Notes of Faith March 3, 2023

Notes of Faith March 3, 2023

The Passion Code: Up

During His intense struggle on the Cross, our Lord spoke seven times as He hung suspended between heaven and earth. The strangest of these cries was,

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? — Matthew 27:46

He knew well what it was to be forsaken. In Galilee, He was forsaken by His family. They distanced themselves from Him, and we read that He had no honor “in His own house” (Matthew 13:57). In Gethsemane, He was forsaken by His friends when they ran away after He was taken by the mob (Mark 14:50). And at the end of the journey, at Golgotha, while bearing our sins, He was forsaken for a time by His Father so that we might never be forsaken.

Perhaps there is no more haunting word in our entire English language than the word forsaken. Many today know this reality. There are those who one day stood at a wedding altar, hearing the love of their life promise to “never leave or forsake” them. But they lied and left the gnawing pain of being forsaken. Countless children, abandoned by their fathers and/or mothers, also know the meaning of this cruel word.

Don’t give up. Reach up.

Jesus truly knew its meaning. But He didn’t give up. He reached up! This is a help and a hope for any of us who have been forsaken. He understands.

So many times, when difficulties or heartbreak come knocking on our doors, we look at the swirling circumstances around us, or worse, focus all our attention on them. But look up. Be reminded that Jesus sees even the smallest sparrow that falls to the ground — and He cares so much more for you.

PASSION PROCLAMATION

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me. — Psalm 27:10

Lord, I am so grateful that there is no fear of You ever forsaking me. I stand on Your promise that You will never leave or forsake me… never. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted from The Passion Code by O. S. Hawkins, copyright Dr. O. S. Hawkins.

If we look back on our lives I presume that most if not all can think of a time when they felt forsaken. It brings peace and comfort to know and trust in the words of our Lord and Savior that He will never leave or forsake us. There is a lifetime of learning to be gleaned from the perfect life of Jesus. Let us seek to intimately know Him and pursue being like Him until the day we see Him face to face!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 2, 2023

Notes of Faith March 2, 2023

Can I Judge Without Being Judgmental?

There’s a scripture that kind of trips us up. Whether you’re a Bible reader or not, you’re probably familiar with it.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. — Matthew 7:1

Jesus said this toward the end of one of his most famous sermons. He was calling out the hypocrisy of pointing out the faults in others when we have our own faults we should be working on.

But is it realistic to never judge anyone? There are times when judging is necessary. When applying for a job, it’s natural to think, Do I want to work for this person? When meeting someone you’re attracted to, Should I ask them out on a date? When you need to confide in someone, Who do I trust as a friend? Just spending a couple of minutes online, we realize our entire world is now based on reviews. From doctors to hotels, restaurants to dog walkers, many businesses live or die by the number of stars by their names. Honest evaluation of others is necessary for a safe and functioning society.

Honest evaluation, however, is not the judgment Jesus meant.

The judging Jesus referred to comes from a different place. It comes from our egos, from seeking to elevate ourselves by belittling someone else. Or trying to justify our own bad behaviors by labeling somebody else’s behavior as worse. Sometimes, biases and grudges affect how we view and treat others.

With that in mind, Jesus asked us to stop pinpointing the shortcomings of others and to look inwardly and deeply examine our own hearts and motives. It’s not comfortable. But here’s why it’s so important: Jesus knew that if we focused on our own faults and weaknesses, we would become more empathetic toward others. We’d recognize that, like us, every person has challenges and struggles that we can relate to. And that’s how Jesus’ radical love is demonstrated today. By recognizing our own flaws, we can all become a little more merciful, a little more patient, and a little more loving toward one another.

Judgmental people would ask, “Why deal with my mistakes when I can focus on the mistakes of others?”

They might follow up with internal struggles like I may be bad, but as long as I can find someone worse, I am safe. They fuel their goodness with the failures of others. They are the self-appointed teacher’s pets in elementary school. They tattle on the sloppy work of others, oblivious to the F on their own papers. They are the neighborhood watchdogs, passing out citations for people to clean up their acts, never noticing the garbage on their own front lawns.

“Come on, God, let me show You the evil deeds of my neighbor,” the moralists invite. But God won’t follow them into the valley.

If you think you can judge others, you are wrong. When you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty, because you do the same things they do.

— Romans 2:1 NCV

It’s a shallow ploy, and God won’t fall for it.

It is one thing to have a conviction; it’s another to convict the person. Paul said in Romans 2:2:

God judges those who do wrong things, and we know that His judging is right. — NCV

It’s important to recognize the difference between honest evaluations and judgment — that is where the majority of misconceptions arise. You must know that you’re not a sinner because you judged someone. Let’s face it, we all do it more than we’d like to admit, but it’s part of our makeup.

The Bible speaks about sin, how we miss the mark of God and His holy nature. We see the devastating effects of sin all around us every day. It is our job to hate the sin. But it is God’s job to deal with the sinner.

God has called us to despise evil, but He has never called us to despise the evildoer.

But, oh, how we would like to! Is there any act more delightful than judging others? There’s something smug and self-satisfying about slamming down the gavel... “Guilty!” Judging others is a quick and easy way to feel good about ourselves. But that’s the problem. God doesn’t compare us to them. They are not the standard. God is. And compared to Him, Paul argued in Romans 3:12,

There is no one who does anything good. — NCV

Scripture references: Matthew 7:1; Luke 6:37; John 7:24

Excerpted from He Gets Us, copyright He Gets Us.

Mark 10:18

No one is good except God alone.

1 Thess 5:21

21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Examining everything, testing it against the Word of God, is righteous judgment. We are called to test everything in order to choose what is righteous and true, in order to behave in a righteous manner, pleasing to God. Judgment that is comparing yourself to another is not righteous nor helpful for yourself or the other person(s). Let us seek the heart of God as we “examine” and “test” everything to discern truth and express the love of God in every circumstance.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 1, 2023

Notes of Faith March 1, 2023

I Am with You Always

I broaden the path beneath you so that your ankles do not turn. This shows how intricately I am involved in your life-journey. I know exactly what is before you, and I can alter the path ahead of you to make your way easier. Sometimes I enable you to see what I have done on your behalf. At other times you are blissfully unaware of the hardship I have spared you. Either way, My work to widen the way before you demonstrates how lovingly I am involved in your life.

From your perspective, My workings are often mysterious. I do not protect you — or anyone — from all adversity. Neither was I shielded from hardship during my thirty-three years of living in your world. On the contrary, I willingly suffered unimaginable pain, humiliation, and agony on the cross — for your sake! When My Father turned away from Me, I experienced unspeakable suffering. But because I was willing to endure that excruciating isolation from Him, you will never have to suffer alone. I have promised: I am with you always!

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” — Matthew 27:46 NKJV

... And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. — Matthew 28:20

You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. — Psalm 18:36

*

You will never have to suffer alone.

I am the resurrection and the life; all lasting Life emanates from Me. People search for life in many wrong ways: chasing after fleeting pleasures, accumulating pos- sessions and wealth, trying to deny the inevitable effects of aging. Meanwhile, I freely offer abundant Life to everyone who turns toward Me. As you come to Me and take My yoke upon you, I fill you with My very Life. This is how I choose to live in the world and accomplish My purposes. This is also how I bless you with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory. The Joy is Mine, and the Glory is Mine; but I bestow them on you as you live in My Presence — inviting Me to live fully in you.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. — Matthew 11:28-29

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:8-9 KJV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.” — John 11:25

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

Never alone! Amen!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 28, 2023

Notes of Faith February 28, 2023

I Miss My Son Today

That goes without saying, I suppose, since I miss him every day. But on this day, the pain is particularly sharp, the ache especially deep. I miss my friend and brother; I miss my protégé́. I miss the son of my youth, the delight of my heart. I miss seeing him and hugging him. I miss teaching him and learning from him. I miss the sound of his voice and the cackle of his laugh. I miss having a son at all. I just plain miss my Nick.

The time between now and when he went to Heaven has passed so quickly, yet so slowly. It often feels like it was just yesterday that we received the phone call, just yesterday that we endured the funeral, just yesterday that we watched the casket being lowered into the cold, dark ground. But at the same time, it feels like it was a lifetime ago. We were different people back then, a different family with different desires, different assumptions, a different understanding of life and death and the God who is sovereign over it all.

And just as the time between now and when Nick went to Heaven has passed both quickly and slowly, I expect that the time between now and when I go to Heaven will pass both quickly and slowly. This life is a dash, a blip, a vapor, yet just as truly a slog, a marathon, a long and wearying pilgrimage. I have begun to notice that while the brevity of life is best seen in retrospect, it’s the slowness of life that tends to be felt in the moment. It may be brief as we look back on it, but it’s long as we live it.

And it feels long today.

It looks long today.

It looks long as I gaze into the future and see a road laid out before me that may well lead through months, years, and decades. It looks longer still as I consider the heavy burden of grief God has called me to carry. I am confident I can carry a great weight for a short distance but far less confident that I can carry it for many miles or many years. I just don’t know how I will bear up under this sorrow if I have to carry it all the way to the end.

He has not called me to bear the entire weight of it all at once.

My father was a landscaper, and he used to take me to work with him from time to time. I remember one day when he brought me with him to be an unskilled but low-cost source of manual labor. He showed me a skid of bricks that had been delivered to the end of a client’s driveway and then a walkway he was building to the front door. My job was to get the bricks from the first spot to the second. I remember gazing at that giant pile with despair. How could I, at twelve or thirteen years of age, possibly move what looked like a literal ton of bricks? I realized I would have to do it in the only way I could. Piece by piece, brick by brick, step by step, I carried each one to my father. He laid them as quickly as I could bring them to him until a perfect path led to the entrance of that beautiful home.

And just so, while God has called me to bear my grief for a lifetime, and to do so faithfully, He has not called me to bear the entire weight of it all at once. As the pile is made up of many bricks, a lifetime is made up of many days. The burden of a whole lifetime’s grief would be far too heavy to bear, and the challenge of a whole lifetime’s faithfulness far too daunting to consider. But the God who knows my frailty has broken down that assignment into little parts, little days, and has promised a grace that is sufficient for each one of them.

My challenge for today is not to bear the grief of a lifetime or to be faithful to the end, but only to carry today’s grief and only to be faithful on this one little day that He has spread out before me.

And I am confident that by His grace I can carry out today’s assignment. I am confident that I can bear the burden of this day’s sorrow until night falls and my eyes close in rest. I am confident that I can be faithful in today’s calling for as long as the day lasts. I don’t need to think about tomorrow or next week or next year. I don’t need the strength to carry the burdens of any other day or the resolve to remain faithful through any other circumstance. My God-given task began this morning and extends only until tonight. Then, when I awake again tomorrow with the dawning of a new day, I will awaken to new blessings, new strength, and new grace that will allow me to be strong and faithful through that day as well.

And in just that way — brick by brick, step by step, day by day — He will lead me, He will keep me, He will enable me to be strong and faithful in all that He calls me to. And as I serve my Father in the assignment He has given me, I know that each brick, each step, each day, is bringing me a little bit closer to the entrance of that great home He is preparing for me.

Excerpted from Seasons of Sorrow by by Tim Challies, copyright Tim Challies.

We all have burdens that we bear, “Seasons of Sorrow.” A lifetime of sorrow cannot be carried in a moment or even a day. But it can be carried by God’s grace throughout a lifetime and lessened by God carrying it with you. Give all of your pain and suffering to God and His grace will carry you through to the end.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 27, 2023

Notes of Faith February 27, 2023

Simon Peter

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. — Psalm 138:8 NKJV

You will easily recognize Peter when you get to Heaven,” the speaker said with a smile. “He’s the man with the foot-shaped mouth.” As the audience laughed, I groaned within. I didn’t think the speaker was worthy to carry Simon Peter’s sandals let alone joke about his sins. A foot-shaped mouth indeed!

Jesus commanded us to forgive our brothers and sisters even if they sinned against us seven times a day, but let a great Bible personality commit the same sin twice (like Abraham), or three times (like Peter), and we can’t forgive them. Instead, we make that sin the key to their character, and this blinds us to the real person. To joke about sin is to minimize it, and sin is not a laughing matter. Sin put Jesus on the cross. Peter wept over his sins, but we who are more mature joke about them. As for our own sins, well, that’s another matter.

The speaker had fallen into the same trap that has snared far too many Christians: they don’t know the true Bible personality, so they accept a cheap caricature instead. They enjoy emphasizing the occasional bad things. Peter had a big mouth and often put his foot into it. Noah got drunk, and Abraham told the same lie twice. David was a voyeur, Thomas was a doubter, and John Mark was a quitter. Forget all the good things these people did and ignore what the Lord said about them. No matter what the truth is, keep the congregations laughing. Stick to the caricature.

The fact that Simon Peter had two names helps us get a better perspective on his character as well as our own. Simon was his given name — “the hearer”; Peter was his nickname — “a rock.” Jesus had less than three years to transform this lump of clay into a rock — and He did it! All believers have two names: the old name, “child of Adam,” and the new name, “child of God.” Years ago, many Christians wore colorful pins with PBP/GINFWMY printed on them. If anybody asked what those letters stood for, the explanation was given: “Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet.”

Peter could have worn one of those pins without embarrassment. That’s why I selected Psalm 138:8 for Peter’s defining verse: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (NKJV). It’s the Old Testament equivalent of Philippians 1:6:

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Both verses have encouraged me when I have messed up my assignment and disappointed my Lord. The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings. Each time Peter stumbled, Jesus forgave him and Peter got up and made a new beginning.

It isn’t enough for us to grow in the knowledge of Christ; we must also grow in grace.

Loving Jesus

We usually associate love with the quiet and poetic apostle John and not with impetuous and manly Peter, “the big fisherman,” but Peter needed to grow in love as well as in knowledge and faith. In fact, Peter’s love for Jesus was the theme of our Lord’s breakfast meeting with seven of His disciples after the resurrection (John 21) .

In the upper room, Peter had boasted of his love for Jesus.

Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will,” he said, and, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.” — Matthew 26:33, Matthew 26:35

In all fairness, we should note that the other men echoed Peter’s words, but it seems that Peter was the most outspoken. So, after breakfast, Jesus asked Peter the most penetrating question He had ever asked him:

Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than these? — John 21:151

Peter told the truth: he did love Jesus, and he wasn’t going to deny it. Yes, he had failed, but Jesus had forgiven him and was now about to restore him to his ministry. Peter was learning the lesson John wrote about years later:

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. — 1 John 3:18

Making a passionate speech and wielding a sword were not valid evidences of his love, but staying awake and praying with and for Jesus would have qualified.

The better we know Jesus, the more we trust Him, and the more we trust Him, the more we learn to love Him. Peter wrote,

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. — 1 Peter 1:8

We don’t need pictures or statues of Jesus in order to love Him, because we have the inspired portrait we need already written in Scripture. The old hymn expresses it perfectly:

Break Thou the bread of life, Dear Lord, to me,

As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;

Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;

My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word.

~Mary A. Lathbury

Those who spend time daily in the Word, meditating on what it says about Jesus Christ, will grow in their love for Him and prove it by the way they live and serve.

Becoming Like Jesus

Becoming like Jesus, after all, is the goal of the Christian life and the purpose behind God’s great plan of salvation, for we have been “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). It isn’t enough for us to grow in the knowledge of Christ; we must also “grow in grace” (2 Peter 3:18) and become more like Christ. It is very easy to grow in “Bible knowledge” and yet never manifest the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is easier to preach about humility than to practice it, or to study the Greek words for love than to love one another.

If you want to see Simon, the clay, living like Peter, the rock, follow Peter’s ministry in the book of Acts. You will meet a man of prayer, a man obedient to the Word, a man who magnifies Christ in his preaching, and a man of compassion who cares for saints and lost sinners. He rejoices at the privilege of suffering for Jesus. He steps aside and allows James to lead the Jerusalem church. He makes sure the widows are cared for, and he opens doors of service for qualified believers in the church. He abandons his Jewish practices, goes to the home of Cornelius, and preaches the gospel to the Gentiles. He is called on the carpet by the legalists, but he doesn’t retreat. When the church leaders meet in Jerusalem to discuss the place of the Gentiles in the plan of God, Peter stands with Paul and Barnabas defending the freedom of the gospel (Acts 15:1-11). Praise God! A Gentile doesn’t have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian!

The better we know Jesus, the more we trust and love Him. This combination of spiritual knowledge, faith, and love, combined with God’s grace, enables us to become more and more like Jesus! Peter called it growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:18), and Paul called it “perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1) .

How did the Simon of the Gospels become the “rock” of the book of Acts? Of course, the Lord had prayed for Peter, taught him, and given him many opportunities to learn and grow, but there were three events in Jerusalem that opened the door to Peter’s life of fullness and fruitfulness.

Let’s begin with the crowing of the cock and remember that when it happened, Jesus “turned and looked straight at Peter” (Luke 22:61). It wasn’t the angry scowl of a judge but the pained look of a friend whose heart had been broken. At that moment, Peter saw himself and realized what he had done to Jesus, and then he went out and wept bitterly. For each of us, there must come an hour of honest confrontation with our true self and humble confession of our sins to the Lord.

The second event was the crucifixion of the Savior. Peter saw a part of the official trial of Jesus, but he didn’t see it all, nor did he go to the cross as John and the women did. However, Peter knew what crucifixion was and the shame and suffering his Master would endure. Peter’s words must have seared his heart:

I am ready to go with You to prison and to death. — Luke 22:33

But it was Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus, not Simon Peter. Christ died our death for us that we might live His life for Him.

And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. — 2 Corinthians 5:15

Event number three was the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the apostles to stay in Jerusalem until they had been “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), and on the day of Pentecost, that promise was fulfilled. In the power of the Spirit, Peter boldly preached the gospel and 3,000 people were saved. He performed miracles of healing, he exposed the works of the Devil, he confronted his opponents and shut their mouths, and he brought great glory to the name of Jesus. He gave direction to the church and strengthened the saints when persecution began. He was a different man.

We, too, can become different people. God never gives up on us even though we may decide to give up on ourselves. The moment you were born again, Jesus said, “You are — you shall be!”

We are nothing but lumps of clay, but Jesus can turn us into rocks.

The eminent Greek scholar A. T. Robertson wrote about Peter: “It was slow in coming, but when the fruit was ripe, it was rich and gracious. He was a man worth the making and Jesus knew it. He loved Peter from the start, and to the end.”2

Don’t wait for the crowing of the cock, but start right now to claim Peter’s defining verse: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.”

The two Greek words for love — agape, God’s sacrificial love, and phileo, friendship love — are used interchangeably in the Gospels, and it is difficult to build a case for making a distinction in this passage.

A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1974), 3.

Excerpted from The Defining Verse by Warren W. Wiersbe, copyright Warren W. Wiersbe.

God has promised and will perfect that which belongs to Him. You may stumble and fall at times during your faith walk, but God will not let you out of His hand. He will lift you up, sustain and perfect you and bring you to completion, holy and blameless before Him. May we continue to run the race of life in pursuit of Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 26, 2023

Notes of Faith February 26, 2023

Fulfill Your Purpose

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” — Isaiah 6:8 NIV

Thinking, planning, and preparing are all well and good, but none of those things will actually fulfill your purpose. To do that you have to act. God doesn’t instruct us to overthink everything to death. He instructs us to obey. To hear His call, accept His instructions, and get to work.

In the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), a father told each of his two sons to go work in his vineyard that day. The first son at first refused to work, but then he later changed his mind and went and did what his father asked of him. The second son promised to go, but then he never did the work he committed to doing. Jesus asked the crowd, “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” The answer, of course, was the first son. The second son said all the right things, but he never acted. Thinking about your purpose and making plans don’t count. When God calls us, He expects action.

You will always be able to find a good excuse not to act. After all, life is busy and complicated, and there will always be a lot of demands on your time. It is up to you to choose: to keep up with the demands and expectations of society or to obediently say yet to God. Even if, like the first son, you have said no to your purpose time and time again, it is not too late to change your mind and go do what your Father has asked of you.

Live Your Purpose

He has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. — 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV

God called you to a holy, purposeful life with Him to fulfill His greater plan and purpose. There’s nothing you could have done or not done to earn such a distinction. It was given to you because of His grace and love. That is huge!

God is trusting you to do something for Him, to further His plans, to bring glory to His Kingdom. Not because He needs the help, but because He wants to do it with you. Can you think of a bigger honor? Even if you feel unprepared or scared or uncertain, it’s time to accept that trust and step into the purpose that He has prepared for you alone.

God has put His faith in you, so it’s time to put your faith in Him.

Trust that He knows exactly what He’s doing and answer His call.

When you think about God trusting you with a holy purpose, how does it make you feel?

What most inspires you to get going and act, even if you feel scared or unsure?

God has put His faith in you, so it’s time to put your faith in Him.

Chase Joy

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

— Ecclesiastes 8:15 NIV

Your purpose should not feel like a heavy burden or a drag. God created this purpose for you and you for this purpose. It’s a part of you, something important and fulfilling, just like your relationship with God.

If what you think is your purpose fills you with dread and feels like a chore, then that isn’t really your purpose. Your purpose, although it may be difficult or discouraging at times, should be joyful, meaningful work. Sometimes we can let our anxieties and stress overwhelm the joy. When that

happens, it’s time to pray and ask God to replace your worries with His peace so you can find that joy again.

What is holding you back from joy in your pursuit of your purpose? Why is it a stumbling block?

What brings you true joy in your purposeful work?

Keep Talking to God

I have not ever acted, and will not in the future act, on My own. I listen to the directions of the One who sent Me and act on these divine instructions. For this reason, My judgment is always fair and never self-serving. I’m committed to pursuing God’s agenda and not My own. — John 5:30 The Voice

There will always be times when things don’t go according to plan. No matter how long you’ve spent on the plans or how airtight they seem, you can’t control everything. Pursuing your purpose in the face of obstacles and detours will require you to be flexible, creative, and, most importantly, a prayer warrior.

When it’s time to change your plans, the best counsel you can receive is God’s.

Pray about your purpose every day. Keep God looped in about what you are learning, get His advice for overcoming the obstacles you encounter, and celebrate your success with Him. Keep talking to God and keep listening. He won’t ever steer you wrong.

Do you share everything with God? Or do you only come to Him when you have a problem?

How many times a week do you ask for God’s wisdom and instructions? Do you think that’s enough?

Excerpted from The Weekly Purpose Project, copyright Zondervan.

I look back on my life of God’s provision . . . my work life, my jobs, and can only wonder . . . Why? How did I get those particular jobs? Many were things I did not know much about when I started. Others I did not want, but they served to provide for my family. Currently, I serve as a pastor. How in the world did that happen?! I did not train, I did not desire, I did not seek to be a pastor. But what was happening in my life was a desire to hear and follow what God had planned for me. What I once thought I did not want became the greatest blessing I have ever experienced! The Lord will use us where He wants us, no matter what that might be in providing for our family. We can serve Him and others as we work. I had not really changed in love for God and people wherever He had me working. He was just preparing me for where He has me today and took care of me all along the way. I admit not being as happy in some of those jobs but the Spirit of God within kept my character from failing, doing my very best in whatever activity, relationships, and business that He had placed me. Let us trust that God has us exactly where He wants us . . . even when unemployed, I have been there too, and look forward and backward, trusting in His love and grace to lead us in every way.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 25, 2023

Notes of Faith February 25, 2023

Abraham

God promised Abraham would father many nations; he believed and obeyed. ~ Wendy Blight

Genesis 15

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

— Genesis 15:6

God met Abram at a time when he was doubting God’s promises. God saw Abram, came to him, and spoke great encouragement.

Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. — Genesis 15:1

In his old age, Abram focused on the physical: what his eyes could see and what his mind could comprehend. God promised to make him into a great nation, but he had no children. God graciously reassured Abram that a son was coming.

He told Abram to look to the heavens and count the stars and said,

So shall your offspring be. — Genesis 15:5

Without any change of circumstances, Scripture says Abram believed the Lord. He believed God would do what He said He would do. That is faith. And God responded to Abram’s faith by crediting righteousness, right standing with God, as his reward.

Righteousness is an important word for us since it is said that we are counted righteous for believing in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:6-24; Romans 4:5:19; Romans 4:10). In both Greek and Hebrew, the word is full of meaning. Part of its meaning is doing what is right — that is, obedience to God, and doing justice in the world. The second part of its meaning, and just as important, is the connotation of having a legal right standing before a judge. Both of these meanings are inseparable from each other in the biblical sense of the word.

As with Noah, righteousness — or right standing with God — did not mean Abram was a sinless person. He simply trusted the Lord.

Read Romans 4:4-5. God’s Word says this same situation applies to all men and women who trust in the Lord. Describe what it means for you to place your trust in the Lord.

Reread Romans 4:4-5 and meditate on its meaning, jotting down your thoughts.

God’s ways have not changed over these thousands of years. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Trusting God at His Word… trusting His promises… will lead us to righteousness. The key is faith. Abram was renamed “Abraham” by God because of Abram’s faith to believe that God would make him the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5).

Faith doesn’t mean we never doubt or have questions.

In fact, Abraham immediately began asking God how the things He spoke of were possible (Genesis 15:8) and even laughed at other things God promised (Genesis 17:17). Have you ever doubted God, or asked God why difficult things happen? How were your questions or doubts answered?

God’s promises are eternal and unchangeable. They will not fail because God cannot fail.

We can believe the enemy or we can believe God.

We can succumb to lies or stand on Truth. In the garden, Adam and Eve chose to believe the lies of the enemy. Noah and Abram (Abraham), on the other hand, chose to believe the truths of God. Though, let us not forget, Noah and Abraham were not perfect. The times Noah and Abraham failed to follow God and misplaced their longings, God sent harsh consequences as a result.

We learned this week: Choosing lies and self-satisfaction leads to negative consequences. Choosing truth and humility leads to blessings and fulfillment. Why? Because when we choose to believe lies, we fall into the hands of the enemy. We hear the devil’s voice instead of God’s, so he determines who we are, our path, even our destiny.

When we trust ourselves, or others, over God, we risk moving so far from God that we forget His heart. His goodness. His love. We forget God’s commands are good. His purposes are good. He is good.

Trusting in and obeying God’s Word is where we find our true and lasting significance, satisfaction, and security.

Abraham lived this well. God had promised to make him into a great nation, yet Abraham found himself without children. How could God’s promise come to fruition with no heirs? Was God truly trustworthy?

Abraham cried out to God in discouragement. God came to Abraham and graciously reassured him a son was coming. He reminded Abraham of His promises. Scripture says Abraham believed the Lord… without any visible proof… without Sarah being pregnant. Abraham took God at His Word. He believed God would do what He said He would do.

This, my friend, is the essence of faith. God’s ways have not changed. God’s promises and purposes are eternal and unchangeable. They will not fail because God cannot fail. When the lies of the enemy — fear, doubt, anxiety, unbelief, discouragement — rush in, we must immediately take those thoughts captive. Captive to the Truth of God’s Word. The Truth of who we are as children of the One True God.

Read aloud the truth of who you are in Christ.

You are Loved. 1 John 3:1

You are Forgiven. 1 John 1:9

You are Redeemed. Ephesians 1:7

You are A New Creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17

You are Holy. Hebrews 10:10

You are Set Apart. Romans 8:30-39

You are A Temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17;

1 Corinthians 3:6:19-20

You are Made with Purpose. 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Peter 4:10

Now, pray and declare these truths over your heart and mind.

Abba Father, my Creator,

I praise You that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank You that I am forgiven and redeemed by the blood of Your Son, Jesus. Thank You that in and through the power of Your Holy Spirit, I am a new creation. Because of Your grace and mercy, I am Your hand-crafted masterpiece and You have good and perfect purposes for me.

Please grant me wisdom and discernment as I walk out that plan. Help me to discover who You’ve created me to be. Expose the lies of the enemy. Wash away anything You have not authored for my life. Protect me from the devil’s schemes. Give me eyes to see myself, not in the world’s eyes, but in Your eyes. Father, may I know deep in my heart that I am holy, created in Your image and set apart for Your purposes. Open my eyes to see my true beauty, a beauty that reflects Your heart, Your character, Your strength and Your dignity. Plant Your Truths deep in my heart. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and bless me all the days of my life.

I ask all this in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Excerpted from 40 Days Through the Bible by Lysa TerKeurst and the Proverbs 31 Ministries Team, copyright Lysa TerKeurst and Proverbs 31 Ministries Team.

Trusting God when things are not going the way we want and hope for is difficult. We wonder if God is there for us, or God wants our best, when if we realize the love our Father has for us, we know that His plans and our circumstances are perfect! Let us strive to trust and follow the narrow path that God has laid before us, expecting His blessing and overflowing love.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 24, 2023

Notes of Faith February 24, 2023

You Are Never Alone

When you’re lost in the dark caverns of loneliness, it’s easy to believe that you are alone and will always be alone, that you will always strain your eyes looking for a glimmer of light. You can easily believe that your suffering is meaningless and that your pain will keep you isolated forever.

But that’s not the truth! God is always with you, and He is ready to comfort you.

When you are afflicted by loneliness, ponder these truths from Psalm 139:1-12:

You have searched me, LORD,

and You know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

You, LORD, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before,

and You lay Your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, You are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there Your hand will guide me,

Your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to You;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

There’s a big word that’s used to describe this: omnipresent. Everywhere at one time. Isaiah 57:15 (ESV) says,

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’

See yourself in your darkest moments and see God there with you. He himself says that He dwells with those who are humble and brought low. He revives their spirits and their hearts.

Think about your life and imagine God with you in every moment and every place. See yourself far away from everything you know and everyone you love. See God holding you even there. See yourself in the darkest place, and see God there, too, unafraid of the dark, shining His light on you.

Sometimes children who have no siblings will invent an imaginary friend. They play with that friend, have conversations with that friend, go everywhere with that friend right by their side. Sometimes we can feel like God is an imaginary friend because we can’t see Him. We can’t feel His touch or hear His voice with our ears. It can begin to feel like He’s not really there.

But faith is the assurance of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

Even when we don’t see God, He’s there.

Even when we don’t see God, He’s there.

Picture the trees blowing in the wind, their leaves fluttering and flying. You don’t see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind, so you know it’s there. We can’t physically see gravity, but we feel its effects every day, especially when you drop something breakable on a tile floor. You don’t think, “Oh, why did that happen?” You know it was because of gravitational pull.

The effects of God’s presence with you are seen in the peace He gives you when you turn to Him in prayer. They’re seen in the provision of nature that speaks His name. Psalm 19:1 tells us,

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Beauty, laughter, nature — all these things can remind you of the nearness of God.

When loneliness hits and you want to believe that you’re all alone, turn to the God who is near. His Spirit is living within you. Jesus Himself told His disciples,

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever —the Spirit of truth. — John 14:16-17

You truly are never alone.

Excerpted from Cast Your Cares: A 40-Day Journey to Find Rest for Your Soul by Abide Christian Meditation.

Heb 13:5

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Matt 28:20

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Rom 8:35

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Rom 8:37-39

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Not even loneliness can separate us from the love of God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 23, 2023

Notes of Faith February 23, 2023

When Your World Turns Against You

Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against Me.

The words were spoken of Judas. But they could have been spoken of anyone. They could have been spoken of John, Peter, James. They could have been spoken of Thomas, Andrew, Nathanael. They could have been spoken of the Roman soldiers, of the Jewish leaders. They could have been spoken of Pilate, of Herod, of Caiaphas. They could have been spoken of every person who praised Him last Sunday but abandoned Him tonight.

Everyone turned against Jesus that night. Everyone.

Judas did. What was your motive, Judas? Why did you do it? Were you trying to call His hand? Did you want the money? Were you seeking some attention?

And why, dear Judas, why did it have to be a kiss? You could have pointed. You could have just called His name. But you put your lips to His cheek and kissed. A snake kills with his mouth.

The people did. The crowd turned on Jesus. We wonder who was in the crowd. Who were the bystanders? Matthew just says they were people. Regular folks like you and me with bills to pay and kids to raise and jobs to do. Individually they never would have turned on Jesus, but collectively they wanted to kill Him. Even the instantaneous healing of an amputated ear didn’t sway them. They suffered from mob blindness. They blocked each other’s vision of Jesus.

The disciples did. “All of Jesus’ followers left Him and ran away.” Matthew must have written those words slowly. He was in that group. All the disciples were. Jesus told them they would scamper. They vowed they wouldn’t. But they did.

When the choice came between their skin and their friend, they chose to run. Oh, they stood for a while. Peter even pulled his sword, went for the neck, and got a lobe. But their courage was as fleeting as their feet. When they saw Jesus was going down, they got out.

The religious leaders did. Not surprising. Disappointing, though. They were the spiritual leaders of the nation. Men entrusted with the dispensing of goodness. Role models for the children. The pastors and Bible teachers of the community. “The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill Him.” Paint that passage black with injustice. Paint the arrest green with jealousy. Paint that scene red with innocent blood.

And paint Peter in a corner. For that’s where he is. No place to go. Caught in his own mistake. Peter did exactly what he had said he wouldn’t do. He had promised fervently only hours before, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I will not!” I hope Peter was hungry, because he ate those words.

Everyone turned against Jesus. Though the kiss was planted by Judas, the betrayal was committed by all.

Every person took a step, but no one took a stand. As Jesus left the garden, He walked alone. The world had turned against Him.

He was betrayed.

Betray. The word is an eighth of an inch above betroth in the dictionary, but a world from betroth in life. It’s a weapon found only in the hands of one you love. Your enemy has no such tool, for only a friend can betray. Betrayal is mutiny. It’s a violation of a trust, an inside job.

Would that it were a stranger. Would that it were a random attack. Would that you were a victim of circumstances. But you aren’t. You are a victim of a friend.

A sandpaper kiss is placed on your cheek. A promise is made with fingers crossed. You look to your friends, and your friends don’t look back. You look to the system for justice – the system looks to you as a scapegoat.

You are betrayed. Bitten with a snake’s kiss. It’s more than rejection. Rejection opens a wound; betrayal pours the salt. It’s more than loneliness. Loneliness leaves you in the cold, betrayal closes the door. It’s more than mockery. Mockery plunges the knife; betrayal twists it. It’s more than an insult. An insult attacks your pride; betrayal breaks your heart.

As I search for betrayal’s synonyms, I keep seeing betrayal’s victims. That unsigned letter in yesterday’s mail, “My husband just told me he had an affair two years ago,” she wrote. “I feel so alone.” The phone call at home from the elderly woman whose drug-addicted son had taken her money. My friend in the Midwest who moved his family to take the promised job that never materialized. The single mother whose ex-husband brings his new girlfriend to her house when he comes to get the kids for the weekend. The seven-year-old girl infected with HIV. “I’m mad at my mother,” were her words.

Betrayal… when your world turns against you.

Betrayal… where there is opportunity for love, there is opportunity for hurt.

When all of earth turns against you, all of Heaven turns toward you.

When betrayal comes, what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even? You have to deal with it some way. Let’s see how Jesus dealt with it.

Begin by noticing how Jesus saw Judas. “Jesus answered, ‘Friend, do what you came to do.’”

Of all the names I would have chosen for Judas, it would not have been “friend.” What Judas did to Jesus was grossly unfair. There is no indication that Jesus ever mistreated Judas. There is no clue that Judas was ever left out or neglected. When, during the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that his betrayer sat at the table, they didn’t turn to one another and whisper, “It’s Judas. Jesus told us he would do this.”

They didn’t whisper it because Jesus never said it. He had known it. He had known what Judas would do, but He treated the betrayer as if he were faithful.

It’s even more unfair when you consider the betrayal was Judas’s idea. The religious leaders didn’t seek him; Judas sought them. “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” he asked. The betrayal would have been more palatable had Judas been propositioned by the leaders, but he wasn’t. He propositioned them.

And Judas’s method… again, why did it have to be a kiss? And why did he have to call Him “Teacher”? That’s a title of respect. The incongruity of his words, deeds, and actions – I wouldn’t have called Judas “friend.” But that is exactly what Jesus called him. Why? Jesus could see something we can’t. Let me explain.

There was once a person in our world who brought Denalyn and me a lot of stress. She would call in the middle of the night. She was demanding and ruthless. She screamed at us in public. When she wanted something, she wanted it immediately, and she wanted it exclusively from us. But we never asked her to leave us alone. We never told her to bug someone else. We never tried to get even. After all, she was only a few months old.

It was easy for us to forgive our infant daughter’s behavior because we knew she didn’t know better.

Now, there is a world of difference between an innocent child and a deliberate Judas. But there is still a point to my story, and it is this: the way to handle a person’s behavior is to understand the cause of it. One way to deal with a person’s peculiarities is to try to understand why he or she is peculiar.

Jesus knew Judas had been seduced by a powerful foe. He was aware of the wiles of Satan’s whispers (He had just heard them Himself). He knew how hard it was for Judas to do what was right. He didn’t justify what Judas did. He didn’t minimize the deed. Nor did He release Judas from his choice. But He did look eye to eye with His betrayer and try to understand.

As long as you hate your enemy, a jail door is closed and a prisoner is taken. But when you try to understand and release your foe from your hatred, then the prisoner is released, and that prisoner is you.

Perhaps you don’t like that idea. Perhaps the thought of forgiveness is unrealistic. Perhaps the idea of trying to understand the Judases in our world is simply too gracious.

My response to you then is a question. What do you suggest? Will harboring the anger solve the problem? Will getting even remove the hurt? Does hatred do any good?

Again, I’m not minimizing your hurt or justifying their actions. But I am saying that justice won’t come this side of eternity. And demanding that your enemy get his or her share of pain will, in the process, be most painful to you.

May I gently but firmly remind you of something you know but may have forgotten?

Life is not fair.

That’s not pessimism; it’s fact. That’s not a complaint; it’s just the way things are. I don’t like it. Neither do you. We want life to be fair. Ever since the kid down the block got a bike and we didn’t, we’ve been saying the same thing, “That’s not fair.” But at some point someone needs to say to us, “Who ever told you life was going to be fair?” God didn’t. He didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles”… He said, “When you have many kinds of troubles…”

Troubles are part of the package. Betrayals are part of our troubles. Don’t be surprised when betrayals come. Don’t look for fairness here — look instead where Jesus looked.

Jesus looked to the future. Read His words: “In the future you will see the Son of Man coming.”

While going through hell, Jesus kept His eyes on Heaven.

While surrounded by enemies He kept His mind on His Father. While abandoned on earth, He kept His heart on home. “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”

“My Kingdom does not belong to this world,” Jesus told Pilate. “My Kingdom is from another place.”

Jesus took a long look into the homeland. Long enough to count His friends. “I could ask my Father and He would give me… twelve armies of angels.” And seeing them up there gave Him strength down here.

By the way, His friends are your friends. The Father’s loyalty to Jesus is the Father’s loyalty to you. When you feel betrayed, remember that. When you see the torches and feel the betrayer’s kiss, remember His words: “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”

When all of earth turns against you, all of Heaven turns toward you. To keep your balance in a crooked world, look at the mountains. Think of Home.

Excerpted from And the Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

It is hard for us to look at many things that happened to Jesus as if they happened to us and for us to respond in the way that Jesus did. But, the Father has promised every person that responds to the truth of the gospel and comes to faith in Jesus that He will make them like His Son. This too, is hard to believe, to see happening, as we so often fail to yield to the Spirit within us and do that which Jesus did. Let us trust our God, Father, Son, and Spirit to complete that which He has promised and look forward to our complete sanctification and becoming like Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 22, 2023

Notes of Faith February 22, 2023

How do we survive a culture drowning in a sea of lies?

Tim Moore: To help us navigate through all of the lies our culture has been throwing at us, we've asked Jeff Kinley of the Prophecy Pros Podcast to help us answer this question. Jeff understands the priority of prophecy in the Last Days and why Bible prophecy matters now more than ever.

Jeff Kinley: The Bible and truth matter now more than ever because we are swimming in an ocean of lies. Our culture is inundated with falsities. Our culture suffers from a great delusion in terms of what is real and true versus what is fake and a lie.

The Greek word for truth — alitheia — to the ancient Greeks equaled reality. So, to them, truth was something that was to be equated with what is real.

But, what we are doing now in our culture is redefining truth and reality. And so, because of that, we are departing far away from what the Bible defines as truth. Therefore, we need to calibrate people's minds back to the Scriptures which reveal God's truth.

Nathan Jones: If you've ever watched the TV show Stranger Things, it presents this alternative realm, what the characters call the Upside-Down. The Upside-Down is a mirror universe, though a very dark version of our own. Well, just in the last ten years or so, I feel like our society now lives in the Upside-Down, where evil is called good and good is called evil. Men can become women and women can become men. Men can now supposedly give birth. Oh, we are living in such crazy times!

Jeff, what's Satan's strategy behind this cultural shift into darkness?

Jeff Kinley: A couple of things. Number one, what we are experiencing is the cause-and-effect relationship due to mankind rejecting God. We can read about this in Romans 1 where the passage reveals that if we reject the truth of God as the Creator and His right to rule in our lives, then the Scripture says that our thoughts will become futile in our speculations and our hearts will become darkened. So, there's this natural cause and effect when it comes to rejecting the truth.

And, secondly, it has always been Satan's ambition to be worshipped. He wants to rule the world. All the way back to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan boasted about how he wanted to be worshipped. We know that he will accomplish much of that during the coming era of the Antichrist. In our day, we are living in an age of deception which will quickly devolve into Satan forcing people to accept his Antichrist through a strong delusion, one I believe that the world is currently just falling under.

Steeling our Minds

Tim Moore: How can we steel our minds to know exactly what truth is and so not fall into deception?

Jeff Kinley: We have to calibrate our understanding by God's truth. Truth and God are never separated. God's truth is a reflection of who He is and His perfect character.

So, when Christians say they really want to know God, and they wish to be connected to Him and be spiritually intimate with Him, they've first got to know God's truth. A clarion call needs to be made today in the Christian Church to get back into the Bible. Pulpits need to get back into the Bible. Christians need to get back into their Bibles.

According to Barna's research, only 14% of Christians are reading their Bibles every day. That's indicative of where we are as a Church. When you think about it, if we didn't eat every day, after a time we would become physically weak. Well, that is what is happening to us spiritually.

So, my advice would be, the number one thing we can do to avoid being deceived is to become an expert in the truth of the Bible. In that way, we can guard ourselves against the lies of our culture.

Nathan Jones: We discover the truth by reading our Bibles because our Bibles are inspired by the Holy Spirit as Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life," as John 14:6 describes.

Jeff Kinley: Absolutely! Discernment begins by reading the Bible. When we read the Bible, it reads us back. Go and study your Bible, because the deeper you dig, the more spiritual gold you are going to mine.

Encourage Each Other

Tim Moore: The prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles living in Babylon a message of encouragement. Likewise, how can we encourage believers in Christ to commit to the Word of God and the Christian worldview in this era of deception?

Jeff Kinley: One of the important things we have to do as Christians is to stay connected with one another. Hebrews 10:25 says, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Christians need to be encouraging each other. Sure, we can encourage our own hearts, for as King David in Psalm 130:5 said, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope." But, we also need the encouragement of others. Mutual encouragement goes a long way in living with hope during deceptive times.

It's also very encouraging to see other Christians taking a stand for Christ out there in the marketplace. They're living unapologetically for God, being bold, and being confident. Having a clear view of their own lives in Christ empowers the rest of us. It's almost like when you used to play sports. If you played with someone who performed a little bit better than you, that often made your game better. Being around Christians who are on fire for Christ can really up your A-game. Become that bold person. Be that kind of person who is living their A-game so that others will be attracted to Jesus Christ.

Tim Moore: As one of my favorite proverbs, Proverbs 27:17, concurs, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Nathan Jones: To summarize what you advise then, Jeff, Christians need to stay connected with other believers. We need to be an encouragement to others and also let them encourage us back. There are to be no "lone wolf" Christians, so we should not forsake assembling together in church and in Bible studies and other fellowship groups. In doing so, we can best survive a culture drowning in a sea of lies.

I know that there will be some who disagree with today’s notes of faith, but this world is drowning in a sea of lies, being told that it is truth! This will take those who swallow the world’s lies down a path that leads to destruction and separation from God and punishment for all eternity. I pray that is not the road you take and that you join me in praying for all following the ideologies that lead us away from God. Pray for one another, read your Bible daily, and pursue intimacy with God!

Pastor Dale