"He is Like the Breath of Jesus to Us..."

Dear Church Family,

The high point of our sabbatical was the opportunity to go to California and spend four days with Pastor John & Linda Sale. If you asked Kate or the kids, I’m sure they’d all tell you the same thing. The meals and long conversations around the table, the trip to Coronado Island for a picnic lunch, the night at In & Out Burgers, and the motorcycle rides through the Pauma Valley, all left us feeling loved and refreshed in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

I first met John Sale when I was twenty years old. I was one of the groomsmen in Darrell & Valerie Ash’s wedding, which was held at Keeneyville Bible Church (which later became Grace Community Bible Church). At the wedding rehearsal, I was struck by the pastoral presence and Christ-like gentleness of the man who would perform my friends’ wedding. During the wedding service the next day, I recall feeling like I was in the presence of a man who knew Jesus unlike anyone I’d ever met before.

The wedding was in June, but three months later, in September, John Sale’s Christ-like fragrance was still lingering in my memory. I spoke to Darrell Ash and said, “If only I could do an internship under that pastor...” And the rest is history. For the next seven years, my life would be lived within the orbit of John Sale’s life and ministry, and his influence would be cast on me as a man, a husband, a father, a preacher, and a pastor.

When I think of the word “shepherd,” John Sale’s face immediately comes to mind. His love for people; his tender heart toward Christ; his ability to draw others to the Savior; his fatherly care not only for his own children, but for many others; his zeal for prayer; and his example of the loveliness of Jesus Christ—these are just a few of the characteristics that have made an indelible impression on my life.

After we worshiped with the Sales at Valley Center Community Church, I stood outside and spoke with the congregation (can you believe that their “foyer” is outdoors, even on the first Sunday of January?). One of the ladies from the church said something to me about her pastor that I will never forget: “He is like the breath of Jesus to us.”

Isn’t that what you and I want to be to the people God brings into our lives? We sing,

O breath of God, come fill this place
Revive our hearts to know your grace
And from our slumber make us rise
That we may know the Risen Christ.

The beautiful truth is that through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Breath of God has now come to indwell us, his people. Through the continual infilling of the Holy Spirit, we can become “like the breath of Jesus” to our families, our church fellowship, and our community.

This is not an unattainable goal. This is God’s will for us, and it is the promise of God’s grace in us:

“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did”
(1 John 2:5-6, NIV).

Thank you for giving us such a sweet time of renewal. We were refreshed by God’s love; we were renewed by the Breath of Jesus; and we are delighted to be back home with the church we love, for in so many ways, you too are like the Breath of Jesus to us.

Rejoicing in our reunion,

Pastor David Sunday