Notes of Faith September 5, 2022

Notes of Faith September 5, 2022

Protect Your Peace, Then Live in It

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

 — Proverbs 4:23 CSB

Anthony

The other night I was performing at an event in South Florida, and nothing was going right. Ideally I would have had plenty of rest and water, warmed up my voice, and done a sound check a few hours before the event. But life throws curveballs. Instead, flights were delayed. My driver got lost without cell reception. Logistics were crazier and more difficult due to the pandemic. Nothing was ideal.

I’ve been performing and doing ministry long enough that I have learned how to autocorrect on the fly. But I do know that if I don’t guard my peace, those problems will get in my head, destroy my focus, and wreck the night. I don’t have to hit a home run every time I’m up to bat. That’s not realistic. I only have to get up each day and know that I’m doing the very best I can with what is right in front of me.

Though I’ve learned to find that balance in my career, I am constantly and consistently trying to apply that same balance to my emotional, spiritual, and mental life as well.

Stacy

Anthony is in a unique situation in that even if he’s having a bad day, he has to get on a platform and be upbeat and inspirational. How do you get yourself back on track if you become sidetracked, especially when you feel that you have lost your peace?

Anthony

It depends on what I am facing. Usually, it starts with getting quiet and still. It’s what I need to begin figuring out exactly what might be causing the problem.

I remember when I was a kid having trouble breathing because of my asthma. Dr. Denny would put a stethoscope on my chest and say,

“Be quiet and take a deep breath, Anthony.”

That was what he needed to be able to hear my heart and lungs and to start getting to the root of the issue.

In the same way, I need to be quiet and take deep breaths to hear what is going on in my heart and to hear the Lord’s voice. Whether that’s sitting and doing nothing until my mind stops racing, going on a walk, or keeping a scripture in mind, I have to take the first step of being quiet and still. From there I can discern the source of the problem and figure out the steps that will bring me back to that center of peace.

I think I’ve also become more vulnerable as time has passed. If I am really struggling, I might confess that to family, friends, and sometimes even the audience I’m singing to. I’ve seen moments when God used that to cause a breakthrough in worship. A certain peace and comfort comes from sharing what you are going through with others instead of holding it in.

The Lord has blessed me with many things for which I’m so very grateful, but what I treasure most is the gift of peace.

Peace is priceless.

It simply cannot be purchased. But obtaining it does require work. What I had to learn the hard way is that no car, house, check, roaring applause, new outfit, or amount of Instagram likes is going to give me a true and sustained peace in my heart and mind.

The pathway to true peace opens up when you realize that it is not predicated on what is happening externally. Peace comes when you trust the anchor of your faith, even in the storm. Yes, storms can create fear, questions, and uncertainty, but when you completely and totally trust your anchor, a peace settles deep inside you.

Discovering, experiencing, and protecting our peace is one of the major steps toward internal health. Stacy taught me that peace has to be fought for and helped me develop a plan that works for me.

Peace is priceless

Stacy

One of my key therapeutic rules is that we are all responsible for protecting our peace. That’s not a passive process. Toxic people, guilt, unrealistic expectations, overthinking, overdosing on technology — we need to be aware of what’s happening in and around us and protect ourselves, because all these things can steal away our peace. Of course, there are also times when our emotions can sneak up on us. Like weeds taking over a yard, stressful and unwanted situations can creep in until they take over every aspect of our lives.

Some people go to church and assume they will automatically find peace because of their participation in that process. But unless you are carrying peace on the inside, even the good things happening externally may not be able to reach you.

Anthony

I did that for years. Obviously, I’m a church kid, and I was there all the time. But on the inside I was still a wreck. It didn’t matter how good the worship service was or if the preacher delivered the sermon of the year. On top of that, trying to pretend like you’re fine when your heart is troubled only makes the pain worse. It’s like having a sprained ankle and trying to walk without a limp.

Now don’t get me wrong; church is very important and something we shouldn’t ignore. But you would be surprised how many people sitting in church pews are just as broken and confused and anxious and depressed as those who don’t even attend. Peace is not automatically downloaded into your soul just because you walk through the church door and sing a verse and chorus of “See a Victory.” Many a Sunday, I would sit in church and be miserable, even though I was singing and praying and doing all the things I thought would bring peace. Then I was right back in the mud of guilt and shame. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I pray through it? Why can’t I get it to work for me?

Internal peace was not my first focus. I was looking to external experiences rather than my own heart, soul, and mind. Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is not something that can be easily observed. It’s not in a song or sermon or even a book.

The Kingdom of God is inside you

(Luke 17:20–21).

In Psalm 119, King David talked about hiding God’s Word in his heart (Psalm 119:11). I believe that the Spirit of God gives you peace, and that starts on the inside. External things cannot do that.

The hard truth is that the accumulation of material things can make the lack of peace worse. I remember going on a trip, thinking that distance from my circumstances would fix things. As I sat on the beach and cried, I realized that you cannot run from yourself. The issue was inside me. In that moment I realized that until I did the work, I was going to continue to feel anxious no matter where I was or what new thing I acquired.

Stacy

Notice that many people say, “Rest in peace,” and yet we rarely hear people say, “Live in peace.”

Anthony

The only way to rest is to live in peace. We can rest in peace on this side of Heaven too.

Stacy

With a foundation of peace, you are going to be happier, more productive, and have a better life overall. This is possible even in unpeaceful times. The pandemic, civil unrest, and other external stressors that are out of our control all make it difficult to maintain peace within ourselves. This is why it becomes critically important to manage our regular, daily sense of inner peace as we monitor our emotional health and sense of harmony.

Excerpted from When Faith Meets Therapy by Anthony Evans and Stacy Kaiser, , MA LMFT,  copyright Anthony Evans and Stacy Kaiser.

Isa 26:3

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:

KJV

 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

Whose mind is stayed on Thee

When the shadows come and darkness falls

He giveth inward peace

o He is the only perfect resting place

He giveth perfect peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

Whose mind is stayed on Thee

Love this song and try to live in it . . .

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 4, 2022

Notes of Faith September 4, 2022

Receiving Hope and Sharing Hope

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God…

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

— Romans 15:5-7, Romans 15:13

The purpose of Scripture, Paul says in Romans 15:4, is so that “we might have hope.” He was speaking, of course, of Israel’s scriptures [the Old Testament], but with hindsight the same applies to the early Christian writings [the New Testament].

If that is so, then a prominent purpose of New Testament study ought to be to explain and illuminate the substance of that hope. In fact, we could even say that the mission of the Church is to share and reflect the future hope as the New Testament presents it.

Hope is, in fact, the foundation for the daily workings of a church.

Where the Church Can Spread Hope

Faithful Christian ministry will often take Jesus’ followers to places where hope is in short supply:

places where a sense of hopelessness hangs over a community

where the effects of global financial chaos are still in effect

where there is unemployment and family breakdown

where refugees feel alienated and despised in their adopted homes

where racial injustice is regarded as a kind of ugly normality that we have to put up with, and xenophobia is part of normal political rhetoric

We are called to work with, and for:

people who are one illness away from financial ruin

people who fear for their children’s safety when walking down the street

people who find that cultural elites mock and attack them because they do not signal “progressive virtues”

communities where politics means partisan policies on the one hand and acute apathy on the other

a world in which, while all this is going on, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer

To such places, and the sad people who live in them, as well as to those who find themselves battered by circumstances beyond their control, the message of Jesus and His death and resurrection comes as good news from a far country, news of surprising hope.

The Church, in the power of the Spirit, must signal in its life and teaching that there is:

more to being human than mere survival

more than hedonism and power

more than ambition and entertainment

Life… does have purpose; there is comfort for those weighed down by moral injury; narcissism is not the true “normal;” there is something more powerful than economics and bombs.

There really is a different way to be human, and it has been decisively launched with Jesus.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – John 16:33

The New World God Is Making

There is a new world, and it has already begun, and it works by healing and forgiveness and new starts and fresh energy.

The world will probably raise its cynical eyebrows: can these things really be true?

Yes, answers the Church; and they come about as people worship the God in whose image they are made, as they follow the Lord who bore their sins and rose from the dead, as they are indwelt by His Spirit and thereby given new life, a new way of life, a new zest for life.

It is often pointed out that some of the places most lacking in hope are not the industrial wastelands or the bleak landscapes shorn of beauty, but the places where there is too much money, too much high culture, too much of everything except faith, hope, and love. This is the good news — of justice, redemption, truth, beauty, and above all Jesus — that the Church is called upon to live and to speak, to bring into reality, in each place and each generation.

The Church, because it is the family that believes in the new creation, a belief constantly reinforced by the New Testament, should stand out in every city, town, and village as the place where hope bursts forth. Not just hope that something better lies in “the hereafter;” rather, a belief that God’s new world has been sown, like seeds in a field, and that it is already bearing surprising fruit.

The life of the new world has already been unleashed in the present time, and what we do as a result of that life, that Spirit-given direction and energy, is already in itself part of the new world that God is making.

Where this hope takes root, the story told by the whole New Testament comes to life again and again: through Jesus, and by His Spirit, the new world has been born.

All that we do in the present, in working for justice and beauty, in searching for truth in every sphere of life, above all in speaking cheerfully and wisely of Jesus, is rooted in the scriptures, both of Israel and of the early Church, and is designed to produce hope.

Adapted from The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, copyright N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, 2019.

We try to make our daily lives more comfortable, yes? We don’t seek out those who are hurting and hopeless because that causes us to feel the pain of their hurt and hopelessness. If we stay away from such people we think we are less likely to suffer these feelings. These are the very people Jesus came to save and sought out in His daily life. Therefore, should we not be seeking out these people and sharing the hope that we have been given in Jesus? Ed Lewis is one of the best doers of the Word that I have experienced. Gratefully, he is not alone. But, again, should we not be following in the footsteps of Jesus, leaving our comfort zone, to reach such people with the love, grace and hope of Jesus? Let us begin or continue to seek out the hopeless and speak the truth, grace, forgiveness and hope of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 3, 2022

Notes of Faith September 3, 2022

Living Loved

I can’t expect any other person to be my soul oxygen.

I can’t live as if my next breath depends on whether or not they give me enough air for my lungs not to be screaming in pain. Because here’s the thing. People don’t mind doing CPR on a crisis victim, but no person is equipped to be the constant lifeline to another.

We must respect ourselves enough to break the pattern of placing unrealistic expectations on others.

After all, people will not respect us more than we respect ourselves.

No, it’s not wrong to need people. But some of our biggest disappointments in life are the result of expectations we have of others that they can’t ever possibly meet. That’s when the desire to connect becomes an unrealistic need. Unrealistic neediness is actually greediness in disguise. It’s saying, “My needs and desires deserve to tap into or possibly even deplete yours.” This will never set a relationship up for success.

Here’s the secret shift we must make:

Do I walk into situations prepared with the fullness of God in me, free to look for ways to bless others?

Or…

Do I walk into situations empty and dependent on others to look for ways to bless me?

People prepared with the fullness of God in them are not superpeople with pixie dust sparkles of confidence oozing from the pores from which normal people simply sweat. They aren’t the ones who walk into a room with the boisterous, “Hey, hey, hey! The party can start now, because I have arrived!” And they certainly aren’t the ones who circle the room, making sure their agenda is the agenda of every conversation.

No, the fullness of God is tucked into the sacred places within them. The full taking in of God is their soul oxygen. It’s not that they don’t need people. They do. God created them for community. But the way they love is from a full place, not from an empty desperation. They are living loved.

But living loved isn’t just their mind-set; it is a choice they make daily. It isn’t just a possible thing they should try. It’s the only solution that actually works. We have to tell our minds to live loved. But then we must also tell our flesh no.

The more we fill ourselves from His life-giving love, the less we will be dictated by the grabby-ness of the flesh.

I want this. And I suspect you do too. Being full of God’s love settles, empowers, and brings out the best of who we are. On the other hand, the more full of the flesh we are, the more we grab at anyone and anything to fill that ache for love and acceptance.

I don’t like to ache. In any way. One of my aches is from my deep Italian fondness for anything pasta. I mean for real, I love pasta, but it does not love me back. So, I have to make the choice not to risk the temporary pleasure of my taste buds for what will surely be hours of rebellion in my stomach. My flesh begs me to believe that short-term happiness is worth the long-term misery.

But I’ve discovered something about defeating the flesh. If I fill my stomach with healthy foods before being tempted with the pasta, I can say no. It’s so much easier to turn away a dish of pasta if you’re completely full already. But if you are desperately hungry, a dish of just about anything is hard to turn away. Our souls and our stomachs are alike in this way.

You are full because Christ brought the fullness to you

One of the most beautiful descriptions of the fullness of God is found in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:14–19

My favorite part of Paul’s prayer is him asking that we have the power to grasp the fullness of the love of Christ… for then we will be filled with the fullness of God. It is impossible to grasp the fullness of God without grasping the fullness of the love of Christ.

At the core of who we are, we crave the acceptance that comes from being loved. To satisfy this longing we will either be graspers of God’s love or grabbers for people’s love.

If we grasp the full love of Christ, we won’t grab at other things to fill us. Or if we do, we’ll sense it. We’ll feel a prick in our spirit when our flesh makes frenzied swipes at happiness, compromising clutches for attention, paranoid assumptions with no facts, joyless attempts to one-up another, and small-minded statements of pride. We’ll sense these things, and we’ll be disgusted enough to at least pause. In this pause lies the greatest daily choice we can make. Am I willing to tell my flesh no, so that I can say yes to the fullness of God in this situation? Here’s where I get in trouble. And here’s where I bet you get tripped up as well.

I grasp the love of Christ.

I sense when I’m making choices that don’t reflect God’s love.

I’m disgusted by those choices.

I am willing to tell my flesh no.

I’m just not sure how to tell my flesh no.

When past rejections make me so prone to satisfying or at least numbing the flesh to avoid more pain, it’s hard to resist.

When you’re lonely and you see your ex-boyfriend post a picture with a new girl, laughing, holding hands, and looking like the happiest they’ve ever been, your flesh will want to grab at something. It’s hard not to comfort yourself by texting another guy to grab a little attention and make yourself feel better.

When you’re listening to other moms talking about all the progress their children are making in reading and your child can’t even identify letters yet, your flesh will want to grab at something. It’s hard not to throw out a statement to one-up the bragging moms in an area where your child is excelling.

When your husband isn’t answering his cell so you call his workplace only to learn he left early for the day, your flesh will want to grab at something. Paranoia seizes you, and by the time he walks in the door you all but accuse him of having an affair.

All these things we’re tempted to grab at? They won’t fill us the way we think they will. In the end, they only make us feel emptier and more rejected.

Yes, the concept of telling our flesh no can sound so good on paper, but in the midst of rejection’s painful pricks, we can often feel so very powerless. That’s where we have to know we aren’t expected to just put on a brave face and hope for the best. We have the power through Christ, who is over every power, including the pull of the flesh and the sting of rejection. When we have Christ, we are full — fully loved and accepted and empowered to say no.

This is true on the days we feel it and still true when we don’t feel Jesus’ love at all. If we live rooted and established in His love, we don’t just have knowledge of His love in our minds, but it becomes a reality that anchors us. Though winds of hurt and rejection blow, they cannot uproot us and rip us apart. His love holds us. His love grounds us. His love is a glorious weight preventing the harsh words and hurtful situations from being a destructive force. We feel the wind but aren’t destroyed by it. This is the “fullness of God” mentioned in the verses from Ephesians 3 that we just read.

There is power in really knowing this. This isn’t dependent on what you’ve accomplished. Or on another person loving you or accepting you. Nor is it because you always feel full.

You are full, because Christ brought the fullness to you.

Yes, I am fully loved, fully accepted, and fully empowered to say no to my flesh. Speak that truth in the power He’s given you. Believe that truth in the power He’s given you. Live that truth in the power He’s given you. That’s how you tell your flesh no. That’s how you live fully prepared in the fullness of God.

Excerpted from Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst, copyright Lysa Terkeurst.

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell.

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell.

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin.

Chorus

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Chorus

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made;

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Chorus

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Words & Music © 1923, Ren. 1951 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 2, 2022

Notes of Faith September 2, 2022

Come to Me, My weary one

Come to Me, My weary one. Find rest in My refreshing Presence. I am always by your side, eager to help you — but sometimes you are forgetful of Me.

You are easily distracted by the demands of other people. Their expectations can be expressed in ways that are harsh or gentle, guilt-inducing or kind. But if these demands are numerous and weighty, they eventually add up to a crushing load.

When you find yourself sinking under heavy burdens, turn to Me for help. Ask Me to lift those weights from your shoulders and carry them for you. Talk with Me about the matters that concern you. Let the Light of My Presence shine on them so you can see the way forward. This same Light soothes and strengthens you as it soaks into the depths of your being.

Open your heart to My healing, holy Presence. Lift up your hands in joyful adoration, letting My blessings flow freely into you. Take time to rest with Me, beloved; relax while I bless you with Peace.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 NLT

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. — Psalm 134:2

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. — Psalm 29:11

*

My presence lovingly awaits you

Stop your incessant worry-planning! Draw your mind back from the future to the present moment, where My Presence lovingly awaits you. Seek My Face with a smile in your heart, knowing that I take delight in you. Talk with Me about all that concerns you and the tasks that are weighing on you. Call out to Me for help as you set priorities according to My will. Then keep returning your focus to Me and to the work at hand. Inviting Me into your activities increases your Joy and helps you to be more effective.

When you need to take a break, remember that I am your resting place. My everlasting arms are always available to support you and hold you close. When you relax in My company — waiting with Me for a time — this demonstrates genuine trust in Me. As you prepare to return to your tasks, make the effort to include Me in your plans. This protects you from worrying; it also helps you stay close to Me, enjoying My Presence.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” — Luke 12:25-26

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” — Psalm 27:8 NKJV

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. — Psalm 62:5-6

Excerpted from Jesus Calling for Moms by Sarah Young, copyright Sarah Young.

Matt 11:29-30

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

ESV

Heb 4:7-13

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

ESV

Our Sabbath rest is coming, sooner than some might think. Work hard therefore, until your day of rest. And while working hard, rest in Christ, working His work, yoked together with Him, your burden will be light.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 1, 2022

Notes of Faith September 1, 2022

Find Your Voice

Just like a fingerprint, your voice is unique to you. — Deb Liu

My Chinese, Christian immigrant parents raised me not to stand out too much. They taught me that hard work would stand on its own and that I shouldn’t draw unwanted attention to myself. As immigrants, they focused on carving out a life in a foreign land, hoping to evade too much notice or commentary. As Christians, they stressed the virtues of modesty and humility. I grew up learning these lessons too well, and silencing myself became a way of life. Staying quiet meant staying safe and not risking anything.

I met my husband at Raleigh Chinese Christian Church, where his parents had been founding members and where he had spent many of his formative years. In those times, Chinese churches in southern America embodied a mix of religious, cultural, and social conservatism, modeled after the American churches that helped give rise to them. Having grown up in Southern Baptist and later Presbyterian churches, I was familiar with those norms and expectations. Yet many of the women of the church were leaders, including my future mother-in-law.

Several years later my fiancé and I started the required pre-marital counseling at Atlanta Chinese Christian Church. During one of our sessions, we shared the news that I had been accepted to Stanford Graduate School of Business and that David planned to move with me out to California after we wed. The happy news landed heavily. The pastor of the English-language congregation, who had been counseling us, admonished David harshly. His words stick with me even now, two decades later. “Why are you following Deborah to California so she can go to graduate school?” he demanded. “You should have the lead career. She should prepare herself to stay home and care for the children.”

I didn’t know what to say.

I was twenty-three, engaged, and dreaming of going to graduate school, and this man was telling me that our joint plans were anathema to the will of God.

I sat there stunned, unable to say anything. Embarrassment and shame flooded me. Thoughts ran through my head: “What if he is right? What if I am doing David a disservice? What if this is against God’s plan?” I had worked so hard to earn a place at my dream school, and I felt defeated and deflated.

God doesn't make mistakes

The conservatism of our church and our race stood before me like an immovable object, and I said nothing in the face of that. In our church, a woman’s place was the home and hearth, yet the examples of women like my mother and future mother-in-law stood in contrast. They had left their homes and everything they knew to come to America and start anew, and they had worked themselves to the bone to earn degrees. Many women were like them, including many of the women leaders in our church, yet here stood a pastor saying they were all wrong.

My shame turned to anger when David and I later spoke. He reassured me of his commitment to our move and that nothing the pastor said would change that. But I had grown up expecting to be obedient to the church and its teachings. How could I allow myself to go against them?

That’s when David said something I will never forget. “Your parents named you Deborah for a reason,” he told me. “She was the judge of Israel because God chose her to lead. She preached, prophesied, and led His people.

God doesn’t make mistakes. And He chose to have a woman lead His people to show the world that it was possible.”

He continued, “We read Proverbs 31 together. The Proverbs 31 woman is wife and mother. But she also has her own business, buys her own land, and cares for her family. What does her husband do? He sits at the city gates and hangs out with the guys, no doubt swapping sandals or putting their hands on each other’s thighs.” I laughed as the ever-erudite David reminded me of how the men of the Old Testament sealed contracts with shoes or by touching one another in agreement.1

David encouraged me to reach out to the senior pastor and point out these contradictions. So we sat down with Pastor Jeffrey Lu, the Chinese pastor who led the church, and shared what the English-language pastor had said. He laughed and pointed to his wife, an extremely accomplished woman of faith. Then and there he gave us his blessing and agreed to preside over our ceremony. We married later that year, and one week later, we moved to California to start a new life.

I realized then that my voice mattered,

within my relationship and even within the church, a place I considered monolithic and immovable. I had always been taught deference to authority, but I learned an important lesson through this experience. We are given our voices to question the status quo and to seek truth, rather than proceed in blind obedience.

Alison Mitchell, “Peculiar Passages: The Case of Ruth, Boaz and the Contractual Sandal,” The Good Book, August 15, 2019, https://www.thegoodbook.com/blog/interestingthoughts/2019/08/15/peculiar -passages-the-case-of-ruth-boaz-and-the-co/.

Excerpted from Take Back Your Power by Deb Liu, copyright Deborah Yee-Ky Liu.

God created mankind in His image, male and female He created them. And though I believe Scripture teaches He also gave them roles to function within family and society, they are nonetheless equal. My own mother worked outside the home, a teacher for over 40 years, took care of the finances for the home, and led our family spiritually, since my father did not become a Christian until he was 63 years old. And yet she followed my father to California from West Virginia, choosing a church to attend before a place to live or finding a job. My wife has done much the same, after we were married, I went back to school. God gave me a job, 40 miles from home for 8 years. Three children came along and we both wanted to work closer to home. Robin has handled our financial matters, because I wanted my wife to be able to handle anything concerning every day life. She has done well and will do all these things well, perhaps a better pastor’s wife than I am pastor. Women are valuable, as valuable as man, for each one has been created in the image of God! Amen.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 31, 2022

Notes of Faith August 31, 2022

Waiting in Wonder

Summer beckons with the lawn hose, water balloons, and water guns at our house of six boys. It beckons with roasted marshmallows, with bike rides, and backyard baseball. But for me it beckons with the thought of getting some uninterrupted work time, with making a dent in my endless to-do list, with the “joys” of getting the garage organized. (We sure do get boring as we get old!) And in the midst of all my to-do, a little voice calls, “Play with me, Mama!”

How God Calls to Us through Our Children

I’ve come to realize that there is a direct correlation between my spiritual health and my ability to play.

Let me explain. When my mind is plagued with worry about the future, or believing the lie that everything depends on my hard work, or when I’m enslaved to some idol of model-home perfection, my name in lights, or coveting the vacation, house, or lifestyle of someone else, that’s when I just can’t stop what I’m doing long enough to enjoy the act of connecting spontaneously and playfully with my children or even with other adults. And it’s a big red flag.

Play — whether it’s a moment of peak-a-boo with your baby, pretending with your pre-schooler, sitting down to a board game with your pre-teen or teen, or even just taking an afternoon off to go swimming with friends — play requires us to let go of our to-do lists, our worries, and our striving. And perhaps this is one of the reasons God gifts the world with children. They invite us to be present, imaginative, and playful. And guess what? That might be just what we so desperately need.

The Overworked Conundrum

Americans are chronically over-worked and over-tired. I won’t bore (or depress) you with the statistics. We know intuitively that in the average American household kids are growing up with parents who are chronically overworked and habitually distracted. Ironically, this stress leads to lower quality of life, more mental and physical health problems, and less time to enjoy the very things for which we are working. The point here isn’t to pile the mom and dad-guilt on our already over-taxed minds, but to pause for a moment and consider the invitation to joy that Jesus offers us through our children.

Play Reminds Us God Made Us for Enjoyment

While God certainly made us for meaningful work, He also made us to enjoy Him. He placed Adam and Eve into a Garden of delight to the senses. He gave them each other for their enjoyment. And He called all of it good. Children anchor us to these basic gifts. Through them, we are invited to giggle again at the pleasure of digging our toes into the sand, the wonder of watching the praying mantis on the window, the taste of and feel of watermelon dripping down our chins on a hot day, or the smells of running through the grass in an afternoon rain-shower. They love our attention and crave our presence. And through this they remind us that God made us sensory beings in a world charged with wonder. He built us for deep relationship with Him and each other.

The Incarnation of Play

I was reading a Bible story to my three year-old son once when he interrupted me with, “Play with me, Mama!” It was the third time that day, he’d asked me (first while I was doing the dishes, next while folding laundry) and each time I’d pushed him off until later. But finally I realized it wasn’t my three year-old interrupting me, it was God interrupting me.

You see how could I expect this little one to even want to hear instruction, unless I’d first entered into his world? He wanted my presence amidst trains and construction trucks. He wanted me hiding in blanket forts, getting messy with finger-paints, and silly with tickle fights. He didn’t want a mom who cares for his needs and stands far off. He wanted someone to draw near. It’s funny but that’s what I want in my God too. I need a God who stoops low. I need a God-with-me. I need a God who crawls into the tight places of my tiny world and makes His home with me. And thankfully, the God of the incarnation is my God.

This incarnate God calls me to enter into the world of play with my children not only because it is good for me, but also because it is good for them.

In some sense the invitation to play is an invitation to repent of the idols of the over-worked and the over-worried and to allow God to be the one to care for our daily needs. It is an invitation to experience with all our senses this world of delight, made for enjoying God and each other. And finally, it is an invitation to incarnate to our children the God who stoops down low, who humbles himself to take on flesh and become one of us.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Catherine Claire Larson, author of Waiting in Wonder.

I’m finding that play has become more of a work issue as I grow older, not just with the grandkids, but when I am trying to enjoy something I like to do by myself or with family and friends. It still brings great pleasure but requires more physical effort, pain, and sometimes injury Regardless, I highly recommend you experience time to play as often as possible, understanding the joy built within it by God. May we truly enjoy the life God gives us no matter the circumstances. Let us play!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 30, 2022

Notes of Faith August 30, 2022

Don't Doubt the Devil

The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. — Romans 16:20

Who is responsible for the infamy, terror, and agony that we see all around us? How can we account for the sufferings that we all experience if evil is not a potent force? Education has, in truth, impeded our minds. Because of allegedly scientific findings, some have lost their belief in the supernatural powers of Satan, while others worship him.

George Galloway summed up this dubious contribution of current education when he said, “The theory that there is in the universe a power or principle, personal or otherwise, in eternal opposition to God is generally discarded by the modern mind.”

The modern mind may discard it, but that doesn’t cause the evil principle itself to disappear! Once asked how he overcame the devil, Martin Luther replied, “Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart and asks, ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.’ The Devil, seeing the nail-prints in His hands, and the pierced side, takes flight immediately.”

What can you do when you are confronted with evil?

Resist and Pray

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. — 1 Peter 5:9

A poet once said, “The devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”

We can depend upon the blood of Christ when we are under attack. There are times when we simply must hide behind the person of Christ and ask Him to handle our problems. Jude says, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (v. 9 KJV). That’s what we need to do — call upon God.

Now, the Bible says that we are to “resist the devil, and he will flee” from us (James 4:7 KJV). But before that, God says, “Submit yourselves… to God.” If you have fully submitted, 100 percent yielded and surrendered yourself to Christ, then you can “resist the devil,” and the Bible promises he will flee from you.

The devil will tremble when you pray. He will be defeated when you quote or read a passage of Scripture to him and will leave you when you resist him.

Does the devil flee from you when you pray in Jesus’ name?

Excerpted from Peace for Each Day by Billy Graham, copyright Billy Graham Literary Trust.

Wherever you are, enter into a place of peace and safety . . . and

Chorus:

Shut de do, keep out de devil

Shut de do, keep de devil in the night.

Shut de do, keep out de devil

Light de candle, everything is alright

Light de candle, everything is alright

Oh when I was a baby child (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

Good and bad were just a game (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

Many years and many trials (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

They proved to me they're not the same (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

You better listen to me...

Repeat Chorus

Oh, Satan is an evil charmer (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

He's hungry for a soul to hurt (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

And without your holy armor (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

He will eat you for dessert (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

Repeat Chorus

Well heh, hey, hey, hey, shut de do

Hey, hey, hey, shut de do

Hey, hey, you better shut de do

Say a prayer, he won't be here back no more.

My mama used to sing this song (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

Papa used to sing it too (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

Jesus came and called them home (Shut de do, keep out de devil)

So I sing this song for you (Shut de do, keep de devil in the night)

Repeat Chorus

Everybody say... Light de candle, everything is alright

One more time, I said... Light de candle, everything is alright

Songwriters: Randy Stonehill.

Scriptural Reference:

"'In your anger do not sin:' Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Ephesians 4: 26-27

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4: 7

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 29, 2022

Notes of Faith August 29, 2022

A New Way to Live

My oldest went to college this year and, like all slightly crazed mothers, I tried to cram every last lesson into his precious mind in the final weeks before he moved out, as if this was the last legal time to preach to the poor kid.

Here was the last speech, the final words, my “sermon on the mount” (in the car)…

“Son, you are light. I know this because I have seen God in you. I have seen you go from a selfish punk kid to a young man who responds to conviction. A young man who hears from God. You love people and you even put others ahead of your own interests. All of this is evidence that God is in you.

“So you are light. It’s a fact. It’s your God-given identity as one of His kids. And you are headed into the pitch-black darkness.

“There will be times you act like the darkness, but you will never be the darkness, and you will never be at home in the darkness again.”

And team, same goes for us, if you know Jesus Christ as Savior. We have been given new life, new identities, and a new motivation. The light of Jesus resides in us and through us. No matter what spirals we face on a day-to-day basis. Yet, our flesh, the world, and the adversary are doing everything in their power to stymie us with our past.

We moved from being slaves to sin to being children of God.

We will probably be trying to wrap our minds around this astonishing truth until we get to Heaven.

But we must try because it shifts everything about us. As God’s children, filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:16; the issue is whether we’re using it to think the thoughts that Jesus might think.

Are we taking every thought captive and training our minds daily in the right paths? Are we moving forward instead of looking backward?

We’re going to talk about how to go the distance. How to persevere and keep growing in strength and maturity. In chapter 3 of Philippians, Paul is telling us how to mature in our thoughts. Paul is exhorting this young church to follow his lead; to follow his example of maturity as he fixes his mind on Christ.

Why do we need to mature? Because we want Christ. Maturity as a Christian is the process of becoming more like Christ.

And none of us are there yet.

And perhaps surprisingly, one of Paul’s indicators of maturity is the discipline of forgetting what’s behind so we can move on to what’s ahead. So we can grab on to what’s ours in Christ. Later in this lesson, we will process the why and how of forgetting.

But for now, let’s go — Philippians 3.

READ PHILIPPIANS 3

Paul begins chapter 3 with a warning. What exactly is he asking the church to watch out for? (Philippians 3:2-4)

List the things Paul says he could put his confidence in. (Philippians 3:4-6)

What does Paul do with all of his most precious earthly gains? (Philippians 3:7-9)

Why would he do this? (Philippians 3:10-11)

Paul is going to challenge the mature followers of Christ (Philippians 3:15) to think a certain way in this passage. Read Philippians 3:12-16 and list the train of thought and action that Paul models here.

Philippians 3:17 says why we should think and act like Paul. What is the reason for Paul’s hope?

Read Philippians 3:18-19 and describe the enemies of the cross of Christ.

In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul builds out our ultimate motivation for godliness. Describe it here in your own words.

Summarize Philippians chapter 3 in your own words. Those of us who are mature think this way” (Philippians 3:15 ESV).

Keep your heart with all diligence

In my research on biblical maturity it became clear, very quickly, that maturity was a subject Paul cared a lot about. No one in the Bible talks more about maturity than Paul. I know why. Because he was writing letters to a fragile young church, and his deepest desire was that this small flame of faith would catch ablaze and spread to the ends of earth. These first-generation believers had grown up in a culture and belief system different from the identity they now possessed, and Paul’s letter to the Philippian church is discipleship from a distance.

Let’s look at some of his key phrases connected to mature thinking. He draws from the imagery of a running race — having a vision of focused endurance to the finish line. No longer is Paul’s finish line achievement or status.

Press on.

The phrase I want to come back to is forgetting what lies behind.

Straining toward what lies ahead.

Toward the goal, the prize, which is the call of God in Christ Jesus.

The phrase I want to come back to is “forgetting what lies behind.” As we look to reign in our thoughts and mind, this is no small command. We are terrible forgetters when it comes to our past, aren’t we? No matter if it was an achievement or a shameful decision, we too often allow our past to dictate our thoughts and lives. But Paul was addressing something deeper than his past actions and accolades; he was talking about his motivations. Forgetting what lies behind sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Our brains never stop working, even when we sleep. So yes, it is impossible to only forget and be left with nothing in our minds.

How do we become great at forgetting?

WE BECOME EXPERTS IN REMEMBERING

Paul’s single-minded goal was what motivated him to forget, to leave behind his past. Paul’s new motivation was so consuming that he gave no value to his past — thus leaving no room for his past to define him. As long as we leave room in our minds for the past, we will allow it to define us.

When I sit down with a woman who genuinely loves Jesus and says she is not in bondage, yet I hear bitterness and unforgiveness… we have a problem. Because even though this is invisible bondage, it is bondage and a hindrance to focused endurance to the finish line. And roots of bitterness and unforgiveness will not just fade away. Every thought bears fruit.

So whatever does not produce the fruit of righteousness must be held up to the light of the gospel, to allow God to deal and heal.

And guess what happens when you get free from the past? You get free to run your race. Now for many of you, before you can move forward you need to process & forgive & work through difficult circumstances. Do the work, but then it is time to no longer be defined by it.

FORGETTING

Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

— Proverbs 4:23

The heart here can be defined as “the seat of our thoughts, will, and emotions.” Who we are, our very intangible essence that makes us uniquely us, lives somewhere in the recesses of our mind.

So we, as maturing Christ followers, guard our minds because flowing out of it… comes every aspect of life.

What we think will directly become who we are.

So why do you have to become great at forgetting? Because you are a new creation, with a new identity, and a new motivation. And Jesus is just that good.

Some of you need to forget because your past is filled with how awesome you are, and you have built your identity on your ability and the applause of man, and you wonder why you don’t feel like you need God or why you don’t want to grow in maturity.

Some of you need to forget because you built your identity on your lack of awesomeness, and all you can do is think of yourself as well, but not in a good light. You can never imagine being confident enough to pour your life into another person.

Some of you have a past full of shame. Whether you were a victim or actively ran from God, your past still defines you and holds you in bondage, and your greatest fear is still being found out.

Forget what is behind… race toward what is ahead.

I know for some of you this sounds too simplistic. Seasons of difficulty in my life have required a lot of counseling till the gaping wounds have begun to heal. But the point is, we have to fight down the distractions and bondage that keep us from wholly advancing the gospel with every part of our lives. Let’s become free people — because free people free people.

Excerpted from Get Out of Your Head Study Guide by Jennie Allen.

In my experience and I expect yours as well, Satan uses our past to attempt to weaken or destroy if that were possible our relationship with God. I battle with the shame and regret of the past. The struggles of the present are enough to keep me occupied. And what the future holds only God knows. Let us strive to forget the past and press on toward what we do know of the future . . . the Lord Jesus is coming back!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 28, 2022

Notes of Faith August 28, 2022

Some Predestined to Believe

Predestination refers to God’s appointing the final destiny of a person before creation. So, for example, Ephesians 1:4–5 says, “[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” So God assigns, or destines, the elect for adoption; that’s the destiny. He plans for his chosen ones before creation. Hence, the term pre-destined — destined beforehand for adoption.

These predestined ones always correspond in real life with those whom Jesus calls to himself and those who believe on Jesus and are justified by faith. And we know that the predestined and the believers always correspond because of Romans 8:30, which says, “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified.” And we know that justification is by faith and no other way. So those are believers. Those whom he called he brought to faith and justified, and those whom he justified he glorified.

“Human beings are morally accountable, even though they do not have ultimate self-determination.”

So, the predestined ones and those who are justified by faith in Jesus are always the same group. Because God not only predestines, but he also calls people to himself, and brings them to faith, and justifies them, and finally glorifies them. There are no predestined ones who do not believe, and there are no believers who are not predestined. God is sovereign in the whole process of salvation — beginning to end, eternity to eternity, in every aspect of it.

Some Destined to Disobey

Now, the term double predestination is used to refer to the fact that if God destines some for salvation and adoption, then he passes over others, so that their destiny is judgment and not salvation. Now, some people think we should not call this passing over a second predestination, since the Bible does not speak of it that way. And I would agree that we at least shouldn’t make a focus out of what the Bible does not make a focus.

But in fact, while not using the word predestined for unbelievers who perish, the Bible does refer to the reality of it. And it’s not just a logical deduction. Sometimes this gets a bad rap because they say, “There you go applying your crusty, wooden, cold logic, which the Bible doesn’t do.” Well, forget that. We’re not talking about a logical deduction here — we’re talking about texts.

For example, consider these three texts. First Peter 2:8, the one that was mentioned, refers to those who “stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” Romans 9:22 refers to those whom God “endured with much patience” — namely, “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.” Proverbs 16:4 says, “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

Now, each of those texts needs careful attention and true interpretation. But my effort over the years has yielded the fact that I think they do in fact teach that God plans the destiny of each person, whether judgment or salvation. And that, of course, is very controversial. But it’s also very important.

I mean, think of it. It’s not marginal. Think of what it says about the sovereignty of God either way, or about the nature of saving grace and its power — its sovereign effectiveness. Think about the implications for prayer and evangelism and assurance and so many other things. This is not a marginal issue, as though you could just shunt that aside and say, “We’ll just talk about other things.”

‘Free Will’ or Sovereign Grace?

Now, the primary objection to this biblical teaching of predestination — whether you call it single or double — is that it seems to result in people being punished when they are not morally accountable. So this seems to be unjust. It seems unjust to people and unjust in God. The alternative view says that God does not decide anyone’s destiny before they exercise their ultimately self-determining free will.

The assumption of this alternative view is that a person cannot be morally accountable unless each one has ultimate self-determination — which is usually called “free will,” but “[ultimate self-determination” is the crucial definition. The text that most often is appealed to for this view (which is not my view, I’m not in favor of this) is 1 Timothy 2:4, which Josh specifically asked about. It says God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Then the inference by those who read it is drawn from this verse that God cannot choose only some to be saved because he desires all to be saved.

Now the problem is this: both interpretations admit that God prioritizes something above his desire for all to be saved — because not all are saved. Something restrains God from saving all. And one view says that what restrains God is that he prioritizes ultimate human self-determination above saving all. Better to have some perish than that all should be deprived of ultimate self-determination (usually called “free will”).

The other view (this would be my view) says that what restrains God from saving all is that he prioritizes the glory of the freedom of his sovereign grace above saving all. Better that some perish than that the freedom and greatness of God’s grace be diminished.

God Grants Repentance

So the question is, Which of these two explanations is the biblical explanation of why God doesn’t save everybody? Is it God’s commitment to ultimate human self-determination? Or is it God’s commitment to his own freedom and the glory of his predestining grace?

Now, that’s a massive question. But let me give one pointer from inside Paul’s letters to Timothy. I’m very, very jealous here not to be controlled by a system. I know that whatever view you have, it is very easy to be controlled by other truths besides the text you’re dealing with, rather than looking in the context to see what it really means. So, I want to stick with these — what are called the Pastoral Letters of Paul. Let’s just take 1 and 2 Timothy and show how close the language is between 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Timothy 2:25.

So in 2 Timothy 2:24–25, Paul uses language like this. And what’s close about it is the phrase “coming to a knowledge of the truth” in both texts. But here’s what he says:

The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

That’s the same phrase as in 1 Timothy 2:4. Now, what seems clear to me from this verse is that Paul does not believe in ultimate human self-determination when it comes to the all-important act of repentance. In this verse, repentance does not ultimately depend on human self-determination; it depends on the free gift of God to a person in the bondage of sin and Satan. “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25).

“Human beings are morally accountable, even though they do not have ultimate self-determination.”

Therefore, within these two letters of Paul to Timothy, he shows that what keeps God from doing what he at one level desires to do — namely, save all — is not his commitment to ultimate human self-determination. No one is saved unless God grants repentance. Repentance is not the product of ultimate human self-determination. It’s a gift of God.

Predestined and Accountable

Here’s the paradox — not a contradiction, a paradox. Lots of people try to make this out to be a logical contradiction. It’s not. It runs through the whole Bible. Human beings are morally accountable, even though they do not have ultimate self-determination. There is no injustice with God (Romans 9:14). No one is punished who does not truly deserve to be punished. And the measure of the punishment is always in righteous proportion to the measure of the evil. Though God predestines who will be saved and who will not be saved, no one comes into judgment who does not deserve judgment.

This is not a logical contradiction, which so many try to make it out to be. It is a mystery. I don’t think the Bible makes plain how both of these truths — God’s sovereignty and man’s accountability — are in perfect compatibility. But the whole Bible testifies to both truths. They are compatible. The Bible teaches the truth of both. And they are profoundly important to embrace for the good of our souls, and for the integrity of God’s word, and for the health of the church, and for the advancement of God’s mission, and for the glory of God’s grace.

.

This is one of the hardest doctrines to understand and takes considerable time to study and meditate on the Word of God and time in prayer asking the Spirt of God for understanding. Though we may never come to a clear conclusion that can be shared/taught to others for their understanding, we must contemplate the truth of the Word of God as holy and perfect, just as He is. Blessed are those who are given faith to believe in Jesus Christ! No matter your leaning in understanding this doctrine, worship, praise and give glory to God for His gift of life and coming to a knowledge of His grace . . .

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith August 27, 2022

Notes of Faith August 27, 2022

The Power of the Blood

Have you ever thought about why the Earth needs the moon? Do you know how whirlpools form, what makes something glow in the dark, or the incredible properties of blood?

Blood. Some people faint at the sight of it, but you couldn’t live without it!

Blood is made up of red and white blood cells floating in a liquid called plasma.

The red blood cells are a kind of delivery system. They carry oxygen and other nutrients to all the cells in your body, and then they carry away all the waste, like carbon dioxide. Blood is pumped through your body by the heart. Your heart is one strong muscle, and it’s fast too — it can pump blood to every cell in your body in less than a minute! Blood travels through tubes called blood vessels. The vessels that carry blood away from your heart are called arteries, while the ones that carry it back to your heart are called veins. The white blood cells are the warrior cells. They work together with your immune system to fight off germs and diseases.

His blood can carry your sins away

Your blood is pretty powerful and important stuff! But the blood of Jesus is even more powerful. Because He is the Son of God, lived a perfect life, and never sinned — not even one single time — His blood can carry your sins away and give you the forgiveness you need to live forever with God. All you have to do is believe and obey Him. When Jesus gave His life for you on the cross, it was both terrible and beautiful—terrible for the way Jesus was hurt, but so beautiful for the gift of love and forgiveness and heaven He gave to you and me.

Lord, it’s hard to think about Jesus’ death on the cross, and I’m so sorry for all He suffered. But I am so grateful for His blood that washes my sins away.

HOW GREAT!

Platelets are another very important part of your blood. (You say it the way it looks: PLATE-let.) When you get a cut or scrape, these little guys spring into action, sticking together to stop the flow of blood — called clotting. They not only keep blood inside your body but also keep germs out!

Excerpted from How Great Is Our God by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

There is power, power, wonder working power, in the precious blood of the Lamb!

Pastor Dale