Notes of Faith July 18, 2024

Notes of Faith July 18, 2024

No Comparison

Sovereign God,

Help me to lead the life that You have assigned to me — and to be content. I need to beware of comparing my situation with someone else’s, feeling dissatisfied because of the comparison. I realize it’s also hurtful to compare my current circumstances with how things used to be or with fantasies that bear little resemblance to reality. Instead, I must make every effort to accept as my calling the life You have assigned to me. This perspective takes the sting out of painful, difficult circumstances. If You have called me to a situation, I know You’ll give me everything I need to endure it — and even to find some Joy in the midst of it.

Please train my mind to trust Your sovereign ways with me — bowing before Your mysterious, infinite intelligence. I need to search for You in the details of my day, all the while looking expectantly for good to emerge from trouble. I’m learning to accept things the way they are, without losing hope for a better future. And I rejoice in the hope of Heaven, knowing that indescribably joyful Life is my ultimate calling!

In Your supremely wise Name, Jesus, Amen

Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. — 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. — Philippians 4:12

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” — Romans 11:33–34

*

Beloved Jesus,

Your Word tells me to sing to You because You have dealt bountifully with me. I confess that sometimes singing praises is the last thing I feel like doing, but that’s when I need it the most. You have indeed dealt bountifully with me — even when it doesn’t seem that way. I’ve been on an uphill journey with You, and I’m growing weary. I yearn for some easy days, for a path that is not so steep. But I realize it is the strenuous climbs that take me ever upward — closer and closer to the summit.

Help me remember that the difficulty of my circumstances is not a mistake. It’s a matter of Your sovereign will and — to some extent — my own goals. I desire to live close to You and to grow more fully into the one You created me to be. Pursuing these goals has put me on an adventurous trail where difficulties and dangers abound.

Sometimes I compare my life-path with those of people whose lives seem easier than mine. But I don’t fully comprehend the problems they face, nor do I know what the future holds for them. Instead of comparing my circumstances with those of others, I need to turn to You and listen as You instruct me, “You follow Me!”

In Your bountiful Name, Amen

I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. — Psalm 13:6 NKJV

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect... He enables me to stand on the heights. — 2 Samuel 22:33–34

Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” — John 21:22 NASB

Excerpted from Jesus Listens Notetaking by Sarah Young, copyright Sarah Young.

People who often compare their lives to others are people that are not content, whining about what someone else has that they do not. They never compare themselves to those who have less than they do and many of those seem to be content and satisfied with what they have. Is this part of our fallen nature, to always want more, to “keep up with the Joneses”, to covet what another has? The Apostle Paul said that he LEARNED to be content in all circumstances, having much, having little, through it all learning to be content. Of course this is not easy, but we are called to live for Christ in and through all circumstances, trusting in His provision for our every need. He has always been faithful. Let’s try to stop comparing and live a life following in the footsteps of Jesus, listening to Him through prayer and His Word, being obedient to what He calls us to be and do.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 17, 2024

Notes of Faith July 17, 2024

Let It Be Done to Me According to Your Will

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” — Luke 1:46–47

Let us imagine that Mary, at twelve years old, was living in the temple area. Perhaps she would occasionally journey home to visit her parents. After one such visit, it was time for her to head back to Jerusalem with her traveling companions. As she approached the Holy City, the Temple Mount appeared on the horizon like a gleaming mountain of snow, its white stones standing out against the dusky brown color of the hillsides.

Mary entered the gates of Jerusalem. After climbing a staircase from the city streets, she emerged onto the wide plaza that surrounded the temple. A military tower loomed to one side—the Antonia fortress that Herod had named after his former colleague, Mark Antony. A long colonnade called the Porch of Solomon ran along one side of the plaza. Adjoining it at the corner was the Royal Stoa, a three-aisled hall formed by four rows of massive columns.

Mary mingled with Gentiles who were allowed to be in the outer plaza. But then she passed a low wall beyond which Gentiles couldn’t go. Now Mary proceeded through an imposing gate and entered the Court of the Women, the closest she could get to the Most Holy Place.

Taking leave of her companions for a time of spiritual reflection, Mary walked across the courtyard and ascended a staircase. From there she peered through the Nicanor Gate into the Court of Israel where purified Jewish men could enter but she could not. Beyond that was the Court of the Priests. Mary could see the enormous altar where the priests were sacrificing animals as burnt offerings to God. Beside it was an immense bronze basin to provide water for ritual washings. And behind all of this was the brilliant facade of the temple, completely covered by golden plates.

Though Mary had never entered the temple building itself, she knew well what was inside. The Holy Place, also called the Sanctuary, contained a lampstand and table for the Bread of Presence, as well as a small altar for burning incense. A heavy veil of multicolored fabric hung at the rear of the room, screening the Most Holy Place where only the high priest could enter once a year on the Day of Atonement. The ark of the covenant had once been situated in there, but now the space was empty and the ark’s foundation stone was unoccupied. Yet Mary wasn’t disturbed by the absence of any objects in the inner sanctum. She knew what all Jews understood: that Yahweh wasn’t represented by idols like the false gods of the Gentiles. He was the Lord of heaven and earth, so no man-made image could capture or contain him.

Yes, Lord. Let it be done to me according to Your will.

As Mary contemplated the sacrifices that gave access to God’s presence, a sadness came to her heart. She had recently been told by the priests that because she was now twelve years old, the imminent onset of her menstrual flow would make her ritually unclean. It was time for her to leave the temple precincts and eventually be united to a husband. The thought saddened her, for the glorious temple of God was the only home she could remember.

Yet as Mary considered the impurity that her emerging womanhood would bring, as well as the religious restrictions that barred women from full entry to the temple, an even deeper sadness descended. Will this ever change? she wondered. Will there ever come a time when I can be one with God, and he with me?

Though Mary didn’t know it then, the baby she would one day bear would bring these changes to the human race. As an adult man, he would promise his disciples, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive . . . but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17, emphasis added).

Not long after Jesus spoke those words, Mary saw her Son’s glorious promise come to pass. She was in the upper room when the Holy Spirit made the human heart—not the golden constructions of men like Herod—his new temple of spiritual residence. The book of Acts describes how the eleven faithful disciples gathered for worship after Jesus ascended to heaven. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14).

What happened next? “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4).

From that moment on, everything would be different. No longer would God have to be accessed through repeated sacrifices in front of a restricted temple. No longer would a veil obscure the dwelling place of God. No longer would Mount Moriah alone be the lighthouse of the world. After the descent of the Spirit, each believer in Jesus—whether a woman or a man—would serve as a temple of God’s presence. The once-for-all sacrifice had been made.

Although Mary’s twelve-year-old mind couldn’t have comprehended such ideas, all of these wonders lay ahead in her future. Her only job was to be faithful and say, “Yes, Lord. Let it be done to me according to your will.”

Adapted from Herod and Mary by Kathie Lee Gifford and Bryan M. Litfin, PHD.

Our faith needs to be the decision maker to say, “Thy will be done.” I have not met anyone who has heard from heaven about what is to take place in their life, but I have heard of many faithful that respond to God each day, before anything unfolds, “Thy will be done”, ready to meet the day as God has planned. As a temple for the living God, the Holy Spirit, yield your earthly selfishness, and trust the God who loves, who saves, who sanctifies, redeems you, and claims you as His child, to live with Him forever. Indeed, “Thy will be done!”

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 16, 2024

Notes of Faith July 16, 2024

Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 10:11

When a teenage David offered to fight the Philistine giant Goliath, King Saul doubted his ability—until David provided evidence from his life as a shepherd. Whenever a lion or bear attacked his flock, David would fight and kill the attacking beast and rescue his sheep from its claws and teeth. David said he would do the same to Goliath, and Saul acquiesced (1 Samuel 17:32-37).

As a shepherd, David fulfilled his two most important tasks: provide for his flock and protect his flock. He saw God fulfilling those same two responsibilities for His people and for him personally and wrote a song illustrating God’s role as the Shepherd: Psalm 23. God provides green pastures for His flock and protects them in the valley of the shadow of death. The role of the Good Shepherd is one Jesus took upon Himself as Israel’s Messiah—a Shepherd who “gives His life for the sheep.”

Jesus is still the Good Shepherd. He can defeat any giant that stands in your way. You can trust Him for provision and protection every day until He comes to gather His flock to Himself.

Before an emergency arises, God in his providence has made adequately and perfectly timed provision to meet it.

J. Oswald Sanders

Ps 23

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Good Shepherd knows His sheep. He provides for them. He cares for them. They listen to Him and follow Him. We are His sheep. Let us listen to and follow Him into the perfect pastures of His care.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 15, 2024

Notes of Faith July 15, 2024

Guardian of the Sheep

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:9

In the ancient Near East, kings were often referred to as shepherds. In the Old Testament, God was referred to as the “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1), the One who would do what Israel’s failed earthly shepherds would not do: care for the people of Israel (Ezekiel 34:11-16). Ezekiel 34 contains one of the harshest rebukes in the Old Testament: God’s rebuke of the leaders of Israel who were not caring for His people.

Against this background, Jesus not only declared Himself to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), but He also said He was the Door of the sheepfold. That meant anyone coming in or out of the sheepfold had to go through Him. He was not the guardian of the door; He was the Door itself! Those who enter His sheepfold “will be saved” and can go “in and out [to] find pasture” (John 10:9). This is reminiscent of His words in John 14:6: “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Thank God today that Jesus is your way to salvation and the One who protects you as part of His flock.

Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ.

Andrew Murray

Many seemingly nice, peaceful people have said that there are various paths to God. God, Himself, Jesus, said, “No one”, that means not one, comes to God but through Him, the door of the sheepfold. Come to Jesus. Learn of Him and from Him. Begin or strengthen your relationship with Him. He is life and that eternal. Please listen to your inner most being, come to Jesus, that you might be saved!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 14, 2024

Notes of Faith July 14, 2024

What Makes God Happiest?

Enjoying His Signature Joy

Article by David Mathis

Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

I was wondering if I had discovered a new world.

Home from college after my freshman year, I was pondering what makes God happy. That spring I had read Desiring God and had my soul turned upside down for good. The book exposed how duty-oriented my approach toward God had been, and in the exposure, God’s Spirit opened the floodgates to delight in him, on the rock-solid foundation of the glory of God — since God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

After a few weeks of catching my breath, now I dared to take up what seemed to be the sequel, called The Pleasures of God (but found it more like the prequel). To that point, I had hardly thought deeply about human happiness. Now I found myself captivated by a theme I had not previously considered: what makes God happy. And I was finding that few things satisfy a human soul like meditating on the satisfactions of God.

Now, it’s one thing to ask, What makes God happy? It’s another to say, What makes him happiest?

Search through Scripture for the pleasures of God, and you’ll find many solid joys. He delights in his created world, and in all he does, and in his own renown. He delights in his people and in choosing them and in doing them good. He also delights in their prayers, and in their personal obedience and in their public acts of justice.

But lay those many divine delights side by side, and ask, What does God enjoy most? What makes him happiest? What is his signature joy? One clear answer emerges.

Ground Zero for God’s Joy

For starters, he is a God who was and is infinitely happy apart from his creation. His created world, and its history, is not the cause of his infinite bliss but its overflow.

At one level, the answer to our question of what makes him happiest is simply, Himself. God is not an idolater; he has no greater joy than God. He is supreme being — infinitely highest in value, glory, beauty, and blessedness (that is, happiness). And before anything else existed through his creative mind and hands, he was fully satisfied in himself. We rightly affirm, in simple terms, that God’s greatest happiness is God himself.

Yet Scripture unfolds even more. God is not only one but three. So, at another level, the answer to our question is, His Son. The eternal Son is ground zero for God’s pleasure, his first and foremost joy. No thing and no one makes the divine Father happy like his divine Son. This Son — eternally begotten, perfectly reflecting all divine excellencies, the full panorama of the Father’s perfections — has fully pleased and delighted his Father from all eternity. And he also entered into history to “add to,” as it were, his Father’s already infinite delight.

Delight in His Eternal Son

Before tracking God’s delight in his Son in time and space, consider God’s first and foremost delight in the eternal Son. Jesus’s baptism, at the outset of his ministry, is a stunning introduction to the world of the Father’s greatest joy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all use the language of pleasure and delight (Greek eudokeō, “to be well pleased, to take delight”), as in Matthew 3:17:

Behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22)

At this point, no doubt, the Father is well-pleased with the human life of his divine Son, but here at the inauguration of Jesus’s public ministry, we see back through three decades of sinless humanity, to endless ages of divine perfection. The voice sounds from heaven, echoing the timeless Wisdom personified in Proverbs 8, lines the church has long connected to her Lord:

When he established the heavens, I was there; . . .

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

then I was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his delight. (Proverbs 8:27–30)

There has never been a time when the Son was not, nor when the Son was not his Father’s delight. “God’s pleasure in his Son,” writes John Piper, “is the pleasure he has in the breathtaking panorama of his own perfections reflected back to him in the countenance of Christ” (The Pleasures of God, 174). And long before the Son came as the long-anticipated Messiah, and long before there were even earthly days, the Son was daily his Father’s great joy.

In fact, it was this very delight — Father in his Son, and Son in his Father — that spilled over in the creation of the world and history, with the Father, overflowing with joy in his Son, appointing him heir of all things, and creating the world to give it to him (Hebrews 1:2).

Delight in His Incarnate Son

The Father’s eternal delight in his Son led not only to the gift of creation but also to its glory. That is, the world and its history glorify the Son as both rightful owner and rescuing hero. The Father sent his Son into the created world to be its Lord and Savior. And it pleased him to do this: “In [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things”

(Colossians 1:19–20).

Having sounded the Father’s pleasure at Jesus’s baptism, Matthew also mentions God’s delight in his “servant” as Jesus goes about his ministry of teaching and healing.

Many followed [Jesus], and he healed them all. . . . This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.” (Matthew 12:15–18)

Now the connection with Isaiah is explicit. Jesus also is the long-awaited “servant” of Isaiah 42, the one “in whom [God’s] soul delights” (Isaiah 42:1–4). In fully human flesh and blood, and anointed with the fullness of God’s Spirit, the Son’s human life and ministry make his Father smile with delight. And Jesus knows it, and himself delights in it. He says in John 8:29,

He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

Few joys rival the delight of a son in knowing that he pleases his father. And this Father is God. Such a life as Christ’s is ultimate freedom: delighting to do what delights God.

“Few things satisfy a human soul like meditating on the satisfactions of God.”

Also, the transfiguration underscores the Father’s delight in his incarnate Son. On the mountain with Peter, James, and John, Jesus is transfigured before them: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2). Moses and Elijah appear and are talking with him. Then the voice of God’s delight in his Son again rings out, clarifying who is Lord of, not peer to, Israel’s greatest prophets:

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. (Matthew 17:5)

Peter himself would write in his second epistle of being eyewitness to this majesty. His telling also centers on the Father’s declaration of delight in his Son (2 Peter 1:17–18).

Delight in His Crucified Son

Given this signature divine pleasure — the Father in his Son, infinite in greatness and depth for all eternity, and extended into the world in the incarnate life of Christ — how jarring is it to rehearse the prophecy of Isaiah that “it was the will of the Lord to crush him” (Isaiah 53:10)? And God’s willing here is typically under-translated in our English. Twelve times in Isaiah and throughout the Old Testament, this Hebrew word (ḥā·p̄êṣ) is rendered “delight in” or “take pleasure in.” The unnerving claim in Isaiah 53:10 is that the Father delighted to crush his Son.

How could this be so? How could the Father, whose signature joy is the life of his Son, not only permit but delight in the death of his Son and the horrors of the cross? Elsewhere I’ve answered at greater length, but here let’s capture a few key aspects of this surprising and revealing delight.

For one, the Father does not only delight in the Son’s death. He wills it, yes, and delights in it, yes, but he also looks in righteous anger on his Son’s mistreatment and murder. This is history’s worst miscarriage of justice. No man ever deserved death less than the sinless Son of God. The cross is history’s greatest sin, a violent and horrendous affront by sinners on God himself. In one sense, the Father indeed is righteously furious. Yet still, in it all, he sees his Son’s faith and obedience, and he rejoices. Why?

MANY SAVED

Surely one pleasure he had in view was the rescue, and God-glorifying pleasure, of the “many” whom the Son saves (Isaiah 53:11–12). The cross is good news to the sinner who hears in it the invitation of God’s rescue from eternal misery. At bottom, the good the gospel offers to sinners is the ultimate good of having God himself and sharing in God’s own joy. Such a Father rescues his children not reluctantly but gladly. He delights to save his people.

GLORY VINDICATED

Surely another pleasure God had at the cross was his Son’s love for his Father and his glory. As Piper writes,

The depth of the Son’s suffering was the measure of his love for the Father’s glory. It was the Father’s righteous allegiance to his own name that made recompense for sin necessary. So when the Son willfully took the suffering of that recompense on himself, every footfall on the way to Calvary echoed through the universe with this message: The glory of God is of infinite value! The glory of God is of infinite value! (Pleasures of God, 176)

REDEMPTION ACHIEVED

So too, the Father delighted in the magnitude of his Son’s achievement at the cross. Make no mistake, the cross is an achievement — the single greatest achievement in the history of the world, and one whose full magnitude we have only begun to grasp. We will celebrate it forever in our praises. When God delights in the death of his Son for sinners, he delights in his Son achieving the single greatest feat in history, making the worst Friday to be Good, making the horrible cross to be wonderful.

Which leads, finally, to the pleasure of the Son in being crushed.

SON SATISFIED

Jesus did not go to Golgotha against his will. Certainly, just about everything human in him recoiled from what lay ahead, and yet in the garden, he looked the horror and humiliation in the face, and looked through it to the reward — and “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Even Isaiah foresaw this seven centuries before: “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). The Son himself delighted to see his people saved, he delighted to see his Father honored, and, knowing his Father would raise him, he delighted to have his Father reward his achievement with the seat in heaven at his right hand.

So, the Father’s delight in the cross of his Son is not apart from his Son’s own delight in it, nor is it apart from the certainty of his Son’s resurrection.

Our Delight in Jesus

What difference does God’s signature happiness make for us? I close with just two of the many.

First, what greater confirmation could there be for our own signature delight than that of God himself? If the Son — eternal, incarnate, crucified, glorified — is the first and foremost delight of his Father, why would we not train our own best thoughts and longings on him? If Jesus is the focus of God’s foremost delight, how could we dare treat him as worthy of anything less than ours? And how hopeful might we be for truly finding what our souls long for as we take our cues from God himself?

Second, if the Father’s delight in his Son undergirds and leads to the extension of grace to sinners, then how secure might we be in this gospel? God didn’t only accomplish the gospel through his Son, but it pleased him to do so. God delights in the gospel. It makes him happy. In fact, it is an extension of his signature happiness. The happy God is securely happy about his Son dying (and rising) to save us. How secure, then, can we be in this gospel!

Salvation in Christ is not based on a whim or accident. The gospel is not a divine concession. It is a divine delight. God designed it, ordained it, arranged it, and it pleased him to do it. And neither Satan nor sinful man can change that.

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for desiringGod.org.

Jesus always did what pleased the Father…The pursuit of our lives should be to always do what pleases God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May we know the blessing of God through all we do to please Him!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 13, 2024

Notes of Faith July 13, 2024

Look-Alikes: The Obedience of Mary Magdalene

“Go to My brethren” .... Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the [resurrected] Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

John 20:17-18

When a parent tells a child, “Go to the pantry and choose a chocolate treat for yourself,” how much of a test of obedience is involved? Very little, as the assigned task is one the child would delight in. There is no danger or sacrifice involved, no weighing of priorities or inconvenience—all factors which challenge the notion of obedience.

Jesus’ entire earthly life was lived in obedience to God, often (and ultimately) at great cost. He said, “The Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.... Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak” (John 12:49-50). As a disciple of Jesus, Mary Magdalene did the same thing in obeying Jesus. When she encountered the resurrected Jesus, He told her to take a message to the other disciples—and she obeyed instantly. In the midst of questions and confusion, she obeyed her Lord.

Delayed obedience is disobedience. Consider today how you might faithfully obey God regardless of the cost.

Beware of reasoning about God’s Word—obey it.

Oswald Chambers

John 12:49-50

49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

Jesus is God the Son. He was sent from God the Father to earth to speak truth from God. Jesus and the Father are One. When we understand the truth of God and the truth of the Scriptures, His Word, we know that God is One, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us daily draw close to the Father, through the grace provided us through believing in Jesus Christ, and the power living within the believer, the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 12, 2024

Notes of Faith July 12, 2024

Safe and Secure

I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:7

Warren Wiersbe explained John 10:1-6 like this: “The middle Eastern sheepfold was very simple: a stone wall, perhaps ten feet high, surrounded it, and an opening served as the door. The shepherds in the village would drive their sheep into the fold at nightfall and leave the porter to stand guard. In the morning each shepherd would call his own sheep, which would recognize their shepherd’s voice and come out of the fold. The porter (or one of the shepherds) would sleep at the opening of the fold and actually become ‘the door.’”1

Jesus said He was the Door. When we are in Him, we have the stone walls of His protective care all around us, and He Himself stands guard to make sure we’re “safe and secure from all alarm,” as we sing in an old Gospel song. Take a deep breath today and remember that you don’t need to be afraid. Jesus, the Door, is your protective Shepherd.

Every day may be a day of blessing, every hour an hour of victory, if but lived in the thought that Jehovah in his might is your shepherd.

J. Wilber Chapman

Rom 8:28-3928 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lor

All things means all things…there is nothing that is occurs out of the sovereign authority and control of God. And there is nothing that can separate us from Him. We must look forward through the trials of this life to see God bringing His perfect plan to completion. Pain, suffering, death, cannot cause fear, but rather draw us closer to the moment when we will be in the physical presence of Jesus! He is with us even now, as the Scripture says, His Spirit dwells within the believer in Him to guide, direct, convict, enable, ensure, comfort and much more. The God who dwells within is the same God who was, who is, and who will always be.

Isa 53:6

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him. (Jesus)

Believe in Jesus! Have joy and peace eternally and now as well! Listen to and follow the Shepherd who knows and loves His sheep.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 11, 2024

Notes of Faith July 11, 2024

Without Israel, the Messiah would not have come because God chose Israel for that purpose, and He was born at the right time, and He was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law also. Not just the Gentiles. Part of the mystery of the Messiah is the reality that He cannot be separated from the nation of Israel. It's not just unbiblical to try and force such a conclusion; It's actually diabolic. Who wants Israel to be wiped out? The devil.

Amir Tsarfati: It's Demonicc

There is a growing mindset today that as long as you believe in Jesus and that He was raised from the dead, the rest of what you believe is of no consequence. You can believe some of the Bible or none of the Bible, or even things outside of the Bible, and still have the expectation of arriving in heaven.

The problems with this thinking are many, and not the least of which is this:

Psalms 138:2

I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

The word of God - penned by 40 different authors in three different languages on three different continents over 1,500 years - is magnified above all of His name. What does this mean? Simply put, we could understand it by noting that when a person has a reputation for lying and you hear their name, it is their character that comes to mind. If someone is a gossip, the same is true. This is also true of a thief. The point is that a person’s character creates an association with their name. The nature and character of God is recorded in His word. His name is established by what is written in His word.

Psalms 119:160

The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

Remember, among His characteristics, Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And in John 1:1, He is revealed as “the word” who is God.

If you say you have a relationship with the Lord, you cannot distance yourself from His word. He is the word and the entirety of His word is truth, including this:

Romans 11:25-27

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

Zion is often used in reference to the whole of Jerusalem where the Lord said His name, eyes, and heart will be perpetually (2 Chronicles 7:6). It can also refer to the hill upon which Jerusalem was built and where the temples stood. The mention of Jacob is a clear reference to the the children of Israel through whom the Deliverer would come. Romans also says that someday, all Israel will be saved.

Since that hasn’t happened, it must be in the future. And if it is yet future, then how can someone say that modern Israel is not the Israel of the Bible? The only way to arrive at that kind of conclusion is to think, “I am a believer in Christ who doesn’t believe all the Bible is true.” How can that even be possible since Jesus is the word and the word establishes the credibility of His name, which is the only name that can save?

Antisemitism is sin. It doesn’t matter what your opinion may be on the war in Gaza. It does not matter what anyone thinks about who was there first simply because the word says this:

Ezekiel 39:27-29

When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”

Amos 9:15

I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.

It is the devil who is driving the global antisemitism of the day and no Christian, under any circumstances, should ever side with Him.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Believe the truth in God’s Word about His chosen people the Hebrews. God took a Gentile, Abram, and made Him the first of the Hebrews, Abraham, and called Him to believe and follow His commands and blessed him immensely. There are still promises in Scripture to be fulfilled by God toward the Hebrews and God is faithful to fulfill every promise that He makes. This one is more important today than ever, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” We can look at history and see how God has destroyed nations that do not support Israel. He will continue to do so, even the United States of America, if we stop blessing Israel and it’s people.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 10, 2024

Notes of Faith July 10, 2024

Seek the Light

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

Back before we had GPS-enabled maps on our phones and in our cars, people navigated on road trips using paper maps. This was challenging enough during the day, but at least there was light. But at night, road maps were doubly challenging since the interior lights in cars were rarely bright enough to make map reading easy.

Recommended Reading:

2 Timothy 3:16

Light is a critical ingredient when navigating on the road or through life. When we encounter dead-ends, roadblocks, detours, or other challenges when traveling through life, we need the brightest light possible: Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, and His Word. When seeking the guidance and direction we need, we should go first to God in prayer—and then to His Word. The psalmist declared God’s Word to be a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. In that day, tiny oil lamps would only illuminate a path for a short distance. We must trust God to illuminate our next steps, not the entire journey at once.

Trust the God who is Light and His Word if you are in need of direction (2 Timothy 3:16).

No darkness we have who in Jesus abide; the light of the world is Jesus!

P. P. Bliss

John 8:12

12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.

John 9:5

5 "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

Since Jesus knew that He was returning to the Father, He said,

Matt 5:14

14 "You (believers in Him, His disciples) are the light of the world. (To carry on His work, teaching the truth of God, leading people to the Messiah, the Savior of the world).

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 9, 2024

Notes of Faith July 9, 2024

 One-Name Wonders

Iddo. Junia. Sheerah. Asenath. Jochebed. Priscilla. Zipporah. Aquila. Archippus. Apphia. Onesimus. Nympha. Epaphras.

So many of the phrases I’ve circled in my Bible contain a name. A single name — sometimes with a sentence of explanation, and sometimes these monikers fly solo. Names containing mostly unknown stories and glories, these secondary and tertiary characters in God’s epic love story nestle into the folds of my brain and circle around there.

Did Asenath, daughter of the pagan priest of On and wife of Jacob’s son Joseph, have any inkling of her status as the mother of the two half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the outsized part they would play in God’s story? Did she know that Ephraim and Manasseh would replace Reuben as the firstborn of the nation? Did she know that Jewish children would be blessed with the words “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh” (Genesis 48:20) still today? Did she understand her rare position as an outsider grafted into the family tree of God’s people?

Which prophecies caused Iddo’s hands to shake as he recorded God’s words and warnings during the reign of Solomon and Jeroboam? Where are his words now?

What kind of city builder was Sheerah? Did she draw up ancient architectural plans?

What kingdom exploits did Nympha participate in?

I truly think on these and so many other names. Perhaps because I have generally played lesser-seen characters onstage and been an understudy, I find these parenthetical people particularly intriguing. In college we were often assigned the task of researching secondary characters, filling in the societal and cultural blanks, deciphering what their motivation might be for their onstage actions, words, and feelings. We tried to ferret out what the author intended to say through these characters. Though this is a far, far lesser metaphor for the same pursuit in the biblical narrative, I think this has always been the source of my bent to lean toward the unknowns, the hidden characters in the pages of Scripture.

God knows every unknown.

That word unknown used to cause my heart to pinch up a bit; how about yours? I’m a word girl to the marrow, but I don’t like this word. The word unknown makes me turn my head away. Unknown things, at least for me, feel shadowy, slightly dangerous, apt to wrap themselves like anchors around my legs and drown me.

Once, while I was visiting with a wise woman at my collegiate church, I received something that forever encapsulated my tendency toward hating the unknowns. After praying and talking with me, she said something akin to, “Allison, I imagine you as a young girl, presented with a beautifully wrapped present from your heavenly Father. But you won’t unwrap it because you’re afraid it contains snakes. But it doesn’t. It contains untold blessings. You stand frozen, looking at it, refusing to unwrap it. Unwrap the present.”

Sometimes I’m still tempted to believe that blessings always come with a billy club. But it’s not true. Scripture declares,

The blessing of the Lord enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it. — Proverbs 10:22 BSB

Slowly, the emotional fog is lifting; I dare to raise a new sail. Yesterday, my Tall Man and I were talking about the things we can’t see (the unknowns), and he said something powerful to me: “You’ve spent your whole life thinking if you can’t see it, it must be all bad. But what if you can’t see it, and it’s all good?”

I thought: I don’t have to know every loop-de-loop, because God does.

You're invited

Up and Up and Up

Recently, my family went on a trip to the mountains of North Carolina, and I thought it would be a dandy idea to walk across the Mile High Swinging Bridge at Grandfather Mountain, America’s highest footbridge. I thought I would lollygag right on across the bridge with plenty of cute family selfies to boot. How high and mighty of me!

I got to the edge of the bridge, started to take the first step, and then accidentally looked down. I pulled back to the platform of safety like a woman who had just been asked to do a triple gainer off a high dive into a pool of molten lava. I was terrified, which was odd to me because I had never, in all my life, struggled with heights — but that day, there was no way I was going to make it across that bridge without adult diapers.

Once I had caught my breath, I looked at my husband, my two sons, and countless others walking calmly across the bridge. After glancing at the safety wires going up to the neck of the bridge, I told myself, You can do it; just don’t look down. I looked at the destination and the objects of my affection — my husband and my sons (Levi, named for the priests, and Luke, a tip-of-the-hat to the beloved doctor of one of the Gospels) — the whole way across. I looked at where I was going and, step by careful step, I traversed it. And heavens, what a view was waiting for me on the other end!

The key to the whole experience was found in looking up, not down to the gorge below. The key was setting my mind on higher things. I could not help but think of Jesus, who set His heart and mind on the joy set before Him as He endured the unendurable.

Excerpted from Seen, Secure, Free by Allison Allen, copyright Allison Allen.

The world presents to us plenty of things to fear and yet God speaks to us over and over, “Fear not”. God created the world that we live in. He created it for Himself, and for you and me! In so doing, He told us to trust Him and to walk with Him forever in intimate relationship. We have failed many times, not trusting, not looking up, frozen, somehow believing that we cannot continue our journey. But God continues to provide the way, truth and life, if we would only come to Him with our fear, our sin, our repentance, even the faith He gives us to believe and trust Him. We can see Him through the eyes of faith and know Him intimately as He walks with us in every moment of our lives. Look, listen, and revel in the glory of His grace, mercy, and love for you. You will be immensely blessed!

Pastor Dale