Notes of Faith May 15, 2021

Nervous?
What A Great Time To Be Alive!

It seems lots of Christians are nervous about what they see happening today in our country.

Some are so nervous they’ve called Compass about finding the best place to purchase survival food. Shades of Y2K.

But there IS a lot going on. So should we be worried about having enough food stored? Should we be worried about Believers being rounded up into detention camps for reeducation? Or having our bank accounts frozen because our social credit score was too low?

Should we worry that a family member got the Va[[ine? Or that we can’t travel without the va[[ine? Or keep our job without the va[[ine? The list is endless.

Worry Is Sin

Based on my understanding of Scripture, the answer is a huge NO because first and foremost, worry is sin. God allows things in our life to get us to turn to Him. He wants us to bring all our problems to Him, big and small.

...casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1Pet. 5:7

If we worry about anything, then we’re saying we don’t trust that God can do what He says. Worse, we're saying we're worried about what God's allowing in our lives.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil. 4:6

God says we're wasting our time worrying because it doesn’t change anything.

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Matt. 6:27

We can't add anything to our life because the length of our days has already been determined by the Lord before we were born.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. Psa. 139:16 

And the ultimate big-boy verse about not worrying is:

I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. Luke 12:4

The Bible says that when a Believer passes on to the next life, it’s going to be far, far better than this life. So incredible we can’t even imagine! (1Co. 2:9)

In Daniel 3 we see that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego understood that. They were faced with what seemed to be certain death in a furnace for not worshiping a false God. Despite the circumstances, they boldly trusted God.

“…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Dan. 3:17-18

And we know how the story turns out—God did protect them from the fire. But they were ready to die if that’s what the Lord wanted. They knew whether they lived or died was God’s call, not theirs.

Throughout history, many Believers have died doing what was right. But when they died, they won. They immediately went to be with the Lord, which is far preferable to living on this earth.

Paul was given a glimpse of heaven. What he saw made him not want to come back to earth.

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2Cor. 5:8

God’s in Control

In the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk had similar concerns as he was dealing with similar things to what we're seeing today—horribly sinful lawlessness and governmental atrocities.

Given the golden opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with the Lord, he has the audacity to ask God, “Why don’t You do something?”

God answered Habakkuk saying he needed to quit looking at the state of affairs immediately around him. God said He was orchestrating events not just in Israel but around the world.

God explained His plan was eternal and worldwide, not just in Israel. He said just because things weren’t going well where Habakkuk was, it didn’t mean that God wasn’t in control.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Rom. 8:28

Like Habakkuk, we need to get our eyes off the things going on around us and get our eyes up, trusting God. Even when we don’t understand.

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

When we trust that the Lord is in control, even when we don’t understand what He is doing, we let our spiritual light shine brightly. That’s when God can use us.(5).

Our desire at all times should be to allow the Lord to use us in the lives of those around us, regardless of the circumstances.

God has us right where He wants us. After all, haven’t most of us been preparing for times like these all of our lives?

The Privilege of Being Alive Today

I think the two greatest times to have been alive on this planet would be:

1) The years around 30 AD when God first walked as a human on the earth.

2) Living in the days leading up to the Rapture.

Being Alive at Jesus’ 1st Coming

To have been alive living in Israel during the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ healing ministry would have been nothing short of incredible.

That was a special group of people who were privileged to have a first-hand view of God in flesh and blood as He crisscrossed Israel working miracle after miracle.

I look forward in heaven to hearing direct accounts from people who lived during that time. I can’t wait to hear what it would have been like watching Jesus’ miracles in Galilee and His interactions with members of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

One of the reasons we created and published THE LIST novel was to bring that time alive, making sure it was accurate historically, culturally and Biblically.(7) BTW—a publisher in Germany has picked up the German rights and the book is expected be available there in September.

Being Alive at the Rapture

The other great time to be alive on this planet is now—the time just before the Rapture and the Tribulation that follows.

The Tribulation/Time of Jacob’s Trouble is the most Biblically prophesied time in scripture. Referred to as the Day of the Lord, it begins with the Rapture and continues for 1007 years.(1)

For us Believers who are alive just before the Tribulation, it means we’ll not have to experience earthly death before transitioning to heaven.

Just like those who lived while Jesus walked on earth, we're a VERY special group of people. Especially since we were selected before the foundations of the Earth were laid. (Eph.1:4)

The Bible says that during this time just before the Rapture life will basically be fairly normal. People will be eating, drinking, building and having social events.(2)

So we know there will be an economy, a monetary system, food and a basic order in life. The world will not fall apart just before the Rapture.

I’m fully convinced from Scripture that God’s judgment of America comes after the Rapture. Clearly, if America is Babylon/daughter of Babylon, her demise comes during the Tribulation.(3) 

We need to keep this in mind as we watch the communists / Satanists try to destroy this nation. They will not succeed before the Rapture.

They may think they have control here and there, but we’ll have food, energy and be building houses right up to our gloriously loud exit. 

Apparently God allowed the USA to peak after WW1 so it could protect Israel as she became a nation again after some 1900 years of Jews being scattered around the world.

Part of the reason for the USA's prosperity would be tied to her supporting Israel.

“And I will bless those who bless you [ISRAEL], and the one who curses you I will curse. and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Gen. 12:3

It makes me nervous when the USA takes a stance not in Israel’s best interest. The Biden administration is playing with fire. Keep your eye on Israel, she's God's timepiece!

Currently what's going on is a set-up. The so-called Palestinians threw rocks the size of bricks at the worshipers at the Wailing Wall and many were injured.

Doing their job, the Israeli police who guard the Temple Mount chased the rock-throwers into the Dome of the Rock, drug them out, and arrested them.

Videographers just happened to be right there to catch it all and, with careful editing, showed the world what terrible people the Israelis were. But we know better.

Then the Hamas (which means "Violence" in English) used that as an excuse to fire rockets at innocent Israeli civilian neighborhoods—and also, strangely, burn their own trees on the Temple Mount.

The whole thing was and is being staged to coerce Israel to respond. But why? Arizona? Maybe. All we know for sure is that tiny little Israel will continue to be more of a world-wide problem as we get closer to the Rapture.

“... I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; Zech. 12:3

Therefore, all that we’re seeing coming together around the world are signs we're to watch to know God’s wrath is at the door. And we’re to be comforted that we’re going to be rescued before God's prophesied wrath is unleashed.(6)

The Privilege of Persecution

But the Lord never said Believers would not be persecuted. Actually, quite the opposite. Notice James says “when” not “if” we have problems!

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2-3

Persecution is not God’s wrath. Throughout history, all over the earth, Believers have been the object of Satan’s vengeance.

Paul said:

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

Jesus said:

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:10

In Acts 5:29 we see Peter being persecuted for witnessing. Yet he says in no uncertain terms, “we must obey God rather than men.”

Later in verses 5:40-42 we see they were flogged because they wouldn’t stop witnessing.

The interesting thing was their response to being flogged—they “rejoiced” that they had been considered worthy to suffer for witnessing about Jesus. And then they kept on witnessing.

Why do you think Satan wants our churches closed? It's certainly not to stop a virus. Rather, he wants no one to hear the truth about what's going on.

Bottom Line…

No one knows exactly what the Lord is doing at the moment. Obviously it’s a bit unnerving watching those controlling Biden try to crash the monetary system so we can have a monetary reset.

And it's unnerving to see restrictions / cancellations of communications and social accounts. And many states still have restrictions on churches and church attendance.(4)

But a Believer should never cower under the threat of persecution and/or death. Our trust is in the Lord, no matter what. I can promise you you'll never regret standing on Biblical principles—in this life or the next.

And as we watch our imminent departure draw close, we all have friends, family and coworkers who have no clue what’s going on. God wants to use us to share truth with them.

So pray for opportunities to witness and, when a door is opened, to have the boldness to speak the truth unfettered.

Use us, Lord!

BP

References:

(1) https://compass.org/the-day-of-the-lord/

(2) Matt 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-30

(3) Rev. 16:19; 18:2,10; Jer. 51:7-10

(4) https://davidfiorazo.com/2021/05/censorship-is-here-and-theyre-coming-for-christians/

(5) Matt. 5:14

(6) 1Thes. 4:16-18

(7) https://compass.org/product/the-list/

What a great time to be alive!  Amen!  We may indeed be alive when the Lord calls His bride to meet Him in the air!  His work is not yet complete, so keep serving Him.  Work hard, love others, then trust God to do what only He can do. Jesus saves! 

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 14, 2021

We are planning on returning to our August Summer Nights at 6 p.m.  If you have a group that you would like us to consider, please reply to this email with a suggestion.  Three have already confirmed for this August.  We will also have Sunday Night Movie Nights during the month of July.  See you there!

Ironically, the strongest pressure to “grow fast,” instead of slow, came during the years when I started writing books about Jesus. I say this is ironic, because nothing Jesus ever said communicated an ethic of “grow fast.”  

Let me explain how it happened for me. This isn’t something we authors talk much about publicly, but there’s an expectation of growth in the publishing industry. Growth in sales. Growth in influence. Growth in something called “platform,” which is essentially an indication of how many people follow you on social media. If you have a decent-sized platform, it signals to the publisher that you have a built-in audience who already likes what you have to say.

This is not a criticism of the publishing industry. Publishing houses have to pay to keep the lights on, and they can’t take on everybody who wants to write a book.  

At the time when my publishing career took off, I was considered a “small-platform author.” I knew what a blessing it was to get a book contract. Sometimes I thought I had snuck in the back door of the publishing house when no one was looking. (There’s a name for this: imposter syndrome.

It’s usually accompanied by an author curling into a fetal position and rocking back and forth in the corner during the final stages of writing. Yes, I was a ball of positivity while composing the paragraphs that became this book.)  

As my publishing career took off, internal pressure mounted. I knew that if my first book didn’t sell well, there would be no chance of getting another book published.  

Growing Slow didn’t feel like an option.  

The Enneagram 3 performer in me was up for the challenge. There were social media platforms to learn. New ways to connect with readers. New audiences to reach in states where I’d never set foot before. It felt exciting for a while, but there were nights when I stretched out on my hotel room bed in some never-before-visited state with the drapes closed, when I felt gutted, hollowed out.

Meanwhile, as months turned to years, I watched new influencers and entrepreneurs hop onto the scene. In just a few months, it seemed, they were mastering the same platforms I’d been feeding with daily content for years.

Twenty-somethings with perfect skin, hair extensions, and a branded look danced across arena stages in Converse.

Their fast growth was being rewarded.  

And here I was... Growing Slow.  

The urge to run faster and work harder was undeniable. Yet a question began to emerge: Do I really want a fast life that rubs me raw?  

I had to ask myself, In the rush to become a “somebody,” have I forgotten that I already am? 

Slow change began. And I emphasize the word slow here. It began in hotel rooms, with late nights of scrambling to schedule the next day’s social media posts. With the readjustment of work priorities. With the stripping of my schedule. And finally, with the visit to the doctor who told me my physical problems were the result of a hurried heart.

All systems pointed to one conclusion: Growing Slow was no longer an option but a necessity.  

This new and strange slowness coincided with the slow growth on our farm. That whole rainy spring, everything felt behind, not quite what it should be, because the wet fields prevented planting.  

One day, on one of my prayer drives, I found myself on the skinny dirt road that borders the back 80. I pulled over to the side of the road, rolled down my window, and snapped a photo of the wet and crop-less field. A bank of clouds inched across the horizon. In that moment, something important hit me. I have so often felt the way that field looked: with no growth evident because planting was running behind. At key points in my life, I’ve felt behind — behind in my career, in my life trajectory, and, as a late bloomer in faith, even in my spirituality.  

That awareness shifted something in me. My fear of falling behind had been a reason for my rushed existence. It’s why I felt like I had to be so insanely productive all the time, as if life is a constant game of catch-up. Even my calendar made me feel behind, with all those little squares waiting for neat Xs. Hop on Instagram for about two seconds, and you can get this weird sense of who’s ahead of you — and how far you need to go.  

If life is a marathon, many of us are comparing our first mile to someone else’s twenty-sixth. Our hearts and bodies suffer self-inflicted wounds when we do this.  

Our culture will make you think there are milestones. But there aren’t. You aren’t a cornfield. You are a person. You aren’t a corn seed. You are a soul. The growth in you isn’t dependent on weather or the right kind of fertilizer. Your progress can’t be predicted by the Old Farmer’s Almanac.  

Here’s the thing nobody talks about when it comes to your pace of growth: There are no set milestones. Not for when you get married. Not for when you have kids — or even if you have them. Not for when you earn a certain salary or master a certain set of tasks. There just aren’t milestones for any of these things.  

Sometimes, you look around at everyone else’s progress and feel like you’re a failure.  

Their dreams are coming true. 
Their kids are making the honor roll. 
Their marriages are fruitful and fun. 
Their businesses are thriving. 

Meanwhile, you’ve just got a pocketful of unfulfilled dreams that leave you dissatisfied. You have setbacks and little fruit to show for your hard work. You feel weak, like you’re failing. Deep inside, you wonder if you’re disappointing God.  

Friend, you are not failing, I promise you.  

Is weakness all you’ve got right now? God can work with weakness. Scripture says that’s the place where the Spirit steps in to help us.1  

Do you feel like giving up, even though you know God has called you to this task? If that’s you, chin up, friend. Be steadfast and immovable, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”2  

If you saw your progress the way God does, you’d never doubt for a moment that you’re making a difference.  

We don’t need more memes or motivational speakers to sell us a new way to move ahead. We need permission to be where we are.  

Did you know you are allowed to walk at your own pace?

You are allowed to shut down the computer at five o’clock.

You are allowed to take the time you need to figure things out.  

There’s no such thing as an overnight success, and your life will not be ruined if you stick to your steady pace.  

In the race between the tortoise and the hare, remember who won.  

Look around you: there is growth in your fields, inching heaven-ward, not with brute force, but by the will of the Divine Farmer who makes all things beautiful in their time. A corn plant never compares itself to the one beside it. It never fights the clock or doubts the harvest will come. In that back 80, Scott eventually planted millions of corn seeds, each one no bigger than a fingernail. Weeks later than was typical, the first leaf emerged, followed by a second, then a third. In time, each plant was tasseled and silked and did all the other miraculous things a corn plant does until it reaches full maturity.

At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.3  

The harvest is coming. In its time. You are not falling behind.  

1. Romans 8:26 
2. 1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV  

3. Galatians 6:9 MSG

Excerpted from Growing Slow by Jennifer Dukes Lee, copyright Jennifer Dukes Lee. 

You’re not falling behind! You might be in a rush, but God definitely isn’t! Your work isn’t in vain even when you don’t see the harvest right away. Give it time! Your season will come!

I have been thinking of planting the back “less than one” to see if I can get an opportunity to watch God grow stuff.  Then again I think, “He who plants sparingly, reaps sparingly.”  Maybe I need to plant everywhere and watch what happens.  Don’t know if you can catch my drift this morning, but we need to plant spiritual seeds everywhere.  The other stuff, my less than one acre field, is pretty selfish, just for me and possibly my family.  But the produce of salvation that God provides, just like the seeds you plant and watch grow, only happens when you plant the seeds!  So, heavenly farm worker, get out there and sow some seeds!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 13, 2021

Gross apostasy is raging in the Church today, and most professing Christians seem to be unaware of how serious it has become. That's because the average Christian today is biblically ignorant. How did this happen?

To help us answer this question, we've invited one of Lamb & Lion Ministries' dearest friends, Dennis Pollock, to this week's episode of Christ in Prophecy. Dennis served as Dr. David Reagan's Assistant Evangelist for almost 12 years, from 1993 to 2005, at which time he formed his own ministry called Spirit of Grace.

Defining Apostasy and Heresy

Tim Moore: Dennis, I'd like to first define our terms. How would you define apostasy? And, how does apostasy differ from heresy as it affects the Church?

Dennis Pollock: I would say that apostasy and heresy are two close friends. Apostasy is more of a drifting away from standard orthodox biblical Christianity towards something that is much less than that, something which often becomes very dangerous. In my mind, heresy relates to a specific doctrine that you just totally misconstrue.

Tim Moore: I agree that apostasy too often is a drifting away. Whether due to an individual or an entire church, what once was biblically grounded and certain begins to drift to reeling on uncertainty. They no longer believe in the tenets of the Christian faith. Whereas heresy, that affects a specific doctrine, which either gets added to or adulterated in terminology. With heresy, people are adding ideas that are not scriptural.

We could call apostasy a movement in terms of the Church's position on a biblical subject. For example, look at marriage. Too many Christians now are becoming very mushy on the issue of marriage. Many pastors are afraid to talk about sexual sin, whether they involve cohabitation or other sexual sins. There's a clear drifting away from biblical principles. That's where we are going today — the Church is drifting away from what God and His Son have revealed.

Nathan Jones: To add to these definitions, it appears that heresy seems to be focused more on a willingness or a desire to break away from Christian orthodoxy. Apostasy appears to be built on ignorance. It can be an accidental happening. You put your desires for what the Bible should say over what the Bible actually teaches. So, with the one you are purposefully trying to change the biblical doctrines of the Church, and with the other you change them through ignorance or your own personal desires. Either way, you are changing the direction of the Church away from its true biblical teaching.

Tim Moore: Too often apostasy arises because churches are ignoring a good portion of the Word of God. They preach on favorite passages or favorite stories, but they don't preach the whole counsel of God.

Heresy #1: Denying Jesus

Tim Moore: Dennis, you received a letter from a fellow who made this outrageous comment: "The teachings of Jesus have nothing to do with modern Christianity." He argued that Christians should pay attention only to the grace teachings of Paul. How did you respond?

Dennis Pollock: The first response in my heart was just shock. How could anybody who professed to be a Christian actually believe that Christianity has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus? And, I've heard so many comments made by other people that didn't go quite so far in their claims, but they were essentially saying the same thing.

Such apostasy has become a huge issue for the Church in our day. We are not talking about a group of 12 people in some little country church that have gotten doctrinally off track. No! We are talking about millions of Christians who have decided that Jesus and Paul preached different Gospels. They claim that Paul was right, but Jesus was only right for His day and age and is no longer right for us today.

Basically what these heretics want you to do is go to the Gospels in the New Testament, go specifically to the cross, and then with everything to the left of the cross — that'd be all of Jesus' teachings and His life story — just rip the pages out. Don't pay attention to them because, they claim, Jesus will mess you up. They purport that it's okay to think about the cross and the resurrection but forget Christ's teachings. They say we are now New Testament Christians, so we believe only in Paul.

I recorded a YouTube message on my channel titled, "Did Jesus and Paul Preach the Same Gospel?" You wouldn't believe how many criticisms I received. I was blasted over and over by people telling me I was ignorant, I'm a fool, I'm this, I'm that. This is crazy! Some even made the outrageous claim that everybody knows Paul showed the real gospel and what Jesus said isn't even relevant.

And so, I responded to these people by making a lot more videos about this issue. When I realized just how many people believe this way, I realized they needed correcting.

Heresy #2: Denying the Inspiration of the Bible

Tim Moore: Some people go to the other extreme. They focus solely on the Gospels, but they misinterpret them. For example, they will claim that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, whereas Paul condemned it. Therefore, Paul must have been wrong, or he was just fixated on the subject due to his own backward day and age. They pick and choose what elements of Jesus' teachings that they wish to adopt. They commit apostasy because they do not take the whole counsel of the Word of God.

Nathan Jones: That is indeed the flip side of the coin. I encounter this heretical claim quite a lot when answering the Bible questions that come into the ministry. I get these "Red Letter Christians" who are very proud that they only read the red letters of the Bible. Of course, the ancient manuscripts did not have the sayings of Jesus set apart by red ink, but modern translators have colored the words of Jesus in red for easy reference. They'll say that only what Jesus said really matters, and the other 40-some authors such as Paul, well they're heretics who taught a totally different gospel than Jesus did.

Dennis Pollock: That again is a huge moving away from what Christians have always believed, even what Paul believed and what Jesus believed. The entirety of the Scriptures is inspired by God. It's not like what Jesus said, well that's inspired, but then when you read what Paul said, that's uninspired. In fact, Paul himself taught that all Scripture is inspired by God. And, Peter said this about the prophets, that they were holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

So, when I am reading Paul, I'm getting the words straight from the heart of God. When I am reading Jesus, I'm getting teachings straight from the heart of God, same with Isaiah, same with the books of Moses — the whole thing!

Tim Moore: We also hear people say, "I'm a New Testament Christian." If you bring up anything out of the Old Testament, these "Christians" will counter: "Well, that was the Old Testament. That was a previous covenant which really doesn't apply to us today." And so, they discount the entire Old Testament in favor of the New Testament. They don't know that Jesus came to fulfill all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and that Peter preached sermon after sermon that pointed to fulfilled prophecy as proof of Jesus being the Messiah.

Nathan Jones: I had to look these figures up because I was curious about them. When Jesus said, "It is written," He was making one of 26 exact quotations from the Pentateuch, with 24 direct quotations from the remaining Old Testament books, and 78 indirect quotations from the Old Testament. Jesus called the Old Testament the "Scriptures," "the Word of God," and "the Wisdom of God." Of all the books Jesus quoted, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and the Psalms were the most quoted.

Jesus clearly cared about the entire Bible, for after all, He is a member of the Trinity, and the Trinity inspired the entire Bible. So, the Old Testament, the New Testament, Paul, Revelation — it's all the Word of God.

Rev 22:18-19
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

This does not apply to just the book of Revelation but the entire 66 books of the Bible.  They are all “God breathed”

2 Tim 3:16
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

Do not add or take away from the truth!  Jesus asks often of the Pharisees and scribes, “Have you not read?  Do you not know”  He speaks to His disciples and says, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Do you know the truth?  Or are you spiritually gullible and swallowing what the world is offering today.  Stand firm in what you know to be true!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 12, 2021

In a story told in the gospel of John, the Pharisees drag a woman accused of adultery before Jesus. Hoping to trap Jesus in a violation of Mosaic law, they say,  

Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do You say?” Infinitely wiser than those who would try to ensnare Him, Jesus responds, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Chastened, the Pharisees slink away, and Jesus says to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again. 

— John 8:5, John 8:7, John 8:11 NRSVCE 

Jesus is not telling us to refrain from judgment. Rather, He is instructing us to temper our judgment with mercy and understanding, never forgetting that we, too, are sinners.

Those of us fighting for any cause have to be continually reminded of this message.  

Just as we do not wish to be driven away, we should not drive away even the most prodigal of sinners.  

Instead, we extend mercy and pray for their return because we know God has been merciful to us. We recognize that just as others need forgiveness, we need it too.  

It is all too easy to fall into the hypocrisy of pointing out the sins of others while ignoring our own. Jesus had no patience for this:  

You hypocrite, He said, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. — Matthew 7:5 NRSVCE 

It takes profound humility to accept mercy for the sins we commit. We have to acknowledge that they were sins in the first place, and admitting our own wrongdoing is painful.

Admitting sin can drum up feelings of guilt and shame. But if we ignore the guilt we feel, we will never be free of it.

Guilt — when we pay attention to it — can be a gift. It is our conscience prodding us to turn away from doing wrong and choose the good instead.  

Every woman and man who chooses to abort their child has committed a grave sin. We cannot excuse the sin, but it is never our place to condemn the sinner, because we, too, are fellow sinners. And just as it’s not our place to condemn others, neither is it our place to condemn ourselves. Jesus wants to extend mercy to all of us, no matter what we’ve done, if only we will receive it.  

There is no sin, no mistake, and no fall too great for God to forgive.  

Just as we’ve received the liberating gift of God’s mercy, we should pray for that mercy to be accepted by others who may be living in blindness. Sometimes those prayers are answered in powerful ways.

For three years, Ramona Treviño worked as the manager of a Planned Parenthood abortion referral facility in Sherman, Texas. After the Live Action videos from the Mona Lisa project and sex trafficking investigations went public, Planned Parenthood publicly announced they would be retraining all eleven thousand staffers around the country, ostensibly to help them weed out and report sexual predators. Ramona was one of those who received the training. To her dismay, she learned that the training had little to do with helping underage girls or following state laws that required abuse reports.  

Summoning up her courage, Ramona asked the trainer, “I guess what I’m wondering is, what do we as managers do if something like this really does happen at our clinics. How can we be prepared so that if it does happen, we can make sure our clients are safe and nothing illegal is going on?”  

The trainer did not even attempt to disguise Planned Parenthood’s real concern. “We’re not here to discuss that, Ramona,” she shot back. “We’re here to identify whether we’re being violated by an undercover operation.”1 That training session was another moment of conscience for Ramona, and soon she would quit Planned Parenthood and join the pro-life movement. Needless to say, she made a powerful witness.  

I met Ramona Treviño for the first time when I interviewed her on film for Live Action in Los Angeles. Our team had flown Ramona in from Texas as part of one of our investigative reports, Abortion Corporation. Kind and soft-spoken, Ramona courageously sat down with me in front of multiple cameras to share her story with the world.  

Later, Ramona would fly with me to Washington, DC, to walk the halls of Congress lobbying senators and representatives to strip the nation’s largest abortion chain of its hundreds of millions of dollars of annual taxpayer subsidy. Standing side by side, we spoke with some of the most powerful elected politicians in the world and urged them to take action. We were no longer enemies but friends united in a common cause to fight for life. All by God’s grace.  

Ramona was not the first person in the abortion industry to see the light, and I am sure she will not be the last. Dr. Bernard Nathanson certainly saw it. As a practicing abortionist and an early leader of the abortion rights movement, he estimated he had presided over sixty thousand abortions as director of a facility and personally committed five thousand, including that of his own child.2

With the development of ultrasound, he had a radical change of heart.

“I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age,” Nathanson later confessed. Over time, he found his way from atheism to Catholicism for the reason that “no religion matches the special role for forgiveness that is afforded by the Catholic Church.”3 He knew he needed that forgiveness to be a truly effective spokesman for the pro-life cause. And the Catholic Church and other pro-life advocates celebrated his conversion and welcomed him to the cause.  

Live Action regularly works with ex-abortionists and clinic workers to create our educational content. Dr. Anthony Levatino worked closely with our team to create the abortion procedures videos, now viewed more than one hundred million times. Dr. Levatino allowed God to transform his experience with abortion from a dark spot on his soul to a light that could illuminate the horrors of abortion for others.

Now Dr. Levatino speaks internationally, advocating on behalf of children in the womb and their mothers. By accepting mercy himself, he gives others hope that they, too, can find forgiveness and freedom.  

Over the years, I’ve met dozens of former abortionists and abortion clinic workers, but few have moved me the way retired OB/GYN Kathi Aultman did during our 2019 Live Action interview.4  

Kathi had just started medical school at the University of Florida College of Medicine when Roe v. Wade was decided in January 1973. Caught up in the spirit of the times and believing “that women should have control over their own bodies,” Kathi and her fellow medical students learned to perform abortions as a routine part of their medical training through residency. Dehumanization was built into their education. The doctors-in-training moved from chick embryos to human babies with minimal reflection. “I did not see them as human beings,” Kathi said. “I just saw them as embryos and fetuses. Not as people.”  

Toward the end of her residency, Kathi herself got pregnant but continued to perform abortions, in part to prove her mettle as a woman of science in what was still a male-dominated field. The birth of her daughter made Kathi more reflective about the humanity of these babies but not enough to overcome her commitment to women’s rights and her obligation as a doctor.  

A series of three patients broke the spell. The first was a young woman whose babies Kathi had aborted three times prior. The second was a callous young woman who, when asked if she wanted to see the baby, snapped, “No. I just want to kill it.” And the third was a married mother of four who wept copiously through the whole procedure knowing she was killing a child so as not to put a strain on family finances. That was Kathi’s last abortion. She refused to do them after that.  

Kathi’s journey from abortionist to pro-life activist was a long and deliberate one. In her practice, she began to see women who had never recovered from the emotional damage of an earlier abortion. She became a Christian and began to marvel at the joyful young children she saw at church who might not have existed had the abortionist lobby had their way. Then she, like me, began to study the Holocaust, a subject with which she was familiar as her father had helped liberate the camps during World War II.  

“They didn’t see the Jews and the Gypsies and the others as people,” said Kathi of the Nazis.  

“And if you don’t consider someone human, you can do anything you want.” Upon coming to this realization, a more frightening one gripped her. “That’s when I realized I was a mass murderer,” she said sadly. “I had killed all of these people. And that’s when I completely changed my opinion on abortion.”  

The acceptance and love of her fellow Christians made all the difference in Kathi’s emotional recovery. At a Christian healing center, she started down the road toward self-forgiveness. Normally reserved and professional, useful attributes in a doctor, Kathi let it all go. “I never understood what ‘crying your eyes out’ meant until that point,” she said, “because I literally cried my eyes out and couldn’t stop.”  

No one is beyond saving. There is no fall too far from the reach of God’s mercy.  

As we fight for our cause and as we stand up for what’s right, may mercy always mark our words, our thoughts, and our deeds. Never forget that those who have committed evil are capable of rejecting the evil they’ve done. In rejecting that evil, they may become the most compelling champions of the good. And one day, we may discover them fighting by our side. 

1. Sarah Terzo, “Planned Parenthood Taught Workers to Prevent ‘Being Recorded’ Rather Than Help Abuse Victims,” Live Action, June 16, 2018, https://www.liveaction.org/news/planned-parenthood-prevent-recorded -abuse/.  

2. Stephen Vincent, “Bernard Nathanson Dead at 84,” National Catholic Register, February 21, 2011, https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news /bernard-nathanson-dead-at-84.  

3. “Dr. Bernard Nathanson, R.I.P.”, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, February 22, 2011, https://www.catholicleague.org/dr-bernard -nathanson-r-i-p/.  

4. Live Action, “Former Abortionist Kathi Aultman Speaks Out on Her Pro- Life Conversion,” 21:43, YouTube video, June 28, 2019, https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=3-u6v8jp_ys&feature=emb_rel_pause.  

Excerpted from Fighting for Life by Lila Rose, copyright Lila Rose. 

Life is precious. Every single life! Psalm 139 tells how each one is designed by His Hands.  And, every single person who chooses abortion is so dearly loved by God and must be shown mercy by us, fellow sinners.  While we continue to fight for the life of the unborn, we are not the ones to eternally condemn considering our own stories of grace and mercy.   Mercy is a beautiful gateway to forgiveness. Let’s leave it open for others.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 11, 2021

Be patient, bearing with one another in love. 
— Ephesians 4:2 NIV

He picks his teeth in public. She has this odd manner of clearing her voice every few moments.

He can’t watch the news without spouting his opinions. She must apply her makeup with a putty knife. He cuts off cars in traffic. She cuts off people in conversations.

He’s as edgy as a porcupine. She is too laid back and soft spoken. He rubs you the wrong way. She gets on your nerves. Irritating. Aggravating. Exasperating.

Infuriating. Grrr.

If only people would stop behaving like people. If only people would wear deodorant, use mouthwash, close their mouths when they chew, quiet their screaming babies, and clean up their trashy lawns.

There is a way the world should run. And when others behave in ways we don’t like, we call that a pet peeve. Not a colossal divide or hostile rivalry or legal violation. Just a pet peeve. A pet (smallish, personal, individual) peeve (quirk, peculiarity). A pet peeve.

One of my pet peeves was tested the other night when Denalyn and I went to a movie, a very funny movie at a very full theater. There were hardly any seats left. We finally found two empty chairs on the aisle in the next to last row.

Did I mention that the movie was funny? I thought it was. So did the fellow behind me. But he brought a new dimension to movie enjoyment. Whereas everyone else laughed after the comicality, he laughed prior to it. As he saw the humor coming, he began to chuckle, kind of a chesty “heh-heh-heh.” Then he began to prep his wife and, in doing so, prepped us all. “He’s gonna fall. Watch, honey. He’s gonna fall. He doesn’t see the curb. He’s gonna fall.” Then came the big moment and his announcement: “I told you! He fell! He fell!” Then he would break into wall-shaking laughter that buried the next few lines. Peculiar behavior.

What pets your peeve?

I know a woman who has a pet peeve about facial hair. Must be something Freudian, although Freud had a beard.

For whatever reason she does not like beards. When I grew a beard, she expressed her displeasure. More than once.

My facial follicles left her harried. On several occasions she waited in the reception line after the worship service and expressed her opinion. Each time I wondered, Is my beard worth this frustration?

Joy is such a precious commodity. Why squander it on a quibble?

The phrases we use regarding our pet peeves reveal the person who actually suffers. He “gets under my skin” or “gets on my nerves,” or she is such a “pain in my neck.”

Whose skin, nerves, and neck? Ours! Who suffers? We do! Every pet peeve writes a check on our joy account.

Suppose a basket of Ping-Pong balls represents your daily quota of happiness. Each aggravation, if you allow it, can snatch a ball out of your basket.

He left his dirty clothes on the floor. A joy ball vanishes.

She waits until the last minute to apply her makeup. Plop!

There goes another one.

I don’t know why people get tattoos.

I don’t know why my tattoo is his business.

Big trucks shouldn’t take up two parking places!

Preachers shouldn’t grow facial hair!

There go the joy balls, one by one, until the joy is gone.

How can you help people smile if you have a hole in your happiness basket? You can’t. For this reason the apostle Paul said,

Be patient, bearing with one another in love.
— Ephesians 4:2 NIV

The apostle’s word for patient is a term that combines “long” and “tempered.”1 The short-tempered person has a hair-trigger reaction. The patient person is “long tempered.” The word tempered literally means “taking a long time to boil.”2 In other words not quickly overheated. Irks come with life, but they need not diminish life. The patient person sees all the peculiarities of the world. But rather than react, he bears with them. Thanks for the realism, Paul.

There are many times when we enjoy one another, delight in one another, and even relish one another. Yet there are occasions when it takes a Herculean act of forbearance just to put up with one another. Paul’s verb means exactly that: to tolerate, endure, and forbear. Other translations bring this to light:

Be patient…, making allowance for each other’s faults. — NLT

Accept life with humility and patience, making allowances for each other. — Phillips

Tolerate one another. — The Voice

Denalyn’s thirty-seven years of marriage to me, the king of quirks, qualifies her for a PhD in this subject.

When I drive, my mind tends to wander. When it does, the car slows to a crawl. (“Max, pay attention.”)

I repair things at risk of ruining them. (“Max, I told you I could call a handyman.”)

I change bedrooms in the middle of the night. I have no explanation or justification. I just wake up in need of new pastures. (“Max, where did you end up last night?”)

My jaw makes a popping noise when I eat steak. (“Max, you’re distracting the people at the next table.”)

I’m good for thirty minutes at a party. She’s good for two hours. (“Max, we just got here.”)

Sending me to the grocery store is like sending me to the Amazon. I may never emerge. (“You’ve been gone for two hours, and you only bought potato chips?”)

Yet Denalyn is the happiest person within a dozen zip codes. Ask her friends or ask my daughters. They will tell you she’s married to an odd duck, but she has the joy level of a kid at a carnival. Here is her secret: She’s learned to enjoy my idiosyncrasies. She thinks I’m entertaining. Who would’ve thought? In her eyes I’m a candidate for an oddball Oscar.

To be clear, she lets her opinions be heard. I know when I’ve tested her patience. Yet I never fear failing the test and am happier for it.

Happiness is less an emotion and more a decision, a decision to bear with one another.

By the way, don’t people bear with you? The next time you find it difficult to live with others, imagine what it is like to live with you.

Or, to use the lingo of Jesus, don’t obsess about the speck of dust in another person’s eye while ignoring the beam in your own eye. Anyone who thinks Jesus never cracked a joke hasn’t read these words from the Sermon on the Mount:

Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your friend, “Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye”? Look at yourself! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye. — Matthew 7:3-5 NCV

Jesus envisioned a fellow who has a two-by-four sticking out of his eye. It protrudes like Pinocchio’s nose. Every time he turns around, people duck for cover. His wife refuses to sleep with him for fear that he’ll roll over and knock her out.

He can’t play a round of golf. Every time he looks down at the ball, his stick sticks into the ground.

But even though the beam is in his eye, it’s never on his mind. He’s naive regarding the stares of others. When they stare, he assumes they like his shirt. He doesn’t see the log in his own eye but can’t help but notice a man who stands across the street dabbing his eye with a tissue. With great aplomb the fellow with the extended redwood looks to the right and the left, causing people in both directions to scatter, and then marches across the avenue and declares, “You ought to be more careful. Don’t you know that if you get something in your eye, it can be harmful?” Then he smugly turns and struts down the street.

*

You think the world needs more tolerance? Then be tolerant. You wish people would quit complaining? When you quit, the world is minus one whiner. Nobody gives a hoot about the poor? The hoot level will increase with your compassion. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself. Before you point out the specks in the eyes of others, make sure you aren’t sporting a sequoia limb.

Jesus’ teaching did not preclude the place of constructive criticism. He simply urged us to follow the proper sequence.

“First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye” (Matt. 7:5 NCV, emphasis mine).

There is a time to speak up. Before you do, check your motives. The goal is to help, never to hurt. Look at yourself before you look down on others. Rather than put them in their place, put yourself in their place.

Patience has a boomerang effect. As we bear with one another, we preserve our joy and discover new reasons to smile.

Easy to do? No.

But essential? Absolutely. Life is too precious and brief to be spent in a huff.

Cut people some slack.

Ease up. Reduce your number of peeves, and be patient with the people who pet them.

The world, for all its quirky people, is a wonderful place to live. The sooner we can find the beauty, the happier we will be.

1. W. E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with Their Precise Meanings for English Readers (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing, n.d.), “Longsuffering,” 694.

2. David Hocking, “The Patience of God,” Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/hocking_david/attributes/attributes14.cfm

Excerpted from How Happiness Happens by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

Are people annoying you? Do your pet peeves steal your happiness? Today, let’s listen to Jesus and laugh a little at ourselves for walking around with a telephone pole in our eye and cut people some slack for the things they do that bother us.

When we let these “pet peeves” bother us less, we might see how much grace we are given in things that we do that could bother others.  Share the grace you have been given.  Love and you are loved.  Forgive as you have been forgiven.  Life will be much more blessed and happy!

To my wife Robin, THANK YOU.  I must be a lot like Max in his quirks and am so thankful for your sharing the grace of God with me these 42 years!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 10, 2021

I have friends who like to restore cars. I have other friends who like to restore houses. Many times we like to restore things because they are broken or because fixing something usually costs less than buying it new. But I think many enjoy the challenge of a fixer-upper because we enjoy the process of building something that is better than what was there before.  

In the book of Nehemiah, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were in ruins and the people of Israel were in exile in the land of Babylon. Nehemiah the prophet was in the presence of the king of Babylon when an amazing conversation took place. The king asked him,  

“Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?”... Then I prayed to the God of Heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” — Nehemiah 2:2, Nehemiah 2:4–5 NIV 

The story goes on to say that the king not only granted Nehemiah the permission to go and rebuild the wall but gave him help to accomplish this task. Like Nehemiah, when parts of our lives need to be restored, grace comes over us to face the challenge, and we have help through the Holy Spirit to accomplish what must be done. God is the Great Builder. He’s the One who built the universe by speaking it into existence; and then, when sin entered and His creation was separated, He sent His Son into the world so a bridge might be built back to Himself. God cares about what needs to be restored in your life, and He will help you accomplish the task.  

Let’s Pray  

Lord, please remind this dad that You are with him and provide for him even when it looks like his life is in shambles. Remind him that You sent Your Son, Jesus, for his salvation and the Holy Spirit to guide him through the rebuilding process. You stand with him in all circumstances.

Please help him take on whatever lies ahead tomorrow. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

Continue the Connection  

As you pray this week, think of the circumstances or relationships in your life where, like Nehemiah, you need restoration. Ask the Lord to help you rebuild in those areas. 

Excerpted from Midnight Dad Devotional by Becky Thompson and Dr. Mark Pitts, copyright Mark R. Pitts and Rebecca F. Thompson. 

Let’s pray today for those who need restoration in their lives, including ourselves!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 9, 2021

Article by David Mathis
Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26–27)

Has anyone ever done more for mothers than Jesus?

Not only did he, as God, come and dwell among us, as man, to live and die to make wives and mothers coheirs with their husbands of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7). Not only did he pour out his Spirit to empower Christian mothers as they fulfill the highest calling in the world.

Not only did he treat women differently than the rabbis of his generation, who wouldn’t speak to women in public. To his disciples’ amazement (John 4:27), he talked with the Samaritan woman, with Mary Magdalene, with the Syrophoenician woman, with his dearly loved friends Mary and Martha, setting in motion a healing of sins against women. As John Piper has said, “Wherever Christianity has become deeply rooted, the treatment of women has improved manifestly.”

Yet to those glories, Jesus added this particular honor to mothers even as he hung from nails in agony, staked to the cross. In the very midst of being publicly tortured to death, he paused to honor his mother.

He Beholds Her

First, he saw her. What horror did he see on the face of his mother as she looked upon her crucified son? And not only did he behold her, but he gave his attention to her, and his words — in one of only seven recorded sayings from the cross — made provision for her after his death. And not just any provision, but he entrusted her to “the disciple whom he loved.”

“In the very midst of being publicly tortured to death, Jesus paused to honor his mother.”

Have more sanctifying words ever been uttered over the institution of motherhood than these from the tree at Calvary? The God who himself took on our human flesh, and took up residence in a woman’s womb for nine months, nursed at her breasts, heard the Scriptures from her mouth, and learned the fundamentals of human life under her care — the very life of Christ testifies to the sanctity of motherhood.

And then, here at his death, he goes even further.

Even Through Agony

The pain at the cross in his own physical body alone would have been enough to occupy his full consciousness without excuse. It would have been no sin to bear the agony in silence. Then, more than that, came the utter anguish of his soul as he drew near to the precipice of sensing separation from his eternal Father. Such suffering of soul was the soul of his sufferings, with attendant sweat drops, like blood, in the garden.

Beyond this unspeakable agony came the taunts and jeers. The snake’s venom spewed from the mouths of his own kinsmen — not just his own nation, but their leaders: chief priests and elders, scribes and Pharisees.

“He saved others; he cannot save himself . . . . Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. . . .” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. (Matthew 27:42–44)

And yet in the midst of such unequaled duress and rejection — as his own people stand against him unjustly and as he prepares to meet his own Father, not this time as a beloved Son wrapped in filial affection, but as sin itself crushed by omnipotent, holy wrath — he has the wherewithal to consider her. To honor his mother.

He Honors Her

More than thirty years before, the angel Gabriel had greeted her, “O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). He had indeed been with her these three decades, and what a striking fulfillment now, even as he died. Still, he was with her.

Especially in the last three years, she had thought the great angelic promises were being realized:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:32–33)

Long ago, she had asked, in faith, “How will this be?” Now, did her eyes look to heaven and ask again, How will this be? How will he reign over Jacob’s house forever, with no end to his kingdom, as he dies here under the hand of Caesar?

“The very life of Christ testifies to the sanctity of motherhood.”

How often had she remembered the words “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)? Did she have it in her to recall this even as her firstborn son was publicly crucified before her very eyes? Would it come to her mind as she tried to sleep that night, or as she lingered in horror and grief all day Saturday, which must have seemed like the longest day in history?

He Echoes Her

She had said to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). And so, like mother, like son. In the garden, Mary’s son found his own way of echoing the words of his mother and expressing her submission: “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Her legacy of glad submission and heartfelt obedience had become his. First, at age 12, “he went down with [his parents] and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them” (Luke 2:51). Then, as a man, “he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Now, she watched as “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Soon she would learn that “by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). But not yet.

Standing there at the cross, did she remember the words of Simeon that must have haunted her for all her son’s life? “A sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:35). A sword will pierce me “also” — meaning, my son will be pierced?

He Cares for Her

Under God, she had raised the man who was God. And even now in his greatest agony, even as he writhes in this dehumanizing, extended execution, his soul does not curve inward to nurse his pain, but opens outward to the one who nursed him.

Here the greatest victim ever of other people’s sin retreats not to himself and his suffering. He does not sulk or pout. He is not consumed with his own trauma, but looks beyond himself to make provision for this woman. His mother. The woman who so humbly and diligently and ordinarily served the very Son of heaven in the earthiest of ways, from his conception and birth, to his utter humiliation and execution. God became human through her — not just through her womb, but through decades of guidance, nurture, and prayer.

So, in the moments before he breathes his last, Jesus turns to his beloved disciple to ensure his mother will have his tangible care even after he is gone. Never was Jesus more human, and never was he more divine, than at this moment, in this place, at this time, when he spoke three simple words: “Behold, your mother!”

We need to learn to honor our mothers every day not just once a year…and how many are still doing the cooking and cleaning up today?  What makes this day special for mom?  Being with her and giving her the honor she deserves.  May we consider the Scriptures and how we should always thank God for our moms!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 8, 2021

Article by Jon Bloom
Staff writer, desiringGod.org

One day, as Jesus was teaching, a man in the crowd shouted out, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13). Now, if we had been in that crowd, after cringing over such an awkward issue raised in public, what would we have assumed most likely prompted this man’s request? Probably a family injustice.

But what did Jesus hear? Covetousness. And we might have cringed over Jesus’s response more than the man’s request. Surprisingly, Jesus used the man’s plea for justice not to rebuke unjust oppressors, but to warn not only the man but all his hearers (present and future) of the greater danger earthly wealth poses to every soul that craves it: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

This wasn’t because Jesus didn’t care about injustice. It was because Jesus knew how deceptive, and spiritually dangerous, earthly wealth was to the plaintiff who cried out that day — and to all of us. So, he issued a strong warning to be on guard against all covetousness. Then he illustrated it with a powerful parable, and showed us the way of escape from its temptation.

What Is Covetousness?

The last of the Ten Commandments makes clear what covetousness is:

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:17)

To covet is to earnestly, even obsessively, desire what your neighbor has. It’s a sin-cousin of envy, though not the same, as Joe Rigney helpfully explains,

Covetousness is an overweening desire for that which is not yours. Or, as I try to explain to my young boys, covetousness is wanting something so much it makes you fussy. Covetousness wants what the other guy has; envy is angry that the other guy has it. Covetousness is oriented toward your neighbor’s possessions; envy toward the man himself. (Killjoys, 22–23)

Envy moved Cain to murder his neighbor, his own brother (Genesis 4); covetousness moved Achan to take forbidden treasure for himself, resulting in the deaths of numerous of his neighbors (Joshua 7). Envy moved Saul to keep trying to assassinate his neighbor, David (1 Samuel 19); covetousness moved David to steal his neighbor’s wife, and then murder him as a cover-up (2 Samuel 11).

Both envy and covetousness are destructive, even lethal, sins against our neighbor, but for different reasons. While envy is an evil, perverse, twisted kind of valuing of our neighbor (we wish we were him), coveting is an evil, perverse, twisted kind of devaluing of our neighbor (we care more for his stuff than for him).

Idolatry with a Double Edge

The unique evil of covetousness is that we value what our neighbor has more than what our neighbor is. We desire our neighbor’s possessions for ourselves rather than loving our neighbor as ourselves. Which makes coveting a particularly heinous form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

“The unique evil of covetousness is that we value what our neighbor has more than what our neighbor is.”

In literal idolatry, we “[exchange] the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things”; we value creatures more than the Creator, the one who gives them real value (Romans 1:23, 25). But coveting adds another dimension to this. For we exchange the glory of God inherent in a person (the imago dei, however marred by the fall) for the created things that a God-imaging person owns. In doing so, we both rob God of the glory he deserves and rob our neighbor of the dignity he deserves. Coveting is a double-edged form of idolatry.

When we covet, we love stuff more than human life, more than Divine Life, and more than eternal life. Which is why Jesus told the man, the crowd, and us that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). And then he drove his point home with a powerful parable.

Where Covetousness Leads

At first, it doesn’t sound like the parable has anything to do with coveting:

The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” (Luke 12:16–19)

This story seems to be about a man who trusts his investment portfolio more than God, but it says nothing about the man desiring his neighbor’s possessions. So, what does it have to do with coveting?

Everything. We just need to understand that this parable isn’t about the man’s coveting, but about ours. Jesus isn’t showing us what coveting looks like; he’s showing us where coveting leads. The temptation to covet promises us that if we can have what someone else has, we’ll be happy. Jesus is about to show us the emptiness of that promise through the fate of the rich man. So, we’ll let him finish the parable:

But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20–21)

This man had essentially what most people believe will make them happy: material wealth and security and a retirement of leisure and entertainment ahead of him. Many around him would have coveted his lifestyle. Then suddenly, death brought it all to a terrible end. The coveted life ended up being a foolish, trivial life since it wasn’t ultimately about life at all. For life never consists in the abundance of our possessions.

End of Coveting

This raises the burning question, So what does life consist of? That’s what Jesus turns to next (Luke 12:22–34), and his answer is quite shocking: life does, in fact, consist of wealth accumulation — a kind that liberates us from the sin of coveting.

Wait. Didn’t Jesus just say wealth is dangerous, so don’t orient your life around accumulating it? No, Jesus said a certain kind of wealth is dangerous, so don’t orient your life around accumulating it. Jesus isn’t against wealth. Jesus is against deceptive wealth, which ultimately impoverishes. But he’s very much in favor of true wealth. Which is why he pivots from this parable to encourage us all to pursue real treasure.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. (Luke 12:22–23)

He reiterates here that life doesn’t consist of possessions. He goes on,

Instead, seek [God’s] kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:31–34)

There’s the end — the death — of covetousness: desiring and providing for ourselves, through faith, an infinitely more valuable, more satisfying, longer-lasting treasure that isn’t possessed by any human being but is freely given to us by God and is, at its heart, God himself. This is a money bag with no holes, a treasure that can’t be stolen, a surplus that doesn’t end but actually begins with death. This is a treasure so liberating that it frees us from fearfully hoarding earthly wealth to instead give it away in love.

Pursue Real Treasure with All Your Heart

The rich man wasn’t wrong in wanting to lay up treasure for himself; he was wrong in what treasure he wanted to lay up for himself (Matthew 6:19–20). All he wanted was a heaven of fully funded retirement for a few toilsome, troublesome years when God was offering a heaven of eternally funded retirement of the fullest joy and forever pleasures (Psalm 16:11). The man wanted to be rich with what is not life when he could be rich with never-ending Life: God. And God called him a fool.

“Jesus isn’t against wealth. Jesus is against deceptive, ultimately impoverishing wealth.”

And perhaps the only thing more foolish than this man’s pursuit is for us to covet the treasure this man possessed.

This was the great danger Jesus saw for the man pleading for his share of an inheritance, and this is why he used this opportunity to explain why God commands us not to covet (Exodus 20:17). He wanted us all to keep our lives from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5), since “through this craving [many] have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10), only to discover it all ends tragically with death.

Jesus knew that freedom from “all covetousness” is possible only if we value a superior treasure. And so, his message from this section of Luke 12 is to protect us from the snare that plunges so many into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9) by instructing us to pursue the real, true, superior, eternal Treasure with all our hearts.

For he knew that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

Some may feel that they don’t have a covetous bone in their body.  I submit that it is hard not to feel a need to repent when you quote the above verse to yourself… “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”.  All things come from God, are given to us to steward and bring Him glory.  What someone else has is their problem… (One may not deal well with another’s riches)  We need to be satisfied with that which we have, little or much, and give God glory through the way in which we use it.  This church has been blessed and continues to give all that it is and has to the glory of God.  Thank all of you for your amazing part of sharing in His glory by giving of what God has given you.  The treasure of heaven will never rust or fade away.  Share the gift of eternal salvation in Jesus, the truly most valuable, priceless gift that you have been freely given!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 7, 2021

In Jesus’ Name

Why do we pray, “in Jesus’ name”?

The phrase gets tacked onto the end of many prayers, but I think it has about as much meaning to us as “amen.”

Amen does not mean, “That’s it . . . I’m done now,” the little period at the end of my prayer. Amen (ah-mane) is an ancient Hebrew word that was transliterated (kept virtually intact) into New Testament Greek. It is a pronouncement, firm and authoritative: “Yes! So be it! Let this be done!”

Amen is a declaration; in that sense it is like a command. Or it once was; now it has the emotional force of “talk to you later” at the end of a phone call.

“In Jesus’ name” is even more of a command—far, far more declarative and final, like the drop of a judge’s gavel. We are using the authority of the ruler of all galaxies and realms to enforce the power of what we have just prayed. We have been exploring the way things work in effective prayer; as we look deeper into the spiritual realm, we discover that the whole thing runs on authority. It is the secret to the kingdom of God, and one of the essential secrets to prayer that works.

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one,

‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” — Matthew 8:5–10

I’m guessing it took something pretty remarkable to “astonish” Jesus (he was astonished). Did you notice what it was? The centurion understood authority.

Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, “Go,” and they go, or “Come,” and they come. — Matthew 8:8–9 NLT

Remember—there is a way things work. If you run your hand along the grain of a 2×4, you’ll get a splinter. If you approach an elk upwind, you’ll spook him. If you turn a canoe sideways in the current, you’ll flip it. There is a way things work in the physical realm and we must learn to live with it; reality is one of the great tools of God to grow people up. (And he is deeply committed to growing us all up! Don’t forget that.) Children learn all the hard ways; the scraped knees, the burnt fingers. Wisdom is largely cultivated on encountering the laws of the physical world and adjusting our lives to accommodate. Better still, we learn to use those laws to our advantage—we cook with that heat; we build with that lumber.

The same holds true in the spiritual realm—there is a way things work. Like the children in a fairy tale, we have been thrust into a collision of kingdoms. Kingdoms are realms that are governed by a ruler (the king), and they operate on the basis of authority. Back in the story of Daniel and his three-week fast, the angel finally showed up and explained he would have been there sooner but he was blocked by the territorial spirit that held sway over the Persian kingdom. He eventually got through, but did you notice how? He brought in a higher-ranking angel:

“The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come . . .” — Daniel 10:13–14

The messenger got through the blockade because the mighty archangel Michael came and used his greater authority (and no doubt power). That is what we are doing when we use Jesus’ name—we are using his authority. A quick overview might help bring clarity:

God made the earth. He then gave it to Adam and Eve, along with authority to govern it:

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man. — Psalm 115:16

The first man and woman—lord and lady of this earthly kingdom—forfeited their authority through their disobedience. That is how Satan became “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). When the evil one slithered up to Jesus in the wilderness and tried to tempt him out of the cross, he offered him the kingdoms of this world, as if they were his to give:

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” — Luke 4:5–7

It was his to offer because we turned it over to him at the fall of man. “Prince” of this world means ruler of this world. And he has brought ruin and devastation through his malevolent reign, as Stalin did, as Pol Pot did. When an evil ruler comes into power, it allows evil into the kingdom. A man I knew was in Washington, DC during the inauguration of one of our less respectable presidents of the last century; he said that he could see demons rushing into the White House from all directions. Authority had shifted to darkness.

The epicenter of the tectonic shifts I keep alluding to was the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of the living God—who became the Son of Man—to win it all back. He won it all back. Because the abdication of the throne occurred through the sin of Adam, it could only be undone through the atonement for those sins. Through his life of total obedience to the Father, through his perfect atonement for our sins by way of his cross and death, Jesus totally disarmed Satan and all those fallen angels like the Prince of the Persian kingdom:

[God] forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. — Colossians 2:13–15

God the Father, in partnership with God the Son, “disarmed the powers and authorities.” The Greek here for “powers and authorities” is arche and exousia—the exact words Paul used to refer to foul spirits of various rank:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers [arche], against the authorities [exousia], against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. — Ephesians 6:12

By the cross our Father and Jesus caught the enemy totally off guard, undermined his claims, disarmed the authority of his stolen throne; the evil one and all his allies have lost their right to hold dominion, and that right has been given to Jesus:

[Who] humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:8–11

All of this—the victory, the overthrow of Satan’s right to rule, the transfer of authority, power, and dominion to the Son of God—this is what Jesus was referring to when after his resurrection he said,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.— Matthew 28:18

Let that sink in; the relief of it will lift a mighty weight off your shoulders. All authority in the “heavens”—the spiritual realms—and all authority on this planet has been handed over to Jesus Christ! Think of the redemption that can now take place because of that one fact.

“Yes—that is my point,” you might say. “I believe Jesus won. So why don’t prayers work better than they do? Isn’t Satan defeated?” Stay with me now, because this has staggering implications for you and the way you pray. The invasion of the kingdom of God is something that is still unfolding, right now, today. Jesus is not merely seated upon a throne somewhere up in the sky:

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. . . . Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. — 1 Corinthians 15:20–21, 24–25 (emphasis added)

That “until” gives us a very different way of understanding how Jesus is reigning at the current moment (and why world events still seem so chaotic). Are all his enemies under his feet? Clearly not; the verse says not, and the evening news illustrates it. Jesus, Son of God, Lord of angel armies, is “reigning until” he has finished what he began.

The image that comes to mind is the terrible battle for the South Pacific in World War II. Island by island, bunker by bunker, tunnel by tunnel, a bloody battle had to be waged until the enemy was thoroughly and completely rooted out. Yes—we took the beach at Iwo Jima, and the airstrip.

The enemy was defeated, but still he fought on; subduing the entire island was an unspeakably savage undertaking.

Much as you see in the world today. Oh yes, Jesus has won. But his kingdom has—obviously—not fully come on this earth. Which brings us to the famous model for prayer, held high by the church down through the ages, the “Our Father,” the “Lord’s Prayer.”

We Invoke the Kingdom

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.

— Matthew 6:9–11

Held high, repeated ritually, but rarely understood. Have you ever wondered why the Lord’s Prayer begins with us praying, “Your kingdom come . . .”? The man who knew best how to pray is telling us to invoke his kingdom. We are, after all, partners in this mission. And this is what he wants us to begin prayer with. The obvious implication is that his kingdom is not always come, his will is not always done on earth as it is done in heaven—or what a ridiculous thing to tell us to pray. Why would Jesus urge us to pray for something that has no meaning? He does not tell us to pray that the sun rises tomorrow; we are never urged to pray that the sun will rise again each day. God’s will is going to be done, every sunrise. You can rest on that one; nothing to pray about there. But you are told to invoke his kingdom, from heaven to earth.

Excerpted from Moving Mountains by John Eldredge, copyright John Eldredge, 2016.

Starting our prayers with “in Jesus Name” may bring us to say words more like that taught in Matthew chapter 6.  Praying for the kingdom of God to come to earth is indeed the will of the Spirit.  May we continually (pray without ceasing) allowing the Spirit to guide our hearts and minds to speak heavenly desires.  Praying backwards, saying Amen (yes, make it so), and, in Jesus name, (according to His will), has matured my life to be more like Jesus.  Consider joining me in praying this way…give it a try right now… Amen.  In Jesus name I pray…

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 6, 2021

IT troubles you, fatigues you, shames you. IT is the disease you can’t heal, the job you can’t stomach, the marriage you can’t fix, the rage you can’t tame.

IT hurts.

IT looms over life. Two towering letters, tall and defiant. IT! They march like Frankenstein’s monster. Each step a thud.

Each thud an earthquake. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. IT! IT! IT!

“Look out! Here IT comes!” “I can’t take IT anymore!”

IT overshadows and intimidates everyone — everyone, that is, except people who take IT to Jesus. People like the Roman soldier.

He was a centurion. He held unquestioned authority over his men. Yet there was something special about this particular officer. He loved his servant.

‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him’. — Matthew 8:6-7

The soldier’s prayer was unembroidered. He simply stated a fact: “My servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

That was enough to set Jesus in motion. He turned and immediately began to walk in the direction of the centurion’s house. But the officer stopped him.

Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. — Matthew 8:8-9

The centurion understood the dynamic of authority. He was a man under authority and a man with authority. His superiors sent directives to him, and he obeyed. He gave commands, and his soldiers obeyed. They didn’t question his decisions. The Roman army respected the chain of command. The centurion knew authority when he saw it.

And he saw ultimate authority in Jesus Christ.

“Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” [Jesus] marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!.. Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. 

— Matthew 8:8, Matthew 8:10, Matthew 8:13

The centurion’s confidence in Jesus ran deep. Jesus could handle the request long distance. Just a word from Jesus would suffice. Jesus was stunned. Finally, His response implies, someone understands my authority!

Do we?

Jesus has unimpeachable authority.

He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command. — Hebrews 1:3

God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. — Philippians 2:9

The Roman government tried to intimidate Him. False religion tried to silence Him. The devil tried to kill Him. All failed. Even “death was no match for Him” (Acts 2:24 MSG).

Jesus “disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:15 NLT). He was not kidding when He declared,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. — Matthew 28:18

Jesus is the command center of the galaxies.

Two sparrows cost only a penny, but not even one of them can die without your Father’s knowing it. — Matthew 10:29 NCV

He occupies the Oval Office. He called a coin out of the mouth of a fish. He stopped the waves with a word. He spoke, and a tree withered. He spoke again, and a basket became a banquet. Economy. Meteorology. Botany. Food supply.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. — Matthew 11:27

That includes Satan. The devil was soundly defeated by Christ on the cross. Jesus outranks him in every situation.

He must obey Jesus, and he knows it.

Prayers offered in the name of Jesus have “divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV). Demolish!

Not damage or hamper but demolish. Prayer falls on strongholds like lit matches on a grass hut.

The devil fears prayer. Imagine this scene. He sat in the back of the room during a strategy session. A dozen demons had gathered to hear a report on the life of a particularly stalwart saint.

“He won’t stumble,” groused the imp responsible for his demise. “No matter what I do, he won’t turn his back on God.”

The council began to offer suggestions.

“Take his purity,” one said.

“I tried,” replied the fiend, “but he is too moral.” “Take his health,” urged another.

“I did, but he refused to grumble or complain.” “Take his belongings.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve stripped the man of every penny and possession. Yet he still rejoices.”

For a few moments no one spoke. Finally, from the back of the room, came the low, measured voice of Satan himself.

The entire council turned as the fallen angel rose to his feet.

His pale face was all but hidden by the hood. A long cape covered his body. He raised his bony hand and made his point. “It’s not enough to take his purity. It’s not enough to take his health. It’s not enough to take his belongings. You must take what matters most.” “What is that?” asked the subordinate.

“You must take his prayer.”

Prayer slaps handcuffs on Satan. Prayer takes problems out of the domain of the devil and into the presence of God.

Prayer confesses, “God can handle IT. Since He can, I have hope!”

When we pray in the name of Jesus, we come to God on the basis of Jesus’ accomplishment.

Since we have a great high priest [Jesus] over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. — Hebrews 10:21–22

As our high priest, Jesus offers our prayers to God. His prayers are always heard.

Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. — John 16:23

There are those who say, “Prayer changes things because it changes us.” I agree but only in part. Prayer changes things because prayer appeals to the top power in the universe.

Prayer is not a magical formula or a mystical chant. It is the yes to God’s invitation to invoke His name.

Mark it down: IT won’t have the last word. Jesus will.

God raised [Christ] from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. — Ephesians 1:20–22 MSG

The phrase “In Jesus’ name” is not an empty motto or talisman. It is a declaration of truth: My cancer is not in charge; Jesus is. The economy is not in charge; Jesus is.

The grumpy neighbor doesn’t run the world; Jesus, You do!

You, Jesus, are the Head Coach, CEO, President, King, Supreme Ruler, Absolute Monarch, High and Holy Baron, Czar, Overlord, and Rajah of all history.

Just speak the word, Jesus . . .

Pray! Since God works, prayer works.

Since God is good, prayer is good.

Since you matter to God, your prayers matter in heaven. You’re never without hope, because you’re never without prayer. And on the occasions you can’t find the words to say, pull these out of your pocket:

Father,
You are good.
I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help.
Thank You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted from Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer by Max Lucado, copyright Thomas Nelson.

The health crisis in your life does not hold the power. Jesus does. Your marriage mess is not in charge. Jesus is. The teenager whose behavior is worrying you doesn’t rule the world. Jesus does! Pray! Praying in Jesus name has power.

I have a suggestion from one of the books on prayer that I have in my arsenal… I mean library.  It speaks of praying backwards.  We tend to pray just like we do everything else…our way, rather than use the pattern that Jesus taught His disciples.  In an effort to not do that, you might try praying backwards.  In Jesus name I pray …  Praying in Jesus name is praying that His will be done.  If we pray in His name, we cannot pray frivolous, selfish prayers.  We will be trained to think before we speak, to hear the heart and mind of God.  Praying backwards brings us closer to God and more responsive to the desires of His heart.  Today is the National Day of Prayer.  Consider praying backwards with me today.  What concerns the heart and mind of God?  Let us pray, In Jesus name …

Pastor Dale