Notes of Faith October 26, 2025

Notes of Faith October 26, 2025

How Do I ‘Look to Jesus’?

Article by Scott Hubbard

Managing Editor, Desiring God

If you wanted to capture the heart of the Christian life in a phrase, you might do no better than these three words: “Looking to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). From beginning to end, from morning till night, yesterday and today and forever, we Christians look and look and look to Jesus.

As John Newton wrote, after quoting the words “looking to Jesus” in a letter, “The duty, the privilege, the safety, the unspeakable happiness, of a believer, are all comprised in that one sentence” (The Letters of John Newton, 47).

Or, as Robert Murray M‘Cheyne memorably counseled a friend, “Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely” (The Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M‘Cheyne, 293).

Or, as Charles Spurgeon preached, any Christian desiring to “pursue life after a right fashion must look to Jesus, and must continue looking unto Jesus.” Indeed, “think of him, consider him, study him, and in all things regard him as first and last to you” (“Eyes Right”).

But for all the inspiration we find in the phrase “looking to Jesus,” we may struggle to know exactly what it means. Look to Jesus, yes — but how? Picture him in my mind’s eye? Remember a story about him from the Gospels? Repeat his name in prayer? How does “looking to Jesus” turn from a beautiful but vague idea to an “unspeakably happy” practice?

Taking our cue from Hebrews, we might say that looking to Jesus means looking personally, patiently, and powerfully at the unsearchable Christ of Scripture.

Seeing the Invisible

Before considering those three ways of looking, ponder for a moment what we even mean by the word look. How do we look to a Savior we cannot see?

The kind of looking Hebrews has in mind does not involve physical eyesight. The blind can obey Hebrews 12:2. Looking to Jesus happens with the eyes of the heart, not the eyes of the head; as Paul might say, “we [look] by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Hebrews 11 offers several examples of this spiritual look. Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations” (verse 10). He and the other patriarchs “died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar” (verse 13). Likewise, Moses left Egypt by “looking to the reward,” and he “endured as seeing him who is invisible” (verses 26–27). Faith turns “things not seen” — heaven, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, the world to come — into precious, spiritually visible realities (verse 1).

Note how, in each case, these saints saw something they first heard about. Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Moses saw “the things promised” by the God who speaks (verse 13). The invisible became visible only through the glasses of God’s word. In a remarkable way, they saw through their ears; they looked by listening and considering “him faithful who had promised” (verse 11).

So, when we look to Jesus, we hear something God has said about his Son — and by faith, we let what God has said speak a louder word than what we see. No matter how real or powerful or alluring our circumstances may be, we look to Jesus and believe that he is more real, more powerful, and more alluring still.

And we do so, first, by looking personally.

Look Personally

When we look to Jesus, we don’t look as a college student might look at an astronomy textbook or as someone might look at faraway news: interesting, perhaps, but not relevant to my life. We look instead as a wounded man looks at first-aid instructions or a lost man looks at a map. We look as those involved in a deeply personal way.

The words “looking to Jesus” come in a context of acute personal need. Many of the believers who received the letter of Hebrews felt weary and fainthearted. In the race of faith, they had lost sight of the finish and so were beginning to stumble. Some wanted to stop running altogether.

And so, when the author tells them to look to Jesus, he does so in a way that connects their personal need to his person and work. The Jesus he tells them to look to is the one who ran the race himself “for the joy that was set before him” and who now sits at the Father’s right hand as “the founder and perfecter” of his people’s faltering faith (Hebrews 12:2). So, “look to Jesus” does not mean “think of anything at all about Jesus” but rather “think of Jesus in a way that perfectly suits your pressing need.”

“We have no problem Jesus can’t address, no riddle he can’t solve, no wound he can’t heal, no pain he can’t comfort.”

“From every text of Scripture there is a road to Christ,” Spurgeon said. And from every need of our souls there is a road to Christ. Throughout Hebrews, the author ransacks the glories of Jesus and applies those parts of his character that connect most closely with his readers’ needs. For the tempted, Jesus is “a merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17); for the dull and distracted, he is “the radiance of the glory of God” (1:3); for the conscience-stricken, he is the “once for all . . . sacrifice” (9:26). And on and on we could go.

We have no problem Jesus can’t address, no riddle he can’t solve, no wound he can’t heal, no pain he can’t comfort, no sin he can’t forgive, no enemy he can’t overpower, and no longing he can’t meet fully and forever. As M‘Cheyne writes, “There is nothing that you can possibly need but you will find it in him” (Memoir and Remains, 304).

Often, then, the first step in looking to Jesus is naming our need. What temptation won’t leave us? What doubt won’t depart? What pressure or pain won’t relent? Whatever our need, something in Jesus is perfectly suited to bring rescue and relief.

Look Patiently

Jesus has no lack of resources to meet our every need. But given how varied, complex, and stubborn our struggles can be, tying what we need to who he is and what he’s done can take time. Looking to Jesus is more patient gaze than hasty glance.

How should a stressed and impatient mom look to Jesus? How should a young man struggling with lust? How should a Christian who clams up around unbelievers? How should you? True, some parts of Jesus’s person and work shine so clear and precious that they lend ready help to all kinds of needs. Knowing Jesus as near, faithful, strong, merciful, and oh so ready to help will take us a long way in any situation. But Hebrews has more for us.

The author of Hebrews spent untold hours poring over the Scriptures that testify to Christ. He lingered in Leviticus, puzzled over Psalms, meditated on Melchizedek, unpacked Davidic promises, and combed through the whole counsel of God to learn what he could of his Lord. If you were to ask him, “Who is Jesus?” he has more than a dozen answers. And if you were to follow with, “What has Jesus done?” he could give you at least two dozen more.

Jesus is God’s Son, the heir of all, the firstborn, and our brother. He is the founder of our salvation, the high priest of our confession, the forerunner on our behalf, and the mediator of a better covenant. He has become like us, spoken to us, tasted death for us, and gone ahead of us. He has suffered, learned obedience, remained faithful, and done God’s will.

Why such variety? Why such careful study? Why has our author spent more time in Leviticus than many of us have in Luke or John? Because an unclear Christ holds little power over all-too-clear sins. We can say the name of Jesus as much as we want and tell ourselves to “look to Jesus” every hour, but unless Jesus is filled with glorious, multifaceted, whole-Bible content, we are like the half-blind man who looked and saw people “like trees, walking” (Mark 8:24). Could it be that a certain sin holds power over you because you know it far more clearly than you know him?

Whoever we are, we could hardly do anything more practical than heed M‘Cheyne’s counsel and “learn much of the Lord Jesus.” For every bit of him benefits us — every jewel from his unsearchable riches, every line from the boundless book of his glory, every ray coming from his face that shines like the sun.

Look Powerfully

Looking to Jesus begins personally, proceeds patiently, and, when done well, ends powerfully. For the original audience of Hebrews, looking to Jesus would have led to laying aside weights and sins, and running their race without fainting (Hebrews 12:1–2). And so for us, looking to Jesus leads to practical obedience in the place of our need. We are not talking about a nice little technique that gives more peace of mind; we are talking about a practice with power.

But how does that work? How does our personal, patient looking lead to powerful obedience? It does so as our sight of Christ moves from mind to heart and will. Looking to Jesus involves not just knowing but also trusting and treasuring. The sight is not just specific but sweet, not just clear but compelling. Or, as Hebrews emphasizes, we come to see and feel that Jesus is bigger than our struggles and better than our sins.

We need a big Jesus, do we not? We need one whose death destroys the devil, one whose blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, one who reigns and rescues by the power of an indestructible life (Hebrews 2:14; 7:16; 12:24). And we need a better Jesus, do we not? We need one who offers a better hope, a better possession, a better country, and a better life than sin ever could (Hebrews 7:19; 10:34; 11:16, 35).

The power to see Jesus as bigger and better comes not only from finding the parts of him we most need but also from lingering over them, praying over them, meditating over them. Tim Keller describes this meditative process as “thinking a truth out and then thinking a truth in until its ideas become ‘big’ and ‘sweet,’ moving and affecting, and until the reality of God is sensed upon the heart” (Prayer, 162).

Maybe all this talk of looking personally, patiently, and powerfully daunts you. Maybe looking to Jesus once sounded simple but now no longer. If so, join me in taking heart. Looking to Jesus well takes patience and practice, yes — and I myself feel like a novice. But looking to Jesus is also something we can start doing (and benefit from doing) right now, however much or little we know of him. It begins by simply naming our need, finding something specific about Jesus that meets our need, and then lingering over it long enough to feel some of its sweetness.

The longer we look, the more we’ll see — and the more convinced we’ll be that his riches really are unsearchable and his perfections are perfectly suited to meet our every need.

Scott Hubbard is a teacher and the managing editor for Desiring God.

I pray that all believers and those we seek to reach with the gospel will look unto Jesus, that we will grow in the grace and knowledge of Him, that we pursue an intimate relationship with Him every day of our lives,

Heb 12:1-3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

It’s All About Jesus!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 25, 2025

Notes of Faith October 25, 2025

Glimpses of Heaven: John

Then I, John, saw the holy city.

Revelation 21:2

On one occasion, the apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven…. caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Paul got a glimpse of heaven, the memory of which propelled him through all the remaining trials of his life. But he wasn’t allowed to describe what he had seen. Why not? Maybe it’s because that was John’s job.

In the book of Revelation, John, too, was caught up into Paradise (Revelation 4:1-2). God intended for the final book of the Bible to be a glimpse of heaven for all of us through the descriptions given in the 22 chapters of Revelation. There we find brilliant worship (Revelation 4–5), a vast multitude of believers and angelic beings (Revelation 7:9-12), the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14), a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), and a glorious capital city which serves as the seat of government for our eternal home (Revelation 21–22).

When you read the book of Revelation, look for every detail you can find about heaven. God has revealed it, and it is our glorious hope!

The moment we take our last breath on earth, we take our first in Heaven.

Billy Graham

Rev 21:1-6

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

I am one who sees many wonderful if not incredibly beautiful things and places on the earth we currently inhabit.  Even in its’ fallen state, it can be breathtaking.  Just try to imagine what a more perfect world would be.  That is what is waiting for us when we are taken to be with God forever.  This life is short.  Life in the presence of the ever-living God will be eternal.  I wait, grateful for every day that I am given on this earth, to be with family, friends, and pursing my neighbor that they might know Christ and believe in Him with saving faith!  Otherwise, I am ready to be with my Savior and Lord, to serve Him in any way that He desires and inherit the holy world that is to come. 

May you be blessed today, working through the many trials and tribulations that Jesus told us we would have in this world, while being expectant of the joy that He will provide on the other side of this life!  Work hard!  Love people!  Leave room for God to do His work!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 24, 2025

Notes of Faith October 24, 2025

What Is Wrong With The World?

As an admirer of Pastor Tim Keller, I listened to hundreds of his sermons over the years. He was a wise, kind, gentle, and yet fiercely passionate follower of Jesus who taught straight from the Word of God and reached out to the community around him with compassion and hope in Jesus. Enjoy this excerpt from his wife, Kathy, who wrote the introduction to his latest book published posthumously), What Is Wrong with the World?

Tim preached the sermons on which this book is based in the 1990s as a series under the title “The Faces of Sin.” He had preached some of the sermons individually at other times and places, but having a series that examined sin in its many forms and dimensions was important in a place like New York City.

People didn’t like the word.

Once after a service a well-­dressed woman came up to Tim and shouted angrily (presumably because of the confession of sin in the liturgy of the worship service), “Neither I nor any of my children will ever confess to being sinners!” She then spun on her heel and marched out of the auditorium.

On another occasion, a new convert invited Tim to meet with several of her friends. Their conversation was cordial until one of the women fixed Tim with a hard stare and said, “You think I’m a sinner, don’t you?” Tim tried to explain that he did not believe she was different from anyone else.

We are all sinners who fall short of what God meant us to be; we are all broken, all in need of grace.

It didn’t make any difference. The conversation was over. She believed sin was a “nuclear” word, reserved for the scum of the earth, applicable only to murderers, rapists, Nazis, and members of the KKK. Nothing Tim said could convince her otherwise.

The need to explain sin in its many dimensions and its universal contagion of all people is clearly necessary. It’s not a concept most people are familiar with, and when they do hear it, there is often resistance. The idea that we have all rebelled, in our own individual ways, against the rightful king of the universe, rejected His love, trampled on His heart... well, it just doesn’t fit in our good/bad, right/wrong, I’m in/you’re out world.

Once, Tim was sharing the gospel with a number of people who lived near our first church in Virginia. One woman had gladly heard the gospel, but when Tim made a second, follow-­up visit, he found her sister there, waiting for him.

“You mean to tell me,” the sister said with an incredu­lous sneer, “that some axe murderer who repented and accepted Jesus would go to Heaven and I, who have led a good life with­ out any religion, would not?” Tim agreed that that was indeed the case. The sister fell silent, stunned by his response. Determined to avoid further awkwardness, Tim quickly arranged to meet the first woman —­ the one who had initially welcomed the message —­ on another day. (The ink was barely dry on his ordination papers at that point, and he had not yet encountered that kind of pushback. He got better as time went by.)

We are all broken, all in need of grace.

In the years since Tim died, I have tried to bring some kind of order to all the books, papers, talks, sermons, lectures, classes, notes, journals, and jottings he left behind. This has not been easy: If an idea struck him and there was no paper at hand, he was just as likely to write down his thought on the inside cover of whatever book he was holding. (And he never went anywhere without a book, even when he took out the trash to the other end of the hall where the refuse chute was located!) Additionally, his computer held around sixty thousand files, and it has been intimidating to make sense of those because of his file-­naming system. If he was writing a sermon or a book, each revision or significant editorial change was treated as a new document and given its own name according to a shorthand that made sense to him. So I might encounter a file named “FOS-1.1. 02/96,” which I think might be read as “Faces of Sin, version 1.1, written February 2, 1996.” Maybe.

I felt on surer ground dealing with the papers in the sixteen file drawers, although they were packed so tightly in each drawer (as well as boxes and cupboards) that pulling out one file folder was an exercise in itself, and putting it back defeated even weight-­lifting gym rats.

I did, however, manage to extract the folder titled “The Faces of Sin” and, after consulting with a number of knowledgeable people, decided it would be a good start for a book about sin. Since I have been Tim’s oral-­to-written-style editor for most of his books, this seemed like it would be an easy task, but of course nothing is as easy as we hope it will be.

Each chapter ends with a prayer because Tim was aware, as all mature Christians are, that we deceive ourselves most concerning our own sinfulness. We treat people harshly and call it “straight talking,” or skip private or corporate communion with God and call it “self-­care.” You can’t confess something that you have convinced yourself you aren’t guilty of. So as you read, allow God to probe you for your hidden sins and to give you a contrite and broken heart over the ways you have broken both His law and His heart. Grace is there for the asking.

~Kathy Keller

Excerpted from What Is Wrong with the World? by Timothy Keller, copyright River Road Stewardship LLC.

I will be traveling most of the day Friday, 10-24-25, so I am sending this “Notes of Faith” a day early. 

I remember an encounter with a believer that shared with me they believed they did not sin anymore.   In making that statement they proved themselves to still be a sinning believer!  The Holy Spirit within this pastor convicts my heart and mind often, a thought, a poor choice of words, an angry retort, a snide look, a judgmental comment, not loving those God places around me…

Rom 7:24-25

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!

I want all people to know God and recognize that all mankind falls short of His perfection, meaning all sin, and deserve His just punishment, death, eternal torment, and separation from the God who gave them life.  But God, in His love, provided the only way to be saved, redeemed, forgiven, and offered eternal life, was through belief in the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We will continue to sin until God destroys all sin and death.  That day is coming, but is still yet to come.  When we go to be with the Lord forever, we will no longer sin.

I wait eagerly and expectantly for that day to come.  Are you a sinner.  Yes, you are.  I am not calling you such.  God is.  Believe.  Receive by His grace through His gift of faith, the forgiveness of sin that you so desperately need.  He will love you, guide you, protect you and lead you to His eternal home!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 23, 2025

Notes of Faith October 23, 2025

Heavenly Anticipation

But if we wait expectantly for things we have never seen, then we hope with true perseverance and eager anticipation.

Romans 8:25

Artist Norman Rockwell created a painting called School’s Out for the 1959 Brown & Bigelow calendar. It showed children running and frolicking with joy as they left school for the summer. This was a popular theme for Rockwell as he released several paintings on this theme. It makes us wonder if he wasn’t reliving his own childhood days when the school year ended and summer fun began.

We should anticipate heaven the way children look forward to summer vacation. When God created us, He placed in our hearts a longing for Him and for eternity. He gave us a hunger for heaven. The reason we love breathtaking glimpses of heaven now is because they somehow remind us of how beautiful heaven will be. We want to look ahead with “true perseverance and eager anticipation.”

Ask God today to give you a focus for your eternal home and think of ways you can reach out to others who might need to know about the eternal home they can have in Christ. Let’s build up one another with heavenly anticipation.

When Christ calls me Home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school.

Adoniram Judson

Rom 8:12-17

12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.    NIV

We suffer in a sinful world and are sinful ourselves.  But…by His grace through the faith He gives us to believe in Jesus, we are transformed and will one day be made like Christ, sinless, healthy, and holy before God.  I’m dancing in my head as I contemplate the joy of eternal life with my Savior and Lord!  How about you?

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 22, 2025

Notes of Faith October 22, 2025

Pleasures Forevermore

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 Corinthians 2:9

An often-seen caricature of heaven involves pudgy-looking residents dressed in white robes with halos and wings floating about on clouds while playing golden harps. Imagine doing that all day for all eternity! Could anything be more boring? No wonder the world, and many Christians, imagine heaven to be a boring place.

Such images have no bearing on biblical reality, of course. Is God’s creation a boring place? No—therefore, the new heavens and new earth will not be boring either. Do you think a day spent in the presence of Jesus Christ when He was on earth was boring? No—therefore, time spent in His eternal Kingdom will not be boring either. If the image of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 is any indication, eternity will consist of “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). The apostle Paul quoted the Old Testament when he said that we can’t imagine the things God has prepared for those destined for heaven (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Prepare now to use your gifts and abilities in ways never imagined as you serve and enjoy God forever.

Ps 16:11

11 You have made known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

In eternal life with God forever in our physical presence, we will be without sin and therefore God will be pleased with us…always.  He desires to give gifts to His children and will bless us with blessings that we have never seen or even thought!  I can’t wait for this incredible life with Jesus, walking and talking, eating meals together, continuing to grow in intimacy with Him forever!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 21, 2025

Notes of Faith October 21, 2025

Out of Focus

It’s hard to continually obsess over what you don’t like about yourself when you’re constantly thinking about what you love about God.

Have you noticed how it’s nearly impossible to look at a group photo and not immediately find yourself in the picture and begin to nitpick?

“Oh, gosh, why do I smile like that?”

“Yikes, I look terrible.”

“Fine, whatever. I can’t look at myself in photos.”

We laugh it off, but if we’re honest, the fixation with the way we look or feel about ourselves consumes our minds more than we admit. From the way we talk to the texture of our hair, to the size of our hips, to the way we walk — we are experts on all the things we would change about ourselves if we could.

I imagine that if we could hear each other’s inner thoughts, we’d be surprised to find we’re not alone in our self-criticism. The cacophony of analysis, nit-picking, and self-degradation would break our hearts if what we really thought about ourselves filled the rooms we walked into.

Here’s a confronting question for you and me both: If God, your Creator, were to hear every word you say about yourself or know every thought you think about yourself, would He be pleased? Would He smile really big? Would He celebrate the words you use to describe yourself or your body?

Ouch.

Friend, He does hear every word, and He does know every thought. And because what we think directs how we live, our thoughts really matter.

What if we combat the negative thoughts that consume us with truths from God’s Word?

Changing the way we feel about ourselves is not about embracing worldly forms of self-love, nor is it about simply adopting healthy lifestyle changes; it’s about aligning our thoughts with God’s thoughts about us.

Be consumed with God’s Word and help yourself and others remember it through speaking truth, thinking truth, singing truth, and praising God for truth.

To know God’s viewpoint about us is the starting point, regardless of what kind of physical or lifestyle change is in order. You see, good self-esteem is equally unobtainable through pride or shame. Neither posture aligns with God’s heart for you. Just choosing to like yourself is a game you’ll lose if it’s based on comparison or your feelings. Trying to “make yourself better” in response to shame is also a losing battle. God is pleased when we align our thoughts with His. He transforms our lives with the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

So how do we move from being consumed by thoughts about ourselves to thoughts God desires? The apostle Paul wrote quite a bit about our thoughts, connecting our thoughts with our state of mind — whether we are rejoicing, anxious, or at peace. My guess is that Paul understood what it was to dwell on unhelpful thoughts about self. And therefore, he exhorted:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. — Colossians 3:16

In other words: Be consumed with God’s Word and help yourself and others remember it through speaking truth, thinking truth, singing truth, and praising God for truth.

I’m always amazed how the answer to our anxious thoughts, about ourselves or otherwise, is never to think harder or be better; it’s to turn our thoughts to God. It’s a call for self-forgetfulness.

If we’re forgetting self, what, then, do we think about?

Again, Paul gave clear instructions:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

— Philippians 4:6–9

Here’s a simple exercise to apply this passage to your life:

How has God uniquely created you? Think about that.

How has Christ redeemed you in spite of your unloveliness? Think about that.

How has God faithfully transformed you little by little? Think about that.

What, in your life, is more than you deserve? Think about that.

Where do you see God restoring beauty for ashes? Think about that.

What do you get to do with your hands and feet and with the other parts of your body He’s given you to use? Think about that.

How can you use your body to be an instrument of praise rather than an object of critique? Think about that.

How could you take care of your body in a way that delights your Maker? Think about that.

What in creation is beautiful to you? Think about that.

How can you image Christ today? Think about that.

How about simply thinking more about others and less about yourself? Think about all these things.

When you think about those things, you begin thinking less about yourself and more about Christ and others. The words we think or speak about ourselves will change when we focus on what is beautiful about God instead of what we don’t find lovely about ourselves.

It’s hard to continually obsess over what you don’t like about yourself if you are constantly thinking about what you love about God.

The words we think or speak about ourselves will change when we focus on what is beautiful about God instead of what we don’t find lovely about ourselves.

As we fix our thoughts on Him as his Word dwells in us richly, things begin to change. I imagine that if we could hear each other’s inner thoughts as His Word dwells in us richly, we’d be surprised to find we’re not alone, and the cacophony of praise, rejoicing, and loveliness would encourage us deeply.

California Poppy

“Beneath the sun’s embrace, the poppy finds its radiant purpose.” The author of this quote is unknown, but it’s not hard to envision these beauties glowing in the sun. It is said that when Spaniards first saw California hillsides covered in the golden poppies, they called it the “land of fire.”1 That is radiance.

Is it not the same with us? Are we the most radiant when we’re actively experiencing the Son’s embrace? On the days we make ourselves attentive and available to Jesus, aware of His precious embrace, we are the most radiant. Most alive. Most content with who He is and who He made us to be.

We are children of the King. Fearfully and wonderfully made. Deeply beloved. Radiant in His presence.

1. “California Poppy,” Nature Collective, accessed October 29, 2024, https://naturecollective.org/plant-guide/details/california-poppy/

Excerpted from The Way of the Wildflower by Ruth Chou Simons, copyright Ruth Chou Simons.

The more intimate focus we have on the Lord Jesus Christ and time spent with thoughts of Him, the more joy-filled our lives will be.

I am looking forward to my eternal walk with God, made perfect, without sin, inheriting the joy of my Master, Lord and Savior. I pray that this is your heart and mind today and that you run the race of life to win.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 20, 2025

Notes of Faith October 20, 2025

Evidence of New Life

[Christ] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:14

It is wrong to assume that because we are saved by grace that works don’t matter. Works have always mattered in God’s economy. In fact, Christ died to redeem us from “lawless deeds” and create in us a zeal for “good works.”

We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 is the passage that best incorporates the place of works in salvation and the Christian life. In those verses, Paul wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Rather, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” In other words, God has saved us from doing “bad works” so that we might be empowered to do “good works” for His glory. In fact, a life of righteous works is partial evidence of new life in Christ. As James wrote, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

Look for ways today to demonstrate your new life in Christ through good works that honor Him.

The Church is a community of the works and words of Jesus.

Donald English

God gave His Word to the people of Israel through their prophets beginning with Moses.  (Job may have been the first book written).   They took the law of God and made it into a “works” religion to have relationship with God.  Most religions today have a “works” plan to be right with God.  God’s Word clearly teaches that no amount of good works can save a lost and damned soul (which is all of us).  Our good works are a result of knowing Christ, believing in His death, burial, and resurrection for our salvation, forgiveness, and redemption, producing works of righteousness in Christ and for Christ! 

Eph 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Gal 6:9-10

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 19, 2025

Notes of Faith October 19, 2025

God Sees Your Secret Sin

Article by Marshall Segal

President & CEO, Desiring God

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, battling sexual sin, I sometimes lived like God was blind (or, if not blind, at least distracted and oblivious). I would never have said he was blind — I would have scoffed at the idea. Behind that outward clarity, though, was an inward and poisonous uncertainty. I was coddling a lie.

Psalm 94 gives us a glimpse into the dangerous logic of persistent sin:

O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

     how long shall the wicked exult? . . .

They kill the widow and the sojourner,

     and murder the fatherless;

and they say, “The Lord does not see.” (Psalm 94:3, 6–7)

Satan whispered to Adam and Eve, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1). Here, he whispers, “Does God really see? No, God doesn’t see what you’re doing. He’s not able to watch everyone all the time. And if he is, he couldn’t possibly have the time or interest to deal with it. God doesn’t see your sinning. It’s safe to sin one more time.”

It’s not safe — first, because God does see; second, because eventually you won’t.

God Sees Your Sinning

Do you quietly believe that God doesn’t see your secret sin? Even if you know he sees, does your life say otherwise? God addresses the lie right here in Psalm 94:8–11. Hear the warning:

Understand, O dullest of the people!

     Fools, when will you be wise?

He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge —

     the Lord — knows the thoughts of man,

     that they are but a breath.

He made the eye. Do you think he can’t see what you’re doing? He made the ear. Do you think he can’t hear what you’re saying? He doesn’t just know what you’re doing and saying; he knows what you’re thinking — he “knows the thoughts of man” (verse 11).

“God sees. And if you continue to act like he doesn’t, you’ll soon lose your ability to see.”

“No creature is hidden from his sight,” Hebrews 4:13 warns, “but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Do you feel naked and exposed before God? Do you remember that you’ll actually have to explain what he saw? These feelings and reminders are weapons God has given us in the fight for our holiness and joy — weapons we all too often leave buried in the basement.

The lie dies when we pray like the all-seeing God teaches us to pray:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

     you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

     and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

     behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. (Psalm 139:1–4)

God sees. And if you continue to act like he doesn’t, you’ll soon lose your ability to see.

Sin Darkens Your Seeing

Notice that the wicked in Psalm 94 don’t just quietly believe what Satan is saying. They don’t just think the lie in the back of their minds while they keep sinning. No, by verse 7, they’re preaching Satan’s terrible sermon for him. “They say, ‘The Lord does not see.’”

That’s what indulging in sin — any sin — does to us. Sin takes us from believing “God doesn’t see” to preaching “God doesn’t see,” until we eventually reject and ignore God altogether.

Persistent sin hardens us until we can’t see or hear or feel spiritual reality anymore. And spiritual reality is ultimate reality, the most real reality. If we refuse to repent, we walk and eat and sin in a world filled with the glory of God — and yet we can’t see him or hear him anywhere. It’s like walking along the Pacific Ocean and wondering where the water is. Twelve thousand miles of waves are raging right beside you, and all you notice is the sand between your toes. God still sees everything, including all of you, but you see devastatingly little — nothing but grains of sand in a vast and thrilling world.

Sin does horrible things to people, and this is the worst thing it does to us. It slowly weakens our eyes until the unspeakably glorious God seems small, aloof, and then, eventually, imaginary. Giving in to sin will darken your soul by hiding heaven.

See Him as He Is

Is some sin doing that to you? You might say that God is real, that he sees everything, that he’ll judge every wrong one day — but if you secretly persist in that sin, you’re proving you don’t believe any of that. And if you keep returning to that swamp of lust or bitterness or greed or self-pity, you’ll see less and less and less until you can’t see at all. You’ll miss the ocean even as you stand in it.

Let today be the day your blinding ends. Jesus came to forgive our worst sins, even the ones we commit in secret. And he came to give us new and wider eyes. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” he promises, “for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). If spiritual blindness is the worst thing sin does to us, these new eyes might be the greatest mercy God gives us.

God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

While millions are blinded and imprisoned in the dark, our eyes fall on Jesus and see beauty, strength, truth, and worth. God sees all, and by his grace, he lets us see the glory he sees. And soon enough, these new eyes will be filled with him.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

God not only sees everything about you, He knows what you are going to think and do before you do it.  He knows everything from the beginning to the end of all things!  Let us repent therefore, and live to please Him and give Him glory!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 18, 2025

Notes of Faith October 18, 2025

Glimpses of Heaven: Stephen

Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! Acts 7:56

Seldom has a sermon so inflamed a crowd that they rushed upon the preacher and killed him on the spot. It happened with Stephen in Acts 7. During the frenzy, several strange things happened: (1) Stephen was suddenly filled afresh with the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:55). (2) He gazed upward and saw heaven, glimpsing the glory of God and Jesus standing at His right hand (verse 55). (3) Stephen, overcome with excitement, shouted to his enemies what he was seeing (verse 56). (4) While being battered with rocks, he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (verse 59). (5) Stephen knelt in the dust, shouting, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (verse 60). And with that, he “fell asleep” (verse 60).

What a contrast Stephen experienced between the wrath of earth and the welcome of heaven!

Stephen’s experience is unique, but according to 2 Peter 1:11, all those who live faithfully in Christ “will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (NIV).

That prospect should brighten your heart today!

May we never go through what Stephen did, but let us follow his example in faithfulness, boldness, and Christ-likeness.

G. Campbell Morgan

Acts 7:54-60

54 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep.

I pray, that as the world descends into the pit of hell, if the Lord leaves me as a witness on this earth, that I will defend the truth of God, Jesus and His work for my sake, and His written Word, even to the point of death! May we all become bolder in speaking the truth in love as the time approaches for the return of Jesus and His judgment on this unbelieving world!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith October 17, 2025

Notes of Faith October 17, 2025

Voices of Praise

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Revelation 5:13

One of Charles Wesley’s most loved hymns is “O for a Thousand Tongues.” He wrote this hymn in 1739 on the one-year anniversary of his conversion to Christ. In the opening line, Wesley wished for a thousand tongues with which to sing praises to Christ.

Wesley’s hymns did much to revolutionize and energize congregational singing in churches of his era, a transition that has continued through today. One wonders if Wesley was inspired by the “congregational” singing found in the heavenly visions of the book of Revelation. Groups of living creatures, elders, and angels lift their voices to sing praises to God in heaven (Revelation 4–5).

Make sure to add your voice to the voices of others—whether ten voices or a thousand—on a regular basis as you lift up praises to God in worship.

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!

Charles Wesley

Neh 12:31-43

31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate. 32 Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, 33 with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, 36 and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

38 The second choir proceeded to the left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard. 40 Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with the trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, 43 and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

I pray that you are part of the body of Christ, the true church, that meets regularly to worship, to hear the Word of God, to be trained in righteousness, and sing in His choir, praises to God with a mighty voice!

Pastor Dale