Notes of Faith May 28, 2020

We are living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 is one of the most dramatic and far reaching events in world history thanks to the Internet and global communications.

The world as we knew it stopped! Borders closed, travel was suspended, schools and businesses closed, soccer leagues, the NFL, MLB, the Final Four, concerts, eating out, vacations, and church services all came to a screeching halt. We have been “sheltering in place” and listening to pundits explain death ratios, the spread of the virus, and how the US and global economies have plummeted.

From a temporal perspective, you might think it can’t get a whole lot worse than this. Our 24-hour news cycle daily tabulates the pandemic’s carnage—job losses, retirements evaporating, investments faltering, businesses closing, death and sickness of loved ones, and the emotional and relational fallout fueled by fear and panic.

What If …?

It would be absolutely cruel and callous to minimize any of the current challenges and personal tragedy that this pandemic has thrust across the world. But what if there is another perspective, another narrative that measures and evaluates things through the lens of eternity rather than simply time?

What if there is, in fact, a God who is personal and created all that there is, who loves all people deeply and longs to have a personal and eternal relationship with them? What if His love has extended to such a degree that God the Son would come and die to procure forgiveness and eternal life for whosoever would turn from their selfish independence and self-focused idols to believe in Him … Jesus?

And what if violence, corruption, injustice, greed, power-mongering , immorality, and neglect of the poor and marginalized became so great all across the world (even among those who claim to be Jesus followers) that God allowed this evil virus to push the global PAUSE button that caused the world to stop?

What if, from heaven’s perspective, this is a global intervention of mercy to get us to STOP, examine ourselves, look up, forsake wickedness, repent of our greed and self-focus, to address injustice, help the weak, love the poor, forgive our enemies, and walk in righteousness?

Is this not the very admonition God gave through Jeremiah when the corruption and evil of his day had reached its limit?

Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins? Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say we have sinned and rebelled” (Jer. 3:37-42).

What if our heavenly Father is taking what seems to be meant for evil and using it for good? Like a good parent, He has put us in “time out.” Far from punitive, His desire is to help us take stock, pause, evaluate our lives, our relationships, our idols, and return to Him for the life that is real. One-by-one He has revealed the false gods in whom we have trusted.

Our faith in the god of Money to provide power, control, and security has betrayed us. Our faith in the god of Hedonism that promised personal fulfillment through the next “amazing experience” have all come to a screeching halt.

And last, but far from least, our faith in the god of Self that seeks to prove our value and significance through our work, our talent, our looks, and our latest accomplishments—all neatly curated on our “look at me” Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, or other such posts. It has been put on hold for most of us. We sit at home and have no choice but to face ourselves for who we really are, minus the props of work, hobbies, and busyness that kept our consciences distracted from pondering the deeper issues of life, purpose, meaning, love, God, and our response to His great mercy and generous offer of real life, both now and forever with Him.

C.S. Lewis rightly observed that God whispers to us in our prosperity and shouts to us in our pain. Suffering is indeed His megaphone to a deaf world. In His severe mercy, He seeks to free us from being consumed with ourselves and the trivia we have elevated to importance.

Our faith in the prophets of science, technology, and advanced medicine have been brought to their knees by an invisible microbe. It has spread indiscriminately across the globe like a tsunami wave, unstoppable even as our best and brightest scientists, doctors, and researchers seek a cure.

See Life More Clearly Than Ever Before

What are we to make of all of this? Is this virus just bad karma? Is it just another thing to get through? Is it just a blip on the screen of world history? Are we to simply follow the media mantras that we hear between our favorite programs: “Let’s think positive, let’s pull together, we’ve been through tough things before and will get through this too?”

I think not! In our personal lives and in our corporate experience, there are very specific windows of time when we have the opportunity to see life more clearly than ever before. Death and crisis have a way of pushing the really important things to the forefront.

Solomon said that there is more wisdom in the house of mourning than in the house of feasting. The apostle Paul, writing to a blatantly corrupt and immoral society in Ephesus, pleaded with them to “awake sleeper, and arise from the dead; and Christ will shine on you.”

Many followers of Christ have prayed for many years that God would cause a great move of his Spirit to happen in the world—that God would awaken the whole world to the greatness of His love and the certainty of His return and coming judgment.

In like manner, many of us have prayed that His church would be awakened to our duplicity, our hypocrisy, our hardness of heart, our own immorality, our judgmental attitude, and most importantly the loss of our first love.

God’s discipline and loving, kind, and even severe mercy to bring about repentance always begins with His own children. If this global pandemic is not a wake-up call that shakes His church out of complacency and calls us back to heartfelt personal devotion, forsaking of our idols, and radical acts of sacrifice and love to ALL those in need, then I do not know what will.

Wake-Up Call for the Church

Could this crisis and tragedy be our chance? Could this be the mercy of God pleading and warning his wayward children to “stop being conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we might test and experience what the will of God is, that which is good, well pleasing and perfect”?

Can you imagine the impact, if millions and millions of us followers of Christ in America would respond to this pandemic by forsaking our religiosity, our prejudice, our idols, and return to our “first love,” Jesus, with wholehearted devotion and unswerving obedience to his Word?

Can you imagine the millions of acts of service happening each and every day in the workplace, marriages, and homes as unbelievers witness and experience authentic love and observe lives of integrity in those who claim the name of Jesus? Can you imagine the social transformation as billions of dollars are released to meet needs in local communities and support the poor and marginalized across the nation and the world because believers gave the first and best of their finances to Jesus as an act of worship and love not duty, obligation, or believing it will make them all rich?

Could it happen? Of course it can! It has happened in various windows throughout history, and most often in times of crisis.

Will it happen? Only you can decide that. It is not a group thing.  It is not a club you join. It is an individual response. It requires each one of us to take this time to get real with ourselves and honest with God, turn from our own wicked ways, receive God’s great forgiveness, bask in his love, and then worship and obey his word 24/7 every day of the year with everyone we meet.

It is Christians living like Christians every day, in every way, everywhere, for the glory of God and the good of all mankind. If not now, when?

I have to start with me. You have to start with you.

Let’s do this together!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 27, 2020

Every Christian is a disciple. In fact, the Lord’s Great Commission was to go into all the world and  

make disciples... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. — Matthew 28:19–20

That means the mission of the Church, and the goal of evangelism, is to make disciples. Disciples are people who believe, those whose faith motivates them to obey all Jesus commanded. The word disciple is used consistently as a synonym for believer throughout the book of Acts (Acts 6:1, Acts 6:2, Acts 6:7; Acts 11:26; Acts 14:20, Acts 14:22; Acts 15:10). Any distinction between the two words is purely artificial. Though introduced by sincere and well-meaning men, it has given birth to a theology of superficial faith that disposes of the hard demands of Jesus. 

When Jesus called disciples, He carefully instructed them about the cost of following Him. Half-hearted people who were not willing to make the commitment did not respond. Thus He turned away anyone who was reluctant to pay the price — such as the rich young ruler. He warned all who thought of becoming disciples to count the cost carefully.  

Which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’. — Luke 14:28–30

A Christian is not one who simply buys “fire insurance,” who “accepts Christ” just to escape hell. As we have seen repeatedly, true believers’ faith expresses itself in submission and obedience. Christians follow Christ. They are committed unquestionably to Christ as Lord and Savior. They desire to please God. They are humble, meek learners. When they fail, they seek forgiveness and move forward. That is their spirit and their direction. 

The call to Christian discipleship explicitly demands just that kind of total dedication. It is full commitment, with nothing knowingly or deliberately held back. No one can come to Christ on any other terms. Those who think they can simply affirm a list of gospel facts and continue to live any way they please should examine themselves to see if they are really in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). 

In Matthew 10:32–39, Jesus challenged His disciples, saying:  

Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in Heaven... He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Our Lord gave no more definitive statement on discipleship than that. He spells out in the clearest possible language the cost of discipleship. The words are addressed to the Twelve in particular, but they are principles of discipleship applicable to us all. Matthew 10:24 says, “A disciple is not above his teacher.” A disciple here means any disciple, and the words that follow, to the end of the chapter, apply to discipleship in general. 

Those who see disciples as a separate class of more dedicated believers will point out that the Twelve — or at least eleven of them — were already believers in Christ and thus did not need instruction on what it means to come to Christ with saving faith. It is true that most of the disciples were undoubtedly already born again, but that does not negate the impact of these words for them. The fact is, these men were already called disciples, too (Matthew 10:1). This was not an invitation to a higher kind of relationship, but a reminder of what had already been established when they believed. Our Lord was continuing to teach them the meaning of faith and salvation, and constantly reminding them of the commitment they had made when they chose to follow Him. 

These words apply to you and me as well. Luke 14:25–35 contains similar words — in even stronger language — which Jesus spoke not just to the Twelve, but to the multitudes who came to hear Him. 

Matthew 10:2 refers to the Twelve as “apostles.” That means “sent ones.” Their basic training being complete, Jesus sent them out to preach. In this parting charge to them, however, He uses the word disciple, not apostle. His words apply to every disciple, serving as a signpost to every potential follower of Jesus. 

Excerpted from Only Jesus by John MacArthur, copyright John F. MacArthur, Jr.

Discipleship isn’t cheap. It has a cost. Every person considering following Jesus has to consider whether or not they are willing to follow Him, or if the cost feels too high.  The reward both in the present and eternally is beyond what we might ask or even think.  Take up your cross daily and follow.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 26, 2020

Billy Graham
1918–2018

I am convinced the greatest act of love we can ever perform for people is to tell them about God’s love for them in Christ. ~ Billy Graham

It was September 14, 2001 — three days after the September 11 attacks robbed nearly three thousand people of their lives. A service of prayer and remembrance was taking place at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. After prayers and hymns, including “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” a hush fell as an elderly man with a mane of white hair stood up. A church official helped him up the steps to the pulpit. From there, the man gazed through his spectacles at an audience that included every living former president, along with the current one, George W. Bush. It was to Bush that the eighty-two-year-old known as “America’s pastor” — Billy Graham — addressed his first words, thanking him for calling a national day of prayer and remembrance, which the country badly needed.

His next words were for his fellow Americans — the thousands seated in the pews and the millions watching at home on their television sets — who desperately needed comfort and hope after the evil and horrible attacks earlier that week.

“We come together today,” Graham said, “to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious, or political background may be.”

His message may have surprised some — especially those who had suffered the loss of loved ones on 9/11 or those whose feelings about Muslims had hardened into hate. He reminded his audience, quoting Psalm 46:1-2, that
 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

He understood that many were angry with God for allowing the loss of so many lives at the hands of evil men. God understands this anger, he said, and we should remember that He “can be trusted, even when life seems at its darkest.”

The attacks were a reminder of “the mystery and reality of evil” and of our need for one another. And as difficult as it may be for us to understand, Graham noted, the attacks “can give a message of hope… for the future” because of God’s promises.

Graham spoke of his own hope for his earthly life and for the life to come and reminded his audience that many of those killed in the attacks were now with God, enjoying the glories of Heaven so much that they would not desire to return to earth. This, he announced, is the hope for everyone who puts his faith in God.

Then Graham briefly gave the witness that made it into every sermon he’d ever given since he’d first begun preaching in 1937 as a teenage boy. And then he prayed that all who heard his voice would feel God’s loving arms around them, understanding that, if they put their trust in God, He would never forsake them.

As Graham made his way back to his seat, there was silence at first. Then the congregation rose to its feet and gave a standing ovation.

When we read the words of Jesus, who commanded His followers to go into the world to preach the good news to every creature, we don’t get the idea that we are to do this by ourselves. But William Franklin Graham Jr. probably came closer to achieving this magnificent goal than anyone who has lived since Jesus spoke these words. Over a career spanning seventy-six years (1937–2013), the evangelist preached the Gospel in person to almost 215 million people in 185 countries. He reached hundreds of millions more through radio, television, newspaper columns, magazines, books, films, and webcasts.

Many younger people don’t remember Billy Graham, or if they do, they remember him as an old man with a shaky voice. They probably don’t picture him as a skinny teenage boy milking cows on his parents’ farm or a tall, good-looking, and popular high school student going out on dates in his father’s Model T Ford. They don’t envision a young man trying to figure out what to do with his life — and then coming to the conclusion that he wanted to devote himself, heart and soul, to… baseball. But that’s a fact.

Billy Graham died at home at the age of ninety-nine on February 21, 2018. He lay in honor at the US Capitol Rotunda and was buried in a simple wooden casket made for him by prisoners at Angola Prison, next to his wife in Montreat, North Carolina, on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library. His son Franklin gave the funeral message, which included an invitation to those in attendance to repent of their sins and be saved. And he repeated a comment his father often made about his death, one that sums up the meaning of his entire life’s work: “I’ll be more alive than I am now. I’ll have just changed addresses, that’s all.”

Excerpted from Seven More Men by Eric Metaxas, copyright Metaxas Media, LLC.

A video clip (0:49) from a 1973 sermon by Billy Graham has gone viral during COVID-19. The message is timeless!  Copy and paste this address into your browser to watch now...

https://youtu.be/rZ9ek7DBsTU

Graham may have been the most prolific evangelist in all of history. And yet, he was just a normal man who submitted himself wholly unto God’s Hand of direction. The same can be true for each of us! And, we can evangelize in our own circles in ways that are fruitful and honor God. What would that look like for you?

Pastor Dale 

Notes of Faith May 25, 2020

Below I have attached  a couple of devotions for a very important and special day!

Captain Russell Rippetoe was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.

Previously, while serving in Afghanistan, Rippetoe saw men die, which brought a renewal to his Christian faith and a new passion for the Bible. On the chain around his neck, he wore a “Shield of Strength,” a one-by-two-inch emblem displaying a U.S. flag on one side and words from Joshua 1:9 on the other.

On April 3, 2003, Rippetoe’s company was manning a nighttime checkpoint near the Hadithah Dam when a vehicle approached. Suddenly, a woman jumped out and cried, “I’m hungry. I need food and water!” Protecting his men, Rippetoe gave the order to hold back as he moved toward the woman to see how he could help. When she hesitated, the driver detonated a car bomb that killed Captain Rippetoe, Sergeant Nino Livaudais, and Specialist Ryan Long and wounded several others.

Rippetoe believed the ancient words of Joshua 1:9: 

The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Rippetoe, who died trying to help someone, was the first casualty of the Iraq conflict to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
— Psalm 27:1

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. — Psalm 30:5

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. — Psalm 28:7

Excerpted from God’s Promises for the American Patriot by Dr. Richard G. Lee and Jack Countryman, copyright Dr. Richard G. Lee and Jack Countryman.

Today in America, we celebrate Memorial Day, a day to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Who are you remembering with thanksgiving?

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Memorial Day is a day that is set aside to remember, and honor, our brave soldiers who have given their lives to protect our land and keep us free.  It began as a day to honor our Civil War dead, but after World War I, it was expanded to include our war dead from all the wars in which America was involved.  Go to http://www.usmemorialday.org/ for more information.

According to http://www.historycentral.com/wars.html , our country has fought in 12 wars (not counting the Afghanistan War which brings the updated total to 13.)  In every one of these cases, we have asked the young people of our nation to be willing to give their lives in the name of freedom (for us and others in foreign lands.)    The sacrifices these young men and women have made can never be totally comprehended nor can they be repaid by us.

Just stop and think about a little of what these wonderful young people have given up for us.  At the very least, they have given years of their life, time away from their families, to serve their country which they love. They have given us any chance of setting down “roots”, having to move from base to base once every 3 to 4 years.   Many will be physically disabled the rest of their life, having the use of one or more of their limbs taken from them.   Scores have been mentally disabled resulting in them being unable to handle day to day living.   And thousands upon thousands have given the ultimate sacrifice, their life, so that we can continue to enjoy our lives living safely in a land of freedom.

We can never begin to understand what they went through, and are continuing to go through, all because they love their nation and the freedoms we take for granted everyday.  We can never begin to repay them and their families for the sacrifices they have made for us.  It seems as if saying “Thank You” just isn’t enough.

THE SCRIPTURE:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  (John 15:12-14)

THE STUDY:

Here, we find that our Lord recognized the tremendous sacrifice involved when a person is willing to give up their life for their friend.   He describes it as an act of “great love.”   Who better to be able to understand and define the very essence of self-sacrifice and love, but our Lord Himself?

Think about what Christ has done for His people.  He willingly humbled Himself and came to the earth, God in human flesh, giving up the glories of heaven to live among us.   Then, during His life on earth, He set the ultimate example of service, teaching, feeding, praying for and healing those who were in need.   Next, He was willing to be falsely accused, mocked, physically beaten, mistreated and convicted for a set of crimes that He did not commit. Finally, submitting to a horrible death of slow suffocation while hanging on a cross, all so that His people could receive forgiveness and deliverance from their sin and its results.  This is what the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ brought about for us.

And, now for the most amazing part of all this, He did this for us, not when we were friends with Him, but when we were His enemies…   When we were opposed to Him, He still choose to love us and die for us on the cross.  (Roms 5:10, Col 1:21)

Remember in the above verses Christ Himself said there was no greater love among man than to die for a friend?  How much greater is a love that would make Jesus, God the Son, be willing to die for an enemy, one that wants nothing to do with Him and who rebels against Him at every turn?  It is described as “the love of God” that cannot be fully understood by man.  (Roms 8:39, Eph 3:19)    This is the ultimate example of love for another.

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

On this Memorial Day weekend, let us remember the brave soldiers who have so unselfishly given of themselves for us.   Let us not only appreciate their actions but then take steps to help these veterans and their families whenever and wherever we can.

But also this weekend, let us remember the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us so that we might be saved from the eternal punishment for our sins.  And then out of appreciation for His works, let us give ourselves for others, obeying the perfect law of Christ…

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.  (1 John 4:7-12)

Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you for the ones who have given their lives to protect our freedom.  We ask that you bless the families of those serving now and that You would protect by your power and grace those fighting both earthly and spiritual enemies.  In Jesus name, amen.

May we all have a blessed Memorial Day!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 24, 2020

Notes of Faith May 24, 2020

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.” — Luke 18:22 

I long to be a woman who follows hard after Jesus. And I’m not talking about a plastic-Christian life, full of religious checklists and pretense. No, that would be hypocritical at best and deadening at worst.

I want the kind of soul-satisfying closeness that can only come from daily keeping pace with Him. A rich and deep level of intimacy that frantic attempts at rule-following will never produce.

Rules and regulations were an everyday reality for God’s people in the Old Testament. Lists of dos and don’ts to help sinful people maintain fellowship with a holy God. First the Ten Commandments. Then law after law about sacrifices and ceremonies, food and cleanliness.

But in the New Testament, Jesus shows up on the scene and turns everything upside down with His message of grace. A message that declares, “Following rules won’t get you into Heaven. Being good won’t earn you bonus points. Lay down your checklists… your agendas… everything… and follow Me. Believe in Me. Receive Me.”

It was a complete shift in thinking. One that left people perplexed, like the rich ruler in Luke 18.

We first meet the rich ruler when he approaches Jesus with a question: 

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? — Luke 18:18

Jesus, already knowing his checklist-mindset, begins naming several of the Ten Commandments. It’s a list the rich ruler feels he has kept well. But Jesus has more to say: 

You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.
— Luke 18:22

It would be so easy to gloss over this moment and think Jesus is simply talking about money. We could be tempted to label this a story for “those” people — the ones we think have more money than they know what to do with. But the words in this conversation are for every single one of us. Because the core issue Jesus is getting at is this:

What holds the key to your heart?

Oh, how I want my answer to be “Jesus.” I want to want Him most. To live completely captured by His love. Enthralled with His teachings. Living proof of His truth.

There have been others who have gone before me who desired this as well. Imperfect heroes of faith we read about in the Bible who, despite their shortcomings, pleased God. And it wasn’t perfect actions that carved a path to God’s heart. It was something else. Something less defined that can’t be outlined and dissected. Something that was sometimes messy and offensive. But something that was so precious at the same time it caused God to pause.

Abandon.

It’s a word used to describe a little girl leaping from the bed’s edge, completely confident her daddy will catch her. It’s the same thing that fueled David’s courageous run toward Goliath with nothing but a sling and five smooth stones. It’s what fueled Joshua. And Moses. And Noah. And Paul.

And it’s the one thing Jesus is asking of the rich ruler. Not for a life lived perfectly, but a heart of perfect surrender.

So this is my prayer:

Everything I have. Everything I own. Everything I hope for. Everything I fear. Everything I love. Everything I dream. It’s all Yours, Jesus. I trust You in complete and utter abandon.

Sadly, it’s also the one thing this man felt he could not offer. He stood on the edge of everything uncertain with the arms of all certainty waiting to catch him. And he just couldn’t jump; he lived his life entangled in lesser things.

He was not captured by, enthralled with, or living proof of the reality of Jesus. And so he walked away from the only One who could ever truly satisfy his soul.

Oh, friends. Let’s not allow this to be the tragedy of our lives. Let’s be found captured by Jesus’ love, enthralled with His teachings, and living proof of His truth. Let’s be found living with abandon.

Because the life that follows Jesus with abandon is the life that gets to experience His presence, His provision, His promises, His soul-satisfying abundance.

Father God, please forgive me for all of the times I have settled for lesser things. I want to want You most. Today, I am handing You the key to my heart. The key to everything in my life. I love You. I need You. And I want to follow hard after You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Excerpted from Embraced by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

It is a good thing to be captured by the love of Jesus.  Is He the answer to the question, “What holds the key to your heart?”  Do you want Him to be?  Let us pray for His grace to draw us near and surrender “all” to Jesus!

 Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 23, 2020

Since Jesus came from Heaven to walk among us, Christians tend to think that walking away from anyone, or letting anyone walk away from the truth, is a failure on our part.

But Jesus walked away or let others walk away… a lot.

I reread the gospels and counted every occurrence where Jesus deliberately parted ways with others. Sometimes He spoke a hard truth, after which the other person walked away. Other times, the people had been touched and begged Jesus to stay, but He had other places to go and left them. Overall, I counted forty-one such instances in all four gospels. Forty-one! Some of these references refer to the same encounter, but that still leaves more than two dozen distinct times when Jesus demonstrated walking away or letting someone else walk away.

These occurrences weren’t always rooted in conflict. Sometimes Jesus walked away from others who wanted more of Him. On still other occasions, He retreated for His own refreshment and renewal or protection. The point is that Jesus didn’t let the needs, pleas, attacks, or unresponsiveness of others distract Him from the mission given to Him by His heavenly Father.

One thing we don’t see when others walk away is Jesus giving chase. As powerful as Jesus was, as brilliant as Jesus was, as pure as Jesus was, and as surrendered to God as Jesus was, not everyone He interacted with “changed,” repented, or agreed with Him. Here’s the principle that comes from that:

Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.

Take, for instance, the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus discerned this young man’s heart and the core issue in his life — he loved money. When the earnest young man couldn’t walk away from his money, he chose to walk away from Jesus. Notice that our Lord didn’t run after him. Jesus didn’t say, “Wait! I know asking you to give 100 percent is a bit extreme; if you give away just 50 percent, I think we can make this work. I need followers! Let’s bargain!”

No, He turned to His disciples (reliable people1) and explained what had just happened and why it was so difficult for that rich man to join them. This is a direct example of Jesus choosing to spend time training reliable people rather than spending more time with a closed person. “Toxic” doesn’t seem to fit this young man’s profile, but the principle is clear: when truth is rejected, spend your time on those who will receive it instead of begging closed-hearted people to reconsider.

On another occasion, after giving a difficult teaching about eating his flesh and drinking His blood, Jesus lost a lot of previously enthusiastic followers:

From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. — John 6:66-67

Notice the same pattern. Not just one, but many walked away. And not just casual onlookers; they’re called His “disciples.” Instead of chasing them down and begging them not to misunderstand Him and to please come back, Jesus turns to the reliable people, the Twelve, and says, “So, what about you?”

Notice the confidence that gives authority to His message. Jesus never appears desperate, manipulative, or controlling, as if when people didn’t agree with Him, His feelings would be hurt. He is mission-focused and others-centered to His deepest core.

Jesus also demonstrates the need to sometimes “verbally” walk away when dealing with a toxic person, like Herod. Instead of arguing with Herod and trying to justify himself, Jesus remained silent:

[Herod] plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. — Luke 23:9

Jesus adopted the same approach with Pilate and the religious leaders:

When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer. Then Pilate asked Him, ‘Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against You?’ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge — to the great amazement of the governor. — Matthew 27:12-14

We don’t have to argue. When a toxic person is attacking you, you don’t have to participate.

Especially when you know it won’t make any difference, spend those few moments worshiping and relating to your loving heavenly Father rather than contending with a hateful assault.

A particularly vivid example of Jesus letting someone walk away occurred at the Last Supper. Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him. He spoke about it in advance. And yet He allowed Judas to walk out of the room. He didn’t chase after him. He didn’t waste time trying to change Judas’s mind. Instead, He spent every last minute He had left investing in His faithful, reliable disciples and in prayer right up until the moment He was arrested.

Many plastic bracelets have been sold with the words “What Would Jesus Do?” If you’re dealing with toxic people, you may want to get a bracelet that reads, “What Would Jesus Not Do?”

The answer is, “He wouldn’t chase after them.”

Lord of His Life

Jesus didn’t just walk away from toxic people; He was also willing to walk away for purposes of ministry effectiveness and strategy. He never allowed the desire of others to dictate who He spent his time with. After a powerful time of ministry, Jesus became a rock star of sorts, and hordes of people wanted to be around Him. Jesus had gotten up early in the morning to pray, but the disciples furiously tracked Him down and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

Listen to Jesus’ reply:

Let us go somewhere else — to the nearby villages — so I can preach there also. That is why I have come. — Mark 1:38

Just when people most wanted Him to stay, Jesus often left:

When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. — Matthew 8:18

Jesus wasn’t moved by either standing ovations or jeering ridicule. He was truly Lord of His life. Neither should we allow the neediness of others or the toxicity of others to determine where, when, and how we spend our time. Neediness can be a subtle form of toxicity. Our spiritual radar goes way up when someone forcefully attacks us, but a passive-aggressive neediness can slip in unawares and steal our attention even more effectively than a full-frontal assault.

If someone is trying to control you, that itself is toxic.

Whether they use force or guilt, direct attack or unreasonable neediness (“You’re the only one who can help me, and you have to help me now”), it’s still all about control. Controlling someone (or letting yourself be controlled) is wrong.

Not Today

As far as allowing Himself to be mistreated, though Jesus came to die the death of a martyr, He didn’t allow consistent and persistent abuse to continue throughout His life. He let Himself be tortured and crucified once, but there were many occasions before that when He “slipped away” from those who wanted to hurt Him.

Here are just three examples from the gospel of John:

At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid him- self, slipping away from the temple grounds. — John 8:59

Again they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. — John 10:39-40

So from that day on they plotted to take His life. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead He withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples. — John 11:53-54

And here’s one from Matthew:

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. — Matthew 12:14-15

Your persecution may not be physical stoning, but emotional shaming, slander, gaslighting, etc.1 Jesus once entered a ruler’s house to heal a dead girl. Notice the juxtaposition of how the people responded and what happens next:

They laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. — Matthew 9:24-25, emphasis added

Jesus didn’t argue with the crowd. He also didn’t just stand there and take it. He had the crowd “put outside.”

And then He did His work.

In the course of kingdom work, whether you’re serving God in an office, at a soccer field, or in a school, being abused is inevitable. It seems to me that for every Christian who is bent on seeking first the Kingdom of God, there is a corresponding number of Christians bent on telling those seeking first the Kingdom of God that they are seeking the Kingdom in the wrong way. We can’t avoid this pushback without leaving this planet, but we can learn to walk away when the time is right and as God leads (which is what this book seeks to teach you). We can “put those people outside” and carry on our work.

Here’s what I’m getting at: don’t think that letting yourself be abused is always the holy choice. Proverbs 22:3 reads,

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. — (emphasis added

The teacher is telling you it is supremely wise to step aside in the face of danger. If you don’t, you may pay a penalty, but not because of your “obedience.” Rather, your pain will be caused by being “simple.”

If life is about following Jesus, then at times we will follow Him as He walked away from abuse and danger. Jesus didn’t cede control of His life to anyone. He told His disciples that His death would be His choice, not His enemies’:

The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. — John 10:17-18

So then, in His words and in His practice, Jesus modeled how to let people go, how to walk away, and how to stay in charge of our schedule (and to a certain degree, not allow ourselves to be unnecessarily abused). Follow in the footsteps of Jesus by boldly walking away and finding a reliable person in whose life you can make a worthy investment.

1. “Gaslighting” is a term used to describe someone who tries to defend their own reprehensible behavior by making you feel crazy for calling them out on it. They deny what you know to be true, attempting to make you feel confused and shamed so you’ll drop the issue.

Excerpted from When to Walk Away by Gary Thomas, copyright The Center for Evangelical Spirituality.
I would like us to more fervently pray for opportunity to do the work God has called each of us to do...but we do need to know when to walk away and shake the dust from our feet. 

I would like us to more fervently pray for opportunity to do the work God has called each of us to do...but we do need to know when to walk away and shake the dust from our feet.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 22, 2020

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. — Romans 8:28 NIV

I’ve gone through a lot of changes in my life. Geographical changes. Career changes. Relationship changes. And I’m someone who isn’t the biggest fan of change. It’s really just not my favorite... as you have probably gathered by now.

And, friend, they are still happening! Just when I think life is smooth sailing, here comes another change.

Listen. If you’ve learned nothing from this little section of the book, and if I’ve learned nothing from simply living through all the changes, let’s all hear this — brave people are okay with change because they remember that change is for our good.

That doesn’t mean you have to love change or seek change or want change. That doesn’t mean that when something that seemed to be going awesome takes an unexpected turn, you have to throw a party. It means that if you’re brave, you can walk through change with grace and hope that God’s promises are true and all things really do work together for good.

Some changes are welcomed. They’re celebrated. They’re fun. Promotions! Pregnancies! Book deals! Engagements! New homes! Though even the good changes in life can be difficult or stressful.

But then there are those other changes. The bad ones. The ones that don’t seem to have any silver lining.

Often change hurts. Often change is painful. Devastating even.

Maybe you just lost your job and you’re bracing yourself for the conversation you’ll have with your spouse tonight. Maybe the results from your MRI came back, and normal, as you knew it, ends today. Just remember — a brave person’s joy isn’t dependent on circumstances. God has got this, whatever it is. Your family. Your career. Your relationships. He knows your pain. He cares about your pain. And He wants you to live bravely, in the strength and knowledge that He is working for your good and He is ultimately in control.

Excerpted from 100 Days to Brave by Annie F. Downs, copyright Annie F. Downs.

Change is inevitable. Sometimes great. Sometimes painful. What kind of change are you in the middle of right now? Even if you don’t feel brave in it, you can know that God is good and He is in charge!

Pray for the leadership of your church as we evaluate and plan our next steps.  We love and miss all of you, praying for your health and safety.  Please stay in the Word and pray, that you may draw ever close to Jesus, the author and giver of grace and salvation.  I hope to see you soon!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 21, 2020

Prov 3:5-6

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

NKJV

Today is the 40th day after the resurrection of Christ.  It is also the day that we should have completed listening/reading the New Testament, having started on resurrection Sunday.  I pray that many of you have “had the time” and completed this journey with me.  Currently I am in the book of Matthew, having completed my 5th time through the New Testament this year and beginning my 6th. 

Thoughts and News from Compass International

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it.

Is. 46:11b

Oh boy, things are really getting interesting! And changing so fast it's hard to keep up. It's an exciting time to be alive watching so many Biblical prophecies coming together.

Wrath vs. Persecution

First and foremost, when studying apocalyptic scriptures in relation and application to our lives today, it's abundantly clear that God has already secured a Believer's fate. We win, and nothing can change that.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:35-38

So our salvation is eternally secure, but throughout the Bible, God warns of a future day of calamity, doom and hopelessness. Thankfully He also promises Believers will be kept from that day.

...having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Rom. 5:9

...Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. 1Th. 1:10

For God has not destined us for wrath,...1Th. 5:9

At the same time, persecution for having Biblical faith is real in the past, present and future.

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2Tim. 3:12

Christians are being persecuted all over the globe every minute of every day. Satan hates believers and likes nothing better than to make our lives miserable.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1Pet. 5:8

By the grace of God, probably due to the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit, we in America have been, for the most part, spared open and ugly persecution. I don't think that will change much between now and the Rapture.

So as we get close to the end of this age, and our joyful and thunderous exit, we share information as a "watchman on the wall" so we can be wise and make good decisions. We need not be fearful, God is in total control.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Prov. 3:5  

And since our main purpose to remain on this earth after salvation is to share truth, we should pray for opportunities to share what we know.

..praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, Col. 4:3

So again, when we share eye-opening information, it should never worry you because worrying about something you have no control over is sinful. Rather, it's meant to be helpful in your decision-making process.

President Trump and Vaccines

I was watching President Trump at a news conference a couple of days ago, and he was talking about getting a Covid-19 vaccine ready. He said they're working hard so that everyone in America could have the vaccine, but then added: "Not everyone will want it." Whew, that is huge for me that he knows that!

THE Plandemic video that I put on our website (because YouTube and Facebook kept taking down access) had 75K+ views in four days. Wow!

The only problem is that we pay as little as we can for our web hosting services and those 75K views quickly maxed out our monthly memory allowance. I was notified that if it continued at the pace it was going, I would have to pay an extra $10K. We don't have that kind of budget so it was a deal-killer for us. :-(

Therefore, I had the Plandemic video linked back to our commercial Vimeo account that we pay for (and doesn't use up our website memory) and currently the video is still available. I imagine when they find it they will take it down.

If you haven't seen it, you should watch it (as one source of many—Steel on Steel!). As I mentioned, Dr. Mikovits is a lightning rod to the globalists, as she exposes their behind-the-scenes shenanigans.  See Compass.org/plandemic to watch.

Globalism’s Perfect Storm

The article below is by Jan Markell, who founded Olive Tree Ministries in 1980, located in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Like Compass, they organize Bible conferences and she showcases excellent speakers.

 Jan has long-hosted a national radio show, acting as a watchman on the wall. It's called Understanding the Times and is aired on 800 stations worldwide.

 Jan received the Lifetime Achievement Award in February at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention for her fight against antisemitism and her unwavering support of Israel (see picture—Jan is on the left).

 I think the article she wrote below is on par with her life—OUTSTANDING! It's a brief but powerful summary of what's going on in our world.

Globalism's Perfect Storm

By Jan Markell

Let me state at the beginning of this article that President Donald Trump is no friend of the “New World Order.” He is not a globalist. He’s an America-first guy. Yet he finds himself in the midst of a crisis that is foreshadowing global government.

This spring, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on world leaders to form a temporary global government in response to the corona pandemic. Brown stressed the need for a task force of world leaders, health experts, and others, as well as leaders of international organizations that could have executive powers to execute the response. And he wants an “executive” to run this new system.

At the same time, the U.N.’s Antonio Guterres called for a 10% global tax to prop up world economies. This would be an international “stimulus package.” The battle cry is, “A global response for global unity so no individual country can risk infecting another.”

The globalists have waited for a crisis—but who knew it would be health-related? Health is our most cherished value. If you lose it, you lose everything. It can involve pain and suffering. If you scare enough people with health-related problems, they will melt like warm butter in your hand. They will welcome anyone—even a Mr. Fix-It—who can guarantee them the basics in life, including a vaccine that will forever protect them and spare them pain and suffering.

Someone has to lead this New World Order. The Bible says it will be a man called Antichrist [BP note: This man actually first shows up as a world leader and eventually becomes the prophesied Anti-Christ half-way through the Tribulation], but he is not here yet. The Church must be removed before this man-with-a-plan can appear.

Enter Bill Gates, one of the world’s most prominent globalists. He is a younger version of George Soros and he is just as questionable. Sadly, he has billions of dollars to play with and he is doing so with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Right now their focus is a global digital ID that will be a part of a global vaccination plan. A plan to stop Covid 19 in its tracks. We are being told that no one is safe from Covid 19 until we get a vaccination. 

Prophecy News Watch writes, “Bill Gates has emerged as a global authority in the wake of this virus crisis, funding vaccines and advising governments on how to respond to the pandemic. Gates was working to establish a global digital ID infrastructure long before the outbreak, which is now promoted as a way to combat the virus.”

The article continues, “ID2020—a project initiated by Gates’ Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, pharmaceutical corporations, and technology firms—is pushing the concept that every human on the planet needs biometric verification because ‘to prove who you are is a fundamental and universal human right,’ according to the ID2020 website.”

Gates is not the only one in favor of such systems. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who [has appeared] with Trump at the daily news briefings, recently confirmed in an interview with CNN that the idea of Americans carrying “certificates of immunity” is a possibility being considered to identify people who have been infected with the Covid-19 virus and help jump-start America's economy in the coming weeks.

I have worked for years with free-lance writer and investigative reporter Leo Hohmann who writes, “Why, in most states, are you allowed to go to a liquor store, pot dispensary, or a crowded Walmart but not to church? These are decisions the government has no constitutional grounds to make for American citizens.

“If politicians want to infringe upon these basic rights, then they should stop being cowards and declare martial law, thereby formally suspending the U.S. Constitution. You don’t get to have your cake and eat it too, snatching civil liberties while claiming the Constitution is still in place.”

Hohmann concludes, “New rules are being fashioned for us as we speak. Changes are coming for everything — how we shop for groceries, how we pay for products (cashless?), even how we greet our fellow man (no handshaking!).

“If you don’t obey these rules, you will be publicly shamed and blamed as exhibiting anti-social behaviors detrimental to the common good. The way we ‘do life’ may never return to normal if President Trump doesn’t intervene and take back the reins from these two doctors (Fauci and Birx) aligned with the vision of the United Nations, Bill Gates and a host of creepy NGOs like the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Economic Forum.”

Is ID2020 the “Mark of the Beast”? To have the “Mark”, we need a “Beast” and the Antichrist does not show up until the Church is removed in the Rapture. Is this a forerunner? It certainly could be. Are people who are pushing these systems apocalyptic players? They could be.

One-worlders occupy both political parties in America and are prominent in all major countries of the world. One of the most obvious globalists was George H.W. Bush. Others include Henry Kissinger, John Kerry, the Clintons, Tony Blair, Franklin Roosevelt, the Rockefellers, Emmanuel Macron, Gordon Brown, the banking empires, and dozens within [our government's] “deep state.” The climate-change crowd are motivated by one-world ideas.

There are many globalist organizations starting with the United Nations but also the Bilderbergers, Club of Rome, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, Silicon Valley, the Vatican, and so many more. Pope Francis is called “the vicar of the New World Order.”

Their plan is hidden in plain view on the Georgia Guidestones, erected in Georgia in 1980. The first goal is to get earth’s population down to five hundred million people! That’s bumping off almost seven billion people. These are not nice people!

The world is crying for a leader. The European Union is melting. On April 20 Israel finally formed a shaky “emergency coalition government” after a year of government failure. Progressives in America would much rather see America’s demise than our prosperity.

Over half the world has asked the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. A cashless society is being pushed. A universal income is being promoted. The entire globe is reeling. World leaders are confused and terrified. And globalists never let a crisis go to waste!

There isn’t a storm coming—the storm is here. The globalists will seize this opportunity to install what they think is their perfect form of government and that is a one-world system. They have a major obstacle: The Church is still here.

Though there are shades of global government forming, it cannot blossom until the Tribulation. The Bible is clear that God has prepared a plan of escape for the Church via the Rapture.

I close this article with wise words from my prophecy partner Terry James. He writes, “The real pandemic facing the world today is 100 percent fatal—not only to physical life, but to life that follows physical death.

“It is the virus called sin. Each and every person who has ever been born on this fallen planet with the exception of One, the Lord Jesus Christ, is born with this spiritual virus. It will, for the one afflicted, without remedy, end with the person suffering the process of dying forever.

“This hellish, spiritual virus turns mankind against God. It thus brings about thinking that is upside-down—an insanity that precludes rationality. That’s what we’ve been witnessing for the last four years in particular. The Lord of Heaven has turned the anti-God forces over to a ‘reprobate mind’” (Romans 1:28).

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, Rom. 1:28

Terry reminds us, “There is coming a second new world order. It will be ushered in by King Jesus, who will reign and rule over an Eden-like planet that He will refurbish upon putting an end to Armageddon.

“Finally, at the end of Christ’s reign, there will be no more pandemics that corrupt and destroy God’s creation called man. The new heavens and new earth will provide the perfect environment—the utopia the globalists with their climate-change rants proclaim they want. But they will not be around to enjoy it. Sadly, they will have succumbed to the pandemic that is far deadlier than the coronavirus.”

Terry James concludes, “To avoid being terminally and eternally ill because of this terrible, spiritual virus, confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for your sins. Believe then in your spiritual heart that He rose from the dead. Do this and you have God’s Word on it. You are now saved.”

...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Rom. 10:9-10

Jan Markell

Olive Tree Ministries

https://olivetreeviews.org/

763-559-4444

Measles Vaccine Rebukes Covid-19

If you had a measles vaccine, you probably won't get Covid-19, according to research done recently.

ATLANTA, May 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The report MMR Vaccine Appears to Confer Strong Protection from COVID-19: Few Deaths from SARS-CoV-2 in Highly Vaccinated Populations reveals that nearly all countries with few or no deaths from COVID-19 have also had large measles-rubella vaccination programs in recent years.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that as of January 10, 2020, 82 percent of the population of American Samoa had been immunized with the MMR vaccine in response to a 2019 measles outbreak. The U.S. Department of the Interior provided funding to immunize the remaining eighteen percent of the population. The New York Times reported on May 6, 2020 that not only has American Samoa not had any COVID-19 deaths, it hasn’t had any COVID-19 cases at all.

Large measles vaccination programs have occurred in country after country with few or no deaths from COVID-19. Madagascar, a country with a population of 27.5 million people, vaccinated 7.2 million (over one quarter of its population) with measles-rubella containing vaccines in 2019. This was in addition to anyone previously vaccinated. Madagascar, like American Samoa, has had zero deaths from COVID-19.

Hong Kong is an example of a population which extended MMR vaccination campaigns to include many adults. A city with nearly the same population as New York City, and located just over 500 miles from Wuhan where the pandemic began, Hong Kong has seen only four COVID-19 deaths. By contrast, New York City has had 14,482 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 5,313 probable COVID-19 deaths during the same period.

Under the theory of herd immunity, it is not necessary in any single population to vaccinate 100% of individuals to eliminate nearly all deaths from COVID-19. Instead, one has to only provide enough coverage so that the effective reproductive number (R) of the virus through each patient is less than 1, which stops the logarithmic progression. A drop in the R value below 1 likely explains why many populations with high MMR vaccination rates have reported so few deaths from COVID-19.

Principal investigator Jeff Gold discovered the correlation of MMR vaccination rates to COVID-19 death rates on March 18, 2020. Gold has since evaluated epidemiological data about MMR vaccination programs from dozens of countries, with each correlation verified by co-investigators William H. Baumgartl, MD, MSME, and Larry P. Tilley, Diplomate, ACVIM.

Gold’s MMR vaccine research was first published publicly on March 29, 2020, the same day his findings were forwarded to the National Institute of Health’s COVID-19 Research Team. Corroborating biological evidence was published twelve days later by a team of neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, indicating that rubella is the component of the MMR vaccine active against COVID-19.

About World Organization
World Organization is a 501c3 nonprofit charity based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Pastor JD Farag Video

I had several people send me this link. I hesitated to pass it on because he has a large following and he's painting himself into a corner saying Rapture must be only weeks or months away. But there's a wealth of good info to hear in the video; just don't fall for the date-setting. Two years from now he'll look silly.  To watch see below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPvghpK3oxk

Again I must say how grateful we are for all the encouragement given to us during this unprecedented time! We have to keep remembering that God is allowing all of this. He's not surprised or dismayed.

Never forget, God's in control. We have eternal answers and the only thing in life that really matters is who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

Use us, Lord!

Shalom!

Bill

for a wide door for effective service has opened to me,

and there are many adversaries.

1Cor. 16:9

Much information here.  As always, take everything with a grain of salt and all of the Holy Spirit to discern truth.  This information comes from Compass International, someone that I follow for their spiritual perspective.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 20, 2020

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV

 One key factor to our personal worship is boundless confidence in the character of God.  I believe this is the foundation of much of our worship today.  We must have respect in God’s character, in the being of God, and our worship rises or falls dependent upon the idea that the church has of God.

 It seems that from one generation to the next our idea of God changes.  God does not change, but somehow our ideas of God and our confidence in God changes to the effect that the God we worship today is less than the God our fathers worshipped.

The evangelical concept of God is very low today.  The God of the evangelical church is so small that we can put Him in our pocket or put Him up on the dashboard of our cars to keep from having accidents.  So our God today is not much bigger than St. Christopher.  The God of popular Christianity cannot be worshipped because He can’t be respected.  He cannot be respected because He is not big enough.

I refuse to worship any God but the God of the Bible.

Precious secret, I have found it,
Precious Jesus, Thou art mine;
Prove in me Thy boundless fullness;
Live in me Thy life divine.

A B Simpson (1843-1919)

Thou, O God art bigger than my mind could ever comprehend.
The beauty of Thy wondrous fullness fills my heart with gratitude that
is all but inexpressible.  This I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.

Psalm 145:3-4

The sovereign God of our fathers that we sing about is incomparable to that which we call God today.  We have lost the sense of who God really is and have replaced our fathers’ God with an artificial God that only soothes our conscience in a temporary fashion.

This new God is the God of convenience and entertainment.  All this God is interested in is making one happy and feeling good about oneself.  If I am not good, I do not want to feel good about myself.  I want to feel about myself as God feels about me.

I am all for getting back to believing that our God is bigger than we will ever need.  If I cannot respect someone, I certainly cannot worship Him.  The God of the Bible is such a God I can respect.  With my open Bible before me, and prostrate on the ground before God, I begin to experience this God that is big enough for me, and that settles it!

Faith of our fathers, living still

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;

O how our hearts beat high with joy

Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!

Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)

Dear God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the God of the scientist,

philosopher or psychologist.  Thou art the God I worship today

in the beauty of Thy holiness.  Amen.

Sometimes our faith seems to slip, when we encounter things that we do not understand, for example, cancer, corona virus, loss of job, troubled relationships). We seem to lose sight of who is in control, from the grandeur of the galaxies to the spectacular minutia of things unseen.  This is our God.  He created all that is by His will and for His glory.  We may not be able to understand all that is, what is happening, how it is happening, why it is happening…but our GOD is in control, bringing His perfect plan to completion!  Praise Him for His marvelous power and grace toward those who believe in Jesus Christ!

 Pastor Dale

Brett McCracken, senior editor at The Gospel Coalition

For church leaders and elder boards everywhere, the last few months have presented a near-constant array of complex challenges related to shepherding a church during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest complex challenge is perhaps the trickiest yet: how to prudently resume in-person gatherings.

As if the logistical details weren’t challenging enough—how to maintain social distance and limit crowd size, whether or not to require masks, to sing or not to sing, what to do with children, and so on—the whole conversation is fraught with potential for division. If a congregation—and within it, a leadership team—is at all a microcosm of our larger society, it will likely contain a broad assortment of strongly held convictions. Some will be eager to meet in person and impatient to wait much longer to get back to normal. Others will insist it’s unwise to meet at all until there’s a vaccine. Plenty will fall somewhere in between. 

In such a precarious and polarizing environment, how can churches move forward in beautiful unity (Ps. 133) rather than ugly division? It won’t be easy. But by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit working to unify us in ways our flesh resists, the opportunity is there for us to be a countercultural model for the rest of the world. 

Countercultural Sacrifice

At a time when self-idolatry is being exposed in ugly ways, the church has an opportunity to model love that places the interests of others above the self. For example, someone might find it personally difficult—even maddening—to have to wear a mask during church and stay six feet away from everyone at all times. You might think these precautions are a needless overreaction. But here’s the thing: even if it turns out you’re right, can you not sacrifice your ideal for a season, out of love for others who believe the precautions are necessary? Even if you personally think it is silly, or even cowardly, for someone to stay home even after the church is open again on Sundays, can you not heed Paul’s wisdom in Romans 14: “Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother”? Or 1 Corinthians 8:9: “Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” 

Even if you think these precautions are a needless overreaction, can you not sacrifice your ideal for a season, out of love for others who believe the precautions are necessary?

Likewise, those who think the lockdowns should continue should not pass judgment on those who question the wisdom of the government’s ongoing restrictions. Churches should strive to honor people on both sides of the spectrum. Yes, it will be costly for churches to keep offering online services for those who don’t feel comfortable attending physical gatherings. Yes, it will be a sacrifice for church members who are sick of masks, social distancing, and Zoom to continue to use these for the sake of others. But little is more Christian than a posture of sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). We should embrace it with gladness. 

Countercultural Humility

Have you noticed how remarkably confident so many of us are in our views right now? Unfounded certainty—on the part of laypeople, leaders, modelers, and “experts” alike—is a contagion at least as viral as COVID-19 itself. We could all use a bit more humility, and the church should lead the way.

As much as ever before, Christians should follow the advice of James to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (1:19). Listening well may slow down the process of deliberation and planning, but it is worth it. Whatever opinions church leaders themselves have on the matter of reopening, they should take time to humbly hear the voices of others—perhaps convening forums of various stakeholders within the church, as well as other church and government leaders in their area. Church members should likewise model Christlike humility (e.g., Phil. 2:3) in how they react to the plans outlined by leaders, even if they don’t agree with every aspect of it. No one of us should assume we’ve arrived at the definitive answer on how to do this well. Let’s model humility by acknowledging that everything is not obvious, and we are all just trying to do the best we can in this “build the plane in midair” moment. 

Countercultural Patience

Patience is one of the rarest virtues in today’s insta-everything world. And yet patience has rarely been more needed, as many of us are antsy to break free of “stay home” isolation and get back to normalcy as soon as possible. To be sure, it is good and right to be eager to gather again as churches. We should take Hebrews 10:25 seriously when it says we ought not neglect meeting together. We should feel the ache of what is lost when we only meet virtually, and every Christian should long for the day when “church on Zoom” gives way to “church in a room.” That day will come. But we should be careful to not rush it. We should be careful to not go faster than governments allow, or faster than those in our community can understand. We should be patient with a timeline that might be slower than we’d prefer; patient with a reopening process that will doubtless be clunky; patient with leaders feeling the pressure of this complex situation; and patient with one another as we figure out the new normal. Those who are not comfortable with physical gatherings should be patient with those who are, and vice versa. As hard as it will be to practice patience, remember that in the scheme of eternity this season—whether it’s months long or years—will be but a blip. 

Countercultural Nuance

We live in an un-nuanced age. The economic model of the media (built on clicks and views) works against nuance. Advertisers know nuance doesn’t sell. Politicians know it too. We shouldn’t be surprised by how rare it is for someone to hold humble, complicated, “both/and” views in today’s hyper-partisan, media-catechized world. But if churches are going to emerge from this crisis with unity and fellowship intact, we must embrace the countercultural path of nuance. It’s the path that avoids ALL CAPS hysteria of every extreme sort, recognizing that truth is rarely as simple and shrill as Twitter would have us think. It’s the path that prizes both courage and prudence, and avoids both pollyannaish and doomsday responses. It means we can be skeptical of some aspects of the lockdown without resorting to outrageous conspiracy theories, and we can honor governing authorities (Rom. 13) while engaging them in civil pushback when necessary. Countercultural nuance avoids thinking the worst of people and concedes that the other side of a debate is sometimes right, just as we are sometimes wrong. Nuance often results when humility and patience combine.

There are some things Christians should not be nuanced about, of course, and one of those is our rugged commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and all that Scripture commands. What Paul urges the Ephesian church, therefore, should be equally urgent for us today: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).

As we get closer to a time of coming together again, we must think about the work it takes for some to prepare for these services.  Many will come and leave without the thought of participating in the necessary cleaning that must take place between each meeting.  This will put a heavy burden on those willing to help.  We likely will not open with all services previous to Covid-19, (still to be decided by leadership) and plans are being made as to procedures for each meeting.  Please be patient and give thanks to God for caring for what belongs to Him…you…and the rest of His body…the church.   Let us continue to grow in grace as we walk through this tribulation and out the other side with Christ by our side.  Praying to see you soon!

Pastor Dale