Notes of Faith September 29, 2022

Notes of Faith September 29, 2022

Ask Seek Knock

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

And if by prayer

Incessant I could hope to change the will

Of Him who all things can, I would not cease

To weary Him with my assiduous cries.

~ John Milton

Jesus’ story about village neighbors must have provoked smiles and chuckles in his first-century audience. A man opens his door to an unexpected guest late one night – not uncommon in a desert climate that encourages travel after sunset – only to find his pantry bare. In a region renowned for hospitality, no decent person would turn away a weary traveler or put him to bed without nourishment, so the host strikes out to a friend’s house to ask for bread.

Kenneth Bailey, a Presbyterian missionary who lived in Lebanon forty years, illuminates some of the cultural nuances behind the story. Palestinians use bread as Westerners use silverware: they break off bite-sized pieces, dip into a common dish of meat and vegetables, and eat the entire sop. The man with empty cupboards was likely asking his friend for a main course as well as loaves of bread, and even that was typical. Villagers frequently borrowed from each other in hospitality emergencies. Bailey recalls one instance: “While living in primitive Middle Eastern villages, we discovered to our amazement that this custom of rounding up from the neighbors something adequate for the guest extended even to us when we were the guests. We would accept an invitation to a meal clear across the village, and arrive to eat from our own dishes which the villagers had borrowed quietly from our cook.”

Keep pounding the door

In Jesus’ story, though, the neighbor stubbornly refuses the request (see Luke 11). He has already gone to bed, stretched out with his family on a mat in the one-room house – and, besides, the door is bolted shut. “Don’t bother me,” he calls to his neighbor outside. “I can’t get up and give you anything.”

A Middle Eastern audience would have laughed out loud at this lame excuse. Can you imagine such a neighbor? Jesus was asking. Certainly not! No one in my village would act so rudely. If he did, the entire village would know about it by morning!

Then Jesus delivers the punch line: “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness [his persistence, his shamelessness] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” The application to prayer follows immediately:

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Luke positions this story right after Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Prayer, drawing a sharp contrast between the reluctant neighbor and God the Father. If a cranky neighbor who has turned in for the night, who wishes more than anything you would go away, who does his best to ignore you – if such a neighbor eventually rouses to give what you want, how much more will God respond to your bold persistence in prayer! After all, what earthly father would sneak a snake under his son’s pillow when he asks for a fish, or drop a scorpion on his daughter’s breakfast plate instead of an egg?

The Lord’s Prayer, often reduced to a mumbled ritual, an incantation, takes on new light in this story abutting it. We should pray like a salesman with his foot wedged in the door opening, like a wrestler who has his opponent in a headlock and won’t let go.

The God “who watches over you will not slumber,” promises a psalm of comfort. Even so, sometimes when we pray it feels as if God has indeed nodded off. Raise your voice, Jesus’ story implies. Strive on, like the shameless neighbor in the middle of the night.

Keep pounding the door.

Excerpted from Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey, copyright Zondervan.

We might pray, but we think that is enough. God already knows anyway. But that is not the teaching of the Scriptures. We are to ask, seek, and knock. This is a fervent continual requesting of God on our part for something that we desire and need an act of God. Do you do this? I think I fail miserably. My mother was a good example of this neighbor knocking on the door for a specific need. She implored God day after day until receiving an answer to her prayers. I pray that you and I could imitate her and follow the teaching of Jesus to ask, seek, and knock on the door of heaven. He will answer, though it might not be as we expect, He will answer!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 28, 2022

Notes of Faith September 28, 2022

Understanding and Leading Your Internal Parts

Especially in moments of stress, our internal fog can obscure healthy paths before us. We often do not understand ourselves or why we do what we do. Many people live unaware of why the fog comes, how it consistently derails them, or how to humbly and healthily lead their own souls through it. Even though the same things happen to them over and over, they are always a little shocked at the negative effects of their unawareness. They feel helpless to lead themselves, often thinking that doing so is some sort of self-help nonsense. After all, Jesus is all we really need, right?

But what if Jesus wants to help us respond to the Spirit’s leading so we can align ourselves with truth? He does — and that is why when we say “lead ourselves,” we don’t mean “be our own saviors.” Only the grace found in the gospel can transform us. Even so, as Christ does this transformative work through His Spirit, He intends for the fruit of self-control, which is being divinely nurtured and matured within us by His Spirit, to spur us on toward this transformation. He is not just enacting change upon us, apart from us. Rather,

He is transforming us through our very lives, even the resistant, stuck, or foggy parts of them.

Through His work in us, we can understand and welcome our conflicting internal emotions instead of experiencing shame or anger over them, which leads us to either reject them or react negatively to their overwhelming influence. By grace, we can instead accept, listen to, and lead the parts that make up our own internal worlds, reminding each of them of what is most true in the gospel. In other words, when we learn to become aware of and lead our internal parts, we do not bypass the work of Christ; they are integral elements of that very work.

But is this work biblical, or is it just a religious spin on a worldly idea of self-appreciation and self-help? Paul pondered this line of questioning in Romans 7:15:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. — ESV

The New Living Translation of the first few words of this verse expresses the whole of the matter in a way all of us can relate to: “I don’t really understand myself.”

Because of Adam and Eve, we are born into fallenness. And along the way, we each choose sinfulness. These two factors contribute to our inability to clearly understand ourselves. The psalmist referred to this when he said,

My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. — Psalm 40:12

This state of being keeps us from “seeing” clearly in the fog around us. But we weren’t meant to stay there.

Christ is actively redeeming all things from humankind’s fallenness, and we are invited to be included in this ongoing process of redemption. This means that though we will never fully arrive on this side of the fall — that is, have complete clarity on and self-control over every internal part in every situation — we can develop patterns for welcoming and rewelcoming the ongoing work of Christ in these fallen places, even when we fall yet again.

Scripture calls this being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1–2). This is a present-tense process, which indicates that we will constantly, actively need to be renewed. How can this be okay? Shouldn’t we finally get it right? Remember, the heart of our Shepherd never tires of us. Especially in our foggiest moments — in our fallenness and sinfulness — He actually draws closer.

He doesn't do it without us

David seemed to already understand this nature of God, as well as his own lack of awareness of his internal world and its parts. He expressed his own journey into the vast, dense fog within himself by saying to God,

You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. — Psalm 139:13–15 ESV

If you are a Christ-follower, you are probably already familiar with this passage. Its most common modern application references the wonder and beauty of God’s formation of the trillions of coalescing variables that make up the body and brain of a precious, unborn child being developed in her mother’s womb. So many miracles happen in this environment, sometimes minute by minute. This is certainly an accurate way to apply these verses.

But we can also think of this in much broader terms than just the body or the brain. Specifically, we can also ascribe to God the unfathomable number of less-observable aspects of His creative genius. If you’re a parent, you’ve already had a front-row seat to the divine development of these other “inward parts” — that is, the completely unique characteristics, personalities, and dispositions that accompany our children at birth. Yes, most babies are blessed with the same set of internal organs and outward extremities, but each is also uniquely, “intricately woven” by God into his or her own distinctive self. We often fail to acknowledge that this weaving is more complex and miraculous than mere sinew and synapses.

All your parts, including the unseen parts of your internal world, reflect the beautiful and gracious complexity of God’s handiwork.

Yet David didn’t just point out the fact that he had parts he didn’t understand. This was only the first step on his journey to becoming aware. He also invited God to help him see these parts accurately, as well as help them become aligned to God’s ways.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. — Psalm 139:23–24 NLT

We tend to read this in a modern context and assume that David is asking God to know his “heart” as a singular thing. In our culture of extremes, this is how we see people and the world. “This guy is good, while that guy is bad.” “This viewpoint is perfect, while that viewpoint is garbage.”

But pay attention to David’s prayer: “Point out anything in me that offends You.” This speaks to the fact that David assumed there was more than one part of his heart that needed God’s interventional care. He didn’t just say, “Fix my heart in one fell swoop!” Yes, that would be great, but David seemed to know that there was more than one thing going on inside him. He also seemed to know that he could seek God’s help in learning to recognize those parts for himself, which is why he invited God to “point out” what was going on in all the parts of his internal world, even those that were repeat offenders.

We’ve already acknowledged that we all have areas of repeated offense, but discovery of these parts is not recovery from their patterns. Stepping on a scale is a very important component of beginning healthier patterns toward physical fitness, but merely weighing yourself doesn’t cause you to lose weight. There has to be more than just the knowledge of what needs to change. We must walk a continual path so change can occur consistently and incrementally.

As we learn to understand and lead our parts closer to Christ by the strength He affords us, the Holy Spirit does the heavy lifting of transformation within us — but He doesn’t do it without us. An ancient quote often attributed (though unproven) to Saint Augustine sums it up nicely:

“Without God, I can’t. But without me, God won’t.”1

In other words, God desires relationship, and relationships require mutual participation.

Much of the “change” language Paul used in Ephesians 4:21–24 tells us that we should constantly be tending to our internal parts.

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (nlt, emphasis added)

Take note of the active, present nature of these verses. “Throw off” and “put on” indicate something you are invited—even compelled by grace—to do today. Right now. In this very moment.

In moments of misalignment, if you believe you are only one thing (“I’m just an idiot,” “I have good reasons for incessantly screaming,” or the like), throwing off whatever seems “bad” leads you to condemn, shame, or ignore only one thing: yourself. This is “all or nothing” thinking.

But since you are intricately, miraculously, wonderfully woven as a whole person with multiple parts, there are elements within yourself that can be identified and shepherded when they become misaligned. You are of infinite value to your Father, and your heavenly Brother, Jesus, has not only died to redeem you but also lives to constantly intercede and advocate on your behalf. This frees you to focus on your misaligned parts not so you can condemn them, but rather so you can understand them and once again become aligned with the grace and truth of the gospel.

Welcoming Our Parts

Many people reach a point when they realize that while a part of their soul wants to fully embrace Christ’s call to continual newness in the gospel, other parts keep protesting, acting out, or otherwise going to war against them—and against God. We often end up hating these parts of our inner selves for their constant troublemaking.

This divided feeling also makes some of us feel unsettled, unsure, or ashamed—and we don’t know why we keep experiencing these same pitfalls. In fact, knowing that these derailments are coming and yet not being able to avoid them only erodes our confidence even more. Even if we know at our core that we are the Beloved Child, why is there such a disconnect between what we believe and how we react in certain situations? Why is there so much distance between what we know to be true and what we experience in our internal world?

A variation of this quote was cited in Robert Edward Luccock, If God Be for Us: Sermons on the Gifts of the Gospel (Harper: New York, 1954), 38.

Excerpted from More Than Your Number by Beth & Jeff McCord, copyright Beth McCord and Jeff McCord.

While we walk this life we will have the battle between the spirit and the flesh. As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are also being transformed if we listen and follow the Holy Spirit within. If not, we are only kidding ourselves and need to examine ourselves to see if we are even in the faith. Being a follower of Jesus is not easy. We must take up our cross daily and follow His path of doing that which pleases God. Trust and obey and God will be pleased.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 27, 2022

Notes of Faith September 27, 2022

God Will Help You Through Your Fears

As famous lakes go, Galilee — only thirteen miles at its longest, seven and a half at its widest — is a small, moody one. The diminutive size makes it more vulnerable to the winds that howl out of the Golan Heights. They turn the lake into a blender, shifting suddenly, blowing first from one direction, then another. Winter months bring such storms every two weeks or so, churning the waters for two to three days at a time.1

When Peter and a few other disciples found themselves in the middle of Galilee one stormy night, they knew they were in trouble:

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. — Matthew 14:24

What should have been a sixty-minute cruise became a nightlong battle. The boat lurched and lunged like a kite in a March wind. Sunlight was a distant memory. Rain fell from the night sky in buckets. Lightning sliced the blackness with a silver sword. Winds whipped the sails, leaving the disciples “in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves.” Apt description, perhaps, for your stage in life? Perhaps all we need to do is substitute a couple of nouns…

In the middle of a divorce, tossed about by guilt.

In the middle of debt, tossed about by creditors.

In the middle of a recession, tossed about by stimulus packages and bailouts.

The disciples fought the storm for nine cold, skin-drenching hours. And about 4:00 a.m. the unspeakable happened. They spotted someone coming on the water.

‘A ghost!’ they said, crying out in terror. — Matthew 14:26 MSG

They didn’t expect Jesus to come to them this way.

Neither do we. We expect Him to come in the form of peaceful hymns or Easter Sundays or quiet retreats. We expect to find Jesus in morning devotionals, church suppers, and meditation. We never expect to see Him in a bear market, pink slip, lawsuit, foreclosure, or war.

We never expect to see Him in a storm.

But it is in storms that He does His finest work, for it is in storms that He has our keenest attention. Jesus replied to the disciples’ fear with an invitation worthy of inscription on every church cornerstone and residential archway.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ He said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’ — Matthew 14:7 NLT

Power inhabits those words. To awaken in an ICU and hear your husband say, “I am here.” To lose your retirement yet feel the support of your family in the words “We are here.” When a Little Leaguer spots Mom and Dad in the bleachers watching the game, “I am here” changes everything. Perhaps that’s why God repeats the “I am here” pledge so often.

The Lord is near (Philippians 4:5 NIV).

You are in Me, and I am in you (John 14:20 NIV).

I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20 NIV).

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand (John 10:28 NIV).

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38 NLT).

We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that’s God following you. Look into the storm; that’s Christ coming toward you.

Much to Peter’s credit, he took Jesus at His word.

‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus”. — Matthew 14:28–29

Peter never would have made this request on a calm sea. Had Christ strolled across a lake that was as smooth as mica, Peter would have applauded, but I doubt he would have stepped out of the boat.

Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys.

For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter did the impossible. He defied every law of gravity and nature; “he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”

My editors wouldn’t have tolerated such brevity. They would have flooded the margin with red ink: “Elaborate! How quickly did Peter exit the boat?

What were the other disciples doing?

What was the expression on his face?

Did he step on any fish?”

Matthew had no time for such questions. He moves us quickly to the major message of the event: where to stare in a storm.

But when [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ — Matthew 14:30

A wall of water eclipsed his view. A wind gust snapped the mast with a crack and a slap. A flash of lightning illuminated the lake and the watery Appalachians it had become. Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall, and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond. Give the storm waters more attention than the Storm Walker and get ready to do the same.

Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can.

I found a direct example of this truth while sitting in my cardiologist’s office. My heart rate was misbehaving, taking the pace of a NASCAR race and the rhythm of a Morse code message. So I went to a specialist. After reviewing my tests and asking me some questions, the doctor nodded knowingly and told me to wait for him in his office.

I didn’t like being sent to the principal’s office as a kid. I don’t like being sent to the doctor’s office as a patient. But I went in, took a seat, and quickly noticed the doctor’s abundant harvest of diplomas. They were everywhere, from everywhere. One degree from the university. Another degree from a residency.

The more I looked at his accomplishments, the better I felt. I’m in good hands. About the time I leaned back in the chair to relax, his nurse entered and handed me a sheet of paper. “The doctor will be in shortly,” she explained. “In the meantime he wants you to acquaint yourself with this information. It summarizes your heart condition.”

I lowered my gaze from the diplomas to the summary of the disorder. As I read, contrary winds began to blow. Unwelcome words like atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia, embolic stroke, and blood clot caused me to sink into my own Sea of Galilee.

What happened to my peace? I was feeling much better a moment ago. So I changed strategies. I counteracted diagnosis with diplomas. In between paragraphs of bad news, I looked at the wall for reminders of good news. That’s what God wants us to do.

His call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t to be oblivious to the overwhelming challenges that life brings. We’re to counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments.

We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. — Hebrews 2:1 NASB

Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus.

This is what Peter learned to do. After a few moments of flailing in the water, he turned back to Christ and cried,

‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. — Matthew 14:30-32 NIV

Jesus could have stilled this storm hours earlier. But He didn’t. He wanted to teach the followers a lesson. Jesus could have calmed your storm long ago too. But He hasn’t. Does He also want to teach you a lesson? Could that lesson read something like this:

“Storms are not an option, but fear is”?

God has hung His diplomas in the universe. Rainbows, sunsets, horizons, and star-sequined skies. He has recorded His accomplishments in Scripture. We’re not talking six thousand hours of flight time. His résumé includes Red Sea openings. Lions’ mouths closings. Goliath topplings. Lazarus raisings. Storm stillings and strollings.

His lesson is clear. He’s the commander of every storm. Are you scared in yours?

Then stare at Him.

God’s Word for You

Allow these passages from God’s Word to remind you that God will help you through your fears.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9 NIV

The Lord doesn’t just take away our fear; He replaces it with strength and courage.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God. — Isaiah 43:1-3

The Lord has called you by name and you are His. Allow this truth to comfort your fears.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. — John 14:27

These are the words of Christ. Receive his peace as a gift that has already been offered to you.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. — 1 John 4:18

Your fear is not of God or from God. His love casts out fear.

Read the following prayer, silently or aloud. When you have finished praying, spend a moment in silence, listening for the voice of God.

God, thank You for reminding me of Your power today. Just as Jesus walked on water, so can You calm the storms around me. I often feel afraid when life gets stormy. I can’t see my way out. I feel vulnerable to what I cannot control. Help me fix my gaze on You today. Remind me of who You are and what You are capable of. Ease my fears and replace them with peace. Calm my anxious thoughts. Help me love those around me and be present with them, which is hard to do during a difficult time. Whenever I feel afraid, or my thoughts feel out of control, may I see the image of Christ walking on the water extending His hand to help me. May I trust Christ more than myself, more than others, more than what I tend to focus on during times like this. May my gaze always be fixed on Him. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Shelley Wachsmann, The Sea of Galilee Boat: An Extraordinary 2000 Year Old Discovery (New York: Plenum Press, 1995), 39, 121.

Excerpted from God Will Help You by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

I love the thought of being asked by God to do the seemingly impossible, something supernatural! He did that when He asked me to follow Him in faith and be blessed in intimate relationship with Him. Things that God asks us to do today are just as amazing. His power and authority are limitless and we are given that authority and power to lead people to the throne of grace that they might receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life with their Savior Jesus Christ. We experience getting out of the boat every day whether we realize it or not . . . keep your eyes on Jesus – the author and perfector of your faith and you will recognize more supernatural work of God in and through you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 26, 2022

Notes of Faith September 26, 2022

Wounds Are Sacred

The wounds we carry with us are not obstacles to simply get over. Rather, our wounds are the way through. Our wounds aren’t something to hide or deny; instead, they are sacred parts of who we are and testaments of our journeys. At first, we may not have eyes to see our loss as a gift — how could it be? — because it’s too painful. But as we sit with our suffering and courageously welcome and move through our loss, we are transformed. Loss gives us new eyes to see the grace threaded through all humanity.

Our wounds are not separate, but a sacred part of the gift of life. Through our wounds, we are empowered to offer healing to others in pain.

Compassion is born in the heart of the wounded.

Compassion is born in the heart of the wounded

The Latin root of the word compassion is compati, which literally means to “suffer with one.”1 We can only truly suffer with those who are suffering once we have endured suffering ourselves.

We see this same pattern of sacred woundedness weaved throughout the story of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t a savior unacquainted with suffering; He was “a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand” (Isaiah 53:3 MSG). And it is “by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). He is the ultimate wounded healer.

To experience our own suffering is to partake not only in the suffering of humanity but also in the suffering of our Savior.

Here is where the hope comes in. If we follow the way of Jesus, we know sorrow and suffering are not the end of the story. We live in the light of the resurrection. Yes, Jesus suffered greatly, but He rose again. And to believe in the resurrection is to believe we, too, will rise. Death is no longer an enemy to be feared because we have hope beyond the grave. This hope is a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19 ESV). When tragedy strikes, when death feels like it’s won, when we’ve hit rock bottom and can’t see a way to live with the pain for another day, hope is the way through.

The pain we are facing today doesn’t exempt us from future pain. The road ahead will most likely take unexpected twists and turns, but as we grasp the steering wheel, shift the car into drive, and bravely begin paving a new way through, we can rest assured that we are not navigating the unknown alone. Just like that day on the old dairy roads when I sat safely in my father’s arms, we are held right here too. Hope is the vehicle that drives us forward, and divine love is the safety belt holding us secure.

Excerpted from Rebuilding Beautiful by Kayla Stoecklein, copyright Kayla Stoecklein.

Each day brings wounds, suffering, pain, and yet through all of it there can be hope, joy, security, and anticipation of that which is to come. We will all be wounded and should hold them as sacred acts of God to draw us closer to Him and make us more like Jesus! His grace is sufficient for all of us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 25, 2022

Notes of Faith September 25, 2022

Article by Scott Hubbard

Editor, desiringGod.org

Once, the young Jacob ran, fleet-footed, wherever he wanted. Later, he walked with a limp.

Once, David led Israel’s armies without rival. Later, he fled through the wilderness, surrounded by enemies.

Once, Paul traveled and preached with a thornless side. Later, he prayed, pricked and bent, for a mercy that would not come.

Many of us likewise may remember a once when life and ministry felt smoother. Back then, we were more productive, less hindered. Our body didn’t trouble us so much. We faced fewer criticisms. A relationship had not yet ruptured. But we move slower these days, our backs more bent. Limping. Surrounded. Thorned.

How tempting to imagine how fruitful we might be without such burdens. Wouldn’t we be better parents, leaders, workers, Christians if we could run faster? Wouldn’t we do more good for God’s kingdom?

Maybe Jacob, David, and Paul wondered too. Limps and hurled spears and thorns have a way of hindering efficiency and ruining plans. In time, however, the wisdom of God became plain. Jacob’s limp leaned him toward his Lord (Genesis 32:31), David’s enemies made God his stronghold (Psalm 27:1), and Paul’s thorn brought a word far sweeter than strength: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Their stories bear witness to the surprising paths of God’s mercy. As Charles Spurgeon once preached, “It is a good thing to be without a trouble; but it is a better thing to have a trouble, and know how to get grace enough to bear it.”

Untroubled Days

Note well the first part of Spurgeon’s counsel: it really is good to be without a trouble.

Untroubled days are echoes of our Edenic past and whispers of our better future. They are a wilderness oasis, a lodging house for weary pilgrims. On untroubled days, Jesus says to us, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). They come like green pastures and still waters, like unlooked-for Sabbaths, like a visit to the land of milk and honey. They are gifts wrapped and sent by the Father of lights (James 1:17).

And yet, for people like us, too many untroubled days can bring trouble. Jacob proved self-reliant and spiritually aloof in his most comfortable moments. It was on an untroubled rooftop, far from the fields of war, that David saw Bathsheba and didn’t look away (2 Samuel 11:1–2). And if Paul’s heavenly visions had come without humbling, conceit may have killed him (2 Corinthians 12:7).

I suspect we can relate. Untroubled days are a gift; they are also a hazard. Without great care, the most peaceful days make Bible reading feel less urgent, prayer less desperate, sin less dangerous, Satan less active, Jesus less precious, and spiritual reality less, well, real. On untroubled days, we more easily neglect our post and drift, unguarded, onto the rooftop.

Sometimes, then, the greatest dangers to the soul are not burdens, but uninterrupted blessings; not pains, but endless pleasures; not troubles, but long tranquility; not suffering, but unthreatened safety. How difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:24) — how difficult, too, for the untroubled.

When Cares Are Many

Trouble, of course, does not guarantee spiritual depth. If the devil holds prosperity in his right hand, he holds calamity in his left. Hence the second part of Spurgeon’s counsel: “It is a better thing to have a trouble, and know how to get grace enough to bear it.” Without grace, burdens break us; with grace, they bend us toward God.

“Without grace, burdens break us; with grace, they bend us toward God.”

Where then do we get the grace that not only makes troubled days endurable, but in some sense better? God has many rivers and streams of grace, but in one way or another, they all flow through his word. Here in the living words of the living God, he holds grace for every trouble, relief for every burden, balm for every broken heart. Hence, it was a word of blessing that both lamed and healed Jacob (Genesis 32:29), a word of welcome that steadied and supported David (Psalm 27:8), a word of promise that made the weak Paul boast (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

As with so many burdened saints, these three men discovered the secret that God gives his best treasures to those who have most troubles. So much of his word was born from trouble, written by persecuted prophets, weeping psalmists, and imprisoned apostles. The Bible is a book of tears — and a book too of the God who wipes them away. So often, then, trouble opens the door to our Father’s deepest comforts.

Certainly for me, God’s word rarely shines so brightly than when other lights go dark. Another’s cruelty made me feel God’s kindness in Psalm 16, the darkness of doubt illuminated Isaiah 50, sleeplessness brought near the God of Psalm 139, and loss gave me glory in Philippians 4.

“When the cares of my heart are many,” the psalmist writes, “your consolations cheer my soul” (Psalm 94:19). What could be better than the consolations of God himself — his hand upon the shoulder, his voice speaking courage, his arm bearing us up? And yet, such precious consolations come only through many cares. Many sighs, many groans, many troubled thoughts — these are the cups into which God pours the comforts of his word.

And in time, they become the cups out of which we give comfort to others.

Deeper Fruitfulness

God, then, is willing to give burdens to his people — even burdens that slow our pace, trouble our peace, and seem to hinder our fruitfulness. We might conclude that God cares less about fruitfulness than we do; in fact, however, he cares far more. His idea of fruitfulness just goes deeper than ours.

Too often, I fear, my own idea of fruitfulness is merely a baptized version of productivity. I can act as if effectiveness in the kingdom of God looks and feels like effectiveness in the kingdom of man: predictable plans, smooth execution, unhindered success. And such effectiveness, of course, has little room for limps, arrows, and thorns. But in fact, productivity forms only one part of true fruitfulness — and not the most important part.

Without trouble, for example, Jacob never would have built an altar “to the God who answers me in the day of my distress” (Genesis 35:3). And David never would have learned to sing, “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear” (Psalm 27:3). And Paul would not have boasted “all the more gladly of my weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Humble praise, radical faith, sorrowful joy in Jesus — these are fruits that grow only on trees of trouble.

“Humble praise, radical faith, sorrowful joy in Jesus — these are fruits that grow only on trees of trouble.”

And often, these are the fruits that feed us and others best (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Some of the best parents walk with a limp. Some of the best leaders preach and serve from a besieged soul. Some of the best workers labor with a thorn. And some of the best Christians carry trouble with them wherever they go. What we so desperately need, and what others so desperately need from us, is not a life free from trouble, but a love for Jesus that lives and thrives in the midst of it.

God cares deeply about our fruitfulness — so much so that he may, for a time, limp us, or surround us, or send us a thorn.

Blessed Are the Burdened

I would like to think I could make it safely to heaven on a smooth path, running straight and wide beneath bright skies. I would like to imagine I would remain faithful to God without the training rod of trouble. Sometimes, I would like to rephrase Paul’s words in Acts 14:22 to say, “Through many untroubled days we must enter the kingdom of God.”

But in a world like ours, and with hearts like ours, some of God’s best gifts come wrapped in the black box of trouble. In his good hands, troubles are the limps that lean us toward Jesus, the enemies that chase us toward God, the thorns that give strength from above. They burden us, sometimes almost unbearably. But they also bend us toward the one whose steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3).

So, as good as it is to enjoy untroubled days, it is better to have a trouble, and to walk with God in the midst of it.

Do any of you have no trouble? Experience no burden? Ah, but how do we perceive the experience. Indeed in Christ, we can do anything. We will do what glorifies and honors the Lord even though He gives or allows us burdens that seem to hinder our lives. Choose to love, worship, praise, serve God with all that you are and through all that this life brings. The next will have no burdens!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 24, 2022

Notes of Faith September 24, 2022

Did the Devil Really Make Me Do It?

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. — 1 Corinthians 10:13

Early on in my Christian pilgrimage, I discovered the value of Scripture memorization. First Corinthians 10:13 was the first verse I ever deposited in the memory bank of my mind. Because I had hidden this verse in my heart, only God has recorded how many times across the years — when I found myself faced with some sort of temptation — it surfaced in my memory and kept me from many a potential mistake. Scripture memorization plays a vital role in overcoming temptation.

D. L. Moody’s worn Bible, from which he preached to millions in the nineteenth century, had these words written in his own hand in the flyleaf: “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”

It is not a sin to be tempted.

Temptation comes our way in all sorts of forms and sizes. Our minds are like a hotel. The manager cannot keep someone from entering the lobby. However, he can certainly keep that person from getting a room. Likewise, it is not a sin when a temptation passes through our mind. The sin comes when it does not do that, when it doesn’t pass through our mind. The sin comes when we give that thought a room in our mind and let it dwell there.

One should not confuse temptations with trials that come our way. Most often, trials are allowed, or even sent, by God to cause the Christian to stand. Temptations are sent from the devil to cause the Christian to stumble.

Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. — James 1:13-14

The devil never made us do anything. He simply dangles the bait in front of us.

Then we are tempted; we are “drawn away by [our] own desires and enticed” by that which is outside the boundaries laid out for us in God’s Word.

Make no mistake about it: we will be tempted. As long as we are encased in human flesh, it desires to rebel against what is good and godly. We never have to teach our children to disobey. They pick right up on it. We have to teach them to obey. So it is with us and the issue of temptation. It is a reality that is not going to go away. Consequently, it behooves us to know how to deal with temptation when it comes.

Some people live with the erroneous concept that the longer we walk the Christian path and the deeper we go with God, the less we will be tempted. None of us will ever arrive at the place when temptation will not be looming before us in some form or fashion.

Most of the great heroes of the Bible faced their greatest temptations near the end of their pilgrimage rather than in the beginning.

This was certainly true of Moses, Elijah, and David.

There is a word of assurance here for those who may feel a sort of pseudo guilt over being tempted: it is a reality. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man.” It is inevitable. Temptation is “common to man.”

Life may have its shadows, but one thing is certain: they are never caused by God’s turning or by His changing. He is faithful.

James reminded us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Years ago, while in the process of memorizing James 1:17, I found myself one night in a parking lot standing under a light. When I stood directly under it, no shadow was cast. However, as I stepped away from the light, I began to see my shadow in front of me. The farther I walked, the larger the shadow, until finally I walked far enough to be in the darkness. The shadow was caused by my turning, my changing, and not by the light. Difficulties in life are never caused by God’s turning or changing. We can rest in the reality that even though we may be tempted, we have a Lord who is faithful.

God provides a way of escape for us

The word picture here is of a mountain pass. The idea is of an army that is apparently surrounded, and then suddenly they see an escape route to safety through a mountain pass.

None of us needs to succumb to the temptations that come our way. Jesus will make a way of escape. Many who have fallen into sin did so willfully because they refused to take the path of escape that the Lord put before them.

You say, “I am tempted.” The Lord says, “What else is new? I, too, was tempted in all points as you, yet I was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus taught us how to overcome our temptation. For forty days He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness of Judea. On each occurrence, Jesus overcame by quoting Scripture.

The Word, hidden in our hearts, will also keep us from sin when applied by faith to our lives.

We should not be surprised when temptation comes our way. It is, after all, “common to man.” But Christ Himself is our way of escape. And one thing can certainly be said of Him — “He is faithful.”

Meditate on the words of James:

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. — James 1:12

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

The Word of God has always been the escape route from temptation in my experience. The Holy Spirit brings that which I have read, studied, meditated on, and hidden in my heart to provide the escape. May we all memorize the Word more and more that we may be able to flee from every temptation.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 23, 2022

Notes of Faith September 23, 2022

How Do I Find My Way Out?

Observing Painful Patterns

If you are a woman who learned to hide or make yourself small, please know this is not the life God has for you. If you are a woman who has felt like you have to mute your personality, your take-charge attitude, or your leadership abilities, please know this is not the life God has for you.

God wants the best of you.

And God wants the best for you.

God wants for you to heal, for you to come out from hiding.

God wants for you to learn how to grow big inside yourself, full of His Spirit and might.

God wants for you to learn how to stand up for the convictions inside of you.1

But I have found through my work as a counselor that many women are slowly giving up on these truths. Don’t get me wrong: most women are not giving up on being helpful or kind to others. Most women are not giving up on God. But after working with women for over two decades, the truth is that many are slowly and subtly giving up on parts of themselves that need healing.

In fact, this is exactly where I found myself well into my thirties. I loved God and sought to care for other people. But I had almost given up on the idea that maybe, just maybe, God wanted me to bring out the best of me.

The Hidden You

It started with an “almost” breakup.

“I love you, but I don’t think we’re ready to get married,” the man I was dating said one night as we sipped drinks at a local restaurant. I was stunned. At the age of thirty-seven, I had never been married. We had dated for more than a year, and I was ready for him to put a ring on it.

Joe was a widower with two young children when we met. He had loved his first wife, the mother of his kids, and had cared for her and for them through her debilitating illness as she passed away. Based on what he’d been through in life and the way God made him, he wasn’t someone who shied away from hard conversations.

“I’m committed to you. I’m not leaving. Please hear me say that. But we have work to do,” Joe said. “I love your mind and your heart. But I can’t get to the root of who you are and what you want out of your life. Sometimes it feels like you’re hiding from me. If we can’t both put all our cards on the table — the good and what’s hard — it won’t be healthy for either of us.”

As he spoke these words, the life force sucked out of me. I felt as if I’d left my body and was floating above the table, where I watched myself nodding and listening attentively, somehow willing myself to move a water glass over to my mouth. Shame had washed over me, and while I was aware of a terrible feeling, I was simultaneously aware of myself staying calm and present with him.

I was witnessing my own fawn response in action.

As an adult, I had traded the invisibility cloak of my teen years for the expert position of full-time helper, otherwise known as a psychologist. I had honed my ability to focus on other people. No longer just a helpful daughter or an encouraging friend, I was now a bona fide doctor of healing. I made my living tending to other people’s problems, and I was good at it — so good that I could lose myself in it.

I worked for God now. I was His helper. I didn’t need other people.

I was proud of the way that I helped others. But part of me longed to be seen. I hadn’t yet learned to let God’s healing light shine onto the inside of me, let alone let someone else into my longings, fears, and vulnerabilities.

Hearing these words from this man I deeply admired touched on a wound that went all the way back to my childhood, back to that sixth-grade girl buried deep inside who longed to show up big in her own life.

I am not going to leave you.

I love you.

I’m committed to you.

God was the driving force behind the healing I would find

As I sat there listening, still detached from my body, those words somehow reached me.

Wait, he’s not leaving me. Then what is he saying?

I love you. But I can’t find you.

I could not make sense of this message.

On one hand, it sounded as if he was saying the exact words I feared — he could not see me. On the other hand, he was saying something new, words I had always longed to hear.

I won’t leave you. I want to find you.

The shame lingered, but I smiled and nodded through the rest of our dinner.

The next day, the battle within me began.

That jerk! What gives him the right to tell me to work on myself? Look at all his flaws. They are way worse than mine.

I’m being like Jesus by always focusing on other people. What does he have to say for himself?

Tempted to pick up the phone and download all the terrible things about him to my friends, some part of me wouldn’t let me. (Well, maybe I did a little bit.)

“He’s not wrong,” I wrote in my journal.

Something deep inside me knew that he was right. When you have lived decades of your life camouflaging who you are — even while you’re doing “good things for God” — you get that it might be hard for someone else to find you, to know who you really are.

Joe had my attention.

God had my attention.

But here was my dilemma: How in the world do you stop being camouflage when it’s all you’ve ever been? How do you let someone in when you’ve worked overtime to stay hidden?

I had learned to cope in relationships — and feel like a valuable person — by always focusing on others. Yet God had brought into my path a man who had exactly zero interest in all my efforts to focus on him. To experience the kind of love I actually wanted, I had to learn to make myself visible.

Understandably, part of me experienced Joe’s words as a rejection. But he wasn’t rejecting me. Instead, he was desperately trying to get a message to the hidden me buried deep within:

I want you.

I want the real you that is hiding.

This camouflage keeps me from the person I want to spend my life with.

I knew he was right. He wanted to know all of me — not just the pleasing, helpful perception of me I was so good at creating. And I was the only one who could open that door. Instead of focusing on others, I had to start focusing on the deep, life-changing work of bringing forth the person I really was.

In order to be known by other people, you have to show up as your true self. In order to show up as your true self, you have to face your wounds.

In my case, it was Joe who served as a catalyst for me to dig deeper into the work of facing unhealed wounds and confronting aspects of my conditioning that had encouraged me to hide. But the truth is that

God was the driving force behind the healing I would subsequently find.

In the same way, God wants to heal and draw out the real you, including the parts of you that have learned to stay hidden. To join God in this effort, you have to start paying attention. You have to become aware of the ways you’ve been wounded, the methods you’ve used to cope, and the countless subtle and not-so-subtle messages of your conditioning. This work is tender. It requires compassion, courage, and care. And it requires a strong foundation of trust, the cornerstone of which is developing trust with yourself.

After all, how can you trust someone else with the real you if you aren’t sure what they’ll find?

Ephesians 6:10.

Excerpted from The Best of You by Allison Cook, copyright Dr. Allison Cook.

Do you trust anyone, even God who already knows everything? We need people in our lives to help us heal and nurture us toward making godly choices. Try not to hide your real self. Give yourself even if it hurts. Our life is short and then there will be no more pain or suffering with the things of this world, only joy and the blessing of being with our Lord and Savior forever!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 22, 2022

Notes of Faith September 22, 2022

Step Outside the Boat

Making God laugh with your plans isn’t something you have to avoid at all costs. While your mind is busy producing, creating, and planning, don’t allow the idea that your plan may not pan out the exact way you have in mind keep you from producing at all.

If you’ve come to a place where you’ve accepted your identity as an extension of God on Earth, it may take some time for you to figure out exactly how you’re supposed to show up and where you will be most effective. That means there may be moments when even your best efforts end in failure. Failure is not a curse word, and even when we fail in the pursuit of what God has for us, we have a promise that it will all work out for our good.

Have you heard the story about Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, attempting to walk on water? Jesus’ disciples were in a boat in the middle of a storm. Right in the middle of them losing it, Jesus appeared and told them to be calm even though the storm was raging (Matthew 14:28). I’ll paraphrase, but Peter’s response was basically, “God, if that’s really You, command me to come to You.” As in, Jesus, don’t stop the storm, but allow me to walk through the storm the way that You are doing.

There’s a whole sermon in that, but stay focused. Jesus commanded Peter to come to Him, and for a split second Peter began to walk on the water. Unfortunately, he took his eyes off Jesus, and the moment he did, he began to sink. Jesus rescued him from drowning and placed him back on the boat.

There’s much conversation about how Peter didn’t have enough faith, but I can tell you he had more faith than I would have had in the moment. He may not have completed the task the way he had in mind, but he did accomplish something he would have never accomplished had he not challenged himself in the first place.

Don't allow the fear of what other people think keep you from spreading your wings

Why is this important and what does it have to do with your journey? I want you to begin making goals for yourself without fear of failure or of the unknown. I want you to come to a place where you are content with starting to head in the right direction and that you don’t get caught up in whether you’ll reach the desired destination.

If the disciples had been anything like my siblings, when Peter was alone, they would have been clowning him for not being able to keep walking toward Jesus. Nothing would have been off-limits in the commentary, from the way Peter trembled when he saw he was sinking to how he even thought he could do it in the first place. Imagine having an audience while you step out on faith when you’re still battling uncertainty; the possibilities of failure are high.

You may hear a chorus of voices from people in your circle with their own set of commentary as it relates to your goal, but do you know what the other disciples will never be able to say to Peter? They will never be able to say that they know what it’s like to step on water.

He may not have been able to accomplish his goal, but the mere fact that he attempted the goal set him apart from anyone who could have negative feedback about what he attempted. In addition, Peter learned something about Jesus that none of the other disciples were brave enough to learn.

Don’t allow the fear of what other people think keep you from spreading your wings.

What you’re called to do may be different from the circle around you. No one but you and God may understand that for some time, but what matters is that you and God have that understanding. That’s you! If our goal is to become more and more like the image of our Creator, we’re going to have to step out of what we know and begin seeking out what God knows.

I feel like there’s someone reading this and God is saying that He has something He wants you to know about Him that He hasn’t shared with anyone around you. You won’t discover this revelation by staying in the boat. You will only come to this revelation by stepping out and away from those who think they know you so that you can figure out what God truly knows.

Sometimes we think that we need to step away from people forever while we pursue what God is commanding us to do, but the truth is that there will be instances when you only need to step away long enough to get a revelation. Peter gets back in the boat. Peter keeps walking with the disciples. Peter keeps connecting with the world around him, but he is not the same Peter he was before he stepped out of the boat. Peter and Jesus have an insider understanding that only the two of them know. Maybe you just need to step away from your circle long enough to get some inside information about who God is and what God can do with you.

Excerpted from Woman Evolve by Sarah Jakes Roberts, copyright Sarah Jakes Roberts.

Might I also suggest “If You Want To Walk On Water You’ve Got To Get Out Of the Boat” by John Ortberg. Believing faith acts in simple and deep ways. How are you doing in your journey with Jesus? If we want to know God and make Him known, we must read His Word and pray, commune with Him, listen to God as if He is always with us wherever we go (He is), and our journey through this life will stay focused on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 21, 2022

Notes of Faith September 21, 2022

Article by David Mathis

Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

We are a generation crying wolf.

Jesus said to beware “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Paul warned of “fierce wolves” (Acts 20:29). And for two millennia, one of our enemy’s best schemes has been to quietly infiltrate the flock with predators. There have always been wolves.

Yet our awareness of wolves, and access to their stories, is particularly acute in our times, and with it has come hair-trigger suspicion of even worthy leaders. In an effort to expose wolves in sheep’s clothing, some today imagine real shepherds to be wearing wolves’ underwear. The contagion is tragic. In the end, those who will be hurt most are the genuine victims, whose real cries for help will become harder to hear in the din of over-eager accusations.

In confused days like ours, as in every generation, we’re called afresh to take our cues from Scripture, rather than what’s trending in an unbelieving society. We need God’s word on how to watch for wolves, and we also need a positive vision of what to look for in our leaders. As the list grows longer of what to beware, do we have any corresponding clarity on what to pursue?

Three Big Categories

Into one of the great questions of our time, the risen Christ provides some bracing and clear answers. First comes his own words, while among us, in Mark 10:42–45: his leaders don’t “lord it over,” but serve. Then, we have Paul’s remarkable words to the Ephesian elders captured in Acts 20. Add Peter’s charge to “fellow elders” in 1 Peter 5. Hebrews also sounds a clarion call in its final chapter (Hebrews 13:7–8, 13). And most extensive of all, we have the letters of Paul. Especially the Pastoral Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. There, among other passages, we find the “elder qualifications” of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, where the apostle lays out a bounty of fifteen traits in each list, with the two lists largely overlapping.

We have not been left without direction.

However, sometimes we do get lost in plentiful data. In fact, we have so much guidance available for us on what makes for true, enduring, trustworthy leaders that it might help to have some simple, memorable categories to bring organizing clarity to the many details.

Consider one such effort to slice the pie into three pieces, based on the graces catalogued in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The three each start with an H (or H sound). And I’ll show the work on which specific traits go under each heading.

1. Humbled

First and foremost comes the man before his God, that is, “in secret” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). The man is his truest self alone before God, with no human eyes watching. This is the man that family, church, and world may not see directly, but they will most definitely see him indirectly by his fruit. Over time, this man, the real man, comes out. And perhaps the chief manifestation will be a genuine, compelling humility that cannot be faked. “He must not be arrogant” (Titus 1:7).

A pastor might pretend to have first steeped his soul in hearing God’s voice in Bible meditation and having God’s ear in prayer, but he can’t pretend it for weeks on end. His spiritual thinness will manifest. The sheep will know in time.

To be clear, the humility we’re looking for here is not a virtue that a man “grows from scratch,” as if he had been born without pride and just needed to develop the opposite. Rather, he was born a sinner, with deep native conceit — and apart from the grace of God, this original pride will deepen and calcify. And God does not typically purge a man of the main roots of his pride through quiet, painless processes alone. He usually roughs him up in painful moments. He humbles him. It can be ugly. And in time, a different kind of man, by grace, emerges on the other side.

Tim Keller tells of Martyn Lloyd-Jones sitting in a gathering of older pastors who were discussing some younger preacher with extraordinary gifts:

This man was being acclaimed, and there was real hope that God could use him to renew and revive his church. The ministers were hopeful. But then one of them said to the others: “Well, all well and good, but you know, I don’t think he’s been humbled yet.” And the other ministers looked very grave.

Lloyd-Jones, says Keller, was hit hard that “unless something comes into your life that breaks you of your self-righteousness and pride, you may say you believe the gospel of grace but . . . the penny hasn’t dropped” (The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World, 119).

HUMBLED TO LEAD AND FEED

We need humbled pastors. And for most, if not all, God designs the calling process to the pastorate to be part of this humbling. Aspiring to the office is critical, as 1 Timothy 3:1 notes — because in this line of work it is vital to labor “not under compulsion” or “for shameful gain” but willingly and eagerly (1 Peter 5:2). Yet aspiration alone does not make a pastor. He also needs the affirmation over time of fellows in his local church, and then, and often most humbling, the specific real-life appointment of some local church to the office. He may aspire to pastor, but he is not yet called to pastor until some real church appoints him.

“We pray for humbled, whole, and honorable pastors who together will face the challenges that come at each local church.”

So too, under this banner of the humbled man before his Lord, comes the requirement that pastor-elders be (1) “able to teach” and (2) “sober-minded.” Christ calls his undershepherds to lead and feed the flock — that is, to govern and to teach. Which relates to the particular call of church leaders to the word of God and prayer (Acts 6:4). Faithful pastors teach God’s word, not their own preferences, and they lead prayerfully, with God-given sober-mindedness, not natural human wisdom.

Such humbled men “keep their heads” (sober-minded) in conflicted and trying times. They’re calm, settled, secure, and wise — and wise enough not to go off on their own but contribute to and receive wisdom in the context of team leadership, that is, a plurality of local pastors. And such humbled men, when matched with teaching ability (able to teach), are a powerful combination in the leading and feeding of the flock, where genuine skill and ability in teaching is required and where we do not “teach ourselves” as our subject but the stewardship of Scripture we have from Christ.

2. Whole

Second, then, growing out from a man’s devotional life, and life of humility before his God, is the man before those who know him best. We might say “in private.” Does he have integrity? Is he whole, the same in public and private?

One aspect of his wholeness is the broad (and beautiful) banner of self-control (prominent in 1 Timothy 3 and mentioned twice in Titus 1). Has he gained a relative, settled, and holy mastery of his own appetites and bodily passions? Does he seem, by the Spirit, to control his own gut, or is he controlled by it? Related are the two disqualifiers “not a drunkard” and “not a lover of money.”

Intimately connected with “self-control” biblically is sexual holiness and being (literally) a “one-woman man,” which is not simply a box to check (“husband of one wife”) that he’s married and not divorced. Rather, “one-woman man” presses deeper to the fidelity of the man’s soul. Is he faithful to his wife in body, mind, heart, and words? Does he care for her as Christ does for his church? As one of the pastors, he will be part of the team of leaders caring for a particular local church.

Such wholeness, then, also relates to his own household management: “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:4–5). Distraction and abdication at home make him unfit for the leadership the church needs.

3. Honorable

Finally, we have the inevitable public dimension: the man before the watching church and world. At first blush, we might find it strange that spiritual leadership relates so much to public perception and reputation, but we should keep in mind the public nature of church office. It is vital that our pastors be honorable.

The express trait that gets at this most clearly is “respectable,” that is, the man’s life and words make it easier (rather than harder) to respect him, both within the church and in the broader community. So, leading the lists in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 is “above reproach.” This likely begins with Christian eyes, though it’s complemented with “outsiders” in 1 Timothy 3:7: “Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

One aspect of this honorable public life is hospitality, which is literally “love of strangers.” Rather than defaulting to fear or dislike of unknown persons, he extends welcome in Christ, whether to the church or into his own home or into conversation.

One final piece of honorable public bearing is how the man carries himself in conflict and when upset. Paul says “not violent but gentle.” Gentleness is not the absence of strength, but the addition of virtue to strength. It applies strength in life-giving, rather than life-harming, ways. One last disqualifier is “not quarrelsome.” Mature Christian leaders aren’t afraid to engage when they must, but they don’t go around picking fights for sport (2 Timothy 2:24–26).

Resilient in Conflict

The nature of the Christian faith is such that good leaders are perennially important. Yet, as many of us have learned in tough times, good leaders prove even more precious in conflict. That’s the setting in both Ephesus and Crete, as Paul writes to Timothy and Titus, and it’s foregrounded in 2 Timothy 2:24–26 and in 1 Peter 5:1–5.

“Good pastors, as a local team of sober-minded teachers, shine all the brighter in tough times.”

Good pastors, as a local team of sober-minded teachers, shine all the brighter in tough times, in the times of difficulty and suffering that already were in the first century, that many face today, and that are coming in the days ahead. And so, we pray for humbled, whole, and honorable pastors who together will meet the challenges that come to each local church.

Even as our generation cries wolf, we pray and look expectantly, knowing that such worthy leaders do not emerge by accident, nor are they as rare as some may suspect. Rather, they are divine gifts, sovereignly appointed and provided, supplied by the risen Christ, for the joy and health of his church.

My desire is to draw ever close to the throne of grace, to know my Lord and Savior as I am known. As I seek my Master, He calls to lead others to Him in the same manner that He did/does. I recommend that you pray for any spiritual shepherd in your life, that they might be humble, whole, honorable, resilient in conflict and much more for the glory of God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 20, 2022

Notes of Faith September 20, 2022

Freedom Revolution

Imagine hiking in a swampy area. The going is tough, and you’re all alone. You keep a watchful eye out for predators, but you don’t notice that you’ve suddenly strayed into some sandy-looking terrain. The ground feels spongy for one step. Two. Suddenly it gives way.

You’re up to your knees in quicksand.

It’s wet. Shifting. You’re stuck and very slowly going down. You shout for help, but no one’s around. You fight to free yourself, but you can’t reach any handholds to lift yourself up. You struggle. You flail against the wet sand, but you’re soon up to your thighs and slowly continuing to sink. You’re trapped. Definitely panicking now.

An hour goes by. Another hour. Still another. The sun is scorching hot overhead. You vow not to give up, but you’re growing exhausted. The harder you fight, the more the quicksand weighs you down. You’ve heard somewhere that struggling only makes you sink faster, so you try to be still, but it’s against all your instincts. You flounder. Grasp for anything. The grit of the murky sand chafes against your skin. You’re past your waist now, your body firmly wedged in the trap. Another hour goes by. Another. You’re down past your chest. You barely have the energy to kick anymore. You can hardly move.

Here’s a startling fact about quicksand: due to the physics of shifting sand and weight distribution, the grains of sand that trap you almost always jam up and bind together before you sink too far. It’s a phenomenon called “force chain,”1 and unlike what you see in the movies, you won’t be suddenly sucked in over your head. In the real world, you can sink a long way down, particularly if you struggle, and you definitely can die in quicksand. Yet people seldom die from sinking and suffocating, as you might think. Instead, they die from exhaustion. From the effects of desperation and exposure.

They die because they wear themselves out trying to escape.

Train your mind and heart to see yourself as victorious in Christ

When it comes to fighting sin, the same can be true. Many of us are floundering in poor choices; for years we’ve battled against the spiral of sin and temptation as though it were quicksand, but it keeps sucking us down. We keep struggling, but we can’t seem to climb onto solid ground. In desperation we panic or lapse into spiritual exhaustion. It seems no matter what we try, we can’t free ourselves, and it feels like we’ve reached the point where we can’t fight anymore. We’re an inch from giving up. But guess what?

You do not need to be swallowed in the quicksand of sin.

SURROUNDED, CLOTHED, SECURE, NEW

You have victory in Christ. This is not mere preacher-talk or church rhetoric. Jesus has already won. He’s seated in the place of victory at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2). When eternity unfolds, Jesus won’t return to earth to fight sin again. He’ll return as the ultimate victor. Because Jesus has already won the victory over sin, you have access to this victory too. You are freed from sin’s quicksand by living in your new identity. Sin, temptation, and a poor thought life don’t need to hold you down. The power to live freely comes from your close association with Christ and His victory.

To be clear, our battle isn’t won because the pressure lifts from our lives or because our circumstances change. We’ve seen this all along in our study of Psalm 23:4–5. We will still walk through dark valleys throughout our entire lives. We will still sit at a table that’s surrounded by enemies. The battle isn’t won because the pressure lets up. No. The battle is won because of who walks with us through the dark valleys and who sits at the table with us when we’re surrounded by troubles.

What does it mean to be associated with Christ and His victory? Let’s unpack this concept. Second Corinthians 5:17 says we are “in Christ” and a “new creation,” and Galatians 3:26–28 says we are “clothed” with Christ. It means that Jesus makes us brand new, and we’re completely enfolded by the righteousness of Christ. Colossians 3:3 talks about how our lives are “hidden with Christ.” Imagine a hidden room in a house, or a hidden pocket inside a coat. When something is hidden, it’s both concealed and secure. Our brand-new righteousness isn’t fleeting. It’s protected and safe.

Train your mind and heart to believe that you are a new creation. Your righteousness is safe because of Christ.

There’s more. Ephesians 2:6 says,

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.

That means we are united with Christ in victory. Since Christ was brought up from the grave, we are brought up together with Him also. We are that closely connected with Christ. Whatever Jesus has won, we have won also. God Almighty took on the form of a human who took the full weight of the world’s sins on the cross. Jesus suffered and died and was raised to life again. That is what has won the battle. First Corinthians 15:57 says,

Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Train your mind and heart to see yourself as victorious in Christ.

When temptations threaten us, we first become free by changing our perspectives. Instead of floundering in the quicksand of sin and temptation for the rest of our lives, we change how we think. We take responsibility for what happens in our minds and say, “I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. I am a brand-new creation. Christ is the victor, and I can adopt a mindset that sees me walking in all the victory Jesus has won for me.”

Your new mindset tells you that God is faithful. You remind yourself of this truth. You remind yourself and remind yourself again. That constant reminding begins to change the old patterns that led you to defeat. Sin is not the end of the story anymore. Your faithful God promised a way out of temptation. True to His promise, He provides the way out, so you can and will escape this temptation. You can walk through dark valleys, and you can sit in the presence of your enemies with a different way of thinking about what God has for you. First John 5:4 says,

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world.

How do you refuse the Enemy a seat at your table? You must start from this place of identity. You remind yourself that Jesus has already won your struggle. And because you are joined with Him, something powerful has already happened. Whatever He has won, you have won. You are in Christ, and Christ is in you. Since Christ has victory, you have access to that victory right now. You’re not fighting the battle against sin on your own strength. You’re tapping into the huge, all-powerful engine of God’s resurrection power (Philippians 3:10). This is that engine for change we hinted at earlier.

Maybe that sounds like a lot of theological rhetoric to get your mind around, but it really isn’t complicated. It boils down to God’s faithfulness. Let’s look again at 1 Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (emphasis added)

It’s that straightforward. Read the verse again. God is faithful.

When you rely on Him, He will provide a way out.

“What Happens If You Fall into Quicksand?,” produced by What If?, in conjunction with Underknown and Ontario Creates, July 24, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYlZyO62V7A.

Excerpted from Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

Fighting temptation and sin by yourself is a losing battle. Fighting temptation and sin with the power of God and all that He provides for you with His Spirit within and the fellowship of other believers brings a glorious win! Seek the Lord, His Word, His power and strength at the first moment of struggle with temptation and sin and you will experience the glory of God!

Pastor Dale