Notes of Faith September 1, 2025

Notes of Faith September 1, 2025

The Ever-Present Lord

The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.

Genesis 39:2

F. B. Meyer said, “There is an experience in which we do not only believe that He is near, but we perceive His presence by the instinct of the heart. He becomes a living, bright reality; sitting by our hearth, walking beside us through the crowded streets, sailing with us across the stormy lake, standing beside the graves that hold our dead, sharing our crosses and our burdens…. Then the believer leans hard on the ever-present Lord.”

From the time he was seventeen until he was thirty, Joseph encountered one heartbreaking setback after another, but we read: The Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy…. The Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

(Genesis 39:2-3, 21, 23).

You may encounter setbacks, and sometimes you go through heartache. But those are the times to perceive Christ’s presence by an instinct of the heart. Let His nearness be a living, bright reality in your life today.

Lean hard on the ever-present Lord, drawing on His fullness, appropriating His unsearchable riches, claiming from Him grace to turn every temptation into the means of increasing likeness to Himself

F. B. Meyer

Whether we know it, believe it, or understand it…the Lord is with us everywhere we go. He even knows our thoughts before we have them. May you be comforted and encouraged today, trusting the Lord who loves and cares for you, to be with you through every circumstance.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 31, 2025

Notes of Faith August 31, 2025

Pumpkin-Flavored Everything

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. — John 13:35

It always happens around the beginning of September. One minute there is nothing, and the next minute, everywhere you look, there are signs of fall in the form of pumpkin-flavored everything. There are pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cheesecakes, and the ever-popular pumpkin spice lattes. Just the other day I noticed spiced pumpkin pecan ice cream at the local grocery store. Apparently nothing is off-limits. Even without a single glance at a calendar, the prevalence of pumpkin would give the season away in a flavorful way.

Similarly, there should be an abundance of love present in the life of a believer. Love should be evident in the way we treat our neighbors. There should be love in the way we honor our parents. Love should spur us to serve within our communities. Without uttering a word about church affiliation or conversion experiences, the prevalence of love in our lives should make our relationship with Christ abundantly clear.

There should be a trail of brotherly love everywhere we go, and no one should be off-limits.

Is our “love for one another” the most obvious thing about us? Would someone watching the way we conduct ourselves and the way we interact with others know that we are disciples of Christ? Is there something about us that sets us apart as different and identifies us as belonging to God? The essence of Jesus’ words was that acts and attitudes of love should be as common in the lives of Christ followers as pumpkin spice lattes in the fall. Just for the record, that is really common.

What would it look like if we were all known for our love for one another? How would it change our families, our workplaces, and our towns if we truly loved one another? I believe it can be done. If someone can make pumpkin- flavored potato chips and convince people to buy them, we can make brotherly love the theme of the season. Let’s make it obvious that we are Jesus’ disciples.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving. — 1 Timothy 4:4

Fall Trees

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. — Joel 2:25

It’s always exciting when the leaves begin falling from the trees and blowing in the crisp breezes of fall. We ooh and aah over the myriad of colors. There comes a point, however, when all the leaves have finished their falling, and the trees stand bare. How do you feel when you see the fall trees without their leaves? At first glance, perhaps, they seem empty, as if everything has been stripped away. They are left standing stark on a gray landscape, and, well, they often seem a little sad and alone. They appear barren.

In time, however, those very same trees will begin to show signs of new growth. Buds will hint at the beauty of things to come. In due time, fresh flowers and leaves will appear, and the trees that appeared dead will spring to life again. So it’s important to remember in the cold days of fall that bare is not the same thing as barren.

Life is full of seasons.

There are times when we feel things being stripped away from us and we are left standing bare before the world. Others looking at us may see no signs of life and believe us to be barren. But our God is a God of restoration, and no loss goes unnoticed by Him. Many times, what looks like barrenness to the world is only a season of bareness.

Our fruitful days are coming, and God is about to do a work in our lives that only He can do.

Through the prophet Joel, God promised restoration to His people. He promised to restore the years the locusts had eaten. These were locusts that God Himself had sent to swarm among them. The Lord knows when things need to fall away from our lives, and we can trust Him also to bring us again to a season of growth and new life. Just remember that whatever the season you’re currently in, bare is not the same as barren and that anything stripped away is leaving room for God to do something new.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. — James 5:7

Excerpted from Devotions for the Fall by Stacy Edwards, copyright Thomas Nelson.

I am seeing the ads for pumpkin everything too! And I am succumbing to them! Dairy Queen has a pumpkin flavored blizzard! I want to try it. I like pumpkin… pie, cheesecake, coffee, ice cream…even my chickens like pumpkins!

But the point of the story is the stripping away of the old and the restoration of the new. God does not do this in us in the “Fall” season. He is always working at stripping away the old man so that the new man in Christ can produce fruit! Just think, if we were to work with God and shake the leaves of the old man off, waiting patiently for the new growth God creates in us to bear fruit for His glory, what daily lives we could lead with excitement and expectation.

The “Fall” season is not comfortable or beautiful or easy, as things are being stripped away from our lives. But those things must die so that God can use our lives to bless others who suffer from the same or similar struggles in their lives.

I am praying for you this morning, that whatever “Fall” season God has you going through, that you are able, like Jesus in His persecution and death, to look forward to the glory that God is preparing for you, in this life and the next! Be strong and courageous in Christ. Know that you are loved and have an intimate relationship with the King of kings! He will bring His bride to glorious perfection.

He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 30, 2025

Notes of Faith August 30, 2025

We…sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-2

Timothy was probably a teenager when Paul sent him on his very first solo mission. Paul, Silas, and Timothy had evangelized in the city of Thessalonica, planting a church there. Being run out of town, they traveled three hundred miles south to the city of Athens. But Paul was worried about the new believers, so worried that he sent the teenager to check on them. Timothy traveled three hundred miles alone, slipped into Thessalonica, sought out the new believers, encouraged them, and brought updates back to Paul. It’s amazing such a young man would be sent on such a mission. But he was successful.

Whatever our age, the Lord has a way of sending us to new places, new people, new situations, and unexpected circumstances. Wherever we go, there are people we can establish and encourage in their faith. The God of Timothy is our God, and the mission endures.

Let’s follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4).

Christ has been sent here to reveal the Father and to show forth His glory. So we are sent into the world to show forth Christ’s glory, which is the glory of the Father.

A. W. Pink

We are sent to be around coworkers, those at the grocery store, our doctor(s), a neighbor…many opportunities to share the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ, or to give an encouraging word to a brother or sister in need. Wherever God sends us we are to be light in a dark place. Share the light of the glory of God that you have been given that another might be blessed today!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 29, 2025

Notes of Faith August 29, 2025

Protected by Prayer

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18

The believer’s spiritual armor is well known to students of Scripture

(Ephesians 6:10-18). Six pieces of armor are mentioned, but prayer is often overlooked (verse 18). To see why Paul included it, we must remember the theme of this section: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (verse 10).

This whole section of Paul’s letter is about being strong in the Lord—and spiritual armor is definitely a part. But his concluding exhortation about prayer is also a part of the protection we need against the schemes of the devil (verse 11). This is evidenced by Paul’s own request that the Ephesian church pray for him that he would be fearless and courageous in proclaiming the Gospel while imprisoned in Rome (verses 19-20). He made the same request for prayer to the church in Rome on another occasion when he was headed for likely persecution in Jerusalem (Romans 15:30-31).

Should we clothe ourselves daily in the spiritual armor of God? Absolutely! But do not fail to include the protective power of prayer.

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.

William Cowper

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you memorize Scripture. It is these that give us hope, strength, and the power of God to make it through each day. May you be encouraged and blessed as you pray for God’s strength in you today!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 28, 2025

Notes of Faith August 28, 2025

Persistent, Patient Prayer

Then [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1

If we make a request of someone—perhaps a friend or coworker—and don’t receive an answer, we wonder why. Did they forget? Does their silence mean no? Are they still considering our request? We may be afraid to ask again and so continue in a state of confusion. Sadly, we take that human experience and apply it to God in the case of unanswered prayer.

Recommended Reading:

Luke 18:1-8

Several things are different when it comes to unanswered prayer. First, Jesus taught that God knows what we are going to pray for before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). That eliminates the possibility of God not having heard our prayers. Second, Jesus told a parable illustrating the fact that we should continue to ask and not give up (Luke 18:1-8). In the parable, a woman petitioned a judge with her request and continued to ask until she received an answer. A second parable of Jesus illustrates the similar points of boldness and persistence in prayer (Luke 11:5-8).

Third, God is good and will not withhold anything from His children according to His perfect plans. Pray and be patient while awaiting God’s answer.

The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.

F. B. Meyer

We are taught from instinct, our parents, and educators that we need to pull our pants up and take care of every problem that comes our way. This is a bleak attempt to leave God out of every issue of life. But it is God who has created each one of us in our mother’s womb, knows us more intimately than any other, and is involved in every moment of our lives. Let us not only be aware that God is… but that God hears and answers prayer. Jesus prayed continually. Jesus is God and yet He prayed to His Father intimately and always. Let us learn to be like Jesus, talking to “our” Father, as He taught us to pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray about everything. Your Father loves conversation with you.

James 4:8

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 27, 2025

Notes of Faith August 27, 2025

Learning to Pray

And when you pray.... But you, when you pray.... And when you pray.

Matthew 6:5-7

When a child tells his father he wants to learn to ride a bike, what does the father do? He could explain the parts of the bike. He could show the child a video about bikes. He could talk about the dangers involved in bike riding. Or he could put the child on the bike and work with him until he could ride! In other words, the best way to learn most things is by doing and practicing them.

Truth be told, most Christians don’t pray as well as they wish they did. They can identify with the disciples who asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus devoted extensive time to teaching about prayer (Matthew 6:5-14). He even provided a model prayer for His disciples to use, as if to say, “If you want to learn to pray, pray like this.” Prayer is a discipline, a practice, that only gets better when it is exercised. The best way to learn to pray is to pray!

Life is fragile—handle it with prayer.

Unknown

1 John 4:14-15

14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Let the Holy Spirit within you speak to your heavenly Father because of the saving grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ! Prayer…just do it! As you live each day growing in Christ, you will discern more and more the will of God, and learn to pray…“Thy will be done!”

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 26, 2025

Notes of Faith August 26, 2025

Praise and Thanks

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

If you met with a prominent person whom you highly respect in order to ask for a favor, at first you might say, “It is an honor to meet you; I’ve heard so much about your generosity to our local community.” Upon leaving, you might say, “Thank you so much for seeing me and for considering my request.” In other words, you might begin with praise and conclude with thanksgiving.

You could also conduct a prayer meeting with God the same way: praise at the beginning and thanksgiving at the end. Praise and thanksgiving are found throughout Scripture in psalms and prayers. It is interesting that even some of the New Testament epistles begin with words of praise to God (2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3). Others begin with thanksgiving to God for the spiritual progress of the recipients of the letter. Regardless of the order, praise and thanksgiving are consistent themes.

Remember to praise and thank God when you pray: praise for who He is, thanks for what He will do.

Ps 150

150 Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Ps 69:30

30 I will praise the name of God with song

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Ps 95:2

2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

Ps 100:4-5

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations.

Ps 147:7

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

What God does is not always what we expect that He will do but it is always for our good and His glory! Offer Him praise and thanksgiving!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 25, 2025

Notes of Faith August 25, 2025

I thank my God for the gift of my wife, Robin, as we celebrate 46 years together today!

End With Praise!

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:13

Reba McEntire says that singing the Lord’s Prayer is spirituality at its most profound. “It’s all God,” she said. “He’s the reason for everything.”

The climactic moment in the Lord’s Prayer, whether sung or spoken, is when it all circles back to God: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Notice that word “for,” which links all our requests with God’s glory. Why do we ask for God’s will to be done on earth? Why do we request our daily bread? Why do we pray, “Deliver us from evil?” It’s all for God’s glory.

We end the Lord’s Prayer by praising the great attributes of God. It would be very difficult for us to bring Him all of our needs and issues if we ended our prayer with a sense of our need rather than a sense of the One who has promised to meet our need. As you pray, remember God’s sovereignty, His power, His majesty, and His eternity. In prayer and in all of life, let’s end with praise!

We are often so preoccupied with our petitions to our Father that we completely forget to praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

1 Chron 29:10-13

"Praise be to you, O Lord,

God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.

12 Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

We express our maturity in Christ when we revere and honor God. We speak to God not only to confess sin, request forgiveness and seek His provision but to know Him and have intimate relationship with Him. May our thoughts be the heart and desire of our Father in heaven through whom we have life… and that eternal!

We praise You God for who You are and love You because You first loved us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 24, 2025

Notes of Faith August 24, 2025

This devotion is from my dear friend in Yeshua (Jesus), Olivier Melnick. He has a daily devotional, which you are seeing today. Please join us in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, (it is the city belonging to God!), and that the Jewish people would recognize their Messiah and be saved through believing faith, that we might share the glory of eternity together with them!

Numbers 6:24-26

Yahweh (The Lord) bless you, and keep you;

Yahweh (The Lord) make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

Yahweh (The Lord) lift up His face on you,

And give you peace.’

This prayer given by God to Aaron to bless the children of Israel became known as the “Aaronic Benediction” and is still recited today at the conclusion of religious services both in synagogues and some churches. It is a reminder that God wants to bless people and watch over them. Only God can bring true shalom onto people, and that is through the Prince of Peace, known as Yeshua the Messiah.

Olivier Melnick

There will be peace when Jesus comes to rule and reign for one thousand years on this earth! Pray that He might come soon, perhaps today… Are you ready for the King of kings to return? Are you ready to meet your Lord and Savior? Judgment is coming for those in unbelief and sin. Let us pray that they might repent and come in believing faith to Jesus! Two things we must do while we yet live…

LOVE GOD! LOVE OTHERS!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 23, 2025

Notes of Faith August 23, 2025

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

Prayers…

It is well and good, Lord,

if all things change,

provided we are rooted in You.

~ St. John of the Cross (1542–1591)

Help me to accept that change is part of life,

to welcome the newness each change brings,

and to embrace the gifts and joys of each season.

I trust Your guiding hand, God.

Help me adapt and

have a willing, adventurous spirit.

May I look for the valuable opportunities

You’re giving me in this situation

and make the most of them.

May I say yes to wherever You lead,

being glad and grateful to be on

a journey of discovery and growth with You.

~ C. M.

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

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

“The mountains may move and the hills disappear,

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

Surround me now with Your unfailing love.

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

You are my heart’s home forever,

no matter where I am or what happens around me.

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

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

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

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

As I am fatigued by the changes

and the chances of this fleeting world,

I rest in Your eternal changelessness;

through Jesus Christ,

who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

~ Leonine Sacramentary (5th C.)

I trust Your guiding hand, God.

ASKING FOR HELP

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

Every good gift in this world comes from You!

You are a generous Father,

providing what we need

and delighting in showering blessings on us.

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

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

Jesus taught us to knock, ask, seek,

and persist!

So we ask You now to give us

what we need and hope for—

as it pleases You.

We worship the One on the throne

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

We say that You’re good,

we need You,

and we’re glad to rely on You.

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

hold loosely whatever we have,

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

~ C. M.

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

to turn to You is to rise,

and to stand in Your presence is to live forever.

Grant us in all our duties Your help,

in all our perplexities Your guidance,

in all our dangers Your protection,

and in all our sorrows Your peace.

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

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

for a calm and peaceful spirit,

for every opportunity of leading a holy life,

and for circumstances that are most free from temptation.

We pray for Your preserving grace.

~ Henry Thornton (1760–1815)

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

help me to do all the good I can,

so that today is not a wasted day.

~ Stephen Grellet (1773–1855)

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

If I am uneasy or troubled, enable me,

by Your grace,

quickly to turn to You.

May nothing come between me and You today.

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

my loving and tender Father,

would have me will, do, and say.

~ Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800–1882), Adapted

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

Grant me humility, love, and obedience...

Implant in me the root of all blessings:

the reverence of You in my heart.

~ St. John Chrysostom (C. 347–407)

God, I need You every hour.

I ask You to meet my needs

as I offer up my hopes and dreams to You.

~ C. M.

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

We experience change every day whether we realize it or not. Even with regular habits that make us feel comfortable, there will be change for each new day. Going through major life changes can be more stressful; job changes or lack of a steady income, moving to a new home, a death in the family, marriage, newborns… These events can be more joyful experiences when following the handbook, (your Bible), and walking hand in hand with the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you belong to Him and that you are able, in Christ, to handle anything that comes your way.

Pastor Dale