Notes of Faith May 31, 2023

Notes of Faith May 31, 2023

Jesus Recognizes Anxiety

In the gospel of Mark, an interesting dynamic emerges. When the person approaching Jesus narrates their problem as an external problem happening “out there,” Jesus often refocuses their attention to their internal state. Jesus will deal with the external problem eventually; He’s not ignoring it. But often, He first wants the person to recognize their own anxiety as the starting point.

Take a moment to read about one such example from Mark 5:21-42:

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet. He pleaded earnestly with Him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.”

Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against You,” His disciples answered, “and yet You can ask, ‘Who touched Me?’”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at Him.

After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

When Jairus first approached Jesus, he narrated his problem as one that was “out there” — the health condition of his daughter back home. Natural and understandable. If I were Jairus, that’s exactly how I would narrate my problem and my request. The problem is my daughter’s illness, which is happening back there at my house, and my request is for Jesus to fix that situation.

Jesus accepts this man’s initial approach and travels with him back to his home, the supposed location of the problem. On the way, they are interrupted by the woman with the flow of blood, a condition that automatically marked her for shame. The woman starts telling Jesus her whole story. She has been sick for twelve years, has tried many doctors, and is discouraged because nothing worked — and so on and so on.

As this woman’s narrative of worries and shame drags on, you can imagine Jairus glancing at the position of the sun (since he didn’t have a watch) and tapping his sandal-clad foot. My daughter back at the house, my daughter back at the house, my daughter back at the house. That’s the real problem, and this is taking too long.

Jesus understands our problems. And He will ultimately respond. He has a plan for those problems.

Some messengers arrive with bad news: Jesus is too late, Jairus’s daughter is dead. Jairus’s attention naturally goes even more to “out there” back at the house. I imagine he launches into questions about what happened there. “Are you sure? When did she die? Who is with her now?”

If Jairus believes the messengers’ news, perhaps his mind switches to a “high-functioning anxiety” mode to deal with other external problems: “How am I going to comfort my wife? What kind of burial arrangements are we going to make? What will I say at the funeral?”

Notice Jesus’ response. He interrupts Jairus’s train of thoughts and redirects his attention. To where? To his internal state. “Don’t be afraid,” He says. Jesus directs Jairus to what is happening inside him.

Jesus wants Jairus to recognize his anxiety.

This response is especially striking. Jesus could have said, “Jairus, I’m raising your daughter from the dead even as we speak. We don’t even have to finish this journey.” Jesus responded that way in another miracle with a centurion in Luke 7. But with Jairus, He doesn’t even explicitly promise a specific external outcome. He doesn’t say a word about how He will deal with Jairus’s external problem. He directs attention solely to his internal state of anxiety.

Jesus cared about the dead daughter. Jesus cared about Jairus, whose pain is real and his situation heartbreaking. Jesus understands why it preoccupies Jairus, and He will eventually deal with her death with His resurrection power.

But first He wants to deal with the anxiety inside Jairus, which means Jairus must recognize what’s going on inside him. The journey must go there.

Notice what this means. Jairus does not know exactly what Jesus is going to do to solve his problem. He has to walk all the way home with Jesus while dealing with his anxiety.

Try to imagine what that journey was like for Jairus because it represents our own anxiety journey. In our own life, all sorts of external problems will trigger our anxiety. And we will naturally want to focus our attention on finding solutions for those problems. We may even ask Jesus to fix those problems. In fact, trying to get Jesus to fix those external problems will absorb an enormous part of our spiritual energy.

Jesus understands our problems. And He will ultimately respond. He has a plan for those problems.

The plan may or may not achieve the kind of solution we are seeking. Most of the time, Jesus doesn’t tell us ahead of time, just as He didn’t tell Jairus.

Before the plan is fully revealed, however, Jesus may first direct our attention to our own internal anxiety. He wants us to recognize what is going on inside us. Why? Because spiritual growth happens within us, not out there. From the soil of our inner anxiety, we grow closer to Jesus.

Back to the journey home. I envision Jairus and Jesus walking side by side. Jesus had essentially said, “Let’s start with your state of fear, Jairus.” In my imagination, Jesus now raises one of His eyebrows, tilts His head slightly, and smiles kindly. All of it signals, Shall we talk about that? The invitation hangs in the air.

How will Jairus respond? Will he keep focusing on an endless string of potential external problems? Or will he accept Jesus’ invitation? Will he recognize his own anxiety and make his inner reality the topic of conversation with Jesus?

Mark doesn’t let us in on how willing Jairus was to talk to Jesus on their journey. He leaves it open-ended. I think it is because we are supposed to insert ourselves into the journey.

Are we willing to recognize our own anxiety as we walk with Jesus? Are you?

Excerpted from The Anxiety Opportunity by Curtis Chang, copyright Curtis Chang.

As you try to solve the problems of the world, what is really going on inside of you? Give the issues that concern you to the Lord and He will begin to solve them by what is going on inside you! We need to be dependent on God and trust Him for everything in this life and the one to come! Praise Him for His love for you, His passionate concern for your well-being. He is preparing you for the glory of eternal life with Him.

Phil 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 30, 2023

Notes of Faith May 30, 2023

The Beginning and the End

Enjoying the God-Centeredness of the Bible

Article by Stephen Witmer

Pastor, Pepperell, Massachusetts

Do you want to know an inside secret about sermons? You may have noticed it already. If you haven’t, you probably will from now on. Here’s the secret: Preachers often like to begin with an image, story, word, phrase, or Bible passage, and then return to it at the end of the sermon. Those bookends emphasize the preacher’s point, pushing it deeper into the hearts and minds of a congregation.

The biblical authors understood this. King David begins Psalm 103 with an exhortation to himself: “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psalm 103:1). He ends the psalm in exactly the same way: “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” (Psalm 103:22). This bracketing (the technical term is inclusion) underscores the point of the whole psalm. David urges his own soul to praise the Lord. Everything in between provides reasons for praising the Lord, as well as exhortations for all of heaven and earth to join in praise.

If the borders of a psalm may point toward its main emphasis, what about the beginning and end of the Bible as a whole? When we examine the bookends of Scripture, what do we find?

The End from the Beginning

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God . . .” Before anything else existed — sunsets, seaweed, giraffes, algebra, lightning, tomatoes, laughter, supernovas, bubblegum, coffee — there was only the triune God, eternally happy within his triune self. Everything and everyone else came later.

At the other end of the canon, the close of Revelation describes an eternal future in which “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3). Notice three truths about these bookends. First, God bestrides the Bible, vibrantly present at both the beginning and end. He’s the Alpha and Omega of the Scriptures, the first and the last. He never began to exist, nor will he ever cease to do so. He is absolute, unchanging reality. Of no one and nothing else is this true. Only God is present at both the beginning and end of the Bible.

Second, something important has changed from Genesis 1 to Revelation 21. At the very beginning of the Bible, God exists within the happy community of himself. At the very end of the Bible, he dwells with his people in a new creation. Where did those people and that place come from? God himself created and redeemed both the people and the place.

“The cry of God’s people is always for more of God.”

Third, it turns out that the story doesn’t end when the Bible does. It goes on and on and on, for eternity. The Bible’s penultimate verse is a cry from the heart: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20), which means that the Scriptures conclude on tiptoe, yearning toward a deeper, fuller, richer experience of the presence of Christ. God’s story is an eternal one. The cry of God’s people is always for more of God.

Story Beneath Every Story

The implication of all this is that the Bible is not ultimately our story but God’s. God himself is the main character — and also the author who dictates the action. The Bible tells primarily of God’s works, ways, and words.

Yes, there are lots of secondary characters and interesting subplots. We learn about the material creation, including the abundance and variety of plant and animal life that fills the world. We read fascinating accounts of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul, and hundreds of others, who make big mistakes and accomplish great things. The Bible bursts with stories of human frailty, rebellion, intrigue, love, courage, and tragedy. But none of those stories is the main one. None of those characters is the hero.

The overarching story line of the Bible is the story of God — the only one present at both the beginning and the end. Everyone (and everything) else is there in the story as an invited guest, beyond their deserving. All the complexities of human existence, and the vast lifespans of galaxies, exist within the eternal story of God.

Overlooking the Lead Role

It may seem blindingly obvious to claim that the Bible is mainly the story of God, but how easy it is to miss. Years ago, a famous Bible scholar wrote an article called “The Neglected Factor in New Testament Theology.” In it, he argued that God himself was the neglected factor! God’s presence was so often assumed by those committed to studying the Scriptures with care and rigor that it was largely overlooked. Yes, this actually happens.

On a more everyday level, many of us could honestly admit that we commonly place ourselves at the center of the stories we inhabit. When we grant God a place (all too often we forget him entirely), it’s to notice how he fits in around our own story. We may be mystified or angry or sad that he hasn’t intervened more frequently. Or we may be genuinely grateful for what he’s done. But at the deepest level, we’ve flipped the script: God inhabits our stories, rather than the other way around. Maybe God-centeredness isn’t so obvious as we thought.

Our tendency to minimize and marginalize God is sometimes evident in our approach to the great Bible bookends of Genesis and Revelation. Both are battlegrounds for fights about how and when exactly God created, as well as the timetable of events for his return. These questions are not unimportant. But sadly, they’ve sometimes overshadowed God himself. Our fascination with how God has acted (or will act) has too often led to gross neglect of the central truth that he has acted at all — and what that says about him.

Even a brief look at Genesis and Revelation (which is all we have space for here) shows that these two great books tell the story of God.

At the Center of the Beginning

In Genesis, all things are from and for God. He’s the originator of all, and he’s the first enjoyer of all. He creates by speaking everything into existence. That means all else is derivative and has its source in him. Even as he creates, he observes and appreciates what he makes. Over and over, he sees that his creation is good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), even “very good” (1:31). We get the sense that he’s really enjoying this. All things are from him and for him.

Moreover, humankind, the pinnacle of this “very good” creation, exists to display his worth. God’s creation of men and women in his image, after his likeness (Genesis 1:26), suggests that their vocation is to image him forth to the rest of the world, serving as agents of his rule. His command to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) demonstrates that their display of his worth isn’t meant to be merely local but rather global. And God is doggedly persistent in his project of blessing all mankind and displaying his worth everywhere. He doesn’t allow the rebellion of Adam and Eve to derail his project but persists in working with humanity. After the catastrophic judgment of the flood, he starts over with Noah’s family. Following the proud self-assertion of the nations (Genesis 11), he calls Abram to serve as a conduit of divine blessing for “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3).

Throughout Genesis, God is the sovereign planner, the persistent initiator, and the main actor. He’s the one who sends the flood, calls Abram, blesses Abram, renews his covenant promises to Isaac and Jacob, and sends Joseph ahead into Egypt to preserve his people (Genesis 45:7; 50:20). He writes the story and moves it forward at every step.

God is also the sweetest blessing, the ultimate treasure, of his people. After Adam and Eve’s rebellion, their greatest punishment is exile from God’s presence (Genesis 3:22–24). More precious even than the blessing of land and offspring is God’s promise to Abram “to be God to you and to your offspring after you” and his promise regarding Abram’s descendants that “I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7–8).

Genesis is a profoundly God-centered book. In it, all things are from, through, and to God.

At the Center of the End

The seven blessings scattered throughout Revelation (the first in 1:3 and the last in 22:14) show that the main purpose of this book is not to satisfy end-time curiosity or to solve apocalyptic puzzles, but to bring divine blessing to God’s suffering people. God means to give grace, as is evident in 1:4 (“Grace to you”) and 22:21 (“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all”).

“God’s blessing is not a gift that is separable from himself. Rather, the blessing of God is God.”

Importantly, God’s blessing is not a gift that is separable from himself. Rather, the blessing of God is God. In the new creation, he will “dwell” with his people (Revelation 21:3), a promise that recalls his presence among Israel in the tabernacle. In fact, the description of the new Jerusalem as a perfect golden cube (Revelation 21:15–21) nods to the Most Holy Place in the temple, suggesting that in the new creation God’s people will enjoy his immediate presence, as only the high priest was permitted to do (and that only once a year).

In the new world, his people will see his face (Revelation 22:4), a staggering privilege not even Moses was permitted. The long and painful story of exile from God’s presence that began after Adam and Eve’s sin and banishment from the garden, and continued through Israel’s exile from the promised land, will finally end. God’s people will enjoy his perfect presence in the new creation and will never again be sent away.

Meanwhile, as God’s people await this promised future, Revelation steadies them by insisting that nothing happens by chance, but rather all things occur by God’s sovereign plan. The book is “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1). That key word must expresses divine necessity. The book ends with the reminder that “the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place” (Revelation 22:6). It must take place because God has willed it. His sovereign control brings steady comfort and strength in the present.

Revelation is radically God-centered. The sovereign God ordains the ways of the world. The glorious, triune God is the aim and treasure of his people. His throne is set in the midst of worshiping angels and humans (Revelation 4–5).

Joys of a God-Centered World

The God-centeredness of the Bible’s bookends suggests that the whole Bible is, in fact, focused on God and meant to tell his story. And this is very good news for us. When we live for ourselves, life doesn’t go well. But when we live for him, we’re living along the grain of the universe, as he designed things to function. We therefore experience true, deep, lasting joy. When John the Baptist heard that Jesus was growing in prominence, he said, “This joy of mine is now complete” (John 3:29). John was happiest serving as the spotlight operator, shining his light on the one true star of the show.

The biographer Arnold Dallimore records a story about Charles Spurgeon, in whose day streetlights were gas-lit. Each had to be lit individually. One night, Spurgeon observed a line of streetlights being lit that went right up a hill, from its foot to the summit. He later described that moment:

I did not see the lamplighter. I do not know his name, nor his age, nor his residence; but I saw the lights which he had kindled, and these remained when he himself had gone his way. As I rode along I thought to myself, “How earnestly do I wish that my life may be spent in lighting one soul after another with the sacred flame of eternal life! I would myself be as much as possible unseen while at my work, and would vanish into eternal brilliance above when my work is done.” (Spurgeon, 162)

Let’s allow our joy to swell as we live within the one great story of the one true God.

It has always been my desire to see people come to Christ or grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ toward spiritual maturity through God using me. And yet, like Spurgeon, I want to be in the background, unseen, allowing God to do His work without praise and honor given to me. I still pray that prayer. In heaven, my hope will be fulfilled as I see the work of God that He has done through me. All I have to do is be faithful to Him. May we rejoice in giving all praise and glory to God! My joy is to know Him and make Him known! Please join me in this incredible journey . . .

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 29, 2023

Notes of Faith May 29, 2023

The Jewish people are still living in great anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. They really believe that He’s about to come and even if He tarries, they will wait. So Jesus came to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem was not ready. That explains, of course, why Jesus said, “Jerusalem you’ve missed your visitation.” Wow. What is a visitation? A visitation is when someone comes for a short period and leaves later. That’s a visitation. The Jewish people, Jerusalem, this city, missed the idea that Messiah has to come first as a suffering servant of the Lord, as a Passover lamb, as the lamb that carries the sins of the world. He has to be slaughtered, He has to bear upon Himself the affliction, and the sins, and the transgressions of the entire world. As Isaiah 53 says, “All of us have gone astray, each and every one of us turned to his own way, but the Lord laid upon Him the iniquities and the transgressions of us all.”

Amir Tsarfati: Don't Miss the Messiah

We have all heard a story or seen a movie with the scenario of an unknown or long-lost rich relative who left a fortune to their last surviving relative, and that heir’s life was changed dramatically. Many also know of the feeling of receiving a notice from a financial institution that reads: Paid in Full. We also know that the greater the debt, the greater the sense of relief when that notification comes.

That one single event changes everything about about how you live and experience life, especially if the debt was a huge burden. Stress levels are reduced, the ritual of monthly payments comes to an end, and extra effort to pay off that burdensome debt also ceases.

Imagine having a debt that is so large it could never be paid in full, no matter how may hours you work or years you pay on the debt.

This is what Jesus came to do for us all, and yet:

John 1:11-13

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jesus came and paid the personally unpayable and unimaginable sin-debt of all mankind. Yet, His own, fellow Jews by and large, said, “We’ll just keep doing the works of the law and wait for someone else to come along.” Many are doing much the same thing today, thinking they can work off their sin debt through works and good moral behavior. They’ve missed the Messiah, just like most Jews.

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

To follow our very simple analogy, the bill for our sin was sent to Jesus. He marked it, in His own blood, “Paid in Full”. If your debt is paid in full, you don’t keep sending in payments. Instead, you begin to live a debt-free life. You don’t strain to make ends meet after they have already been met, you don’t wish for someone else to come along to do what has already been done.

Yet many, including the Jews, do just that. To many Jews, that means trying to keep the law. To other religions, it means bowing to an idol. To some, it means living so that one’s good works will outweigh the bad. All of these are efforts to accomplish something that has already been done.

It is also true that many Christians who have received Him, fail to live in the fullness of debt-free living. Some today are even trying to put the church back under the Mosaic law, seeking to convince Christians that we are under the obligation to keep Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feast Days, and live like the unsaved Jews.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Are good works part of the Christian life? Yes! But they are done out of adoration not obligation. We’re not trying to earn what we’ve already been given. We should be trying to convince others that they, too, can be “sin debt-free”.

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The great thing about being “sin debt-free” is it changes how you view and handle the negative things of life that come your way. None of them are pleasurable and all of them are undesirable, yet we are blessed to know that “all things work together for good for those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Having our sin account marked “paid in full” also creates clarity about the future. The Jews are still looking for the Messiah to come, and, sadly, someone actually is coming that they will follow. But he won’t be who he says he is or who they think he is. He will be the anti-messiah.

John 8:36

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

If you’re waiting for a long lost or unknown relative to die and leave you a massive fortune, it is very unlikely that it will ever happen. However, a debt far greater than anyone can accumulate financially has been paid in full by the blood of the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.

You are “sin debt-free” and don’t have to wait for someone to come along and do what’s already been done. In Christ you are already free indeed!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

Don’t miss Jesus! He came. He died to pay your debt! Believe in Him and be free from the bondage of sin and death! Worship and give thanks for your freedom in Christ! We celebrate memorial day and give thanks to those who gave their lives for our nation. We celebrate the life of Jesus who gives those who believe in Him eternal life.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 28, 2023

Notes of Faith May 28, 2023

Dancing Pallbearers

You’ve probably seen the viral videos featuring what is often called the Coffin Dance. A troupe of Ghanaian pallbearers, dressed in elaborate suits and wearing sunglasses, walk down the street, balancing a coffin on their shoulders and performing impressive dance moves to loud, upbeat music. And of course, since the internet is what it is, those videos spawned countless memes and compilation videos featuring the dancing pallbearers from Ghana.

What is it about this custom that caught the world by surprise? Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of death and joy. That’s the reaction I had when I first saw it. Who dances with a coffin on their shoulders? For that matter, dancing of any kind seems out of place at a funeral. Or does it? When I saw those pallbearers boldly celebrating life in the face of death, it felt right. It was honoring, powerful, even victorious.

According to BBC Africa, Benjamin Aidoo, the young man who started this troupe of dancing pallbearers, sees choreography as a way to honor the wishes of families who are paying their respects to a loved one.1 Funerals are an important part of Ghanaian culture, and a funeral dance adds a unique flair to the occasion. One woman who was interviewed said this about the pallbearers: “These people, when they are taking your beloved to their final resting place, they also dance, so I decided to give my mother a dancing trip to her maker.”

Joy always laughs better, longer, and louder than death.

A “dancing trip to her maker.” What an awesome way to put it! It’s sad, for sure, because mourning a death is not an easy thing to walk through. But her decision to say goodbye to her loved one by organizing a dance party reveals a lot about her inner victory in the face of death.

It’s interesting that the Coffin Dance went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was almost as if we were reminding ourselves (in a weird, dark kind of way) that death doesn’t get the last laugh. Joy does.

Joy always laughs better, longer, and louder than death.

Joy Comes in the Morning

Even though pallbearers in our culture are generally more solemn (and less coordinated) than the Coffin Dance guys, I’ve still seen joy at many funerals. Actually at most funerals. Even in pain and sorrow, it is common to hear friends and family express joy. Often, when they get up to speak at the funeral, they laugh-cry-laugh their way through their words. When everyone meets up for the reception after the funeral, there are both tears and laughter as people remember the good times they had with the deceased.

Why is there joy? Because of the life the person led. The people they influenced. The family they raised. The friends they made. The memories they created. The love they shared. The sacrifices they made. The generosity they embodied. The legacy they left behind. The peace they now have in Heaven.

David wrote in Psalm 30:5,

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Paul said something similar, which I referenced in the last chapter:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. — 2 Corinthians 4:17

Both David and Paul were able to look past the pain of the moment and see that something better was ahead.

Obviously, joy is not the first emotion you feel when death strikes. In the early aftermath of a loss, the pain is real, the hurt plunges deep, and the sorrow can feel all-consuming. Yes, weeping stays for the night — and often it’s a long, dark night indeed.

All nights come to an end, though. Even the longest, darkest, saddest nights. In due time the sun comes up, the light chases the darkness away, and hope rises again. When you are weeping in the night, it’s important to remember that morning is coming and joy is on its way.

Joy always gets the last laugh.

Of course, you can’t force joy to appear any more than you can force the sun to rise. Solomon wrote that there is

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. — Ecclesiastes 3:4

In other words, timing matters. Seasons come and go. Right now you might be weeping, and that’s okay — but take heart, you won’t weep forever. Today you could be mourning, but you’ll be dancing soon enough. Hopefully with the same level of style as our Ghanaian brothers.

You don’t need to force joy, but you should expect it. And when it comes, welcome it. Rest in it. Heal in it. Find strength in it.

Joy Gets the Last Laugh

Joy has a way of restoring your soul. There’s a story in the Bible about a time of mourning that Israel was experiencing over their failures and sins. Their grief was real and it had its place, but God didn’t want them to stay there forever. Nehemiah, their leader, told them,

Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. — Nehemiah 8:10

He wasn’t shutting down their sorrow in some dismissive, toxic way. Rather, he was telling them that it was time to let their grief turn into joy. They needed to put their past mistakes and losses behind them and turn toward the future God had for them.

I love that phrase, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Joy has a unique capacity to bring us internal strength. I don’t mean fake, superficial joy but the kind of joy that comes from God. A joy that validates your weaknesses, losses, pain, or sorrow but also looks beyond them and sees the presence and power and peace of God.

Like dancing with coffins, finding joy in sorrow can seem like an odd juxtaposition. But there is power in that joy. There is freedom and triumph in being able to acknowledge death without being consumed by it.

This joy doesn’t ignore your circumstances, but it does exist beyond them. That means you can be sorrowful and joyful at the same time. You can mourn your loss while still holding on to the peace and joy of the Lord. It’s not one or the other but both at the same time.

Excerpted from The Art of Overcoming by Tim Timberlake, copyright Tim Timberlake.

This grief and joy experience can only be true of those who have faith in God their Savior Jesus Christ. They are the ones who leave this life into the eternal presence of Jesus. Those who do not have faith in Jesus will experience life after death, but it will be one of judgment for their unbelief and they will be tormented in pain and anguish for their unbelief. We must pray for our friends and family who do not believe in Jesus and His death and resurrection to provide for our offer of salvation and forgiveness of sin against God. Only if they come to Him can we have joy and grief at their passing from this life. Let our love for them keep us praying fervently that they be drawn to the truth of the gospel that they might be saved and experience eternal joy themselves!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 27, 2023

Notes of Faith May 27, 2023

Train Them Up in Jesus

Article by David Mathis

Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Following the negative charge to fathers — “do not provoke your children to anger” — Paul captures a positive vision for Christian parenting with two key terms: “discipline and instruction” in the ESV. The Greek words beneath them have been the subject of much discussion and have led to a variety of translations. We might capture the meaning just as well, if not better, with training and counsel — which might help both our clarity of vision and practical application in parenting.

The first concept, “discipline” or “training” (paideia), is the broader and more comprehensive of the two. It likely speaks to the full educational process from infant to adult, and the years of intentionality, initiative, energy, and follow-through it takes to train a child for adulthood. That is, it is a long-term process, like training for the Olympics, but with far more at stake.

We might think of it as whole-life training — body and soul — not mere classroom instruction. “The term paideia,” comments S.M. Baugh, “has rich cultural associations in the Greek world for the training and education of youths in a wide range of subjects and disciplines” (Ephesians, 509–10). This kind of fatherly training, then, involves not only words, but example and imitation.

Training Toward Maturity

Such comprehensive life-training is what Moses received when he was “instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” making him, in time, “mighty in his words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). It’s what Paul received, for years, as he was brought up in Tarsus, “educated at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3). Such whole-life training, as extended preparation for healthy adulthood, is our calling as Christian parents, training both the outer person and behaviors as well as pressing through to the heart to form and re-form the inner persons of our children.

“Maturity, after all, in any sphere of human life, typically does not come automatically, but through training.”

As Jesus spoke about his disciples being trained during their time with him (Matthew 13:52; Luke 6:40), so we disciple our children toward Christian maturity. Maturity, after all, in any sphere of human life, typically does not come automatically, but through training (Hebrews 5:14). Discipling does something; it changes the disciple — and greatly so over time. And such training is often not easy but requires persisting in moments of discomfort, even pain, to endure on the path toward the reward set before us (Hebrews 12:11).

Work ethic, for instance, is not automatic; we must teach our children to work. Nor does holiness come naturally, but God’s grace in Christ trains us, and our children through us, “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” (Titus 2:12).

Well-Equipped to Train Well

We might be so quick to disclaim the proverbial nature of that famous childrearing verse that we neglect to pause and really ponder what training involves. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). There may be far more to training — both with the body, and with the more pliable soul — than modern parents tend to recognize.

And our God has made sure that we as parents are amply supplied and fully resourced for these extensive years of training our children: he gave us his Book. At the heart and center of parental training is not our own life experience and acquired wisdom (valuable as that is), but the Scriptures, “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

This training doubtless includes what we might more narrowly call discipline (Hebrews 12:3–11), even as we note well the difference between discipline toward a goal and punishment as an end (1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:25; Revelation 3:19). Yet the whole process of parental training is comprehensive and constructive, not only responsive; and holistic, not only intellectual.

Specific Verbal Training

The second concept, then, translated “instruction” — or perhaps “counsel” (nouthesia) — is more specific, and included under the broader category of training.

With this second term, the accent is verbal, and less hands-on — specifically about the role of our words as parents. Now we move beyond visionary teaching and demonstration to corrective speech, but still as a means to the child’s long-term good, not as an end. This is how we often use the word counsel today, though not without the sense of “admonishing” or “warning.” And parental counsel typically endures beyond the years of immediate training. Parenting doesn’t end when our children move out of the house. Parental training, at that point, may be essentially complete, but parental counsel, we hope, will long endure.

Such counsel in the New Testament covers a range of circumstances, whether the more positive counsel that Old Testament examples provide for Christians today (“they were written down for our instruction, 1 Corinthians 10:11), or the more negative warnings we extend to “a person who stirs up division” (Titus 3:10). On the whole, we do well to remember the kind of father’s heart — slow to chide and swift to bless — from which such warnings and admonitions issue.

Consider, then, at least five realities that will accompany godly counsel.

Friends of Fatherly Counsel

The first friends of fatherly counsel are our tears. On the beach at Miletus, when Paul bids farewell to the Ephesian elders, he reminds them that “for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears” (Acts 20:31). His apostolic counsel came with tears, not vindictiveness. He did not speak critically, from an angry or distant heart, but in love he spoke his words of correction for their good.

Second, and related, is a good heart. He says to the Romans that he’s confident that they are “able to instruct one another,” because “you, my brothers, . . . are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” (Romans 15:14). Fullness of both knowledge and goodness coexists in a heart that offers such counsel. It is from such a good heart that our children need our counsel and warnings.

Third, fatherly love. When Paul spoke hard words, as he did to the Corinthians, he did so not “to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.” The reason he gives is his fatherly heart for them: “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers” (1 Corinthians 4:14–15). General counsel and admonitions may have their place; but our children have special need of corrective words that flow from a father’s peculiar love.

Fourth, teaching and wisdom. Twice Colossians speaks of “warning everyone” and “admonishing one another” (that is, Christian counsel) that is both paired with teaching and accompanied with “all wisdom”:

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. . . . Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 1:28; 3:16)

As parents, we might also observe here the goal of our parenting (Christian maturity), the essential means of our calling (the word of Christ), and the correlation with singing (joy made audible) and thankfulness. Singing, thankful fathers make for good counselors, who both correct and give hope.

Finally, brotherly warning. In 2 Thessalonians 3:15, Paul contrasts the disregard one might have for an enemy with the kind of warning counsel of a brother. And in 1 Thessalonians 5:12–14, this warning counsel is again the kind of speech characteristic of a congregation’s loving fathers — that is, its pastor-elders (verse 12) — and is deserving of the church’s esteem (verse 13). Such warning keeps company with encouraging, helping, and patience (verse 14).

Making Fathering Christian

In Paul’s one-verse vision of parenting, he finishes with one final phrase that is no throwaway. In our efforts at fatherly training and counsel, we dare not ignore it. In fact, this last note is the most important one of all. All our years of training, and all our hard and precious words of counsel, will be for naught in view of eternity without the finishing touch: “of the Lord.”

“Christian parenting aims, in everything, to teach our children Christ.”

Christian parenting aims far higher than competent, seemingly healthy adults. Christian parenting aims, in everything, to teach our children Christ. We want them to “learn Christ.” Which fits with the way Paul warns the church in Ephesians 4:20–21: “That is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.”

In Christ, we want all our parenting covered by the banner of teaching them Christ. As Charles Hodge comments on Ephesians 6:4, “This whole process of education is to be religious, and not only religious but Christian” (Ephesians, 204). Our parental training is training in Christ. And our parental counsel, however encouraging or corrective, is counsel in Christ. In him, and through him, and for him is all Christian parenting.

As we nourish our children in the training and counsel of our Lord, we make knowing and enjoying him the final focus of our efforts. As we do, we get to be instruments in his hands, and mouthpieces of his words, in his cause for the deep and eternally enduring joy of our children.

I love being a parent and communicating with my children. They do not always respond kindly to the advice I share, yet I can’t seem to stop giving them my two cents. I love them with all my heart, and they have all responded to the gospel in faith and a true following of Jesus. Prayerfully, their mother and I have been an influence for seeking to live a life pleasing to God. Though I am sure that they need to make more changes in the path they travel, I am also sure that God has drawn them to Himself and will never let them go. Never stop praying for your children and continue to encourage them to be in the Word and serving Christ from their heart no matter what they do. In all things, work, play, and in between, serve the Lord!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 26, 2023

Notes of Faith May 26, 2023

Conditions of Prayer

Bible Prayers to Guide Your Life

John 15:7 says,

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

The conditions of prayer are simple. Abide with and spend time with the Lord in prayer, and let the words of Scripture become a part of us, to obey and live in His presence. Our prayers will then have meaning because God will be listening, and His Spirit will guide us as we seek to be obedient to His Word and live a life that is pleasing to the Father.

PRAYING IN THE WORD

My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life. — Proverbs 4:20–23

Your words were found, and I ate them,

And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. — Jeremiah 15:16

The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” — Matthew 8:8

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. — John 15:7

And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word. — John 17:19–20

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. — Acts 6:4

Abide with the Lord in prayer.

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you. — 2 Thessalonians 3:1

For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

— 1 Timothy 4:4–5

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. — John 7:17

And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen.” — Acts 1:24

So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” — Acts 21:14

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. — Romans 12:2

Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. — Ephesians 5:17

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. — Colossians 1:9

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. — 1 John 5:14

And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. — Mark 1:39–42

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” — John 4:34

Excerpted from Bible Prayers to Guide Your Life by Jack Countryman, copyright Jack Countryman.

We need to pray or we miss the intimacy of relationship with God for which we were designed. Communication with God means sharing what is on our heart and listening for God’s response. Being in His Word, our Bibles daily, gives us great opportunity to hear God speak to any circumstance we find ourselves. Listening to godly friends that He has placed around us, can also give us understanding of God’s desire and will for us. God is good all the time, but we must communicate with Him to be who He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do. Speak your heart and then listen!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 25, 2023

Notes of Faith May 25, 2023

Indescribable: The Scoop on Skin and A Hairy Situation

The Scoop on Skin

He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you can hide. His truth will be your shield and protection. — Psalm 91:4 NCV

There’s a lot more to your skin than meets the eye.

First of all, your skin is actually an organ — just like your heart, lungs, and kidneys. In fact, it’s the largest organ of your entire body. The average-sized person has 22 square feet of skin! That’s about the size of a small blanket. Skin comes in all different colors — all created by God using a pigment called melanin. Think of melanin like an artist would think about paint. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin. The less you have, the paler your skin.

Skin not only covers your bones and muscles, it also senses the environment around you and helps control your body’s temperature. Your skin sweats to cool you off when you get hot, and it closes up its pores to keep in the heat (think of goose bumps!) when you’re cold. But one of your skin’s most important jobs is to protect the rest of your body from injury and disease. It’s like a shield for your body.

And while your skin is the shield for your body, God is the shield for your heart, mind, spirit, and body. It’s easy to be afraid and anxious about the bad things that could happen in the world. But the Bible is filled with God’s promises to watch over and protect you, like this promise God gave in Psalm 18:30:

The Lord’s words are pure. He is a shield to those who trust Him.

And this one:

He is our help, our shield to protect us. — Psalm 33:20

And:

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him, and He helps me. — Psalm 28:7

The list could go on and on. So when you’re scared or feeling threatened, run to God, and He’ll be your shield!

God, You are my rock, my protection, my Savior, and my shield. When times get tough, I’m so thankful You surround me and keep me safe.

Be Amazed

Here are some weird skin facts: Underneath all its fur, a polar bear’s skin is black. A rhinoceros’s skin can be almost 2 inches thick. And frogs? Their skin is really unique. Instead of drinking water through their mouths, they actually soak it in through their skin!

A Hairy Situation

When five sparrows are sold, they cost only two pennies. But God does not forget any of them. Yes, God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows. — Luke 12:6-7

Hair — it’s everywhere!

It’s on your head and on your skin. It makes up your eyebrows and your eyelashes. It even grows in your ears and in your nose! In fact, the only places hair doesn’t grow are on the palms of your hands, the bottoms of your feet, and your lips. Hair isn’t just for looks either. It has a purpose. The hair on your head helps keep you warm. Eyelashes keep dust and dirt out of your eyes, while eyebrows help keep the sweat and rain away — not to mention helping you look shocked and surprised! And those nose and ear hairs help keep germs, pollen, and other bits of stuff out of your body.

Hair grows out of a special organ under your skin called a follicle. The average person has 100,000 follicles on his head — and more than 5 million on the entire body. That’s a lot of hair! And

God knows each and every hair in each and every follicle! You might not be able to count them all, but He can. The Bible tells you so.

When you’re going through a tough time, especially if it’s a long, tough time, you may start to feel that God has forgotten you. But that’s not true. God could never forget you. Jesus said God knows what happens to every tiny bird in His world. And He loves you a lot more than any bird! When tough times come, God doesn’t forget you, and you’re not alone. God is always with you, even though you may not see it. Remember, the God who knows every hair on your head also knows exactly how to take care of you.

Lord, You know everything that happens in my life — even how many hairs are on my head! So I’ll always trust You to do what’s best for me.

Be Amazed

Hair is one of the main characteristics of mammals (and people are mammals too). In fact, all mammals have hair or fur. Even naked mole rats have tiny hairs on their feet!

Excerpted from Indescribable by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

Never knew so much about skin and hair! So wonderful that God designed us the way He did and knows every hair that we have…simply amazing!

God cares so much for us that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin (disobeying God), to offer us forgiveness and salvation (through believing in Him and what He did for us) keeping us from eternal judgment and giving us eternal life with God. What a redemption! And the only way to be saved is through believing in Jesus!

Come, let us reason together, says the Lord. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Come to Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 24, 2023

Notes of Faith May 24, 2023

Fear Gone Wild

Have you ever tried to walk around your house in the dark? With arms stretched out wide we feel our way around, running into dressers, patting walls with our hands, feeling for the familiar to find our way. It’s hard to see where we’re going without the light. It’s painful to run into things we didn’t know were there, it can be uncomfortable to not know where our next step may lead. It’s easy to lose our way when our eyes can’t see.

I wonder if the same can be true about our wilderness seasons in life. Those times when we feel like we are aimlessly wandering around in the dark, and the divine presence of light feels far out of reach. As we wander, we wonder, where is He? Why isn’t He showing up for me here? Why did He allow this to happen? What now?

We all face seasons in our life and our faith journey where the distance between Heaven and earth, Him and us, feels endless.

Sometimes like David in the Psalms we cry out:

How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? — Psalm 13:1-2

The reality of our humanity is that none of us are exempt from the pain and brokenness of this place. We all walk through tragedies and trials, seasons of life where God seems more like a distant elusive entity, rather than a close loving Friend.

Maybe like me, you planned out your life, but it didn’t pan out the way you wanted it to.

Maybe the dream you had in mind never became a reality.

Maybe there was a relapse instead of remission.

Maybe there was divorce instead of reconciliation.

Maybe you were healthy but then illness came out of nowhere are you are waiting for healing.

Maybe you want to start a family, and though you’ve been trying for years, your arms are still empty.

Maybe you deeply desire to be married, and though you’ve gone on date after date, you are still single.

Maybe you were enjoying a stable, smooth life, but now you’re sitting in a season of depression that is dark, ugly, terrifying, and debilitating.

And maybe for the first time ever, you are wrestling with suicidal thoughts that you never thought you would have.

God wants nothing more than to be close to us in our pain.

Truth is, sometimes the lights go out in life and we feel left alone in the dark with our pain. So how do we find our way back to the light? How do we take the next step forward when we our eyes can’t see? How do we live with the pain?

Friend, I don’t have all of the answers, but what I’ve discovered through my own season of deep pain and grief is that the light is always there, we just have to searching for glimmers of it.

God wants nothing more than to be close to us in our pain.

He is sitting right beside us as we weep, He is our listening ear as we vent our frustrations, He is our steady anchor of truth in a sea of confusion, He is faithful, He is good, He is kind, and He will always make a way. There isn’t anywhere we can go to escape His loving light. One of my favorite passages from the Psalms illustrates this so well:

Lord, You know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and You understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord…. You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness You follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past…. Where could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from Your face?… Wherever I go, Your hand will guide me; Your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from You or to ask the darkness to hide me, for Your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. — Psalm 139:1-11 TPT

Friend, He is “bringing light into your night.” Keep holding on. Keep asking Him to help you live with the pain, keep putting one foot in front of the other even when you cannot see where you are going. He is preparing a way and strengthening you along the way. You are not alone. You are loved. Keep going.

In it together,

Kayla

Written for Devotionals Daily by Kayla Stoecklein, author of Fear Gone Wild.

Satan is a master at creating fear. He uses it for his purposes to keep us from trusting in God. Even in the darkest part of our lives God is there providing comfort, strength and hope, because He is light! We will come through every darkness as we stand firm in the faith we have been given. Stay strong, stand firm, pray fervently, and trust the Lord who loves you and promises you eternal life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 23, 2023

Notes of Faith May 23, 2023

The Unshakable Community Called Church

What is church? How do we define it when our definitions change over time and can depend on a number of variables such as the passing of time and the experience of crises? When do we lose track of what it means and how? How do we bring meaning back to the word?

I wasn’t sure how to define church in early 2020, and if truth be told, before the lockdowns began, I didn’t even know I would have to revisit the concept of church.

The women had a front-row seat as the men in our circles experienced real life together — studying, praying, and serving each other. Together they were recreating the church of the first Christians. I wanted in, and other wives did as well. So we began our own weekly Bible study. Each Tuesday, we gathered as women — same structure, same vision. We entered inspired and hopeful. Eager and vulnerable, we tended to each other’s needs with a simple group text thread.

As we worked together in community, I was reminded of something the ancient apologist Blaise Pascal once wrote about a great wager that everyone must make. He urged his readers to bet on God in this wager, for “if you win you win everything” — truth, happiness, and the good — and “if you lose you lose nothing. Do not hesitate then; wager that he does exist.” Investing in community is the same kind of wager. If we win, we win a full and flourishing life, and if we lose, we’ve made a lot of friends to help us endure the hardship.

We began waking up together — waking to passion and purpose, to conviction, to what it means to be the church. Our awakening propelled us to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world around us. We were being revived one by one, and once we’re revived personally, we begin to be revived corporately.

Our community began hosting town hall meetings with local business owners, curating conversations with city leaders, laying groundwork for community gardens, planning schooling alternatives, and organizing medical support for frontline workers. Just as in the book of Acts, numbers were being added to the men’s Bible study and community initiatives by the day. The women were activated too, and we looked for ways to serve one another, starting a group text thread to facilitate needs.

Who needs prayer?

Who needs a meal or a care basket because of a loss?

Who needs a ride?

Anyone requiring a doctor recommendation?

Who needs a wedding venue because their previously chosen venue closed its doors?

It wasn’t just the text thread. We rolled up our sleeves and got about our work of being the church. We hosted “church” on our front lawn because we couldn’t forsake our “meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25). Family blankets took the place of pews. One family led worship from their blanket, with my friend Christy leading the chorus and her husband, Nathan, accompanying with his guitar. Another family read Scripture and led a discussion. Since each family brought their own Communion elements, other families led in the time of Communion and prayer.

By early summer, the First Front Lawnist Church of Franklin was on a roll. Not only were we hosting worship gatherings, but on one beautiful May Saturday, we hosted a wedding for Molly and Peter, one of the men in this multigenerational community. Because every venue was shut down, we created our own.

The families and several guests gathered — seated in a dozen or so wooden chairs under a canopy of trees, with wind chimes as our backdrop. A path meandered down the slope to a short hop over the stream for the bride’s entrance. It was a full Lyons family affair, with Pierce playing guitar, Joy serving as flower girl, and Gabe and I reading the Scriptures. It was glorious.

Real-life church services brought a breath of fresh air, particularly for our kiddos. The extended isolation was hitting them hard, especially those with differing abilities who were nonverbal. During the many months of not meeting together, events were canceled, including our annual Best Buddies prom. Live events were substituted with online events, which weren’t necessarily helpful for everyone, including Cade, our son with Down syndrome.

A couple families had seen how much our in-person community lawn gatherings had helped Cade, and they decided to put on the best prom ever for Cade and many friends in our community. It was a highlight of their spring.

In our first five years in Franklin, we thought we had been “doing community.” We attended church regularly and would often have people in our home for dinner or impromptu parties. In 2020, we learned a different way of being a true Christian community. It was the kind of community that depended on one another, not just as some sought-after Christian ideal, but as a genuine mechanism for flourishing.

We depended on one another for even our most basic needs — food, fellowship, and even the occasional financial need. We came to realize that resilient lives are not formed in isolation; resilient lives are forged in community.

In the same way that God has inherent interpersonal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so Jesus prays that we will be image bearers of God in the way we participate in our own community.

The Church Is a Communal People Created by a Communal God

In what became known as His “farewell discourse,” Jesus prayed for a unified community, a collective church that was bigger than any one individual:

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one — I am in them and You in Me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. — John 17:20-23

In the same way that God has inherent interpersonal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so Jesus prays that we will be image bearers of God in the way we participate in our own community.

In the book of Acts, we see the first vision of Jesus’ prayer come to fruition when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the people of God and the church comes into existence.

Jesus recognized that the church is made up of individuals who believe in Him, but He did not simply pray for “them alone.” He prayed for them together — in community. He prayed for our relationship with one another, that we would experience the kind of relationship He has with God the Father — a relationship of complete unity. That prayer for unity came to life in the earliest gatherings of the church. It came to life in our own gatherings too.

What did we find?

In a unified community, we found a more holistic version of resilience. We became an unshakable community that helped meet one another’s needs. This began to spread to our broader community among friends in other cities.

We are far more resilient as a whole community than as self-sufficient individuals. The difference is staggering. When the Holy Spirit unites His people, the church, through consistent commitment to the Scriptures, prayer, and one another, a holistic resilience emerges that becomes unshakable both in the individual and in the group. It’s an irrepressible force that creates a more resilient world.

We Were Made to Need One Another

We live in an individualistic society, one that teaches us that self-sufficiency is resilience. We were not made to resist adversity alone; we were made to have our needs met in community, which is why resilience isn’t cultivated in a vacuum.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes the role of community in building resilience: “Community health resilience measures the ability of people, businesses, governments, nonprofit groups, and faith-based organizations to work together to create systems that can withstand, adapt to, and recover from a public health emergency.”

True community reminds you who you really are.

A community of like-minded people calls forth the character and integrity they believe you embody. They hold you accountable so that your inside matches your outside, your private life matches your public life. It reminds you that you’re stronger than you think, you’re braver than you think, you’re more loved than you think.

Christ-centered community reminded me of who I really was and called forth character and integrity in me and others. Christ-centered community encouraged each of us to use our gifts for the good of the group and to press into our purpose and calling. As a result, we became an Acts 2 community, the by-product of seeking the Word together, which cultivated a unity pointing to the kingdom where every need is expressed and people respond to meet it. It was that community that made us a truly resilient people.

Adapted from Building a Resilient Life: How Adversity Awakens Strength, Hope, and Meaning by Rebekah Lyons, copyright Rebekah Lyons.

The “True” church should be living like Adam and Eve in the garden before sin. They lived in community with God and one another. The church is meant to live in community, loving God, and loving one another. Let us pursue this relationship, working on our human nature toward sin, and striving to follow Christ, becoming more like Him day by day. This is the community I desire to live in. You are a part of this wonderful and blessed community! Thank you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith May 22, 2023

Notes of Faith May 22, 2023

Drinking Poison

Virtue: Forgiveness

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

~ Nelson Mandela

I’ll never forget where I was when I opened my laptop and read one of the worst emails I’d ever received. My wife was out of town with our little children, attending to a friend who had just lost her husband to cancer. I was in my study in the small church I pastored in Illinois, and it seemed the world was closing in on me. The church that had trained me, ordained me, and sent me out was not only withdrawing their association but publicly, to folks I’d grown up with, shaming me. This was not because I’d been caught in some moral failure or because I’d abandoned Christian teachings. They were cutting me off because I had the audacity to consider a different ministry model from the model they preferred. The differences were over things so miniscule and petty that if I put them here, you’d scratch your head in bewilderment and wonder.

I was hurt and angry and alone. I felt betrayed by the people who had coached me, raised me, and once supported me. I was a young pastor with few networks of support and friendship. I wondered whether this was the end of my ministry. Had the call I felt in junior high, walking down that dusty aisle at camp, come to an end here, like this?

In that moment the song “Come to Jesus” (untitled hymn) began to play from among the thousands of shuffled songs on my iPod. (Yes, I’m that old.) I am not much of a crier, but I broke down and wept. I called a longtime friend, an older ministry mentor who knew my situation.

“Rich,” I said, “maybe I should quit. Maybe they are right. I just don’t know if I can go on.”

Rich told me two things that are etched on my soul. First, he said, “Dan, if you quit, I will personally drive from Michigan to Chicago and kick your butt. You are not quitting.”

Then his voice got serious and he said, “Dan, you are right and they are wrong. But I’m telling you, in this moment, you have to make the determination to forgive.”

I liked the first part of what Rich said. I felt then and I feel now that I was in the right in this conflict. I liked his encouragement to keep going in ministry. What was a hard pill to swallow was his admonition to forgive.

I didn’t want to forgive. I was in pain.

But Rich was right.

How Can We Possibly Forgive?

Forgiveness, on its face, seems absurd. And let’s be clear about what I’m talking about when I talk about forgiveness. I’m not referring to petty slights, mild annoyances, and garden-variety offenses. That guy who cuts you off in traffic, that lame meme a friend posted on Facebook, your teenager’s sharp attitude while walking out the door — these are not the hurts we are talking about. For those, we should, as Christians, learn to “forbear and forgive.”

But what about the deep, painful, life-altering hurts?

That email was the first of many hard emails in a painful year and a half of church ministry in which I lost quite a few friends and was slandered and rejected by some who raised me. I will not pretend that I was able to skate past these hurts like nothing happened. I won’t pretend that I was perfect in all my interactions. And I won’t pretend that what I’ve gone through is even close to what many who have experienced abuse, betrayal, and trauma have endured. But I do know this:

forgiveness, this otherworldly, uncommon, audacious form of love, is available to those who know God.

When I was reeling from betrayal, I found an anchor in what Scripture tells us about how to deal with our hurt, particularly in the story of Joseph.

Joseph was the favorite son in a family riddled with dysfunction. Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham, patriarch of a new nation God was forming as part of His plan to show Himself to the world and bring about redemption. His father, Jacob, was both a follower of Yahweh and a terribly flawed, scheming, passive husband and father.

While his older brothers toiled in the family business, Joseph was paraded around as the heir apparent, symbolized by a colorful coat. The brothers, bitter at their father for his favoritism, jealous of Joseph’s position, conspired to nearly kill him before humiliating him and throwing him into an old well. Then they trafficked him to some merchants who brought him to Egypt as a common slave. Meanwhile the brothers lied and told their father that his favorite son was killed by wild animals.

True forgiveness recognizes the depravity of evil.

We know the story, of course, but the violence and deceit don’t get easier to read the more familiar we are with it. The injustice leaps off the pages of Genesis as the epitome of the depravity of the human heart. And here is Joseph, who quickly went from a prince with dreams of greatness to a piece of property, a commodity in the world’s most powerful country.

Yet throughout the narrative is Moses’ reminder that “God was with Joseph.” In the pit, on the bumpy ride over to Egypt, in the prison after being falsely accused, and, of course, in his unlikely ascension to power in Egypt.

Joseph’s rags to riches story is inspiring, but what struck me in my pain, with Rich’s words echoing in my ears, was the way, years later, a powerful Joseph who could have enacted retribution on the flesh-and-blood family whose sinful jealousy and rage caused him so much suffering said this:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. — Genesis 50:20

Don’t miss what Joseph is saying to his brothers, decades after he was left for dead in the bottom of a well before being trafficked to merchants and sold as a slave. He refuses to soft-pedal the evil done to him: “You intended to harm me.” Other translations render this, “You meant for evil.”

We need to get something important out of the way here.

Forgiveness is not being passé about evil. Brushing off deep hurts as if they didn’t happen is not forgiveness.

Sometimes people talk about forgiving and forgetting, but do you think Joseph forgot what had been done to him? Do you think Joseph saw his brothers and said, “You know that time you betrayed me and lied about me and tried to ruin my life? I totally forgot that.”

Joseph wasn’t letting his brothers off the hook. He wasn’t saying that their actions were no big deal. No, he looked his brothers in the eyes and he said to them, “What you intended was evil.”

True forgiveness recognizes the depravity of evil.

And yet he makes a remarkable statement: “But God intended it for good.” The Hebrew reads something like, “God superintended it for good.” This here gives us the age-old paradox of both human responsibility and God’s sovereignty. I must confess that after decades of study, I still don’t totally understand how both of those things can fit together, but in the desert of my deepest hurt, this doctrine was like a spring of cool water.

Joseph could forgive because he trusted that God is sovereign over all things. God saw when Joseph was thrust deep into a used well. He saw when he was tied and bound like common cargo and hauled to Egypt. He saw when Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. That realization gave Joseph comfort.

It gives me comfort. It means that sinful human beings can plot evil, but ultimately God is working the worst things for my good and for his glory. I don’t totally understand it, but it gives me hope, it helps me sleep at night, it allows me to remember that we are living not simply in a world of chaos but in a world where God is in charge and ordering all things for His purposes.

This is the same message Paul is giving the church in Rome, which was increasingly facing persecution for their faith. He says to them,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. — Romans 8:28

Sometimes this verse is trotted out as a trite attempt to wave away hurt. But if we truly understand God’s heart, a Father who is with us in our pain, we find comfort in knowing that while our world might be spinning out of control, there is one who upholds all things “by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).

This is the same word Peter gave to the crowds at Pentecost:

This Man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. — Acts 2:23–24

How can we forgive heinous acts done against us? We can look no farther than the cross, where the world’s greatest injustice was committed against the Son of God. If the cross, that symbol of torture and humiliation, was no accident but God’s plan to bring about our salvation, then we can see our lesser but still painful hurts as part of God’s plan for our good and His glory.

Excerpted from Agents of Grace by Daniel Darling, copyright Daniel Darling.

We all have hurt and pain that is difficult to forgive…maybe even to understand how we could ever forgive. But God has allowed these things in our lives to lead us toward the glory that He has planned for us. They are used to shape and make us like Jesus. Jesus suffered much more than any other human experience. And gave His life willingly that we might have an abundant life now and an eternal life with our Lord and Savior. Let us keep learning and trying again and again to forgive and pray for those who have hurt us, that they might receive grace and mercy just as we have.

Pastor Dale