Notes of Faith September 2, 2026

Notes of Faith September 2, 2026

Drought

The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the stream. — 1 Kings 17:6 NCV

Drought is one of a summer’s worst enemies. Unlike far too many people in the world, however, we first-­world residents are blessed to have a water supply to draw from even when the rain doesn’t fall. For much of history that wasn’t the case.

Dubbed by King Ahab “the biggest troublemaker in Israel” (1 Kings 18:17 NCV), the prophet Elijah had stopped the rain. Actually, God stopped it in answer to Elijah’s prayer, but the Israelites didn’t turn to God despite their thirst.

Unable to farm much, water their animals, or satisfy their own thirst, the Israelites were forced to make their search for water a daily priority.

Imagine how many trips to the well the Israelites made each day, how many wells dried up, and how many people, animals, and crops perished, yet God’s people did not turn to Him. At this point, generations of Israelites had worshipped Baal and ignored prophetic warnings to turn back to the God of Israel (1 Kings 12; 14; 16). Maybe now they thought Elijah’s God wasn’t real, didn’t care, or wasn’t powerful enough. And maybe you sometimes have similar thoughts.

Our minds, bodies, and spirits cannot hydrate themselves. So when our spirits are parched, do we pursue other gods, as the Israelites did? Or do we sense the Holy Spirit’s conviction and turn to Him for help? God gives us the freedom to choose. We can bury ourselves in busyness—­or cry out to Him for help. We can take our frustrations out on someone else—­or hit the pause button for rest and reflection. God will use whatever it takes—­removing our resources, blocking our escape hatches, and even drying up our water supply—­to reach us. Whether you are among the faithful, the parched, or the proud, turn to your good and gracious God. He is ready to rain His blessings upon you.

Lord, my spirit is dry and my heart is brittle, for I have dismissed Your generous offer of living water. I have realized, though, that I can’t control my life, I don’t have the answers I need, and I don’t even know how to seek them. I only know to turn to You.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

Excerpted from Devotions for the Summer, copyright Thomas Nelson.

We all too often start things that we do not finish well, a project, a book, a relationship…  This is especially true of our walk with God.  When we need or want something, we expect God to be near to us.  We may pray and read our Bibles.  We may listen to music and worship God.  But days come that seem filled with activity from rising in the morning to laying down to sleep and our interaction with God was nowhere to be found.  On those days, I find, that even if it was a good day, it “was not a good day”.  Not walking in the presence of God every day brings depression to my heart, a longing for that which is missing.  I need to return and return again to the joy of the Lord, my intimate relationship with the God who created me, loves me, and wants me to be with Him forever!  Endeavor to walk daily with me, as I follow Christ, in all circumstances, knowing He is there beside you.  There is no greater joy in this life than the love and blessing of God.  My prayer for you is to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you will love Him, be obedient to His commands, and serve your righteous eternal King!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 1, 2026

Notes of Faith September 1, 2026

The Beginning of the End

When Daniel gave us the last week, that prophetic week was made of seven lunar years. Seven lunar years are made of 84 months – that’s 84 months of 360 days because a lunar year is 360, not 365. You guys messed it up. I’m not sure why. That’s 2520 days. And so when the Bible talks about 1,260 days that Israel was in the desert, it’s fits exactly the latter part of the Tribulation. We know the number of days, the weeks, the months, the years.

Now, why is that so important? Because if you are of the persuasion of a mid-trib or a post-trib rapture, the imminency of the Lord’s appearing is removed from the picture. He is going to appear at an hour we do not expect. The Bible says in Matthew 24:42-44, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.”

Who is the master of this world? Who is the lord of this world? Who is the god of this age? Satan. If Satan knew the day of the rapture, he would have not allowed it. He would have caused a lot of... Look what Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” He said, “Watch therefore,” in Matthew 25, “for you know neither today nor the hour in which the Son of man is coming.” Luke 12:40, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This is exactly the point. If you are ready at all times, if you are eagerly waiting for Him to come, you don’t need to know exactly the hour. Do you? You don’t set an alarm clock. You don’t take your iPhone and type in “12:45 – Rapture.”

The fact that we don’t know the day keeps us pure, keeps us holy, keeps us waiting, keeps us holy. That’s the nature of humans. If they know an event, they just lose it before it happens. You know when you celebrate Christmas. Have you seen yourself in the two weeks before Christmas? You look like you lost your mind. When we talk about these things, we must always understand to not take things out of context.

Let’s try to understand for whom this whole last trumpet is all about. Look what Paul basically said. He said, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Dead in Christ means believers. “Then we who are alive and remain,” we, the living believers, “shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” It’s all about us – those who passed away and those who are still alive. This is not for the world. It is for the church

Can We Know When the Rapture Will Happen?

It is a strange reality of these last days that so many Christians do not believe in the Rapture of the church, while others see it taking place after the Tribulation begins. One of the problems with rapture denial, or mid- or pre-wrath rapture, is that it puts the church inside the 70th week of Daniel.

Daniel 9:24

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.”

The Hebrew word translated “determined” means “to be marked out or to divide.” In other words, the 70 weeks of Daniel are specific to Daniel’s people, the Jews, and to the holy city, Jerusalem. All of them are marked out for God’s interaction with the Jews and the land of Israel.

Zechariah 12:8-9

In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12-14 is a prophecy related to the 70th week of Daniel. There is no mention of the church or of God defending the Bride of Christ. It is only the Jews.

Revelation 13:7

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

The “him” in this verse is the first beast, commonly referred to as the antichrist. How can this be the church when Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against His church? Satan cannot overcome the church because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world! (1 John 4:4)

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

If there is no rapture, then this verse means we should eagerly await the second coming. If the antichrist will make war with the saints and kill millions of them, then why is the church told we should eagerly wait for the Savior when most of the church will be dead?

The saints in Revelation are tribulation saints not the church. They are those who missed the rapture only to come to faith after it. They will enter into the 70th week of Daniel and many will be overcome by the antichrist and beheaded. I don’t know of anyone who is eagerly awaiting such a time.

The church is not appointed to the time of God’s global wrath. We will be with Jesus in the Father’s house at the marriage supper of the Lamb. That is something to eagerly await.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

There is much to “argue” about in understanding God’s Word.  End Times discussions would be high on this list.  But I cannot see a view other than a pre-tribulation rapture of the church in Scripture. 

Nothing needs to take place before the Lord Jesus returns for His bride, to take her to be with Him, the church, believers that are waiting for His appearing.  This is promised in John 14 before Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection.  He will come back to take us to be with Him forever! 

Rom 11:25-27

25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

"THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION,

HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."

27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM,

WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."

When the bride of Christ, the church, is taken out of this world, the focus will be on the nation and people of Israel.  During the seven years of judgment by God on an unbelieving world, many Jews will believe in their Lord and Savior the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus!  Two thirds of the Jewish people alive at that time will not believe in Him and will perish in judgment, not just death, but for all eternity in hell and the Lake of Fire.  But the believing remnant will inherit the promises of God given to the Jews in the book of Genesis, to inherit the Land, to live in peace with Jesus ruling on the throne of David in Jerusalem for a thousand years. Many promises will be fulfilled at this time that are prophecies waiting for thousands of years to come to fruition.  We see the world turning on the Jewish people more and more today.  All countries, including the United States of America will turn against Israel and its people.  But God will keep them, provide for them, and save them from their enemies.  He has performed many miracles for and through them since 1948 when they became a nation of people again.  We are seeing the “end times” take shape before our very eyes.  The world is ripe for the ascension of the anti-christ to appear.  We may be with the Lord, but he will rise to world leadership and domination.  No matter the concerns, struggles, and hardships we may experience today, things will be much worse soon as the prophecies of God play out.  Come to Jesus in believing faith today and bypass the world’s worst days.  He loves you and wants you to part of His forever family.  Come, Lord Jesus.  We are ready and waiting!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 31, 2026

Notes of Faith August 31, 2026

New Climate Change Dashboard Shows . . . No Climate Change?

by Ken Ham on August 24, 2026

“The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.”

That was a claim reportedly made back in 2019 by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Of course, doing the math, that means we all have a mere five years left (unless you take a different climate prediction that put the end of the world due to climate change smack-dab in 2026!).

The clip of AOC’s “climate prophecy” has resurfaced because she recently posted a video showing her injecting herself with hormones so she can freeze her eggs to maybe have a child someday. And so people are asking, “If the world is ending in five years—in just 2031—why are you planning to possibly have a baby?” And, of course, the answer is because none of the dire climate predictions of the past have come true and there’s no sign that hers will be an exception to the rule! In fact, I predict it will not come true—unless Jesus returns!

And the data confirms that. Recently, a man who goes by the name “The Honest Broker” created a US Extreme Weather and Climate Change Dashboard that “follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) framework for detecting a change in climate in the context of internal variability. This dashboard tracks 38 variables associated with 8 types of extremes: heat waves, cold extremes, tornadoes, flooding, drought, winter storms, wildfire, and hurricanes.”

And what was the result? In terms of long-term change, there was no detected change in five of the eight categories. Of the remaining three categories, one (cold extremes) is decreasing, and only two are currently increasing (heat waves and wildfires). That’s a very different story than you will hear from the mainstream media! Anytime there’s a weather event—a hurricane, tornado, flood, heat wave, etc.—it’s always blamed on man-made climate change. But the data doesn’t support that hype!

Yes, the climate is changing. It’s changed in the past, and it will continue to change in the future. There’s been climate change ever since Noah’s Flood. But the idea that it’s man-made and catastrophic, leading to an apocalyptic scenario in just a few years if we don’t do something dramatic, isn’t supported by the data. And that’s why these end-of-the-world doomsday claims never come to fruition. They’re poor interpretations of the data based on a certain environmentalist worldview.

We believe that God created the climate. He made it intelligently and designed it for life to flourish. Yes, it varies over time (the global Flood of Noah’s day was the most dramatic climate change of all time, resulting in the Ice Age), but it’s relatively stable and self-correcting. And that’s what we actually observe!

The world isn’t going to end in five years due to climate change, no matter what politicians say. The world will end when Jesus returns to judge sin and make a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, we’re to be good stewards of creation, caring for it with wisdom and using what God has provided for our good and His glory.

And remember God’s promise to Noah (and therefore all of humanity):

While all the days of the earth remain,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night

Shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)

*************************

I believe that the Scriptures teach that the earth was formed and filled by God’s creative power approximately 6,000 years ago.  When the literal six days were finished, God said that “It was good”.   That would mean perfect in our mind.  No sin, no evil...at least in this realm.  Until Satan came and deceived Eve, and Adam chose sin over obedience to God and we all know what came next…  The fall of mankind fulfilled Scripture, “In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”  Mankind was not created to die but to live forever in intimate relationship with God who created them! 

The fall of man brought about the fall of the rest of creation on earth.  Everything decays, grows old, and dies! 

Weather changes are a result of the fall.  There was an ice age.  There could be another one.  Man may affect the weather slightly, but God is in control of what will take place, when and where!  In the end times, “the time of Jacob’s Trouble”, the “Great Tribulation”, the time of God’s judgment on an unbelieving world, that the sun will scorch man.  You think it’s bad now? 

2 Peter 3:10-13

the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

God is in control…not anything that man can do to alter the plan of God for His creation.  Fear not!  Do not listen to the fear mongers.  Life will go on until God says it will no longer.  Then the new heaven and new earth will be brought forth for all those that believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  The blessing of God is beyond our imagination for what He has in store for those who love and obey Him!

Look up, for your redemption draws near!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 30, 2026

Notes of Faith August 30, 2026

Why Does God Allow Me to Doubt?

Jude 22 says,

Be merciful to those who doubt.

But it raises the question: why would God allow us to doubt to begin with?

Why does He allow us to wrestle with deep questions about life, prayer, theology, pain, and suffering? Why doesn’t he just clear the air, and give us the answers and evidence we need? Why is the journey of faith filled with so many unknowns?

Those are loaded questions. And perhaps Socrates had the best response: “I am ignorant of what I do not know.” But let me offer a suggestion:

What if God made the world like this to push us to deeper faith?

Frederick Buechner wrote, “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”(i) I love that. Doubts can amplify our thirst for truth. For reality. They’re a doorway to intimacy. Doubts aren’t just an obstacle; they’re an opportunity. Uncertainty can lead us into the beautiful mystery we call God.

Jesus said the Spirit of God is like a wind that blows where it wishes (John 3:8). Wind can be gentle and healing, like a peaceful breeze on a summer’s day. Wind can also be a Category-5 hurricane that bulldozes everything in its path. David once said that God is our rest (Psalm 62:5). True, but He can also be the source of our distress. He is the answer, but He is also the question.

He welcomes us home, then blows the house down. He is unconventional, unpredictable, unrestrained, wild — and He has a particular disdain for boxes. In fact, the last time someone put Him in one, He broke out three days later.

Because God is always on the move, then it follows that our faith will be too. The story is told of Augustine, the brilliant fourth-century theologian, who was once walking along the beach lost in thought. He was attempting to wrap his mind around a theological question. He then saw a boy scurrying back and forth, carrying a seashell of water, emptying it into a hole he had dug in the sand. Augustine asked what he was doing. The boy told him: he was transporting the entire sea into the hole. Augustine laughed. That’s impossible! But then he realized that’s what he had been trying to do with God.

What if God made the world like this to push us to deeper faith?

Just when we think we’ve got God figured out, He vanishes. The more of Him we let into our lives, the faster He soaks through the limits of our understanding. And that’s why faith isn’t about getting God to fit into our holes in the sand; it’s about running to Him. He calls us not to the shore, but the ocean. He invites us to move past our fear and into His heart, deeper and deeper, until we experience His presence around us and in us. Faith isn’t about containment, it’s about possibility. Faith is skin-on-skin closeness, affinity, relationship. But to get there, sometimes our certainties need to be shattered. Our formulas disrupted. Our questions unanswered. And it’s there, in the depths of relationship, that we encounter not a list of religious clichés, but a Person. Friendship is born.

My wife Elyssa and I first met in the lobby of a church in the tiny town of Ruch, Oregon. Marriage has been an incredible ride. As we’ve done life together, I’ve learned a ton about who she is. I know her tastes, interests, hopes, anxieties, and (mostly!) can predict her moods. She used to be a cat person, but then we got a goldendoodle and she turned from the dark side. She likes flowers, and nature, and interior design. She’s a morning person, loves to paint, and is extroverted until she spends time with people. She’s kind, funny, and inexplicably loves sweet potatoes. She’s an amazing woman, and I married way out of my league. What I love about our relationship is that, although I know so much about her, there is still so much I’m learning. There are aspects to her story I’m just beginning to appreciate, glimpses of her personality that astonish me, ways she sees the world that I don’t expect. In so many ways, she is still an enigma to me.

Now, because I haven’t figured her out, should I be alarmed? Should I worry that the relationship is unhealthy or broken? Do we need counseling? That’s one way of looking at it. Another perspective is that the ambiguity in our relationship is actually a sign of health, passion, and a friendship that is moving forward. Certainty can restrict love. But subtlety gives it room to

flourish.

Consider beauty. Something is truly sublime when it takes you by surprise. You catch your breath and you can’t take your eyes away; you didn’t see it coming. Or think about humor. Wit is the art of verbalizing the unexpected. You laugh because it’s not anticipated.

Unknowns are what make life so unspeakably rich, iridescent, and engaging.

If I literally knew everything about my wife — every thought, insight, emotion, move, and placement of every atom — not only would that be slightly creepy, but it would also hinder the progression of love. For example, why ask her questions if I already know the answer? What is there to learn? Why seek her if she’s already been found? It’s because I don’t know everything that the relationship feels so alive. There are secrets waiting to be unearthed. Questions aching to be asked. Dimensions of her I have yet to fully explore or understand. It’s the pursuit of love that leads to the discovery of love.

Mystery is the lifeblood of intimacy.

The same thing is true in our relationship with God. What if God intentionally created a world in which doubt exists because He knew it would open the door to lasting, authentic love? What if God designed it in such a way — seeing “through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV) — so we would ache to see Him face-to-face? What if the meaning is in the longing? It’s easy to love God when He seems so close; but true love is the pursuit of love. The desire for His presence pushes us to greater depths.

If God is infinite, then there are infinite dimensions about Him to discover. Which means all it takes is a little obscurity, combined with curiosity, and the journey of faith begins.

(i) Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith (New York: Harper Collins, 2004), 85.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Dominic Done, author of When Faith Fails.

Is doubt a form of not knowing, not understanding? 

Mark 9:17-24

Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it." 19 And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"  20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.  21 And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" 23 And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."  24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

Did this man believe that Jesus could heal his son?  I think he did, but he still wanted the healing to take place and the disciples were not able to heal him, giving the father at least some pause that his son might not be able to be healed.

I believe, help my unbelief!

Matt 17:20

for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Mark 4:35-40

"Let us go over to the other side."  36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Luke 17:3-5

3 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  4 "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."

5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

Luke 22:31-34

31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;  32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."  33 But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" 34 And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me."

Are not even Peter’s denials of knowing Jesus a form of doubt.

We all struggle with doubt as the Lord leads us along our individual spiritual journey.  He will never let us go, if we belong to Him, and will use every struggle, misunderstanding, incomplete knowledge of Himself and ourselves in Him to draw us into a closer more intimate walk with Him in this life toward maturity and eternal life with Him.

Try not to beat yourself up over any form of doubt.  Do examine yourself and see if you are truly seeking relationship with God, to be the bride of Christ, to live empowered by His Spirit to fulfill all that He has called you to be and do while you yet live in this world.  Trust God, for He loves you more than you will comprehend until you see Him face to face!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 29, 2026

Notes of Faith August 29, 2026

Adopted as Sons and Daughters

On Tuesday, July 28, at roughly 2:45 in the afternoon, a judge said a few words that changed my life forever. The little girl my wife, Jen, and I had been raising for six months — since the day she was born — legally became our daughter.

That sentence may read a little plain on a computer screen, but believe me, it did not feel plain in the courtroom. There were no thunderclaps. The heavens did not open. Nobody brought in a brass band (and even if they attempted, I’m pretty sure the bailiff would’ve put a stop to it.) A judge simply asked us a few questions, a gavel was hammered, and a pen moved across a piece of paper.  Courthouses do not generally traffic in poetry, but that afternoon a few legal words became poetry to us. Our daughter received a new name, a new legal identity, a permanent home, and an inheritance. Our family became her family. Our story became her story. Everything that belonged to us now belonged to her — not because she had earned any of it, but because we had chosen to give ourselves to her.

For six months, love had been saying what law could not yet say. That afternoon they finally caught up with each other. If you’ve ever been part of an adoption, you know it can be difficult to explain. Adoption is beautiful, but the beauty grows in soil that has known sorrow. Somewhere beneath every adoption is loss. There are no tidy stories, only people learning to love one another amid circumstances none of them would have chosen. Our road to that courthouse had been paved with prayers, tears, late-night conversations, and long stretches of waiting without knowing what would happen next. We loved this little girl with our whole hearts while knowing that her future was entirely out of our hands — which, come to think of it, is where the future usually is, though some of us expend a great deal of energy pretending otherwise.  But that afternoon, the judge spoke, and the waiting was over. The child we had held in our arms for six months would carry our name for the rest of her life.

As I looked at my daughter that afternoon, I was reminded of what Paul says in Galatians 4. When the time was just right, God sent His Son to redeem us so that we might be adopted as His sons and daughters. That’s the Gospel. And to quote the theme from Charis Fellowship Conference a couple of years ago: How *good* is the Gospel? Most of us know the doctrine. We’ve preached it, taught it, and sung it. But every so often, God shows you the doctrine through a little girl in a white dress with yellow flowers who you hold in your arms.

The Gospel does more than change our verdict. It changes our family. We were not standing outside God’s house with our noses pressed against the glass, hoping He might notice how sincere we looked. We were not basically good people who needed a little help finding the front door. Left to ourselves, we were lost in sin — guilty, spiritually dead, far from home, and unable to find our way back. So God came for us. He did not shout directions from heaven. He sent His Son. Jesus entered our wreckage and took on flesh. He lived the life we could not live, loved the Father as we had failed to love Him, and obeyed every law we had broken. Then he carried our sin to the cross.

The true Son was condemned so that rebels could be welcomed. He was cast our so that we could be brought in. He bore the curse so we could receive the family name. At the cross, Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” so that those who had abandoned God could cry, “Abba, Father!” Our adoption was purchased with the blood of Jesus. Then, on the third day, Christ walked out of the grave. The stone rolled away, death lost its grip, and the door to home swung wide open once and for all eternity.

Everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Christ is not merely pardoned. We are welcomed — not as hired hands, distant relatives, or guests who ought to know when they have overstayed their welcome. We were brought in as beloved children. That is Charis. That is the family name we all claim. That is grace. Grace does not leave us standing nervously on the porch. Grace brings us inside, pulls out a chair, and gives us a place at the Father’s table. Grace places God’s name upon us. It clothes us in the righteousness of Christ and gives us the Holy Spirit, who teaches our frightened hearts to call the holy God of heaven “Father.”

In Christ, everything changes. His righteousness becomes ours. His Father becomes our Father. His home becomes our home. His inheritance becomes our inheritance. Even His resurrection becomes the promise of our resurrection. And we do not earn a single bit of it.

My daughter did not contribute much to the court proceedings that day, aside from being remarkably cute. At six months old, her resume is brief. She did not fill out a form, make a case for herself, or promise to become the sort of daughter we could be proud of. Her primary responsibilities were to look adorable and allow the adults to handle the paperwork, which was probably the wisest arrangement for everyone involved. She simply received what love had chosen to give her.

Church, so it is with us. Our place in God’s family does not rest on the strength of our faith, the consistency of our obedience, the cleanliness of our past, or the fruitfulness of our ministries. It rests entirely on Jesus — His perfect life, His atoning path, and His victorious resurrection.

Those of us in ministry may be especially prone to forgetting this. Somewhere between sermon preparation, counseling appointments, hospital visits, and church meetings, we can begin to forget that we are sons and daughters and not simply hired hands.  But the verdict has already been spoken and its remarkably clear. Listen to the good news of Galatians 4:7: “You are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.” No longer a slave. No longer an outsider. No longer condemned. No longer alone. In Christ, you are a child of God. Your adoption rests on something sturdier than your emotions, your performance, or your ministry results. It rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ. No accusation can overturn it. No failure can erase it. No season of suffering can sever it. You bear his name. You have a place at His table.

That afternoon in the courtroom, I held Willow and wished she was old enough to understand what had just happened. I wanted to tell her, “You are ours. You are wanted. You are loved. You will never have to earn your place here.” She was too young to understand any of that, of course. So I simply held her. Her place in our family did not depend on her ability to understand what the judge had declared. It depended on the promise that had been made over her.

The same is true for us. In Jesus Christ, the father has brought us into His family. Not reluctantly, but joyfully. Not because we are worthy, but because Jesus is. His name is our name. And His house is where we belong.

Written by Josh Rollins

We have experienced this as grandparents when our son Michael and his wife Casey adopted two children and are seeking the adoption of a third child.  They are a wonderful blessing to our family.  The heart of the parents and the “innocence” of the children who need to learn what love means, how to respond to that love and how to give it to others is a daily work of God in all of our lives.  I give thanks that God offers adoption into His family and pray for all of my family to be adopted into His, becoming heirs of all that God offers!  May you too know the love of God through adoption into His family.  If you are seeking after God, ask Him how to become His child, adopted into His forever family!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 28, 2026

Notes of Faith August 28, 2026

Clear Windshields

But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16

In the old movie Young at Heart, there’s a scene in which Barney Sloan (Frank Sinatra) is so discouraged he turns off his windshield wipers while driving in a snowstorm. He can no longer clearly see the road, and everything is blurred. It’s a frightening moment that illustrates how we often look at life. We can “turn off the wipers” in our own lives by neglecting truth and withdrawing from God’s Word.

The only way to see clearly is by looking at things through the eyesight of Jesus. Paul twice spoke of “the mind of Christ.” He told the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5), and he said to the Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ.”

Having the mind of Christ means having the Savior’s point of view. We learn to think as He does, not as the world thinks. Here is a verse to say aloud today and to turn into a prayer for this hour: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5, NIV).

Col 3:1-17

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —  11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

May we draw ever close to the Lord our God each day until the day of redemption when we are made complete!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 27, 2026

Notes of Faith August 27, 2026

Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

The digital age has brought us cars with built-in navigation systems and phones with maps powered by GPS satellites. We also have the option of riding in self-driving cars! Making the transition from depending on our own skills to trusting computerized devices can be challenging.

Recommended Reading:

Psalm 37:3-5

The same can be said when it comes to navigating through life. Before becoming a Christian, we trusted in our own skills, instincts, and decisions to make our way. But once we enter into a relationship with God, we find a different strategy is recommended—the strategy of trust. When we are driving and using a computerized map, we might question directions we are given based on traffic or construction delays. We might even ignore the directions and go our own way. But Solomon warned against such a strategy for life. Against our natural inclinations, we are told to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart, and lean not on [our] own understanding; in all [our] ways acknowledge Him.”

If you need direction for your future, depend on God’s instructions instead of your own; let Him direct your path.

Doubt breeds distress but trust means joy in the long run.

Charles Spurgeon

Ps 37:3-5

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

NKJV

Trust is an easy thing to say but a very hard thing to embrace.  Trust in the Lord brings peace and joy, deliverance and expectation of what is to come.  May we learn what it means to truly trust God in ALL things each day!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 26, 2026

Notes of Faith August 26, 2026

Jesus Under Pressure

If you’ve ever had a day in which you’ve been blitzkrieged by demands... if you’ve ever ridden the roller coaster of sorrow and celebration... if you’ve ever wondered if God in heaven can relate to you on earth, then take heart.

Jesus knows how you feel.

In the Gospels, we read of a time when Jesus began the morning by hearing about the death of John the Baptist: His cousin, His forerunner, His coworker, His friend (see Matthew 14:1–13). The man who came closer to understanding Jesus than any other was dead.

Imagine losing the one person who knows you better than anyone else, and you will feel what Jesus was feeling. Reflect on the horror of being told that your dearest friend has just been murdered, and you will relate to Jesus’ sorrow. Consider your reaction if you were told that your best friend had just been decapitated by a people-pleasing, incestuous monarch, and you’ll see how the day began for Christ. His world was beginning to turn upside down.

The emissaries brought more than news of sorrow, however; they brought a warning: The same Herod who took John’s head is interested in Yours.

Listen to how Luke presents the monarch’s madness:

Herod said, ‘I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?’ And he tried to see Him. — Luke 9:9, emphasis added

Something tells me that Herod wanted more than a social visit.

So, with John’s life taken and His own life threatened, Jesus chose to get away for a while. But before He could get away, His disciples arrived. Mark states that the

apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. — Mark 6:30

They returned exuberant. Jesus had commissioned them to proclaim the gospel and authenticate it with miracles.

They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. — Mark 6:12–13

In a matter of moments, Jesus’ heart went from the pace of a funeral dirge to the triumphant march of a ticker-tape parade.

Look who followed the disciples to locate Jesus. About five thousand men plus women and children (see Matthew 14:21)! Rivers of people cascaded out of the hills and villages. Some scholars estimate the crowd was as high as twenty-five thousand.6 They swarmed around Jesus, each with one desire: to meet the Man who had empowered the disciples.

What had been a calm morning now buzzed with activity.

So many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. — Mark 6:31

I’ve had people demand my attention. I know what it’s like to have a half-dozen kids wanting different things at the same time. I know the feeling of receiving one call with other people waiting impatiently on other lines. I even know what it’s like to be encircled by a dozen or so people, each making a separate request.

But twenty-five thousand? That’s larger than many cities! No wonder the disciples couldn’t eat. I’m surprised they could breathe!

The morning had been a jungle trail of the unexpected. First, Jesus grieved over the death of a dear friend and relative. Then His life was threatened by Herod. Next, He celebrated the triumphant return of His followers. Then He was nearly suffocated by a brouhaha of humanity. Bereavement... jeopardy... jubilation... bedlam.

Jesus knows how you feel.

Are you beginning to see why I call this the second most stressful day in the life of Christ? And it’s far from over. Jesus decided to take the disciples to a quiet place where they could rest and reflect. He shouted a command over the noise of the crowd:

Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. — Mark 6:31

The thirteen fought their way to the beach and climbed into a boat.

Who would question Jesus’ desire to get away from the people? He just needed a few hours alone. Just a respite. Just a retreat. Time to pray. Time to ponder. Time to weep. A time without crowds or demands. A campfire wreathed with friends. An evening with those He loved. The people could wait until tomorrow.

The people, however, had other ideas.

The crowds learned about it and followed Him. — Luke 9:11

It’s a six-mile walk around the northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee, so the crowd took a hike. When Jesus got to Bethsaida, his desired retreat had become a roaring arena. “Surprise!”

Add to the list of sorrow, peril, excitement, and bedlam the word interruption. Jesus’ plans were interrupted. What He had in mind for His day and what the people had in mind for His day were two different agendas. What Jesus sought and what Jesus got were not the same.

Sound familiar? Remember when you sought a night’s rest and got a colicky baby? Remember when you sought to catch up at the office and got even further behind? Remember when you sought to use your Saturday for leisure but ended up fixing your neighbor’s sink?

Take comfort, friend. It happened to Jesus, too. In fact, this would be a good time to pause and digest this important truth:

         Jesus knows how you feel.

Ponder this and use it the next time your world goes from calm to chaos. His pulse has raced. His eyes have grown weary. His heart has grown heavy. He has had to climb out of bed with a sore throat. He has been kept awake late and has gotten up early. He knows how you feel.

You may have trouble believing that. You probably believe that Jesus knows what it means to endure heavy-duty tragedies. You are no doubt convinced that Jesus is acquainted with sorrow and has wrestled with fear. Most people accept that. But can God relate to the hassles and headaches of my life? Of your life?

For some reason, that is harder to believe. Perhaps that is why portions of this day are recorded in all the Gospel accounts. No other event, other than the crucifixion, is told by all four Gospel writers. Not Jesus’ baptism. Not His temptation. Not even His birth. But all four writers chronicle this day.

It’s as if Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John knew that you would wonder if God understands. And they proclaim their response in four-part harmony: Jesus knows how you feel.

Jesus knows how it feels to endure through stress-filled days.

Jesus faced many interruptions and demands on his time.

Jesus can relate to the hassles and headaches of your life.

Jesus can help you get through your angst-ridden days.

Excerpted from Experiencing the Heart of Jesus for 52 Weeks by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

John 14:27-28

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

No matter what the day’s plans, something or someone will enter into your circle and become a distraction, an opportunity to influence you or for you to influence. May our thoughts and decisions be filled with the grace of God and each day’s end bring reflection on work well done, people encouraged, challenged, and blessed, able to rest comfortably in faith and trust in Jesus, should He give us another day!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 25, 2026

Notes of Faith August 25, 2026

Happy 47th anniversary to Robin, the godly woman who has sacrificed over and over to provide me with the best life possible on earth.  Except for Jesus, she is my greatest love and most admired person in my life.  Thank you for these years and by God’s grace, many more!

Meditating When You Feel Fatigued and Discouraged

Meditating God's Way

The joy of the Lord is your strength. — Nehemiah 8:10

Left unchecked, discouragement and fatigue will make you feel drained and empty. But when you find yourself in that situation, there’s a way out. It’s with good reason that Jesus said,

Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. — Matthew 4:4

God’s Word gives us the strength and spiritual nourishment we need to keep going and meditating on Scripture is an effective way to confront discouragement. There is a little booklet by the Navigators that set me on the path of meditation decades ago. The writer suggested that our meditating on Scripture is similar to a cow chewing its cud.

Meditation is pondering various thoughts by mulling them over in the mind and heart. It is the processing of mental food. We might call it “thought digestion.” Chewing upon a thought deliberately and thoroughly, thus providing a vital link between theory and action. What metabolism is to the physical body of a cow, meditation is to your mental and spiritual life.1

In much the same way as our bodies crave physical food, our spirits crave spiritual food. Biblical meditation enables us to begin consuming and digesting the thoughts of the Bible.

The prophet Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV).

Job said, “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread”

(Job 23:12).

The Psalmist said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103).

Biblical meditation enables us to begin consuming and digesting the thoughts of the Bible.

Reading and hearing the Bible is like eating it—­it enters into our bodies, our spirits. When we meditate on what we’ve read and heard, we’re chewing and digesting the material until it’s assimilated into our systems, disseminated throughout our personalities, and actually becomes us. And in the process our vitality returns. There’s a beautiful example of this in the Scriptures.

In Luke 24, Jesus joined two of His disciples as they trekked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It was the afternoon of the first Easter, and the two were perplexed by the brutal death of their Messiah and the puzzling rumors of His resurrection. They heard footsteps behind them, and a mysterious Stranger drew near and engaged them in conversation. He listened to their queries and began telling them what they yearned to know.

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. — Luke 24:27

After arriving at their home and breaking bread with them, Jesus vanished from sight. But later, as the two disciples discussed their never-­to-­be-forgotten walk, they said,

Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? — verse 32

Verse 45 goes on to say that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scripture.”

Notice how Jesus opened the Scriptures to their minds and He opened their minds to the Scriptures. What Jesus did for them, the Holy Spirit does for us. The apostle Paul said,

We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

— 1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV

Bible study was never meant to be merely academic. It’s relational. Transformational. It’s not simply studying a book; it’s fellowshipping with a Friend. As you fellowship with Christ, you’ll find yourself strengthened, renewed, energized, and empowered—­like someone switched a light on.

1. The Navigators, A Primer on Meditation (The Navigators, n.d.), 3.

Excerpted from Meditating God’s Way by Robert Morgan, copyright Robert J.

Morgan.

God is calling, seeking intimacy, desiring your heart to be one with His.  Listen and respond to His call for blessing, peace, joy, comfort, encouragement, strength, hope, faith, courage…every need you have and more, making it not only possible, but a driving force from within to give to others what has been given to you.  This is the gospel… “Love God!  Love others!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 24, 2026

Notes of Faith August 24, 2026

Peace I Leave With You

A friend and I were texting today about how our mornings had not started well. She had lost her keys and subsequently missed both a dentist appointment and a work meeting. I had placed an important form in a “safe place” and then could not remember where I put it. The longer my friend and I kept looking for these items, the more flustered and upset we became.

As time dragged on, my friend’s worries grew. What if she did not find her keys? Had she thrown them away by accident? Getting a replacement key fob is not easy nor cheap. My concerns mounted as well. While requesting a new form would not set me back in money, it sure would set me back in time. I just knew I would have to call customer service and be passed from person to person to request what was needed. I dreaded the hassle it would be. Instead of stopping a moment to collect the proper perspective—and most importantly, pray about it—we both swirled through our homes like raging storms.

Thankfully, I am happy to report that we both found our missing items. My friend’s keys were in a closet on the top shelf. She had looked in that closet but in a raincoat pocket. She never thought to look up at the shelf. I had misfiled my form, and in my agitation and haste, must have flipped right on past it while looking. I was relieved but not proud at how easily I lost my cool. And if I am honest, this is not an isolated case. How many times have I let minor inconveniences and agitations rob me of my peace? Yes, today we misplaced important items. Tomorrow it may be traffic. We may spill something the next day and make a huge sticky mess. Sometimes, our peace is jeopardized not by something that happens but by worries and negative thoughts.

There are many verses in Scripture where peace is mentioned, but one of the most studied and quoted is John 14:27. In this verse, Jesus is preparing His disciples for the fact He will be leaving them soon. He says,

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

There are three sentences in this verse. Each one is packed with importance.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.”

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Various Bible scholars point out that “peace” was often used as both a greeting and a parting sentiment. We find examples throughout Scripture of its use, specifically after the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:19-26). However, the way Jesus emphasizes peace in this verse by using the word “My” makes peace seem more than just a mood or feeling but an actual gift or possession. Peace is valuable, and Jesus wants nothing more than to give it to His disciples. This type of peace – a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) — is only possible in the giving of Himself. He knows they will need this level of peace for what lies ahead, both His crucifixion and the start of the Church where most of them will be martyred.

“I do not give to you as the world gives.”

Thinking back to my harried morning, one could argue that a better organizational system could have prevented my situation. Yes, organization is a great thing, but all the planners and filing systems in the world will not deter humans from misplacing things from time to time. Human error is a reality and trusting our peace to things of the world (even though I do love my day planner) is simply an illusion. Life happens. What matters is how we react. That is why our peace should not be dependent on everything going right. It will not happen.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

When I read this sentence, I tend to focus a lot on the last part where He says, “do not be afraid.” Fear is crippling, so it is comforting to know His peace is available for those moments in life that bring us to our knees – the loss of a loved one, serious illness, and more.

While we know from Scripture that Jesus cared very much about the hurting people He met in His earthly ministry, His peace is more encompassing than just for serious seasons of life. He wants His followers to claim His peace every day. Notice in the first part of the sentence He says, “do not let your hearts be troubled.” That does not mean we will not have frustrations – they are just a part of life. But accepting Jesus’ gift of peace means we will look to Him in both the big and small situations. After all, He cares for our every need (1 Peter 5.6-7).

Are you feeling unsettled today? Could you benefit from a fresh infusion of God’s peace in both big and small concerns? Take a few minutes to talk to God about both the troubles and the fears you are facing.   

Written for Devotionals Daily by Mandy Wilson.

The peace of God is a peace through all things in life, the big and small things, the fearful things, the endearing things.  We have this gift, as believers and followers of Christ, but do not receive it’s blessing because we strive in our own efforts to solve all the problems and mysteries of our day.  Let us strive to understand that we live in the very presence of the Almighty God, that He is with us at all times, in all circumstances and offers us His peace!  Keep your mind focused on Him and all other things will fall into place.

https://youtu.be/w7ul19ji5qE?list=RDw7ul19ji5qE

Pastor Dale