Notes of Faith March 17, 2024

Notes of Faith March 17, 2024

Woman, believe Me. — from John 4:4–26

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”1

Believe. The Gospel of John uses the word eighty-four times. This use is the first. “That all might believe through him.”

John continued, “He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”2

Looking back to the garden, at what was lost, this is one of the most astounding statements in Scripture: “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” Think through the ramifications. The undoing of what was done in the garden? Can you see the progression? From orphan. To child. To heir.

Okay, but how do we do that? Sounds a bit too good to be true. According to Scripture, we receive and believe in. But what does that mean?

It’s one thing to believe that His words are true and that Jesus is the Son of God, and it’s quite another to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and place our whole trust in Him.

In short, “believing that” is not “believing in.” Many “believe that,” but far fewer “believe in.” And Jesus wants disciples who “believe in.” Let’s look first for examples of what it means to “believe in.” Get ready, Jesus is about to use the word believe twenty-two times in just the first five chapters of John. He did so to make a point. Jesus is invited to a wedding in Cana where He performs an undeniable sign, witnessed by several, in which He turns water to wine. Of this John recorded, “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.”3

Following the miracle at Cana, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for Passover; and first thing, He walks into the temple, makes a whip of cords, and cleans house, driving everyone out. “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”4 Jesus is not angry that they are selling animals. He is angry they are selling blemished animals and profiting off fellow Jews who had traveled long distances intent on obeying the Law and offering a sacrifice, only to be charged an exorbitant price.

The Jews, who can’t stand the fact that Jesus has just called God His Father, want a sign to support His authority to do what He’s done. Jesus then says something they can’t understand: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”5 They think He’s talking about the actual temple, which took forty-six years to build, but He’s talking about His body. “When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”6 The very next verse goes on to say,

“When He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.”7

While in Jerusalem, Jesus bumps into Nicodemus, who asks how a man can be born again. This is the first real conversation about what it means to become a child of God.

Jesus answers, “You must be born again.”

Nicodemus scratches his head, “How can this be?” Jesus puts it in language Nicodemus can understand. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”8

Which brings us to the most famous verses in all of Scripture.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”9

Jesus then walks into the Judean countryside with His disciples and begins baptizing people. (His disciples did the baptizing.) Coincidentally, John the Baptizer is also baptizing people. A local Jew notices the two camps and the possible competition for followers and begins a conversation with John the Baptist. John responds, “I am not the Christ” and then goes on to point out, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”10

Without “belief in,” there is no life.

When Jesus realizes that the Pharisees have heard that He and John are baptizing and that Jesus is baptizing more disciples than John, Jesus departs Judea for Galilee. To do so, He passes through Samaria and a town called Sychar. Being thirsty, He stops at Jacob’s well about noon when a woman from Samaria stops to draw water, and Jesus says to her, “Give Me a drink.”11 This is unusual in that Jews and Samaritans have been enemies a long time. Regardless, Jesus engages her in conversation about the water, her husbands, and how He is the Messiah. In the middle of the conversation, Jesus says this: “Woman, believe Me.” He then goes on to talk about worship. Seconds later, the woman says, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” To this, Jesus responds: “I who speak to you am He.”12

These are mind-blowing words.

“Believe Me — I am the Messiah.”

Jesus leaves Samaria, where “many believed” based on the testimony of the woman — which might make her the first evangelist — and He walks by a pool at the Sheep Gate called Bethesda. The sick, blind, lame, and withered are waiting for an angel to stir the waters because the first one in after the stirring will be made well. Jesus speaks to a man who has been lying there thirty-eight years and asks him, “Do you wish to get well?”13 The sick man responds, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool.”14 So Jesus, who is the fount of living waters, says “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”15

Which the man does.

The Pharisees are watching Jesus through skeptical eyes. Trying to trap Him. “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”16

There it is. The reason they killed Him. Because He called God His Father and claimed to be the Son of God.

Which He is.

Jesus responds with this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”17

Five chapters into John’s gospel and he’s now used the word believe twenty-two times. Over the course of his gospel, John used it eighty-four times! As a writer, if I mention something twenty-two times in the first five chapters of any book I write, trust me, I’m beating you over the head. It’s akin to ringing a church bell three feet from your ear. I’m wanting you to hear me. I’m telegraphing that this is probably the most important thing.

Why does Jesus do this?

After Jesus walks on water, a crowd gathers and asks Him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”18 Jesus answers it simply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”19 Then, moments later, He says this: “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”20

Because without “belief in,” there is no life.

The word believe comes from the Greek word pisteuo, and while it means to intellectually comprehend and agree with someone or some concept, pisteuo is more than that. It not only means to comprehend; it means to “put your trust in.” Completely.

Suppose you and I are standing on the side of a vast bridge that crosses a chasm several thousand feet deep. And as we sit there watching, people walk to the middle of the bridge, wrap a strap around their ankles, climb up on the railing, and take a swan dive out over the edge, falling thousands of feet, before the bungee snaps them back to the bridge. It’s one thing for us to stand on the side and remark, “I believe that bungee will hold me if I were to do the same.” It’s another thing entirely to walk out on the bridge, strap in, and take a Peter Pan off the railing. One is believing that it will hold us. The other is believing in its ability to hold us and then trusting in it — entirely — to do just that.

Big difference.

We pisteuo in a chair or swing when we sit on it. We pisteuo in a bridge when we drive across it. We pisteuo in an elevator when the doors close and it either ascends or descends. And we pisteuo in the bungee when we lock it around our ankles and dive.

Belief that is little more than an intellectual exercise that never strays far from the safe recesses of our minds. Belief that is faithlessness in action. It requires nothing. No commitment. No buy-in. Just cavalier indifference on display. While belief in flows from our guts. The same place we feel butterflies. Fear. Courage. And gumption. Down where our love lives.

1. John 1:6–7, 2. John 1:8–13, 3. John 2:1, 4. John 2:16, 5. John 2:19, 6. John 2:22, 7. John 2:23, 8. John 3:14–15, 9. John 3:16–18, 10. John 3:28, 35–36, 11. John 4:7, 12. John 4:21–26, 13. John 5:6 NASB, 14. John 5:7, 15. John 5:8 NIV, 16. John 5:18 NKJV, 17. John 5:24, 18. John 6:28, 19. John 6:29, 20. John 6:40.

Excerpted from It Is Finished by Charles Martin, copyright Charles Martin.

Most non-Christians do not believe that… They don’t believe anything about God or the truth spoken in the Scriptures. But there are also many who believe that Jesus is who He says that He is and yet do not place their trust in Him…they do not believe in Jesus. They know about Jesus but do not have an intimate relationship with Jesus. Head knowledge verses heart living. Faith, the free gift of God, allows us to believe in Jesus. True believers trust, follow and obey Jesus. It is not easy to be a Christian. You can say that you are one, but it may not be true. Examine your own heart to determine if you believe in Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 16, 2024

Notes of Faith March 16, 2024

Freedom from the Bondage of Sin

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” — Joel 2:12

“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

— Matthew 6:17–18

No one wants to remain an infant sustained on milk when they can grow and mature and feast on the solid food of the Spirit. It’s important to know where you are spiritually so you can have a starting point. If you’ve been on a diet of spiritual milk for some time, you’re likely ready to take your faith to the next level and experience greater intimacy with God. To do this, you need to move past the trap of perpetual sin.

Otherwise, your faith will merely revolve around your mistakes and your need for forgiveness. Throughout life in this fallen world, you will still have moments when you sin and need to ask for forgiveness, but you don’t have to stay stuck in a daily rinse-and-repeat cycle. God has so much more for you than that.

Knowing where you are spiritually is the starting point regardless of your struggles. And if you’re not struggling, then praise God! You’re likely more than ready to take your faith to the next level and experience more intimacy with Him. Because once you enter into relationship with Christ, you can have freedom from the bondage of sin...

While we have been set free — free indeed — by the Son, we remain spiritual beings in a body of flesh. Even though our salvation is secured and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are still works in progress capable of making sinful choices — even when we know better and don’t want to do so. Paul expressed this frustration in a way we can all relate to at some level:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

— Romans 7:15, 18 NIV

Paul went on to conclude,

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. — Romans 7:20 NIV

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a better spiritual description of addiction than in the paradox Paul described. Basically, addiction reflects the pattern of doing something you really don’t want to do and/or not doing something you really do want to do.

What causes this ongoing tension? The Bible tells us that we are tripart beings comprised of body, soul, and spirit. Because our bodies are the tangible, visible part we see and feel, we tend to let our bodies, including our emotions, rule our hearts — which is why fasting is so essential for refocusing on God and strengthening our spirit. Fasting weakens the body and its appetites so that we can keep our eyes on Jesus. Simply put, fasting is about less of us and more of God.

In stark contrast to the constant messages in today’s society, fasting denies the things that our flesh craves — food, alcohol, and anything we use for pleasure and distraction. When we suppress those cravings and appetites and force our bodies to yield to our spirits, we create space for drawing closer to God and aligning our hearts with His. And when we’re aligned with Him, we have full access to His unlimited power through the Holy Spirit, including the power to overcome those stubborn, sinful areas that continue to hold us back in our faith...

Fasting is essential to our spiritual lives.

Fasting is mentioned in the Bible not a couple times, not a dozen times, but more than seventy times! In fact, Jesus said that His people would need to fast to remain connected to Him in His absence, once He had left earth and returned to Heaven:

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast’.

— Matthew 9:14–15 NIV, emphasis added

Fasting was a vital part of life in the New Testament church, in both big decisions and daily moments.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

— Acts 13:2–3 NIV, emphasis added

We also find that the apostle Paul fasted as a regular discipline:

...in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often. — 2 Corinthians 11:27 NKJV

I sincerely believe fasting is not an optional habit or an only-if-you-feel-like-it spiritual discipline. It is essential to our spiritual lives.

Keep in mind that fasting encompasses much more than food. I realize that some people are unable to fast from food due to physical conditions or medications they take. In fact, I urge you never to fast without checking with your doctor first and other health professionals you trust. You want to use wisdom when denying yourself fleshly desires, not jeopardize your physical, mental, and emotional health...

Fasting isn’t something that should intimidate you or make you nervous and that it also isn’t something you should ignore or neglect. Fasting is an essential spiritual practice that will strengthen your spirit in a powerful way as you dull your appetites for the things of this world. As you lean into fasting, you will supercharge your prayer life with a stronger, more focused connection with God and a looser attachment to the world.

Excerpted from Pray First by Chris Hodges, copyright Chris Hodges.

Check with your physician before fasting to know how it could affect your health. The Great Physician knows your physical body, since it is He that made it, and also knows your spiritual condition and desire to draw close to Him through fasting. Pray fervently before you begin, know when to start and if you need to end your fast due to physical concerns. Depriving yourself through “fasting” is a means to draw closer to God. It is not to be twisted and abused for other purposes. Draw near to the Lord your God and He will draw near to you.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 15, 2024

Notes of Faith March 15, 2024

Jesus, the Eternal God

When the apostle John wrote his gospel about the life of Jesus, he began his biography by making the boldest of claims.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. — John 1:1–2

There have been a lot of claims about who Jesus is. Some say He was only a prophet, while others say that He was just a good teacher. Still others claim that either He was a lunatic or a liar. And there are some who claim that He never really existed, that he was a mythological character, like Zeus or Poseidon.

People are going to have to decide for themselves who Jesus really is, but the Jesus I want to talk about is the Jesus of the Bible. He’s the only one I care about.

When I first read the above passage in John 1, I thought to myself, Who is this Word person? As I continued to read, I found out who the Word is.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

John identifies Jesus as the Word, the ultimate authority on everything. The way I see it, if His claims are true, that He was murdered and raised from the dead, He is the authority.

If His resurrection is an historical fact, no one could seriously argue that He isn’t worthy of my praise.

Resurrection defies every law of nature we know. Once something is dead, it’s dead like Rover, dead all over. There is no coming back from that, that is unless a supreme, almighty, infinite God intervenes and reverses the laws of science. In Jesus’ case, Satan killed the earthly body of Jesus, but by God’s power, He was raised from the dead.

Not only does John claim that Jesus is eternal, with no beginning or end, he also claims that Jesus was the one responsible for creation.

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. — John 1:3–4

When most of us think of creation, we imagine some distant God speaking it all into existence.

However, since Jesus’ appearance in the flesh, we now have a visual image of our Creator. He is God, but He is also a man of skin and bones. When God came to live here, He came eating and drinking. He is like us in this way, but He’s also different in that He is God, and as God, He is the one who made us and put air in our lungs.

What a preposterous idea that the Creator would become one of us, walk around on this planet for thirty-three years, die a brutal death, and be raised from the dead. But that is the story John tells about Him.

The God who created every atom and molecule in the entire universe walked on earth as a man.

But if it’s true? It is the greatest story ever told.

Jesus, the Word of God, Is the Creator

According to the Bible, all God had to do was say, “Let it be!” (with apologies to the Beatles) and every bit of creation began to be. That’s it. He spoke and it began to exist. An accomplishment like that seems like a lot of work to us, but it wasn’t for God. He just said the word, and it was done. Just like that. Jesus is that Word of God, the Creator who brought all things into existence.

And what an amazing universe He created for His glory and our enjoyment. From the trillions upon trillions of celestial bodies that occupy space across the vast universe to the unseen world of atoms and the cells of living things, our environment is incredible. In fact, it is so vast and so precisely designed that the only thing we can say about it is that it is unfathomable.

I’m no scientist, but I’ve been an observer of the cosmos for over seven decades. I’ve seen a thing or two, even back when I was a rank and filthy sinner, that caused me to take pause for a moment and wonder to myself, How did it all get here?

I’ve discussed these things before, but I was awestruck at a young age by the annual migration of waterfowl. Even as a young boy traipsing through the woods and swamps in Northwest Louisiana, my observations led me to ask simple questions about the origin of the universe. How do ducks know when it’s time to leave the far north and head south for the winter? How do they know the way? How do they find the same ancestral water holes year after year? The same flight patterns? The same migration routes? The same stops along the way?

And then there is the pesky beaver. In my persistent fight with the Castor canadensis, the North American beaver, I also marveled at their uncanny ability to construct intricate dams and huts out of sticks and mud. They will not, they cannot be deterred. Embedded deeply within their DNA is something that commands them to stop the flow of water, and they will not relent until they have accomplished the one task they’ve been designed to complete. To say they are driven to do what they do is an understatement. They are equipped to do this, either by the impersonal forces of evolution or by an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator who implanted this unquenchable desire in every cell. You decide which one you’re going with. All I know is that their entire lives are spent working like crazy to impede the flow of water.

As I said, it’s not just that beavers build dams and huts, but that the knowledge of how to accomplish that task seems to be implanted in their brain. The beaver comes out of his mother’s womb with that particular skill set intact. I concluded early on that they are so hard-wired to do what they do that nothing mankind does will stop them. Trust me! I’ve tried. I hate to admit failure, but even though I may have won a battle or two, the beaver has so far won the war.

As much as I despise the destruction they cause, however, I am amazed at how well they do their job. No training! No schooling! Simply by instinct. Nothing more! In fact, I don’t think it’s knowledge at all. It’s more like an uncontrollable impulse, like breathing or the blinking of eyelids, like they were designed by a superior being specifically to accomplish that one task.

Observing things in the woods is where I began to question why things exist. Even the most committed skeptic would be forced to admit that waterfowl migration and dam-building beavers are at least worthy of note. At the very least, almost everyone who observes the same things I see will say, “Hmm, that’s interesting.” Right?

As I said, I am obviously no scientist. In my early days, I coached high school sports and taught a few English classes. In my late twenties, I designed the duck call that has supported our family for almost fifty years. Sixty days or so out of every year, I rise early in the morning, take a short jaunt to one of my blinds, and there I unceremoniously harvest ducks. The rest of the year, I’m either plowing the earth and planting the crops that will feed the wildlife I will harvest or repairing and brushing duck blinds.

I’m really just a simple man living a simple life. There’s not much to me, to tell the truth. So, if you were to ask me to explain the universe in scientific terms, I would have to refer you to someone more qualified. This, however, is the beauty of creation. It so overwhelmingly declares the reality of God that we don’t have to be astrophysicists or molecular biologists to marvel at creation. Even a phys-ed teacher and duck call maker can be dazzled by it.

Yes, even the simplest and most unsophisticated people can see what both the scientists and I see and be dumbfounded by its majesty. Something about creation seems to be screaming in our ears that there is more out there than we can imagine. That inaudible voice tells you and me that something or Someone is behind it all, and that this creative force is amazing beyond our comprehension.

Excerpted from I Could Be Wrong, But I Doubt It by Phil Robertson, copyright Phil & Kay Enterprises, LLC.

I love the Robertsons. They are no backwoods, ignorant fool. Phil, and others in his family, college educated, he, a teacher, except during duck season, haha, successful business men, seekers and proclaimers of the one true God. Their television shows are hilarious, staged for sure, but a lot of fun to watch, and at the end of every show they are praying to God, giving thanks for His provision and care for their family and the food they are about to eat. There is a saying, “living the dream.” This is a family that I could say, even with all of the problems that life brings…they are living the eternal life dream. God is! Jesus is God! The Holy Spirit reveals all truth to us! Know God and everything else will be icing on the cake, or a savory sauce on the duck.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 14, 2024

Notes of Faith March 14, 2024

Devotionals Daily - Make every day a better day… when you start with the Lord!

God Is Listening

Today's inspiration comes from:

Grace for the Moment for Moms

by Max Lucado

When you wonder if anyone is listening, know this: God is. Your voice matters in Heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter His presence, He turns to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and He listens.

He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home.

He listens to the confession of the prodigal.

When the guilty beg for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the mom steps out of the chaos and into the chapel, God listens.

Intently. Carefully.

God is standing on the front porch of Heaven, expectantly hoping, searching the horizon for a glimpse of His child... And the name He calls is yours.

Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live. — Psalm 116:2 NIV

When a believing person prays, great things happen. — James 5:16

You will call My name. You will come to Me and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will search for Me. And when you search for Me with all your heart, you will find Me! — Jeremiah 29:12-13

Whenever you want to talk, God will listen.

The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.

God Is for You

God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that’s God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that’s God applauding your steps. Listen for Him in the bleachers shouting your name. Too tired to continue? He’ll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He’s picking you up. God is for you.

God is for you.

Had He a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If He drove a car, your name would be on His bumper. If there’s a tree in Heaven, He’s carved your name in the bark.

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? God asks in Isaiah 49:15 NIV. What a bizarre question. Can you imagine feeding your infant and then later asking, “What was that baby’s name?” No. I’ve seen you care for your young. You stroke the hair, you touch the face, you sing the name over and over. Can a mother forget? No way. But even if she could forget,... I will not forget you, God pledges (Isaiah 49:15 NCV).

You will rest in His love; He will sing and be joyful about you. — Zephaniah 3:17

God is the One who saves me; I will trust Him and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord gives me strength and makes me sing. He has saved me. — Isaiah 12:2

I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. — Isaiah 44:21 NLT

The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.

Excerpted from Grace for the Moment for Moms by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

We forget God. We forget that He is always with us, beside us, and for the believer in Jesus, in us. God will never forsake us. He made us, reveals Himself to us, draws us into relationship with Him, saves us, works in and through us, and promises to make us like Jesus, perfect, holy, fit for heaven. Our experience in life is often so distracting and earthly troubling that we forget God is there…not there somewhere but with us, going through everything with us, knowing what was going to happen before we were even born! God uses all things for our benefit and His ultimate glory. Nothing surprises Him. He is in sovereign control. His will is going to be done! Praise Him for He loves you and wants you to love Him too.

Pastor Dalel

Notes of Faith March 13, 2024

Notes of Faith March 13, 2024

How the Root of Insecurity Is Tied to Your Identity

I leaped out of bed when the alarm signaled it was time to wake up and hit the pavement. Ten minutes later, I was outside pressing “start running” on my fitness app and putting in my earbuds to listen to a worship music playlist. I was excited to run because the cool, crisp mornings between winter and spring are my favorite time of year.

I made it home just in time to give my seven-and ten-year-old sons sweaty hugs and my husband a sweaty kiss before they left for the day. Then I started my post-run routine of showering, stretching, making a pot of tea, and having some quiet time with the Lord. I was looking forward to my Bible study time because the cancelation of many of my speaking engagements allowed me to study for the fun of it without the pressure of preparing to give a message.

The Holy Spirit had led me to take an interest in the life of Jonathan, King Saul’s son. A lot was written about his father, and even more was written about his best friend, David, but I had never looked closely at Jonathan.

I started reading in 1 Samuel 14, which tells the story of how Jonathan waged an attack on a Philistine outpost with only his young armor-bearer by his side. As Jonathan made his way to Mikmash to fight two dozen Philistines by himself, his father, the king, rested comfortably under a pomegranate tree in Gibeah with six hundred soldiers. The juxtaposition of the two scenes was striking.

When Jonathan and his young armor-bearer reached the outpost, they saw that the Philistines were positioned on a cliff. This put Jonathan and his armor-bearer at a strategic disadvantage because it robbed them of the element of surprise. The climb to the Philistines’ position would also use precious energy they needed for the battle.

Nevertheless, Jonathan turned to his armor-bearer and said,

Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. — 1 Samuel 14:6

I repeated that last line to myself: “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” Something about it resonated. When the Lord is for us, we can be outnumbered but are never unprotected.

Insecurity Exposed

I read a couple more chapters and then decided it was time to start my day. I quickly checked my Facebook page to respond to comments and messages and then did the same on Instagram. Although I normally go straight to my Instagram notifications, that day I caught a glimpse of my newsfeed first. And that’s when the downward emotional spiral started.

After scrolling for what felt like an eternity, I counted no fewer than eight friends posting the exciting news that they were joining an amazing roster of speakers for a major women’s conference that was going virtual because of the pandemic. Since I don’t follow many people on social media, it seemed like the only thing in my newsfeed was an avalanche of exciting announcements about speaking at the Full Blossom Conference.

“Why wasn’t I invited to speak?” I asked aloud. “It’s like Susie asked everyone we mutually know except me.”

With each new post, I felt what can only be described as the stab of an emotional ice pick to the heart. My mind was clouded with hurt, so I stopped scrolling, closed Instagram, and looked out my living room window into a beautiful day. The skies were blue and filled with fluffy white clouds. Birds bounded from limb to limb on the tree just outside my window. But the beauty outside couldn’t overcome the ugliness churning inside me.

An old, familiar hurt resurfaced inside — the hurt of being unwanted.

I’ve had a full speaking schedule for years, despite never once advertising myself as a speaker or asking to speak at events. And I receive more speaking invitations for business and church conferences than I can accept. I’ve been invited to speak on multiple continents and keynoted major conferences across the United States and abroad. Yet, somehow, not being invited to speak at this conference bothered me.

Comparison makes what never mattered before the thing that matters most.

I’d heard of Full Blossom before and had never desired to speak at it, but after I saw many of the people in my ministry circle invited to speak there, my exclusion catalyzed a self-worth inquisition.

Comparison makes what never mattered before the thing that matters most.

As I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop, I felt a magnetic pull back to Instagram. I had back-to-back video conferences every thirty minutes for the next seven hours, so I set my phone down and logged on for the first meeting. Within ten minutes, I had discreetly unlocked my phone, opened Instagram, and continued the scroll. An irresistible and poisonous thread tugged on my heart and distracted me from work.

I went to Susie’s profile and saw post after post of her gushing about each speaker: how incredible they were and how perfect the conference would be because of them. My chest tightened, and a lump grew in my throat as I watched a video of her enthusiastically naming several of my friends as speakers. Although she spoke about them, my heart heard her speaking to me: Nona, I know who you are. I’ve seen what you do. And you’re not good enough. You’re not what I’m looking for. You’re just average.

I had not only constructed the full-blown, play-by-play narrative for why Susie hadn’t invited me but also decided I needed to unfollow everyone she had invited to speak. My heart felt like it would shatter if I saw one more friend’s post about the awesome conference I wasn’t invited to speak at. I didn’t want to wade through endless reminders that they were speaking at the conference and I wasn’t.

“Why did she pick everyone around me but not me?” I asked aloud again. The more I thought about it, the more my hurt turned to anger. But in my anger, I heard the Holy Spirit ask a different question: “Why does it matter?”

“Why does it matter?” I responded incredulously. “Because everyone who’s anyone will be speaking there. And I’m not. This will be the largest online women’s ministry gathering of the year, and I will be absent.”

“So you think you matter only because of the speaking invitations you receive?” the Holy Spirit asked.

“No,” I said. “I know I matter to You. I just... I just...” I stammered as the weight of the truth settled on me.

“Go ahead,” the Holy Spirit prompted, “say it.”

“I just want to matter to them too,” I whispered, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

“I know, Nona. You want to matter to them because you’re insecure,” the Holy Spirit said matter-of-factly.

“Insecure?” I responded with disbelief. “I’m not insecure! Far from it. I know who I am in You. I preach about it regularly. Besides, I have everything I could ever want and more than I could ever have imagined. I’m definitely not insecure!”

The Root of Insecurity

With love and conviction, the Holy Spirit said, “Nona, you think people are insecure if they don’t like how they look or don’t like what they have or don’t like what they do. Those are expressions of insecurity, but they’re not the root of insecurity. The root of insecurity is when your identity is built on an insecure foundation.”

As I considered what the Holy Spirit said, I felt defensive. “My identity is secured to You, Lord. I know what the Word says about who I am, and I believe it. How can You say I’m insecure?”

“Yes, you know what my Word says, and you also believe it,” affirmed the Holy Spirit. “But knowledge and belief are not the same as faith. As long as you know my Word in your head and believe it in your heart but don’t practice it daily, your identity will continue to be secured to the affirmation of others. You have built your identity on people’s approval. People show their approval with likes on social media, but I demonstrated my approval through love on the cross. I approved of you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. And my approval is unchanging.”

The truth in these words hit me like a Mack truck. So much of my life had been spent trying to win people’s approval, and maybe yours has too.

The approval of others is never permanent, and it often depends on variables that are beyond our control. People use things such as height, weight, wealth, popularity, theology, position, or political affiliation as “approval filters” to determine whether we’re good enough for them. Yet God approved of us before there was anything to approve of. God created us on purpose, with purpose.

The Holy Spirit said, “Nona, the reason you’re hurt by not being invited to speak at that conference is because you measure your worth based on how much people approve of you compared to others. When you aren’t secured to the stable foundation of who I say you are, you drift with the shifting currents of others’ opinions about you. When you drift from Me, you have to secure your identity to people’s opinions to stay afloat. Your insecurity didn’t start this morning. You’ve been insecure most of your life.”

I sat in silence with my eyes closed, reflecting on what the Holy Spirit had said. Before I knew it, my eyes were brimming with tears. The Holy Spirit was right — as always.

Somewhere along the line, I had surrendered my purpose for performative applause. God had valued me before I even had the ability to perform my way into his love. Though God determined I was worth dying for at my worst (Romans 5:8), I made the mistake of conflating my eternal, intrinsic value with likes, follows, shares, and speaking invitations. And the craziest part of it all is that no one knew. Not even me. It happened subtly, over time.

With every larger platform I stepped onto, my heart had slowly detached from the secure foundation of God’s approval and attached itself to the insecure foundation of other people’s approval, creating insecurity.

“Lord, You’re right,” I said. “You say in your Word that people honor You with their lips but their hearts are far from You. I now understand what You mean. I have honored You with my lips, but I’m not honoring You with my life. Lord, I need Your help. Please deliver me from insecurity.”

“Nona, what you’re asking will require more than you expect, but if you trust Me and obey Me, I will help you get to freedom. You must no longer look to others for approval; you must look only to Me.”

“Lord, I’m ready,” I said.

“No, you’re not. But that’s what My grace is for.”

Just as Jonathan was outnumbered against the Philistines, we can feel overwhelmed by seeming to never measure up. But the same divine grace that enabled His victory is the same grace that enables our victory over insecurity too.

Adapted from Killing Comparison by Nona Jones, copyright Nona Jones. Shared with permission from biblegateway.com.

I pray that you spend much time in God’s Word. I love the real people God has told us about. Jonathan is one of them. You may not have remembered anything about this person because He is not the king or other powerful influencer. But he loved David who would become king and protected him from his father Saul who sought to kill David.

We can learn much from what people of the Word lived. We can learn of our lack of faith and trust in God, our insecurity through comparing ourselves to others (my own heart did this yesterday) but it is God who provides us with grace for usefulness and glory before Him, not mankind. This is most likely a struggle for you…to be liked, respected, honored, among others. Not a very eternal perspective. Let us seek to bring honor and glory to God by passing all praise, honor and glory to the One to which it belongs…God and God alone!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 12, 2024

Notes of Faith March 12, 2024

‘Baptism Now Saves You’

The Meaning of a Misunderstood Text

I know that this is a little deep theologically for some of you. Please try to wade through it, ask questions of the Holy Spirit to give you illumination, or even ask this lowly pastor to help think through tough Scriptures. Please try to read and understand all of this…

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Throughout church history, 1 Peter 3:21 has proved to be one of the more challenging texts to interpret in all of Scripture. Not only does the verse appear in one of the more puzzling paragraphs in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:18–22), but Peter seems to depict baptism as actually being salvific. How does baptism save us?

As is the case with so many difficult texts in Scripture, persistently pressing on the biblical text sheds light on its meaning — in this case, that baptism is not regenerative in itself, but powerfully expresses the individual’s faith in the sufficiency of Christ to save.

Righteous Sufferers Will Be Exalted

In the immediate context of the verse, Peter’s main point is that faithful Christian suffering results in eternal blessing. Christians are “blessed” if they suffer for the sake of righteousness (1 Peter 3:14), and they should deem it “better” to suffer for doing good (1 Peter 3:17).

The word “for” at the outset of verse 18 is crucial, for it shows that 1 Peter 3:18–22 grounds why Christians should believe such suffering is “better.” Verses 18–22 recount the story of Christ, who suffered and died (verse 18a) but who then was “made alive,” proclaimed victory, and ascended to God’s right hand (verses 18b–22). Though Christ is unique in that he accomplished redemption through his death and resurrection, he also serves as an example for us to follow (see 1 Peter 2:21). Just as Christ’s suffering led to his exaltation, so too will our righteous suffering.

In the midst of Christ’s story, Peter offers Noah as another example of a righteous sufferer whom God exalted in due time. In contrast to those in Noah’s generation who had disobeyed, Noah and those with him — they numbered eight in all — “were saved through water” (verse 20). Peter then draws out a typological relationship between the flood and baptism: the flood is the type and baptism the antitype, the latter of which “now saves you” (verse 21).

Just as Noah and his family were delivered by means of the ark “through water,” so Christians are delivered by means of Christ through baptism. In this sense, since Noah’s salvation typifies ours through Christ, Peter includes it at this point in his letter to help us grasp more clearly our own salvation through Christ and to ground more firmly our hope for future exaltation.

With this context in mind, what does it mean that baptism saves a person? Does baptism save apart from faith, or does baptism express faith? Do the baptismal waters in themselves wash away sin and infuse new life into the baptized, or is baptism a metonymy (a figure of speech that stands for the thing it represents) for Christ’s saving work that we receive by faith, which is expressed in baptism?

Does Baptism Actually Save?

One of the major interpretations of 1 Peter 3:21 is that Peter teaches some version of baptismal regeneration. According to Roman Catholicism’s understanding of the verse, for example, baptism is salvific in three ways: it washes away sin, grants new life to the baptized, and admits the baptized into the church.

In its purifying function, according to this view, baptism washes away both original sin and actual, pre-baptismal sins. The baptismal waters wash away both the guilt and the condemnation of sin. In its regenerative function, baptism infuses new life into the baptized so that the individual is actually and really dead to sin and granted a share in eternal life. In its ecclesiological function, baptism admits the baptized into the church, the communion of the saints, outside of which there is no salvation.

Baptism, then, conveys saving grace in that God’s grace becomes effective to the individual in baptism, for what baptism “signifies” it “actually brings about” in the baptized (Catechism of the Catholic Church §1234). According to Thomas Aquinas, the sacraments, of which baptism is the first, “effect what they signify,” not as the principal cause (which is God alone), but as the instrumental cause of God’s saving grace (Summa Theologica 3.62.1). This view of the sacraments, sometimes labeled ex opere operato (“by the work worked”), places the efficacy of the sacrament in the act itself. In this sense, the Roman Catholic interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21 is that baptism is necessary for salvation because baptism in itself actualizes salvation.

While Roman Catholicism’s interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21 may account for Peter’s straightforward claim that baptism saves the individual, it fails to account adequately for two features in the text: (1) the typological relationship between the flood and baptism (1 Peter 3:20–21a) and (2) the close association between faith and baptism (1 Peter 3:21b).

What Do the Waters Picture?

Regarding baptism’s typological relationship to the flood, the flood was not the means of salvation per se, but the occasion for salvation through the ark. Baptism certainly represents cleansing from sin, but it also evokes salvation through judgment. In the ancient context, large bodies of water and floodwaters were foreboding and dangerous because they were uncontrollable elements in nature that often brought destruction. Peter’s link between baptism and the flood is meant to draw out the link between baptism and judgment.

The flood was God’s judgment on humanity for sin, and Noah and his family were saved because they were in the ark. While in some sense Noah’s salvation included his deliverance from the corruption of those around him, at a more fundamental level he was delivered from the floodwaters of death by means of the ark. In this sense, the floodwaters in themselves worked judgment, whereas the ark worked salvation for Noah and his family in the midst of judgment.

Peter’s link between the flood and baptism suggests that baptism operates in similar ways. Like the flood, the waters of baptism in themselves evoke judgment; they are not the means of salvation per se, but they signify the occasion in which God worked salvation for his people through Christ. Further, just as the ark was the formal means of salvation for Noah and his family, believers are saved “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (verse 21). The mode of immersion poignantly portrays such salvation through judgment, for immersion evokes both the overwhelming floodwaters of judgment (as the person is submerged) and the salvation from judgment the baptized receives through Christ (as the person emerges).

This observation about the typological relationship between the flood and baptism suggests that Peter did not conceive of baptism as effectual in itself. According to the typology, baptism is not an ex opere operato mechanism by which the baptismal waters effect what they signify. Rather, the typology points to Christ, who like the ark saves us in the midst of God’s judgment through his death and resurrection on our behalf. Since baptism signifies our union to Christ in his death and resurrection (see Romans 6:3–4), baptism is an apt metonymy for Christ’s saving work that draws our attention to the image of salvation and judgment as typified in the flood.

Baptism as Faith Expressed

The baptismal waters do not convey saving grace in themselves, for baptism, in expressing the faith of the baptized, inexorably contains a subjective element. Baptism is not the “removal of dirt from the body but . . . an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:21b). The contrast between the “body” and the “conscience” points to an outward versus inward reality.

Peter wants us to see that the significance of baptism is not the outward washing of water but that which is inward. Peter’s point isn’t to minimize water baptism — quite the opposite! Rather, the water is an outward reality that corresponds to a greater inward reality. The inward reality is “a good conscience,” which refers to a conscience unburdened by guilt and an awareness of sins forgiven and a righteous standing before God. Since Peter identifies baptism as an “appeal” or a “request” for a good conscience (these words offer a better translation than “pledge”), baptism is the act through which the individual requests forgiveness and cleansing from a guilty conscience, a request made in the presence of God and God’s people.

Such an understanding of baptism shows its inextricable link with faith in Christ, since Peter clarifies that baptism is the individual’s expression of faith in the sufficiency of Christ’s death and resurrection on his behalf. If the Roman Catholic view of baptismal regeneration were true (in which the sign actualizes the thing signified), it is difficult to see why Peter would downplay the baptismal water itself and instead draw our attention to the subjective element of faith bound up with that act of baptism.

Future Glory, Fresh Resolve

While 1 Peter 3:21 offers a hermeneutical challenge, Peter gives sufficient clues to elucidate in what sense he considers baptism salvific. Of particular importance is the way in which he frames the relationship between the flood and baptism, as well as his explanation of baptism as the request issuing from the individual’s trust in the sufficiency of Christ to save.

Peter reminds us that our accomplished salvation in Christ, typified by Noah’s deliverance from the flood, has already been powerfully expressed in our baptism, and that therefore we can find fresh assurance of future glory and a renewed resolve to endure present suffering for the sake of righteousness.

Joshua Greever is associate professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary.

Obviously, my faith tells me that it is not baptism that saves me but that it is a public expression of my faith that has already taken place. That is what this professor is trying to explain. I pray that you understand the significance of this truth.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 11, 2024

Notes of Faith March 11, 2024

Accepting Disappointment and Remaining Hopeful

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Choose Lockdown

From a psychological perspective, and according to research by Dr. Rick Snyder (1944–2006), a professor of clinical psychology who studied hope for thirty-four years at the University of Kansas,1 hopeful thinkers achieve more and are more successful. They are physically and psychologically healthier than less hopeful people. Snyder’s hope theory, according to one summary, “defines hope as a dynamic motivational experience that is interactively derived from two distinct types of cognitive tools in the context of goal achievement — namely, pathways and agency thinking. His theory proposes that hope results from an individual’s perceived ability to develop numerous and flexible pathways toward their goals, allowing them to identify barriers and strategies to overcome these as they move toward goal achievement.”2

For example, if we were to apply Snyder’s hope theory to our lives, it would be a three-step process that looks like this:

Step 1: Encourage Goal-Oriented Thinking

Goals can be long-term or short-term. Be intentional and set your goals. What goals do you need to achieve to answer your calling? What dreams are you wanting to make a reality?

Step 2: Find Pathways to Achievement

A pathway is a workable route to your goals. If a setback occurs, be creative, and find another pathway. It’s not going to be easy, but identifying the barriers, complications, or risks will allow you to problem-solve and create a plan.

Step 3: Instigate Change

Take time to develop good habits that will allow you to keep moving forward and in the direction of achieving your goals. Be flexible and willing to create new path- ways. Be open to change and allow it to fuel your motivation.

Snyder says hope is the state of mind that helps you navigate life's twists and turns, and keeps you moving forward when times are tough. What's more, as we shall see, hope isn't simply a happy feeling — it's a human survival mechanism that fuels your desire to keep pushing on and growing.3

To me, from my own experiences and walk of faith with God,

hope is unshakeable confidence in God.4

It doesn’t deny the reality of our pain, but it does give us a life beyond our pain. It gives us permission to believe in a new beginning. It gives us permission to dream again. It is the happy and confident expectation of good that lifts our spirits and dares us to believe in a different future — in a different dream. It is always looking to God with expectation: “Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”5

But when we lose hope, when all we feel is the pain of loss and disappointment, it can be so hard to believe that God wants to help us or that He cares, because we have more questions than answers. More doubt than faith. And yet, that is the perfect time to become a prisoner of hope.

A prisoner of hope sounds like an odd thing to be, doesn’t it? Aren’t prisoners locked up in high-security institutions and stripped of all their freedoms? Why would we want to be characterized as a prisoner of anything, even hope?

Because being a prisoner of hope in God is different.

God’s prisoners of hope aren’t forced into an institution for punishment but invited into a fortress for safety.

Imagine a castle that stands firm even when the very foundations of life are shaken. A place created just for us, where we can chain ourselves to the promise that God is working all things for our good, even when all things are falling apart. From the high tower of this fortress, we prisoners of hope gain a whole new perspective. We can look beyond our unexpected circumstances to the future, trusting that God has good things in store for us.

When I first learned to think and live this way, it was revolutionary to me. I was raised in a religious tradition that never encouraged me to expect good things from God. In fact, it was considered presumptuous to even imagine that God had time for my requests, given that He had an entire world to run. I’m so glad I discovered in His Word that God is good, God does good, and God wants to do good for me — all the time. But to keep my heart and mind thinking and believing this way on a daily basis doesn’t come naturally; instead, it’s always a choice, one I have to make again and again.

Hope is unshakeable confidence in God.

Here’s another way to think about this choice. When the unexpected strikes, we find ourselves perched on a thin precipice with an abyss on either side. That’s when we have a decision to make. We can choose to fall into the abyss of despair on one side or into the abyss of hope on the other. Both look like scary choices, but when we choose to fall into hope, we soon find ourselves wrapped in the arms of a loving God — a God who always catches us and always promises to carry us from the precipice of despair into the wide-open space of new life. That’s where we find the new opportunities and experiences that get us beyond our disappointments and disillusionments. It is a place of freedom where we let go of what we once wanted in exchange for what we never expected — a new adventure. But we can’t get there by ourselves.

Only God can catch and carry us into the new life we never imagined and take us to places we never considered going.

Becoming a prisoner of hope doesn’t mean we no longer struggle with disillusionment or despair. When the unexpected strikes and gives us new reasons to lose hope, it’s still tempting to dig a tunnel out of our fortress, to escape hope and lose ourselves in doubt, fear, and unbelief. I cannot tell you how many times I almost lost hope that we would see people rescued at A21, or that traffickers would be caught and prosecuted and sentenced. That Propel Women would resonate with women. That I had another book in me. There were times I wondered if I would have the ability to parent my girls with wisdom. Or if I would get free from the pain of my past. The list is endless.

In each and every endeavor, I had to chain myself once more to the God of all hope. As we launched our initiatives, people left who had said they would stay. People who were supportive at one stage dropped out in the next. Doors slammed shut. Governments changed policies. But I have learned to walk by faith and not by sight.6 To close my eyes, proclaim myself a prisoner of hope, and step into a spiritual fortress — to dare to get my hopes up and keep my hopes up. I’ve seen God step in and carry me to better places, present me with better opportunities, and lead me into amazing breakthroughs.

When we are tempted to escape but choose instead to run to our stronghold, Jesus, He promises to overflow our lives with hope:

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.7

He promises to help us become the prisoners of hope He’s called us to be so we can move beyond despair into a new destiny.

But first, we have to willingly turn ourselves in at the fortress gate and stay there.

I’ve had many unexpected things happen in my life — things that were never in my plan. But there is no telling what hope we can bring into our homes, workplaces, and communities if we’ll choose to be people of hope — who use words of hope — in a world where people desperately need it.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, wrote the apostle Paul, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.8

That’s a promise of hope that will not fail.

1. Shane J. Lopez and C.R. Snyder, eds. “Memoriam: Remembering C.R. Snyder: A Humble Legacy of Hope,” The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 2nd ed. (2009; online ed., Oxford Academic, September 18, 2012), https://academic. oup.com/edited-volume/28153/ chapter/212928489, accessed August 8, 2023.

2. Rachel Colla et al., “’A New Hope’ for Positive Psychology: A Dynamic Systems Reconceptualization of Hope Theory,” Frontiers in Psychology 13:809053 (2022), doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.809053.

3. Mind Tools Content Team, “Snyder’s Hope Theory,” Mind Tools, www.mindtools.com/ aov3izj/snyders-hope-theory.

4. Hebrews 10:35.

5. Psalm 39:7.

6. 2 Corinthians 5:7.

7. Romans 15:13.

8. Romans 8:11.

Excerpted from Permission to Dream by Christine Caine, copyright Caso Writing, LLC.

If your hope is in God, you will never lose hope, because it is He that has a perfect and strong hold on you! Hope will keep us going through the faith that God gives us to believe and trust in Him no matter what this world throws our way. One day that hope will be fulfilled in the return of Jesus for His bride, those that believe in Him, worship and obey Him, that is, the church, and we will live with Him eternally! What greater hope could there be?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 10, 2024

Notes of Faith March 10, 2024

You Can Love Them, But You Can’t Change Them

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. — Hebrews 4:16

Relationships are wonderful... until they’re not.

All relationships can be difficult at times, but they should not be destructive to our well-being. If you have relationships in your life where you know something is wrong, but you can’t for the life of you figure out what to do, I understand. I know what it feels like to have your body tense and your pulse quicken while your mind is begging the other person, Stop doing this!

Most of us aren’t equipped to know what to do when we know things need to change but the other person isn’t willing to or capable of cooperating with the needed changes. Your challenge may be with someone who personalizes everything and is prone to being offended, so you can’t figure out how to address something this person repeatedly does that is not acceptable to you. You know you need a boundary, but you don’t know how to communicate this need.

a person in authority over you, and boundaries don’t feel like they would work.

a family member who lives in your home, and though you need some distance, setting a boundary doesn’t feel realistic.

You’ve prayed about this behavior or situation. You’ve tried to navigate it. You’ve made changes. You may have even tried to stop it. You’ve listened to wise advice and done everything you know to do. But in the end, nothing has worked.

You’ve finally realized if they don’t want things to change, you cannot change them. This is a terribly hard truth to accept, but it’s one of the most freeing truths I’ve learned to embrace.

The only other option is secretly wondering if you are the crazy one. Friend, you may be brokenhearted. You may be sad. You may be afraid and possibly angry. You may be focused on trying to fix what isn’t within your ability to fix. And you may even be fixated on trying to figure everything out.

But you are not crazy. If you are smelling smoke, there is fire. And the only reasonable option at this point is either to put out the fire or get yourself away from the fire. Drawing boundaries can help put out fires before they become all-consuming. But if the fire keeps burning with increasing intensity, you’ve got to get away from the smoke and flames. Sometimes your only option may be to distance yourself from this person and say goodbye.

Boundaries aren’t going to fix the other person. But boundaries will help you stay fixed on what is good, what is acceptable, and what you need to stay healthy and whole.

I don’t know what boundaries you may need to consider; I challenge you to process this situation with the Lord and prayerfully think through what changes may be necessary alongside a trusted Christian counselor or wise friend. Maybe for today, it’s just enough to sit and think through the truth that the only sustainable change you have control over is making a sustainable change for yourself.

I know this isn’t easy, but it is good.

A statement to remember as I walk into today:

Boundaries aren’t going to fix the other person. But boundaries will help you stay fixed on what is good, what is acceptable, and what you need to stay healthy and whole.

Even though we may be powerless to change someone else, this doesn’t mean we’re powerless to experience change in our own lives. Boundaries give us this gift.

Now that you’ve had some time to process the truth we talked about this morning, I want us to close our day considering some questions that could help us implement some necessary boundaries in our lives:

What events or conversations have occurred that make you feel as if it’s not acceptable to put relational parameters in place in this relationship?

Are there certain behaviors this person exhibits that makes setting boundaries with him or her seem unrealistic or impossible?

What good might be possible in this relationship if you set boundaries?

What is and is not acceptable behavior?

What are your deal breakers that would pull you from a place of health into unhealth?

What are you actually responsible for? What are you not responsible for? (Example: “I am responsible for showing up to my job on time.” “I am not responsible for my coworker’s harsh reaction or response in a conversation.”)

What are some of the qualities you like about yourself that you want to make sure the people you love experience when they spend time with you? How can boundaries help make your best qualities more and more apparent?

Remember, friend, if someone is unwilling or unable to stop misusing the personal access we’ve given them in our lives, then we must create healthy boundaries.

Lord, it’s a humbling truth to realize I can’t change another person; I can only change myself. As I process these questions and consider where setting healthy boundaries may be necessary, give me discernment, wisdom, and courage. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted from You’re Going to Make It by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa TerKeurst.

If often seems that there are things about myself (behaviors, actions, communications) that I can’t seem to change, though I want to. These are things that must be turned over to God and through fervent prayer ask God to change you just as He promises, to make you more like Jesus. Walking close to God and allowing His Spirit within you to control those things that need change will bring you peace and joy greater than you have ever known.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 9, 2024

Notes of Faith March 9, 2024

Can You Forgive?

Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” [22] Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” — Matthew 18:21-22

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the “betrayer” to get hurt. The problem with this is that you are the only one suffering when you hold on to hurts.

What good does bitterness do for us?

It actually separates us from experiencing the full love of God. Part of the way God shows love for us is in His mercy and grace. Once we repent, He forgives immediately and we receive the blessing.

When we withhold forgiveness towards someone, we are blocking the blessings God has for us and the perpetrator.

So, who do you need to forgive? I’m not saying you have to call them up and tell them (ask God what He wants you to do).

Who do you need to forgive?

In my book, I shared a story about how I called my stepdad and actually asked for forgiveness from him for holding on to his wrongs for so many years. I was so scared to get on the phone call, but afterwards I felt a huge boulder off my shoulders. It changed my relationship with my mom, myself, and my husband all for the better once I was able to let go and truly forgive.

If you're struggling to forgive, ask God to give you the strength. He will give you what you need if you continue to lay the burdens and the hurt at the loving feet of our Father God.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Cayla Craft, author of What Do You Really Want?

Matt 6:9-15

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,12 and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Many followers of Jesus know the verses above but conveniently forget the following verse:

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass

ESV

Forgiveness is in the character of God. He forgives. We are commanded to forgive. We must forgive. Work hard to be forgiving of everyone. Not easy. You might wish this verse was not in the Bible, but it is, and we are to obey.

Maybe prayer is needed this very moment to repent and forgive someone.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith March 8, 2024

Notes of Faith March 8, 2024

Sorry. Extremely long day yesterday. Here is my catchup devotion.

How Often Should You Repent?

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. — Matthew 6:12–13

Jesus Set the Bar for Holy Living Extremely High

In the Sermon on the Mount, He explained that sinful behavior starts with our thoughts. He said,

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. — Matthew 5:27–28

Every time your brain generates a thought, you have a chance to sin. Every time your eye lingers over someone, you have a chance to sin. Every time you react to someone who annoys you, you have a chance to sin.

That’s a problem because sin interferes with your relationship with God. It doesn’t change your status as His child. That’s important to understand. If you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, you’ve been declared righteous. Paul said,

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. — Romans 3:21–24

Being declared righteous isn’t the same as being perfect. You still have a sinful nature inside you. Sometimes that nature will get the better of you. Sometimes you’ll lose the battle against temptation.

Never let sin or any obstacle influence you to walk outside the will of God and not within it.

That doesn’t mean you have to become spiritually reborn again; it only happens once. Justification happens once. God put His Spirit in you. That’s why Paul said,

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. — Ephesians 4:30

The Holy Spirit is sealed inside you. Sin doesn’t take away your salvation.

Sin does, however, create a wall between you and God, and keep you from enjoying everything God has to offer. And it keeps you from living the life He intends for you. That’s why the Holy Spirit makes His grieving known. He acts stronger than your conscience. He lets you know when something’s not right inside you — when there’s a temporary blockage in your relationship with God. He makes you feel bad about what you’ve done — not to ruin your self-esteem but to compel you to take care of the problem. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of a sin, you should ask God’s forgiveness immediately—never put it aside until later.

The Holy Spirit works in you until you say, “Father, I messed up. Please forgive me for what I’ve done. Restore Your relationship with me.”

Never let sin or any obstacle influence you to walk outside the will of God and not within it.

The writer of Hebrews said,

Let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us. — Hebrews 12:1

DIG DEEP

The Holy Spirit will let you know when you need to repent and ask for forgiveness. If you follow His lead, you’ll maintain a healthy, thriving relationship with the Lord. Ask yourself the following questions and answer them truthfully:

How does the Holy Spirit convict you of sin?

When and how do you react to it?

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

Rom 7:14-20

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

NASU

My personal translation of this is: “That which I would not, that do I do. I wish I wouldn’t do it but I’m already through!”

We will not be free from sin until the Lord takes us to be with Himself and makes us new and complete, without a sin nature. As believers and followers of Jesus we must seek holiness. We are called to be like Jesus, being transformed day by day until we are made complete at our joining Jesus. We are free from the penalty of sin because Jesus paid the debt for all sin on the cross, but we still sin, don’t we. Therefore, as the Spirit within convicts us we should repent and pursue the call of God on our lives. Maybe we could all pray right now, asking God to forgive even the sins we don’t seem to recognize that we have done. Let us draw close to the throne of grace, that we might find mercy and help in time of need.

Pastor Dale