Notes of Faith April 10, 2023

Notes of Faith April 10, 2023

Matters of the Heart

Arise

I awoke in the desert on Easter morning. Through the window of my tent, I could see branches of a pinion pine, the sharp tines of a yucca, and beyond them soft, rolling sandstone — in full daylight the color of oatmeal, but glowing golden now with first light. The birds were up, rejoicing, flitting to and fro in the pinion, but, thanks be to God, not another living thing could be seen or heard. I had awakened on my fifth morning in Arches National Park, hidden near the northeast corner of Utah, but it could have been Palestine around ad 33. This desert is not a wasteland, as many people wrongly picture when they hear the word, but a vibrant place full of grasses, cacti, juniper, and pinion, and wildflowers scattered across the landscape, a place where you can find puma prints in the soft, wet sand down in the canyons, where springs nearly reach the surface. A place of life in many ways.

It was cold enough to see my breath when I stepped out of the tent, so I cranked the Coleman stove to set water boiling for coffee and cocoa before I roused the boys, cocooned head-and-all down in their sleeping bags. Savoring moments that were mine alone, I climbed to the top of the rocks behind our camp to drink in the vast beauty of the desert at dawn. To the west, gigantic mesas, Navajo sandstone, rose like ancient fortresses from the desert floor, their sheer red cliffs radiating back the rays that had not reached the sands at their feet.

I turned to the east to take the glad warmth of the new day head-on, surprised to see the La Sal Mountains covered in snow, a hundred miles away. My heart was at home in this place of wild beauty and staggering vistas. But it was an awkward time to have come. On this resurrection morn, Stasi was in Los Angeles, holding the hand of her dying mother. She would be gone in less than a month. Strange timing to up and go camping. But God brought me here.

Like many pilgrims down through the ages, I discovered my spiritual life in the desert. I found solitude and silence in the Mojave of southern California, far from the numbing sameness and suffocating density of the suburbs that warehouse millions of people. The desert awakened my heart, and I discovered freedom of spirit walking across the arroyos for hours upon end, haunted by stark beauty and the thin veil of heaven there. No wonder Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist spent their free time in the desert. And though the desert meant so much to me, spoke to my heart, I left it behind many years ago. You know how life pickpockets you of these things, slipping them away so subtly you never even notice they are gone. I simply stopped going.

In the spring of 2001, Stasi was making frequent trips to southern California to be with her mom, whom we were losing to multiple myeloma, and I was doing my best with the boys and the bills back home in Colorado. To be honest, we were simply waiting for “the call,” when we would jump a flight to attend Jane’s funeral. So I did not believe it was God when first I heard him say, Go to Moab. Go to the desert. It took several confirmations to get my attention. At a coffeehouse I ran into a young gal who in the midst of chitchat simply dropped into the conversation that she’d just returned from Moab. I did a sort of double take, then asked calmly, “How was it?” “Great,” she said. “You have to go.” The next day I was on the phone with a pastor from Denver, making plans for a men’s retreat. “I just got back from Moab,” he said, out of the blue. “It was awesome.” I’m simply confessing that I came to the desert borne not on the wings of my own wisdom, but hesitantly, reluctantly, pushed along by God.

Moab. Okay. The boys are missing Mom and the distraction would be good and there’s really nothing more we can do from here anyway except pray, which I might give more devotion to out in the wild, and so we came. I was surprised at the level of warfare I had to fight through. For about five hours of the drive I was forced to bring the work of Christ against an overwhelming oppression that made it hard to concentrate, a really awful veil over my spirit. Over a camping trip? It seemed so stupid. But the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy any movement toward freedom and life. We battled through, got there late, and discovered that God had held the last campsite for us.

I’m not sure I can even put into words all that Jesus restored to me in those five days, but some part of my heart long forgotten was given back, along with some deep words I desperately needed. I came alive in the vast, wild desert. And it began to sink in.

My heart matters to God. My heart has always mattered to Him.

It is one thing to say we believe that; it is another thing to discover it is true. This was a gift unique to my heart, and it could not have been given in any other place. I awoke that Easter morning more alive than I have been in a long, long time.

My heart matters to God. My heart has always mattered to Him.

Treating Your Heart for the Treasure It Is

Above all else, guard your heart. — Proverbs 4:23

We usually hear this with a sense of “keep an eye on that heart of yours,” in the way you’d warn a deputy watching over some dangerous outlaw, or a bad dog the neighbors let run. “Don’t let him out of your sight.” Having so long believed our hearts are evil, we assume the warning is to keep us out of trouble. So we lock up our hearts and throw away the key, and then try to get on with our living. But that isn’t the spirit of the command at all. It doesn’t say guard your heart because it’s criminal; it says guard your heart because it is the wellspring of your life, because it is a treasure, because everything else depends on it. How kind of God to give us this warning, like someone’s entrusting to a friend something precious to him, with the words: “Be careful with this — it means a lot to me.”

Above all else? Good grief — we don’t even do it once in a while. We might as well leave our life savings on the seat of the car with the windows rolled down — we’re that careless with our hearts. “If not for my careless heart,” sang Roy Orbison, and it might be the anthem for our lives. Things would be different. I would be further along. My faith would be much deeper. My relationships so much better. My life would be on the path God meant for me… if not for my careless heart. We live completely backward. “All else” is above our hearts. I’ll wager that caring for your heart isn’t even a category you think in. “Let’s see — I’ve got to get the kids to soccer, the car needs to be dropped off at the shop, and I need to take a couple of hours for my heart this week.” It probably sounds unbiblical.

Seriously, now — what do you do on a daily basis to care for your heart? Okay, that wasn’t fair. How about weekly? Monthly?

Yes, we do have a cultural scrap of this called vacation. Most working-class folks get a week or two off each year, and that is the only time they actually plan to do something that might be good for their souls. Or they squander the scrap on some place like Miami, as a poor man spends his last dollar on a lottery ticket. And you know how it goes when you get back. The attitude among your family, friends, and colleagues is usually something like, “Great! You’re back! Hope you had a good time ’cause, boy, everything fell apart while you were gone and we’re expecting — now that you’re rested up — that you’ll really put your nose to the grindstone.” Whatever that week gave you is devoured in a matter of moments or days.

But God intends that we treat our hearts as the treasures of the kingdom, ransomed at tremendous cost, as if they really do matter, and matter deeply.

Excerpted from Waking the Dead by John Eldredge, copyright John Eldredge.

My escape from the world to draw closer to God has for many years been the mountains of northern California, a good ten hour, as I got older, two day drive. But once there, I found the same experience as this person in the desert. The ability to set aside things of this world to focus, not even on the beauty of nature around me, but on God. Find your place to be alone with God. It could be as simple as a special place in your house, a picture on your wall, an early hour to just be quiet and alone with God. May you continue to be blessed in the presence of the living God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 8, 2023

Notes of Faith April 8, 2023

In Between Despair and Joy

So far as we know, there has only been one day in the last two thousand years when literally not one person in the world believed Jesus was alive.

On Saturday morning after Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples wake after not having slept for two days. The city that was screaming for blood the day before is quiet. Crowds have disbanded.

Jesus is dead.

What do they do on Saturday?

It’s strange that the two days on either side of Saturday are so heavily discussed. Some of the brightest minds in the world have devoted themselves primarily to those two days; they have been across the centuries maybe the two most studied days in history. The Bible is full of what happened the day before, the day Jesus was killed. And the next day, Sunday, is the day believers say gave birth to the most death-defying, grave-defeating, fear-destroying, hope-inspiring, transcendent joy in the history of the world. Pentecostals still shout about it. Charismatics still dance because of it. Baptists still say Amen! over it. Presbyterians still study it. Episcopalians still toast it with sherry. Some people think of Sunday in mellower terms, as a metaphor for hope. And others think of it as a dangerous enemy of logic, reason, and mortality.

Let’s just leave Sunday alone for now.

This isn’t Sunday. This isn’t Friday. This is Saturday. The day after this but the day before that. The day after a prayer gets prayed but there is no answer on the way. The day after a soul gets crushed way down but there’s no promise of ever getting up off the mat.

It’s a strange day, this in-between day. In between despair and joy. In between confusion and clarity. In between bad news and good news. In between darkness and light.

Even in the Bible – outside of one detail about guards being posted to watch the tomb – we’re told nothing about Saturday. Saturday is the day with no name, the day when nothing happened.

Now only a handful of followers remain. Friday was a nightmare day; Friday was the kind of day that is pure terror, the kind when you run on adrenaline. On Saturday when Jesus’ followers wake up, the terror is past, at least for the moment; the adrenaline is gone.

Those who believe in Jesus gather, quietly maybe. They remember. It’s what people do. Things He said. What He taught. Things He did. People He touched or healed. They remember what it felt like when this Jesus wanted them. They remember their hopes and dreams. They were going to change the world.

Now it’s Saturday.

Maybe they talk about what went wrong. What in God’s name happened? None of them wants to say this, but in their hearts, they’re trying to come to grips with this unfathomable thought: Jesus failed. Jesus ended up a failure. Noble attempt, but He couldn’t get enough followers.

He couldn’t convince the chief priests. He couldn’t win over Rome to make peace. He couldn’t get enough ordinary people to understand His message. He couldn’t even train His disciples to be courageous at the moment of great crisis.

Everybody knows Saturday.

Saturday is the day your dream died. You wake up and you’re still alive. You have to go on, but you don’t know how. Worse, you don’t know why.

This odd day raises a question: Why is there a Saturday? It doesn’t seem to further the story line at all. We might expect that if Jesus was going to be crucified then resurrected, God would just get on with it. It seems strange for God to spread two events over three days.

In its own way, perhaps Saturday should mark the world as much as Friday and Sunday.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday lie at the heart of the ancient calendar. They attributed great significance to the notion that this event was a three-day story.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day [Paul adds again] according to the Scriptures.” The Old Testament Scriptures are filled with what might be called “third-day stories.” When Abraham is afraid he’s going to have to sacrifice Isaac, he sees the sacrifice that will save his son’s life on the third day. Joseph’s brothers get put in prison, and they’re released on the third day. Israelite spies are told by Rahab to hide from their enemies, and then they’ll be safe on the third day. When Esther hears that her people are going to be slaughtered, she goes away to fast and pray. On the third day, the king receives her favorably.

It’s such a recurring pattern that the prophet Hosea says,

Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces… After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence.

All three-day stories share a structure. On the first day there is trouble, and on the third day there is deliverance. On the second day, there is nothing – just the continuation of trouble.

The problem with third-day stories is, you don’t know it’s a third-day story until the third day.

When it’s Friday, when it’s Saturday, as far as you know, deliverance is never going to come. It may just be a one-day story, and that one day of trouble may last the rest of your life.

The miracle of Sunday is that a dead man lives. The miracle of Saturday is that the eternal Son of God lies dead.

I said before that Saturday is the day when nothing happens. That’s not quite right. Silence happens on Saturday. After trouble hits you, after the agony of Friday, you call out to God. “Hear me! Listen to me! Respond to me! Do something! Say something! Rescue!”

Nothing.

On Saturday, in addition to the pain of Friday, there is the pain of silence and absence of God.

When C. S. Lewis wrote his memoirs about coming to faith in Jesus, he called it Surprised by Joy. The book is about how his love of joy led him to faith in Jesus, and he actually took as the title a phrase in a poem by William Wordsworth. When Lewis wrote the book, he was a fifty-seven-year-old bachelor. He had met a woman named Joy whom, after the book was published, he ended up marrying. His friends enjoyed teasing him that he really had been surprised by Joy.

After a lifetime of waiting, Lewis knew love only briefly. Joy died soon after they were married of cancer, a lingering, very painful death.

So Lewis wrote another book: A Grief Observed. A Saturday book.

When you are happy, so happy you have no sense of needing God, so happy you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be – or so it feels – welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become… What can this mean?

Why is He so present a Commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?

A husband, a father, wants more than anything in the world to save his marriage. His wife will not listen and will not help. He is not perfect (not by a long shot), but he wants to do a really good thing. He can’t find out why his wife won’t respond to him, and he can’t stand what it’s doing to his children. Heaven is silent.

A mom and a dad find out the child they love has a terminal illness. They pray like crazy but hear only silence. She’s getting worse. You lose a job. You lose a friend. You lose your health. You have a dream for your child. And on Friday, it dies. What do you do on Saturday?

You can choose despair. Paul writes about this: “How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” In other words, apparently some people said, “There is never going to be a Sunday. It’s Friday. Get used to it. Do disappointment management, because that’s as good as it’s going to get.” Some people – silently, secretly – live here. You can choose denial – simplistic explanations, impatience, easy answers, artificial pleasantness. Hydroplane over authentic humanity, forced optimism, clichéd formulas, false triumphalism.

Paul wrote to Timothy that some “say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” In other words, apparently some said, “It’s already Sunday. The resurrection has already happened for all of us, so if you’re having any problems, if you’re still sick, if your prayers aren’t being answered, you just don’t have enough faith. Get with the program.” Or there is this third option:

You can wait. Work with God even when He feels far away. Rest. Ask. Whine. Complain. Trust.

Oddly, the most common psalm is the psalm of complaint. The Saturday psalm. God, why aren’t you listening?

An ancient homily spoke of this strange day: What happened today on earth? There is a great silence – a great silence and stillness. A great silence because the King sleeps. God has died in the flesh, and hell trembles with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent as for a lost sheep.

The Apostles’ Creed says Jesus descended into hell.

Somehow no suffering you go through is suffering Jesus will not endure in order to save you.

From a human standpoint, we think of the miraculous day as Sunday, the day the man Jesus is risen from the dead. I wonder if, from Heaven’s standpoint, the great miracle isn’t on Saturday. When Jesus is born, the skies are filled with the heavenly hosts praising God because that baby is Emmanuel, God with us. Somehow God in a manger, somehow God in a stable, somehow God on earth. Now on Saturday the angels look down and see what? God in a tomb.

The miracle of Sunday is that a dead man lives. The miracle of Saturday is that the eternal Son of God lies dead.

So Jesus Christ defeats our great enemy death not by proclaiming His invincibility over it but by submitting Himself to it. If you can find this Jesus in a grave, if you can find Him in death, if you can find Him in hell, where can you not find Him? Where will He not turn up?

Excerpted from Who Is This Man? by John Ortberg, copyright Zondervan.

This is something to think about…what about Saturday? We are not told much about Saturday, but I’m sure the disciples experienced more than we will ever experience. Jesus was gone and they did not understand, yet. They had heard him say many times that He would be crucified and rise on the third day, but they could not remember and focus on that truth on this Saturday. The one thing that they could do, and I believe they did, was to pray. We can pray too, when the Saturdays of life come along and we feel like God is nowhere to be found. Prayer will draw us close to the One who wants intimate relationship with us and has done all of His work for us and that relationship with us. Praise God! Not a statement… Praise God on this Saturday for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He promises to do for you and me. Take time right now to pray and praise God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 7, 2023

Notes of Faith April 7, 2023

Yet Not as I will, But as You Will

Perhaps no event in the life of Jesus more powerfully demonstrates the radical nature of His dependence on God and His obedience to God’s will than the prayer He offered up in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion.

Jesus, like everyone else living during the Roman Empire, knew full well the brutality that was execution by crucifixion. The drawn-out process would be utterly humiliating and excruciating. Jesus knew that He would feel, as any human being would, the full force of degradation and pain, trauma and betrayal, injustice and hopelessness. As a human, He was anxious. He told His disciples before He entered the interior of the garden,

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. — Matthew 26:38

Once Jesus was by Himself, He fell face to the ground and prayed:

My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine. — Matthew 26:39 NLT

He prayed this prayer not just once, but three times.

Jesus pleaded for a stay of execution.

Could anyone blame Him? Surely, by this time He knew there was no other way for salvation to be made available to the entire human race. He was the spotless lamb, the Messiah about whom the Old Testament prophets wrote. He was the sinless Son of God. He had not cratered to any temptation. This was the only possible solution. If not Jesus, then who? If not Jesus, then humanity would be without hope. Yet Jesus petitioned the Father to see if there might be another way.

My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine. — Matthew 26:39 NLT

Jesus finished all three prayers with a declaration that had been true throughout His entire thirty-three years walking this earth. He surrendered himself to his Father:

Yet not as I will, but as You will.

This is the climax, the crescendo of Jesus’ life purpose. The gospel texts don’t record the Father’s answer, but Jesus’ actions make it clear that He understood the Father’s will.

Then He returned to the disciples and said to them,

Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes My betrayer! — Matthew 26:45–46

You can sense the resolve in Jesus’ voice. He had received a clear answer. It was the Father’s will for Jesus to face the cross for the love of humankind. “Rise,” He said. “Let us go!” Jesus was saying, “I know without a doubt what I am to do. There is no turning back. Let’s get this done!” That is a picture of total surrender to the will of the Father. Of course, we all know how this story turned out.

Three days later, Jesus was alive again and the path had been laid for all people to come into an eternal relationship with God.

Excerpted from His Mighty Strength by Randy Frazee, copyright Randy Frazee.

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The resurrection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus, means that we too, who believe in Him, will be resurrected to eternal life. Jesus defeated sin and death brought into the world through the wicked deception of Satan, who also was defeated through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. We are offered the life originally intended in creation. Let us all believe and receive the gift of resurrection to eternal life, made like Him in sinless glory, and to live with Him forever!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 6, 2023

Notes of Faith April 6, 2023

Where Is Jesus? The Foot of the Empty Cross

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. — Acts 4:12

What is the ultimate victory of the cross? That it could not hold the Savior of the world, who triumphed over sin and death, winning salvation for mankind. The resurrection story of Jesus Christ is what gives meaning and power to the cross. What a failure Christianity would be if it could not carry our hopes beyond the coldness and depths of the grave. You see, the resurrection means the salvation of our souls.

What does the resurrection mean to you? Many have never thought about it. Some believe that Jesus died leaving a legacy of “Do good to your neighbor,” never believing that He was raised from the dead. Others think the resurrection was a hoax. There are those who question whether Jesus even existed.

True believers in Jesus Christ have no doubt that He lived among us, died for our sins, and after three days was resurrected to life, conquering the sting of death, offering the human race the greatest gift — His sacrificial love.

Several years ago an entertainment network carried a story on the Billy Graham Library, highlighting it as a point of interest in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. The show’s cohost, Kristy Villa, arrived on the property along with her crew and was met by a colleague who explained what visitors might experience while there. She drew the journalist’s attention to the many crosses displayed, including the forty-foot glass cross through which visitors enter the building.

Halfway through the presentation Villa said with a sense of awe, “I see all the crosses, but where is Jesus?” The colleague smiled and said, “He’s in Heaven, and He is also present in the lives of those who believe in Him and follow Him as their personal Lord and Savior.”

The journalist threw her hands around her face and exclaimed, “Oh, that’s right! Some worship a crucifix, but Christians worship a risen Christ.” After a moment Villa said, “I have been in church my whole life, but I have never heard the emphasis put on an empty cross.”

She may not have realized it, but she had just proclaimed the heart of the Gospel, as I have done for more than seventy years, and later told her viewers, “This destination [the Library] is a place you must come and see!” When I heard this marvelous report, it made my heart leap, and I thought about the words of the psalmist:

Come and see what God has done... for mankind! — Psalm 66:5 NIV

The question we must all answer is, “What does Jesus’ work on the cross and His resurrection mean to us, and what does it mean to be saved?”

Many people, including some who claim to be Christians, do not fully grasp the impact that the crucified and risen Christ makes upon the human heart. How do I know this? Because there is no change in them. Have you asked yourself, “What do I believe about the empty cross and the empty tomb?”

The foot of the empty cross is the ultimate destination in life. Your acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice, or your rejection of it, determines your future life. If you do not believe that Jesus died for you, then you will remain the same, being gripped by sin and dying by its penalty, with certainty of eternal judgment in Hell and banishment from God. But if you believe that Jesus rose from the grave, achieving victory over the cross of death, and you accept that He paid your penalty, you will never be the same.

What does it mean to be saved?

The Empty Cross Is Full of Hope

The cross represents doom for sin and hope for sinners. It condemns sin and cleanses souls. The cross is where Jesus was crucified in our place and where Christ brings resurrection life to mankind. The bloodstained cross is gruesome to some, but the empty cross is full of hope.

Satan, overly eager to thwart God’s purposes, overstepped his bounds, and God turned what seemed to be life’s greatest tragedy into history’s greatest triumph. The death of Christ, perpetrated by evil men, was thought by them to be the end, but His grave became but a doorway to a larger victory.

The resurrection empowers faith in Jesus Christ. If I did not believe that Christ overcame death on the cross and bodily rose from the grave, I would have quit preaching years ago. I am absolutely convinced that Jesus is living at this moment at the right hand of God the Father and reigns in my heart. I believe it by faith, and I believe it by evidence found in the Scriptures.

Luke, a physician and disciple of Jesus, was one of the most brilliant men of his day; he made this startling statement about the resurrection in the book of Acts:

He... presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. — Acts 1:3

These “infallible proofs” have been debated for two thousand years. Many people have come to know the truth while they tried to prove Jesus’ resurrection a lie and failed. Others ignore the facts recorded in the best-selling book of all time, the Bible.

Excerpted from The Reason for My Hope by Billy Graham, copyright Billy Graham.

The greatest, most misunderstood, most hard to believe (for many), is the eternal plan of God to offer salvation and redemption through His Son, the only way to rightly justify the sin of mankind. His willing sacrifice on the cross offered to mankind a new beginning of the eternal relationship with God. Believe and receive all that God desires for you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 5, 2023

Notes of Faith April 5, 2023

The Lamb, Yahweh

For those of us who aren’t familiar with Jewish traditions, Passover is an eight-day festival which is celebrated from the 15th to the 22nd of the Hebrew month called Nissan. The dates on the American calendar change every year. This year Passover is April 5 (Shabbat, or Sabbath) in the evening through, April 13 after sundown.

A number of years ago I heard Jimmy DeYoung, an outstanding news commentator and Bible teacher, make a presentation at a Bible prophecy conference. Since it was during the Christmas season, he was teaching about the birth of Jesus in the first chapter of Luke. He read to us Luke 2:8–12:

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.’

Dr. DeYoung then asked the audience a surprising question: “Did you ever wonder why this was a sign?” This left us all speechless. I had to admit to myself that I had never even questioned it. Why was it a sign? Dr. DeYoung had us turn to the book of Micah. We were all familiar with Micah 5:2, which prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but many of us were not familiar with Micah 4:8, which prophesied that He would be announced at the tower of the flock (Migdal Eder). Dr. DeYoung, who had lived in Jerusalem for a number of years, told us that Migdal Eder was a two-story tower that had been built in a pasture outside Bethlehem. The remains of the tower had recently been discovered.

Dr. DeYoung explained that the shepherds in the field had not all been the lowly shepherds that we had always assumed. They were actually priests from the temple who were doing shepherding work to assist in the birthing of the sacrificial lambs so that they would be unblemished for sacrifice. While the shepherds were keeping watch over the flock from the top floor of the tower, the shepherd-priests would bring the pregnant sheep in from the field to the tower’s bottom floor, where the sheep would give birth. As soon as a lamb was born, the priests would wrap it with strips of cloths made from old priestly undergarments. This was done to keep the lamb from getting blemished. The priests would then place the lamb onto a manger to make sure it would not get trampled. Wow! So when these shepherd-priests went into Bethlehem and saw the baby Jesus wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger, they must have exclaimed, “There is the Lamb of God, prepared for sacrifice, unblemished!” They had to be excited beyond description, because they were the only ones who could have understood the sign. It was just for them from God. It was personal!

God gave us so many pictures in order that we could understand the magnitude of His loving grace!

I presume that Jesus’ swaddling cloths were from the same source as the lambs’ cloths. Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was married to the priest Zacharias. Elizabeth could have given her the cloths made from the priestly undergarments. It is highly probable that the first clothes that Jesus wore were the clothes of a priest. What a sign! I was so intrigued by this that I did some further research. These historical observations and parallels were confirmed by many messianic rabbis and the renowned historical writer Alfred Edersheim. I also sought out help from Bob Ibach, an experienced archaeologist, who had done some digs in Israel. He found the written account and pictures of the discovery of “the tower of the flock,” Migdal Eder. This whole insight made the account of the announcement of Jesus’ birth astounding and even more exciting!

More and more facts began to unfold in my research. I was talking further with David Schiller, my Jewish teacher and friend, about what I had learned about the shepherds and the lambs. He amazed me with some more historical insights. He explained that each Jewish family would put the family name around the neck of their lamb that they took to the Temple to be sacrificed. They did this to make sure they received their own lamb back for the Passover dinner. I wondered if there was any significance to this piece of trivia. As I was contemplating this, Schiller pointed out to me a particular object found in most of the paintings of Christ on the cross. There was a small sign at the top of the cross that looked like four letters: “INRI.” I discovered that this was an abbreviation of the sign that Pontius Pilot placed on the cross as seen in John 19:19:

Pilate also wrote an inscription, and put it on the cross. It was written, ‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’

I learned that the letters were the first letters of each of the nouns in the inscription in Latin. I contacted my daughter Ruth, who is very good with Latin, and asked her to show me the inscription in the Latin Vulgate. That confirmed it: “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum” (INRI).

Then Schiller opened my eyes to an incredible observation. Since the inscription had been in three languages — Latin, Greek, and Hebrew — he transliterated it for me from Hebrew to English. I saw before me these words: “Y’Shua HaNatzri V’Melech HaYehudim.” I was absolutely stunned when I took the first letters of each of these words. It spelled “YHVH,” the Tetragrammaton form of the name of God! YHVH and YHWH can be used interchangeably. When this technique of abbreviating is used, the title on the cross in the actual Hebraic script undeniably reveals the name of God. In English, the name is pronounced “Yahweh!”

Just like the Jews put their family name on their lamb for sacrifice at the Temple, God put His name on His Lamb for His family, which includes you and me!

God gave us so many pictures in order that we could understand the magnitude of His loving grace!

Excerpted from Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts by Michael Norten, copyright Thomas Nelson.

Maybe there is something new here that you have learned or can at least dig deeper into the truth of God. We will be eternally growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 4, 2023

Notes of Faith April 4, 2023

Today’s Notes of Faith is a little long, but from a respected and admired man of god that has much wisdom. I pray that you will read to the end and be blessed by God through what is said.

My wife and I recently went to see the movie, Jesus Revolution. The same day we went to see that movie, the news media (or at least some of the media) were continuing to carry a story about a revival that was occurring on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.

Today, in this Praiseletter, we are going to attempt to get some clarity, perspective, and guidance concerning these kinds of events that have happened historically and are happening presently.

Even as I say that, it’s very possible that some of you are already choosing up sides (which always happens when these events occur) as to whether or not these revivals, awakenings, or so-called outpourings, are genuine, God-ordained, Spirit-empowered “happenings” or just emotionally charged and manipulated (by men) anomalies.

The best answer I can give is, I believe they can be both. This, of course, is where discernment comes in. But unfortunately, even discernment can be “muddied” by dogmatic opinions that have oftentimes been grounded in faulty doctrine, which inevitably leads to prejudiced or biased actions or reactions.

Our only hope of sorting these issues out is to go to God’s Word. So, first let’s consider the word revival in light of God’s revealed truth, as it relates to the aforementioned topics.

Revival definition: “restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, an awakening, in a church or community, of interest in and care for matters relating to personal religion.”

I recently read a rather lengthy opinion piece by a highly regarded and well-respected theologian, dismissing any validity or credibility to the Asbury revival. In short, his opinion was that because revival is not a term found anywhere in the New Testament, we err in supposing that “these kinds of things” are to be anticipated or embraced today.

This line of thinking is rather like a particular denomination that allows no instruments to be used in the act of corporate worship in the church. Their reasoning is that nowhere in the New Testament are instruments mentioned, even though there are numerous mentions of varied instruments throughout the Old Testament.

There is music to be sure in this particular denomination, by way of acapella choirs, ensembles, and soloists. Beautiful music, I might add. The choirs and ensembles get their correct beginning note from a pitch pipe. A pitch pipe is akin to a harmonica but with fewer available notes. It is, by any definition, an instrument (though they’ll argue that) but that’s a topic for another time, not today. But you get the argument. If the word that defines the event is not mentioned, then the event itself cannot be credible or viable.

Many, it seems, who are the quickest to speak out against the possibility that God, in His sovereignty, might again do what scripture verifies He has done historically, say: “Such outpourings, awakenings, revivings, and the miraculous have all ended at the conclusion of the Apostolic Age.” Oh well, that settles it! But wait a minute...I’ve read my Bible from cover to cover many times and I don’t recall coming across the term “Apostolic Age” anywhere...not once!

Now relax, I believe the term Apostolic Age is most appropriate in defining that period of time from the Day of Pentecost (c. A.D. 30-33, Acts 2 to the death of John c. A.D. 100). There are some nuanced opinions on this, but I am comfortable with the previous definition. There are no more apostles! By the defined qualifications found in scripture, apostles were those who:

1) Were an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ.

2) Were directly called by Christ.

3) Demonstrated “Signs of a true apostle” (performed signs and wonders).

There are some who may have an apostolic-type ministry as it relates to “being sent out.” But, I do not believe there are apostles today who can meet the same criteria as those of the Apostolic Age. However, the point in all this is to be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater,” as the saying goes.

Though the Apostolic Age has ended, we must be careful not to automatically suppose that all that the Holy Spirit was doing during that time has ended as well. The Holy Spirit is not still inspiring men to write words that are equal to or in addition to the Canon of Scripture. Of this we can be sure! However, I find it interesting that many who are so adamant about the sovereignty of God (I believe He is absolutely sovereign) are often among the first to say what He can or can’t, will or won’t, do anymore.

Has God ever revived? (Remember Nineveh?)

Has He ever poured out His Spirit? (Remember Pentecost and subsequent scriptural references.)

Has He ever awakened a church, a city, or a region? (Ask Johnathan Edwards and many others in both biblical and present times.)

If God has a history of reviving, pouring out His Spirit, and awakening people, all in accordance with the truth of His Word and the power of His Spirit, why couldn’t He or wouldn’t He do it now?

Many are quick to point out that all these revivals, awakenings, or outpourings are nothing more than emotionalism. There are (and unfortunately will continue to be) false revivals. There have been so-called “outpourings” that lacked little if any biblical precedent and should be avoided completely. However, any true move of God upon us by the truth of His Word and the power of His Spirit, will and should involve our emotions. That’s a good thing. A dear pastor friend of mine wrote recently: “Emotion. It’s an essential part of motivation. It’s also an essential part of spirituality. Without emotions spirituality is reduced to empty ritual and formality. It’s when the soul is stirred that authentic godliness becomes a reality.” (Dr. Richard Dressellhaus)

Let’s revisit the definition of Revival:

• Restoration to life (Rom. 6:10-11, Jeremiah 30:17)

• Consciousness (Acts 17:28, Isaiah 30:21)

• Vigor/strength (Philippians 4:13, Isaiah 40:31)

There are many, many other verses throughout Scripture that fit and support these defining words as well. It seems as though revival is a biblical concept. Revival also seems a most appropriate term to recount the lives and ministries of Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, and others of those centuries long ago. Wesley, Whitfield, Edwards, Finney, and Moody all gave testimony to the reviving, awakening, and transforming power of the preached Word of God, presented under the anointing of His Holy Spirit.

I think I would offer here a word of advice, and hopefully wisdom, on how we should consider the validity of some present-day revival or awakening. First of all, the Word must be the first and only means whereby we determine the authenticity of any revival, awakening, or movement. I don’t believe, however, that this means revival can begin only if the Word is preached. Some great revivals in history began because people sought God desperately in prayer. In the beginning process of people, churches, and communities, even nations being revived, there was by necessity, a need for the “revived” to be fed. A person being physically revived will soon and always need nourishment. No matter how a revival starts, it must soon and always be nourished by the preaching of the Word or it will become anemic and fade away, as many have.

On the other hand, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon entitled, “Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God” to his congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, and again on July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, and what has come to be known as “The First Great Awakening” ensued.

When assessing revivals, awakenings, or movements, I think we would be wise to apply the wisdom of Gamaliel to the situation. When the high priest and his council wanted to punish some disciples, Gamaliel intervened and said: “Other movements have started and fizzled out. If this is not of God, it will fizzle also. However, if it is of God, you can’t stop it, and may even be found fighting against God.” (My paraphrase)

Good advice. Sound wisdom!

I mentioned earlier that Linda and I went to see the movie, Jesus Revolution. We enjoyed seeing a depiction of what was happening in those days, though I believe the movie got some things wrong. I have never really liked the term revolution to describe what God was doing amongst the Hippies and youth in the late 60s and early 70s. I prefer the term “Jesus Movement” because of the definition of revolution, as we know it. However, whether called a revolution, movement, or revival; I believe God was at work (even in the midst of much chaos, confusion, and counterfeit) targeting wayward, disillusioned youth, with the claims of the gospel. Linda and I lived in So. California in 1970 and 71, only a few miles from where so many new converts were being baptized in the Pacific Ocean. Most of my ministry at that time was with David Wilkerson. We ministered nightly in arenas, auditoriums, on the beaches in California, and across the country, preaching and singing the gospel, and always seeing many come to faith in Christ. Many didn’t.

Yes, there was craziness, bad theology in many corners, commercialism, and excess of various kinds. But what did you think...that Satan was going to stand on the sidelines and cheer? Whenever God moves, either on an individual or a culture, He’s never inactive, disinterested, or uninvolved. He’s always committed to mess things up!

But there are ministers in the pulpit today, missionaries around the world, and musicians still writing and singing the praises of God and the truth of the gospel because of the Jesus Movement. We still have many dear friends in Christian music, and elsewhere, who were brought from darkness to light and from sinners to saints during the Jesus Movement. Let’s be careful to never judge what God may be doing by any personal, biased, and prejudiced opinions.

When considering how God may be” moving” in an individual, a church, a community, or even a nation, let us always look to the “cover-to-cover” evidence in His Word, and believe in the present and unchanged power of His Holy Spirit. Let us pray that He would sovereignly move again in our churches, our cities, our country, and throughout the world. If ever there was a need for true spiritual revival, it’s now!

We praise Thee, Oh God

For the Son of Thy love

For Jesus Who died

And is now gone above

All glory and praise

To the Lamb that was slain

Who hath borne all our sins

And hath cleansed every stain

Revive us again

Fill each heart with Thy Love

May each soul be rekindled

With fire from above

Hallelujah Thine the glory

Hallelujah Amen

Hallelujah Thine the glory

Revive us again

(William P. Mackay 1835-1885)

In Christ,

Dallas Holm

As the Holy Spirit does His work, let us ride the wave of blessing and participate in He work as we are led by God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 3, 2023

Notes of Faith April 3, 2023

Faith In the In-Between

It was a rare moment of public confession.

The day had been difficult, riddled with both emotional and physical pain. Months before I’d received my third diagnosis of cancer — squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, a notoriously difficult and painful cancer diagnosis. On this particular day, the cumulative impact of radiation and chemotherapy and the weight of so much grief and fear weighed heavy on me. Yes, I still believed in the goodness and presence of God. Yes, I still trusted Him and believed Him to be with me and for me. And yet, my pain — of body and soul — left me overwhelmed with despair.

That’s when I reached out to a few online friends, told the truth about my suffering, and asked for prayer. The vast majority responded with compassion, and I savored their encouragement and prayers. But one person didn’t. Although I want to believe she was well-intended, her sharp words cut me down like a knife:

“Come on now, Michele. You’re not in a wheelchair, you’re able to walk. It’s not as bad as all that.”

And with those few words, she added shame to my suffering. I needed compassion, not condemnation. But not only did she disregard and devalue my pain, but she also implied the journey of faith has no room for grief.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Nothing illustrates the juxtaposition of praise and pain in the life of faith quite like Passion Week.

Stretching from the joyful parade of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through to the glorious celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday, Passion Week is a journey of extreme highs and lows. Following the soberness of the Lenten Season, during which worshippers focus on our desperate need and Jesus’ devastating sacrifice, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus' posture as a servant, Good Friday honors Jesus’ arrest, conviction, and crucifixion, and Holy Saturday mimics the sobered silence following Jesus’ unexpected death. For three days, heaven and earth hovered in the tension of hope deferred. And when you and I sit in that silent stretch, we find we are not alone in our struggle.

Jesus understands our suffering. He doesn’t shame or reject us because of it. He comes closer still and sits with us in it.

God doesn’t ask us to stuff our pain or pretend we are stronger than we are. He doesn’t require us to put on a happy face and ignore our broken hearts. Instead, He urges us to bring our suffering to a Savior who understands.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces

He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.

Surely, He took up our pain and bore our suffering,

yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

–Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV)

Despised. Rejected. Punished. Stricken. Afflicted. Pierced. Crushed.

Jesus understands our suffering. He doesn’t shame or reject us because of it. He comes closer still and sits with us in it.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle of spirit and you will find rest for your souls,” He said. — Matthew 11:28

Although I look forward to Easter Sunday and will shout “He is risen!” with true joy, my well-worn heart feels gratitude for the difficult days leading up to it. I am buoyed by knowing Jesus understands the pain of betrayal. I find comfort in Gethsemane as He wrestles with the fear of His impending suffering. And I find relief in my pain as I crawl up to the cross and bear witness to Jesus’ own.

Long before Jesus walked out of an empty tomb, He wept in a garden. And when I consider this, in tandem with His one-day return, I find new hope in my current battles. I can walk out each day of my own passion story holding both grief and praise in my two hands, knowing that faith in a crucified savior makes room for both.

When facing His own impending suffering, the Apostle Peter said it this way:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. — 1 Peter 5:8-11, NIV

This is faith in the in-between, as you and I carry our crosses even while we cling to the hope of our one-day resurrection. Death still awaits us, and it’s tempting to allow the horror of today to eclipse the hallowed of our tomorrows. But there is One who descended into the depths of despair on our behalf, so although we may grieve today, there is glory awaiting us tomorrow.

He is Risen! He is risen, indeed.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Michele Cushatt, author of A Faith That Will Not Fail.

We all need compassion and encouragement in our suffering and pain. Jesus knows and understands all that mankind experiences. No matter what we are suffering today, pain-free glory is coming . . . soon! Our lives are but a vapor and then we (believers and followers of Jesus) will be made like Him (sinless) and be with Him forever in the glorious and wondrous place prepared for us. Though I am not looking forward to dying, I can’t wait to be with my Lord and Savior!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 2, 2023

Notes of Faith April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday: Who Is This?

It was only a matter of days before He would be crucified, and Jesus had just entered Jerusalem. The crowd had been waving palm branches and shouting His praise. The onlookers weren’t sure what was happening. In Matthew’s words,

When [Jesus] had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’ — Matthew 21:10

“Who is this?” This question does not belong only in first-century Jerusalem. Throughout the centuries and continuing today, people have been opinionating and speculating on the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Some say He was a sort of guru, a wise and gentle teacher of trite platitudes and object lessons. Others say Jesus was one in a long line of prophets. And more than one apologist has argued that there are only three possibilities as to Christ’s identity: He was a liar, falsely claiming to be God; He was a lunatic, bona fide crazy and delusional, out of touch with reality; or He was, in fact, who He said He was, the Son of God, Lord.

Jesus was not low profile when He entered Jerusalem. Matthew reported that when He entered the city on Palm Sunday, “all the city was moved” when He arrived (Matthew 21:10). in their puzzlement, they asked, “Who is this?” Do you desire to see God move in such a way that your own city is stirred and your neighbors begin to ask, “Who is this?” Who is this who put your life back together and made something beautiful of it? Who is this Who restored your family? Who is this who delivered you from addiction? Who is this Who turned your sadness into joy? Who is this?

What does it take for God to move, shake, and stir an entire city? We can learn from this singular day two thousand years ago. It happened when Jesus’ followers began to experience Him, to extol Him, and to extend Him to others. The result? The people around them began to ask, “Who is this?”

God does still have something to say to each one of us.

Experience Him

We come to know Jesus when we experience being in His presence. And the way to genuinely experience Him is to listen to Him and obey Him. Such was the case two thousand years ago. The stage was set for the city to encounter and experience Jesus when He instructed two of His disciples to go into a nearby village, find a donkey, and bring it to Him.

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. — Matthew 21:6

No doubt. No defiance. No delay. They just “went and did” in obedience to Jesus, fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that

Your King is coming to you;… lowly and riding on a donkey. — Zechariah 9:9

These two followers who were sent to get a donkey could have decided that a white stallion would be much more appropriate for their Master. But they didn’t. They simply obeyed Him. Too many Christ-followers today, however, let what we think ought to be take priority over His actual commands. Yet one reason God moved the city that day to ask, “Who is this?” was the tremendous spirit of obedience among those who listened to Him. Jesus is still on His throne today, He is still speaking to us, and He is still commanding us to obey His commandments as set forth in His word. when we honor Him by obeying Him, when more of His own people begin to experience Him through obedience to His word, we will find that He is also still in the business of moving cities to ask, “Who is this?”

Extol Him

As Jesus began His descent into Jerusalem, the people began to honor and extol Him. They literally carpeted the road with their coats and palm branches as they shouted their praise:

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! — Matthew 21:9

What brought about this outburst of praise? Put yourself in the crowd and you’ll soon find out. Look over there at Bartimaeus. Just last week in Jericho, he was blind and begging by the side of the road. But then Jesus noticed him, stopped, and gave sight to his darkened eyes with a spoken word. Now Bartimaeus was seeing everything around him. No wonder he was praising Jesus! And look over there at that man with tears of joy streaming down his face. Why, it’s Lazarus of Bethany, who not long ago was dead and in the grave… until Jesus gave him new life. And there, over there, is that formerly crippled man who for thirty-eight years could be found lying by the pool of Bethesda. But look at him now, dancing and singing and shouting his own hosannas to this King of kings.

Do you and I have any less reason to extol Jesus, to shout our own hosannas today?

We have seen His greatest miracle ever: His provision of new birth through His death and resurrection. We were dead in our sin until He brought us new life.

Yet, sadly, some of us have lost the joyful spirit of praise — and we desperately need to recover it. God will move in our cities and prompt those around us to ask, “Who is this?” when we, like those of old who have experienced Him — we who choose to obey Him — extol Him with our praise.

Extend Him

Those faithful followers lining the street on that original Palm Sunday did not only praise Jesus, they began to extend Him to others. They wanted others to meet their Savior and Lord. Nothing could keep them from sharing the good news that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah and that they had found in Him their hope. Enthusiasm filled the day.

Caught up in the excitement of this moment, the people began to ask, “Who is this?” And the crowd lining the street responded with,

This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. — Matthew 26:10-11

The people who had gathered not only experienced Jesus that day, they not only extolled Him, but they extended Him to others. “This is Jesus!” was their cry.

When we do the same — when we praise Jesus for what He has done in our lives and share our stories with others — the people around us will also ask, “Who is this?” Who is this… Who transformed your life? Who is this… Who put your family back together? Who is this… Who brought you peace in the midst of such tragedy? Who is this… Who enabled you to be victorious over your addiction? Who is this… Who gave you hope in the darkness of your circumstances? Who is this?

Who is this? “This is Jesus!” You have experienced Him, so now extol Him and extend Him to others.

Q & A: “Who is this?” Ultimately, each of us must answer this question for ourselves. Who is Jesus to you? Was He a liar — a figure out of history who made some outrageous and completely untrue claims about Himself? Was He a lunatic — some crazed prophet from the middle of nowhere with illusions of grandeur and delusions of deity? Or is Jesus Lord? Your eternal destiny rests on your answer. May you join with the crowd in exclaiming, “This is Jesus!”

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

This is the day that Jesus let the people proclaim Him King! He is their Lord and Savior. He is their redeemer! Knowing what was going to take place after this momentous day, He did not let them proclaim who He was until this very day. Let us rejoice in the truth and proclaim forever more that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith April 1, 2023

Notes of Faith April 1, 2023

Freedom from the Bondage of Sin

Pray First

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” — Joel 2:12

“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

— Matthew 6:17–18

No one wants to remain an infant sustained on milk when they can grow and mature and feast on the solid food of the Spirit. It’s important to know where you are spiritually so you can have a starting point. If you’ve been on a diet of spiritual milk for some time, you’re likely ready to take your faith to the next level and experience greater intimacy with God. To do this, you need to move past the trap of perpetual sin.

Otherwise, your faith will merely revolve around your mistakes and your need for forgiveness. Throughout life in this fallen world,

you will still have moments when you sin and need to ask for forgiveness, but you don’t have to stay stuck in a daily rinse-and-repeat cycle. God has so much more for you than that.

Knowing where you are spiritually is the starting point regardless of your struggles. And if you’re not struggling, then praise God! You’re likely more than ready to take your faith to the next level and experience more intimacy with Him. Because once you enter into relationship with Christ, you can have freedom from the bondage of sin...

While we have been set free — free indeed — by the Son, we remain spiritual beings in a body of flesh. Even though our salvation is secured and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are still works in progress capable of making sinful choices — even when we know better and don’t want to do so. Paul expressed this frustration in a way we can all relate to at some level:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

— Romans 7:15, 18 NIV

Paul went on to conclude,

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. — Romans 7:20 NIV

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a better spiritual description of addiction than in the paradox Paul described. Basically, addiction reflects the pattern of doing something you really don’t want to do and/or not doing something you really do want to do.

What causes this ongoing tension? The Bible tells us that we are tripart beings comprised of body, soul, and spirit. Because our bodies are the tangible, visible part we see and feel, we tend to let our bodies, including our emotions, rule our hearts — which is why fasting is so essential for refocusing on God and strengthening our spirit. Fasting weakens the body and its appetites so that we can keep our eyes on Jesus. Simply put, fasting is about less of us and more of God.

In stark contrast to the constant messages in today’s society, fasting denies the things that our flesh craves — food, alcohol, and anything we use for pleasure and distraction. When we suppress those cravings and appetites and force our bodies to yield to our spirits, we create space for drawing closer to God and aligning our hearts with His. And when we’re aligned with Him, we have full access to His unlimited power through the Holy Spirit, including the power to overcome those stubborn, sinful areas that continue to hold us back in our faith...

You will still have moments when you sin and need to ask for forgiveness, but you don’t have to stay stuck in a daily rinse-and-repeat cycle.

Fasting is mentioned in the Bible not a couple times, not a dozen times, but more than seventy times! In fact, Jesus said that His people would need to fast to remain connected to Him in His absence, once He had left earth and returned to Heaven:

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast’. — Matthew 9:14–15 NIV, emphasis added

Fasting was a vital part of life in the New Testament church, in both big decisions and daily moments.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

— Acts 13:2–3 NIV, emphasis added

We also find that the apostle Paul fasted as a regular discipline:

...in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often. — 2 Corinthians 11:27 NKJV

I sincerely believe fasting is not an optional habit or an only-if-you-feel-like-it spiritual discipline. It is essential to our spiritual lives.

Keep in mind that fasting encompasses much more than food. I realize that some people are unable to fast from food due to physical conditions or medications they take. In fact, I urge you never to fast without checking with your doctor first and other health professionals you trust. You want to use wisdom when denying yourself fleshly desires, not jeopardize your physical, mental, and emotional health...

Fasting isn’t something that should intimidate you or make you nervous and that it also isn’t something you should ignore or neglect. Fasting is an essential spiritual practice that will strengthen your spirit in a powerful way as you dull your appetites for the things of this world. As you lean into fasting, you will supercharge your prayer life with a stronger, more focused connection with God and a looser attachment to the world.

Excerpted from Pray First by Chris Hodges, copyright Chris Hodges.

Have you never fasted? Might you be missing the deep things God has prepared for you because you have not forsaken some things of this world to draw close to Almighty God? Discover the intimacy God gives when we focus our entire being on Him! Let us consider spending time fasting and praying throughout the days and weeks of our lives. Let us draw close to the throne of grace to receive help in our time of need…every moment of my life is a time of need! How about you?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 31, 2023

Notes of Faith March 31, 2023

See the Seahorse

I wait for the Lord to help me. I trust His word. — Psalm 130:5

The seahorse (or Hippocampus, if you want to be scientific!) is a tiny fish that lives in the oceans.

It’s called a seahorse because its head looks like the head of — you guessed it — a tiny horse. This unusual creature often swims with another seahorse, and they link their tails to stay together. It also swims “standing up” and tries to blend in with nearby plants so it doesn’t get eaten.

Because of its body shape, the seahorse isn’t a very good swimmer. So rather than go out hunting for food, seahorses use their tails like anchors, holding on to a piece of sea grass or coral. They then wait for food — plankton and tiny crustaceans — to drift by so they can suck it up with their long snouts.

With its poor swimming and its tendency to stay in one spot, the seahorse isn’t going to win any races. But God has given it everything it needs: a way to get food, someone to swim through life with, and something to hold on to. God promises the same to you. The Bible says,

God will use His wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need. — Philippians 4:19

God provides you with food and shelter, Jesus to swim through life with, and the promises of His Word to hold on to. Like the seahorse, you may sometimes have to hold on and wait for God to deliver His promises — but He always will, and at just the perfect time.

Help me, Lord, to wait for Your perfect timing. And while I wait, teach me to live the way You want me to. I will follow You!

Seahorses are one of the few animals for which the male bears the young for the female. A female seahorse lays her eggs — sometimes hundreds of them — in a pouch on the male seahorse’s tummy. The pouch is very much like a kangaroo’s pouch. The eggs stay in the pouch until they hatch about 45 days later. A baby seahorse is only about the size of a jelly bean and must start finding its own food as soon as it’s born.

*

I wait for the Lord to help me. I trust His word. — Psalm 130:5

A Tool for God

Encourage one another and build each other up. — 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

Scientists have long known that some animals use tools to help them get what they need.

But they have only recently discovered the most unusual way one animal “builds” its house — and they found this animal scurrying across the sands of the ocean floor.

The veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) builds its home using coconut shell halves that people have thrown into the ocean. Stacking one on top of the other, it crawls between the two halves — the perfect underwater armor for this soft-bodied octopus. When the octopus needs to travel, it simply stacks the shell halves under its body — much like stacking two bowls. It then “stilt walks” on its eight legs, dragging the shells with it. Scientists have even spotted veined octopuses digging buried coconut shells out of the sand and squirting them with jets of water to clean them before moving in.

God gave some animals the ability to use tools, but did you know that He made you to be a tool? God wants you to be His tool in building up others and leading them to Him. How can you do that? He tells you in His Word:

Go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. — Matthew 28:19-20

What an amazing thought — that God uses you to build His Kingdom and to help others know Him!

Lord, I want to be a tool in building Your kingdom. Help me live a life that tells the world about You.

The veined octopus is just one of several animals that uses tools. There’s a group of bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, that carries sea sponges in their beaks to stir up the ocean sand and uncover their prey. Also, sea otters use stones as hammers to crack open abalone shells to get to the food inside.

Excerpted from Indescribable by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

God has created and provided for everything that He has created. Only mankind was created in His image. He has given all provision for us in Christ and has made us to be used for His glory. Let us respond in faith and tell our story, how God has and is providing all that we need and giving us opportunity to live and serve our Savior and King!

Pastor Dale