Notes of Faith November 14, 2025

Notes of Faith November 14, 2025

God Will Provide

And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Genesis 22:14

In the biblical world it was common for personal names to reflect the character or attributes of the person. The same was true of God’s name Jehovah as He revealed Himself to His people. Compound names were ascribed to Him based on His character and attributes—like Jehovah My Shepherd, Jehovah My Healer, Jehovah My Victory, Jehovah My Righteousness, and more. Jehovah My Provision was a name given to God by Abraham as a result of God’s dramatic provision at a critical moment in Abraham’s life (Genesis 22:1-19).

Because of the intense relationship God entered into with Abraham, He tested him by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac. When Abraham and Isaac approached the site of the sacrifice, Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was. Abraham told Isaac that God would provide—which He did at the last moment by providing a ram caught in a thicket. So Abraham named the place The-Lord-Will-Provide.

Philippians 4:19 says that God will provide all our needs through Christ. If you have a need today, trust that God will provide.

If God sends us on stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes.

Alexander MacLaren

Phil 4:14-20

14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The Lord has and does provide in miraculous ways but more often He provides through what He has given to His followers to share with those in need. May we be more than willing to share the bounty God gives us with those He places within our influence to meet their need!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 13, 2025

Notes of Faith November 13, 2025

Flying High

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

Earlier this year, a plane from Thailand was headed to London’s Heathrow, but a fire shut down the airport. London’s Gatwick airport was full. The pilot told the passengers honestly, “We don’t know where we’re going to go yet.” The aircraft finally landed in Brussels.1

Gen 12:1-9

Now the Lord said to Abram,

"Go forth from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father's house,

To the land which I will show you;

2 And I will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you,

And make your name great;

And so you shall be a blessing;

3 And I will bless those who bless you,

And the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.

Negev: an arid region forming most of southern Israel, between Beersheba and the Gulf of Aqaba, on the Egyptian border. Large areas are irrigated for agriculture.

Sometimes we feel the Lord telling us, “Fasten your seat belts. I’m in control even though you don’t know where you’re going.” That happened to Abraham. God called him, not telling him where he was going, and Abraham obeyed.

We walk by faith, and the best advice for finding God’s will is still found in this simple formula: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Ask the Lord for strength to trust and courage to obey. He’s a true and faithful Pilot.

God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.

Anonymous

1Amelia Neath, “Heathrow Airport: Pilot Admits ‘I Don’t Know Where We’re Going’ in Mid-Air During Flight Diversion Chaos,” Independent, March 21, 2025.

It is normal to think we know where we are going at any given time, but God who is in control of all things may direct our path in a way that we do not know. We are to trust in His sovereignty and will for our life’s direction, His glory, and our usefulness in service to Him! May your day be filled with the glory of God as He directs your path!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 12, 2025

Notes of Faith November 12, 2025

Being With Jesus

Master Sgt. Daniel Redman was deployed to Korea for a solid year, and he missed his family. They missed him, too, especially his two sons —­ Jacob in fifth grade and Jason in seventh. “He’s been gone for a while and I’ve been missing Him,” Jacob said.

When Redman found out he was coming back home to Maine, he told his wife, but they decided to surprise the boys. Television cameras followed Master Sgt. Redman as he entered the fifth-grade classroom —­ where Jacob jumped out of his chair and hugged his dad.

Redman looked down at his boy and said, “Did you miss me?” Jacob, crying, nodded his head, not willing to let go of his dad. Then it was on to the seventh-­grade classroom, where Jason spotted his dad, raced across the room, and grabbed his dad so hard that Redman said, “Holy smokes!” The classroom cheered —­ there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

“You see them on FaceTime and Facebook Messenger and you know they are growing and getting bigger,” Redman said. “But it’s a lot different when you finally get to see them in person.”1

We’ve all seen videos and television reports of these surprise reunions, and we can’t watch them without our eyes watering. Perhaps one of the reasons they touch us has to do with something deeper —­ our innermost longing to be reunited with our Lord Jesus Christ. Like Jacob, we can’t help saying, “He’s been gone for a while and I’ve been missing him.”

We see Jesus in the pages of the Bible. We have His Spirit in our hearts. But it will be a lot different when we finally get to see Him in person. As we used to sing, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!”

I want to explore why that is true, and why being with Jesus will be such a foundational part of our experiences in Heaven.

Christ’s Longing to Be with Us

As I immersed myself in all the biblical passages I could find about our eternal home, one truth jumped off the pages of Scripture and into my heart. The main thing about Heaven is not the streets of gold, the gates of pearl, or even our reunion with our loved ones. As wonderful as those things are, the main thing is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Heaven is Heaven because that’s where Jesus is.

The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In a similar way, we can say, “We want to be with Him because He first wants to be with us.” I do not have the eloquence or vocabulary — nor the depth of understanding —­ to explain how and why Jesus so longs to be with us. With you. But Scripture tells me it’s true.

We see this most vividly in the sacred prayer Jesus offered to His Father in John 17, just before He entered the garden of Gethsemane on His way to die for us. He prayed,

Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved me before the foundation of the world. — verse 24

“I want My followers to be with Me and see My glory!”

The apostle Paul reflected on this when he prayed that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —­ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.

— Ephesians 3:18–19

Paul was teaching us to ask God for a greater ability to know something that transcends knowledge —­ how much Christ truly loves us. How much He really loves you! This is the entire gospel in its most personal form. Jesus so wanted you to be with Him in Heaven that He paid the greatest imaginable price to make it happen. He became human, endured the brutality of crucifixion, and shed His blood so that you may have a life that’s forgiven and a life that’s forever.

What makes you most excited about seeing Jesus?

Our Longing to Be with Him

Jesus wants to be with us so much that it causes us to want to be with Him. As I said, we love Him because He first loved us. In John 14:3 He said,

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

He told the dying thief on the cross,

Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. — Luke 23:43

Can you imagine hearing those words directly from the Savior’s lips? “You will be with Me.”

Paul explained death in similar terms, saying,

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. — 2 Corinthians 5:8

When Paul was writing to the Philippians about his own death, he declared,

For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. — Philippians 1:23

In his most definitive explanation of the rapture of the church, the apostle said,

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

— 1 Thessalonians 4:17

After all is said and done and all the explanations are made, there is only one thing that really matters when it comes to Heaven: Jesus is there, and we will be with Him. He longs to be with us, and He plants in our hearts the eternal desire to be with Him.

Often when we talk about a believing loved one who passed away, we say, “He is in Heaven.” Perhaps we should say, “He’s with Jesus.” Or, “She’s with the Lord.” There’s a hunger in every heart for the kind of love and permanence that only Christ can give. Whitney Houston, the American singer and actress, lived a troubled life and died at the age of forty-eight. She accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. She was one of the best-­selling artists in history.

On the night before her death, she performed a heartfelt rendition of “Jesus Loves Me.” She told the crowd she had given her heart to Jesus. She told friends she thought the end was near, and in the days leading up to her death, she began quoting the Bible, singing hymns, and talking about Christ and heaven and the afterlife. On the morning of her death, she read about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, and she told a friend, “I’m gonna go see Jesus. I want to see Jesus.”2

Deep within us, we all have that same desire —­ though we don’t always realize it.

Dr. R. T. Kendall was thinking about Heaven one day, and he pondered all the people he wanted to meet. “I want to meet Paul the apostle. I will ask him, ‘Did I faithfully interpret what you said about the faith of Christ?’ I want to ask James, ‘Did I really get it right on your epistle in James 2:14?’ I want to meet Martin Luther —­ my hero. John Calvin —­ my favorite theologian. Charles Wesley and John Newton —­ my favorite hymn writers. Martyn Lloyd-­Jones —­ my chief mentor.”

Kendall continued:

One of the things I expect to be true is the reunion with my loved ones. My mother has been there since 1953, my father since 2002. I have friends I want to see there. All my mentors who have shaped my mind and my preaching style.

But first and foremost —­ words fail me to put this as I would wish... I only know... I want to see Jesus! The wonderful thing is that we will get to see Him before we see anyone else. I want to worship Him. To thank Him for leaving Heaven, to become nothing, to make Himself of no reputation, to become an embryo in the virgin Mary’s womb. I want to thank Him for fulfilling the law. For never sinning. For dying on the cross. For saving me. I will thank Him for His infinite patience with me.3

What is it that makes you most excited about seeing Jesus? What do you want to tell Him? What do you want to hear from Him? What emotions do you expect to flood your mind and heart when you finally stand before Him face-­to-­face?

Such questions are worth thinking about. Heaven and Jesus are worth thinking about. Because as we will see in page after page throughout this book, the more we set our minds on the wonders of tomorrow, the more we are encouraged and inspired today.

1. “Video: Soldier Comes Home and Surprises His Kids in Maine,” 6 KWQC, September 6, 2018, https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Video-­Soldier-comes-home-­and-­surprises-his-­kids-­in-­Maine-492580161.html.

2. “Whitney Houston Had Premonition About Death,” TMZ, updated May 12, 2019, https://www.tmz.com/2012/02/15/whitney-­houston-­premonition-death-­jesus-­bible/#.TzvnCXJkHEU.

3. R. T. Kendall, Whatever Happened to the Gospel (Charisma House, 2018), 176.

Excerpted from The Promise of Heaven by Dr. David Jeremiah, copyright David P. Jeremiah.

My thoughts about the future and my experience of life here and now have matured over the years. I definitely miss family and friends who have left this life and have crossed over to eternal life or eternal judgment. I desire not only to speak again with those God gave me interaction in this life but also those who will come after I am gone. Eternity is a long time to be able to enjoy all of these opportunities. But there is within my heart a great longing to be in the presence of Jesus! I want to see Him, to touch Him, to give thanks and worship Him, to dwell in His glory! That day is coming and it could be soon. I pray that the return of Jesus for His bride is today…and if not, I will pray that He comes tomorrow. Until then, we are given the joy of serving our Lord and Savior by proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

John 14:1-3

14 "Do not let your heart be troubled; (you) believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Let us wait with fervent expectation the return of Jesus…

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 11, 2025

Notes of Faith November 11, 2025

Grace and Favor

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6:8

In British English the phrase “grace and favour” refers to a property provided by the government rent free in recognition of one’s service to the country. Grace and favor are synonyms in English and carry a similar core idea: free. We could say that grace and favour properties are earned by their recipients, but they are free in the sense that their provision is not an obligation.

English translations of Scripture use grace and favor to translate the same Hebrew and Greek terms. Both words carry the same idea of free. For instance, Noah found grace [favor] in the eyes of God in a wicked period of history. Yes, Noah was a righteous and blameless man who walked with God (Genesis 6:9). But he did not earn the favor God bestowed upon him. Rather, God looked with favor upon Noah as a man He could trust. The same was said of Mary the earthly mother of Jesus who was a “highly favored one” (Luke 1:28)—someone God could trust with a weighty commission.

We are saved freely by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let us also live as those God can call when He needs a faithful servant.

God is better than gold, His favor is better than fortune.

Charles Spurgeon

Grace has become one of my most “favored” words in my spiritual journey. God’s grace toward me is something that I do not deserve and yet He gives it. My grace toward others in their spiritual journey is still a learning experience. I ask in prayer to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only to know Him, but to be more like Him day by day. God’s grace is obviously greater than all my sin, (yours too), but His grace also provides salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and through believing in the person and work of Jesus, I/we have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. May we meditate on the grace of God, giving thanks for His being with us every moment of every day! May we be ready to serve our eternal King whenever and for whatever He calls us to do!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 10, 2025

Notes of Faith November 10, 2025

Faith and Insight

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Genesis 5:24

Enoch lived 365 years during a time of increasing wickedness on earth, yet he walked with God. Not only did he live a faithful life, but also his life on earth ended in a unique way. The Message paraphrase puts it this way: “Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him”

(Genesis 5:24).

Sometimes we feel challenged to walk “steadily” with God for a single day, much less for more than three centuries. But Enoch did. We only have two clues in Scripture as to Enoch’s life. Hebrews 11:5 refers to him as a man of faith, and Jude 14 refers to him as a man of spiritual insight. Jude quotes from the book of Enoch about the coming judgment on the wicked, a well-regarded apocryphal book of Jewish literature from the first century B.C. Jude considered the words of this book to be an accurate prophecy of the future. Though the book was compiled long after Enoch lived, his words must have carried weight in the Jewish community.

Faithfulness and spiritual insight—two traits of Enoch we would do well to imitate in our lives.

Faithfulness to God is our first obligation in all that we are called to do in the service of the Gospel.

Iain H. Murray

None of us should expect to be around for 365 years, but we should strive for faithfulness and spiritual insight for the years that we are given! May God bless you today while you are in His Word, that you hear Him speak and respond with obedience to His commands. Let it be said of us that we walk with God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 9, 2025

Notes of Faith November 9, 2025

The Race Marked Out for Us

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. — Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

A few weeks after we buried our son River, I noticed a middle-aged dad with his toddler on his shoulders, laughing and carefree. Suddenly, I was mad and envious. Why did he still have his little boy when we didn’t? Grief does that to you. It makes you wrestle with the unfairness of it all — why others get to keep what you’ve lost, why their life seems so much easier and yours looks like a dumpster fire.

Proverbs 14:30 reminds us,

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

In that moment, I was only seeing what I lacked, and that comparison stole my peace. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy my two beautiful, healthy children because my heart was consumed with what had been taken from me.

The Christian life is often compared to a race. We are told in Hebrews to

run with endurance the race that is set before us. — 12:1

I’ve never been one who enjoys running. I was that girl in middle school who faked cramps to get out of running in gym class. It’s exhausting and painful — just like life sometimes. And maybe that’s why it’s such a fitting analogy for our faith. Running the race isn’t easy. It takes discipline, focus, perseverance, and, most of all, trust.

But we aren’t running aimlessly. And we aren’t running for prizes and trophies that will tarnish and fade.

We run for an eternal crown, for a reward that will never perish.

Paul reminded us in 1 Corinthians 9:24,

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

This race we’re running has eternal significance. From the day we are born, we are set on a path toward eternity. We will spend it either in fellowship with Jesus or separated from Him. The stakes are high. How are you running? Are your eyes on your lane or someone else’s? Are you even running at all? Or are you just coasting through life?

In His wisdom, God has set a unique race before each of us. He has equipped us with specific giftings, challenges, blessings, and, yes, even sufferings. But He hasn’t left us to figure it out on our own. He’s given us tools — His Word, His Spirit, His people — to run this race well. Will we follow His blueprint, or will we try to run our own race, our own way, comparing hardships on the journey?

Running a race takes endurance. But how do we keep running when life gets hard, when the race seems too long or too painful, when we feel like we can’t take another step?

First, we prepare, just as athletes train with discipline and consistency. I knew the battle I would face each day. I knew the Enemy would attack my mind, so I prepared by spending time with the Lord before I stepped out into the world. I prayed and read my Bible, asking God to guard my heart and thoughts and help me to keep my eyes on Him.

Second, we remember that we are not running alone. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Our ancestors in the faith have run this race before us, and their stories encourage us to keep going when life gets hard. We also have the testimonies of so many around us encouraging us that we, too, can cross the finish line.

Third, we realize that preparation isn’t always easy. Just like any kind of training, it can be painful. Our muscles ache, our lungs burn. But just as physical pain can drive us to grow stronger in training, the pain we endure in life can drive us closer to Christ.

Lastly, we fix our eyes on Christ. Hebrews 12:2 continues,

…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we focus on Jesus, we remember that God has a purpose for our race, even in the darkest valleys, and He walks with us every step of the way.

The Lord has been ministering to me through Psalm 23 and its reminder that He is our Good Shepherd. God, in His kindness, leads us in righteousness, and also through the valley of the shadow of death. Both are paths marked out by God, and because He is good, both are good, though they may not feel good at the time.

Jesus didn't have an easy path, but we can look to Him because He tells us in His word, "in this world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” Just as the apostle Paul, we cry out to God in our distress. We pray for strength to persevere, and we do not lose heart. We press on until we hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Those are words I long to hear when I cross the finish line of the Christian life. Even when I must crawl, even if I am knocked down again and again, I am determined to fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish my race. Are you with me?

Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on my own race, not comparing it to others and ultimately to keep my eyes fixed on You. Give me strength and endurance when I am weak. In Your mighty name I pray, Amen.

Written by Amber Emily Smith, author of The Girl on the Bathroom Floor, copyright Amber Emily Smith.

I used to run…early in the mornings, all by myself…and enjoyed it. Life can be hard, very hard, and running the race sometimes seems miserable. But the finish line is coming and the reward is great…eternal life, a perfect sin-free, physical maladies gone, joyful spirit filled days in glory with God! I beg you to join me in the race to glorify God and be filled with hope that is sure in the love of God toward you and me!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 8, 2025

Notes of Faith November 8, 2025

Living a Great-Full Life: How Great Is His Faithfulness

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:13

Nelson Glueck was a twentieth-century rabbi, Hebrew scholar, college president, and renowned biblical archaeologist. Among his many books, he wrote an entire volume on the meaning of one Hebrew word: hesed. The last sentence in Hesed in the Bible says this: “The significance of hesed can be rendered by ‘loyalty,’ ‘mutual aid’ or ‘reciprocal love.’”(1) Many Hebrew scholars translate hesed as “loyal love.” An even shorter translation would be “faithfulness.”

If agape (unconditional love) is the most important theological word in the New Testament, then hesed (loyal love, faithfulness) is the defining theological term in the Old Testament. For example, the phrase “his steadfast love endures forever” occurs in all 26 verses of Psalm 136 in the English Standard Version. Hesed always stood for God’s faithfulness and loyalty to His chosen people Israel. Even if they sinned, God was faithful to keep His covenant of promise with them. The idea of faithfulness translates easily to the unconditional love of the New Testament: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful.”

Remember today that God’s faithfulness is never-ending. Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

All I have needed thy hand hath provided; great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Thomas O. Chisholm

(1) Nelson Glueck, Hesed in the Bible (Wipf & Stock, 2011), 102.

Ps 136:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

If God were not faithful to us we would be doomed to eternal judgment. But, praise Him for His great love, sending His Son to die on a cross that we might be redeemed, saved, sanctified, and glorified with eternal life through faith in Jesus and His work on the cross. May you not only believe in the Lord and His Word but be obedient to His desire and will for your life.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 7, 2025

Notes of Faith November 7, 2025

Pleasing God

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Hebrews 11:5

Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel—and the former murdered the latter. The seventh-generation descendant from Adam in the line of Cain was named Lamech, known for his carnal ways. After Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve had another son named Seth. The seventh-generation descendant from Adam in the line of Seth was Enoch, who “pleased God.” Enoch’s great-grandson was Noah.

The generations leading up to Noah were characterized by darkness—men like Enoch and Noah being exceptions. Of both these men it is recorded that they “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). And God singled out both of them. Noah was commissioned to build an ark and save a remnant of creation with which to restart the earth after a great flood. But Enoch was removed from the dark earth by God and taken to heaven like Elijah (2 Kings 2:11)—an apparent reward for his faith and faithfulness.

Walking by faith in a dark world is not easy, but we can follow Enoch’s example and be Christ’s light for the world.

We are not here to commune with darkness but to conquer it.

Vance Havner

Heb 11:1-16

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.

13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

God may have prepared for me to die in the faith that He gave me to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ…but perhaps He gave me life in a time that will bring the return of Jesus and I will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds with the rest of His true believing church!

Let us walk boldly and bravely in this dark world and be bright lights for the glory of God … and be pleasing to Him!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 6, 2025

Notes of Faith November 6, 2025

In the Midst of Mystery

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

Hebrews 11:4

Christian musical artist Seph Schlueter was touring and preparing for a new album release when he and his wife received bad news. The twenty-week ultrasound of the couple’s unborn baby girl no longer showed a heartbeat. That was the hardest month of his life, he said, but “I can still praise you in this pain, God, and in the midst of mystery.”1

When we worship the Lord, we’re offering a sacrifice to Him. We learn to praise Him, even in the middle of pain and mystery. Abel brought his worship and his sacrifice to God by faith, and God honored him for it. His example still speaks to us.

When we worship, we are lifting our hearts and voices upward to One who is greater than our problems and pain, higher than our hurts and wounds, and more eternal than our burdens on earth. Worshiping transports us to the throne. It lifts us above the mirey clay.

Practice saying, “Praise the Lord!” throughout the day. Let’s offer God the sacrifice of praise.

Without worship we go about miserable.

A. W. Tozer

1Michael Foust, “Seph Schlueter Finds Hope in Worship After Losing Baby Girl,” Crosswalk, July 17, 2025.

Robin and I never got to see our first baby together.  This little one’s heartbeat was not heard at the first appointment that I was to attend with her.  I was so excited to hear that fast little heartbeat.  We did not lose that baby.  God took that baby home to be with Him and we will see that child in heaven, recognizing that boy or girls as our child and have them for all eternity to love.   Praise God for His eternal blessings.

Ps 150

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith November 5, 2025

Notes of Faith November 5, 2025

Fog Bells

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.”

Genesis 4:6-7

Ben Fogle is a popular British personality who had something of a breakdown two years ago. “I was being overstimulated,” he said. “I was doing too much, I was expecting too much of myself and I eventually popped, burst.” The problem, he said, was that he “didn’t listen to some of the little warning signs.”1

Neither did Cain. He should have learned from his parents that sin doesn’t pay. He should have followed the example of his brother Abel. He should have heeded the warning God gave him in Genesis 4:6-7. But he didn’t listen, and he is remembered today as a tragic figure, the first murderer in history, the man who shed his own brother’s blood.

Let’s have ears to hear. God has a lot to say to us—31,102 verses in the Bible. Let’s be still and have a quiet time every day, listening to His voice and heeding His directions.

God’s warnings are sent in love. They are fog bells to warn us of the rock that could wreck our souls.

Unknown

1“Ben Fogle Admits He ‘Didn’t Listen to Little Warning Signs, ’” Yahoo! News, February 24, 2025.

Gen 4:1-15

4 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord." 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 "Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 "When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth." 13 Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is too great to bear! 14 "Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15 So the Lord said to him, "Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Through sin, we have earned death and eternal separation from God. But because of God’s love, mercy and grace, we are offered forgiveness of sin, a new life and perfect communion with Him forever!

Rom 12:1-2

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Pastor Dale