Notes of Faith April 15, 2021

Dr, David Regan, Lamb and Lion Ministries

The Bible says we cannot know the time of the Lord's return (Matthew 25:13). But the Scriptures make it equally clear that we can know the season of the Lord's return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6):

"You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night... But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."

This passage asserts that Jesus is coming like "a thief in the night." But then it proceeds to make it clear that this will be true only for the pagan world and not for believers. His return should be no surprise to those who know Him and His Word, for they have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give them understanding of the nature of the times.

Furthermore, the Scriptures give us signs to watch for — signs that will signal that Jesus is ready to return. The writer of the Hebrew letter referred to these signs when he proclaimed that believers should encourage one another when they see the day of judgment drawing near (Hebrews 10:25-27). Jesus also referred to the end time signs in His Olivet Discourse, given during the last week of His life (Matthew 24 and Luke 21). Speaking of a whole series of signs which He had given to His disciples, He said, "When you see all these things, recognize that He [the Son of Man — that is, Jesus] is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33).

Since the time of the Balfour Declaration, we have witnessed sign after sign pointing to the Lord's soon return. There are so many of these signs today, in fact, that one would have to be either biblically illiterate or spiritually blind not to realize that we are living on borrowed time.

I have personally been searching the Bible for years in an effort to identify all the signs, and it has not been an easy task to get a hold on them. That's because there are so many of them, both in the Old and New Testaments.

I have found that the best way to deal with them is to put them in categories, and in doing that, I have come up with six categories of end time signs: the Signs of Nature, the Signs of Society, the Spiritual Signs, the Signs of World Politics, the Signs of Technology, and the Signs of Israel. (You can learn more about these six categories by watching this week's episode of Christ in Prophecy or reading the full article on our website.)

Each category contains many prophecies concerning the end times, all of which are being fulfilled before our very eyes. Here specifically are listed 50 of those prophecies:

Increasing instability of nature. (Matthew 24:7 & Luke 21:11)

Increasing lawlessness and violence. (Matthew 24:12)

Increasing immorality. (Matthew 24:37)

Increasing materialism. (2 Timothy 3:2)

Increasing Hedonism. (2 Timothy 3:4)

Increasing influence of Humanism. (2 Timothy 3:2)

Depraved entertainment. (2 Timothy 3:4)

Calling evil good and good evil. (2 Timothy 3:3 & Isaiah 5:20)

Increasing use of drugs. (2 Timothy 3:3)

Increasing blasphemy. (2 Timothy 3:2)

Increasing paganism. (2 Timothy 3:1-4)

Increasing despair. (2 Timothy 3:1)

Signs in the heavens. (Luke 21:11,25)

Increasing knowledge. (Daniel 12:4)

Increasing travel. (Daniel 12:4)

The explosion of cults. (Matthew 24:11)

The proliferation of false christs. (Matthew 24:5)

Increasing apostasy in the Church. (2 Timothy 4:3-5)

Increasing attacks on Jesus. (Romans 1:18-19)

Increasing attacks on the Bible. (Romans 1:18-19)

Increasing persecution of Christians. (Matthew 24:9)

Increasing occultism. (1 Timothy 4:1)

Wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6)

Weapons of mass destruction. (Luke 21:26)

Increasing famine. (Luke 21:11)

Increasing pestilence. (Luke 21:11)

Computer technology. (Revelation 13:7)

Television. (Revelation 11:8-9)

Satellite technology. (Revelation 11:8-9)

Virtual reality. (Revelation 13:14-15)

Unification of Europe. (Daniel 2 & 7)

Far Eastern military powers. (Revelation 9:16 & 16:12)

Movement toward world government. (Daniel 7:23-26)

Regathering of the Jews. (Isaiah 11:10-12)

Re-establishment of Israel. (Isaiah 66:7-8)

Reclamation of the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:34-35)

Revival of Biblical Hebrew. (Zephaniah 3:9; Jeremiah 31:23)

Re-occupation of Jerusalem. (Luke 21:24)

Resurgence of the Israeli military. (Zechariah 12:6)

Re-focusing of world politics on Israel. (Zechariah 12:3)

Russian threat to Israel. (Ezekiel 38 and 39)

Arab threat to Israel. (Ezekiel 35 and 36)

Denial of the Second Coming. (2 Peter 3:3-4)

Denial of creation by God. (Romans 1:18-22)

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Joel 2:28-29)

Translation of the Bible into many languages. (Matthew 24:14)

Preaching of the Gospel worldwide. (Matthew 24:14)

The revival of Messianic Judaism. (Romans 9:27)

The revival of Davidic praise worship. (Amos 9:11)

The understanding of Bible prophecy. (Daniel 12:8-9)

This list could be greatly expanded, but the 50 examples above should be sufficient to show that we are living in the season of the Lord's return.

The Bible clearly teaches that God never pours out His wrath without warning for He is a just and loving God who does not wish that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). That's why He has provided so many signs to alert us to the fact that we are living on the threshold of the Tribulation.

The bottom line message of the signs is that we are living on borrowed time. And the crucial question for every human being is "Are you ready?" Are you ready for the return of Jesus? Will He come as your Blessed Hope or your Holy Terror?

It will be one or the other, for God is determined to deal with sin, and He does so with either grace or wrath (John 3:36). If you have put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are under God's grace. Your sins have been forgiven and forgotten, and you can look forward with confidence to that glorious day when Jesus will appear in the heavens.

But if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are under the wrath of God, and you have nothing to look forward to except the terror of His wrath.

The choice is yours. I personally cannot understand why anyone would turn their back on God's free gift of grace through faith in His Son. I have placed my faith in Jesus, and I therefore am able to look forward to His soon return with great anticipation and expectation. All that is within me cries out, "Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 14, 2021

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We were sitting with a couple, who are dear friends, around a table, nestled in the back corner of a restaurant. Behind us was a wall of windows, giving us the perfect view of what was on the other side. We could almost feel the ebb and flow of the Pacific Ocean with our perspective. Its waves crashed with an odd mixture of elegance and anger. Back and forth and back forth.

Directly across from us, were our friends, along with the husband’s father. At some point during dinner, the husband’s father’s eyes sprang widely open. Kind of like a kid on Christmas morning who just discovered the big present under the tree was his! Pointing his hand toward the window we had been peering through earlier, he exclaimed, “Look at that sunset!”

His enthusiasm forced us to turn our heads. And just in time as the sun was disappearing, like a hot burning coal being swallowed up by the ocean. His enthusiasm became our enthusiasm. His awe, ours. What caught his eyes and captured his heart, did the same for us.

Now, there is one more detail you should know about that dinner in Southern California. The man who spotted that sunset lives within thirty minutes of that restaurant. And the ocean. If that isn’t enough, he was 90 years old at the time of that dinner. In other words, that was not his first sunset! But he saw it and appreciated it as if it was.

We’ll never forget that night. Or the impression it made on us. His awe and thankfulness became ours.

A heart that is thankful to God is a heart that imparts thankfulness to others.

It’s amazing how often the Bible tells us to be thankful. Or records for us, God’s people giving God praise. For example, the psalmist declares in Psalm 106:1 (NIV),

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

He doesn’t say, “give thanks, for things are good.” He says, “give thanks” because God is good. His love endures and goes on and on and on.

The psalmist shows us we should praise God because of God’s character and not our circumstances.

Or in the New Testament, we read the Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Colossae. He writes,

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. — 
Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

Paul is telling us that praise is a byproduct of presence. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us (Galatians 2:20 NIV). He is present in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we abide in Jesus, root ourselves deeply in Jesus, receive His love and truth, we experience growth in Jesus. And the fruit we will bear is praise, thankfulness, or gratitude. We will increasingly become a person who is “overflowing thankfulness.”

Unless, of course, we allow gratefulness to be choked out.

We don’t know about you, but we are often “overflowing.”

The problem is what we are overflowing with! Which can be true for our children too. We can ooze with the desire for more. More things. We can overflow with complaining — always giving critical commentary on what needs to be done, what would have been better to say, and what we’d rather have.

What God desires, and what He commands, is for us to become people who are overflowing with thankfulness increasingly. Gratitude is what should ground us, no matter what we are facing. And gratitude always guards us against a heart that is prone to complain or be consumed by lesser things.

So, here is the simple truth when it comes to our family:

The best way to pass on gratitude to our kids is to possess gratitude as a parent.

Thankfulness is not trivial in God’s eyes. It is not optional. A grateful person is someone who sees all that they have from God that they don’t deserve from God. Nothing helped me (Patrick) see this more than my cancer diagnosis in 2018. Being told you have incurable cancer puts things into perspective quickly.

Oddly, death has taught me more about life than I ever thought it would. Everything matters more to us now. There is new gratefulness for even small things — the seemingly mundane.

A walk around the neighborhood.

A car ride to a child’s practice.

Dinner together as a family.

Sharing coffee with a friend.

And yes, even a sunset we’ve witnessed thousands of times before.

Most of all, we are grateful for who God is and what He has done. Everything He has given us is a gift.

We can model thankfulness to our children by being content with what we have, resisting the desire always to have something new, or better. Gratitude grows when we express it to a friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family member. We can pass on thankfulness by how we talk, showing our kids what we are grateful for by what we say. And we can teach gratitude by pointing our kids to Jesus, the God who has saved us, forgiven us, and given the hope of new life. And a life that never ends.

No matter what we are facing. No matter what we have. No matter what we think we don’t have. If we have Jesus, we have everything. And everything He has given us is far more than we deserve. There is much we have to be grateful for!

So, let’s believe that. Let’s preach that to our hearts if we have to. With God’s help, in our attitude and actions, let’s teach our kids to be thankful. Because one of the simple ways we can teach our children to be grateful is to be grateful ourselves.

Blessings,

Patrick and Ruth Schwenk

Written for Devotionals Daily by Patrick and Ruth Schwenk, authors of Faith Forward Family Devotional.

Does the sunset cause you to rejoice in awe? Do the seemingly mundane, average, daily things awaken your gratitude? The best way to teach our kids to be grateful is to overflow with thankfulness ourselves!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 13, 2021

“Make a dent where they are sent” is a phrase we’ve often used when preaching at our church. We strongly believe that God has strategically placed each one of us to be His light. Jesus said it best when he told His disciples:  

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven. — Matthew 5:14–16 

Jesus was giving His disciples a bull’s-eye to shoot for with their lives. It gets better though. The original language of the words “town built on a hill” specifically referred to a town strategically placed that could not be hidden. Jesus was teaching His disciples then — as well as His disciples now — an important truth. Just as a city in those days was strategically placed in a location where others could see it and find it when they were looking for safety and help, we too are strategically placed by God to bring safety and help to those around us who are seeking the same.

Our lives are not simply random. God wants to use us where He has placed us to advance His Kingdom. Make a dent where we are sent. Be and give hope for those who hurt, comfort for those who mourn, food for those who hunger, shelter for those who shiver in the cold, and more.  

The question most people want to ask is, “Okay, then, where am I sent?” The answer is profound in its simplicity: you are sent where you are. The job you have, the house or apartment or condo where you’re living, the school you’re attending, the sports team your kid is playing on — these are where God has strategically placed you right now. Make a difference where you are planted. Make a dent for Jesus.

I was a coach on all three of our sons’ football teams from their Pee Wee leagues up through high school. It was one way I chose to be a part of their lives. After our high school games on Friday nights, the coaching staff usually headed to a local pub to talk about the game. As a pastor, I felt that a bar wasn’t the best place for me to be seen with my coaching buddies, and yet I knew that God had called me to make a dent where I was being sent — which meant He had sent me to do life with these coaches and their families.

One Friday night after a victory, I called my buddy Rob, a fellow believer on the coaching staff, and said, “We need to be at the bar with the coaches.” He agreed, and off we went to drink our Cokes with the guys. When we walked into the bar, the coaches stood up and gave us a standing ovation. They were that excited we had joined them.

I sat next to our special teams coach, Jack. He asked me why I never cussed while coaching the team. Not cussing may be a little thing that doesn’t make me more righteous than anyone else, but regardless, it gave me the chance to share how Jesus changes all parts of a person’s life. I told him how I had gone from being a man with a foul mouth to the person I was in the present only because of Jesus.

This was the first of many conversations with Jack that led to more questions about faith. A few months later, Jack surrendered his life to Christ. Along with his wife and kids, Jack now serves at our church. God began this change in Jack by leading me to hang with him at the local bar.

God wants to use you and your children right where he has planted you. There is truly no higher calling than to be able to pass on such a vision to your kids in a way that is life-changing for them and for you.

Excerpted from No Perfect Parents by Dave & Ann Wilson, copyright Dave & Ann Wilson. 

If we are to be obedient and “go into all the world” preaching the gospel, it must start where we live, with our family, neighbors, coworkers.  Where God has placed us is our area of influence for His kingdom.  The blessing of participating in this work brings great joy in the present and eternal joy with those that follow Christ!

Grow where you are planted.  Do the work you were created to do.  However you look at this thought God has plans to use you for His glory.  Get to work and be blessed!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 12, 2021

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. — Philippians 4:8

At first glance, our family room looks idyllic. Hundreds of books — titles I think of as classics — line the bookshelves.

Stacks of puzzles and board games are within easy reach.

And thanks to my husband’s affinity for splitting firewood as soon as the mercury dips below 65, there’s usually a crackling fire in the hearth. Throw in the sound-asleep presence of our English Lab, Minnie, and you might be tempted to put the whole scene on Instagram.

Here’s the thing though. Nobody ever plays the board games. The books mostly sit there and collect dust. And while the fireplace does tend to draw people together, they come with their phones. And their iPads. And their AppleTV remotes.

Right now, as I type these words on my laptop, no less than six other screens are within sight — all being actively used to send emails, buy a plane ticket, text friends to make plans, scroll through movie options, and share photos from a recent trip.

And there are only four people in the room.

The four of us are no different from any four people who lived two thousand (or even two hundred) years ago — we are created for connection to each other and to God, just like they were — but things have changed. “We are living a life,” writes Andy Crouch, “that even our grandparents never imagined and could not fully understand: a world in which the technological dream of easy everywhere has come true — is coming true — before our eyes.”1

Which is a really good thing. Except when it’s not.

Kyle and his wife, Ginny, are raising four boys, ages three to fifteen. “Everything about technology feels different and new,” he told me. “As parents, we want to get this one right. We want to make sure our kids never see the thing we don’t want them to see — even though we know, of course, that that’s an impossible goal.

“The word I might use to describe how parents feel,” he said, “is probably panic. Or maybe terror.”

Kyle was smiling as we talked — and you’ll hear more about how his family is navigating the technology maze in a minute — but his comments confirmed something I already knew to be true, namely, that technology is the number one reason today’s parents believe that raising kids is more complicated than it was in the past.2

I get that. Twenty years ago, when I wrote the first edition of this book, the biggest technology-related question Robbie and I faced was whether to let our kids watch PG movies — on VHS tapes. I’ll never forget the call I got from twelve-year-old Annesley when she wanted to watch Legally Blonde at a friend’s house. It was rated PG-13.

“Her mom thinks I’m crazy,” Annesley whispered into the phone, “but I told her I had to call you and ask.”

I granted permission (please don’t judge me!), but that decades-ago phone call reflects the same pressure today’s parents face. We don’t have universal standards for what’s okay and what isn’t, and we can’t count on other parents to affirm our decisions or back us up when we make a tough call. It’s a weird sort of peer pressure — parental peer pressure, author Susan Yates calls it — and it’s part of what can make us feel out of control or overwhelmed by the flood of new devices and apps that get rolled out every day.

PRAYER PRINCIPLE

As you pray about your kids’ use of technology, look to the Lord, not to other parents, to help you set standards and boundaries.

No Vile Thing

I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. My dad wrote that line (it’s from Psalm 101:3) on an index card and taped it to our television when I was a teen. These days, we might run out of tape before we could attach those words to every platform or device on which our kids might see something bad.

The average child, aged eight to eighteen, spends more than seven hours a day on a screen.3 Pornography accounts for an astonishing 30 percent of all internet traffic.4 Kids are first exposed to porn, on average, between ages eight and eleven.5 And only 43 percent of today’s teens think that porn is bad for society, compared with 55 percent of adults. (In a teenager’s eyes, it’s much worse if you don’t recycle.)6

I could go on, but you get the idea. Exposure to pornography, whether accidental or intentional, is not an if for our kids; it’s a when. And that exposure represents the number one reason that technology — which can be such a big help in our lives — can make parents worry.

Sara’s twelve-year-old daughter, Allison, likes to create collages on the computer, using clip-art images and videos to make her masterpieces. At home, the computers have content filters and other parental controls, but the devices at her father’s office are not as protected. And one afternoon, when Allison was using an office computer to work on a project, some obscene pictures popped up on her screen.

Immediately, her father got a text alert from his internet provider: A porn video has been accessed from this location.

A quick review of all the office computers revealed the trouble spot. But when asked what she’d seen, Allison denied all involvement. And the more her parents pressed for details, the more emotional and manipulative she became.

“That was not like her at all,” Sara said. “My radar was on high alert — and I realized that our greater concern was not what she’d seen or the exposure she’d had, but the choice she was making to lie.”

Thinking about what she calls her own “progressive sanctification” — one where the Lord continues to tenderly transform her heart — Sara resolved not to react in knee-jerk fashion, but to slow down and ask God for his counsel. “I wanted the Lord to teach me how to relate to my daughter, knowing that the way I treat her now will affect our relationship and her life in twenty years."

She started with prayer.

“I know the freedom that comes with confession,” she said.

“I prayed that God would turn Allison’s darkness into light and that she would know the joy of walking in that light and enjoying sweet fellowship with other people and with Jesus.”7

Eager to have her own burden lifted, Sara reached out to an older friend — someone she knew she could count on not to gossip or pry, but to pray.

The woman responded with reassurance. “When God alerts us to something that is not right in our children’s lives,” she said, “it’s not because He wants us to be worried or scared; it’s because He wants us to pray. Our prayers open the door to God’s redemption, protection, and blessing in our kids’ lives.”

PRAYER PRINCIPLE

God doesn’t want us to be worried or scared; He reveals things so that we can pray.

Noting that Allison likely felt embarrassed by what she had seen (and maybe scared to admit it), Sara’s friend pointed her toward Psalm 25 as a prayer prompt:

Let Allison put her hope in you, Lord, and let her never be put to shame. (Psalm 25:3)

Relieve the troubles of Allison’s heart; free her from her anguish. Take away all her sins. (Psalm 25:17-18)

Guard Allison’s life, rescue her, be her refuge. May integrity and uprightness protect her. (Psalm 25:20-21)

Sara and her husband continued to pray verses like these, trusting in the Genesis 50:20 promise that God could take something so clearly intended for evil and use it to bring about something good in Allison’s life.

It wasn’t long before He did. The following Sunday, after hearing their pastor talk about the freedom that comes with confession and the triumph of grace over shame, Allison pulled Sara aside.

“I need to talk to you, Mom.”

Allison broke down and revealed all that had happened, including her attempts to cover up what she’d seen by lying about it. As she confessed, Sara saw her daughter’s countenance change. It was as if a cloud had lifted. Allison’s shadowy face became joyful and radiant.

The transformation made sense to Sara. “When we keep things hidden,” she said, “it always leads to deeper and darker things. It’s a mercy, not a burden, to be found out.”

1. Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017), 51.

2. See Crouch, Tech-Wise Family, 26.

3. Cited in Ashley Welch, “Health Experts Say Parents Need to Drastically Cut Kids’ Screen Time,” CBS News, August 6, 2018

4. Cited in Crouch, Tech-Wise Family, 169.

5. Cited in “What’s the Average Age of a Child’s First Exposure to Porn?” Fight the New Drug, January 28, 2020

6. Cited in “Pornography Statistics,” Covenant Eyes

7. Prayers reflect Psalm 18:28 1 John 1:9–10

Excerpted from Praying the Scriptures for Your Children by Jodie Berndt, copyright Jodie Berndt.

Raising kids in this day and age is complicated. It may even incite panic as we try to figure out how to manage technology and the tidal wave of information (both good and bad) that’s available at even an innocent google search. Start with prayer! God loves when we seek Him for wisdom! Pray, pray, and then pray some more!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 11, 2021

Article by Jon Bloom
Staff writer, desiringGod.org

“Follow your heart” is a familiar phrase — essentially a pop cultural creed — representing a belief that our heart is a kind of compass that will lead us to true happiness if we just have the courage to listen to it. As I’ve explained previously, I think this belief is both misleading and dangerous.

It’s misleading because “follow your heart” can sound like a sacred quest — as if not following your heart violates your truest self — when all it really means is “pursue what you desire.” And stated that way, we can all more clearly see what makes the phrase dangerous, since desires arising from remaining aspects of our fallen nature are “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9) and can lead us into deep trouble.

I believe a much more helpful phrase for Christians is “direct your heart,” which is given us in Proverbs 23:19:

Hear, my son, and be wise,
     and direct your heart in the way.

“We must direct our hearts toward the wisdom of humbly receiving instruction from God and others.”

Direct your heart. This more accurately captures the way Scripture as a whole instructs us to relate to our hearts, the part of our inner being that loves or hates, that treasures persons or things or despises them. According to the Bible, our hearts, when left unchecked, follow that love or hatred in all sorts of directions (Matthew 6:21, 24). Therefore, our hearts need to be directed away from following deceitful loves and treasures, and toward what is truly lovely and valuable.

New Heart with Old Problems

What can make directing our hearts confusing is that, in the present age, Christians live with what the Bible calls two “selves.” We have our regenerated “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness,” and we have our “old self, which belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22–24).

We all know from experience that our affections “are at war within [us]” (James 4:1). The new self “delight[s] in the law of God,” while the old self “wag[es] war against [God’s] law” (Romans 7:22–23). So, because we experience both of these selves for now, the Bible generally encourages us to direct our hearts rather than follow our hearts. We direct our hearts away from the corrupt, destructive things that delight our old selves, and toward the pure, profoundly wonderful realities God has designed to delight our new selves.

So, if God wants us to direct our hearts, how do we do that? And where do we direct them?

Counsel for Directing Hearts

Proverbs 23, which gives us the phrase “direct your heart” (Proverbs 23:19), actually provides good (and practical) examples. The chapter is chock-full of a father’s wise, heart-directing counsel for his son. Let me entice you with some summary statements of the wisdom he encourages.

1. Direct your heart to acquire God’s wisdom.

The writer knows that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). And God provides us with crucial relationships through which we receive such instruction. So, he exhorts us, his readers, to carefully listen to our parents (or parental figures, Proverbs 23:22–25), diligently seek out instruction from knowledgeable people (Proverbs 23:12), and lovingly impart knowledge to our children (when necessary, through needed discipline, Proverbs 23:13–14). We must direct our hearts toward the wisdom of humbly receiving instruction from God and others (Proverbs 1:7).

2. Direct your heart to discern dangerous people.

The world is filled with people whose hearts want things that will harm us if we’re not careful. Powerful people can use their status, influence, and wealth to compromise us if we don’t keep a clear head and exercise self-control (Proverbs 23:1–3). Calculating people can deceive us through initially appearing gracious, only to later reveal themselves as conniving (Proverbs 23:6–8). And overtly sinful people seem to prosper so much we are tempted to envy them (Proverbs 23:17–18), yet their end is destruction (see Psalm 73). We must direct our hearts (often through seeking good advice) to discern how power, manipulation, and sinful gain can lure us into danger.

3. Direct your heart to avoid and escape sinful snares.

Beware of falling in love with money. Don’t serve it (Luke 16:13), for it is an unsatisfying and ephemeral treasure, and will betray your devotion (Proverbs 23:4–5). Beware of using your power to take advantage of vulnerable people, for God will call you to account if you do (Proverbs 23:10–11). Beware of sexual temptation and don’t underestimate its power to tempt you to insanely pursue what will devastate your life and those around you (Proverbs 23:26–28). And beware of giving yourself over to life-controlling self-indulgence (Proverbs 23:19–21), and the enslavement of chemical addiction (Proverbs 23:29–35). We must direct our hearts to recognize the strong, seductive power these snares wield, and do whatever is necessary to escape them.

While the wisdom of this counsel is likely obvious to most of us (often through painful experience), God gives us even better counsel, counsel that clarifies this father’s advice to his son — and, in fact, makes it possible.

Follow the Good Treasure

The better counsel is captured in Psalm 37:4:

Delight yourself in the Lord,
     and he will give you the desires of your heart.

“Our hearts need to be directed away from following deceitful loves, and toward what is truly lovely and valuable.”

This is both the promise and the increasing experience of the new self, the regenerated Christian. The more we delight in the Lord as our great Treasure — the more we see and savor all God is and promises to be for us in Jesus — the more we will grow to love “whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” and excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Loving him directs and purifies all our other loving.

Jesus gives us a picture of this transformation in Matthew 13:44:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

When we are born again, we glimpse and desire the Treasure: God himself. And the more we see of him, the more we desire Him and all He desires for us. And the more we grow to hate all that might rob us of that Treasure.

So, direct your heart. Most importantly, direct your heart to delight in the Lord. For if you do, God himself will give you the desires of your heart.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 10, 2021

Saturdays with Billy is a book about one man.  Just one man.  Billy Graham, beloved servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.  One man whose life spanned decades and whose influence touched millions.  One man, friend to thousands, confidant to prime ministers, presidents, kings and queens.

One man, often referred to as “America’s pastor”.  One man and his God. 

This book makes no effort to be a biography.  It is not a literary piece of art.  How can it be?  It is just the showing of a picture.  In this picture there happens to be two men.  One who is a nobody who considers himself to be a somebody talking with a somebody who considered himself a nobody! 

Go figure.  Everything is backwards.  It is not the way it usually always is.  It is upside down.  How can a somebody be a nobody at the same time?  This is not even human. 

Yet it is.  I saw it.  I looked upon it for over two decades.  I wrote about it.  God saw it.  We all knew it.  Millions are in Heaven today because they were drawn to it. 

It was the face of God’s grace. 

Regardless of one’s theology, one thing is certain.   

God chooses to use ordinary people to represent Him to our searching world.   

Abraham, Ruth, Hannah, Peter, Paul and Timothy – men and women throughout the ages.  Even when the dead man cried out to Abraham, begging someone from the dead be sent back to rescue his five brothers who were still alive, he was told, “they have Moses (the Word of God) and the prophets (the people of God) – let them hear them!” (Luke 16:29) 

While the Holy Spirit is the only means by which people can be convicted of their sin, God’s chosen method of evangelism is those who believe in His name. 

Most Saturdays with Billy saw two friends doing what friends do best.  Two men, one a pastor and the other, well, you have heard of him.  We laughed our heads off together, talked about every subject known to mankind, ate delicious meals one after the other, delved deep into the Bible from one chapter to another, and shared in prayer and intercession before our Heavenly Father.  It was as though His mission and purpose in life was the motivation for his life. There was no boast, no glory, no self – ever it seemed.

In fact, how does one explain the fly on the wall?  Could this fly have seen and observed this close, intimate and personal friendship he would have been convinced that the nobody in the room was actually the somebody – given the way the somebody always treated the nobody as somebody. Never an exception.  And, oh, by the way, everybody who came to visit this somebody was treated the same. All who left Billy Graham’s presence felt like they actually were somebody!  It was in his face. 

Mr. Graham’s face reflected his heart.  It was not simply an outward appearance.  It was a deep, inner, spiritual alliance.  It was as though he was directly connected to all that Jesus is – humble, lowly, loving, tender hearted, kind, generous, long-suffering, and very serious about the things that really matter.  Joyful for certain, frivolous not so much.  Earnest yet embracing.  Forgiving yet unyielding in determination to do what is right in the eyes of God.  He carried a profound respect for the opinions of the masses but never an accommodation of the court of public opinion when it came to the Word of the Living God. 

This face of God’s grace was instant.  There was no wait.  It did not depend on the right word or the right gift or the right reference.  There was no need to impress first in order to garner or gain attention and love. My first visit to the beautiful homestead in those beautiful mountains bore witness to this most amazing, seemingly unattainable attribute.  The car pulled up outside the side door of the home and there they were.  Mr. and Mrs. Billy Graham.  He looked so relaxed and dapper in his blue jeans and sweater, and she looked so very beautiful in every way.  The car door opened and I was given a royal escort into this most magnificent haven.  Cups of tea, laughter, stories about Scotland seemed to last a lifetime.  It was as though this had to be dream. 

This was Billy and Ruth Graham.  People knew him.  They all loved him. He had been to Camp David.  And the White House.  And Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen! 

I stood at attention at the head of Mr. Graham’s casket at the very bottom steps of the Rotunda.  “Ready... step” the command came as we slow marched  up all the steps.  The ceremonial knock on the door was done with distinctive authority.  The door opened and there they were. 

Potentially the most powerful people in the world from the president of the United States of America, to the members of Congress and the senate, to the Justices of the Supreme Court.  They were all standing in silence and deep respect. 

One by one they stood and spoke of the testimony and influence of this one man for God.  Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith began to play, “Just as I am, without one plea…” 

Right there I understood.  It all came together.  

May I never boast except in the cross of Christ… — Galatians 6:14 

I did ask Mr. Graham who would follow him, be like him and reach people for Christ just as he did. “Why Don,” he replied, “you will!” 

And, for just fleeting second, I thought I was somebody again!  Except Mr. Graham went on to say, “and every single person who loves the Lord Jesus!” 

There it is.  Jesus loves us, saves us and then sends us all out to show the face of God’s grace to our searching world.  

Written for Devotionals Daily by Don Wilton, author of Saturdays with Billy. 

It would be easy to think that Billy Graham was just an extraordinary person. But, time and time again, God chooses to use ordinary people to represent Him to our searching world. People like all of us who believe in Him! Let God use you today!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 9, 2021

Pastor’s Pen Pulpit
Easter Sunday, 2000

“THE POWER OF HIS APPEARING”

I John 3:2-3

Have you ever given any thought to the awesome power of our Lord’s appearing?  That power is seen in I John 3:2-3.  In verse 2 John calls attention to our glorious position:

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.  We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Two points loom large and clear in this passage: one future and one present.

1.  The power to change us. 

     “When we see Him, we shall be like Him.”  Note what John says - when we see Him.  There is something marvelous about seeing our Savior.  There will be transforming power at the sight of Him.  This is unexplainable.  The molecular structure of our bodies will be completely altered when we see Christ.  All imperfections of our present state will vanish in an instant of time.  Paul says in I Corinthians 15:

                Mortality will put on immortality;
                Sown a perishable body - raised an imperishable body. 
                Sown in dishonor - raised glory. 
                Sown in weakness - raised in power. 
                Sown a natural body - raised a spiritual body.

     What this means is that at the first sight of the Savior, a glorious, miraculous transformation will take place.  By and large our bodies will be just like His, only each of us will retain our individual identity.

Yes, the power to change us.  But wait!  What should that Blessed Hope do for us in the present?  This brings us to the second aspect of the Power of His Appearing.

2.  The power to challenge us.

     “Everyone who has this Hope purifies himself just as He is pure.”  There is something magnetic about the coming of the Lord.  A drawing power.  A desire and determination to take the initiative in seeing change take place in our lives now, to take note of the impurities in our thought life and attitude - then to submit to His authority and let Him replace those imperfections with His perfection.  There is something wonderfully comforting and challenging - not in just knowing what He can do but in submitting to His ability and willingness to make us over.  Just remember, He always knows what is best for us and He will never hesitate to take what we present to Him and overhaul it (Romans 12:1, 2.)

So beloved, this Easter let us contemplate the power of His appearing to change us and let that glorious reality challenge us in our present circumstances.

Love to you all,
Charles Covington

As time goes by, it seems to be true for every believer, that prayers become increased and more fervent for the return of Jesus.  It is true of me.  I look forward to seeing His face, to worshipping in His physical presence, to becoming what has been planned from before the foundation of the world!  Oh, the glory and majesty of God and His righteous and perfect plans.  Prepare yourself for this day is coming!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 8, 2021

Some people believe that when they accept Christ, they will receive a Get Out of Stress Free card and live a life of uninterrupted bliss. To be honest, when I became a believer, I picked up a few new problems I hadn’t had before. Jesus never offered a false promise. At every point, He warned us that troubles would follow our path and that obedience to Him would actually increase our persecution. But He is also the one who said,  

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
— John 16:33, emphasis added 

Jesus Himself felt pressure. He was distressed as He watched Mary weep over the death of her brother Lazarus. He “groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33). As He contemplated the cross, He felt genuine anxiety (John 12:27). As He waited for Judas to betray Him, He was troubled (John 13:21). He is a high priest who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).  

As the death of our Lord Jesus came near, His disciples began to be anxious about their life situations, and Jesus comforted them with these words:  

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 
— John 14:1–6 

The Ultimate in Comfort 

We need to return to this passage whenever we are besieged by worry. Remember, Jesus didn’t say these words as He stood beside a Galilean stream on a sunny day, without a care in the world. He said them as He stood near the jaws of hell itself. He didn’t speak from the all-protective shelter of His Father’s arms. He sat with His frightened disciples in the Upper Room, preparing for the worst of humanity and the silence of heaven. His words were,  

Let not your heart be troubled. 

It encourages me to realize that He faced what He did, felt the worst of what we would feel, and still drew enough strength to comfort others. He looked at His friends and felt compassion for them. These were men He had asked to follow Him. For three years He had been their life. Then He had begun to speak of leaving them. In John 13, He had told them that the time was drawing near for Him to leave, and that this time they would not be able to follow Him.

Peter asked Him exactly where He was going. Jesus told him again that it was a place to which he could not come until sometime in the future (John 13:36).  

This conversation would have been terribly upsetting for the disciples who had depended on Jesus for everything. Our Lord’s words of encouragement to His close friends were preserved by the apostle John so that they are available to give comfort to us as well. Jesus gave His disciples some things to believe, things to hold on to. He asked them to put their trust in four things that He promised would provide courage and renewed strength for their troubled hearts.

These timeless truths are just what you and I need in these chaotic days.  

Jesus Asks Us to Believe in a Person 

When a child is afraid during the night, who but a parent can provide comfort? The child will cling to Mommy or Daddy and begin to feel calm. That’s how it is with Jesus. His comfort begins with His very identity. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He told us.  

You believe in God, believe also in Me. — John 14:1 

The people of Judea believed in one God. The center of their faith was expressed in the Shema:  

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. — Deuteronomy 6:4–5 

These Jewish followers of Jesus had been trained since infancy to love God exclusively. Now Jesus was telling them something shocking; He wanted them to believe in Him in the exact same way — because He was God’s Son. If the divine nature of Jesus is difficult for us to understand, you can imagine how the disciples would have struggled to wrap their minds around such an idea. In fact, it wasn’t until after His resurrection that they began to process what He was telling them.  

Jesus was asking people who had been schooled in the Hebrew Scripture to expand their faith in their heavenly Father to include His Son, their earthly teacher. Calling on His full authority as the Lord of heaven and earth, He said,  

I and the Father are one. — John 10:30 NIV 

To believe in what Jesus says, you must believe who He is.  

Jesus Asks Us to Believe in a Place 

Next Jesus told His disciples,  

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. — John 14:2 

A man takes a new job in another city. He is in the process of moving his family to a brand-new home there, but he must travel ahead of them and start his work earlier. His child cries because he will be gone for a week, but the father stoops, pulls him into an embrace, and says, “I’ll be there getting your new room ready. You’re going to have a place to ride your bicycle, and I’ll be starting on that tree house we’re going to build.” The tears dry as the child sees all this in his mind.  

That’s a picture of what Jesus was doing here. He encouraged His disciples to think of the wonderful future He planned for them. The Scriptures include many synonyms for Heaven. We know it is vast, we know it is beautiful and wonderful beyond all imagining. We know it is a country, one about which our most gorgeous earthly landscapes are only rough drafts. It is, in another way, a magnificent city, built and perfected by the Architect of this universe. Then we can think of it as a Kingdom, the realm of the powerful King. Heaven is also called Paradise, a word suggesting its supreme beauty. Those metaphors are beautiful pictures of our future home, but Jesus’ description of Heaven is my favorite: “My Father’s house.” We know what that means.

Many of us had favorite grandparents we visited. We think, This is where Dad was a little boy. This is my father’s house!

It holds a special charm and wonder for us, associated with Christmas, joy, and laughter. I like to think of Heaven that way. There was a special house where I grew up. My parents, as they grew older, finally moved away from it, and that was hard for me to take. I hadn’t lived there for some time, but the house symbolized my whole past, my first memories, my childlike innocence and security. It was part of me. 

Praise God, He never decides to move to a smaller home.

There is ultimate security in the eternal nature of Heaven.

Author Thomas Wolfe wrote a book called You Can’t Go Home Again, but there is one Home we can never lose or leave. Christ has gone there to prepare it for us, and that gives us comfort.  

Heaven is real. Cloud-and-golden-gate–laden cartoons, movies, and jokes have reduced heaven to a stereotype.

We need to realize just what is being stolen from the sanctified imagination when this precious image is made trivial to us. We are not yet in Heaven, but it has power for us right now. It extends its hope to us. It guides our aspirations. It soothes our hearts when we lose a loved one.

And when we think of its eventuality, we realize there is nothing mundane or insignificant about any of us — we are children of the Kingdom; we are bound for Heaven! It is real, and it is Home.  

Excerpted from Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah, copyright David Jeremiah. 

Earth is not a stress-free place.  We’ve got trouble with a capital T, don’t we? But, part of that is because this isn’t our home.   Heaven is. Jesus went ahead of us to prepare that place for us. Let’s look forward to it together!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 7, 2021

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 

— 2 Corinthians 4:7 

Everyone knows what it’s like to be disappointed by someone we love or admire. Our husbands, wives, children, or parents sometimes let us down. Our heroes stumble.

Our leaders falter. It can devastate us and damage our relationships, because we place high expectations on those we love. Sometimes we forget they are broken people just like we are.  

According to 2 Corinthians 4:7, we are all earthen vessels, jugs of clay, easily chipped. The Voice translates 2 Corinthians 4:7 like this:  

But this beautiful treasure [the Gospel] is contained in us — cracked pots made of earth and clay — so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us. 

God blesses us cracked pots in spite of our sinful, undeserving nature; and high on His list of blessings is forgiveness. As we look to Him alone, He gives us grace (He imparts a million blessings we don’t deserve) and mercy (He withholds a million judgments we do deserve).

If He gives grace and mercy to cracked pots like us, perhaps we need to extend the same to those we love.  

GOOD FORGIVERS  

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

— Matthew 6:12 

The Bible is full of people who learned to forgive. Esau is one of the great forgivers in the Bible. His brother, Jacob, had exploited and deceived him, a story of sibling rivalry gone bad. But years later, when the brothers were reunited and Jacob feared his brother would try to kill him, Esau came instead with open arms and a forgiving spirit. 

In the same way, Joseph forgave the brothers who had betrayed him. In fact, perhaps he had learned from his uncle Esau how to forgive others. Just as Job forgave the friends who had tormented him, Hosea forgave the wife who had betrayed him.  

The prodigal’s father is a picture of parental forgiveness. Stephen forgave his executioners in the last moments of his life. The early Christians forgave Saul of Tarsus for persecuting them and allowed him into their community of believers as the apostle Paul. Philemon forgave Onesimus for robbing him and accepted him as a Christian brother.  

And, of course, the greatest master of forgiveness in the Bible is the Lord Jesus Himself who shed His blood to provide redemption and forgiveness of sins.  

Is there someone you need to forgive? The Bible says,  

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 

— Ephesians 4:32 

Practice being a good forgiver. 

Excerpted from Ever Faithful by David Jeremiah, copyright David Jeremiah. 

We are cracked pots. We fail and we sin against others. We disappoint. And yet we are so loved by God. So precious to Him. Let’s extend that blessing to others and forgive as well.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 6, 2021

How Should We Respond?

Put on the helmet of salvation
Put on the breastplate of righteousness
Clothe your whole being in holy armor
Worthy to stand the test

We’re in the battle of the ages
In the Lord’s army there’s no retreat
Fighting against the powers of darkness
For us there is no defeat
(It’s War/Change The World, 1985 Words and Music by Dallas Holm)

In the last Praiseletter we discussed how to prepare for the present situation we find ourselves in regarding increased persecution against Christianity by the government and any and all opposed to biblical truth.

We identified the fact that the real battle is: “...Against the rulers, against the powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

We are clearly at war with the enemy of our souls and with those authorities and systems who ascribe to his rule and not God’s.

It’s war we’re fighting
It’s war we’re going to win
It’s war we’re fighting
And we’re fighting this war to win

So the question arises, “How do we as Christians respond to authorities and rulers when they mandate that which opposes the precepts of scripture and the laws of God?”

To arrive at a biblically based understanding, we must first examine what the role of government should be according to scripture.

Without going through every scripture dealing with this topic, starting perhaps with God’s instructions to Noah way back in Genesis 9:5-6, where God institutes a reckoning for the taking of a man’s life, to all subsequent instruction to the Israelites and their interactions with other cultures and governments, some who brought them into captivity; all the way down to New Testament times where Jesus, Peter and Paul (to name a few) taught “rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”,“Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities” and “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution...”, let us just draw a conclusion pertaining to government, from a biblical perspective: According to scripture, the role of government is to protect, punish and promote.

Protect: Government must initiate some form of restraint and rule to protect citizens from themselves.
Punish: Government must impose punishment upon criminals. Peter tells us that governors are “Sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers.” (I Peter 2:14)
Promote: Government should promote the general welfare of the community where its laws are in effect.

In one sense this is a “short list” and yet the role of government in all its detailed nuances are, from a biblical perspective, addressed in this brief description.

Complications arise in the minds of many a Christian when they read verses such as Romans 13:1-2 and I Peter 2:13-14.

Romans 13:1-2 states: “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God.”

I Peter 2:13-14 states: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as one in authority, or to governors as sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”

So does God institute all governments, authorities, kings and presidents and ours is but to obey...end of story?!

This, of course, is where the complication arises in our thinking. Is there a difference between submitting and obeying?

I believe the answer is yes.

The Greek word used in both these verses (and others) meaning to submit or be in subjection to, is the word, hupotasso. It literally means to arrange things respectfully, in an orderly manner underneath.

It is important to note that there is a vast difference between subjection and subjugation!

The Greek word for obey is hupokouo. This word is used in verses that speak of obedience; however, it is not the word used in these scriptures regarding submitting and being in subjection. The original meaning of social orderliness denoted in the word hupotasso would have been understood in its proper context by the original readers.

Scripture does not instruct us to acquiesce to a person or system that demands obedience, by brute force if necessary, nor can the laws of man or governments ever take precedence over the laws of God.

Dr. Wayne Grudem in his book, Christian Ethics, addresses this issue in a timely and biblically based manner. He writes:

God does not hold people responsible to obey the civil government when obedience would mean directly disobeying a command of God himself. This principle is indicated by a number of passages in the narrative sections of the Bible.

One clear example comes from the early days of the Christian church. After Jesus had commanded the apostles to preach the gospel (see Matt. 28:19-20), the Jewish governing authority, the Sanhedrin, arrested some of them and ordered them “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). But the apostles Peter and John answered, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (v.20), and later Peter proclaimed, “We must obey God rather than men” (5:29).

This is a clear affirmation of the principle that God requires his people to disobey the civil government if obedience would mean directly disobeying God.

Other passages also establish this. In Daniel 3:13-20, King Nebuchadnezzar commanded three Jewish men-Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego-to bow down and worship a golden statue that he had erected. But they refused and said, “We will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (v.18). God showed his approval of their actions by rescuing them from the burning fiery furnace (vv.19-30).

Daniel likewise disobeyed a law that prohibited him from praying to God (see Dan. 6:10). In addition, when King Herod commanded the wise men to return and tell him where the newborn King of the Jews was to be found, they were warned by an angel not to heed this command, so they disobeyed Herod and “departed to their own country by another way” (see Matt. 2:8, 12).

John Calvin put it this way:

But in that obedience which we have shown to be due to the authority of rulers, we are always to make this exception...that such obedience is never to lead us away from obedience to Him, to whose will the desires of all kings ought to be subject...And how absurd would it be that in satisfying man you should incur the displeasure of Him for whose sake you obey men themselves! The Lord, therefore is the King of Kings...If they command anything against Him, let it go unesteemed.

Flesh and blood is not what we’re fighting
We fight against what we cannot see
The prince of power of the air
Accuser of you and me

It’s so important to remember this lest we develop bitterness and even hatred towards those we disagree with, even those in positions of governmental leadership.

We are called as Christians to pray for our governing authorities.

“First of all then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (I Timothy 2:1-3)

Simple question: Do we pray for our governmental leaders as much as we complain about them?

I strongly disagree with and am quite frankly shocked by some of the policies being put in play even as I write this letter. But as a Christian, I am called to grumble less and pray more!

I am committed to obey God’s laws first and foremost no matter the cost, and there may be an increasing cost in the days ahead for those of unwavering commitment to Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it, “The Cost of Discipleship.”

James Renwick, the last leader of the Scottish “Covenanters” in the 1600s, after enduring torture and imprisonment (he was ultimately beheaded) for his unwavering faith in Christ, stated at the young age of twenty-seven, “I have oft counted the cost of serving Christ but never thought it would be so easy.”

Easy! Yes, according to young James, God’s grace was there in ample supply in his time of great need.

That same sufficient grace will always be there for us too when needed. I fear we sometimes lose perspective in the muddle of political chaos and end times pressures.

Truth has defeated the deceiver
Hell has no power to wound the Son
So why do we fight like we’re losing the battle
When the victory’s already won

Battles come and go, leaders rise and fall, elections are won and lost, but the outcome of the “battle of the ages” is already established! “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)

This is how we Respond!

In Christ,
Dallas Holm

This singer/songwriter could be my pastor.  He has taken words out of my mouth and spoken my heart’s desire as to how to live in this world!  Look up, for indeed your redemption draweth nigh!

Pastor Dale