Friends: My wife Pam had a few thoughts about “fitting in” for the students at our school. To wit, we can always fit in with Jesus.  Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #963

April 29, 2025                                    

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

His Name is Jesus

By Pam Walters

“We are strangers in a foreign land.” – Exodus 22:21

All right … this is Bob, but the following is a Mission Christian Academy chapel address my wife Pam delivered last Thursday. It is well worth sharing, so it is her byline.

We both teach high school at MCA – she’s English, and I’m history – and all 400 spirited students, grades K-12, were packed in the gym for our monthly chapel.

Pam (“Mrs. Walters” to the students) opened with having been a third-grade misfit, and spoke of a “misfit” label that accompanied her through high school and on into her teaching profession. Early in life, several times she was the “new kid” in school, was always the tallest girl, as a seventh grader was the only girl both in shop class and in the high school band drumline, and as a “nerdy” “preacher’s kid” often had to forego school social events.  But she met Jesus in third grade.

In what was otherwise a raucous and rollicking MCA youth worship service, 400 boisterous students sat in shockingly attentive silence listening to her story unfold.

Here is what Pam had to say.

         At various points in my life, I have been a misfit.  One of those people who just didn’t fit in, just didn’t seem to belong. My earliest recollection of this was third grade.  At that time, I attended a one-room school house.  There were about 40 of us in kindergarten through eighth grade in one room with one teacher, so when it came to math and reading, we were sorted according to ability.  I loved to read, so I was in a reading group with the seventh and eighth graders.  They didn’t want me in their group, and the other third graders resented my placement.  I was a misfit.

         At the time I entered seventh grade, my dad who was a pastor took a different church so we had moved to a small town in northern Michigan.  Evaluations by the band director had determined that I was good with rhythm, so I soon found myself in the high school marching band.  Talk about being a misfit: I was an incredibly shy 7^th grader, a new student, and the only girl in a drum section made up of eight high school boys.

That same year I was the only girl in the wood shop class, and to top it all off, I was growing.  Between the beginning of 7^th grade and the end of 7^th grade, I grew four inches.  My clothes never fit right. I had to wear ugly shoes to correct my fallen arches from too much jumping rope. I needed braces and I had this mop of wildly curly blond hair that was out of control.  You talk about a misfit.

         We moved again, so being the new kid started all over in eighth grade.  By the time I was a freshman, I was six feet tall, without question the tallest girl in the school and taller than most of the boys.  I heard every “tall” joke ever written. 

In freshmen English that year we read Romeo and Juliet.  I absolutely loved it.  I read it over and over.  Then came the day when our teacher announced that we would be going to the movie theater to see a just-released production of the play.  I was not allowed to go to movies, so when the entire freshman class went out for lunch and to the movie, I sat alone in the library at school.  I didn’t belong.

         When I became an adult and took my first teaching position in 1978, I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t quite fit.  I was ostracized by many because I chose not to join the teachers’ union.  When they learned I was a “church girl” I was never invited to social events and parties.  There were days when I felt very alone.

         By now, you are probably feeling pretty sorry for me.  You probably think that I was a sad, lonely, and lost individual.  But I wasn’t.  Because when I was eight years old, I met Jesus.

Over the years as I grew in my knowledge and understanding of Him, I realized that Jesus was a misfit too.  I imagine that his parents were often perplexed by their son.  Can you imagine being the brother or sister of this kid who NEVER messed up, was perfect in every way?  When he grew older, his home town of Nazareth didn’t want Him.  The religious leaders of the day wanted Him dead, and in the end, all of His closest friends abandoned Him.  He just didn’t belong.

Jesus was known for associating with misfits.  His band of disciples was an odd and motley crew. The book of Luke records his time spent with various outcasts: the leper whom no one would touch – but Jesus did. The paralytic whom all had given up on – but not Jesus.  The tax collector whom everyone avoided and was despised – but Jesus didn’t. The sinful woman who poured oil on His feet but who was cast out of society – but not cast away from Jesus.

Working too hard at “being seen” can be a problem as that pursuit can become an idol.  An idol is anything more important to you than God, and while there is often nothing wrong with our hopes and desires, when we believe achieving them will bring us happiness, we are headed down the wrong path.

Remember the tower of Babel? Those people wanted to make a name for themselves, not bring glory to God.  Sometimes we want to build our own tower to make a name for ourselves.  We want others to see us as worthy of attention and not a nobody who is invisible. We want others to recognize and know us, but only God can truly know us and see us.

Psalm 139 says:

13 You created every part of me;

         You put me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because you are to be feared;

         all you do is strange and wonderful.

         I know it with all my heart.

15 When my bones were being formed,

         carefully put together in my mother’s womb,

         when I was growing there in secret,

         you know that I was there –

16 you saw me before I was born.

You may at times feel like a misfit, fell like you don’t belong, but remember that misfits are fit for the kingdom of God.  We are called strangers in a foreign land (Exodus 22:21), a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9), called to be set apart (Hebrews 1-:10, no longer conforming to this world (Romans 12:2), but to Christ, the king of glory.

So do not fix your eyes on what is seen (2 Corinthians 4:18), on the things of this world, or on the things this world believes are important, but fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

When you feel invisible, keep you eyes on the Invisible One.

When ever you feel like you don’t belong, remember the One to whom you do belong.  His name is Jesus.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) is happy to pass along your comments to Pam.  And seriously, it was jaw-dropping how inspiringly quiet ALL the kids were, K-12.  Then … thunderous applause. FYI, the MCA website is MissionChristianAcademy.com, Fishers, Indiana USA.

Friends: Easter intensifies our understanding of the mission of Jesus. Let’s look closely at His identity. Happy Easter, and have a great week. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #962

April 22, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Person of Faith

By Bob Walters

“And the Word became flesh.” – John 1:14

Bible scholar George Bebawi was well known among his students for endless lists of key points describing and detailing scripture, faith, doctrine, life … you name it.

The following list is a faithful though somewhat shortened adaptation of George’s “Ten Reasons to Believe in the Incarnation.” While the incarnation harkens Jesus’s birth and Christmas, in this resurrection season let’s consider the identity and person of Jesus as he entered the world, even as Easter celebrates His departure.

1. The Word (Logos) became flesh. Try to imagine life without words. How could we think and live? But Jesus isn’t just any word; he is the spiritual rational power of God. As a powerless baby he cried in the voice of humankind, like the powerless life which hung on the cross, in both cases His divinity hidden. Jesus was a real person.

2. Born a baby, His was the birth of the King of Israel (Matthew 2:1), the Holy Son of God (Luke 1:35), a savior who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). Jesus was born of woman, under the law (Galatians 4:4), a servant in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and the image of God (Colossians 1:18).

3. As Adam was a seed sown in dishonor and weakness from dust of the earth, Jesus is a seed raised in glory and power, a spiritual body from heaven born of earth.

4. Bethlehem is the birthplace of redeemed humanity. Jesus is the one Lord who must not be divided in separate events of Christmas, crucifixion, and resurrection.

5. The incarnation is the glory of both God and humanity, because God became like us so that we will become like him. Beloved, we are God’s children now.

6. Jesus is the revelation of divine Love for our humanity that is no longer a word but the incarnate son of God. He became like me so that I may become like him.

7. We are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ was born a man and was born of a woman. Both sexes have been honored.

8. Truth is not merely an idea; Truth is this person Jesus. Truth has sprung up out of the earth, and justice has looked down from heaven. (Psalm 85:11). Truth which abides in the bosom of the Father is sprung out of the earth to dwell also in the bosom of the mother. Christ, who said I am the truth (John 14:6), is born of a virgin

9. Peace is also born. Whence is Peace on earth, if not for the fact that Truth is sprung out of the earth, that is, Christ is born of flesh? Let us be men of good will, bound by the sweet bonds of unity, who rejoice in this grace, and who glory in the Lord.

10. Jesus is the eternal union of the divine and the human, the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Let no one believe that the Son of God was changed into the Son of man, but rather let us believe that He, remaining the Son of God, was made Son of man without the loss of His divine substance and by a perfect assumption of the human substance. The Word was made flesh; Emmanuel, God with us, was born.

Jesus is the ultimate person of faith – He IS faith – and our abiding truth forever.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) finishes with a word about George, who passed away Feb. 4, 2021, at age 82. He was a multi-lingual Bible translator and patristics (early church) scholar raised in Egypt. A Coptic priest who earned a PhD from Cambridge University, England, George had a broad, lifelong Christian academic and missionary vocation. He retired in 2004 from Cambridge as a divinity lecturer and moved to Carmel, Ind., where he married May and graciously, for 14 years, taught a weekly Wednesday night Bible class at Indy’s East 91^st Street Christian Church that Walters rarely missed.

Friends: Faith in Christ attaches us to God, but to understand, one first must believe.  Holy week seemed like a good time to bring it up. - Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #961

April 15, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Substantial Faith

By Bob Walters

“Unless you believe, you shall not understand.” – Daniel 12:10

Variations in Bible translations being what they are, and Bible mysteries being what they are, trusting God’s truth not infrequently leaves good questions unanswered.

That situation – trusting God’s truth while harboring questions – is called faith.

The good question we are entertaining today is, “Whom does God save?”

One answer, unsatisfying as it may be, is, God saves whomever He wants. Another answer, the one we will pursue here with scripture, is, God saves the faithful.

Daniel 12:10, cited above, in the Old Testament describes who will be saved in the end times (also known as the eschaton). This verse, in practically all Bible translations, is phrased differently, with a reference to “the wicked” as those who do not understand, i.e., believe.  The “wise” understand and believe; they have questions but know God is real.

Hence, a more common translation of this verse is, “None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” It is plain to me that the wicked – , those with no understanding of God, no faith in God, and no relationship with God – will not ultimately “shine like the brightness of the heavens” (Daniel 12:3).

Daniel then asks, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” (v 12:8). It appears heaven’s door is shut to those without belief, understanding, and wisdom

The last few chapters of Daniel prophesy extensively not just on the end times but suggest a savior, i.e. Christ, by whom the faithful will be “purified, made spotless, and refined” (Daniel 12:10a). The wicked will remain wicked and will not understand.

So, as cited at the top, “Unless you believe, you shall not understand.”

The Old Testament is a series of stories, problems, prophesies, and propositions without an ending or solution.  That’s what the New Testament provides, God’s ultimate purpose: our salvation by our faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The faithful go with God..

Faith in Christ is the wisdom and understanding God requires for our inheritance into His kingdom. And while Christians put an often lopsided emphasis on salvation by behavior and obedience, let’s remember that the word “repent” means literally, in Greek, “to think anew.” A repentant Jew would come to think like a Christian: faithful to Jesus as fulfillment of the Law come with a new covenant – in faith – for all mankind.

Hebrews 11, sub-headed “By Faith” in the 1984 NIV Bible, catalogs numerous ancients – Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. – commended for their faith, possessing with wisdom and understanding the reality and truth of God. God remembers His own.

Hebrews 11 begins with this definition: “… faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Then 20 more sentences begin with the words, “By faith…” as ancients are commended, by name, for their faith.  Not one is commended for behavior, or saw Jesus.  Faith is the coin of God’s realm and the seal of His love. 

Our good behavior in this life is a gift we give to ourselves that enhances our appreciation of God’s fundamental truth: that we are made in His image and that His love invites us to become heirs sharing His eternal life and glory. Love God, love others.

The old saying, “Seeing is believing,” is backwards when it comes to faith in, and deeply living with, God.  Believing is the seeing that allows us to understand, to approach, to desire, and to love God’s fundamental, bedrock, substantial reality.

Behave yourself, sure; life is more peaceful. Wickedness exacts a terrible toll.

But faith – faith in Christ – is the substance that attaches humans to God. 

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes: “hypostasis” is the term for God’s reality, which is to say, the underlying reality of all things..

Friends: Authority resides with Christ, not modern cultural fashion.  God bless!  Bob

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Spirituality Column #960

April 8, 2025

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Authority of the Age

By Bob Walters

”He was given authority … and his kingdom … will never be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:14

“[Jesus] taught as one who had authority.” – Matthew 7:29

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” – Jesus, Matthew 28:18

Polling firm Pew Research for several years has tracked the rise of the “nones,” the growing American population segment which claims no particular religious affiliation.

After two decades of a steadily rising cohort of “nones” – 16 percent in 2007 rising to nearly 29 percent last year – Pew reports an apparent “leveling off” of that number, which includes those (approximately) who say they are atheist (5 percent), agnostic (6 percent), or “nothing in particular” (19 percent).

Latest Pew numbers state, authoritatively, that 62 percent of U.S. adults call themselves Christians, down from 78 percent claiming Christian identity in 2007.

There is no reason I can see to doubt the numbers.  In fact, maybe we should be glad the disparity and evident disinterest in Jesus aren’t more pronounced.  We have all been living in the same disparate, fractured American culture these past few decades.

Let me jump in here to assert, vehemently if I may, that I do not believe in any way, shape, or form that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the true fellowship of true Christian believers is changed or impacted by numbers in a poll … in any age.

God’s truth does not change.  That is why it is not called, “God’s opinion.”

In last week’s Logos Sunday school, classmate and college math professor Tom Foltz made a great and graphic presentation of the Pew polling arithmetic.  There’s no disputing the numbers, which inspired some thinking about what’s behind the decline.

Like, God doesn’t change. Faith in Jesus is the unchanging way, truth, and life into the eternal kingdom. The Spirit abides in all truth, scripture is true and sure. And if the church is the visible Body of Christ, what does the Pew poll reveal?  It reveals … us.

Math and science, done honestly and well, reveal evidence, but often not the causality, prescriptive, and ethic of why? … what can be done? … and, what is right?

Here’s my best guess at “why” Christian influence is dwindling. It’s in our secular world’s flood of information and distractions fueled by modern technology and limitless alternate activities. Smart phones, computers, and the internet provide endless communication, good and bad. Culture no longer protects Sunday as a day for church.

Rampant secular humanism insists not only on the supremacy of man over God, but on the “see-it-to-believe it” tyranny of short-sighted, human “truth.” God’s authority is not merely devalued, it is ignored and derided. The first thing the first believers believed and proclaimed about Jesus was the nature of His Godly authority – He is the Son of God, with true authority over Creation, God’s laws, God’s love, and our salvation.

The early church didn’t survive and grow because it was forgiven; it survived and grew because the faithful loved each other, preached the Word, and helped everybody.

God will sort out right and wrong, righteously, because He can do no other.  Our culture claims an authority it does not possess, same as the Pharisees in Jesus’s day.

Today’s light-thinking progressive Christians regularly deconstruct God’s truth. “Woke” and wealthy foundations impose non-biblical cultural fashions on God’s people. But here is a lesson for the ages: man’s authority saves no one, regardless of any poll.

God’s ageless authority resides in love, truth, and glory … polling at 100 percent.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) shares this Feb 2025 PBS story about Pew’s poll. And … here’s a link to an old column about authority (#558, 7-25-17), Expert Opinion.