Notes of Faith August 25, 2023

Notes of Faith August 25, 2023

Happy Anniversary to us! 44 years! Amazing!

How to Build (or Break) a Habit

If we want to be faithful followers of Jesus, we need to pay careful attention to our habits. Because we hand over much of our lives to our habits, much more than we probably realize.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, describes a habit as “a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic” (44). Neurologically speaking, habits are “mental shortcuts learned from experience,” behaviors that our “conscious mind [passes off] to our nonconscious mind to do automatically” (46).

Now, take a moment and consider how many actions you’ve taken today while your conscious thoughts were focused on something else. Did you get dressed? Did you eat? Did you tie your shoes or a necktie? Did you apply makeup? Did you operate a smartphone? Did you walk through a cluttered room without breaking anything? Did you drive a vehicle or ride a bike? Did you do so on a busy street? If you were to log, for a week, all the simple and complex tasks you do that require little to no conscious awareness on your part, you would be amazed. And you’d come away with a deeper appreciation for the massive influence your habits wield on your life.

Behaviors that become automatic, ones we stop noticing after they become habitual, are powerful — for good or for ill. Which is why it’s important for us to occasionally take notice of them. And all the more because the benefits or consequences of our habits compound over time.

Compounding Power of Habits

Clear explains the compounding power of habits:

The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It is only when looking back two, five, or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent. (16)

For people like us, who like fast results from our efforts and immediate gratification of our cravings, this is a sobering discovery. It helps explain why we often struggle to stick with new resolves. It also helps explain why we formed many of our bad habits in the first place (and why we find them hard to break). If we look to short-term outcomes to measure our success, we’ll likely be discouraged. Because, as Clear says,

Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. (18)

And I would add that your spiritual health and growth and fruitfulness are lagging measures of your spiritual habits. Acquiring good habits and breaking bad ones require patience, perseverance, and faith — exercises that yield many and varied benefits themselves.

“Goals get us nowhere without the good habits required to achieve them.”

We’ve all been taught that if we want to achieve something, we need to set goals. In principle, that’s true. Yet how many goals have you set that have gone unachieved? Why didn’t they work for you? In part, because defective systems trump good aspirations. In other words, your habits undermined your goals. Goals get us nowhere without the good habits required to achieve them.

Building a Habit in Four Steps

So, how do we build the habits required to achieve the prize we desire? And how do we break habits that are impeding our pursuit?

When it comes to habit-building (and breaking), there isn’t just one way. Clear, however, provides four helpful steps he’s gleaned — first from his very difficult experience after suffering a serious head injury, but also from extensive research in the neuroscience of habit formation. The four steps are cue, craving, response, and reward. Clear describes how they work together like this:

The cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop — cue, craving, response, reward; cue, craving, response, reward — that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits. (50)

Understanding how this “habit loop” works also helps us when it comes to breaking bad habits.

Below, I attempt to concisely take Clear’s general insights and help us see how we can benefit from them as Christians. Keep in mind that these steps merely describe strategies for habit-making and breaking from the neurological perspective. For Christians, forming habits will always involve more than neuroscience: it will involve faith in God’s promises, joy in Christ, and reliance on the Spirit. So, as you read, exercise your ability to take common-grace knowledge and apply it for spiritual purposes.

1. Cue

Every habit we develop begins with a cue, something that “triggers your brain to initiate a behavior” — a behavior your brain associates with a desired reward (47). Hunger is an obvious example; it’s a cue to eat. Over time, we develop lots of cues around eating: certain times of the day, certain places, certain events, certain activities, certain moods, and so on.

The same is true of all our habitual behaviors. Seeing the television remote, the Bible on the table, the phone notification, the running shoes, the vending machine, the prayer list, the sensual image — all these can become behavioral cues.

Make good cues obvious: When it comes to creating a good habit, we need to identify new cues that our brains associate with the desired behavior and then think through ways to make the cues more obvious to our brains. Clear suggests we fill out the sentence “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]” and then place cues strategically as brain triggers (71). With repeated practice over time, our brains will associate these cues with the beneficial behavior.

Make bad cues invisible: Breaking bad habits also can begin by removing cues that prompt detrimental behavior. Clear says, “Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity” (71). So, he advises us to look for these unhelpful cues and write them down. Then think through ways to reduce or eliminate the kind of “sight” that triggers our brains.

Let me give you a personal example of changing cues. Because I decided I wanted to set my mind on things above before going to sleep, instead of “things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2), I decided to charge my smartphone in another room (removing a cue that triggers my undesired behavior) and set my Bible or a spiritually edifying book on my nightstand (inserting a cue that triggers my desired behavior).

2. Craving

The power of a cue is that it produces a craving. Clear points out that a craving is

the motivational force behind every habit . . . [because] without craving a change, we have no reason to act. What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state it delivers. (48)

In other words, when we think we crave a soda or cigarette or sitcom or social media plunge, it’s not really those things we crave. What we crave is the pleasure or relief our brains associate with those behaviors. In fact, researchers have found that typically more dopamine is released in our brains when we anticipate the pleasure than when we actually engage in the behavior.

Make good cravings attractive: When it comes to creating and sticking with a good habit, willpower isn’t enough. Our brains must learn to associate a new behavior with a craving — the anticipation of the behavior producing some reward. Ideally, the ultimate goal this behavior helps us achieve provides sufficient motivation. Often, at first, we need to find creative ways to make the behavior itself attractive until our brains more clearly associate the behavior with our ultimate goal.

Make bad cravings unattractive: When it comes to breaking a bad habit, again, the inverse is true. We need to teach our brains to stop associating a learned detrimental behavior with a craving for pleasure. We do this by explicitly rehearsing the ways the behavior actually works against our greater pleasure until our brains interpret it as an undesirable and unattractive means of pleasure.

Any of us who’ve tried to change our eating habits in order to drop weight or promote better bodily health understands the importance of these two strategies. Because given how persuasive cravings can be, if we didn’t find creative ways to enhance the attractiveness of healthy foods and decrease the attractiveness of unhealthy foods before our brains made the craving switch, we most likely reverted back to our bad habits.

3. Response

A craving pushes us to respond in a way that will achieve the desired reward. When a particular response is repeated enough times (depending on a number of factors, this might be few or many times), it becomes a habit (like drinking a soda, smoking a cigarette, watching a sitcom, or plunging into social media).

Make good responses easy: When it comes to creating a good habit, “simply putting in your reps is one of the most critical steps you can take” (144). Of course, some habits are easy to establish, while others are very challenging. Either way, “much of the battle of building better habits comes down to finding ways to reduce the friction associated with our good habits” (155). We need to look for ways to minimize obstacles and increase convenience when it comes to desired behaviors. We all know that the easier a behavior is, the more likely we are to do it.

Make bad responses difficult: When it comes to breaking a bad habit, we do the opposite. As Clear says, “When friction is high, habits are difficult” (158). So, we need to look for ways to “increase the number of steps between [us] and [our] bad habits” (213). This is where recruiting accountability partners and restricting our future choices by “burning bridges” are often helpful.

I have a dear friend who put this strategy into practice. A number of years ago, he was actively fighting a sinful habit of viewing online porn, but his job required him to be frequently online. So, he subscribed to a service developed by a Christian ministry that tracked his online behavior and made it visible to his accountability partners. Making it more difficult and painful to indulge his destructive habit helped him break free from it.

4. Reward

In the end, the only reason we develop a habit is to pursue a reward. As Clear says,

The cue is about noticing the reward. The craving is about wanting the reward. The response is about obtaining the reward. (48)

“Christ is a reward for whom it’s worth building and breaking every habit necessary to obtain.”

As Christian Hedonists, we say amen! We believe that the ultimate reward of every good habit — great or small, easy or difficult — is to increase our satisfaction in God. That’s why Paul sought to “discipline [his] body and keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27), so that he could “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Paul was pursuing the great, imperishable Reward: that he might “gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). And Christ is a reward for whom it’s worth building and breaking every habit necessary to obtain.

As I mentioned earlier, in this fallen age our brains don’t always make the association between a particular habit and our ultimate reward. And so, “immediate reinforcement helps maintain motivation in the short term while [we’re] waiting for the long-term reward to arrive” (192).

Make it satisfying: When it comes to creating a good habit, we are wise to look for ways to make it feel as rewarding as it is. Because “we are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying” (185). And since “one of the most satisfying feelings is the feeling of making progress” (204), creating or using some kind of habit-tracker can provide the kind of incentive to keep us going.

Make it unsatisfying: When it comes to breaking a bad habit, you can probably fill in the answer yourself: find ways to make it costly. Again, inviting an accountability partner to monitor your behavior and/or committing to an undesirable consequence can provide enough disincentive to avoid the harmful behavior.

Habits Are Allies or Enemies

Why have I given so much space here to habits? Because of the massive influence they wield in our lives. And because they do so largely outside of our conscious awareness. When our habits serve our goals of living in a manner worthy of our calling and gaining Christ, they are invaluable spiritual and physical allies. When they impede those goals, they are spiritual and physical enemies. Given the compounding effects they have on us over time — for good or for ill — we are wise to occasionally take notice of them so that we can make the necessary adjustments.

I hope what I’ve covered encourages you to think more about your habits, and that you go on to learn more from what both Scripture and neuroscience have to teach you. Because I’ve only just scratched the surface. Habits are complex, affected by our genes, our temperaments, our experiences, our family and friends, our churches, our cultures, our health, our preferences, our strengths and weaknesses, our unseen spiritual influences, and more.

We’ve all been given a race of faith to run. And if we run faithfully with endurance, laying aside every encumbering weight and sin, we are promised a glorious, incomparable, imperishable, eternal prize: Jesus Christ. Paul exhorts us to “run that [we] may obtain [him]” (1 Corinthians 9:24). So, we take our habits seriously. Because they influence the way we run — for good or for ill.

Article by Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. He is the author of four books, including Not by Sight and most recently True to His Word. He and his wife have five children and make their home in the Twin Cities.

We all create and sustain good and bad habits. We need more good spiritual habits and less bad sinful habits. It is never easy to create good ones and keep them going. It is never easy to break bad ones that have become a pattern of life. God desires for us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Create good habits and forsake the bad ones. By His grace and in His power (the Holy Spirit within us), we can do this!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 24, 2023

Notes of Faith August 24, 2023

The Woman Who Washed Jesus' Feet

Read Luke 7:36–39, Luke 7:47 NLT

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard He was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind Him at His feet, weeping. Her tears fell on His feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing His feet and putting perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman is touching Him. She’s a sinner!”

“I tell you, her sins — and they are many — have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

Could two people be more different? He is looked up to. She is looked down on. He is a church leader. She is a streetwalker. He makes a living promoting standards. She’s made a living breaking them. He’s hosting the party. She’s crashing it.

Ask the other residents of Capernaum to point out the more pious of the two, and they’ll pick Simon. Why, after all, he’s a student of theology, a man of the cloth. Anyone would pick him. Anyone, that is, except Jesus.

Jesus knew them both and picked the woman.

What’s more, He tells Simon why.

Simon is angry. Just look at her — groveling at Jesus’ feet. Kissing them, no less! Why, if Jesus were who He says He is, He would have nothing to do with this woman.

One of the lessons Simon learned that day was this: Don’t think thoughts you don’t want Jesus to hear. For Jesus heard them, and when He did, He chose to share a few of His own.

“Simon,” He said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people — 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer Me water to wash the dust from My feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet Me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing My feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint My head, but she has anointed My feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins — and they are many — have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

— Luke 7:40–47 NLT

Simon invites Jesus to His house but treats him like an unwanted step uncle. No customary courtesies. Or, in modern terms, no one opened the door for Him, took His coat, or shook His hand.

Simon does nothing to make Jesus feel welcome. The woman, however, does everything that Simon didn’t. We aren’t told her name. Just her reputation — a sinner. A prostitute most likely. She has no invitation to the party and no standing in the community.

But people’s opinions didn’t stop her from coming. It’s not for them she has come. It’s for Him. Her every move is measured and meaningful. Each gesture extravagant. She puts her cheek to his feet, still dusty from the path. She has no water, but she has tears. She has no towel, but she has her hair. She uses both to bathe the feet of Christ. As one translation reads, “she rained tears” on His feet (v. 44 MSG). She opens a vial of perfume, perhaps her only possession of worth, and massages it into His skin. The aroma is as inescapable as the irony.

We love, because He first loved us.

— 1 John 4:19 NASB

You’d think Simon of all people would show such love. Is he not the reverend of the church, the student of Scripture? But he is harsh, distant. You’d think the woman would avoid Jesus. Simon’s “love” is calibrated and stingy.

Her love, on the other hand, is extravagant and risky.

How do we explain the difference between the two? Training? Education? Money? No, for Simon has outdistanced her in all three.

But there is one area in which the woman leaves Him eating dust. Think about it. What one discovery has she made that Simon hasn’t? What one treasure does she cherish that Simon doesn’t? Simple. God’s love. We don’t know when she received it. We aren’t told how she heard about it. Did she overhear Jesus’ words “your Father is merciful”? (Luke 6:36 ESV). Was she nearby when Jesus had compassion on the widow of Nain? Did someone tell her how Jesus touched lepers and turned tax collectors into disciples? We don’t know. But we know this. She came thirsty. Thirsty from guilt. Thirsty from regret. Thirsty from countless nights of making love and finding none. She came thirsty.

And when Jesus hands her the goblet of grace, she drinks.

She doesn’t just taste or nip. She doesn’t dip her finger and lick it or take the cup and sip it. She lifts the liquid to her lips and drinks, gulping and swallowing like the parched pilgrim she is. She drinks until the mercy flows down her chin and onto her neck and chest. She drinks until every inch of her soul is moist and soft. She comes thirsty and she drinks. She drinks deeply.

Simon, on the other hand, doesn’t even know he is thirsty. People like Simon don’t need grace; they analyze it. They don’t request mercy; they debate and prorate it. It wasn’t that Simon couldn’t be forgiven; he just never asks to be.

So while she drinks up, he puffs up. While she has ample love to give, he has no love to offer. Why? The 7:47 Principle. Read again verse 47 of Luke chapter 7:

A person who is forgiven little shows only little love.

Just like the jumbo jet, the 7:47 Principle has wide wings. Just like the aircraft, this truth can lift you to another level. Read it one more time. “A person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (NLT). In other words,

we can’t give what we’ve never received. If we’ve never received love, how can we love others?

But, oh, how we try! As if we can conjure up love by the sheer force of will. As if there is within us a distillery of affection that lacks only a piece of wood or a hotter fire. We poke it and stoke it with resolve. What’s our typical strategy for treating a troubled relationship? Try harder.

“My spouse needs my forgiveness? I don’t know how, but I’m going to give it.”

“I don’t care how much it hurts, I’m going to be nice to that bum.”

“I’m supposed to love my neighbor? Okay. By golly, I will.”

So we try. Teeth clinched. Jaw firm. We’re going to love if it kills us! And it may do just that.

Could it be we are missing a step? Could it be that the first step of love is not toward them but toward Him? Could it be that the secret to loving is receiving? You give love by first receiving it.

We love, because He first loved us. — 1 John 4:19 NASB

Long to be more loving? Begin by accepting your place as a dearly loved child.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. — Ephesians 5:1–2 NIV

Want to learn to forgive? Then consider how you’ve been forgiven.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. — Ephesians 4:32 NIV

Finding it hard to put others first? Think of the way Christ put you first.

Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. — Philippians 2:6 NLT

Need more patience? Drink from the patience of God (2 Peter 3:9). Is generosity an elusive virtue? Then consider how generous God has been with you (Romans 5:8). Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors? God puts up with you when you act the same.

He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. — Luke 6:35 NIV

Can’t we love like this?

Not without God’s help we can’t. Oh, we may succeed for a time. We, like Simon, may open a door. But our relationships need more than a social gesture. Some of our spouses need a foot washing. A few of our friends need a flood of tears. Our children need to be covered in the oil of our love.

But if we haven’t received these things ourselves, how can we give them to others? Apart from God, “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV). A marriage-saving love is not within us. A friendship-preserving devotion cannot be found in our hearts. We need help from an outside source. A transfusion. Would we love as God loves? Then we start by receiving God’s love.

The secret to loving is living loved. This is the forgotten first step in relationships. Remember Paul’s prayer?

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

— Ephesians 3:17 NLT

As a tree draws nutrients from the soil, we draw nourishment from the Father. But what if the tree has no contact with the soil?

Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so.

We know what God wants us to do.

This is what God commands:... that we love each other. — 1 John 3:23 NCV

But how can we? How can we be kind to the vow breakers? To those who are unkind to us? How can we be patient with people who have the warmth of a vulture and the tenderness of a porcupine? How can we forgive the moneygrubbers and backstabbers we meet, love, and marry? How can we love as God loves? We want to. We long to. But how can we?

By living loved. By following the 7:47 Principle: receive first, love second.

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

Do you love God, or just think that you do? You do not want the Lord to say, “Away from Me, I never knew you.” If you really love the Lord, He said you will be obedient to His Word. Many do not even read or listen to His Word and therefore cannot be obedient and therefore cannot love the Lord.

The most important of the commandments: Love God and love others as yourself.

Doesn’t sound impossible, but it is without the love of God coming from within you. Ask for His help and provision to love as He loves and you will be overwhelmingly blessed!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 23, 2023

Notes of Faith August 23, 2023

Traveling Day! Today is our grand-daughter Sarah’s birthday, our grandson Maverieck and our daughter-in-law Casey shared a birthday on the 21st, our anniversary is the 25th and our son Michael’s birthday is September 10. We will celebrate those in Kentucky this coming Saturday all together. It is easier that way.

Blessings from the hot and humid east side of the country!

Sorry for the delay in daily devotions but the computer was having issues which I hope I have resolved now…

Subtle Suffering

Today's inspiration comes from:

Who's In Charge of a World That Suffers?

by Billy Graham

You may never be called upon to suffer physically because you are a believer in Jesus Christ. However, there is more to suffering than physical pain; there is more to persecution than being put in chains.

If we are followers of Jesus Christ, who are not compromising with the sinful ways of the world, we may be called upon to suffer in subtle ways which are inescapable.

Suffering, in its many-shaped definitions, is a part of life in a sinful world. Two Christians released from a country where the government was hostile toward Christianity were asked how it felt to be persecuted for their faith. They replied, “We thought it was the normal way for a Christian to be treated.”

The Christian who expects to escape life’s difficulties has an unrealistic attitude and has failed to understand the Bible or the history of the church.

We must suffer before we are rewarded.

The concert pianist or master musician knows he cannot escape the hours, days, and months of grueling practice and self-sacrifice required before the one hour of perfect performance.

The student cannot escape the years of struggle and study before that great graduation day.

The astronaut who hopes to participate in the space program knows it will require stern discipline to prepare for the exciting day on the launching pad.

The athlete who wants to be a member of the Olympic Team must count on years of training, discipline, and hard work.

Several years ago a courageous and determined Japanese gymnast helped his team win a gold medal by performing some near-perfect gymnastic feats with a broken leg! Any star athlete will tell you that it takes pain and suffering to achieve success. But, as in the case of the Japanese gymnast, the pain and suffering are worth it!

If You Suffer

Consider the apostle Peter tender message on the subject of suffering:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you… If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name… So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. — 1 Peter 4:12, 1 Peter 4:14, 1 Peter 4:15, 1 Peter 4:16, 1 Peter 4:19

Persecution has been a part of the heritage of the Jews throughout their long history, but in the passage quoted above Peter was writing to both Jews and Gentiles to help them in their new faith in Christ and what it means to suffer as a Christian.

It is never easy to be a Christian.

The Christian life can still bring its own loneliness, unpopularity, and problems. It is human nature to dislike, resent, or regard with suspicion anyone who is “different.” This is one of the great problems of the world today. Tribal differences, class differences, ethnic differences, cultural differences separate people. Such differences often lead not only to misunderstanding, but to war.

When the Christian brings the standards of Jesus Christ to bear upon life in a materialistic and secularistic world, it is often resented. Because the moral and spiritual demands of Jesus Christ are so high, they often set the Christian “apart.” This can bring about misunderstanding, fear, and resentment. When people do cross-cultural evangelism, they should learn to use methods in presenting and obeying the gospel through sensitivity without compromise in God’s truth. However, the redemptive, ethical, and moral aspects of the gospel can never be contextualized. They are the same in every culture, in every ethnic and racial grouping.

Persecution is also a test. One of the answers to the “why” of suffering is given in the Bible:

for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. — 1 Peter 1:6-7

The great fire of Rome began on June 16, A.D. 64. Christians were blamed and persecuted. But Peter was not necessarily writing about those Christians, but the ones who were suffering from reproach. Peter was also looking ahead and saw the intense fiery trial shortly to come upon the church. I am convinced that the current popularity of evangelical Christianity in America will be short-lived. The Bible teaches, and history confirms it, that it never hurts the church to go through the furnace. Peter indicated that persecution is not a “strange” happening as far as Christians are concerned. He tells his readers, “Don’t be surprised when it comes. Be surprised if it doesn’t come!”

Abraham obeyed God and reached the Promised Land to find a famine. Jacob obeyed God and found his family turned against him. David obeyed God and hid in caves because King Saul sought his life. Paul obeyed God and found himself in prison. Paul said,

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. — 2 Timothy 3:12

No believer is ever left to suffer alone. Christ is always present.

Persecution for the Christian has many benefits. It gets us praying. It drives us deeper into the Scriptures. And it burns away the sins and the dross in our lives. Everybody of significance in the Bible experienced suffering.

When you are identified with the name of Christ you will go through it. The Scriptures teach over and over that we need to be tested and purified.

We can endure persecution because we know the purpose behind it which is to glorify God. Sixteen times in 1 Peter the apostle talks about the glory of God. He says in effect: I’ll tell you what you really need. Go through the furnace, and when you go through the furnace to the glory of God, the Spirit of God comes upon you, and there is a joy in your heart and you glorify God.

Through persecution we also partake of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. When a man has to suffer and sacrifice for his faith, he is walking the way Christ walked, and sharing the cross that Christ carried. The Scriptures teach that if we “share in His sufferings… we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). In Philippians 3:10 Paul says,

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Many times Paul returns to the thought that when the Christian has to suffer he is in some strange way sharing in the very sufferings of Christ (2 Corinthians 1:5; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11; Galatians 6:17; Colossians 1:24).

To suffer for the faith is not a penalty; it is a privilege. In doing so, we share in the very work and ministry of Christ. If we are united with Christ and His sufferings, we will also be united with Christ in His resurrection. To know Christ is to become so identified with Him; that we share His every experience. It “means that we share the way he walked; we share the cross he bore; we share the death He died; and finally we share the life He lives forevermore.”1

However, it is also wonderful to think that in our Christian life the power of His resurrection precedes the fellowship of His sufferings. In other words, the power of His resurrection is available to us from day to day through the Holy Spirit. We enjoy the sense of God’s presence in the midst of suffering here and now. I have talked to people who are experiencing deep pain or severe difficulties, and they have said, “I feel God is so close to me.” When Stephen (Acts 7) was on trial for his life and when it was certain that he would be condemned to death, his face appeared to the onlookers as if it were the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).

When the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace and the king looked in, he saw a fourth who was like unto the “Son of God” (Daniel 3:25, KJV).

No believer is ever left to suffer alone. Christ is always present.

There is a legend of a pioneer missionary to some distant island who led his first convert to Christ. Later the converted man was tortured to death by his fellow natives. Years later when the missionary himself had died and gone to glory, he met this martyred convert and asked him how it felt to be tortured to death for Christ. The man looked at him a moment and then replied, “You know, I don’t remember!”

To suffer as a Christian takes many different forms. Some persecutions may be of the more subtle types.

What did Jesus mean when He said,

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. — Matthew 5:10

Among other things, Jesus may have been referring to hassles that Christians endure from the world because they live differently from the world, and are persecuted in many different forms. The Bible says that Christians are distinguished as aliens in a worldly society. This causes the non-Christian to feel guilty or antagonistic, seeking ways to retaliate in some way toward those who live according to a higher standard — the standard of Christ.

How different are you? Is there anything that distinguishes you from the secularist, the agnostic, or the atheist? In His parable of the sower, Jesus describes those who fail to maintain their stand for righteousness:

Since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. — Matthew 13:21, italics mine

However, Jesus makes it clear that there is a reward for faithfulness in the face of persecution or deprivation.

‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus told Peter, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.’ — Mark 10:29-30

In very plain terms Jesus reminds His disciples in John 15:20:

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

When we are persecuted for our faith, we are in good company!

William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), 64.

Excerpted from Who’s in Charge of a World That Suffers? by Billy Graham, copyright The Billy Graham Literary Trust.

Suffering is never wonderful but it may be allowed by God to build your strength and faith and bring glory to His name!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 22, 2023

Notes of Faith August 22, 2023

Making Fishers of Men

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. — Matthew 14:24–32 NKJV

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

Galileans came to expect storms. They were a part of the topography. They still are.

LIFE COMES WITH STORMS

Atmospheric conditions of our fallen world churn serious turbulence. Health crises. Economic struggles. Unwanted invoices and cancer cells that howl down on our lives and turn life into a bull ride.

Peter and his fellow storm riders knew they were in trouble. Sunlight was a distant memory. Rain fell from the night sky in buckets. Lightning sliced the blackness with a silver sword. Winds whipped the sails. The boat lurched and lunged like a kite in a March wind.

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

Descriptive phrase, don’t you think? Apt description for the stormy seasons of life. The gusts and the gales turn contrarily against your wishes, leaving you “in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves.”

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

In the middle of debt, tossed about by creditors.

In the middle of a corporate takeover, tossed about by Wall Street and profit margins.

But after as many as nine hours in the sea, the unspeakable happens.

It is in storms that He does His finest work, for it is in storms He has our keenest attention.

JESUS COMES, COMMANDING THE STORM

The disciples spot someone coming on the water. They assume it’s a ghost and cry out from fear.

At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. ‘A ghost!’ they said, crying out in terror. — Matthew 14:25–26 The Message

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

Neither did we. We expected Him to come in the form of peaceful hymns, or Easter Sundays, or quiet retreats. We expected to find Jesus in morning devotionals, church suppers, and meditation. We never expected to see Him in a divorce, death, lawsuit, or jail cell. We never expected to see Him in a storm. But it is in storms that He does His finest work, for it is in storms He has our keenest attention.

Jesus replies to their fear with an invitation worthy of inscription on every church cornerstone and archway:

Courage! I am! Don’t be afraid!

I like that translation by Frederick Bruner. More common readings, such as “It is I!” or “I am here!” lose the full force of Jesus’ pronouncement. Jesus is not merely announcing his presence on the sea; he is declaring his power over the storm. He’s not saying, “I am here.” He is saying, “I am.” He is saying what God said to Moses through the burning bush:

Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you’.

— Exodus 3:14 NKJV

This is what God said to Abraham in the desert:

I am the Lord. — Genesis 15:7 NKJV

and to the Hebrews in the wilderness:

I am He, and there is no God besides Me. — Deuteronomy 32:39 NKJV

This is no cry of identity; it is a claim of divinity. Is anyone in control of these winds? I am. Who is in charge of the torrent? I am. Is anyone coming to help? I am.

“Courage! I am! Don’t be afraid!” With these words Christ claims the position of Chief Commander of the Storm. Peter, much to his credit, takes Jesus at his word.

Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.

— Matthew 14:28 NKJV

Peter would rather be out of the boat with Christ than in the boat without Him, so He calls on the commander to command. And Jesus does.

So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. — Matthew 14:29 NKJV

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

I can’t help but wonder how Matthew felt as he wrote that sentence. Surely he had to lower his pen and shake his head. “Peter... walked on the water to go to Jesus.” My editors wouldn’t have tolerated such brevity. They would have filled the margin with questions: “Can you elaborate? How quickly did Peter exit the boat? How cautious was his first step? What was the look on his face? Did he step on any fish?”

Matthew has no time for such questions, however; he moves us quickly to the major message of the moment.

WHERE TO STARE IN A STORM

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

A wall of water eclipses his view. A wind gust snaps the mast with a crack and a slap. A flash of lightning illuminates the lake and the watery mountain range it has become. Peter shifts his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall, and he sinks like a brick in a pond. Give the storm waters more attention than the Storm Walker, and get ready to do the same.

God wants us to look for good news and seek out the accomplishments of His work.

His call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t oblivious to the storms. We just counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments.

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

Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus. Memorize Scripture. Sing hymns. Read biographies of great people. Ponder the testimonies of faithful Christians. Walk to the sound of His voice. Make the deliberate decision to set your hope on Him. And when your attention turns away, bring it back.

Excerpted from In the Footsteps in the Savior by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

Do not fear! Do not fear! Do not fear! I AM!

Heb 11:7

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

If we believe in the Great I AM, we should have no fear concerning anything. Believe, and be at peace in the world in which you live!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 21, 2023

Notes of Faith August 21, 2023

Scandalous Reckoning

Mary of Bethany

Days before Christ's crucifixion, only one person seemed to understand the gravity of the situation: Jesus was going to die. Although He had said it many times that He must come to Jerusalem to die, the disciples could not seem to grasp it. Mary of Bethany, at least in part, somehow understood.

That's why she chose to do something that shocked and confounded the men who followed Jesus. They didn't get it. But that didn't matter to Mary. She knew what she had to do.

The disciples were in denial. Their focus remained steadfastly in the present. They couldn't see that what she was doing was admirable. Instead, they worried about the cost of the perfume (it was worth a large sum of money); the customs of the day (it was traditional practice to give to the poor on the evening of the Passover); and their own opinions (without waiting for direction from Jesus, to whom the action was directed, they started to rebuke her).

Mary remained squarely transfixed on the horizon of events, though even she did not anticipate all that would transpire.

Mary remained squarely transfixed on the horizon of events, though even she did not anticipate all that would transpire.

She could not have fully comprehended the significance; it was still the mystery of God. But the events taking place were not entirely lost on her, as they apparently were on the others. Intuitively, she sensed that what lay before her Lord was unimaginable pain, suffering, and death. And she came to terms with it.

Her ceremonial preparation for His burial confirmed her understanding.

As she carefully poured the nard on His head, the perfume traced the familiar features of His face; a brow she'd seen furrowed with concern; cheeks she'd seen wet with tears at the death of her brother; lips that had spoken truth to her. Her extravagance confounded the witnesses, but her comprehension of Christ's destiny touched the very heart of God.

Prayer

Dear God, I give everything I have to You, for You have made me rich with Your love.

Reading

Matthew 26:6-13

Luke 10:38-42

John 11:17-12:11

Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. — Matthew 26:13

Excerpted from NIV Women's Devotional Bible, copyright Zondervan.

Many women believed in and worked to support His ministry as well as followed where He went. They are created in His image and very important in the daily impact of the truth of God as they pass it along. All who hear the truth and will come to Christ in faith will not be disappointed!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 20, 2023

Notes of Faith August 20, 2023

When We Can't Walk Away

When we can walk away from toxic people, we probably and usually should. But when financial necessity, work obligations, family relationships, or even the accomplishment of our God-given mission necessitates that we find a way to live or work with a toxic person, we can learn much by following Jesus’ example with Judas.

Jesus and Judas

Though Jesus often walked away and let others walk away, He obviously and clearly kept one toxic person very close to His side — His betrayer, Judas. Let’s focus on three key strategies, based on Jesus’ interaction with Judas, for how we can live with or work alongside toxic people without going crazy ourselves.

Jesus Didn’t View His Mission as Stopping Toxic People from Sinning

Maybe it seems more obvious to you, but it was startling to me when I realized Jesus knew Judas was a thief and never chose to stop Him. John clues us in:

One of [Jesus’] disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. — John 12:4-6

If John knew Judas was a thief, Jesus knew Judas was a thief. In fact, Jesus knew that Judas was worse than a thief. In John 6:70, Jesus said,

“Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him.)

Jesus knew Judas was toxic. He could have stopped Judas from stealing and His future betrayal by kicking Him out of their group at any time.

But He didn’t. Why? Jesus kept the bigger mission in mind. To seek first God’s Kingdom, He had to raise up a band of disciples. He also had to die on the cross. He wasn’t waylaid by individual battles of piety with His disciples, as we are prone to do with people around us. Addressing Judas’s thievery would be like a neurosurgeon clipping someone’s fingernails. There were more important issues at hand. And

Jesus’ mission was not to stop everybody from sinning.

This is actually a freeing word for believers. Your mission is not to confront every sin you hear or know of, even among your perhaps toxic family members or coworkers. Of course, if you’re a parent of a child still living at home, confronting sin is an appropriate part of spiritual training. But at extended family gatherings, with hard-hearted friends and certainly coworkers, our job isn’t to be “sin detectives” who discover how others are messing up and then unleash havoc by sharing our opinions with those who don’t want to hear them.

Jesus could have spent all twenty-four hours of every day trying to confront every one of His disciples’ sins. “Peter, put away that anger!” “Thomas, you’re still doubting Me, aren’t you?” “Thaddeus, you’re people-pleasing again. Nobody likes a suck-up.”

Instead, He focused on training and equipping reliable people. Focusing on others’ sin makes you focus on what’s toxic. Focusing on training makes you focus on what is good and on who is reliable. The latter is a much more enjoyable and ultimately much more productive life.

Because our goal is to seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness, and to seek out reliable people in the process, we’ve got to let a few things slide right by us.

That uncle who brings another woman half his age to Thanksgiving dinner? Not our problem. The coworker who had too much to drink at the office party? If we’re not the boss, that’s not our concern. Besides, one sin is never the issue. Alienation from God, shattered psyches, unhealed and unaddressed hurts — those are the real issues.

Feel free to enjoy people and love them without having to serve as their conscience.

When asked sincerely, speak the truth. Just know that merely witnessing sin in your presence doesn’t require you to act as prosecuting attorney, judge, and jury.

Jesus’ mission was not to stop everybody from sinning.

Keep the bigger picture in mind. Instead of upending the holiday gathering by making sure everyone knows you disapprove of what that child, cousin, uncle, or parent is doing, find a hungry soul to quietly encourage, bless, inspire, and challenge. Find the most “reliable” relative and invest in them.

Jesus Didn’t Let Judas’s Toxicity Become His

How much money would you spend to get an hour to ask Jesus all the questions you’ve ever wanted to ask Him?

What would it be worth to you to go back to the first century and spend an entire weekend with Jesus, watching Him perform miracles, listening to His teachings, participating in private conversations, watching Him pray and interact with others?

All of which makes Judas’s betrayal seem all the more ungrateful. Jesus gave him a front row seat to the most significant life ever lived, and Judas sold Him out.

And yet at the Last Supper, when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus made sure that Judas was still present. In a picture the sheer wonder of which leaves me in awe, Jesus used the two holiest hands that have ever existed, the two most precious hands in the history of humankind, the hands pierced for our salvation — Jesus took those exquisite hands and washed the feet of His toxic betrayer.

Even in the face of ungratefulness and malice, Jesus kept the door open to relational reconciliation. He loved Judas to the end, essentially saying,

“You can’t make Me hate you. Your toxicity won’t become My toxicity.”

Just as astonishing to me is what happened during the act of betrayal. When Judas walks up to Jesus to hand Him over to the soldiers, Jesus looks at Judas and says,

Do what you came for, friend. — Matthew 26:50

Friend? How about skunk? How about snake? Jesus said “friend” because Jesus didn’t have a toxic molecule in His body. There was nowhere for toxicity to take root. God is radically for people. He wants everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). As His followers, we also must be for everyone, even if we oppose what they’re doing. If we must live and work with toxic people, our call is to make sure their toxicity doesn’t become ours. We don’t treat them as they treat us. We don’t offer evil in exchange for evil. We love. We serve. We guard our hearts so that we are not poisoned by their bad example.

Jesus Spoke Truth to Crazy

While Jesus invited Judas back into relationship until the very moment of betrayal, washing his feet and even calling him friend, He never pretended that what Judas was doing wasn’t toxic. In fact, He warned Judas at the Last Supper that if he were to go through with his plans, things wouldn’t end well for him:

Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. — Mark 14:21

When Judas kissed Him in Gethsemane, Jesus replied,

Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? — Luke 22:48

When working around toxic people, you don’t have to pretend they’re not toxic. You don’t have to pretend they are well-meaning but perhaps misguided.

The reason this is good news is that it helps preserve our sanity. Toxic people are experts at twisting things, making us feel crazy for admitting the truth (what counselors call gaslighting). But as followers of Jesus, we are committed to the truth because we are committed to Jesus, who said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. — John 14:6, emphasis added

Without truth as a refuge, interacting with crazy people can start to make you feel crazy. But God is a God of order. Craziness is a clear sign of toxicity.

This will sound like such a cliché, but I’ve found that extra praying brings some level of sanity to a situation that feels crazy. There’s something about spending time talking to and listening to the God of truth that restores sanity when you’re forced to spend time in a place that makes you feel like you’re losing your mind.

As we trust that God understands all that is truly going on, and as we remember that God is the only one capable of bringing everything to account, we can rest in His understanding, promise, and protection:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7

Sometimes we can’t walk away but have to learn how to live or work around toxic people. This will require us to become stronger than we’ve ever been before.

Don’t try to control a controller. Work around them as you are required to, but don’t let their ups and downs become your ups and downs. Keep a healthy level of distance between the two of you.

Keep first things first. Our job isn’t to stop people from sinning. Focus on investing in reliable people.

Guard against letting someone else’s toxicity tempt you to respond in a similarly toxic fashion. We can’t control what toxic people do and say, but we can control what we do and say.

Don’t allow someone who is ruining their life to ruin yours as well. Leave work at work (or family drama at family gatherings).

Thank God that we never have to pretend crazy isn’t crazy. We live by the truth. We don’t have to pretend toxic people aren’t toxic; we just have to learn a nontoxic way of interacting with them.

Excerpted from When to Walk Away by Gary Thomas, copyright The Center for Evangelical Spirituality.

I am sure that there is one or perhaps even a few toxic people in your world. They tend to affect us more than we would like to admit. It is easy to become toxic ourselves. Remembering who we are in Christ is more important than ever. Our life this side of heaven must reflect the change that has taken place in salvation, becoming more like Christ every day. Drawing near to the throne of grace often will keep your heart and mind at peace and able to function in a toxic world.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 19, 2023

Notes of Faith August 19, 2023

A Prayer for Times of Change

Times of change and transition can upset our hearts and minds more than we realize. A new school year, a new job, a new home… Change can be both good and difficult! What better time than to lean into prayer and depend upon God to be our Rock and our hope.

It is well and good, Lord,

if all things change,

provided we are rooted in You.

~ St. John of the Cross (1542–1591)

Help me to accept that change is part of life,

to welcome the newness each change brings,

and to embrace the gifts and joys of each season.

I trust Your guiding hand, God.

Help me adapt and

have a willing, adventurous spirit.

May I look for the valuable opportunities

You’re giving me in this situation

and make the most of them.

May I say yes to wherever You lead,

being glad and grateful to be on

a journey of discovery and growth with You.

~ C. M.

Lord, I am disoriented and unsettled in the midst of change.

Steady my heart and be my constant. I thank You for Your word to me:

“The mountains may move and the hills disappear,

but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”

Surround me now with Your unfailing love.

You are my refuge, my strong tower, my foundation.

You are my heart’s home forever,

no matter where I am or what happens around me.

Help me sense Your nearness, guidance, and love throughout this season of change,

and may I grow closer to You as I depend on You more.

~ C. M., quoted material from Isaiah 54:10 NLT

Be present, O merciful God, and protect me...

As I am fatigued by the changes

and the chances of this fleeting world,

I rest in Your eternal changelessness;

through Jesus Christ,

who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

~ Leonine Sacramentary (5th C.)

Help me sense Your nearness, guidance, and love throughout this season of change.

ASKING FOR HELP

God, You are the source of all that is worth having.

Every good gift in this world comes from You!

You are a generous Father,

providing what we need

and delighting in showering blessings on us.

As we think of You even giving up Your Son for us,

may we never assume You’d hold back Your generosity.

Jesus taught us to knock, ask, seek,

and persist!

So we ask You now to give us

what we need and hope for—

as it pleases You.

We worship the One on the throne

and open up our hands to receive from the Giver of life.

We say that You’re good,

we need You,

and we’re glad to rely on You.

Help us to honor You as we steward whatever You give,

hold loosely whatever we have,

and always love You, the Giver, more than the gifts.

~ C. M.

O Lord, to be turned from You is to fall,

to turn to You is to rise,

and to stand in Your presence is to live forever.

Grant us in all our duties Your help,

in all our perplexities Your guidance,

in all our dangers Your protection,

and in all our sorrows Your peace.

~ St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430), Adapted

We ask not for wealth, reputation, honor, or prosperity; we pray

for a calm and peaceful spirit,

for every opportunity of leading a holy life,

and for circumstances that are most free from temptation.

We pray for Your preserving grace.

~ Henry Thornton (1760–1815)

Dear Lord Jesus, I shall have this day only once; before it is gone,

help me to do all the good I can,

so that today is not a wasted day.

~ Stephen Grellet (1773–1855)

Teach me, O Father, how to ask You silently for Your help moment after moment...

If I am uneasy or troubled, enable me,

by Your grace,

quickly to turn to You.

May nothing come between me and You today.

May I will, do, and say just what You,

my loving and tender Father,

would have me will, do, and say.

~ Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882), Adapted

O Lord, send down Your grace to help me, that I may glorify Your name...

Grant me humility, love, and obedience...

Implant in me the root of all blessings:

the reverence of You in my heart.

~ St. John Chrysostom (C. 347–407)

God, I need You every hour.

I ask You to meet my needs

as I offer up my hopes and dreams to You.

~ C. M.

Excerpted from A Prayer for Every Occasion by Carrie Mars, copyright Zondervan.

Indeed, we need the Lord every moment. Let us draw near to our Creator and Sustainer in love and gratitude for His mercy and grace and life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 18, 2023

Notes of Faith August 18, 2023

The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi: Beginning the Journey

Today's inspiration comes from:

The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi

by Kathie Lee Gifford & Rabbi Jason Sobel

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

— Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

Before I (Kathie Lee) began my new job as co-host of the fourth hour of The Today Show in 2008, I felt the Lord tugging at my spirit with the words of Matthew 6:33: Kathie, seek first My kingdom and My righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I remember responding, “Lord, You know that’s what I am trying to do — put You and Your kingdom first in my life.”

Then I felt Him gently rebuke me: You’re not listening. I said to seek Me first!

“Lord,” I questioned, “do You mean first thing in the morning before anything else?” In my heart, I sensed His clear answer: Yes.

Wow. I already got up earlier than most — usually right before dawn. “Really, Lord?” I said. “Before I go into work?”

Yes. I felt Him tenderly remind me, As you begin your day, so goes your day.

So I began to wake up before 4:00 am and pray for an hour for my family members, friends, colleagues, world situations, and personal concerns. Then I would open the Bible and study God’s Word for an hour more, with my puppies and the birds outside my window as my only company.

Seek Me first!

This new discipline soon became the best part — and my favorite part — of the day. Changing my morning routine has changed my life. I began not only to study the Word but also to memorize as much as I could so that Scripture would become a living, breathing part of me. No textbook needed, no study guide necessary — just the pure, life-giving, sustaining Word of God settled deep in my soul.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 18:30:

As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless.

Friends, this is either a fact or a lie. There is no middle ground. This is why I have grown so passionate about learning what the Bible really says. If I am going to base my life on something, it has to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me, God! But how can we live the truth if we don’t even know it?

The word truth occurs in the Bible over 200 times. God places immeasurable value in it, and He longs for each of us to seek it, find it, and apply it to our lives. All too often we are so overwhelmed by technology, our personal dramas, and our endless ambition that we neglect to study God’s Word. Imagine how it breaks the heart of our heavenly Father, who loves us, when He sees us putting our energy into everything but the one thing that can bring us life.

You have the exciting opportunity to discover the truth of the Bible and learn what many passages in the Bible really mean. You can experience the Rock (Jesus), the Road (the Holy Land), and the Rabbi (the Word of God) in a way you might not have done before. So come deeper as we explore the land of Israel and mine the treasures of God’s Word!

Adapted from The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi, copyright Kathie Lee Gifford.

I will never stop encouraging and challenging people to read/listen/study the Word of God. It is a living book, able to reach the height and depth of all that we are, think, and do. It is the only book that leads to a transformed life…being obedient to the truth within it will make us more like Jesus. If you seek truth, an abundant life, peace, and hope for the future, READ YOUR BIBLE! God will speak to you, draw you to Himself, make you His child, and give you understanding of the things of God. That perspective will bless you now and for all eternity as God opens up the floodgates of blessing for those that love Him. Do you encounter God in your Bible? Spend more time in it for the joy of intimacy with God! More, more, more!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 17, 2023

Notes of Faith August 17, 2023

The Pro-Child Life

Three Ways We Love the Littlest

Article by Scott Hubbard

Editor, desiringGod.org

Ever since Eden, God has given children a crucial role in the coming of his kingdom. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring,” God told the serpent (Genesis 3:15). And so, ever since Eden, there has also been a long and desperate war on children.

The biblical story shows us just how ruthless this world’s anti-child forces can become: Pharaoh casting Israel’s sons in the Nile (Exodus 1:22). Demonic “gods” bidding parents to pass their children through fire (Jeremiah 19:4–5). Herod slaughtering Bethlehem’s boys (Matthew 2:16).

Our own society is not above such bloodshed: more than sixty million invisible headstones (from the last fifty years, and still counting) fill America’s fields. Much of the modern West’s aversion to children appears, however, in subtler forms. Today, we are having fewer children than ever, later than ever. We diminish, and sometimes outright despise, stay-at-home motherhood. And too often, we treat children as mere accessories to our individualism: valuable insofar as they buttress our personal identity and further our personal goals — otherwise, inconvenient.

As Christians, we may be tempted to assume that this war on children exists only out there. But even when we turn from the world of secular individualism and carefully consider ourselves — our hearts, our homes, our churches — we may find strange inclinations against children. We may discover that anti-child forces can hide in the most seemingly pro-child places. And we may realize, as Jesus’s disciples once did, that children need a larger place in our lives.

Pro-Child on Paper

As with most Christians today, the disciples of Jesus grew up in a largely pro-child culture. Their views of children may not have been as sentimental as ours sometimes are, but they knew kids played a key role in God’s purposes. They remembered God’s promise to send a serpent-crushing son (Genesis 3:15). They regularly recited the command to teach God’s word “diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9). They cherished God’s faithfulness to a thousand generations (Exodus 34:7).

But then, one day, some actual children approach the disciples. And as Jesus watches how his men respond, he feels an emotion nowhere else attributed to him in the Gospels: indignation.

They were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant. (Mark 10:13–14)

The disciples likely had the best of intentions. To them, these children (or their parents) were acting inappropriately; they were coming at the wrong time or in the wrong way. Not now, children — the Master has business to attend to. They were about to discover, however, that far from distracting the Master from his business, children lay near the heart of the Master’s business.

In the process, they also warn us that claiming a pro-child position does not mean living a pro-child life. You can theoretically value children and practically neglect them. You can say on paper, “Let the children come,” while saying with your posture, “Let the children keep their distance.” You can look with disdain on the anti-child forces in the world and, meanwhile, overlook the precious children in your midst.

We, like the disciples, may hold pro-child positions. Our churches may have pro-child programs. But actually being pro-child requires far more than a position or a program: it requires the very heart and posture of Christ.

Heart of Christ for Children

“Jesus loved children with a grand and profound love,” Herman Bavinck writes (The Christian Family, 43). And do we? Answering that question may require a closer look at our Lord’s response when the little children came to him.

How might we become more like this Man who made his home among the children, this almighty Lord of the little ones? Among the various pro-child postures we see in Mark 10:13–16, consider three.

1. PRESENCE

First, Jesus created a warm and welcoming presence for children.

Something in the demeanor of Jesus suggested that this Lord was not too large for little children. Young ones apparently hung around him with ease, such that he could spontaneously take a child “in his arms” while resting with his disciples in Capernaum (Mark 9:36). Later, as Jesus enters Jerusalem, children gladly follow him, shouting their hosannas (Matthew 21:15–16). And then in our scene, parents and children approach him apparently without hesitation (Mark 10:13).

“Something in the demeanor of Jesus suggested that this Lord was not too large for little children.”

What about Jesus communicated such an unthreatening welcome? We might note the times he helped and healed children, like the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:41–42) or the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:14–15). Yet these stories are also examples of a far larger pattern in Jesus’s ministry, which was noticeably bent toward those the world might consider “little”: lepers, demoniacs, tax collectors, prostitutes. He was not haughty, but associated with the lowly (Romans 12:16). And children, seeing this lover of lowliness, knew they were not too lowly for him.

If we too want to become a welcome presence for children, we might begin by bending ourselves toward lowliness in general. Upon entering our Sunday gatherings and small groups, and as we move through our cities, do we see the lost and lonely, the bruised and broken? Do we wrap gentleness around vulnerability and bestow honor on weakness? If so, children are likely to notice our humble, bent-down hearts, a presence low enough for them to reach.

2. PRIORITY

Second, Jesus made children a practical priority, giving them generous amounts of his time and attention.

If anyone had good reason to shuffle past the children — “Sorry, kids, not now” — it was Jesus. No one had higher priorities or a loftier mission. No one’s time was more valuable. Yet no one gave his priorities or his time so patiently to those we might see as distractions. On his way to save the world, our Lord paused and “took [the children] in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them” (Mark 10:16). His life and ministry were full, but not too full for children.

In our own lives, prioritizing children calls for active planning, a willingness to devote portions of our schedule to play and pretend. But as Jesus shows us, prioritizing children also calls for responsive receiving, or what we might call living an interruptible life.

Children are master interrupters. Tugs on the jeans and cries from the crib, impulsive addresses and immodest stompings — kids have a way of ruining well-laid plans. The more like Jesus we become, however, the more readily we will embrace our ruined plans as part of God’s good plan. And we will remember that if Jesus could pause to linger with little children, then we too can pause our own important tasks, bend down on a knee, and give children the eye-level attention of Christ.

3. PRAYER

Third, Jesus prayed and pursued children’s spiritual welfare.

When the children came to Jesus, he not only received them and held them; he not only looked at them and spoke to them. He also laid his hands on them and, in the presence of his Father, bestowed a benediction upon their little heads (Mark 10:16).

We don’t know how old the children were, but they were young enough to be brought by their parents (Mark 10:13). They were young enough, too, that the disciples apparently saw little spiritual potential in them. Not so with Jesus. The Lord who loves to the thousandth generation sees farther than we can: he can discern in a child’s face the future adult and budding disciple; he can plant seeds of prayer in fields that may not bear fruit for many years.

Do we invest such patient spiritual care in children? When we pray for our friends, do we bring their little ones, by name, before the throne of grace as well? Do we find creative ways not only to joke and play with the kids in our churches, but also to share Jesus with them in thoughtful, age-appropriate ways? And do our evangelistic efforts take into account the not-yet-believers walking knee-high among us?

Oh, that each of us, parents or not, would join the mothers and fathers in Mark 10, desperate to hand our children into the blessed arms of Christ. When we hear him say, “Let the children come,” may we respond, “We will bring them.”

Posture, Not Programs

If our treatment of children looks more like the disciples’ than our Lord’s, then our problem, at heart, is that we are not yet children at heart. “Let the children come to me,” he says, “for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:14–15). We have become too big; we have outgrown grace. For the doorway into the kingdom is small — so small that we can enter only if we kneel to the height of a little child.

To oppose the anti-child forces in this world, we need more than a pro-life position, a high view of motherhood, and a robust Sunday school program. All these we may have and more, and yet still become the objects of Jesus’s indignation.

We need a posture, a spirit, a kinship with the living Christ, who left the highest place for the lowest, who became a child so we might become children of God. The more we love Jesus, the more we will love children. The more like him we become, the more powerfully will our presence, our priorities, and our prayers say, “Let the children come to him” — and the more the children will come.

The people that cry out, “It’s my body” are not lovers of God, seeking to do His will. They want to engage in immorality and lust without the consequences of a child. The choice to kill that child at any point in a pregnancy is nothing short of murder. Immoral sex is a sin. Killing a child is a sin. All can be forgiven if one comes to Christ in true faith, but the conscience will suffer with memories that cannot be forgotten. Robin and I lost our first child who died in her womb. It is not the same as stopping a life but the pain was just as great. We understand that this child as well as those lives taken will be with God eternally in His home. Many of those who took the lives of those children will not be with God eternally, not because they killed their child, but because they never come to Jesus in faith that they might be saved and receive eternal life. They will be punished eternally for not coming to and believing in Jesus as their Savior. Pray for all women and the men who participated in conceiving a child, that they might give that child an opportunity of a full life, to live and pursue as God ordains for them.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 16, 2023 Part 2

Notes of Faith August 16, 2023 Part 2

Why a Barbie movie now?

A scene from Barbie (Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)

I remember begging my mother to buy me my first Barbie. The price was $2.07 back in 1961, and I just had to have one.

Of course, no one questioned the idea behind Barbie or the fact that she was a huge departure from the typical baby dolls who were plump and squishy. But well-known novelist Jonathan Cahn provides a wealth of unknown context to the origins of the very popular doll which has served as the optimal but unrealistic body-perfect model to which women often aspire to emulate.

In answering the title of this article, “Why a Barbie Movie Now?” Cahn’s clip offers a more than plausible rationale behind the timing. It’s simply uncanny how, after 60 years, a movie based on an iconic doll could be more relevant than ever.

He starts off by discussing the origins of Barbie, depicting how the movie begins and making a case for the message which, in his estimation, “attacks half of the human race and marriage.” He says that the film actually indoctrinates girls against men, as heard from the mouth of Barbie herself, who brazenly declares, “By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance required to be a woman under the patriarchy, you robbed it of its power.”

Cahn assures us that speech of this type is not normal but more in keeping with either a text that can be found in a radical feminist handbook or views which espouse Marxist doctrine. Because that’s already a heavy claim, Cahn warns that while the film purports to be nothing more than pure fun, it’s far from the “children’s entertainment” that it’s billed to be.

He points to terms, such as “patriarchy” and “cognitive dissonance” to back his assertion of propaganda being aimed at impressionable children. He further explains that “patriarchy,” a buzzword of feminists, associated with the world’s evils, is used frequently and purposely throughout the film. Men, per the movie, are nothing more than inferior, useless jerks whose “very dangerous idea” of marriage is exposed as subjugation. That message, however, is soon overcome by the “awareness” that women don’t really need men and, in fact, are able to manage quite well without them. This is the basis under which Cahn says, is a vilification of half the human race, as men are shown to be stupid enough to be easily manipulated and then conquered.

Interestingly enough, one Barbie, in the film, is depicted as transexual, and here is where we learn something that most of us never knew. Barbie is a replica of a 1955 German doll named Bild Lilli that was sold in sex shops. The provocative doll was actually patterned off of a prostitute prototype, wearing a skimpy corset. This same image, although clad in a striped bathing suit, brilliantly appears to the young girls, in the film, playing with ordinary baby dolls, almost as if to enlighten them that there is now a better, more-improved replacement.

Once they become mesmerized by her, they shatter and destroy their old baby dolls as a sign of embracing the new plaything. Here, Cahn makes the shocking symbolic parallel between the rejection and destruction of their baby dolls to today’s rejection of marriage and the destruction of real babies through the very discardable process of abortion.

Cahn goes on to make the comparison of the emasculated men in the Barbie film to Tamuz, the equally emasculated male companion of Ishtar, the young Babylonian goddess of sexuality and prostitution. In that era, men were nothing more than a sidelined accessory to iconic females. Consequently, motherhood and marriage were not compatible with that image.

We finally get to the exquisite and peculiar timing of this movie, which is not at all coincidental in Cahn’s estimation.

Today’s progressive philosophy has been systematically “grinding away at the masculinity of men” by portraying them as creatures with toxic proclivities who are in desperate need of reprogramming in order to soften them and make them worthy of retaining their societal place, alongside the more evolved and civilized women who, thank goodness, are free of those same toxic tendencies.

Male authority is nowhere to be found in this prototype, and with good reason. Men are simply not virtuous enough to be admired.

Cahn’s 2022 book, “The Return of the Gods,” goes into greater detail about “the patriarchy,” explaining that Ishtar’s father was the authority figure with whom she warred, in direct rebellion to his authority. He also attributes the early incremental removal of God from society around the 1960s which, coincidentally, coinciding with the introduction of Barbie. That era birthed the sexual revolution as well as a completely different viewpoint of marriage.

Ever since her successful launch, Barbie enjoyed tremendous popularity, but never more than now, and with good reason. “The success at the box office during the first weekend, combined with positive film reviews and the entire build-up towards Barbie’s release, made it more than a movie. It has become a cultural phenomenon, beating out Oppenheimer at the box office with a record $155 million debut.”

Already, there are talks of a sequel, and why not? Rarely is a goldmine of this caliber struck, and certainly unusual for one that was so unexpected, due to the particular genre of a made-up doll. But if there is any laughing going on, it’s all the way to the bank, because, in addition to the pink-themed movie, the color of Barbie is now green from its massive financial windfall.

It's all tied together so well. The agenda, from emasculating men to liberating women, to establishing a new hierarchy and authority structure, to tearing down traditional family, all culminating in the massive flow of wealth created by Hollywood. Has there ever been such a fortuitous convergence of agendas under one roof? Nothing comes to mind.

So, Barbie, the iconic doll has done the impossible, the message being that no one should underestimate her power – or at least the power behind the deliberate and well-planned message which only took 60 years to come of age in all its fullness.

Read more: CULTURE | MOVIES

Cookie Schwaeber-Issan

A former Jerusalem elementary and middle-school principal and the granddaughter of European Jews who arrived in the US before the Holocaust. Making Aliyah in 1993, she is retired and now lives in the center of the country with her husband.

I have not seen the movie but in talking to those who have it was very apparent that it has a man bashing, family destroying theme. This is a sign of the times for Satan and those who follow him to add to their agenda of going against the design and plan of God. This movie was not made for “fun” but for breaking down the design and plan of God for mankind. Do not be deceived. God will not be mocked. Do not allow Satan to tell you God’s design is not the best for you or the rest of us. Be careful what you see and listen to!

Pastor Dale