Notes of Faith June 20, 2023

Notes of Faith June 20, 2023

Did the Devil Really Make Me Do It?

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

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

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

It is not a sin to be tempted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”

~ D. L. Moody

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

God provides a way of escape for us.

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

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

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

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

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

Meditate on the words of James:

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

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

The closer we are to God and His Word, the less likely we are to succumb to sin. We will definitely be tempted, all our lives, yet we can escape through the provision of God. This side of heaven we cannot be sinless, but with God’s help we can sin less! Let us ever draw close to the One who created us, loves us, and wants the absolute best for us! His name is Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 19, 2023

Notes of Faith June 19, 2023

Well Spent in the Work of Love

I once spent a week in Mexicali, Mexico, with my friend Doug and a bunch of his high school friends. Doug was a youth pastor who had a long history of friendships in Mexicali, and once every summer, he’d escort a couple hundred students from the youth group he led to partner with his friends there. My primary role was to play music, leading Doug’s high school friends in song during morning and evening sessions. Between those sessions, I got to work alongside those same students as they repaired roofs, dug irrigation trenches, and did whatever was asked of them by the elders and leaders in that community. I also sat in on meetings and conversations.

On the drive to the Mexico border from the East San Francisco Bay, a member of Doug’s team asked if I was planning to join “Team Sleepless” that week. I told him I was up for whatever they had in mind, and he responded by barking aloud to the rest of the fifteen-passenger van, “We got another one!”

Apparently, Doug went without much sleep on these trips. After the evening session, he would walk through the camp, ensuring kids had actually gone to sleep, and then he’d gather with whoever was still up to pray through the night. I’d stayed up for days on end for lesser reasons. So I knew I could do it.

And for five days, I did.

I. Had. So. Much. Fun.

I loved every minute.

It’s possible you’ve heard the St. Irenaeus expression: “The glory of God is a man fully alive.” That week was the closest I’d felt to anything resembling St. Irenaeus’s expression, and it was the work I was doing that got me there. I was deeply and regularly connected to God and those around me.

I had never experienced the kind of connectedness to God and others the way I did on that Mexicali trip, leading songs and talking to kids and learning Spanish and slinging a hammer alongside Doug and his friends. That work connected me to God, myself, and those around me in a new way. I wanted more of it.

In his Gospel, Luke told a story in which Jesus was touched by a woman in a crowd. He stopped to ask,

Who touched Me?

Peter responded, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you” (Luke 8:45). He seemed surprised and even a bit confused that Jesus would have noticed one person’s touch in particular. But for Jesus, there was clearly something different about the connection He felt with that person. Not only did He notice that “power has gone out from Me” (Luke 8:46), but He also stopped to pay attention to someone who would have gone unnoticed otherwise.

Why?

I’ve heard a number of speculations about what went on in Jesus’ mind in this moment. I think there’s room for a number of possibilities, and several can be true at the same time, so I’ll add mine: I think Jesus may have been uniquely moved by the depth and amount of power that went out from Him because of the depth of that woman’s need.

This woman who touched Jesus had lived for twelve years with the same physical condition, and she had spent all of her money on treatments that didn’t work, including (I’d be willing to bet) a number of scams and swindlers. That’s a heavy load to carry. I wonder if Jesus had a gratifying reaction to being part of her Story — a Story He stopped long enough to listen to and become acquainted with, despite having somewhere else to be. I think, in shorthand that might come off as cheap, Jesus liked being there and doing that work.

In Mexicali, I did the kind of work in which I was fully alive and in tune with the Love of God. And not just the Love of God for me. Also the Love of God for my world and for my co-laborers. Was I useful on that trip? Sure. But what God offered sounded less like You’ll be good with these tasks and something more like Come join Me here. I want you to feel what I feel when you work with Me.

Doug’s invitation to join him on that trip was an act of love, an extension of the Love of God in him. This Love welcomed me to do the kind of work that would draw me deeper into relationship with God, with my world, and with my own soul.

The kind of work that deepens my love for the world.

The kind of work that inspires care and awe for my co-laborers.

And the kind of work I’m happy to give my best energies to.

Good work has provided me the sense of “aliveness” in ways that contemplation (in prayer or silence or just about any form of devotion) simply does not. It’s not a superior or even deeper connection, per se; it’s just vastly different, and my soul longs for it.

After several nights without sleep, I didn’t start to feel tired until the I got on the plane to return home. My body and mind were in full agreement that it was time to say goodbye to all other aspects of corporeal reality for a while. I fell asleep in my seat almost immediately.

I. Was. So. Tired.

The thing is, I was happy to be so tired. I knew where my energy had gone, and I felt really good about it.

Being fully alive isn’t just about being well rested. Sometimes it’s about being well spent. More than that, you are Beloved fully and completely in and through the work you do with your own hands. You are called into that work so that you can know and live in that love.

Adapted from Sacred Strides by Justin McRoberts, copyright Justin McRoberts.

I remember staying awake all night with the youth of our church, but I was much younger then. I remember working 36 straight hours for the business I left to work full time at our church. Now that I am older, I have some sleepless nights that are certainly not my choice and for any good reason that I understand. However, being fully alive, thinking about eternal life, and not needing sleep, wouldn’t it be awesome to be involved in something God is doing and just staying awake and participating in His glory?! If only I could always stay in this frame of mind . . .

How about you?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 18, 2023

Notes of Faith June 18, 2023

Joseph: God Intended It for Good

Genesis 50:20

Although Joseph spent most of his life in Egypt, he represents Jewish manhood at its best . He had clean hands and a pure heart, yet he suffered considerably because of what others did to him. His father pampered him and his older brothers hated him and sold him as a slave. His master’s wife lied about him, and he was imprisoned and forgotten by everybody except God.

They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, wrote the psalmist. — Psalm 105:18

The Anglican Prayer Book version of 1877 reads, “The iron entered into his soul .” I have a feeling that Joseph experienced both kinds of suffering. What a man!

It has well been said that what life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and this truth is no better demonstrated than in the history of Joseph. Here we will focus primarily on Joseph, but to appreciate his response to what God permitted him to experience, we must take time to examine the responses of his father and his ten brothers.

THE BROTHERS: “WHAT IS GOD DOING TO US?”

Their actual response was, “What is this that God has done to us?” (Genesis 42:28), and they said it when one of them found his money for grain returned in his full grain sack. What a shock! Each man’s conscience was smiting him, and each man was afraid of what the Lord was going to do. Had they thought about the justice of the Lord when they sold Joseph, they never would have sinned as they did, but they were sure they could get away with it.

When they arrived home, they all found their money in their sacks; and then they had to tell their father that Simeon was being held hostage in Egypt. But the news got worse: the Egyptian lord would release Simeon only if they brought Benjamin along on their next trip. Joseph had learned from his dreams that all eleven brothers had to bow before him (Genesis 37:5-11), so he kept Simeon and demanded to see Benjamin.

The brothers’ evil conduct was catching up with them. They had hated Joseph and couldn’t speak to him without showing their hostility. Jacob, Joseph, and Benjamin had each other, but the ten older brothers made life miserable for Joseph. According to Genesis 50:15, they wronged him, treated him badly (Genesis 50:17), and intended to harm him (Genesis 50:20) . In spite of his tears and entreaties, they threw him into a pit, plotted to kill him, and then sold him — their own brother! — as a slave (Genesis 42:21-22).

In being cruel to Joseph they were also cruel to Jacob. They lied to him and told him that Joseph was dead, and they even manufactured “evidence” to convince their father they were telling the truth. Sir Walter Scott was right — “O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Jacob didn’t see his beloved son Joseph for more than twenty years, and he grieved for his son, thinking he was dead. How wicked for those brothers to lay this fictitious burden of sorrow on their father in his old age! Yes, Jacob was being paid back for lying to his own father, but that doesn’t excuse the brothers for their lies and cruelty.

What was God doing? He was bringing them to the place of truth, repentance, confession, and forgiveness. God was using Joseph to deal with them in a wise and patient way.

JACOB — “GOD IS DOING NOTHING!”

Jacob didn’t say that God was doing nothing, but that’s the way he felt in his heart. What he said was,

Everything is against me! — Genesis 42:36,

and it certainly looked that way.

Consider his trials. There was a famine in the land, and his sons had to travel to Egypt for food to sustain the large family. Jacob thought his beloved son Joseph was dead, and now his son Simeon was being held hostage in Egypt. Even worse, the ruler of Egypt said he wouldn’t release Simeon until the brothers brought Benjamin with them on their next trip. Both Benjamin and Joseph were the only sons of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, now deceased, and Jacob couldn’t bear losing both of them. No matter where he turned, Jacob faced painful problems and had to make difficult decisions. Where was the Lord?

Jacob was forgetting the promise God made to him long ago at Bethel.

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. — Genesis 28:15

When Jacob fled from Laban, God said to him,

Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you. — Genesis 31:3

“I will not leave you” — that’s the negative. “I will be with you” — that’s the positive. And the night that he wrestled with the Lord, Jacob’s name was changed from Jacob to Israel. He had struggled with God and was now an overcomer, a prince with God. Surely his ever-present limp would remind him of this.

If God is for us, who can be against us? — Romans 8:31

Let’s not be too hard on Jacob; after all, where would he get spiritual help in his family? Furthermore, you and I already know how the story ends, and that makes it easier for us to smile and quote Romans 8:28. “Jacob, don’t say that everything is working against you! God says it is all working for your good.” But Jacob didn’t know Romans 8:28, and he was a man with a broken heart. The next time our own world is shattered and we wonder if God really cares, maybe we’ll better understand how he felt.

JOSEPH — “WHAT GOD DID HE INTENDED FOR GOOD”

At least five times in Scripture we are told that “the Lord was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2, Genesis 39:3, Genesis 39:21, Genesis 39:23, Acts 7:9), which means that God was in control of events so that everything would work out for the good of Joseph and his family and for the glory of God. It’s important to note that God worked everything together for good throughout the entire experience and not just at the end. Romans 8:28 doesn’t say, “And we know that God will work out everything for good in the end,” but that He is always at all times working things out for good, no matter how we feel or what we see.

The most important “good thing” that God was accomplishing was the preservation of the nation of Israel (Genesis 50:20), because through them, God would give the world the Word of God and the Son of God. Joseph was God’s chosen servant to shelter Israel and to save a lost world. God “sent a man before them” (Psalm 105:17).

What happened was good for Jacob and his sons. Surely Jacob realized that he was reaping the bitter fruit from some of the seeds of deception he had sown years before, and the brothers were finally brought to the place where their mouths were stopped and they had run out of lies and excuses. “What can we say to my lord?” said Judah . “What can we say?” (Genesis 44:16). Every mouth was silenced as the men (Benjamin excepted) stood guilty before the Lord and Joseph (Romans 3:19). It took twenty-two years for the brothers’ sins to find them out, and then Joseph forgave them and assured them of his love. A few years before, when Joseph’s first son was born, Joseph named him Manasseh — “forget” — which means Joseph was not holding any grudges or looking for ways to avenge himself . F . W . Robertson said, “The only revenge which is essentially Christian is that of retaliating by forgiveness.”

How could Joseph hate his brothers when he knew that God intended everything to produce good?

Perhaps Joseph himself was the recipient of more good than anybody else. Psalm 105:17 says that God sent “a man” before them, but Joseph was only a somewhat pampered seventeen-year-old boy when his brothers sold him. God gave him two dreams to sustain him, but dreams without disciplines become nightmares; so the Lord sent one discipline after another to form him and polish him.

Joseph knew the pain of family rejection, the humiliation of being sold as a slave, and the sorrow of separation from loved ones at home. He endured the demands of hard work in a foreign land, the temptations of the world, the helplessness of condemnation by false accusation, the misery and shame of imprisonment, and the seeming absurdity of the whole thing. But these experiences were used by God to turn a boy into a man and a servant into a rule. He was faithful over a few things, so God entrusted him with many things (Matthew 25:21).

I have counted seven times in this narrative when Joseph wept. He wept and pleaded when he was thrown into the pit (Genesis 42:21-22) . He wept when his brothers admitted their sins to each other (Genesis 42:24) and when he saw his brother Benjamin (Genesis 43:30) . He wept loudly when he was reconciled to his brothers (Genesis 45:2, Genesis 45:14-15) and “for a long time” when he saw his father after more than twenty years (Genesis 46:29). As any son would do, he wept when his father died (Genesis 50:1). When he read his brothers’ message asking for forgiveness, he wept and assured them that they were forgiven. They wanted to become slaves, but he assured them they were sons. Does that sound familiar? (See Luke 15:19, Luke 15:21.)

The disciplines of Joseph’s life, plus his faith in the Lord, transformed him into one of the most beloved characters in the Bible, a man who is very much like Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, Joseph was beloved by his father but hated by his brethren. He was illegally sold, he was falsely accused, and he was condemned and imprisoned. Joseph went from the prison to the throne, from suffering to glory, and he provided bread for the known world. (Joseph merely sustained life; Jesus gives life.) Joseph also gave forgiveness to his brethren and provided a home for them. There is much more, but I’m sure you get the point: it is only as we suffer for and with Jesus that we become more like Him. On the other side of Romans 8:28 is Romans 8:29, which says that God’s purpose is that we “be conformed to the likeness of His Son.”

In the midst of pain and trouble, it takes faith for us to say, “God intends this for good,” but that’s just what we must do. To say that “everything is against me” when everything is working for me, is to rebel against the loving heart of God. To ask, “What is God doing?” when we know His purpose is to make us more like Jesus, is to make our situation worse.

In the midst of danger and difficulty, David wrote,

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me. — Psalm 13:5-6

“God intended it for good,” says Joseph . We reply, “God is good — all the time!”

Excerpted from The Defining Verse by Warren W. Wiersbe, copyright Warren W. Wiersbe.

Have you experienced some seemingly harsh and negative event in your life that God used for good? Ultimately, God is using all things to complete His perfect plan for our lives and to bring Him glory and honor. Indeed, God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 17, 2023

Notes of Faith June 17, 2023

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

λέων ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα

LEON EK TES PHYLES IOUDA

Only once in the New Testament is Jesus described as a lion. The book of Revelation (named in part for what it reveals about Christ) portrays the risen Jesus as the only one worthy to open the scroll that contains the ultimate unfolding of God’s purposes for the world.

The apostle John perceived Jesus as both Lion and Lamb, who through his death and resurrection becomes the ultimate victor and conqueror. When you pray to Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, you are praying to the one with the power to banish all fear, to the one who watches over you with his fierce protecting love. You are also praying to the one who is judge of the living and the dead.

KEY SCRIPTURE

I cried bitterly because no one was found who deserved to open the scroll or look inside it. Then one of the leaders said to me, “Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory. He can open the scroll and the seven seals on it.” — Revelation 5:4–5

GOD REVEALS HIS NAME IN SCRIPTURE

GENESIS 49:8–10, REVELATION 5:5

Open your personal Bible translation and read the same passages.

Make note where you read the name JUDAH or LION.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 Judah, you are a lion cub. You have come back from the kill, my son. He lies down and rests like a lion. He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him? 10 A scepter will never depart from Judah nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes and the people obey him.

5 Then one of the leaders said to me, “Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory. He can open the scroll and the seven seals on it.”

λέων ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα

Understanding the Name

Throughout the Bible, the lion appears as a symbol of might, and it is hardly surprising that Israel’s enemies are sometimes depicted as lions. In the New Testament, Peter calls the devil a roaring lion and warns believers that he is constantly on the prowl, looking for someone to devour.

Though lions are sometimes a symbol of evil, they are also used as symbols of God’s people. Near the end of his life, the patriarch Jacob prayed a blessing over his twelve sons. When it came time to bless Judah, he compared him to a lion — hence the phrase “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” (Aryeh Lammatteh Yehudah in Hebrew, pronounced ar-YEH la-mat-TEH ye-hou-DAH, or Leon ek tes Phyles Iouda, in Greek, pronounced LE-own ek teys fu-LAIS YOU-dah). Jacob’s prediction that the scepter would not depart from Judah has been traditionally applied to the Messiah.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, Yahweh is sometimes depicted as a lion who roars in judgment against the nations and against His own faithless people. But He is also depicted as a mighty lion who fights fiercely on behalf of His people. Revelation depicts the risen Christ as the mightiest of all victors. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the one found worthy to open the scrolls of history; this means that He is in charge of history and of how the world’s destiny unfolds.

Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory.

Connecting to the Name

Why do you think the book of Revelation portrays Jesus as both Lion and Lamb?

In the Bible “seven” is considered a sacred number, symbolizing per- fection or completeness, while a “horn” symbolizes power. What does this say to you about how the Lamb is portrayed in Revelation 5?

How have you experienced and understood both the “lamblike” and “lionlike” nature of Jesus in your own life?

What does it mean for us “to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God”?

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the ultimate victor and conqueror, has the power to banish all fear and to watch over you with fierce, protective love. Picture this literally, then describe how this promise of safety might affect the way you face your fears.

What specific victories has the Lion of Judah already won in your life?

If you could choose one adjective to describe the passage from Revelation 5, what would it be and why? Would you call it bizarre, moving, perplexing, enlightening, or something else?

Praying a Passage with God’s Name

Focus on the name Aryeh Lammatteh Yehudah, “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” as you read Hosea 11:8–11.

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? I have changed my mind. I am deeply moved.

9 I will not act on my burning anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again. I am El, not a human. I am the Holy One among you, and I will not come to you in anger. 10 “My people will follow Yahweh when I roar like a lion. When I roar, my children will come trembling from the west.11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their own homes,” declares Yahweh.

Praying the Name LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH for Myself

Look up and read: Isaiah 11:6–9

Jesus is the lion and the lamb, who will bring all things to reconciliation at the end of history. Tell Him about anything or any circumstance that feels irreconcilable, and write a prayer of praise, surrendering that circumstance to Him.

Promises from the

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble! Don’t be afraid of them! Yahweh your Elohim is the one who is going with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you. — Deuteronomy 31:6

A wicked person flees when no one is chasing him, but righteous people are as bold as lions. — Proverbs 28:1

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Read the following passages, considering the name the LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH and how its meaning relates to the context of the passage.

Psalm 106:8

Proverbs 19:12

Amos 3:6–8

Joel 3:16

Excerpted from Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks by Ann Spangler, copyright Ann Spangler.

The names God gives Himself are helpful for us in understanding His love and provision for us! Give praise and thanks to His name!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 16, 2023

Notes of Faith June 16, 2023

Rest for Your Soul

In Matthew 11:29–30 Jesus spoke these tender and comforting words:

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

In the New Testament the Pharisees were a bunch of “Legalistic Larrys.” Everything they did came from a place of merely checking off a list because they were “supposed to” and because it made them “look good” — not because they truly loved God or desired to follow Him. In Matthew 11 Jesus was calling those who felt burdened by the overwhelming weight of these legalistic requirements. Jesus was calling those who were tired of carrying their own burdens and trying to meet every expectation through their own strength.

Our gentle and lowly Savior has a solution for those who are weary and burdened. A yoke was a tool used to join two animals together so they could work in unison and share the load of pulling a plow or a cart. Humanity’s tendency to live out of obligation and strive for their own worth was only crushing them. But

Jesus’ yoke of discipleship — this idea of denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following Him — brings rest and freedom.

Let Jesus’ promise be your guarantee: We do not have to be afraid to be disciples of Christ. We do not have to be overwhelmed by what Jesus calls us to. We do not have to worry about what we will lose when we surrender our lives, release personal control, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus instead. We have a Savior who has extended His hand down from Heaven and offered us salvation. In Christ we have victory. We have the win. We have the ultimate gain, not loss.

We do not have to strive and control and plan and manipulate to reach victory, because Jesus has already won it on our behalf.

Sure, we have the option to go about living our lives trying to white-knuckle our way to success and achievement. But as Luke 9:25 asks, what’s the point of gaining the whole world only to lose ourselves in the process? Whatever we might win for ourselves is infinitely less valuable than the eternal purpose and destiny available in God. What we see now and what the world offers — fame, money, success, external achievements — is far less satisfying than what God has for us.

God does not want you to run yourself ragged.

God does not want you to run yourself ragged. He does not want to see you suffer through clenched fists, broken dreams, and disappointment. If you remember anything, remember this: Jesus may have said a lot of upside-down things in His lifetime. He may have ruffled a lot of feathers and said things that sent people into shock. But He did it to make beautiful, committed, and holy disciples out of you and me. He did it to change the game and offer something far better than the world could offer. His teachings only seem upside down because our world is upside down. Ever since the fall, we’ve been fighting with ourselves, with each other, and with the world around us, trying to grab control and impose our will on our circumstances. Jesus’ invitation to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Him is actually an invitation to lay down the burden of sinfully trying to control our own lives, and instead, pick up His gift of true grace, freedom, and rest.

When Jesus has your heart, your desires, and your affections, you’re returning to the kind of connection with God that you were created for. There is a greater purpose and plan for our lives when we wave our white flags and say, “Lord, I surrender. I am tired of striving. I am tired of holding on to control. I want a life that is full of freedom and purpose. I want to be Your disciple.”

And rest assured, my friend: God isn’t asking us to release our control so He can “bait and switch” us. He is not out to trick us. We don’t have to worry about being left empty-handed. On the contrary.

When our heavenly Father asks us to give up something, He always has something exceedingly better in store.

Space to Surrender

Do you have trouble surrendering all? Or are some things easier to relinquish than others? Why do you think that is?

Reflect on how the three steps to discipleship — deny yourself, take up your cross, follow Jesus — make you feel. What emotions does this stir: fear, anxiety, courage, hope?

How does seeing God’s Kingdom through the “upside-down” lens change your perspective on your story and help you trust Him more?

Heavenly Father, thank You for taking on my burdens and releasing me from striving for my worth. I pray that You would help me to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You every single day. Help me to walk in the freedom and rest that only You offer through surrender.

Excerpted from Surrender Your Story by Tara Sun, copyright Tara Sun Snider.

Focusing on eternal life and the promise of the new creation waiting for us brings freedom from this life and the bondage of sin and death. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will be able to walk on water!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 15, 2023

Notes of Faith June 15, 2023

They Walked with God: Jairus

Before You Begin

Read Mark 5:21–24, 35–43 NIV

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.

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. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

When my daughters were young, we tried an experiment.

I asked Jenna, then eight years old, to go to one side of the den. I had Andrea, six, stand on the other. Three-year-old Sara and I sat on the couch in the middle and watched. Jenna’s job was to close her eyes and walk. Andrea’s job was to be Jenna’s eyes and talk her safely across the room.

With phrases like, “Take two baby steps to the left” and, “Take four giant steps straight ahead,” Andrea successfully navigated her sister through a treacherous maze of chairs, a vacuum cleaner, and a laundry basket.

Then Jenna took her turn. She guided Andrea past her mom’s favorite lamp and shouted just in time to keep her from colliding into the wall when she thought her right foot was her left foot.

After several treks through the darkness, they stopped and we processed.

“I didn’t like it,” Jenna complained. “It’s scary going where you can’t see.”

“I was afraid I was going to fall,” Andrea agreed. “I kept taking little steps to be safe.” I can relate, can’t you? We grown-ups don’t like the dark either. But we walk in it.

We, like Jenna, often complain about how scary it is to walk where we can’t see. And we, like Andrea, often take timid steps so we won’t fall.

We’ve reason to be cautious: We are blind. Blind to the future.

It’s one limitation we all share. The wealthy are just as blind as the poor. The educated are just as sightless as the unschooled. And the famous know as little about the future as the unknown.

None of us knows how our children will turn out. None of us knows the day we will die. No one knows whom he or she will marry or even if marriage lies before him or her. We are universally, absolutely, unalterably blind.

There are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive.

We are all Jenna with her eyes shut, groping through a dark room, listening for a familiar voice — but with one difference. Her surroundings are familiar and friendly. Ours can be hostile and fatal. Her worst fear is a stubbed toe. Our worst fear is more threatening: cancer, divorce, loneliness, death.

And try as we might to walk as straight as we can, chances are a toe is going to get stubbed and we are going to get hurt.

Just ask Jairus. He is a man who has tried to walk as straight as he can. But Jairus is a man whose path has taken a sudden turn into a cave — a dark cave. And he doesn’t want to enter it alone.

Jairus is the leader of the synagogue. That may not mean much to you and me, but in the days of Christ the leader of the synagogue was the most important man in the community. The synagogue was the center of religion, education, leadership, and social activity. The leader of the synagogue was the senior religious leader, the highest-ranking professor, the mayor, and the best-known citizen all in one.

Jairus has it all. Job security. A guaranteed welcome at the coffee shop. A pension plan. Golf every Thursday and an annual all-expenses-paid trip to the national convention.

Who could ask for more? Yet Jairus does. In fact, he would trade the whole package of perks and privileges for just one assurance — that his daughter will live.

The Jairus we see in this story is not the clear-sighted, black-frocked, nicely groomed civic leader. He is instead a blind man begging for a gift. He fell at Jesus’ feet, “saying again and again, ‘My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live’” (Mark 5:23 NIV).

He doesn’t barter with Jesus. He just pleads.

There are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. Jairus is at such a point. What could a man offer in exchange for his child’s life? So, there are no games. No haggling. No masquerades. The situation is starkly simple: Jairus is blind to the future and Jesus knows the future. So Jairus asks for His help.

And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it.

And God, who knows what it is like to lose a child, empowers His Son.

But before Jesus and Jairus get very far, they are interrupted by emissaries from Jairus’s house.

“Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the teacher anymore” (v. 35 NIV).

Get ready. Hang on to your hat. Here’s where the story gets moving. Jesus goes from being led to leading, from being convinced by Jairus to convincing Jairus. From being admired to being laughed at, from helping out the people to casting out the people.

Here is where Jesus takes control.

But Jesus paid no attention to what they said… — v. 36 NRSV

I love that line! It describes the critical principle for seeing the unseen: Ignore what people say. Block them out. Turn them off. Close your ears. And, if you must, walk away. Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to start over.

Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything.

Turn a deaf ear toward those who say that you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, tall enough, or big enough — ignore them.

Faith sometimes begins by stuffing your ears with cotton.

Jesus turns immediately to Jairus and pleads:

Don’t be afraid; just believe. — Mark 5:36 NIV

Jesus compels Jairus to see the unseen. When Jesus says, “Just believe,” He is imploring, “Don’t limit your possibilities to the visible. Don’t listen only for the audible. Don’t be controlled by the logical. Believe there is more to life than meets the eye!”

“Trust me,” Jesus is pleading. “Don’t be afraid; just trust.”

Excerpted from They Walked with God by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

Sometimes everything in the world seems to be against us, friends, family, logic and understanding of our own minds…this is where faith and trust in God must reside. He can and will deal with our issues. Do not fear, only believe! Very hard to do but following the command of Jesus brings comfort and peace.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 14, 2023

Notes of Faith June 1, 2023

Don't Fear Weakness

Bear Grylls is a survivor. You’ve likely seen him on one of his many survival and adventure TV shows, such as Man Vs. Wild, You Vs. Wild, The Island, and Running Wild with Bear Grylls. In his life, Bear has served with British special forces, climbed Everest, crossed the north Atlantic unassisted, and he currently holds the record for the longest indoor freefall! But as much as Bear knows about adventure and survival, he’s come to realize that a deeper source of strength is needed in this life. As Bear says, “I find the journey hard. I often mess up. I feel myself teetering on the edge more often than you would imagine. So for me, starting my day with God really helps. It is like food. Like good fuel for the soul.” In his book Soul Fuel, Bear Grylls offers up 365 devotions, many of which he wrote on his phone during his countless adventures. Enjoy two selections today from Bear in Soul Fuel.

Don’t Fear Weakness

I often feel inadequate because of my many weaknesses. But sometimes God works through our weaknesses better than through our perceived strengths.

We see it in Gideon. Chosen by God to lead an army, he didn’t feel that he was up to the job.

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family”. — Judges 6:15

Often our doubts and fears only really surface when we’re about to be tested. But our sense of weakness is no barrier to God. “I will be with you,” said God to Gideon. And He says it to us too.

I often draw strength from the words of the apostle Paul:

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.

—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Don’t run or hide from your weaknesses. Accept and embrace them, and lay them before the Almighty. He longs to enter, transform, and empower our lives. It is what He does — but only when asked, and only when there is room for Him to work.

A false sense of self-confidence often gets in the way of our progress in life. There’s a power to weakness, strange as it sounds. But when we admit that we’re unable to fight the big battles alone, that is when we learn to effectively rely on a stronger power. God-confidence is always going to win over self-confidence. Gideon knew that, as have so many of the most empowered men and women throughout history.

***************

Don’t run or hide from your weaknesses. Accept and embrace them, and lay them before the Almighty.

The Curtain Between Man and God

It is arguably the most poignant moment in human history: Pilate turned and looked at Jesus. Covered in blood, a crown of thorns biting into His scalp, soldiers on either side, Jesus didn’t look like much of a threat to the Roman ruler. I imagine Pilot half sneering, half despairing as he spoke:

Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? — John 19:10

But Jesus’ reply was so calm and clear:

You haven’t a shred of authority over Me except what has been given you from Heaven. — John 19:11 MSG

It must have looked to many as though it was game over, as though Jesus’ life had been a failure — that hatred, jealousy, and ego had conquered over mercy, forgiveness, and love. But in reality, the greatest victory in the history of the world was about to be won. The conquered one, the man who looked as if He’d failed, was about to reveal a source of new life, a new vision for humankind, a new road to peace and unity.

At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. — Matthew 27:51 MSG

Whenever we’re struggling with the circumstances of our lives, let’s see beyond what other people see as failure and look instead to what God’s doing behind the scenes in our lives. Let’s choose to remember that the greatest triumphs sometimes occur when the circumstances seem to be hardest.

He went through it all — was put to death and then made alive — to bring us to God. — 1 Peter 3:18 MSG

When we think life is dark, Christ knows better. Look up. The light is coming.

Excerpted from Soul Fuel by Bear Grylls, copyright BGV Global Limited, 2019.

It has never entered my mind to attempt any journey that Bear Grylls seems to enjoy. The physical challenge, perhaps more than anything else fear of dying during some crazy event. But his dependence on God I agree with. Starting each day with God makes every day a good day. If failure, struggle, or illness invades the day, it is still a good day in the Lord, for He is walking beside us as we experience all that creation even in its fallen state, has to offer. There is no place that we could go where God is not already there. There is no journey, no matter how crazy even Bear Grylls might think up, that God is not there.

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” God is always with us even when we sleep!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 13, 2023

Notes of Faith June 13, 2023

How to Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You

There is a very close connection between God and His Word.

Jesus Himself is called the Word of God (John 1:1, John 1:14; Revelation 19:13). To know God, you must know His Word; to honor God, you must honor His Word; to be in touch with God, you must be in touch with His Word. Mighty promises are given to those who master the Bible so well that the Bible masters them.

We are promised spiritual stability, fruitfulness, and true prosperity as we meditate on His Word day and night (Psalm 1:1-3).

When the words of Jesus abide in us, our desires will be given to us, according to God’s will (John 15:7).

Meditating on God’s Word leads to prosperity and success in our endeavors (Joshua 1:8).

We will have more wisdom than our enemies, more insight than our teachers, and more understanding than the aged (Psalm 119:97-100).

We will have greater power over sin (Psalm 119:11).

We will have comfort in affliction (Psalm 119:50).

By drawing near to God, we have His promise that He will draw near to us

(James 4:8).

These astonishing observations, these magnificent claims, these profound promises — they help us to realize how important the Bible is, and what remarkable potential we bring to our lives when we become serious students of Scripture. That’s why it’s so important that we commit ourselves to mastering the Bible so well that the Bible masters us.

There are four steps to mastering the Bible so well that the Bible masters you:

Read the Bible

Study the Bible

Memorize the Bible

Meditate on the Bible

Seems simple. Obvious, even, for those who have been Christians for a while. Yet very few people take all four steps. Many take one step. Some take two steps. A few take three steps. Very few take all four steps. As a result, very few people ever experience the full life transformation, the fellowship with God, the spiritual stability and strength, the power in ministry, the joy in worship, and the spiritual prosperity that the Bible promises to those who master it so well that it masters them.

READ THE BIBLE FOR BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE.

To begin a mastery of the Bible, you must read the Bible. This may seem self-evident to some, but to others who have never developed the habit, it is groundbreaking. Some Christians do not read the Bible, or they only read snippets that are attached to daily devotionals. This will not get you where you want to go. You must begin to read the Bible widely.

It is only by covering a lot of territory in Scripture that you gain a breadth of knowledge. If you never read the Old Testament, you will never have a general knowledge of it. If you only read the Gospels, or the Epistles, you will never have a basic grasp of the other sections of the Bible. As a result, your life will be untouched by important truth, plus your ability to connect the dots from various different Scripture passages — a critical component of a mature Christian experience — will be limited.

The New Testament tells us that many stories in the Old Testament were “written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). If we never read those Old Testament stories, we will never gain the insight, the power, or the freedom that become ours when we do.

The good news is that there is a simple way to read for breadth of knowledge. If you read the Bible for five minutes a day, you will read the Bible over thirty hours a year! (5 minutes × 365 days = 1,825 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour = 30.4 hours!)

Think of it!! Thirty hours a year! Perhaps no other discipline will provide a breadth of Bible knowledge more easily. If you want to master the Word so well that the Word masters you, begin by reading it.

Very early in my Christian experience, I was challenged to read the Bible at least five minutes a day. I took that challenge, and have not missed my daily time in God’s Word in over forty years. As a result, I have read the Bible for a couple thousand hours! And it was all done at the manageable pace of five minutes a day. There is no easier way I could have gained and maintained the breadth of knowledge of Scripture than by taking this simple step. I urge you to take this first step, too.

Mighty promises are given to those who master the Bible so well that the Bible masters them.

Pick a readable translation.

To begin with, pick a translation that is easy for you to read. Many Christians have a New International Version of the Bible, which is a fairly readable translation. I study out of the New American Standard Bible, which is a good study Bible because the translation is very literal. However, for those times of just reading for the story and flow, and breadth of knowledge, I have found that more conversational translations sometimes allow the Bible to come alive in a way that the NASB does not. I experimented for years with more conversational Bibles and, frankly, was disappointed with them for two reasons. First, they often interpret unclear passages for you to make it more readable, and I didn’t always agree with the translators’ interpretation. Second, in their attempt to be conversational, they often dumb down the language so that it is unsatisfying to read.

However, I have found The New Living Translation to be an effective reading Bible. This version began as a paraphrase that author and publisher Ken Taylor wrote to help his young children understand the Bible better. In a paraphrase, you start with an English Bible and reword it to make it easier to understand. But in 1995, Taylor commissioned a team of translation experts to go back to the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and change whatever needed to be changed in order to bring the version up to the level of a translation. In my opinion, they did a commendable job.

All Bible versions have strengths and weaknesses. More literal translations have the strength of being closer to the original languages but the weakness of sometimes being more difficult to understand. More conversational translations are often easier to understand, but sometimes that clarity comes at the expense of accuracy, especially when a difficult passage may have two possible meanings in the original language.

For those reasons, I prefer having both a more literal translation for studying and a more conversational translation for reading. This way, I can compare both translations to gain a fuller understanding.

Pick a time to read.

I read before I go to sleep. By experimentation, I learned that I could always carve out five minutes before I go to sleep. But when I tried to read in the morning, sometimes I would get too busy and forget, and I would end up having to read in the evening, so I just switched to reading in the evening.

I found that I can always stay up an extra five minutes to read. No matter how late it is, another five minutes is not going to make or break my evening’s rest. There have been times I have been so tired I had to read standing up so I wouldn’t fall asleep, but I did it. I have been accused of being legalistic. I’m not. I’m being realistic and disciplined. I’ve learned that if I give myself an excuse one day, I am likely to give myself an excuse another day and another day. So, I have just not given myself an excuse. And more than two thousand hours of reading the Bible later, with a breadth of knowledge of Scripture I could never have gained or maintained any other way, I am glad I haven’t.

Others find that they must read first thing in the morning. It really doesn’t matter when you read. The bottom line is: read when it is best for you.

Read for understanding.

This was a recommendation given to me by the man who led me to the Lord. He said, “When you read, don’t get bogged down by anything you don’t understand. Just skip over it, and read for the things you do understand… and underline everything that seems especially important.” This counsel was extremely valuable to me, and it set me on a course of Bible-knowledge acquisition I’m not sure I would have taken any other way. Without that advice, whenever I would come to something in the text I didn’t understand, I would grind to a halt, or be forced to stop reading and start studying, both of which destroyed the original intent.

Read with a plan.

Many people are motivated by the goal of reading through the Bible in a year. I think it is something that everyone might want to do at least once, just to know that one has read the entire Bible. However, it is not an easy task, and many who start the project do not complete it. You might set a goal of reading through the Bible without committing to having to do it in a year. Just read five minutes a day, and let it take however long it takes to get through the entire Bible. Other reading plans can be found online.

If the Bible is new to you, I recommend what my mentor recommended to me when I first became a Christian. Read the Gospel of John six times in a row, not worrying about what you don’t understand but underlining everything that seems especially important. Then you might read the rest of the Gospels and then the New Testament. After that, you might read the first seventeen books of the Old Testament, known as the historical books. Or, there are eleven primary historical books that you might start with: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Those are the eleven books that tell the story of the Old Testament. The other Old Testament books give additional information, but do not advance the Old Testament story significantly. Then, reading Psalms and Proverbs is always a profitable experience.

On the other hand, if you are a more seasoned Christian and are generally familiar with the Bible, read what is interesting to you in your current circumstances… but be open to stretching yourself into other territory from time to time, remembering the importance of reading for breadth of knowledge.

STUDY THE BIBLE FOR DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE.

Few of us can gain a depth of knowledge without sitting under skilled teachers. So, for most people, they must sit under effective preaching from the Bible and be involved in a Bible study taught by an effective teacher. For maximum benefit, Bible study must have assignments that get you studying and interacting with the Bible on your own. To gain a depth of knowledge, you cannot be passive. You must become active in the process of deepening your knowledge. Crawl before you walk, and walk before you run, but this should be your goal. That is the only way you will progress to a depth of knowledge.

If this is new to you, begin by attending a church that is committed to teaching the Bible, not only from the pulpit during sermons, but also in small groups or Sunday school classes. You might also find helpful information in Christian bookstores or online. More seasoned Christians might be able to give you helpful suggestions as well. If you are an avid reader, there is a wealth of knowledge available to you as well through good books available online or at Christian bookstores.

Excerpted from 30 Days to Understanding the Bible by Max Anders, copyright Max Anders.

For those of you that read this far, my personal wish for you is that you read something, anything, in the Bible, every day! God speaks to us through His Word, teaching, encouraging, disciplining, giving us what we need for spiritual food to live. Without it, we are dying and headed toward a life that is not pleasing to God. So….please be in the Word of God daily, and listen to what He says to you through it. Pray before you read. Pray after you read. Know the intimacy of relationship with Him through this time. God created you and loves you more than anyone on earth can even attempt to do.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 12, 2023

Notes of Faith June 12, 2023

The Sinful Woman & The Woman Caught in Adultery

The Sinful Woman

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

— Luke 7:37–38

Heartbrokenness.

It’s the only word to describe this woman’s attitude as she approached Jesus. We might wonder what her background was. How did she hear about Jesus? How did she know to come to Him for the wholeness she sought? What had she done in her life that branded her as a sinner in the eyes of those surrounding Jesus?

We don’t have the answers to these questions. But we do see something so touching, so beautiful, from our Savior in this moment. This story shows us that our pasts are irrelevant. The love of Jesus finds us wherever we are, even when we’ve made mistakes.

Maybe you have some dark mistakes in your past. If so, you’re not alone. People with dark pasts have been coming to Jesus for millennia.

He doesn’t reject those seeking to turn their lives around.

Maybe that message is for you to receive today. Maybe you need to be reminded of the deep forgiveness and love Jesus offers to each of us. But this message is also for all of us as we grow in Christlikeness, seeking to echo Jesus’ actions in our own lives. Our Savior modeled gentleness and compassion to a broken woman who believed. Let’s follow His lead!

Jesus declared this woman’s sins forgiven (Luke 7:47). How can you walk in confidence today, knowing your sins, too, are forgiven?

*

Jesus doesn’t reject those seeking to turn their lives around.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. — John 8:6–9

This is such a beautiful picture of the heart of Jesus. He knew what was in the minds of the Pharisees. He knew they were seeking to trap Him and not at all concerned about this woman or her relationship with God (John 8:6). His heart was to redeem this woman — to save her and not condemn her. Amazing, wild, wonderful grace.

Maybe you have a hard time receiving that grace for yourself. Maybe you feel dark and twisty and irredeemable inside, and you can’t imagine Jesus standing in the gap for you, protecting you from your accusers. Or maybe you have a hard time showing this kind of grace to others. Maybe it seems like the world is decaying around you and you’re the only one who is getting it right.

If either of those is the case for you right now, you’re not alone! But let’s take a close look at our Savior’s example here. He treated this woman caught in adultery with dignity, kindness, and respect, even though she had done wrong. Then he followed up with important truths, spoken in love. That’s how He approaches us, and that’s how He wants us to approach others who need His message of repentance and redemption.

Let’s take a moment to fully grab onto the idea that Jesus’ grace is for us and for all those around us, even if they’re struggling.

Do you ever struggle with grace, whether accepting it for yourself or extending it to others? Which of these is harder for you?

Excerpted from 60 Devotions Inspired by Women of the Bible, copyright Zondervan.

Anyone looking to be free from the bondage of sin can find forgiveness and freedom in Jesus. If you are in need of this freedom and peace, come to Jesus and receive His love and forgiveness today!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 11, 2023

Notes of Faith June 11, 2023

What Next?

When the war in Ukraine started, it seemed like a continuation of all that had been happening for the past couple of years. After all, starting in 2020, in addition to moving through a global pandemic, we had experienced natural disasters on most every continent — hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, drought, and flooding.1 The ground warmed enough in the mid-Atlantic region for billions of cicadas to emerge — after seventeen years of being underground.2 It was reminiscent of a plague of biblical proportions. We saw protests and riots in major cities in more than sixty countries, drawing attention to racial injustice.3 It was easy to understand why some people wanted to throw their hands up in the air and ask, “What’s next?” — because it did feel like one thing after another just kept happening. When people questioned whether it was the end of the world, it was — even though we’re all still here — because it was the end of the world as we once knew it.

Like most everyone, I was tempted to look back. To want to go back. To 2019. Or any year of our lives before 2020. To go back to normal, whatever our normal was.

To forget the new normal that we were all desperately trying to create. Yet, no matter how much I longed to go back to normal, there was no going back. That world as we knew it was finished, and God was beckoning me, along with everyone else, to move forward, to lay hold of His purpose and promises in the future.

Sorting through the tension of not looking back and trying to move forward — including trying to figure out how to move at all in a locked-down world —

I began reminding myself that while the world had changed, God had not.

He was the same as He’d always been, and I could depend on Him to guide me forward.4

During that same season of doing my best not to look back and instead to keep moving forward, I was reminded of a woman in the Bible who looked back when she wasn’t supposed to, and it didn’t go well for her. [Lot’s wife] was the woman running for her life with her family in Genesis 19. As they ran, destruction was raining down on their hometown of Sodom, and despite being told by an angel not to look back, she turned and looked back. Scripture tells us,

But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.5

What makes Lot’s wife especially significant is that Jesus said for us to remember her. In the middle of an eschatological discourse in the New Testament, Jesus dropped in three words: “Remember Lot’s wife.”6

If you’ve ever read Luke 17, it’s all too easy to miss these three words. I know because I did for years. I read them, of course, but that’s all. I flew past them. But Jesus never wastes a word, let alone three, so there must be some significance in this second-shortest verse in the Bible. (If you didn’t know that fun fact, now you do. Perhaps it will help you win your next Bible quiz.) These three words began to show me the importance of not looking back. Of always moving forward. Even in the midst of a pandemic or a war or something far more normal. They became words I couldn’t forget and words that showed me the way forward.

Remember Lot’s wife.

For thirty-plus years now, I’ve been going to women’s conferences, and I don’t remember ever hearing a message on Lot’s wife, nor do I remember teaching one. And yet, of the possible 170 women mentioned in Scripture,7 she is the only one that Jesus tells us to remember. Why her? Why not Eve, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Ruth, Rahab, Esther, Elizabeth, or even Mary, His own mother? Of all the women Jesus could have told us to remember, He mentioned only one: Lot’s wife. (For all the Bible scholars reading this, Jesus did tell us that the deed of the woman who poured oil over Him would be remembered forever,8 but He told us to remember only one woman — Lot’s wife.) This is astonishing to me. Why her? There had to be a reason.

Longingly She Lingered

Lot’s wife gets one cameo in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. That’s it. That’s all Scripture records. Why would Jesus tell us to remember a woman who appears on the pages of Scripture only long enough to disappear? A woman who has the shortest bio ever. A woman whose proper name we don’t even know. What is it about her that we’re to remember?

As I began to study her life, I noted something very important. This woman was told one thing:

Don’t look back.

And the one thing she was told not to do is the one thing she did. Furthermore, I found that understanding how she looked back quite possibly held a clue as to why she looked back:

But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.9

She looked back longingly in an act of disobedience. I don’t want to be harsh about Lot’s wife. We all make mistakes, and we all disobey, and to think she looked back longingly causes me to feel for her. Here she was, living her life as usual, and suddenly she’s told to pack up and run for her life. All the while an angel is holding her hand and guiding her.

Even reading her story afresh while writing, compassion overtook me.

*

I can imagine Lot’s wife having deep-seated feelings. It’s no wonder she looked back longingly. Maybe how she looked back has as much to do with it as the mere fact that she looked back at all.

To look back longingly is to look back with a yearning desire.10 What was it she longed for exactly? What did she so deeply desire? Putting myself in her shoes, I can imagine any number of things. Maybe it was her home. Maybe it was the way her home made her feel safe and secure. Maybe it was the way she’d gotten everything arranged and decorated just so. Maybe it was the way her home welcomed her each time she ran errands and came back to it. Did she long for her belongings? Her friends? Her routine? Her extended family? If you have ever moved from one city to another, then perhaps you know firsthand how easy it is to long for what was, compared to the work involved in adjusting to all that’s new.

Maybe she had a position in the community, a place of prominence. After all, Sodom wasn’t an impoverished city, and she was married to a wealthy man.11 Could it be that she looked back longingly at everything she had grown attached to and was being forced to abandon? She appeared to be torn between what she was leaving and where she was going. Have you ever been there? Isn’t this our challenge in everything God invites us to do? To move forward or stop and look back? And not just to the tangible things that can slip through our fingers but to places in time, to memories, and to the feelings those memories evoke. It can be any of that or all of that, can’t it?

Maybe Lot’s wife was trying to preserve the past, something that’s all too easy to do. When we work at preserving the past, lingering in nostalgia, we can keep ourselves from the truth of the present and the pain of reality.12

If we linger in the past, we run the risk of it becoming an idealized version of what really was.

While the world has changed, God has not.

Memories can easily be distorted, can’t they?13 Of all the things that could have happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt, a substance that has been used as a preservative for centuries and is still used to this day.14 The irony doesn’t escape me. What’s more, Lot’s wife became the very subsannce that Jesus said we are. Matthew recorded Jesus saying that we are the salt of the earth.15 Perhaps we need to ensure that we don’t get stuck in a place trying to preserve the past, where we are no longer moving forward, and where we are no longer salting the world around us.

Lot’s wife looked back longingly. I have found that if we linger too long where we’re not supposed to be, we’ll start longing for what we are supposed to no longer be lingering in. When we linger, we hesitate. The literal meaning of linger is “to be slow in parting. To remain in existence although waning in strength. It’s to procrastinate.” And it includes one more eerily accurate depiction: “To remain alive although gradually dying.”16 Lot’s wife might not have had any idea that looking back would cause her death, but it did, didn’t it?

Are you longing for something that once was? That is no more? That can never be again?

Are you lingering there in that place where you should no longer be lingering?

Are you lingering in a place and longing for what was, all the while tolerating what is, in hopes that if you linger long enough, you might get back what God told you to leave?

When Lot’s wife longed and lingered, she stopped and looked back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience. Then she became calcified and stuck, frozen in time, paralyzed for eternity as a pillar of salt. I’m Greek, and because I was raised to salt food generously, I love salt. But I don’t want to get stuck and turn into a pillar of salt. I imagine you don’t either. But in a sense, I find that getting stuck like she did is so easy to do.

We can get stuck in:

our emotions

our thoughts

our attitudes

our opinions

our possessions

our plans

our desires

our habits

our comfort

our pain

our wounds

our relationships

our past

our present

our future hopes

There are myriad ways and places we can get stuck, and it is my prayer that as we journey together through the pages of this book, we will discover where we may have gotten stuck and uncover ways to get unstuck — so we can move forward into the purpose and promises of God for our future.

It’s not always easy to move on when God beckons us forward, especially when things are safe, comfortable, and just the way we like it. Equally, it is often difficult to move on when we have experienced deep trauma, pain, or suffering and we feel utterly hopeless and helpless. Moving on is something we know we should do, what we often want to do, and at times what we refuse to do, but it remains something God eagerly wants for us. Wherever you may be on this continuum, I hope you will be able to identify places where you are prone to be stuck, or maybe are stuck, and that you will be infused with the strength of the Holy Spirit to take the next step to getting unstuck.

Kaia Hubbard, “Here Are 10 of the Deadliest Natural Disasters in 2020,” U.S. News & World Report, December 22, 2020, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/slideshows /here-are-10-of-the-deadliest-natural-disasters-in-2020?slide=12.

Michelle Stoddart, “Cicada Invasion: After 17 Years Underground, Billions to Emerge This Spring,” ABC News, April 10, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cicada-invasion -17-years-underground-billions-emerge-spring/story?id =76921532.

Frank Jordans and Pan Pylas, “Detentions, Injuries at Anti- Racism Protests Across Europe in Solidarity with US,” Times of Israel, June 7, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/detentions -injuries-at-anti-racism-protests-across-europe-in-solidarity -with-us; Savannah Smith, Jiachuan Wu, and Joe Murphy, “Map: George Floyd Protests Around the World,” NBC News, June 9, 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/map -george-f loyd-protests-countries-worldwide-n1228391.

Hebrews 13:8.

Genesis 19:26.

Luke 17:32.

Jeremy Thompson, ed., Lists of Biblical People, Places, Things, and Events (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2020).

Matthew 26:13.

Genesis 19:26 AMP.

Merriam-Webster, s.v. “longing (n.),” accessed January 19, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longing.

Genesis 13:6.

Lauren Martin, “The Science Behind Nostalgia and Why We’re So Obsessed with the Past,” Elite Daily, July 17, 2014, https://www.elitedaily.com/life/science-behind-nostalgia -love-much/673184.

Martin, “Science Behind Nostalgia.”

Stephanie Butler, “Off the Spice Rack: The History of Salt,” History.com, updated August 22, 2018, https://www.history .com/news/off-the-spice-rack-the-story-of-salt.

Matthew 5:13.

Merriam-Webster, s.v. “linger (v.),” accessed January 19, 2023,

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/linger.

Excerpted from Don’t Look Back by Christine Caine, copyright Caso Writing LLC.

Memories that we call good are of the past and are indeed wonderful. But being “stuck” in the past, does not allow us to look forward to the incredible future of even this very day that God has planned for us. Let us boldly go where other HAVE gone before us in faith, asking God for grace for each moment to meet what may come our way.

Pastor Dale