Notes of Faith March 12, 2024

Notes of Faith March 12, 2024

‘Baptism Now Saves You’

The Meaning of a Misunderstood Text

I know that this is a little deep theologically for some of you. Please try to wade through it, ask questions of the Holy Spirit to give you illumination, or even ask this lowly pastor to help think through tough Scriptures. Please try to read and understand all of this…

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Throughout church history, 1 Peter 3:21 has proved to be one of the more challenging texts to interpret in all of Scripture. Not only does the verse appear in one of the more puzzling paragraphs in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:18–22), but Peter seems to depict baptism as actually being salvific. How does baptism save us?

As is the case with so many difficult texts in Scripture, persistently pressing on the biblical text sheds light on its meaning — in this case, that baptism is not regenerative in itself, but powerfully expresses the individual’s faith in the sufficiency of Christ to save.

Righteous Sufferers Will Be Exalted

In the immediate context of the verse, Peter’s main point is that faithful Christian suffering results in eternal blessing. Christians are “blessed” if they suffer for the sake of righteousness (1 Peter 3:14), and they should deem it “better” to suffer for doing good (1 Peter 3:17).

The word “for” at the outset of verse 18 is crucial, for it shows that 1 Peter 3:18–22 grounds why Christians should believe such suffering is “better.” Verses 18–22 recount the story of Christ, who suffered and died (verse 18a) but who then was “made alive,” proclaimed victory, and ascended to God’s right hand (verses 18b–22). Though Christ is unique in that he accomplished redemption through his death and resurrection, he also serves as an example for us to follow (see 1 Peter 2:21). Just as Christ’s suffering led to his exaltation, so too will our righteous suffering.

In the midst of Christ’s story, Peter offers Noah as another example of a righteous sufferer whom God exalted in due time. In contrast to those in Noah’s generation who had disobeyed, Noah and those with him — they numbered eight in all — “were saved through water” (verse 20). Peter then draws out a typological relationship between the flood and baptism: the flood is the type and baptism the antitype, the latter of which “now saves you” (verse 21).

Just as Noah and his family were delivered by means of the ark “through water,” so Christians are delivered by means of Christ through baptism. In this sense, since Noah’s salvation typifies ours through Christ, Peter includes it at this point in his letter to help us grasp more clearly our own salvation through Christ and to ground more firmly our hope for future exaltation.

With this context in mind, what does it mean that baptism saves a person? Does baptism save apart from faith, or does baptism express faith? Do the baptismal waters in themselves wash away sin and infuse new life into the baptized, or is baptism a metonymy (a figure of speech that stands for the thing it represents) for Christ’s saving work that we receive by faith, which is expressed in baptism?

Does Baptism Actually Save?

One of the major interpretations of 1 Peter 3:21 is that Peter teaches some version of baptismal regeneration. According to Roman Catholicism’s understanding of the verse, for example, baptism is salvific in three ways: it washes away sin, grants new life to the baptized, and admits the baptized into the church.

In its purifying function, according to this view, baptism washes away both original sin and actual, pre-baptismal sins. The baptismal waters wash away both the guilt and the condemnation of sin. In its regenerative function, baptism infuses new life into the baptized so that the individual is actually and really dead to sin and granted a share in eternal life. In its ecclesiological function, baptism admits the baptized into the church, the communion of the saints, outside of which there is no salvation.

Baptism, then, conveys saving grace in that God’s grace becomes effective to the individual in baptism, for what baptism “signifies” it “actually brings about” in the baptized (Catechism of the Catholic Church §1234). According to Thomas Aquinas, the sacraments, of which baptism is the first, “effect what they signify,” not as the principal cause (which is God alone), but as the instrumental cause of God’s saving grace (Summa Theologica 3.62.1). This view of the sacraments, sometimes labeled ex opere operato (“by the work worked”), places the efficacy of the sacrament in the act itself. In this sense, the Roman Catholic interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21 is that baptism is necessary for salvation because baptism in itself actualizes salvation.

While Roman Catholicism’s interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21 may account for Peter’s straightforward claim that baptism saves the individual, it fails to account adequately for two features in the text: (1) the typological relationship between the flood and baptism (1 Peter 3:20–21a) and (2) the close association between faith and baptism (1 Peter 3:21b).

What Do the Waters Picture?

Regarding baptism’s typological relationship to the flood, the flood was not the means of salvation per se, but the occasion for salvation through the ark. Baptism certainly represents cleansing from sin, but it also evokes salvation through judgment. In the ancient context, large bodies of water and floodwaters were foreboding and dangerous because they were uncontrollable elements in nature that often brought destruction. Peter’s link between baptism and the flood is meant to draw out the link between baptism and judgment.

The flood was God’s judgment on humanity for sin, and Noah and his family were saved because they were in the ark. While in some sense Noah’s salvation included his deliverance from the corruption of those around him, at a more fundamental level he was delivered from the floodwaters of death by means of the ark. In this sense, the floodwaters in themselves worked judgment, whereas the ark worked salvation for Noah and his family in the midst of judgment.

Peter’s link between the flood and baptism suggests that baptism operates in similar ways. Like the flood, the waters of baptism in themselves evoke judgment; they are not the means of salvation per se, but they signify the occasion in which God worked salvation for his people through Christ. Further, just as the ark was the formal means of salvation for Noah and his family, believers are saved “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (verse 21). The mode of immersion poignantly portrays such salvation through judgment, for immersion evokes both the overwhelming floodwaters of judgment (as the person is submerged) and the salvation from judgment the baptized receives through Christ (as the person emerges).

This observation about the typological relationship between the flood and baptism suggests that Peter did not conceive of baptism as effectual in itself. According to the typology, baptism is not an ex opere operato mechanism by which the baptismal waters effect what they signify. Rather, the typology points to Christ, who like the ark saves us in the midst of God’s judgment through his death and resurrection on our behalf. Since baptism signifies our union to Christ in his death and resurrection (see Romans 6:3–4), baptism is an apt metonymy for Christ’s saving work that draws our attention to the image of salvation and judgment as typified in the flood.

Baptism as Faith Expressed

The baptismal waters do not convey saving grace in themselves, for baptism, in expressing the faith of the baptized, inexorably contains a subjective element. Baptism is not the “removal of dirt from the body but . . . an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:21b). The contrast between the “body” and the “conscience” points to an outward versus inward reality.

Peter wants us to see that the significance of baptism is not the outward washing of water but that which is inward. Peter’s point isn’t to minimize water baptism — quite the opposite! Rather, the water is an outward reality that corresponds to a greater inward reality. The inward reality is “a good conscience,” which refers to a conscience unburdened by guilt and an awareness of sins forgiven and a righteous standing before God. Since Peter identifies baptism as an “appeal” or a “request” for a good conscience (these words offer a better translation than “pledge”), baptism is the act through which the individual requests forgiveness and cleansing from a guilty conscience, a request made in the presence of God and God’s people.

Such an understanding of baptism shows its inextricable link with faith in Christ, since Peter clarifies that baptism is the individual’s expression of faith in the sufficiency of Christ’s death and resurrection on his behalf. If the Roman Catholic view of baptismal regeneration were true (in which the sign actualizes the thing signified), it is difficult to see why Peter would downplay the baptismal water itself and instead draw our attention to the subjective element of faith bound up with that act of baptism.

Future Glory, Fresh Resolve

While 1 Peter 3:21 offers a hermeneutical challenge, Peter gives sufficient clues to elucidate in what sense he considers baptism salvific. Of particular importance is the way in which he frames the relationship between the flood and baptism, as well as his explanation of baptism as the request issuing from the individual’s trust in the sufficiency of Christ to save.

Peter reminds us that our accomplished salvation in Christ, typified by Noah’s deliverance from the flood, has already been powerfully expressed in our baptism, and that therefore we can find fresh assurance of future glory and a renewed resolve to endure present suffering for the sake of righteousness.

Joshua Greever is associate professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary.

Obviously, my faith tells me that it is not baptism that saves me but that it is a public expression of my faith that has already taken place. That is what this professor is trying to explain. I pray that you understand the significance of this truth.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 11, 2024

Notes of Faith March 11, 2024

Accepting Disappointment and Remaining Hopeful

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Choose Lockdown

From a psychological perspective, and according to research by Dr. Rick Snyder (1944–2006), a professor of clinical psychology who studied hope for thirty-four years at the University of Kansas,1 hopeful thinkers achieve more and are more successful. They are physically and psychologically healthier than less hopeful people. Snyder’s hope theory, according to one summary, “defines hope as a dynamic motivational experience that is interactively derived from two distinct types of cognitive tools in the context of goal achievement — namely, pathways and agency thinking. His theory proposes that hope results from an individual’s perceived ability to develop numerous and flexible pathways toward their goals, allowing them to identify barriers and strategies to overcome these as they move toward goal achievement.”2

For example, if we were to apply Snyder’s hope theory to our lives, it would be a three-step process that looks like this:

Step 1: Encourage Goal-Oriented Thinking

Goals can be long-term or short-term. Be intentional and set your goals. What goals do you need to achieve to answer your calling? What dreams are you wanting to make a reality?

Step 2: Find Pathways to Achievement

A pathway is a workable route to your goals. If a setback occurs, be creative, and find another pathway. It’s not going to be easy, but identifying the barriers, complications, or risks will allow you to problem-solve and create a plan.

Step 3: Instigate Change

Take time to develop good habits that will allow you to keep moving forward and in the direction of achieving your goals. Be flexible and willing to create new path- ways. Be open to change and allow it to fuel your motivation.

Snyder says hope is the state of mind that helps you navigate life's twists and turns, and keeps you moving forward when times are tough. What's more, as we shall see, hope isn't simply a happy feeling — it's a human survival mechanism that fuels your desire to keep pushing on and growing.3

To me, from my own experiences and walk of faith with God,

hope is unshakeable confidence in God.4

It doesn’t deny the reality of our pain, but it does give us a life beyond our pain. It gives us permission to believe in a new beginning. It gives us permission to dream again. It is the happy and confident expectation of good that lifts our spirits and dares us to believe in a different future — in a different dream. It is always looking to God with expectation: “Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”5

But when we lose hope, when all we feel is the pain of loss and disappointment, it can be so hard to believe that God wants to help us or that He cares, because we have more questions than answers. More doubt than faith. And yet, that is the perfect time to become a prisoner of hope.

A prisoner of hope sounds like an odd thing to be, doesn’t it? Aren’t prisoners locked up in high-security institutions and stripped of all their freedoms? Why would we want to be characterized as a prisoner of anything, even hope?

Because being a prisoner of hope in God is different.

God’s prisoners of hope aren’t forced into an institution for punishment but invited into a fortress for safety.

Imagine a castle that stands firm even when the very foundations of life are shaken. A place created just for us, where we can chain ourselves to the promise that God is working all things for our good, even when all things are falling apart. From the high tower of this fortress, we prisoners of hope gain a whole new perspective. We can look beyond our unexpected circumstances to the future, trusting that God has good things in store for us.

When I first learned to think and live this way, it was revolutionary to me. I was raised in a religious tradition that never encouraged me to expect good things from God. In fact, it was considered presumptuous to even imagine that God had time for my requests, given that He had an entire world to run. I’m so glad I discovered in His Word that God is good, God does good, and God wants to do good for me — all the time. But to keep my heart and mind thinking and believing this way on a daily basis doesn’t come naturally; instead, it’s always a choice, one I have to make again and again.

Hope is unshakeable confidence in God.

Here’s another way to think about this choice. When the unexpected strikes, we find ourselves perched on a thin precipice with an abyss on either side. That’s when we have a decision to make. We can choose to fall into the abyss of despair on one side or into the abyss of hope on the other. Both look like scary choices, but when we choose to fall into hope, we soon find ourselves wrapped in the arms of a loving God — a God who always catches us and always promises to carry us from the precipice of despair into the wide-open space of new life. That’s where we find the new opportunities and experiences that get us beyond our disappointments and disillusionments. It is a place of freedom where we let go of what we once wanted in exchange for what we never expected — a new adventure. But we can’t get there by ourselves.

Only God can catch and carry us into the new life we never imagined and take us to places we never considered going.

Becoming a prisoner of hope doesn’t mean we no longer struggle with disillusionment or despair. When the unexpected strikes and gives us new reasons to lose hope, it’s still tempting to dig a tunnel out of our fortress, to escape hope and lose ourselves in doubt, fear, and unbelief. I cannot tell you how many times I almost lost hope that we would see people rescued at A21, or that traffickers would be caught and prosecuted and sentenced. That Propel Women would resonate with women. That I had another book in me. There were times I wondered if I would have the ability to parent my girls with wisdom. Or if I would get free from the pain of my past. The list is endless.

In each and every endeavor, I had to chain myself once more to the God of all hope. As we launched our initiatives, people left who had said they would stay. People who were supportive at one stage dropped out in the next. Doors slammed shut. Governments changed policies. But I have learned to walk by faith and not by sight.6 To close my eyes, proclaim myself a prisoner of hope, and step into a spiritual fortress — to dare to get my hopes up and keep my hopes up. I’ve seen God step in and carry me to better places, present me with better opportunities, and lead me into amazing breakthroughs.

When we are tempted to escape but choose instead to run to our stronghold, Jesus, He promises to overflow our lives with hope:

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.7

He promises to help us become the prisoners of hope He’s called us to be so we can move beyond despair into a new destiny.

But first, we have to willingly turn ourselves in at the fortress gate and stay there.

I’ve had many unexpected things happen in my life — things that were never in my plan. But there is no telling what hope we can bring into our homes, workplaces, and communities if we’ll choose to be people of hope — who use words of hope — in a world where people desperately need it.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, wrote the apostle Paul, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.8

That’s a promise of hope that will not fail.

1. Shane J. Lopez and C.R. Snyder, eds. “Memoriam: Remembering C.R. Snyder: A Humble Legacy of Hope,” The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 2nd ed. (2009; online ed., Oxford Academic, September 18, 2012), https://academic. oup.com/edited-volume/28153/ chapter/212928489, accessed August 8, 2023.

2. Rachel Colla et al., “’A New Hope’ for Positive Psychology: A Dynamic Systems Reconceptualization of Hope Theory,” Frontiers in Psychology 13:809053 (2022), doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.809053.

3. Mind Tools Content Team, “Snyder’s Hope Theory,” Mind Tools, www.mindtools.com/ aov3izj/snyders-hope-theory.

4. Hebrews 10:35.

5. Psalm 39:7.

6. 2 Corinthians 5:7.

7. Romans 15:13.

8. Romans 8:11.

Excerpted from Permission to Dream by Christine Caine, copyright Caso Writing, LLC.

If your hope is in God, you will never lose hope, because it is He that has a perfect and strong hold on you! Hope will keep us going through the faith that God gives us to believe and trust in Him no matter what this world throws our way. One day that hope will be fulfilled in the return of Jesus for His bride, those that believe in Him, worship and obey Him, that is, the church, and we will live with Him eternally! What greater hope could there be?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 10, 2024

Notes of Faith March 10, 2024

You Can Love Them, But You Can’t Change Them

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. — Hebrews 4:16

Relationships are wonderful... until they’re not.

All relationships can be difficult at times, but they should not be destructive to our well-being. If you have relationships in your life where you know something is wrong, but you can’t for the life of you figure out what to do, I understand. I know what it feels like to have your body tense and your pulse quicken while your mind is begging the other person, Stop doing this!

Most of us aren’t equipped to know what to do when we know things need to change but the other person isn’t willing to or capable of cooperating with the needed changes. Your challenge may be with someone who personalizes everything and is prone to being offended, so you can’t figure out how to address something this person repeatedly does that is not acceptable to you. You know you need a boundary, but you don’t know how to communicate this need.

a person in authority over you, and boundaries don’t feel like they would work.

a family member who lives in your home, and though you need some distance, setting a boundary doesn’t feel realistic.

You’ve prayed about this behavior or situation. You’ve tried to navigate it. You’ve made changes. You may have even tried to stop it. You’ve listened to wise advice and done everything you know to do. But in the end, nothing has worked.

You’ve finally realized if they don’t want things to change, you cannot change them. This is a terribly hard truth to accept, but it’s one of the most freeing truths I’ve learned to embrace.

The only other option is secretly wondering if you are the crazy one. Friend, you may be brokenhearted. You may be sad. You may be afraid and possibly angry. You may be focused on trying to fix what isn’t within your ability to fix. And you may even be fixated on trying to figure everything out.

But you are not crazy. If you are smelling smoke, there is fire. And the only reasonable option at this point is either to put out the fire or get yourself away from the fire. Drawing boundaries can help put out fires before they become all-consuming. But if the fire keeps burning with increasing intensity, you’ve got to get away from the smoke and flames. Sometimes your only option may be to distance yourself from this person and say goodbye.

Boundaries aren’t going to fix the other person. But boundaries will help you stay fixed on what is good, what is acceptable, and what you need to stay healthy and whole.

I don’t know what boundaries you may need to consider; I challenge you to process this situation with the Lord and prayerfully think through what changes may be necessary alongside a trusted Christian counselor or wise friend. Maybe for today, it’s just enough to sit and think through the truth that the only sustainable change you have control over is making a sustainable change for yourself.

I know this isn’t easy, but it is good.

A statement to remember as I walk into today:

Boundaries aren’t going to fix the other person. But boundaries will help you stay fixed on what is good, what is acceptable, and what you need to stay healthy and whole.

Even though we may be powerless to change someone else, this doesn’t mean we’re powerless to experience change in our own lives. Boundaries give us this gift.

Now that you’ve had some time to process the truth we talked about this morning, I want us to close our day considering some questions that could help us implement some necessary boundaries in our lives:

What events or conversations have occurred that make you feel as if it’s not acceptable to put relational parameters in place in this relationship?

Are there certain behaviors this person exhibits that makes setting boundaries with him or her seem unrealistic or impossible?

What good might be possible in this relationship if you set boundaries?

What is and is not acceptable behavior?

What are your deal breakers that would pull you from a place of health into unhealth?

What are you actually responsible for? What are you not responsible for? (Example: “I am responsible for showing up to my job on time.” “I am not responsible for my coworker’s harsh reaction or response in a conversation.”)

What are some of the qualities you like about yourself that you want to make sure the people you love experience when they spend time with you? How can boundaries help make your best qualities more and more apparent?

Remember, friend, if someone is unwilling or unable to stop misusing the personal access we’ve given them in our lives, then we must create healthy boundaries.

Lord, it’s a humbling truth to realize I can’t change another person; I can only change myself. As I process these questions and consider where setting healthy boundaries may be necessary, give me discernment, wisdom, and courage. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted from You’re Going to Make It by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

If often seems that there are things about myself (behaviors, actions, communications) that I can’t seem to change, though I want to. These are things that must be turned over to God and through fervent prayer ask God to change you just as He promises, to make you more like Jesus. Walking close to God and allowing His Spirit within you to control those things that need change will bring you peace and joy greater than you have ever known.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 9, 2024

Notes of Faith March 9, 2024

Can You Forgive?

Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” [22] Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” — Matthew 18:21-22

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the “betrayer” to get hurt. The problem with this is that you are the only one suffering when you hold on to hurts.

What good does bitterness do for us?

It actually separates us from experiencing the full love of God. Part of the way God shows love for us is in His mercy and grace. Once we repent, He forgives immediately and we receive the blessing.

When we withhold forgiveness towards someone, we are blocking the blessings God has for us and the perpetrator.

So, who do you need to forgive? I’m not saying you have to call them up and tell them (ask God what He wants you to do).

Who do you need to forgive?

In my book, I shared a story about how I called my stepdad and actually asked for forgiveness from him for holding on to his wrongs for so many years. I was so scared to get on the phone call, but afterwards I felt a huge boulder off my shoulders. It changed my relationship with my mom, myself, and my husband all for the better once I was able to let go and truly forgive.

If you're struggling to forgive, ask God to give you the strength. He will give you what you need if you continue to lay the burdens and the hurt at the loving feet of our Father God.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Cayla Craft, author of What Do You Really Want?

Matt 6:9-15

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,12 and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Many followers of Jesus know the verses above but conveniently forget the following verse:

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass

ESV

Forgiveness is in the character of God. He forgives. We are commanded to forgive. We must forgive. Work hard to be forgiving of everyone. Not easy. You might wish this verse was not in the Bible, but it is, and we are to obey.

Maybe prayer is needed this very moment to repent and forgive someone.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 8, 2024

Notes of Faith March 8, 2024

Sorry. Extremely long day yesterday. Here is my catchup devotion.

How Often Should You Repent?

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. — Matthew 6:12–13

Jesus Set the Bar for Holy Living Extremely High

In the Sermon on the Mount, He explained that sinful behavior starts with our thoughts. He said,

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. — Matthew 5:27–28

Every time your brain generates a thought, you have a chance to sin. Every time your eye lingers over someone, you have a chance to sin. Every time you react to someone who annoys you, you have a chance to sin.

That’s a problem because sin interferes with your relationship with God. It doesn’t change your status as His child. That’s important to understand. If you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, you’ve been declared righteous. Paul said,

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. — Romans 3:21–24

Being declared righteous isn’t the same as being perfect. You still have a sinful nature inside you. Sometimes that nature will get the better of you. Sometimes you’ll lose the battle against temptation.

Never let sin or any obstacle influence you to walk outside the will of God and not within it.

That doesn’t mean you have to become spiritually reborn again; it only happens once. Justification happens once. God put His Spirit in you. That’s why Paul said,

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. — Ephesians 4:30

The Holy Spirit is sealed inside you. Sin doesn’t take away your salvation.

Sin does, however, create a wall between you and God, and keep you from enjoying everything God has to offer. And it keeps you from living the life He intends for you. That’s why the Holy Spirit makes His grieving known. He acts stronger than your conscience. He lets you know when something’s not right inside you — when there’s a temporary blockage in your relationship with God. He makes you feel bad about what you’ve done — not to ruin your self-esteem but to compel you to take care of the problem. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of a sin, you should ask God’s forgiveness immediately—never put it aside until later.

The Holy Spirit works in you until you say, “Father, I messed up. Please forgive me for what I’ve done. Restore Your relationship with me.”

Never let sin or any obstacle influence you to walk outside the will of God and not within it.

The writer of Hebrews said,

Let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us. — Hebrews 12:1

DIG DEEP

The Holy Spirit will let you know when you need to repent and ask for forgiveness. If you follow His lead, you’ll maintain a healthy, thriving relationship with the Lord. Ask yourself the following questions and answer them truthfully:

How does the Holy Spirit convict you of sin?

When and how do you react to it?

Excerpted from Bold Pursuit by Daniel Maritz, copyright Daniel Maritz.

Rom 7:14-20

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

NASU

My personal translation of this is: “That which I would not, that do I do. I wish I wouldn’t do it but I’m already through!”

We will not be free from sin until the Lord takes us to be with Himself and makes us new and complete, without a sin nature. As believers and followers of Jesus we must seek holiness. We are called to be like Jesus, being transformed day by day until we are made complete at our joining Jesus. We are free from the penalty of sin because Jesus paid the debt for all sin on the cross, but we still sin, don’t we. Therefore, as the Spirit within convicts us we should repent and pursue the call of God on our lives. Maybe we could all pray right now, asking God to forgive even the sins we don’t seem to recognize that we have done. Let us draw close to the throne of grace, that we might find mercy and help in time of need.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 7, 2024

Notes of Faith March 7, 2024

The Story Under Our Skin

John Calvin said, “Our wisdom . . . consists almost entirely of two parts: knowledge of God and of ourselves.”1

We can have the same conversation with God, much like we have the same argument with our spouses, over and over and over again. Rewind, repeat. And often we name this “stuck,” as if God isn’t responsive or we’re not creative enough to capture His attention. But what if there is a third way?

Paying attention. I take time to notice myself. I notice the fog, rather than pushing through it. I pause to observe — without evaluation and strategy, but simply to understand what might be happening below the surface so that I can bring that understanding into my conversation with God. Paul says in Ephesians 4:22–24,

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and... be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and... put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. — ESV

At fifteen, I thought following God and putting off my old self meant drinking soda at parties, not alcohol, and “staying pure.” I stopped cussing and felt guilty when I tried cigarettes to look cool. Behavioral changes. Clearly I missed the full perspective of this verse, but I wonder whether you, like me, sometimes ask yourself what you’re putting off or putting on. Perhaps these verses are an invitation to pause, consider, notice: What is old in me, God, and what is the new You want me to wear?

I often find myself frustrated with the dated parts of my home and my unkempt closets, imagining my friend’s updated floor plan and organizing system. Without a minute or five to consider what’s leading to my grumpiness after we gather in her home and I catch a glimpse of that closet, I’m spending my Saturday cleaning closets and tearing pictures out of the Restoration Hardware catalog for a dream board.

But with those three or five minutes and a quiet space and some practice at looking a little bit deeper, I see that I feel overwhelmed with our chaos and wishful that I could return to days when decorating could be a priority.

I have something to put off. And I have something to put on.

I have something to put off.

And I have something to put on.

But it’s not about setting aside a beer can for sparkling water (or even the Restoration Hardware catalog for my Bible). It’s about what’s on the inside.

Recently I heard a woman described as “impressive.” She could lead a room. She had a quick wit and sharp intelligence. In her young life, she had accomplished much and seemed to continue accomplishing much. She worked late into the night and won the attention of clients and prospective clients because of her willingness to go the extra mile, no matter the cost. More than that, she loved God and prayed with power.

But I’d seen behind the scenes. I’d seen the dark circles under her eyes and her nervous habits. I knew she felt frayed as a mom, not enough as a wife, a failure as a friend. She wasn’t pleased with the work that wowed others.

She had a remarkable exterior life, but her inner life appeared to be headed for burnout. Christians around her applauded her diligence and her fervency in prayer, but they failed to notice the tightness in her gait.

We are often weak observers, of both ourselves and others, measuring the external and not looking beneath the surface. But the more I strengthen the skill of observing myself, the more I can see my neighbor. There are stories underneath our skin.

Most of us are not merely ignorant of them, we’re scared to see them. We’re afraid to look.

Seeing the stories beneath our skin can start as small as building moments into the day when we notice ourselves and our reactions to the world around us. Simple questions draw our attention to our interior lives, which crave God but often don’t know how to access Him. They draw our attention to the stuck parts of ourselves.

How did I feel after that conversation?

What made my heart race today? And what did that heart-racing tell me about myself?

When did the fog set in and I was merely reacting and not present? What happened just before this fog that might have made my brain go offline?

Underneath my mad, was there sad?

At what point did I start to feel bad about myself?

What couldn’t I erase from my mind?

What happened in my body and my thoughts after that conversation?

The pages of the Word tell us that God delights in truth in the inward being and teaches wisdom in the secret heart (Psalm 51:6). God cares about these deeper parts of ourselves that the questions uncover. He made space inside us to implant wisdom in, but when we’re mostly reacting, that secret heart from Psalm 51:6 is buried. Paying attention to what He cares about — the inner workings of our hearts — is a gentle process of excavating.

We can’t know the anxieties and the fears to bring to God unless we first notice them. Our response to our limits is worth our attention.

The Word is full of God’s care for the intricacies of the human heart, that heart we often ignore and shame with phrases like “Why can’t I just get over this? I don’t know why it feels so hard.” He understands the intricacies of our hearts, but we have to first notice them before we can ask Him for that understanding. The psalmist said,

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. — Psalm 73:16–17 ESV

God gives discernment to those who ask for it, but we must pay attention to know how to ask.

John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008), 4.

Excerpted from The Gift of Limitations by Sara Hagerty, copyright Sara Hagerty

Life is hard. Without a relationship with God it is impossible. There will be no peace. There will always be an anxiousness that won’t go away. There will be frustration, anger, envy, ridicule, arguments, and the like that we often don’t even know why we think and act the way we do. This is a life without God. But the peace of God that passes all understanding is with the one who knows and pursues an intimate relationship with God. God does answer prayer and His Spirit lives within the believer and follower of Jesus.

Prov 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 6, 2024

Notes of Faith March 6, 2024

Asking God for a Miracle

(Because He Can Say Yes)

Ask, and it will be given to you. — Matthew 7:7

Life is not fair, but God is good. We never know what life will bring, but I have learned time and time again that I can bring whatever life throws at me directly to God.

In Matthew’s teaching on the Lord’s Prayer, he gave us a longer version and more instruction regarding prayer. Here, Jesus taught that we don’t have to go on and on when we pray because our Father already knows what we need before we even ask. You might be wondering, Then why even ask?

The answer, Jesus said, is that while God already knows what we need, we won’t know what He will do about it until we ask.

God is not in the business of answering prayers we do not pray.

So no matter what you need, ask God for it.

He might say yes.

As a pastor, I have repeatedly seen God do miraculous wonders when I had lost all hope. Over the years, I have pastored thousands of people who have come through the doors of Sandals Church. Every one of them is special to God, but a certain few are dear to me. They are the ones who, through thick and thin, for better or worse, stayed with me when others didn’t.

The challenge of starting a church when you are so young is that you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. My talent for speaking outweighed the depth of my faith. My vision for what God wanted to do through me was completely blind to what He first needed to do in me. So I am eternally grateful to God for His patience and for many people who followed me even when I was not yet the leader they needed me to be.

One of those people is Natasha. When Sandals Church first started, young people poured through our doors. As we grew, there were always more people than we had room for. Sandals Church moved locations thirteen times in the first three years. Our unofficial motto was, “Come worship with us if you can find us.” Well, Natasha found us, and she stuck with us.

A brilliant young woman and a swimming star with a bright future, Natasha met the love of her life in high school and had dreams of marriage and children. One day, out of nowhere, she began feeling tired and unable to complete tasks that a few weeks prior had been easy for her. Even though she was in incredible shape, she was always fatigued. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

At nineteen years old, she found out she had cancer.

Natasha was assured that her cancer was treatable. Being young and naive like most teenagers, she didn’t worry too much about it. Her confident doctor assured her she would be done with cancer after one round — maybe two — of chemotherapy. She would then be free to go on with her life.

This was not the case.

Ten years later, Natasha sat in my office with tears in her eyes and asked a very valid question: “Why won’t God heal me?” She’d fought cancer for ten years. She’d received the best treatments possible — some proven, some experimental. She had a doctor who cared for her and an attentive hospital staff. But now her doctor said there was no longer hope. Natasha was told she was just unlucky — they had no idea why her particular cancer was so stubborn to treatments that had worked for many others. There were no more treatments to try.

Natasha didn’t understand. She was no longer a teenager and no longer naive. She knew very well that her life was on the line. After ten years of fiercely battling for her life, she had lost hope and the energy to keep fighting. She was at the end of her rope.

I had to concede that I didn’t understand either. Natasha sat in my office, ravaged by years of chemotherapy, not looking like a young woman should. She was devastated by the ups and downs, all the promises that the next treatment (or the next) would be the one to cure her. Weeping, she handed me a picture — an MRI of her entire body. The image looked like a Dalmatian dog because her body was covered in black spots. I asked if the black spots were cancer, and she nodded. They were everywhere — clustered around many of the organs in her chest and abdomen.

She said, “I don’t have long, Pastor. I need a miracle.”

Natasha, myself, a few other pastors, and her husband bowed our heads in prayer, asking our Father in Heaven for a miracle. We all prayed. It is only with her permission that I share what was said, which was so painful, raw, and heart-wrenching that it will stay with me forever. Natasha found her soul cry.

In chapter 2, I mentioned my own soul cry.

A soul cry is when there is nothing left between you and God. You are done with the games; you have nothing to hide. You just need to be heard.

There is something powerful and haunting about a soul cry. Its sound makes every other noise in life disappear. As you realize the depth of suffering another person feels, your own problems and suffering seem shallow and insignificant. In these moments, you accept how incredibly blessed you are to have the life you have.

When I heard Natasha cry out to God, she no longer seemed frail. The room had to make space for her spirit as she spoke to our Father, who is Spirit. She yelled, “I don’t want to die!” The first scream was powerful but simply made room for what was to follow. A lioness came out of her petite frame, and its voice rattled the room. “I don’t want to die!” She began to beat the drum of her request before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Every downstroke in the drum of her voice led to another more thunderous beat. Natasha was going to be heard.

Even as the lone woman in the room, she grew fiercer with every request. “I am not ready to die!” she yelled.

To the observer, it may have looked like a wild woman screaming into the air. But as believers, we knew she was being heard by God. She became the pastor, and I became the student. We were all in awe of her strength and were moved to tears. We had no words. Nothing more needed to be added.

I anointed Natasha’s forehead with oil and said, “Lord Jesus, I know You can hear her; I beg You to heal her; I pray this in Your holy name, amen.”

Amen is a word we all say but few of us understand. It is a word so powerful it has never been changed. When the Bible was translated from Hebrew and Greek to Latin and English, most of the words it contains were translated. Amen was not. Amen is amen in Hebrew. It is amen in Greek. It is also amen in Latin and obviously in English as well. Amen means to agree that truth has been spoken. It means what we have said is real and raw. Some people play games when they speak to one another, but we should never play games when we talk with God.

Natasha had been real. She’d been raw. We all agreed with the prayer and believed that truth had been spoken, so I said amen.

It has now been years since that night we prayed, back when Natasha was given only weeks to live. She is still alive and on staff at Sandals Church. She is here because when the hospital said there was no hope left, she went to the One who is the source of our hope!

Why do we pray? We pray because God might say yes.

What do we have to lose when there is no other source of hope? Take a chance and reach for Jesus. There is real power in His name. He is God’s one and only Son, and He can say yes.

I know it’s hard to trust Jesus with your request. I realize that, like Natasha, you may have prayed for healing many times, and many times it might not have been granted. Don’t give up! Jesus taught us to keep asking and to keep knocking on Heaven’s door for what we need. He said,

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. — Matthew 7:7–8 NLT

If you feel discouraged, remind yourself that your repeated prayers are prayers of obedience. There will be times when you feel unheard; you have to find the strength to pray through it. Again, I cannot promise you will get a yes, which agrees with what Jesus taught in this passage.

What are we seeking? An answer! What door do we want opened? Heaven’s, so we can be heard! According to Jesus, if you keep asking, you will be answered. He is not guaranteeing the miracle you want, but you will receive the miracle you need.

That miracle is the miracle of being heard.

Excerpted from Every Day a Miracle by Matthew Stephen Brown, copyright Matthew Stephen Brown.

God is still doing miracles every day, the greatest being bringing someone into His eternal family through salvation by His grace. We all have corrupt, decaying bodies and although all do not suffer like Natasha, we are dying. We can and should pray for the release of our bodies from the destruction of sin…and it has already been promised to those who believe in and follow Jesus! Asking for release from pain and suffering is not always answered as in this story, but we should ask and persist because we don’t know the plan of God for our lives. He will lead, guide and direct our steps in we remain intimate during even the worst of earthly circumstances. Pray without ceasing!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 5, 2024

Notes of Faith March 5, 2024

Why Lack of Control Is a Gift from God

Reach Out and Find Him

The apostle Paul gave us some assuring words to cling to when we feel like things are out of control. He spoke them when he was on Mars Hill, a place where philosophers and people would gather to ask deep questions. “What is the meaning of life?” someone might ask, or “Why is there evil in the world?” Each of those questions has an underlying root: an awareness of our inability to control everything we want to.

In Acts 17:24 Paul echoed what the prophet Nehemiah said. God made the world and everything in it, and he didn’t need any help! Then, Paul went on to make a life-changing, perspective-shifting statement:

From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

— Acts 17:26

Okay, so sometimes I am guilty of reading the Bible way too fast. I want us to slow down and really take in what Paul was saying here.

1) “From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth.”

Who created the first humans? God did, and we know from Genesis 1:26 that He created them in His likeness and image. Here Paul explained more, saying that all of humankind, including every nationality and culture, finds its origin in God, and they live over all the earth because of God.

2) “[God] has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.”We could be tempted to think that God created everything, then stepped back and left it to run its course. Paul refuted that idea, giving two aspects of God being in control. First, He determined our “appointed times” and, second, even the “boundaries” of our existence are determined by God.

Why is this so crucial in helping our fear of losing control? Because it reminds us that there is not an ounce of our human life that is random or by chance. Think of it this way: you and I could have lived in any point of human history, yet we live now. There is a purpose to why we live in this specific moment in history. We could be located in any geographical location, yet we live in the country, state, city, neighborhood, street we do for a reason! It’s not random. It’s not out of control. It is ordered and has a purpose.

So what’s that purpose? Paul said,

He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. — Acts 17:27

If we take a closer look at the original language Paul used here, we’ll see He actually acknowledged our loss of control. The phrase “they might reach out” translates the Greek verb psēlaphēseian, which can also mean “to look for something in uncertain fashion, to feel around for.”1 The word is used elsewhere in the Bible as well as in ancient Greek literature to describe a person who is either blind or stuck in darkness and trying to find or “feel” their way out of their dark and desperate situation — a situation in which they are painfully aware of their need and their lack of control.2

When we confront the reality of our lack of control, it’s an opportunity. We can exchange our desire for control for the gift of humble faith.

Paul said that while we are in this situation, searching for escape, for some kind of guiding help, God is near to us. And as we reach out and seek Him, we will find Him and realize that He has actually never been far.

So, the situation we’re in is not good. Things are looking dire, and panic is settling in. But if we’ll stop and look up, we’ll find the security and peace of our God who assures us that we’ve never been alone. He’s been there the whole time, and He will continue to be with us.

It’s a humbling experience to be lost. But that newfound humility paves the way for immense gratitude and joy once we’re found.

What if our lack of control — even when it leads to anxious nighttime thoughts, moments of panic, and desperate attempts to gain control — is actually a gracious gift of God? What if it sets us up to realize that the very belief that we can control things is really an illusion? As soon as we can identify it as an illusion, we are positioned in a posture of humility and recognize the one who is truly in control of all things. Then, we are straight shook when we look to our side and realize he’s been with us the whole time.

In Hebrews 11 we read,

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. — v. 3

God, in His might, did the unimaginable, creating the entire world we live in today. He is the one behind the strength and beauty we see all around us. He is also the one at work in every detail of our lives. And it’s by faith that we understand all this.

So when we confront the reality of our lack of control, it’s an opportunity. We can exchange our desire for control for the gift of humble faith.

We can stop spinning our wheels. Stop wearing ourselves out with fruitless efforts and ratcheting up our inner tension. We can begin to experience a deep, settled peace in our souls by accepting the reality of our lack of control and embracing Jesus, who has perfect control.

As you lay awake at night, sleepless and restless, consider speaking some simple truths over yourself as a prayer.

Jesus, You are with me. Jesus, I can’t, but You can.

Jesus, You are my peace that brings calm.

Now, let’s take a breath. Think of His awesome power. And let ourselves just accept reality, that so much of life is not in our hands. And that’s okay; it’s in His.

1. David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 498.

2. Ben Witherington refers to the usage in nonbiblical Greek literature

such as Aristophanes, Ec. 315; Pax 691; Plato, Phaedo 99b. See Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1998), 528. Additionally, the word is used in the Septuagint in reference to blindness and darkness. See Isa. 59:10; Judg. 16:26; Deut. 28:29; Job 5:13–14; 12:25.

Excerpted from The Hidden Peace by Joel Muddamalle, copyright Joel Muddamalle.

Having control. I can take care of “whatever problem or crisis” in my life. Lack of faith and trust that God is in control of all things! Reading God’s Word and seeing His power and glory in sustaining all things from creation to the end of what we call time, brings great peace and comfort to trust God in all circumstances. Though some may not be pleasant, He allows them, to draw us closer to Himself. What a gift! In all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly, to be used by God to draw us into greater intimacy of relationship. Let us remember that God walks with us through life, not only knowing what is coming before it happens, but continuing to lead, guide, counsel, and go through everything that we encounter, for His name’s sake. Love God. Trust and have faith in God. Live in peace because you know Him and know that He knows you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 4, 2024

Notes of Faith March 4, 2024

The Answer Is No (and That's Okay)

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then, I contradict myself. (I am large. I contain multitudes.)

~ Walt Whitman

I experienced a miracle of healing. God did a work of healing in my life that was both outward and inward. Obviously, God spared my life because He has a special purpose for me, right? I can relax now because my life has been restored, and I’ve got a good shot at celebrating my eightieth birthday, right?

Wrong.

A year after my miraculously successful surgery and my clean bill of health, I had a seizure. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I had been here before and was shocked to be back again. I went in for an MRI. I prayed, prayed, and prayed some more before the procedure, pleading with God to hear my doctor say, “Your scan looks clean. No sign of a tumor.” I prayed that this recent seizure resulted from the surgery, not because of a new tumor. I knew that a new tumor would only equal one thing — cancer.

I went to my appointment full of anxiety. My doctor came in and pulled up the scan. “Your tumor has recurred.” What he was really saying in those words was simple.

You have terminal brain cancer.

It had been an unintentional setup. Initially my medical team had thought that because they removed my original tumor completely and in time, I was in the clear, with a clean bill of health. But now a new tumor had formed. It was clear from this fact that my brain was filled with cancer cells that weren’t detectable by the human eye during surgery or by an MRI scan after surgery. As they explained to me, the cancer cells scattered throughout my brain are in a sense turned off — until they aren’t. When they eventually turn on, which they will, they come together to form a new tumor. And within a few years, the chances were good that the cancer cells would overtake my brain and end my life.

I was going to need a second brain surgery — a procedure that would be followed by radiation and chemotherapy. They explained very clearly that the radiation and chemotherapy would not destroy the cancer cells but would only stun them, hopefully keeping them at bay and slowing down the rate at which they would form new tumors.

Natalie and I sat in the small office of my new neuro-oncologist, Dr. Nancy Bush. With no-holds-barred honesty and kindness in her voice, she told us, “This kind of cancer has no cure. It’s terminal.” I heard Natalie’s quiet tears and turned to her, placing my hand on her knee, trying to offer comfort I knew couldn’t be enough.

Together we were about to face something we desperately wanted to avoid.

Dr. Bush offered reassurance and said, “There is no cure for this kind of cancer — yet. My job is to keep you alive long enough for the medical community to find a cure.” Unfortunately, cancer researchers haven’t made any significant progress in this area for more than two decades.

The clock was ticking.

What! It made no sense to me.

Why would God deliver me from a nearly inoperable tumor through a high-risk surgery with miraculous results, only to have the tumor recur and for me to receive an unfavorable prognosis that essentially amounted to a death sentence?

At this point I began to realize I was a brain tumor survivor who was now battling a terminal brain cancer. I was in a fight I could not win.

What would you do if you heard the words “you have cancer” along with the words “no cure” and “terminal”? I’ll tell you what I did. I went to Dunkin’. I wanted to drown my sorrows with a maple bar. I used the drive-through, parked in the parking lot, and then got down to business with God.

I prayed, God, what are You doing? It wasn’t an angry prayer, like when my dad died. It was a confused prayer. It was very straightforward. I asked God, What are you doing? and then He answered.

It was not a booming voice from Heaven. Instead it was just as Jesus promised. The Holy Spirit unmistakably communicated to me by reminding me of what Jesus had said before. My mind went to 2 Corinthians 12:6–10 (a passage I hadn’t yet memorized), and I felt a bond with the apostle Paul. In this passage, Paul was dealing with what he described as “a thorn in my flesh” — a mysterious statement that some scholars believe referred to a medical condition with no treatment.1 Paul had a thorn in his flesh, while I had a tumor in my brain.

Paul had asked repeatedly for healing, as had I. The answer Paul received from Jesus was the same one I had received: No. But with compassion, Jesus essentially explained to Paul,

My grace is sufficient, and My power is best displayed in weakness.

After hearing this, Paul concluded, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” The Holy Spirit ministered to my spirit, and I concluded the same thing:

When I am weak, then I am strong.

I got a strong sense that God was going to use my weakness to teach me the true meaning of strength. And also that this next season of my life would allow me to become vulnerable with my wife and daughter and form a deep connection with them. In that moment, God granted me insight: cancer was not the undoing of the miracle, but rather the continuation of the work He had begun.

After I came out of surgery, God miraculously granted me a desire in my heart to connect deeply with my family. But what I didn’t know at the time was that I would need more than just a desire to connect. For deep relational connection to occur, I’d need to unlearn the patterns I had developed due to childhood trauma. In order to connect with Natalie and Hero as deeply as my heart now desired, I’d need to learn to be vulnerable and let my weakness show. It would be a long, hard road. I would never have chosen cancer as the pathway to connection, but as I sat with my maple bar and my God, I felt clarity descend on the confusion. God was not negating the earlier miracle and ignoring my prayers. To say yes to one of my prayers, He would need to say no to another prayer. Sometimes God often says no to a prayer in order to say yes to the true desires of our hearts.

Deep connection is the desire of my heart that I had been praying for. I truly believe my diagnosis is a key part of my continuing emotional healing that is allowing me to forge deep connection.

Let me be very clear. I do not want to have cancer. I desperately want to be healed from this vicious disease — both emotionally and physically. I am reminded of Jesus’ interaction with a man who was paralyzed (Matthew 9:1–8). Hoping for a miracle of physical healing, his friends had taken him to see Jesus teach but weren’t able to get into the building. So they climbed onto the roof, lifted their buddy up, and started tearing off the clay roof! Ignoring the complaints of the crowd below, they kept destroying the roof until they made a hole big enough for their friend to fit through. Then they lowered him down and dropped him right in front of Jesus. That’s one way to get God’s attention!

Jesus stopped teaching, having recognized that the guy was paralyzed, and said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What! Jesus’ words must have made no sense to the disabled man. He had gone through so much to get to Jesus — the One who had healed so many others whom doctors couldn’t help. But instead of attending to his immediate and intense problem, Jesus addressed the man’s deeper, more consequential spiritual problem.

After forgiving his sins, Jesus then healed the man’s legs and he was able to walk for the first time!

Jesus is compassionate enough to heal completely — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Perhaps Jesus is currently continuing to heal my emotions and attending to the deepest desire of my heart as I fight terminal cancer. Perhaps once the emotional healing is complete He will attend to my physical healing. I can’t pretend to know His will or the details of how He works. But I do know I have His attention. I know He cares about me and His will is good. Despite having a hard road to walk, God has given me enough understanding to have peace as I walk. After all, Jesus had to walk a hard road, but He was able to understand the glory awaiting Him on the other side of the cross.

Same with Paul, who followed in His footsteps. I signed up to follow Jesus. So as I follow in His footsteps I am not surprised that my path is difficult. I’m not surprised and I’m secure knowing He is with me. Same for you.

Life is hard, but following Jesus and allowing His Spirit to guide you will allow you to avoid being surprised by suffering and instead stand firm in the security of His presence.

When you are able to acknowledge the nearness of Christ in difficulty, you will experience the hope that good things lie ahead. The apostle Peter says it best,

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. — 1 Peter 4:12–13

1. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul didn’t explicitly say that the “thorn in my flesh” was a medical issue. Some scholars believe he was referring to an illness, while others believe he was referring to persecution. Either way, he was facing an unsolvable problem that was threatening to bring his ministry to a halt. The undisputed truth of the Scripture is that God is a deliverer and that we can count on him when there seems to be no way forward. I take comfort in this truth.

Excerpted from I Am Weak, I Am Strong by Jay Hewitt, copyright Jay Hewitt.

We all must deal with the consequences of sin…the wages of sin is death. We earn death through the sin of Adam and Eve. We all rebel against God. And yet God loved us enough to send His Son into the world to save us through dying on a cross and taking all sin upon Himself. In order to receive eternal life all we have to do is believe in Jesus and the work He did on our behalf. He provides us with an abundant spiritual life now, and a healed, perfect, sinless life eternally when we die on earth or He comes to take us to be with Him in heaven. Life is much better than death and being with Jesus forever sounds even better. Learning to live with our thorns, or cancer is difficult, but Jesus has never failed to fulfill His promises. We will be made new and complete, like Him in resurrected body, mature in spiritual faith and truth, living and serving in the glorious new heaven and earth that He will create for us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 3, 2024

Notes of Faith March 3, 2024

Why We Long for Revival

Article by Jon Bloom

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Most earnest Christians have a deep longing to see and experience a spiritual revival. Many regularly pray for it. But ask a hundred such Christians to describe what they’re longing and praying for, and you’re likely to get dozens of different answers, depending on how their cultural backgrounds, church traditions, theological paradigms, and personal experiences have formed their concept of what a revival is.

Some think of revivals primarily as large-scale historical events that result in many people converting to the Christian faith, leaving notable effects on the wider society (like the early chapters of Acts or the “Great Awakenings”).

Some think of revivals primarily as what happens when Christians in a local church or school experience renewed spiritual vitality and earnestness together (like what took place at Asbury University in early 2023).

Some think of revivals primarily as strategically designed and scheduled events that aim to evangelize unbelievers and/or exhort believers to pursue a deeper life of personal holiness and Christian service (like Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades).

And some think of revivals primarily as what happens whenever an individual Christian experiences a transformative, renewing encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Now, apart from some debates over definitions (like what differentiates revival from renewal), most earnest Christians would agree that when the Holy Spirit moves in power to give new life to unregenerate people and renewed life to regenerate people, the results can look like all those descriptions — and certainly more.

But when earnest Christians long for revival, despite whatever concept and phenomena they associate with that term, they’re not really longing for that concept or those phenomena. If you were to ask those hypothetical hundred Christians to press deeper and describe what they most deeply long for when they long for revival, I believe the nature of their answers would be very similar.

‘It’s You’

To illustrate what I mean, let me describe a touching scene that occurs at the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third book C.S. Lewis wrote in his seven-part Chronicles of Narnia series. After another wonderful Narnian adventure, just before Aslan sends Lucy and Edmund back to our world, Lucy says,

“Please, Aslan, . . . before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do make it soon.”

“Dearest,” said Aslan very gently, “you and your brother will never come back to Narnia.”

“Oh, Aslan!” said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.

“You are too old, children,” said Aslan, “and you must begin to come close to your own world now.”

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.

“Are — are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.” (247)

If you haven’t read the Narnia books, it’s important to understand that Lucy and Edmund hadn’t enjoyed merely a few childish, holiday-like adventures in Narnia. They, along with their two older siblings, had been Narnian kings and queens for decades. They had fought in fierce battles, and shed their blood and tears for its defense. They had loved and cared for its citizens. And their encounters with the great lion, Aslan, had transformed their lives. Narnia felt more like home to them than any place they’d ever been, and when they weren’t in Narnia, they longed to be there.

So, when Lucy says, “It isn’t Narnia, you know,” she’s saying something profound. There’s a deeper longing inside her than her longing for Narnia. It’s a longing that fuels her longing for Narnia. And she names it for Aslan in two words: “It’s you.”

Those two words reveal what makes everything about Narnia so wonderful to Lucy — in fact, makes Narnia Narnia for her: Aslan. Take Aslan out of Narnia, and would she still want to return? We can hear her answer when she says, “How can we live, never meeting you?” For Lucy, an Aslan-less Narnia is a lifeless Narnia.

It’s Him

The real reason earnest Christians long for revival is similar to the real reason Lucy longed to return to Narnia. Lucy longed to experience being close to Aslan; Christians long to experience being close to Jesus. It isn’t the manifestations of revival we most deeply long for, as wonderful as those manifestations might be. It’s the Source of revival we really want. We long for the Life that gives us life, sustains our life, and renews our life — that in Christ, by his Spirit, we might “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). If Jesus were to ask us what it is about revival that we want, we might paraphrase Lucy in our reply: “It isn’t revival, you know. It’s you.”

In saying it’s Jesus we most deeply long for in revival, we mean that we desire a more profound experiential knowledge (Philippians 3:8) of his refreshing presence (Act 3:20), his incomprehensible love (Ephesians 3:19), his all-surpassing peace (Philippians 4:7), and his immeasurable power (Ephesians 1:19). We desire all that the triune God, “the fountain of life” (Psalm 36:9), promises to be for us in Jesus. For Jesus is our great Fountainhead. For us “to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), because Christ himself is our life (John 1:4; 14:6).

And in saying it’s Jesus we most deeply long for in revival, we mean that we desire his kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10) and for all who are appointed to eternal life to believe (Acts 13:48) — all those whom Jesus had in mind when he said, “I must bring them also” (John 10:16).

That’s why our longings for revival are not focused on our personal experience. In Christ, we are members of a larger body (1 Corinthians 12:27) of whom Christ is the life-giving head (Ephesians 1:22). Our life is bound up with our fellow members of Christ’s body, and we will not experience the fullness of Christ apart from the other members (Ephesians 4:11–13). So, we can’t help but desire revival both in the conversions of others whom Jesus must bring and in the renewal of all believers (including us) whose spiritual strength has weakened and whose spiritual senses have dulled.

It isn’t our imagined revival that we desire most. It’s Jesus and all God promises to be for us in him. Take Christ out of the event of revival, even if it had all the amazing, adrenaline-inducing phenomena we might associate with it, and would we still want it? No, because a Christless revival is lifeless revival. And would we be content if we were the only revived Christian in our church or community? No, because “if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Echo of Jesus’s Desire

As Lucy and Edmund speak with Aslan, they realize they are near the border of Aslan’s country — a land they’ve only heard about, never seen, yet the one place in all the worlds, including Narnia, they most deeply long to be. But Aslan tells them that they can enter his country only from their own world (our world).

“What!” said Edmund. “Is there a way into [your] country from our world too?”

“There is a way into my country from all the worlds,” said [Aslan]. . . .

“Oh, Aslan,” said Lucy. “Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?”

“I shall be telling you all the time,” said Aslan. “But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.” (246–47)

Reading this fictional conversation now, in my late fifties, stirs up the aching longing it did when I read it in my late childhood, nearly half a century ago. It was this painfully pleasurable longing that drew me back again and again to the Narnian chronicles as a boy (I don’t know how many times I read those books). I learned whom Aslan represented, and I wanted to meet him face to face. I shared Lucy and Edmund’s desire to actually be in his promised land and finally, as Lewis puts it in another book, to “find the place where all the beauty came from” (86). I still do.

So does everyone who encounters the real “Aslan” and comes to love and trust him. How can we not? For that deep longing is an echo in our souls of the deep longing Jesus has, which he expressed to his Father when he prayed,

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)

It is this aching longing that fuels our recurring (we might say continual) desire to experience revival. But it’s not the mere experience of spiritual refreshment we desire; we long for the Place, the Person, where all the refreshment comes from. We long for what Jesus longs for: that we would be with him where he is, to see his glory.

To know that this is the core of our revival longings can help sustain our prayers for it. It can also protect us from disillusionment should we experience revival and all the confusing messiness that tends to accompany it. Because at the end of the day, it isn’t revival, you know. It’s Jesus.

Jon Bloom 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.

The intense longing of our heart is to be with Jesus, to commune with Jesus, every moment for all eternity. Not experiencing that intimate relationship will always leave a hole that can be filled by nothing but Himself. That is my personal revival… to know Him, to know Him more, to continue to become like Him until He makes me complete! How about you?

Pastor Dale