Notes of Faith July 3, 2025

Notes of Faith July 3, 2025

The Happiness Paradox

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 89:15, NLT

Science Daily released a report stating what many people already knew: Trying to be happy makes us unhappy. The phenomenon is called the “happiness paradox.”1 Chasing happiness leads to exhaustion and disappointment. The Bible indicates that happiness, joy, and cheerfulness are byproducts of spiritual living.

Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians while imprisoned in Rome. He may have composed his letter under house arrest in his own rented home (Acts 28:30-31), or perhaps he had been moved to a cell closer to the courtroom where his case was heard. In any event, Paul seemed upbeat, cheerful, productive, and undisturbed by his circumstances. He mentioned joy and rejoicing over and over in Philippians. Paul heard the joyful call to worship and was walking in the light of God’s presence.

Today, worship our Savior, and rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 3:1).

God is the only source of real happiness. He does not need anything or anyone to make him happy; even before he made the world, the three persons of the Trinity were completely happy with each other. What God does for Christians is to make them as happy as he is.

Jeremiah Burroughs

1. University of Toronto, “Trying to Be Happy Makes Us Unhappier by Zapping Our Self-Control, Study Finds,” Science Daily, February 27, 2025.

Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Being a believer and follower of Jesus makes it possible for you to rejoice always, knowing that God is always in control, in and through every one of your specific circumstances. Jesus said, “The Bible is truth!” Therefore, pray, give your need to God expecting Him to answer your prayer for His glory and your good!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 2, 2025

Notes of Faith July 2, 2025

The Park Bench

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Colossians 4:5, NIV

At the age of 39, Wales Goebel felt God calling him to leave his construction business and begin working with young people. Over the years he led thousands to Christ. He helped establish a series of pregnancy centers and an adoption agency. At age 92, he felt God calling him to a new ministry. He told his wife that he believed there was a ministry God had for him at the lake. He would go each day, sit on a park bench, and pray for the Lord to send him someone to whom he could talk and witness. That bench became his pulpit where he led many people to Christ and enrolled them in a Bible study. He’s still doing that at the age of 97.1

When we live an openhearted life, we will exhibit hospitality, meet the needs of others, and show empathy to them. We’ll look for opportunities unique to our situation. Take some time to evaluate how open your heart is to serving others in these ways and pray for God to give you opportunities to demonstrate His love through your actions. Pray for ideas, and then go forth to serve the Lord.

You’re never too old to do the Lord’s work.

Wales Goebel

Col 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Do you pray for opportunity to speak the love of God to others? You were given life for a reason and that is to bring glory to God! Ask Him for opportunity, and then another and another…to praise Him, honor Him, serve Him by speaking the truth of the gospel to those who need to hear and respond to the love of God in Jesus Christ. May you all be given an opportunity to share Christ today, telling others how He has changed your life for all eternity!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith July 1, 2025 Part 2

Notes of Faith July 1, 2025 Part 2

I just received these thoughts from a friend today and thought that you might be blessed as well, so I am sending them along…

Happy July 1st! It’s so hard to believe how quickly the year is flying!

One recurring theme that we hear from the people we sit with is “Am I enough?” Are they smart enough? Are they good enough? Are they skillful enough? Are they doing enough? It seems that everybody has a ruler out, trying to see if they “measure up”.

This question gives me a new perspective on the temptation of Eve. According to the serpent all she had to do was eat the fruit to be “like God”—and she bit. Literally. This seems to indicate that somewhere deep down Eve believed that she was lacking, incomplete—not enough the way she was.

So let’s settle that age-old question once and for all: Am I enough? Unequivocally NO! Absolutely not. Not even close.

I’m convinced that this is the core message of Jesus feeding the 5000. In the face of overwhelming demands around us, we only (always!) have 5 loaves and 2 fish, and it is not enough. We need Jesus to step into our worlds and provide what is necessary to meet the needs around us, because we can’t.

We are not equal to the world and its problems. We are powerless to change the people around us. We can’t even clean up our own messy internal worlds—and that’s actually GOOD news because it reminds us that we are human and not God. And that, while we fall short in many ways, God IS enough.

How differently things might have turned out if Eve had been thoroughly convinced of the Creator’s joy over her for the very fact that she was NOT like Him. Her limitations, frailty, and otherness were His design, and gave Him great delight.

May you and I rest deeply in that knowledge this week. We do not have to strive to be more than we are—more than we were meant to be. Our God is more than enough. He loves us in our smallness. We are His, and that is enough!

Pastor Dale

(from the notes of a dear friend)

Notes of Faith July 1, 2025

Notes of Faith July 1, 2025

Clinging

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Romans 12:9, NIV

A diver in Korea was found earlier this year clinging to a broken surfboard. The man had become lost from his friends and disoriented in the water. All he could do was cling to the board despite suffering from hypothermia. He recovered from the ordeal, but imagine how tightly he must have gripped the board that saved him!

That’s how we should grip the things of the Lord! The psalmist said, “I cling to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:8, NIV). Deuteronomy 30:20 says, “Cling to Him, for He is your life.” Psalm 119:31 says, “I cling to Your testimonies,” referring to God’s Word. And Romans 12:9 tells us to “cling to what is good.”

Clinging to what is good is more than just avoiding what is evil. It involves actively looking for the good things God is doing and finding hope and joy in these things. The world around us is filled with evil. We must avoid it with all our hearts and make sure we are clinging to the Lord Himself, gripping Him tightly, along with His Word and His good works for us. Today, strengthen your grip!

I heed not the billows, for still I can sing; the cross is my anchor, and there will I cling.

William J. Coniver

It seems we have billows and storms almost every day. There are bills to pay, health concerns, many different life issues keep rising to the surface to beat us down. But we can know true peace when we live our lives in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our peace. He calms the storms. He controls His entire creation. When we know Him and follow Him, love and serve Him, He leads us every step of the way. Our desires, our thoughts, our actions, are transformed when we cling to Jesus. Maybe this should be copied and placed on your mirror or refrigerator to be seen as you start each day. Keep your grip on the Lord Jesus and in the most violent of storms you can know peace.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 30, 2025

Notes of Faith June 30, 2025

The Final Battle

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.... And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

Revelation 16:14, 16

Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military general and political leader, reportedly stood in the Valley of Megiddo, southwest of the Sea of Galilee, and said, “All the armies of the world could maneuver their forces on this vast plain.”

The plains of Megiddo were the site of numerous military conflicts in the Old Testament. Egyptian pharaohs and Canaanite kings did battle on the plains, as well as Jewish judges and kings. And in the modern era, the British army defeated the Ottoman Turks there in 1918. So it is no surprise that “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” will take place there at a time in the future. It is also no surprise that this final battle wraps up the Tribulation judgments in Revelation 16 prior to the Second Coming of Christ.

Take heart—and thank God that the world’s rebellion will one day be quelled and a reign of peace and justice will follow.

Let’s keep our chins up and our knees down—we’re on the victory side!

Alan Redpath

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 29, 2025

Notes of Faith June 29, 2025

A Deeper Sabath Restores More Fully

When you enter the land which I am going to give you, the land will observe a Sabbath to God. Sow your fields, prune your vineyards, and take in your harvests for six years. But the seventh year the land will take a Sabbath of complete and total rest. — Leviticus 25:2-4 MSG

This edict from God to let the promised land observe a one-year Sabbath to God was probably confusing to the Israelites. After all, a whole year off from planting crops and tending the land must have felt threatening to their food supply. But God knew something that the Israelites didn’t: even the land needs rest. Constant planting and growing uses up all the nutrients in the soil, until eventually crops won’t grow or growth will be stunted. A year off from growing allows the soil to be replenished.

If time off for replenishment is necessary for something as basic as soil, we, with our incredibly complex bodies and minds, need the same.

Observing a Sabbath each week is crucial, but we need more rest than that.

Taking longer stretches of time off is important to help replenish ourselves. Seasons where we work less and rest more can help immensely.

If you could take a sabbatical, what would you do to rest and replenish yourself?

How can you incorporate some of those activities into your existing periods of rest, even if for just a weekend or holiday?

Intentional Rest

“Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. — Mark 6:31-32 NIV

Jesus had a lot of important work to do here on earth, arguably the most important work in history, but He often made time to rest, as we read about in the Gospels. Just as God set an example for us when He took a day to rest during creation,

Jesus set an example for us about resting each day.

After spending time with large groups of people, Jesus took time alone to regain His energy and often sought out solitary places. After traveling, Jesus needed time to sit, and water to quench His thirst. Jesus didn’t work around the clock. He slept at night and took naps during the day. He shared meals with His apostles. He prioritized time alone to pray.

Jesus was limited by His human body here on earth, and He felt all the pangs and pains that come with that, just like we do. Instead of pushing past His own limits, Jesus very intentionally cared for His body, mind, and soul regularly, just as we should.

How do you intentionally rest and recharge your body throughout each day?

If you get overstimulated easily, how do you replenish your energy when you hit your limit?

Excerpted from The Weekly Rest Project, copyright Zondervan.

Many of us have not rested since the day we were born and now we are worn out! How well do you rest? Does your mind continue to race when you need to be resting? We seem to fight the restoration we need, just like the land that needed restoration in Israel and they were punished by God for not giving the land a Sabbath rest! You need rest! You may have to retrain yourself how to truly rest. And, remember that Jesus often rested and gained strength in the presence of His Father. Spend time in prayer. Read the Word of God. Rest in the peace of knowing God, His love, provision and care for you. Take a moment now to rest in the presence of God…

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 28, 2025

Notes of Faith June 28, 2025

Bible Dads: Paul

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:1

When we meet Timothy in Acts 16:1, he’s a teenager, the “son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.” The word “but” seems to imply that Timothy didn’t have a believing father. Perhaps he had little fatherly influence in his life. The (spiritual) life-shaping influences for Timothy were his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15).

The apostle Paul informally adopted Timothy and made him part of his traveling team. Imagine the conversations they had as they hiked the Roman roads, camped under the stars, and sailed the blue sea. Soon Paul was sending Timothy on missions of his own. Eventually the young man became overseer of the church in Ephesus. Paul wrote two letters to him in Ephesus—1 and 2 Timothy, the latter being the final known words of the apostle.

You can influence some young person for the Lord. Keep your eyes open. Through your prayers, encouragement, hospitality, and words of wisdom, you can shape the next generation.

The old disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage of religion, and the truth of God's promises.

Matthew Henry

2 Tim 3:10-17

10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

My dream as an older man of God, is to be one who inspires others to strive to live godly lives, to know God through careful reading and study of His Word, and to become one who walks intimately with the One who made them and loves them! May we who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, love, trust, and obey Him, in all things, at all times!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 27, 2025

Notes of Faith June 27, 2025

An Oath or a Place?

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:14

The word hell is showing up in a lot of political speeches and even children’s shows. It’s being so widely used that its real meaning is diluted to everyday people. But the Bible never uses hell as anything other than an eternal reality. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

The book of Revelation warns us of the realities of hell, and we should take heed.

God wants us in heaven with Him, but our sinfulness is a terrible barrier. That’s why He sent His perfect Son to earth. Jesus came to suffer for our sins and to open the door for us to have a relationship with God and the eternal life that goes with it.

You can have a part in reducing the number of people who may experience the judgment of God. Don’t use the word hell in a casual way, but do say a word for the Lord that may prevent someone from going there.

The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.

Attributed to J. Hudson Taylor

The person who utters the words “Go to hell” does not understand what they are saying. It is a place where the wrath of God is poured out eternally on the one who refuses to believe in and know the God who gave them life. They will be forever separated from God, experiencing torment and suffering forever and ever. We should wish this on no one, rather we should pray and share the truth of God with all He puts around us that some, even one, might come to believe the truth, and enjoy the blessings of heaven prepared for them by God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 26, 2025

Notes of Faith June 26, 2025

Praise for Deliverance

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”

Revelation 15:3

After the Hebrew slaves passed safely through the Red Sea, Moses and Miriam led them in a song of praise to God on the far shore of the sea. It is referred to as the song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-18). John, in his vision of the saints saved during the Tribulation (Revelation 12:11), saw those saints also standing beside a sea—“like a sea of glass mingled with fire” (Revelation 15:2, ESV). They were singing “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3-4) in praise to God for His deliverance of them through His judgments on the earth.

Jews today still sing the song of Moses, their great deliverer who rescued them from destruction in Egypt. Just as Tribulation saints will sing praise to God for His deliverance of them, so it is incumbent upon Christians today to sing praises to God for His deliverance of them from the destructive power and penalty of sin.

Consider incorporating Revelation 15:3-4 into your own personal times of devotion.

Salvation is not deliverance from hell alone; it is deliverance from sin.

Charles Spurgeon

1. I've found a friend who is all to me,

His love is ever true;

I love to tell how He lifted me,

And what His grace can do for you.

(Refrain)

2. He saves me from ev'ry sin and harm,

Secures my soul each day;

I'm leaning strong on His mighty arm;

I know He'll guide me all the way.

(Refrain)

3. When poor and needy and all alone,

In love He said to me,

"Come unto Me and I'll lead you home,

To live with Me eternally."

(Refrain)

Refrain:

Saved by His pow'r divine,

Saved to new life sublime!

Life is now sweet

And my joy is complete,

For I'm saved, saved, saved!

Many hymns of the faith sing of the hope and glory of salvation. This is one that I have known since my youth. I pray that you know others, new and old that declare your faith and hope in the complete work of Jesus Christ in your life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith June 25, 2025

Notes of Faith June 25, 2025

Forever and Ever

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.... He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.”

Revelation 14:9-10

Depending on which survey one reads, a significant portion of evangelical Christians do not believe in hell. Those beliefs are held in spite of the clear biblical references to eternal separation from God, especially by Jesus Himself.

Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46) is set in the context of the final judgment associated with His Second Coming. The righteous sheep are ushered into the Kingdom of God while the unrighteous goats are consigned to “the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.... And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (verses 41, 46). The words “everlasting fire” and “everlasting punishment,” taken at face value, support what John saw in his vision of eternal judgment: “The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever” (Revelation 14:11).

Eternity awaits everyone. Make sure your destiny is eternal life through faith in Christ.

How many by the wind of popular breath have been blown to hell!

Thomas Watson

The deception of Satan is hard at work to keep truth from all humanity. The explosion of information (and much of that lies and deceit) has filled many minds with false truth (lies). Remember, Satan was a liar from the beginning, a murderer, and there is no truth in him. He seeks to separate that which was made in the image of God from God by deceit and lying, just as he did in the Garden of Eden with Eve.

Matt 25:31-46

31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Listen less to the news. Read your Bible more. You will hear God speak instead of the influence of Satan. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free! John 8:32

Pastor Dale