Notes of Faith December 11, 2023

Notes of Faith December 11, 2023

Christ Makes Us Rich

Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. — 2 Corinthians 8:9

What do you imagine Heaven is like? With streets of gold and gates of jewels? With peace and love and joy abounding? Can you imagine ever leaving such a place?

Jesus did. Surrounded by the glories of Heaven, Jesus chose to leave.

He left Heaven to go to the poorest people and humblest circumstances — an enslaved nation, a young bride-to-be, a poor carpenter, a manger in a stable. Why?

For our sakes.

No matter how full our bank account, we are poverty-stricken without God. For us, Jesus left Heaven and made Himself poor so that we “might become rich” in God. He’s offering Heaven to you. All you have to do is say yes.

Jesus, You left all the wonders of Heaven — for my sake. “Thank You” just isn’t enough; I give my life to You.

Surrounded by the glories of Heaven, Jesus chose to leave for our sakes.

A Savior is Given

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given... And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

— Isaiah 9:6

God foretold the coming of Jesus long before He came. From the foundation of the world, He knew His beloved Son would humble Himself so that His beloved — but sin-stained — people could be lifted up. Jesus would leave all the might and glory and majesty of Heaven to be born an infant, a babe laid in a dusty manger. The Son of God... given to us.
Jesus is the Cornerstone upon which our faith is built, upon which all the promises of God are kept (Acts 4:11).

He is Wonderful, the Counselor who comforts and guides us. He is our Mighty God, fully divine. And as the Prince of Peace, He brings our hearts a peace that passes all understanding today and a home of eternal peace in Heaven.

All because a Savior is born unto us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Son.

Excerpted from God’s Promises Every Day by Jack Countryman, copyright Jack Countryman.

Hard to think of a child, a helpless baby at that being our Savior…harder still to think that God would send His Son to save us, and that Jesus would leave the glory of heaven and come to meet a need that we caused. Jesus, the suffering servant, the glorious King of kings and Lord of lords … we celebrate you every day!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 10, 2023

Notes of Faith December 10, 2023

What’s the Best Christmas Gift for Your Kids?

Good question.

I’ve tried everything, from ridiculously expensive “must-have” toys like My Size Barbie (a gift that was abandoned as soon as our four-year-old stole all her clothes) to a posture brace for our teenagers that was not, as the advertisement optimistically proclaimed, “virtually invisible” under your clothing.

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children

Looking back on our family’s growing up years, I can’t help but think that a lot of my Christmas mistakes could have been avoided had I stuck with my grandmother's gift-giving strategy. Gammy never gave us anything, at least nothing you could wrap. Instead, she asked her grandkids to memorize a Bible verse for her every year and, in return, she promised to pray for us.

I will admit that, as a teenager, I was less-than-enthused by my grandmother’s scheme. I don't know how I ever memorized any verses, given that my eyes were rolled so far back into my head. Today, though, many of these nuggets are still locked in, and in terms of things like wisdom, joy, and peace I can promise you this: The Bible verses have been a far better — and infinitely more comfortable — support system than even the most discreet posture brace.

I will never know the full impact of Gammy’s prayers, but I am confident that her gift to her grandchildren protected us from all manner of evil we likely deserved — and opened the door to immeasurable blessings we didn’t. And now that I’ve got grandkids of my own, I can’t think of anything I’d rather give them than prayer — the same gift I (finally) learned to give to my children.

So what does it look like, in practical terms, to “give the gift of prayer”?

Every December, I spend some time thinking about each of our kids and grandkids. I consider where they are (spiritually, as well as socially, physically, emotionally, and in other ways), and I ask God to clue me in as to what He might want to do in their lives. And then, because I love the power that comes with praying the scriptures, I go poking around in the Bible. When I find a verse that seems to speak to a child’s particular situation or need, I pick that as an “annual prayer,” personalizing it with his or her name.

Here are a handful of the prayers I’ve relied on over the years:

For a child’s academic or career success: May _______ show aptitude for every kind of learning, be well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve. (Daniel 1:4)

For a child who needs wisdom and guidance: Instruct and teach _______ in the way they should go. (Psalm 32:8)

For a child who wants friends: Surround _______ with good friends who are kind and compassionate, and quick to forgive. (Ephesians 4:32)

For a child to live out their faith in a winsome way: May _______ be wise, shining like the brightness of the heavens and leading many to righteousness. (Daniel 12:3)

When our children were little, I’d trace their hands on a piece of colored cardstock and write out the verse, along with the date. I’d cut out the hand, laminate it, and stick it on the refrigerator, where they’d serve as a visible reminder to me (and to my kids) that God was at work.

Hand Romans 12:10

After a while, when the kids’ hands got so big that they were more creepy than cute on the fridge, I began making bookmarks with the verses instead. And after doing this now for more than twenty years, here is what I’ve discovered.

I’ve discovered that when you commit to spending a whole year praying about one particular thing, you learn to wait well, trusting God even when you can’t see what He is doing. You give Him time to work. And you get out of the way so that He can weave in answers and blessings that you had not even thought to pray for, or that your children needed.

For instance, one year I chose Isaiah 62:2-4 as a prayer verse for our daughter, Hillary. “You will be called by a new name,” this passage says. “No longer will they call you Deserted or name your land Desolate... the Lord will take delight in you and your land will be married.” Hillary was facing some uncertainty in her job at the time, and I wanted her to know that God delighted in her. I wanted God to give her a new name — a new “sense of identity” — and let her know how much she was loved.

God did that, all right. He filled my girl with purpose and joy. He gave her favor at work. And he introduced a young man into the picture — one who became her fiancé that year and then literally gave her his name. Marriage was not even on my radar when I picked that prayer verse — but it was on God’s!

Truth be told, I love gifts you can wrap and tuck under the tree (and if nothing else, the posture brace made every other gift shine by comparison). But as I think about the varied ways we can shower our children with love, I’m increasingly convinced that prayer is the best gift of all. It’s a gift that lasts. It’s one that comes with the power to influence and shape lives. And it brings peace and joy to the giver, knowing that when we come before our heavenly Father on behalf of our children, He can be trusted to accomplish good things in their lives.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Jodie Berndt, author of Praying the Scriptures for Your Children (20th Anniversary Edition), Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens, and Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children.

There never was a greater gift in my life than the gift of those who prayed for me. God hears and answers the prayers of His children and works His miracles through those prayers. I give thanks to all who have and are still praying for me. My own list of people to pray for continues to grow. I do not always see God working in the way I would expect, but He is always working for our good and His glory!

Take time today to pray for those that God has given you in close special relationship!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 9, 2023

Notes of Faith December 9, 2023

Can Death Ever Be Good?

The Grief of Loss and Hope of Heaven

Article by Kathryn Butler

“What do you consider a ‘good death’?”

A furrow creased my eyebrows. The interviewer and I had spent the last ninety minutes discussing the intricacies of end-of-life care, delving into hard topics such as life-support measures, hospice, and advance directives. I navigated those delicate subjects with confidence, but this question so troubled me that I lapsed into silence. “I hate that phrase,” I finally answered.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Why?”

While she awaited my reply, a plethora of faces and voices cluttered my mind. I saw swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. I felt desperate grasps of my arm as loved ones crumpled to the floor in agony. I recalled the questions that hung in the air after the dying drew their last breath. I heard cries of shock and heartbreak echoing on and on, like breakers on a relentless sea.

“Because death is never good,” I said. The memories gripped me, and my voice caught. “Grief testifies to the backwardness of it. That we cry hints at an undoing of God’s created order. He designed us for something different.”

Is Death Ever Good?

The question of a “good death” may seem reasonable, even natural, given shifting views on death in Western countries. In 2021, ten thousand people in Canada died by Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), wherein a doctor assists dying through either euthanasia (administering a lethal dose of medication) or physician-assisted suicide. Canadian law may soon permit people with mental rather than terminal illness to pursue the practice. In other words, those who are otherwise healthy but suffer from psychological conditions, like depression, can seek medical help to end their own lives. In the United States, the legalization of PAS creeps across more and more states yearly.

Such trends hint at an increasingly prevalent viewpoint that death, rather than a terrible consequence of the fall, is a reasonable option to escape suffering. According to this thinking, death can be “good” if it provides relief from pain. What is more, the movement reflects a culture that upholds self-determination as an ultimate good; we live for ourselves, rather than for God.

Dear friend, when you encounter such ideas, remember that Scripture refers to death not as a phase to celebrate, but as the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). Death comes to us all, and God can and does work through even this for good to those who love him (Romans 8:28), but never lull yourself into the lie that death itself is anything but the terrible wages of our sin, from which we desperately need salvation (Romans 6:23). Remember that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Scripture is abundantly clear that we were never meant for death. And lest we forget, the experience of grief — to borrow from C.S. Lewis’s The Problem of Pain — shouts as with a megaphone to remind us.

For Now We Groan

God has confronted me with the harsh realities of death and grief more frequently than I ever would choose. As a trauma surgeon, I witnessed deaths both sudden and prolonged, peaceful and traumatic. Many of these losses imprinted on my memory, the tragedies and sorrows burned into my mind as with a branding iron.

I’ll never forget the mother who cried, “You were supposed to save my baby!” when I couldn’t rescue her young son from his injuries after a car accident. I remember another mother crawling into her daughter’s hospital bed to hold her as she drew her last breath, how her words eked out, strangled by her sobs. I flash back to the wife who clenched her fists and cried out to the sky, the father who fell to the floor and screamed, the families — so many — who held the hands of their loved ones and wept in subdued, hushed tones as the monitor tracing dwindled. Afterward, they would drift out of the room as though stumbling through a dream, their eyes bloodshot, their minds far away and disbelieving.

In all the moments I spent at the bedside of the dying, I witnessed none where pain did not overcome the survivors. Even in deaths that were anticipated, like those among elderly people who had suffered the ravages of long-standing terminal illness, the loss left scars. Families who voiced acceptance of a loved one’s impending death struggled afterward, blindsided by the abrupt absence of someone dear to them. It was as if a part of their heart had been removed suddenly.

What Death Leaves Behind

Weeks after a death, I’ve had loved ones come and express to me surprise that grief had so afflicted them, and at how deeply the hurt coursed. Reminders of a loved one’s quirks — her fondness for emojis, his habit of calling promptly at eight o’clock in the morning — would break into their days, and suddenly their wounds would open anew. They’d struggle even to breathe.

Death does this. Even in the most merciful of scenarios, like the losses for which we feel prepared, death leaves suffering in its wake. Even when it occurs peacefully and quietly, death guts the hearts of those who remain.

The reality of grief — the phenomenon of heartache after we’ve bid someone farewell this side of heaven — hints that we were made for a different world, a different fate. We were created for neither death nor sorrow, but for God, the one who made us in his everlasting image to steward his vibrant creation, to be fruitful, and to multiply (Genesis 1:22, 27). Apart from him, all creation groans (Romans 8:22). Apart from him, the soul balks at the brokenness into which our sin has plunged us and cries out for rescue.

Man of Sorrows

By grace, God provided the rescue for which our souls so desperately thirst (Psalm 42:1–2). And he accomplished our salvation astonishingly, magnificently, remarkably, through “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).

Our Savior knows the burden of grief that so torments us. In Gethsemane, as he anticipated bearing the crushing wrath of God in our place, Jesus was “very sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38), “and being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Even as we cry out and lament, and our hearts break, our hope springs from the work of a Savior who can sympathize with our every pang and tear (Hebrews 4:15). He laid down his life for us, willingly, to free us from the bonds of death that so pain us (John 10:18).

We weep and grieve because our world is fallen, “but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4–5). The sufferings of this world, and our enslavement to sin and death, are precisely why Jesus came. Through the cross, he has overcome the world (John 16:33). Through his resurrection, the wages we once owed have been “swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). We have been “born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Weep No More

The horrors of death and grief point to our experience as Eden’s exiles, displaced from a world without suffering. Through Christ, the world for which we yearn — a world without tragedy and affliction, a world where death mars no complexion and tears dampen no cheek — is not a lofty ideal or childish daydream, but a promise, an assurance, “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4).

Apart from Christ, our “hurt is incurable,” and our “wound is grievous” (Jeremiah 30:12). Yet by Christ’s own wounds — wounds he suffered as he walked “through the valley of the shadow of death” in our place (Psalm 23:4) — we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). Although for now we groan, Christ is making all things new (Revelation 21:5). When we join him in the world for which we were made, in the new heaven and new earth, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Death, that gray shadow harrowing the heart, shall be no more. Grief and sorrow will fade away like withered grass.

And we will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

Kathryn Butler is a trauma and critical care surgeon turned writer and homeschooling mom. She is author of Lost in the Caverns (The Dream Keeper Saga). She and her family live north of Boston.

Death is indeed our enemy that came through sin… “the wages of sin is death” and we will all experience it, unless taken by Jesus to meet Him in the clouds (the rapture of the church, His bride). Life, under the best of circumstances is difficult, with many struggles and heart rending events and then there is death. Were it not for the eternal life offered by Jesus and in Jesus, we would have no hope and only despair. Praise God for His love for us, His compassionate care and daily provision. May even the thought of death, our own or a loved one, draw us closer to the giver of life eternal!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 8, 2023

Notes of Faith December 8, 2023

All Or Nothing!

Overshadowed by the Spirit

by Anne Graham Lotz

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he gave her the startling announcement that the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

When you and I place our faith in Jesus Christ and invite Him to come live within us, the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and the power of God overshadows us, and the life of Jesus is born within us. We do not conceive a physical life but rather the spiritual life of Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit.

It is the indwelling powerful person of the Holy Spirit who sets me free from the habits of sin. But the power I possess to live a life pleasing to God is directly related to how much control of my life I give to the Holy Spirit.

~ Just Give Me Jesus

You either have all of the Holy Spirit or you have none of the Holy Spirit.

Unconditional Surrender

By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

— 1 John 3:24 NKJV

When the Holy Spirit comes into you at your invitation, you receive as much of Him as you will ever have. You do not get a little bit of Him then and a little bit more at later experiences. Since He is a Person, you cannot get Him in pieces. You either have all of the Holy Spirit or you have none of the Holy Spirit. Why is it, then, that He seems to get us in pieces? He comes to us unconditionally, while we surrender to Him conditionally.

We give Him our Sundays but not our Mondays.

We give Him our actions but not our attitudes.

We give Him our relationships but not our reputations. We give Him our time but not our thoughts.

We give Him our burdens but not our bodies.

We give Him our prayers but not our pleasures.

We give Him our crises but not our children.

We give Him our health but not our hearts.

Would you drop the conditions and give Him all of you?

~ Just Give Me Jesus

Excerpted from The Joy of My Heart by Anne Graham Lotz, copyright Anne Graham Lotz.

Having a relationship with Jesus is an all or nothing decision. The in between doesn’t work. Worship, love, serve, are words that call faith into action. Give back your life to the One who gave life to you as you celebrate the season … the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 7, 2023

Notes of Faith December 7, 2023

Angels We Have Heard on High

Many images accompany Christmas — fun and frolic, snow and decorations, laughter and family gatherings — images so ingrained in most people’s minds that they find it difficult to imagine the holiday any other way. Yet, in truth, Christmas only recently became the festive holiday we now cherish. For almost fifteen hundred years, the observation of the birth of Jesus was not recognized on every street corner but left to divinely called men who led a hard and demanding life, toiling in poverty and serving people who understood little about the most elementary facets of Scripture and the life of the soul. Yet these men stayed the course and left their fingerprints on every church of every denomination in the world today.

Monks were and still are solitary men, dedicating every ounce of their being to the Lord and giving up their own families to serve the family of God. Their voices were often the only ones who told of the birth of Christ and their lives the only example of Christian faith. Even to those who knew them, monks were mysterious figures. Their world was one of sacrifice, their sense of duty second only to their humble spirit. Yet from this spirit and life came one of the most beautiful and soaring carols of Christmas.

Much like the lives of most monks, “Angels We Have Heard on High” is a song steeped in great mystery. Unlike other carols whose writers are unknown but whose origins can be clearly traced to a certain time or certain place, this song seemingly appeared out of the air. Because the first to sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” lived in nineteenth century France, many believe that it must have originated there. In fact, most sources today call it a French carol.

Yet even that assumption is often called into question by songologists. What can be stated with absolute certainty is that this Christmas song must have been penned by a person who had a professional knowledge of the Bible and an incredible gift for taking Scripture and reshaping it into verse. This fact, combined with the use of Latin in the song’s chorus — making it a macaronic carol — seems to indicate that a monk or priest from the Catholic church was more than likely responsible for writing “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains, in reply, Echoing their joyous strains.

Chorus: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? Say what may the tidings be, Which inspire your heav’nly song?

Chorus

Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Chorus

See within a manger laid, Jesus, Lord of heav’n and earth! Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, With us sing our Savior’s birth.

Chorus

“Gloria in excelsis Deo” means, in English, “Glory to God in the highest,”

Because the first published versions of the song used French for the verses, many have naturally assumed that its writer was a priest from France. Yet there is evidence that at least part of this great Christmas hymn was sung before Christianity took deep root in western Europe. A portion of the carol was used in early Christian church services even before the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the state religion.

“Angels We Have Heard on High” was first published in 1855 in the French songbook Nouveau recueil de cantiques, and records indicate that the song had been used in church masses for more than fifty years before that publication.

During those five decades the lyrics were coupled with the melody that is still used today. Except for the verses translated into languages other than French, today the song is sung just as it was a hundred and fifty years ago. Yet for maybe a thousand years or more before that, monks probably sang this same song as they celebrated the birth of the Savior. The story may well be as old as the church itself.

The song’s four verses embrace the angels’ visit to the lowly shepherds and the shepherds’ response. For many biblical scholars, the angels coming to men who worked menial jobs in the fields and informing them of the birth of the Son of God symbolizes that Christ came for all people, rich or poor, humble or powerful.

The angels’ words in Luke 2, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” paired with Jesus’ own parables concerning shepherds and their flocks, symbolizes that it would be the common man and not kings or religious leaders who would first carry the story of Jesus’ life to the masses.

But while the shepherds’ story of why they came to see the babe in the manger is easily identified in all the stanzas, for many who sing this old song, the chorus is an enigma.

“Gloria in excelsis Deo” means, in English, “Glory to God in the highest,”

a phrase that played an important part of worship at church masses dating back to 130 A.D. During that period, Pope Telesphorus issued a decree that on the day of the Lord’s birth all churches should have special evening services. He also ordered that, at these masses, after the reading of certain Scripture or the conclusion of specific prayers, the congregation should always sing the words “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

Historical church documents reveal that monks carried this executive order throughout the land and that by the third century it was a practice used by most churches at Christmas services.

It can be argued that if the chorus was written within a hundred years of Christ’s birth, the roots of “Angels We Have Heard on High” might go back to someone who actually knew Jesus when He walked on earth. Though unproved, it is a very interesting and inspiring idea and ties in to the selfless image of a called member of the clergy bringing faith alive in order to spread the message of Jesus Christ’s birth, life, and death.

Another facet of this carol that would seem to tie at least its chorus to the very early Catholic church is the range of notes found in the chorus. While most modern carols move up and down and cover at least an octave and a half, thus testing the upper or lower limits of the average singer, the phrase “Gloria in excelsis Deo” barely moves at all. In addition, the melody used by the song never strays more than one octave and the verse moves through only six notes. This simplicity seems to tie the melody to early chants used by monks and taught to their congregations.

Webster defines a chant as “singing or speaking in a monotone to a hymn-like repetitive melody.” Using this approach, important elements of worship were passed on from person to person and generation to generation in the oral tradition. In a day when few read words — much less music — chants helped keep the gospel alive among the common people.

Of all the carols born in the chanting tradition, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” was one of the easiest and least challenging, despite the fact that the word “gloria” covers three measures and hits almost twenty different notes. Unlike others, which failed to inspire as they taught, this song lifted hearts while telling the story. It embraced the spirit that a called man of God would have felt as he gave up everything to serve his Lord.

So why has this carol of unknown origin remained so popular for so long? Though the tune may be considered monotonous, when the simple text is read it becomes obvious that few Christmas songs so fully describe the joy that the world felt when a Savior was born in Bethlehem. The lyrics don’t just ask the singer to lift up his or her eyes and heart in wonder and observe the beauty of what God has given the world, they demand it. There can be no doubt that whoever wrote “Angels We Have Heard on High” not only believed the words found in the Bible, but relished that belief.

Ultimately, it is the sensitive retelling of the angel-shepherd story that carries this song and has made it one of the world’s most popular Christmas carols. As Kenneth W. Osbeck wrote in his devotional book, Amazing Grace, “The Bible teaches that angels are the ministering servants of God and that they are continually being sent to help and protect us, the heirs of salvation.”

“Angels We Have Heard on High” speaks of the incredible, special relationship between Heaven and earth, God and man, like few songs ever have. It embraces one of the most important elements of faith just as the shepherds embraced the Good News they were given two thousand years ago.

The mystery of who wrote this song points back to the lives of all those who are called to spread the gospel, to keep the story alive, to provide a means for people everywhere to hear and know the message that came to earth on that first Christmas. One of those nameless servants wrote this song to share the story with others. Though he has long been forgotten, what he believed is alive in not only his song but in hundreds of millions of souls around the world. His prayer has been answered: the angels are still heard, the Savior still welcomed, and the soul still stirred.

Excerpted from Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins, copyright Andrew Collins.

Christmas carols tell the story of Jesus and bring us joy, celebration, and hope for God has given us a Savior, Himself, to live among us. Let us rejoice, give thanks, and sing, or make a joyful noise, singing all of the carols we can during this blessed season!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 6, 2023

Notes of Faith December 6, 2023

The Last Christmas!

Hello Dale,

What thoughts does the title of this Praiseletter create in your mind? What if, in fact, you knew or strongly supposed that this Christmas would be the last Christmas? What would change, and how differently would you approach this coming holiday season celebrating the birth of Christ?

Initially, while contemplating writing this last letter of the year, which by the way is Praiseletter #245, dating all the way back to 1981, I thought of just titling it Merry Christmas. It occurred to me that just writing a warm Christmas greeting to all of our dear friends, reflecting on some of the memories of the past year and past Christmases, and directing our focus once again on the real meaning of Christmas might be enough.

Linda and I do want to sincerely wish for you and yours a truly Merry Christmas. We want to somehow express to you how much your friendship and partnership with our ministry means to us. We see all the letters, emails, and posts that assure us of your love, your prayers, and your support. Thank you is not an adequate expression of our gratitude, but from the bottom of our hearts (to the top)...Thank you!

The beautiful handmade cards and pictures we receive from Craig and Sheri adorn our tabletops and desks. They bring blessing and beauty to our lives! Rick and Melodie hold the record for most Dallas Holm concerts attended...over one hundred and counting. Their Christmas and birthday cards, their encouragement, and their friendship are a gift of far greater value than anything that will lay under our Christmas tree.

Ed and Pauline send us a note every month assuring us of their love and prayers. This genuine love was expressed so tangibly a few years back when, while ministering near where Ed and Pauline live, our son Jeffrey was struck for the first time with a severe panic attack while traveling with me. Not knowing what was happening, we took Jeffrey to the ER for assessment. While waiting on doctors, nurses, and test results, Ed and Pauline sat in the waiting room and prayed for us. I’m pretty good with words, but I simply have no words to express what that act of love meant to us.

I could go on and on with similar stories and accounts of love, encouragement, and support expressed by so many just like you! I wish I could. Linda and I see and know your names. We read what you write. We’re aware of your unwavering and often longtime support of our ministry. Again...thank you!

We, therefore, do wish you a very Merry Christmas. But...what if this is the last Christmas? Why would I ask such a question? We know this: one day there will be a last Christmas. Why not this one?

Is there anything that would suggest we might be coming to the “finish line”? If your eyes and ears are open, if you’ve been paying attention, especially in the last couple years, you must have noticed the increase in evil, the violence, and depravity that is on full display all around us, and the acquiescence to such sinfulness by those in governmental authority and even in church leadership. Scripture is pretty clear about what the world will look like before Jesus returns. What we’re seeing play out all around us on a daily basis seems to fit the biblical description of the end times, does it not?

On October 7th, we saw the horrific, unspeakable, and unimaginable atrocities visited upon Israeli citizens by terrorists of the worst kind. As we’ve heard the reports and witnessed the reality of babies being slaughtered on October 7th, we too remember the slaughter of babies by Herod around the time of Christ’s birth. Evil persists!

As I write this letter, the war rages on and strongly hints at expanding into a much larger, if not global, conflict. We are accelerating towards the “finish line” it seems to me. I’ve lived in Texas for many years now. I like to think that perhaps at this very moment, if we could peer into Heaven, we would see them “saddling up the horses,” getting “ready to ride,” if I can put it in Texas terms.

I believe in the Rapture, or “catching away,” of the saints...the true Church. Paul instructs the church of Thessalonica concerning this matter when he writes, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord” I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

This is not referring to the Second Coming when Christ returns to earth with the saints. I believe this “catching away” to meet Him in the air occurs before the Great Tribulation. I know there are several different views on these events. I have very dear friends, for whom I have the utmost respect and appreciation, who believe the church will go through the tribulation.

There’s so much we could discuss about this, but let me just offer that in view of the fact that the Great Tribulation is an outpouring of the wrath of God, such as the world has not seen; it seems inconsistent to view the cross as the place where God’s wrath toward sin was satisfied “once for all,” only to be revisited upon the redeemed in the time of the Great Tribulation.

I realize I will probably receive letters and emails offering differing opinions on this matter, but that is, in its simplest form, my understanding of these events.

Why do I share this at this time? Because no matter how you view the chronology of these end times events, I believe we can all agree that what we are witnessing on the world’s stage strongly suggests the end is near. I don’t know when the Lord will return, nor do you. However, we do know this; that we are far closer to His return than any people have ever been!

So...back to the original intent of this letter. What if this is the last Christmas?

Would you spend more money on bigger presents? Would you decorate your house more extravagantly? Would you get a bigger tree and have a better Christmas party?

I suspect that none of these things would matter much if this was the last Christmas. Let’s be encouraged and challenged more to consider with greater clarity and passion our being given the greatest gift ever! Let us look for ways to share that most precious gift of Jesus with others.

Last of all, let us discern by the truth of His Word and His Spirit that indwells us, the signs of the times, that are brighter and clearer than the most extravagant display of Christmas lighting!

Let’s celebrate the season and focus on its true significance as though it was The Last Christmas! It may just be.

In Christ,

Dallas Holm

What if this was the last Christmas? One year in our understanding of time this will take place. How will we respond to God as we see more clearly the signs of the times jumping from the pages of our Bible. Those that are saved by God’s grace through faith, will we become more bold in sharing truth and leading people to the throne of grace? Will we dig deep into the earth to hide from the evil that is all around us? If this happens to be the last Christmas celebration (the birth of Christ), we have little time to do the work of an evangelist, to speak truth, to bring God’s desire for people to repent of their sin, and come to Him for forgiveness, healing of their soul, and eternal salvation. There are many that you know that do not know or believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We have much work to do and the time is getting shorter!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Fatih December 5, 2023

Notes of Faith December 5, 2023

Jesus: God in the Flesh

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

It is not usually an easy transition to go from thinking God is a distant, supreme being to realizing that in Jesus, the world has seen and interacted with the Lord of all Creation. I have found that whenever I talk about the divinity of Christ, people have questions about what I mean. I recall being seated at a luncheon one day and a lady said, “For over sixty years I went to church, and I heard about Jesus. I thought I knew about Him. Until one Sunday when I turned on the In Touch program. All of a sudden, I realized I didn’t really know who He was at all.

Is Jesus really God?”

Of course, the fact that Jesus Christ is God is the foundational truth we celebrate at Christmas: the incarnation of the Lord God Almighty becoming flesh in the Person of Jesus in that stable in Bethlehem. Yet, it is understandable that people have trouble reconciling the fact that Jesus is fully divine while also being completely human. After all, the manner by which the Lord is presented to us in the Old Testament is awesome for sure — He is the eternal, everlasting, almighty, living God; the Great I Am; the Most High Sovereign of all that exists, who is absolutely holy, infinite in power, and unfailingly faithful.

We often learn about Him in the Old Testament by His Hebrew names, Elohim, Adonai, El Shaddai, and Yahweh Yireh — titles that are beautiful and powerful, but somewhat distant and mysterious to us. Yet Jesus is so kind, loving, and approachable. He is the Good Shepherd, the Great Physician, and the Lamb of God. Whenever we read about Him interacting with others, He is so relatable, down to earth, and compassionate — always sacrificially willing to teach, heal, and redeem.

The obvious question is how can Jesus and the Father both be God when we understand them as distinct? How can the powerful hands that forcefully carved the mountains and canyons be the same that gently touched the eyes of the blind man to restore his sight? Scripture reveals that the Almighty is Trinity — one God, yet three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We use the term persons because each has a unique role and expression in the Godhead. Though the three Persons of the Trinity are all fully God, they are not three deities. Rather, together they are one God, operating in perfect union and communion in one essence.

It is true Jesus was completely human, but the wonderful, supernatural mystery is that He was also wholly divine. Believing this is absolutely essential for your faith. He is both the One who set the holy standard for salvation and the One who fulfills it on our behalf. And Jesus does this because as fully God and fully man, He is the only One who can.

Hail th’ incarnate Deity!

But what we need to understand is that Jesus came to reveal the true nature of God the Father to humanity. Jesus is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature. In other words Jesus shows us what it looks like when our divine, all-powerful, incomprehensibly awesome God interacts with us on a personal level. Christ said it Himself:

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. — John 14:9

When you look at who Jesus is throughout Scripture, you are observing that the Lord is a God of mercy, loving-kindness, holiness, justice, wisdom, redemption, healing, and power in bodily form. And when you know who He truly is, you understand why He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.

Some people say they’re Christians but don’t acknowledge the divinity of Christ. They think He was simply a good teacher, philosopher, social reformer, or healer. I want to be crystal clear on this matter: you can believe all of these wonderful things about Jesus, but if you do not accept that Jesus Christ is God the Son and that He is the only One who can save you from your sins, then you do not actually know Him.

The Jesus who reached out to others in Scripture is the same God in Heaven who calls to you, offering love, redemption, wisdom, guidance, and healing no matter what you’ve done or what you face. Therefore, take time today to appreciate Him for who He really is.

A Moment of Reflection

Look up and write out what we learn about Jesus in the following verses:

Hebrews 1:1–3

Colossians 1:15–20

How does understanding who Jesus is impact what you are facing today? Is there anything He cannot handle?

Spend time praising God for who He is.

A Gift for Today

The kind, loving, and approachable Jesus is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God — and He is always willing to help you, guide you, teach you, heal you, and redeem you.

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord:

Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,

Hail th’ incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the new-born King!”

~ “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” original lyrics by Charles Wesley1

1. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” original lyrics by Charles Wesley, hymnal.net, accessed March 4, 2022, https://www.hymnal.net/en /hymn/h/84.

Excerpted from The Gift of Jesus by Charles F. Stanley, copyright Charles F. Stanley.

If Jesus is not God, you and I are rebellious sinners, haters of God and truth, having nothing to look forward to but judgment and eternal punishment to pay the debt for sin. Hallelujah that Jesus is God! Only God could pay the debt we owe. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy of the Messiah, the Son of God, Immanuel, God in human flesh, giving Himself to redeem us, provide forgiveness, and power for holy living in an unrighteous world, and the promise of eternal life with Him without the presence of sin! Amen!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 4, 2023

Notes of Faith December 4, 2023

Searching the Night for a Light

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” — Matthew 1:22-23

On the night when Jesus was born, I wonder if Joseph ever prayed, “Father, this all seems so… bizarre. The angel you sent? Any chance you could send another? If not an angel, maybe a person? Some company would be nice. Even a shepherd would do.”

Perhaps he did. Perhaps he didn’t. But you probably have.

You’ve stood where Joseph stood. Caught between what God says and what makes sense. You’ve done what He told you to do only to wonder if it was Him speaking in the first place. You’ve stared into a sky blackened with doubt. And you’ve asked what Joseph asked.

You’ve asked if you’re still on the right road. You’ve asked if you were supposed to turn left when you turned right. And you’ve asked if there is a plan behind this scheme.

Things haven’t turned out as you thought they would.

Each of us knows what it’s like to search the night for a light. Not outside a stable, but perhaps outside an emergency room or on the manicured grass of a cemetery. We’ve asked our questions. We’ve questioned God’s plan. And we’ve wondered why God does what He does.

The Bethlehem sky was not the first to hear the pleadings of a confused pilgrim.

If you are asking what Joseph asked, let me urge you to do what Joseph did. Obey. That’s what he did. He obeyed when the angel called, when Mary explained, and when God sent.

Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world.

He was obedient when the sky was bright… and when it was dark.

He didn’t let his confusion disrupt his obedience. He didn’t know everything. But he did what he knew. He shut down his business, packed up his family, and went to another country. Why? Because that’s what God said to do.

What about you? Just like Joseph, you can’t see the whole picture. Just like Joseph, your task is to see that Jesus is brought into your part of the world. And just like Joseph, you have a choice: to obey or disobey. Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world.

Can He do the same with you?

God still looks for Josephs today. Men and women who believe that God is not through with this world. Common people who serve an uncommon God.

Will you be that kind of person? Will you serve… even when you don’t understand?

No, the Bethlehem sky was not the last to hear the pleadings of an honest heart. And perhaps God didn’t answer every question for Joseph. But He answered the most important one. “Are you still with me, God?” And through the first cries of the God-child the answer came.

“Yes, Joseph. I’m with you.”

Through the small face of the stable-born Baby, He says yes.

Yes, your sins are forgiven. Yes, your name is written in Heaven. Yes, death has been defeated. And yes, God has entered your world.

Immanuel. God is with us.

~ He Still Moves Stones

Excerpted from In the Manger by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

We must strive to keep “God with us” in our heart every day…because He is!

He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is the only promise giver that never fails. God is indeed good all the time! Remember, any time of year and through any and every circumstance that God is with you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 3, 2023

Notes of Faith December 3, 2023

It’s hard not to be intrigued and impressed by Mary. She was just a teenager, some estimates say between 13 and 16 years old, when an angel appeared to her. I can just imagine how a teen today would have reacted if an angel of the Lord showed up in their room. My guess is that the immediate response would be fear, screams, or crying. The sheer overwhelming nature of the experience would be enough to cause that reaction.

However, when the angel appears and brings a joyful message—“Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”—the Bible says that Mary was “troubled.” The angel even encouraged her with, “Do not be afraid.”

One would expect that Mary would struggle with this revelation and abrupt change in her life’s path. After all, things seemed to be going OK. She was even engaged to a man named Joseph, but now she would be the gossip of the town. A scandal like an unwed pregnancy would not go unnoticed, and answering the critics by saying that an angel visited her would likely cause more questions than answers.

But Mary was clearly no normal teenager!

After her initial response, Mary embraces her calling as the earthly mother of Jesus. In what is called “The Song of Mary” (Luke 1:46-55), we see a young woman who considers herself blessed, who rejoices!

Of course, the story doesn’t end there, and things don’t get any easier. Mary, at the end of her pregnancy, must endure the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, at the end of which she delivers the Christ child in a manger.

Was she bitter? Did she shout at God, “You did this to me, and now you can’t even give me a decent place to give birth? Not even one room?”

No, as she held her child, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, she pondered all that had taken place, keeping it in her heart.

As you enter this Advent season, maybe this year hasn’t gone how you planned. Maybe you expected your life to be much different than it is. Perhaps you’re even mad at God and blame Him for your circumstances.

If so, it’s OK to be troubled, but I invite you to do as Mary did and rejoice in the midst of your pain. Lay it all at the feet of the One who came to save you, whose birth we celebrate. Despite the struggles, Mary considered herself blessed because of what God did for her, and you can, too, as you ponder how He has blessed you.

Discussion Questions: In what ways has the past year been a struggle? How have you seen God work through your situation? Are you able to worship Jesus in the midst of the challenges?

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, and for the hope that He gives us. Even when our lives take difficult or unexpected turns, we can still find our joy and peace in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture Reference: Luke 1:26-36

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Luke 2:1-7

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:19-20

19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Find peace with God this Christmas season.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 2, 2023

Notes of Faith December 2, 2023

The Supper and the Self

How Communion Reshapes Identity

Article by Kevin P. Emmert

Desiring Gid contributor

Identity — it is one of our society’s greatest obsessions today. Even we Christians can preoccupy ourselves with knowing who we are and what our purpose is. This pursuit is not altogether bad. The desire to understand who we are and what we are here for is natural and God-given. The problem arises when we look in the wrong places to discover our identity and purpose.

Many look to social media, self-help resources, life coaches, models of the psyche — you name it — for direction and affirmation. We may even naively accept mantras like “Be true to yourself” and “You do you,” thinking we can determine our own identities and express them however we want. But such paths lead only to more confusion and despair.

If we as Christians want to understand who we are, we must look to Jesus Christ. As the God-man, he is the true revelation of both God and of humanity. He alone can reveal to us who we are. And one concrete way he reveals our identities is through his appointed Supper.

People Who Remember

The Lord’s Supper, along with baptism, is one of the most debated Christian practices. Believers from various traditions disagree over what exactly happens during the meal; we also disagree over how frequently it should be celebrated. Despite such disagreements, all Christians agree on at least this: the Lord’s Supper is a meal whereby we remember who Christ is and what he has done for us (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25).

Many of us do not realize, however, that the Lord’s Supper is also a time when we remember who we are in Christ. In a key way, the Table strengthens our identity in him. Indeed, Christ himself forms and fortifies our identity in this meal because he is present to us and lives in us (John 14:20, 23; 17:23, 26). Just as food and drink strengthen the body, so Christ’s body and blood, received by faith, strengthen our souls in a way that helps us understand ourselves.

The Lord’s Supper shapes our identity in part because the meal is analogous to the Passover. The Passover was a ritual feast whereby the Israelites meditated on God’s saving actions and reassured themselves of who they were as God’s people. They identified themselves with the exodus generation every time they celebrated the rite.

When Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples on the night before his death, he did far more than identify with the exodus generation; he gave the meal greater significance because he was about to accomplish his mission as the true Passover Lamb. Just as the historical exodus and old covenant defined Israel’s existence, so Christ enacted a new exodus and a new covenant that now defines our existence in him — our very identity and way of life. And when Jesus commanded us to eat in remembrance of him (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25), he was not instructing us to simply ponder past events, just as he was not simply recalling the exodus when he celebrated the Passover with his disciples.

Many today think that to remember is to merely think about something from the past. But biblically, to remember involves bringing the past into the present and allowing the past to actively shape the present. So, when we remember Christ in the Supper, we are not thinking about someone who is absent and disconnected from us. Rather, we are, by faith, identifying with and being shaped by someone who is with us — indeed, in us.

Because remembrance is an act of identification, we identify with Christ when we partake of the Holy Meal. Like the Passover, therefore, the Supper shapes our identity. When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we taste who we are: people loved and redeemed by the Lord of all life. We belong to him, and we are made to be like him. And when we feast on Christ by faith, he transforms us more and more into his own image.

People Who Commune

Because we belong to the Lord Jesus and are made to be like him, we cannot find our true identity by looking inside ourselves. The Lord’s Supper subverts the notion that identity is an individualistic enterprise because in this meal we participate with Christ. “The cup of blessing that we bless,” Paul writes, “is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Thus, many Christians rightly call this meal Communion. By it, we fellowship with Christ and remember that we are people who live in vital connection with Christ — like branches joined to the vine or a body to the head (John 15:1–6; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).

And as people united to Christ, we are also united to other Christians. Paul explains, “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). We participate in Christ as well as in the life of the church, who is vitally connected to Christ the head. Paul continues, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). By sharing this meal, we declare to both ourselves and one another that we are communing persons: we belong to Christ and each other.

We are not isolated selves. We do not have the inner resources to become whoever we want to be. Nor do we have leeway to live however we want. We are joined to the Lord Almighty, who alone has a rightful claim on all creation. And we belong to the body of Christ, the community of faith that shapes us and shows us how to live.

People Who Proclaim

Because we are people joined to Christ and his body, the church, our purpose in life is not to self-actualize and self-gratify. We have been chosen and redeemed so that we may joyfully serve and glorify God.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim Christ’s death until he returns (1 Corinthians 11:26). Yet such proclamation is not limited to our sharing in this meal of thanksgiving — thus the name Eucharist (from the Greek word for thanksgiving). As persons who participate in Christ, we are called to proclaim him with our entire lives. As we eat the bread and drink the cup, God reminds us that we are called to be eucharistic persons, persons who gratefully proclaim the goodness of Christ crucified with all we are in all we do.

Our purpose in life, therefore, is not to express ourselves but to express Christ. Our focus ought to be on him and not ourselves because he is our life (Colossians 3:4), and the life we now live we live by faith in him (Galatians 2:20).

When we receive the Lord’s Supper, we remember that our lives are not our own. We do not exist for ourselves, and we do not live for ourselves. We live for and with Christ, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

When we receive the Supper, we remember that we have died with Christ in baptism and that he bids us take up our crosses in daily death to self, just as he humbled himself throughout his earthly life and ultimately gave himself on the cross on our behalf. We are united with the truly self-sacrificial one so that we too may live self-sacrificially — for the good of others and to the glory of God. When we continually die to ourselves, in this meal and in our daily lives, we become more like him, the true human. When we conform to him, we become more authentically human. This is where the Supper leads us.

The seemingly mundane elements of the Lord’s Supper force us to reimagine who we are. They reveal that we are a people who belong to Christ, a people identified with Christ, a people shaped by Christ, and a people becoming like Christ. We are redeemed by him, and we exist for him. He is our life, and he determines our identity. When we look to Christ in this most holy of meals, we see more clearly who Christ is and who we are in him. And as we commune with him, we become more like him. The Table truly reshapes and fortifies our identity.

We practice a three-fold communion that imitates the last Passover meal/first Lord’s Supper. In it, we celebrate the ministries of Christ, past, present, and future.

We share a meal together looking to the future ministry of Christ, making us complete and bringing us to Himself to live eternally with Him. We look at the marriage supper of the Lamb with His redeemed church and see the glory and blessing coming when all believers and followers will share in the glory of God together, forever.

We wash one another’s feet in remembrance of our Lord’s present ministry. We celebrate His continuing work of sanctification in our lives. We are clean, Jesus said. But we still sin. We still get our feet dirty in our earthly walk. We confess. We pray to live a more holy life, to more closely follow and imitate our Lord each day. He also teaches us in washing His disciple’s feet to be servant leaders. We have been saved to serve both God and mankind.

We participate in eating the bread and drinking the cup remembering the past ministry of Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. We identify with His death, paying our debt of sin, remembering our true communion, He in us, and we in Him. We strive to put sin to death and live for Christ.

We celebrate what Christ has done, is doing, and has promised to do, when we come together for communion with God. It is a time of greatest closeness, reverence, adoration, worship, of giving praise and thankfulness to God.

This kind of celebration should be taking place in our hearts every day even though we do not go through the process of a meal, a foot-washing, or partaking of the bread and cup. The ministries of Jesus should be a remembrance that is a growing fire of faith, hope and love that makes us more like Him. Let’s celebrate Jesus every day!

Pastor Dale