Author Archives: Pastor Dale

Throughout time, people have been intrigued about their tomorrows. Predicting the future is something we continually attempt. From speculations about our personal destiny, to educated guesses about things like the economy, people long to know what’s around the dark, unknown corner of “what will be.”

While it would be wonderful to foresee certain things about your future, the reality is, much of your future is being formed by the decisions you’re making, the priorities you’re pursuing and the activities you’re engaging in today. There are some things ahead that you have no control over. However, there are many things that you have an opportunity to impact. In lots of ways you can positively shape your future. This requires doing the right things now.

What are some of the right things you can do now that will positively impact what’s ahead for you?

1.  Give your life to God completely by putting your full faith in Jesus Christ.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. — Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6 (NIV)

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16 (TLB)

2.  Learn everything you can about the way God wants you to live — obey His commands, seek His guidance and follow His wisdom.

Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. — Proverbs 9:11, 12 (NLT)

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. — James 1:5 (NIV)

3.  Trust God and His promises for your life — look for His promises in the Bible and believe them.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. — Mark 11:22 (NIV)

4.  Refuse to waste time worrying — pray and trust God instead.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6, 7 (TLB)

Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. — 1 Peter 5:7 (TLB)

5.  Get busy serving God and others.

… Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. — Mark 10:43-45 (NIV)

Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. — 1 Peter 4:10 (NCV)

What’s in your future? The road to your tomorrows is paved by the choices you make today. Start fresh preparing a good path for your future!

Pastor Dale

BTW, if you’re a pastor or part of a church team you’re invited to join us May 19-21 for our United Pastors Network Conference. It’s a great time for inspiration, meeting and making new ministry friends, and growing your ministry skills.

For information and registration, checkout unitedpastorsnetwork.com! We hope to see you!

This coming weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday. We’re reminded of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His crucifixion. That day He rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives into the city hearing the shouts of the crowd — “Hosanna!” Sadly, by that Friday, the people’s praise of Him turned to vicious attacks against Him. In less than a week, the atmosphere dramatically changed for the worse. The shouts of “Hosanna!” turned to shouts of “Crucify Him!” It’s a sad example of both the sinfulness and the fickleness of the human heart.

Fickleness refers to frequently changing loyalties, devotion and affection. It’s the “one minute I love you, the next minute I’m not so sure” syndrome. Fickle people are driven by their emotions and influenced by their circumstances. Their relationships lack deep and sincere commitment. The winds and waves of feelings, peer pressure, unpleasant situations and self-centered desires toss them about repeatedly.

One of the best things we can ever do in life is settle our fickleness when it comes to God. It’s a wonderful day when we decide to go with God one hundred percent, no matter what we feel, what people think or what circumstances we face. It’s the choice that brings incredible peace.

Joshua’s charge and personal statement to the people of Israel many years ago is still relevant for us today:

“But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve … But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” — Joshua 24:15 (NLT)

Stop the ups and downs with God and go “all in” with Him! Make a bold decision for Jesus Christ — fickle no more!

Pastor Dale

 

PS – Join us this weekend to hear James Brown, CBS Sportscaster, at Church of the Redeemer.  For campus information and services times, visit our website.

We hope to see you, and bring a friend!

“Have a good day!” It’s a cliche we regularly use with little thought. It’s a nice thing to hear and say. Obviously wishing someone a “good day” is better than the alternative — wishing them a “bad day!”

But what is a “good day,” and how do we know if we’re having one?

Most often we think of a good day as one that goes well — a day when good things come our way. It’s a day absent of bad news, bad feelings, bad interactions, bad attitudes and bad behavior. We think of it as a day when the right things happen to us, and the wrong things don’t. As some would define it, a good day is a day when “lady luck” shows up.

The downside to these descriptions is that they put us at the mercy of outside forces — other people, outside circumstances and uncontrollable events. When all these are positive, we’re good, and when they’re not … !

An important step on the path to maturity is learning to live from the inside out rather than from the outside in. It’s learning to be a “thermostat” rather than a “thermometer.” The difference between the two is that the first sets the environment, the latter simply displays the conditions of the environment. A “thermometer” has no power of influence; no control over anything. It’s good for one thing, and one thing only, reporting. A “thermometer” reflects what is. A “thermostat” determines what will be.

What does all of this have to do with “having a good day?” Everything. Life changes for the better when we realize that the quality of our day can, in very significant ways, be determined by us. We’re not at the mercy of outside forces or “lady luck” for happiness. We can set the environment of a day by internal choices and attitudes. We can think and act in ways that create a “good day” for us and others rather than hoping or wishing it would “happen” to us.

How do we do this? How can we set ourselves for a good day, everyday? Here are a few simple suggestions:

• Turn your worries into prayers. Give your cares and concerns to God each day and leave them with Him. He’s capable of handling your life. He’s trustworthy. Nothing is impossible with Him or too hard for Him.

• Be grateful. Count your blessings. Name them. Express appreciation to God and others for the good things you have been given.

• Pray for others. Think about people who are facing tough stuff. Take their needs to God in prayer.

• Practice kindness, grace and generosity. Purposely plan to be kind. Decide in advance that you’re going to be gracious to people when they mess up, and to yourself when you mess up. Be a forgiver. Give something to someone everyday. Pass along good things to others, if it’s just a smile, an encouraging note or comment. Plant seeds of kindness, grace and generosity all day long. Take the Golden Rule seriously.

• Read your Bible and reflect on it. If it’s only for a short time each day, get into God’s Word and let God’s Word get into you! If you’re not familiar with the Bible, check out the Gospel of John, the Psalms and the Book of Proverbs. These are great starting points. (By the way, there are lots of great Bible apps for your mobile device. Here’s one: www.youversion.com)

• Turn the events of your day into life lessons. There’s wisdom all around us, if we’ll look for it. Become a student. Learn everything you can from life. Anticipate new thoughts, new ideas and new personal growth everyday.

• Practice praise. Praise includes appreciation, but it’s more than appreciation. It’s expressing to God your love for Him just because of who He is, for what He’s done for you, for what He’s doing for you (remember, even when you can’t see it, He’s working!), and for what He’s going to do in and through your life. Praise Him for His promises to you. And don’t forget to pass praise on to others also. Be generous with your praise. It helps shake us out of selfish and self-centered thinking.

Having a good day is something that, in large part, you have control over. Be a “thermostat” rather than a “thermometer.” Things will be better for you and for the other people in your life.

Have a good day!

Pastor Dale

 

When was the last time you were around a sour, negative, bitter, naysayer? What effect did it have on you? Most likely you started looking for an escape.

There’s something about being around someone with a negative spirit that repels rather than attracts. If we hang around this poisonous atmosphere long enough it contaminates us. It’s contagious. It pollutes our mind, downgrades our attitudes and produces conversations permeated with gossip, strife, murmuring and complaining. There’s nothing beautiful about being negative.

Recently I was in a somewhat confined public place where a number of people had congregated. I found myself next to someone who was in an animated conversation on her phone. I couldn’t help but hear portions of her conversation because of the volume of her voice. This lady could likely win a “gossip of the year” award. She railed on and on about this and that person; their faults, their mistakes and all the things she didn’t appreciate about them. It was ugly, and quite honestly, very sad to me. The words of this woman told me much more about her character than it did about anyone she felt the need to trash. It reminded me of something I never want to be — a negative person.

One of the wisest decisions you’ll ever make in life is to choose to be a positive person. Positive people create environments that give life, love, encouragement, strength and blessing. They understand the value of being respectful and honorable in thought and word. They reject petty gossip and stay away from snide remarks. They refuse to traffic in hateful attitudes, spiteful speculations and disgraceful discussions. They have learned the value of keeping a sweet, positive spirit.

Here’s a good reminder about this call to live positively:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. — Ephesians 4:29, 30 (NIV)

Make the decision to go positive!

Pastor Dale

If you’ve ever been with kids on a road trip you know that, at some point on the journey you’ll hear the question, “Are we there yet?” When the answer is “no,” the common follow-up question is, “How much longer until we get there?”

Adults aren’t much different. We want to “get there” — wherever there is — as quickly as possible. Quite often we’re so busy worrying about reaching our goals and achieving our dreams that we miss the joy of the journey that takes us to them. We don’t like anything that requires waiting. We want to be there now!

The fact is, most worthwhile things in life take time to materialize and realize. Reaching a meaningful life destination usually involves a journey. Waiting is part of the process.

Since we have to wait, we would benefit from some “wait” training, so that we wait well.

The best way to wait is patiently. Of course the opposite of waiting patiently is to wait impatiently, which does you or no one else any good! Either way you wait!

When we wait well, good things happen. Take a look at what God says about good “waiters:”

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31 (TLB)

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. — Hebrews 10:36 (NLT)

Let’s take a look at how to be a patient “waiter:

What kind of “waiter” are you? Maybe it’s time for some “wait training?“

Pastor Dale

How healthy is your thinking?

After coming to know Jesus as our Savior, we can still miss many of the wonderful things God has for us because of a messed up mind. Our lives can be severely limited by sinful, faulty, misguided, dysfunctional and debilitating thinking.

The quality of your life is determinded by the quality of your decisions, and the quality of your decisions is determed by the quality of your thinking.

The Bible reminds us of this principle:

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” — Proverbs 4:23 (NCV)

There are many examples in the Bible of people who either helped or hurt themselves by their thoughts:

• The large group of Israelites that wandered in the wilderness for 4 decades, and never made it into the Promised Land. Their doubt-filled, negative thinking cost them 40 years of their lives. It kept them from their God-planned destiny.
• David’s moral failure with Bathsheba. David’s lustful thinking led him to a horrible lapse in judgment. Although his sin was forgiven by God, the pain and consequences of his failures lingered in his family.
• Absalom’s bitterness toward his father David. Absalom refused to forgive his father for some of his mistakes. He allowed resentment to fill his heart and mind. Ultimately Absalom’s bitter thinking destroyed him. His life ended prematurely, all because of what he gave place to in his head.
• Peter’s fearful thinking when Jesus was arrested and prepared for crucifixion. Peter let fearful thinking take over his mind. It caused him to deny Jesus when Jesus needed him most.
• Judas’ covetous thinking. Judas allowed covetous thinking to cause him to betray Jesus.
• Paul’s healthy thinking when incarcerated for preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ. Paul’s healthy, joyous thinking while in prison for preaching the Gospel allowed him to write many of the great books of the N.T.
• John’s healthy thinking when exiled to the island of Patmos for his faith in Jesus Christ. John’s worshipful thinking on the island of Patmos set the stage for a great revelation of Jesus and the activities happening in heaven.

A messed up mind makes a messed up life! A well-managed mind leads to a well-managed life! An undisciplined mind leads to a diminished, dissipated life! A disciplined mind leads to a positive, productive and fruitful life!

What are you thinking?

Success or failure, victory or defeat — first happens in the head! Change your life by changing your thinking!

Pastor Dale

I regularly talk to and pray with people who find holidays challenging. For a variety of reasons, special times of the year can feel more like a burden than blessing to some folks.

While there's usually some positive anticipation associated with the arrival of a holiday, there can also be apprehension. Holidays can put people in situations and in environments that are pregnant with tension and stress. Old wounds can be re-opened and new wounds inflicted when people find themselves in the same room or around the same table with a family member or acquaintance with whom they have some bad history, unresolved issues or continuing strife. The slightest negative comment can spark conflicts or awkward moments. It doesn't take much to turn, what should be a pleasant gathering, into a war zone.

How can you make your holidays more pleasant? How can you bring something of value, health and maturity to your holiday gatherings?

Take a look at something Jesus said:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. — Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

Jesus taught that our happiness — our blessings — are linked to our commitment to “peacemaking.” When we make peace with others, we're behaving as a child of God should behave — we're acting in a way that is becoming to someone who is a part of God's family.

How do we do this?

Here are some practical steps you can take that will help you become a “peacemaker,” especially in situations where conflict could easily erupt this holiday season:

• P = Be positive. Decide that you're going to be a positive person and a positive influence in the atmosphere and interaction. Pray your attitude into a positive place.

• E = Be an encourager. Speak encouraging words. Generously sow encouraging comments. Go the second mile in being an encourager. Hearts open up when we speak affirming, appreciative and encouraging words.

• A = Be an active listener. Focus on asking others about themselves. Show sincere interest in the people present. Don't be as concerned with telling your stories, sharing your opinions or pointificating on your ideas as you are in finding out the stories and needs of others.

• C = Be careful. Carefully consider your conversations. Don't let yourself get trapped into an ugly and old way of interacting. If you know that a certain topic or tone is going to create anger, cause hurt and pain or ignite controversy, don't go there. In short, think before you speak. It's amazing how many problems we avoid when we put our mind in motion before we put our mouth in gear!

• E = Elevate the environment. To “elevate” is “to raise to a higher level; to lift up; to promote to something greater and better.” Don't “go low” in your interactions. Take the “high road” of grace, patience, forgiveness and maturity in your behavior and spirit. Don't let others bring you down. Choose and lovingly work to lift others up!

Make a decision to make the most of your holidays. Find God's blessings by being a peacemaker!

Pastor Dale

 

 

There’s a familiar phrase — a Bible verse that lots of people recognize. It’s a quote from Jesus that gives us a great life principle:

… remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” — Acts 20:35 (NIV)

This life principle has been researched and proven to be true. People who regularly and generously give are happier, healthier and less stressed. Sincere givers learn the joy of being a “channel of blessings” rather than simply a “consumer of blessings.” They enjoy the process of passing on resources that help and encourage others. Their pleasure is found in “giving” more than in “getting.”

Giving is one of the keys to a refeshed life. In-flow without out-flow invites stagnation and “disease.” Take a look at a pond that gathers water without releasing it. All kinds of ugly things — seen and unseen — breed there.

When you stop giving to God and others, your life becomes stale and your heart incrementally shrinks. Ugly consequences show up in the souls of people who are stingy, selfish and miserly.

If you want the best life possible, one of the decisions you’ll need to make is to be a giver. You must decide and determine that nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to stop you from giving. At the core of your being you must believe the words of Jesus — “It’s more blessed to give than to receive!”

The sad fact is, we live in a world of withholders. Marriages and friendships are damaged by emotional withholders. Churches, ministries and missions often struggle in fulfilling their calling because too few folks contribute time, talents and treasures to their work. Productivity and signifcant advances in organizations and businesses are restricted because people don’t give their best efforts. Parsimony of spirit never leads to anything good. Generosity leads to great places!

Here are 6 great reasons to be generous:

• It helps us be like God. God is generous. When you’re generous, you’re imitating Him!

• It frees us from stress and tension. Holding tight to anything brings fatigue. Release brings rest.

• It attracts blessings. Another word for generous is “magnanimous.” The root word for “magnanimous” is “magnet.” When we give we attract blessings.

• It demonstrates maturity. Small people live to get. Big (mature) people live to give.

• It increases opportunities and influence. Greater opportunities come to people who invest of their resources in others. When your heart is generously invested in something, your influence grows.

• It reveals true faith and trust. When we give we’re saying, “God I trust you to take care of me!“

How about you? Are you on the path to a “more blessed” life? If not, get started today!

Pastor Dale

Have you ever been in a confined place with someone who was coughing or sneezing without concern about others around them? This happens frequently in elevators, waiting rooms, lobbies, offices, on airplanes, and in a variety of other environments. What do you feel when this happens? What is your instinctive reaction?

If you're like me, and I suspect you are, you feel uncomfortable. You want to distance yourself from the germs that are being projected into your world. While you may have compassion on the suffering person, you don't want to catch whatever it is that they have. You go into protective mode. You may politely and carefully withdraw a bit from the person. You probably hold your breath for a moment or two. And you likely look forward to removing yourself from the environment as soon as possible. These things are important and wise to do.

Let's apply the same wisdom to another area of life. As surely as physical viruses can be caught from others, bad attitudes can be caught too. The Bible teaches us that bad attitudes are contagious:

Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious –– don't get infected. — Proverbs 22:24, 25 (Msg)

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” — 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NAS)

The next time you're around someone who is “coughing and sneezing” bad attitudes; negativity, gossip, anger, fear, worry, and any other spiritual and emotional virus:

• Recognize it. Be alert to potential spiritual and emotional germs around you.
• Respond to it. If you have a relationship with the person, give them some feedback about what you’re seeing or hearing from them.
• Refuse to receive it. Make a conscious decision that you're not going to be infected by the person.
• Remove yourself from the situation. Get away from an infected person or environment as soon as you can.
• Refresh right attitudes after the exposure. After removing yourself, recheck and refresh right attitudes in your heart. Make sure no viral residue remains in you.

Don't let someone else's spiritual and emotinal germs get into your system. Avoid infection!

Pastor Dale

Friends are wonderful. It's great to have people in your life that share some common connection and positive chemistry with you. Being together with a friend is something you look forward to and enjoy. You add to each other's life. Friends are a blessing and a gift.

Sadly, however, sometimes friendships face challenges. Something happens in the relationship and things change. Feelings get hurt, trust is broken, motives are questioned and communication become painful. Walls go up and former friends are estranged, and even worse, become enemies.

Paul, a leader of the early church, gave a lot of attention to relationship issues in his teachings. He frequently reminded Christian believers of the traps and pitfalls of bad feelings and behavior toward one another. Sometimes he got very specific. In some situations he even called out people by name, addressing their disagreements and division.

This was the case when he wrote to the church in a place called Philippi. Two ladies in the church who had been great friends at one time were now at odds with each other. They had an unsettled disagreement. Their disagreement had isolated them from each other and was affecting other people around them.

Take a look at Paul's straightforward instructions, and slight rebuke, to them:

Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. — Philippians 4:2 (NLT)

And now I want to plead with those two dear women, Euodias and Syntyche. Please, please, with the Lord's help, quarrel no more– be friends again. — Philippians 4:2 (The Living Bible)

Paul was deeply concerned about what these ladies had allowed to come between them. If you read further in Philippians 4 you'll discover that these women had once been great friends and had worked together — side-by-side — serving God and the church. Their relationship plummeted for some reason. Over time they moved from cooperating with each other to contending with each other.

We don't know what happened that led to this separation. All we know is that they were former friends who had become foes. They once had been close, but no longer had a relationship.

What was Paul's guidance to them. He told them to “re-friend” each other. This meant that they would have to drop their offenses, whatever they were, and forgive. They had to willingly lay down their “right to be right” about their disagreement, reconcile and move forward together again.

How about you? What friendship has dissolved because of some disagreement? Are you hurt and angry at your former friend? Have you closed your heart to them? Have you shut them out and determined to write them off?

Perhaps it's a time to take a step toward them again. You can do something, even if it's a small thing, that will start healing the hurt and begin rebuilding the trust between you. Be the one to take the first step toward “re-friending!”

Pastor Dale

“One day I'll …. ” You've said this before haven't you? It's called a “good intention.” A “good intention” is what we say we want to be or do, but aren't ready to commit effort and energy to now. It projects into the future a kind of “miracle moment” when we'll finally get down to business and fulfill some hope, aspiration or goal.

The problem with “one day” thinking is that, more times than not that day never comes. It's often a way we delay doing the work that needs to be done today. It's a way we let ourselves off the hook for taking action now.

“One day” thinking is a symptom of a common human problem called procrastination. Procrastination is a self-imposed postponement of difficult choices and steps. We tell ourselves that we'll eventually “get around to” these things, but usually they go on unattended and unaddressed. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is attributed with the familiar statement, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Procrastination has robbed lots of people of lots of things, including the destiny of their eternal souls.

The best lives are built by proactivity. Regrets are the fruit of procrastination. At the end of your life you'll celebrate the positive actions you've taken, and painfully grieve the “one day's” that never came.

Get busy being positive and productive. Take the steps now to become the person God wants you to be. Get active doing work that matters. Don't put off the truly valuable things in life. Grow, give, serve, love! And most importantly, live wholly and completely for God! Let your “one day” be today!

Pastor Dale

 

What are your goals? Goals are good things. They point us to a positive future. And as long as your goals are consistent with God's goals for your life, they're worth working toward.

But note a key phrase — working toward.

Achieving goals requires work. That's why most people never achieve many of their goals. The effort is not added to the desires.

The human tendency is to always look for the path of least resistance. We want to find the quick and easy way to success. We want to get “there” without doing the work that needs to be done “here and now.”

Effort is something God established as an important life ingredient from the beginning of time. Even before the fall of Adam and Eve, effort was required of them. They were assigned the task of keeping up the Garden of Eden, which involved work — effort. It was a part of God's plan for them. They needed to do something productive. They needed to be a part of the process.

There's something about exerting effort that's good for us. Working hard in your assignments and toward your goals is a positive thing.

Look at the apostle Peter said about this:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith …” — 2 Peter 1:5 (NIV)

No growth, no addition, no progess is made without you making a contribution to the process. Accomplishing anything great in life requires effort. Don't be afraid of hard work!

Pastor Dale

Monday, September 16, 2013 — a day when bad things happened. Twelve people lost their lives and eight others were wounded when Aaron Alexis opened gunfire at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard. As the news unfolded throughout the day hearts were stricken with heaviness for the families suffering loss and pain. Questions, speculations and fear gnawed at and gripped the psyche of people in the D.C. area and around the nation. One main question on everyone's mind — why? Why would someone do something like this?

While the motives of Aaron Alexis may or may not ever be fully known, we do know that what he did was horrible, bad, evil — horrendously sinister. Words fail to describe the depth of darkness and derangement at the root of such acts.

Certainly we all would do anything we could to reverse the events of this day. The reality is, it was a bad day — a day when bad things happened. Unfortunately it's not the first day like this, and although we pray and work to avoid these terrible acts and events, this likely will not be the last day like this. As long as evil exists in the world, and as long as brokenness exists in the souls of people, bad things sometime happen.

As believers, as people of faith, what should our response be in times like this? What do we do when bad things happen?

The most important thing to do is to hold on to faith. God never promised a world free from suffering and pain. In fact, Jesus Christ came and gave His life because of the evil and brokenness in our world. He came to change the hearts of people, one-by-one, person-by-person. The Gospel is the Good News — the answer and solution to mankind's deepest problem — sin.

When bad things happen we have opportunities as believers to:

• Pray for the those who have suffered loss and pain.
• Hold on to our hope in Jesus Christ as the answer to the world's greatest problem — the problem of the sinful heart.
• Lean into God as our personal Source of strength, courage and comfort.
• Pray that the message of Jesus Christ would be believed and received — that people would be changed from the inside out by the good news of God's love and grace.
• Be examples and messengers of God's love to others, especially to the troubled souls we encounter in our life journey.
• Continue to live confidently, staying busy doing the good we can do to advance God's Kingdom in our world.

Remember, Jesus came:

” … to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide us to the path of peace.” — Luke 1:79 (NLT)

When bad things happen, keep your head up and your eyes on Jesus.

Pastor Dale

 

Time is a precious gift. It comes and goes quickly, and when it passes it can’t be recovered. That’s why we need to be wise in the way we use it. That’s why we need to be purposeful in the way we invest it. The way you use your time determines your personal direction and destiny.

Time management is really all about your values and priorities. When you value something, when it’s a priority in your life, you make time for it. It make its way into your schedule. One of the best ways of knowing what’s important to you is to look at how you spend your time.

Think about your own life. Are you spending time on things that really matter?

When God called Joshua to take over the leadership of Israel after the death of Moses, He gave Joshua some advice about how to prioritize his time. He gave him a secret to life and leadership success:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. — Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

If Joshua was going to have the strength and wisdom he needed to do the work God wanted him to do and have the life God wanted him to have, he needed to make time for reflecting on God’s Word.

I encourage you to do the same! Your joy and success depend on it.

To help you get into God’s Word, we have prepared a new devotional app and book called “Back To The Bible.” It’s available in the Apple and Google Play app stores (search Back To The Bible), in iBooks and in downloadable form at our church website: https://www.church-redeemer.org/backtothebible. It’s also available in YouVersion (by searching Back to the Bible) under Reading Plans.

Get started on a 60 day journey in God’s Word. You won’t regret it.

It’s time to “Get Back To The Bible!”

Pastor Dale

 

You’ve heard it before — “Winners never quit and quitters never win!” The famous American football coach Vince Lombardi frequently reminded his players of this life principle — you won’t win if you quit too soon.

There are many victories, breakthroughs, successes and achievements that only come after long seasons of, what seems like, fruitless effort. Tedious research, tireless practice, persistent efforts, patient investment, persevering prayer, long-term labor usually pays off, eventually.

The sad reality is that many of these pay-offs never come simply because people give up — they quit too soon. Days, weeks, years, decades of working and waiting, with little to show for it, can take its toll on your heart and soul. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep going when everything inside you is screaming “quit!”

While there are times to “throw in the towel” in pursuit of something, there are many more times when we need to “remain in the ring.” Many people “leave and lose” when victory is right around the corner.

There’s a great story in the Bible that reminds us of the power of persistence, especially in our obedience to God. It’s the Old Testament story of Naaman. You can read about him in 2 Kings 5. Here’s the essence of his situation.

Naaman contracted the deadly disease of leprosy. He was directed to the prophet Elisha for a miracle cure. Elisha gave Naaman instructions that he didn’t like. These instructions confronted Naaman’s pride and tested his patience. He was told to go and dip himself seven times in the Jordan River. God promised that in doing this he would be healed.

After much protest, Naaman finally agreed to obey God’s instructions. Notice what happened when he did:

So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child’s, and he was healed! — 2 Kings 5:14 (NLT)

It’s very important to see that Naaman’s healing happened after the seventh dip. Dips one through six seemed to make no difference in his condition. Nothing improved and nothing changed until Naaman completed his seventh immersion in the muddy waters of the Jordan. But his persistent obedience paid off. On the seventh dip, healing came, breakthrough happen, the victory was won.

What if Naaman had stopped on dip two, or four, or five, or six? His story wouldn’t be in the Bible. We know about this man because he didn’t quit too soon!

What about you? What are you about to quit? A job? A marriage? An exercise program? A commitment? A prayer? A _____________________ ? Think hard before you do. Maybe, just maybe, it’s too soon to quit!

Pastor Dale

Here’s some good advice (actually some “God advice”):

Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble. — Proverbs 21:23 (NLT)

Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief. — Proverbs 21:23 (Message)

The next time you feel the:

• Need to retort.
  
• Urge to gossip.
  
• Desire to dismiss or diminish someone’s success.
  
• Temptation to twist the truth.
  
• Delight in dominating conversations.
  
• Press to express your opinionated opinions.
  
• Prodding to verbally pass on your judgments.
  
• Anticipated pleasure of “speaking your mind.”

Send your tongue to “time out!”

Pastor Dale