Notes of Faith January 1, 2025

Notes of Faith January 1, 2025

The Guiding Light

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

We have a heavy-duty flashlight to light up each day of the coming year. It’s God’s Word, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. When our way is especially dark, it’s a floodlight. When we need God’s comforting presence, it’s a lamp on the table. When we have a dreary day, it’s our sunshine. When we need guidance, it’s a beacon. When we need courage, it’s a torch. When we share it with others, it’s a lighthouse. When we spend time with it, we ourselves become radiant.

Proverbs 6:23 says, “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light.”

Just as the Israelites gathered manna each day, we need the nourishment of the daily bread of the soul. What a privilege to have the very words of God Himself spread out before us in a book small enough to hold in our hands. From its 31,102 verses, you’ll find illumination for every moment of the new year. Don’t miss a day—and start today by thanking God for the joy of walking in the light of His Word.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way!

John H. Sammis

Selection from Psalm 119

5Oh that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes!

6Then I shall not be put to shame,

having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

7I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous rules.b

8I will keep your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me!

Beth

9How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

10With my whole heart I seek you;

let me not wander from your commandments!

11I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

12Blessed are you, O Lord;

teach me your statutes!

13With my lips I declare

all the rulesc of your mouth.

14In the way of your testimonies I delight

as much as in all riches.

15I will meditate on your precepts

and fix my eyes on your ways.

16I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.

Gimel

17Deal bountifully with your servant,

that I may live and keep your word.

18Open my eyes, that I may behold

wondrous things out of your law.

19I am a sojourner on the earth;

hide not your commandments from me!

Dig into the Word of God today. Listen and meditate on what you read. The Lord your God will speak to you, give you guidance and peace for your heart. Start 2025 with a heavenly perspective!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 31, 2024

Notes of Faith December 31, 2024

Happy New Year from Kentucky! Visiting family and friends for an after Christmas, Christmas…always fun to stretch out the celebrations and fun. Back in California in a week.

Deep Roots

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3

According to researchers at Rutgers University, the tree with the deepest documented roots is the shepherd’s tree native to the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. When drilling a water well, workers discovered the tree’s roots went 230 feet deep into the ground. In arid regions, roots go deep in search of water to stay alive.

Whether growing in deserts or by the side of a river, trees use their root systems to bring up water and minerals from the soil that sustain life. The psalmist used an image of a healthy, fruitful tree to picture a man who walks in God’s ways (Psalm 1:3) and meditates on God’s Word (Psalm 1:2). The image of the tree in verse 3 is one of strength, health, stability, and fruitfulness. Transfer those characteristics to a person, and you get a picture of a blessed man or woman (Psalm 1:1).

What is your source of spiritual nutrients with which you nourish your heart, soul, and mind? Sink your roots deep into God’s Word for a blessed life.

Doctrine without duty is a tree without fruits; duty without doctrine is a tree without roots.

Talbot W. Chambers

We need to drink from the well of God’s fountain daily to be nourished and hydrated or we will become weak and feeble spiritually. Being as strong as a tree with deep roots takes time and actively seeking the deep things of God. He is our source of life. His Word is our source for discovering Him and what He wants for us and from us. Read and listen to God speak to you every day. Be blessed in knowing that He hears you when you talk to Him. He patiently waits for the next conversation. Don’t keep Him waiting. Draw close and drink deep from the rich fountain that God provides in disclosing Himself to you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 30, 2024

Notes of Faith December 30, 2024

Food for Thought

Blessed is the man...[whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2

An American seminary professor spent a summer studying Hebrew in Jerusalem. On one occasion, he followed along in his Hebrew text as a Jewish rabbi recited from memory, word for word, the entire book of Psalms in Hebrew. That commitment reflects the priority in the Old Testament of storing up the Word of God—of continually meditating on it and integrating it into one’s life (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

The longest psalm in the book of Psalms—all 176 verses of Psalm 119—is given over to extolling the value and importance of God’s Word. For example, verse 11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 1 says the man is blessed who meditates on God’s Word “day and night”—a figure of speech that means “all the time.” Not every second of every hour, but as a way of life—not just for fifteen minutes in the morning or an hour on Sunday but as a continual source of reflection, memorization, and meditation.

Consider committing portions of Scripture to memory so they become food for thought throughout your day.

Memorization is the first step to meditation.

Jerry Bridges

Ps 119:11

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

KJV

You probably know more Scripture than you think you do. You may not be able to quote it perfectly but you do know the idea and context, maybe even the book, chapter and verse. Memorizing Scripture WILL have an affect on your health, spiritual and physical. If you want to feel better, actually be better, spend more time in the Word of God! Let God speak to you through His Word every day! Begin the day and end your day talking to and listening to God! You will be blessed with peace, comfort, and contentment as you walk with the Lord. Join me today. Start 2025 early and spend more time with God. He is always there, wanting intimacy with you!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 29, 2024

Notes of Faith December 29, 2024

 Why You Need to Keep Coming Back to the Word

The Bible is life–changing. Not only will reading and responding to God’s Word change your life today, but the Bible will continually change you as you keep coming back to it throughout your life. It’s not enough to sample the Word; you need to incorporate the habit of daily coming back to the Word into your life.

God’s Word Is Where the Power Is

R.A. Torrey shared what has become one of my favorite quotes, “People who pray for power but neglect the Bible abound in the church. But the power that belongs to God is stored up in the great reservoir of His own Word, the Bible. We cannot obtain or maintain God’s power in our own lives or in our work unless there is deep and frequent meditation on the Word of God.”

Torrey was a longtime ministry associate of D.L. Moody who also had a passion for God’s Word and based his whole ministry on it. In one of my favorite stories about D.L. Moody, he shares:

A quickening that will last must come through the word of God. A man stood up in one of our meetings and said he hoped for enough out of the series of meetings to last him all his life. I told him he might as well try to eat enough breakfast at one time to last him a lifetime. That is a mistake that people are making; they are running to religious meetings and they think the meetings are going to do the work. But if these don’t bring you into closer contact with the word of God, the whole impression will be gone in three months.

If you really want to grow in your Christian life, you need to keep coming back to the Word of God.

It’s not enough to read the Bible once and then move on. Each of us need daily manna from heaven that God gives as we come back to His Word each day.

Your Bible Is Living and Active

When you become a student of the Bible and you read it consistently throughout the years, different Scriptures stand out at different times. God’s Word is living and active and will often speak to you what you need to hear at just the right moment.

God’s Word also becomes living and active in your heart when you memorize Scripture and meditate on it. To meditate on the Word of God means letting it roll over and over again in your heart and mind until it settles deeply into your spirit. It’s one thing to get into the Word of God, but it’s another thing to let the Word of God get into you. I spend much of my day as part of a ministry team thinking on the Word of God and what God wants to speak into the chaos, dysfunction, and brokenness of our world. I meditate and ponder what God might be saying and what He might want me to say to bring hope and truth into a world that desperately needs Him.

Remind Your Heart Daily What God Has Said

It’s important to keep coming back to the Word of God because the Bible tells us the importance of remembering what God has said:

For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

— 2 Peter 1:12-15, NKJV

It is good to be reminded of what God has said, and you do this by coming back to the Word over and over so your life is continually changed.

Excerpted from ThomasNelsonBibles.com. Written by Matt Brown, author of Truth Plus Love.

I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” I was happier still when they told me what they had been reading and studying from the Word of God!

Stay in God’s Word to hear Him speak to you daily, to strengthen you, to grow you up toward maturity in Christ all your life!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 28, 2024

Notes of Faith December 28, 2024

Out With the Old

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21

The turning of the year reminds us time is fleeting, the past is unalterable, the future is uncertain, and our God is unchanging!

We can say, “Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness during all this dying year. There were good days and bad ones, but there were no days without Your constant grace and care. My mistakes and sins are covered with the blood. My victories are committed to You. Now, help me to anticipate the new graces before me—the blessings, the guidance, the opportunities, the promises. May I perceive Your ways. May I foresee by faith Your path forward and the springs You will give me in the desert.”

Another year is dawning! Dear Father, let it be, in working or in waiting another year with Thee.

Frances Ridley Havergal

Each day is like the next, either with the Lord, or apart from Him. Let us draw ever near the One who loves us more than any other, and seeks to be near to us for all eternity!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 27, 2024

Notes of Faith December 27, 2024

And We Know

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

In his 1618 book about the promises of God, Puritan Nicholas Byfield said, “The promises are called the unsearchable riches of Christ to assure us Christians we are very rich people when our hearts are stored with the promises of God, well applied…. God’s promises will drive away grief, discouragement, or fears that may at any time seize us. They will sweeten all our afflictions.”

Perhaps the most all-encompassing promise in the Bible is Romans 8:28. We know God works in all things. He is working behind the scenes on our behalf and for our good. Not everything that happens to us is good, but God can use everything that happens to us for good in His long-term plan and by His overruling grace. He knows how to manufacture treasure out of various and sundry components, and we must trust Him with that.

Today, remind yourself of this great promise. Apply its truth to what is troubling you. Take courage! God will work it all for good!

These promises soundly studied and laid on our hearts will breed cheerfulness of spirit and contentment, which makes godliness a great gain.

Nicholas Byfield

Rom 8:28-39

who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."

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

There is indeed NOTHING that can separate us from the LOVE of God! We who belong to Him know His promises, cling to His promises, look ahead to His promises fulfilled when we live with Him forever in a place prepared for us from before the foundation of the world. Come to Jesus. Believe, and received the inheritance of the saints, the incredible glory that God has promised and prepared for us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 26, 2024

Notes of Faith December 26, 2024

Blanket Coverage

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Genesis 50:20

In short, insurance in all its forms is protection against the possibility of loss or damage. It involves the transfer of risk from one party to another based on compensation from the insured to the insurer. For thousands of years, various forms of insurance have been used—an acknowledgement of the human desire to avoid the impact of negative events in life. Insurance can be taken out for a limited time (travel insurance) or for a lifetime (life insurance).

With a new year approaching, it is natural to wonder what events will transpire. The Bible says we have an insurance policy of sorts with God that says, regardless of what happens, it will result in a good outcome in our life. That is the message of Romans 8:28: All things in the new year (and every year) will work together for the good of those who belong to God’s family. No insurance company offers a policy with that kind of blanket coverage!

If you belong to God through faith in Christ, you are “insured.” Regardless of what the new year brings, it will be for your good.

Contentment is an embracing of the providence of God.

George Seevers

I am sitting in my office at church working on this Sunday’s message … waiting for a plumber to fix a toilet that won’t shut off. It may have been running since Tuesday night’s candlelight service. Oh well, it’s always something. And in the providence of God, maybe I will get to share the hope we have in Jesus with the plumber that arrives to fix it! God is good all the time! I pray that you are “content” in the Christmas that God gave you, knowing that all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose! May you be blessed now and every day until we meet the Lord together!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 25, 2024

Notes of Faith December 25, 2024

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Right Time

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

Galatians 4:4

“I’m not sure exactly what time I’ll be there; but I will be there—promise,” a father tells his teenage daughter. The daughter’s faith is dependent on one thing: the father’s character. She has grown up knowing that her father keeps his word. She doesn’t need to know exactly what time he will arrive, but she knows he will show up.

God spoke through the Old Testament prophets about the coming of the Messiah without ever saying exactly when He would appear. But there is no record of the prophets doubting God’s promises. They didn’t need to know the exact time because they had learned to trust in God’s words. So when Christ did appear, the apostle Paul said it happened in “the fullness of the time.” That is, it happened at the “right time” according to God’s plans and purposes (Galatians 4:4, NLT).

God has given us promises without telling us, for the most part, how or when they will be kept. But the fulfilled promise of Christmas reminds us that God always keeps His promises at the “right time.”

Christmas is the day that holds all time together.

Alexander Smith

God is always right on time for everything! Jesus came to us right on time and He is coming again right on time…perhaps today!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 24, 2024

Notes of Faith December 24, 2024

Holiday Peace

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

A 2023 survey reported by the American Heart Association noted that out of 1,000 respondents 63 percent said the Christmas holidays are more stressful than the April tax season. And 51 percent reported that it takes weeks to recover from the holidays—especially for mothers.1

Recommended Reading:

Luke 1:13

The very first Christmas was simpler than our modern, commercialized version—and, therefore, less stressful, we would think. But there was fear and stress associated with the first Christmas as well. Zechariah was fearful about the announcement of his son John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1:13). Mary was fearful about becoming the unwed mother of Jesus (Luke 1:30). And the shepherds outside Bethlehem were fearful when a host of angels announced Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:10). In each case, it was the fear of the unknown that resulted in their unrest.

If you have concerns or fears this Christmas season, commit them to God in prayer. Be anxious for nothing by receiving His peace (Philippians 4:7).

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

Unknown

Luke 1:12-13

Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias.

Luke 1:28-31

"Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

Matt 1:20-21

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

Luke 2:9-14

9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid;

Throughout the Bible we read “Fear Not” 63 times in the King James Version.

Even in the Christmas story we are told “Fear Not” when God is pleased.

This should remind us that there are rewards and consequences for our actions and most certainly in our relationship with God. Being an obedient child of God brings reward and blessing, for God is pleased. Being rebellious, disobedient, unbelieving, brings consequences of God’s discipline, even His wrath.

Those that belong to God, even though they sin, need to “Fear Not” for you are in Christ Jesus, and are seen in the perfection of Jesus, with whom God is pleased!

My prayer for you this day is that you are in Christ, a believer and follower of your Lord and Savior, and therefore have NO reason to ever fear!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 23, 2024

Notes of Faith December 23, 2024

Seeking and Saving

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10

Countless paintings show Jesus holding a lamb in His arms. Other paintings show Him approaching an individual sheep that He, the Good Shepherd, sought out after it became separated from the flock. This latter image comes from the parable Jesus told about a man who owned 100 sheep but discovered one was missing. He left the 99 and searched until he found the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14). In His words to Zacchaeus, the tax collector, Jesus summarized His mission: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The premise behind seeking is an acknowledgement that something is lost. In Romans 3:10-18, Paul cites a litany of Old Testament verses showing that man is lost and in need of being found. The problem is that man is not inclined to seek after God: “There is none who seeks after God” (verse 11). And no one can be found who does not first acknowledge he is lost.

The first step in being saved is admitting one is lost—separated from God. The good news is that Jesus came to seek and save all who need to be found.

Thou didst seek us when we sought Thee not.

Augustine

Rom 3:10-18

"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,

WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"

"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";

14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";

15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,

16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,

17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."

18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

This unbelieving in this world want no God, no authority above themselves.

Heb 4:7

TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,

DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.

Matt 11:28

28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

We all need rest from a wearying, dark and lost world.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Pastor Dale