Notes of Faith February 21, 2023

Notes of Faith February 21, 2023

What Is Holy Fear?

It’s impossible to define holy fear in a single sentence, paragraph, or chapter. It’s no different from attempting to explain the full breadth of God’s love in the same space. It will take chapters, and even then, we’ll be far from proficient in our understanding. In fact, I believe we’ll continue to discover the depths of both holy love and holy fear throughout eternity.

The fear of the Lord doesn’t drive us from God’s presence — rather just the opposite. A good and wonderful fear draws us close to Him, and laying this firm foundation is vital before we continue.

Some say that the fear of the Lord only means to reverently worship God. I’ve heard these very words spoken by well-known ministers from the pulpit, in conversations, and over a meal with leaders. While this definition is a start, it’s far from the complete picture. It could be compared to merely defining the love of God as being “patient and kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). But if we leave it there, we fall short and miss the mark completely.

When Lisa and I were in our early forties, the son-in-law of a well-respected leader visited our house to share an opportunity to invest in his company. We met for a couple of hours, and I distinctly remember the kindness and patience he showed us. If you observed his behavior, you too would affirm he’s a loving man. However, after several days of prayer, Lisa and I didn’t feel led to invest. Now, years later, I’m glad we didn’t, because he spent many years in the penitentiary for running a massive Ponzi scheme.

Was the man patient and kind? Most definitely. Did he walk in love? Absolutely not. Why? Because Scripture tells us,

This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. — 1 John 5:3 NKJV

Stealing is selfish and breaks God’s commandment of love (Ephesians 4:28). A child molester can be kind, and even patient, while at the same time destroying a young person’s life. Does he love that child? Of course not!

In the same way, limiting holy fear to only reverent worship can cause us to miss the mark and be misled. So let’s draw up the outline, and later we will add the color with the teachings, examples from Scripture, and stories in the chapters ahead. Before we begin, I want to warn you that in defining holy fear you will hear words that could be frightening, but I assure you the opposite is true. Stay with the message through its entirety, and you will discover that holy fear is a gift of love and protection from our Creator, who deeply cares and longs for us.

There are many New Testament scriptures we can start with, but I believe this one sets the tone:

Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. — Hebrews 12:28–29 NKJV

If you look closely, you’ll observe there are two terms that are referenced: reverence and godly fear. This immediately shows that godly fear cannot be limited to only reverence; otherwise, the writer is just repeating himself with the second term. These are not only different words in English but also two different Greek words: aidṓs and eulábeia.

Reverence is an excellent translation of the first Greek word. The Complete Word Study Dictionary defines reverence as “profound adoring awed respect.”1 I love these four words joined together; stopping to ponder each one takes our understanding to another level!

The second term, godly fear, carries the meaning of awe. For awe’s definition I looked at the original 1828 edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary. Here’s what I found: “fear, dread inspired by something great and terrific; to strike with fear and reverence. To influence by fear, terror or respect.”2 Don’t be alarmed by the words dread and terror. Though the Greek dictionary also uses these words, remember, holy fear has a drawing, not a repulsive, effect. So we must ask: Is there a positive and healthy aspect of these words? I believe Scripture shows there is, and we’ll see this as we add the color later.

Let’s begin by listing our definitions.

To fear God is to reverence and be in complete awe of Him.

To fear God is to hallow Him. Hallow is defined as “to respect greatly.”

To fear God is to esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore Him above anyone or anything else.

To fear God is to give Him the praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and worship He deserves.

When we fear God, we take on His heart. We love what He loves, and we hate what He hates. (Notice it is not to “dislike” what He hates; rather, it is to “hate” what He hates.) What is important to Him becomes important to us. What is not so important to Him becomes not so important to us.

To fear God is to hate sin.

To fear God is to hate injustice.

To fear God is to depart from evil in every sense — thought, word, and action. It is to refrain from speaking deceitfully. It will not say or put on an appearance that is untrue to one’s heart and thoughts. It keeps our outward behavior congruent with our inward thoughts, motives, and beliefs.

To fear God is to walk in authentic humility before God and mankind.

To fear God is to give Him the praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and worship He deserves.

To fear God is to give Him all that belongs to Him.

To fear God is to tremble before Him in wonder and awe. It is to give His Word and presence our full attention.

To fear God is to obey Him. It’s not just a desire but an inward force determined to carry out His will, no matter the cost. We eagerly, willingly, and immediately obey — even if we don’t see a benefit or it doesn’t make sense — and we carry it out to completion.

To fear God is to abstain from any form of complaining, murmuring, or grumbling.

To fear God is to respect, honor, and submit to His direct and delegated authority. It is also to obey the delegated authority, with the only exception being if the authority tells us to sin.

The fear of the Lord shapes our intentions, thoughts, words, and actions.

Now let’s partially list the benefits of holy fear. Here are some of the many biblical promises made to those who walk in it.

The fear of the Lord is the starting place for an intimate relationship with God. We become His friends, and His secrets are made known to us.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. It gives foresight and clear divine direction.

The fear of the Lord is how we mature in our salvation and are conformed to the image of Jesus.

The fear of the Lord is clean; it produces true holiness in our lives.

To abide in the fear of the Lord is to secure an eternal legacy.

The fear of the Lord produces confidence, fearlessness, and security. It swallows up all other fears, including the fear of man.

The fear of the Lord gives us identity, makes us productive, and empowers us to multiply.

The fear of the Lord provides angelic assistance, fulfilled desires, enduring success, nobility, influence, longevity, productive days, enjoyment in life, happiness, pleasure in labor, healing for our body, and so much more.

The fear of the Lord endures forever — it will never fade. The fear of the Lord is a treasured gift from our heavenly Father.

Making It Personal

Passage:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. — Hebrews 12:28–29 NKJV

Point: The fear of the Lord is to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. What is important to Him becomes important to us. What is not so important to Him becomes not so important to us.

Ponder: What does it look like, practically, for me to esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore God above anyone or anything else?

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, please teach me how to fear Your name, Word, presence, and all You are. May I love and take pleasure in holy fear. Holy Spirit, as I continue this journey, teach and impart God’s ways in me; let what I read not merely be informational, but may the words transform my life into the image of my Lord Jesus Christ. I ask this all in Jesus’ name, amen.

Profession: May my words and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in God’s sight.

Excerpted from The Awe of God by John Bevere, copyright John P. Bevere.

I have not read this book but it sounds interesting and inspiring! Scripture tells us that the “fear of God” is the beginning of wisdom. We all want that! Let us draw close to the throne of grace and mercy and truly know our own definition of the fear of God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 20, 2023

Notes of Faith February 20, 2023

Not Just Survival! Revival!

How To Experience Perpetual, Personal Revival

On a recent visit to New York City, I paused at the 9/11 Memorial, which is at the end of Fulton Street. Then I began walking down Fulton Street itself, which runs crosswise across lower Manhattan. I was looking for a monument, memorial, or historical plaque to indicate how that street changed American history long before the events of September 11, 2001. I didn’t find a monument there, and the thousands of people going back and forth on the sidewalks don’t have a clue. But I do know the story.

In the middle of the 1800s, a tailor named Jeremiah Lanphier moved to Manhattan and established a clothing business. He was a Christian and a sidewalk evangelist in the Wall Street district. On Wednesday, September 23, 1857, he invited people to drop by for prayer at a room on Fulton Street during their lunch hour. Six people showed up. The next week, twenty came. The next week, forty.

Soon churches all across New York overflowed with daily prayer meetings. Fire departments and police stations opened their facilities for prayer, and local businesses set aside rooms for employees to pray. The movement swept over the eastern seaboard and pushed westward into the nation. Citywide awakenings struck Cincinnati, Louisville, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and innumerable smaller cities and towns.

From the United States, the revival spread to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. For two years, approximately 50,000 people a week came to Christ. Within a year of the start of the Fulton Street Prayer Meetings, over a million converts joined America’s churches, and thousands of existing church members were born again or revived in their faith.

The world needs another such awakening, and I pray every day for revival to sweep our country. Our problems are not primarily political, but spiritual; and the answers we need are not primarily political. We need another national and global revival.

Whether God unleashes a great geographical revival or not, I’m convinced you and I can enjoy perpetual, personal revival. Psalm 23:3 says,

He refreshes my soul.

Jesus said,

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from with them. — John 7:38

When we experience personal, perpetual revival, our faith is revived, our love is stronger, our faces are more joyful, our enthusiasm is more contagious, and our individual ministries are empowered.

He refreshes my soul. - Psalm 23:3

When we experience personal, perpetual revival, our faith is revived, our love is stronger, our faces are more joyful, our enthusiasm is more contagious, and our individual ministries are empowered.

How, then, can we experience revival when everyone else is simply struggling for survival?

1. Pull all the ingredients of your life into the circle of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This takes a determined decision, which is renewable daily. You can do this instantly, or you may want a bit of time to ponder its implications. God isn’t likely to bless what isn’t yielded to Him. Every morning I pray something like this, “Lord, I want You to be in control of every aspect of my life. My time. My habits. My money. My relationships. May they be under Your authority today.” Christians used to call this “full surrender.” The word “surrender” isn’t currently in vogue, but the spiritual concept has never been more needed. If some area of your life has slipped out of the circle of Christ’s Lordship, confess it as sin and, with His help, rein it back in.

2. Never miss a day without a personal closed-door appointment with God, allowing Him to speak to you through His Word and responding to Him in prayer. In a marriage, it’s hard to keep the romance alive if a couple never communicates. In our relationship with God, it’s hard to keep the revival burning if there’s no regular communication. I’m not sure why Christians have so much trouble maintaining their habits of personal devotional time, but Jesus told us to go into a private room, close the door, and meet with the Father (Matthew 6:6). Though everyone’s schedule is different, for the last 48 years I’ve been doing this every morning after breakfast. I open my Bible to where I left off the day before, underline and mark verses that speak to me, and talk to the Lord as if He were actually in the room — which He is!

3. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, for Ephesians 5:18-19

be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. As you leave the secret room and go into your day, consciously remember the reality of God’s presence. He goes with you. A great missionary of yesteryear, George Brown of India, was known for his constant awareness of God’s nearness. When a friend asked him about it, he said, “Yes, God is nearer to me, consciously, than anyone in this room.” Train yourself to remember God is with you, near you, around you, within you—and that you have constant access to Him through Jesus Christ.

5. Let this show up on your face. Ecclesiastes 8:1 says,

A person’s wisdom brightens their faces and changes its hard appearance.

I realize we can’t always smile. Troubles and grief intrude, and we face moments requiring serious thought. But biblical joy isn’t an undependable electric circuit in a developing nation. The Bible says,

Rejoice in the Lord always. — Philippians 4:4

Even when we can’t control our emotions, we can chose our attitudes, trust God with our burdens, turn problems into prayers, and, as Charles Wesley said, “laugh at life’s impossibilities.”

None of this is easy, perfect, or quick for most of us. It’s a series of life patterns. But how vital for times like these! If our world is ever going to experience a series of global revivals, it’s got to begin in you and me.

We’ve got to find our way to Fulton Street.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Robert J. Morgan, author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America.

I pray for revival in my heart and in the hearts of all in America, a movement of godliness and hope. But I have not seen it happening where I live, work and play. Nevertheless, I continue to pray, trusting God for His will to be done, serving Him with all that He has given me… personal spiritual growth toward maturity in Christ can continue to happen even in the worst of circumstances. Let us pray for personal revival, American revival, world revival, but live and serve however God leads to complete His plans.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 19, 2023

Notes of Faith February 19, 2023

Growing Closer to God

I was once at a conference doing a question-and-answer session when someone asked, “How do you grow close to God?”

Great question. Possible answers swirled about in my mind. I ultimately answered, “By making the choice to deny ourselves something that is permissible but not beneficial. And making this intentional sacrifice for the sole purpose of growing closer to God. After all, Jesus Himself said,

If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. — Luke 9:23 NASB

By way of example, I shared how I was intentionally sacrificing sugar and processed things that, once consumed, turn into sugar in my body. Yes, I was doing it to get healthy. But the deeper reason for choosing to purify myself was to help me grow closer to God.

My answer was real, vulnerable, and honest. Maybe a little too honest. The women in the audience gasped when I said I was in a season of sacrificing sugar. It wasn’t two seconds later that a conference attendee grabbed the audience microphone and blurted out, “Well, if Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life, I can’t see how sugar and processed carbs are bad at all!”

The audience erupted with laughter.

I forced a smile, but I felt smaller than a wart on the end of an ant’s nose.

They didn’t get it.

Or maybe I didn’t get it. Was I just a foolish, Jesus-chasing girl who mistakenly believed my desires to please Him with this food battle would somehow help me grow closer to Him?

Yes, I want to lose weight. But this journey really is about learning to tell myself no and make wiser choices daily. And somehow becoming a woman of self-discipline honors God and helps me live the godly characteristic of self-control, which is among the fruit of the Spirit (the evidence of God’s Spirit being in you) listed in Galatians 5:22–23. In the end, pursuing self-control does help my heart feel purer and closer to Jesus to receive what He wants for me each day... instead of clogged with guilty feelings about my poor choices.

But self-control is hard. We don’t like to deny ourselves. We don’t think it’s necessary. We make excuses and declare, “That’s nice for you, but I could never give that up.” And if we’re relying on ourselves, that’s true. But there’s another level to self-control that too few of us find.

Live by the Spirit!

Before the apostle Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the churches in Galatia, he described a power available to us that goes way beyond self-control:

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. — Galatians 5:16, emphasis added

In other words, live with the willingness to walk away when the Holy Spirit nudges you and says, “That food choice is permissible but not beneficial — so don’t eat it.”

Not sinful — please hear me on this.

Food isn’t sinful. But when food is what Satan holds up in front us and says, “You’ll never be free from this battle. You aren’t capable of self-control with food,” we must see that its inappropriate consumption can be his lure to draw our hearts into a place of defeat.

For others it will be sex outside marriage, the inappropriate consumption of alcohol, illegal drugs, or some other physical means.

The obvious question, then, is how can we tune in to these nudges of the Holy Spirit? How can we “live by the Spirit”?

First, we have to know where the Spirit is and what He gives us. If we know Jesus as our personal Savior, the Bible teaches that we have the Holy Spirit living in us (Romans 8:11), infusing our lives with power that is beyond what we could muster up on our own.

Now then, how do we live by this Spirit and heed His voice of wisdom and caution? Here’s what the apostle Paul said:

Let us keep in step with the Spirit. — Galatians 5:25

In other words, we read the Bible with the intention of practicing what we read while asking the Holy Spirit to direct us in knowing how to do this.

I often pray this prayer: “I need wisdom to make wise choices. I need insight to remember the words I’ve read in Scripture. I need power beyond what I can find on my own.” It’s not a magic prayer. I still have to make the choice to walk away from the source of my temptation.

And making that choice is sometimes really hard; I won’t deny that.

Like when I’m in line at Starbucks. The barista takes my coffee order and then waves her hand like an enticing wand, directing my attention to a case full of delights that make a girl’s taste buds dance. Seriously dance. Like the rumba, tango, and a snappy little quick step all in a row. My taste buds dance around while begging like a small child in the candy aisle.

“Would you like something to go with your coffee?” she asks.

Of course I’d like something — I’d like two or three somethings! And I’ll be completely honest, it’s in moments like these that I want to ask Eve to clarify one simple thing. Please tell me that something got lost in translation and what was really dangling from that tree limb all those years ago were treats like this. I’m just saying.

Anyhow. Like I said, it’s not easy. It’s not easy relying on the Holy Spirit to direct us into wise choices. It’s not easy to dare to actually live a life in which we put Scripture in action. Especially scriptures about self-control.

It’s not easy but it is possible.

Excerpted from I’ll Start Again Monday by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

Nothing is impossible with God! I too, need to walk with the spirit and deny self when it comes to food!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 18, 2023

Notes of Faith February 18, 2023

This is Love; He Did This Just for You

Oh, the things we do to give gifts to those we love.

But we don’t mind, do we? We would do it all again. Fact is, we do it all again. Every Christmas, every birthday, every so often we find ourselves in foreign territory. Grownups are in toy stores. Dads are in teen stores. Wives are in the hunting department, and husbands are in the purse department.

Not only do we enter unusual places, we do unusual things. We assemble bicycles at midnight. We hide the new tires with mag wheels under the stairs. One fellow I heard about rented a movie theater so he and his wife could see their wedding pictures on their anniversary.

And we’d do it all again. Having pressed the grapes of service, we drink life’s sweetest wine — the wine of giving. We are at our best when we are giving. In fact, we are most like God when we are giving.

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and gray; we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He didn’t.

He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you’ll see that too.

Did He have to make the squirrel’s tail furry? Was He obliged to make the birds sing? And the funny way that chickens scurry or the majesty of thunder when it rings?

Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste? Could it be He loves to see that look upon your face?

If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He? If we — speckled with foibles and greed — love to give gifts, how much more does God, pure and perfect God, enjoy giving gifts to us? Jesus asked,

If you hardhearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them? — Matthew 7:11 TLB

God’s gifts shed light on God’s heart, God’s good and generous heart. Jesus’ brother James tells us:

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of Heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. — James 1:17 MSG

Every gift reveals God’s love… but no gift reveals His love more than the gifts of the Cross. They came, not wrapped in paper, but in passion. Not placed around a tree, but a Cross. And not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood.

Every gift reveals God’s love… but no gift reveals His love more than the gifts of the Cross.

The gifts of the Cross.

Much has been said about the gift of the Cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers? The garments given for the burial? Have you taken time to open these gifts?

He didn’t have to give them, you know. The only act, the only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more. So much more. Search the scene of the cross, and what do you find?

A wine-soaked sponge. A sign. Two crosses beside Christ. Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, “You did this for me?”

The diadem of pain

which sliced your gentle face,

three spikes piercing flesh and wood

to hold you in your place.

The need for blood I understand.

Your sacrifice I embrace.

But the bitter sponge, the cutting spear,

the spit upon your face?

Did it have to be a Cross?

Did not a kinder death exist

than six hours hanging between life and death,

all spurred by a betrayer’s kiss?

“Oh, Father,” you pose,

heart-stilled at what could be,

“I’m sorry to ask, but I long to know,

did You do this for me?”

Dare we pray such a prayer? Dare we think such thoughts? Could it be that the hill of the Cross is rich with God’s gifts? Let’s examine them, shall we? Let’s unwrap these gifts of grace as if — or perhaps, indeed — for the first time. And as you touch them — as you feel the timber of the Cross and trace the braid of the crown and finger the point of the spike — pause and listen. Perchance you will hear Him whisper:

“I did it just for you.”

Excerpted from He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

Our God is much greater than we can imagine Him. His love is too deep for us to understand. And yet we often ignore His love and wander away from Him, seeking something that Satan tells us God is keeping from us. Oh, may we dwell in the deep, deep, love of God, provided all blessings in Christ and an inheritance waiting for us in heaven!

1 Cor 2:9

"No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him"

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 17, 2023

Notes of Faith February 17, 2023

Called to Who (Before Do)

Do you ever feel called to more?

We live in a culture of more — more promotions, money, square feet, clothes, vacations, followers. But have you noticed how even when you get more, you just want more?

Why?

Because that brand of more comes from our sin. While one of the many downsides of our fallen nature is to never be satisfied for long with what we have, God made us for a far more significant kind of more.

If you have ever felt called to more, it’s because you are called to more.

But the right kind of more. God uniquely created you, gave you gifts, set you apart, and called you:

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. — Ephesians 4:1 NLT

When most Christians hear that they are called, they tend to think about do, not who. They wonder what task, ministry, or job God might be calling them to. Or if God has a specific place for them to live. Some worry they might even miss their calling.

A calling is one way to discover our do. But we learn in the Bible that, as with our attempts to change, a calling focuses on who before do.

In Genesis 12:1, God tells Abram,

Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

Verse 4 states, “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” There was no do yet, only who!

In the Ephesians 4 verse, Paul says you have been called to what? A life. “You have been called,” so you should “lead a life worthy of your calling.” And check out 2 Timothy 1:9:

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. — NLT

You are called not just to a life but to a holy life.

A calling focuses on who before do.

Yes, you are also called to a ministry, to a do, but that is secondary. Who comes before do. God has called you to a holy life, to be faithful to Him, to realize nothing else compares to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8) and so to live, first and foremost, for Jesus.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. — Colossians 3:17

What God would have us do and where God would have us go is secondary. Whatever God has you do, you do that for Jesus. Wherever God puts you, you serve Jesus. That’s your calling.

Your calling is more about who you are becoming than what you are doing. Let me repeat — your calling is more about who you are becoming than what you are doing. You are called not only to serve Jesus but also to become more and more like Him. The more is discovered in the becoming.

Another way to say this is you are called first to salvation, then to sanctification, then to serving. Sanctification and serving will then run parallel until Heaven. The two work hand in hand.

Here’s what that looked like for me: In college, I was an absolute mess and as far from God as you can imagine. Then my fraternity got in a lot of trouble. Mostly as a public relations move at first, I decided to start a Bible study.

I began to read the Bible, specifically the Gospels. As I read, I felt drawn to Jesus, so I kept reading. Finally getting to Paul’s letters, I came to a verse in Ephesians that says you are saved by grace, not by works. That spoke to me because I knew I could never be good enough for God. I felt Him inviting me to put my faith in Jesus, and I did. God called me to salvation. I responded.

I was now a Christian, but I had no idea what that really meant. True story: I had a fraternity brother in my fraternity who, unrelated to me, also became a Christian. We decided to celebrate by going out and getting drunk. We just didn’t know any better yet.

I was a Christian, but I was nothing like Christ. Gradually, I came to know Jesus more and what it meant for me to live like Him. With God’s help, I started to not only identify sin but also say no to it.

As I grew in maturity, I would take several steps forward and then a couple back. That ongoing process, which is still happening today, of letting God’s Word, empowered by God’s Spirit, conform me to the image of Christ was God’s calling to sanctification. I was responding.

Before long, I realized I was also called to serve. In fact, after experiencing salvation and beginning to be transformed through God’s sanctification process, I felt compelled to serve. I felt Him calling me to become a pastor. It made no sense to me or to anyone else — as confusing as John Wick becoming a monk or a mongrel becoming a poodle — but His call was undeniable. I knew I had to answer.

Your call to serve will look different from mine. You might volunteer with teenagers, start a ministry, sing in a worship band, edit videos, or teach kids, but the process will be the same. God will call you to salvation, then sanctification, then service. Why? Because who comes before do.

Excerpted from The Power to Change by Craig Groeschel, copyright Craig Groeschel.

Who are you? Are you called by God in Christ to be . . . God created you and has promised believers and followers of Jesus to make you like Him! How are you doing in the who department? Are you seeking to be like Jesus? There are basic things that you can do to be more like Jesus…reading, studying, meditating on His Word, your Bible, to know about Him. Then, praying, talking to Jesus about your life and how He wants to work in and through you. This intimacy will make you more like the One who gives you life and breath and wants you to be just like Him. Fervently seeking to be like Jesus will bring all other things into His perspective and you will do as He wants you to do. Blessings, joy, peace, and more will abound in your life as you seek the who before you do!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 16, 2023

Notes of Faith February 16, 2023

Loving Others at Their Worst

A Gentle Answer

When Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson crudely mocked Congressman-elect Dan Crenshaw because of his eye patch and flippantly remarked, “I know he lost his eye in the war or whatever,” no one expected the former Navy SEAL and decorated war hero to respond to the insults in the way that he did. The mockery of Crenshaw’s combat-inflicted disability, motivated by Davidson’s disdain for his political views, resulted in such a strong public backlash that Davidson fell into depression and self-loathing.

He wrote in an Instagram post, “I really don’t want to be on this earth anymore. I’m doing my best to stay here for you but I actually don’t know how much longer I can last. All I’ve ever tried to do was help people. Just remember I told you so.” Having lost his eye in combat in Afghanistan due to an explosion, some might have expected Crenshaw to say of Davidson, “Well, it serves him right.” He could have added to the backlash or simply ignored the comedian. Instead, the veteran privately reached out to befriend, encourage, and speak life-giving words to Davidson.

He told the comedian that everyone had a purpose in this world and that “God put you here for a reason. It’s your job to find that purpose. And you should live that way.” Instead of firing back, Crenshaw built a bridge. Instead of shaming and scolding, he spoke tenderly. Instead of seeking vindication through retaliation, he sought friendship through peacemaking. Instead of adding to the cycle of outrage, he soundly defeated outrage with a gesture of unconditional love. Moved by compassion for the pain that Davidson had brought upon himself at Crenshaw’s expense, the man trained in military strike and defense offered a gentle answer — so gentle, in fact, that it turned away the wrath of another man’s political ire and the wrath of that same man’s subsequent self-loathing.

Then, on Veteran’s Day weekend, the two came face to face on Saturday Night Live to make amends. Crenshaw offered warm remarks and high praise in reference to Davidson’s own father, who was a New York City firefighter who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when Davidson was seven years old. At the end of the segment, when he thought they were off camera, the embattled and humbled comedian leaned over to Crenshaw and whispered, “You are a good man."

Because Jesus Christ has loved us at our worst, we can love others at their worst.

Such stories of kindness, forgiveness, and reconciliation can help us when we are faced with our own decisions. Do we take offense and strike back, or do we seek to extend kindness and offer a gentle answer? It applies when we are at odds with a family member, when we butt heads with a colleague, when our views are criticized online, when our children don’t listen to or respect us, when someone rejects us because of our faith or our race or our social rank, or when we feel misunderstood by those of a different generation or economic situation or culture.

Those of us who identify as Christian have been given a resource that enables us to respond to outrage and wrath in a healing, productive, and life-giving way.

Because Jesus Christ has loved us at our worst, we can love others at their worst.

Because Jesus Christ has forgiven us for all of our wrongs, we can forgive others who have wronged us. Because Jesus Christ offered a gentle answer instead of pouring out punishment and rejection for our offensive and sinful ways, we can offer gentle answers to those who behave offensively and sinfully toward us.

But make no mistake. Jesus’s gentle answer was bold and costly. His gentle answer included pouring out His lifeblood and dying on the Cross. Our gentle answer will be costly as well. We must die to ourselves, to our self-righteousness, to our indignation, and to our outrage. For

whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. — Matthew 10:39

Jesus has been gentle toward us so we have good reason to become gentle toward others, including those who treat us like enemies.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven.

— Matthew 5:43-45

Because Jesus has covered all of our offenses, we can be among the least offensive and least offended people in the world. This is the way of the gentle answer.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Scott Sauls, author of A Gentle Answer.

There is one fruit of the Spirit with nine characteristics. It is these, including being gentle that are attributes of God that His Spirit will produce from within us when we yield to His leading. We were created and called to bear much fruit in Christ!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 15, 2023

Notes of Faith February 15, 2023

Did Jesus Have Fun?

From the beginning, we’ve wanted to share the real Jesus. At some point along the way, we realized that despite our best efforts to show a true and complete picture of Him, that image became a bit unbalanced. Not incorrect but incomplete. We spent so much time reflecting on heavier topics that when we stepped back to look at the whole mosaic, we couldn’t help but notice we were showing a picture of Jesus that was distinctly lacking joy.

As it turns out, Jesus was no stranger to joy. He went to weddings. He shared lively meals with His friends. He drank with them. He had so much fun and acted so freely around the dinner table, the uptight religious leaders called Him a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). He didn’t worry about what would happen to His reputation when He hung out with people who others thought were shady, and he was always uninhibited in His pursuit of compassion and joy for others. Jesus let His hair down too.

Writings from Max Lucado

I have a sketch of Jesus laughing. It hangs on the wall across from my desk.

It’s quite a drawing. His head is back. His mouth is open. His eyes are sparkling. He isn’t just grinning. He isn’t just chuckling. He’s roaring. He hasn’t heard or seen something like that in quite a while. He’s having trouble catching His breath.

It was given to me by an Episcopal priest who carries cigars in his pocket and collects portraits of Jesus smiling. “I give them to anyone who might be inclined to take God too seriously,” he explained as he handed me the gift.

He pegged me well.

I’m not one who easily envisions a smiling God. A weeping God, yes. An angry God, okay. A mighty God, you bet. But a chuckling God? It seems too... too... too unlike what God should do — and be. Which just shows how much I know — or don’t know — about God.

What do I think He was doing when He stretched the neck of the giraffe? An exercise in engineering? What do I think He had in mind when He told the ostrich where to put his head? Spelunking? What do I think He was doing when He designed the mating call of an ape? Or the eight legs of the octopus? And what do I envision on His face when He saw Adam’s first glance at Eve? A yawn?

Hardly.

As my vision improves and I’m able to read without my stained glasses, I’m seeing that a sense of humor is perhaps the only way God has put up with us for so long.

Is that God with a smile as Moses does a double take at the burning bush that speaks?

Is He smiling again as Jonah lands on the beach, dripping gastric juices and smelling like whale breath?

Is that a twinkle in His eye as He watches the disciples feed thousands with one boy’s lunch?

Do you think His face is deadpan as He speaks about the man with a two-by-four in his eye who points out a speck in a friend’s eye?

Can you honestly imagine a somber Jesus bouncing children on His knee?

No, I think Jesus smiled. I think He smiled a bit at people and a lot with people. I think He was the type of guy that people wanted to be near. I think He was the type of guy who was always invited to the party.

Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.

Consider, for example, the wedding at Cana. We often talk about this wedding as the place where Jesus turned the water into wine. But why did Jesus go to the wedding in the first place? The answer is found in the second verse of John 2:

Jesus and His followers were also invited to the wedding. — NCV

When the bride and groom were putting the guest list together, Jesus’ name was included. And when Jesus showed up with a half dozen friends, the invitation wasn’t rescinded. Whoever was hosting this party was happy to have Jesus present.

“Be sure to put Jesus’ name on the list,” he might have said. “He really lightens up a party.”

Jesus wasn’t invited because He was a celebrity. He wasn’t one yet. The invitation wasn’t motivated by His miracles. He’d yet to perform any. Why did they invite Him?

I suppose they liked Him. Big deal? I think so. I think it’s significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it’s noteworthy that the Almighty didn’t act high and mighty. The Holy One wasn’t holier-than-thou. The one who knew it all wasn’t a know-it-all. The one who made the stars didn’t keep His head in them. The one who owns all the stuff on earth never strutted it.

Never. He could have. Oh, how He could have!

He could have been a name-dropper: Did I ever tell you about the time Moses and I went up on the mountain?

He could have been a show-off: Hey, want me to beam you into the twentieth century?

He could have been a smart aleck: I know what you’re thinking. Want me to prove it?

He could have been highbrow and uppity: I’ve got some property on Jupiter...

Jesus could have been all of these, but He wasn’t. His purpose was not to show off but to show up. He went to great pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn’t need to study, but He still went to the synagogue. He had no need for income, but He still worked in the workshop. He had known the fellowship of angels and had heard the harps of Heaven, yet He still went to parties thrown by tax collectors. And upon His shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but He still took time to walk for miles to go to a wedding in Cana.

As a result, people liked Him. Oh, there were those who chafed at His claims. They called Him a blasphemer, but they never called Him a braggart. They accused Him of heresy but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical but never called unapproachable.

There is no hint that He ever used His heavenly status for personal gain. Ever. You don’t get the impression that His neighbors grew sick of His haughtiness and asked, “Well, who do You think made You God?”

His faith made Him likable, not detestable. Jesus was accused of much, but of being a grump, sourpuss, or self-centered jerk? No. People didn’t groan when He appeared. They didn’t duck for cover when He entered the room.

He called them by name.

He listened to their stories. He answered their questions.

He visited their sick relatives and helped their sick friends.

He fished with fishermen and ate lunch with the little guy and spoke words of resounding affirmation. He went to enough parties that He was criticized for hanging out with rowdy people and questionable crowds.

People were drawn to Jesus. He was always on the guest list. Thousands came to hear Him. Hundreds chose to follow Him. They shut down their businesses and walked away from careers to be with Him. His purpose statement read:

I came to give life with joy and abundance. — John 10:10 The Voice

Jesus was happy and wants us to be the same.

When the angels announced the arrival of the Messiah, they proclaimed “good news of a great joy” (Luke 2:10 RSV), not “bad news of a great duty.”

Would people say the same of us? Where did we get the notion that a good Christian is a solemn Christian? Who started the rumor that the sign of a disciple is a long face? How did we create this idea that the truly gifted are the heavyhearted?

May I state an opinion that could raise an eyebrow? May I tell you why I think Jesus went to that wedding in Cana? I think He went to the wedding to — now hold on, hear me out — I think Jesus went to the wedding to have fun.

Think about it. It had been a tough season. This wedding occurred after He had just spent forty days in the desert. No food or water. A standoff with the devil. A week breaking in some greenhorn Galileans. A job change. He had left home. It hadn’t been easy. A break would be welcome. A good meal with some good wine and some good friends... Well, it sounded pretty nice.

So off they went.

His purpose wasn’t to turn the water into wine. That was a favor for His friends.

His purpose wasn’t to show His power. The wedding host didn’t even know what Jesus did.

His purpose wasn’t to preach. There is no record of a sermon.

This leaves only one reason. Fun. Jesus went to the wedding because He liked the people, He liked the food, and, Heaven forbid, He may have even wanted to swirl the bride around the dance floor a time or two. (After all, He’s planning a big wedding Himself. Maybe He wanted the practice?)

Jesus was a likable fellow. And His disciples should be the same. I’m not talking debauchery, drunkenness, and adultery. I’m not endorsing compromise, coarseness, or obscenity. I am simply crusading for the freedom to enjoy a good joke, enliven a dull party, and appreciate a fun evening.

Maybe these thoughts catch you by surprise. They do me. It’s been a while since I pegged Jesus as a party lover. But He was. His foes accused Him of eating too much, drinking too much, and hanging out with the wrong people! I must confess: it’s been a while since I’ve been accused of having too much fun. How about you?

What sort of portrait of Jesus hangs on the walls of your mind? Is He sad, somber, angry? Are His lips pursed? Is He judging you? If so, visualize the laughing Christ on my wall. I’ve needed the reminder more times than I can say. Jesus laughed. He had fun. He was always invited to the party, because people wanted to be near Him. They didn’t fear His judgment. They knew He wouldn’t try to shut things down.

Who could be relied on to be the life of the party more than the one who came to give life with joy and abundance?

Scripture references: John 2:1–11; Matthew 11:19

Excerpted from He Gets Us by Max Lucado, copyright He Gets Us.

I have read portions of Scripture and started laughing. It is not that what was written was funny but the thought of God actually laughing made me chuckle or laugh out loud. We are created in the image of God…if we enjoy a good laugh, certainly our Creator does too. I’m not sure that I could call Jesus the “life of the party” but I do think He could bring joy and laughter to it… I think I need one of those pictures of Jesus smiling, laughing, enjoying His creation, for my office!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 14, 2023

Notes of Faith February 14, 2023

John 3:16 — God’s Gracious Grip

… whoever believes in Him shall not perish… — John 3:16

Team Hoyt consists of a father-son squad: Dick and Rick. They race. They race a lot. Sixty-four marathons. Two hundred and six triathlons. Six triathlons at Ironman distance. Two hundred and four 10K runs. Since 1975, they’ve crossed nearly a thousand finish lines. They’ve even crossed the USA. It took them forty-five days to run and pedal 3,735 miles, but they did it.

Team Hoyt loves races. But only half of Team Hoyt can run. Dick, the dad, can. But Rick’s legs don’t work, nor does his speech. At his birth in 1962, the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, starving oxygen from his brain, stealing coordination from his body. Doctors gave no hope for his development.

Dick and his wife, Judy, disagreed with the prognosis. Rick couldn’t bathe, dress, or feed himself, but he could think. They knew he was bright. So they enrolled him in public school. He graduated. He entered college and graduated again.

But Rick wanted to run. At age fifteen, he asked his dad if they could enter a five-mile benefit race. Dick was not a runner, but he was a father, so he loaded his son in a three-wheeled wheelchair, and off they went. They haven’t stopped since.

Young Rick Hoyt relies on his dad to do it all: lift him, push him, pedal him, and tow him. Other than a willing heart, he makes no contribution to the effort. Rick depends entirely on the strength of his dad.1

God wants you to do the same.

Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16

The phrase “believes in Him” doesn’t digest well in our day of self-sufficient spiritual food. “Believe in yourself” is the common menu selection of our day. Try harder. Work longer. Dig deeper. Self-reliance is our goal.

And tolerance is our virtue. “In Him” smacks of exclusion. Don’t all paths lead to Heaven? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and humanism? Salvation comes in many forms, right? Christ walks upriver on this topic.

Salvation is found, not in self or in them, but in Him.

We bring to the spiritual race what Rick Hoyt brings to the physical one. Our spiritual legs have no strength. Our morality has no muscle. Our good deeds cannot carry us across the finish line, but Christ can.

To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. — Romans 4:5 NASB

Paul assures salvation to the most unlikely folks: not to the worker, but to the trust-er; not to the able-bodied, but to the unable; not to the affluent saint, but to the bankrupt and unemployable — the child who will trust with Rick Hoyt reliance.

Trusting-Him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift. — Romans 4:5 MSG

A soul sealed by God is safe.

We bring what Rick brings. And God does what Dick does. He takes start-to-finish-line responsibility for His children.

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

Jesus fortified this language with the strongest possible negation, leading the Amplified Bible translators to translate:

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand. — John 10:28

We parents understand God’s resolve. When our children stumble, we do not disown them. When they fall, we do not dismiss them. We may punish or reprimand, but cast them out of the family? We cannot. They are biologically connected to us. Those born with our DNA will die with it.

God, our Father, engenders the same relationship with us. Upon salvation we “become children of God” (John 1:12 ESV). He alters our lineage, redefines our spiritual parenthood, and, in doing so, secures our salvation. To accomplish the mission, He seals us with his Spirit.

Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. — Ephesians 1:13

A soul sealed by God is safe.

For a short time in college, I worked at a vacuum-cleaner plant. We assembled the appliance from plug to hose. The last step on the assembly line was “sealing and shipping.” By this point, the company had invested hours and dollars in the machine. So they took extra care to protect their product. They mummified it in bubble wrap, secured it with Styrofoam, wrapped the box with tough-to-tear tape, stamped the destination on the box, and belted it inside the truck. That machine was secure. But compared to God’s care of His saints, workers dumped bare machines into the back of a pickup truck. God vacuum-seals us with His strongest force: His Spirit. He sheathes His children in a suit of spiritual armor, encircles us with angels, and indwells us Himself. The queen of England should enjoy such security.

Christ paid too high a price to leave us unguarded.

Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. — Ephesians 4:30 NLT

What a difference this assurance makes.

When Dick and Rick Hoyt cross finish lines, both receive finisher medals. Post-race listings include both names. The dad does the work, but the son shares in the victory. Why? Because he believes. And because he believes, both celebrate the finish.

May you and your Father do the same.

David Tereshchuk, “Racing Towards Inclusion,” Team Hoyt, http://www.teamhoyt.com/history.shtml.

Excerpted from 3:16, The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

The love of God never ceases . . . to amaze, to fill with peace, satisfy, to complete that which God intends … to bring us to Himself … for all eternity in intimate communion!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 13, 2023

Notes of Faith February 13, 2023

God Is Love

What does it mean that God is love (1 John 4:8)? Here’s how John described it:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. — 1 John 4:7–11 ESV

John’s passage teaches us three things about God’s love: love is God’s essence (v. 8), God’s love is sacrificial and self-giving (vv. 9–10), and God’s love is transforming — those who experience it want to give love to others (v. 11).

This definition of love diverges from our culture’s ideals. To love someone today can mean a range of things, including but not limited to endorsement, affirmation, unquestioning support, and attention. If you don’t affirm the choices someone makes — no matter how damaging or unwise — you’re deemed “unloving.” But how does this align with love as God defines it?

The love of Christ is self-giving and sacrificial. It’s also wise. God’s love is not in opposition to attributes like holiness and righteousness; it is complementary to them. In other words, these are not two poles on a globe, but two sides of the same coin.

You can’t have love without justice and truth, and you can’t have true justice without love.

When we as a modern culture moved ourselves away from God, we separated ourselves from both justice and love. Our justice is polluted by selfish opinions and lack of consideration for others; our love is diluted by the mistaken idea that affection equals endorsement. The Christian God upends these assumptions. His love will not be manipulated or separated from truth, and yet it is this truthful, faithful, hesed love (a “completely undeserved kindness and generosity”1) that chases us down and seeks us in our sin: “In Jesus, God has taken the initiative to seek out the sinner, to bring the lost into the blessing of Jis reign. He was, in short, the seeking God.”2

Jesus proved that God’s heart, holy as it is, is not to separate from the sinner but to invite the sinner to experience the Father’s love. Of course, humans may choose to reject that love, and by doing so they embrace separation. That choice has always been an option. But Jesus revealed God’s seeking, loving heart to humanity by entering into a relationship with people who needed the transformative love of God. This exposure to the Father’s heart changed them — and it changes us.

It changed me.

You can’t have love without justice and truth, and you can’t have true justice without love.

In the midst of my addiction to erotic fiction, I rode a pendulum between repentance and fear. I repented of my sin because I knew it was wrong. I was objectifying the people in these stories, objectifying myself, and objectifying my sexuality. I was filling my mind with the opposite of what is pure, noble, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). But my motivation for repentance wasn’t the love of God, at least not in those early years. My motivation was fear. I repented because I was afraid of God, afraid of sin, and afraid of what might happen if I lived there. In a way I think that was a healthy fear. Yes, we should recognize the consequences of sin and take them seriously. However, in Scripture such fear is always tempered by the open arms of God. But I didn’t see His arms as open; I saw them as crossed.

I believed this judging God saw my sin, and I felt shamefully exposed. At seventeen, a few years after I came to Christ and five years into the addiction, I read a book about God’s love. The sun rose, a switch flipped, and I understood why I continued to repeat the same patterns over and over. I did not trust God’s love. My repentance was genuine, but because I never felt truly attached to God, secure in His love for me and His grace over my sin, I returned to what felt safe: my sin. Of course, it wasn’t safe — it was damaging — but the familiarity deceived me. I was so unfamiliar with the affection of God that I ran to the very thing destroying my heart.

The love of God is the glue of Scripture. It’s the binding of the theological truths we study. The Christian God is distinct because He is, in every part of His being, love. Love is Him. There is no love in this world that can exist apart from Him. Every human love is an echo of the original hesed, the faithful, seeking love, brave enough to redeem the darkest sinner you know — even if that sinner is you.

We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.

— 1 John 4:16 ESV

We know God’s love. But do we believe it? Until we do, we can’t live in it. Abiding comes from believing. God’s love is real, and it is for you.

For God so loved the world [you] that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever [you] believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

— John 3:16

Eternal life is not just beyond death. It’s real life now. It’s real life free from addiction and dependency and anger and bitterness. It’s real life knowing and believing God’s love is for you, not just for everyone else.

John Oswalt, The Bible Among the Myths (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 71.

George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1993), 81.

Excerpted from Every Woman a Theologian by Phylicia MasonHeimer, copyright W Publishing.

Oh to know the love of God and live within it. It is one thing to know of God’s love, but something entirely different to experience it. Those who come by God’s grace through His gift of faith not only know His love but experience an intimacy that nothing can be compared to. It is more than awesome, comforting, and peaceful. God’s love is who He is. Strive to live in the midst of the love of God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 12, 2023

Notes of Faith February 12, 2023

Fumbles and Failures

Coaches work hard with players to develop in them the skills needed to protect the ball at all costs. Most NFL teams conduct a regular drill in which the runner scampers past a group of heavy-handed linemen who attempt to knock the ball away.

Fumbles, failures, goofs — whatever you call them — do strange things to a team’s confidence. They can be momentum breakers and can produce lost games — both in sports and in life. On the flip side, however, when too much attention is placed upon these occasional failures, it can cost a good player his confidence and his composure.

What do Michael Vick, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Matt Cassel, Mark Sanchez, and Phillip Rivers have in common? Yes, they are all NFL quarterbacks, and after only 5 games into the 2012 season they all had 5 or more fumbles. Michael Vick had 8 fumbles in this period of time. It is curious that quarterbacks, whom we think of as having gifted hands, lost the ball more than running backs.

How often have you dropped the ball? Maybe you missed a critical appointment at work. Or perhaps you forgot your child’s or even your spouse’s birthday. If we place too much attention on our missed opportunities, we can become ineffective and depressed.

Despite our shortcomings, God can use each of us to build His kingdom.

Step out of your limitations and into the illimitable nature of who God is.

I think too many people feel unworthy because they place too much focus upon their failures instead of on the graciousness of a loving God. Too often we glorify Bible characters and believe that our ability to serve God is less than those “saintly” prophets and apostles of yesterday. It is encouraging to remember that our heavenly Father has equipped each one of us with special talents. He wants us to utilize these gifts rather than be overly critical of our failures. Think about how God used biblical characters despite their imperfections:

Moses stuttered.

David’s armor didn’t fit.

John Mark was rejected by Paul.

Hosea’s wife was a prostitute.

Amos’s only training was in the school of fig tree pruning.

Solomon was too rich.

Abraham was too old.

Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse? So did Peter, Paul —well, lots of folks did.

Aren’t we glad God doesn’t keep an account of our fumbles? He is quick to forgive and forget; despite a bad year He still has us in His lineup next season. He doesn’t require a job interview. He doesn’t hire and fire like human bosses, because He’s more than just a boss. He’s not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry or blind to our need.

He knows how we are formed. He remembers we are dust. — Psalm 103:14

If we are totally in love with Him, if we hunger for Him more than for our next breath, He’ll use us in spite of who we are, where we’ve been, or what we look like.

Step out of your limitations and into the illimitable nature of who God is.

It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. — Ephesians 4:11-13

GAME PLAN

Do you believe that God is able to use you in spite of your failures and shortcomings?

Are you willing to let Him use you through your failures and shortcomings?

Excerpted from Guts, Grace, and Glory by Jim Grassi, copyright Thomas Nelson.

Failures … I’ve had a few. That was not meant to be funny, but I bet that many of you laughed. Why? Because you have had a few too! Our sin nature causes us to fail before a holy and righteous God. But the free gift of God, His Son, Jesus, provides opportunity to be lifted up to the heights of God’s temple to have wonderful and intimate relationship with Him through belief in Jesus. Following the only One who never sinned is difficult … impossible, because I still sin even though I don’t want to. But I am forgiven, given the gift of God’s Spirit to live within me to help me know His heart and His righteousness, creating a desire to live for the One who gave His life for me! I’m sure that if I am given a day, or year to live that I will still experience failure. But I am so happy, no filled with joy, that God has drawn me to Himself in love, through believing in His Son Jesus and all that Jesus did to redeem my life, for the glory and honor of God!

Pastor Dale