Notes of Faith October 5, 2022

Notes of Faith October 5, 2022

Peculiar Parable

In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” (Luke 18:2–5)

Now, don’t be offended that Jesus compares God the Father to an unjust judge. That happens several times in the Bible. For example, the most familiar one is that Jesus’s coming is called the coming of a what in the night? Thief, which is not very complimentary to Jesus. But clearly, when the New Testament talks like that, it doesn’t mean Jesus is the thief. It means that the point of comparison is suddenness, unexpectedness. So here, the point of comparison is not that God is unjust, but that he gives in to prevailing prayer.

Verse 7 draws out the lesson very clearly, which was stated in verse 1. “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?” The answer, of course, is obviously God will vindicate his elect who cry to him day and night — that is, who always pray. Therefore, the point of the parable is cry to God day and night. Show yourself to be the elect by acting the way the elect always act — cry to God day and night. Or to use the words of verse 1, pray always and don’t lose heart. And if you do that, you will not become like Lot’s wife — in love with the world — and turn back into a pillar of salt. You will not be left in judgment as one is snatched away from your home. You will endure in faith and love, and God will vindicate you when the Son of Man flashes from one horizon to the other. So, always pray and don’t lose heart.

Pray, Pray, Pray

Now, what’s driving me this morning in this sermon is that this is the last day of a week of concerted prayer. So, we’re at the end of prayer week. That’s a dangerous place to be, according to this parable. “Don’t end” is what this parable is saying. If we end praying, we’re in trouble — deep trouble. Some of us this week have had a great time. I’ve prayed more hours in the first week of 1983 than any week in my life. And many of you have too. Now what? The word of Jesus to us this morning is, “Don’t stop praying. Don’t peter out. Don’t be fickle. Always, always, always pray. Cry to God day and night.”

Here’s the way Peter put it in his first letter: “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). The closer the end draws near, the more threat against the warmth of the faith of the church and the greater the need for persevering prayer. The pressures of worldliness will be so great as the end draws near that only a few will make it. After all, Jesus said, “The love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). I hope we’re among the number.

Now, how does this parable help us and encourage us to pray continually? The widow comes to an unjust judge, and she pleads for help. Evidently, she’s being oppressed by some rascal, and she’s helpless. And she asks the judge, “Vindicate me. Help me. Tell him to stop that.” And that’s us, right? The widow — weak, poor, no husband to stand up for her. Her only recourse is the judge, even though he is unjust, and our only recourse is God.

Not Like That Judge

Now, the argument of the parable is not, “Well, if you can get on the case of the judge long enough, he’ll try to get you off his back by vindicating you. Therefore, if you get on God’s case long enough, then to get you off his back, he will vindicate you.” You could interpret the parable that way, but there are two reasons why you shouldn’t.

The first is that that would contradict clearly Luke 12:32, where it says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He’s not reneging on any promises. He’s eager to give you the kingdom. But the main reason why we shouldn’t construe the parable that way is that there are two clues right here in the parable for the fact that God isn’t like that judge.

Notice in verse 2 that this judge neither feared God nor regarded man. And those two things are repeated in verse 4. “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet . . . I will give her justice.” Now when it says, “Yet I will give her justice,” that must mean that not fearing God and not regarding men are big obstacles to helping the widow, right? If you don’t fear God, it’s an obstacle to get over to help her. He gets over it by ulterior motives. But notice first, he doesn’t fear God. And if fearing God is an obstacle to helping the widow, then presumably, if you did fear God, you would incline naturally to help the widow, right?

That must mean that God isn’t at all like this judge because, if he inclines the people who fear him to give to the widow liberally and quickly, he must be that kind of God. And so, by saying that this judge doesn’t fear God and, therefore, doesn’t answer her readily, he shows that God isn’t at all like the unjust judge. And so, the argument of the parable is an argument from lesser to greater. If, by knocking on the door of the judge who doesn’t have an ounce of justice in his body, you can still get your answer, how much more, by knocking on God’s door continually, will you most certainly be answered, because he’s not like that judge at all?

Voices God Knows

The second thing it says about the judge is that he has no regard for man. Now we need to ask, Since he doesn’t know this widow and, therefore, doesn’t care about her at all — has no regard to her — is God like that when we approach him and pray to him? Verse 7 makes it very, very clear that that’s not the case, because it says, “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?”

“In Jesus’s mind, prayer and faith stand and fall together.”

See that word elect? That’s a dynamite word. That means, when we come to God and pray to him, we’re not coming like a stranger, a widow whom he doesn’t know or care about. He has chosen us, elected us, set his favor upon us, adopted us into his family, made us his children. When we knock on the door and say, “It’s me,” it’s very different than when a strange widow knocks on an unjust judge’s door and says, “It’s me” — and he answered, “Who?”

God knows our voice. We’re his children. We’re the chosen. We’re the elect. And therefore, Jesus argues from lesser to greater: if an unjust judge who has a stranger, whom he doesn’t care about at all, knocking on his door will give in to her, how much more will God, who not only knows us but chose us, loves us, adopts us, readily and lovingly answer our request?

So, the parable is intended to encourage us to get on with the business of praying because we have such a hopeful prospect of being answered. When Jesus asks at the end of the parable in verse 8, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” that could be also phrased like this: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find that we have kept praying, or not?” Evidently, in Jesus’s mind, prayer and faith stand and fall together.

We have a plaque on the wall in our house that says, “The Key to Everything Is Prayer.” It is a good reminder for everything that we do, think, and say, to start in communion with God. We are less likely to go off in the wrong direction or make poor decisions. Work hard to keep this kind of intimacy and you will have great joy in your life.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 4, 2022

Notes of Faith October 4, 2022

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts

Amazing prophecies of God’s plans for the world can be found embedded in the customs of the feasts of Israel. The intricate detail of the prophecies illustrated in the observances of these feasts provide insight into God’s plan for the ages. On the evening of October 5th, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement begins and it continues through the evening of the 6th. For Jews, it is a day of repentance to God often observed by 25 hours of fasting, going to synagogue and praying. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year and it brings an end to the High Holy days for the year. For Advent and Passover we shared excerpts of Unlocking The Secrets Of The Feasts which were both received with overwhelming response. Enjoy this excerpt for Yom Kippur!

The Second of the Fall Feasts

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) follows closely after Rosh Hashanah. We read in Leviticus 23:26-28:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.’

And Exodus 30:10 says:

And Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.

The Jews consider the Day of Atonement the holiest day in all, for it is on this day that Israel would be forgiven of their sins or would face judgment. Devout Jews tell me that this day understandably brings plenty of anxiety into their hearts. Isn’t it wonderful that we believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ have the peace and assurance that our sins are forgiven eternally, because of what He has done on the cross! Yom Kippur literally means “Day of Covering.” The word Kippur also means “ransom.” It is to show God’s willingness to cover the sins of the previous year. While the animal that was sacrificed had to be one year old in order to provide atonement for the previous sins for one year, Christ, being eternal, provided atonement for an eternity!

Leviticus 16:29 gives further instructions on how the Jews were to observe Yom Kippur:

On the tenth day of the seventh month you shall humble your souls and not do any work.

In explaining what must characterize the act of humbling oneself, the rabbis say one must avoid eating and drinking, bathing or washing, marital relations, putting on perfumes or lotions, and wearing leather shoes. Now “refraining from the wearing of leather shoes” threw me. I asked about it and was informed that wearing leather shoes signified luxury. They wear comfort socks instead!

According to Leviticus 16:31–33, the high priest was to put on his linen garments and was to make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent or temple, the altar, himself (high priest), the priests (Levites), and the people (Israelites) — all in that order. Leviticus 16:3–4 states:

Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash, and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

This is not the colorful robe the high priest usually wore. This was a plain white linen garment. This observance was to be performed once a year according to Leviticus 16:34:

Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel, for all their sins once every year.

The procedure had four parts as spelled out in Leviticus 16:13–14: take fire from the altar of incense, offer sacrifices and place the blood of these sacrifices in a bowl, sprinkle the blood in the Holy Place and upon the mercy seat of the Ark seven times. The ingredients of the incense are found in Exodus 30:34:

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.’

"There is now total access to God because of the redemptive work of Christ."

The Scapegoat

One of the most important aspects of the observance of the Day of Atonement was the scapegoat. We read in Leviticus 16:7–8:

He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.

Then verses 9–10 add:

Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

Laying both hands on the head of the goat, the high priest then confessed the sins of the people. After that he sent the goat away to the wilderness by an appointed person. This fulfills the requirement explained in Leviticus 16:22:

The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

This also ties into Isaiah 53:6, which says:

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

The Talmud, Tractate Shabbat Folio 86a, states: “How do we know that a crimson-colored strap is tied to the head of the goat that is sent [to ‘Azaz’el]? Because it is said, ‘If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).’ By a miracle this crimson-colored strap turned white, thus showing the people that they were forgiven of their sins.” It then explains: “Rabbi Ishmael says, ‘Now did they not have another sign? There was a crimson thread tied to the door of the sanctuary. When the goat had reached the wilderness, the thread would turn white, as it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”’ That is fascinating, but this becomes totally amazing when another section of the Talmud (Yoma 39b) says: “Our Rabbis taught: ‘During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [‘For the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white… and the doors of the Hekal (the temple) would open by themselves.’”

After Christ was crucified, the crimson strap on the scapegoat and the crimson thread on the temple door never turned white again! Apparently, God was reminding the Jews that Jesus is the true scapegoat once and for all. Jesus fulfilled the promise of both goats. He paid the penalty for our sins and removed our sins as well! Since the lot that was drawn for the goat for sacrifice to the Lord never came up in the right hand, this, too, was a sign that God did not accept their offering again. Hebrews 9:11–12 says:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

As already noted earlier, the Talmud says that the temple doors were found open by themselves each evening. In his writings, The Wars of the Jews (Josephus Complete Works), Josephus said, “At the same festival (Passover)… the Eastern gate of the inner court of the Temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a base armored with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night.”

This is similar to the tearing of the veil, which is a sign that there is now total access to God because of the redemptive work of Christ.

According to Jewish tradition, the observance of Yom Kippur today consists of five services. They are (1) Kol Nidre (the evening service): confessional chant; (2) Shacharit (the early morning service): reading of Leviticus 16 in the temple; (3) Musaf (the second service): reading of the Day of Atonement; (4) Mincha (the afternoon service): reading of Jonah; (5) Ne’ila (the final service): closing or locking the books. I find it interesting that the book of Jonah is read, because Christ said that Jonah was a sign. We read in Luke 11:29-30:

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, ‘This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.’

The Prophetic Implications

The heavenly events during the tribulation as described in the book of Revelation give the impression that Christ is acting out Yom Kippur. From my research, I have become aware that Jews traditionally believe that the Messiah will come on the day of Yom Kippur to cleanse and reestablish Israel. Michael Cory, the founder of Voice of Judah International Ministries in Lawrenceville, Georgia, explained it well: “Yom Kippur is the holiest, most solemn day of the year in Israel. According to the Talmud, it is the last day to repent and be forgiven as the heavenly court makes its final judgment on this day and the books are closed.”

The Book of Revelation reveals that several things are going on in heaven while the Tribulation is occurring on earth. These events in heaven are described with images such as the golden censer and incense, and the robe dipped in blood. These images remind us of the procedures employed by the high priest in the performance of his duties in the Temple during Yom Kippur.

William Barclay discusses the details of the activities of the high priest during the Day of Atonement in his exposition of Hebrews 9:6-10 in his Daily Study Bible. In Barclay’s words: “The high priest took coals from the altar and put them in a censer; he took incense and put it in a special dish; and then he walked into the Holy of Holies to burn incense in the very presence of God. It was laid down that he must not stay too long ‘lest he put Israel in terror.’ The people literally watched with bated breath; and when he came out from the presence of God still alive, there went up a sigh of relief like a gust of wind.” Barclay did a good job of describing the emotions of the people at that moment. Their relief might have been not only for the priest when he emerged, but also for the forgiveness of their sins for yet another year.

When Jesus, their heavenly High Priest, comes down out of the heavenly temple, the people of Israel will display a different emotion. We read in Zechariah 12:10:

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

Instead of a temporary forgiveness, they will receive an eternal forgiveness!

Romans 11:26–27 promises:

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’

It is also important to note another contrast between the earthly high priest and Jesus, their heavenly High Priest. The blood on the robe of the earthly high priest was from the animal sacrifice that provided ceremonial cleansing, while the blood on the robe of the heavenly High Priest recorded in Revelation 19:13 is from His enemies when He comes to cleanse the land as the Messiah. In other words, instead of a mere ceremonial cleansing, Jesus as the High Priest and Messiah does an actual overt cleansing of the land. This is explained in Isaiah 63:1-4:

Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? ‘I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come.’

Therefore, looking at both Jewish tradition and the Scriptures, it appears that Jesus the High Priest and Messiah will come out of the heavenly temple to earth at Yom Kippur, His second coming, administering judgment to unbelievers still alive as well as salvation to those believers still alive at the end of the Tribulation.

The correlation between the first two fall feasts, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is startling. The feast days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, along with the seven days in between, are known collectively as “the Days of Awe.” In other words, two days of Rosh Hashanah plus seven additional Days of Awe, totaling nine days, makes the next day, the tenth day, Yom Kippur.

This paints a great picture of the future when we as believers will be in heaven with our High Priest, Jesus Christ, for seven years receiving our rewards.

Also another picture is seen in the custom of the Jewish wedding. When the groom brings his bride to the bridal chamber, which he prepared for her in his father’s house, they celebrate their union for seven days before the wedding feast. We, as His bride, will be with Christ, our bridegroom, for seven years at the place He has prepared for us at His Father’s house. After those seven years, we will return with our Lord at His second coming as He administers judgment to unbelievers on the earth and salvation to believing Israel, thereby fulfilling Yom Kippur just as the earthly high priest did! Interestingly, the Jews expect the Messiah will come at Yom Kippur to administer judgment or forgiveness.

And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. — Revelation 19:11-14

The judgment which Jesus brings to earth in fulfillment of Yom Kippur are explained in the next verse of the same chapter,

And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.’

As noted earlier in Zechariah 12:10, Jesus the Messiah will also bring salvation to believing Jews. Their eyes will be opened to the truth about Jesus, when He returns!

In the first chapter we saw that the Jews expect the Messiah to come at Passover to bring redemption. On the other hand, they talk about the Messiah coming and bringing judgment or forgiveness at Yom Kippur. Isn’t it amazing that in the observances of the feasts, the concept of both the first and second coming of the Messiah is embedded in their celebrations!

Excerpted from Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts by Michael Norten, copyright Thomas Nelson

We should be interpreting the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective for our salvation comes through the Jews, the chosen people of God, who were given the Word of God and as a Jew, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, came to live a perfect sinless life and give that life for all who would believe in Him. We tend to overlook the Scriptures that say, “to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile!”

Knowing about the feasts of the Lord brings greater perspective and understanding as to the working of God in the lives of mankind.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 3, 2022

Notes of Faith October 3, 2022

Journal Through the Bible: Ephesians

By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. — Ephesians 2:8–9

READING PLAN

2 days; 3 chapters a day

THEMES

Mystery of grace; church unity; armor of God

MAJOR PLAYERS

Church at Ephesus, Paul, Tychicus

Background

Paul wrote to the Ephesian church while he was imprisoned, likely in Rome, circa AD 60. He wrote a handful of letters at once and sent them all with Tychicus, probably to be circulated around the region. He wrote to a church composed mostly of Gentile believers in an area known for the worship of the goddess Diana.

Put on the full armor of God.

— Ephesians 6:11

Summary

The early church saw much division between Jewish and Gentile believers. This pained Paul, who was adamant about the unity and equality of church members under Christ — for the whole world. In this letter, Paul spoke of the mystery of grace and the spiritual world, of God’s purposes for reconciliation, and of God’s love for His church. He also covered practical concerns on how to be a unified community, and he gave his classic image of the armor of God for our protection and defense.

Reflections

1. How comfortable are you with the mysteries of faith? What does Paul teach regarding this subject?

2. What did Paul tell us about the supernatural nature of the “new man” and about spiritual gifts? How are we empowered to change and thrive under Christ? How have you been empowered?

3. Paul encouraged followers to walk in love, light, and wisdom. How would this have made the Ephesians different from their fellow citizens? How does it make us different?

4. Study the “whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). How can you “take it up” every day? How can you be more aware of the spiritual world around you?

Excerpted from Journal Through the Bible: Exploring Genesis to Revelation, copyright Thomas Nelson.

Encouraging you to read, study, and meditate on the whole book of Ephesians in two days! This is an exciting way to read the Word of God. Please take this opportunity to let God lead you through this letter.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 2, 2022

Notes of Faith October 2, 2022

You Were Made for This Moment

‘To whom will you compare Me? Or who is My equal?’ says the Holy One.

— Isaiah 40:25

As Moses announced:

Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You — majestic in holiness? — Exodus 15:11

And the psalmist asked:

Who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord? — Psalm 89:6 NASB

As Augustine prayed:

What then are you my God? What, I ask, except the Lord God. For who is the Lord besides God? Or who is God besides our God? — Most high, most good, most powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful and most just, most secret and most present; most beautiful and most strong; most stable and incomprehensible; unchangeable (yet) changing all things; never new, never old; making all things new, and bringing the proud to (the collapse of) old age; ever acting, ever at rest; gathering, and not needing; carrying and filling and protecting (all things); creating and nourishing and perfecting; seeking, though you lack nothing.1

Consider the work of His hands.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

Speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea tell you.

Every one of these knows

that the hand of the Lord has done this.

The life of every creature

and the breath of all people are in God’s hand. — Job 12:7-10 NCV

The next time you feel the weight of the world, talk to the One who made the world. As your perception of God grows greater, the size of your challenge grows smaller. If God can sway the heart of a Persian monarch, if He can reverse certain death into victorious life, if He can turn a scheduled holocaust into an annual holiday, do you not think He can take care of you?

I’m sorry for your exile in Persia. I’m sorry for your deep wounds and weariness. I’m so sorry that you so quickly understand the meaning of words like pain, fear, and sadness.

"Relief will come.

Will you be a part of it?"

— Max Lucado

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Springtime seems like forever from now, I know. But, friend, it isn’t. The story of Esther dares you to believe that God, though hidden, is active. He brings life out of broken things. The apostle Paul was summarizing Esther when he wrote:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. — Romans 8:28

“We know,” Paul said. There are so many things in life we do not know. We do not know if the economy will dip or if our team will win. We don’t always know what our kids are thinking or our spouse is doing. But according to Paul we can be dead certain of four things.

We know God works. He is busy behind the scenes, above the fray, and within the fury. He hasn’t checked out or moved on. He is ceaseless and tireless.

He never stops working for our good. Not for our comfort, pleasure, or entertainment, but for our good. Since he himself is the ultimate good, would we expect anything else?

To do this He uses all things. Panta in Greek. As in panoramic or panacea or pandemic. All inclusive. God works, not through a few things or just the good things, best things, or easy things, but in all things God works.

He works for the good of those who love Him. Good things happen to those who trust God. The umbrella of God’s providence does not extend to cover the evil and hard-hearted. But for those who seek Him and His will, in all things God works.

A puppet in the hands of fortune and fate? Not you. You are secure in the hands of a living and loving God.

A random collection of disconnected events? Far from it. Your life is a crafted narrative written by the Author of life, who is working toward your supreme good and a sublime ending.

Relief will come.

Will you be a part of it?

It seems to me that the entire world is in a state of trauma. People do not know why they were born or where they are destined to go. This is the age of much know-how and very little know-why. The invisible enemies of sin and secularism have left us dazed and bewildered.

The world needs you! We need people with the resolve of Mordecai and the courage of Esther. The world is in desperate need of a people of God who will stay steady in the chaos.

People like the ones who gathered in war-torn London. No one would have blamed them for canceling church services on that Sunday morning. A bombing raid had roared in the city throughout the night. London was a circle of fire. Buildings were destroyed. Even the walls of this church were flattened. Members arrived to find pews covered with dust and mortar. But rather than despair, they chose to worship. Amid the heaps of stones they began to sing:

The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is His new creation, By Spirit and the Word:

From Heav’n He came and sought her To be His holy Bride,

With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died.

Can you envision that circle of brave souls? Smack-dab in the center of global chaos, they worshipped. They set their faith on our unfailing God. The song was an admonition of sorts, a declaration of truth amid a crumbling society.

The song may well have saved the life of Ben Robertson. He was an American war correspondent who had arrived in London the day before. The night bombing left him undone and terrified. The explosions, sirens, and cries of the wounded caused him to despair of life itself.

“If this is what modern civilization has brought us to — if this is the best that modern man can achieve, then let me die,” he prayed.

At some point he dozed off. He awoke to the unexpected sound of people singing a hymn. He looked out the window and saw the congregation gathered in the rubble.

He later wrote: “Suddenly I saw in the world something that was unshatterable — something that had endured through millennia, something that was indestructible — the spirit and life and power of Jesus Christ within His Church.”2

Bombs are still dropped. Worlds still explode. Walls still collapse. Pandemics still rage. But in the midst of it all, the Lord still has His people. And when they proclaim the truth of God in the middle of a crumbling world, you never know who might be changed.

God is in the middle of this. This steep climb. This uphill struggle. This cold, fierce headwind you are facing. You feel overwhelmed. Weary. Ill-equipped to weather it. But lift up your eyes. That is your Father standing on the driveway. He is in this moment with you. Who knows but that you have been chosen for such a time as this?

Excerpted from You Were Made for This Moment by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

I believe that the God who is the omniscient and omnipotent Creator of all things, places mankind specifically in time and space that we might be His ambassadors to the world. Some reject the Creator in unbelief, others do not take up the mantle of proclaiming the truth of their Creator, we, must be like those in Scripture who responded in faith and broke down the gates of hell, strengthening those who struggle with temptation, those who are battling peer pressure, standing with those who proclaim truth in a sinful society, offering hope and salvation in this life and in the life to come, glory, for those who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you join with me to be one who answers the call to be a witness for God. Time is short. Your life will be spent and what will you have accomplished? Give your all for the One who gave all for you! Will I watch you receive your reward in heaven and hear Jesus say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master!”

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 1, 2022

Notes of Faith October 1, 2022

Grace and Truth: Reversing the Effects of the Fall

Grace and truth together reverse the effects of the fall, which were separation from God and others. Grace and truth together invite us out of isolation and into relationship. Grace, when it is combined with truth, invites the true self, the “me” as I really am, warts and all, into relationship.

It is one thing to have safety in relationship; it is quite another to be truly known and accepted in this relationship.

With grace alone, we are safe from condemnation, but we cannot experience true intimacy. When the one who offers grace also offers truth (truth about who we are, truth about who he or she is, and truth about the world around us), and we respond with our true self, then real intimacy is possible.

Real intimacy always comes in the company of truth.

Jesus’ treatment of the adulterous woman in John 8:3–11 provides a wonderful example of safety and intimacy. Jesus had gone to the temple courts at dawn to teach the people. He had just sat down when the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in an adulterous woman and made her stand before the group.

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery,” they said. “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus. The Romans did not allow the Jews to carry out the death sentence, so if Jesus said, “Stone her,” He would be in conflict with the Romans. If He said, “Don’t stone her,” He could be accused of undermining Jewish law.

But Jesus refused to fall into their trap. He bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He stood up and said to them,

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.

When they heard His answer, they began to slink away, one by one. Soon Jesus was left alone with the woman. He asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

In this one encounter, Jesus shows what it means to know grace and truth in Him. He offered this woman grace in the form of forgiveness and acceptance. He said, in effect, that she did not have to die for her sin. She was accepted and did not have to be separated from Him.

He also showed the power of grace as an agent to end separation from her fellow human beings as well. The Pharisees were no different from her: she was a sinner, and they were sinners. Jesus even invited the Pharisees to commune with her as a member of the human race, an invitation they declined.

Grace has the power to bring us together with God and with others, if others will accept it.

But Jesus did not stop with just acceptance. He accepted her with full realization of who she was: an adulteress. He accepted her true self, a woman with sinful desires and actions. He then gives her direction for the future: “Go now and leave your life of sin.” These two ingredients together — acceptance and direction — serve to bring the real self into relationship, the only way that healing ever takes place.

Jesus said it in another way in John 4:23–24:

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (emphasis mine

We must worship God in relationship and in honesty, or we do not worship Him at all.

The sad thing is that many of us come to Christ because we are sinners, and then spend the rest of our lives trying to prove that we are not! We try to hide who we really are.

The Real Self versus the False Self

When the real self comes into relationship with God and others, an incredible dynamic is set into motion: we grow as God created us to grow. It is only when you are connected to the Head (Jesus Christ) and connected to others (the Body) that “the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow” (Colossians 2:19).

A coming together of grace and truth in Jesus Christ is our only hope, and indeed it is a hope that does not disappoint.

If the true self is in hiding, the false self takes over. The false self is the self that is conformed to this world (Romans 12:2). The false self is the self we present to others, the false front, if you will, that we put up for others to see. Paul speaks of the false self this way:

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. — Ephesians 4:20–25

As long as the lying, false self is the one relating to God, others, and ourselves, then grace and truth cannot heal us. The false self tries to “heal” us by its own methods; it always finds false solutions, and the real self that God created to grow into His image stays hidden and unexposed to grace and truth.

The Guilt Barrier

Grace and truth are a healing combination because they deal with one of the main barriers to all growth: guilt. We have emotional difficulties because we have been injured (someone has sinned against us) or we have rebelled (we have sinned) or some combination of the two. As a result of this lack of love or lack of obedience, we are hidden in a world of guilt.

Adam and Eve had to hide themselves because of the guilt and shame of their sin, and also because of what they had become (less than perfect).

Guilt and shame too often send us into hiding. If we have to hide, we cannot get help for our needs and brokenness; we cannot become “poor in Spirit,” and therefore be blessed. When grace comes along and says that we are not condemned for who we truly are, then guilt can begin to be resolved, and we can begin to heal.

Sometimes the church reinforces our inclination to hide. My friend Jake found an end to his hiding only after he joined an AA group. When he came into a culture where he did not have to be ashamed of his failures and was forgiven for his sins, then truth and grace began to have their effect in his life.

It is interesting to compare a legalistic church with a good AA group. In this kind of church, it is culturally unacceptable to have problems; that is called being sinful. In the AA group it is culturally unacceptable to be perfect; that is called denial. In the former setting, people look better but get worse, and in the latter, they look worse but get better.

Certainly there are good churches and poor AA groups, but because of a lack of grace and truth in some churches, Christians have had to go elsewhere to find healing.

It is only in a combination of grace and truth that the real Jesus is present.

It is only when the real Jesus is present that we can begin to grow into the image of our Creator.

Adapted from Changes That Heal by Dr. Henry Cloud.

I am so glad that I do not have to find my relationship with God based on keeping the law. I would be separated from God forever. And so would you. But God, in grace and truth makes us aware of our sin and need for a Savior and then provides that Savior in His Son, Jesus the Christ, who left the glory of heaven, took on flesh through a virgin woman, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, taking on all sin of all mankind, to offer redemption and salvation to those who would believe in Him. We need to know our need . . . we need God to have an abundant grace filled eternal life. Believe in the One and only Savior for this gift of love!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 30, 2022

Notes of Faith September 30, 2022

Who Do You Say I Am?

My first selfie post was an image of me sitting in my office. I had been working on a report that was draining my intellectual reserves, so I pulled out my phone and typed a status update that said, “Brain on E,” E for exhaustion. Then I had the idea to include a photo of myself to illustrate my sentiment. I held up my phone, switched the camera to face front, sighed deeply, and snapped the picture. I didn’t take multiple pictures. I didn’t even think to take multiple pictures. I took just one picture and added it to my post. The next day, I went to Facebook to post about my lunch when I noticed a dozen people had liked my selfie post and had commented, “So beautiful,” “You look so good in that color,” “Love your hair,” and more.

I was shocked. It never occurred to me that people would comment on my appearance based on a post about my intellectual exhaustion. In fact, it never occurred to me that people would comment at all. But something stirred in me when I read those comments. Each compliment felt like a warm, cuddly blanket. I read and reread those comments because they felt good. And after every reading, I felt an invisible thread pulling my attention back to that post to see if there were more comments and likes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there usually were.

As I climbed into bed that night and rested my head on the pillow, I had a smile on my face. I also had a thought in my heart as I closed my eyes: “What should I post tomorrow to get more likes?” But deep down, the real question rolling around in my soul was slightly different: “What should I post tomorrow to get people to like me?”

Insecurity leads us to equate attention with worth.

In a fascinating recent study of “selfitis” (the clinical term for an addiction to selfies), researchers interviewed a group of four hundred students and learned that more than half (223 respondents) reported taking between one and four selfies a day, with more than a quarter (141) taking between five and eight selfies per day. When asked why, students said things like, “I gain enormous attention by sharing my selfies on social media,” and, “Taking different selfie poses helps increase my social status.”1

Insecurity causes our hearts to tally the number of likes on our social media posts as a representation of our worth.'

The first time people responded positively to my appearance on social media, it was a pleasant surprise that left me feeling a bit better about myself. Reading those comments changed the way I saw myself that day. And therein lies the insidious power of comparison. Comparison changes the way you see yourself because it can cause you to see yourself through the eyes of others. Their view eclipses what you see with your own eyes. For example, while I saw myself as exhausted, others saw me as beautiful. However, when others disapprove of what they see, those negative views can also eclipse what you see. While you might see a woman aging gracefully or a college student learning from mistakes or a mother doing her best or a guy putting forth the effort to find a job after getting fired, others might see wrinkles, failure, disappointment, and broken promises.

When we see ourselves through the eyes of others, we make others the source of our worthiness.

To illustrate this point, I want to explore a Bible story that may be familiar to you. It’s the story of Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David.

Your identity is secure

Saul was the son of a man named Kish. Various Bible translations describe Saul’s dad as a man of “standing,” “power,” “stalwart character,” and “influence and wealth” (1 Samuel 9:1). One day Kish’s donkeys wandered off, so he tasked Saul with going to look for them: “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys” (1 Samuel 9:3). Now, the fact that his dad said to take one of the servants meant there were many servants, and having donkeys (plural) indicates that Kish was a wealthy man. Therefore, so was Saul.

Saul set out with one of the servants to search for the missing donkeys. Unbeknownst to him, God had told a prophet named Samuel that Saul was coming to see him and that Saul was to be anointed king of Israel. When Saul showed up, Samuel invited him to stay and eat with him and then added, “As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” (1 Samuel 9:20).

Saul was flabbergasted. Stunned. I can imagine him thinking, “Huh? I just came here looking for our donkeys. Why would a prophet ask me to stay for a couple of days if the donkeys have been found? Wait a minute. What did he say about my family? That all the desire of Israel has turned toward us? What? What is he saying?” After gathering his thoughts, Saul said,

But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me? — 1 Samuel 9:21

There were twelve tribes of Israel, and each tribe was named for one of the sons of a patriarch named Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel. Before his death, Israel (Jacob) had blessed each of his twelve sons. Since Benjamin was the youngest son, he was blessed last. Although his tribe ended up being the smallest, the Benjamites were mighty and well resourced. Unfortunately, despite the resources Saul’s tribe had, comparing himself to the other tribes caused him to see himself as lacking.

Sometimes toxic comparison diminishes us by making us small in our own eyes.

I have read Saul’s response to Samuel countless times. It is this very response that inspired me to write this book because it puzzled me. Consider these facts from Saul’s story:

Saul told Samuel he didn’t understand why all of Israel’s desire was turned toward him and his family.

Saul believed his family occupied an insignificant position among the tribes of the nation of Israel.

Saul’s story begins by stating that Saul’s family was one of “standing,” “power,” “stalwart character,” and “influence and wealth.”

This begs the question of where Saul got the idea that he came from an inconsequential and unimportant family. Why did he think he was less-than, not good enough, and didn’t measure up? Wherever the idea came from, his unwillingness to let go of it would cost him the kingdom just a few decades later.

Saul’s eventual downfall as king was rooted in insecurity-fueled disobedience.

God had instructed Saul to obliterate a population of people known as the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). Many generations earlier, the Amalekites had attacked Israel when they were tired, weak, and vulnerable during their wilderness journey out of Egypt (Exodus 17:8–16). Saul was not only to kill the Amalekites but also to destroy everything they owned. But instead of obeying God, Saul caved when his soldiers pressured him to keep rather than destroy the good stuff — the best cattle, the best sheep, and more.

Big mistake.

The Lord sent the prophet Samuel to pronounce judgment:

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.

— 1 Samuel 15:23

Saul’s heart dropped, and he tried to rationalize his decision: “I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them” (1 Samuel 15:24). After decades of occupying the role and identity of king of Israel, Saul still saw himself as the kid who came from the most insignificant clan in the smallest tribe of Israel. He had more money, power, influence, and standing than anyone else in Israel, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t see past who he had been despite who he had become.

Toxic comparison filters our present identity through our past deficiencies.

“Although you were once small in your own eyes,” Samuel responded, “did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel” (1 Samuel 15:17). The kingdom was ultimately taken from Saul because, even after all God had done to change Saul’s identity, he had secured his identity to the fickle affirmation of other human beings. He wanted their applause more than he wanted God’s approval. And because of this, God told Samuel it was time to anoint a new king.

The story goes on to introduce a new family, the family of Jesse of Bethlehem. In contrast to the way Kish, Saul’s father, was introduced, the text uses no flowery words to describe Jesse. He is simply introduced as “Jesse of Bethlehem”

(1 Samuel 16:1).

At God’s command, Samuel traveled to Bethlehem and asked to meet Jesse’s sons. Samuel knew God had chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be king, but he didn’t know which one. After Jesse introduced seven of his sons, God told Samuel that none of them were to be anointed king. So Samuel asked Jesse if there were any additional sons. “Yeah, the youngest is out there tending sheep,” Jesse responded. Jesse sent for him, and when young David stood before Samuel, God affirmed, “This is the one” (1 Samuel 16:12).

Although we might expect David to be perplexed and have questions, Scripture records no response from him to these surprising events. Under the same circumstances that led Saul to question his worthiness, David appears to suffer no self-doubt. Just as every word of Scripture is intentional, I also believe every missing word is intentional. I will not add to what is missing, but I invite you to take an imaginary journey with me for a moment.

Imagine your teenage self, minding your business and mowing your parents’ grass when one of your siblings comes outside and says, “Hey, Dad wants you.” You stop, turn off the lawn mower, and make your way inside the house. Standing there are your seven siblings and your father. All eyes are on you when an unknown, gray-haired man walks toward you. When he reaches you, he says nothing, pulls out a bottle of olive oil, and pours it over your head. When the last drop slides down your forehead, he turns to the group and pronounces, “Introducing the new king of Israel.”

What might you think? Perhaps something like, “Huh?” Or, “Why me?” Or maybe, “This is interesting.”

What’s significant is how David’s thinking differs from Saul’s thinking. Specifically, how David doesn’t ask Samuel the question Saul had asked, which was a question rooted in the opinion of others. A question rooted in the valuation of others. A question rooted in comparison to others. In contrast to Saul, David does not ask, “Why would you anoint me king?” Instead, the Bible simply says,

From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.

— 1 Samuel 16:13–14

Meanwhile, the Spirit had departed from Saul.

God had chosen both men to be king, but while Saul secured his identity to who others said he was, David secured his identity to who God said he was.

Your identity is secure when you believe that what God says about you is true.

Australian Institute of Professional Counselors, “The Rise and Rise of the Selfie,” Counselling Connection, September 17, 2019, https://www.counsellingconnection.com/index.php/2019/09/17/the -rise-and-rise-of-the-selfie/.

Excerpted from Killing Comparison by Nona Jones, copyright Nona Jones.

Do not compare yourself to others or your mind will lead you to despair or perhaps filled with pride…either way the comparison will lead you to believing something different about yourself than who you really are. You belong to God! You have your identity in Him as His child. There is nothing better than that truth of who you are and to whom you belong!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 29, 2022

Notes of Faith September 29, 2022

Ask Seek Knock

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

And if by prayer

Incessant I could hope to change the will

Of Him who all things can, I would not cease

To weary Him with my assiduous cries.

~ John Milton

Jesus’ story about village neighbors must have provoked smiles and chuckles in his first-century audience. A man opens his door to an unexpected guest late one night – not uncommon in a desert climate that encourages travel after sunset – only to find his pantry bare. In a region renowned for hospitality, no decent person would turn away a weary traveler or put him to bed without nourishment, so the host strikes out to a friend’s house to ask for bread.

Kenneth Bailey, a Presbyterian missionary who lived in Lebanon forty years, illuminates some of the cultural nuances behind the story. Palestinians use bread as Westerners use silverware: they break off bite-sized pieces, dip into a common dish of meat and vegetables, and eat the entire sop. The man with empty cupboards was likely asking his friend for a main course as well as loaves of bread, and even that was typical. Villagers frequently borrowed from each other in hospitality emergencies. Bailey recalls one instance: “While living in primitive Middle Eastern villages, we discovered to our amazement that this custom of rounding up from the neighbors something adequate for the guest extended even to us when we were the guests. We would accept an invitation to a meal clear across the village, and arrive to eat from our own dishes which the villagers had borrowed quietly from our cook.”

Keep pounding the door

In Jesus’ story, though, the neighbor stubbornly refuses the request (see Luke 11). He has already gone to bed, stretched out with his family on a mat in the one-room house – and, besides, the door is bolted shut. “Don’t bother me,” he calls to his neighbor outside. “I can’t get up and give you anything.”

A Middle Eastern audience would have laughed out loud at this lame excuse. Can you imagine such a neighbor? Jesus was asking. Certainly not! No one in my village would act so rudely. If he did, the entire village would know about it by morning!

Then Jesus delivers the punch line: “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness [his persistence, his shamelessness] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” The application to prayer follows immediately:

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Luke positions this story right after Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Prayer, drawing a sharp contrast between the reluctant neighbor and God the Father. If a cranky neighbor who has turned in for the night, who wishes more than anything you would go away, who does his best to ignore you – if such a neighbor eventually rouses to give what you want, how much more will God respond to your bold persistence in prayer! After all, what earthly father would sneak a snake under his son’s pillow when he asks for a fish, or drop a scorpion on his daughter’s breakfast plate instead of an egg?

The Lord’s Prayer, often reduced to a mumbled ritual, an incantation, takes on new light in this story abutting it. We should pray like a salesman with his foot wedged in the door opening, like a wrestler who has his opponent in a headlock and won’t let go.

The God “who watches over you will not slumber,” promises a psalm of comfort. Even so, sometimes when we pray it feels as if God has indeed nodded off. Raise your voice, Jesus’ story implies. Strive on, like the shameless neighbor in the middle of the night.

Keep pounding the door.

Excerpted from Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey, copyright Zondervan.

We might pray, but we think that is enough. God already knows anyway. But that is not the teaching of the Scriptures. We are to ask, seek, and knock. This is a fervent continual requesting of God on our part for something that we desire and need an act of God. Do you do this? I think I fail miserably. My mother was a good example of this neighbor knocking on the door for a specific need. She implored God day after day until receiving an answer to her prayers. I pray that you and I could imitate her and follow the teaching of Jesus to ask, seek, and knock on the door of heaven. He will answer, though it might not be as we expect, He will answer!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 28, 2022

Notes of Faith September 28, 2022

Understanding and Leading Your Internal Parts

Especially in moments of stress, our internal fog can obscure healthy paths before us. We often do not understand ourselves or why we do what we do. Many people live unaware of why the fog comes, how it consistently derails them, or how to humbly and healthily lead their own souls through it. Even though the same things happen to them over and over, they are always a little shocked at the negative effects of their unawareness. They feel helpless to lead themselves, often thinking that doing so is some sort of self-help nonsense. After all, Jesus is all we really need, right?

But what if Jesus wants to help us respond to the Spirit’s leading so we can align ourselves with truth? He does — and that is why when we say “lead ourselves,” we don’t mean “be our own saviors.” Only the grace found in the gospel can transform us. Even so, as Christ does this transformative work through His Spirit, He intends for the fruit of self-control, which is being divinely nurtured and matured within us by His Spirit, to spur us on toward this transformation. He is not just enacting change upon us, apart from us. Rather,

He is transforming us through our very lives, even the resistant, stuck, or foggy parts of them.

Through His work in us, we can understand and welcome our conflicting internal emotions instead of experiencing shame or anger over them, which leads us to either reject them or react negatively to their overwhelming influence. By grace, we can instead accept, listen to, and lead the parts that make up our own internal worlds, reminding each of them of what is most true in the gospel. In other words, when we learn to become aware of and lead our internal parts, we do not bypass the work of Christ; they are integral elements of that very work.

But is this work biblical, or is it just a religious spin on a worldly idea of self-appreciation and self-help? Paul pondered this line of questioning in Romans 7:15:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. — ESV

The New Living Translation of the first few words of this verse expresses the whole of the matter in a way all of us can relate to: “I don’t really understand myself.”

Because of Adam and Eve, we are born into fallenness. And along the way, we each choose sinfulness. These two factors contribute to our inability to clearly understand ourselves. The psalmist referred to this when he said,

My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. — Psalm 40:12

This state of being keeps us from “seeing” clearly in the fog around us. But we weren’t meant to stay there.

Christ is actively redeeming all things from humankind’s fallenness, and we are invited to be included in this ongoing process of redemption. This means that though we will never fully arrive on this side of the fall — that is, have complete clarity on and self-control over every internal part in every situation — we can develop patterns for welcoming and rewelcoming the ongoing work of Christ in these fallen places, even when we fall yet again.

Scripture calls this being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1–2). This is a present-tense process, which indicates that we will constantly, actively need to be renewed. How can this be okay? Shouldn’t we finally get it right? Remember, the heart of our Shepherd never tires of us. Especially in our foggiest moments — in our fallenness and sinfulness — He actually draws closer.

He doesn't do it without us

David seemed to already understand this nature of God, as well as his own lack of awareness of his internal world and its parts. He expressed his own journey into the vast, dense fog within himself by saying to God,

You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. — Psalm 139:13–15 ESV

If you are a Christ-follower, you are probably already familiar with this passage. Its most common modern application references the wonder and beauty of God’s formation of the trillions of coalescing variables that make up the body and brain of a precious, unborn child being developed in her mother’s womb. So many miracles happen in this environment, sometimes minute by minute. This is certainly an accurate way to apply these verses.

But we can also think of this in much broader terms than just the body or the brain. Specifically, we can also ascribe to God the unfathomable number of less-observable aspects of His creative genius. If you’re a parent, you’ve already had a front-row seat to the divine development of these other “inward parts” — that is, the completely unique characteristics, personalities, and dispositions that accompany our children at birth. Yes, most babies are blessed with the same set of internal organs and outward extremities, but each is also uniquely, “intricately woven” by God into his or her own distinctive self. We often fail to acknowledge that this weaving is more complex and miraculous than mere sinew and synapses.

All your parts, including the unseen parts of your internal world, reflect the beautiful and gracious complexity of God’s handiwork.

Yet David didn’t just point out the fact that he had parts he didn’t understand. This was only the first step on his journey to becoming aware. He also invited God to help him see these parts accurately, as well as help them become aligned to God’s ways.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. — Psalm 139:23–24 NLT

We tend to read this in a modern context and assume that David is asking God to know his “heart” as a singular thing. In our culture of extremes, this is how we see people and the world. “This guy is good, while that guy is bad.” “This viewpoint is perfect, while that viewpoint is garbage.”

But pay attention to David’s prayer: “Point out anything in me that offends You.” This speaks to the fact that David assumed there was more than one part of his heart that needed God’s interventional care. He didn’t just say, “Fix my heart in one fell swoop!” Yes, that would be great, but David seemed to know that there was more than one thing going on inside him. He also seemed to know that he could seek God’s help in learning to recognize those parts for himself, which is why he invited God to “point out” what was going on in all the parts of his internal world, even those that were repeat offenders.

We’ve already acknowledged that we all have areas of repeated offense, but discovery of these parts is not recovery from their patterns. Stepping on a scale is a very important component of beginning healthier patterns toward physical fitness, but merely weighing yourself doesn’t cause you to lose weight. There has to be more than just the knowledge of what needs to change. We must walk a continual path so change can occur consistently and incrementally.

As we learn to understand and lead our parts closer to Christ by the strength He affords us, the Holy Spirit does the heavy lifting of transformation within us — but He doesn’t do it without us. An ancient quote often attributed (though unproven) to Saint Augustine sums it up nicely:

“Without God, I can’t. But without me, God won’t.”1

In other words, God desires relationship, and relationships require mutual participation.

Much of the “change” language Paul used in Ephesians 4:21–24 tells us that we should constantly be tending to our internal parts.

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (nlt, emphasis added)

Take note of the active, present nature of these verses. “Throw off” and “put on” indicate something you are invited—even compelled by grace—to do today. Right now. In this very moment.

In moments of misalignment, if you believe you are only one thing (“I’m just an idiot,” “I have good reasons for incessantly screaming,” or the like), throwing off whatever seems “bad” leads you to condemn, shame, or ignore only one thing: yourself. This is “all or nothing” thinking.

But since you are intricately, miraculously, wonderfully woven as a whole person with multiple parts, there are elements within yourself that can be identified and shepherded when they become misaligned. You are of infinite value to your Father, and your heavenly Brother, Jesus, has not only died to redeem you but also lives to constantly intercede and advocate on your behalf. This frees you to focus on your misaligned parts not so you can condemn them, but rather so you can understand them and once again become aligned with the grace and truth of the gospel.

Welcoming Our Parts

Many people reach a point when they realize that while a part of their soul wants to fully embrace Christ’s call to continual newness in the gospel, other parts keep protesting, acting out, or otherwise going to war against them—and against God. We often end up hating these parts of our inner selves for their constant troublemaking.

This divided feeling also makes some of us feel unsettled, unsure, or ashamed—and we don’t know why we keep experiencing these same pitfalls. In fact, knowing that these derailments are coming and yet not being able to avoid them only erodes our confidence even more. Even if we know at our core that we are the Beloved Child, why is there such a disconnect between what we believe and how we react in certain situations? Why is there so much distance between what we know to be true and what we experience in our internal world?

A variation of this quote was cited in Robert Edward Luccock, If God Be for Us: Sermons on the Gifts of the Gospel (Harper: New York, 1954), 38.

Excerpted from More Than Your Number by Beth & Jeff McCord, copyright Beth McCord and Jeff McCord.

While we walk this life we will have the battle between the spirit and the flesh. As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are also being transformed if we listen and follow the Holy Spirit within. If not, we are only kidding ourselves and need to examine ourselves to see if we are even in the faith. Being a follower of Jesus is not easy. We must take up our cross daily and follow His path of doing that which pleases God. Trust and obey and God will be pleased.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 27, 2022

Notes of Faith September 27, 2022

God Will Help You Through Your Fears

As famous lakes go, Galilee — only thirteen miles at its longest, seven and a half at its widest — is a small, moody one. The diminutive size makes it more vulnerable to the winds that howl out of the Golan Heights. They turn the lake into a blender, shifting suddenly, blowing first from one direction, then another. Winter months bring such storms every two weeks or so, churning the waters for two to three days at a time.1

When Peter and a few other disciples found themselves in the middle of Galilee one stormy night, they knew they were in trouble:

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. — Matthew 14:24

What should have been a sixty-minute cruise became a nightlong battle. The boat lurched and lunged like a kite in a March wind. Sunlight was a distant memory. Rain fell from the night sky in buckets. Lightning sliced the blackness with a silver sword. Winds whipped the sails, leaving the disciples “in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves.” Apt description, perhaps, for your stage in life? Perhaps all we need to do is substitute a couple of nouns…

In the middle of a divorce, tossed about by guilt.

In the middle of debt, tossed about by creditors.

In the middle of a recession, tossed about by stimulus packages and bailouts.

The disciples fought the storm for nine cold, skin-drenching hours. And about 4:00 a.m. the unspeakable happened. They spotted someone coming on the water.

‘A ghost!’ they said, crying out in terror. — Matthew 14:26 MSG

They didn’t expect Jesus to come to them this way.

Neither do we. We expect Him to come in the form of peaceful hymns or Easter Sundays or quiet retreats. We expect to find Jesus in morning devotionals, church suppers, and meditation. We never expect to see Him in a bear market, pink slip, lawsuit, foreclosure, or war.

We never expect to see Him in a storm.

But it is in storms that He does His finest work, for it is in storms that He has our keenest attention. Jesus replied to the disciples’ fear with an invitation worthy of inscription on every church cornerstone and residential archway.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ He said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’ — Matthew 14:7 NLT

Power inhabits those words. To awaken in an ICU and hear your husband say, “I am here.” To lose your retirement yet feel the support of your family in the words “We are here.” When a Little Leaguer spots Mom and Dad in the bleachers watching the game, “I am here” changes everything. Perhaps that’s why God repeats the “I am here” pledge so often.

The Lord is near (Philippians 4:5 NIV).

You are in Me, and I am in you (John 14:20 NIV).

I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20 NIV).

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand (John 10:28 NIV).

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38 NLT).

We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that’s God following you. Look into the storm; that’s Christ coming toward you.

Much to Peter’s credit, he took Jesus at His word.

‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus”. — Matthew 14:28–29

Peter never would have made this request on a calm sea. Had Christ strolled across a lake that was as smooth as mica, Peter would have applauded, but I doubt he would have stepped out of the boat.

Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys.

For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter did the impossible. He defied every law of gravity and nature; “he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”

My editors wouldn’t have tolerated such brevity. They would have flooded the margin with red ink: “Elaborate! How quickly did Peter exit the boat?

What were the other disciples doing?

What was the expression on his face?

Did he step on any fish?”

Matthew had no time for such questions. He moves us quickly to the major message of the event: where to stare in a storm.

But when [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ — Matthew 14:30

A wall of water eclipsed his view. A wind gust snapped the mast with a crack and a slap. A flash of lightning illuminated the lake and the watery Appalachians it had become. Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall, and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond. Give the storm waters more attention than the Storm Walker and get ready to do the same.

Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can.

I found a direct example of this truth while sitting in my cardiologist’s office. My heart rate was misbehaving, taking the pace of a NASCAR race and the rhythm of a Morse code message. So I went to a specialist. After reviewing my tests and asking me some questions, the doctor nodded knowingly and told me to wait for him in his office.

I didn’t like being sent to the principal’s office as a kid. I don’t like being sent to the doctor’s office as a patient. But I went in, took a seat, and quickly noticed the doctor’s abundant harvest of diplomas. They were everywhere, from everywhere. One degree from the university. Another degree from a residency.

The more I looked at his accomplishments, the better I felt. I’m in good hands. About the time I leaned back in the chair to relax, his nurse entered and handed me a sheet of paper. “The doctor will be in shortly,” she explained. “In the meantime he wants you to acquaint yourself with this information. It summarizes your heart condition.”

I lowered my gaze from the diplomas to the summary of the disorder. As I read, contrary winds began to blow. Unwelcome words like atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia, embolic stroke, and blood clot caused me to sink into my own Sea of Galilee.

What happened to my peace? I was feeling much better a moment ago. So I changed strategies. I counteracted diagnosis with diplomas. In between paragraphs of bad news, I looked at the wall for reminders of good news. That’s what God wants us to do.

His call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t to be oblivious to the overwhelming challenges that life brings. We’re to counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments.

We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. — Hebrews 2:1 NASB

Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus.

This is what Peter learned to do. After a few moments of flailing in the water, he turned back to Christ and cried,

‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. — Matthew 14:30-32 NIV

Jesus could have stilled this storm hours earlier. But He didn’t. He wanted to teach the followers a lesson. Jesus could have calmed your storm long ago too. But He hasn’t. Does He also want to teach you a lesson? Could that lesson read something like this:

“Storms are not an option, but fear is”?

God has hung His diplomas in the universe. Rainbows, sunsets, horizons, and star-sequined skies. He has recorded His accomplishments in Scripture. We’re not talking six thousand hours of flight time. His résumé includes Red Sea openings. Lions’ mouths closings. Goliath topplings. Lazarus raisings. Storm stillings and strollings.

His lesson is clear. He’s the commander of every storm. Are you scared in yours?

Then stare at Him.

God’s Word for You

Allow these passages from God’s Word to remind you that God will help you through your fears.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9 NIV

The Lord doesn’t just take away our fear; He replaces it with strength and courage.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God. — Isaiah 43:1-3

The Lord has called you by name and you are His. Allow this truth to comfort your fears.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. — John 14:27

These are the words of Christ. Receive his peace as a gift that has already been offered to you.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. — 1 John 4:18

Your fear is not of God or from God. His love casts out fear.

Read the following prayer, silently or aloud. When you have finished praying, spend a moment in silence, listening for the voice of God.

God, thank You for reminding me of Your power today. Just as Jesus walked on water, so can You calm the storms around me. I often feel afraid when life gets stormy. I can’t see my way out. I feel vulnerable to what I cannot control. Help me fix my gaze on You today. Remind me of who You are and what You are capable of. Ease my fears and replace them with peace. Calm my anxious thoughts. Help me love those around me and be present with them, which is hard to do during a difficult time. Whenever I feel afraid, or my thoughts feel out of control, may I see the image of Christ walking on the water extending His hand to help me. May I trust Christ more than myself, more than others, more than what I tend to focus on during times like this. May my gaze always be fixed on Him. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Shelley Wachsmann, The Sea of Galilee Boat: An Extraordinary 2000 Year Old Discovery (New York: Plenum Press, 1995), 39, 121.

Excerpted from God Will Help You by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

I love the thought of being asked by God to do the seemingly impossible, something supernatural! He did that when He asked me to follow Him in faith and be blessed in intimate relationship with Him. Things that God asks us to do today are just as amazing. His power and authority are limitless and we are given that authority and power to lead people to the throne of grace that they might receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life with their Savior Jesus Christ. We experience getting out of the boat every day whether we realize it or not . . . keep your eyes on Jesus – the author and perfector of your faith and you will recognize more supernatural work of God in and through you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith September 26, 2022

Notes of Faith September 26, 2022

Wounds Are Sacred

The wounds we carry with us are not obstacles to simply get over. Rather, our wounds are the way through. Our wounds aren’t something to hide or deny; instead, they are sacred parts of who we are and testaments of our journeys. At first, we may not have eyes to see our loss as a gift — how could it be? — because it’s too painful. But as we sit with our suffering and courageously welcome and move through our loss, we are transformed. Loss gives us new eyes to see the grace threaded through all humanity.

Our wounds are not separate, but a sacred part of the gift of life. Through our wounds, we are empowered to offer healing to others in pain.

Compassion is born in the heart of the wounded.

Compassion is born in the heart of the wounded

The Latin root of the word compassion is compati, which literally means to “suffer with one.”1 We can only truly suffer with those who are suffering once we have endured suffering ourselves.

We see this same pattern of sacred woundedness weaved throughout the story of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t a savior unacquainted with suffering; He was “a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand” (Isaiah 53:3 MSG). And it is “by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). He is the ultimate wounded healer.

To experience our own suffering is to partake not only in the suffering of humanity but also in the suffering of our Savior.

Here is where the hope comes in. If we follow the way of Jesus, we know sorrow and suffering are not the end of the story. We live in the light of the resurrection. Yes, Jesus suffered greatly, but He rose again. And to believe in the resurrection is to believe we, too, will rise. Death is no longer an enemy to be feared because we have hope beyond the grave. This hope is a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19 ESV). When tragedy strikes, when death feels like it’s won, when we’ve hit rock bottom and can’t see a way to live with the pain for another day, hope is the way through.

The pain we are facing today doesn’t exempt us from future pain. The road ahead will most likely take unexpected twists and turns, but as we grasp the steering wheel, shift the car into drive, and bravely begin paving a new way through, we can rest assured that we are not navigating the unknown alone. Just like that day on the old dairy roads when I sat safely in my father’s arms, we are held right here too. Hope is the vehicle that drives us forward, and divine love is the safety belt holding us secure.

Excerpted from Rebuilding Beautiful by Kayla Stoecklein, copyright Kayla Stoecklein.

Each day brings wounds, suffering, pain, and yet through all of it there can be hope, joy, security, and anticipation of that which is to come. We will all be wounded and should hold them as sacred acts of God to draw us closer to Him and make us more like Jesus! His grace is sufficient for all of us!

Pastor Dale