Notes of Faith March 7, 2024

Notes of Faith March 7, 2024

The Story Under Our Skin

John Calvin said, “Our wisdom . . . consists almost entirely of two parts: knowledge of God and of ourselves.”1

We can have the same conversation with God, much like we have the same argument with our spouses, over and over and over again. Rewind, repeat. And often we name this “stuck,” as if God isn’t responsive or we’re not creative enough to capture His attention. But what if there is a third way?

Paying attention. I take time to notice myself. I notice the fog, rather than pushing through it. I pause to observe — without evaluation and strategy, but simply to understand what might be happening below the surface so that I can bring that understanding into my conversation with God. Paul says in Ephesians 4:22–24,

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and... be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and... put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. — ESV

At fifteen, I thought following God and putting off my old self meant drinking soda at parties, not alcohol, and “staying pure.” I stopped cussing and felt guilty when I tried cigarettes to look cool. Behavioral changes. Clearly I missed the full perspective of this verse, but I wonder whether you, like me, sometimes ask yourself what you’re putting off or putting on. Perhaps these verses are an invitation to pause, consider, notice: What is old in me, God, and what is the new You want me to wear?

I often find myself frustrated with the dated parts of my home and my unkempt closets, imagining my friend’s updated floor plan and organizing system. Without a minute or five to consider what’s leading to my grumpiness after we gather in her home and I catch a glimpse of that closet, I’m spending my Saturday cleaning closets and tearing pictures out of the Restoration Hardware catalog for a dream board.

But with those three or five minutes and a quiet space and some practice at looking a little bit deeper, I see that I feel overwhelmed with our chaos and wishful that I could return to days when decorating could be a priority.

I have something to put off. And I have something to put on.

I have something to put off.

And I have something to put on.

But it’s not about setting aside a beer can for sparkling water (or even the Restoration Hardware catalog for my Bible). It’s about what’s on the inside.

Recently I heard a woman described as “impressive.” She could lead a room. She had a quick wit and sharp intelligence. In her young life, she had accomplished much and seemed to continue accomplishing much. She worked late into the night and won the attention of clients and prospective clients because of her willingness to go the extra mile, no matter the cost. More than that, she loved God and prayed with power.

But I’d seen behind the scenes. I’d seen the dark circles under her eyes and her nervous habits. I knew she felt frayed as a mom, not enough as a wife, a failure as a friend. She wasn’t pleased with the work that wowed others.

She had a remarkable exterior life, but her inner life appeared to be headed for burnout. Christians around her applauded her diligence and her fervency in prayer, but they failed to notice the tightness in her gait.

We are often weak observers, of both ourselves and others, measuring the external and not looking beneath the surface. But the more I strengthen the skill of observing myself, the more I can see my neighbor. There are stories underneath our skin.

Most of us are not merely ignorant of them, we’re scared to see them. We’re afraid to look.

Seeing the stories beneath our skin can start as small as building moments into the day when we notice ourselves and our reactions to the world around us. Simple questions draw our attention to our interior lives, which crave God but often don’t know how to access Him. They draw our attention to the stuck parts of ourselves.

How did I feel after that conversation?

What made my heart race today? And what did that heart-racing tell me about myself?

When did the fog set in and I was merely reacting and not present? What happened just before this fog that might have made my brain go offline?

Underneath my mad, was there sad?

At what point did I start to feel bad about myself?

What couldn’t I erase from my mind?

What happened in my body and my thoughts after that conversation?

The pages of the Word tell us that God delights in truth in the inward being and teaches wisdom in the secret heart (Psalm 51:6). God cares about these deeper parts of ourselves that the questions uncover. He made space inside us to implant wisdom in, but when we’re mostly reacting, that secret heart from Psalm 51:6 is buried. Paying attention to what He cares about — the inner workings of our hearts — is a gentle process of excavating.

We can’t know the anxieties and the fears to bring to God unless we first notice them. Our response to our limits is worth our attention.

The Word is full of God’s care for the intricacies of the human heart, that heart we often ignore and shame with phrases like “Why can’t I just get over this? I don’t know why it feels so hard.” He understands the intricacies of our hearts, but we have to first notice them before we can ask Him for that understanding. The psalmist said,

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. — Psalm 73:16–17 ESV

God gives discernment to those who ask for it, but we must pay attention to know how to ask.

John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008), 4.

Excerpted from The Gift of Limitations by Sara Hagerty, copyright Sara Hagerty

Life is hard. Without a relationship with God it is impossible. There will be no peace. There will always be an anxiousness that won’t go away. There will be frustration, anger, envy, ridicule, arguments, and the like that we often don’t even know why we think and act the way we do. This is a life without God. But the peace of God that passes all understanding is with the one who knows and pursues an intimate relationship with God. God does answer prayer and His Spirit lives within the believer and follower of Jesus.

Prov 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 6, 2024

Notes of Faith March 6, 2024

Asking God for a Miracle

(Because He Can Say Yes)

Ask, and it will be given to you. — Matthew 7:7

Life is not fair, but God is good. We never know what life will bring, but I have learned time and time again that I can bring whatever life throws at me directly to God.

In Matthew’s teaching on the Lord’s Prayer, he gave us a longer version and more instruction regarding prayer. Here, Jesus taught that we don’t have to go on and on when we pray because our Father already knows what we need before we even ask. You might be wondering, Then why even ask?

The answer, Jesus said, is that while God already knows what we need, we won’t know what He will do about it until we ask.

God is not in the business of answering prayers we do not pray.

So no matter what you need, ask God for it.

He might say yes.

As a pastor, I have repeatedly seen God do miraculous wonders when I had lost all hope. Over the years, I have pastored thousands of people who have come through the doors of Sandals Church. Every one of them is special to God, but a certain few are dear to me. They are the ones who, through thick and thin, for better or worse, stayed with me when others didn’t.

The challenge of starting a church when you are so young is that you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. My talent for speaking outweighed the depth of my faith. My vision for what God wanted to do through me was completely blind to what He first needed to do in me. So I am eternally grateful to God for His patience and for many people who followed me even when I was not yet the leader they needed me to be.

One of those people is Natasha. When Sandals Church first started, young people poured through our doors. As we grew, there were always more people than we had room for. Sandals Church moved locations thirteen times in the first three years. Our unofficial motto was, “Come worship with us if you can find us.” Well, Natasha found us, and she stuck with us.

A brilliant young woman and a swimming star with a bright future, Natasha met the love of her life in high school and had dreams of marriage and children. One day, out of nowhere, she began feeling tired and unable to complete tasks that a few weeks prior had been easy for her. Even though she was in incredible shape, she was always fatigued. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

At nineteen years old, she found out she had cancer.

Natasha was assured that her cancer was treatable. Being young and naive like most teenagers, she didn’t worry too much about it. Her confident doctor assured her she would be done with cancer after one round — maybe two — of chemotherapy. She would then be free to go on with her life.

This was not the case.

Ten years later, Natasha sat in my office with tears in her eyes and asked a very valid question: “Why won’t God heal me?” She’d fought cancer for ten years. She’d received the best treatments possible — some proven, some experimental. She had a doctor who cared for her and an attentive hospital staff. But now her doctor said there was no longer hope. Natasha was told she was just unlucky — they had no idea why her particular cancer was so stubborn to treatments that had worked for many others. There were no more treatments to try.

Natasha didn’t understand. She was no longer a teenager and no longer naive. She knew very well that her life was on the line. After ten years of fiercely battling for her life, she had lost hope and the energy to keep fighting. She was at the end of her rope.

I had to concede that I didn’t understand either. Natasha sat in my office, ravaged by years of chemotherapy, not looking like a young woman should. She was devastated by the ups and downs, all the promises that the next treatment (or the next) would be the one to cure her. Weeping, she handed me a picture — an MRI of her entire body. The image looked like a Dalmatian dog because her body was covered in black spots. I asked if the black spots were cancer, and she nodded. They were everywhere — clustered around many of the organs in her chest and abdomen.

She said, “I don’t have long, Pastor. I need a miracle.”

Natasha, myself, a few other pastors, and her husband bowed our heads in prayer, asking our Father in Heaven for a miracle. We all prayed. It is only with her permission that I share what was said, which was so painful, raw, and heart-wrenching that it will stay with me forever. Natasha found her soul cry.

In chapter 2, I mentioned my own soul cry.

A soul cry is when there is nothing left between you and God. You are done with the games; you have nothing to hide. You just need to be heard.

There is something powerful and haunting about a soul cry. Its sound makes every other noise in life disappear. As you realize the depth of suffering another person feels, your own problems and suffering seem shallow and insignificant. In these moments, you accept how incredibly blessed you are to have the life you have.

When I heard Natasha cry out to God, she no longer seemed frail. The room had to make space for her spirit as she spoke to our Father, who is Spirit. She yelled, “I don’t want to die!” The first scream was powerful but simply made room for what was to follow. A lioness came out of her petite frame, and its voice rattled the room. “I don’t want to die!” She began to beat the drum of her request before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Every downstroke in the drum of her voice led to another more thunderous beat. Natasha was going to be heard.

Even as the lone woman in the room, she grew fiercer with every request. “I am not ready to die!” she yelled.

To the observer, it may have looked like a wild woman screaming into the air. But as believers, we knew she was being heard by God. She became the pastor, and I became the student. We were all in awe of her strength and were moved to tears. We had no words. Nothing more needed to be added.

I anointed Natasha’s forehead with oil and said, “Lord Jesus, I know You can hear her; I beg You to heal her; I pray this in Your holy name, amen.”

Amen is a word we all say but few of us understand. It is a word so powerful it has never been changed. When the Bible was translated from Hebrew and Greek to Latin and English, most of the words it contains were translated. Amen was not. Amen is amen in Hebrew. It is amen in Greek. It is also amen in Latin and obviously in English as well. Amen means to agree that truth has been spoken. It means what we have said is real and raw. Some people play games when they speak to one another, but we should never play games when we talk with God.

Natasha had been real. She’d been raw. We all agreed with the prayer and believed that truth had been spoken, so I said amen.

It has now been years since that night we prayed, back when Natasha was given only weeks to live. She is still alive and on staff at Sandals Church. She is here because when the hospital said there was no hope left, she went to the One who is the source of our hope!

Why do we pray? We pray because God might say yes.

What do we have to lose when there is no other source of hope? Take a chance and reach for Jesus. There is real power in His name. He is God’s one and only Son, and He can say yes.

I know it’s hard to trust Jesus with your request. I realize that, like Natasha, you may have prayed for healing many times, and many times it might not have been granted. Don’t give up! Jesus taught us to keep asking and to keep knocking on Heaven’s door for what we need. He said,

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. — Matthew 7:7–8 NLT

If you feel discouraged, remind yourself that your repeated prayers are prayers of obedience. There will be times when you feel unheard; you have to find the strength to pray through it. Again, I cannot promise you will get a yes, which agrees with what Jesus taught in this passage.

What are we seeking? An answer! What door do we want opened? Heaven’s, so we can be heard! According to Jesus, if you keep asking, you will be answered. He is not guaranteeing the miracle you want, but you will receive the miracle you need.

That miracle is the miracle of being heard.

Excerpted from Every Day a Miracle by Matthew Stephen Brown, copyright Matthew Stephen Brown.

God is still doing miracles every day, the greatest being bringing someone into His eternal family through salvation by His grace. We all have corrupt, decaying bodies and although all do not suffer like Natasha, we are dying. We can and should pray for the release of our bodies from the destruction of sin…and it has already been promised to those who believe in and follow Jesus! Asking for release from pain and suffering is not always answered as in this story, but we should ask and persist because we don’t know the plan of God for our lives. He will lead, guide and direct our steps in we remain intimate during even the worst of earthly circumstances. Pray without ceasing!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 5, 2024

Notes of Faith March 5, 2024

Why Lack of Control Is a Gift from God

Reach Out and Find Him

The apostle Paul gave us some assuring words to cling to when we feel like things are out of control. He spoke them when he was on Mars Hill, a place where philosophers and people would gather to ask deep questions. “What is the meaning of life?” someone might ask, or “Why is there evil in the world?” Each of those questions has an underlying root: an awareness of our inability to control everything we want to.

In Acts 17:24 Paul echoed what the prophet Nehemiah said. God made the world and everything in it, and he didn’t need any help! Then, Paul went on to make a life-changing, perspective-shifting statement:

From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

— Acts 17:26

Okay, so sometimes I am guilty of reading the Bible way too fast. I want us to slow down and really take in what Paul was saying here.

1) “From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth.”

Who created the first humans? God did, and we know from Genesis 1:26 that He created them in His likeness and image. Here Paul explained more, saying that all of humankind, including every nationality and culture, finds its origin in God, and they live over all the earth because of God.

2) “[God] has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.”We could be tempted to think that God created everything, then stepped back and left it to run its course. Paul refuted that idea, giving two aspects of God being in control. First, He determined our “appointed times” and, second, even the “boundaries” of our existence are determined by God.

Why is this so crucial in helping our fear of losing control? Because it reminds us that there is not an ounce of our human life that is random or by chance. Think of it this way: you and I could have lived in any point of human history, yet we live now. There is a purpose to why we live in this specific moment in history. We could be located in any geographical location, yet we live in the country, state, city, neighborhood, street we do for a reason! It’s not random. It’s not out of control. It is ordered and has a purpose.

So what’s that purpose? Paul said,

He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. — Acts 17:27

If we take a closer look at the original language Paul used here, we’ll see He actually acknowledged our loss of control. The phrase “they might reach out” translates the Greek verb psēlaphēseian, which can also mean “to look for something in uncertain fashion, to feel around for.”1 The word is used elsewhere in the Bible as well as in ancient Greek literature to describe a person who is either blind or stuck in darkness and trying to find or “feel” their way out of their dark and desperate situation — a situation in which they are painfully aware of their need and their lack of control.2

When we confront the reality of our lack of control, it’s an opportunity. We can exchange our desire for control for the gift of humble faith.

Paul said that while we are in this situation, searching for escape, for some kind of guiding help, God is near to us. And as we reach out and seek Him, we will find Him and realize that He has actually never been far.

So, the situation we’re in is not good. Things are looking dire, and panic is settling in. But if we’ll stop and look up, we’ll find the security and peace of our God who assures us that we’ve never been alone. He’s been there the whole time, and He will continue to be with us.

It’s a humbling experience to be lost. But that newfound humility paves the way for immense gratitude and joy once we’re found.

What if our lack of control — even when it leads to anxious nighttime thoughts, moments of panic, and desperate attempts to gain control — is actually a gracious gift of God? What if it sets us up to realize that the very belief that we can control things is really an illusion? As soon as we can identify it as an illusion, we are positioned in a posture of humility and recognize the one who is truly in control of all things. Then, we are straight shook when we look to our side and realize he’s been with us the whole time.

In Hebrews 11 we read,

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. — v. 3

God, in His might, did the unimaginable, creating the entire world we live in today. He is the one behind the strength and beauty we see all around us. He is also the one at work in every detail of our lives. And it’s by faith that we understand all this.

So when we confront the reality of our lack of control, it’s an opportunity. We can exchange our desire for control for the gift of humble faith.

We can stop spinning our wheels. Stop wearing ourselves out with fruitless efforts and ratcheting up our inner tension. We can begin to experience a deep, settled peace in our souls by accepting the reality of our lack of control and embracing Jesus, who has perfect control.

As you lay awake at night, sleepless and restless, consider speaking some simple truths over yourself as a prayer.

Jesus, You are with me. Jesus, I can’t, but You can.

Jesus, You are my peace that brings calm.

Now, let’s take a breath. Think of His awesome power. And let ourselves just accept reality, that so much of life is not in our hands. And that’s okay; it’s in His.

1. David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 498.

2. Ben Witherington refers to the usage in nonbiblical Greek literature

such as Aristophanes, Ec. 315; Pax 691; Plato, Phaedo 99b. See Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1998), 528. Additionally, the word is used in the Septuagint in reference to blindness and darkness. See Isa. 59:10; Judg. 16:26; Deut. 28:29; Job 5:13–14; 12:25.

Excerpted from The Hidden Peace by Joel Muddamalle, copyright Joel Muddamalle.

Having control. I can take care of “whatever problem or crisis” in my life. Lack of faith and trust that God is in control of all things! Reading God’s Word and seeing His power and glory in sustaining all things from creation to the end of what we call time, brings great peace and comfort to trust God in all circumstances. Though some may not be pleasant, He allows them, to draw us closer to Himself. What a gift! In all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly, to be used by God to draw us into greater intimacy of relationship. Let us remember that God walks with us through life, not only knowing what is coming before it happens, but continuing to lead, guide, counsel, and go through everything that we encounter, for His name’s sake. Love God. Trust and have faith in God. Live in peace because you know Him and know that He knows you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 4, 2024

Notes of Faith March 4, 2024

The Answer Is No (and That's Okay)

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then, I contradict myself. (I am large. I contain multitudes.)

~ Walt Whitman

I experienced a miracle of healing. God did a work of healing in my life that was both outward and inward. Obviously, God spared my life because He has a special purpose for me, right? I can relax now because my life has been restored, and I’ve got a good shot at celebrating my eightieth birthday, right?

Wrong.

A year after my miraculously successful surgery and my clean bill of health, I had a seizure. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I had been here before and was shocked to be back again. I went in for an MRI. I prayed, prayed, and prayed some more before the procedure, pleading with God to hear my doctor say, “Your scan looks clean. No sign of a tumor.” I prayed that this recent seizure resulted from the surgery, not because of a new tumor. I knew that a new tumor would only equal one thing — cancer.

I went to my appointment full of anxiety. My doctor came in and pulled up the scan. “Your tumor has recurred.” What he was really saying in those words was simple.

You have terminal brain cancer.

It had been an unintentional setup. Initially my medical team had thought that because they removed my original tumor completely and in time, I was in the clear, with a clean bill of health. But now a new tumor had formed. It was clear from this fact that my brain was filled with cancer cells that weren’t detectable by the human eye during surgery or by an MRI scan after surgery. As they explained to me, the cancer cells scattered throughout my brain are in a sense turned off — until they aren’t. When they eventually turn on, which they will, they come together to form a new tumor. And within a few years, the chances were good that the cancer cells would overtake my brain and end my life.

I was going to need a second brain surgery — a procedure that would be followed by radiation and chemotherapy. They explained very clearly that the radiation and chemotherapy would not destroy the cancer cells but would only stun them, hopefully keeping them at bay and slowing down the rate at which they would form new tumors.

Natalie and I sat in the small office of my new neuro-oncologist, Dr. Nancy Bush. With no-holds-barred honesty and kindness in her voice, she told us, “This kind of cancer has no cure. It’s terminal.” I heard Natalie’s quiet tears and turned to her, placing my hand on her knee, trying to offer comfort I knew couldn’t be enough.

Together we were about to face something we desperately wanted to avoid.

Dr. Bush offered reassurance and said, “There is no cure for this kind of cancer — yet. My job is to keep you alive long enough for the medical community to find a cure.” Unfortunately, cancer researchers haven’t made any significant progress in this area for more than two decades.

The clock was ticking.

What! It made no sense to me.

Why would God deliver me from a nearly inoperable tumor through a high-risk surgery with miraculous results, only to have the tumor recur and for me to receive an unfavorable prognosis that essentially amounted to a death sentence?

At this point I began to realize I was a brain tumor survivor who was now battling a terminal brain cancer. I was in a fight I could not win.

What would you do if you heard the words “you have cancer” along with the words “no cure” and “terminal”? I’ll tell you what I did. I went to Dunkin’. I wanted to drown my sorrows with a maple bar. I used the drive-through, parked in the parking lot, and then got down to business with God.

I prayed, God, what are You doing? It wasn’t an angry prayer, like when my dad died. It was a confused prayer. It was very straightforward. I asked God, What are you doing? and then He answered.

It was not a booming voice from Heaven. Instead it was just as Jesus promised. The Holy Spirit unmistakably communicated to me by reminding me of what Jesus had said before. My mind went to 2 Corinthians 12:6–10 (a passage I hadn’t yet memorized), and I felt a bond with the apostle Paul. In this passage, Paul was dealing with what he described as “a thorn in my flesh” — a mysterious statement that some scholars believe referred to a medical condition with no treatment.1 Paul had a thorn in his flesh, while I had a tumor in my brain.

Paul had asked repeatedly for healing, as had I. The answer Paul received from Jesus was the same one I had received: No. But with compassion, Jesus essentially explained to Paul,

My grace is sufficient, and My power is best displayed in weakness.

After hearing this, Paul concluded, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” The Holy Spirit ministered to my spirit, and I concluded the same thing:

When I am weak, then I am strong.

I got a strong sense that God was going to use my weakness to teach me the true meaning of strength. And also that this next season of my life would allow me to become vulnerable with my wife and daughter and form a deep connection with them. In that moment, God granted me insight: cancer was not the undoing of the miracle, but rather the continuation of the work He had begun.

After I came out of surgery, God miraculously granted me a desire in my heart to connect deeply with my family. But what I didn’t know at the time was that I would need more than just a desire to connect. For deep relational connection to occur, I’d need to unlearn the patterns I had developed due to childhood trauma. In order to connect with Natalie and Hero as deeply as my heart now desired, I’d need to learn to be vulnerable and let my weakness show. It would be a long, hard road. I would never have chosen cancer as the pathway to connection, but as I sat with my maple bar and my God, I felt clarity descend on the confusion. God was not negating the earlier miracle and ignoring my prayers. To say yes to one of my prayers, He would need to say no to another prayer. Sometimes God often says no to a prayer in order to say yes to the true desires of our hearts.

Deep connection is the desire of my heart that I had been praying for. I truly believe my diagnosis is a key part of my continuing emotional healing that is allowing me to forge deep connection.

Let me be very clear. I do not want to have cancer. I desperately want to be healed from this vicious disease — both emotionally and physically. I am reminded of Jesus’ interaction with a man who was paralyzed (Matthew 9:1–8). Hoping for a miracle of physical healing, his friends had taken him to see Jesus teach but weren’t able to get into the building. So they climbed onto the roof, lifted their buddy up, and started tearing off the clay roof! Ignoring the complaints of the crowd below, they kept destroying the roof until they made a hole big enough for their friend to fit through. Then they lowered him down and dropped him right in front of Jesus. That’s one way to get God’s attention!

Jesus stopped teaching, having recognized that the guy was paralyzed, and said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What! Jesus’ words must have made no sense to the disabled man. He had gone through so much to get to Jesus — the One who had healed so many others whom doctors couldn’t help. But instead of attending to his immediate and intense problem, Jesus addressed the man’s deeper, more consequential spiritual problem.

After forgiving his sins, Jesus then healed the man’s legs and he was able to walk for the first time!

Jesus is compassionate enough to heal completely — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Perhaps Jesus is currently continuing to heal my emotions and attending to the deepest desire of my heart as I fight terminal cancer. Perhaps once the emotional healing is complete He will attend to my physical healing. I can’t pretend to know His will or the details of how He works. But I do know I have His attention. I know He cares about me and His will is good. Despite having a hard road to walk, God has given me enough understanding to have peace as I walk. After all, Jesus had to walk a hard road, but He was able to understand the glory awaiting Him on the other side of the cross.

Same with Paul, who followed in His footsteps. I signed up to follow Jesus. So as I follow in His footsteps I am not surprised that my path is difficult. I’m not surprised and I’m secure knowing He is with me. Same for you.

Life is hard, but following Jesus and allowing His Spirit to guide you will allow you to avoid being surprised by suffering and instead stand firm in the security of His presence.

When you are able to acknowledge the nearness of Christ in difficulty, you will experience the hope that good things lie ahead. The apostle Peter says it best,

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. — 1 Peter 4:12–13

1. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul didn’t explicitly say that the “thorn in my flesh” was a medical issue. Some scholars believe he was referring to an illness, while others believe he was referring to persecution. Either way, he was facing an unsolvable problem that was threatening to bring his ministry to a halt. The undisputed truth of the Scripture is that God is a deliverer and that we can count on him when there seems to be no way forward. I take comfort in this truth.

Excerpted from I Am Weak, I Am Strong by Jay Hewitt, copyright Jay Hewitt.

We all must deal with the consequences of sin…the wages of sin is death. We earn death through the sin of Adam and Eve. We all rebel against God. And yet God loved us enough to send His Son into the world to save us through dying on a cross and taking all sin upon Himself. In order to receive eternal life all we have to do is believe in Jesus and the work He did on our behalf. He provides us with an abundant spiritual life now, and a healed, perfect, sinless life eternally when we die on earth or He comes to take us to be with Him in heaven. Life is much better than death and being with Jesus forever sounds even better. Learning to live with our thorns, or cancer is difficult, but Jesus has never failed to fulfill His promises. We will be made new and complete, like Him in resurrected body, mature in spiritual faith and truth, living and serving in the glorious new heaven and earth that He will create for us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 3, 2024

Notes of Faith March 3, 2024

Why We Long for Revival

Article by Jon Bloom

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Most earnest Christians have a deep longing to see and experience a spiritual revival. Many regularly pray for it. But ask a hundred such Christians to describe what they’re longing and praying for, and you’re likely to get dozens of different answers, depending on how their cultural backgrounds, church traditions, theological paradigms, and personal experiences have formed their concept of what a revival is.

Some think of revivals primarily as large-scale historical events that result in many people converting to the Christian faith, leaving notable effects on the wider society (like the early chapters of Acts or the “Great Awakenings”).

Some think of revivals primarily as what happens when Christians in a local church or school experience renewed spiritual vitality and earnestness together (like what took place at Asbury University in early 2023).

Some think of revivals primarily as strategically designed and scheduled events that aim to evangelize unbelievers and/or exhort believers to pursue a deeper life of personal holiness and Christian service (like Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades).

And some think of revivals primarily as what happens whenever an individual Christian experiences a transformative, renewing encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Now, apart from some debates over definitions (like what differentiates revival from renewal), most earnest Christians would agree that when the Holy Spirit moves in power to give new life to unregenerate people and renewed life to regenerate people, the results can look like all those descriptions — and certainly more.

But when earnest Christians long for revival, despite whatever concept and phenomena they associate with that term, they’re not really longing for that concept or those phenomena. If you were to ask those hypothetical hundred Christians to press deeper and describe what they most deeply long for when they long for revival, I believe the nature of their answers would be very similar.

‘It’s You’

To illustrate what I mean, let me describe a touching scene that occurs at the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third book C.S. Lewis wrote in his seven-part Chronicles of Narnia series. After another wonderful Narnian adventure, just before Aslan sends Lucy and Edmund back to our world, Lucy says,

“Please, Aslan, . . . before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do make it soon.”

“Dearest,” said Aslan very gently, “you and your brother will never come back to Narnia.”

“Oh, Aslan!” said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.

“You are too old, children,” said Aslan, “and you must begin to come close to your own world now.”

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.

“Are — are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.” (247)

If you haven’t read the Narnia books, it’s important to understand that Lucy and Edmund hadn’t enjoyed merely a few childish, holiday-like adventures in Narnia. They, along with their two older siblings, had been Narnian kings and queens for decades. They had fought in fierce battles, and shed their blood and tears for its defense. They had loved and cared for its citizens. And their encounters with the great lion, Aslan, had transformed their lives. Narnia felt more like home to them than any place they’d ever been, and when they weren’t in Narnia, they longed to be there.

So, when Lucy says, “It isn’t Narnia, you know,” she’s saying something profound. There’s a deeper longing inside her than her longing for Narnia. It’s a longing that fuels her longing for Narnia. And she names it for Aslan in two words: “It’s you.”

Those two words reveal what makes everything about Narnia so wonderful to Lucy — in fact, makes Narnia Narnia for her: Aslan. Take Aslan out of Narnia, and would she still want to return? We can hear her answer when she says, “How can we live, never meeting you?” For Lucy, an Aslan-less Narnia is a lifeless Narnia.

It’s Him

The real reason earnest Christians long for revival is similar to the real reason Lucy longed to return to Narnia. Lucy longed to experience being close to Aslan; Christians long to experience being close to Jesus. It isn’t the manifestations of revival we most deeply long for, as wonderful as those manifestations might be. It’s the Source of revival we really want. We long for the Life that gives us life, sustains our life, and renews our life — that in Christ, by his Spirit, we might “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). If Jesus were to ask us what it is about revival that we want, we might paraphrase Lucy in our reply: “It isn’t revival, you know. It’s you.”

In saying it’s Jesus we most deeply long for in revival, we mean that we desire a more profound experiential knowledge (Philippians 3:8) of his refreshing presence (Act 3:20), his incomprehensible love (Ephesians 3:19), his all-surpassing peace (Philippians 4:7), and his immeasurable power (Ephesians 1:19). We desire all that the triune God, “the fountain of life” (Psalm 36:9), promises to be for us in Jesus. For Jesus is our great Fountainhead. For us “to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), because Christ himself is our life (John 1:4; 14:6).

And in saying it’s Jesus we most deeply long for in revival, we mean that we desire his kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10) and for all who are appointed to eternal life to believe (Acts 13:48) — all those whom Jesus had in mind when he said, “I must bring them also” (John 10:16).

That’s why our longings for revival are not focused on our personal experience. In Christ, we are members of a larger body (1 Corinthians 12:27) of whom Christ is the life-giving head (Ephesians 1:22). Our life is bound up with our fellow members of Christ’s body, and we will not experience the fullness of Christ apart from the other members (Ephesians 4:11–13). So, we can’t help but desire revival both in the conversions of others whom Jesus must bring and in the renewal of all believers (including us) whose spiritual strength has weakened and whose spiritual senses have dulled.

It isn’t our imagined revival that we desire most. It’s Jesus and all God promises to be for us in him. Take Christ out of the event of revival, even if it had all the amazing, adrenaline-inducing phenomena we might associate with it, and would we still want it? No, because a Christless revival is lifeless revival. And would we be content if we were the only revived Christian in our church or community? No, because “if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Echo of Jesus’s Desire

As Lucy and Edmund speak with Aslan, they realize they are near the border of Aslan’s country — a land they’ve only heard about, never seen, yet the one place in all the worlds, including Narnia, they most deeply long to be. But Aslan tells them that they can enter his country only from their own world (our world).

“What!” said Edmund. “Is there a way into [your] country from our world too?”

“There is a way into my country from all the worlds,” said [Aslan]. . . .

“Oh, Aslan,” said Lucy. “Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?”

“I shall be telling you all the time,” said Aslan. “But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.” (246–47)

Reading this fictional conversation now, in my late fifties, stirs up the aching longing it did when I read it in my late childhood, nearly half a century ago. It was this painfully pleasurable longing that drew me back again and again to the Narnian chronicles as a boy (I don’t know how many times I read those books). I learned whom Aslan represented, and I wanted to meet him face to face. I shared Lucy and Edmund’s desire to actually be in his promised land and finally, as Lewis puts it in another book, to “find the place where all the beauty came from” (86). I still do.

So does everyone who encounters the real “Aslan” and comes to love and trust him. How can we not? For that deep longing is an echo in our souls of the deep longing Jesus has, which he expressed to his Father when he prayed,

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)

It is this aching longing that fuels our recurring (we might say continual) desire to experience revival. But it’s not the mere experience of spiritual refreshment we desire; we long for the Place, the Person, where all the refreshment comes from. We long for what Jesus longs for: that we would be with him where he is, to see his glory.

To know that this is the core of our revival longings can help sustain our prayers for it. It can also protect us from disillusionment should we experience revival and all the confusing messiness that tends to accompany it. Because at the end of the day, it isn’t revival, you know. It’s Jesus.

Jon Bloom serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. He is the author of four books, including Not by Sight and most recently True to His Word. He and his wife have five children and make their home in the Twin Cities.

The intense longing of our heart is to be with Jesus, to commune with Jesus, every moment for all eternity. Not experiencing that intimate relationship will always leave a hole that can be filled by nothing but Himself. That is my personal revival… to know Him, to know Him more, to continue to become like Him until He makes me complete! How about you?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 2, 2024

Notes of Faith March 2, 2024

Upside Down

So we’re talking about living a life that’s been overturned, turned upside down by the power, the presence, and the love of Jesus Christ. And, because of that, how you can use that life to turn the world upside down and bring more people to the Basement. But before we rush into anything, I want to take the time to break this down a little. Let’s start with Paul and Silas.

Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them. — Acts 17:1–9

If you pick up the New King James Version or the English Standard Version (or if you grew up reading the King James Version like I did, which just sticks in my memory), it says Paul and Silas have turned the world “upside down.” But the word in Greek — the language the book of Acts was originally written in — literally means “to upset.” Instead of “caused trouble” in verse 6, that phrase could be translated, “they caused the world to be upset, and now they are here disturbing our city, too.”

But... why be upset? Why would you want to live your life turned upside down? Who wants to do that — live in an entirely different way than you’re living right now? Who wants to go to the Basement initially? Aren’t we all trying to make it to the top?

I’m a bit of a literalist, so I love definitions — a lot. Just in case you’re not a nerd like me, I want to give you the definition of “upset” so you have the necessary context for the coming pages.

Upset (v.): 1. to overturn, to destroy the power of, to overthrow, to defeat, or to vanquish. 2. to disturb, or derange completely; to put out of order, to throw into disorder.

The definition in dictionaries always goes on to give a few examples, like upsetting a system, a mechanism, or an apartment, or defeating a more formidable opponent in war, politics, or sports, as we talked about already (see, nerds do rule the world).

Give permission to God to come in and turn your life — your everything — upside down.

WHY BE UPSET?

Well, truth is that there are people all over the world who somehow made a commitment to have their lives turned upside down — even me. I came to a revelation that I was not living my life the way I should be. I was determined to make it to the penthouse, but through Scripture and through an understanding of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I found out what so many others — to the tune of more than two and a half billion people (by most recent records) — have discovered: that my life should not be lived the way I want it but the way that He wants me to live it. This threw the way I’d lived my whole life up until that point into chaos and disorder until I landed in the Basement.

Look back at the italicized statement in that quote from Acts 17 for just a second. I wonder if the Jews in that city had any idea how wildly exaggerative and unintentionally prophetic their words were. Paul and Silas hadn’t turned the whole world upside down — they’re in freaking Thessalonica. It’s not like the Jews in this city were getting letters from the tip of Latin America... it’s been only thirty years since Jesus’ death. You’re telling me Paul and Silas did a lap around the whole world — mostly walking — and made it back to this tiny city? Suuuuure...

Come on. Stop.

That being said, it is a wildly exaggerative and unintentionally prophetic comment for that moment. That now, over two thousand years later, what they said out of their melodrama is still happening — all over the world.

The gospel is still invading people’s cities and turning lives upside down with the message, love, and hope of Jesus Christ.

It’s happening in every city. In every country. In every tribe. In every language. Every day.

That a couple of angry Jewish guys could make a wild statement that was both untrue and true at the same time... Man, I just think God has a sense of humor!

Listen, I know there are a lot of people who might put this book down right now. If living their life for Jesus means they have to make hard lifestyle choices and changes in their habits, the places they go, and the people they spend time with — not only is that something they’re not really into, that’s the last thing they want. They are on their way to the penthouse and their minds will not be changed; they will not be stopped!

But can I challenge you to stick around for a moment? [In this book] I want to give you what I believe are my top three reasons why you should be upset and why you should give permission to God to come in and turn your life — your everything — upside down.

Excerpted with permission from Welcome to the Basement by Tim Ross, copyright Tim Ross.

Certainly our lives are turned upside down when we come to Christ. We move from death to life, darkness to light. Choices, decisions, even thoughts become affected by this newness of life. Being turned upside down is a good thing, spiritually, for all of us, since we were sinners headed to the condemnation of eternal hell, then saved by grace through faith in Jesus to eternal blessing and reward with God in His heavenly home. Earthly life is also turned upside down as we live for Christ instead of rebelling against Him, doing His will instead of our own. Maybe we just need a few more reminders of our upside down life. This sounds like a good day for a pineapple upside down cake!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 1, 2024

Notes of Faith March 1, 2024

Crisis: Three Principles to Help You Move from “Why Me?” to “What Now?”

When crisis calls, the first place we should take our pain is to the pages of God’s survival guide, written for us. In those pages, we find principles we can stand on that will move us from “Why me?” (shock and struggle) to “What now?” (sailing and sharing). And three of the most important principles to understand are these:

God is not your enemy, God is your security, and God desires intimacy with you.

PRINCIPLE 1: GOD IS NOT YOUR ENEMY

We have to realize and accept that while God allows storms to hit your life and mine, He is not the storm maker; Satan is. Satan is the instigator and the mastermind behind all the evil in the world.

We see this clearly in Job’s crisis story. The Bible tells us that Satan approached God to trash-talk Job:

You have made him prosper in everything he does... But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face! — Job 1:10–11 NLT

But Satan was wrong. Here’s how Job responded when he lost everything:

Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downward on the ground.

He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now He has taken away. May His name be praised!”

In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

— Job 1:20–22 GNT

Remember, because we’ve sinned, we live in a fallen world; and because our world is fallen, we will encounter evil and crises. That may be difficult to understand and hard to accept, but to blame God for the storms of life would be inaccurate.

Recognize that Satan is the enemy, and resist the temptation to distance yourself from God out of anger or misplaced blame. You might argue, “But I’m not distancing myself from God. I just don’t understand. Why me?” But do you know what you’re really saying when you ask, “Why me?” Here’s the full expression of that question: “God, why did You make this happen to me? Why did You perpetrate this hurt on me and on my family? God, explain Yourself to me.”

I (Lisa) was full of questions for God in the wake of LeeBeth’s passing. “Why? Why did LeeBeth have to die? Why do other people do much worse and live? Why are we going through this hellacious time when we have served God faithfully? Why couldn’t her story be the story of victory here on earth? Why did God cause this to happen? Why, why, why?”

I accepted Christ when I was nine years old, and I have always loved the Lord and tried my best to obey His commands. I have sinned — of course I have — but I have never rebelled. I remember when I first read the book of Job and something akin to a shiver of dread went through me. I hope the Lord doesn’t allow Satan to test me, is what that shiver said. I don’t want to be like Job. No one does.

No one wants to endure pain or loss or suffering.

Even Job got to the point where he asked, “Why me?” Not long after becoming sick, Job threw himself a pity party. The Bible records a monologue that goes on for many chapters in which Job asked all kinds of why questions — why hadn’t he died at birth, why did God keep testing him, and why wouldn’t God simply allow him to die? And then he said this:

I am tired of living.

Listen to my bitter complaint.

Don’t condemn me, God.

Tell me! What is the charge against me?

Is it right for You to be so cruel? — Job 10:1–3 GNT

Job asked what many of us ask when pain levels us: “What have I done to deserve this? Why me, God? Why me?” After Job’s long lament, God responded to Job in an interesting way. He said,

Who are you to question My wisdom with your ignorant, empty words?

Now stand up straight and answer the questions I ask you. Were you there when I made the world?

If you know so much, tell Me about it... Can you shout orders to the clouds

and make them drench you with rain? And if you command the lightning to flash,

will it come to you and say, “At your service”? — Job 38:2–4, 34–35 GNT

God kind of played a game of Not-So-Trivial Pursuit with Job, saying, “Okay, Job, think fast. Category: History. Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundations of the earth? That’s right. You weren’t there. Next category: Sports and Leisure. Job, have you ever on a Sunday afternoon kind of just played with lightning bolts? No? Didn’t think so.” And on it went.

The book of Job devotes four whole chapters to God’s response (Job 38–41). In His response, God asked Job this killer question:

Are you trying to prove that I am unjust — to put Me in the wrong and yourself in the right? — Job 40:8 GNT

Wow. Have you ever thought about it that way? That when we ask, “Why me?” we’re essentially putting ourselves in the right and God in the wrong?

No, God is not the enemy. And Job finally realized that. He said,

I know, Lord, that You are all-powerful; that You can do everything you want.

You ask how I dare question Your wisdom when I am so very ignorant.

I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know. — Job 42:2–3 GNT

We have a very real enemy — Satan. He is a liar and a thief. When we’re in pain and we need someone to be mad at, he is the one to be mad at. The temptation to blame God and ask, “Why me?” is incredibly strong when we’re hurting. In our anguish, we may want to distance ourselves or turn away from our Father in Heaven. But that will not lead us forward on the path to healing. Instead, we must stay anchored to Christ, connected to Heaven by the truth of God’s Word, and accept that God is not the enemy.

God is not your enemy, God is your security, and God desires intimacy with you.

PRINCIPLE 2: GOD IS YOUR SECURITY

Even when the storm seems fierce and unending, know that God will give you the power and provide the resources to get through it. He will lead you through any hardship when you rely on Him. How do we know? It’s in his crisis survival guide, the Bible.

A powerful passage in Isaiah repeats one word we can cling to during the storms and pain of life. See if you can pick up on what that word is:

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

your troubles will not overwhelm you.

When you pass through fire, you will not be burned;

the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God,

the holy God of Israel, who saves you. — Isaiah 43:2–3 GNT

If you noticed the two uses of the word through, you got it right. Embedded in the word through is a promise — you will reach the other side. You will pass through the deep waters and through the fire.

God does not promise immediate escape, but He does promise a way through the trial when you persevere under the pressure and remain loyal to Him. He will guide you, protect you, heal you, and help you grow. Though at times your journey through pain may feel like it’s one step forward and two steps back, you won’t be crushed beneath the weight of your pain and challenges. You won’t stall out. You won’t succumb to despair. Why? Because you have this blessed promise:

When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you.

I will be with you in the hospital room.

I will be with you at the divorce hearing.

I will be with you at the graveside service.

I will be with you at the rehabilitation facility.

I will be with you when you pack your bags to leave.

I will be with you when you enter that meeting.

I will be with you when you are all alone.

I will be with you.

I will see you through to the other side of it. I will be with you on the path through pain.

God has promised to see you through your pain, to help you navigate your crisis. When the skies turn black and the winds threaten to capsize your boat, reach out to God as your life preserver. He is your security.

PRINCIPLE 3: GOD DESIRES INTIMACY

Job was a righteous man. He was obedient to God and devoted himself to living with integrity and doing the right things. But until Job was allowed to suffer, he didn’t know God intimately. In that sense, we might say Job was spiritually immature — more of a rule follower than a lover of God.

When God confronted Job with that killer question, “Are you trying to prove that I am unjust—to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?” (Job 40:8 GNT), Job responded with contrition and repentance. He said,

You told me to listen while You spoke and to try to answer Your questions.

In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen You with my own eyes.

So I am ashamed of all I have said

and repent in dust and ashes. — Job 42:4–6 GNT

Job’s faith had been based on the stories of others — on the faith of others. He knew God’s laws and obeyed them, but he didn’t know God. Until he started walking the path through pain, he hadn’t personally experienced the redemption of God.

Job’s reward for persevering was to see God with his own eyes; and that encounter gave Job a whole new perspective — not only on his suffering but also on who God is.

After Job’s repentance, God showed him favor. The last part of Job’s life was even more blessed than the first:

The Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had before. — Job 42:10 GNT

But more than the children and the livestock God restored, Job received life’s greatest blessing: intimacy with God. When we’re in crisis, Job’s story teaches us not to focus on the why of our suffering but on the who — the God who is with us through it.

God is not your enemy. Rather, He’s the kryptonite to your enemy — He’s your security. But to experience His ever-present help, you must establish intimacy with your heavenly Father. Maybe you need to invite God into the darkness of your pain. Maybe you need to repent like Job did. Maybe you need to do both. I promise that whatever steps you take toward God are also steps you’re taking on the path through pain.

Excerpted from A Path Through Pain by Ed & Lisa Young, copyright Ed Young and Lisa Young.

Intimacy with God is what even the pastor of a church could miss by being distracted by many things, whether it is health, family needs, a crisis of circumstances, life brings many distractions to intimacy. Walking with God as Enoch did is something all Christians should desire and pursue. Being intimate with our Creator and Savior is the greatest of blessings!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 29, 2024

Notes of Faith February 29, 2024

Loving Beyond Slander

Years ago, I was slandered publicly on the internet. People said awful things about me and my beliefs, about my work, about what I stand for. And other people believed them.

I hung up the phone after reading the hateful words to my friend who lives across the country. She had tried to comfort me, but the situation was too big, overwhelming, and distressing. Feeling sad that her words didn’t lift me, I walked into my bathroom and turned on my shower. Getting under the showerhead, I released all the tension in my body, and the flood of tears came pouring out.

I cried tears for every awful word this person said about me. I cried tears for the people who believed her. I cried tears for the pit in my stomach that made me think, How could someone actually believe all that?

The experience brought so much pain, self-doubt, and confusion. Self-doubt in what I was doing online cultivating the community of Blessed is She and about my pure and transparent heart for others. Confusion about my ability to trust others and how someone could treat me so poorly and have little to no regard for my feelings, my family, my faith.

And yet, as painful as it was, it did not discourage me from my work spreading God’s teachings, especially on love.

Despite that situation, I still believe in people, redemption, and mercy because of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s scripture, Jesus is very specific:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. — Luke 6:27–28

Our Lord Himself teaches us that even if someone hates us, we still love her. Even when someone curses us, we still pray for her and bless her.

I believe when Jesus Christ commanded this, He meant a soul-surrendering sort of love. One that doesn’t make sense, is contrary to every instinctual feeling. This kind of love means that even if someone were to try to harm your heart... you would love her.

Lord, if that’s not one of the hardest commandments You’ve ever said, I don’t know what is.

Loving her means treating her with dignity even when it is painful to do.

I’ve come to understand that loving someone doesn’t always mean letting him or her in your life over and over again to potentially cause you more harm. If we are in a position of danger, we absolutely should get out of the situation and pray for and bless someone from afar.

Sister, Jesus knows about that suffering you or someone close to you may have gone through or is currently going through. And He is with you in that pain. He will never leave or forsake you.

Jesus gave His life even for those enemies who crucified Him.

Even when (not if) someone hurts you — in your workplace, in your families, in your friendships — you are invited to treat them as you would have them treat you, just as Jesus commands us today in Luke 6:31.

But He doesn’t stop there. His commands are actualized in His life and death. He isn’t asking us to do something He Himself isn’t willing to do. He demonstrated that on the cross. He showed us what it costs to “love [our] enemies” (Luke 6:27).

Jesus gave His life even for those enemies who crucified Him.

He lived in the freedom of the Holy Spirit to give even in the midst of the attempt to strip Him of His dignity, His worth, His life.

And in the midst of that suffering, He freely gave for you and me. In the midst of whatever comes our way, we can listen to our Savior’s commands and see how He lived His life to love as He did.

Like Him, we can lay down our lives, every single day. Like Him, we can love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who hurt us. With Him, we can live a life of mercy.

If you don’t have a Bible and want one… I will give you one!

READ: LUKE 6:27–28, LUKE 6:30–31

Take a mental inventory of how you’ve approached being wronged at work. Are you self-righteous in your venting or condemnation of the person or his or her actions? Have you tried to approach the situation with today’s scripture in mind? What would you do differently, if anything?

Who in your life has shown you how to live out the Golden Rule? Who has treated you kindly when you didn’t return the favor? Offer a prayer for these people now.

Excerpted from Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women by Nell O’Leary, Leana Bowler, Brittany Calivitta, Jenna Guizar, and Liz Kelly, copyright Blessed Is She Inc.

Living a life of grace and mercy is extremely difficult. Our fallen nature wants only for itself – self protection, self provision, self position. Being humble, loving God and our neighbor just seems wrong without the perspective of a relationship with God. Let us seek Him more, to commune with Him, walking every moment in His presence, responding to this life with His perspective, His love and compassion, giving grace and mercy to all.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 28, 2024

Notes of Faith February 28, 2024

Practice the Art of Gentleness

Nothing is so strong as true gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as true strength. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Have you ever seen gentleness de-escalate a tense situation? If so, maybe you were the source of that gentleness.

The Bible tells us that a gentle answer can calm a person’s anger (Proverbs 15:1). Gentleness almost always contributes to contentment as well as peace. Throughout His life, Jesus showed us by His example the power of gentleness.

See in Matthew 11:29 the way He described Himself:

Accept my teachings and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. — NCV

And consider His gentleness with a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were ready to stone her in accordance with Jewish law. Then Jesus made this simple statement:

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

— John 8:7

When no one did, when each one walked away, Jesus was alone with the woman. To her He said simply,

Go and sin no more. — John 8:11 NLT

Choose gentleness today. Refrain from judging others. Treat the people you encounter the way you would like them to treat you, the gentle way your Good Shepherd treats you.

Psalm 23 is perhaps the most beautiful expression of Jesus’ gentle ways with us:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters,

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Extend Grace

Grace is the face that love wears when it meets imperfection. ~ Joseph R. Cooke

The world was a kinder place when people interacted face-to-face. It isn’t easy to say rude things when you’re looking someone in the eyes. Slamming someone over social media or with a flippant text message is much easier — and that is happening far too much. Freedom of speech has lost its filter. Thoughtless, disrespectful, hurtful comments run rampant today in social media, late-night talk shows, and even the news.

How do you deal with rude people? When someone is rude to you, maybe your first reaction is to be rude right back. Rudeness responding to rudeness destroys peace. There are better ways to deal with a person’s lack of courtesy and kindness.

Recognize that someone’s imperfections are just that. If a person makes a disagreeable comment on your social media post, cuts in front of you in the grocery line, or, ignoring you, keeps talking on their cell phone, don’t take it personally. Their behavior is about them, not you. So rather than allowing something to upset you and steal your contentment, practice grace by taking the following steps:

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Remember what you’re committed to in your heart.

3. Lead by example and treat them the way you would like to be treated.

4. Go one step further and offer authentic listening, an act of kindness, or help with something you learn they are dealing with.

5. Extending grace to difficult people takes practice, but remembering how many times you have received grace makes extending it to others a little easier. Blessing people with grace — with the grace of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, or patience — can help break the cycle of upset in the world. Become a beacon of grace and peace.

Grace is the face that love wears.

Excerpted from Love the Life You Have by Jean Fischer, copyright Thomas Nelson.

Extending grace to others is a sign of spiritual maturity. It is almost impossible to do in our old nature because we only think of self. Speaking of self, we often need to extend grace to ourselves, accepting faults, failures, even sin. We are a work in progress, (sanctification) and are pursuing holiness, yet we continue to fall and need to forgive ourselves as God does because they are all forgiven in Christ. Grace does not say sin, faults, failures are good. It allows a person to see their sin and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is a gift, undeserved. Believers in Jesus have received this gift and also need to offer this gift to others… more often than we do!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith February 27, 2024

Notes of Faith February 27, 2024

The Value of Time Alone with God

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. – Mark 1:35 NIV

There are two reasons we find it agonizing to spend time alone: either we get bored easily, or we want to avoid the reality of where our life has ended up. I was the latter. I didn’t want to be honest with myself or with God about how confused I was or how disappointed I felt with where I had landed in life (because of my own choices). But spending intentional time alone every day proved to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

You Listen Better in Solitude

In the Bible, God gave visions to people while they were in quiet places of solitude: the desert, the wilderness, the hills. Paul spent time alone. Moses spent time alone.

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion]. — Luke 5:16 AMP

Alone is where you receive direction, clarity, answers, wisdom, and confidence.

When was the last time you sat quietly by yourself and just thought? About life. Your future. What you really want. What you want to change. Who you need to forgive. What God is speaking to your heart.

Perhaps, like me years ago, you haven’t been still long enough to ask yourself those vital questions and — more importantly — to listen to God for answers.

Stop Talking and Listen

I used to do all the talking when I prayed. Like many people, I told the Lord what was on my heart, pleaded for things, and then said Amen. But your dream is never revealed to you while you’re talking. You must be quiet and just listen. You’ll be amazed how loudly God speaks! As God promises in Jeremiah:

Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things. — Jeremiah 33:3 NIV

Getting away from all the distractions vying for your attention and just listening is the most challenging and rewarding thing you will ever do to discover your purpose. It is truly the greatest private habit of the most successful and fulfilled people in the world. They make time to be alone, in quiet, to listen.

God wants to give you the healing, the wisdom, the direction you so desperately desire. He wants to reveal His next steps for your life. He wants to whisper insights and creative concepts. But, as we see in scripture, you must get quiet and alone to listen.

God wants to give you the healing, the wisdom, the direction you so desperately desire.

Welcoming the Holy Spirit to Your Space

To do this, it is important that you designate a space in your house that brings peace to you. Make that your special place to get quiet, even if it’s a closet.

If you go into a room desiring to hear from God and that space is disorganized, junky, and cluttered, you’re likely to focus more on what needs to be cleaned up than you are on hearing from the Lord.

Imagine the Holy Spirit as a holy guest in your home. How would you want your room to look if someone you considered a holy guest were to walk in? In what condition would it need to be for you to not feel embarrassed? Create a space that welcomes the Holy Spirit and removes anything competing for your attention.

A few years ago, I was speaking at a conference in Denver, Colorado. When I walked into the speaker’s room, I gasped! I was shocked at how well my host knew my style, my taste, and my favorite everything. Everywhere I looked, she had creatively placed little displays of “Terri.”

On one table sat a gorgeous vase of blooming pink roses. Pink — my signature color. Another table was scattered with miniature Eiffel Towers and dozens of mouthwatering cupcakes piled high with pink buttercream icing. French music was playing, and some women were even wearing French couture, knowing my love of France. I was truly overwhelmed by their hospitality and the detailed preparation for my arrival. Bottom line, I felt so welcomed.

Prepare for International Time with God

You don’t have to get this creative as you prepare to spend intentional time alone with God every day. But you can create an atmosphere for your heavenly Father that causes Him to feel welcome and that is conducive for you to hear His voice. As Jesus taught,

When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

— Matthew 6:6 ESV

Invitation for You: Ask the Lord what He is calling you to do in this season of life? Make time to be alone in the quiet and ask the Lord to help you hear His voice. Make sure you bring a journal and write down what the Lord reveals to you.

Start with Prayer: God, I want to welcome You into this time. I pray for an undivided heart, that I might know You more. Amen.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Terri Foy, author of The Alone Advantage.

There could never be a better experience than walking and talking with God. Though we do this now as believers, one day we will experience this in reality as did Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their sin against God. Being still and knowing God is not an easy thing to do, but, oh the glory we inhabit when we recognize His presence and “snuggle” in the glory of God. Let us endeavor to walk more closely with God today and closer still tomorrow, until He comes to claim those who belong to Him, making us complete and perfect, holy and pure, to enjoy our eternal journey with our Savior and Lord!

Pastor Dale