Notes of Faith July 9, 2023

Notes of Faith July 9, 2023

The Bible’s Last Words on Earth’s Final Days

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10

I’m convinced a phenomenal pattern is about to unfold. World events aren’t lurching into chaos; they are moving toward culmination and consummation. There’s hope for tomorrow, and there’s hope for you and yours. The cascading flow of crises is merging with the outlines of Bible prophecy, like two mighty rivers crashing into each other and coalescing into an unstoppable flood. For the children of God, this isn’t a flood that will sweep us away. It will lift us up!

We need this kind of uplifting hope.

Everyone I know seems to have a lot of unexpected stress. Looming over the demanding details of daily life are gathering clouds of worldwide cataclysm. We are living in perilous times. The world has always been in a mess, but not since the days of Noah has our fragile planet faced such imminent and existential dangers as now. The threats — nuclear, economic, technological, philosophical, moral, political, biological, viral, environmental, and a host of others — imperil the earth with calamities of biblical proportions.

God knows exactly what’s going to happen in the future.

He has already painted the picture, and the history of the world is moving along a preordained route toward its total fulfillment. He knows everything to come, which we could never foresee by our own intuition. In the book of Revelation, God lifts the cloth and shows us His plan for tomorrow.

The last half of the very first verse, which sums up the book in one phrase and serves as its statement of purpose, says:

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

The information in Revelation isn’t for the world, which disregards it. It’s for us — for Christ-followers — who value its message and long for our Lord’s appearing. It’s for those who know Jesus as their Savior and who are eager for details about His return. This is information for the saints, for those who realize they are citizens of Heaven traveling through this troubled earth as ambassadors for the King.

Beginning in verse 12, we have the foundational vision of the book — a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as He now appears in all His glory. This was the first time John had seen Jesus since the Lord ascended into Heaven sixty or so years before. John now saw Jesus, enthroned, resplendent in glory and his view of Jesus was heart-stopping:

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!” — Revelation 1:17–18

Jesus opened His book of revelations to us by telling us on the first page about the two responses we should have:

don’t be afraid and

remember Jesus died for us and is now alive — forever!

We don’t know what tomorrow’s headlines will bring, nor can we anticipate what will befall us today or tomorrow. But one reality overrides everything else — Jesus is alive, so we needn’t fear. When He rose from the dead, He overcame every challenge, overthrew every enemy, and overturned every affliction. He stripped away any reason for sleepless nights or fretful days. He set the stage for the righteous consummation of all His intentions and paved the way for the new heaven and new earth.

The Lord told John in Revelation 1:19,

Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

There, amid all your loneliness and uncertainty, your dearest friend, Jesus, makes a special visit in His resurrected and glorified state, and He tells you, in essence, “Don’t be afraid. Remember, I was dead but I’m now alive — and I’m alive forever. Everything will end as I intend, and My intention is to bless you. Let Me give you the details. I’m going to show you what must soon take place. I will unveil the world of tomorrow. I’m going to fill you with hope for the coming days — for both time and eternity.”

Jesus was speaking not only to John but to us as well. We have the book of Revelation — all twenty-two wonderful chapters — because we need its message in times like these. How sad to have this book but not study it. How sad to study it but not understand it. How sad to understand it but not obey it.

On the other hand, how wonderful to trust its message, look forward to its fulfillment, and prepare for the sensational events about to engulf the world and lead us into eternity!

At that moment when all seems lost and the world is engulfed in total chaos, Jesus Christ will return, put a swift end to the battle, and save His people Israel, both spiritually and politically (Revelation 19). He will reign on earth a thousand years from Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. At the end of this period, the unsaved dead will rise to be judged and condemned (Revelation 20).

And finally, at last, Jesus will be with His people forever in the new Heaven, the new earth, and the city of New Jerusalem, where righteousness dwells — and so shall we be with the Lord forever (Revelation 21–22).

Are you ready for these events? Is your family? Are your loved ones?

The final invitation in the Bible says,

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. — Revelation 22:17

I encourage you with all my heart to come to Jesus today. Take His free gift of eternal blessings and an everlasting inheritance. In prayer, confess your sins and be willing to turn from all that’s evil and unhealthy in your life by God’s grace and with His strength. Acknowledge Jesus Christ as your living Savior, and give your life to Him today.

And don’t be afraid of the world tomorrow. God’s grace is aggressive, available, and immeasurable. His plans are outlined in His Word. His love is everlasting, and His truth endures forever. He loves you more than you know, and He is eager to be your Savior and your Sovereign forever.

We have so much ahead of us — an inheritance unending, a life everlasting! Don’t look around you and be distressed. Look ahead and be blessed!

Hallelujah! Maranatha!

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Respond

Have you given your heart to Jesus? If yes, describe the experience.

If not, talk with someone you know who would share Jesus with you.

Identify those in your circle of family and friends who need to know Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You that I don’t need to be afraid of the future. Your sacrifice and Your grace secure my place in eternity.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Robert J. Morgan, 50 Final Events in World History.

No one on earth knows the future, but followers of Jesus know who not only knows the future but holds the future in His hands. God is working out all things according to His righteous and perfect plan. Man likes to think that he is in control of his daily course and future plans, but it is God that works all things according to His will. Praise Him, for He is for us, not against us! Though there is much to be concerned about in our world and on the street where we live, God tells us to fear not, because His design and plan for this world is coming to an end, and His new heaven and earth will be here soon! Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 8, 2023

Notes of Faith July 8, 2023

The Power of Connection

I am the vine; you are the branches. — John 15:5

People used to say my father and I favored each other.

They said I had my dad’s smile (which made me happy), as well as his nose (which made me less happy). We shared many of the same interests and skill sets, including the ability to play only mediocre tennis but get a varsity-level suntan if we parked ourselves in a beach chair for an hour. Dad loved comparing forearms at the end of the day to see who was darker — a contest that he always won.

For better or for worse, children are image bearers, a connection that reflects our relationship with our heavenly Father. Remember what God said when He was creating the world?

Let Us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness.

And then, having created Adam and Eve, God gave them a job:

Be fruitful, He said, and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.1

I can’t help but think that Jesus had the creation story in mind as He issued a similar charge to His disciples.

I am the vine; you are the branches, He said. I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.2

Just as we bear the image of the Creator, so a branch bears the image of the vine. And just as God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, so Jesus says we’ve been chosen — appointed — to bear fruit.

I don’t know about you, but I find these twin fruit-bearing assignments, one from Genesis and the other from John, as intimidating as they are inspiring. I love the grand vision — the idea that we are in a living relationship with the Creator who intends for us to impact the earth — but I wonder how we are supposed to go about doing the job. What role can I play? What role can you? Can we really be difference makers in the world?

Thank goodness for Andrew Murray, who explains how the vine-branch union works in the fruit-bearing process.

“Without the vine,” Murray writes, “the branch can do nothing.”

As branches, we get that. We know we need the vine to nourish us and equip us to produce fruit.

We know we need God.

But there’s a flip side, Murray says, to the fruit-bearing process: “Without the branch the vine can also do nothing.” He goes on:

A vine without branches can bear no fruit. No less indispensable than the vine to the branch, is the branch to the vine. Such is the wonderful condescension of the grace of Jesus, that just as His people are dependent on Him, He has made Himself dependent on them. Without His disciples He cannot dispense His blessing to the world.3

It’s okay. I’ll wait while you read that one again. (I had to.)

What Murray is saying, in a nutshell, is this:

Without the disciples — without us — God cannot provide good things for people.

That’s... astounding.

God could have chosen to work around us (or even in spite of us), but He didn’t. He chose to work in us and through us to bless other people. God chose us — His image bearers — to reflect His love and be the channel through which His power is unleashed in our world. And the way this works — the way we open the chute for God’s power and provision — is through our prayers.

We see the link between prayer and provision played out over and over again in the Bible. God gave the barren Hannah a son, provided rain for Elijah, opened Peter’s prison doors, and added fifteen years to King Hezekiah’s life.4

God moves when His people pray.

And when Jesus tells us to “ask,” it’s not just an invitation. It’s a command:

Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit.5

When we pray, we bring glory to God. He wants us to plow the field with our prayers so that He can provide an incredible harvest.

And all I can think, as I consider how a mighty God could entrust us with such a high calling, is that it is because of how much He loves us. Not because we are clever or well-behaved or (thank goodness!) athletic, but simply because He is our Father — the Father who loves us and longs, as Jesus reminds us, to “give good gifts to those who ask Him.”6

My earthly father died, way too young, from brain cancer. As I look back on his legacy — on all the ways his life left an imprint on mine — the gift I cherish the most is the introduction he gave me to Jesus. Dad came home one day when I was just eight years old and confessed that he’d had it all wrong. He had spent his life trying to earn God’s approval (teaching Sunday school, working hard at his job, playing second-rate tennis with a big grin on his face) until someone told him it wasn’t about being a “good guy.” Being a Christian was about realizing you were not good, after all, and that you needed a Savior.

All of which made complete sense to me. Even as a child, I knew I was a sinner. The idea that God’s grace could cover my failings came then, as it does now, as a major relief — and I was only too glad to (as John 1:12 puts it) receive Jesus, believe in His name, and receive the right to become a child of God.

And today, as I slip my hand into my heavenly Father’s and consider the fruit He has already produced and the harvest yet to come, I am reminded of the blessing, and the privilege, that comes with being an image bearer.

I am reminded of the blessing, and the privilege, of prayer.

God moves when His people pray.

READ

➢ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

➢ “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples... You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last — and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you.” (John 15:8, John 15:16)

➢ We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

REFLECT

➢ God created you with a longing to live a life of purpose and impact. He has put desires in your heart that He wants to satisfy in above-and-beyond ways. And as you receive Him and believe in Him, He calls you His child. You are His masterpiece.

➢ Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the work God wants you to do, the prayers He wants you to pray. Where do you long to see fruit in your life? How might your prayers in this area bring glory to God? What, if anything, is holding you back from asking “big”?

➢ Allow yourself to envision your life as a vine-branch union with Christ, one that brings glory to God, produces much fruit, and marks you as one of His own. Surrender any thoughts or fears (I’m not good enough... I don’t pray very well... I already have too much on my plate) that may keep you from flourishing in your role as a fruit bearer. Rest secure in God’s presence today, knowing you are extravagantly, lavishly loved.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father...

➢ Thank You for creating me in Your image. I receive You and believe in You; thank You for welcoming me as Your child. (John 1:12)

➢ Give me the power to understand how wide and long and high and deep Your love is, and fill me to the measure of all Your fullness. (Ephesians 3:18–19)

➢ May I gradually become brighter and more beautiful as You enter my life and make me more like Jesus. (2 Corinthians 3:18 MSG)

➢ Teach me to pray. (Luke 11:1)

➢ May my prayers bring You glory, bear lasting fruit, and mark me as one of Your disciples. (John 15:7–8)

➢ You created me in Christ Jesus to do good works. Show me how to pray about ______ so the good things You have planned will come to fruition.

(Ephesians 2:10)

➢ When I feel weak or ill-equipped, remind me that Your grace is sufficient and Your power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

➢ Thank You for choosing me and appointing me to bear fruit. Teach me to focus my efforts, and my prayers, on fruit that will last. (John 15:16)

➢ No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Keep me attached to You. (John 15:5)

➢ I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made... All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

(Psalm 139:14–16)

➢ When I am anxious or uncertain, remind me that nothing can separate me from Your love. (Romans 8:39)

➢ You live among us, Lord. Take delight in me; calm all my fears; rejoice over me with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT)

Genesis 1:26, 28.

John 15:5, 16.

Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (1888; repr., Apollo, PA: Ichthus, 2014), 25, http://ccbiblestudy.net/Topics/74Union/74UnionE/740101%E3%80%8AAbide%20in%20Christ%E3%80%8B(Andrew%20Murray).pdf.

See 1 Samuel 1:10–20; James 5:17–18; Acts 12:1–19; 2 Kings 20:1–7.

John 15:7–8.

Matthew 7:11.

Excerpted from Praying the Scriptures for Your Life by Jodie Berndt, copyright Jodie Berndt.

Life brings us relationship with two entities, God, and others like ourselves. We are told to love, first God, then our neighbor, that is everyone, as we love ourselves. We need to abide in the vine, God, so that we can be fruitful branches and bring others to be attached to the vine. We do this through the love of God and the gifting of the Holy Spirit within us to speak to others the truth of life: the gospel of Jesus Christ, leaving heaven, taking on the form of man, being born of a virgin, living a perfect sinless life and then giving His life as a sacrifice to pay for yours and my debt of sin against God! Salvation and forgiveness offered to those who believe in Jesus and repent of their sin. Hallelujah! Praise God. Stay attached to the vine, who gave Himself for you that you might give of yourself (without dying) to be a branch to bring saving life to those in great need of eternal life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 7, 2023

Notes of Faith July 7, 2023

Healthy Relationships

What if, when trying to apply your boundaries in an emotionally charged moment, you lose your resolve, because the other person makes statements that confuse you, make you question the validity of this boundary, or accuse you in ways that hurt? You need to be prepared to know what to do.

See if you’ve heard any of these types of statements from others. Assess whether these statements have contributed to you giving up on setting boundaries with certain people.

When they say:

“What I did isn’t that big of a deal. You’re being so dramatic.” “You are being overly sensitive.”

“And you call yourself a Christian?! Jesus wouldn’t treat people this way.”

“I thought Christians were supposed to be forgiving.” “You’ve got such a hard heart. Jesus would have never walked away.”

“This is just more evidence of you being controlling and unforgiving.”

“Jesus loved all people and gave grace no matter what. So, what’s your problem?”

“You don’t seem like yourself. You’ve changed.”

“I’m so disappointed in you.”

“You’re just crazy and this is irrational.”

“You’re so selfish. All you care about is yourself.” “Seriously?! How can you be so mean after all I’ve done for you?”

“You’re so off base. Drawing boundaries isn’t biblical.” “But you’re my (wife, daughter, best friend, mother, sister). Acting this way toward me is out of order and unacceptable.”

Here’s why these statements are so triggering:

They are offensive. They aren’t an accurate picture of what’s true about who we are. Being misunderstood is so brutal because someone else is taking liberties with our identity.

They are threatening. When someone makes hurtful accusations and pushes against our boundaries, it can feel as if whatever this relationship is providing for us will be taken away and some need in us will go unmet.

They are disillusioning. When someone else makes us question our need for the boundary, we can second-guess reality, our sanity, our rationality, and even the severity of what’s really going on. We can easily start to wonder if the real problem is us rather than considering the source and why we are in this hard dynamic in the first place.

It is so very important that we are aware of all three of these feelings that can make us vulnerable to not establishing wise boundaries. Here’s the first thing we need to notice about the effects of these triggering statements: they are each evidence that we need to establish a boundary with this person.

And here’s the second thing to notice: if we are afraid that this person will think poorly of us, potentially abandon us, or try to make us feel crazy for taking a step toward making the relationship healthy, chances are even higher that, without wise boundaries, they will eventually do all three of these things to us. (Dear me: read that last sentence one more time... maybe ten more times.)

Unhealthy people typically don’t manage their emotions and expectations (self-regulate) very well and can easily get offended when their lack of responsibility doesn’t become your emergency.

Their thought process is often that their need trumps your limitations. And the telltale sign of their unhealthiness is their unwillingness to accept no as an answer without trying to make you feel terrible, punished, or unsure about the necessity of the boundary.

If we want to stay healthy, we have to use our limited energy in the right way. We could waste years putting all our efforts into trying to change the other person’s mind or prove to them why we need the boundary, or worst of all, we could drop the boundary altogether and continue living in dysfunction.

Let me state something crucial. I don’t want us to suddenly start categorizing everyone around us as healthy or not healthy. But we must pay attention to those who accept our healthy boundaries and those who resist them.

The apostle Paul addresses some key components to love:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

What I like about Philippians 1:9–10 is that the love here is associated with knowledge and discernment. So, the inverse is also true. A lack of wisdom and discernment is actually unloving. Sometimes we only associate love as a feeling. But we have to remember that biblical love is an intentional action where we want what’s best for us and the other person. Keeping this in mind, when setting boundaries our heart posture should be one of wisdom and discernment for the sake of true and healthy love.

Healthy people who desire healthy relationships don’t have an issue with other people’s healthy boundaries.

Hebrews 5:14 reminds us that mature people “have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” That word distinguish means someone can discern more readily what is the right way to treat someone and what is not acceptable. What someone should say and what someone probably shouldn’t say. And just because a person can do something, doesn’t mean she should do that thing. Discerning and choosing one’s actions carefully leads to a wisdom that those around them can trust.

People not liking our boundary does not mean we aren’t living right before God.

Healthy people are mature people. They seek to

understand your concerns,

discuss any issues that the need for the boundary reveals, and

respect your limits.

Remember, healthy people who desire healthy relationships know how to be responsible with the access you give them. For example, if they borrow your car, chances are they won’t return it on empty. But if they do, you can let them know that if they want to borrow it again, they just need to replace the gas they use. And they should see that as a reasonable request without making you feel anything less than generous.

Even if someone doesn’t like a boundary you have set, healthy people know the difference between hurt and harm. A friend who constantly runs late may feel hurt that you are no longer willing to ride with her to events but can recognize your boundary wasn’t put in place to cause her any harm. She won’t think that you’re selfish and rude. Nor will she blame her issues on you. And she certainly won’t diminish your identity, disrupt your safety, or disregard your assessment of reality. She’ll either adjust her untimeliness and ride with you or just meet you at the event. Either way, she will respect you enough to respect your boundaries.

Healthy people understand your limits because they are in touch with their own limitations. They communicate what they can and cannot do — what they are and are not willing to tolerate. And they expect you to do the same.

Understanding this can help us realize sometimes the problem isn’t that we aren’t good at setting healthy boundaries. Maybe we aren’t good at recognizing that we won’t get healthy results from unhealthy relationships.

Somewhere in all the looking around at others for validation, we’ve stopped looking up.

If we are living honest lives that honor God, we must not forget that people not liking our boundary does not mean we aren’t living right before God.

When someone says something that hurts or offends us when we draw a boundary, it can be good to check ourselves. Is any part of this an attempt on our part to do harm, control, retaliate, check out, or give ourselves permission to be irresponsible? While checking ourselves is healthy, questioning our identity is not.

Checking ourselves means looking at a current attitude or behavior to see if it is in line with God’s instructions and wisdom. Questioning our identity is doubting who we are because we have given too much power to other people by letting their opinions define us.

I don’t know any other way to say this except to be absolutely direct: If our identity, the foundational belief we hold of who we are, is tied to an opinion someone has of us, we need to reassess. We must be honest with how much access to our heart we’ve given to this person. It’s not bad to give someone access to our heart but when we give an unhealthy person too much access, it can shake us to our core. When their opinion of us starts to affect how we see ourselves, we can lose sight of the best parts of who we are because we get entangled in the exhausting pursuit of trying to keep that relationship intact no matter the cost. And when this is the cycle we are caught in, sometimes we would rather manage people’s perceptions of us than care for ourselves and the relationship by putting appropriate boundaries in place.

When we give people personal access to us, those people must be responsible with it. And emotional access to our hearts is especially important.

Excerpted from Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

Relationships are one of the two most important things in life…

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

We need good healthy relationships with those around us, but sometimes need to set boundaries to care for ourselves and others as well.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 6, 2023

Notes of Faith July 6, 2023

This Isn't Fair!

A huge piece of bakery deliciousness sat in front of me. It was a combination of three desserts in one. One layer was cheesecake, one layer was ice cream cake, and in between those was a layer of brownie-like chocolate cake… all drizzled with some kind of fudge icing that was calling my name.

This was served to me while on a family vacation. At the time, I was at the beginning of my no-sugar adventure. I’d been doing great at home, but I’d been dropped into a place that was teeming with bakery things my mind could not even conceive of, while everyone around me could eat a pound of sugar a day and still look fit and trim.

I didn’t want my family to miss out, so I told them to please enjoy. “I’m fine,” I said with a carefree smile. But inside a totally different dialogue was playing in my mind:

It’s not fair!

I think this is one of the biggest tricks Satan plays on us girls to get us to give in to temptation.

Saying “it’s not fair” has caused many a girl to toss aside what she knows is right for the temporary thrill of whatever it is that does seem fair. But the next day the sun will rise. As each band of light becomes brighter and brighter, the realization of the choice she made the night before becomes clearer and clearer.

Guilt floods her body.

Questions fill her mind.

Self-doubt wrecks her confidence.

And then comes the anger. Anger at herself. Anger at the object of her desire. Anger even at a mighty God who surely could have prevented this.

It’s not fair that others can have this, do this, act this way.

It’s not fair that God won’t let us eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden… one little bite wouldn’t be so bad, right?

It’s not fair I can’t buy that new thing I want. Just a little debt wouldn’t be so bad, right?

It’s not fair I have this body that requires I watch everything I eat when that girl eats junk and stays a size 4. One piece of cheesecake wouldn’t be so bad, right?

It’s not fair that we can’t have sex before we’re married when we’re so in love. Experimenting one time wouldn’t be so bad, right?

Our flesh buys right into Satan’s lie that it’s not fair for things to be withheld from us. So we bite into the forbidden fruit and allow Satan to write shame across our heart.

And whether we are talking about having premarital sex or cheating on our diet, once we taste the forbidden fruit, we will crave it more than we craved it before — thereby giving temptation more and more power. And given enough power, temptation will consume our thoughts, redirect our actions, and demand our worship.

Temptation doesn’t take kindly to being starved.

I don’t know what tempts you today. But I do know this vicious cycle, and I’m here to give you hope that it’s possible to conquer it.

Just typing that sentence gives me chills. A few years ago, I wondered if it might ever be possible for me.

As I’ve mentioned, the eating plan I chose was a no-sugar, healthy-carbs-and-protein plan. Which doesn’t sound so bad until you realize sugar is in just about everything we enjoy eating. Breads, pasta, potatoes, rice, not to mention all things bakery-licious.

So, sitting at that special dinner during my special vacation, I started to have a little pity party, and those words It’s not fair crept into my brain.

In that instant I squirmed in my chair and thought, I’ll take just one little bite… maybe two… I’ve been so good… I even exercised this morning… this is vacation… everyone else is indulging… oh my stars, what are you doing, Lysa?!

The sugar was like a siren of mythical tales, luring the ships over to rocky coves that would inevitably dash and destroy them. The seduction was smooth and seemingly innocent. But in that moment of temptation, I realized having a pity party was a clue I was relying on my own strength.

I had to grab hold of God’s strength, and the only way to do that was to invite His power into this situation. In this case, I gave God control of the situation by mentally reciting, I am made for more. I am made for more.

I recalled pieces of scriptures I’ve tied to this go-to script and banked up in my heart.

I’m more than a conqueror.

With God all things are possible.

Let the peace of God reign in your heart.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one…

The problem is, Satan hit me with a twist that left me momentarily shaky: But this is a special time, Lysa. And special times deserve an exception to your normal parameters. It’s not fair that you have to sacrifice. Look around you. No one else is sacrificing right now.

It’s at this exact point when the dieter on vacation indulges. The virgin sleeps with her prom date. The girl on a debt reduction plan pulls her credit card back out for a big sale. The alcoholic skips AA and heads off to the bar for her friend’s fortieth birthday.

I needed a go-to script for this situation. So I lowered my head and prayed, “God, I am at the end of my strength here. The Bible says Your power is made perfect in weakness. This would be a really good time for that truth to be my reality. Help me see something else besides this temptation looming so large in front of me.”

Temptation doesn’t take kindly to being starved.

Suddenly a memory flashed across the screen of my mind. I was sitting on my back deck with my teenage son and his girlfriend at the time, having a deeply honest and gut-wrenching conversation. They had gotten into a bad situation and allowed things to go too far physically. While not every boundary line was crossed, they had crossed enough to scare them both. My advice to them was to think beyond the moment. Say out loud, “This feels good now, but how will I feel about this in the morning?”

That was it.

I was challenged by the words and expectations I had placed on my son while not realizing how this same advice could be so powerful if applied to my area of struggle. I had my next go-to script, and as I recited it,

God’s power filled in the gap of my weakness.

Soon it was time to get up from the dinner table. I pushed back my chair, left the dessert untouched, and walked back to the room. And I’ve never felt so empowered in my life. Later, I looked up that verse about God’s strength being a perfect match for my weakness:

But [Jesus] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Weakness doesn’t have to mean defeat. It is my opportunity to experience God’s power firsthand. Had I said yes to that one bite that first night of our vacation, there would have been more compromises.

Compromise built upon compromise equals failure.

Instead, resisting temptation allowed promise upon promise to be built up in my heart, and that creates empowerment. This is God’s power working through my weakness. I knew one day I would be empowered enough to take a couple of bites and walk away, but that day had not yet come.

I don’t know what you might be struggling with today, but I can assure you that God is fair and just. There is a good reason we must face our temptations. The struggle to say no may be painful in the moment, but it is working out something magnificent within us.

For so long I’ve considered my struggles with weight a curse. I know I’m not alone in this. But, what if this battle with food is actually the very thing that, if brought under control, can lead us to a better understanding of God? What if we could actually get to the place where we thanked God for letting us face this battle because of the rich treasures we discovered on the battlefield?

My friend E. Titus summed up what I am discovering:

When I get all caught up in how unfair it is that my friend is skinny and doesn’t have to work at it, how she can eat what she wants when she wants, and how much it stinks that I can’t be like her, I remind myself that God didn’t make me to be her. You see, He knew even before I was born that I could easily allow food to be an idol in my life, that I would go to food, instead of to Him, to fulfill my needs. And in His great wisdom, He created my body so that it would experience the consequences of such a choice, so that I would continually be drawn back into His arms. He wants me to come to Him for fulfillment, emotional healing, comfort — and if I could go to food for that and never gain an ounce, well then, what would I need God for?

There is such wisdom in my friend’s perspective. Instead of parking her brain in a place where she constantly feels a struggle with food and weight issues, she’s chosen a much healthier perspective.

The reality is, we all have things in our lives we have to learn to surrender, give up, sacrifice, turn away from. Think of that skinny girl in your life who you’ve watched eating whatever she wants. She may not struggle with her weight, but trust me, she has struggles. An anonymous comment on my blog gave vulnerable witness to this reality:

I am one of the skinny girls, but don’t mistake skinny for healthy. I battle depression and starvation, fight self-esteem issues from years of verbal abuse, the list seems endless. Little is just an image. But being little doesn’t make a person any more happy or faithful or joyful. The struggles are the same (or at least similar), just in a different-size package.

Life as a Christ follower will always be a learning process of depending less on our own strength and more on God’s power. The Bible teaches that this testing of [our] faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that [we] may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. — James 1:3-4

Oh, sweet sisters, this truth should be the cry of our souls instead of Satan’s lie that “it’s not fair.” Our taste buds make such empty claims to satisfy us, but only persevering with God will make us truly full, complete, not lacking anything.

Press on, sisters. Press on.

Excerpted from I’ll Start Again Monday by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

Temptation is something that we all experience. Jesus was tempted just like we are and yet He did not succumb to temptation. It seems that we experience some things that we just cannot turn from. This is where the power of God comes in.

We can do all things (resist temptation) in Christ!

Matt 17:20-21

if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Luke 1:37

37 "For nothing will be impossible with God.

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

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 5, 2023

Notes of Faith July 5, 2023

The Anatomy of a Lament

The great 4th century Church Father, Athanasius once said:

“The Psalms have a unique place in the Bible because [whereas] most of Scripture speaks to us, the Psalms speak for us.”

No truer words have been spoken. When we open up the book of Psalms, we find 150 of the most compelling, captivating, and heart wrenching prayers ever uttered. And a full third of these can be categorized as “laments.”

What is a lament? It is a psalm of complaint that names, often in graphic detail, the agonies and injustices of life. As Martin Luther once said, in a lament “you look into the hearts of the saints” and what you see there is a potent mixture of pain… and hope. In my study The Epic of Eden: The Book of Psalms I say that to read a lament is to watch an ancient believer as they stand against the storm.

For a modern believer to pray a lament is to allow the ancients to join you in the midst of your storm.

Most of the laments in our Bibles are written in response to one of two crises: (1) social persecution, and (2) illness. I find it so interesting that these are the blows that can knock the strongest to their knees — then and now. To find oneself isolated from what had been your community; or to have your body fail you, these are the darkest of days. This is the isolation of a pain that no one else can feel. When there is either no hand to help, or no hand that can help.

Equally interesting to me is the fact that whereas we are allowed to ask for help with the second (illness) — announce it as a prayer request, post details on social media, have hands laid upon us at the altar — the former is something we hide. You will likely not be sharing about your husband’s pornography addiction that is decimating your young marriage. Or that your boss has passed you over for a promotion you deserve because of the deceit of a colleague. And you for sure will not be posting that you’re in need of prayer because you’re being investigated at work for potentially discriminatory behavior, or that your daughter is struggling with suicidal thoughts because of an abortion. That kind of “knock the wind out of you” betrayal, bias, slander, and injury… we don’t share those with the community. And it is expressly in this hour where the power of lament tips the scales.

Every psalm of lament in your Bible has five elements. (1) An address of praise to God for His mighty acts in the past; (2) a complaint of distress; (3) a protest of innocence; (4) a petition for deliverance; and always (5) a declaration of confidence in God’s faithfulness and a vow to praise Him… regardless. These literary features may be mixed and matched as the psalmist wishes, but each one is in there.

So let’s take a look at Psalm 70, a brief but powerful lament which embodies the pain and fear of a person who’s gotten the wind knocked out of them.

1Hasten, O God, to save me!

O LORD, come quickly to help me!

2May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace!

3May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" turn back because of their shame.

4But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

may those who love Your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!"

5I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God.

YOU are my help and my deliverer!

O LORD, do not delay.

I hope you can hear that the person who wrote this prayer was scared. They had enemies. And as they looked out on the playing field, the chances that those enemies were going to prevail looked pretty good. “Please hurry, God,” she cries, “I can’t hang on much longer!”

For a modern believer to pray a lament is to allow the ancients to join you in the midst of your storm.

How about Psalm 62?

3How long will you assault a man?

Would all of you throw him down - this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

4They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place;

they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts, they curse. — Psalm 62:3-4

This person has been falsely accused. In fact, there are folks who are actively plotting to destroy this man with slander. Have you been there? Perhaps you’re a pastor and there is a faction in your church that wants you out. You’ve challenged the status quo, you’re gaining a following, complacency is retreating, and folks are actually starting to talk about outreach and diverting more money to the missions budget. So the old guard has started spreading rumors. “Have you seen that new car pastor got last year, wonder where that money came from?” “Hey have you seen how much time he spends with that new woman who just started coming? I hear he’s already recruited her for his personal discipleship group?” But the psalmist, who knows all about what havoc slander can wreak in an honest man’s life, reminds himself:

5Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from Him.

6He alone is my rock and my salvation;

He is my fortress,

I will not be shaken.

7My salvation and my honor depend on God;

He is my mighty rock, my refuge. — Psalm 62:5-7

How many of us have experienced that 4:00 am wake up, drenched in sweat, overcome with fear at the crisis bearing down on us? If it hasn’t happened, you probably just haven’t lived long enough yet. But this Psalmist knows, so he coaches his soul. He recites the mighty acts of God, he reminds himself of the truth… even in the darkness. And better yet, this Psalmist reminds us of the same.

8Trust in Him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to Him,

for God is our refuge…

11One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:

that You, O God, are strong,

and that You, O Lord, are loving.

12Surely You will reward each person according to what he has done.

— Psalm 62:8-12

Athanasius was right. “The Psalms have a unique place in the Bible because [whereas] most of Scripture speaks to us, the Psalms speak for us.”

Written for Devotionals Daily by Sandra L. Richter, author of The Epic of Eden.

I pray that you are reading the book of Psalms and finding God speak to your need of mercy and grace. There are many saints crying out to the Lord, praising the Lord, asking the Lord, even very clear teachings of who we are, who we belong to, and what is planned for those who love and obey God! Isn’t that an awesome thing to read? If you haven’t read them lately, start today. My favorite is psalm 139… see if you can find yourself in this psalm.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 4, 2023

Notes of Faith July 4, 2023

 Just my humble opinion, but many of our youth today do not realize the true meaning of the 4th of July.  It is, after all, our Independence Day.   Holidays are always fun and a great time to get together with family and friends, but freedom isn’t free, and never will be.  Men and women of America have laid down their lives so we could enjoy living in the greatest nation on earth.

I hope you’ll pause, give thanks, and remember those who died before us, and are still dying today, to preserve these United States of America.  Below are some thoughts from our founding fathers and others.  I hope you enjoy.

George Washington, 1st U.S. President

“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” 

– The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.

John Adams, 2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God … What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”

– Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event.”

– Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

John Hancock, 1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence

“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”

– History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.

Benjamin Franklin, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution

“Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see; But I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and more observed; especially as I do not perceive, that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any peculiar marks of his displeasure.” 

– Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790.

Other Independence Day Quotes

“The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.” ~Woodrow Wilson

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” ~Thomas Paine

“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.” ~Albert Camus

“If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.” ~Hamilton Fish

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” ~Elmer Davis

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” ~Erma Bombeck

“Let freedom never perish in your hands.” ~Joseph Addison

“Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.” ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

“This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.” ~Lyndon B. Johnson

“For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” ~Louis D. Brandeis

“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” ~Author unknown, sometimes attributed to M. Grundler

“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.” ~George Bernard Shaw

“America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact – the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.” ~Adlai Stevenson

“We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.” ~Robert J. McCracken

I do pray that you enjoy this day of celebration.  Some of you may have to work on this day, while others get up late, rest and relax until it is time to enjoy fireworks displays.  Whatever your circumstance, keep your focus on God, who offers eternal liberty through the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Worship Him today and be blessed in the freedoms that we celebrate today in the U.S.A.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 3, 2023 Part 2

Notes of Faith July 3, 2023 Part 2

Just a note from Amir Tsarfati that I mentioned on Sunday, a true man of God!

One of the biggest problems of the church today, for the most part, is the lack of the Holy Spirit. I will be honest with you, when I hear on certain platforms either apathy or actual encouragement to choose a political platform and social platform, financial platform, and mostly religious spiritual platform, that is so anti-God. And to encourage that, there has to be a lack of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit upon you and in you and through you can never ever contradict the Spirit of God. This is the Spirit of God. And so the people here did not have the Holy Spirit. That was obvious. But the one that had it could not stand what he was seeing and hearing.

That’s us today. If you’re apathetic to what is going on in the world and you are indifferent to the horrific reality that we have both in America and Europe and other parts of the world, something is wrong. And, so, here David is not willing to take that and he’s willing to actually go and fight – of all the people of Israel. And, remember, Saul always gathered the most brave and the strongest people in the nation. He did not come here with a bunch of wimps. He came here with brave soldiers, and none of them was willing to fight Goliath. None of them had the courage and the guts to do anything. And David, a little boy who just left his sheep and goats and ran for about 20 miles and came all the way and was so happy, was ridiculed by his brothers that he's prideful and arrogant. See, they told him.

I can tell you one thing, you will always be accused by the world for doing the wrong things. They will always tell you that you are the wrong person. That you are the radical, that you are the arrogant, that you are the revolutionist, that you are the problem of the world. David is coming and he’s the only one who is willing to fight Goliath. Yet he is the one at which the brothers of David show their anger, not Goliath. They’re afraid of Goliath, which they shouldn’t be, and they are angry with David. The people of the world today are afraid of evil and afraid of all the evil manifestations. Yet who do they accuse and who are they against? The people of God.

Amir Tsarfati: Stand Like David

There are two biblical stories with which most people are familiar, including those who have never read the Bible. Those stories are David and Goliath and Daniel in the lions’ den. Both are remarkable stories of men who had faith in the true and living God and trusted Him completely in the face of great adversity. For David, they know about Goliath. For Daniel, they know about the lions.

These two great men also shared another thing within their distinct experiences:

1 Samuel 17:28

Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

Daniel 6:3-5

Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

The old adage “some things never change” is appropriate here as we note that David, a man after God’s own heart, was insulted and verbally attacked by his own family. Daniel, a faithful man without error or fault as it pertained to his job, was attacked and falsely accused by his coworkers. These things are often a part of a believers’ life experience today. Some things never change.

We live in a time when the world sees Christians as the problem. Some of these people may be in our own families, and certainly many are coworkers or fellow students.

Luke 21:16-19

“You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls.”

The word “hated” means “to detest”, and the world today detests those who hold Biblical truths as facts. When we stand on God’s word and continue in it, the world sees us as the problem. God, however, sees us as the faithful. David was in the right and his own brother verbally attacked him. Daniel was in the right and he wound up in the lions’ den.

What we need to remember from this is that thousands of years later, people in the world today, many of whom have never read the Bible, still know about David and Daniel. Who they don’t know about is Eliab or the governors and satraps (a satrap was a provincial governor). In these two famous accounts, the world remembers the faithful, not their adversaries.

Proverbs 24:10

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

David didn’t faint when he saw Goliath, and Daniel didn’t faint when he knew his coworkers had it out for him. We live in a time of adversity today where all manner of evil is spoken against us falsely. But we must not faint or lose heart. We need to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Romans 8:11

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Remember, David and Daniel were just men. It was their faith in God that made them mighty. If you want to leave your mark in this world, let it be that you were found faithful even in the face of adversity. The ability to do so is already in you. For the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in every born again Christian giving them the power to face adversity in the strength of the Lord.

Those who have done so in the ancient past are still known presently in our day. Let our names be found among them in the future.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Notes of Faith July 3, 2023

Notes of Faith July 3, 2023

Liberty

The Liberty Bell Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me… to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. — Luke 4:18 NKJV

The Liberty Bell, one of the most familiar and beloved symbols of American independence and freedom, is now housed in the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park. Visitors can view the famous crack running up the face of the bell and perhaps make out the words from Leviticus 25:10 inscribed at its crown:

Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

It is certain that bells rang out joyously at the first reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776 (not July 4), and many historians believe that the Liberty Bell was among them. In the years since the Revolution, the bell has been claimed as a symbol by those seeking to end slavery and win the right to vote for women. In the late 1800s, the bell traveled throughout the country and was displayed at fairs and public gatherings in both small towns and great cities. The nation, still healing from the deep wounds of the Civil War, needed a unifying symbol to remind Americans of their common heritage.

Jesus has set me free.

The apostle Paul once wrote,

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free… Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. — Galatians 5:1

He was specifically writing about those who would impose all sorts of religious rules and human traditions on believers. But these words could also apply to personal habits and attitudes that we allow to enslave us, weigh us down, and steal our joy. If Jesus intended to set us free by His sacrifice for us on Calvary, what are those things that tie us up, that trip our feet and weigh on our hearts? Is it a habit? An addiction? A cynical heart? A hardened attitude? An unwillingness to forgive? An old prejudice? Jesus died for our freedom. If we allow anything to restrict us or shackle us to a sad, mediocre life, then we are missing His great gift, paid for at such a high price.

Dear God, show me those areas in my life where I’m still acting like a captive — even though You have set me completely free in Christ.

If I’m a captive, it’s by my own choice. Jesus has set me free.

Excerpted from Seeing God in America by Larry Libby, copyright Thomas Nelson.

John 8:31-32

"If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

We must know and live in obedience to the Word of God in order for it to make us free. Make sure that you are reading, studying, meditating on the Word of God every day!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 2, 2023

Notes of Faith July 2, 2023

The Old Rugged Cross

So I’ll cherish

the old rugged Cross,

Till my trophies at

last I lay down;

I will cling

to the old rugged Cross,

And exchange it some day

for a crown.

George Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1873, less than forty-five minutes from my own hometown of Alliance. He also happened to be the writer of one of my all-time favorite hymns, “The Old Rugged Cross.” It is arguably the most beloved hymn of all time.

After coming to Christ during a Salvation Army meeting, Bennard and his wife became active in the Methodist Church. It is said that he wrote “The Old Rugged Cross” in response to some ridicule he had received. The source or topic of the ridicule isn’t clear, but his response is found in the lyrics of the hymn. His answer was to cling to the cross. He is reported to have said that, for him, “Christ and the Cross were inseparable.”

Perhaps it is best that we do not know the specific reason Bennard was ridiculed. Who among us has not faced criticism or torment of some kind? We can relate to his situation without knowing the details — maybe even more so because we do not know the details. We can then apply his answer to anything we encounter.

The answer is always to cling to the Cross.

Have you ever been mocked for your faith? Cling to the Cross.

Have you ever been misunderstood? Cling to the Cross.

Have you endured hardship and heartache? Cling, sweet friend, to the Cross.

Don’t be afraid to bear its shame and reproach because, one day, you’ll exchange it for a crown.

Lord, help me to always be true to the Cross.

Excerpted from 100 Favorite Hymns by Stacy Edwards, copyright Thomas Nelson.

I have several of these books that have written stories of hymns of the faith. It is wonderful to find out the why and how these great songs of worship were written. The truth from Scripture inspires us to make a joyful noise to the Lord during the most turbulent times. I pray that we never stop singing any song that encourages faith, hope and love. May Jesus Christ be praised!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 1, 2023

Notes of Faith July 1, 2023

Article by David Mathis

Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

We felt safe with Seth.

I was 16 years old, in tenth grade — right in the middle of those promising and perilous teenage years — when he came to our church as the new youth minister. I was surrounded by the pressures and confusion of adolescence, and yet Seth Buckley brought a clarifying, stabilizing presence. He embodied mature Christian manhood, with both strength and gentleness.

None could question his physical strength. He had played linebacker at Alabama, and he could squat and bench far more than any of us high-school athletes. Yet he played the guitar and sang solos. And his tender heart for Jesus, and teenagers, came through, often with tears, in heartfelt rehearsals of the gospel every Wednesday night.

The reason we felt safe with Seth wasn’t because he was weak. He emphatically was not. He was strong — both physically and emotionally. And he was gentle. That is, he knew how to use his strength to life-giving ends. To the gift of his strength, he had added the virtue of gentleness.

Neither effeminate nor brutish, neither soft nor violent, Seth modeled for us teenaged men-in-training the kind of men we wanted to be deep down — the kind of men the gospel produces over time. In this way, knowing Seth helps me imagine what it may have been like to know King David.

Expert in War

We might remember David as “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1) and forget he was first a fearless, strong, and skilled man of war. But a striking scene at the end of his life gives a fuller picture of David than the simple singer-songwriter. When David’s son Absalom rebels against his father, marches on Jerusalem, and sends David momentarily retreating, David’s friend Hushai plays loyal to Absalom in order to defeat the rebel counsel. As he makes his case (which carries the day), he characterizes David, in terms that all agreed with:

You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war. (2 Samuel 17:8)

Not just his men, but David himself is mighty — and expert in war. And this wasn’t new. When we first meet David (even before Goliath), he is introduced as “a man of valor, a man of war”:

Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him. (1 Samuel 16:18)

In the following chapter, the Goliath account, we learn that David has already killed lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34–36). He has the courage to face the giant, and the skill to conquer him. And though still a youth, David is strong enough to take Goliath’s massive sword, draw it from its sheath, and take off the giant’s head (1 Samuel 17:51). Soon the imposing Saul, who stood head and shoulders above the rest, would hear his people singing of David’s strength: “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7).

What Made Him Great?

Psalm 18, which David wrote in praise of God’s lifelong deliverance, celebrates the physical strength and ability that God had given and honed in his anointed. David “can run against a troop” and “leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29); he says that God “equipped me with strength” (Psalm 18:39) and “made my feet like the feet of a deer” (Psalm 18:33). God “trains my hands for war,” making his arms strong enough to “bend a bow of bronze” (Psalm 18:34). And yet, right here, in mention after mention of his human strength, David celebrates the surpassing quality of gentleness. Strength and skill may have made him a good warrior and king, but “Your gentleness,” he says to God, “made me great” (Psalm 18:35).

“Both strong and gentle, David knows when to wield his strength and when to walk in gentleness.”

Strength, valor, and experience made David “expert in war,” but it was God’s own gentleness (which David learned firsthand) that made David great. Not only had the omnipotent God been gentle with his Anointed, in his finitude and many failings, but God’s gentleness had come to characterize David’s own leadership. As Derek Kidner comments, “While it was the gentleness God exercised that allowed David his success, it was the gentleness God taught him that was his true greatness” (Psalms, 95).

Where do we see this greatness? When did David add the surpassing virtue of gentleness to the valuable ability of his strength? Psalm 18 appears in 2 Samuel 22 at the culmination of the book, and two key mentions of David’s gentleness earlier in the story set up this climactic line and lesson.

Gentle with an Enemy

After the death of Saul, David’s commander, Joab, avenges the personal loss of his own brother. Saul’s commander, Abner, had struck down Joab’s brother, Asahel, after he had pursued Abner after battle. Abner had warned him to turn aside, and Asahel would not, and Abner struck him in the stomach. “A long war between the house of Saul and the house of David” followed, with David growing “stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker” (2 Samuel 3:1).

In time, Abner sought peace with David and delivered the rest of the kingdom to David. They feasted together, and David sent Abner away in peace. But Joab then drew Abner aside (under the pretense of peace) “to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother” (2 Samuel 3:27). The contrast between David and Joab is stark and pronounced. Both can be fearsome in battle. Both are strong, brave, and experts of war. But Joab, while an asset in war, is a liability in peace.

Joab’s unrighteous killing of Abner threatens the consolidation of the nation under David’s rule. So, David publicly mourns the death of Abner so that “all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s will to put to death Abner” (2 Samuel 3:37). David speaks to his servants to make clear his differences from Joab, the son of Zeruiah:

Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness! (2 Samuel 3:38–39)

Gentle with a Traitor

Second, near the end of David’s reign, when Absalom has rebelled against him, David sends Joab and the army out against Absalom, but with specific instructions. In keeping with his pattern of exercising strength, and adding to it the virtue of gentleness, David orders Joab, in the presence of many witnesses, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom” (2 Samuel 18:5).

Some commentators see weakness and indiscretion in David at this point; others see the gentleness that made him great. Peter Leithart comments,

These instructions were consistent with David’s treatment of all his enemies; he had treated Saul well, and just recently he had restrained Abishai from cutting down Shimei. He knew what Joab was capable of, and he wanted all his men to know that he treated enemies with kindness and compassion. David’s behavior again provided an Old Testament illustration of Jesus’s teaching about loving enemies. (A Son to Me, 278)

Joab, of course, defies David’s will and kills Absalom, again accenting the difference between the two men. Both are strong, but only one is great — and that through his gentleness.

Joab is the one-dimensional man of war — strong, tenacious, courageous in battle, a hero in combat. Yet his manhood is immature and incomplete. A liability at home and in peacetime, Joab is unable to cushion his strength and control his tenacity.

David, on the other hand, in masculine maturity, has learned gentleness and can thrive in all contexts. His abilities are multidimensional. He can lead a nation, not only an army. Both strong and gentle, he knows when to wield his strength and when, with admirable restraint, to walk in gentleness.

High and Exalted, Gentle and Lowly

In showing teenaged boys the strength and gentleness of mature masculinity, Seth showed us far more than the greatness of King David. While Psalm 18 gives tribute to God’s work in and through David, there is much in the psalm, writes John Calvin, that “agrees better with Christ” than with David.

“Gentleness is not the absence of strength but the addition of virtue.”

When the apostle John, on the isle of Patmos, caught his glimpses of the glory of Christ, he witnessed the paragon of mature masculinity, complete in power and grace. In Jesus, he saw not only man but “the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). “His voice was like the roar of many waters,” and his face “like the sun shining in full strength” (Revelation 1:15–16). Later John would see this Lion of a man, sitting on a white horse, as the one who “judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11).

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Revelation 19:15)

Yet when the apostle looked between the angels and the throne of heaven, he “saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). A lamb-like Lion, and lion-like Lamb, awe-inspiring in his majestic strength, and yet seen to be truly great as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people.

Jesus’s gentleness cushions the application of his great power as he marshals it in the service of his weak people. Do not mistake his gentleness for weakness. Gentle is not code for weak. Gentleness is not the absence of strength but the addition of virtue to strength — in men like Seth, King David, and most admirably of all, the Son of God himself.

God is indeed all powerful and yet He is gentle and compassionate and caring as a nursing mother. Jesus exudes all of the character of God. Let us continue to pursue His likeness, to be strong when needed, to be gentle as well, proving to be true followers and believers in Christ!

Pastor Dale