Walking Out Loud

Going Home

By Galen Harrill / August 4, 2022 August 11, 2022

Where is home? I realized I was doing something a number of years back whenever I just wanted a break from some situation or difficulty. I would say to myself, “I want to go home.” Now, the strange thing about that was I didn’t really have a place in mind. I lived most my childhood in New Jersey (lots of summers in Michigan), spent college in Texas, did mission work in the Czech Republic, and have lived in Pennsylvania for the past 17 years. But whenever I say I want to go home the only state I’m really thinking of is a state of mind where peace, joy, and comfort exist in abundance. I know I’m not alone.

Now, the obvious connection here is we are looking forward to another country, a heavenly one. The image of Lazarus resting at Abraham’s side is compelling. So is the promise of no more tears. That’s the home we all really want, and really, I know that’s the cry of my heart when I say I want to go home. But there is another place that is closer right now, a place I go and I’m home, the frontier of God’s Kingdom on earth. It’s the church…

…don’t laugh. I’m serious. I am well aware the church is not perfect. I’m well aware we have disagreements in the church. I’m well aware our auditoriums are full of hurting people; emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. But it’s also the place where this past Sunday I sat down after services and had a really good talk with a few dear members of my spiritual family. And here is the thing – none of us would have found one another without Jesus’ church. Let’s expand it from that small group I was talking with. In my church we have several different nationalities. We have several different ethnic backgrounds. We have people who have voted democrat, republican, independent, and have refused to vote altogether. We have a wide range of experiences, jobs, education, and ages. And we can talk about all of that, have talked about all of that in total humility, and widened our ideas about…

…what? Well, home. None of those things divide us – because we have a common Father and have found what binds us together is so very much stronger than what could tear us apart. Because the Lord Jesus is our peace. Because we have chosen to focus on those things that really matter. Because we bring all our experiences and all of who we are, redeemed and transformed by Jesus, and are enriched and amazed at God’s grace as wisdom is proven right by all her children as we accept God’s will for our lives. And in all of this, we find ourselves home….

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Kingdom Business

By Galen Harrill / July 26, 2022 August 4, 2022

“Is this Kingdom business?” That was the response to a question I had about some decisions we were trying to make on the mission field in Prague from a former professor I had a great deal of respect for. “Is this Kingdom business?” It’s important to note I don’t remember the question – which makes me think whatever the question was, it wasn’t about Kingdom business. But I thought the question was important at the time. Which leads me to some observations….

You see, as children of the King, we are to be about Kingdom business. We are to be about the expansion and glory of the Kingdom. We give our allegiance to God and pledge our lives to Kingdom business. Only problem is, we usually don’t really know what Kingdom business is. We often wrap ourselves up in questions we think are critical to the Kingdom and, sometimes, never come to a realization God really isn’t concerned with the thing we find so fascinatingly important. Let me incriminate myself….

I am passionate about the singing we do in church. My wife used to win vocal competitions, I was in A Capella chorus groups, and my daughters have great voices – one of them was an all-National Choir finalist. We recognize quarter notes from half notes, know what a fermata is, can tell 3/4 time from 4/4 time, understand key signatures, and (gasp) read shaped notes. I am also fascinated by good, well-thought-out lyrics. I’ve read extensively on the importance of song-services and have even led a workshop or two on leading congregational singing. I have also found people to disagree with me about almost everything I believe about singing – from the kinds of songs I believe are most appropriate for worship, to the role of the song-leader, to the proper interpretation of how to sing some of my favorite songs. Getting all worked up about this and imposing my viewpoint is not Kingdom business no matter how much I would like it to be. Now, I’d be happy to share with you any of my views, but the Kingdom does not rise and fall on those.

Kingdom business is bringing as many people as possible to the recognition of and submission to the Lordship of the King. Kingdom business is Kingdom expansion in our own lives and the lives of others. And let’s understand – He will set the parameters for what that looks like for each of His subjects. Consider the rich ruler – Jesus looked at him and loved him – and told him he lacked one thing – he needed to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. The point? The ruler had another lord, another master, another king – it was his wealth. He had to give that up, just as we have to give up anything that challenges God for our allegiance. We will run into all sorts as we work toward Kingdom expansion and that’s why Paul speaks so passionately about what is of first importance – death, burial, and resurrection. We bring people to the cross. Do we understand the power here? I think I hardly do! Paul says it this way when talking to the Corinthian church – he was resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:1-5). When we bring people to that cross through our words and actions, when we are resolved to know nothing else, when we consider everything else rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ, then we are about Kingdom business. And it is only when we pledge ourselves to that and that alone, allowing ourselves to be transformed by the power of the cross, can we expect others to be so resolved to do likewise. And against that single-minded commitment to Kingdom business the gates of Hell don’t stand a chance….

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Made For This

By Galen Harrill / July 22, 2022 July 25, 2022

“I’m not made for this.” Hold that thought….

In my family, we sort of live off movie quotes and songs. Someone says something and it spurs a song, which we’re likely to sing. Or a movie quote seems to fit perfectly into the situation, so out it comes. Some of the most common are these, maybe you know them: “You’d like to think that wouldn’t you?” “Engaged? To be married?” “Once you get past the legs they ain’t too bad.” “I trust I’ve made myself obscure.” “But it’s a talking dog!” “Toula! You should be proud to be Greek!” “We named the monkey Jack.” “So do all who live to see such times.”

Oh. That last one. We use that for any general complaint in the house, no matter what that complaint might be. It works something like this – “Ugh. I hate checking on the chickens in the dark.” (Cue the music….) “So do all who live to see such times.” It’s a very useful and widely applicable quote! And yes, It’s from The Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo tells Gandalf he wishes nothing associated with the ring had ever happened. Gandalf simply states it’s a common lament among anyone going through tough times and follows up with “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

I sense a lot of people are going through a lot of rough stuff. The world is so mentally over the pandemic, yet it still clings to us while we are still not getting a break from the other stuff that is more individualized like job, family, money, and other health concerns. Some of these things we sort of bargained for, but others are curveballs from another ballpark. And some seem to go on and on with no real way to get relief. It’s easy to say, “I’m not made for this!”

Except maybe we are! Obviously, I’m not talking about enduring an abusive relationship or passively letting things happen to us. What we are talking about is choosing what we do with the time we have. How can I be an active redeemer in the situation I find myself?

One of my go-to verses in the Bible is Ephesians 5:15-16 that states, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” How am I choosing to interact with those around me? Am I bringing people closer to Christ or leading them away? Who am I having a positive impact on right now? How can I have a bigger one?

And I can’t forget “the days are evil” part. None of us were made to take it easy. But if God has put me where He has put me in the time He has put me, then I’ve got to believe He’s given me everything I need to handle that situation. We were made for this!

If you’ve given up guessing where the movie quotes are from, I’ve got them listed below in order.

The Princess Bride

Pride and Prejudice

Hidalgo

A Man for All Seasons

My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding

Pirates of the Caribbean

The Fellowship of the Ring

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He’ll Tell Us When We’re Ready

By Galen Harrill / July 14, 2022 July 14, 2022

It was an interesting question, especially considering the source – “When was the first mention of Heaven in the Bible?” I needed clarification from this young woman getting PT next to me for a whiplash injury. “Do you mean as a place for the afterlife?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied.

Well, the truth is, we don’t get much about Heaven as a place for the faithful until rather late in Israel’s history. A few glimpses from David and a few more from the prophets is about it. But I think some of our non-Christian friends sort of see this as proof that the Bible is inconsistent and therefore irrelevant.

I promise I am not going to get too deep here. But I think to reach people like my PT friend we need to deal with these types of questions with a broad understanding of God. And here it is – God gives His people information on a need-to-know basis. He always has. He has revealed Himself in burning bushes and fiery pillars; with prophets, angels, and talking animals; through scripture, and through His Son, Jesus. But He has revealed Himself and His plans as His people have needed to work out those plans, not before, and Heaven, like a ton of other things, is one of those slow works in progress. But it’s there if we look.* And so, we have Jesus, dealing with the Sadducees, and He makes clear God had revealed Himself as the God of the living, not of the dead (Matthew 22:23-32). No real mention of Heaven to Moses per se, just an understanding something beyond death is. It’s fleshed out more in the New Testament – why not before? Because only through Jesus is eternal life with the Father is finally realized, opening up in ways incomprehensible before how to understand Heaven! He is the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1:18)! Again, let’s not lose sight of things – Jesus’ position is one of importance as He was the first to actually conquer physical death outright (John 10:18).

But even with all the descriptions in Revelation, I think God still hasn’t told us everything about Heaven yet. We’re just not ready! What I do know is this – God has given us all the information we need to know up to this point – He’ll reveal all the rest of it when we finally get there!

*By saying what I say here, I think we also need to be aware we sometimes have questions God is completely uninterested in. In those cases, we’ll just have to square with no answer at all – and that is okay.

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A Good Return on Our Spiritual Investment

By Galen Harrill / July 8, 2022 July 8, 2022

Financial people like to talk about returns on investment. People like me want to know what I can expect when I put my money into a retirement account for example. Of course, we all understand “past performance doesn’t guarantee future success,” but how about returns on spiritual investment?

I got on this train of thought because someone asked me recently if my daughter was dating anyone – they were in a different market for their nephew so to speak. Problem was, I knew just a little too much about the nephew in question. Bottom line, he had not made sound spiritual investments. It called to mind an old turn of phrase I heard long ago about how so many young people sow their wild oats and then pray for crop failure. But you reap what you sow and this is just as true if not truer in the spiritual realm. And it got me thinking – it’s never too soon to start your spiritual investment.

What that means for parents is to make sure our young ones are getting spiritually fed. Singing “Jesus Loves Me” and other such songs to our babies, taking them to church, praying with them and teaching them the Bible is laying a sound spiritual foundation we must continue to build on as long as they are in our house. They need to see integrity and fortitude in the face of shifting worldly allegiances and values. This is for the long-term, building a future in eternity.

What this means for young folks is to take responsibility for their future, realizing the earlier they start, the easier time they will have later on. My friend’s nephew had not shown trustworthiness in his commitment to Christ. While he now may be sincere in his desire for a Christian wife to spiritually invest with to build a strong Christian life together, the long-term effects of his earlier sins don’t go away. It’s like the one who starts saving for retirement in his 20’s in comparison to the one who starts in his 40’s. The effects linger.

That’s the hard news – but we need to hear it. We need to know the choices we make in regard to discipleship can set us on a sound path or a very difficult one. We need to know every decision we make is either helping us grow spiritually or stunting that growth. We need to understand that the world’s patterns are attractive and easy to fall into and difficult to get out of. And we need to know the consequences of our sins stay with us long after we’ve given them up…

… but they’re not eternal if we are committed to spiritual investment now. That’s the good news! No matter where we are in life, no matter what we’ve done, the debt stands forgiven when we start investing in eternity, giving ourselves fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ! And here’s the kicker – when we get to heaven, we will find our return on our spiritual investment is the same for us all – I suspect, knowing all our checkered pasts, we will all be grateful!

Texts helping me in these thoughts included Psalm 119:9, Matthew 20:1-16, and Proverbs 22:6.

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Pray Without Ceasing

By Galen Harrill / July 7, 2022 July 7, 2022

In Bible class Sunday we came to that passage in I Thessalonians that says, “pray without ceasing” (5:17). I never hear or read that verse without thinking of my first few months in Prague. I was living alone in a country where I didn’t yet know the language and was probably in various stages of culture shock. I was so out of my element that things I had spent years doing as habit just dissipated. Like praying before my meals. I also realized I was talking to myself – a lot! This just wouldn’t do, so I decided I would switch out talking to myself with talking with God. It wasn’t long before I was doing little else. Yes, I still went to language class, yes, I still met with my missionary teammates, yes, I tried to go out and meet people. But I still had huge swaths of time to myself, even in crowds, and I filled them with talking to God. It wasn’t as if I had my eyes closed kneeling with hands folded. I was rather just walking to the tram stop having a conversation about a blooming tree I smelled. I was cooking dinner on the stove talking about seasoning. I was on a run beside the Vltava River wondering to Him about a bird sitting on a limb. I talked to Him about people I saw and about what they were doing. Sure, there were moments of silence where my mind was shut off, but then I would think of something or He would show me something and I discussed it with Him. Sometimes it was deep, sometimes funny, sometimes just a passing thought. Where was the “amen?” There wasn’t one because the conversation didn’t end. And it dawned on me – I had come to a spot where I was constantly aware of God’s presence, talking, not talking, waking, sleeping, eating, whatever. It was almost physical and I Thessalonians 5:17 was real.

Now I think I got the immersive crash-course on this, but I know plenty of people who have come to the spot where they are constantly aware of God’s presence and live in that awareness every second. It’s certainly harder in our distracted world to foster and maintain this, but with some intentionality, it happens. For some, a prayer journal works. For others, it’s prayer walking and then carrying that over into other areas of life, ever growing in the realization that prayer is relational, not formulaic.

That’s just how I got here. I’d love to hear how you do it, so leave your thoughts below and I’ll try to okay the comments as quickly as I can so we can all grow from one another. God bless you today!

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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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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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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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