Notes of Faith October 18, 2023

Notes of Faith October 18, 2023

Sink Your Teeth into This

Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! — 1 Samuel 12:16 NIV

When you think about a shark, probably one of the first things you imagine is its teeth! More than 400 species of sharks are in the world, and they all have teeth! Lots and lots of them. That’s because they also lose lots and lots of those teeth... as they rip and tear into their prey. Yikes! Sharks would quickly starve without their teeth, so God gave them a unique teeth-replacement system.

Sharks’ teeth are arranged in rows in their mouths, one behind the other. Some sharks have “only” 5 rows of teeth, but others, like the bull shark, have 50 rows! These rows basically act like conveyor belts. When one tooth is lost, another tooth from the row behind it pushes forward to take its place.

God takes care of His people, sometimes in amazing, creative, and miraculous ways.

Be Amazed

Sharks are born with a full set of teeth, unlike humans, who are born toothless! Sharks’ teeth vary in shape, depending on the type of shark and what it eats. For example, the shortfin mako shark has razorlike teeth for tearing, while the zebra shark has flat teeth for crushing the shells of the mollusks it likes to eat.

Sharks aren’t the only creatures God takes care of in unique ways. He comes up with some pretty unusual ways to take care of His people too. Think about the Israelites who wandered and camped out in a desert-like wilderness for 40 years. Their shoes and clothes never wore out!

Then there was Elijah — God fed him by sending ravens carrying bread and meat. And the widow of Zarephath? Even in the middle of a terrible famine, her jars of oil and flour never ran out. What a miracle! Many more examples of God’s miraculous protection are in the Bible. The point of them all is that God takes care of His people, sometimes in amazing, creative, and miraculous ways. So you can always trust Him to take care of you. Just watch and see what creative ways He does it!

Lord God, You are amazing in all the different ways You take care of Your creation. Open my eyes to see how You take care of me.

Excerpted from Indescribable by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

1 Peter 5:6-8

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

God loves those created in His image so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 17, 2023

Notes of Faith October 17, 2023

The Hyphen We Call Home

Everyday Life in the Last Days

Article by Seth Porch

Guest Contributor

When you hear the word eschatology, do you feel its significance to your present life — I mean the people, responsibilities, and decisions before you today? Or do you (more likely) think of debates over when Jesus is coming back or whether we’ll be raptured? Do you even know what the word eschatology means?

Eschatology means “the study of the last things,” and this precious and relevant doctrine often gets relegated to the periphery of church life. I remember leading a Bible study through Revelation that routinely devolved into a debate between a couple of elderly saints over whether the rapture would be “pre-trib” or “mid-trib.” For some, eschatology conjures images of multiheaded beasts, the dissolution of stars and planets, or mountains swallowing people alive. Like the painting of a master hung on the wall, eschatology might invite animated discussion and yet seem to bear little consequence to work or marriage or rush-hour traffic.

The problem is that the portrait of the end times in the New Testament refuses to stay on the wall. Like the picture of the ship in C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when you look closely, the waves begin to move, the briny wind whips your hair, and before you know it you find yourself treading water in a cold and wild sea.

We can’t approach eschatology like Eustace Scrubb (the whiny, narrow-minded cousin in Lewis’s story) looks at his dead beetles: specimens pinned to cards for the purpose of mere analysis. The end of the ages has come barreling upon us; we live in the end times.

‘End of the Ages’

The New Testament persistently speaks of Christians as living in the end times near to the return of Christ. The author of Hebrews, for instance, says that “in these last days [God] has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:2). Likewise, the apostle Paul, recounting the punishments that fell on Israel for their sins, writes, “These things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). James writes, “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8).

First-century Christians understood they inhabited a new epoch of world history: the last of the ages. The end times burst upon the world when Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. And the next event in redemption’s sequence, as the Apostles’ Creed reminds us, is Christ’s return to judge the living and the dead.

Centuries have passed, but our basic situation hasn’t changed. Christians today still live in the unique age of history that some theologians have described as the “already–not yet.” Christ has already come; he has not yet come again. The hyphen between those comings has become our home. Moreover, the hyphen is not some motionless, undefined line without purpose or end but a vector, containing both magnitude (a predetermined length) and direction (a predetermined end). Like all history, God has ordered that little hyphen to a particular purpose. And thus, everything contained within that hyphen, even the most mundane moments, echoes with eternal weight and meaning.

Life Within a Shrinking Frame

The apostle Peter captures the weight and relevance of the hyphen in his second letter. There he reminds believers that many scoffers will not recognize the significance of the already–not yet life. Failing to understand that because creation had a beginning, so too it must have an end, they mockingly say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). Rejecting what God has clearly revealed, they live as though the world will continue as it has from the beginning, locked in an immanent frame with which God (let alone Jesus Christ) has little or nothing to do.

Thus, they give themselves to sinful desires, empty pursuits (2 Peter 3:3). Self-realization becomes all in all. Life consists of the possessions one owns. Happiness grows out of the fragile planters of career achievement or relational success. “Real living” shrinks to the size of weekends or vacations. And even for those who find satisfaction in their work, a certain meaninglessness dogs every step.

Not so for you Christians, says Peter. You recognize the space in which you live. You know the brevity that characterizes life and work on this earth. You know that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise” to return “as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9). You know that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar . . . and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10). You know the limited nature of the hyphen and its end. Jesus will return. Judgment will come. So, “what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11).

A friend recently told me about a youth pastor who ends youth gatherings with a simple creed: “Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” The purpose of that recitation is to train the youth how to live in the present. He wants them to understand that the immanent frame, the boxed-in natural world in which God plays no part and to which he won’t return, the motionless painting on the wall, is a delusion. There will come a day when “the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10). All the works of humankind will face judgment.

A Hyphen Changes Lives

This two-thousand-year hyphen changes how we spend our lives, awakening us to the preciousness and import of each moment. The regular routines of today, the tasks (big and small) that we’re required to complete for work, the multitude of interactions we will have with spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, classmates, coworkers, and strangers — every moment is an opportunity God has provided (planned, in fact, from the beginning) to show that we live for the glory of the one who will return. When we remember our beloved Master is coming back, we aim for faithfulness in every activity.

Christ’s coming provides us with necessary perspective as we deal with these everyday moments. The frustrations of rush hour — getting cut off by an errant motorist, another detour due to seasonal construction, an accident that adds ten minutes to your commute — are opportunities to remind yourself and show others that your clock is set to a heavenly time zone. An extra few minutes on the way to work is given by the God who owns all times. Will we squander it in frustration or put it to use in prayer?

Likewise, the work you do each day bears great significance. Your vocation may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of world history, yet the one who planned the end from the beginning included your labors in the blueprints for this day. And in some small way, these labors can become part of hastening the return of Christ. Whether your work today means changing yet another diaper, crunching numbers in a spreadsheet, or serving the needs of an ailing stranger, remembering that it fits into God’s eternal purpose guards us from the despairing thought that none of it really matters in eternity. Rather, because Christ rose and will return, “in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Eschatology also matters for our relationships. Each interaction you have with spouse or children or others is an interaction with an immortal being whose existence is eschatologically shaped. The passing remarks and small jests, the serious conversations, the tender or harsh tones, the kind or disparaging looks — in every instance we are, as Lewis reminds us, helping others toward either the new heaven and earth, where righteousness will dwell, or the lake of fire, reserved for the devil, his angels, and all who reject the love and reign of Christ (The Weight of Glory, 45–46).

The day of God is coming, says Peter, so “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish” (2 Peter 3:14). Strive in his strength to walk in holiness and godliness as you order your life toward his glory in these last days.

Magic Beneath This Life

The study of the end times bears heavily on the here and now, precisely because the end times are not some future age to come but the very real present. Every moment of daily life, every drawn breath, every word and act takes place within a realm, so to speak, of magic.

The Eustaces of the world cannot see this for they’ve become enthralled by the events, inventions, and busyness of a God-less world. To them, the picture on the wall of life between the advents of Christ is just that, a picture and nothing more. The challenge for Christians is to not succumb to such blinded ways of thinking but to remember that the picture, if you look closely, is more real and expansive than what we see.

If you have not read these C. S. Lewis books you should consider doing so. They are a great work of fiction with spiritual truth all throughout them. We ARE living in the last days. We must be aware of the closeness of the return of Jesus. We need to be prepared and we need to live preparing others for His return. That means we must be true followers of Jesus, having received by His grace, through His gift of faith, a salvation that is eternal. This is what we are to speak to the world…the truth of Jesus return, and that they too can be saved from eternal condemnation and judgment. Even the worst of the world that we are watching right now were created in the image and glory of God and need His grace and mercy that they might be saved. Let us pray for all people and not leave out those who appear to us as a lost cause, for God can and will save all that He chooses to draw to Himself! Live the hyphen of life, knowing Jesus return could be very soon!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 16, 2023

Notes of Faith October 16, 2023

How Great Thou Art

The Faith of Elvis

Why do larger-than-life people like Elvis do what they do?

Why do they go through the difficult process of trying to build a career? Why live with the unpredictability of fame and success on a large scale? Why put yourself out there so people can criticize your every move? Why try to reinvent yourself every decade or so?

Every artist has their own answers. Elvis loved music. He loved the audiences. He loved performing. He loved his fans. He loved the opportunity to help others because he was in a privileged position.

But there was one overriding reason he did what he did.

Elvis was a man on a mission.

It wasn’t about having a career or creating the next album, concert, or movie gig. He saw what he did as a spiritual calling.

The apostle Paul had a mission too. He laid it out in Romans 1:14–17:

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Paul preached the gospel from every imaginable place in the ancient world. Sometimes his “stage” was a Jewish synagogue, a prison cell, a ship, or even Mars Hill in the city of Athens. Elvis shared the same mission of spreading God’s love. But he chose to share it through music.

Elvis started doing live concerts again after his 1968 TV special on NBC (the ’68 Comeback Special). That whole experience was an experiment to see if crowds would still respond to Elvis. And indeed they did! Soon afterward, Elvis booked a residency at the new Hilton in Las Vegas. He interspersed these residencies with concert tours around the country.

In 1973, Elvis performed his famous Aloha from Hawaii TV special and included “How Great Thou Art” in the set list. This was his way of showing he was a true believer.

He recognized that his ministry was his music. It was the only way he knew to get his message out.

Evangelism has always been challenging for people of faith. Even in the earliest days of the church, not every person who heard the gospel became a believer. Nothing had changed in nearly two thousand years — some believed, and some wouldn’t. Elvis knew he had a much better shot at sharing God’s love through the art form of music.

Why music? Music touches the heart directly. It goes straight to the emotions and moves people in a way that a sermon or lesson never could. Elvis was committed to using this powerful tool to reach as many people as possible.

Elvis recognized that his ministry was his music. It was the only way he knew to get his message out.

Elvis also wanted to avoid the judgmental attitudes he saw in so much of the Christian world.

It’s hard to step on anyone’s toes or cast a judgmental attitude when you’re singing about God’s love and grace.

His job was to put the message out there. His audience’s job was to decide to either accept or reject the message. The funny thing is that it was probably pretty hard for a nonbeliever to reject the message of God’s love when they saw how much the gospel moved Elvis.

There was something different about him when he sang gospel songs. The gospel message had changed him. He wanted the same change for his audience. When you let God in, something miraculous happens in your heart.

Or as Elvis would say, “That’s God knocking on your door. Are you going to answer it?”

Although Elvis recorded numerous albums of gospel music, he didn’t see the gospel message as only contained within traditional gospel songs. A lot of the songs he used were not gospel songs, but they contained a message of inspiration, encouragement, or spirituality. Songs such as “Why Me, Lord?” and “You Gave Me a Mountain” all contained important messages Elvis wanted to share. If you listen to them with an open heart and an open ear, you’ll see these songs are talking about faith.

Elvis has sometimes been criticized for not writing his own songs. Many other artists of his era — indeed, most of the popular ones — wrote many if not all of their own music. Elvis’s main gift was not in writing songs, but in recognizing and selecting amazing songs that aligned with his worldview and message. Then he would put his own spin on them, adding something special and unique in the process.

For example, his rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Water” is very different from the original. Yet the message is the same: the singer is telling the listener to give him their troubles and woes. He will lay himself down to be their bridge so they can make it across in a time of trouble.

If you take a moment to listen to Elvis’s version, it is obvious he wasn’t faking it. He meant every word. He wanted to be like Jesus, getting people through a hard situation. His whole life was focused on helping people and sharing love. It was the perfect song for him.

These kinds of songs were not straight-up gospel songs. They were not necessarily written from a Christian viewpoint. However, Elvis turned them around and used them to express his love and faith. He wanted to get people focused on the Lord. Sometimes you have to do that in indirect ways.

Gospel wasn’t just a style of music Elvis incorporated into his concerts or used to fulfill his recording contracts. It was also his heart language and a way to unwind after the emotional high of a concert.

When Elvis came off the stage, he would be so wound up with energy that it was impossible to turn it off. He never gave a half-hearted performance. Even if he felt something could be musically a little better, or he was unhappy with some small aspect of a concert, he never gave anything less than 100 percent of his energy.

Giving out all this energy affected him. You would think he would be exhausted, but it was the exact opposite. All the love and affection he had just put out to the audience was now coming back to him, and it filled him.

The only way he knew how to come down from this high was to sing gospel. Elvis would gather with some people in his hotel suite, usually with the gospel quartet that accompanied him onstage, and one of the guys from the band would sit down at the piano and get started. Because Elvis would be there for weeks at a time, he would have the hotel bring in a piano during his stay there. Elvis was bringing in a massive amount of money for them, so they would do whatever he asked.

They would sing gospel songs until the sun came up or until Elvis said, “I’m ready to go to bed.” They would sit up there for hours, and people would come up after the show. It was almost like a second concert. After the midnight show, Elvis would invite people up and they would go on for hours. People would stand around and listen or they would mingle in the suite.

One of the songs I heard frequently in these post-concert settings was “Lighthouse.” In an unusual move, Elvis chose not to be the main singer. He did add some vocals, but his background vocalist Donnie Sumner sang the lead. If you watch the documentary Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, you’ll see Elvis and the group singing “Lighthouse.”

There is a fascinating story from 1 Samuel 16 that tells how King Saul was being tormented by an evil spirit the Lord had allowed to come upon him. Unbeknownst to Saul, young David had been anointed as the next king, and it was only a matter of time before he would replace Saul.

Ironically, David was also in the service of King Saul. One of Saul’s servants had heard about David’s ability to play the lyre and had recruited David to perform for the king. First Samuel 16:23 says,

Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

This story reminds me of the power of music to soothe and comfort in all kinds of circumstances. For Elvis, gospel music played much the same role. He took refuge and found comfort in this sacred music, long after the lights of the stage had faded and into the wee hours of the morning.

Excerpted from The Faith of Elvis by Billy Stanley, copyright Billy Stanley.

Music has always stirred my soul. God used it to bless me and draw me to Himself and allow me to use it in ministry for most of my life. I pray that music that teaches the truth of God will bless you every time you hear it. I will close this note as it began…

How Great Thou Art!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 15, 2023

Notes of Faith October 15, 2023

I Can’t but God Can

My first car — an old Buick Century — was the “Sport Coupe” model. It said so right under the spoiler. Or it had before the accident. The guy who’d fixed it painted “Turbo Coupe” instead of “Sport Coupe.” Whaaa? My Sport Coupe was now a Turbo Coupe? Yes!! A Turbo Coupe had a turbocharged engine! Way. More. Power.

Despite what it said on the back of my car, my Buick Century did not really have more power.

Because willpower doesn’t work, you and I really require more power. We can think we’re a Turbo Coupe, but we’re still just a Sport Coupe.

Paul’s Need for God’s Power

Paul knew he needed more power. That’s why he asked in Romans 7:24,

Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? — NLT

That is the question we all need to answer.

But Paul answered his own question with his next sentence in verse 25:

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. — NLT

Paul understood, I can’t get myself unstuck, so I need a power I don’t possess. The power he found was Jesus. Paul discovered, I can’t. But God can.

Discovering that same truth transformed my life.

My Need for God’s Power

I finally realized I couldn’t do what I couldn’t do because I was trying in my power. Then I learned how to turn to God and access His power. It worked. He worked! I could do what I couldn’t do — by His power. I could stop doing what I couldn’t stop doing — by His power.

“Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It was all God. God’s power.

The good news is that the same power that helped Paul and helped me is available to you. Actually, this is more accurate: the same power that got Jesus out of a grave, resurrected from death to life, is available to you.

When we’re at our worst, God’s love is at its best.

Your Need for God’s Power

Let’s look at something Paul wrote in another of his letters:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. — Ephesians 2:1

Wow. The reality is, we don’t just feel stuck, we are stuck. Worse than stuck, we are dead.

Have you noticed dead people don’t have a lot of power? Ask a dead person to help you carry a heavy box or arm wrestle. Not gonna happen. Dead people don’t have a lot of power. And we are dead. Powerless.

That’s discouraging. But Paul provided some hope-inducing truth.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. — Ephesians 1:19–20 NLT

The same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available to you!

If you feel dead in some area of your life, you don’t need to stay dead. Why? Because resurrection power is available to you. If you feel stuck, you don’t need to stay stuck. Think about it. If God can get Jesus unstuck from death in a grave, He can certainly get you unstuck.

In the next chapter of Ephesians, Paul wrote,

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) — Ephesians 2:4–5 NLT).

There are several Bible passages, like this one, that describe how we’ve messed things up and gotten stuck. Reading them, you can start to feel depressed, but then this amazing word appears — “but.”

But God

You’ve probably never been thankful for God’s “but.” But you should. Because when God puts His “but” into your situation, it changes everything.

What was is no longer what is because “but God.”

What’s behind you is not what’s ahead of you because “but God.”

Your past doesn’t have to be your future because “but God.”

We were dead, “but God” gave us life, new life, in Jesus. Why?

Because God is “rich in mercy” and “loved us so much.”

Paul then described God’s grace. Grace means to get the opposite of what you deserve. God loves us in spite of us, not because of us. He loves us not because of what we do but because of who He is.

When we’re at our worst, God’s love is at its best.

Paul wrote that because of God’s grace, you have been “saved.” Saved is a verb. You can write a verb in past, present, future, or perfect tense.

Past tense speaks of something that has already happened.

Present tense describes something happening right now.

Future tense refers to something that will happen eventually but hasn’t yet.

Perfect tense speaks of something that has happened in the past, is still happening in the present, and will continue in the future. It draws attention to the continuing effects of something that has happened in the past.

Paul wrote “saved” in perfect tense! You were saved by God’s grace in the past, but the effect is still happening. His grace is always going to impact your life. God will continue giving you new life in your dead places until his work is complete in you.

You never have to feel defeated.

You can never give up.

Because God didn’t just save you. He saves you. He is constantly saving you.

You can’t, but God can. And God will, if you turn to His power.

Adapted from The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most by Craig Groeschel.

It is so wonderful living a blessed life by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. God has always known you, is watching over you, and compassionately caring and providing for your life. Life has a way of making us miserable…but God!

Some of the best words in the Bible…but God! We need to be aware of things outside of our struggles and trials, because God is there is the midst of them with us. Look for His loving hand and grasp it, trusting that He will hold you and never let go!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 14, 2023

Notes of Faith October 14, 2023

Words: What We Say Matters

What you say can mean life or death. Those who speak with care will be rewarded. — Proverbs 18:21 NCV

Words are powerful.

If we believe the Word of God, we know that the tongue can bring life or death. If we listen to our parental figures, we know that certain words aren’t allowed in our homes. If we listen to therapists, we know that our language can change everything. The words we choose to put after I am are very powerful. They are the difference between hard days and brighter days. They can fuel our anxiety, or they can help us cope with our anxiety. We have also talked about self-compassion and how to talk to ourselves the way we’d talk to someone we love.

Another shift in language that has helped me is to name what I am struggling with.

How often do we say something like, “I’m bad at _________.”

I am sure you’ve even heard adults in your life say it. Today I want you to shift that language to, “I struggle with _______.” Then if you want to take it even further, end it with, “I am doing _________ to improve.” When we shift our language, we empower ourselves to make changes that move us forward in our healing.

What is the last thing you said you were bad at? Rewrite that into an “I struggle with” statement followed by what you are learning and doing to improve.

I struggle with ___________________________________________________. I am doing _____________________________________________to improve.

Self-compassion means speaking to yourself the way you would speak to someone you love.

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. — Proverbs 16:24 ESV

How do you talk to yourself? Do you use kind words filled with grace? Oftentimes, when I ask people of all ages this question, the quick response is no! My follow-up question is, “Would you speak to someone you love the way you speak to yourself? Would you talk to your parents, siblings, and best friends the way you talk to yourself?”

When you are struggling with anxiety, it can feel really hard to not shame, judge, blame, criticize, and berate yourself. Here’s the thing though: just like today’s verse says, all the yelling and shaming you do to yourself is only making your anxiety worse. All the self-inflicted yelling and shaming does not make you a better person or create improvement. Change can’t happen in shame and judgment because shame and judgment are disconnection. Change and healing only happen in connection — even connection with ourselves. This, my friend, is called self-compassion.

Self-compassion means speaking to yourself the way you would speak to someone you love. When speaking, you choose words that are sweet as honey because they will bring healing to hearts, souls, and bodies.

Think of someone you really care about who is going through a tough time right now. Write a short letter of support to them, just a couple of sentences. Now read it as if it were sent to you. This is self-compassion.

Excerpted from 100 Devotions for Kids Dealing with Anxiety by Justine Froelker, copyright Zondervan.

We all have anxious moments or days if we are willing to admit it. Our faith and trust in God is weak and failing. But He is faithful to draw us close in time of need and give us exactly what we need. Most of the time we just need a huge dose of being close to God…to spend time with Him, to be in His Word. This will bring us the comfort and strength we need to be healed from many infirmities. May you take time today to spend alone with God, be less anxious, be compassionate to yourself, love the way God made you. You are created in His image and a representative of His character. Love God. Love others…including yourself!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 13, 2023

Notes of Faith October 13, 2023

God Is Awesome: Take Off Your Shoes

When we see Jesus as Commander of the army of the Lord, [it is our job] to fall on our faces before Him and worship — that is, to confess the self-will, self-effort, and self-glory that have dominated us and deeply surrender to Him as our Commander, and be willing for Him to make the decisions, give the orders, and be the doer of the work... We cannot be too low at His feet if He is to cause the walls of our Jericho to fall. He will have no difficulty with those walls if He can get us to fall first. ~ Roy Hession

During my college years, I didn’t have a lot of spiritual support on my faith journey. I wandered into the ways of the world and then back toward the heart of God again. One morning in my dorm room, I repented and cried out to God. I spent time in His Word and sensed His great love for me. Joy returned to my soul. I went to class unaware of what God was about to do that day. For starters, I met a couple of classmates — identical twins. Dark hair. Bright countenances. And such sweet dispositions. I noticed they kept looking my way during class. I smiled, gave them a nod, and returned my attention to our instructor.

Right in the middle of the lecture, one of the sisters leaned over and said, “There’s something different about you. You have so much joy. Will you tell us why you have joy?”

I whispered back, “I’d love to talk with you more. Let’s meet after class.” I followed these girls to their dorm room and told them about Jesus. Their hearts were so tender and receptive that they were instantly in awe of God. One of them got up abruptly and said, “Be right back!”

Within minutes, she grabbed a few friends and dragged them back into our conversation. I introduced my new friends to Jesus, and they wholeheartedly accepted Him. Over the next few weeks we hosted more gatherings with the girls on their dorm floor. They asked questions, and I did my best to answer them. Their hunger for God activated a faith that I’d almost neglected.

One day while crammed in a van with a bunch of other college students on our way home for the weekend, I curled up with a book by Watchman Nee. I don’t recall the title, but I do remember what happened. I went from being half involved with the surrounding conversations and partially attuned to what I was reading to suddenly focusing on the words on the page. At that moment I had an encounter with God unlike anything I’d ever experienced up to that point. His Spirit drew near, and I could not hide from Him. Like a movie reel, I saw my life’s story unwind before me. I saw my life in fast motion, one deed after another, and the motivations that fueled my actions.

A consistent theme ran throughout my life. Everything I’d done — good, bad, and otherwise — was to rescue my sense of self-worth. Most of my good deeds were to prove myself. Most sinful indulgences were to escape from myself.

Though God can and did redeem every aspect of my story, all my strivings were wasted efforts.

I’d misused my time, treasure, and talents to prove something that Jesus had already done, had already won. I didn’t know any better then. But I did now. In that van I came face-to-face with the truth about my depravity and the power of God’s holy standard for me. There’d be no dabbling in this walk of faith. God was not one to be trifled with. He wasn’t messing around. I couldn’t escape Him.

I gasped. I trembled. I covered my mouth with my hands, and tears escaped my eyes.

Friends asked if I was okay, and I could only shake my head. I couldn’t speak. I dared not justify my ways. I was guilty of selfish, self-preserving efforts. Though I had reason to be painfully insecure, I learned that insecurity is just another form of selfishness. Self-preservation and Kingdom life are entirely incompatible.

When we recall and rehearse God’s faithfulness in the past, we more clearly discern His goodness in the present.

To live out of a lie is to perpetuate more lies. God had drawn near. I felt no condemnation, but I was absolutely undone with conviction. To place the reel of my life up against the backdrop of God’s majesty and holiness left me breathless. I was a believer at this point, yet for some reason I was still trying to save myself. I didn’t understand the potent power of the gospel. My efforts were worthless. My God was holy. If I could have gone facedown in the van, I would have. For the next three days I barely said a word. I didn’t want to interrupt the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit at work in me.

Looking back over the years that I’ve followed the Messiah, I can now see how intimately He’s been involved in my life.

Even during those seasons when God seemed silent and life was just a daily grind, Jesus led, interceded, guarded, and guided my way — all while I was unaware.

He put the right people in my path at just the right time. He prompted me to turn right when I would have turned left. He nudged me to make a phone call when I was headed for the ditch of despair. He introduced a new friend when I needed a fresh perspective. He played a song that inspired faith in the middle of my doubts. He put dreams in my heart and dared me to agree with Him. He gave me insight into intercession and invited me to join Him. He gave me opportunities to forgive, trust, and release my cares to Him, knowing how these processes would transform me and tether my heart to His.

Ever and always, God allows enough challenges to keep us dependent, enough goodness to keep us encouraged, and enough grace to sustain us.

Though I lived through plenty of seasons with a broken heart, wishing things were different than they were, I never lacked any of what I needed. God has always been faithful, always guided, always provided.

Life on earth is hard. But we serve an awesome God.

I don’t want to miss Him because I can’t always sense His nearness. Our lives burst with evidence that God is at work in our story. He charged the Israelites not to forget about His faithfulness.

When we forget, we wander. When we recall and rehearse God’s faithfulness in the past, we more clearly discern His goodness in the present.

Remembering is stewardship. Recalling is wisdom. Rehearsing is nourishment for our souls.

And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.” But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.1

It’s good for our hearts to go back and recall the times when God invaded our everyday existence with tangible expressions of His love and power. Times when He allowed us a peek into the eternal realm in a way that totally shifted our perspective and deepened our assurance that God was near, God cared, and God was moving in our midst.

We are all messed up like a person compromised with impurity;

even all our right efforts are like soiled rags. We’re drying up like a leaf in autumn and are blown away by wrongdoing. — Isaiah 64:6 The Voice

Such moments in my life have left me speechless with awe and wonder. After walking with God for decades, I know this to be true: He’s more present than I can comprehend and more powerful than I ever imagined.

Spending time this morning pondering my history with God reminds me that my present bursts with His power and my future is bright with hope.

I encourage you to take a trip down memory lane as well. It’ll do wonders for your soul.

Ps 77:10-14

10 Then I said, "It is my grief,

That the right hand of the Most High has changed."

11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

12 I will meditate on all Your work

And muse on Your deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy;

What god is great like our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

You have made known Your strength among the peoples.

Excerpted from Closer Than Your Next Breath by Susie Larson, copyright Susie Larson.

This is how I want to know God, to relate to God…closer and closer still. This is true life, living daily with a holy God, doing His will, pleasing Him in all things, filled with joy and peace!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 12, 2023

Notes of Faith October 12, 2023

What a Beautiful Name: Worship through Grief

Most of us know Anne Wilson from her powerful worship music. Songs like “My Jesus” and “Something About That Name” have led us to raise our hands and praise Jesus together no matter what we are going through. In her new book My Jesus, Anne shares her journey through suffering and tragedy after the loss of her brother and how their family chose to worship Jesus in the midst of their grief.

I stood from my seat on the front pew and began to walk to the piano onstage. I took one slow step after another up the red-carpeted stairs, a shaky nervousness filling my body. It was the same sensation I’d felt for days, only magnified. I reached the piano and turned to look out across the sea of faces in the crowd. Friends and family members looked back at me with tears in their eyes. Had I not been feeling such a dark sense of loss, I would have been thrilled to see so many loved ones gathered in such a majestic place. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t appreciate the beauty of it. I was overwhelmed by both the ache of goodbye and seeing hundreds of people staring at me. A few friends gave me encouraging nods as I took a seat. It was time to worship my Jesus.

I took a deep breath and smoothed my dress to calm my shaking hands. I was about to sing for the first time in front of twelve hundred people. Would I even be able to make it through? Would my hands stop shaking enough to let me play?

As I gently placed my fingers on the keys, I looked up to God for a brief second, imploring Him for help. At that very moment, God removed every nervous feeling from my body. The fear and worry were gone. I looked at my fingers and saw steadiness — the shaking was gone. Thank You, God! With a heart suddenly at peace, I took in a deep breath and prepared to sing.

As Carson, Hayes, and I began to play the intro to the song, I heard God’s voice again. His words, interjected at such a pivotal moment, would change my life completely:

Anne. This is what I’m calling you to do. I’m calling you to praise and worship My name.

I had no doubt the voice was the Lord’s. I will never forget those words.

I have called you to a life of worship.

With a confidence that could only come from God’s Spirit, I began to play and sing “What a Beautiful Name,” a song that magnifies the powerful, wonderful name of Jesus. The song speaks of His longing for us to join Him in heaven and tells of His victory over death and the grave. The song was a cool drink of water to my parched soul, and I prayed it was the same for everyone who heard it that day.

That day, I sang for Jacob, and I sang to worship my Jesus. Without tears, without stopping, and without breaking down, I offered my song for them both. The ability to sing such powerful words at such a sorrowful time without breaking down was only possible through God’s strength and His Spirit. Now, more than ever, my family and I wanted to praise the name of Jesus. We all realized in a terrible and wonderful way how short life really is and how it can change in an instant. We longed to tell the world of the hope found in Jesus’ beautiful name. I knew that was what Jacob would want too.

I lifted my fingers from the keys as the final notes of my song rang throughout the sanctuary. I exhaled a deep sigh of relief. The faces I had just feared were smiling at me through tears. Many held tissues to their eyes.

As I returned to my seat, God impressed another thing on my heart: I would never be an astronaut. I have called you to a life of worship through music, He said. I could never have imagined that God would speak to me about my future at such a moment, and even less that He would call me to a life of music. But somehow, I just believed Him. In that moment, I had no doubt the Lord would fulfill this calling on my life. I knew that meant I wasn’t going to be an astronaut, and I was okay with that knowledge. In the aftermath of losing Jacob, the dream of being an astronaut didn’t seem important anymore. With Jacob in heaven and a huge hole in my heart, I barely had a will to live, much less to pursue the dream of going to space. I did not feel even an ounce of grief at the thought of leaving that childhood dream behind. I actually felt peace. The desire to go to space was simply gone.

Losing Jacob changed everything, including my dreams for my life. I now knew I would have a future in music, worshiping and praising the name of Jesus. God must have given me a gift of faith to accept such a sudden change in direction and believe that He would fulfill that calling. I had no idea how or when His new plan for me would happen or what that calling would entail.

I just knew it would be. Someday. Because God said so, and I believed Him.

Excerpted from My Jesus by Anne Wilson, copyright Anne Wilson.

Having faith to believe in Jesus can only happen through a gift from God. Having faith to trust God for life’s career is difficult to trust and believe also. But God… some of my favorite words in the Bible…but God shows Anne, and you and me exactly what He wants us to do, and gives us the gifts, power, and authority to do that which He has called us to do. And through the work of life we worship and praise the God who calls and gives us those abilities as an offering back to Him.

1 Cor 10:31-32

whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 11, 2023

Notes of Faith October 11, 2023

Patience: Our Strength in the Waiting

Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. ~ David McCullough, Jr.

Watch the Cookies Bake

But the fruit of the Spirit is... patience. — Galatians 5:22

Patience is my least favorite word in the English language. If you were to ask anyone in my family or someone who works with me, most likely they would acknowledge that while I have gifts and have worked hard to develop the fruit of the Spirit, patience is the one thing that still feels like it’s in embryonic form. I feel sure somewhere in my spirit this seed is just waiting to sprout, but I know from the times when my patience has been tested that it has yet to come into full bloom.

It’s not because I haven’t fertilized it and watered it faithfully, because I have. For years. With the Word and in everyday situations I face. When I’m stuck in traffic. When I’m waiting because my flight has been delayed — again. When I’m waiting in the car in the driveway for the girls to come get in. We’ve all been there, right? Still, it remains a struggle. Even when I do something as basic as baking cookies, my lack of patience can get the best of me — and the cookies.

I’m so grateful that God is patient.

To this day, when my girls smell cookies baking, they come rushing to the kitchen because they know I’m going to do one of two things. I’m either going to pull them out too soon because I’ve got things to do and I can’t stand waiting one more minute on them, or I’m going to wander off and start doing something else I need to do and completely forget about them. So I specialize in either cookies that are the equivalent of warm dough or ones that are more than well done, perhaps with some burned edges as a bonus. Suffice it to say, it’s best that I leave the cookie-baking to Catherine and Sophia. I have good intentions but not enough patience.

What about you? What are the things that try your patience? What stretches you to grow more of this fruit of the Spirit in your life? I’ll admit that my first thought every time my patience is tried is not to grow and develop more fruit, but overall I have grown significantly through the years of my life. And I have used many a trying moment as an opportunity to change.

I’m so grateful that God is patient, and He is patient with me as He keeps working on this.

He’s patient with you too. As you move through your day and things start to try your patience, recognize it as an opportunity to develop more of the fruit God wants to grow in you. Recognize it as another way you build endurance so you can keep moving forward full of vitality and strength, fulfilling all that God’s called you to do. Even if it’s something as simple as watching the cookies bake until they are just right.

Heavenly Father, please help me in the everyday moments when my patience is tried. Help me recognize the opportunity to develop more of this fruit of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted from You’re Not Finished Yet by Christine Caine, copyright Caso Writing, LLC.

PBPWMGIFWMY – This is not just running your fingers along they keyboard but something I saw on a t-shirt and laughed and enjoyed it.

Please Be Patient With Me, God Isn’t Finished With Me Yet.

Maybe not the greatest way to announce your imperfections but still a bit funny. Also, a way to remind yourself that God is working, making you more like Jesus every day. He promises to do that in His Word and is faithful, even with the hard things, like PATIENCE!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 10, 2023

Notes of Faith October 10, 2023

Wild About You: Wounds

About HER

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. — Psalm 25:16

To do any sort of justice to a book for women would require me (John) to go deeper, listen even more carefully, study, delve into the mystery (okay, mess) of a woman’s soul. Part of me didn’t want to go there. Pull back. Withdraw. I was keenly aware of this going on inside me, and I felt like a jerk. But I also knew enough about myself and about the battle for a woman’s heart that I needed to explore this ambivalence.

What is this thing in me — and in most men — that doesn’t want to go deep into a woman’s world?

“You are too much. It’s too much work. Men are simpler. Easier.” And isn’t that the message you’ve lived with all your life as a woman? “You’re too much, and not enough. You’re just not worth the effort.” Now, part of a man’s fundamental reluctance to truly dive into the world of a woman comes from a man’s deepest fear: failure. He fears that having delved into his woman’s world, he won’t have what it takes to help her there. That is his sin. That is his cowardice. And because of her shame, most of the time a man gets away with it.

Most marriages reach this sort of unspoken settlement. “I’m not coming any closer. This is as far as I’m willing to go. But I won’t leave, and that ought to make you happy.” And so there is this sort of détente, a cordial agreement to live only so close. The effect is that most women feel alone.

Lord Jesus, you know the ways in which I feel alone. Give my husband courage to come near, even as I draw near to you.

God is fiercely committed to you.

About HIM

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. — Psalm 109:22

For most of us, our wounds are an immense source of shame.

A man’s not supposed to get hurt; he’s certainly not supposed to let it really matter. And so most men minimize their wounds. King David (a guy who was hardly a pushover) didn’t act like that at all. “I am poor and needy,” he confessed openly, “and my heart is wounded within me” (Psalm 109:22). Or perhaps men will admit it happened, but deny it was a wound because they deserved it.

After many months of counseling, I asked Dave a simple question: “What would it take to convince you that you are a man?” “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing can convince me.” We sat in silence as tears ran down my cheeks. He had embraced the wound and owned its message as final. There was no sign of emotion at all. I went home and wept — for Dave, and for so many other men I know, and for myself because I realized that I, too, had embraced my wound.

The only thing more tragic than the tragedy that happens to us is the way we handle it.

God is fiercely committed to you, to the restoration and release of your masculine heart. But a wound that goes unacknowledged and unwept is a wound that cannot heal. A wound you’ve embraced is a wound that cannot heal. A wound you think you deserved is a wound that cannot heal.

God, give me the courage to acknowledge my wound so that I might heal. I trust you to restore me and release my masculine heart.

Excerpted from Wild About You by John & Stasi Eldredge, copyright John Eldredge and Stasi Eldredge.

God made man and woman for each other, to compliment and complete one another. Though men seem to struggle understanding their spouse, it is more likely that we are more concerned about ourselves than we are in understanding our spouse. God gave us the greatest gift in a woman to spend our lives with. We need to thank God daily, pray for her, love her, expecting her to be different than ourselves but blessed by God to be a blessing to us! Give thanks, again and again!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 9, 2023

Notes of Faith October 9, 2023

Know Your Enemy

Daniel Maritz’ 90-day devotional for men, Bold Pursuit, will help you (or the men in your life) build a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. — 1 Peter 5:8

If you’ve ever played sports, you know the importance of a scouting report. Knowing what an opponent is likely to do helps you prepare a successful game plan. In warfare, where the stakes are much higher, spies risk their lives to provide intelligence on an enemy’s plans.

Peter gave reborn Christians a scouting report on our enemy in the passage above.

Giving us key intelligence about Satan is one way God equips us for spiritual battle.

Paul warned that Satan tries to take advantage of people. But then Paul said,

We are not ignorant of his schemes. — 2 Corinthians 2:11

Lying is the key to Satan’s designs. Jesus said, “There is no truth in him,” and He called Satan “the father of lies” (John 8:44). His lies can have a devastating impact on people’s lives — now and forever. Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). That’s why it’s important for believers to counter Satan’s lies with the truth of the gospel.

Satan uses people, including those closest to us, to distract us from God’s will. He even tried to do this with Jesus. When Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed and then raised from the dead on the third day,

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s’. — Matthew 16:22–23

Giving us key intelligence about Satan is one way God equips us for spiritual battle.

Satan sends demons to trouble us and steal our peace and joy. Paul wrote,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. — Ephesians 6:12

Satan is a dangerous enemy, but he is no match for God. He is a created being. He can do only what God allows him to, as we see in the story of Job (Job 2:6). James gave us the secret to overcoming our powerful, but limited, enemy:

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. — James 4:7

God can use Satan’s attacks to make us stronger and wiser, and bring us closer to Him. Paul said,

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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. — Romans 8:38–39

The more we resist the devil and his strategies, the closer we grow to God.

DIG DEEP

The more you resist Satan, the less influence he has over your life. Ask yourself the following questions and answer them truthfully:

What does resisting the devil look like in your life?

How might God use Satan’s attacks to strengthen you and bring you closer to Him?

Excerpted from Bold Pursuit by Daniel Maritz, copyright Daniel Maritz.

We are designed for relationship with God, our Creator and Sustainer. Satan, on the other hand, wants to keep us from relationship with God, distracting and tempting us with created things, to desire, pursue, even worship. Satan, and his ideology, are our enemy, seeking to keep us from God who loves us. Let us recognize his evil and flee from his attempts to keep us from the true love of our life, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Pastor Dale