 – always Messianic.
- Spoken of as done – 4:1, 4
- God’s instruction transforms – 4:2-4

The Messiah is the ultimate promise

God raises Him from unexpected places – 5:2
- God’s ways are not ours – Isaiah 55:8-9
He shepherds – 5:3-4
He brings peace – 5:5-6
He gives power to His own 5:7-15
- Refreshing as the dew – v. 7; Acts 3:19
- Powerful as a lion – v. 8
- Triumphant – 5:9; I Corinthians 10:3-5 (This is decidedly unwarlike in the New Covenant)
- God brings the victory – 5:10-15

Come Walk with Us!

Of Dragons and Salvation

By Galen Harrill / December 8, 2022 December 8, 2022

Of Dragons and Salvation

One of my favorite chapters in all of the Chronicles of Narnia is when Eustice is explaining to Lucy and Edmond how he became a boy again after his time as a dragon. Eustice was not a very nice person, and upon sleeping on a dragon hoard thinking dragon thoughts he became a dragon himself. This pathetic condition spurred him to think and he went through a time of repentance. But he was still a dragon with all sorts of dragon problems. Finally, in what seemed like a dream, Aslan, the Emperor over the sea, the lion who is not tame, and the Christlike figure in Lewis’ books, comes to Eustice and tells him he will need to undress if he is to become a boy again. He enthusiastically scratches off a layer of dragon-y scales only to find he has another layer underneath. He puts himself to it again, only to find another layer. After several times, Eustice despairs of ever scratching the dragon off himself. Aslan explains he himself will need to do the job. Eustice is terribly frightened but submits to Aslan’s mighty claws. They tear deep and hurt something fierce. Aslan then throws him in water and it stings like only raw skin in water can – and he is a boy again. But not the same. He is changed.

I love this chapter because Lewis so powerfully captures the nature of what only Jesus can do for us. Let’s understand clearly – we’re not good enough for the glory God has purposed for us. We have ruined ourselves. Maybe we don’t look too dragon like, but the dragon is there. It’s called sin and it clings to us like our skin. No effort of ours can remove it and this one single fact about who we are is the most important one we can ever know – we need saving. The language in Romans 3 is instructive – in our sin we have fallen short. We could stop there. When we see our situation as it really is, it’s like looking across the Grand Canyon. Crazy to think we can leap that. We’ve never made it. We can’t make it. We won’t make it. We need Jesus….