Prior to the invention of electric lighting we read that people slept an average of ten hours per night. Today, we average less than seven hours. Even with the knowledge of the ramifications to our health - - we persistently attempt to squeeze a little more out of each day. The busyness and stress that we are submitted to detracts from the restful sleep we so desperately need.

In Mark 6:31 Jesus directed His associates, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest for a while.” “For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Through His instruction and His example – He taught the disciples to minister effectively over the long haul by looking after their personal spiritual and physical needs.

Jesus understood the need to create time for rest and quiet. The hustle and bustle of our fast-paced existence can create stress and fatigue on marital intimacy, and will generate a true barrier to our spiritual intimacy as well.

Instead of acquiescing to the culture’s demand to do more - - we must focus on the spiritual discipline of ‘calling a time-out’ and getting away to listen to our God which will allow us to be more.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

Fear comes from within and then is attached to people and problems outside of ourselves. It is like ‘negative faith’. It suggests that the current situation has gotten too large for God to control. All this fear in our lives can cause paralysis – preventing us from turning it over to Him.

There are over 300 ‘fear nots’ in the Bible. God is not condemning us for being afraid. He is urging us to turn to Him when those difficult times occur. He is a constant presence in each fear-causing circumstance. Fear can deplete our energy and rob us of happiness in life.

I must confess – I had a little fear as I entered surgery. It was a fear of the unknown, the outcome, the prognosis, the rehabilitation, and the pain. When a spirit of fear comes over us, it disrupts life, drains spiritual strength, and clouds our judgment.

The one thing that I love is to be around others who have pressed hard after God. It is thru their discipline of faith that they have developed an ‘unshakeable God confidence’ that seems to grow stronger day-by-day.

It does not mean that these folks have not seen their share of difficulties - - but just ask them about God’s faithfulness and generosity and you’ll hear them speak out of a heart that constantly delights and longs after Him.

“For God did not give us the spirit of timidity [fear] but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” 2nd Timothy 1:7

Protect us, Lord – when our hearts become fearful. Cause us to instead be invigorated with the desire to persevere by faith! Amen.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

Patience is one of those attributes that you cannot learn by reading about it. ‘Patient’ comes from a Latin word meaning ‘to bear pain’. It’s a quality that can only be acquired by endurance, persistence, and practice - - for me it’s a drill that I go over, and over, and over again. It demands great courage and should never be taken for granted.

There is, however, another side to patience - - ‘the willingness to wait’. It is an attitude that arrives from the belief that most good things in this life develop gradually and progressively. Each week [following the prescribed physical therapy on my knee] my faith develops a bit more; my character goes through one more cycle. Waiting is a high-level skill. It is not merely ‘waiting around’. We’re talking about a type of waiting that affords an expectation.

If you plant a garden or invest some money – you understand waiting well. Spouses have to be patient with each other [How else could marriage possibly work?]. Parents need to exercise purposeful waiting with their children as they help them step from one new challenge to the next. All of us need to develop patience.

Patience is faith, hope, and love in action. It involves faith because I believe that God is in control; hope because I expect that God has great things in mind for the future; and love because I know it’s worth waiting for. Patience loosens the choking grip of anxiety, worry, and doubt.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

God, help us to wait. God, help us to endure. God, thank you for being so patient with us. Amen.

I love you.

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

Perhaps, both of these statements can be true if you don’t waste your pain. Suffering, pain, obstacles, and adversity can be the anvil on which character is forged. However if you fail to learn from the pain and instead choose bitterness and anger, then the next hardship you face will reveal the shallowness of your integrity and your faith.

This is the same type of testing we observe in Job’s life – when he lost his children, his livestock, his home, his property, and his health. Yet through all of this, Job never sinned against God, either in word or in deed.

Rather than cursing God or complaining about how unjust were these circumstances - - he proclaims: “. . . should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” [Job 2:10]

“These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.” [1 Peter 1:7] God can indeed use adversity to build our faith and makes us stronger. And He can also use the storms of life as a proving ground for our faith.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

God’s greatest desire for mankind is to have a close personal relationship. He desires an intimate friendship – to spend time with Him, communicate with Him, enjoy fellowship with Him, to trust and follow Him, to add meaning and purpose to your life. He wants us to ‘know’ Him – and – ‘be known’ by Him.

Do we understand the greatness of God and his mercy and his love? Are we stirred to gratitude? Do we sense a close companionship with other believers? Do we see them, struggling as we are, to work out various problems? Do we want to do all we can to encourage them and help them? Are we stimulated to do something practical this week to bring this all about, to help someone, to serve and to minister to those who are in trouble in this troubled age?

Man’s way to reach God is religion; God’s way to reach man is Jesus. Oswald Chambers once said: “It is a joy to Jesus when a person takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be a visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.” As we grow spiritually closer to Jesus - - the more our lives become Christ-like.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

Everyone needs a cheerleader to urge them on, motivate them to be the best they can be, and to energize them to develop to their fullest potential. Encouragement is one of a leader’s primary roles.

Leaders who cheer others on leave an indelible mark in the lives they touch as they serve as mentor, teacher, trainer, guide, and confidant. Words of encouragement have the power to alter outcomes and rise above the day-to-day pressures of this world.

The apostle Paul wrote a note of encouragement to the people he led in a small coastal town and those words still inspire faith and hope in those who read them. “I thank my God every time I remember you” and later, “I have you in my heart.” [Philippians 1:3, 7] Paul’s words possessed the ability to spur teammates on to offer their best efforts. Those words still echo the same motivation to folks today.

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Lord, May all of our efforts and encouragement to others have their beginning in You - - and may they be brought to completion by Your will. Amen.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

Early followers came together in order to receive encouragement and strength during a time of persecution and great hardship. The teammates were weak and vulnerable on their own, but together they were strong. United they were able. United they brought hope to those that were without hope. United they performed miracles [demonstrating God’s power] as they shared selflessly.

The principle of unity is still very important today. As we gather with other ‘teammates’, there must be a commitment to spend time together, listen to one another, and energize each other as we work together for the common good.

Unity is a component of our spiritual health that is similar to our physical health. A good diet and regular exercise lend themselves to a healthy body. In the same way, a steady diet of God’s Word and exercise in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study, fellowship - - lend themselves to a growing unity with God and our teammates. To stay healthy – we must work at it. At the beginning, development seems attractive and exciting. But we soon realize that work is involved and we are tempted to slow down or look for short cuts. We must remain mindful that the benefits of unity far outweigh our momentary inconveniences.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

Dear Lord,
Help us remember that in Your world, relationships and unity are not everything; they are the only things. Help us remember that one’s net worth is determined by our heart’s work, especially with others - - in Your name. Amen.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale

There are some folks that believe wisdom is to know. They consider amassing factual data as a worthy end in itself. To others, however, wisdom is not in the knowing but in the actual doing. And King Solomon knew this.

You may recall that God offered him a real deal, “Because you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, I’m going to give you any one thing you ask for.” Solomon could have asked for anything – wealth, long life, prestige, you name it. But he was certain that it was not enough just to have something. He needed to know how to do something in order to lead a nation [Israel].

The book of Proverbs provides God’s wisdom on a whole host of topics that we encounter along life’s journey [money, friendships, work, our marriages, our children]. I define wisdom as knowing the difference between right and wrong – but doing that which is right.

Knowledge is instant, a by-product of our ‘microwave’ culture, which offers quick bits of information in five-minute bursts of the news. Our brains seem overloaded with the trivial and temporary. But pursuit of wisdom takes time. It’s like cooking a meal with a crock pot – it will not be ready in ten minutes. But when the time is right, and all the spices, flavorings, and juices have marinated you will have something that is really worth sharing.

In biblical terms wisdom may be defined as the ability to live skillfully from God’s point of view. It is an outcome of observing life from a ‘vertical perspective’ – and – acting accordingly. We must search after wisdom and humble ourselves [admitting our need while confessing our insufficiency], then ask God’s assistance.

Dear Lord, Thank You for teaching us that Your ways are higher than our ways. Thank You for challenging us not to take the easy way out - - not to just walk through any door that swings open, but to seek Your will and guidance in all things. Amen.

I love you!

Stay faithful and finish strong,
dale