Notes of Faith December 16, 2020

They will call Him Immanuel — which means, “ God with us.” — Matthew 1:23 

 Prince of Peace. — Isaiah 9:6 

There’s a song in the air! There’s a star in the sky!  

There’s a mother’s deep prayer,  

And a baby’s low cry! And the star rains its fire  

While the beautiful sing, 

For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King.  

A number of years ago a remarkable Christmas card was published by the title “If Christ Had Not Come.” It was based on our Savior’s own words, “If I had not come,” in John 15:22. The card pictured a minister falling asleep in his study on Christmas morning and then dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.  

In his dream, he saw himself walking through his house, but as he looked, he saw no stockings hung on the chimney, no Christmas tree, no wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort and gladden hearts or to save us. He then walked onto the street outside, but there was no church with its spire pointing toward Heaven. And when he came back and sat down in his library, he realized that every book about our Savior had disappeared.  

The minister dreamed that the doorbell rang and that a messenger asked him to visit a friend’s poor dying mother. He reached her home, and as his friend sat and wept, he said, “I have something here that will comfort you.” He opened his Bible to look for a familiar promise, but it ended with Malachi. There was no gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and all he could do was bow his head and weep with his friend and his mother in bitter despair.  

Two days later he stood beside her coffin and conducted her funeral service, but there was no message of comfort, no words of a glorious resurrection, and no thought of a mansion awaiting her in Heaven. There was only “dust to dust, and ashes to ashes,” and one long, eternal farewell. Finally he realized that Christ had not come, and burst into tears, weeping bitterly in his sorrowful dream.  

Then suddenly he awoke with a start, and a great shout of joy and praise burst from his lips as he heard his choir singing these words in his church nearby:  

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!  

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!  

Let us be glad and rejoice today, because He has come. And let us remember the proclamation of the angel: 

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. — Luke 2:10-11 

He comes to make His blessing flow, Far as the curse does go.  

May our hearts go out to the unconverted people of foreign lands who have no blessed Christmas day.  

Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. — Nehemiah 8:10 

Excerpted from Streams in the Desert by L. B. E. Cowman, copyright Zondervan. 

He has come! We don’t need to weep over the lack of a new covenant, a new testament, a new promise in the personhood of Jesus Christ! He came for you! Rejoice!

He has come and FINISHED the work the Father gave Him to do.   May we, the wandering, lost sheep He came to save, do the work He gave us to do.  “As the Father sent Me, so send I you.”  Even during trying times, no, especially during trying times, we need to persevere and endure with the gospel of life!  May the celebration of the birth of Jesus be the best of 2020.  Praise God for His indescribable gift!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 15, 2020

One holiday season, A Christmas Carol was the only Christmas play offered in our town, so Barry and I took our then eight-year-old son to a matinee performance. I tried to prepare Christian for the appearance of the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future so he wouldn’t be afraid.

“I’m not afraid of any old ghosts, Mom!” he said indignantly. “It’s just a play — and I’m eight!”

It was a wonderful performance, and as we walked to the car, Barry asked Christian if he’d enjoyed it.

“I did, Dad,” he said. “I loved the ghosts too. I just didn’t like the hamburger guy until the end.”

It took a few moments for us to realize that he was referring to Ebenezer Scrooge and his memorable line, “Bah! Humbug!”

Scrooge is probably the most famously stingy character in all of literature. If you’ve ever read or seen A Christmas Carol, though, you may have noticed that he wasn’t just stingy with his money, but with grace as well.

Scrooge was bitterly critical of everyone — his nephew, his employees, even people going about their business observing the holiday! As a matter of fact, his catchphrase “Bah! Humbug!” has become a universal condemnation. It means “Nonsense!” as in, “All of this Christmas stuff is a bunch of absolute nonsense!”

I have a feeling Ebenezer Scrooge would have gotten along pretty well with the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Almost every time we run into them in the Gospels, they are self-righteous and mean-spirited, doing their best to catch someone — anyone — in some transgression of the law. Over and over again they go to ridiculous lengths to try to trick Jesus into making a mistake that would call for His arrest.

I think the Pharisees’ strangest moments were when something amazing happened right in front of them. Everyone else in the room was filled with awe and rejoiced… but the Pharisees completely missed it, because they were so focused on the way someone broke the rules!

It’s a sad waste of a life to be a joy-killer. These days I see many modern-day Pharisees perched on social media, just waiting for someone to say something they disagree with so they can pounce. Why would we waste time judging and tearing down people when we could spend our lives looking for ways to bring them joy…

Or praying for those who are struggling…

Or helping those who are hurting…

Or spending time with God in His Word and in prayer?

A critical spirit is a real joy-killer. Today, let’s make the most of every opportunity to show people God’s beauty and kindness. Let’s splash the world with grace, the gift that keeps on giving!

Be a blessing — spread grace and joy, not judgment.

Excerpted from 5 Minutes with Jesus: A Fresh Infusion of Joy by Sheila Walsh, copyright Sheila Walsh.

We are pleased if we win an argument even if it hurts others in the process, and that seeming momentary pleasure usually turns to grief when we realize we have not helped our adversaries immortal soul.  May all of our battles be eternal ones, where even when we lose, we are on the side of truth and God’s desire for all to come to repentance and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Pastor Dale 

Notes of Faith December 14, 2020

“Trans Rights Are Human Rights!”

In June 2020 the Pride Flag was displayed at the US embassy in Moscow. When questioned about this, the American ambassador to Russia explained, “LGBTI rights are human rights. And human rights are universal.”

“The idea that we have a ‘gender identity’ that may be different from our biological sex is not based on science.”

Rewind thirteen years. Early in 2007, a group of LBGT activists from various countries gathered for a conference in an exquisite resort in Indonesia. These self-styled “human rights experts” demanded that human rights principles should be applied in every nation to the concepts of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (now known as the “Yogyakarta Principles”). Sexual orientation, in their estimation, included any type of sexual preference. They defined “gender identity” as each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of “gender,” which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.

These self-professed experts had no official status, but claimed that people had a human right to change their sexual identity (including birth certificates and other documentation) on the basis of “internal and individual experience.” Various governments began to enshrine into law the idea that LGBT rights are “human rights.”

When the Bible Becomes Hate Speech

Christians uphold the dignity of every human being as made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–28). As I have argued elsewhere, Christians have been at the forefront of defending human dignity and protecting human life throughout history. Every human being, made in the image of God, should be treated with respect (and so be afforded human rights such as the right not to be treated unjustly).

But the statement “trans rights are human rights” assaults truth and reality. It implies that we all have a right to choose our own “gender identity” (on the basis of “deeply felt experience”). A man claiming to be a woman can demand to participate in female sports and to enter women’s spaces such as restrooms. To refuse his claims may be classified as “wrongful discrimination.” He can demand that his wife regard him as a woman, and his children treat him as a mother. If he rapes a woman, he may be sent to a female jail.

To accept “trans rights as human rights” means if a child decides to identify as the opposite sex, his parents risk losing custody if they refuse to support that decision. If a church offers counseling to help a gender-confused person accept their biological sex, they may face legal action. “Mis-gendering” someone is regarded as violence. To say that a woman cannot be a man is viewed as wrongful discrimination. Genesis 1:27 is viewed as hate speech.

“To demand a genderless body is to unravel the creation design and go back to chaos.”

In 2018, British judges, dealing with the case of a Christian doctor who’d been dismissed because of his conscientious belief that sex is immutable, ruled that: “belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism, and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity” (Dr. David Mackereth v The Department for Work and Pensions & Advanced Personnel Management Group).

Fighting over Words

How did we get here? If you control the language, you control the debate. “Gender theory” has gained acceptance by constructing a false vocabulary. The word gender has been hijacked. It’s sometimes used simply to describe the social roles enacted by men and women, but those social roles arise from, and are linked to, the physical reality of being male or female.

The word gender is misused when it implies that someone’s “real identity” can be separated from bodily reality. The idea that we all have a “gender identity” that may be different from our biological sex is not based on science. If someone asks, “What is your gender?” the accurate answer would be to give your biological sex. You are either a man or a woman. To be male or female is not merely about having particular body parts — or even surgically constructed substitutes. It is written into the DNA of every cell of your body.

The false vocabulary of “gender theory” includes “assigned” at birth, transphobia, cisgender, and a wide array of gender-neutral pronouns. These terms echo the lie that there is a divide between our biological sex and our so-called gender identity.

Heresy of Heresies

Those who are suffering from real gender confusion should be treated with respect and compassion. All too often Christians stop there, and hesitate to challenge the false teaching that is causing such confusion. “Gender theory” is just a symptom of a virus that’s corrupted our culture.

Around a century ago a small group of intellectuals sought to initiate a revolution. Institutions, values, family, morality, church, law, government — all were viewed as the means by which groups with power and privilege oppressed everyone else. Today, some even regard science as a tool the privileged use to reinforce oppression. The “universe of meaning” could be smashed down by dividing society into competing identity groups, and defining words as “tools of oppression.” If words no longer have universal meaning, we end up in a society where two and two can equal five, if that’s what you believe. Just as a boy can be a girl.

“We have been placed here for such a time as this: to stand for truth, and to hold out God’s free offer of grace.”

In George Orwell’s chilling dystopian novel 1984, the “heresy of heresies” is common sense. The Party forces people to reject the evidence of their eyes and ears. That is “their final, most essential command.” All have to play along with doublethink, holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. Awakening to the grotesque tyranny of the Party, the protagonist, Winston, realizes that freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows.

But the Party claims power to reprogram “false consciousness.” Winston is not allowed to speak truth, or even believe truth.

Return to Reality

Today, freedom must include the freedom to believe, and say, that a man cannot be a woman. A boy cannot be a girl. A “trans woman” (biologically male) is not a woman however he identifies.

The theory that “binary is bad” and that we can construct our own gendered identity is an attack on humanity as made in the image of God, male and female. It represents defiance towards God himself, and an assault on the authority of his word.

After the creation of man and woman, God declared that his creation was very good. Our creation design teaches us that God has made us male and female to reflect his glory. This foundational creation reality is transcultural and atemporal. The dignity of the human body is underlined by the glory of the incarnation. Christ, the eternal Word, became man, born of a woman. Scripture will not allow the false split between sex and so-called gender. To demand a genderless body is to unravel the creation design and go back to chaos. When human beings, endowed with reason by our Creator God, embrace delusion, it is a sign of his wrath (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

We are to be confident in the glory of God’s truth in an age that seeks to deny absolute truth. Many around us have bought into lies. Many lives have been ruined. But Christ came to redeem ruined humanity from all the effects of the fall. We have been placed here for such a time as this: to stand for truth, and to hold out God’s wonderful free offer of grace.

Sharon James works as Social Policy Analyst for The Christian Institute, UK.

We are living and seeing a world that is rapidly becoming more chaotic, deceptive and evil.  There is one who is leading this rebellion against God.  It is Satan!  God certainly appears to be allowing His plan to unfold.  We must work hard to expose error and preach truth more fervently, for the time of eternal judgment is coming on all who do not believe and follow Christ.  Pray for the lost.  Pray for our children and our children’s children that they will not be deceived by the lies of the Evil one.  Pray that God draws each one to Himself, that they come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and worship and serve Him in this life and forever more.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 13, 2020

A godly king, backed into a deadly corner, teaches us a liberating truth about prayer.

In one of the great tragedies in all of Scripture, David’s son Absalom has exploited his father’s love and conspired against him. Now the rebellion has grown strong, and David is left with no option but to flee Jerusalem in hopes of living to fight another day (2 Samuel 15:14).

“Prayer is for turning the tide, for changing the seeming course of history.”

As he retreats, weeping as he goes, barefoot, with his head covered in shame, it gets worse. He learns that his most prized advisor, Ahithophel — whose counsel “was as if one consulted the word of God” (2 Samuel 16:23) — has joined Absalom (2 Samuel 15:12). Yet in this most desperate of moments, when David could have crumbled, or wallowed in self-pity, his reflex is Godward. He breathes up a prayer:

O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. (2 Samuel 15:31)

Unlikely Plea

Admittedly, the prayer seems utterly unlikely, if not impossible, humanly speaking. None was wiser than Ahithophel. One might as well ask for the sun to stand still as to pray for Ahithophel’s wise counsel to turn into folly. Yet these are the very moments for which God has given us prayer. He opens his ear to his people. Not for calling down more comforts for an already cushy existence, but precisely for the times when life and death are at stake.

Prayer is not an exercise in naming ahead of time what already seems to be the natural course of action. Prayer is not for making an educated guess out loud to God about what seems to be unfolding already. And it’s certainly not for advising God as to how things should go, as if he needed a counselor (Romans 11:33–34). Rather, prayer is for turning the tide, for changing the seeming course of history. Prayer is for desperate times and dire moments, when we’re backed in a corner — when humanly speaking, the desired outcome, and what seems to be our last chance, is painfully unlikely to unfold, and we need God. We need him to intervene.

Without the interruptive fingers of Providence reaching down into the details to disturb what seems to be, from our vantage, the natural course of action, we are doomed. But if he is God, and if he is listening, and if he acts, then we have a fighting chance. Cause and effect do not carry the day. God does. So, David prays.

God Does the Unthinkable

No sooner has David prayed than Hushai the Archite, who is loyal to David, meets him with torn coat and dirt on his head in mourning (2 Samuel 15:32). David has prayed for Ahithophel’s counsel to turn sour, but now David also acts in faith. He sends Hushai to feign fealty to Absalom, serve as a spy, and perhaps even “defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel” (2 Samuel 15:34).

“Prayer is for desperate times and dire moments, when we’re backed in a corner.”

Hushai goes, and like Ahithophel, is received into Absalom’s conspiracy. One of the first orders of business is whether to chase David down and overtake him as he retreats. Ahithophel speaks first: “Pursue David tonight . . . while he is weary and discouraged” (2 Samuel 17:1–2). Per normal, this is wise counsel. “And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel” (2 Samuel 17:4). The great sage has spoken, and this looks like a done deal. And such will spell the end of David — were it not for Hushai, who then speaks.

“This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good,” says the mole (2 Samuel 17:7). He then paints David not as the weak and discouraged man that he is, but as mighty, enraged, and expert in war. And God does the unthinkable: he turns the hearts of Absalom and all the men of Israel to say, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” What? This is a stunning turn of events. An impossibility, apart from God. Only God himself can turn the hearts like this. And so, 2 Samuel 17:14 adds the explanation, “For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.”

No one could have seen this coming. Even David did not at the time of his prayer. Hushai’s deceptive word carries the day, the dominoes begin to fall, and it soon means the end of Absalom, and salvation for David.

He Answers Better Than We Ask

So, God answered David’s prayer. Or did he? Remember how the king had prayed: “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2 Samuel 15:31). God had not answered that prayer. In fact, 2 Samuel 17:14 confirms that Ahithophel had given “good counsel.” Yet we find no lament from David that God didn’t answer his prayer. No complaints that the Lord hid his face, or that his ears were stopped, or that he could not see. No mourning. No frustration. No wallowing.

David prayed one seemingly impossible prayer, took a modest step in faith, and trusted God to work salvation for him. And David had no sour grapes that God didn’t answer his prayer precisely as he asked. In fact, David delighted to pray to, and to praise, a God who makes a habit of answering better than we ask.

No Scriptwriter Could Guess

In his commentary on 2 Samuel, Dale Ralph Davis observes,

No sooner does [David] pray than Yahweh begins to answer his prayer — and that in a way no scriptwriter could have guessed. Our prayers deal with the what; God’s answers deal with the what and the how and the when. And how the how can surprise us! (160)

Our God delights to free us from being the author of our own stories of salvation. When we pray, it is not our job to foresee how God might bring out the rescue and lay out the details for him, even as often as it is our instinct to do precisely this.

Most of us fathers would be a little annoyed, if not greatly, if our children not only asked for things but also insisted on laying out exactly how we should go about fulfilling their request. It is a father’s joy to surprise his children with the means, if not with the end.

“Our God delights to free us from being the author of our own stories of salvation.”

Fortunately, even as we try to counsel him, our Father in heaven is patient. He endures our folly. And he also wants to free us from feeling we need to give him directions. Not only can we not give him directions, but we can trust that his heart is far greater for the holy outcomes we want than our hearts are. And his ways of answering our prayers, according to his good pleasure, are more stunning than we can dream. He loves to answer better than we ask.

Not Precisely but Substantially

For those who have walked with this God for even a modest measure of time, we have seen him answer far better than we’ve asked. Which, alongside his Father’s heart (Luke 11:11–12) and the gift of his Spirit (Romans 8:26–27), gives us great incentive to pray, and keep praying. In other words, our human instincts, our ignorance, and our inability to counsel him are no disincentives to pray, but rather good reason to keep asking of him who knows how to give better than we know to ask.

He knows. “Your Father knows” (Luke 12:30). We do not. “We do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). His judgments are unsearchable; his ways, inscrutable (Romans 11:33) — which is all the more reason to ask him.

Already Answered

When Paul celebrates “him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), he is no mindless optimist. He’s not asking us to groundlessly expect “the best is yet to come” without solid proof in the past and present. And Paul has provided it, rooting his doxology in the gospel he just rehearsed. We were dead in sins, and God made us alive together with Christ. We were separated and alienated, without hope, and God brought us near by the blood of Christ.

In the gospel, our God has already answered better than we could have asked. Christ came, he died, he rose — and though we often don’t know precisely how to pray, we do know that our Father loves to hear our requests, and outdo them.

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for desiringGod.org

May our desire be to pray without ceasing, about any and all things, having the most intimate of relationship with the God of life and that eternal, as we believe and follow the Son in faith!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 12, 2020

I remember the flush of embarrassment that came to my face as I realized that my friend was letting me know I hadn’t been invited to be a part of the group he was meeting with regularly — and not by accident.

I tried to navigate the moment, relieving the tension by telling him not to worry about it. I let him know that my plate was full with doctors’ appointments and studying and the like. “I couldn’t join the group even if I were asked!” I laughed, doing all I could to keep him from feeling sorry for me.

And my words were true. I really did have a plate too full to add anything else. I really didn’t want him to worry about it. Yet my hot cheeks and thumping heart told the secret I was trying to conceal — I was fighting the impulse to take offense.

Shutting the Gates

I knew well enough how destructive becoming offended can be. Proverbs 18:19 says, “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city.” What horrible strength there is in taking up an offense! Offended people can become unassailable. Recalcitrant. Too hard-hearted to hear an appeal. When we are offended, we believe ourselves to have the moral high ground; therefore, we feel justified in making the one who has offended us a villain.

I thought I was on the inside of this particular group of friends, only to discover I was not. My sense of where I fit in with others was challenged in a painful way. I could choose to accept it with goodwill toward these brothers and lean on my Savior who has called me his friend, or I could get tough — hard as nails — like an unyielding strong city whose gates have been shut and whose pride has locked out the offending parties.

“Offended people become unassailable. Recalcitrant. Too hard-hearted to hear an appeal.”

The Scriptures show us many instances of Jesus causing offense. He offends his hometown crowd. He offends Pharisees and scribes. He is the stone of stumbling and rock of offense. This is no big surprise to Christians. We aren’t shocked that the Pharisees or the hometown crowd are resentful and outraged by his superior understanding and his mighty deeds. From our vantage point, it isn’t too hard to see that when Jesus challenges their view of reality, he’s always right. We can see their blind spots and pride and how that pride makes them easily offended.

But it’s much harder to spot the pride when we’re the one being offended, and when the offender is someone other than the perfect Jesus.

The Drug of Offendedness

What do we do when we’re offended by one another? What do we do if the offense given or taken is a result of carelessness, or thin skin, or personality differences, or unintentionally missing the mark, or sinfulness in ourselves or others?

First, remember that when others are offensive in a truly sinful way, their offense is against God first and foremost. Sin against us feels personal, because it often is personal. But it’s significantly more personal to God, who doesn’t just relate to us, but who created us. God is patient with those who have offended his holiness. But He will not wait forever. And for those who are united to his Son through faith, their offenses against Him have been extinguished at the cross.

Second, it is good to remember that God has made a way for us to deal with a legitimate offense. We can follow the instructions of our Lord and go to that person directly in the hopes of gaining our brother (Matthew 18:15). We don’t ever need to stay offended. Even when we don’t gain our brother by going to him, we don’t have to live in our offended state; we can lay that down at the cross. And laying our offense there, we can take a posture that is eager for reconciliation, should God grant it.

But what about when there is no intentional or discernible sin? What about the kind of situation that I found myself in — the one where I had not been sinned against, yet my hurt feelings were poised to harden into offendedness? It helps to acknowledge that taking offense is a powerful drug. It’s a powerful drug precisely because it gives us power. Remember the proverb — the offended brother is more unyielding than a strong city!

“Taking offense is a powerful drug. It’s a powerful drug precisely because it gives us power.”

When we turn hurt feelings into offendedness, we go from vulnerable to impenetrable. When we’re hurt by someone else’s words or actions, it’s tempting to try to protect ourselves with anger or self-righteousness that masquerades as having been offended. It’s easier to imagine the ones who have hurt us as villains rather than own that our hurt often has to do with our insecurities and fragility more than with the objective sinfulness of others.

Good Sense and Glory

Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Good sense and glory are in short supply these days. Rather than slow down and give our rational minds a chance to inform our wildly thumping hearts, we let our feelings inform our response. Rather than overlook an offense, we go conjuring them up from every possible infraction, mounting chips on our shoulders.

Everything another person says that we disagree with is a devilish opportunity for taking up an offense. Anything another person does that is different than how we would do it strengthens the resolve of the unyielding, hardened heart. Too often, we can’t merely disagree with people; we are personally offended by the words, opinions, and actions of others, even when they have no bearing on our personal lives.

And if we can’t find a way to be personally offended ourselves, too many have begun taking up an offense on behalf of another. Rather than cover an offense in the interest of love and refusing to repeat a matter (Proverbs 17:9), the society around us urges us to lend and borrow offenses as a currency of backward virtue.

Blessed Are the Unoffendable

There is more than insecurity and fragility underneath our proclivity to take up an offense, although those problems are constantly feeding it. At root, our easily offended hearts are full of pride and idolatry. We have set ourselves as the standard of what is right and good and what must be honored — any perceived challenge to that assumption results in anger, resentment, and the taking up of an offense.

But we’re not the standard; God is — which is wonderful news for sinners. Because he is the standard, because only he can see into hearts and discern the motives of each of us, we can be free to assume the best of others, trusting that he will judge perfectly in the end. We can have the good sense to be slow to anger. We can become gloriously unoffendable.

Won’t you lay down the offendedness you’ve nursed against others, and rest in the salvation of the God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love? He is patient in delaying judgment, but judgment will come. Today is the day to crucify the counterfeit power of offendedness and take hold of the gospel — which is the power of God for salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16).

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 11, 2020

Greg Morse is a staff writer for desiring God.

The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6–8)

Many, even within the church, have the haunting suspicion that they are wasting their lives. Although they serve when the opportunities arise, are intentional about community, and go from Sunday to Sunday, small group to small group, quiet time to quiet time, gospel conversation to gospel conversation with liveliness, they wonder in the silent moment, Is this how the road to glory really feels? Should there be more?

Oh, for more — to have what Paul had.

To know — and without shadows of doubt — that our labor for the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). To be persuaded with him that the life lived for Christ is the only one eternity won’t regret. The blessed man is the man who rightfully has blessed assurance, who can say what Paul did when he came to the end of his life:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.

J.C. Ryle, commenting on this passage, observed that Paul’s blessed assurance came with three glances: the glance downward, the glance backward, and the glance forward.

Downward to the Grave

Writing to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith, the apostle tells him, “The time of my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6). His death is near. This may be the last time Timothy will hear from Paul. He will soon set off from the shores of this life. He will be poured out as a drink offering to his Lord. He will be martyred. He looks down at the grave — the sight that terrifies so many of the richest, wisest, and mightiest on earth — and does not shrink back.

Instead, he extends his hand to death. He has waited for where it would lead him with anticipation. He imparted to the Philippian church that he was hard pressed between his desire to stay on this earth for their benefit, or to set sail and be with Christ — for that was far better (Philippians 1:23). Now he did not fear the departing because he had precious assurance of where he was arriving. He knew whom he had come to believe (2 Timothy 1:12), and he knew to which country death — now bridled by his Master — would take him.

Backward to Service

How priceless to give such a report in our final days: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul likens his life to a soldier who has completed his commission, a runner who has passed through the finish line, a steward who has kept what was entrusted to him.

He looks back without crippling regrets because, even though he spent a good portion of his life as an enemy of Christ, Jesus saved him, cleansed him, and enabled him to fulfill the commission assigned to him. He committed his work, his life, and his soul to a faithful Savior — and Jesus’s grace to him was not in vain.

Forward to Christ

Paul knew that only his heartbeat kept him from his crown. “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). He was just a handful of breaths away from forever with his Lord. He would soon receive a crown of righteousness from his God, based not on his own working, his own doing, or his own effort. Though once a strict adherent to the law, Paul would not trust in his own righteousness, but rather long for the perfect righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ.

He envisioned a courtroom. Before the perfect judge, he stood crowned in Christ’s perfection — without spot, wrinkle, or regret. He now loves that appearing of Jesus when he confronted him on the road to Damascus, and he longs to see his Lord’s beauty as he lives before him in his eternal kingdom.

Blessed Assurance

Paul looked unflinchingly down at the grave, backward on his service and faith, and forward to an eternal crown and everlasting future with his Lord. Our blessed assurance, our great confidence, is not ultimately that we have lived a remarkable life on earth, but that Jesus did. By his life, his death, his resurrection, we have joy awaiting. And with Paul and our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we sing as we wait,

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Do you experience the assurance that Paul expresses?  You can have it, if you will come by faith to Jesus, believe in Him and His work on your behalf.  In this life you may encounter many tribulations, but one day you will be with your Lord and Savior forever, free from the bondage of sin, completely healthy and filled with awe and words of worship and praise in the presence of the Almighty!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 10, 2020

Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves as author, board chair, and co-founder of Desiring God.

If you want to become wealthy, there are certain things you must understand and certain things you must do. First, you must understand what kind of wealth you’re pursuing and how the economy functions that generates this wealth. Second, you must wisely invest the required resources in order to realize an increase of the wealth the economy produces. These principles hold true whether you’re pursuing wealth in God’s economy or in the world’s economies.

Now, the kind of wealth God’s economy produces and the kind of wealth the world’s economies produce are very different. The former makes us “enriched in every way to be generous in every way” (2 Corinthians 9:11), while the latter threatens to pierce us with “many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10) and even to steal our soul (Matthew 16:26).

But in either case, we must value (desire) what each economy offers (Matthew 6:19–21), we must understand how each economy works (Luke 16:1–8), and we must invest in ways that take advantage of that economy’s production (Matthew 25:14–30). Obtaining the riches we desire depends on whether or not we meet these conditions.

To those who wish to become truly rich, the Bible offers this astounding promise:

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

“The true riches of grace and joy are the returns on the investment of generous giving.”

Just think about this for a moment. The Source of all that exists, the Fountain of “all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), is willing to put his infinite resources to work on our behalf to meet our needs and bless our labors. All grace, all sufficiency, at all times. Who would not want this?

So, how do we become the beneficiaries of such an incredible promise? The answer is found in the context in which the promise is made.

God’s Gracious Economy of Joy

In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul encourages and exhorts the Corinthian Christians to contribute generously to the relief of the suffering believers in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1–4). As he does, he describes how God’s beautiful economy of grace works to produce a wealth of joy.

He starts by pointing to the grace of God clearly evident in the Macedonian Christians. These believers were living in “extreme poverty,” and yet they experienced an “abundance of joy” in being redeemed by Christ, which “overflowed in a wealth of generosity” in their contribution to the poor in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:2). Then Paul points the Corinthians directly to the grace that Jesus showed them when, “though he was rich, yet for [their] sake he became poor, so that [they] by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Then Paul describes how the contribution the Corinthians give will “not only [supply] the needs of the saints but . . . also [overflow] in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).

In other words, this is how God’s economy of grace works to produce a wealth of joy for everyone involved:

The grace of Jesus overflows in his incredible generosity to redeem and give eternal joy to the Corinthian believers (Hebrews 12:2).

This grace experienced by the Corinthians (and Macedonians) produces in them an abundance of joy that overflows in their generous giving to meet the needs of the Jerusalem saints, which also produces joy for them since “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

This grace of provision produces in the Jerusalem saints an abundance of joy that overflows in thanksgivings to God, not only for his provision, but also for “the surpassing grace of God” evident in the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 9:14).

And this whole gracious economic cycle glorifies God (2 Corinthians 9:13), the Source of all grace.

Over and over again, God’s grace produces joy, which then produces generosity, which then produces joyful thanksgiving and praise back to God. This is God’s wonderful kingdom economy, where the true riches of grace and joy are the returns on the investment of generous giving to meet the needs of others. This is why we at Desiring God love to think of money as “the currency of Christian Hedonism.”

Amazing Promise for the Joyfully Generous

Now, in God’s economy of grace, like any economy, an investment is required in order to see wealth increase. What is this investment? Joyful generosity that meets the needs of others, overflowing from a heart transformed by God’s overwhelming grace. And as with any economy, the size of our return depends on the size of our investment.

Paul makes this clear when he reminds the Corinthians, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). This agricultural principle is also an economic principle: the size of one’s investment determines the size of one’s return.

“In God’s gracious economy of joy, we don’t need to fear running out of grace and joy.”

Paul isn’t trying to manipulate the Corinthians into giving more. Nor is he promoting an equation that says if one gives more money, one will get more money. No, this is an economy that produces grace-fueled joy. Joy in God — joy in the grace of forgiveness and reconciliation we’ve received from God, and joy in the grace of God we see in others — is the return on the investment of gracious giving. And this economy works only when each person is free to “give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Paul wants the Corinthians (and us) to have as much joy in God as possible, so he’s exhorting them to invest in order to see that return. And that’s when he holds out the amazing promise:

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

In God’s gracious economy of joy, we don’t need to fear running out of grace and joy. Paul wants us to know that if we trust God and invest well in generous giving to meet the needs of others, “God will supply every need of [ours] according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

True Prosperity Theology

The Corinthians knew Paul didn’t mean that giving generously would ensure they would become wealthy. Reading all of 2 Corinthians (as well as 1 Corinthians) makes that clear. Rather, as he wrote in a letter to Timothy, he wanted the Corinthian Christians not

to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy . . . to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17–19)

Paul knew that the gospel of Christ was true prosperity theology. Unlike the terrible version of our day that cloaks a ruinous worldly desire to be rich (1 Timothy 6:9) in a pious appearance of serving God, Paul called his readers to invest in the economy of God by giving to meet the needs of others in order to have “that which is truly life” — that which truly gives joy. And that is true prosperity.

The point is this: in God’s economy of grace, generous giving to meet the needs of others is a means of investing in joy — our own and others’. And to those willing to make this investment, God promises his all-abounding grace so we will have all sufficiency at all times for every good work he calls us to. For “he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:10–11).

Acts 20:35
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 9, 2020

Let Us Go to Bethlehem  

Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. — Luke 2:15 

It was a dark night... yet there was light! The Light of the world had come. Bethlehem almost missed it. No room. So the young, pregnant Jewish girl found herself without the decency of even a clean sheet or a simple cot. In her hour of labor, her bed was straw in a stable. And, when the babe was born, she herself, with trembling fingers, wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in the feeding trough.  

Down the hillside a group of shepherds had a surprise visit from heaven. They rushed to the stable, found the babe, and returned “glorifying and praising God” (Luke 2:20).  

Let’s become Bethlehem ourselves. We find in this little village a place of potential, providence, and privilege. The Lord longs for you to become a Bethlehem in your own right.

That is, to awaken to the fact that you are a person of potential, providence, and privilege.  

Bethlehem Is a Place of Potential  

But you, Bethlehem... though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth... the One... whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. — Micah 5:2 

Think of it. Of all the places for the Messiah to be born, God chose Bethlehem. One would have thought it might be in a much more prominent place, like Jerusalem. Bethlehem reminds us that in God’s economy the small shall become great, and the last shall be first. Bethlehem was a place of potential, and even though you may feel insignificant, like Bethlehem, so are you!  

As the Lord looks at you, He doesn’t see you for what you are, but for what you could become. This is the message of Bethlehem.  

God did not come to Caesar’s palace to be born, nor to Herod’s court. He arrived quietly, almost unannounced in a seemingly insignificant village.  

God is reminding you today that in His eyes you have potential for greatness. See yourself as a Bethlehem. You, too, are a person of potential.  

Bethlehem Is a Place of Providence  

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me 
The One to be Ruler in Israel, 
Whose goings forth are from of old, 
From everlasting. — Micah 5:2 

Long centuries before His birth, the prophets foretold that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. But how? Joseph and Mary resided seventy miles north, in Nazareth. God put the whole world in motion to fulfill His Word. A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that everyone was to go to the place of their family lineage to pay taxes. So Joseph, because he was in the line of David, left Nazareth with his very pregnant wife on a long journey of inconvenience.  

Many of the things in our lives that on the surface appear inconvenient, may just be the hand of God’s providence getting us to our own Bethlehem.  

Bethlehem reminds us that what God promises, He performs — no matter what. Bethlehem is a place of providence, and so are you.  

Bethlehem Is a Place of Privilege 

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you. — Galatians 4:19 

What an awesome privilege to be the handpicked city to cradle the Son of God. Why Bethlehem? Why not Jerusalem, the seat of religious power? Or Rome, the center of political power? Or Athens, the center of intellectual power? God was sending a message.  

The hope of our world is not in religion, politics, or philosophy. God privileged the little village of Bethlehem to send the message — the hope of the world is in a Savior!  

This Christmas could become a Bethlehem moment for you. Like Bethlehem, you can awaken to a brand-new world. The same Christ born in Bethlehem can be born again in you. Paul puts it this way: “I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” If you think Bethlehem is privileged to be His birthplace, what a greater privilege for Christ to be born in you.  

Thinking of Bethlehem, Phillips Brooks wrote, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”  

Excerpted from The Christmas Code by O. S. Hawkins, copyright O. S. Hawkins. 

Bethlehem wasn’t a capital city. It wasn’t well-known.  The people weren’t well-off. It was hardly the place for the King of the world to be born.  But, God’s Kingdom is an upside-down kingdom. He chooses places, things, and people for His glory, not ours.

Isn’t that beautiful?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 8, 2020

When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should. — Colossians 4:6 ICB

ACHOO! That’s the universal sound for a sneeze. Sneezing — or sternutation (stur-new-TEY-shun) — is your body’s way of getting rid of something that’s irritating your nose. You might sneeze because you have a cold. Or because dust, pet hair, or pollen is tickling inside your nose. Some people even sneeze when they step out into the sunlight!

When something irritates your nose, special nerves send a message to your brain. (Fun fact: you can’t sneeze when you’re asleep, because those nerves are asleep too.) Your brain then tells all your body parts to work together to sneeze — from your chest and tummy muscles to your throat and eyelids. When you sneeze, as many as 100,000 little droplets shoot out your nose at 100 miles per hour, traveling 20 feet or more. So please — cover your sneeze with a tissue or your sleeve!

Sneezes travel pretty far and fast, but there’s something else you’ve experienced that travels faster and farther: gossip. Gossip is spreading rumors. It’s saying hurtful things about someone — things that may not even be true! And some people do it for fun. But the Bible has a lot to say about gossip, and none of it is good. God says gossip is a sin, just like lying, fighting, and murder (Romans 1:29). So don’t spread hurtful words. Share helpful words instead!

In the United States people often say the phrase Bless you or God bless you after someone sneezes. But in Germany they say Gesundheit, and in Italy it’s Salute. Both words mean “health.” In Nigeria, in the Igbo language, they say ndo, which means “sorry.” But in Korea, they don’t say a thing!

Excerpted from How Great Is Our God by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

James 3:5-10
the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.   10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

Dear God, please help me control my words. Help me be careful about what I say. Let me only say things that are good and helpful and kind.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 7, 2020

There is no such thing as an autonomous Christian who stands alone with no need for others and no obligation to anyone.

To be called a Christian, by definition, means being a part of Christ’s body, the church.

Every Christian must be in fellowship with other believers and is counseled by Scripture to do so. Hebrews 10:24-25 says,

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Six out of the ten commandments are directed toward our relationship with others, which in itself is profound. Why would God show us how to walk in love with one another if it was perfectly fine and acceptable for us to avoid deep and meaningful relationships with other believers? He wouldn’t. God desires His people to meet together, encourage each other, and love each other.

When Jesus prayed,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one – John 17:11.

He was praying for the power of unity as one Body with other believers. We, joined together in fellowship with other Christians, are unified in one mission, one heart, and one spirit. As a single Body we are called to walk together toward the will of the Father. Our desire is not to please ourselves only, but to please the One who reconciled us to Himself. Fellowship with other Christians is not optional for the Christian, and it is necessary for a healthy, biblical life.

A marriage after God recognizes the necessity for godly, biblical Christian fellowship where a husband and wife are known intimately by other believers.

Once we let down our walls of insecurity and began sharing with other Christian married couples what we were facing, we became known. Our struggles became known and our sin became exposed. Through our vulnerability, other Christians were then able to empathize with us, but also offer comfort, suggestions on how to overcome our struggles, and exhortations on repenting and reconciling. When we became known, we felt a deep level of concern and love from these other believers. This affirmed our ability to be transparent. Our experience stripped away the fears of what others would think of us and our anxieties about sharing what we were facing.

Jesus taught us that unity was what the Father’s heart is for His people. In John 15:5 He says,

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jesus calls Himself a vine, and He calls us His branches, both of which are pieces of a whole. In nature, there doesn’t exist healthy, thriving branches floating around. Rather, what is seen are healthy, thriving branches connected to the main stem of a plant or trunk of a tree, which is rooted with a strong foundation. If there are branches that are found in nature, disconnected and alone, it is either dead or in the process of decaying. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul tells us that we “are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” How can we say we are a branch if we are not growing next to other branches? How can we call ourselves members of the body of Christ if we are not connected to the other parts of that same body?

In chapter 2, we talked about Satan’s war on our effectiveness. One way he will destroy your effectiveness is to convince you and your spouse to walk in complete autonomy and to hide from other believers. The devil knows that when believers get together and walk together, they will strike blows into his kingdom. Not only that, but as you walk in unity with the body of Christ in community, you become strong and less vulnerable to attack.

We know why people tend to avoid true biblical fellowship, because we used to avoid it too. We know these types of relationships can be messy. We know the possibility and likelihood of hard, uncomfortable conversations. We know that with being known comes accountability, and with accountability comes change, which can be painful. We know that being known can seem terrifying.

However, since experiencing the power of true community and fellowship with the Body of Christ, we have come to know so much more of the good that comes from walking this way, in contrast to walking alone and isolated from the Body. We know the benefits of iron sharpening iron. We know the intrinsic value of being needed and being provided for. We know the good that comes from being known, and we are no longer afraid of it.

We desire this same knowledge that comes through experience to transform you and your marriage as you and your spouse walk in unity with the Body of Christ. Do not be afraid of it. Do not be convinced that you can live without it. Not only is fellowship with other believers an incredible benefit to the refining of your marriage relationship, but it is also where you and your spouse will discover an extraordinary opportunity to serve and love others in Christ through the ministry of your marriage.

Excerpted from Marriage After God by Aaron & Jennifer Smith, copyright Aaron Smith and Jennifer Smith.

We, as Christians, are called to be one Body. We are empowered, strengthened, made healthy, and transformed in part by acting in unity.

We indeed are a “Community of Grace” called by God to be as one.  We are His body, serving the head, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Let us strive to act more and more as one, seeking to be in complete harmony with one another and God who brought us into oneness in Christ.

Pastor Dale