December 1, 2020
We have become an Empire of Vampires needing to be de-fanged. Consider - 2020 has been a merciless year. It’s been an-eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth kind of year. It’s been a jungle of eat-or-be-eaten. In an eat-or-be-eaten culture you are either a victim or an oppressor, the eater or the eaten. Professional newscasters have grown claws and their canine teeth have lengthened. Cable news and talk shows have hired Verbal Vampires who wear suits and pearl necklaces who proceed to mercilessly suck the blood of their opponents until they are only a heap of humanity on the floor. On one channel Trump is the Prince of Fools and on another channel Biden is the Prince of Fools. On one show the the host sinks his teeth into the necks of the Republicans and on another show the hostess sinks her teeth into the necks of Democrats. And there are Vampires in the Church, too. No quarter is given, no mercy is shown if you disagree with the party line. The Church and America needs healing.
I believe that the Beatitudes of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5:3-12 is the pathway the Church should walk in being a healing agent in our nation. The Beatitudes describe a spirit that is directly counter to the spirit that is manifesting itself in our public discourse and private relationships. We’ve already looked at those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the gentle, and they that hunger and thirst for righteousness. This is the way forward toward the healing our nation so desperately needs.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” This is the 5th Beatitude. To be merciful is to treat someone better than they deserve. This is the exact opposite of what is seen today on Cable news and in the clusters of political and ideological devotees. If Trump does something even slightly off base, he is treated worse than he deserves. If Biden does something even slightly off base, he is treated worse than he deserves. And this is true inside and outside of the Church. Mercilessness is rampant. Jesus said that if you treat someone better than they deserve that you will be treated better than you deserve. Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is getting better than what you deserve. James tells us, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13
Mercy is treating your husband or your wife better than they deserve. When they speak that unkind word, speak a kind word in return. Mercy means treating your children better than they deserve. When they are disrespectful, discipline them in kindness and in fair measure. Mercy means treating your boss with kindness and fairness. When he or she is unreasonable, pray for them and guard them from the judgment of others. Mercy means treating our leaders with respect and giving them the benefit of the doubt. You don’t know what they’re dealing with and the pressures they are under. Mercy means going to them in private and airing your grievances in respect.
Give others the benefit of the doubt and you will be given the benefit of the doubt. Remember, you will reap what you sow. If you sow judgment and disrespect and scorn, you will receive judgment, and disrespect, and scorn. America has sown judgment, and disrespect, and scorn and she will reap judgment, and disrespect, and scorn. The Church are those who can stop the carnage. Begin the healing of our nation by following the words of Jesus – show mercy. The prophet Micah put it this way, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
It is time for the Church to love kindness. If the Church, if you, do not practice mercy, how can we expect more of our nation than we do the Church of Jesus Christ. Consider the following incident in the life of Jesus.
When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went on to another village. Luke 9:51-56
Not the Spirit of Jesus, but the spirit of James and John has gripped the Church and the nation. “If you get in my way, I will destroy you!” But Jesus didn’t come to destroy those who disagreed with Him – He came to save them. The disciples then and many disciples now don’t walk in step with the heart of Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to bring judgment, but to manifest the mercies of God. Go and do likewise.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and show mercy – Pastor Tim
November 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Thanksgiving always highlights the wide variety of tastes and tolerances that people have. Dishes that I insist originate in the Boiling Cauldrons of the Realm of Darkness are: anything with pumpkin in it; anything with coconut in it; yams and sweet potatoes. On the other hand, my wife insists that these are all Heavenly Dishes cooked up in the kitchens of the Kingdom of God. (Yes, she’s a heretic!) There’s no moral obligation to hunger for yams or spiritual satisfaction if you do. Yet Jesus says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.
People hunger and thirst for a lot of things – influence, popularity, power, beauty, strength, speed, money, pleasure, skill, adventure, position, discovery, etc. Yet whatever you achieve of influence and popularity, or beauty and strength, etc., there’s always more to be had – there’s always someone with more. For example, the United States Secretary of State has beneath him the Deputy Secretary of State who has beneath him the Executive Secretary. Beneath the Executive Secretary is the Under Secretary of Political Affairs and beneath him/her is the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs desires to be the Under Secretary for Political Affairs who wants to be the Executive Secretary who longs to be the Deputy Secretary of State who yearns to be the Secretary of State who also nurtures a secret desire to the President of the United States. There’s always a ladder to be climbed, more to have, and greater satisfaction yet to experience. Welcome to the Rat Race. John D. Rockefeller said, “I have made many millions but they have brought me no happiness.” No matter how high John climbed, it wasn’t high enough – the ladder stretched beyond him. Rockefeller was asked by a reporter, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.” Mick Jagger put it this way, “I can’t get no satisfaction. I try and I try and I try and I try – I can’t get no!”
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Satisfied – how so? If there’s always more to be had and higher to climb, how can I ever be satisfied? How can I ever find rest for my soul? No matter who you are or what you’ve attained, there’s always someone with more. Yet when I receive the righteousness of Christ, there’s no more to be had – I have it all! Think of it – no one on planet earth is more righteous than me! And if you’re in Christ, no one is more righteous than you – not your sainted mother or your godly pastor or your cousin who’s a missionary. Think further – no one in heaven has more righteousness than me. Certainly the angels don’t, and righteousness doesn’t somehow increase when you arrive in heaven. And if you dare think this – not even Christ has more righteousness than me! I am the righteousness of God in Christ! Jesus hasn’t given me of His righteousness – He has given me His righteousness – all of it! I don’t have a partial righteousness, but a full, final, and complete righteousness. I am not partly right with God – I am fully right with God and have perfect standing before Him. Hallelujah! Yes, my soul is satisfied! I am at rest. If you are in Christ, you cannot have a more perfect standing with God than you do now. Obedience doesn’t increase your righteousness and sin doesn’t decrease it.
My prayer life can improve. My faith can grow. I’m not satisfied with personal holiness and I can certainly grow in my conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. My attention to my spouse and my skill in pastoral ministry can increase. But there is no Rat Race when it comes to the righteousness of Christ! I don’t have to scrape and scrap for more. I am satisfied! The hunger and thirst for righteousness is a passion that can be satisfied fully and completely. Your soul won’t be satisfied once COVID is defeated and your guy is sitting in the White House and the riots and chaos have ended. Your soul will only be satisfied with Christ. There will always be someone faster, thinner, smarter, richer, better looking, and more popular than you. But there will never be anyone more righteous than you!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 24, 2020
The medical pandemic, the social pandemonium, and the political polarization have knocked the Church off course these last few months. It’s been a hairy time. The Church in America has never experienced something quite like this. These medical and social and political weather fronts have joined themselves into the perfect storm, and the Church, like a ship in a churning sea, is being tossed to and fro and can’t quite seem to find her way. She’s trying to right Herself, but a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. The words of Jesus will help us remain afloat and going in the right direction though the storm continues unabated.
The second Beatitude is, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
To mourn is to grieve and weep and be overwhelmed with sadness. That’s the stuff I try to avoid because I don’t see any blessing in it. Yet mourning is the appropriate response when you see how far your heart is from the heart of God – when you mourn for your sins and failures. Mourning is a word used to describe the sorrow one feels on behalf of a dead person – and death is the end product of sin. We should mourn for our sins and the sins of others because we know where sin leads.
Yet instead of mourn for our sins, we condemn others for what we perceive to be their sin. Why do I say ‘perceive’? Because it may not be sin at all! Just like Jesus said, we are straining at gnats and swallowing camels. The ones with logs in their eyes are trying to take the speck out of the eyes of others. This is a recipe for disaster. And disaster it’s been as the Church doesn’t mourn her own sins, but condemns the sin of others. We don’t examine our hearts before the Lord and seek forgiveness, instead we examine the hearts of others and pronounce judgment. We’re not broken before the Lord, instead we seek to break others. We are blind to our own sins and yet have 20/20 vision when it comes to the sins of others. We’re so puffed up with righteous anger that we forget that the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. It seems like the 2ndBeatitude has been changed into: “Blessed are the angry, for they shall be proven right.” And above all things, we want to be proven right.
And here’s the thing – as you condemn the sin of others and walk in judgment against them, you can never experience the comfort that is promised to those who mourn for their own sins. The blessing of comfort is for those who mourn. Mourning is the doorway to the comfort of God. The word for comfort that Jesus uses is the same word that He uses to describe the Holy Spirit – the Comforter. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:14
The word ‘disclose’ in John 16:14 means ‘announce’ – it comes from the same Greek word that is translated ‘angel’ – a messenger of God. When you mourn for your sins, the Holy Spirit announces to you the grace and forgiveness of God available to you through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. A Church that is not mourning its sins is being starved of grace and mercy. No wonder we’re so angry!
In the storm year of 2020, how can the Church remain afloat and headed in the right direction in these churning seas? By returning to the words of Jesus – to mourn for our sins and receive the comfort of God. “But if I don’t condemn those Democrats and those Republicans and those mask-wearers and non mask-wearers, who will? If I don’t point out their sin, who will? I can’t waste this opportunity. I must speak truth to power!” The dog owner who puts his dog’s poop in a baggie is still holding dog poop. And condemnation wrapped in the conceit of a ‘prophetic word’ or ‘speaking truth to power’ still smells to high heaven. There are ‘prophetic words’ and there is ‘speaking truth to power.’ But when these come from someone who is not mourning their own sin, it becomes nothing more than sanctimonious dribble – and it stinks!
May your anger be turned to mourning, and in your mourning may you be comforted. And in your comforted soul may you be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 23, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
In my last blog I wrote about the smartphone and on-board GPS guidance systems that give us directions to where we’re going. And when we get off course, it recalculates our route, and guides us back to the proper route. I think it’s safe to say that the Church has strayed off the path of Jesus these last few months. Now, you may protest and say, “What are you talking about? I can say with a clear conscience and intellectual integrity that I’ve followed Jesus very closely these last few months. In fact, I’ve never followed Him with greater care and urgency.” OK – I believe you. But probably the church down the street from you has been into some goofy stuff! You know, it’s hard to think and write about the Church as a single whole – for the very reason that there are so many moving parts to the Body of Christ. And not all of them move in the same direction at the same speed at the same time. And therein lay our current state of distress. The engine wants to go to this city while the transmission wants to go to another location and the rear bumper is in another county altogether. If that’s the Church – the Church is a wreck! Part of the Church is in the Republican camp while another part of it is in the Democrat camp. One part of the Church is marching to the drum of the social justice movement and another part of the Church is denouncing this as folly. The Church is all over the map!
How does the Holy Spirit recalculate our course? By the Word of God. Even as the satellites that inform our GPS systems use a standardized methodology for guiding our way and recalculating our path, so the Holy Spirit takes the eternal Word of God and seeks to bring our lives into conformity with it. How does this happen? Where does this begin? Let’s consider the Beatitudes. The first Beatitude that Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.”
Here is a pretty standard definition of ‘poor’: having little money or belongings, or lacking something. That’s pretty straight forward. Here is ‘poor’ used in a sentence: An example of poor is living below the poverty line.
So, Jesus is saying that you are blessed if your spirit is living below the poverty line! Jesus says that you are blessed if you are not self-sufficient. If you make a living wage and can pay for your lodging, food, transportation, clothing, insurance, etc., you won’t need to look to anyone or anything else to help sustain you. But if you’re living below the poverty line, that’s not the case. You have to discover what agencies and programs and systems are out there to help you get by. According to Jesus, you are not self-sufficient in spirit, in your innermost being – you need help!
Blessed are the poor in spirit because they need help. And what’s more – they know they need help. They know they need to look beyond themselves or else they won’t make it. Those living below the poverty line find themselves in desperate situations. Blessed are the spiritually desperate. Blessed are those who can’t sustain themselves. Blessed are those who need to look beyond themselves. (I feel like preaching!) Yet this goes against accepted psychological dogma. We’re told that we need to affirm ourselves and think highly of ourselves lest we have a low self image and suffer psychological trauma. And whatever wisdom there is in this, God does not want us to think ourselves as self-sufficient, having no need for His grace and mercy.
The opposite of poor in spirit is being full of yourself. This is where the Church has lost its way these last few months. There are a lot of Christians who are full of themselves these days. There are a lot of bullies in the the Body of Christ -
- “If you don’t vote the way I think you should vote, you’re not a Christian.”
- “If you wear a mask you are un-American and anti-freedom.”
- “If you don’t wear a mask you are being unchristian and not loving people.”
- “If you don’t consider yourself systemically racist you are part of the problem.”
- “If you allow yourself to be bullied by the social justice warriors you are part of the problem.”
- Ad nauseum…
We must be full of ourselves because we’re certainly not full of Jesus.
- We’ve been given the Kingdom of Heaven, yet all we do is build the Castles of Men.
- We’ve been given the name of the King of Kings, yet all we talk about is presidents.
- We’ve been given the message of justification, yet so many have replaced this with the mission of justice.
The good has replaced the best; the important has replaced the supreme; the noble has replaced the sublime. The good and the important and the noble is the Castle of Man. The best and supreme and the sublime is the Kingdom of Heaven. The good and the important and the noble will never attain to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Church’s course needs to be recalculated so that She can once again find Herself on the path of Jesus – the path of the best and the supreme and the sublime. It begins by being poor in spirit – living below the poverty line and constantly looking to Jesus and not being satisfied with less than Jesus. Your version of what America should look like will not fulfill you – only Jesus can. Your version of what justice should look like will not bring rest to your soul – only Jesus can do this. The Castles of Men can never complete with the Kingdom of Heaven. The Castles of Men decay and crumble. The Kingdom of Heaven is eternal.
Be blessed and stay healthy and be poor in spirit, for yours is the Kingdom – and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 20, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
When you use a map app on one of your devices – whether a smart phone or one installed in your car – it measures precisely from where you are to where you want to go and then gives you directions on how to get there. It tells you when to turn left or right, how far it is to where you need to turn, and even what lane to be in to get where you need to be. And here’s the real lifesaver – when you don’t follow the directions as given and get off course – your map app recalculates. It remeasures where you are and gives directions for getting back on course.
The Holy Spirit does this in our lives. When you have spoken unkindly to your children or harshly to your spouse; when you have allowed an ungodly thought to take root and bloom in your mind; when you have nurtured an unworthy motive; when you have allowed sloth and laziness to creep into your work-life; when you have not taken the opportunity to share Christ when you could have; when you have allowed an injustice to proceed without speaking out – in all these situations and so many more like them, the Holy Spirit comes to you and me and gently informs us of the course correction we need to make. Whether it’s repentance and confession or humility and recommitment – the Holy Spirit gets us back on the path of Jesus. There are times when the Holy Spirit needs to recalculate our path.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit needs to recalculate the Church’s way, for it is possible for the Church to stray off the path of Jesus. In some ways the Church has grown in amazing ways during the crazy year of 2020. Pastor Chuck used to say that the final Beatitude should have been, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken.” The Church has been super-flexible and has bent in ways it didn’t know it could in 2020. From expanding its digital presence to providing pastoral care long distance to theologically coming to grips with either indifferent or hostile governmental agencies to providing rationales for civil disobedience or compliance to providing live services with unique restrictions to praying in ways it hadn’t prayed before – the Church has grown.
In other ways the Church has gotten off the path of Jesus. Any church that has made itself a wing of either the Republican or Democratic parties is off the path of Jesus. If you make political affiliation a test of fellowship – you are off the path of Jesus. I recently received an email from someone who wrote that they were going to visit our church, but since we do not stand as strong Christians and require masks and adhere to social distancing, we are anti-American and anti-freedom. YIKES! Needless to say, they will not be visiting us. For them, it doesn’t matter how Christian we are – whether Jesus is glorified and the gospel is preached – what matters is how American (in their opinion) we are. And so it’s not how Biblical we are, but how Constitutional (as defined by them) we are. When political party and Constitutional issues overshadow Jesus and the gospel – the path the Church is taking needs to be recalculated.
The Church got along just fine without the Republican or Democratic parties and without the US Constitution for much of its 2,000 year existence. When these become the criteria of a faithful church, a recalculation needs to take place. The Church has hit a number of speed bumps in 2020. Some speed bumps are three feet wide and four inches tall – you can go over these without slowing down too much. Other speed bumps are one foot wide and eight inches tall – you need to really slow down for these or you could do some real damage to your car’s suspension. We have thumped over some speed bumps without slowing down and have paid the price. Part of the Church has hit the brakes when She should have hit the gas pedal and part of the Church has stomped on the gas pedal when She should have been applying the brakes. The Church has hit some political and philosophical speed bumps in 2020 and she has suffered for it. The Church has suffered hurt feelings, unhelpful judgment, unnecessary division, and broken relationships in 2020. Pride, judgmentalism, holier-than-thou attitudes, and deep offense have wounded the precious Bride of Christ. We find ourselves off course and limping into 2021. But – and here’s the wonderful thing – the Holy Spirit is recalculating our route!
Jesus said to the church of Ephesus: 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.’ Revelation 2:4-5
The Holy Spirit is saying to His church, “You’re off the path of Jesus. Recalculating route. Repent – make a U-turn – and go in this other direction.” May we have an ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church.
Be blessed and stay healthy and repent and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 11, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The American flag – the Red, White, and Blue – helps me navigate the rapids our nation is in.
- Red – Republicans
- Blue – Democrats
- White – the Body of Christ
On any news program, we constantly see the map of the United States divided up between Blue and Red. All the talk is about if this Blue state will flip Red or if that Red state will turn Blue. The Reds are trying to persuade the Blues to become Red and the Blues are trying to persuade the Reds to turn Blue. The Reds can’t understand why the Blues are Blue and the Blues can’t understand why the Reds remain Red. I voted Red, but I really have little passion to convince a Blue to become a Red. My passion is that both Red and Blue become White. I’m White before I’m Red. I’m a citizen of Heaven before I’m a citizen of America. And I hope that you’re White before you’re Red or Blue. Being a Christian is of greater importance than being a Republican or a Democrat. And if you’re White, being filled with the Holy Spirit will give you a love for your political opponent – Red or Blue.
People will identify you as being either Blue or Red. I’m not going to color you by your politics. I don’t care if you’re Red or Blue – I want you to become White – a part of the Body of Christ. I don’t want to be known as being a Red – I want to be identified as being a White – a member of the Body of Christ. I don’t even want to be a Pink – a mixture of Red and White. I’m not a Republican Christian – I’m a Christian. I don’t want to see you as a Democratic Christian – a Cerulean (a mixture of Blue and White) – I want to see you as a Christian – a follower of Jesus.
Why do Reds want Blues to become Red and Blues want Reds to become Blue? For in this way the nation will be saved. The Blues say that if Reds become Blues the nation will be saved from racism and xenophobia and sexism and homophobia and a crude isolationist nationalism, etc. The Reds say that if Blues become Red the nation will be saved from socialism, globalism, unchecked immigration, poverty, the slaughter of life in the womb, etc. “But Pastor Tim, don’t you believe that the moral vision of the political parties matters?” Yes, I do – that’s why I voted the way I did. But let me tell you this – and this is sure to offend someone. My theology says that the souls of aborted babies and miscarriages and the still-born and infant deaths and children who die go to heaven. The souls of Reds and Blues go to hell. I say that if a Red becomes a Blue he’ll still go to hell and if a Blue becomes a Red she’ll still go to hell. I say that if Reds and Blues become Whites their souls will be saved from eternal damnation.
If all the Whites care only about being Red or Blue, they’ve become Pink or Cerulean. If the Church is no longer White, but Pink here and Cerulean there, Jesus and His Kingdom have faded into so much background noise. Many tell us that they are fighting for the soul of our nation. I am fighting for the soul of the Church! It seems to me that many prefer Pink and Cerulean to White. If the Church loses sight of Jesus and His priorities and His Kingdom and His Heaven – if White becomes Pink and Cerulean – then it doesn’t matter who wins the Presidency in that the devil has neutralized the Church. If your politics is the sum total of your faith – the devil has won.
There are some Reds who think that if you are a Christian and voted Blue, you are no longer White, you are Cerulean – your politics have stained your faith. And there are some Blues who think that if you are a Christian and voted Red, you are no longer White, you are Pink – your politics have stained your faith. If this is the way you think – the devil has won. Politics has become more important than faith. The kingdoms of man have become more important than the Kingdom of God. Trump and Biden have become more important than Christ.
Isaiah says that though your sins be as red as scarlet – they will be white as snow. We can say by way of analogy that though your sins be as blue as cobalt – they will be white as snow. White triumphs over Red and Blue. There are no Red Christians or Blue Christians – there are only White Christians – those made White through faith in Jesus Christ. Red and yellow, black or white, all are precious in His sight. And we can throw in brown, too.
Please don’t defile the Church by saying that the Republicans are the party of Christ or that the Democrats are the party of Christ. Please don’t besmirch the Church of Jesus Christ by insisting that Red is White or that Blue is White. When it comes to the Church, I’m not color blind – all I see is White and all I determine to see is White. The Bible tells us that one day our flag will be all white. This will happen when the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of God and of His Christ.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 9, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
“Hear now the Parable of the Puzzled Paramedics.”
The Blue Ambulance Service received the call and were at the scene of the multi-car pileup eight minutes later. The license plates of the cars involved hailed from many States in the Union. The most severe injury was to a 244 year old female who had a deep cut in her neck that was spurting blood. The first Puzzled Paramedic on the scene looked at the injury and said to himself, “Hmmm…I think I know what to do.” He quickly cut a piece of cloth to use as a tourniquet and tied it tightly around her left wrist and tried to get her to swallow some aspirin. As her condition continued to decline, a Puzzled Paramedic from The Red Ambulance Service arrived on the scene. He thought that the first tourniquet wasn’t sterile enough and wrongly placed. He replaced it with another tourniquet which he tied tight on her right wrist. The old woman died ten minutes later. The Courts still haven’t decided if she died from the injuries she sustained in the accident or from the sub-standard care of the Puzzled Paramedics from the Blue and Red Ambulance Services.
“Tell us the interpretation of the Parable of the Puzzled Paramedics.”
The 244 year old woman is the United States of America. The cars from many States that back-ended and collided with her are the influences that come from that brand of evolutionary theory that feeds the philosophical thinking of atheism which teaches the meaningless and purposelessness of life, which in turn fuels the market forces of consumerism and materialism and the importance of image – since the physical body is all we have. The cars that plowed into this 244 year old woman are the newest models of the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Boastful Pride of Life. These travel at great speed and do immense damage upon impact. The demand for sensuality and unaccountable freedom coupled with disregard for the truth have all slammed into this Great Lady, slashing an artery, and she is hemorrhaging. The Puzzled Paramedics are the perplexed politicians from both parties who think they know the solution to the problem – but don’t have a clue. The first one applies laws and then more laws and then the other paramedic moves the first one over and applies even more laws and raises taxes – the tourniquet gets tighter and the Great Lady continues to bleed out.
America has a spiritual problem and a spiritual problem does not have a political solution. The politicians of both parties are tying tourniquets and cranking them tighter and tighter. Laws and more laws, taxes and more taxes – these are the tools of the politician. Someone said that if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. Even as a tourniquet around the wrist cannot stop bleeding in the neck, so laws and taxes – even good laws and taxes wisely spent – cannot stop the bleed-out of our Great Lady. America has a spiritual problem and a spiritual problem does not have a political solution. Just laws and ample funding cannot cure what ails America. Just laws and civic virtue are good in themselves and do accomplish some good. Yet even as a tourniquet around the wrist cannot stop bleeding from the neck, so just laws and ample funding and civic virtue cannot arrest the moral free fall of America. Even as the tourniquet was downstream from the neck wound and could do nothing to stop the bleeding, so politics is downstream from culture and can do precious little to keep our Great Lady from bleeding out from her many and various wounds.
I, along with 170 other California pastors, listened to a speech given by Ben Sasse, a Senator from Nebraska. After his talk I asked him to identify one negative moral trend that has been reversed by Washington DC. He pointed to the Civil Rights Movement. I responded by saying that the Civil Rights Movement started on the streets of Selma, Alabama and not in the halls of Congress. There was a Civil Rights Movement precisely because Washington DC would not address the civil wrongs of our nation. He said that I was right. I asked him again to identify one, just one, negative moral trend reversed by Washington DC. He said that he couldn’t think of even one – and he’s a smart man.
Congressmen and Think Tank Wonks also addressed the 170 California pastors. To a man, to a woman, they all said that politics is downstream from culture. Culture is the neck and politics is the wrist. Politics doesn’t influence culture, culture influences politics. They all said that pastors and their sermons are more influential to culture than politicians with their laws and taxes. The Church, not Washington DC, regardless of which party is in power, is the Hope of this Great Lady. Only the love of God seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Church, as the Light of the World and the Pillar and Support of the Truth can attend to the neck wound of America. The Bride of Christ is the hope for the Great Lady.
While the Puzzled Paramedics attend to the wrists of America and seek to bind her up with more laws and taxes and so-called progressive and enlightened policies, may the Bride attend to the neck wound of the Great Lady with the love of God and mercies of Christ and may the healing of Jesus begin to flow.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and be the Bride – Pastor Tim
November 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Wow! What a year with a blockbuster ending. Justified or not, the worst fears of many people are being realized. If you thought that Trump might try to hang on to the White House by any means even in defeat or if you thought that Biden might move into the White House as the result of a fraudulent election – you’re seeing your fears take shape. And, of course, you have the same rhetoric coming from both camps – “We believe that when the votes are fully and fairly counted, we will be declared the winner.” And the thing is, no matter what the result, half the country will say of the next President (whoever he is), “Not my President.”
Should the Church go through the next four years (regardless of who is President) saying, “Not my President.”Should the Church suck on sour grapes for the next four years and keep the fires of resentment burning? If politics is all we had, if everything depends on the man in the Oval Office that would be the obvious and rational course of action. But we belong to another Kingdom. Everything doesn’t depend on the party in power and the man sitting in the Oval Office.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” How can you be a peacemaker if you are filled with bitterness and keep stirring the coals of resentment? When there is peace, there is no need for peacemakers. Peacemakers are needed where there is war and contention and hostilities. That describes America at this moment. Yes, as American citizens we should be concerned with and insist on fairness and justice, but whether your guy wins or loses, whether you think shenanigans are at play or not you belong to a Kingdom where bitterness and resentment and partisanship give way before a greater reality.
King Solomon was a political realist. He wrote: “If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.” Ecclesiastes 5:8
Don’t be shocked at ungodliness in government – regardless of who’s in power. The fallenness of humanity is in every nook and cranny of life. It’s in the heart of all and will manifest itself wherever there are people – in the family, Church, government, business, military, at school – everywhere. This is why peacemakers need to be everywhere - in the family, Church, government, business, military, at school – everywhere. Peacemakers have a vision of another Kingdom that transcends all the institutions of man.
Being a peacemaker begins by being at peace in your heart. The bitter, the resentful, the agitated do not make good peacemakers. The bitter and resentful only see one way to peace – through winning. Many will say, “Peace through justice. Only if my guy wins will there be justice. If the other side wins, they only won through injustice and I will not be at peace with that.” If winning is the only way to peace, many will never be at peace and will never be peacemakers.
Where does peacemaking begin? By loving your enemy. Even when the enemy was winning by means of a horrible injustice, Jesus said, while being crucified, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Jesus didn’t see His enemies as the enemy – He was them as the victim of the enemy As the victim of the greatest act of historic and cosmic injustice, Jesus loved His unjust executioners. Peacemaking begins by loving your enemies. Peacemaking continues by having a heart of forgiveness toward your enemies. A peacemaker is an ambassador of another Kingdom. If the outcome of the election is all important to you, you will never be a peacemaker. If the Kingdom of Jesus is all important to you, you’ve taken the first step to being a peacemaker.
Pastors should not be filled with bitterness and rancor and allow political partisanship to flavor their pulpits. Jesus doesn’t affirm all, but He welcomes all. Pastors should be ambassadors of the Kingdom of Jesus and not agents of earthly kingdoms. The Church should be filled with the aroma of heaven and not the smells of partisanship. The Church should be a Haven for all and not just those who see things my way. Our unity is in Christ and not in a political platform. I have political preferences, but I am not a partisan. In my thinking, being a partisan makes it difficult to be a peacemaker. We don’t fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness is high places. People are not your enemy, they are the victims of the enemy.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and be a peacemaker – Pastor Tim
November 5, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I finally figured out why Jesus liked children so much and had a great fondness for them – it’s because He was homesick. Children reminded Jesus of heaven and the spirit of heaven. He was at Home with children.
Twice, Jesus spoke of children and the kingdom of heaven.
"Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
"Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 18:3
A child’s trust is simple, his love is pure, her loyalty is undivided, his vision is clear, her wonder is unembarrassed. How simple is your trust? How pure is your love? How undivided is your loyalty? How clear is your vision? How shy is your wonder?
Children reminded Jesus of heaven and they filled Him with joy! I am watching a series on the life of Jesus called “The Chosen” and it’s the best production (by far) of the life of Jesus I’ve ever seen. Episode Three is all about Jesus and children and it was during that episode that it dawned on me why Jesus liked to hang out with children – and why children liked to hang out with Jesus.
I love the Church, but when I think of the Church I don’t think of a simple faith and a pure love and a clear vision. COVID and social unrest and political chaos has turned us into a bunch of cranky, critical, cynical adults who have lost any semblance of childlikeness. The Holy Spirit is going to be working overtime in 2021 to restore to the Church a faith that is simple, a love that is pure, a loyalty that is undivided, a vision that is clear, a wonder that is not embarrassed.
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the fire that Nebuchadnezzar had thrown them into, we are told that they didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them. Imagine that! You can be around a campfire for just a few minutes and if the wind is not right – your clothes will smell of smoke. Yet these three Hebrew young men gave no indication of ever having been thrown into the fiery furnace! Such is not the case with the Church – the smell of 2020 is all over us. COVID began to burn us and the social unrest began to disfigure us and the political polarization melted us down. “Heal us and restore us, O God!”
I have thought some things, said some things, and written some things that have not been worthy of Christ in 2020. I have judged fellow Christians and thought ill of them. I have wondered how they can be so petty and deluded. But then, they have thought the same of me! The smell of the smoke of judgment and scorn and division is all over us. May the Lord send a purifying wind to purge and cleanse His Church! May we be converted and become like children. May Jesus feel at home in us. Isaiah spells out the work Jesus has set Himself to do by His Spirit –
“…to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.” Isaiah 61:3-4
Jesus is seeking to restore your childlike faith. The restored do the repairing. And it is those with childlike faith who will do the heavy lifting! May God restore your childlike faith and may your childlike faith rebuild the ancient ruins.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and be restored – Pastor Tim
November 4, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Politics has divided the nation and is splitting friendships and some people are no longer talking to one another. Possibly even you have been unfriended and your contact info deleted from someone’s devices. Republicans have done this to Democrats and Democrats have done this to Republicans – and Christians have done this to Christians. Amazing! And this is not an isolated phenomena – it’s happening all over the nation in our churches, families, businesses, and long-standing friendships. I hope this is not true of you. If so – the devil has won!
If you are a Democrat and will no longer associate with Republican friends and acquaintances – the devil has won.
If you are a Republican and will no longer associate with Democrat friends and acquaintances – the devil has won.
You would, no doubt, say of your political opposite, “O man, they need Jesus in a real bad way.” But they won’t hear about Jesus from you – you’ve unfriended and deleted them! For you, politics is more important than salvation. Them agreeing with you is more important than them agreeing with God. Being a Democrat or a Republican is the unforgiveable sin. Jesus was the Friend of sinners – but not you! You are only the friend of the politically correct – those who think and vote like you do. Those who don’t think and vote like you do can go to hell. And they will if you get your way – because you’ve unfriended and deleted them and will not talk to them. The eternal has been crowded out and all we are left with is the now. The sand castles of men have crowded out the kingdom of God. Hatred for the other has overcome the love of God for all. The devil has won. Phariseeism reigns in the Church. “Forgive us, O God.”
In Jericho one time, Jesus told Zacchaeus, the tax-gatherer, that He was going to lunch with him that day. The people of Jericho were scandalized that Jesus would eat with a tax-gatherer and a sinner. “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” All of them had already unfriended Zacchaeus on social media. 2,000 years before COVID they were already practicing social distancing. But Jesus said, “…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
If Jesus were here in the flesh and went to have lunch in the home of a Democrat, many Republicans would be scandalized and would call for His crucifixion. “How can He do that? Doesn’t He know they are baby-killers?” And likewise many Democrats would be offended if Jesus were to have dinner in the home of a Republican. “How can He do that? Doesn’t He know they are racists and homophobes?” And we know what Jesus would say!
The word ‘adultery’ means to ‘dilute.’ Your scorn for your political opposite is adultery with the world and as a consequence of the spirit of the world entering you, the truth and the love and the power of God have become diluted. I grew up in a church where we celebrated the Lord’s Supper every week and I would often drink the grape juice left over at the end of communion (but secretly, so I wouldn’t get caught). There are few things (in my experience) that pack a delicious punch more than a deep drink of grape juice. Once, as a pastor, it came time for communion and I realized that we didn’t have enough grape juice. Instead of running to the store, I had an idea. I took the partially empty bottle of grape juice and topped it off with water. I adulterated it. I diluted it. I figured that since we only get a thimbleful of it, no one would notice – and I was right. But had I poured out a glassful for everybody, my secret would have come out. Here’s the dirty little secret of the Church – our truth and love and power have been diluted for we have judged that it’s more important for you to be a Democrat or a Republican than to be a Christian. The message of the Church doesn’t pack the punch it should. We will open our mouth for Trump or Biden – but if you don’t agree with us, you’ll never hear the name of Jesus from us. The devil has won and has diluted the witness of the Church.
At the intersection of Market and Powell in San Francisco, where the cable cars turn around to climb back up the hill and then descend to the wharf, there are usually street preachers on their soap boxes telling homosexuals and lesbians how disgusting they are and that they are going to burn in hell. I asked one of these men how long he had been doing this and how many people had he won to Christ. He said he had been doing it for almost 25 years and that he has led no one to Christ. No surprise there – you cannot effectively share Christ with those you don’t love.
Your contempt and disgust for your political opposite gives room to the devil to corrupt your soul. But remember what James said: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Jesus had intense love, He had Calvary love for baby-killers and racists and homosexuals and homophobes. I understand how faith is to guide our voting, but what I don’t understand is how faith can bring us to dam those who don’t think like us. This is not the Spirit of Jesus.
America needs healing. Healing needs medicine. The medicine necessary for the wounds of America is the love of Jesus. Scorn and disgust dilute the love of God. Judgment and hatred adulterate the wine of His mercy and grace. A diluted gospel is a crippled gospel. An adulterated gospel doesn’t pack the punch of the fullness of God’s love. The election is over – you won, you lost – it’s time to be the Church. God is still on His throne. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. And the Church remains the elect of God. Let us love as we have been loved. Let the healing begin.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
November 3, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
This is Election Day in America. More important than who man elects is who God elects. God has elected you – you are the chosen of God. God has not chosen the Republican or Democratic party to represent Him – God has chosen the Church. The Church is the Elect of God.
Whether you identify as a Republican or Democratic or Libertarian or are unaffiliated or are not yet a citizen, know this – God did not give these parties the mandate and the mission and message of the gospel. The glorification of God and the salvation of man is the purpose of the Church. This is not the primary nor is it the secondary purpose (or even the tertiary purpose) of the political parties. The mandate and mission and message of the gospel are given to the Church.
The Church doesn’t need the Republican, Democratic, or Libertarian party to carry out its mandate, mission, and message. Nor do we need Capitalism or Socialism. The Church can carry out its mandate, mission, and message whether there is a Republican or a Democratic administration or whether Capitalism is being dismantled and Socialism is ascending.
Please don’t get me wrong, I have political preferences. Yet what I’m trying to emphasize is that no political party is the elect of God – the Church is. What I protest is when one’s faith, their Christian identity is co-extensive with their political ideology. What I protest is when one can see no daylight between their faith and their politics. And when this happens, you think that your party is the party of God. Believe it or not – there are Republicans who think they belong to the party of God. Believe it or not – there are Democrats who believe they belong to the party of God. Believe it or not – God has no party! He has a Church! To make your party an extension of the Church is to be blind and bone-headed!
If your guy wins, the Church hasn’t won. The success of the Church is not measured by political gain. If your guy loses, the Church hasn’t lost. The losses of the Church aren’t measured by political defeat. Political wins and losses are not the Biblical criteria used to measure the forward stride of the Church. Consider the following -
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.” Luke 3:1-2
The word of God didn’t come to Tiberius Caesar in Rome, nor did it come to Pontius Pilate who was governing Judea. The word of God didn’t come to Herod or Philip or Lysanias – high officials, kings even – overseeing certain districts under Roman supervision. The word of God didn’t come to the high priests Annas or Caiaphas. The word of God didn’t come to the thrones of the land, the corridors of power, nor to the recognized religious establishment. None of these were chosen. None of these were the elect of God. God chose John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. I’ll tell you this – God sure knows how to squander an ideal opportunity! Didn’t He know that the well-oiled Roman bureaucracy would have been an effective way to spread His word. Surely He was aware of the mighty authority of the Sanhedrin and its influence in Israel. How could He not know this? How could He have made such a serious error in judgment?
Luke tells us that the word of God did not come to Caesars and governors and kings and princes and priests – it came to and through John in the wilderness. The word of God doesn’t come to and through political parties – it comes to and through the Church. Do not expect the Republican or the Democratic party to point to Jesus – the Church is chosen to do this. Do not expect Biden or Trump to glorify the name of Jesus and sound His praise abroad – the Church is chosen to do this. Do not expect political institutions and leaders to tend to the salvation of people – the Church is chosen to do this.
Now, if I hadn’t written this blog and was just reading it, I would say to myself, “Yeah, but then don’t expect the Church to resist Islamic terrorism or Chinese subterfuge or Russian interference or North Korean aggression or unemployment or trade imbalance, etc., the government is chosen to do that.” And I would agree with my objection 100%! Both Church and government are chosen by God to be His ministers in their separate callings and capacities.
Government is chosen to administer justice; the Church is chosen to preach righteousness. And no, they are not the same. Justice is right relations between man and man; righteousness is right relations between man and God. Justice is the character of God made manifest in public order. The Church is to pursue justice via governmental policy and good deeds, but is not to understand her mandate, mission, and message as only the pursuit of justice. A Church that pursues only justice is no longer the Church. The Church is God’s elect to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. When the government is on the same page as the Church when it comes to justice, laws are passed condemning injustice and punishing wrongdoers. When the government is not on the same page as the Church when it comes to justice, injustice is not resisted and wrongdoers are not punished and wickedness struts about on every side. Both parties are flawed in their understanding of justice. Both parties are flawed in their pursuit of justice. Now, in my opinion, one party is more flawed than the other in their understanding and pursuit of justice. But whichever party is elected by the people, you, the Church are the elect of God to represent Him. We can hope that government will be on the same page as us, but if not – nothing changes the mandate, mission, and message of the Church. We seek to persuade the whole world that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
November 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
If your guy wins tomorrow, the kingdom of God won’t arrive in a blaze of glory. If your guy loses tomorrow the kingdom of God won’t be unceremoniously delayed. Something greater than the presidency is among us.
The Church is of greater significance than the White House. Destiny doesn’t issue from the palace, but from the temple. I don’t know exactly how far Solomon’s palace was from the newly built temple, but I’m sure it could be measured in yards. And it’s interesting that God chose not to sit on the throne in the palace, but to dwell in the holy of holies in the temple. The Hope of the nation wasn’t sitting on the throne in the palace, but dwelling faithfully in the temple between the wings of the cherubim. The temple was the mishkan of God – the dwelling place of God.
The greatest tragedy to befall Israel wasn’t the departure of this or that godly king through death. The greatest tragedy to befall Israel was the departure of the glory of God from the temple. After enumerating the sins of Israel and tracing the movements of the glory of God, the prophet Ezekiel writes this -
The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. Ezekiel 11:23
The glory of God has departed the temple – Ichabod. In the previous chapters, God had taken Ezekiel on a guided tour not of the palace, but of the temple. He revealed to the prophet not the sins of the palace, but the sins taking place in the temple. It was the sin of the temple and not the sin of the palace that gave the boot of the glory of God. The sin of the palace invited His judgment, but the sin of the temple disinvited His presence. God’s glory isn’t dependent upon what happens in the palace, but what happens in the temple. Where is the temple of God today? Where does God dwell?
The apostle Paul says this about the Church when writing to the Corinthians -
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16
God’s dwelling place isn’t in the Oval Office – it’s in you – the Church of Jesus Christ. God’s blessing on our nation isn’t dependent upon the occupant of the White House but upon the Occupant of the Church. The Church is the mishkan of God. Of more significance, ultimately, to our nation isn’t the state of our politics but the state of the Church. Don’t grieve over the sins of the nation until you have grieved over the sins of the Church. God showed Ezekiel not the ungodliness of the palace, but the ungodliness of the temple. Ezekiel didn’t grieve over exile, he grieved over Ichabod – the departure of the glory of God. It’s one thing that the people were carried into exile; it’s another thing that God’s presence was so resisted and grieved and quenched that He departed the temple. They gave God the left foot of fellowship! The Church does the same thing when she is absorbed by the culture and doesn’t retain Biblical and spiritual integrity.
The Church is to champion the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus isn’t one among many, He is One above all. Because life is precious to God, the Church is to be a voice for the unborn. The Church is to embrace Creation sexuality and is to welcome the stranger and have compassion upon the poor. Yet much of the Church has turned from God. The sin of the Church is piled up to heaven and so we cry to You, O God, for mercy and forgiveness so that the sin that is piled up to heaven might be removed as far as the east is from the west. May the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanse us. May Your mercies renew us every morning. May Your Holy Spirit fill us that we might lead lives pleasing to You and be empowered to take the name of Jesus to the nations. May Your truth guide us through the cacophony of voices around us. May love for one another be the bond of the Church. May the name of Jesus be the anthem of the Church. May the name of Jesus be heard above the name of any man. The Hope of our nation is not a man – the Hope of our nation is Jesus Christ – crucified and risen and glorified!
David says, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” Psalm 20:7
Some boast in Democrats and some in Republicans, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God! “Well, Pastor Tim, isn’t politics important and aren’t political issues of significance and isn’t it Biblically justified to be concerned with these things?” A big YES to all three questions. Any ancient General would think that chariots and horses would be of strategic advantage on the battlefield. Yet if the chariot throws a wheel and the horse goes down – our God will still fight for us! The battle doesn’t depend upon the chariots and horses, but upon the Lord.
So, whether your Chariot makes it to the White House or whether your Horse sits in the Oval Office – boast in the Lord! Trust in Him! Hope in Him! The battle belongs to the Lord. May we, as God’s Temple, not forget this! May the Temple not try to be like the palace or be absorbed by the palace or bow to the palace and thus grieve the Spirit of the Lord.
The movements of God are not dependent upon the will of the American electorate. If your guy wins tomorrow, the kingdom of God won’t arrive in a blaze of glory. If your guy loses tomorrow the kingdom of God won’t be unceremoniously delayed. Something greater than the presidency is among us.
“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” Psalm 20:7
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and boast in Jesus and be at peace – Pastor Tim
October 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I’ve been taught my whole life that pride is the original sin. From growing up in Sunday School to listening to sermons to classes in Bible College – the original sin was pride. Satan stirred up pride (a sense of entitlement) in Eve and she ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – and the rest is history. And from a certain perspective pride is the mother of all sin – yet I’ve come to see a parallel dynamic unfolding within the same story – I see the mother of pride.
One of Satan’s purposes is to bring you to the point where you think you don’t need God. He came to this place himself and he tried to bring Eve to this place. He said to her, “If you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you’ll know good and evil and won’t need God to communicate this to you – you’ll know yourself and you’ll be on the same level as God.” He intimated that God was holding out on her and Adam, that God had some good things for them that He was deliberately keeping from them. Satan didn’t create pride within Eve, he created an anxiety – an anxiety that she wasn’t getting everything she deserved. Satan led her to believe that God was withholding from her that which would enrich her. In today’s terms, Satan created FOMO within Eve – a Fear Of Missing Out. Satan convinced Eve that God was holding out on her because if Eve had the knowledge of good and evil she would no longer be dependent upon God – she could run her life herself. Eve very well could have said to herself, “God is being stingy with me and I’m not getting everything I’m entitled to – I deserve more.”Satan had said the same thing to himself sometime in eternity past when he thought God was holding out on him. “I’ll replace God and then I won’t need Him.”
I think pride is in there somewhere, yet it seems to me that the sin of pride is the result of some previous sins. Colors can combine to make other colors: red + green = yellow; yellow + red = orange. Even so, some sins can combine into deadlier combination: anxiety (FOMO) + greed = pride. Anxiety and greed are the womb where pride was conceived. Madison Avenue follows Satan’s playbook torn right out of Genesis 3. Advertising seeks to create within us an anxiety that we are missing out on something which will enrich our lives and when combined with greed (I want it and I’ve got to have it) lead to us plucking the fruit from the advertiser’s tree.
When Lucifer tried to overthrow God and take the throne of Heaven for himself, he was cast out of heaven. When Adam & Eve tried to become like God, knowing the different between good and evil, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Satan has done a good job of convincing our culture that we don’t need God. Our culture has fallen from God. Philosophy has replaced theology. Medicine has replaced prayer. Technology has replaced miracles. Politics has replaced the Kingdom of God. Self-affirmation has replaced worship. We have grown to depend upon ourselves so we won’t have to depend upon God. We have eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and we have dismissed God as being unnecessary. We are like the self-made man who became the unmade man. Consider -
"And he (the rich man) began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' “Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' Luke 12:17-20
This man didn’t realize that he needed God. He had put himself in the place of God. God wasn’t his Provider, he was. This man would have made a great American! A great Capitalist! A great Captain of Industry or notable CEO. It was all about growth and expansion and acquisition and ROI – return on investment. Please note, he said, “I will say to my soul…” Why is he talking to himself? Because he is all he has! The text doesn’t say he spoke to God or that God spoke to him in an affirming way. The man spoke to himself about what he had accomplished and accumulated and intended to do. And this is what happens when you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – you end up alone. If you’ve done well, you end up alone congratulating yourself. If you haven’t done well, you end up alone condemning yourself.
God wants to bring you to the place where you realize you need Him. God told the rich man, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.” The rich man owned his crops and his grain and his goods and his barns – but he didn’t own his soul. No man, no woman owns their soul. Your soul belongs to God. You are accountable to God. Satan told Eve, “Here’s a way to get out from being accountable to God.” Yet we know that this was a lie. No one escapes accountability to God. Satan told Eve, “Here’s a way to be equal with God.” Yet we know that this is a lie. God is a One-Off – there is no one like Him! When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were not raised to the heights of glory, but were plunged into the depths of guilt. Christ has come to lift all people from the depths of guilt and sin!
A life of faith in Christ is a life insulated from FOMO – fear of missing out. David has said in the Psalms that his times are in God’s hands and that God will accomplish what concerns him. What an awesome place for your soul to reside – in the love and wisdom of God. Resting in the faithfulness of God in Christ is an awesome defense against FOMO. Your times are in His hands and He will accomplish what concerns you.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and rest in His faithfulness – Pastor Tim
October 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30th, CCF will have another banner outreach at the corner of Mowry and Farwell in Fremont. 15,000 – 20,000 people will see our banners telling them about Jesus Christ – who He is and what He’s done! Meet Pastor Tim in the Denny’s parking lot on the southeast corner of Mowry and Fremont at 4:45PM to put the banners together and to pray. We need 16 people in order to display all eight banners. Senior saints and Junior saints can all participate. Bring out the family and together profess the name of Jesus! The outreach will go from 5:00 PM to between 6:30 & 7:00 PM.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus (and come to the banner outreach!) – Pastor Tim
October 28, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The prophet Zechariah speaks of “prisoners who have the hope.” A prisoner is someone confined to a certain place by certain means. We normally think of prisoners as those held in a prison (certain place) by steel bars and locking doors and high fences (certain means). Prisoners who have the hope are held secure in hope (certain place) being handcuffed by the promises of God and wrapped in the chains of the faithfulness of God (certain means).
As I look back on my life, I see that God has been faithful to me through 67 years of life, 48 years as a follower of Jesus, 47 years in ministry, and 44 years of marriage. God is good! To be honest, God’s thrown me a few curve balls and a couple of sinkers – and, truth to told, I think He’s tried to hit me a couple of times! – yet all I see is the faithfulness of a gracious God. And that’s just looking backward! As I look forward, all I can see is the continued faithfulness of God. I am a prisoner of the hope! I am handcuffed by the promises of God and wrapped by in the chains of His covenant goodness. If my guy doesn’t win the election, if COVID messes up 2021 like it did 2020, if the culture continues in its moral free fall – my soul is marinated in hope. I am not fearful of, but enthusiastically looking forward to the future. Faith says that God is with me today. Hope says that God is will be with me in all my tomorrows. I am a prisoner of the hope. Therefore my life has meaning and purpose.
What a tragedy to live without hope and without meaning and purpose. Richard Simmons (not the exercise guru), in his book, “Reflections of the Existence of God”, tells about Billy Graham meeting with Derek Bok, the president of Harvard University. “What is the number one struggle that students at Harvard have to contend with?” asked Billy. Bok quickly responded, “Living with emptiness.” Why would he answer like this? Harvard students, indeed all Western students, are taught that we are nothing but a mass of molecules intended by no one – we are the chance product of time plus matter. Life has no inherent meaning. No God has bestowed dignity upon us or instilled us with purpose and meaning. You have as much purpose and meaning and reason for being as does a rock in the desert.
Thomas Masaryk, the first president of liberated Czechoslovakia after WW1, wrote the book “Suicide and the Meaning of Civilization.” The thesis of the book states that the more godless a society becomes, the higher the rate of suicide. His research suggests that in the Middle Ages, the number of suicides was negligible. By the end of the 19th century, suicide had become one of the top causes of death. (Today, suicide has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of death due to injury.) Furthermore, Masaryk uncovered that the vast majority of these deaths occurred among highly principled, well-educated people who had no religious faith. His conclusion reveals the tragic story of those individuals who can find no purpose in life and, therefore, have no reason to live. (Buy and read “Reflections on the Existence of God” – especially if you’re a pastor or in the teaching ministry of the Church.)
The word secular means “of this age.” And it’s a contrast to the word ‘sacred’. Secular: what is now and what is visible and what is material. Sacred: what is eternal and what is invisible and what is spiritual. Derek Bok, the president of Harvard University basically stated that the more secular you are, the emptier you are. Masaryk of Czechoslovakia discovered that godlessness doesn’t lead to joy and liberty, but toward despair and suicide. Secularism, atheism, evolution, and materialism gut the human soul. What is the source of this outrageous hope that God wraps Christians up in?
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:7-12
David, the shepherd who became the warrior who became the hunted who became the king said that there is no place he could go that God wouldn’t be there. God is above me and below me and before me and behind me. God is all around me. And even when I can’t see Him, He can see me! Repeat this day after week after month after year after decade – and you’ve become a prisoner of the hope! If I give you $100 on Sunday, on Monday you’ll be able to tell someone that I was generous to you, but you couldn’t tell them that I was faithful in my generosity. It could have been a one-off. But what if I gave you $100 on Monday, also. You could tell someone that I was exceptionally generous – but you couldn’t yet tell them that I was faithful in my generosity. How many days of me giving you $100 would it take for you to know that I would do the same the next day? Probably not a week. Two weeks? A month? Surely after two months of me giving you $100 a day you could wake up the next morning and know for certain that you would receive $100 from me, especially if it were accompanied with a promise.
We’re told that God’s mercies are new every morning – this is a statement and a promise. Every day God is wrapping chains of covenant faithfulness around your soul that you might become a “prisoner of the hope.” If you’re a prisoner of the hope, everything doesn’t depend upon the election or the defeat of COVID. Everything depends on God. My hope is in Him – not politicians or scientists or philosophers. God gives me hope and a purpose and a reason for living. I am a prisoner of the hope – and I don’t want out!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
October 26, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Can you love me if you despise me? Here are some synonyms for ‘despise’ that my MS Word program kicked up: loathe, scorn, hate, spurn, deride, and feel contempt. Can you love me and hate and feel contempt for me at the same time? If so, your soul bends in some truly amazing ways! You cannot love someone and despise them at the same time. And there’s a lot of despising going on today. There are Christians who despise Trump supporters and other Christians who despise Biden supporters. If your skin is a certain color (pick any one) there’s someone sure to despise you. If you wear a mask – or don’t wear a mask – there’s someone certain to despise you.
From the cross, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” Note what Jesus did – He distinguished between the doer and the deed. The deed (the crucifixion) is heinous while the doers (the crucifiers) are loved. Some people scoff and roll their eyes at the phrase “hate the sin, but love the sinner,” yet it has a pretty solid spiritual heritage. Jesus distinguished between people and what they did – and so can we. We can despise what people do – and love the same people at the same time. We do it all the time. Parents, you know that you hate some of the stuff your kids do – but you love them. You make a distinction between your child and his/her foolishness. We can make the distinction between the sinner and their sin. I can hate the sin and love the sinner. I can say YES and NO at the same time.
Yet some will try to lead you to believe that if you despise what they do, then you despise them. They want you to think that if you say NO to what they do, you are saying NO to who they are. You are led to believe that in saying NO to their behavior you are saying NO to their dignity and worth. They want you to affirm them – and you can only do this by affirming what they do. They tell us that if we despise what they do then we are judging them – and we can’t judge them and love them at the same time. I say, “Baloney.” We love our children and judge their behavior all the time – every day – several times a day! We judge them and love them at the same time. In fact, love without judgment is mere tolerance. Here's the definition of tolerance: to allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference. Yet love often interferes! Sometimes love is intolerant!
This is what the world wants today – love without judgment – which for them means love without interference. They want a YES YES – a YES to their behavior and a YES to their dignity. A NO is like slamming on the brakes – and the modern person of the 21st century has no brakes. Of course, they have no problem saying NO to Christians – and they think that in saying NO to Christians they are being noble and enlightened. There is judgment in their love, but the believer is to have no judgment in their love. This is a convenient double standard that seems to be lost on the one who reasons this way. It’s a blind spot. They call it a blind spot for the very reason that you can’t see it!
Satan tried to rewrite the rules of life for Jesus. Jesus had His own rules, His own terms. He wouldn’t allow the devil to tell Him how to live His life and accomplish His mission. The world will try to impose its terms on you. They will say, “Unless you say YES to my behavior you can’t say YES to my inherent dignity and value as a person. If you say NO to what I do you are saying NO to who I am.” We say, “Don’t be silly. No parent deals with their child like that. No coach interacts with an athlete like that. No teacher deals with a student like that. No boss manages his/her employees like that.” Families and sports and schools and businesses are full on NOs. Without a NO, all these institutions would quickly break down and either be dysfunctional or non-functional. NO makes the world go round – and so does YES. To not be able to hear a NO is to be a spoiled brat or a thoughtless rebel.
Love is boundless and yet at the same time has boundaries. Again, just think of your own kids. Your limitless love draws limits for them that they need to stay within. They don’t need to remain within the lines to retain or earn your love – they need to stay within the lines for their health and safety and to experience your love. What do I mean? The love of the father of the prodigal son knew no bounds. Yet the rebellious son took himself outside the boundaries of his father’s love. The son found himself in a place where he could not experience the love of his father – his care, his provision, his protection. He knew that his father loved him, but he also knew that he had taken himself out of the reach of that love. He decided to go back home in order to experience the fullness of his father’s love for him. Today’s prodigals tell us that if the Father really loved them, He would come and build a house for them in the pig pen and arrange for meal deliveries!
I cannot love you and despise you at the same time. I can love you and despise what you do. The shame the prodigal son brought to his father did not quench his love for his silly, rebellious son. I am so glad that’s God’s love for me distinguishes between who I am and what I do. His covenant love endures the shame of my life as He waits upon me to come to my right mind. So often, our scorn for what someone has done is greater than our love for who they are. Let’s flip that – let’s have our love for who they are be greater than our scorn for what they’ve done. You cannot love the person you despise. John still says it best, “Little children, let us love one another.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and love one another – Pastor Tim
October 23, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Someone responded to one my blogs earlier this week and said that the problem with the Church is that we don’t agree with one another. The Church is so divided over doctrine that the world looks on and tells itself that if the Church can’t figure out what the Bible says, why would they want to belong to such a confused group of people. The division resulting from theological disagreement gives the Church a black eye and cripples it in the eyes of the world. I think this is a somewhat accurate observation.
- The Calvinists say that you are regenerated before you have faith and the non-Calvinists say that you need to have faith before you are regenerated.
- The Catholics say that the communion elements become the flesh and blood of Christ and the non-Catholics say that the communion elements are symbols of the flesh and the blood of Christ.
- The charismatics say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be operative in the life of the Church today and the non-charismatics say, “No, we don’t think so.”
- The pre-millennialist says Christ is coming back before the Millennium and the post-millennialist says that Christ is returning after the Millennium. And then there those who say, “What’s a millennium?”
- One part of the Church baptizes babies and another part of the Church doesn’t.
- One part of the Church says you need to be baptized to be saved and another part says you need to be saved to be baptized.
- Some churches ordain women for pastoral ministry while other churches don’t.
- Some Christians think that if you vote for Trump you’re not a real Christian. Other Christians think that if you vote for Biden you’re not a real Christian.
- Etc. Ad nauseum…
- The only thing we agree on is that we need to receive an offering!
It can be very confusing and depressing and quite off-putting when this theological division is accompanied by vitriol and scorn for those who don’t agree with you. I understand why a non-Christian might say, “No thanks.” And so, some would tell us, because the disagreement within the Church serves as a hindrance to evangelism, the Church needs to do a lot of hard work and take whatever steps necessary to come into doctrinal agreement.
- We need to agree if regeneration occurs before or after a person exercises faith.
- We need to agree whether we’re eating flesh or biting into a symbol.
- We need to agree on whether we baptize babies or not.
- Etc.
I can say to you with great confidence that this will never happen! Sorry. I’m not about to give up speaking in tongues while I wait for the rapture and turn a deaf ear to the Pope! Most of us have worked very hard at studying our Bibles to arrive at our theological understandings – sometimes confirming childhood beliefs and sometimes overturning them. Beliefs are not just opinions that can be altered through negotiation – they are truths that bind the conscience and cannot be jettisoned without doing severe damage to one’s soul.
Church-wide doctrinal agreement is not possible, but all is not lost! Please know this – doctrinal disagreement is not the biggest problem in the Church – not by a long-shot. The biggest problem in the Church is that Christians don’t love each other. Jesus said –
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
He didn’t say that all men will know that we are His disciples if we agree with one another, but when we love one another. Agreement is a fleeting thing. I can disagree with myself one day to the next – but I always love myself! Even when I’m wrong! And let’s be honest – agreement isn’t the highest prize – it’s not the greatest value. There are some people who agree with you on most every substantial doctrine – and you still struggle to love them! Agreement doesn’t bring healing and unity – love does. My biggest challenge isn’t to persuade the one I disagree with that he/she is wrong. My biggest challenge is to love them even when I disagree with them and they refuse to see things my way.
This is what the world needs to see – people who passionately love one another even though they disagree with one another. This is seen in families all the time – there is something holding us together that is greater than that which may be pulling us apart. Here’s the challenge – can I, can you – love those members of the Church who believe aspects of the faith and practice their faith differently than I do? If not, the problem isn’t with them! Are you the problem or are you part of the solution?
The day before Good Friday is called Maundy Thursday. The word ‘maundy’ is derived from the Latin word for ‘mandate.’ Jesus was crucified for our sins on Good Friday. On Maundy Thursday he gave His disciples a new commandment, a new mandate in John 13:34-35. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and love one another – Pastor Tim
October 20, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
Is the medical pandemic, social pandemonium, and the painful political polarization of 2020 a judgment from God on America?
If I’m speeding in Newark and cross the freeway into Fremont, can the Newark PD give pursuit and issue me a ticket? Yes. Why? The infraction occurred in their jurisdiction. And so, even though they are beyond their city limits, they are still within their jurisdiction. The United States, and every nation, is within God’s jurisdiction.
All nations are accountable to God and this accountability is dependent upon the revelation they have received from God. God’s jurisdiction is as extensive as His revelation. Israel was more accountable to God than other nations for they had a greater revelation. Yet all nations are, and each individual is, accountable to God for all have a revelation of God. What is this revelation that imparts knowledge which results in accountability? Romans 1:20 tells us -
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Everybody knows that there is a God and that they are morally accountable to Him. This is called natural revelation. Special revelation is given in and through Jesus Christ. Natural revelation is as extensive as creation and special revelation is as extensive as the preaching of the gospel. But I am concerned here with natural revelation only. Natural revelation carries with it an accountability and the rejection of natural revelation comes with the assurance of judgment. This is spelled out in Romans 1:18-19 –
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Simply put, even though all people and nations know there is a God and they are morally accountable to Him, they have rejected this revelation. Because of this, they welcome the judgment of God. Romans 1:24-32 outlines this judgment. The result of the judgment of God is the devaluing of life, the corruption of sexual sanity, and the breakdown of social cohesion. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life run rampant in a nation which has turned from God. The value of life, the value of marriage, and the value of truth are sacrificed on the altar of lust and pride. The Bible teaches that the judgment for sin is more sin – unchecked and unbridled. For example, the punishment for cocaine usage is addiction. The punishment for addiction is a life diminished or destroyed. This is the inevitable development of cocaine usage – this is its internal logic. But there’s more.
In the Bible, the rise & fall of empires, natural disasters, and military defeats are seen as judgments from God. When Assyria defeated Israel – this was the judgment of God. When Babylon fell upon Judah – this was the judgment of God. When a locust swarm devasted the land of Israel – this was the judgment of God. When the Persians defeated Babylon – this was the judgment of God. When Alexander the Great destroyed Tyre – this was the judgment of God. Not only Israel, but all the nations are accountable to God. And when God’s revelation is rejected, this triggers judgment.
- Is America accountable to God? Yes,
- Does America exhibit the idolatry of Romans 1:18-32? Yes.
- Should we expect the judgment of God upon our nation? Yes.
- Is the medical pandemic, social pandemonium, and the painful political polarization of 2020 a judgment from God on America? Yes – undoubtedly – yes. The pattern is clearly set forth and repeated many times in the Bible.
But all is not lost! The rise of empires, the march of armies, the fragmentation of society, and the presence of disease are all meant to push us to God. Let’s not be like King Asa who became diseased in his feet and sought the physicians and not God. It’s a temptation that when armies arise, we increase our defense spending and don’t seek God. When disease strikes, we turn to science and not to the Lord. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have armies or medicine – it means these are 2nd level resources & not primary. Joshua sought God and God told him where to put his army. David sought God and God told him how to deploy his troops. Timothy sought God and the apostle Paul told him what medicine to take.
May America, may you seek God first! Has judgment come to America because of our sin and rejection of God and His revelation? Yes – undoubtedly. Let’s seek God. Let’s preach the gospel. Jesus is the Answer. If Jesus is the Answer, what’s the question? Here’s the question – can God’s hand of judgment be turned from America? Yes. How? Jesus is the Answer! If judgment comes because we have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, let’s embrace Him who is Truth! Jesus is the Answer for the world today. Above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the Way. Repent of your sin. Call on the name of Jesus! He will come and rescue us!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and pray for our nation – Pastor Tim
October 19, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I usually just blog my own stuff, but I wanted to pass this along to you. It’s quite refreshing and is chock-full of some very deep, yet easy to understand wisdom.
Me: Hey God.
God: Hello.....
Me: I'm falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God: I would rather not.
Me: Why?
God: Because you aren't a puzzle.
Me: What about all of the pieces of my life that are falling down onto the ground?
God: Let them stay there for a while. They fell off for a reason. Take some time and decide if you need any of those pieces back.
Me: You don't understand! I'm breaking down!
God: No - you don't understand. You are breaking through. What you are feeling are just growing pains. You are shedding the things and the people in your life that are holding you back. You aren't falling apart. You are falling into place. Relax. Take some deep breaths and allow those things you don't need anymore to fall off of you. Quit holding onto the pieces that don't fit you anymore. Let them fall off. Let them go.
Me: Once I start doing that, what will be left of me?
God: Only the very best pieces of you.
Me: I'm scared of changing.
God: I keep telling you - YOU AREN'T CHANGING!! YOU ARE BECOMING!
Me: Becoming who?
God: Becoming who I created you to be! A person of light and love and charity and hope and courage and joy and mercy and grace and compassion. I made you for more than the shallow pieces you have decided to adorn yourself with that you cling to with such greed and fear. Let those things fall off of you. I love you! Don't change! ... Become! Become! Become who I made you to be. I'm going to keep telling you this until you remember it.
Me: There goes another piece.
God: Yep. Let it be.
Me: So ... I'm not broken?
God: Of course Not! - but you are breaking like the dawn. It's a new day. Become!!!
~Author Unknown
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
October 16, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
When the soldiers arrested Jesus and brought him to the house of the high priest, we’re told that Peter followed at a distance. Mark these words: Peter followed Jesus at a distance – Peter was a distant disciple. He followed far enough behind so he could hide the fact that he was following Jesus. He was following Jesus – but he didn’t want anyone to know it. I think this describes many followers of Jesus today. Peter learned by experience that following Jesus as He should be followed is the 2nd most demanding thing a person can do. The 2nd hardest thing you will ever do is follow Jesus with all your heart/full bore/no holds barred/full surrender. The hardest thing you’ll ever do is follow Jesus ½ way. The hardest thing you will ever do is follow Jesus at a distance.
After Jesus’ arrest, Peter thought, “I’ll shadow Jesus – that’ll be safe. I’m following Him, but it doesn’t look like I am. I’ll strike a healthy balance between fanaticism and indifference.” It was a balance he couldn’t maintain. You’ll discover that it’s a lot easier to walk with Jesus when you’re walking beside Him and not shadowing Him.
Some of you are shadowing Jesus. Your faith in Him compels you to follow, but your fear of the crowd compels you to keep your distance. Your conviction pulls you after Jesus, but your cowardice pushes you into the closet. After shadowing Jesus, after living like this for a while, you’ll say, “I’m tired of living the Christian life.” And the problem is that you have never lived the Christian life! You’ve lived the ½ Christian life – and this will drive you from Jesus – just like it did Peter. A faith that is ½ way, is a faith that never arrives.
It was curiosity and not consecration that caused him to follow. Matthew 26:58 tells us that Peter sat down with the enemies of Christ to observe the outcome. He became a spectator, Spectators are easy to spot: they have emotion without motion. Spectators are easily drawn away from the action on the field. The fan in the stands can turn and engage in conversation or get a hot dog – the player on the field can’t. Spectators are easily offended – someone bumps them and they become angry. The player on the field gets creamed and doesn’t think a thing about it. Peter went from being a disciple to being a spectator. He had a wait-and-see attitude. If you are following Jesus with a wait-and-see attitude you are a distant disciple and are in spiritual danger.
It was guilt and not grace that made Peter follow at a distance. He was trying to make up for the shame of fleeing when Jesus was arrested. He had made a proud boast and now he had to make up for it. He was caught between failure and fear. He was driven by failure (I have to prove something), and fear (I have to avoid something). To utterly flee was unacceptable to him – safe distance was called for. He would follow Jesus, but make it look like he wasn’t. To follow Jesus because you feel guilty for a moral failure in your life is to be a distant disciple.
He had something to avoid: being identified with Jesus. He had something to attain: peace of mind. You can never achieve peace of mind by avoiding being identified with Jesus. The gospel accounts have Peter standing, then sitting, then standing – there is no rest for the guilty. Peter is in true spiritual misery – he is close enough to experience guilt, but not close enough to receive grace.
We know that Peter denied Christ around the fire in the courtyard of the high priest. The distant disciple became a denying disciple. When you follow Jesus at a distance you will fall in with those who don’t follow Him at all. Maybe he thought that this time he would stand firm. Maybe he thought, “I ran from Jesus in the garden when the soldiers arrested Him, but I’ll stand for Him and identify with Him in the courtyard of the high priest.” But we know the story – he denied Jesus. You don’t prove you are strong by putting yourself in the path of temptation. You don’t prove your love for your wife by dating the woman next door. What do you prove when you put yourself in harm’s way? You prove that you’re stupid! Stop being stupid!
The hardest thing you will ever do is follow Jesus ½ way. Safe distance from Christ doesn’t encourage discipleship, but denial. Following Jesus from afar will never bring you near. To follow Jesus ½ way will take all the energy and emotional reserves you have – it will fill you with guilt and shame. The second hardest thing you will ever do is follow Jesus wholly and fully. The greatest shame is in following Jesus ½ way. The greatest joy is in following Jesus with all your heart/full bore/no holds barred/full surrender. Come into the joy of the Lord!
Be blessed and stay healthy and FOLLOW JESUS – Pastor Tim
October 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Will things be the same as they were when the smoke of 2020 clears and the dust settles? I’m afraid not –
- Some friendly faces will be missing
- Some favorite places will be gone
- Some frequented spaces may be off-limits
At best, the world will feel and seem different.
There is a sifting and a shifting taking place. An ominous feel is in the air. A titanic power struggle is unfolding. We are witnessing the birth pangs of a new era that is straining to be born. (Personally, I’m hoping for a miscarriage.) And no, I’m not making reference to the upcoming Presidential election. The Colossus battling to be brought forth overshadows all Presidents and Kings and Parliaments and Prime Ministers and Dictators. But let’s start somewhere near the beginning.
The first time the word ‘king’ appears in the Bible is in Genesis 14:1-2.
And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
Yes, that’s a lot of kings – nine of them, to be exact. Very early in history (at least Bible history) we see the emergence of city-states and each city had its own king. For thousands of years, authority and power was invested in the king and used by the king – for better or for worse. As time wore on, people got tired of the autocratic, unpredictable, unjust power of the king and began to agitate for a better system. The people should have some say in how they are governed. In 1215 AD, following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta. This was essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons that guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. The Magna Carta is seen as a cornerstone in the development of democracy.
This idea of sharing power and authority with the people grew and took shape and eventually toppled kings and gave birth to Constitutions and Congresses comprised of elected officials. We have gone from kings wielding unaccountable power to elected officials representing the people exercising accountable power. We’ve gone from kings in their castles to constitutions and congresses. This is democracy. Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government ever conceived – except for all the others!
But democracy is now threatened by the Colossus struggling to be born. And even as kings were unelected and not accountable to the people, a new system of governance is waiting to be born which will, once again, put governing power in the hands of unelected officials. But this time it won’t be kings reigning over us – it will be the scientists – the experts. We’ve gone from kings to constitutions to, if some have their way, a class of professionals who will oversee all aspects of our lives. The reign of kings comes knocking again – but this time they’re not wearing crowns and sitting on thrones – they’re wearing white lab coats and sitting in swivel chairs and holding iPads!
The professionals are pregnant with scientific globalism – technocracy – and the contractions have begun. Various proposals are being discussed as to how to redistribute the world’s wealth so that everyone gets their fair share of the pie. Who determines what’s fair? The professionals, of course. What you eat, how much energy you are allowed, what kind of energy you’re allowed, your medical care, your ‘carbon footprint’, what you drive, how much you can drive will all be determined by a class of professionals who know better than you do what’s good for you. Their morality supersedes yours for they are captivated by visions of a global utopia. It’s the kingdom of God – except there is no God. It’s a kingdom – a kingdom of man – and we know what history (and the Bible) says about the kingdoms of men.
Actually, I don’t believe there will be a birth or a miscarriage or a stillbirth. I think it’s not quite yet time for this Colossus to come forth. We are witnessing false labor pains – Braxton Hicks – if you will. But the baby is still alive and kicking and will be born with a roar sometime in the future. What are the people of God to do? Psalm 46:1-7 is excellent counsel.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
The best definition of Selah that I have heard is: “think about that.” I like that. I will think about that – the awesome power of God and the tottering kingdoms of man. The Lord is with you. The God of Jacob is your stronghold. Think about that!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and never let go of the God who will never let go of you – Pastor Tim
October 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
We are having another ‘banner outreach’ tomorrow, Thursday, October 15th, from 5:00 PM – to about 6:45 PM. This will be again at the corner of Mowry and Farwell in Fremont. At this time of night, about 6,000 cars an hour pass through this intersection and over 12,000 people will see and read our signs! Meet Pastor Tim at 4:45 PM in the parking lot next to Denny’s on the SE corner of Mowry and Farwell.
Anybody can participate. Some of you senior saints need to come out and stretch your legs and stretch your faith. We need at least 16 people in order to display all eight banners. That’s tomorrow, Thursday the 15th, at 4:45 PM in the Denny’s parking lot. Come on out. You’ll be glad you did.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus - Pastor Tim
October 13, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
Your heart has a constant rhythm which is an indication of its health. But not always so – some people develop atrial fibrillation. Fibrillation is rapid, inefficient contractions of your heart. When it comes to mental and emotional health, government edicts have put the heart of America into fibrillation. Because of this, so many Americans are finding themselves weakened and gasping for breath. This is an unintended consequence of the COVID pandemic, the social pandemonium, and the political polarization.
The Library of Economics and Liberty defines the law of unintended consequences (LUC)as follows:
“The LUC, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended. Economists and other social scientists have heeded its power for centuries; for just as long, politicians and popular opinion have largely ignored it.”
The events of 2020 do not escape the LUC.
Naomi Thomas and Sam Romano, both of CNN, report that while the world struggles to manage the initial waves of death and disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there is mounting evidence accumulating that "a second wave" linked to rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders could be building, according to an article published Monday in the medical journal JAMA.
"A second wave of devastation is imminent, attributable to mental health consequences of Covid-19," wrote authors Dr. Naomi Simon, Dr. Glenn Saxe and Dr. Charles Marmar, all from New York University's Grossman School of Medicine. "The magnitude of this second wave is likely to overwhelm the already frayed mental health system, leading to access problems, particularly for the most vulnerable persons." Bottom of Form
The LUC says that in trying to solve one problem, our government has created another. Government intervention to keep Americans safe from disease has made Americans susceptible to depression and drug abuse. But I don’t want to take my time to beat up on the government, I want to focus on those adversely affected by the LUC. How can we, as followers of Jesus, be a force of healing in the current mental health crisis? Simply put, we can do good. Here’s what Paul says -
So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Galatians 6:10
What is good? The good is determined by the need. Jesus said that if your enemy is hungry, give them food. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. Food for a hungry man is a good thing and water for a thirsty man is a good thing. Water for a hungry man or food for a thirsty man may not be such a good thing. The need determines the good.
What does someone suffering a mental health crisis need? Let’s be realistic – I am not a trained mental health professional – and probably you aren’t either. Some people in a mental health crisis need immediate professional intervention. I’ve been instrumental in the hospitalization of some people who have had such a severe break with reality that they need to be hospitalized. And that was a good thing to do – remember, the need determines the good. But most depressed people don’t need hospitalization – they need a friend. Remember – the depression is connected to the government edict of quarantine and social distancing and shuttering of the cultural institutions that over the years and decades established a rhythm and pattern of life – church, schools, gyms, theatres, and even bars! This rhythm and pattern has been disrupted. Government edict has put the mental-emotional heart of America into fibrillation. So many are weakened and gasping for breath.
And it’s not just COVID-19 that’s putting the heart of America into atrial fibrillation, but also the social unrest flowing from the death of George Floyd and all the vitriol and polarization connected with the looming election. How can we do good in the midst of all this craziness?
Be friendly to all. Be a friend to who you can – especially if you know that they are suffering emotionally and mentally. Conversation, even though you are not a professional, can be very therapeutic and life-giving. Offer to pray with people – not just for them – but with them, in their presence. Let your words of faith and hope wash their hearts in the love of God. Share with them an encouraging promise from the Word of God.
Simple? Yes. Simplistic? Maybe to some, but no, not simplistic. There is strength to be conveyed through friendliness and friendship. There is comfort in conversation. There is power in faith and hope. There is healing in love, There is a touch from God through prayer and the sharing of His Word. As the familiar rhythms and patterns of life have been disrupted. only to be replaced by the inefficient contractions of fear and worry and loneliness and depression – let us do good to all people. Do what you can, where you can, when you can.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and do good to all people – Pastor Tim
October 12, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
This last Saturday evening, CCF hosted a Faith and Blue event. This, and hundreds of similar events around the country, are designed to strengthen the ties between the faith community, the larger community, and local police departments. We had two officers from the Fremont Police Department with us – Chief Kim Petersen and Captain Sean Washington – joined by Pastor Brian Murphy of South Bay Community Church, also in Fremont. Brian is on the Police Chief’s Advisory Committee.
The conversation centered around the current racial tensions being experienced around the country and how this affects policing in our city as the police are seeking to respond and adjust accordingly. Officers are being taught about implicit bias – which (in this conversation) means a built-in prejudice toward African Americans. How to de-escalate a situation is also on the front burner when it comes to rethinking policies, retooling procedures, and retraining officers. The use of additional personnel – such as mental health workers being on scene with police officers in situations that call for it – is a further innovation as departments around the country are seeking to be the best first-responders they can be.
What struck me about Chief Petersen and Captain Washington was the attitude they brought to that evening’s discussion. Both evidenced humble hearts and teachable spirits. And where there is humility – a willingness to admit that you can do better, accompanied by a teachable spirit – there is the promise of positive and healing change. When I have a husband and wife in my office to talk through the challenges they are facing in marriage, and one of them does not evidence a humble heart and a teachable spirit, I know that very little, if any, change is going to take place in that relationship. Without humble hearts and teachable spirits, they will fall back into the destructive behaviors that brought them into my office in the first place.
How important it is to have a humble heart and a teachable spirit. Naaman was a Syrian General who also happened to have leprosy. He came to Elisha the prophet to be healed. Elisha sent his servant out to the yard and he told Naaman that we was to go to the River Jordan and dunk himself seven times beneath the waters and he would be healed.
Naaman was not humble nor was he teachable. He was angry that Elisha himself hadn’t come out to him – he was ticked that Elisha sent a servant to speak to someone as important as himself. He also raged that he was told to go to that muddy little river, the Jordan, and dunk himself seven times. He said that there are better rivers in Syria if one has a mind to dunk himself beneath the water. He turned around and left in a huff – still leprous, still dying, and now angry – he was stuck. His pride left him without remedy. One of his servants talked him down and persuaded him to follow the prophet’s advice. Naaman humbled himself, was able to follow the instructions given to him – and was healed!!
If the humble hearts and teachable spirits of Chief Petersen and Captain Washington are indicative of the Fremont Police Department as a whole – I have great hope and confidence that the distrust, and the disrespect it creates between the community and local police will be overcome and great trust and cooperation will take place. If husbands and wives have humble hearts and teachable spirits – I have great hope and confidence that marriages can be healed and become life-giving once again. If you have a humble heart and a teachable spirit – I have great hope and confidence that God will continue His healing and restoration in your life and that you will be promoted to have greater influence in the lives of the men and women and the boys and girls in your life.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus with a humble heart and a teachable spirit – Pastor Tim
October 8, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Because of COVID restrictions, the Faith and Blue event scheduled for this Saturday, October 10, from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM, will be livestreamed only. DO NOT come to the building. The only ones in the building will be the participants and the tech team.
You can go to www.calvaryfremont.org, click the appropriate banner, and watch the event livestreamed. There will be a way for you to ask questions of the Fremont Police Department over your devices.
Again, the Faith and Blue event this Saturday will be livestreamed only. If you've made plans to attend in person, please attend via livestream.
THIS ONLY APPLIES TO THIS SATURDAY NIGHT. ON SUNDAYS WE REMAIN OPEN.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus - Pastor Tim
October 7, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Years ago there was a sweltering heat wave in New York City. It was so bad that senior citizens were dying. I read where a Hell’s Angels’ chapter went out and bought fans and delivered them to the elderly living in apartments that had no air conditioning to help bring them relief. This outlaw motorcycle gang known for drug running and violence were kind toward the vulnerable in the heat wave. They might be indifferent toward getting your daughter hooked on heroin, but they were considerate toward the elderly. They exercised a selective morality.
Here’s a slice out of Abram’s life in the Bible.
It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you." Genesis 12:11-13
Pharaoh wouldn’t commit adultery. So, since Sarai was married to Abram, she was off-limits. But Pharaoh had no such reservations about murder! He would have Abram killed, and then, since Sarai no longer had a husband, she would be available! Adultery? No. Murder? OK. Pharaoh had a selective morality!
Jesus recognizes the selective morality of humankind.
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:11-13
Note how Jesus makes a distinction between being evil and doing good. Jesus points out that an evil man doesn’t only and always do evil. An evil man can do good things – just like the Hell’s Angels. Now, if you’re for Trump, you probably think Biden can do no good and when someone points out something good Biden has done, you have to do mental backflips to deny it. If you’re for Biden, you probably think Trump can do no good and when someone points out something good Trump has done, you have to do mental backflips to deny it. A partisan spirit kills intellectual honesty.
An immoral man can do a moral good. An evil man can have a selective morality. The one who is against adultery is for murder. The one who works to get your kids hooked on drugs rushes to relieve old people in their distress. The one who believes it is moral to turn away babies in the womb considers it immoral to turn away immigrants at the border. The one who considers it moral to strictly patrol the border and limit immigration considers it immoral to turn away babies in the womb. People can be selectively moral or immoral, liberal or illiberal. Selective morality is a nuance lost to many.
Today, there is a scorched earth policy of demonizing your opponent. This is an especially ugly tactic when practiced by those claiming to be followers of Jesus. In stating that evil parents can give good gifts to their children – no doubt, because they love them and feel parental affection for them – Jesus is also declaring that an immoral man can do a moral good. In fact, in this case, here is a man who is constantly evil doing continual good. Jesus pointed out the good in the evil, immoral man. No man or woman is totally evil in all their dealings with everyone. My desire is that Christians leave behind the scorched earth policy of demonizing the one they don’t agree with.
If you claim to be against someone because of their character, please note that Jesus said that an evil man can do good things. If you think Trump is evil – know this – he can do good things. If you think Biden is evil – know this – he can do good things. What baffles me is when someone, Christian or otherwise, supports a candidate and claims that their guy can do no wrong while declaring that the other guy can do no good. This is just lazy, dishonest thinking, and unworthy of a believer. The political discourse of Christians has to be better than this. My desire is for a more nuanced, realistic conversation about political matters and candidates that takes into consideration the moral insights of Jesus into human nature – an immoral man can do moral good. With less than four weeks to the election, things are really going to heat up. Stay cool!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and do good – Pastor Tim
October 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Chapel –
He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him. Proverbs 18:13
Here’s how the New Living Translation puts it - Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.
“Family Feud” begins each round with a member from each team at a counter with Steve Harvey who proceeds to ask them a question. The first one to slap the button in front of them gets first crack at answering. Sometimes, one of the contestants will slap the button and give an answer before Steve has finished the question because they think they know where the question is going – but it turns out they don’t know where the question is going and they give a stupid answer. They aren’t stupid – the answer is stupid. They aren’t stupid – they’re just eager to be first. And in their eagerness to be first, they brushed by wisdom and blurted out something totally unrelated to the question. And it’s easy to tell that they feel foolish that they gave an answer before they heard the full question.
There’s no telling how many times I’ve slapped the button and spouted off before listening to all the facts. And yes, I’ve felt foolish and ashamed afterwards. You’d think I would learn after maybe 5,000 times – but no. And I don’t think I’m alone. From what I read and hear and watch, millions daily, maybe even hourly with all the social media there is, are slapping the button prematurely and spouting off.
Spouting off is all the rage today. The verse noted above speaks about spouting off before you know all the facts. Facts put the brakes on spouting off. But what if there are no brakes? What if facts are totally unnecessary? It seems that for many, on both sides of the aisle and various sides of the issues, facts are annoying pests that just need to be swatted away. I think some people have slathered on fact-repellent so that facts can’t get anywhere near them. What is fact-repellent?
- Partisanship is a fact-repellent. “My party right-or-wrong.” Some people will listen to nothing that detracts from the narrative their party puts out – whether it’s about Trump or Biden. They will allow no narrative that tarnishes their candidate or puts him in an unfavorable light.
- Identity politics is a fact-repellent. If you belong to a certain demographic group, you are the scourge of America and if you belong to another, you’re the darling of the nation. The only fact I need to know about you is the color of your skin and your political affiliation. All other facts derive from that. I don’t care about your faith, your character, or your personal story – if I know your skin color and political affiliation, I can spout off all day.
- Critical Race Theory is a fact-repellent. A philosophy of history and culture tells me all I need to know about you. What Identity politics fails to cover, Critical Race Theory addresses. It is not necessary for me to know a single personal, individual fact about you – your place in history and culture tells me all I need to know to condemn or commend you.
I heard a story about Presidential candidate Joe Biden on a conservative talk show. A former staffer (from years ago) said that Joe had a party at his house where wives and friends were invited to attend and that Joe walked around the house completely naked. The show host was trying to say something intelligent about this, but I wasn’t buying it. I think the host’s operating philosophy is that anything negative about Joe must be right. All he quoted was a former (unnamed) staffer. What bothered me, too, was that after he spouted off, he expressed no shame for being so foolish. And the same is true of wild things said about President Trump. If it makes him look like a complete idiot, it must be true. Don’t worry about pesky facts – if it forwards my narrative, it must be true.
When a talk show or a news station makes everything that Donald Trump does look brilliant and everything that Joe Biden does look ridiculous – please know that someone is wearing fact-repellent. And when someone makes everything that Joe Biden does look brilliant and everything that Donald Trump does look ridiculous – please know that someone is wearing fact-repellent. And please know that their spouting off is not much more than vicious venomous vapor.
Hatred is another powerful fact-repellent. Hatred warps and twists something positive said of someone into something to be mocked and ridiculed.
Laziness is yet another fact-repellent. When I hear something quite different about someone or something I’ve already made up my mind about – I don’t want to take the time to adjust my thinking, I’ll just conveniently dismiss your fact.
And let’s add pride and ego to the fact-repellent list. My self-image is wrapped up in the conclusions I’ve arrived at. If you threaten my conclusions, you pose an existential threat to my self-image. To maintain my precious self-image, I will dismiss your fact as being obviously irrelevant (when it is so obviously relevant – but I can’t admit that because my precious ego is more important than disposable truth).
Dear Brothers and Sisters – go take a shower and wash off all these ungodly fact-repellents and do the hard work of thoroughly listening to a matter all the way through. Don’t let the political pundits or the philosophical talking heads conform you to their agenda. Put on the brakes. Don’t go slapping buttons and spouting off until you’ve heard the whole thing through. And then when you give your answer – do so in a dignified manner as a Christian man or woman and not in some outraged, hate-filled, over-bloated rant where you seek to shame all those who disagree with you. Remember – we are members of Christ and of one another. We have to live with one another when this is all over.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
October 5, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Newsflash: Twitter catches up with the Bible! Twitter has said that tweets wishing for Donald Trump’s death in the wake of the president’s diagnosis with Covid-19 violate its policies. Wishing for President Trump’s death – or anyone else’s – also violates the heart of God! Yes, even if they are your enemy! Don’t just take my word for it –
You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people. Moses in Exodus 22:28
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return… and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Jesus Christ in Luke 6:27-28, 35-36
If anyone had the right to hate his enemy, it was Ernest Gordon. Captain Ernest Gordon was a company commander with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, of Scotland. He served in the Pacific theatre in WW2. Gordon was captured and sent to a Japanese POW camp and helped build the bridge on River Kwai. The Japanese were cruel to their prisoners – the work was brutal, the treatment was inhuman, the conditions were vicious – hundreds of men died daily. Life among the POWs was reduced to the survival of fittest – it was every man for himself. All the camaraderie built thru combat dissolved in the tortured existence of life in a Japanese POW camp. Gordon became so sick and broken that he was placed in the "Death Ward" which was designated so for those not expected to survive.
Two Christians gave 24-hour care to Gordon. Gordon survived and as a consequence many POWs experienced a revival of faith and hope for life. Gordon, an agnostic, was so impressed by the unwavering faith and love of the two men who cared for him that he came to faith in Christ. As more and more men became followers of Jesus, camp life was transformed and the spirit of the whole camp changed and now men served one another. Orders were given for the whole camp to be moved, Here is the account in Captain Gordon’s own words
"Eastward we travelled through Banpong towards Bangkok. All along the track we could see the damage done by the Allied air forces. Railway junctions and marshalling yards were in ruins. Often the train was switched to a temporary track, bypassing sections that had been wiped out. Further on, we were shunted on to a siding for a lengthy stay. We found ourselves on the same track with several carloads of Japanese wounded. They were on their own and without medical care. No longer fit for action, they had been packed into railway trucks which were being returned to Bangkok. Whenever one of them died en route, he was thrown off into the jungle. The ones who survived to reach Bangkok would presumably receive some form of medical treatment there. But they were given none on the way. They were in a shocking state; I have never seen men filthier. Their uniforms were encrusted with mud, blood, and excrement. Their wounds, sorely inflamed and full of pus, crawled with maggots. The maggots, however, in eating the putrefying flesh, probably prevented gangrene. We could understand now why the Japanese were so cruel to their prisoners. If they didn’t care a tinker’s damn for their own, why should they care for us? The wounded men looked at us forlornly as they sat with their heads resting against the carriages waiting fatalistically for death. They were the refuse of war; there was nowhere to go and no one to care for them. These were the enemy, more cowed and defeated than we had ever been. Without a word, most of the officers in my section unbuckled their packs, took out part of their ration and a rag or two, and, with water canteens in their hands went over to the Japanese train to help them. Our guards tried to prevent us, bawling, ‘No goodka! No goodka!’ But we ignored them and knelt by the side of the enemy to give them food and water, to clean and bind up their wounds, to smile and say a kind word. Grateful cries of ‘Aragatto!’ (‘ Thank you!’) followed us when we left.
An Allied officer from another section of the train had been taking it all in. ‘What bloody fools you all are!’ he said to me. ‘Don’t you realize that those are the enemy?’ ‘Have you never heard the story of the man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho?’ I asked him. He gave me a blank look, so I continued, ‘He was attacked by thugs, stripped of everything and left to die. Along came a priest; he passed him by. Then came a lawyer, a man of high principles; he passed by as well. Next came a Samaritan, a half-caste, a heretic, an enemy. But he didn’t pass by; he stopped. His heart was filled with compassion. Kneeling down, he poured some wine through the unconscious lips, cleaned and dressed the helpless man’s wounds, then took him to an inn where he had him cared for at his own expense.’ ‘But that’s different!’ the officer protested angrily. ‘That’s in the Bible. These are the swine who’ve starved us and beaten us. They’ve murdered our comrades. These are our enemies.’ “Who is mine enemy? Isn’t he my neighbor? God makes neighbors; we make enemies.” "To End All Wars: A True Story about the Will to Survive and the Courage to Forgive"
The Japanese soldiers left to die were visited by Jesus, who cared for them and bound up their wounds. Jesus is the Friend of Sinners – He is a Friend to those who consider Him an enemy. Who do you consider your enemy? Know this – Jesus is their Friend. You be their friend, too. Twitter has caught up with the Bible. Don’t let Twitter outpace you!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
October 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I received an email from and one of its bolded headlines read: EVERYTHING IN AMERICA HINGES ON THIS 2020 ELECTION! I saw that and thought, “Hmmmm…”
Now, this may just be an exercise in hyperbole – deliberate over-statement to emphasize a point. If pushed, whoever wrote and approved this statement may say, “OK, literally not everything – but a lot of important stuff hinges on this election.” And if that’s what they mean, I will readily give them a pass. I’m a preacher – hyperbole, dramatic over-statement – is part and parcel of preaching. It’s like having hash browns with your eggs. Every sermon should include some crispy hyperbole! If the statement EVERYTHING IN AMERICA HINGES ON THIS 2020 ELECTION! is hyperbole, the rest of this article is unnecessary. Yet if they mean anything even close to what they wrote, there’s some serious idolatry being put forward. Of course, whoever wins the election, and the party he represents, will have significant influence in the life of our nation. Yet I’m a pastor and I look at life and events through a spiritual lens. How does the phrase EVERYTHING IN AMERICA HINGES ON THIS 2020 ELECTION! misstate the truth and nurture an idolatrous spirit?
Firstly, idolatry is putting more trust in something or someone than God. So, if I may paraphrase - EVERYTHING IN AMERICA HINGES ON THE MAN WHO IS ELECTED IN 2020! Again, a lot of significant issues hinge on the man who is elected in November, but everything?
- Will the man who is elected in 2020 determine the message and ministry and mission of the Church?
- Will the man who is elected determine whether or not you will follow Jesus and serve Him?
- Will the man who is elected in 2020 have command over the love, joy, and peace of your soul?
- Will the man who is elected in 2020 be able to alter the truths of heaven and hell and accountability to God?
Obviously, the answer to the above questions is NO. So, not everything hinges on the man who is elected in 2020.
Secondly, idolatry leads me to promote the thing I trust more than I advocate for Jesus Christ. If everything hinges on this election, I will turn all my attention and energy towards it. In totalitarian regimes, the politicians say, in effect, “All is State – all is political.” And those who tell us that EVERYTHING IN AMERICA HINGES ON THIS 2020 ELECTION! are parroting the slogans of totalitarian regimes – politics is all and determines everything. This is idolatry for it leaves out God.
Thirdly, idolatry sets you up for a big fall when your idol doesn’t deliver the goods. Just ask the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). If your guy loses in November and you go into deep depression and find it hard to dig out, may I suggest that this is because politics and the promises of man and your vision of what America should be has captured your heart more than the promises of God set before the Church and the glorious vision of the Kingdom of God.
If discrimination against the Church hardens into persecution, I will be bummed (and, no doubt, distressed) – but this does nothing to disturb the spiritual fabric of the universe. The veil in the temple remains torn and the way into the Holy of Holies continues to be accessed through the blood of Jesus. The gospel remains the power of God unto salvation and the Church remains the pillar and support of the truth. And we’ll be walking a path that was blazed for us by the blood of millions of martyrs down through the centuries. Jesus remains King of kings and Lord of lords and is worthy of all praise.
If I have to pay more in taxes, I will be bummed, but it won’t be the end of the world. If I feel that my taxes are being used in an irresponsible manner for unjust causes I can either protest or withhold my taxes (and face the consequences) or just suck it up. And let’s be honest – some of the taxes we pay now are being used in an irresponsible manner to fund unjust causes. Most of us just suck this up now and we probably will then, too. Personally, I have something more important to pursue than protesting the unjust use of my taxes.
If the sexual revolution becomes even tawdrier than it is now and what is unspeakable today becomes Constitutional tomorrow, I will be bummed out, but I will suck it up and go about the work of the Kingdom of God.
If a lot of people flood into our country, taxing an already overtaxed system, I will see this as an opportunity to win more and more people to Jesus Christ.
If the schools promote immorality and disallow certain worthwhile ideas from being taught and churn out a crop of undereducated and over-indoctrinated young people, I know this – bad ideas result in broken people. I want to be there to minister the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to broken and hurting people. I came out of the Jesus Movement in Southern California. The hippie generation was broken by bad ideas and silly promises and Jesus was waiting with arms wide open and millions were swept into His arms! I want to stand with Jesus.
If your guy loses, Jesus is not diminished. If your guy loses, the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. If your guy loses, there’s still heaven or hell in front of you. If your guy loses, you’re still a husband or a wife and a father or a mother or a friend. If your guy loses, Jesus is still Lord! No – everything in America does not hinge on this 2020 election! In fact, the most important things in life cannot even be touched by the winner of this 2020 election! (And that’s not hyperbole!)
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I am sitting here profoundly saddened by what I just watched on TV. Yes, I am referring to the Tuesday evening Presidential Debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden. Am I disturbed because my guy lost the debate? No – I have no idea who won the debate. What I do know is that the American people are the real losers. I feel sorry for Chris Wallace who had the unenviable task of trying to herd cats. Maybe the better analogy is the tiger trainer who gets into the cage with the tigers with his whip and chair and the tigers turn on him and refuse to respond to any of his commands and he barely gets out of there with his life.
I was with Robert Tuesday morning on his Zoom devotions for men and we read through Proverbs 29. As I was enduring the “debate”, verse nine came to mind.
When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
Someone says, “O, you must be referring to Biden.”
Someone else says, “O, you must be referring to Trump.”
My answer to both questions is, “Yes.”
Interrupting, name-calling, disrespect, childish gestures and guffaws – I thought I was back in Junior High for a few minutes. “Yeah, well Trump started it.” Someone else says, “No way, Biden started it.” What does it matter? What do you call a man who follows the example of a fool?
I tuned in hoping for substance and only got claims and counter-claims and, “You’re a liar.” I tuned in hoping for intelligent discussion and only heard partisan rhetoric without reasonable and persuasive argument.
When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest – that’s what Solomon wrote. If there is no rest with one foolish man, what do you get with two foolish men? We saw that last night. We saw lack of self-control. We saw lack of speech-control. We saw lack of emotional control. And we heard very little of substance and what we heard was challenged and dismissed and never really settled. I guess the fact-checkers will do that. I should have skipped the debate and just waited for the fact checkers.
In a surprise turn, here's what the Holy Spirit is whispering into my soul –
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Matthew 7:1-3
I could sit here and whine and complain and say that America deserves better. But that has always sounded so sanctimonious and pointless to me. These two men are the candidates and America has to choose. The thing that is weighing down on me is – do I act like these two men acted when I am in a controversy with someone? Do I carry myself as foolishly as these two men did on the national stage they were on. Am I pointing out a speck in someone else when I have a log sticking out of my eye?
About two years ago, or so, I was called by a man who asked if Calvary Chapel Fremont practiced formal church membership. I told him that we did not. He asked me if I would come and debate another pastor who does practice formal church membership. I told him that I will debate nothing, but I will discuss anything. A debate assumes adversarial positions and the objective is to win – not to listen to the other guy. A discussion assumes that I have one understanding and you have another and we should discuss this and see if we can learn anything new that might alter the current understanding. They agreed to my approach and it was a great discussion. (Of course, I was the most persuasive! 😊)
This display of lack of self-control and mutual contempt I witnessed in the debate also draws my attention to Jesus – especially Jesus in His passion, His suffering. I have this picture of Jesus, that at the moment the first soldier laid hands on Him in Gethsemane, the sound of ten million swords being unsheathed by angels filled the halls of heaven as their rage burned over the Darling of Heaven being treated like this. But the Father told them to stand down – His plan was unfolding. As His enemies ridiculed Him, stood in judgment over Him, ripped out His beard, beat and whipped Him, mocked and spit on Him, and ultimately crucified Him – the greatest feat of self-control was on display. The crucifixion was what man had to say about Jesus. If He had wanted to prove that what His enemies said about Him was false, He could have interrupted the crucifixion and cut short the word of man. But He knew He would have the last word! The final word! And so He waited until it was His turn to speak. For three days all creation waited while Jesus let the word of man hang like a foul stench in the air. Had the word of man silenced the Word of God? Did Jesus have nothing to say? On the third day His response came in glorious power. Jesus had an unanswerable comeback! In blinding speech He gave His answer. In blazing tongue He spoke. He is still speaking. The last word is a lasting word. Jesus is my hope for America.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 28, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
God in His Temple is more determinative for a nation than the King on his Throne or the President in his Oval Office.
I want to lift a point out of yesterday’s sermon and highlight it here. In chapter six of his prophecy, Zechariah has a royal crown made to set upon the head of Joshua the High Priest. In doing so, he is making the point that the coming Messiah will hold the offices of both King and Priest. Jesus will be the Priest-King. In addition to this, Jesus as Priest-King will not rule from a palace, but from the Temple. His throne room will be in the Temple and not in a palace. And this brings me to my point.
God in His Temple is more determinative for a nation than the King on his Throne or the President in his Oval Office. The books of Kings and Chronicles demonstrate that the authority of God is more consequential for a nation than the authority of the king. The Church is the Temple of the Living God. The power and presence of God in the Church will be of greater consequence for the United States than the President in the White House.
What if your guy wins the White House, but the Church is grieving the Spirit of God and not living in obedience to the Word of God? Can a favorable administration overcome the failure of a disobedient Church? What if your guy loses the White House, but the Church is white hot in its love for God and zeal for souls and passion for the truth? Can a Spirit-filled Church overcome the damage of a misguided administration?
What if you BBQ your filet mignon to perfection, but unbeknownst to you, someone has marinated it in horseradish sauce? Can the perfection of your cooking genius overcome the horseradish marinade? Probably not. What if you overcooked your filet mignon after marinating it in a sweet BBQ sauce? Can the sweet BBQ sauce marinade save a poorly cooked filet mignon? YES! Sweet BBQ sauce covers a multitude of sins! The Church, walking in humility and obedience to God, is a sweet marinade for any nation.
Vote? Yes! Advocate for your guy? Sure. But please know that the power and presence of God in the Church will be of greater consequence for the United States than the President in the White House. And what this means is CALM DOWN! Of course, if your guy doesn’t win, the country will go in a direction that you don’t want it to go in. You think that the direction the other guy wants to in, the path he’ll walk us down leads to certain destruction. OK – if so, there will be a lot of desperate people looking for hope and answers. The Spirit-filled Church will be perfectly positioned to let down the nets into waters that are boiling with fear and dread and discontent and bring up a great haul for the Lord. If you are a Christian and your guy doesn’t win the White House, and you lose all hope and become bitter about the direction of the country, you’ll be in no position to help lower the nets in times if despair.
Brothers and Sisters - "…the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." Habakkuk 2:20
Habakkuk spoke this while waiting for the Babylonian armies to lay siege to Jerusalem, break into it, destroy it, and take its people into exile. Habakkuk was assured of the worst possible scenario – your guy doesn’t win! And yet he continued to look to the Lord. Who’s going to win the White House in November? I don’t know. I don’t know who will be in the White House, but I know who is on the Throne of Heaven (that’s not up for a vote!). As believers, our eyes look to the Lord, until He be gracious to us. I have my preference for who will win the White House, but I have no anxiety about whoever ends up as President. God in His Temple is more determinative for a nation than the King on his Throne or the President in his Oval Office. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords – and President of presidents!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 24, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
Don't forget - tomorrow, Friday, September 25th, @ 5:30 PM. Meet me at the corner of Mowry and Fremont in the parking lot between CVS and Valero. I have eight, eight foot by four foot signs that proclaim Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. We will occupy all four corners of the intersection with two signs on each corner.
This isn't a protest, this is a PROFESS! With all the negativity and divisiveness and uncertainty that's in the air, we want to point to the One who can bring peace in the midst of the storm. In the boiling sea, we want to serve as lighthouses for the sols of men and women.
Someone has said that if you want to say something relevant, then say something eternal. We'll be sending out eternal rays of hope from 5:45PM - 7:15PM and pray that souls will find rest for their souls in the Harbor of Jesus.
We need sixteen people in order to display all the signs. Come on out and serve. Your kids can come, too. But please note that some people might be rude with their words and their hand gestures - just so you know 😞. We'll take turns holding signs and there will be some tracts and Bibles to pass out if the opportunity presents itself.
Hope to see you. Please be in prayer.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus - Pastor Tim
September 22, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Civil disobedience is not rebellion. Let me say that again – civil disobedience is not rebellion.
In the early 70’s, Woody Phillips, president of San Jose Bible College, told us young men that if we were drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in Vietnam, we had two choices. We could consent to the draft order and join the Army and go where we were sent, or we could disobey if we thought that it was an immoral war and couldn’t serve in good conscience. If we disobeyed the draft order, there would be consequences to pay – jail. The law gave us two choices – consent and serve time in Vietnam or not consent and spend time in jail. Either way, we were submitting to the law. We could practice civil disobedience if the State sought to violate our conscience. But what we could not do was flee to Canada – that would be rebellion. That would be escaping the authority which God has placed over us. We could be draft-disobeyers, but not draft-dodgers. There is a difference between civil disobedience and rebellion.
In States and Counties where the Church is forbidden to meet or from meeting indoors, each local church has a decision to make. And it is a decision of conscience influenced by theology and philosophy and community and personality and denominational affiliation and local enforcement. If the State says NO INDOOR MEETINGS and you hold indoor meetings, you are not in rebellion, you are practicing civil disobedience. The State does not own nor can it command your conscience. It can appeal to your conscience and seek to persuade it, but your conscience does not belong to the State. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s – but this doesn’t include your conscience. The State can coerce your behavior, but it cannot command your conscience.
If you choose to meet when forbidden to meet, you are in civil disobedience. If you take up weapons and seek to repel the force of the State by the force of weapons, you are in rebellion. You can practice civil disobedience and be in the middle of the will of God, but if you are in rebellion, you are alienated from the State and outside the will of God. I don’t mind being outside the will and favor of the State; I do mind being outside the will and the favor of God.
There is unnecessary tension in local churches due to misunderstanding the difference between civil disobedience and rebellion. There are some Christians in every church who cannot support the reopening of their church because it cuts across the directive of the State. The thought is that any disobedience is rebellion and therefore the church practicing civil disobedience is outside the will of God. This is not the case. Calvary Chapel Fremont is practicing civil disobedience, but we are not in rebellion. If the Police showed up to shut us down, we would quietly file out. (OK, maybe not so quietly!) Or we could continue with the service until the authorities physically carried us out. We’d still be submitting to the power of the law. Like other churches have, we would immediately file a lawsuit or join a lawsuit. And this isn’t rebellion either – we have the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. So the State says stay closed or go to jail (or some such penalty). We say that we’ll stay open and face the punishment of the law.
Rebellion is seeking to overthrow the institution of the State or escape the prosecution of the State whereas civil disobedience is noncompliance to a law of the State when it violates conscience. Here is a scene from the book of Acts –
And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:18-20
The point here isn’t that the Church needs to be open for the gospel to be preached – modern technology gives wings to the gospel. The point here is that Peter and John placed conscience above State and the law of the State. The book of Acts here and elsewhere jumpstarts the Church’s rich history of civil disobedience. In fact, if the apostles didn’t practice civil disobedience they would be in rebellion against God. The State may have absolute power, but it doesn’t have absolute authority.
A proper understanding of the difference between civil disobedience and rebellion may help to ease some of the tensions felt as local churches consider whether or not to reopen.
Whether you open or continue as you have been –
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 21, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
If I order a three-egg ham and cheese omelet served with crispy hash browns and sourdough toast, I expect to get a three-egg ham and cheese omelet served with crispy hash browns and sourdough toast – and it better look something like the picture in the menu! I expect there to be a one-to-one correspondence between what I see in the menu, what I say to the server, what the server conveys to the cook, and what the cook puts on the plate that is brought me by the waiter. Three-egg ham and cheese omelet – check. Crispy hash browns – check. Sourdough toast – check. What I saw is what I said and what I said is what I now see in front of me. Satisfied customer!
If I order a three-egg ham and cheese omelet served with crispy hash browns and sourdough toast and I get a two-egg white omelet with no ham and with a cheese substitute and a bowl of fruit instead of my crispy hash browns and sourdough toast – I will not be happy and someone will hear about it. I will point out to the server the difference between what I ordered from the menu and what is on the plate in front of me and that there must have been some mistake – I was served someone else’s order. “There has been no mistake, sir,” replies the server. “Our cook used to be a certified dietician working at the local hospital, but thought his skill-set would be better utilized in a restaurant. He looked at you and decided that a three-egg omelet with crispy hash browns and sourdough toast would only hasten your death, and so, in his wisdom, he gave you what you needed, not what you requested.”
What!!?? Is this guy trying to play God!? How does he really know what’s going on inside my body? Can he do an MRI and a CT scan with his eyes? Can he remotely run blood work and do a colonoscopy from 20 feet away!? Yikes! He doesn’t know me! What gives him the right to take what I ordered, set it aside, and substitute his thinking and his desires? I don’t want a dietician who’s going to interpret my needs, alter my order, and serve me what I don’t want. I want a short-order cook and not a dietician. I want a short-order cook who will be concerned only with my immediate requests and not my long-term needs. If I wanted a dietician, I’d go to the hospital and submit myself to his/her regimen and follow their counsel. I would subordinate my immediate desires to their long-term wisdom. If I said “Crispy hash browns”, and they said, “Cottage cheese,” well, cottage cheese it is.
Why can’t God be more like a short-order cook than a dietician? Why can’t the Bible be more like a menu to order from than a manual to live by? “God, I’d like some love, joy, and peace. Also, on another plate, please take away any promptings I have for greed and unforgiveness.” I place my order, and what am I served? Trials, tribulations, and troubles! This looks nothing like my prayer. There must be some kind of mix-up. I ordered the love, joy, and peace. I don’t know what schmuck would want this served up – but it’s not me!
Fortunately for us, God is more like a dietician than a short-order cook. He doesn’t submit Himself to our short-term desires and short-sighted strategies. He is running a program that is to our long-term benefit – conforming us to the image of His Son. And this is a major point of confusion in the minds of so may followers of Jesus. So many have been taught that the abundant life that God wants to give is a life of comfort and convenience full of favor and blessing and all you have to do to attain it is to ask. That’s it – just ask. God is never said to be this, yet He is pictured as a short-order cook just waiting to cook up and deliver those things that will make you the winner in life and put you over the top. But when you order peace and love and favor and blessing and are served trials and tribulations and troubles (jumbo sized!) – this sets the table for the crisis that every follower of Jesus encounters at least once – and more like 10,000 times! How are we to think about this?
- Maybe I asked for the wrong thing – which tells me I don’t know how to pray.
- Maybe I asked for the right thing and didn’t get it because I didn’t ask in faith – which tells me I need to try again.
- Maybe I asked for the right thing, but a demon mugged my angelic server, gave the order to Satan, and he gave me the trials and tribulations and troubles.
- Maybe I asked for one thing and God, as a genius dietician of the soul, has served me those things that produce the peace and joy and favor and blessing of God. I asked for a fully cooked meal and got the ingredients instead. And then God turns up the heat in my life and stirs all the ingredients together.
So many see God as a short-order cook dishing up love and joy and favor and blessing and don’t see God as a dietician who has set in motion a process directed at my long-term conformity to the image of Jesus Christ.
- The short-order cook is dedicated to the immediate satisfaction of your desires. The dietician is committed to the long-term development of your health.
- The short-order cook is concerned only with your desires. The dietician is concerned only with your health.
- The short-order cook is concerned only with what you say. The dietician is concerned only with what you need.
- The short-order cook will help you kill yourself. The dietician will keep you from killing yourself.
David praised the Lord because He was his Rock and his Refuge, his Shelter and Strong Tower, his Provider and his Protector. And I can add one more – He’s my Dietician.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
When King Nebuchadnezzar (KN) commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to bow down and worship the statue he had erected or else be thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire, they responded and said –
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18
The response of these three Hebrew young men has strengthened many a backbone and shaken many a petty tyrant down through the centuries. There is much philosophical wisdom, moral courage, and spiritual clarity in their refusal of the king’s decree.
Philosophical wisdom
What KN considered ultimate, they considered subordinate. What KN considered primary, they considered secondary – at best. Just like the wise men who came to King Herod searching for He who was born King of the Jews, these three young Jews knew that there was something more important than the State and Someone more powerful than the King. And even as King Herod set out on a killing spree to destroy anyone who dared to believe that he wasn’t the ultimate, so KN.
Christians know that the State isn’t the ultimate expression of authority, nor does it have the ability or the right to define what is good and evil, acceptable and unacceptable, true and false. KN said, in effect, “What I say is good is good. What I say is acceptable is acceptable. What I say is true is true.” The three young men said, in effect, “We don’t think so. There is One above and beyond you to whom you are accountable.” They didn’t allow the immediate to become the ultimate nor did they didn’t allow the secondary to become the primary. They refused to let KN define reality.
Moral courage
They didn’t allow KN to redefine reality nor did they allow him to bully them into submission. Many bullies have occupied thrones down through the millennia using the threat of physical violence and pain as a means of forcing compliance to their version of reality. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego considered their souls more important than their bodies. Though they believed in resurrection, for them in that moment, their bodies were secondary whereas their souls were primary. Even as they would not allow KN to flip truth on its head, so they would not allow him to flip human nature on its head. They were not materialists – believing that only matter matters – they considered human nature to be comprised of more than just the fortunate result of random chemical interactions. They refused to let KN command their souls.
Spiritual clarity
These young men made three statements about God which, at first, seem contradictory, yet upon further thought exhibit a helpful clarity about the will of God and how I am to think about it and interact with it. The three statements -
- They declared God’s ability – God is able to deliver us…
- Then they declared God’s intent – and He will deliver us…
- Then they left themselves an out – but even if He does not…
Hmmm…what are we to make of this? Are they waffling in their faith? Are they the kind of men that James criticizes? Are they double-minded men, unstable in all their ways, tossed to and fro by the wind and waves? I would argue that these are single-minded men who are not unstable, but unmovable in their commitment to God. They are more devoted to the person, the being of God than to their understanding of the will of God. They are committed to what they will do even though they’re not sure what God might do.
God IS always the same; God doesn’t always DO the same thing in each situation. Their commitment to God was deeper than their understanding of God. Some are only committed to the DOING of God and when God doesn’t do what they expect Him to do – they’re outta here. God always IS regardless of what God DOES in this or that situation. They didn’t have God in a box. They didn’t commit God to doing what God hadn’t promised to do and then get stuck in a corner when God doesn’t do it. So many set themselves up for disappointment by expecting God to do what He hasn’t promised to do. These three young men exhibited a spiritual clarity that separated the being of God from the doing of God. They refused to allow their understanding of God to limit God.
These three Hebrew young men had –
- Philosophical wisdom: they refused to let KN define reality.
- Moral courage: they refused to let KN command their souls.
- Spiritual clarity: they refused to allow their understanding of God to limit God.
Don’t be bullied by any political party seeking to shape realty by means of their philosophical commitments. May the Church collectively and you and I individually grow in our philosophical wisdom, moral courage, and spiritual clarity.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 16, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
While leafing through a book in my office, I found the following verse I had written about 30 years ago, or so. It refers to the ‘rack of faith’. The Torture Rack was a medieval device used to dislocate a person’s bones, and if enough pressure was applied, it would rip them apart. As God grows our faith and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s us, sometimes it can feel like God is dislocating and relocating things in our lives. Anyway – that’s what the ‘rack of faith’ is referring to. When you put your faith in God and allow Him to stretch you, He will s-t-r-e-t-c-h you! And this has been a s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g season for all of us. Many of us have been stretched in ways we didn’t know we could stretch. Yet God is faithful in the stretch.
Hands of Mercy
I count it all joy on the rack of faith,
Pressed beyond measure,
Stretched by Hands of Mercy.
Losing all form and fashion of this present order,
Being taken where I cannot take myself.
Slow and painful is the rack of faith,
Sure and steady are the Hands of Mercy.
“Surely the work is nearly finished;
I am a new man by His creative hand;
I am in heavenly shape.”
But scarcely have the words passed my lips
When a new deformity is revealed,
A fresh discipline imposed.
For His eyes see where mine cannot;
His love won’t leave me to myself.
I count it all joy on the rack of faith,
No longer preoccupied with the rack,
But with Hands of Mercy.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and be stretched – Pastor Tim
September 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Faith says that God is with me today.
Hope says that God is with me tomorrow.
Faith is today’s hope.
Hope is tomorrow’s faith.
I don’t know if faith and hope are identical twins or kissing cousins or brother and sister – but they’re certainly related to one another. What undermines hope, kills faith. And what poisons faith, murders hope. One cannot be sustained without the other – they live and die together. Both have the same message: God is with me! He is with me today and He’ll be with me tomorrow. The difference between faith and hope is the same difference between today and tomorrow.
Often, unresolved doubt and unconfessed sin can smother faith. A shattered dream and a broken heart can can quench hope. Many psalms struggle with the reality of God in my today and the promise of God in my tomorrow. Jesus came to resolve doubt, forgive sin, heal brokenness, and impart His dreams – His plans for our future. Jesus demonstrated that the bleakest today and the darkest tomorrow don’t amount to the absence of God. Absence of the evidence of God doesn’t evidence the absence of God.
God is present in the silence.
God is at work in the darkness.
When all things are against you, God is for you.
Often, people who ask for an appointment to meet with their pastor are having a hard time seeing their way forward thru a particular difficulty. There is unresolved doubt, or unconfessed sin, a shattered dream, or a broken heart. They are having a crisis of faith – which also means they are having a crisis of hope. Part of my calling, my ministry, my job is to help see someone’s faith and hope restored – to get them experientially connected with God. They are, in reality, connected with God in that He will never leave or forsake us – yet it’s often difficult to hang on to that particular truth of Scripture.
A Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen. A psychological hope is an emotional wish that something will happen. Biblical hope can sustain psychological and emotional hope, but psychological and emotional hope is not the foundation of Biblical hope. When thinking about their own death, someone can say –
- “I have this wonderful hope that I’ll be in heaven with Jesus and my loved ones.”
- Another one will say, “I sure hope I’m in heaven with Jesus and all my loved ones.”
See the difference? The first is Biblical hope, whereas the second is psychological, emotional hope. It’s the difference between a confident expectation and wishful thinking. It’s the difference between something that’s definite and something that’s a mere desire. How do you move from a psychological, emotional hope to a Biblical hope? How is someone brought into a definite Biblical hope from the desire of wishful thinking?
Here are some of the approaches I take in restoring someone’s faith and hope.
- I point out how God is at work in their lives in ways that they can’t see. Often someone looking from the outside in is able to see what you can’t see because you’re too close. I’ve seen this to be very effective.
- I read and relate Bible stories where someone’s faith and hope are failing and how they were restored. I don’t have space to develop this, but I will speak to them about Abram separating from Lot and how he was bummed out. I’ll talk about Elisha’s servant having his eyes opened by the Lord at Dothan when surrounded by the Syrian army and losing all hope (one of my favorites!). We’ll look at Elijah running from the wrath of Jezebel, thinking he had no future. The Spirit of God takes the revelation of the Word of God and makes it the work of God in the hearts of men and women.
- I will ask something along the lines of, “If God were working in your life right now, what would He be doing?”
- I’m a real sucker for the tried and true phrases and Biblical verses of Christian experience. “Don’t doubt in the dark what you’ve heard in the light.” “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou are with me.” There’s a verse that speaks of the temple being built without the sound of the hammer. It was a quiet work, but it was a great work! And don’t forget Psalm 22, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – only to find out He wasn’t forsaken! There are so many stories and so many psalms of failing faith and reeling hope being restored in the rough and tumble of life through the tender mercies of God.
- I share personal testimony of restored faith and hope and strengthened faith and hope.
For some, faith and hope are two of the casualties in this season of pandemic, pandemonium, and political polarization. “Why doesn’t God do something?” is often heard. God is doing something. “OK, what is it?” I don’t know exactly – I don’t hear the sound of the heavenly hammer and walking through the valley of the shadow death doesn’t give me a real vantage point from which to see much. “Well then how do you know He’s doing something? Do you have a Biblical hope or just a psychological and emotional one?” Mine is a Biblical hope in that I know the character of the God I serve and I know my Biblical and world history. He will grant those who mourn, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 I believe this, therefore I have hope!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and walk in faith and hope – Pastor Tim
September 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Some prayers begin outside the throne room of God and make their way into it whereas other prayers begin in the throne room of God and make their way out. Here’s what I mean -
In Psalm 51, David confesses his sin. This psalm was written after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. (The Bible tells the messy story of flawed people in horrific sin because it’s people in the mess of sin that so desperately need God.) David becomes convicted of his sin, seeks forgiveness, and makes his way back into the presence of God.
- V3 – For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
- V7 – Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
- V11 – Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
David is estranged from the presence of God, but through conviction and contrition (humility) and confession he makes his way back into the presence of God. Picture it this way – he is outside the sacred enclosure of the tabernacle – distant from the altar of sacrifice whereby sins are forgiven and outside the Holy Place and Holy of Holies where God dwells. He comes into the Courtyard of the tabernacle where he is cleansed of his sin and by the end of the psalm he is back in sweet fellowship with God, delighting in His presence.
The Lord’s Prayer, on the other hand, begins in the Holy of Holies and makes its way out into the world.
OUR FATHER, WHO IS IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME…
When you and I pray the Lord’s Prayer we begin not with an overwhelming sense of sin, as David did, but with the overwhelming reality that God is our Father. We begin with fullness of relationship and assurance of solid connection with God. The prayer could have begun with God as King or Lord or Creator or Redeemer … yet it begins with the tender understanding of God as Father and all the fullness that this is meant to convey. We don’t begin this prayer as subjects who fear or tremble, but as children who adore and have a glorious sense of safety and well-being. This prayer begins at the top.
YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN…
In the Holy of Holies there was the Ark of the Covenant in which were the 10 Commandments covered by the Mercy Seat on which were positioned two angels. Many Bible passages inform us that God was enthroned above the cherubim (angels) positioned upon the Mercy Seat. This was God’s throne room on the earth. God desired Israel to live in His glory and majesty and authority and presence that was so palpable in the Holy of Holies. It’s interesting that the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube and that the New Jerusalem in Revelation is a perfect cube. All of the New Jerusalem is the Holy of Holies and all who know Christ will live eternally in the fullness of the presence of God. This is what we pray for when we ask that God’ kingdom come to earth.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD…
This request moves us from the Holy of Holies outward into the Holy Place where there was the Golden Altar of Incense, the Golden Candlestick, and the Golden Table of Bread. The bread on the table is a picture of the Word of God and all that we need to sustain or physical lives. Here we pray that God sustain us spiritually and physically as we go through life.
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US…
In the Lord’s Prayer we move from the Holy Place into the Courtyard where the Altar of Sacrifice was located. Here, animals were offered as sacrifices to the Lord. The blood of the animals all pictured the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, who was offered as a sacrifice for us on the cross for the forgiveness of sin.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL…
Some translations will have, “…deliver us from the evil one,” an obvious reference to Satan. Here we move beyond the Courtyard of the Temple out into everyday life with its passions and temptations and frustrations.
FOR YOURS IS THE POWER AND THE GLORY AND THE KINGDOM FOREVER. AMEN.
We begin the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy of Holies with the healing revelation and confession that God is our Father and that we desire the Kingdom of our Father to infuse us and everything around us. We move out into the Holy Place, requesting daily spiritual and physical nourishment. From here we make our way out into the Courtyard acknowledging that sin is a reality and that God’s grace and mercy is a greater reality. Having fellowship with our God, nourished by our Father, forgiven by our Father, we go out into the world confident that no scheme of the devil will go unnoticed or unchallenged by those who know the Father so fully and intimately. We know that our spiritual enemy will seek to undermine our fellowship with the Father and all He supplies us – and so we pray against this.
The believer doesn’t begin his/her day thrashing around, trying to find the presence of God. We begin our day in the Holy of Holies. The Lord’s Prayer begins in the center of reality and prays outward into the world where we live and seek to make His kingdom known.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and pray the Lord’s Prayer – Pastor Tim
September 12, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The following post is a condensation of an article describing the legal drama unfolding between Calvary Chapel of Bangor and the state of Maine.
An Incredible Story of Redemption / Sep 11, 2020
https://lc.org/newsroom/details/20200911-an-incredible-story-of-redemption
Liberty Counsel appeared in court Wednesday to defend Pastor Ken Graves and Calvary Chapel of Bangor, against ME Gov. Janet Mills' outrageous anti-church orders. Calvary Chapel’s ministry covers the entire community and there are residential homes for recovering men and women. And although the church serves the needs of the greater community, the heart of the ministry is the yearlong live-in recovery program for addicts seeking rescue. At any given time, Calvary Chapel houses 48 desperate people “relearning life” through the lens of the Cross.
When Gov. Janet Mills issued her stay-at-home order, she made many exceptions, but none for religious assembly. NO worship was allowed under the governor’s initial order, no matter what. Yet at the very time Gov. Mills banned Calvary Chapel from assembling, she deemed liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries to be “essential.” The substances Pastor Ken was helping people overcome were deemed essential, while the one thing that could save those addicts — the church — was ordered closed!
Gov. Mills’ orders allowed secular services in the same church building with the same people but banned religious services. The men and women could still meet for substance abuse support, but could they worship? The yearlong program includes studying the entire Bible, prayer and worship. Risking punishment, Ken would not secularize the program and stop the essential reason the recovery ministry works. Gov. Mills was clear that churches must close. But her view of “church” is limited. It did not take into account Calvary Chapel of Bangor’s extended ministries. If the substance abuse program has to be secular, who will decide what is religious? If only those in the substance abuse program can worship, then Gov. Mills has divided the church.
Eventually, Gov. Mills allowed 10 people to assemble and then 50, no matter the size of the building. But Pastor Graves has 48 recovering addicts and a full congregation that need their church open. Pastor Ken Graves determined he’d stay open — for all his flock — even if the governor herself tried to bar the doors. He answered to God, not a misguided governor! Despite threats of criminal charges, fines and even potential imprisonment, Pastor Ken Graves is continuing to preach, and Calvary Chapel is fighting to remain open (with social distancing and sanitizing). Like so many of the other pastors we are representing in our five (soon to be six) federal lawsuits against lawless governors, Pastor Ken knows that at any time he can be thrown in jail for serving God’s people. He’ll keep preaching.
On Wednesday, September 9, Liberty Counsel appeared before the Court of Appeals on behalf of Pastor Graves and Calvary Chapel. Under Janet Mills’ orders, social services can remain open... but only if they don’t mention the Word of God or contain religious content. In Maine, one can offer employment counseling in the church building but not Bible studies. One can feed the stomach but not the soul. One can offer shelter for the body, but not shelter under the wings of God. A church can perform non-religious services to an unlimited number of people. But the moment a Bible is opened — even as part of a life skills, food, shelter or addiction program — the entire operation violates Gov. Mills’ illegal orders.
While we do not know how or when the court will rule, one judge’s questions to the State of Maine were telling – as was the attorney’s response. The judge asked the Attorney General lawyer if the governor’s order allowed people at “essential businesses” to gather at the beginning of their shift to review their tasks for the day. The governors’ attorney said, “yes.” The judge then asked what would happen if, during that same meeting, a morally uplifting message was delivered. The attorney responded, “I was afraid of hypothetical questions like this.” He never did answer the question because he couldn’t — without admitting the governor was wrong. The fact that Governor Mills would allow many exemptions to all sorts of services, but ONLY if those services do not include worship, is proof that shutdown orders discriminate against churches and people of faith.
Mat Staver / Founder and Chairman / Liberty Counsel
Let’s pray for Mat and Ken and all the other attorneys and pastors who have been led to open their churches and are now facing fines and other legal threats.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 10, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
In a report titled, “The New Sunday Morning,” Barna Research found that 32% of practicing Christians have not attended a church service (either online or in person) since the shutdowns began. 50% of millennials, have not participated in online worship. Barna points out that these numbers refer to committed believers who were in the habit of attending church before everything shut down. Additionally, Barna reports that one in seven committed churchgoers have switched churches during the pandemic.
David Murrow comments: Once the COVID restrictions are lifted, there’s no guarantee things will return to normal. Many churches that have reopened are reporting anemic attendance. People may be staying away out of fear of catching the disease, or they may be gone for good. People who might never have considered watching church in their pajamas now know how easy it is to experience church online. Will these folks return, or will they slowly drift away?
OK – what do we make of this? What struck me out the gate is that COVID hits, the churches shutter their doors, and 32% of practicing Christians are gone. That’s almost one-third! One-third are out the door and don’t look back! Hmmm. This doesn’t mean they’ve fallen from Christ or have abandoned the faith, but they have abandoned that which strengthens their faith. And if their faith isn’t being strengthened in these challenging days they will find themselves ill-prepared to deal with doubt, discouragement, and temptation when it comes. And come it will.
A pastor visited a member who had been absent for a number of weeks. They sat quietly in front of the fire. After a while, the pastor took a pair of tongs and removed a log from the fire and placed it over to the side. Both watched as the log burned out and begin to smoke. The man said to the pastor, “Message received. I’ll be in church this Sunday.” Apart from attending church and all that is offered and experienced in that environment, the vast majority of the one-third will burn out in that there is nothing feeding their faith. Faith needs to be fed!
Without church attendance, the fire of your faith will burn low and the influence of your faith will sputter out. “Well, Pastor,” you may say, “I’ve been doing quite well on my own and I don’t know if I plan on returning to church even when the COVID restrictions are lifted.” Two things: 1) The Bible tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we should and the very fact that you are relying on your own efforts, imagining this is sufficient, indicates a strategic weakness in your thinking. 2) The Bible directs us to assemble together and encourage one another in the things of God. The very fact that you dismiss this Bible verse as being irrelevant to you is only a precursor of you dismissing other potentially annoying and inconvenient Bible verses.
I know – most churches aren’t open and the ones that are do have lower attendance than previously due to no Children’s Ministry and at-risk populations remaining home. I get it. Yet I would encourage all – if you are not attending a church that is currently open on Sundays – tune in to the livestream. Stay connected to what God is saying through your pastor or the pastoral team and guest speakers. You have grown to hear the voice of the Chief Shepherd through the under-shepherd – remain in that place where you can hear His voice. Yes – read your Bible and pray – and stay connected as much as possible with your church.
It will be interesting to see what church looks like once the dust settles and the smoke clears after the COVID shutdown. Some churches will have fewer in attendance whereas others will have more due to the sifting and shifting that is taking place. I’m not too concerned with size. If this is the Lord purging and purifying His Church, the outcome will be a more powerful Church, regardless of size. The outcome will be a more Christ-centered, gospel-preaching, soul-saving, Bible-teaching, Jesus-loving, God-glorifying Church than before – regardless of size.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 7, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Announcer:
“In this corner, wearing shredded jeans and sporting a shirt and tie with a light brown cardigan sweater thrown nonchalantly over the left shoulder and looking quite hipsterish with a Cheshire cat grin, is one-half of the Church accessing the New Living Translation via a digital device.” This is Christian One (C1).
“In the opposite corner, wearing crisply pressed dress pants and a custom T-shirt with a small dove and cross emblem on the upper left, wearing a hat and sporting four days of roughage on his face, is the other half of the Church holding a big, black New King James Bible complete with study notes and concordance.” This is Christian Two (C2).
“Alright – C1, are you ready? C2, are you ready? OK – let’s have a sanctified, Christ honoring discussion of the challenges facing the Church in this season of physical disease, social unrest, and political division.”
C1 “The pastors should open the churches and we should worship freely, even though we have to practice social distancing and wear masks.”
C2 “Uh-uh. No way. That’s stupid. Why do you want to kill people? God tells us to obey the government and they forbid the Church meeting and singing inside the building.”
C1 “Why do you lack faith?”
C2 “Why do you lack love?”
C1 “What are you afraid of?”
C2 “Disobeying God. What are you afraid of?”
C1 “Disobeying God.”
C2 “The Church should use this cultural moment and affirm Black Lives Matter though we don’t agree with all its ideology.”
C1 “Uh-uh. No way. That’s stupid. Black Lives Matter’s ideology is about as anti-Christian as you can get.”
C2 “Do you know that when you say that, you offend those holding that ideology?”
C1 “I’d rather offend than affirm someone who is out to undermine my faith.”
C2 “But you make yourself an enemy of some black people and social justice warriors when you talk like that.”
C1 “I’d rather make an enemy of man than an enemy of history and an enemy of God.”
C2 “What are you afraid of?”
C1 “Disobeying God. What are you afraid of?”
C2 “Disobeying God.”
C1 “If you vote for Trump, you’re not a Christian.”
C2 “No way. That’s stupid. If you vote for Biden that demonstrates that you’re not a Christian.”
C1 “No way. That’s stupid. Trump is morally flawed – his record proves it.”
C2 “Biden is morally flawed, too.”
C1 “My Christian conscience directs me to vote for the least immoral man.”
C2 “What about policies and platforms and performance?”
C1 “I care about character more than accomplishment.”
C2 “That’s stupid.”
C1 “No, you’re stupid.”
Ad nauseum…
Today, the most hurtful and vicious things said to Christians are said by other Christians. What does it matter who wins the November election if the Church loses her love for one another? What does it matter if you get the America you want if God doesn’t have the Church He desires. A loveless Church will not be an influence for God whether Trump or Biden is sitting in the Oval Office. I’ve read things that insinuate that the devil is working overtime to influence the upcoming election. That’s stupid! (Just kidding 😊.) The devil is working overtime to get you to despise other Christians who don’t see eye-to-eye with you. The gospel doesn’t depend on the occupant of the White House, but on the Occupant of your heart. I long for the days when we would just argue about Calvinism, communion, and the Charismatic Movement. Now it’s church openings, masks, social justice, whose life matters, socialism, civic order, and red and blue politics. It’s exhausting! A President can be the most Church-friendly of any President, but if the love of the Church has grown cold, the attitude of the President is null and void. An unloving Church is dead in the water. The Church doesn’t depend on the legislation of men, but on the Spirit of the living God. It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts. Cry out to God that your love doesn’t grow cold in this season of intense debate and division. Think of someone who you have become alienated from in this season of time and ask God to rekindle your love for them – and then connect with them and communicate your love to them. Don’t let the devil win! Let’s give to Jesus the Church He purchased at so precious a cost.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 4, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
OK, what have we learned so far?
- COVID-19 hasn’t harmed as many people as we thought it would.
- Government has harmed more people than we thought possible.
- Protests and riots have lasted longer and have become deadlier than we could have imagined.
- Masks work.
- Masks don’t work.
- Masks work sometimes.
- Masks don’t work sometimes.
- If you open your church, you’re an irresponsible pastor.
- If you don’t open your church, you’re an irresponsible pastor.
- If you’re white, you’re racist.
- If you deny being a racist, you’re racist.
- If you say you’re color-blind, you’re racist.
- If your great-great-great-grandfather owned slaves, you’re racist.
- If you repent of being a racist, and confess it and apologize for it, you’re still racist.
- If you vote for Biden, you’re not a Christian.
- If you vote for Trump, you’re not a Christian.
- Christians can say really stupid things on social media.
- Christians can say really stupid things on social media about Christians who say really stupid things on social media.
- We can fight about anything. (But we knew this already.)
- Live church is better than livestream church. (Yes, it is.)
- I’d rather be in the room with you than Zoom with you.
- Working from home can be a pretty sweet deal.
- The Church is divided over how to respond to COVID-19.
- The Church is divided over how to respond to Black Lives Matter.
- The Church is divided over who to vote for.
- The Church is divided. (But we knew this already.)
- It’s easy to get bent out of shape when people don’t agree with your stellar logic.
- Jesus is still Lord!
What have you learned during this season? Add your own. Let’s get a list of 100. I listed 28 – 72 to go.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
September 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I want to speak up for pastors in this post.
Paul tells us that love believes all things. What this means is that love gives people the benefit of the doubt and that unless I have knowledge to the contrary, I trust you and what you’re saying and I trust your motives. If you show up at my church on Sunday morning and tell me you’re visiting from Southern California having come up to see your parents, I have no reason not to believe you. If you tell me you’re on a mission from Mars to recruit volunteers to colonize one of the moons of Mars…well…I think not. Love believes all things, but love isn’t gullible.
There is a serious crisis in the Body of Christ – we no longer believe all things. No, we haven’t grown gullible, but there are widening cracks of judgment and suspicion. There is a crisis of love and a growth in questioning each others’ motives. Pastors are acutely aware of this. Your pastor is faced with a number of decisions, each of which has a down side. When it comes to pastors, we are in a lose-lose season of time.
- If we open our churches, we are judged and people will leave the church.
- If we don’t open our churches, we are judged and people will leave the church.
- If we open our churches and require masks, some are offended and will leave the church.
- If we open our churches and don’t require masks, some are offended and will leave the church.
- If we meet outside we are judged. If we meet inside we are judged. If we remain livestream only we are judged.
- And there are those who make their opinions known to the pastor. And this isn’t a burdensome thing in itself unless this opinion is accompanied by an expectation of compliance and the assurance of judgment if not.
Please give your pastor(s) a break!!! We are doing the best we can. We don’t get up in the morning and tell ourselves that we’re going to make the worst decisions possible in order to get the most amount of people ticked off at us. We are accused of not having enough faith or being unloving or not caring for the community…and on it goes. This is grievous and does not reflect the heart of God.
“But what if I disagree with the decision my pastor and the elders of the church have made?”
- If love believes all things, then don’t doubt their honesty and question their motives. You can disagree with someone’s decision without being suspicious of their motives and doubting their honesty.
- Believe that they are making the best decision they can based upon the information they have, influenced by the responsibilities they shoulder, informed by the values they embrace, impacted by the family of churches they belong to, advised by the leaders surrounding them, and affected by their personal history. Believe me – that’s a lot of ingredients for one stew. Two people can have the same information, yet because of the ingredients in their personal stew they will respond to that information differently.
- “How can I walk with someone I disagree with?” You’re married, aren’t you?
- Your pastor has walked with you through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and in the Ditch of Stupid Decisions and through the Gutter of Sinful Choices. He has loved you, counseled you, prayed with and for you, and has assured you of his acceptance and availability – and even better – of God’s covenant love for you in Jesus Christ. Your pastor has been the face of Christ to you.
Can you say, in good conscience, “I disagree with the decision(s) my pastor has made. I wish he had navigated us through this crisis a different way. But I love my pastor and my church, and God has placed us in this fellowship to care for us, to grow us, and to use us for His glory.” Is it possible (or am I just totally out of touch with reality) for someone to say, “I believe my pastor has made a wrong decision. And I know he’s going to get a lot of flack for it, but I don’t doubt his honesty and I am not suspicious of his motives. I’m going to stand by my pastor and encourage him and be a blessing to him during this season of time.” Now someone might say, “I can’t do that. That would be disingenuous of me.” I say, “You do it for your children all the time. That’s what it means to be part of a family – failure isn’t fatal.” And here’s the thing – the Church is a family.
I am amply aware that this post smacks of self-preservation in that I am a pastor. And I know that many who read this post are part of the Calvary Chapel Fremont family. I am not writing this to elicit their sympathy for me by the simple fact that Calvary Chapel Fremont has the best congregants in the world! I’ve received some pushback from the various decisions that have been made, yet this pushback is from thinking people who want to know what helped inform the decision to do this or that. We discuss it; they make their opinion known; sometimes they still disagree – and don’t huff off. They are wise enough to know that there are different ways of looking at the challenges we face and they are mature enough that when they don’t get their way they don’t leave the church. And they love me – they don’t doubt my honesty or are suspicious of my motives and they want to be a blessing to me and the church as we shoot these rapids. May their tribe increase!
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and give your pastor a hug (I mean a fist-bump) – Pastor Tim
September 1, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
We will be going to a Worship Event that begins at 5 PM at the State Capitol building in Sacramento this Sunday (9.6). The Capitol Building is located at 1315 10th Street in Sacramento. The event is scheduled to go from 5 PM to 8 PM. Mike Ishida describes it like this –
The “Let us Worship” movement, led by worship leader Sean Feucht, is holding a Worship Service at the Capitol Building in Sacramento this Sunday. The movement is a stand against the double standard of allowing some groups of people to operate outside of the bounds of the COVID-19 lockdown, but not allowing the Church to worship freely.
There have been many “Let us Worship” rallies all over the country where people have been free to worship together in song, dance, and prayer. At these rallies the gospel is preached and many have repented and accepted Christ, and have been baptized. Worship and prayer and preaching of the gospel are the main components of these rallies.
We can expect to hear from Sean and some local leaders speak about the Church standing for the right to worship freely, and we will pray for our country, state, and local cities. We can also expect the Holy Spirit to be moving among the Church gathered at the rally as He has done all throughout the movement since it started. There are many videos on Facebook and at instagram@seanfeucht.
Thanks, Mike! The church van will leave the parking lot at 2 PM and arrive back at the church around 10:30 PM. All are invited. First come, first served as it comes to the van. You can drive over and meet us there or carpool from the church with us.
As you can see from Mike’s description of the event, there is a political component to this. It is the Church gathering to worship Jesus Christ and also protest what is seen by many Christians to be governmental overreach in their handling of the COVID crisis. This gathering is not illegal. This isn’t civil disobedience, this is a worshipful protest against State interference in the worship of God. The State attempting to control the worship of God’s people is a theme seen often in Scripture.
And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'" Exodus 5:1
At first, Pharaoh says, “No.” Later in the story, Pharaoh says that it’s OK for Israel to sacrifice to God, but they must do it within the land. “OK, you can worship,” Pharaoh said, ‘but you must do it according to State mandate.”Moses said, “No. We will worship God as He has directed us to, not you.”
Later in the story, Pharaoh said that it’s OK to for Israel to sacrifice to God, but their children couldn’t worship with them. “OK, you can worship,” Pharaoh said, ‘but you must do it according to State mandate.” Moses said, “No. We will worship God as He has directed us to, not you.”
Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego were told to bow down down and worship the golden statue, a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar. They said, “No.” As all the people bowed to the State as enshrined in the king, the three Hebrew men stood and refused to bow to the State. The State would not be allowed to determine their posture and habit of worship. Daniel was instructed not to pray to God, even in the privacy of his own home. He said, “No.” Historically, when Christians were told to offer the annual sacrifice to Caesar, they said “No.”
Look at this rally as Moses going in before Pharaoh and crying out, “Thus saith the Lord, let My people go.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Peter warned us – Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
A Pasadena City Attorney has threatened to press criminal charges against Harvest Rock Pastor Che Ahn and the congregation over Sunday indoor worship services where congregants have been observed not wearing masks nor complying with social distancing rules.
Michael Dowd, Pasadena Chief Assistant City Prosecutor wrote in a letter sent to Pastor Ahn on Aug. 13: “We have information that your Church was conducting live indoor church services at the location where anywhere from 50 to 100 people or more attended. The people who attended these services were not complying with the relevant government orders concerning social distancing, or the wearing of protecting masks. All of these are violations of the law. Violations of these Orders are criminal in nature. Each day in violation is a separate violation and carries with it a potential punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine for each violation. Compliance with these Orders is not discretionary, it is mandatory. Any violations in the future will subject your Church, owners, administrators, operators, staff, and parishioners to the above-mentioned criminal penalties as well as the technical closure of your Church.”
The ban extends to all counties on the State’s monitoring list (approximately 80% of California’s population). In the remaining counties, limited in-person worship is permitted, but singing and chanting are banned.
CBN News reported on Aug. 12: “While Gov. Newsom encourages tens of thousands of people to gather for mass protests, he bans all in-person worship and home Bible studies and fellowship. Such repression is well known in despotic governments and it is shocking that even home fellowship is banned in America. Neither history of the church nor the Constitution is on the side of the governor.” https://www.citizensjournal.us/pasadena-threatens-to-jail-harvest-rock-pastor-che-ahn-and-congregation-over-indoor-worship-services/
In light of this threat against Pastor Ahn and his church and other California churches, Calvary Chapel Fremont will be meeting inside our building this Sunday morning. We were going to meet outside unless the air quality, because of fires, was poor. But now, in solidarity with our fellow Christians, we will be worshipping and singing to the Lord inside our building. (Unlike Pastor Ahn’s church we will require masks and practice social distancing. These, to me, are not justice and freedom issues and are not hills I am willing to die on.)
When easily identified violent looters burn and destroy and rob and are given a pass and peaceful worshippers are threatened and bullied, it’s time to say ‘enough is enough.’ That government that pursues this course of action has lost its moral legitimacy. The State maintains its authority to act, but has lost the moral legitimacy to do so. Authority without moral legitimacy is sheer power. They tell us to wear our masks, but their masks are off and we see them for what they are. They tell us to practice social distances as they swoop in to fine and imprison. The State ignores established law and winks at criminals and creates new law to criminalize Christians who are no longer convinced of the State narrative and refuse to be herded as sheep of the State. When the Church is prosecuted and criminals are overlooked – prosecution becomes persecution. State persecution of the Church has begun.
I have resisted the various conspiracy theories circulating and have often rolled my eyes at the wild-eye prophets who spoke of coming persecution. But now I feel like Balaam in Numbers 24:3 who cried out that his eyes were now open. My eyes are also open to the promises of God and the various resources God has put at the disposal of the Church. Paul appealed to Caesar so as not to be turned over to the Jews who were persecuting him and wanting to silence him. The Church is appealing via lawsuits and civil disobedience against the unconscionable and unconstitutional incursion of the State into the affairs of the Church. The end is not in doubt. Even if all the pastors of California are sent to prison, the Word of God is not chained. The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. One of our worship team members has imprinted on the cover of his Bible: Jesus is Large! Amen!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – and go to church this Sunday. Pastor Tim
August 27, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
God gave Ezekiel a tough ministry assignment. He had to speak to people who didn’t want to listen to what he had to say. (And no, he wasn’t tasked with teaching the 5th & 6th graders on Sunday mornings!) He had a sort of heads-up as to how difficult his job would be when the Lord said to him -
“And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.” EZEKIEL 2:6
I’ve never sat on a scorpion, but I think that from the bottom up, this would be an unpleasant experience! Ezekiel was to speak the word of God to a people who would menace and threaten him and the rebellion they exercised against God they would channel toward him. (OK, maybe a little like teaching 5th & 6th graders in Sunday School.)
The reaction of those hostile to God to those who speak the words of Scripture runs the gamut from politely ignoring you to chopping your head off. Sitting on scorpions is somewhere in-between. Being scoffed and laughed at, ridiculed and mocked, being considered an anti-science intellectual Neanderthal is not a pleasant experience – though I think it’s this side of sitting on a scorpion – but maybe not. Whoever said ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ was never deeply cut by a word. In fact, the Bible likens hurtful words to swords and arrows and consuming fire – and sitting on scorpions.
I don’t have any evidence besides a sanctified hunch, but I think that some who used to walk with God no longer walk with God because they can’t endure the scorpion-sting of being labeled homophobic, racist, sexist, bigot, hypocrite, anti-science, fill in the blank. Being a Christian comes with some very definite long-term benefits and some short-term deficits. One of these deficits is an assault against your character, your intellect, your faith, and possibly even your physical well-being. In today’s America, confessing Christ as your Savior and Lord brings you into a war zone where scorpions are clandestinely placed where you’ll be seated. Ouch! That’s right – it’s no fun. After a while, constant fighting and resisting and being vigilant can turn into battle fatigue. Yes, you can get worn out living the Christian life. Christians with spiritual warfare battle fatigue don’t abandon their faith, necessarily, but they become silent – they’re the quiet Christians who are just exhausted by all the resistance and abuse they get for following Jesus. Who knew it would be this tough and this unpopular to follow Jesus?
I have four approaches to actively follow Jesus and avoid spiritual warfare battle fatigue.
FIRST – Jesus said, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” ACTS 1:8. If you’re not living the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit, you’re being drained. Just a few moments ago my laptop was acting a little twitchy and then the screen darkened. I realized that it wasn’t plugged in. Sure enough, I looked at the cord and it was pulled out of its port just enough to break contact and was running on battery power. But this can only go on for so long. You were never meant to follow Jesus in the power of your will and good intentions, but in the power of the Spirit. Jesus didn’t say that you would receive tongues when the Spirit comes upon you, but power! Power to be a witness for Jesus. And power isn’t afraid of any scorpions! If you’re afraid of scorpions, I do believe you’re unplugged.
SECOND – Peter said, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…”1 PETER 3:15 A favorite tactic of mine is to turn the momentum of this verse on the unbeliever. For example, when a vendor comes into the church wanting to interest me in insurance, or a new alarm system, or a new copier contract, etc., I will ask them if they are Christians. If they say, “No,” I say to them, “You’re kidding me? You’re not a follower of Jesus? Please tell me why.” Of course, they are put off and somewhat flustered – but I’ve had some great conversations with these men and women. I figure that if I need to be ready to give a reason for the hope that’s in me, they should be ready to give a reason for their lack of faith in Jesus. How does this help battle fatigue? I’m not on the defensive, but on the offensive. This invigorates me.
THIRD – walk with people who walk with Jesus. I won’t belabor this. If the companion of fools suffers harm, I imagine that those who walk with those who walk with Jesus will be blessed and strengthened and helped. The fellowship of followers is a force to be reckoned with.
FOURTH – there is a very relevant promise given us by Jesus. "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” LUKE 10:19 This isn’t some fiery-eyed Appalachian preacher holding a venomous snake saying this. This is Jesus Christ the King of the World, Lord of the Nations, and the Prince of Peace who is saying this.
Don’t let battle fatigue in these crazy days turn you into a quiet Christian. Walk in the power of the Spirit. Be on the alert for opportunities to speak for Jesus. Walk with those who walk with Jesus. Believe the promise that the scorpions you sit on will be the scorpions you tread on.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 21, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Few pleasures are greater than winning an argument – right wives? Few things are more painful than losing one – right husbands? I walk away from losing an argument wishing I was smarter because then I’d know what to say. I usually win the argument a few hours later in my mind. Most of us wish we were smarter…
Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived – and why not – He was God in the flesh. The Scribes and Pharisees would attempt to best Him in debate and they would walk away shaking their heads at His brilliance and genius. They marveled at Him. The best minds in Israel were bested by Jesus time and time again. No doubt about it, Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived. In fact, Jesus was so smart, that He lost only one argument His whole life.
Matthew 15 tells the story of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon possessed. If you were unfortunate enough to walk by this woman’s house during a season of demonic manifestation you would probably hear unearthly screaming and shrieking and the crash of things being thrown. The cries of a desperate mother would stab the air and her pleadings would pull at your heartstrings. The neighbors probably closed their doors and drew their children close to them. (Maybe you’ve had neighbors like this! Maybe you are this neighbor!) You might see the mother emerge with a blackened eye or bloodied nose by reason of being attacked and overpowered by her supernaturally strong daughter. You wouldn’t need a degree in psychology to tell you that this was a dysfunctional home – a sense of harmony and balance was missing. This home was hell on earth. They were living defeated lives.
This woman came to Christ because she was weary of living a life of bondage and woundedness. She was probably a widow and this her only child. But instead of being comforted by her daughter and receiving any joy from normal parent-child relationships, she was grieved over the condition of her child. She came to Christ because she was tired of living a defeated life. Are you living a defeated life? What is a defeated life? One in which the enemy has so worked that there is no movement toward the purpose of God and no advance in the things of God. This little family was stuck in a repetitious cycle of broken hearts and shattered dreams. This mother wanted the power of hell broken in her daughter and in her home, for until the power of hell is broken, it will continue to break people.
She came to Jesus for He was her only hope. She came in faith. She came in humility – not voicing her offense about a God who could allow this to happen. She came in determination for she had heard that Jesus gives victory to the defeated, healing to the wounded, and deliverance to the oppressed. She heard that Jesus destroys the work of the devil. And when she came to Jesus, she cried out and was shouting and was bowing before Jesus and repeating her request that He deliver her daughter from the power of hell.
And then the unthinkable happened. Jesus said something that if said today would put him in the cross-hairs of every social justice warrior in our nation. He said something which if someone of influence were to say it today, Cancel Culture would rip them to shreds. He said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Matthew 15:26 Yikes! He said this to a woman of another race. Jesus would be accused today of sexism and racism and religious fundamentalism. Yet we know that in saying what He said He was emphasizing that His ministry was for the Jews – He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Gentiles were considered to be dogs. Healing and deliverance from demonic oppression was for the Jews, not the Gentiles.
But this woman was having none of this. Though coming with a broken heart and shattered dreams, she had true grit and replied back to Jesus, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Matthew 15:27 When He revealed to her what she was (a Gentile dog), she agreed and pled grace. The revelation of her status in the eyes of the Jewish nation didn’t make her walk away, it only made her press in further. She pled the grace of God. “Yes, Lord, I am – yet I know You still have something for me.” She knew that the crumbs of heaven are better than the feasts of hell. One crumb of the Bread of Life would restore her home. This comeback from the Canaanite woman won the argument. The logic of faith won over the smartest man in the world. Jesus commended her for having more faith than those in Israel and delivered her daughter from demonic torment. Putting your faith in Jesus is the smartest thing you’ll ever do. Someone has asked, “Why don’t we see more PhD’s put their faith in Jesus?” The answer, “For the same reason more high school dropouts don’t – they don’t want to.” Putting your faith in Jesus is the smartest thing you can ever do – whether you’re a PhD or a high school dropout – or a Canaanite woman!
Even Christians can have broken hearts and shattered dreams. Yet, like this woman, we can press in and lay hold of the willingness of Jesus to move into our situation and bring deliverance and healing. This pandemic has left a lot of people like this Canaanite woman – broken-hearted and with a fistful of shattered dreams. Jesus is waiting for you to cry out to Him and come to Him with the logic of faith. And if He delivered the daughter of this Canaanite mother from the clutches of hell, what can He do for you whom He has claimed as His own and made a part of His family?
Jesus is the smartest, wisest man who ever lived. Jesus was so wise and smart that He lost only one argument in His life. And I don’t think it bothered Him a bit! I don’t think He walked away from the Canaanite woman thinking, “Oh, if I had only said this…” He was happy to yield to the logic of faith. It is always smart and wise to walk in faith.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 20, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
God promised Abraham a son. Time passed. Abraham believed.
God promised Abraham a son. The possibility passed away. Abraham believed.
Great is he who believes with the passing of time. Greater is he who believes when the possibility passes away.
Great is he who wrestles with time and wins. Greater is he who wrestles with impossibility and wins.
So wrote Soren Kierkegaard in his book “Fear and Trembling” where he wrestles with the command of God to Abraham to take his son and offer him as a burnt offering. There’s a reason Abraham is called the father of all who believe. His faith was able to endure through some stark realities. Here’s what Paul writes -
In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Romans 4:18-21
Abraham was promised a son in his old age even when his wife had been barren her whole life and after his body held no promise of inseminating here. Paul writes that Abraham “…contemplated his own body, now as good as dead…” Both Abraham and Sarah had no natural capacities for impregnation. The science said NO. Abraham’s faith said YES. And please note that Abraham didn’t deny the science of reproduction. He acknowledged the fact that both he and Sarah’s bodies were as good as dead when it came to reproduction. He agreed with the science that said they couldn’t have children. He also agreed with God that they would have children. Isn’t that a contradiction? No, it’s a paradox. A contradiction is where one of two statements is false. A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. Abraham didn’t say, “Nature tells me that Sarah and I can’t have a son, but I don’t believe Nature.” He said, “Nature tells me that Sarah and I can’t have a son and I agree with Nature, but I also believe God – that He will suspend and overturn the facts of Nature in this case and empower Sarah and me to have a son.” He didn’t deny Nature and its science, nor did he deny God and His power.
Faith doesn’t have to deny reality or side-step science or stick its head in the sand to survive. Abraham didn’t stick his head in the sand – he stared the facts straight in the face and expected the opposite of what science and Nature had taught him to expect. How so? He did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what God had promised, He would deliver. He lived in praise and worship and as He gave glory to the God who saved him and now promised him a son, he grew strong in faith. He didn’t deny science, but he didn’t let it have the final word over against a word spoken by God. As he wrestled with time, as he wrestled with impossibility, as Nature tried to pin him to the mat and sought to conquer his faith, worship developed the muscles of his faith and he was able to hold on to God who pulled him out of the grip of Nature. There was no scientific, physical reason for Isaac to be born – yet he was. There was no natural possibility for Abraham and Sarah to be parents – yet they were. What God promised, God performed!
There seems to be no reason at all for you to live in the love and peace and the joy of the Lord.
- COVID-19 stalks the land and governmental overreach and incompetency and double-speak seems, to some, to be more deadly than the disease itself.
- The economy has been crippled.
- Rioting in our cities for months running has largely gone unchallenged.
- Strange political and philosophical notions have been put forward as new governing ideals.
- The most contentious election in history is just around the corner.
- Then there’s strife in the church.
- There’s division over politics – some support Biden whereas others support Trump and they’re screaming at one another as to how can you support such a foul human being.
- There’s division over government mandates about opening churches or keeping them closed and if you do either you’re unfaithful to Christ and/or unloving to neighbors.
- There’s division over racial philosophy and Black Lives Matter versus black lives matter.
Circumstances dictate that we be up to our eyeballs in worry. You can look at circumstances and see all these things that are against you – you can acknowledge their reality and their power and their menace – yet you can grow strong in faith giving glory to God knowing that since God is for you, who can be against you? You know that God can set a table for you in the presence of your enemies in the middle of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Abraham believed God as time passed, and he continued to believe God when the possibility of him siring a son passed away. His faith wasn’t tied to possibilities or potentialities or circumstances or science or Nature or politics or the economy – his faith was tied to God. The impossible didn’t become possible, it became reality as he gave glory to God and grew strong in his faith. Abraham had a big God who gave big promises and brought forth big fulfillments. So do you.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
If some have their way, by this time next year President Trump will be gone and we’ll be living in the United States of Utopia. Gone, too, will be poverty, inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, gender bias, xenophobia (fear of strangers), borders, carbon emissions, nuclear stockpiles, injustice of any stripe, and greed. Yes, I’m overstating the case – but not the vision. “So, Pastor Tim, what do you think of all this – are you for it or against it?”
I love the ministry tactics of Jesus. He wouldn’t allow others to set the agenda or frame the question. Here’s what I mean – we saw this yesterday. When the younger brother felt he was being defrauded by his older brother in matter of inheritance, he wanted Jesus to settle the issue. “Jesus, do you support my claim to inheritance or are You on my brother’s side?” The man presented Jesus with a simple binary option – me or my brother? Yet the question that was of overriding importance to the younger brother wasn’t as important to Jesus. Jesus answered on His terms and not the man’s terms. Jesus warned him about the hollow promises of wealth. Jesus changed the subject from economic justice to the idols of his heart and misplaced love. Jesus wasn’t being disingenuous – Jesus was being Jesus!
A binary is something that has two parts – like a pair of scissors! Jesus sees more than two parts and answers according to what He sees.
The scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery. They presented Jesus with a binary question – “Moses says we should stone her to death. What do you say?” Jesus changed the subject from the woman’s sin to the accusers’ sin. “He who is without sin should be the one to cast the first stone.” He refused to get caught in the binary dimensions of their question. He refused to allow them to frame the question and so miss the larger issues. Jesus wasn’t being disingenuous – Jesus was just being Jesus!
Just before the conquest of Jericho, Joshua sees a man and goes up to him and asks, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” The man answered, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD."Joshua 5:14 Joshua bows down and worships him for this is a Christophany – a manifestation of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures. Joshua questioned this man about his allegiance and the man changed the subject to the allegiance of Joshua’s heart. Even as Jesus in the New Testament refused to be confined by the binary, so this man. Joshua asks, “Are you for us or against us?”The captain of the host of the Lord basically says, ”Wrong question. The right question is: are you for me?” He wouldn’t allow Joshua to frame the question or set the agenda.
I am trying to develop a working understanding of the ministry tactics of Jesus when faced with a question or concern that contains a binary choice that when answered, ends the conversation and puts a label on me.
- Are you a Democrat or a Republican?
- Are you for Biden or Trump?
- Do you support Black Lives Matter or not?
- Do you think if you’re white, you’re a racist?
- Etc.
When asked, “Where do You stand on this or that…?,” Jesus was able to get them to see where they stood and that where they stood wasn’t solid ground at all. Jesus wasn’t trying to be cute or non-committal (like a politician) – it’s that His agenda would not be held captive by the binary choices presented to Him. Because here’s the thing – when I identify as a Democrat or Republican, for or against Trump or Biden, supporting or not supporting Black Live Matters – I put myself in a camp that is driven by an agenda that is for or against the agenda of the one questioning me. And once in a camp, holding a position – I need to defend this. And it is worth defending – no question about it. Yet there is something more important to me to communicate than my party affiliation or voting preferences or racial philosophy. There is something more profound to the health of America than the next election (gasp! I really said that).
After Jesus spoke to the younger brother wanting his inheritance, he walked away (hopefully) considering something else. After the scribes and Pharisees wanted to pincer Jesus in the scissors of their binary question – stone her or not stone her – they walked away (hopefully) thinking about something else. After Joshua gave the captain of the host of the Lord an ultimatum – are you for or against us – he walked away considering another reality.
There is a reality greater than politics and race and even greater than our nation. How can I side-step the binaries and proclaim the kingdom of God and the claims of King Jesus? When they ask about politics, how can I get them to think of Jesus? When they speak of race, how can I get them to think of Jesus? For me, this is the challenge of the Church on social media and in personal encounters. The Church is called to come to conversations and discussions with an agenda – not a right or left agenda – but a kingdom agenda. Longing for a utopia is not wrong-headed. Wanting poverty and homelessness and all hatred and prejudice to be a thing of the past is noble. Desiring that all injustice be banished is a glorious vision. I want that, too. This is the heart of God – and more than that – it is the provision of God in Jesus Christ. I want to connect with the One who can forgive all sin, dry every tear, heal every heart, undo the work of the devil and bring His kingdom to earth.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 17, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Years ago, I was bringing the morning devotional for our Annual Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Conference at Mt. Hermon, CA, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I had developed an illustration contrasting the responsibilities of the police and paramedics when they arrive at the scene of an accident. I started my illustration with, “At the scene of an accident, two sets of sirens converge…” The police are all about the law and who’s at fault and who is guilty and should anyone be arrested. The police look for broken laws. The paramedics look for broken people. They don’t care about who’s guilty – they care about who’s bleeding and broken. And if the guilty one is bleeding more than the innocent one, the guilty gets their attention first. They’re not there to blame anyone or slap on the handcuffs, but to apply medicine and bandages and life-giving procedures. I asked the question to the pastors and church leaders in the room, “Are you more of a policeman or a paramedic in your ministry?”
Pastor Chuck Smith was sitting in the front row and when we were dismissed to go to breakfast he approached me and told me that he often feels more like a policeman than a paramedic. We both laughed knowing that this is an occupational hazard for a pastor. Years later, I was reading “Calvary Distinctives” by Pastor Chuck. In this book he outlines the core beliefs and ministry philosophy of the Calvary Chapel Movement. As I was reading along I came upon a sentence which began with something like, “At the scene of an accident, two sets of sirens converge. The first is the police…and then the paramedics.” He went on and developed the illustration I had used that morning at Mt. Hermon. I thought, “Pastor Chuck ripped me off!” But then I thought, “Well, that’s OK. How many hundreds of times have I ripped him off!?”
Regardless of how long COVID-19 stalks the land, irrespective of when the rioting ceases, notwithstanding who wins the election – America is and is going to be filled with broken people. The Church has to decide if it’s part of the police or part of the paramedics. You have to decide if you are going to play the role of the policeman or the paramedic. Does the Church, do you, bear the Sword of the State or the Medicine of Mercy? Is the Church the Religious Paramilitary or the Spiritual Paramedics? Reading a lot of online postings, it seems like many Christians are more passionate about Law and Order than Grace and Truth. It seems like a good portion of the Church is more policeman than paramedic – more about the Sword of the State than the Medicine of Mercy. And in a very real way, I get it – as Christians we are citizens with a valid concern about the political, philosophical, and moral direction of our nation. The proverb still holds true: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34. Yet in expressing our concern for the direction of our nation we sound like the disciples who are freaking out in the middle of a potentially fatal storm while Christ was asleep in the stern of the boat. Their boat was taking on some serious water faster than they could bail and they feared either being swamped or capsized in the significant storm. Many Christians feel this same danger and urgency about our nation and are fearful because of this.
Here is the word of the Lord to His Church: “Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” Proverbs 3:25-26 The fear of the wicked will bend you toward being a policeman whereas confidence in the Lord will equip you to be a paramedic. If you’re more Police than Paramedic, you can’t apply bandages to the wounded because you’re busy slapping the cuffs on the guilty and yelling at people to get back in line. The Police are an arm of the Law whereas Paramedics are an arm of Medicine. The Police compose a part of the criminal justice system whereas paramedics compose a part of the healing institutions. They have different values and emphases and pursuits.
So, what is the vision and focus of your heart – to impose Law and Order or to dispense Grace and Truth? If your heart is to pursue Grace and Truth and minister the Medicine of Mercy there comes a point where you have to stop bailing the water from a threatened boat and begin to minister to hurting people. There has to come a time where you stop being offended at all the crazy and offensive things that people are saying and begin to see them as desperately in need of God. You have to decide whether you are going to prove that those who disagree with you are wrong or let people know that the God who created them is the God who redeemed them and is the God that is inviting them to relationship with Himself. Are those who are opposed to you enemies to be defeated or the sick who need to be healed by the Medicine of Eternity?
Here’s a “for instance” from the life of Jesus -
Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:13-15
A man wanted Jesus to bring law and order to a family dispute about money. There was law and centuries of tradition upon which to draw from to make an informed and just decision. This younger brother, being shut out of what was rightly his, was appealing to Jesus because he felt confident that Jesus was the law and order type who would rule in his favor. But Jesus had other priorities. He didn’t come to impose law and order, but to announce the coming of the kingdom of God. He went deeper than justice, deeper than law, deeper than philosophy, deeper than religion – he went into the depths of this man’s soul and exposed his false confidence. This man’s false confidence was that the more money he had the better his life would be. In exposing this false confidence, Jesus was blessing and helping this man in a far greater way than He would have done by merely settling a dispute and putting some more cash at this man’s disposal. Jesus was exposing a deep wound in this man’s life that would only fester and grow worse if the Medicine of Eternity were not applied to it. The attainment of economic justice would have left this man in the corruption and disease of his soul. Yes, let’s do justice, but let’s love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
How do I deal with the low-grade depression I am experiencing as the COVID-19 restrictions continue to rearrange my life? It seems like someone pushed the ‘pause’ button on my life and I can’t find the ‘play’ button. I feel like I’m eternally on hold on the phone with a company who won’t deliver what they promised they would while they transfer me from one person who can’t help me to the next person who can’t help me and the whole time I have to listen to the worst music ever composed on planet earth. I am called to walk in the light and be light in the Lord, but I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone. What does God have to say to someone stuck in the Twilight Zone?
Though David was a great light for the Lord, he got stuck in the Twilight Zone. His life was going forward with great promise at a rapid pace and then King Saul got a hair up his nose about David and tried to murder him a number of times. David had to socially distance himself from Saul and finally had to quarantine himself away from Saul’s presence. Saul was worse than COVID-19 as far as David was concerned. I’ve never heard that C-19 has deliberately targeted me and is intentionally trying to strike me down, but this is how it was for David as King Saul stalked him throughout the width and breadth of Israel. The favor on David’s life stirred up the fervor of his enemies against him. What does God have to say to someone stuck in the Twilight Zone? Bart might be able to help us out.
As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Luke 18:35-39
The gospel of Mark tells us that this man’s name was Bartimaeus. Bart lived in the quarantine of darkness. Life was happening all around him but he was cut off from it – cocooned in his own little world. Yet he had heard about the power of Jesus to move into people’s lives and break their strongholds and set them free. Hope was born in his heart as he heard that Jesus was passing by. But a Jesus that’s passing by was no good to Bart. He needed a Jesus who would stop and pay attention to him. He began to cry for mercy and was sternly told to shut up. The Master had better things to do then to waste His time and energy on a blind beggar who was only one step above a leper in the social hierarchy. But Bart had a gloriously stubborn and obstinate faith that would not allow other voices to drown out his voice and he cried out all the more for the tender mercies of Christ. In his darkness he was hungry for the light of Christ.
Bart was a great pray-er.
- He didn’t allow the seeming indifference of Jesus to his first cry put him off.
- He didn’t allow the voices around him to shame him into silence or bully him into silence or convince him that he wasn’t worthy or that the desire of his heart was somehow unworthy.
- Had he made peace with his blindness, being convinced that this was irreversible and his ironclad destiny, he never would have cried out for mercy. The presence of Jesus reshaped his desires and reprogrammed his destiny. He knew that he didn’t have to live in the limitations that nature had imposed upon him.
- His first cry for mercy became a second more insistent cry which gave way to a third and fourth and fifth impassioned plea for the mercy of Christ. Jesus told stories of people who wouldn’t take “No” for an answer and Bart would fit into these stories.
- He didn’t know it, but he was asking and seeking and knocking. He asked boldly and he asked big – I want to see!
And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." Luke 18:40-42
Bart didn’t ask for peace in his blindness. He didn’t ask that someone take better care of him in his blindness. He asked that his blind eyes might be open. The size of your prayers tells us a lot about what you think of Jesus. I think it was Spurgeon who said that we don’t have a little Jesus for little problems; we have a big Jesus for big problems! Bart asked big and he received big because he really truly believed that Jesus was big enough to do this.
The God who brought Bartimaeus out of his blindness can surely bring you out of your Twilight Zone. Cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When you meet with seeming indifference, cry out again, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When your inner voices sternly tell you to be quiet, cry out with greater intensity, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” You are not only crying out for immediate deliverance, but are also breaking through to a fresh destiny. If Bart remains blind, all remains the same. If his eyes are opened, if light floods into him, everything is changed. As David ran from Saul he called out for mercy from God. If Saul caught up with him, his destiny would be one thing. If God rescued him and brought him to the throne, his destiny would be another.
Prayer refuses to accept the status quo as fixable and unchangeable. Prayer presses into a big Jesus asking for big answers to big problems. In your Twilight Zone, call out to the God who brings light and alters destinies. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 13, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The first temptation in the Bible is to doubt God.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Genesis 3:1
Most of you know the story. Short version: the serpent persuaded Eve to doubt God’s word. She did. She ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – as did Adam – and the human race fell into sin and became alienated from God. This has been my theme for this brief series on doubt: Doubting God is never presented in a positive light in the Scriptures. Never. Not once. Not one follower of God in the Old or New Testaments benefitted from doubting God – not one. You should have a healthy dose of doubt toward people and their interpretations and toward yourself and your understandings, but doubting God and His word will always knock you down a rung or two. James puts it this way –
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8
James paints a picture of the one who doubts God as being driven and tossed by the wind, a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Ouch! To hear some talk about doubt these days makes it sound like the one who doubts is a knight in shining armor who is full of virtue and courage. The question, “Can God be trusted?” is a question of truth. Doubt is a settled conclusion, “No, God can’t be trusted.” James says that the one who prays to a God whom they have concluded they cannot trust is driven and tossed by the wind because he has no place to stand, no anchor of hope.
One website asks: Do “real” Christians have the freedom to doubt the existence of God, Jesus, and the truths of the Bible? Or should we feel guilty when our faith wobbles like Jell-O?
Of course, “real” Christians have the freedom to doubt the existence of God, etc. Yet please know this – doubt is like an acid & it eats away at what it touches. It erodes and destroys. Doubt as a question is one thing; doubt as the answer is another thing altogether. Many Christians listening to the “new” atheists have had their faith in Christ challenged and some have had their faith shaken while others have had their faith destroyed. They entertain questions of doubt – “What if there is no God and everything around us is the result of nothing more than random, undirected material mutations?” “What if the Bible is the word of man about God and not the word of God to man?” “What if Jesus never rose from the dead?” Etc. Should a Christian feel guilty when their faith wobbles like Jell-O under the onslaught of these questions. Of course not. Yet if these questions aren’t resolved, then doubt has destroyed a soul. If you conclude that there is no God, that the Bible is not the word of God, and that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, your faith is ruined.
Just because you have questions doesn’t necessarily mean you have doubts. St. Anselm has said that theology is faith seeking understanding. Questioning isn’t always driven by doubt – questions can be driven by thirst for knowledge and understanding and a desire to know the heart of God more fully.
- “How does the creation account in Genesis stand up against evolutionary evidence?”
- “How am I to understand the Bible as being the word of God?”
- “What is the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?”
These and 10,000 other questions don’t have to be motivated by doubt, but driven by faith seeking understanding.
When the serpent spoke and coiled his insinuations around Eve’s heart, was Eve’s doubt a sin? When a Christian hears God and the Bible and Jesus blasted into smithereens by some speaker, is the doubt that creeps into their hearts a sin? How can it be? There is a huge difference between “Can I can trust the Bible?” and “I can’t trust the Bible.” The first question can be either motivated by doubt or by faith seeking understanding. The second statement is the triumph of doubt. When Eve was tempted to doubt God, I wish she had run to God or to Adam and tell them what was said by the serpent and then explore that doubt and receive reassurance from God and Adam that God’s command was true and meant for their blessing and flourishing. Why didn’t she doubt the one who told her to doubt God?
The presence of doubt in a Christian’s heart is not sin, yet the triumph of that doubt will destroy a believer’s walk with God. Doubt has an instrumental value in a Christian’s life, but not an absolute value – never, not once. I cannot say that the Christian who is doubting certain facets of the faith is in sin, but I can say that they are in a dangerous place. This is why Jude says, “… have mercy on some, who are doubting…” Jude 1:22
When others doubt, lecturing and exhorting and rebuking is not what is called for. Extend mercy and grace towards those whose faith has been shaken. As they seek answers, may they experience in and from you the heart and character of God. As they wrestle with doubt, may they not have to wrestle with you, too. As they are smothered in doubt, may you smother them with the love of God.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 12, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Luke 24:37-38
Some doubted that they were seeing the resurrected Jesus. Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for their doubt nor does He congratulate them for having it. He doesn’t say, “I’m so stoked that you are doubting what your ears have heard and what your eyes see standing right before you. Your doubt is affording you an opportunity to grow and be stretched in your faith.” Jesus isn’t communicating delight, He’s expressing surprise and dismay as He discerns their doubt. Their doubt isn’t helping them to grow, it’s keeping them from fullness of joy in the presence of the risen Jesus. Doubt is not their friend. Doubt is not your friend, either. No, Jesus did not rebuke them for experiencing doubt any more than He would rebuke you for being sick. Yet He wouldn’t congratulate you on being sick, either. Doubt, like sickness, is not your friend.
The word ‘doubt’ in Luke 24:38 is a compound word which gives the general sense of “thinking something through by thought/deliberation/inward reasoning.” In the New Testament this word is used primarily with a negative meaning. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” This is a good working description of doubt – it’s leaning on your own understanding and not trusting in the Lord. When you lean on something, you’re resting your weight upon it trusting that it will hold you up. In Proverbs 3:5, instead of putting your weight on the Lord, you are putting your weight on your own understanding – your ability to think a matter through and come to an accurate conclusion. Doubt gives priority to reason over revelation. If you can only trust the Lord to the degree that you understand the Lord, even as Pharaoh’s seven lean cows ate the seven fat cows, so your doubt will consume your faith and lay waste to it.
Not leaning on your own understanding doesn’t mean that faith is anti-intellect, faith is supra-intellect. It rises above what we can know or think and takes us into realms and dimensions that eye has not seen and ear has not heard. I can have complete trust in something though I do not have complete knowledge or understanding – this happens to all of us all the time. I can get on a plane fully entrusting myself to the pilot’s skill and the plane’s integrity without personally inspecting the wings and engines of the plane. I can sit in complete peace of mind though I really don’t know about thrust and lift and what airspeed and elevation is the best for that plane in the kind of weather we’ll be having. I have 100% trust with less than 100% knowledge of how the thing works. My faith far outstrips my understanding.
Likewise, 100% faith doesn’t require 100% certainty. Let’s go back to the example of the plane. By boarding a plane and taking a seat, I am committing 100% of myself to the pilot’s skill and the plane’s integrity – I don’t need 100% certainty to do so. Am I 100% certain that the pilot isn’t drunk and this will impair his ability to fly? No. Am I 100% certain that someone will refuse to wear his/her mask and the plane will turn around and go back to where we departed? No. Do I have 100% certainty the plane will arrive at its destination in spite of a dozen flight ending scenarios? No. Yet I exercise 100% faith in boarding the plane and taking a seat. I have 100% faith with less than 100% certainty.
Now, you might say, “Because you don’t have 100% certainty that means that there is some doubting going on.” And I would agree – but it’s not the kind of doubt you might think it is. Obviously my lack of certainty isn’t keeping me from a 100% commitment to the plane and its pilot. I am not doubting the plane and the pilot – my doubts go in the other direction. I am doubting the dozen flight ending scenarios. I’m not doubting my faith – I’m doubting my doubts! My faith is doubting my doubts! So often we think of doubt keeping us from the full rest of faith. Here, the full rest of faith is keeping me from the unrest of doubt! I don’t deny my doubts – but I do doubt my doubts.
For example, is it possible that Jesus didn’t live, die, and rise again? Yes, it’s possible, but it’s not reasonable. I don’t allow the possibility of its falseness to keep me from the reasonableness of its truth. And you exercise this same kind of faith every time you board a plane and take a seat. Christianity isn’t believing in spite of the evidence – it’s believing because of the evidence. Faith isn’t a leap into the dark – it’s a step into the light! Can doubt overcome faith? Sure – it happens a lot. Can faith overcome doubt? Sure – it happens all the time. May it continue to happen for you.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 11, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
The Bible never presents doubt as something that is positive or healthy for your soul. Not once. Doubt is not your friend, yet there is some doubt that you can live with. In the NFL, there is a difference between playing injured and playing hurt. Everybody plays hurt – that’s normal. But it’s dangerous to play injured – it could cripple you. Some doubt will injure your faith. Another type of doubt just hurts as it remains unresolved or is put on the back burner. You can’t long be a Christian when doubt injures and cripples you. But you can be a Christian for your whole life though you have some unresolved questions. What is the doubt that will injure you and what is the doubt that just hurts?
What follows isn’t a nice little devotional – it’s a bit more in-depth than that. I hope you can persevere and get this under your belt. It will help you in thinking about and working through the various levels of doubt regarding the various levels of truth. This paradigm is of my own making and reflects my thinking and my opinions. Other pastors and thinkers (and maybe even you) will weight things somewhat differently.
1st level doubt: unbelief. Sometimes doubt is just sheer unbelief.
- Unbelief is rejection. Unbelief has examined the claims and the evidence and rejects them – just like Thomas did. Thomas rejected the news of the resurrected Jesus. To disbelieve something means that you have come to a conclusion. 1st Level Doubt will kill your faith
2nd level doubt: uncertainty. Sometimes doubt prevents you from surrendering to a command or a promise from God.
- Uncertainty is reluctance. Some who saw the risen Jesus were reluctant to commit. To be uncertain means that you haven’t come to a conclusion yet – except not to commit. 2nd Level Doubt can sometimes be just as injurious to your faith as 1st Level Doubt. What’s the difference between rejecting the truth and not committing to the truth? Not much.
3rd level doubt: ignorance. Sometimes doubt is just the result of not enough information.
- I don’t have enough knowledge of something to commit myself to it and so I’ll hold myself back from committing to it. This is someone who can’t give himself to something because he doesn’t have enough info. 3rd Level Doubt is usually not injurious to a person’s faith.
So the three levels of doubt are unbelief, uncertainty, and ignorance. But we’re not done yet. To fill this out, I need to add the three levels of truth.
1st level truth: the person and work of Jesus Christ
- This level of truth has to do with the deity of Christ and the sufficiency of His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
2nd level truth: how to live the Christian life
- This level of truth has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, various aspects of holiness – morals and ethics, issues of discipleship, sexuality, Church life, relationships, mission, social justice, etc.
3rd level truth: how to understand the Christian life
- This level of truth deals with important issues which, even if you get them wrong, won’t affect your salvation or the vibrancy of your Christian life. This would include mode of baptism, when you think the rapture may happen, how often to take communion, is the earth young or old, etc.
So, let’s put this together and think some things though -
1st Level Doubt about any Level of Truth will keep someone from Christ.
2nd Level Doubt about 2nd Level Truth will keep you constantly changing your theology and going from church to church.
3rd Level Doubt is what so many of us are familiar with on a regular basis.
- I heard a sermon where the speaker went on and on about how it’s OK to have doubts and explore your doubts and how doubt is good. At the end of the message he said that his doubt has motivated him to ask all kinds of questions. I thought to myself, “That’s not doubt that rejects – that’s curiosity. That’s faith seeking reason.” Someone with a solid faith in Christ can ask all kinds of questions about theology and philosophy and the Bible and other religions. A seeking after knowledge and the questions it prompts is 3rd Level Doubt – it’s ignorance seeking answers. In that sense, doubt is good. A 3rd Level Doubt will help to keep you humble before the Lord and other people.
Do this – choose a Biblical truth: resurrection, spiritual gifts, marriage, mission of the Church, rapture of the Church, speaking in tongues, Church government, giving, praying, etc. Choose a Biblical truth and then determine whether it’s a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Level Truth. Then work through the process of applying 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Level Doubt to the truth you chose and see what the results are. Or use this paradigm to work through a doubt you’re currently trying to think through.
In the NFL everybody plays hurt – and that’s OK. But it’s not OK to play injured – that could cripple you. Every Christian (or at least most Christians) experience 3rd Level Doubt – and that’s OK. But 1stLevel Doubt will either take you out of the game or leave you limping through the Christian life. If you are experiencing 1st Level Doubt, talk with your pastor or a trusted friend and begin to work through it to resolution. Some pastors and worship leaders have made public announcement that they are no longer Christians – 1st Level Doubt took them out.
Thanks for hanging tough through this. May God use this to sharpen your thinking.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 10, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Doubt is not sexy. Doubt is not your friend. If left to fester, doubt will kill your faith. Yet to listen to some pastors and podcasters go on about it, doubt is something to be celebrated and relished in that it serves to motivate us to grow in our faith. I get that, I do. And poverty is a great motivator, too, but poverty is not sexy nor is it my friend.
This is a huge and, in my opinion, a finely nuanced subject. At the outset, let me say this: you should be open and honest about your doubts (and there are gradations of doubt). And you should be willing to work through your doubt(s). Don’t stuff them or repress them or deny them and don’t criticize those who give voice to their doubts. You are not virtuous because you have doubts, but you are virtuous in being honest about your doubts and you can remain virtuous even when you experience and explore and work through your doubt.
I see doubt as a wound to be healed and not a virtue to be nurtured. I see doubt as a problem that needs to be worked through and not as a quality to be enshrined. If fullness of trust is the measure of health, and if doubt moves you from the place of trust – then it is not a friend. The Bible never presents doubt as something that is healthy or sexy or friendly to your faith. The Bible asserts that those who doubt are in the utmost danger. Yes, be honest and authentic about your doubt(s), but know that you are meant to work through your doubts and not settle in them. If your doubts are not settled, you will find yourself coming untethered from the faith that has been once for all delivered to the saints.
Let’s look to the Biblical witness – (we’ll work through four passages that address doubt in the New Testament).
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. Matthew 28:17
The word ‘doubtful’ in the above verse is distazō and comes from two Greek words: dis, meaning “double,” and stasis, meaning “standing.” Thus distazō means “to stand in two ways/to be uncertain/to doubt.”
Here’s the first gradation of doubt – to be uncertain.
Imagine it – Jesus shows up in a post-resurrection appearance just before His ascension and He is recognizable in His resurrection body. He has made previous post-resurrection appearances and the community that followed Him is all abuzz with the news of His resurrection and travel to Galilee to see Him. He shows up and some worship Him – but some are uncertain. They well could have said, “It certainly looks like Him. And if anyone could rise from the dead, it would be Jesus. And I’m impressed by the fact that you’re worshipping Him – but I still don’t know. Dead people don’t come back to life! Yet this looks like Jesus! But oh, I can’t be certain. This is messing with my head.”
This word ‘distazo’ also appears in Matthew 14:31 when Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter and kept him from sinking after his one and only time of walking on the water. Jesus said to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” The same thought that gripped those who doubted the resurrection gripped Peter’s heart and mind, also. Dead men don’t rise from the dead and living men don’t walk on water. (Neither do dead men, for that matter.)
Doubt is not sexy nor is it your friend. This doubt will sink you and keep you from the risen Jesus who is alive forevermore. Doubt is to be worked through even as you work through sickness and suffering. If you make peace with doubt, you won’t have peace with God. Doubt is a virus, a bacteria in the human soul and it will destroy faith. What was it they were doubting? 1) Some doubted that Jesus was risen. 2) Peter doubted that Jesus could hold him above the waves. Doubt didn’t give a boost to Peter’s faith. It put him into a situation from which he needed to be rescued.
Paul Tillich, a 20th century theologian wrote: “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”This makes as much sense to me as saying, “Suffering isn’t the opposite of happiness; it is an element of happiness.” If something is an element of something it means that it belongs to it. Doubt does not belong to faith any more than suffering belongs to happiness.
Some people point to Doubting Thomas as an example of the integrity of doubt. And there can be an integrity in doubt and skepticism – no doubt about it. Healthy skepticism has kept many from giving out their credit card information over the phone or sending their Social Security # to someone posing as an official on the internet. Thomas’ skepticism kept him from groupthink and peer pressure. He would be his own man and not buy into the other disciples telling him that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he could somehow verify it himself. Yes, Doubting Thomas is a saint – or so we’re told.
Except there is no Doubting Thomas in the Bible. In John 20, Thomas said that unless he could put his hands into the wounds of Jesus, he would not believe. He wasn’t doubting the resurrection of Jesus in the sense of being uncertain – he wasn’t wavering between two positions. He flat out didn’t believe it. This isn’t Doubting Thomas – this is Disbelieving Thomas. And when Jesus showed up and invited Thomas to explore His wounds, He said, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20:27Thomas didn’t struggle with doubt, but with full blown unbelief.
If left untreated, doubt is a disease that will dissolve faith because it keeps a soul from trusting Jesus. It’s not sexy and it’s not your friend. Now, there are some doubts that you can live with. We’ll explore this more in the next blog.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 8, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
I read the other day that the phrase “do not be afraid” occurs 365 times in the Bible. I thought it quite convenient that the Holy Spirit anticipated our Gregorian calendar which was adopted in 1582. I then thought that it would truly be Holy Spirit designed if there were 365¼ occurrences of this phrase – something like that would really impress me! Yes, I’m being a smart-aleck. I was skeptical of the claim that the phrase “do not be afraid” occurs 365 times in the Bible. I’ve been reading the Bible devotionally and “professionally” for 48 years and it never struck me that this phrase occurred that often. That would be 5-6 times per book. So I did a search and found that it occurs 47 times. This leaves 318 times not accounted for! And even some of the 47 passages where it occurs it is not God telling people not to be afraid, it is people telling other people not to be afraid. Which means that passages, where God is telling people not to be afraid, are even fewer.
What’s my point? It’s “So what?” I wasn’t one bit disappointed when I discovered that the phrase “do not be afraid” does not occur 365 times (one for every day of the year) – 40 times is enough for me! That’s more than enough times for a year, or for a lifetime! How many times does God have to say it before we’ll believe it? And besides, we don’t count the assurances and promises of God, we weigh them. If you count them, you’ll come to an end of them. If you weigh them, you’ll never be able to determine their weight. Their number is finite; their weight is infinite. How much does a promise and assurance of God weigh? More than you can lift!
The first time this is said by God is in Genesis 46 when He tells Jacob not to be afraid to go to Egypt and join Joseph. Jacob is to leave the land of promise to travel to what will become the land of bondage – and he is told not to be afraid. God will travel with him into Egypt and will surely bring him back to the land of promise. When our lives take unexpected detours that seemingly take us in the opposite direction of where we think we should be – the Lord tells us not to be afraid. When your path grows steep, when it suddenly plummets, when the unexpected thunderstorm leaves you in the gloomy darkness – the Lord says, “Do not be afraid. I will surely bring you to the place I have ordained for you.”
The last time this is said by the Lord is in the first chapter of Revelation when John falls down at the feet of Jesus as a dead man and Jesus tells him not to be afraid. He is the first and the last. He is the One who was dead and is alive evermore. He is the One who holds to keys of death and of Hades. The One who has the greatest power in the universe says to you, “Do not be afraid.” And this is true for every day of the week that ends with a “y.”
From Genesis to Revelation, from Egypt to Heaven, from time to eternity, from anxious Jacob to overwhelmed John – the message of God is, “Do not be afraid.” When you have to step into the ring with trouble, know this –
- No matter how heavy the weight you are carrying – the promises and assurances of God are heavier – they outweigh all their opponents. They have the weight advantage.
- No matter how deep your problems reach into you – the reach of the promises and assurances of God is greater. They have the reach advantage.
- No matter how long you’ve had your problem – the promises and assurances of God have been around longer. They have the age advantage.
God says to you in your pain, confusion, brokenness, doubt, and suffering, “Do not be afraid.” These four words weigh more than the universe.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try
No hell below us / Above us only sky…
Imagine there's no countries / It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace / You may say I'm a dreamer…
Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world…and the world will be as one
John Lennon was brilliant and I can’t help but believe that he knew he was putting the Communist Manifesto to music. He sings of materialism, atheism, globalism, and collectivism. These are the values of Communism as outlined in the Communist Manifesto. In pure Communism, there is no spiritual dimension, no religion, no private property, no nationalism – no State. Obviously, there are other themes within the Communist Manifesto not expressed by Lennon (his song would have been 25 verses long and it’s hard to find words that rhyme with bourgeois, Bolshevik and proletariat!), but the political and philosophical themes set to music by Lennon carry substantial weight.
Political systems and philosophical worldviews make moral statements and assume spiritual values and therefore should be Biblically assessed. Part of the philosophical foundation of Communism is materialism, atheism, globalism, and collectivism. How are followers of Jesus to think about this?
- As to materialism – the Bible teaches that there is more to reality than what we can see and feel and measure. There is an invisible realm inhabited by God and angels and demons. The immaterial realm is as real as the material world.
- As to atheism – the Bible teaches theism (there is a God) rather than atheism (there is no God).
- As to globalism – the Bible teaches the legitimacy of nations. We see nations in the eternal age in the book of Revelation. The concept of and the presence of nations is not a problem to be solved.
- As to collectivism – the Bible teaches the legitimacy of private property in the 8th commandment: Thou shalt not steal.
For philosophical and theological reasons, following Jesus and advocating Communism lead in two diametrically opposed directions. A pursuit of pure Communism will lead someone away from Jesus and following Jesus will lead someone away from pure Communism.
The historical record of Communism is abysmal. Instead of the Worker’s Paradise that was promised, country, after country has been plunged into an abysmal, blood-soaked poverty as scores of millions of people, have been murdered and starved to death and walls were erected to keep workers from escaping this glorious paradise!
Some people use Socialism and Communism interchangeably, yet there are differences between them. And then there are differences between various types of Socialism. Some versions of Socialism have the State owning the businesses that produce the wealth of a nation and then redistribute this wealth using various metrics. In other versions of Socialism, wealth is generated by privately owned businesses and this wealth is then redistributed by the State through high rates of taxation.
About 8% of the federal budget in 2019, or $361 billion, supported programs that provided aid to individuals and families facing hardship. Such programs keep millions of people out of poverty each year. An analysis using the Census’ Supplemental Poverty Measure shows that government safety net programs kept 37 million people out of poverty in calendar year 2018.
Israel had a responsibility to give to the poor. They were commanded to give to the poor and marginalized and various means were employed to accomplish this. In one sense they were a Socialist nation in that there was a redistribution of wealth written into the law of Moses. If the simplest definition of Socialism is State redistribution of wealth, then America is already a Socialist State. A simple Socialism is in keeping with God’s Word. But a Socialism that purports to be on a march towards Communism is Biblically unacceptable in that Communism guts the Bible and then guts anyone that gets in its way.
Lennon, in putting the words of the Communist Manifesto to music sang, “You may say I’m a dreamer…” You got that one right!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 5, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Many in the Bible move from fear through faith into the peace of God. Let me use an analogy -
- Fear is like acid reflux that causes heartburn.
- Faith is like sodium bicarbonate that neutralizes your stomach acid.
- Peace is like that glorious sense of wellbeing you experience once the stomach acid is neutralized.
I’ve really changed my diet in the last 1.5 years and rarely experience heartburn anymore. But when I do experience it, my go-to remedy is to dissolve some baking soda into water and drink it. And then I remain standing until (and pardon my body language) I belch with a mighty belch and am immediately relieved of the burning in my chest and throat.
Acid reflux is a digestive condition where stomach acid flows from the stomach back into the esophagus (the tract that connects your mouth to your stomach). This backwash of acid can irritate your esophagus and cause heartburn. Here’s the dictionary definition of reflux: the flow of a fluid through a vessel or valve in the body in a direction opposite to normal. When do we have a tendency to fear? When things start going in the wrong direction – marriage/health/career/ finances/children/relationships/favorite sports team/whatever… These things cause the heartburn of fear. Today we are manhandled by and marinated in fear.
When we view the news it seems as if a whole culture is going in the opposite direction of normal. Most people’s reaction to this is fear and outrage. I’m of the opinion that news programs no longer have the intention to inform us, but to inflame us. It used to be that “if it bleeds, it leads.” Now it’s “if it burns, it leads;” “if it outrages, it leads.” So many won’t watch the news these days because they want to avoid being made fearful and are experiencing outrage fatigue. What’s going in the opposite direction of normal?
- It looked like COVID-19 closures were coming to an end and now some places are clamping down again – this is opposite to normal.
- Angry people continue rioting and cancel culture continues to rip apart peoples’ lives – this is opposite to normal.
- My wife read me an article today that at times, 2+2 can = 5. Our children will be taught this in math – this is opposite to normal.
It seems like so many things are going in the wrong direction. And don’t lose sight of the fact that if your guy doesn’t win the White House, the country will continue in the wrong direction. The reflex to reflux is fear. How can I experience the peace of God when things are going in the wrong direction, when the culture is causing me spiritual heartburn?
We are told that fear and faith are mutually exclusive. If you have fear, you won’t have faith. When you walk in faith, you won’t experience fear. I say, “Hold on – not so fast.” Check this out –
Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Syria and behold, they are in Engedi." Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 2 Chronicles 20:2-3
A huge army is just a nine hour march away from Jerusalem. This caused Jehoshaphat (J) to fear and the next phrase says he turned to the Lord. “J was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord.” J had fear and faith at the same time. When I get heartburn, I ingest baking soda. Acid and soda are in the same place at the same time. Fear and faith can be in the same heart at the same time even as acid and soda can be in the same body at the same time. But eventually one will overcome the other. One will neutralize the other. J was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord and he prayed a mighty prayer that ended like this: “For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You." 2 Chronicles 20:12
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's…'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you." 2 Chronicles 20:15-17
There was a mighty reflux – things were going in the wrong direction, but Jehoshaphat’s fear was neutralized by faith and brought him into the great peace of God. And please note, he had this peace even as circumstances continued in the wrong direction. He didn’t have to wait until things flowed in the right direction – he only needed to find God to experience the peace of God.
In these days of massive reflux, may your fear be neutralized by faith in a mighty God and may you come into the great peace of Jesus Christ our Lord. You don’t have to wait until there is a vaccine for COVID-19 or until order is restored in the streets or until your guy wins the White House. You can experience the peace of Christ today. May your reflex to reflux be to rejoice for, as Jehoshaphat declared, God is Ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
August 4, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
When David was preparing to fight Goliath, King Saul tried to outfit him with his armor. David told King Saul that he couldn’t go into battle dressed in his armor – it was too clumsy and awkward. And so he took it off and went into battle having the name of the Lord as his armor. You and I are to be similarly armored in these days. Patrick, better known to history as St. Patrick, was a missionary to and became a bishop in Ireland in the 5th century. He wrote the following verses which describe binding on the name of the Lord as a warrior would his armor.
I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever, by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
his baptism in the Jordan river, his death on cross for my salvation,
his bursting from the spiced tomb, his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom, I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead,
God’s eye to watch, God’s might to stay, God’s ear to hearken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach, God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward,
the word of God to give me speech, God’s heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name, the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three,
of whom all nature has creation, eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation; salvation is of Christ the Lord!
This is known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.” It’s easy to see why. I used to have this memorized – I think I’ll have another go at it. Ephesians 6 exhorts us to take on the full armor of God and St. Patrick’s Breastplate was his way of making this practical.
- He takes on the name of God as his armor.
- He puts on truth of the whole gospel story as his armor.
- He puts on the power and presence of God as his armor.
- He puts on the name and attributes and love of Christ as his armor.
We see all the elements of the armor in “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” – the helmet and the shoes, the belt and the breastplate, the sword and the shield. Put on the full armor of God and clothe yourselves with Christ. He is waiting for you to call upon Him.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 31, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The last few months haven’t been a maze to navigate as much as a giant pinball machine where we’re whizzing all over the place as we’re batted by this piece of news and are driven to one place in our thinking and then bounce off that having been catapulted to another place by another piece of news. People are jetting by one another at breakneck speed having been affected by one cause or personality or piece of news and then another. In a maze you can stop and think, but the frenetic energy of a pinball machine leaves no room for thinking, just reacting. The lights and bells and sounds of a pinball machine are mimicked by the tweets and news programs and YouTube videos and Facebook postings and other social media. It seems as if they overtax our ability to know what’s right or wrong and even what’s up or down. The media and the experts and the politicians have created a perpetual motion machine where someone who took a position on something yesterday is taking another position today even as they’re on their way to yet another position tomorrow. It seems like everyone has weighed in about masks and bats and Chinese labs and racism and whiteness and riots and monuments and the police and now the latest batch of experts are batting the nation around concerning hydroxychloroquine. I’m even receiving posts from pastors on what to think about hydroxychloroquine – like they know!
A lot of people have said some hair-brained things and have gone in directions they wish they hadn’t these last few months. A culture in chaos can exert a lot of pressure upon people to do and say things they probably wouldn’t do in normal times. Persuasive voices recruiting us to seemingly worthy causes can be very attractive and effective. King Jehoshaphat (KJ) knew this as well as anyone else. KJ reigned over Judah in the mid 9th century BC. Ahab was king over Israel during that same time. The neighborhood bullies were Assyria and Syria and so KJ married Ahab’s daughter which bound the two nations together in a political alliance. Later on, KJ joined Ahab in a war against Syria even when the Lord told him not to. He barely escaped with his life.
When he returned to Jerusalem, a prophet told KJ that he shouldn’t have helped Ahab and love those who hate the Lord. Yet at the same time he commended KJ because he had a heart to seek God. KJ was a man with a good heart who made a bad decision. The pressure of politics smacked him hard and sent him to a place he shouldn’t have been. We see good hearts and not so good heads all the time. We even see it in ourselves, yet we judge it more harshly in others.
You can’t always make the right decisions – your own fallibility coupled with your bent desires fortified by your ignorance of certain matters and naivete about the motives of others – will often lead you to make bad decisions. You can’t always make the right decision, but you can always have a strong heart that seeks the Lord. I don’t know everything and what I do know I may measure improperly and there may be evil men trying to manipulate me, but the Lord remains constant and steadfast and His character is known. My head can be deceived and led astray by others, even when my heart remains strong for the Lord. Many people that you may disagree with have hearts that are strong for the Lord and have a heart to seek God. Someone whose heart is strong for the Lord can be led to make a bad decision. KJ is a case in point. The apostle Peter can illustrate this, also – and so can you. And so can I.
How can we have peace in this pinball machine with its lights and bells and whistles and its frenetic pace? How can we maintain our balance when everything is designed to throw us off balance and intended to keep us from coming to a place of rest? If you are in a place of rest, the one(s) in control of the pinball machine have lost. Once the pinball drops below the levers of the pinball machine, the operator has lost, having nothing to bat around. How can you keep from being batted around? I have two pieces of time proven counsel: have a heart for God and keep on mission. I am to be seeking God and pointing people to Jesus in the power of the Spirit. I am not to be moved from these things. Everything I do and all I think are to be anchored in a trinitarian theology, in the persons of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
I do not know about the origin of COVID-19 – whether it’s from bats being sold in wet markets in Wuhan or from a lab in Wuhan or from…? I don’t know if its release was accidental or intentional. I don’t know about the efficacy of masks – are they effective or not? I am not competent to comment on the efficacy of certain pharmaceuticals that can serve as prophylactics or cures for C-19. I don’t know if the riots are centrally orchestrated from a smoke filled room somewhere or if they are spontaneous outbreaks of unrest or a combination of both. But I do know this – America needs Jesus. And those whose hearts are set on God and whose minds have been formed by the gospel of Jesus Christ are to play our part in this crazy perpetual motion pinball machine and point our nation to its only hope – Jesus Christ.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
We all know that the best is the best we can hope for. Makes sense. But it’s not true. What’s better than best? The perfect! The Bible makes this big, bold, audacious claim that the perfect is the best we can hope for. Preachers are addicted to sermon recaps and so here’s mine from this past Sunday. Zechariah 3:8-10 points us to a perfect Savior who brings a perfect Salvation leading to a perfect Shalom. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. We’ve all heard that the good is the enemy of the best. Yet in the Bible, the best is the enemy of the perfect. America doesn’t need the best that man can attain to, we need the perfect that God offers us in Christ. If something is perfect, there’s no room for improvement. If there’s room for improvement, it’s not perfect. You have a perfect Savior who brings you a perfect salvation which results in perfect shalom. What was best in 1950 is nowhere good enough in 2020. But God’s Savior and salvation and shalom are perfect for time and eternity.
The salvation that Christ brings you is complete and perfect because your Savior is perfect. The perfect salvation Christ has brought you can’t be improved upon. Your good works can’t add to it nor can your sin take away from it. Your good works don’t put you in better standing with God nor does your sin knock you out of standing with God. Now that’s good news. All the other religions of earth teach that heaven depends on well you perform while here on earth. Christianity says that heaven depends on how well Jesus performed when He was on planet earth. I never have to worry about being good enough – because I’m not – but Jesus is. That’s good news! Tim doesn’t save Tim, Jesus saves Tim!
Ernest Hemingway wrote a short story entitled: The Capital of the World. It tells story of a father and his teenage son Paco and is set in Spain. Paco was an extremely common name in Spain at that time. Paco wanted to become a matador, but his father wasn’t supportive of this. To escape his father’s control and to pursue his dream, Paco runs away to Madrid. His father, desperate to reconcile with his son, follows him to Madrid and puts an ad in the local newspaper with a simple request: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Madrid newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you.” The next day at noon in front of newspaper office there were 800 young men named Paco all seeking the forgiveness of their fathers.
In Christ, God says to all the Pacos of the world, “All is forgiven.”
Marghanita Laski was one of England’s best-known novelists and secular humanists. Shortly before she died in 1988, Laski said this on TV: “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”
In Christ, God says to all the Marghanita Laskis of the world, “Look to Me; I will forgive you.”
In Christ, God says to you, “You are forgiven and all is forgiven.” Now that’s good news. If you’ve never received Christ as your Savior you can do that now. The apostle Paul wrote “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 Do that, now. And then tell someone. Go to church this Sunday or tune in to our livestream at 10 AM this Sunday morning. www.calvaryfremont.org.
The Biblical description of shalom (peace) is captured in this phrase recorded in Zechariah 3:10, 'In that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.'" Shalom is described in terms of safety and prosperity. In God’s shalom, you are invited to sit and rest – not work. You don’t have to defend what is yours for no one is trying to take it – not your neighbor, not the government, not a group of enlightened elites. In God’s shalom, you are not trying to expand and enlarge what it yours, you are content and satisfied with what you have and are in a position to share and be generous. “Come and sit under my vine and fig tree. I’m throwing a party and a banquet.” The shalom that Christ will bring this sin weary planet is perfect because He is perfect. That’s good news.
Never lose sight of the glorious hope we have in Christ. Our five year old granddaughter wears a vest in our little pool in the backyard. When she jumps off the ladder and goes all the way under, we don’t worry because we know she’s going to pop right back up. Hope in Christ is like a life vest. When the waves roll over your soul and threaten to bury you, you’ll continue to pop back up to the surface. I am so grateful for this vest that envelops my soul and holds me tight and brings me to the surface when the waves of life pull me under. I am so grateful for the life vest of hope. Some of you are going under and not coming back to the surface – call out to Christ.
You have a perfect Savior who brings you a perfect Salvation which results in perfect Shalom. That’s good news.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Reading articles and listening to podcasts and YouTube videos about racism and white privilege and white shame reminds me of comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s redneck jokes.
- “If you’ve ever used your fishing license as a form of I.D., you just might be a redneck.”
- “If your mother doesn’t bother to take the cigarette out of her mouth before she cusses out the police officer who pulled her over, you just might be a redneck.”
- “If you’ve been on TV more than once describing the tornado that ruined your trailer, you just might be a redneck.”
According to many –
- If you don’t think you’re a racist, you just might be a racist (actually, you are a racist).
- If you don’t feel the shame of your whiteness and the undeserved, unearned privilege it brings you, you just might be a racist (actually, you are a racist).
- If you confess to being color blind, you are a racist.
- If you don’t support the philosophical and political goals of Black Lives Matter, guess what? Yeah, that’s right.
Why bring this up? Because a lot of people are throwing guilt bombs and shame grenades and the carnage is keeping us from the real conversation that needs to be had and the real work that needs to be done. The death of George Floyd sparked nation-wide outrage – which it should have done. The death of George Floyd made us take a real good look at ourselves. Voices were heard that caused many of us to open our eyes to narratives of injustice, and we are finding these conversations quite enlightening. The actions of previous generations that have led to patterns of behavior that perpetuate racial and social inequities need to acknowledged and confronted. But guilt bombs and shame grenades put the very people who should be looking for and working towards solutions on the defensive and distracted from the real work that needs to be done. If I’m always hunkering down in my underground bunker protecting myself from incoming condemnation, I can’t be on the street rebuilding the ruined cities. How can someone make me their ally while they’re constantly telling me and treating me like I’m their enemy?
This is a big deal to me because I’m a pastor. Guilt and shame are are among the very basic of dynamics that churn the human soul. I have to discern between real guilt and false guilt, between conviction and condemnation, between shame and regret. False guilt can masquerade as real guilt and real guilt can be dismissed as false guilt. And the Church has always been rebuked for overusing the guilt and shame card, but the Church has nothing over the purveyors of racial and social guilt.
There is a huge difference between involvement and complicity, between naivete and moral depravity. I still remember a class in Bible College entitled “Pastoral Administration.” One of the sections had to do with the conduct of a minister doing hospital visitation.
- Don’t carry a big dark Bible. For some reason it’s a portent of doom.
- Don’t say that your uncle died from the same disease the patient you’re visiting has. This doesn’t convey hope.
- Don’t sit on the hospital bed. Many pastors have torn out catheters and crimped lines bringing vital medicine to the patient. They have done great harm while not being aware of it.
The minister who sits on the hospital bed and blocks the tubes delivering medicine is not morally depraved, he is naïve. But if he does it again, naivete crosses the line into moral depravity – he doesn’t care about the damage his actions cause. His involvement in keeping the patient from recovering becomes morally base.
Christians who take classes on evangelism – how to win someone to Christ – are instructed to not push someone to conversion, but lead them. Don’t rush the person. When fruit on the tree isn’t ripe, you have to pull and tug and yank to get it off its branch. But when it’s ripe, the slightest tug drops it into your hand. In my thinking, the way it impacts me, is that all this talk of white guilt and white shame is pulling and tugging and yanking trying to get white people to admit that yes, they are guilty of being racist and ashamed of their whiteness and the unearned, undeserved privilege it has bestowed on them.
It is far more constructive to talk about solutions than to generate a narrative of guilt and shame. It’s hard for me to be recruited as an ally when I am considered the enemy. I admit to being naïve about racial and social inequities, but I can’t, in good conscience, confess to being morally depraved in these things. For some, that proves my white fragility and demonstrates that I am, in fact, a racist. To me, this is intellectually dishonest and is identity politics at its worst. Followers of Jesus need to listen to what is happening in the culture and filter it through the Word of God and the example of Jesus. Jesus didn’t major on guilt and shame and condemnation. When a woman caught in adultery was brought to Him to see if He would agree with the law of Moses that she should be stoned to death, He said, “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” Not one stone was thrown. Instead of throwing stones at one another, let’s take up bricks and rebuild our fractured society.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 28, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
My son David was born in 1979 and then Benjamin came along in 1982. After him, my adopted son, The Karate Kid, came into my home. Born in 1984, the Karate Kid, Daniel-san, arrived a few years later and became so frequent a guest he may as well have been my son. I must have watched this movie 20 times with my boys. I even developed a begrudging affection for the Kid. The plot of the movie is very basic: a wimpy kid gets a martial arts expert to teach him how to defend himself against bullies over whom he eventually triumphs (a David & Goliath plot). Daniel (the wimp) asks Mr. Miyagi (the martial arts expert) to teach him karate. Mr. Miyagi agrees, but first the Kid, Daniel-san (Mr. Miyagi’s affectionate name for him), must do a few chores. He must wax Mr. Miyagi’s car, paint his fence, and sand the floor. Not only must Daniel-san do these things, he must do them in a very particular manner.
After days of wax-on and wax-off, of painting the fence up-and-down, of sanding the floor, Daniel-san is frustrated and cries out, “Teach me karate.” Mr. Miyagi begins to throw a series of blows and as he does he says to Daniel-san, “Wax the car; paint the fence; sand the floor.” As Daniel-san mimics the arm and hand motions learned in his chores, he parries the blows of Mr. Miyagi. Unbeknownst to Daniel-san, he had been learning karate the whole time he was waxing and painting and sanding. The muscle memory he had unwittingly developed in the repetitive motions of waxing and painting and sanding were now being utilized in the service of karate. Daniel-san was learning the core disciplines of karate without even knowing it. He was growing in skill and maturity and he didn’t have a clue. He wasn’t aware of what he possessed and the power he could bring to bear when necessary.
For me, this story has a lot of applications, but let me draw out one that applies to prayer. We preachers know that there are three sermons we can preach that will send the Guilt-Meter of most people into the Red Zone. These can be represented in three sermon titles: Are You Giving Enough? Are You Witnessing Enough? Are You Praying Enough? Most people will hang their heads and mumble something about knowing they could give more and witness more and pray more. But maybe it’s not as bad as you think it is. With the Kid in mind, I’d like to suggest that you probably pray more than you think you do – maybe not as much as you should – but certainly more than you think you do. I think this will be a liberating and edifying idea for most.
I used to think that prayer was what I did in my ‘devotional’ time in the morning. And if I got up late or got caught up in something or just plain didn’t want to do it that morning – prayer was neglected that day. And yes, I felt guilty – but God’s got to know how sincere I am and He must see my good intentions. And, besides all this, God is all sovereign and all powerful and He’s going to do what He’s going to do with or without me, right? And I am just one of six billion people on planet earth – what influence does the prayer of one six-billionth of the people on the planet measure up to anyway? If I was drinking my favorite soda and you removed one six-billionth of it from my cup, I would be oblivious to it. And not that God is unaware of my one six-billionth contribution – but you know what I mean. The thing is though – no matter how we try to rationalize our prayerlessness, we still feel guilty and wish we could present to God a more prayerful heart.
But I think something like “The Karate Kid” is in play here. You pray far more than you think you do for you pray in ways that you don’t recognize as being prayer. Daniel-san thought he was waxing the car – but he was practicing karate. He thought he was painting the fence and sanding the floor – but he was practicing karate.
- You think your sigh for a better marriage or a more just society is just that – a sigh. But it’s far more – it’s prayer. It’s the recognition of a deep wound and a desire for healing and restoration. It’s insight and repentance and desire all at once. The Psalmist records: Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, for I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. Psalm 120:5-7 This yearning for shalom, peace, was a prayer before God.
- You think you’re just crying due to pain or disappointment or empathy for someone else’s pain. But it’s far more – it’s prayer. David writes: You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. are they not in Your book?Psalm 56:8
- You think that your groaning for a deeper walk with God, to be used more, to overcome sin and pettiness, to pray more, to be someone who could be used of God to influence people unto godliness is just that – groans and desires. Yet it’s far more – it’s prayer – and not necessarily your own. Paul writes: In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words… Romans 8:26 This is the Holy Spirit praying, not your spirit praying. Yet you are the soul in whom this praying is taking place. The God of the universe is having a prayer meeting in your soul!
- Singing is prayer in that it is musical speech directed toward God. Augustine wrote that the one who sings, prays twice! Paul wrote: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; Ephesians 5:18-19 A psalm is a prayer that is sung. Making melody in your heart to the Lord is a form of praise which is a form of prayer.
- You think that your crying out to God in the middle of the day doesn’t count as prayer because it’s so short – it’s two seconds long. Surely that can’t be pleasing to God. Here’s a slice of Nehemiah: Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king, "If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Nehemiah 2:4-5 The king asked a question and Nehemiah shot a quick prayer (two seconds long?) to God and got on with answering the king’s question.
- Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. I’ve learned to pray this way. When someone asks me to pray for their aunt or their cancer or their kids, I’ll pray right then in my own spirit. “Lord Jesus, help them. Heal them. Bless them.” God is not put off by short prayers – just insincere ones.
Daniel-san thought he was just waxing cars and sanding floors and painting fences – he didn’t see beyond what he was doing to to what he was entering – the world of karate. You think you’re just sighing and crying and groaning and singing and praying illegitimate prayers because they’re so short and everybody knows God likes long and flowery prayers. You don’t see beyond what you’re doing to the reality you’re entering – you have entered into the throne room of God Almighty. Bow before Him.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 24, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I watched a TV series when I was a kid (can’t remember which one) and one episode sticks in my memory – the details are fuzzy, but the story line is clear. Two men had robbed a bank (I think it was) and for some reason made their get-a-way in a large container truck. They high-tailed it into the desert where they broke down. It was hot and barren and they only had one canteen of water between them. They fought over the water and ended up killing one another. When law enforcement arrived on the scene and found the two men dead they wondered why they were dead. Why had they killed one another? One of the detectives said that he was thirsty and found some kind of container and went to the back of the truck that was used as the get-a-way vehicle and opened a valve and filled his container with water and proceeded to drink it. The thieves had used a water truck as a get-a-way vehicle and didn’t even know it. (I feel a sermon coming on!)
The canteen held the greatest value whereas the water truck was seen in the background. That which had only short-term value was of more significance than that which had long-term significance. The thieves only saw the immediate and not the ultimate. Their short-sightedness led to strife and division and violence. This helps me understand what is going on in the culture around us. It serves as a parable for our times.
The things of earth are immediate whereas the things of heaven are ultimate. The castles that men build have immediate value, but the kingdom of God has ultimate value. Christian experience is a life-long balancing act between the immediate and the ultimate. The Bible teaches that the immediate is to be seen in the light of the ultimate. Immediate concerns are to be weighed with regard to ultimate concerns. This is clearly seen in Hebrews –
By faith he (Abraham) lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.Hebrews 11:9-10
By faith he (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. Hebrews 11:27
Abraham and Moses – and all the men and women of faith – kept one eye on earth and the other eye on heaven. They looked at the immediate through the lens of the ultimate.
- Question: What happens when the balance between the immediate and ultimate is lost?
- Answer: Turn on any news program.
The strife, division, and violence we see all around us is the result of the loss of the ultimate. There’s only one canteen with a diminishing supply of water and everyone is fighting over it – it makes perfect sense. When you lose sight of the ultimate, the immediate becomes the ultimate. When you don’t know there’s a water truck at your disposal, the canteen becomes everything. When you lose sight of the kingdom of God, all you can see are the castles of men. The ultimate collapses into the immediate and the immediate becomes the ultimate. No wonder there is so much fighting and strife and division and violence – castles are all we have. Bring in the siege-works.
When President Obama announced that we are a post-Christian nation, I immediately knew what he meant – and I agree with him. America is no longer guided by the Judeo-Christian ethic. And because of this, abortion is protected and seen by many as a virtue. Alternatives to Biblical sexuality proliferate. Violence is not only excused, but applauded. Being a post-Christian nation also means – and possibly the greatest loss – that we no longer cherish the Biblical hope of the kingdom of God. Unlike Abraham, we are not looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Unlike Moses, we know longer see Him who is unseen. We’ve jettisoned the ultimate and are left with the immediate. And therefore the immediate has taken on ultimate importance.
- This is why we’re fighting so hard to have our guy in the White House – he means everything.
- This is why we kill the unwanted old and the unwelcomed young – they mean nothing.
- This is why we’re breaking all the barriers of sexuality and civility – my preferences are ultimate.
The greatest loss of a post-Christian nation is the loss of the Biblical hope – the ultimate of God breaking into time and history and sending His Son to die for sinful humanity. The resurrection means nothing; the hope of the return of Christ is pre-empted by the search for the perfect society achievable by man. We’re at the bottom of the canteen and there’s only one drop left and we will annihilate one another to claim it as or own. Yet God is not so easily dismissed.
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Revelation 22:17
Live in the immediate by looking to the ultimate.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 22, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
It’s not my job to tell you what to think (though I don’t shrink back from that at times). It’s not my job to tell you what to think, yet part of my pastoral responsibility is to help you know how to think something through Biblically – to think with the mind of Christ. A Presidential election is coming up in November – what criteria should a follower of Jesus employ to determine who they should vote for? No doubt, some reading this will vociferously disagree with me. That’s OK – if it helps you to think this issue through with the Bible in one hand and political material in the other hand – I’ll feel like I’ve been a help. Here’s my simple criteria –
I don’t vote Party – I’m not a die-hard Democrat or Republican. If your criteria for voting for someone is strictly because of Party affiliation, you need to rethink why you’re voting that way.
I don’t vote Personality – I’m not looking for the most accomplished politician or one with a statesmanlike presence. I’m not looking for eloquence or charisma or the one who looks good in a suit. If your criteria for voting for someone is because they are likeable or appear the most ‘presidential,’ you need to rethink why you’re voting that way.
I vote Platform – I ask, which Party has the Platform (principles & policies & promises) which is in closest alignment with my Biblical values. That’s it – I ask, “What’s your Platform? What are the issues you want to pursue; what are the problems you want to resolve and how you will resolve them; what is your vision for this great nation?” It doesn’t matter if you are Democrat or Republican, a socially awkward introvert or a smooth, charismatic extrovert. What matters is: where will you take this nation?
Let’s drill down deeper. For me, the morality of the candidate is not a primary issue. Here’s what I mean: one candidate is a Christian who informs us that his administration will not challenge or seek to restrict access to abortion. The other candidate is not a Christian and he informs us that he will do what he can to restrict abortion. Let’s make it even murkier – the non-Christian candidate is also considered to be an immoral man whereas the Christian candidate has an impeccable personal record. Here’s my position – I will vote for the immoral non-Christian who shares my civic values rather than the virtuous Christian who doesn’t share my civic values. I will vote for the one who is fighting for me rather than the one who is fighting against me. For me it’s a no-brainer. The primary issue isn’t personal virtue – the primary issue is civic values!
Abortion is one issue. Immigration and attitudes toward immigrants is another. Fiscal policy and attitude toward capitalism and socialism and the welfare state is another. Race relations and public safety are on the front burner now. And here’s the thing – the Bible has something to say about the sacredness of life in the womb, immigrants, private property, public safety, etc. You need to think these things through with the Bible in your hand. Good Christians will disagree, but if we do disagree let’s disagree over Platform and not Party or Personality.
Someone might argue that an immoral non-Christian President cannot pursue justice. If so, the flip side of that argument is that a moral Christian President must be able to pursue only justice. Recent Presidential history reveals the folly of that position.
- GOOGLE: Democrat Party Platform for 2020. Read it through. Study it. Ask yourself: do these principles align with the Bible?
- GOOGLE: Republican Party Platform for 2020. Read it through. Study it. Ask yourself: do these principles align with the Bible?
- Get a study group together. Study it. Debate it. Think it through. Pray it through. What do you have to lose?
- PS: These things can get hairy! Affirm your love for one another afterwards!
Don’t vote Party.
Don’t vote Personality.
Vote the Platform that embodies your Biblically formed values.
It’s not my job to tell you what to think, yet part of my pastoral responsibility is to help you know how to think something through Biblically – to think with the mind of Christ.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I saw a video on Friday of a Texas pastor exhorting fellow pastors to not be namby pamby sissy cowards and open their churches for Sunday services. He was quite loud and passionate and animated. I also read an article indicating that Andy Stanley, pastor of the 38,000 member North Point Community Church in the Atlanta, Georgia area, won’t reopen church services until 2021. About 5% of American churches will not have in-house Sunday services until 2021.
Both Texas and Georgia pastors are evangelical and yet their approach to the COVID-19 closures and ongoing government rulings are quite different. The Texas pastor says NOW. The Georgia pastor says LATER. I found myself reacting negatively to each one. And then I rebuked myself for that and told myself that I need to give grace to every pastor and his board to figure this out – it’s a complicated challenge with a lot of moving parts and there are landmines everywhere. Figuring this out isn’t like trying to decide between Door #1 or Door #2 or Door #3. It’s like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube where there’s more than one side and more than two or three pieces that need to be in alignment. Yet even the Rubik’s Cube illustration is inadequate because with the Cube there’s a final solution that anybody can look at and say, “Yeah, they got that right – every piece is in place.” I told myself that I just need to tolerate all who don’t choose the door we choose or move the pieces to the place we’ve moved them. But then the Holy Spirit convicted me about my attitude.
When I was in Bible College I took a course on the science of Bible interpretation – hermeneutics (so called because Hermes was the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology). We learned how to study a passage in order to properly understand it’s meaning and intention when originally written and its application for today. Saul, who became the apostle Paul, went to a Bible College of sorts, too. And he was taught the hermeneutics of his day. Yes, there were rules of Bible interpretation in Jesus’ and Paul’s era. These rules governed the meaning that could be derived from a passage. Though there were various schools of interpretation, Hillel’s 7 Rules of Interpretation were given first place. Hillel’s first rule of Bible interpretation is as follows -
Principle #1- Kal Vahomer (Light and heavy)
The Kal vahomer rule says that what applies in a less important case will certainly apply in a more important case. A kal vahomer argument is often, but not always, signaled by a phrase like "how much more..." So, for example, Jesus said -
"… love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28
The kal vahomer principle would say: If you are to love your enemies who hate you, how much more should you love your friends and allies you disagree with. If I am to love my enemy, how much more should I love my friend. So the principle of kal vahomer directs me to not just tolerate the Texas and Georgia pastors, but to love then with the same love Jesus demonstrates toward me. Which means I am not to criticize them. Yes, I can disagree with them and even make that disagreement known, but I am not to make them look stupid and ridicule them and hold them up for derision. It means that I give them the same liberty and freedom to seek God and receive His direction that I enjoy. If they’re wrong, so what? Does their being wrong in what they say or how they say it relieve me of the call to love them as Jesus loves them? If, in my opinion, they are wrong does that give me a right to verbally shame them? Does Jesus ridicule and belittle me when I am wrong? I’d be a basket case if He did. He doesn’t come to bring shame, but Shalom. May I be like Jesus.
I have had such an ungodly attitude toward fellow pastors at times in my ministry. God forgive me. I would not want them to think of me as I have thought of them. I want them to give me the benefit of the doubt and read my words and motives in the best light possible. This is something Paul had in mind when he wrote, “…love believes all things…” One of the things I’m sure it means is that if I love you, I’m to have your back. Some people you are loathe to turn your back on because you don’t know what they’re up to. I think pastors should have each others’ backs a lot more than they do. I think all followers of Jesus should have each others’ backs more than we do. Can you imagine a fellowship where the intense, passionate love of Jesus is a very tangible reality?
Something I love about Calvary Chapel Fremont is the support I and the elders have received during this time. And when I say ‘support’, I don’t mean ‘agreement.’ There are some at CCF who have made themselves very clear to me what they think about opening or not opening, the necessity of masks, governmental benevolence and malevolence, Black Lives Matter or black lives matter, systemic racism and/or internalized racism, white privilege or white supremacy, etc. I have an idea – let’s not defund the Police, let’s defund City Hall! This social Rubik’s Cube is a maze. There are some at CCF who have voiced their opinions quite strongly – and by that I don’t mean disrespectfully or in-your-face. But then they say, “Whatever you decide, I’ll support it.” You have no idea what a blessing that is. Calvary Chapel Fremont – thanks for having my back!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Yesterday (7.14), Governor Newsom added Alameda County to the list of California counties that have to shutter their churches yet again. Should Calvary Chapel Fremont and the thousands of other churches affected by this ruling comply with this ruling? To meet or not to meet? That is the question.
Maybe a slice of Bible history will help us think this through. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile in 536 BC, they began rebuilding the Temple which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed in 587 BC. Some local tribes didn’t like this and appealed to the Persian government to shut this work down. Responding to this appeal, King Artaxerxes of the Persian Empire made the following ruling -
"So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me.” … Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Ezra 4:21,24
And so by government edict, the Jewish church shut down. And then 15 years later (520 BC), this happened –
When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem… Ezra 5:1-2
Without getting the approval of the Persian Empire, without petitioning for a stay of decree, without having permission, the Jews of Jerusalem got to work rebuilding the Temple. I know, I get it – this can be confusing because of this –
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. Romans 13:1-2
This passage tells us that God wants His people to obey legitimate authority. If this is so, the story of the Jews rebuilding the Temple violates the call to obey governmental authority. This presents us with a dilemma. God says to build. The king says not to build. God says to obey the king. The king says to disobey God. Oi vey! What to do? For a while my head stopped hurting and now it’s hurting again!
Why did the Jews in 520 BC decide to continue to rebuild the temple when the King told them not to. Put simply – the prophets Haggai and Zechariah gave them God’s word. They said, “Here’s the King’s word and here’s God’s word.” The two words contradicted one another. They had to determine which word had greater value – the King’s or God’s. We know which way they went.
“OK, not so fast (and loose) Pastor Tim. You are creating a false equivalency. There is a big difference between King Artaxerxes’ decree to shut down the Temple and Governor Newsom’s ruling to shutter our churches (again).” I agree – there is no one-to-one equivalency, yet there is a profound analogy. So let me argue by way of analogy and not by way of equivalency. We have two wills and two words. God’s will for us and His word to us is to meet over against the Governor’s will for us and His word to us is not to meet. So, if that is all there is – this is a no-brainer for me – we go with God’s will and word. Yet the kicker here is that because of C19, the Governor’s ruling is for our good – it will help flatten the curve and expose less people. What to do? Which way to go? Along with hundreds and hundreds in not thousands of California churches, CC Fremont will continue to be open for service on Sundays – and here’s why.
- The cavalier attitude bordering on approval of socially irresponsible protests coupled with the authoritarian crackdown on socially responsible church services undermines the moral legitimacy of a government.
- Authoritarian crackdowns on businesses deemed as non-essential that practice the same socially responsible behaviors as those deemed essential undermines the moral legitimacy of a government.
- Our nation has seen this medical emergency mishandled – conflicting data and contradictory expert medical advice are almost a daily occurrence. I am confused by the cacophony of voices and find it difficult to conscientiously concur with a position I can’t intellectually agree with and one that negatively affects the Church of Jesus.
- We have not had any illness or transmission at CCF in the seven weeks we have been open. Proper distancing and masking has been and will be practiced in church services.
- There is a possibility of sickness, but there is the reality of spiritual damage as people remain absent from church and this becomes habitual and possibly even final for some.
- The Bible directs us to meet. In addition, the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. If Congress can’t restrict the free exercise of religion, someone further down the food chain cannot do so, either.
- I am beginning to think something I have resisted thinking since this whole thing began. I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, yet I can’t shake the sense that there is something nefarious afoot. I do not at all mean that Governor Newsom is of the devil or any such thing, yet we know from Scripture that a person can be used of God or Satan and not even be aware of it. I can’t prove that there is a conspiracy against the church, yet I have to remain true to my conscience and resist the spirit of the world to rein in the church. We are not unaware of principalities and powers set against the Church.
- I like what Pastor Miles McMahon of CC Sonora says: We are not practicing civil disobedience, we are practicing a higher obedience. Some say that the Church is full of rebels. That’s one way to look at it. I look at it and say that the Church is full of people who are compliant to a law that is above man’s law.
- In addition, if you are in disagreement with the decision to remain open over against the Governor’s ruling, you can remain absent – you are not compelled to attend. If you are sick or running a temperature or are coughing, please remain absent. If you are part of the ‘at-risk’ population, please remain at home. If you have any concerns or anxiety about contracting C9, you can remain absent. Obviously, church attendance is voluntary.
- And please know this – almost every pastor is in a lose-lose situation. If a pastor keeps the church open, he will be accused of carelessly disregarding the health of the congregants and the community – and some people can’t respect a pastor like that and may end up leaving the church. If a pastor decides it is best to close the church, he will be accused of cowardice and not boldly following the Word of God – and some people can’t respect a pastor like that and may end up leaving the church. My decision is not a political one. I didn’t ask myself, “What will make the most people happy and pleased with me?” My decision is a principled one.
This is getting long – but quickly back to the opening story. Without asking permission or seeking approval, the Jews of Jerusalem disobeyed the king’s edict and rose to rebuild the Temple. A search was made and it was discovered that King Cyrus of Persia had given permission to the Jews to rebuild the temple in 536 BC. And so permission was given again to the Jews to rebuild the Temple. They neither sought this permission nor would they have been dismayed if permission were not forthcoming. This is instructive for me…for we are the temple of the living God… 2 Corinthians 6:16
Anyway – that’s how I’m working through all this. And so, hope to see you this Sunday morning at 10 AM as we practice a higher obedience. If for whatever reason you can’t join us, know this – I love you and respect your decision. Join the livestream at 10 AM. Go to calvaryfremont.org and you’ll see where you can join the livestream service. Let’s all be in prayer for the Church of Jesus and our nation as we navigate these rapids.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
"Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24
I’ve played ‘hide & seek’ with my children and my grandchildren. They are really lousy at it (but they don’t know this). They hide behind objects which really don’t fully conceal them while they giggle & tremble with excitement. I could be blind and find them! Their hiding places are so obvious because what they were hiding behind is so inadequate.
Many grow up playing ‘hide & seek’ with God – and they’re really lousy at it (but they don’t know this). And the problem is obvious. Hiding from God is like trying to hide in a room where there is no furniture. How can the earth hide from the sun that is meant to warm it? How can the ocean hide from the rivers that flow into it? How can the mountains hide from the snow that blankets them? How can people hide from the God who created them? It would be easier for you to keep the sun from shining upon the earth or prevent the rivers from flowing into the sea or keep the snow from blanketing the mountains than it would be for you to hide from Him who fills the heavens and the earth.
And yet people still try to hide from God. It’s been going on since, well, the beginning of human history. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God and they must have passed on that piece of DNA code to their offspring. We’re hardwired to conceal ourselves from God – its’ like it’s in our blood. And there is a whole cottage industry of people who seek to help us hide from God. In this room where there is no furniture, they’ve found hiding places. It’s true – or so they tell us. The false prophets (FP) of Jeremiah’s day (about 600 BC) gave the people of Judah (lousy) places to hide. This is taken from Jeremiah 23:9-40. I won’t reproduce the text here. Read it!
The FP have the wrong message – v17. They say that the Lord won’t judge sin. People love to hear this stuff. It makes their ears tickle and they laugh and feel good. Why do the FP want the people to feel good? It is much easier to get money out of happy people than grumpy people.
The FP have the wrong influence – v14. They strengthen the hand of sinners. But v22 says that if they really knew the Lord they would have turned the people away from their evil deeds.
The FP have the wrong inspiration – v16. It’s a vision of their own imagination
This brings us to the heart of the text – v24 "Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?" declares the LORD. Where are people hiding? In the lying messages of the false prophets. The FP tell them:
- “God will not judge sin. God doesn’t care how you live your life.”
- “He is not a wicked stepmother, He is a tolerant grandfather with bad eyesight.”
- “God does not see sin. He’s not as small and picayunish as the preachers make Him out to be. He’s got more important things to do than to follow you around & make a record what you do.”
- “You’re not a sinner. A spark of the divine resides within you.”
And even as Adam/Eve fled into the forest to hide from Him who fills the heavens and the earth, so many are crowding into these empty words hoping they won’t come face-to-face with a holy God. Maybe there’s someone reading this who is hiding in the lying words of today’s false prophets. You’re hiding in an empty room. My children and grandchildren would scrunch up behind the furniture & shake with excitement hoping not to be seen by the seeker - but all to no avail. The lies of the FP provide no hiding place from Him who fills the heavens and the earth. There is no protection or shelter from His all consuming holiness & all piercing gaze. You will be found by Him – there is no hiding from God.
How can you hide from One who is everywhere? He cannot leave one place to go to another. His center is everywhere and His circumference is nowhere. Plato lived over 2,000 years ago. Columbus 500 years - he’s closer, but still far in time. Lincoln lived 170 years ago and is a stranger to us. President Kennedy was assassinated 57 years ago and who knows him? These are as near to you as their last breath. How can you hide from One who is eternal and is closer than the ground you walk on & closer than the air you breathe & closer than the thoughts you think?
There may be only one place God doesn’t fill – your heart. The God who is near, the One who fills the heavens and the earth desires to fill your heart. What do you need to do to be filled with God? Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you shall be saved!
Why would anyone want to hide from the love of God? Can you imagine someone breathlessly running up to you and saying, “See that man over there? Don’t let that man find me. He wants to give me $1,000,000.” Do you desire to hide from the One who created you and loves you and died for you and rose for you and desires to forgive you and give you eternal life? “Yes,” someone says, “Hide me from that monster.”
Religion is not the opiate of the masses. The messages of today’s false prophets and the dreams of a man-made utopia are the drugs that numb the soul to God. It is not truth, but lies that stupefy the people and keep them in the fog of denying the One who fills the heaven and the earth. The lies of the false prophets are no hiding place at all. Come to Jesus.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 10, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
“Hoosiers” is a great film. It tells the story of a basketball team from a small Indiana high school who make it to the State Championships. As they walk into the arena where the championship game is to be played, they’re overwhelmed and intimidated by the size of the venue and there is a felt sense of shrinking back from the task before them. In a brilliant move, Gene Hackman, the coach, takes out a tape measure and asks the boys how high the basket is from the floor – it’s ten feet high. How wide is the key – it’s 12 feet wide. How far is basket from free throw line – it’s 15 feet from free throw line to the basket. The point he’s making is clear – the basketball court in this huge arena is the exact same size and has the same dimensions as the court in their less than glamourous gym back home. They are playing the same game on the same size court governed by the same rules wherever they play. Different arenas don’t mean changing standards.
Some people ask, “What is the Church going to do if the Democrats win the Presidential election?” To them that is overwhelming and intimidating. Others ask, “What is the Church going to do if we have another four years of President Trump?” To them that is overwhelming and intimidating. My answer is, “Nothing changes for the Church. Jesus gave us our mandate 2,000 years ago.” Let’s take out the divine tape measure and determine what it is the Church is to be doing. Jesus said –
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
Honest question - what changes for the Church if there is a Democratic president? What changes for the Church if there is another four years of Donald Trump? What do we do differently? Does the mandate of Jesus for the Church vary depending on who’s in office? Do the lines move? What changes for the Church if there is a Caesar or a Caliph or a Premier or a President or a Prime Minister or a King or a Queen or a Dictator or Anarchy or a Committee of 12 or a Right or a Left? Is the Great Commission Jesus gave the Church to be understood one way under Feudalism and another way under Capitalism and then again differently under Socialism and them differently again under Communism. Various methodologies of mission and ministry may be adopted and abandoned, but the core mission and message of the Church is ageless. Jesus said so – “I am with you to the end of the age.” The commission He gave the Church is in force until the end of the age.
Should the Church work for ‘what’s good for the Nation?’ What’s good for the Nation isn’t necessarily what’s good for the Church. Will the Church grow and prosper in a Republican administration more than in a Democrat administration? Or vice-versa? I have my preferences in the administration I’d like to see govern the Nation, but I’m not persuaded that the Church would thrive any more than if another administration were in office. If certain liberties were lost and the economy was mismanaged is this bad for the Church? Why? It’s very possible that a mismanaged, micro-managed, authoritarian Nation would have people growing desperate and calling on the name of the Lord in record numbers. Remember – we’ve been praying for revival!
What changes for the Church in a mismanaged, micro-managed, authoritarian Nation? Nothing. The Great Commission remains the measure and substance of our mission. The mission of the Church isn’t to defeat the Democrats. The mission of the Church isn’t to defeat Donald Trump. The mission of the Church isn’t to save our Nation from Socialism – or from Capitalism – or to uphold the Constitution. The mission of the Church is to save people from sin and hell and teach them to walk in the ways of Christ. When the Church weds Herself to a political ideology, the gospel plays second fiddle to that ideology.
The Judaizers followed Paul around and said that Jesus is cool and all that, but unless you’re circumcised according to Moses, you can’t be saved. For them, the gospel served the law. The way some present the gospel it sounds like they’re saying that unless you’re circumcised according to Trump you can’t be saved. Or Biden. Or Socialism. Or Capitalism. Or MAGA. I have stuff in my files that tell me that if I vote for Biden I’m probably not a Christian. Or if I vote for Trump I’m probably not a Christian. And what ends up happening? We talk about Trump and Biden – and Jesus is on the outside of the Church - knocking on the door. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…Let Me back in.” Jesus wants His Church back. Get your ideologically stained hands off the Church.
Whether basketball is played in an Olympic Stadium or in a ramshackle gym, the dimensions of the court are the same. Whether the game is played before the cultural elite or the neighborhood regulars, the rules are the same. Whether played for money or just for kicks, the players play to win.
Jesus has never changed the mission of the Church. Methods change, the message remains the same in Africa, Asia, America, Australia, Antarctica, Europe – for all people in all places through all of time.
- Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
- This is good news for Democrats and Republicans, Dictators and Prime Ministers, Socialists and Capitalists.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 9, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The dying cry of George Floyd was just loud enough to trigger an avalanche of pent up anger and emotion. A mountain of protests and marches came down upon America flinging boulders of violence and mayhem. Chaos and incoherence crashed down upon us and buried a nation and threatened to even snuff out the voice of reason itself. Rational voices were marginalized and silenced and only the voices of a newly imagined American landscape were heard. Protesting the protesters became a very dangerous enterprise. Any pushback given to a newly imagined America was shouted down and labeled as hate speech spoken by racists and white supremacists.
But it was bound to happen sooner or later. “I can feel coming in the air tonight, oh Lord.” Sanity began to dig itself out from under the rubble of the cultural debris. People began to think through what was being demanded and how it was being demanded. Thought was given to the kind of world that would emerge from the cocoon of COVID quarantine and cultural chaos – and it wasn’t a culture with wings. It seemed like a butterfly went into the cocoon and a caterpillar would be emerging.
Pastor Jay McCarl sent me “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” dated July 7, 2020, and signed by 152 public figures. Among them is JK Rowling – of Harry Potter Fame, and Salman Rushdie who brought the wrath of the Muslim world down upon his head for writing, “The Satanic Verses.” Here follows a portion of the letter –
“The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted. While we have come to expect this on the radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty. We uphold the value of robust and even caustic counter-speech from all quarters. But it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought.”
The amazing thing is that this letter is signed by those who believe that both President Trump AND the political Left hold a threat to democracy in America. Now whether you believe that or not – here’s the thing – they have the right to say this. Censorship and punishing someone for their point of view is un-American AND un-Christian. We don’t live in a theocracy, but in a democracy. If we, as Christians, demand free speech and bark long and loud when we think it is being threatened, we have to extend that same freedom to those who have set themselves against us. And so where I may disagree with their religious and political and philosophical views – I see the signers of this letter as allies in the culture war. I praise God for this letter and its signatories.
My favorite bumper sticker of all times reads: “I may disagree with what your bumper sticker says, but I’ll defend to the death your right to stick it.”
Some of you work in companies where freedom of speech is not a reality. If you speak out against abortion or share the Biblical viewpoint on sexuality, if you speak negatively of the radical political agenda of Black Lives Matter you will be shamed and possibly even fired. Since we are in a season of time where justice is on the front burner we need to call this out as unjust. Some of you began your employment as butterflies, but the corporate culture forced you into a cocoon of groupthink and proscribed speech and you have emerged as a caterpillar. The signers of this letter say that it’s time to stop crawling and let’s spread our wings again.
As followers of Jesus, we can latch on to anything that will advance the cause of the gospel.
- In Titus 1:12 Paul quoted a non-Christian Cretan prophet to make a point.
- In Acts 17 Paul referenced an idol to the Unknown God put in place by a non-Christian to make a point.
- Paul took advantage of a Roman law to escape prosecution before a Jewish court so he could continue to preach the gospel.
Christians can make allies of non-Christians when our interests run in the same direction. We can use these points of agreement as points of departure in service of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank the Lord for this letter pushing back against oppressive speech codes and pray that it will be used to help us dig out from under this avalanche of chaos and incoherence and intimidation that has threatened to bury our nation and our voices. Speak up and speak out for the gospel. May the Church never lose its nerve and never lose its voice.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 8, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running. Christopher McDougall
Many of us identify with and feel the drivenness of the picture this presents to the imagination - eat or be eaten/run or die/victory or defeat – whatever you do, stay ahead of the game!
- We know what it is to feel like a lion. I’m the hunter – I’ve got to score/make my mark/be stronger/run faster…
- We know what it is to feel like a gazelle. I’m the hunted – I’ve got to avoid being fired/dodge the bill collectors/stay one step ahead…
I’m a pastor and it’s easy to feel like a lion one day and a gazelle the next. I’m on the run, working hard to get the people to like me, and make the church grow and keep it running… If I don’t hit the ground running, I’ll be eaten or I’ll starve.
Then the Lord says to me: “Tim, your job is to point to Me. My job is to grow the church. You’ve got it all wrong. You’re not a lion or a gazelle, you’re My child.” Then I realize that I’m not living in the jungle or on the savanna, I’m living in the kingdom of God. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, lived in this truth.
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5
David testified: God is before me and behind me; He is above me and below me; my God surrounds me!
- “You mean I don’t have to hit the ground running in the morning?”
- “That’s right – I want you to hit the ground resting. I want you to go through life knowing that I love you. You don’t have to strive to get ahead. I don’t want you to live a driven life where you have to run over people to get ahead or live in fear of being run over. I want you to live a gentle life.”
Gentle? Really? That sounds absolutely underwhelming. Gentle is almost as wimpy as the word “nice.” I read once that church is where a nice man tells nice people how to be nicer. I bristled at that. I wanted to bite the one who wrote it.
‘Gentle’ applies to wild animals that have been tamed and excited or irritable people that have been calmed. Gentle is the opposite of wild – not insisting on its own way and waiting for direction from its master. Do you want to ride a horse that’s been broken or a bucking bronco? Do you want Cujo or Lassie off the leash around your children? Some people are bucking broncos and snarling dogs. When I meet them, the word ‘gentle’ doesn’t come to mind.
“But what if someone gets in my way, Lord?” “Let Me handle that,” He says. A man at church was told that a man at work was talking behind his back and that he better watch his back and take this guy down. He was told that he was a gazelle and a lion was going for this throat. He said, “I’ll let the Lord handle it.” This is gentleness at work. He didn’t go home and begin to sharpen his claws – he cast his cares upon the Lord.
‘Rough’ is the antonym of ‘gentle’ – it carries the opposite range of meaning. We’re familiar with the phrase, ‘rough neighborhood.’ It brings to mind a group of people who don’t care about me and would sooner hurt me than help me. I think of lions in midair, mouths open, and the gazelle’s throat is just inches away. We are in the middle of a pretty rough season of time in America. It reminds me of the description of Africa. When I watch the news I see a bunch of lions in midair, mouths open, going for the throat. Against this backdrop of lions and gazelles I hear Jesus say -
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."Matthew 11:28-30
When my inner lion begins to growl and my claws begin to extend, I hear Jesus calling me to gentleness. No, being gentle isn’t to play the role of the gazelle. Being gentle is taking the posture of trusting in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to surround me and protect me. Gentleness is born of strength, not weakness. It’s also good to know that God has ordained government to be a lion. Here’s what the apostle Paul says of government –
… if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Romans 13:4
Even now, when it seems as if government has lost its roar and has no bite and there are movements to declaw the government, I am still called to the gentleness of Christ. I am not called to bear the Sword – I am called to bear the Cup of Christ. Brothers and Sisters – you are not lions or gazelles. You are Sons and Daughters of God Almighty made so through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The thing is – both lions and gazelles are tired of running. When the sun comes up you don’t have to run for you are called to rest – rest in Christ and in the power of His might.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the Edomites destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the Edomites, they helped to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20:23
Hmmm. Weird. The armies of the Ammonites and Moabites and Edomites banded together for one purpose – to attack and defeat King Jehoshaphat and Judah – but then they destroy one another. Looks like America today – we’re destroying one another. Right vs Left. Radical vs Conservative. Black vs White vs Blue. Democrat vs Republican. Fox News vs CNN. Health experts vs Conspiratorialists. Deep State vs Elected State. Pro-mask vs Anti-Mask. Pro Black Lives Matter vs pro black lives matter. Antifa vs Police. Municipalities vs Police. Government vs People. People vs Government. America is eating itself alive. If this were a gladiatorial ring – there would be blood everywhere.
And I’m in there somewhere slugging it out. But should I be? Are these my battles to fight or do I have another loyalty to pursue? Someone could ably argue that I am a Christian and a citizen at the same time and so, of course, I should be in there somewhere – rooting for and advocating for my position and my values. Someone else could ably argue that though I am a Christian and a citizen simultaneously, I am not a Christian and a citizen equally even as I am a husband and an employee simultaneously, but I am not a husband and an employee equally. One of these allegiances has a higher priority for me – and a deeper obligation and a greater love.
King Jehoshaphat and his generals didn’t watch the three armies fighting one another and say, “Let’s wait and see who is going to be victorious and join with them.” The kingdom of Judah had interests that lay outside all the nations battling it out in front of them. To help one of the armies would be to ally themselves with that army and be its partner. They had no desire to partner with a nation which would not forward their national interest. I have no desire to join a movement which moves me or others away from the cause of Christ and His kingdom. There is no political party or social justice platform that is coextensive with the heart of God as manifested in the kingdom of God. I have passions and pursuits that lay outside either the Democratic or Republican parties. I have passions and pursuits that lay outside Black Lives Matter and Marxist critiques of our nation. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Church should not take a knee before any cause or party demanding our allegiance and alliance. We stand apart – like the armies of Judah looking on as these nations devoured each other.
Yes, I am a Christian and a citizen simultaneously – but not equally. My highest interest and greatest passion as a Christian is to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ and love Jesus and live a life of obedience to Jesus. Does this lead to political passivity or social indifference? Quite the opposite. Jesus has much to say to politicians and cultural influencers. I don’t want to be a representative of Republicans or Democrats or Black or White or anything else except Jesus Christ. Yes, of course, I have my moral philosophy and political persuasions and identification with the party I think most closely aligns themselves with this. But should I jump in the fray and become a cultural warrior or a political partisan or social radical who slashes and burns all who interfere with my vision of America the Beautiful or America the Just? Any group that you get caught up in that brings you to damn someone and not bless them in the name of Jesus is not a group you need to identify with. Any movement that moves you away from the heart of God is a movement you need to move away from.
As a Christian you can:
- Have a care and concern for environmental issues without becoming a self-righteous jerk…
- Have a care and concern for the ethical treatment of animals without becoming sanctimonious…
- Have a heart for the poor without hating the rich…
- Be an advocate for racial justice without being twisted by anger…
- Be a champion of immigration reform without condemning others…
What Balaam says of Israel can be said of the Church, also. "As I see him from the top of the rocks, and I look at him from the hills; behold, a people who dwells apart, and will not be reckoned among the nations.” Numbers 23:9
Who you are in Christ is to direct how you are in the world. How you are in the world is to reflect who you are in Christ.
- If any cause you champion brings you to hate another person, if any concern you have brings you to consider someone else as the enemy, you’ve been moved from the love of God.
- If any cause you’ve championed silences the gospel in you, you’ve been moved from the cause of Christ.
We are Christians and a citizens simultaneously, but not equally. We are a people set apart in Christ. May the love of God triumph in your heart and may the cause of Christ never be second to anything else.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 3, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The political cowardice, moral compromise and philosophical confusion we see all around us accompanied by lawlessness, irrationality and violence holds great promise for the gospel!
2 Kings 4 tells the story of a bunch of prophets-in-training gathering ingredients to be used for lunch. They placed their contributions into a pot on the fire to be boiled into a stew. Unbeknownst to them, one of them had picked up a gourd from a poisonous vine that made its way into the stew. When they went to eat the stew, they tasted the poison and cried out, “There is death in the pot.” (No, this is not an anti-cannabis article!) They couldn’t eat it or they would ingest enough poison to imperil their health. If you read history you discover that there is death in a lot of pots.
CHOP came down this last week. The Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone in Seattle became an unviable social experiment. It went the way of all utopias – and in record time! Squalor, crime, rapes, shootings, and murders brought it to a screeching halt. There was death in the pot. Man apart from God can only contribute to what in the long run will eventuate in death in the pot. The drugs, sex, and rock ‘n roll of the hippies didn’t result in a utopia – it fell into despair. This can be demonstrated by the three most popular rock songs of the 20th century.
The most popular rock song of the 20th century is the Rolling Stones’ ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.’ Here is a portion of the lyrics.
When I'm driving in my car / And that man comes on the radio / And he's telling me more and more / About some useless information / Supposed to fire my imagination / I can't get no, oh no, no, no!
That great British theologian Mick Jagger tells us that no matter what he tries, he can’t get any satisfaction. He tries and he tries and he tries and he tries – you get the point. He has all that he’s ever wanted, but doesn’t possess that which he needs. His heart is empty and restless. The Summer of his sexual escapades and drug intoxicated living and fame and stardom have led him to his Fall. A life of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll hold great promise for the gospel! What he brought into his life resulted in death in the pot. When the one spent from crazy living realizes they are still empty, lonely and unfulfilled, the Church points to Jesus. “Hey, Mick, I know where you can get satisfaction!”
The second most popular rock song of the 20th century is Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect.’ Here is a sample of the lyrics.
What you want / Baby, I got it / What you need / Do you know I got it? / All I'm askin' / Is for a little respect when you get home (just a little bit) / Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home / (Just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)
Mick’s driving around looking for satisfaction and Aretha just wants her man to sock her some respect when he gets home. And this is a reasonable request. She wants some hard-earned appreciation and the admiration that a man committed to a woman should freely give to her. A little later in the song are these lyrics: Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit) / And find out I'm gone (just a little bit)
What’s she saying? “There’s death in the pot! I can’t partake of this relationship anymore – this is poisoning my soul.” Her expectations were swallowed by Her disappointment – and this holds great promise for the gospel! “Hey, Aretha, I know of One who loves and respects you so much that He sacrificed everything to make you His bride.”
The third most popular rock song of the 20th century is Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ Here’s a few lines –
There's a lady who's sure / All that glitters is gold / And she's buying a stairway to Heaven / When she gets there she knows / If the stores are all closed / With a word she can get what she came for / And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
Her thinking about heaven is wrong – it’s not some kind of open-all-night mall. Her method for getting to heaven is flawed – you can’t buy your way there. Yet though her thinking and method are wacky – her vision is at least in the right direction. She’s looking to and thinking about and wanting to go to heaven. That’s a great start! Like Mick, she can’t find satisfaction on earth and so maybe, just maybe, heaven holds the fulfillment she so desperately needs. Her world falling apart holds great promise for the gospel!
These influential songs that contain the hopes and dreams and frustrations of a generation all point away from the ability of this world to satisfy that results in the fulfillment the human heart was created for. All our searching for satisfaction and demanding respect and shopping will result in death in the pot. And that’s not the Church saying that – that’s the world saying that! The world is saying that the world doesn’t satisfy! The world is saying there’s death in the pot. Amazing!
When the prophets-in-training cry out to Elisha that there is death in the pot, he says, "Now bring meal." He threw it into the pot and said, "Pour it out for the people that they may eat." Then there was no harm in the pot. 2 Kings 4:41
The meal is a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ. May you be used of God to bring Jesus to the souls of broken people deceived by false promises. There’s death in the pot, but there’s life in Christ. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, people will be hungrier for God than they ever have been. You be ready for them. Something big is coming!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
About 2,800 years ago King Ahab introduced Israel to the Canaanite god, Baal. Before too long, Baal got a lot more airplay and tweets than Yahweh, the God of Israel. Israel was losing interest in Yahweh. The Israelites had already alienated themselves from the God who brought them out of Egypt and this just added insult to injury. God, being Israel’s husband, is a jealous husband, and desiring an exclusive love relationship with His wife Israel, wanted to win back their loyalty and affection. So He sent Elijah the marriage counselor to them. Elijah was to work out a reconciliation between God and Israel.
To effect a reconciliation, Elijah called for a debate. He would argue Yahweh’s side and try and demonstrate why Yahweh was better than Baal and seek to persuade Israel to be reconciled to Yahweh. Ahab retained the services of False & Prophet who would argue Baal’s case and try and demonstrate why he was superior to Yahweh. Elijah determined the rules of the debate. False & Prophet would build an altar and put wood on it and then cut up an ox and put it on the wood – but they couldn’t light the wood on fire. And then he would do the same. And then he said this –
"Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea." 1 Kings 18:24
Hmmmm… I wonder if that is a good idea. Did Elijah know what he was doing? Baal is the sun god – the god of fire. Someone chuckled to his friend, “Elijah is challenging the god of fire to a fire-making contest! And I thought he was smart.”This Israelite was amused because fire was Baal’s thing – this is how he made his living. This is like challenging Mike Tyson to a boxing match. Elijah is going to climb into the ring with the sun god!! This can’t end well – sparks are going to fly.
Elijah challenged Baal at his strongest point and we as Christians can challenge a culture running away from God at the point of its deepest bondage. Baal is alive today. He is not known as the sun god – today he goes by the name of sex and money and power. The god of sex, money, and power has a strong grip on our culture and can make a person feel pretty good and can impart a sense of security and satisfaction and significance. But the error of ancient Israel is the error of America today – we have made the immediate the ultimate. Baal was the sun god, but Yahweh was the one who made the sun. Sex and money and power can impart a sense of security and satisfaction and significance, but these experiences are fleeting and ephemeral – here today and gone tomorrow. Only Yahweh holds eternity in His hand. Like Elijah, the Church boldly challenges the strongholds and strangleholds of money, sex, and power. The Church holds up the ultimate truth of salvation in Christ as an invitation to those in the pursuit of immediate security and satisfaction and significance through the accumulation of money, sex, and power.
Well, False & Prophet tried all day to persuade Baal to send fire to the altar they had made and consume the ox they had cut up and put there – but nothing happened. Elijah called on the name of Yahweh and fire came from heaven and consumed the offering he had laid out on his altar. It was spectacular. The people fell on their faces and cried out, “Yahweh is God; Yahweh is God!” This exciting contest is told in 1 Kings 18. You should read it – you’ll be blessed. And there is so much to say and point out, but please notice what Elijah didn’t do – he didn’t use words. He didn’t employ formal logic to persuade Israel away from the immediate and back to the ultimate. He didn’t explain why Baal was inferior to Yahweh or how people had invented Baal, but it was Yahweh who created people. He didn’t employ familiar apologetic methods because the need of the hour wasn’t refutation but demonstration. Elijah didn’t tell the people that God would answer by reason or by logic, but by fire! The burning need today is for the fire of God to fall!
Lest I be labeled some kind of anti-intellectual Neanderthal please know that I love evidentiary apologetics and I like presuppositional apologetics. They certainly have their place in the Church. Any and every argument that exalts Jesus and dismantles unbelief and upholds the gospel should be used – but not as a replacement for the fire of God! As I see a culture stampeding away from God, we should have our apologists out there calling them to reason – and we should have our prophets out there calling for the fire of God. I have been reading and listening to the voices and reasonings of Progressive Christians and Process theologians. These are smart people with some very sophisticated reasonings. As I listen to and read them I am asking God to send His fire down upon them. Not to consume them! but to save them! One thing their system of theology can’t bring them is the fire of God. “O, God, send Your fire.”
In the Church of today we have more and more education and less and less manifestation. We have more light than heat. We need less explanation and more explosion. Elijah challenging Baal stands as a demonstration of the power and glory of God over against a false religious system and a spiritually apathetic people. Calling a culture from the immediate into the ultimate will take the glorification of Jesus and the visitation of the Holy Spirit. “Holy Spirit, come. Fall in power upon Your Church and upon our nation. Glorify Jesus Christ, we pray. Be the God who answers by fire. May love for the Son of God replace worship of the sun god. May the people fall on their faces and cry out, ‘The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.’ In the strong name of Jesus – make it so.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
July 1, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. There is a general process to cancel culture. Evidence is discovered of someone, usually a public figure but also businesses, saying something offensive, typically involving racism, sexism, or disparagement of other minority groups (LGBTQ people, immigrants, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities). This information spreads online, and social media users call for the person’s cancellation, which comes in various forms of not supporting their work in any way or of that person losing their job.
Cancel Culture was taken to cosmic ends this last Friday when Shaun King tweeted: “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been.” Yikes! Not only are General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate flag and also George Washington and Abraham Lincoln not safe from the advocates of Cancel Culture, now even Jesus isn’t safe from the destructive passion of the seething masses. Theophobia is everywhere. The adage is true: history repeats itself. 2,000 years ago, Pontius Pilate cried out to the Jewish crowd assembled outside the Roman Praetorium, “What should I do with Jesus?” And the crowd roared back, “Cancel Him; cancel Him.” Pilate responded with, “Take and cancel Him yourselves.” And they did. But Jesus came back from that cancellation pretty quickly and I have no doubts that any cancellations that might take place during this season of time won’t fatally wound Him. It’s hard to keep a Good Man down!
Cancel Culture was anticipated about 3,000 years ago in the book of Psalms –
Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
"Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" Psalm 2:1-3
Not only does this passage anticipate Cancel Culture, it also predicts and describes our culture’s departure from the Judeo-Christian ethic as contained in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. The transcendent holy God calling us to love and faith and obedience, an objective moral code, the expectation of accountability and responsibility, and the sure prospect of judgment before this holy God can be quite intimidating to someone who has no intention of keeping step with the Judeo-Christian ethic. And so they cry out, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast way their cords from us.” The call to spiritual competency and moral responsibility are too taxing. The commands and the instructions of the Bible are too rigid – they are seen as chains and cords must be torn off and thrown away. Basically, they are saying to the Bible, “You’re cancelled.” Cancel Culture is nothing new. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees kept trying to catch Jesus saying something dumb and un-Jewish so that they could discredit Him to the people. They tried shaming before they went to the extreme of crucifixion. They tried to nail Him with words before they nailed Him to the cross.
Psalm 2 continues –
He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
"But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." Psalm 2:4-6
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! Psalm 2:10-12
The Cancelled Christ is the Coronated Christ. The Jesus they thought they cancelled has been on the air every day for 2,000 years. He is not rotting in a tomb, He is reigning on a throne! Though statues of Jesus may topple, the Son on the throne of heaven remains untouched by human hatred and rebellion. And here’s the amazing thing - though the nations are in an uproar and the peoples are devising a vain thing – they are invited to repentance and worship. The God they want to cancel is the God who wants to renew them. The Church of Jesus is called to cry out to the Cancel Culture who are running from the holy God –
“Lay down your pride and outrage and come to Jesus the Savior. Lay down your hatred and violent ambition and be embraced by the arms of your loving heavenly Father. Be warned and be wise – Christ isn’t the one facing cancellation. Bow before Jesus and be blessed in His refuge.”
People ask, “What should the posture and position of the Church be in this season of time?” Well – the marching orders of the Church have never changed. We are to stand in the path of the stampeding nations and preach Jesus. Point people to Jesus. When so many voices are raised in anger and accusation – may your voice be raised in invitation to the arms of God.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The events of the last six weeks help me to see texts like this in a new light.
God takes His stand in His own congregation;
He judges in the midst of the rulers.
How long will you judge unjustly
And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. Psalm 82:1-4
The events of the last six weeks make a text like this glow in the dark.
The events of the last six weeks have shown me that the prophetic call for justice and compassion remains the word of the Lord and the work of the Lord.
On a related note, I read an article yesterday that an Atlanta police officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks for falling asleep in the drive-thru line at a Wendy’s. I read on, but there was no further description of the event. That was it. Rayshard Brooks fell asleep in line at a Wendy’s drive-thru and the police shot and killed him. I was stunned at such dishonest reporting. I am making no judgment as to whether the shooting was justified or not – I’m making a comment on the dishonest reporting of the event.
This article forced me to ask myself if I, whether in my preaching or writing or in regular conversation, present matters in such a biased way that I will sacrifice fullness of description in order to lead people to the conclusion I desire. I realize I have my biases – everybody does – but does my bias come at the expense of honesty and truth. We’ve all seen legal dramas, and hear in the news, where the prosecuting attorney withholds exculpatory evidence in order to secure a conviction. The prosecutor knows that a certain piece of evidence demonstrates the innocence of the accused, but in order to secure a conviction, he or she withholds it. This is injustice on steroids. And the question is – do I do this? Has my bias so perverted and twisted my thinking that I have to withhold certain truths in order to establish a case?
As I read Psalm 82 this morning and remembered the article on Rayshard Brooks, I asked the Lord to give me eyes to see the truth and a mouth to speak the truth. Let’s not be blind to injustice around us nor be deaf to the biases within us.
“Father, may my eyes be open to truth and may my mouth be open in truth. In the strong name of Jesus – Amen.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 26, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
House 1.0 was built and collapsed sometime later.
House 1.0 was rebuilt and collapsed sometime later.
Someone said, “We need a better plan.”
House 2.0 was built and collapsed sometime later.
House 2.0 was rebuilt and collapsed sometime later.
Someone said, “We need a better plan.”
House 3.0 was built and collapsed sometime later.
House 3.0 was rebuilt and collapsed sometime later.
Someone said, “Hey, come check this out. The wood that we’ve been using on all these houses and plans is rotten through and through. The problem isn’t inadequate plans – the problem is the corrupted material.”
You have just received a crash course in Biblical anthropology. Theology is the study of the nature of God whereas anthropology is the study of the nature of man. The Bible says that humankind is corrupted material. Jeremiah puts it this way –
The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
It’s hard to build with corrupted materials. History is littered with the fallen houses of man. Empire after Empire has come and gone. Utopia after Utopia has risen and crashed. Worker’s Paradise after Worker’s Paradise has been established and then have been flattened due to the corruption of man. The socialist utopias of the Soviet Union and China and North Korea and Vietnam and Yugoslavia and Venezuela are epic failures. These houses have collapsed. Yet there are always the blind and ignorant who want to build them again.
Milovan Dilas was a Yugoslavian intellectual and a one-time Communist. The Marxist teaching of Communism is that history is pushing us toward a classless society. Everybody will be equal and all will flourish in a socialist society – or so Karl Marx taught. Dilas became disillusioned with Communism as it developed in the Soviet system and wrote a book entitled “The New Class.” In it he traces how Communism didn’t eliminate the haves and have-nots, Communism didn’t equalize society, but instead created a new class of oppressors and super-rich. The blueprints of a socialist, Communist society looked good on paper, but when you build with rotten wood, the structure collapses.
Whatever house man builds will bear the limitations of his fallenness. Whatever house man builds will have winners and losers and the have and have-nots. Whatever house man builds will collapse because he is building with corrupted material. Our hearts long, like Abraham, “…for…the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:10
There will be a number of blueprints for rebuilding our society waved in our faces by well meaning people on how to go forward after the health crisis of COVID-19, the economic challenges it presented, and the social chaos brought forth in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Some plans will be better than others. Not all ideas are created equal. I think that as a political system, constitutional democracy works better than a dictatorship – but it’s not without it’s flaws. As an economic system, capitalism works better than communism – but it’s not without its flaws.
While we’re on the earth, we’ll have to sift through different blueprints and judge their relative merits. But let’s not for one minute think that the plans of man can establish the kingdom of God. Like Abraham, let’s look for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. No other foundation can be laid than that of Jesus Christ – crucified, risen, ascended, reigning, coming again. So, am I a pessimist? No. I am a Biblical pessimist – which means my pessimism is laced with hope. Not hope in man and the houses we can build, but hope in God and in the kingdom He has established.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 24, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Two men got to talking and discovered they had both been alcoholics and each had been sober for 25 years. The first man said, “I haven’t even been tempted to drink for 25 years. God delivered me from even the desire for alcohol.” The second man sagged a little bit and hung his head slightly and said, “I struggle with the temptation to drink alcohol every day. But God gives me the strength day-by-day to not drink.”
Which of these men is more spiritual? Which of these men demonstrates a greater depth of maturity, resilience of faith, and strength of character?
Some would say that the first man – the one who has no desire for alcohol – is the more spiritual because not only has his drinking ceased, but his desire to drink is gone, too. Others would point to the second man as demonstrating greater Christian character because even in the face of daily temptation he walks in obedience to God, depends upon the power of the Spirit, and refuses to drink. Some in the first group would argue that even the desire for sin and the attraction to sin is an indication of spiritual mediocrity. They imply that even the pull of temptation, the attraction to sin is a defeat. I disagree – and here’s why.
Satan lives in my backyard. OK, maybe not literally – but I am reminded of him every time I walk on to the back deck. We have carpenter bees that bore into the wood of my patio and burrow there and make it their home. They raise their families and have other carpenter bees over for BBQ’s and sleepovers. It’s true. I even saw one trying to shove a big screen TV into the ¾ inch hole he bored into my wood. I told myself that I have a carpenter bee infestation. I looked up the signs of carpenter bee infestation on GOOGLE:
“The most common signs of a carpenter bee infestation are the round, smooth holes that carpenter bees bore into wood.” This is like saying, “The most common sign of carpenter bee infestation is infestation.” This is like saying, the most common sign of the presence of sin is the presence of sin!
I have fought WW3 in order to get rid of the devil’s emissaries.
- I have spackled over the their holes – and yet that doesn’t deter them. These little demons bore through that easier than the wood they had to bore through in the first place.
- I have used liquid nails to seal off the holes and discourage this horde of evilness. I think they think it’s candy and they go right through it.
- I have flooded their holes with wasp spray. But these little suckers are patient – they just wait for it to dry up and wear off and they come back with seven carpenter bees more evil than themselves.
- I have used thick caulking and jammed it into the holes using a caulking gun. I can hear them laughing at me in the distance. I feel so defeated.
- I’ve discovered that sometimes a fly swatter is effective!
Our fight against sin is like my fight against these carpenter bees – constant, continual, violent. I wish I could conquer sin to the point where the very desire for sin would be gone – like the first former alcoholic in the opening story – but I must carry a tracking device or something because sin always knows right where I am. What God told Cain could be told us –
“…sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Genesis 4:7
When sin seeks to bore into your life, you need to resist it constantly, continually, and violently – with spackle and caulking and liquid nails and poison spray and more than a swat or two. Sin desires to bore in and make itself at home. You must master it – becomes its ruler. You must conquer it and not allow it to conquer you.
- Ephesians 6 speaks of the armor of God that is a defense against sin and Satan and his schemes.
- The infilling of the Holy Spirit gives us power over sin.
- The Word of God richly indwelling us gives us an authority over sin.
Use every tool you have to master the sin that wants to drill into your life and make a home there and draw you away from God. The enemy is bearing down and boring in with a tremendous ferocity during this season of time. The triumph of sin will lead to a new ice age. Here’s what Jesus said -
Because lawlessness is increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12
The news these days is nothing but footage and reports of nonstop lawlessness in so many of our cities. Sin leads to lawlessness which leads to lovelessness. Sin not only destroys your fellowship with God, it can freeze your relationship with other people. Don’t allow this to happen. You be the master. Disagreement with someone doesn’t breed unloving division – sin does this. Be aware of when your soul begins to freeze over.
- Anger at another solely because they disagree with you is a sign of a soul freezing over.
- Stubbornness to the point of refusing to acknowledge the superiority of a point made by the ‘other side’ is a sign of a soul freezing over.
- Demonizing those who disagree with you is a sign of a soul freezing over.
- Mocking those who disagree with you is a sign of a soul freezing over.
- Refusal to forgive others or confess your own sin is a sign of a soul freezing over.
The burrowing in of sin robs you of the ability to move in Christlike love toward another. Like the second former alcoholic in the opening story – struggle every day against sin and the lawlessness leading to lovelessness. Jesus will empower you by His Word and Spirit to overcome the desire of sin to master you. Don’t allow the lovelessness of lawlessness to even begin to harden your heart. May you live in the warmth of the love of the Son of God.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 23, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Caleb, our youth pastor, asked me yesterday how the past three months have changed me. I cited an epistemological crisis (epistemology: how do we know what we know?) I don’t know what I don’t know and I don’t know who to trust to tell me what I don’t know. That’s not so much a change as it is a challenge. I am not so much stunned at what I don’t know – but I do feel crippled at times because I don’t know who to trust to give me reliable information. Doctor This says That and Doctor That says This. I don’t know know if I should believe This and That or That and This. It can be so confusing. I haven’t had headaches these last three months, but my head has hurt quite a bit!
Where I really feel a change is where empathy has allowed me to understand a little bit of the pain and suffering of the black community. Yes, I am well aware that racial anger can be leveraged in very unhealthy ways and toward unhelpful ends, yet there remains a core body of unpoliticized pain and suffering. There has been a call for the removal of the Confederate flag and statues of Confederate soldiers and the renaming of military bases named after Confederate officials. Every time I have heard these demands before, I have said to myself, “That’s dumb,” and then went back to doing whatever I was doing.
This last week, I heard a clip of Don Lemon (CNN commentator) and Ben Shapiro (a Jew) discussing this. Lemon asked Shapiro if he would like to attend Hitler High School. When he asked that question, so many things fell into place for me. I told myself that it would be cruel to ask a Jew to attend Hitler High School. Why then isn’t it an equally cruel thing to fly the symbols and erect the statues of men who would have kept the black man enslaved to this day if they had their way. Why is it so culturally enriching to keep in the public eye reminders of those historical forces that would strip the black man of his liberty and pursuit of happiness?
I just read an article that history wouldn’t be erased if the Confederate flag and the statues came down and names of military installations were changed. History is written in the books. No one is changing or erasing history. What is happening is that we are striving to remove the stumbling blocks that divide and threaten the civility of our common life. Yes, Confederacy is part of the legacy of the South, indeed, of our whole nation. National Socialism (the Nazis) is part of the legacy of Germany – yet it should not be glorified and put on public display. I bet there is some sin that is part of your legacy, yet I doubt you would want me or your church or even your spouse to know.
I carry 9-11 inside me, as I am sure you do, too. The horror of that day and how it impacted our nation and each of us individually is something akin to a psychic scar. The history of the black man in America is horrific – it has left a psychic scar – they carry it with them. I have changed in that I have heard their pain and their suffering and believe that we as a nation should do what we can to not shove the memory of oppression and bigotry in their face. Even as a Hitler High would be in-your-face to a Jew, so what I have seen previously as historical symbols commemorating the Confederacy, I can now see how they serve as oppressive symbols and as being in-your-face for the black community.
Can you imagine a husband having a photograph of a former girlfriend prominently displayed on the fireplace mantle? Everyday his wife would have to be reminded of a time when her husband’s heart belonged to another. And the fact that he placed that picture in a prominent place speaks of his ongoing affection for the person memorialized in a photograph. If a couple were to ask me to speak into the situation, I would be very pastoral and say something like, “Come on man – can’t you see what you’re doing to your wife’s heart?”
Am I woke? Hardly. Do I hold to Cultural Marxism or Critical Race Theory? Not at all. Do I identify with the agenda of Black Lives Matter? Not even close. Have my political persuasions been altered? No. Am I groveling in white guilt? That, to me, is a morally incoherent position. Have I surrendered to cancel culture? No. Yet as I have read black history and have been exposed to black voices and have sought to listen, my mind has changed. I’d like to see the symbols of that time when America was committed to enslaving the black man removed from the public mantle. I don’t see this as an act of political capitulation, but as an act of kindness and decency. Now, given the enormity of racial concerns, I’m sure this ranks quite low in most people’s thinking. And maybe they’re right. But what’s huge for me – is that I’ve listened – and I’ve heard something that has never registered with me before.
“Pastor, can you show me some Bible on this thing? I’m really struggling with what you’re saying.”
“Love does not act unbecomingly…” 1 Corinthians 13:5
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
Q: “Pastor Tim, are you saying that this is the Christian position on this matter?”
A: What I’m saying is that this is surely a Biblically defensible position to take.
Where am I missing it?
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 22, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
We do well to honor first-responders. We also do well to honor continual responders. During the COVID lockdown, Fran and I have said more than once that we are glad that our children are grown and out of the house. To be at home in lockdown 24/7 for weeks on end, with young children especially, would try the patience of Job, the strength of Samson, and the wisdom of Solomon. Job would run out of patience and Samson would be made weak and Solomon would throw up his hands and say, “That’s it, I’ve got nothing left.”
Like a jack-in-the-box, God made children to spring up and up and up and up and up…you get it. And there you are, trying to keep a lid on the box so that jack stays put. And sometimes jack wins! I want to say “Well done” to all you parents out there who have weathered this storm – and are still going through it. God has given a role and responsibility to you that no one else can fulfill. Your continual presence and care for your children during this crisis will be part of the foundation that their lives are built upon. They will not forget lockdown. (And you can’t forget lockdown – no matter how hard you try!) You’ve educated and entertained them, played and prayed with them, and have directed and disciplined them. I say, “Well done.” I thank you and thank God for the strength He has given you.
Church is re-opening, but Children’s Ministry is not re-opening as of yet. This highlights the fact that you are your child’s teacher when it comes to spiritual formation and the things of the Bible. Even when Children’s Ministry is in full swing – you are your child’s foremost teacher of and example in the things of the Lord. Read the Bible to and with your children. Pray with them. Discuss the realities of their lives in light of what you read. Form in them an approach to life that is filtered through the grid of the Word of God and prayer. Teach them what it means to repent and confess their sin and get right with God. Sing with them or go to a video on YouTube or elsewhere where you can worship along with them. Example a life of godliness and humility before the Lord. Bring your children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
This has been a tough season, and yet you have risen in the strength of the Spirit of God to be caring shepherds that lead your children to pasture and water. What would leave Job without a shred of patience, what would leave Samson curled up in the corner in a fetal position crying for it to end, what would drive Solomon out of his sound mind – you have come through – and come through well. God bless our continual responders to the most vulnerable in our community.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 17, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; swords are in their lips, for, they say, "Who hears?" But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. Because of his strength I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold. Psalm 59:7-9
David, the author of this psalm, didn’t have social media - but he lived in King Saul’s palace and he was quite familiar with running mouths. The word ‘belch’ points to an uncontrollable source that is gushing forth. King Saul wanted David, his son-in-law, dead because he was jealous of him. Imagine that – politicians acting petty! David heard the wagging tongues and could feel conspiratorial eyes on him as he made his way through the palace corridors. “God,” he cried out, “these people are too many and too strong for me and so I will watch for You. You are my Stronghold.” David went through some harrowing times, but the Lord was faithful to him and to the nation.
David heard a lot of belchers in his day, and their descendants are still with us. (Some might even argue that I’ve got some belcher DNA in me!) Social media is an uncontrollable source of gushing out – some good, some bad, some funny, some sad, some illogical, and some downright stupid! Here’s some belching from the past months –
- If you think you need to wear a mask, you’re an idiot.
- If you think you don’t need to wear a mask you’re an idiot.
- If you identify with Black Lives Matter you’re an idiot.
- If you don’t identify with Black Lives Matter you’re an idiot.
- If you vote for Joe Biden you’re not a Christian.
- If you vote for Donald Trump you’re not a Christian.
- As you can see – pretty much everyone is a non-Christian idiot.
The six statements above cover three areas of overlapping concern. We are in the midst of all three - the perfect storm. The movie, “The Perfect Storm,” based upon the book of the same title narrates the story of the fishing boat Andrea Gail as she is caught between two massive weather fronts and a hurricane – the perfect storm. (I’m sure that the crew of the Andrea Gaildidn’t think there was anything perfect about it.) The Church of Jesus is being battered by two massive weather fronts. Both are presenting significant challenges to the Body of Christ.
The first weather front is COVID-19. There is tension in the Church over reopening and how to reopen. We have the pro-mask and anti-mask factions along with the the pro-singing, anti-singing factions. And then there’s the conspiracy belchings: China did this / the Democrats did this / Dr. Fauci did this! / big pharma did this / the Devil did this / and, of course, Trump did this. And there is anger about these things as people disagree with one another. Remember: the anger of man doesn’t achieve the righteousness of God. Like David, in light of the depth of the anxiety over COVID-19 and the strength of the opinions about all these things – we need to watch for God and His strength. May all the offense and opinions be brought to the cross of Jesus and left there.
The second weather front is CHAOS-20. This isn’t just the racial strife sparked by the murder of George Floyd, but the social disruption ignited by it. I know of at least one church where significant disagreement with the leadership is causing people to leave that church. I see this boiling in other churches as the pastor and leadership paint their congregations with a guilt and complicity in racism that they can’t with intellectual honesty agree with. I heard one white pastor say that if you’re not angry enough to burn something down, then he doesn’t see the image of God in you. Yikes! In one sentence he has dehumanized those unlike him. He went on to say that God doesn’t care about the property damage done in response to the murder of George Floyd – He is on the side of the oppressed. Tell that to the business owners who lost everything - that God doesn’t care about their loss and suffering. Again, YIKES! In essence, he was arguing that his cause was so righteous that it didn’t have to justify any unrighteousness it does. This kind of incoherent thinking provides the foundation upon which to build a whole new class of oppressors. And so history repeats itself, repeatedly.
Bearing down upon these two massive weather fronts is the hurricane of CHOICE-21 (who will be President in 2021). This in itself is enough to do some damage in the Church as the various factions demonize one another in their choice for President. Coupled with the forceful winds of CHOICE-21, the waves of COVID-19 and CHAOS-20 will churn and boil and threaten to capsize and sink the whole lot of us. Some have already been thrown overboard.
Threatened with winds and waves about to capsize them and send them all to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples cried out to Jesus. Because of its strength, they looked to their Stronghold. Jesus arose and spoke to the wind and the waves and said, “Silence, be still.” May we hear Him say to the wind and waves of culture and to the wind and waves in our own hearts, “Silence, be still.” In the movie, “The Perfect Storm”, the Andrea Gail never made it back to port. The perfect storm has met more than its match in the Perfect Stronghold. May you find shelter in the harbor of His mercy.
“Because of the strength of all these things, we watch for You. You are our Stronghold.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus and weather the storm – Pastor Tim
June 16, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Grand Reopening!!
This Sunday, June 21st, Calvary Chapel Fremont will be open for public services!
- We will have two services – 9 AM and 11 AM in order to accommodate social distancing, etc.
- If you are in the high risk category or are sick – please stay home and tune in at 9AM for the livestream.
- You will need to register for the service you’d like to attend so we can manage the numbers – we’re not supposed to have more than 100 people. You can register at www.calvaryfremont.org
- When you register, you will receive an email confirmation.
- All the social distancing protocols will apply. Please wear a mask.
- There will be no Nursery or Sunday School.
- The café will be sat aside for parents with small children.
- The services will be one hour long because of all ages that will be in the sanctuary and to allow for fellowship time between services and allow us time to disinfect between the services.
- We will livestream the 9AM service.
I am looking forward to seeing all of you!
Be blessed and stay healthy and attend church and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
“The Church should stay out of politics.”
This might be a coherent statement if politics kept out of the Church, yet such is not the case. When Nebuchadnezzar demanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow down to the statue he had created and worship, he was making both a political and a spiritual demand. The statue wasn’t a monument depicting a historical figure like we might see in civic centers and parks; the statue wasn’t like the American flag and Nebuchadnezzar’s demand like the “Pledge of Allegiance” we so often recite – the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar was an idol, a replacement for God. And whatever replaces, displaces. The three Hebrew children wouldn’t bow down. Were they prejudiced against Nebuchadnezzar? Not in the least. But they were not in agreement with his definition of loyalty and support.
As a Christian, I can affirm that black lives matter, but I cannot affirm the full platform of the organization Black Lives Matter. “Pastor Tim, are you saying that Black Lives Matter is trying to be a replacement for God.” No – not all. I am saying that the platform of Black Lives Matter is a replacement for the Bible in that it takes what the Bible says is good and replaces it with its own version of what is good. And what replaces, displaces. We are told -
… examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good… 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Let’s examine the platform of Black Lives Matter and see how it matches up to the Bible and then determine if we can ‘hold fast’ to it. Though there is much to admire and affirm in the Black Lives Matter platform, there are certain planks that are problematical. From their website -
- We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.
- We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
- We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise). Source: https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/
As a Christian, I believe that there is hierarchy in marriage and that a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. I don’t want to dismantle the loving patriarchy taught in the Scriptures. I don’t want to disrupt, but strengthen the nuclear family. There’s been enough disruption. The Bible doesn’t support a queer-affirming network. My conscience is bound to the Word of God. I cannot deny what the Bible affirms. I can certainly affirm that black lives matter, but I cannot affirm the full platform of the Black Lives Matter organization and the society in envisions.
Let’s turn the tables and let’s imagine that I ask a leader in the Black Lives Matter organization to become a Christian. “Well, what do I need to believe and how do I need to behave if I became a Christian?” they might ask. I would respond that they need to believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose on the third day and that they need to confess Jesus as Lord. The follow-through on a confession of faith is a life of faith empowered by the Holy Spirit – identification with the people of God, a life of service and sacrifice, a life of prayer and reading God’s Word, generous giving to the work of God, sexual purity, and following the teaching of the Bible. “Well, I don’t believe in the resurrection and I don’t want to hang out with Christians or give money to the work of God and I want to keep my sexual options open.”
This response doesn’t mean that they don’t think Christian lives matter. I wouldn’t label them as a bigots or haters. If someone rejects Christ and doesn’t want to become a Christian, I do not think them prejudiced against me. I’m sure there are some things in Christianity that attract them – the emphasis of Christ on peace and truth and justice – but there are other dynamics that put them off enough so that they don’t want to identify with Christianity. There are some things attractive about the agenda of Black Lives Matter – ending hatred and ignorance and injustice – yet there are other planks in the platform that keep me from identifying with the Black Lives Matter organization. This in no way renders me prejudiced against black people any more than their rejection of Christ makes them prejudiced against Christians.
Even as you wouldn’t bully or shame someone to come to Christ, don’t allow yourself to be bullied or shamed into identifying yourself with an organization you don’t fully agree with. You will only be ashamed of yourself later and resent those who bullied you.
… examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good… 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Be blessed and stay healthy and be soaked in the Word and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 12, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
You don’t have to identify with someone’s ideology in order to identify with their pain. When a drone drops a bomb on a compound somewhere in the Middle East and whole families are incinerated, I don’t have to be a Muslim to mourn for the loss of innocent life. My grief at the loss of innocent life in the Muslim world doesn’t signal that I am a convert to Islam nor does it communicate that I agree with their theology or sympathize with their politics. I don’t have to stop being an American or a Christian to to be grieved at the injustice of innocent blood being shed. If I’m not mistaken, the Bible has something to say about the shedding of innocent blood. My tears don’t identify me with someone’s ideology – they identify me with our common humanity.
When a friend or an acquaintance expresses empathy toward the unjust suffering of a group of people you disagree with, it’s really lame when you point out all the places and ways that this group of people are wrong – as if this justifies unjust suffering or the shedding of innocent blood. Something that Jesus was really good at was revealing our common humanity and correcting those who de-humanized others. The Jews were the chosen people and a treasured people and set apart from all the other nations. And though they were set apart from other people, they weren’t better than other people. Unfortunately, privilege often bends itself into pride and pride twists itself into a pomposity that says, “I’m better than you.”And this isn’t just a religious phenomena. This can happen among athletes, business leaders, intellectuals, and (gasp!) government officials.
The New Testament presents some of the Jewish leadership who were privileged, prideful, and pompous – they thought they were better than some of the other Jews and all the Gentiles. Jesus had much to say to those who dehumanize others by elevating themselves above a common humanity. Jesus told stories of Gentiles who had more faith than many Jews and Samaritans (a specially hated Gentile race) who had more compassion than many Jews. We have a common humanity for we have a common father – Adam, and we have a common problem – sin, and we have a common Savior – Jesus.
In addition, all men and women of all races and all religions and those of no religion are created in the image of God – with equal worth and dignity – and value to God. The most morally refined woman in America does not have a greater value to God than the brutal ISIS soldier who cuts off someone’s head. They share a common father, a common problem, and a common Savior. The message to the most refined woman in America is no different than the message to the brutal ISIS soldier who cuts off someone’s head: “Jesus died for your sins according to the Scriptures and was raised on the third day. Repent and confess Jesus as Lord and you shall be saved.”
Please don’t allow any theological rationalization, political ideology, or philosophical argument rob you of the truth of our common humanity. When you dehumanize someone, the next step is to demonize them. And the next logical step after that is to demolish them. And who can blame you!? Who wants a demon hanging around!? Jesus didn’t allow creed or agenda or ideology to cause Him to lose sight of our common humanity and our common plight. You don’t have to identify with someone’s ideology or creed or agenda in order to identify with their pain. My tears don’t identify me with someone’s ideology – they identify me with our common humanity.
Check out what the apostle Paul says: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:14-15
This is addressed to Christians and is to govern our conduct in the world, among non-Christians. I am to weep with non-Christians who weep! I can weep with those I strongly disagree with. The other – the one whose ideology I don’t follow, whose religion I don’t accept, whose politics I reject, whose lifestyle I disdain – shares a common humanity with me. If I allow their ideology or religion or politics or lifestyle to serve as a rational for dehumanizing them, demonizing them, demolishing them – I am wrong. Don’t be wrong! You don’t have to identify with someone’s ideology or creed or agenda in order to identify with their pain.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 11, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I was talking with the elders of the real potential for divisiveness that can emerge from all the social upheaval around us and asked them to weigh in.
Joaquin offered this -
I think a lot of people are sensitive, emotional, angry, and hurt – but:
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails… 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love covers a multitude of sin. Our best approach is to show the love of Christ to those who disagree with us and to those we disagree with.
RB offered the following –
These "discussions" are being held on platforms that amplify the contentious parts of a message, conflate complex issues by trying to over-simplify them so they can be chanted and shouted more easily, and cast the counter position as coming from an inhuman source (sometimes creating the opposing position out of smoke) so that they can attack it more successfully.
In truth, these aren't discussions. A discussion assumes that you engage with another rational person, who has free will and the ability to change their mind. These platform discussions (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) make it feel like we are engaging at this level, but it is a falsehood.
This is a time that will cause a lot of pain and confusion for most (myself included), especially as we don't have our normal social interactions to remind us of the humanity of our neighbor, our brother, our sister. It's easier to succumb.
Robert brings this to the table –
What’s going on makes me think of Joshua who was ready to go into battle at Jericho and there he met the Commander of the Lords Army. He asked him the question “Are you for us or are you for our adversaries?”The Commander of the Lord’s Army said “No”
I think the question needs to be asked, Are we doing the work of the Lord or working against the Lord? The apostle Paul when he was Saul was adamant that he was working for the Lord. But he soon found out that his efforts were missed placed. It’s not about whose side we’re on, BLM or Law enforcement. We Brothers and Sisters at the church all should be fighting for the truth and sharing the truth in love, and as Peter said:
The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8
O, may the peace of Christ and the love of God and the patience of the Spirit rule in the Church. May understanding and forgiveness and blessing flow. This isn’t the time to withdraw from one another, but to give ourselves to one another. When we were His enemies, Christ didn’t separate Himself from us, He died for us. Let’s follow the example of Jesus and be passionate to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 10, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20
It’s happening at a church near you. As many churches reopen and people are beginning to make their way back to church, some are bringing the devil with them. No, of course they are not aware of this and would be terribly offended at me if were to direct this at them, nevertheless it’s true – some have been bitten by the serpent of old and the poison in their spirit has rendered them his deputy as they condemn those who don’t think as they do concerning the storm engulfing our nation. Some have even put those who disagree with them into the category of sub-Christian and even non-Christian. See, the devil’s ploy is to remove Christ as the basis of our fellowship and relationship and replace it with something else – anything else. To the devil, black lives don’t matter. Neither do white lives or brown lives or yellow lives – least of all Christian lives. He hates us all. And if he can get some of us to hate some of us as we seek to discuss these things, that makes the devil happy. Let’s not be ignorant of his schemes.
Have you ever tried to carry on a meaningful conversation underwater? I have - it doesn’t work too good. It works about as good as social media. Social media is a one-dimensional medium whereas incarnational communication is a three-dimensional medium. Incarnational communication is where two or more people are in the same place and can hear and observe one another in real time. A virtual forum CANNOT even begin to replicate the fullness of incarnational communication.
Social media leaves you 93% in the dark. Albert Mehrabian, a pioneer researcher of body language in the 1950's, found that the total impact of a message is about 7% verbal (words only) and 38% vocal (including tone of voice, inflection, and other sounds) and 55% nonverbal. So, if this is anywhere near accurate, in a virtual forum we are attempting to understand 100% of a person’s meaning from 7% of the content. In a virtual forum, I don’t hear your tone of voice or see your body language and so I have to fill in 93% of what you meant to communicate with my speculation. That’s a lot to fill in! We see the tip of the iceberg and think we are sharp enough to intuit the shape of what is unseen (and unheard)!
You know those people you’re mad at because they’re not virtuous enough or outraged enough or you think they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid or are now tools of the Left – give them a break! If you are truly offended by something they’ve said on social media – don’t write them off as remedial members of the body of Christ – follow the counsel of Christ and get together with them and get the other 93% of the story.
I haven’t talked with everyone who identifies with Calvary Chapel Fremont, yet I am 100% sure of this –
- 100% of the people believe that the death of George Floyd was a brutal wrong.
- 100% of the people believe that there should be no police brutality toward blacks.
- 100% of the people believe that racism is a sin before God and a grave social evil.
- (If you don’t believe this, please let me know. I will publish your weight and IQ in my next blog!)
But now, this thing has become an octopus on steroids as it has grown well beyond its mandated eight arms.
- Do I have to believe or not believe there is systemic racism in police departments?
- Do I have to believe or not believe that there is systemic racism in culture as a whole?
- Do I have to believe that if I am white that I am guilty of racism just because of the color of my skin?
- Do I have to believe the rioters are justified in the destruction they perpetrate because they are so angry?
- Is it OK to think that black business and black property and black incomes matter, too? Or not?
- Do I have to go along with defunding police departments?
- Do I have to conform myself to the Thought Police who seek to enforce their speech codes?
- Is there only one way to think and feel about these things – and others?
- If I express my myself in a way you deem unworthy, do I have to fear your judgment and disdain?
There’s not just two ways to think about these things – there are 17 ways. And when someone posts online to speak into this bubbling stew of thoughts and feelings and offense and outrage, it can be difficult to discern exactly what angle they're taking.
- If you’re upset about the death of George Floyd and they’re upset that the protesters aren’t being heard, you will talk past each other and think the other to be insensitive.
- They’re upset in that they think that you think that they’re out of line and you’re upset in that you think that they think that you don’t agree with their purpose when in reality you don’t agree with their methods. And you’re upset in that you can’t communicate that you don’t disagree with their ends, only their ways. And they’re upset that you’re even commenting because you haven’t had the experiences they have had. Etc. And on it goes ad nauseum.
Into this super-heated virtual forum Satan breathes his poison and it aerosolizes and gets into everyone’s system as they take up offense against one another. And that brother or sister you sat next to at church is no longer seen as a beloved member of the body of Christ, but as a social misfit needing to be reeducated or separated from. Please listen: social media leaves you 93% in the dark. And since this is true, read this blog nine more times!
Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger – Pastor Tim
June 9, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
In 1970, Evangelist Tom Skinner gave a keynote address at the Urbana 70 Student Missions Conference where he called for a radical, just Christianity that set people free both spiritually and physically. He powerfully spoke into the climate of protest, activism of that student generation and was a major catalyst in InterVarsity's racial journey and the development of Black Campus Ministry.
50 years later, Skinner's words still ring with prophetic clarity.
Please note: Tom Skinner grew up as a black man in Harlem, New York. His perspective grows out of his experience. No doubt, each of us could take exception with this or that of his presentation, but this is a ringing testimony to the power of Jesus Christ as the ultimate Peacemaker. This is long, very long. Curl up on your couch or settle into your chair and go on an adventure with Tom Skinner.
https://urbana.org/message/us-racial-crisis-and-world-evangelism
You should be able to listen to his message or read the transcript. It is informative and interesting and stirring.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus - Pastor Tim
June 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
In the over-heated rhetoric flowing from the murder of George Floyd and the protests and riots that dominate TV, radio, and social media, I’ve allowed myself to lose sight of the words of Jesus -
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27-28
Am I supposed to bless rioters and looters and those who have made me out to be the enemy? What does Jesus say? “Bless those who curse you.”
Am I supposed to bless those who curse me because I don’t see the current crisis in America exactly as they do? What does Jesus say? “Bless those who curse you.”
In the thinking of some, I am all that is wrong with America – I’m white and male and Christian and heterosexual and cis- gendered. In the eyes of many, that description alone makes me a racist and a bigot and a homophobe. They would say, “I don’t need to know you personally to know what your character is like. I just need to know what class you belong to.” To them I say, “I bless you in the name of Jesus!”
The word bless is ‘eulogize’ in the Greek. At funerals, someone (usually a family member) brings the eulogy – a good word about the deceased. When I bless those who curse me or who have made me their enemy I ask God’s favor on their life for success and well-being. No – not success in wrongdoing and unrighteousness – but success in finding the right way and coming into the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. It is the opposite of condemning them – “I hope you rot in jail.” Or “I hope you rot in hell.” To bless is to release someone from your judgment and at the same time it is a prayer asking God to release this person from the bondage and chains of sin. Blessing keeps my heart compassionate, even toward those who hate me; blessing keeps my heart from callousing over with judgment and condemnation.
When I get to the place where I withhold blessing others in the name of Jesus, I am wrong – for I am no longer following the example of Jesus. What greater demonstration of this do we have than when Jesus Himself, God in the flesh, prayed to His Father as His enemies surrounded Him on the cross, cursing, mocking, and hurling abuse. Jesus poured out blessing upon them in His prayer, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Now, He could have said what Isaac said to Esau, “I am plum out of blessings.” And who would have blamed Jesus had He foregone blessing His enemies on the cross. To place Jesus on that cross on that hill they had to forego the conventions of a fair trial. Jesus truly was the victim of social injustice and religious bigotry. Their hatred of Jesus justified, in their eyes, the rush to unrighteous judgment and letting a criminal go free and crucifying Christ. And when all the sin of the world, the injustice, the bigotry, when all the hatred and condemnation were poured out on Jesus, from the midst of that pile, from the bottom of that pit, from the pain and shame of the cross came forth words of blessing, “Father, forgive them…”
When I get to the place where I am so angry and lathered up and withhold blessing others in the name of Jesus – I am wrong.
My job isn’t to bring justice – that’s the government’s job; my job is to speak peace in the name of Jesus. The government bears the Sword; the Church bears the Cup of Christ. When the Church puts down the Cup of Christ and takes up the Sword, it has ceased to be the Church. I cannot have the Sword of Justice in one hand and the Cup of Blessing in the other. Does this mean that the Sword is not the best way to deal with some of that we see around us today? Not at all. I rejoice in the Sword – but the Sword isn’t in my hand. The Cup of Christ is in my hand and I bless you in the name of Jesus.
Bless those who curse you.
Be blessed and stay healthy and bear the Cup of Christ – Pastor Tim
June 4, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
My head hurts.
My soul aches.
Anger and offense rule the day.
Mouths are open and minds are closed.
Rage has replaced reason.
Everyone is talking at one another and not with one another.
It’s the perfect storm - a serious disease led to social distancing which has been overshadowed by social disruption.
It’s the perfect time for our God to shine forth in the glory of His Son. It’s the perfect time for Jesus to rise and speak to the wind and the waves, “Peace, be still.”
The Lord has impressed upon me that it’s time to stop analyzing and start agonizing.
Jeremiah’s heart was breaking for the ruin of his nation – the tears flowing from his eyes formed into words on the page.
How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer! She weeps bitterly in the night and her tears are on her cheeks; she has none to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. Lamentations 1:1-2
Please join me @ 6:00 PM on Friday, June 5th, at Calvary Chapel Fremont. Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem will guide us as we pray and intercede for our nation.
If you are reading this and CC Fremont is not your home church, you are welcome to join us – we’re all the body of Christ. And the Church as a whole must life our voices in confession and intercession. Yes, you’ll need to wear a mask and we’ll follow the necessary safety protocols. Friday, June 5th @ 6:00 PM at Calvary Chapel Fremont – 42986 Osgood Road, Fremont, 94539.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 3, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
Two things:
- Join us tonight at 7PM for our midweek Bible study on Zoom. Go to calvaryfremont.org and click on the banner promoting the study. It's more or less interactive and you'll see a lot of familiar faces - and we want to see you! Tonight we'll look at Psalm 119:165. It's a full meal!
- We are not officially open on Sundays, yet - but we are unofficially open. If you want to come by and sit in on the livestream, we'd love to have you. All the standard COVID-19 protocols will be observed. Don't come if you have a fever or are coughing or at high risk. Bring your mask and wear it!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus - Pastor Tim
June 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
In trying to Biblically understand the murder of George Floyd and the riots that followed it, we have come face-to-face with a set of what appears to be dueling passages in the Bible. This will be my most theologically technical post to date. I’ve discovered that my spiritual gift is confusing others! So, if at the end of the post you go, “Huh? What?” – you’ve been warned! Here’s the question: How do we understand all the rage and violence we see unfolding around us? What is fueling all this? (You’ll have to read yesterday’s blog to get the full context of this.)
Let’s begin with Exodus 20:4-6 –
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
This passage is echoed in Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18, 33; Deuteronomy 5:9; and Jeremiah 32:18.
This family of passages point to God allowing the sin of one generation to effect the next generation. There is another family of passages that is ably illustrated by Ezekiel 18:20 -
“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.”
This passage is echoed in Deuteronomy 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; and Jeremiah 31:29-30. It is interesting that two seemingly different approaches to sin and its punishment are written by the same people at the same time.
Moses in Deuteronomy 5:9 says: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me…”
Moses in Deuteronomy 24:16 says: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Jeremiah 32:18 “…who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name…”
Jeremiah 31:29-30 "In those days they will not say again, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.”
I can’t accept the thesis that these men were careless and what they wrote in one chapter they would contradict in the next. And so, for me, the challenge lay in thinking through these two Biblical principles:
- I will visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children…
- Sons shall not be put to death for the sins of their fathers…
The New Testament needs to be brought in here for full understanding. Galatians 6:7-8 says
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
So, here’s my take – there is a strong witness in the Bible of God discriminating between the wicked and the just – the innocent and the guilty. God doesn’t punish the innocent for the sin of the guilty. Wait a minute, someone might say, what about Jesus on the cross? Isn’t that God punishing the innocent for the guilty? Isn’t this the heart of the gospel? Yes it is – two things: 1) the Son of God voluntarily took our place – He wasn’t forced, and 2) when He suffered for our sin He became sin so that we might the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore it was just for the punishment due us to fall on Him.
God isn’t punishing America for her sin against Blacks because of hundreds of years of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination. God isn’t punishing America – America is punishing America. If a man smokes three packs of cigarettes a day and drinks a pint of whiskey and eats twinkies and never exercises and then becomes diseased – that’s not God punishing him – that’s him and nature punishing him. He is reaping what he sowed. His body remembers everything done to it – it stores it up and keeps a hold of it.
Historical memory is a real thing. There is such a dynamic as national PTSD. Mention 9-11 and guts turn – a nation wide suspicion of the Muslim was born that day. Ask the Armenians about the Turks and Armenian Genocide in the early 20thcentury. They hate the Turks and view them with suspicion to this day. Ask Israel about the Holocaust and the psychic scar that is still throbbing in the memory of that people and nation. The Black man has fought a pitched battle in America for equal rights and opportunities and, for many, slavery and discrimination are still an open wound – not yet forming into a psychic star. And so when what appears to be revictimization occurs, there is outcry – and there should be. Yet, at the same time, this is not justification for oppressing and victimizing others.
With this line of thinking, the riots today are not God punishing America because of what our fathers did (slavery, etc.). The riots today are the organic consequences of victimizing the black man for so many hundreds of years. We are being paid back, not by God, but by the community that was oppressed and still feels that oppression. One generation sowed oppression and the next generation is reaping violence. Obviously, it is apparent now that there is more to the riots than that – yet they began w the murder of George Floyd. May the carnage we see around us shock our nation and drive us into the arms of Christ who can bring peace to our nation and heal our scars.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
June 1, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
If a white man had died at the knee of a black police officer there would have been cries of outrage and calls for justice, but there would not be the rioting and violence we see being played out on our TV screens every night. And this is not because white people are better or better behaved than black people – it’s because there hasn’t been roughly a 450 year history of blacks oppressing whites in America. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 which declared all slaves in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Unfortunately, free and equal have proven to be two different concepts in the American experience.
We’ve gone from pandemic to pandemonium and from COVID-19 to CHAOS-20. Here is a Bible story and a Bible principle which may help explain what’s happening.
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, "It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death." So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah). Thus David said to the Gibeonites, "What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?" Then the Gibeonites said to him, "We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel." And he said, "I will do for you whatever you say." So they said to the king, "The man who consumed us and who planned to exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel, let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them." 2 Samuel 21:1-6
The sin of one generation was a debt the next generation had to pay. Joshua made a covenant with the Gibeonites when Israel conquered Canaan. About 300 years later, King Saul broke that covenant. King Saul’s unfaithfulness toward the Gibeonites wasn’t a personal sin that he alone had to account for – it was a national sin – one that bound his nation to corporate guilt and to a corporate accounting. (Admission – this is one Bible story I do not like. But it’s in the Bible and so I need to try and understand it.)
Well, that’s the story – here’s the principle: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
Yes, Paul is referring to a single individual in this passage. Yet, because of 2 Samuel 21:1-6, I think it can be applied on a broader basis – even a national basis. Sowing and reaping says that what you put in the ground yesterday will come out of the ground tomorrow. We all get that. And here’s my main point: America is reaping what she has sown. I opened this post by stating that if a white man had died at the knee of a black police officer we would not be seeing what we’ve been seeing. And this isn’t because of any inherent superiority of whites, but because the black man hasn’t sowed into the national ground what the white man has. Whether you date slavery in America from somewhere in the middle of the 16th century or from the beginning of 17th century, the white man has oppressed and brutalized and victimized the black man. This debt has come due and this generation of Americans is reaping what yesterday’s generation sowed.
- “But what we’re seeing today is mindless violence and there is no plausible justification for it.”
- I agree. And slavery was mindless violence perpetrated upon the black man for hundreds of years and there is no plausible justification for it.
- “But what we’re seeing on our TV screens serves is so ungodly.”
- I agree. And slavery was ungodly.
- The very thing that was sown by our forefathers is being reaped by their children. Remember the Gibeonites.
I really struggle with this concept of corporate guilt because I never oppressed or brutalized a black man (or anyone else, in case you were wondering). And though I struggle with the concept of corporate guilt, I cannot deny the reality of the law of sowing and reaping – on an individual and a national level. No, I or you, are not personally guilty – any more than King Saul’s sons were guilty of what their dad did. They just paid the price. In considering these things I also have to take into account the truth of the 1st and 2nd commandments –
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:3-6
The iniquity of our fathers is being visited upon our nation. I am not attempting to justify the violence we see today. That’s as silly as someone trying to justify slavery by contextualizing it in its historical setting. I am not trying to justify it – only understand and explain it. What’s the answer? Wrong question. Who’s the answer? is the right question. “Jesus is the Answer for the world today. Above Him there’s no other – Jesus is the Way.” Let’s pray that more and more people will love Jesus and that the lovingkindness, the mercy of God, will be shown to us. I can’t talk a black man out of his pain and rage. I can’t talk a hooligan out of his love for destruction. “Jesus, we ask You to make Yourself known to all and that all of us would meet at the foot of the cross where sin and hate and pain has met their match. In the powerful name of Jesus – Amen.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The Bible is straightforward concerning the tragedy of George Floyd’s death and the riots sparked by his death. And in what I’m going to offer, I’m sure there’s something that will offend just about everyone somewhere along the way.
As to Floyd’s murder: “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 21:12
- Why? Man is made in the image of God and to strike God’s image is to strike out against God Himself. If I show you a picture, an image of my wife, and then spit on that image, it gives you a good idea what I think of her. People are made in the image of God – black & white, Muslim & Christian, Republican & Democrat.
- Whether you agree with capital punishment or not, I think it can be agreed upon that this was a murder. In fact, the officer was arrested on the charge of 3rd degree murder – which is still murder.
As to the riots: “…the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” James 1:20
- What does anger unleashed achieve? Unrighteousness. The police officer who killed George Floyd achieved unrighteousness wherein a man not deserving of death was put to death by him.
- The anger of the protesters turned rioters destroyed, looted, and set fire to the businesses and property of people who didn’t deserve to have their property violently taken from them and destroyed. Here’s the logic: It was wrong for George Floyd’s life to be being violently taken from him, therefore we will violently destroy the businesses and property of innocent people. This unrighteousness will scar these neighborhoods for years to come.
As to the decision to let the rioters run amuck: “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” Romans 13:3-4
- The mayors of the cities who allowed the rioters to “vent”, failed the business and the neighborhoods they swore an oath to protect. They didn’t bear the sword and the one who practiced evil feared no wrath. The innocent people whose lives have been destroyed were abandoned by the very ones pledged to protect them. The mayors and those responsible for the decision to ‘stand down’ did no favors to their cities.
As to the repercussions: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34
- The well known definition for sin (even in the Hebrew) is: to miss the mark. If sin is missing the mark, then righteousness is hitting the mark. I don’t think we’re hitting the mark right now. And there is a price to pay for not hitting the mark.
I want to address a very different angle on all this on Monday, but for now two more items of concern:
- “Well, Tim, it must be nice to have everything so neatly defined and wrapped up in a Biblical bow like this.” My response Is: “Yes, it is.” The point being, the Bible gives us a lens through which to observe and understand and interpret life. I am grateful for it. And if someone has a different take, let’s discuss it. I’ve come to a place in my life where I will debate nothing, but I’ll discuss anything. Debate has the connotation of two adversaries trying to defeat one another. Discussion carries the idea of two people talking about something trying to arrive at the most accurate understanding they can. And like I’ve written before – I reserve the right to change my mind at a moment’s notice. What I write aren’t points I’ll defend no matter what, but are points I’m willing to discuss.
- Let’s pray for our nation: “In the name of Jesus we ask for the healing of our nation from the poison of pain and hate and helplessness and hopelessness that the murder of George Floyd has exposed. We ask that Your mercy be visited upon our nation and that the love of Jesus Christ would capture every heart. Our hope isn’t in the President or the Governor or the Mayor – our hope is in you. You have directed us to look away from the strength of men and to look to You and Your strength. We do that now, Father. We pray the peace of Christ over our nation. In the strong name of Jesus – Amen.”
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
We are to possess and be possessed by Christ. Psalm 57:7 says, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!”
Your heart is your innermost being; it is the deepest dimension of the human personality. David testifies: the deepest part of me is fixed on something. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring you to full surrender to Christ – not just the surrender of a moment, but the surrender of a lifetime. It’s one thing to be moved in your emotions to a position and it’s another thing to be convinced in your intellect of something. Emotions are often tied to circumstances and convictions are connected to reasons. Like me, I’m sure you’ve discovered that circumstances and reasoning can change so that you don’t feel or think the same on Friday as you did just four days previously on Monday.
But here’s what David says: “I’ve come to a place that neither changing circumstances or fresh reasoning can alter. I’m committed. I’m a fanatic about God!” This commitment is that God is God no matter what. This commitment isn’t to the practice of praise – this commitment is to a Person and praise is the overflow of the steadfast heart. A steadfast heart is a glorious place to be. And here’s my point: regardless of how you profess your faith, this is how to possess your faith – and be possessed. Whether you are a Calvinist or not, whether you sprinkle or immerse for baptism, whether or not you believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today, whether you are a Democrat or Republican – this is how Christ is to be experienced. The experience of Christ – possessing and being possessed by Him – comes through a steadfast heart. Our common ground, the basis of our fellowship is Christ and not what we think about Calvinism or baptism or charismata or politics. Every Christian, whether we profess Christ in exactly the same way, is to possess and be possessed by Christ in the same way. I have more in common with a follower of Jesus who possesses Christ and is possessed by Christ than I do with one who professes Christ the exact same way I do yet who doesn’t possess Christ or is possessed by Him.
Why do I write this? Things are going to get real dicey for the Body of Christ. The devil is working overtime to divide the Church that Jesus bought and paid for. There’s a volatility in the Church now about our response to the C-19 restrictions. And as the churches in various places are opening up there remains a simmering stew of of discontent between those who push for and engage in civil disobedience and those who do not.
- Those who engage in civil disobedience argue that we must obey the Lord rather than man.
- Those who do not engage in civil disobedience argue that we must obey the Lord and love our community.
- Those who advocate civil disobedience push for a bold stand of faith.
- Those who advocate waiting for the all-clear signal from the State reason that now abide faith, hope, and love – but the greatest is love.
- I come down firmly on both sides of this debate!
Into this cauldron of simmering stew of discontent and thickening self-righteousness the devil is already pouring the poison of partisan politics.
This is from “The Atlantic” on November 25, 2019 -
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, was on the Eric Metaxas show and responded to a question about opposition to President Trump, “Well, I believe it’s almost a demonic power that is trying…” At which point Eric Metaxas interjected, “I would disagree. It’s not almost demonic. You know and I know, at the heart, it’s a spiritual battle.” (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/to-trumps-evangelicals-everyone-else-is-a-sinner/602569/)
This is from Baptist News Global on March 19, 2018 -
Continuing evangelical support for a scandal-ridden president is undermining the conservative white church and could even spell the death of Christianity in the United States, according to some experts on American culture, politics and faith.
Here’s the upshot of these two pieces:
- There is an effort mounted by demons to get you to not support Trump.
- If you support Trump, this could spell the death of Christianity in America.
Yikes! What’s a conscientious Christian to do? I don’t want to be a part of a demonic conspiracy to oppose righteousness. I don’t want to be part of a group that means the death of Christianity in America.
I’ve got a good idea: TIME OUT!!! Don’t buy into this overheated rhetoric. Whether we are on the same page with the Church’s COVID response or on the same page politically, we have to be on the same page when it comes to Christ – professing Christ AND possessing Christ and being possessed by Him. Trump cannot be the ground of our fellowship. Opening or not opening cannot be the ground, the basis, of our fellowship. I refuse to allow your re-opening strategy or your politics to determine whether or not we are on the same page. If you possess Christ and are possessed by Him, we stand together.
I was on a Zoom call with the Alameda County Health Director yesterday (5.28) and she said that she is not allowing churches to re-open right now because she wants to see new cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations due to C-19 to fall below a certain threshold. I was (am) frustrated in that L.A. County, which has higher rates than Alameda County, is allowing its churches to re-open. The elders and I are praying through and discussing these matters. There are varying opinions among us as we weigh the legality of the ‘stay closed’ order and the lethality of the disease. We want to all be on the same page as we go forward. There are legal challenges being mounted against the County order and Washington DC is bringing some pressure to bear on the situation. The elders and I will talk again on Monday and continue our discussion of these things. Please be in prayer for us. No, there is no division – just disagreement that we are committed to talk and pray through. Pray for us and the whole church to respond as Christ would. I’ll keep you informed on our plans.
Be blessed and stay healthy and possess and be possessed by Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 26, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Those sitting in the pews wish their pastors were better preachers and those standing in the pulpits wish their people were better listeners. This creates tension.
Pew to pulpit: “If you were to preach better, I would listen better.”
Pulpit to pew: “Well, if you were to listen more attentively, you would hear more.”
Pew: “Preach better.” Pulpit: “Listen better.”
Let me settle this tension once and for all: both are right.
Yet since I’m a pastor, let me shamelessly advocate for the pastor a little bit. Seven times in Revelation 2-3 we are exhorted: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” It doesn’t say, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the preacher is saying…” The admonition is to listen to the Spirit, not to the preacher. “But, Pastor Tim, you haven’t had to listen to my pastor. I’ve taken to counting all the wacky hair-dos around me just to stay awake. I have to do word games in order to not lapse into unconsciousness. Do you know how many words I can make from the one word ‘seat’? There’s eat and east and eats and ate and sate and tea and teas…Do you see how bad it is?” Yes, I do. (And by the way – you missed ‘sea’.) Believe it or not, I’ve listened to your pastor and many like him. I have sat bored out of my mind while men in my own movement have gone into the pulpit and preached the eternal Word of God. I have prayed, “God, please make him stop and offer the closing prayer. If You really love me, You’ll make him shut-up.” And here’s an exquisitely painful thought – some in my congregation have prayed that very prayer while listening to me!
Pastors can and should strive to be the best speakers they can be – tapping the depth of Scripture through prayerfulness and thoughtfulness, crafting a timely message from the eternal Word in order to capture the imagination, feed the mind, and steel the will. I’m 67 years old and still working at improving myself in this area. Those in the pulpit should strive to be better speakers and those in the pews should strive to be better listeners. Why do I bring this up now?
Church is re-opening after the COVID closure and this will be accompanied by heightened emotion and expectation. Livestream church is a gift from God and has been greatly used by Him, but live church has been around for about 2,000 years longer. No doubt, the vast majority prefer live church over livestream church. As I’ve written before – church is a contact sport and is visceral (gut-felt) – and the virtual world can’t reproduce this. When you are sitting in your living room, you do not bring the same attentiveness to sermon listening as you would if seated in the sanctuary. The smell of coffee brewing or bacon cooking or kids arguing can be distracting. The sanctuary is meant to eliminate as many distractions as possible. In your living room, others may possibly be surfing the net on their tablets or leafing through a magazine or have their head back with their eyes closed. They are not bringing an appropriate attentiveness to the preaching of the Word. The atmosphere of live church is much more conducive to attentive, active listening than livestream church. And let me affirm again – God has and will use livestream church for His glory and the growth of His kingdom – but live church is the preferable norm.
So – you come back to live church with a tremendous hunger to hear from God, but your pastor just doesn’t bring it like some of the others you’ve been watching on livestream. The stage isn’t as fancy, your pastor isn’t as cool and smooth, his preaching isn’t as crisp, the power point or other props just don’t pop like that other guy on livestream that you’ve tuned into a few times. How can you hear what the Spirit is saying to the church when the message he brings isn’t as “deep” as you’d like it to me? Here’s how - bring a prayerful attentiveness to church with you. Pray this: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Psalm 119:18 As you listen to your pastor, listen for the Spirit. The words of the Holy Spirit are not limited to the words of your pastor. Hasn’t God spoken to you during a service that was totally not connected to the sermon being preached? The total burden of communication in the sermon isn’t exclusively on the preacher. Yes, there are poor preacher and there are out-of-tune listeners.
I had a ministry changing revelation quite a few years ago that I think has some bearing here. When couples came for marital counseling, I wanted to develop a deep discernment into their difficulty which would enable me to navigate to the right Scripture from which I would draw the proper exhortation or instruction or insight that would bring deliverance to their souls and healing to their marriage. I labored hard at this. How discouraging it was to have them come to me and then continue on to separation and divorce or continue to live in disharmony and broken hearts. I thought – if I was just a better counselor these people would be helped. I was weighed down not with guilt, but with discouragement. And then it happened – a bolt of light from God set me free.
I don’t know how it happened, but I came to realize that the responsibility for effectiveness in counseling didn’t lie on my side of the desk, but on the other side – the responsibility for healing lay with those who came to me. I am convinced that if I am a mediocre counselor, yet you are motivated to grow and change – you’ll grow and change. I am convinced that if I am an excellent counselor, yet you are not motivated to save your marriage or to hear what the Lord has to say – then you won’t grow and change – you’ll continue on the road to dissolution. It’s not on me, it’s on you! Transfer this to preaching – I have a responsibility to be the best I can be – but if in the long run I am only a mediocre preacher, that doesn’t give you a pass on hearing from the Lord. If you come to church motivated and hungry to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, if you are expectant, God will speak to you.
Psalm 81:10 says: I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
Here’s what Solomon says –
My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2:1-5
As church re-opens, may you have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 25, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Yes, we’ll be meeting together soon. I’ll let you know as soon as we make sure all our ducks are lined up and our i’s are dotted and our t’s are crossed. Here are some bullet points for your consideration:
- We will not be officially open this Sunday, May 31, but if you happened to be in the area around 10 AM and dropped by and hung around for 90 minutes – that’d be OK. BUT – no children, please. There won’t be enough room since we’ll have to follow the social distancing protocols. And BRING and WEAR your mask.
- When we do ‘officially’ open, we’ll be having two services on Sunday mornings in order to accommodate the social distancing regulations. Masks will be required.
- Sunday services will be at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
- Services will be one hour long in order to allow for fellowship and transition and disinfecting for the next service.
- If we can’t accommodate all in two Sunday morning services, we’ll add a third – probably on Saturday evening.
- There will be no nursery or childcare when we first open. Everybody will be in one service – this is another reason for having it be only one hour in length.
- Café seating will be only for parents with very young children. If you normally sit in the café, please graciously leave this space for parents with very young children. There will be a live-feed of the service piped into the café and the lobby and the Nursing Mothers’ Room.
- In order to avoid having everyone show up at the same service and then having to turn some away, we will have online registration. You’ll be able to go online and see which service can accommodate you or you and your family. We’ll get that info to you when we set it up. I know, it’s weird – but let’s all bear with this awkwardness while it lasts.
- Let me know if you have any questions:
See you soon. Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 23, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Watch for a new denomination coming your way!
“Is this the First Baptist Church of Fremont?”
“Well, it used to be. But now it’s the First Unmasked Baptist Church of Fremont.”
“Oh shoot – can you tell me where the First Masked Baptist Church of Fremont is?”
“Yeah, those sissies meet at the Oddfellows’ Hall on Saturday nights.”
“Is this the Fremont Presbyterian Church?”
“Well, it used to be. But now it’s the Fremont Social-Distancing Presbyterian Church.”
“Oh shoot – can you tell where the Fremont Social-Distancing-is-Stupid Presbyterian Church is?”
Yeah, those rebels meet over at the elementary school.”
“Is this the Community Church of Fremont?”
“Well, it used to be. But now it’s the We-Uphold-the-Constitution Community Church of Fremont.”
“Oh shoot – can you tell me where the We-Let-the Government-Trample-Our-Constitutional-Rights-Whenever-They-Please Community Church of Fremont is?”
“Yeah, those cowards meet at the movie theater whenever the City lets them.”
The church has just gone through a very trying and painful time in that the government shut down all public church gatherings because of the C-19 health crisis. Now that the churches are opening up, many think that the trying time is over. Not so – the church is now set to go through an even more trying and painful time. How so? Well, the devil is set to start some brand new denominations over the next few months.
It’s one thing when the government is perceived to be the enemy of the Church, but it’s quite another thing when the Church is the enemy of the Church. It’s one thing when the government doesn’t love the Church, but it’s quite another thing when the Church doesn’t love the Church. The trying and painful time we’re headed into will be the crisis of love in the Church as various factions actually think that what they think about all the endless nuances of C-19 is more important than loving those who don’t think as they do about C-19. Believe it or not, there will be those who think that getting others to agree with their point of view is more important than loving others. Their sworn duty isn’t to love you, but persuade you that you’re an idiot because you don’t think as they do about masks and social-distancing and Constitutional issues, etc.
Paul warns us not to be taken advantage of by Satan and that we are not ignorant of his schemes. Please take notice: Satan will seek to take advantage of the range of opinion and the depth of emotion swirling around this unique time in American and World history. Satan uses differing opinions and depth of emotion to sow discord, disunity, and displeasure in the hearts of God’s people. Paul and Barnabas’ difference of opinion and depth of feeling about John Mark was enough to sow disunity and division. What happened in Acts 15 has played out a countless number of times as believer divides from believer over this and then that – and then there’s that other thing…
God’s love is greater than your opinion and depth of feeling. God’s love is greater than my opinion and depth of feeling. And now, as the churches begin to regather and certain protocols are put into place, opinion and feeling will run deep. And that’s OK – we’re human beings. They will run deep, yet let’s make sure they don’t run wild. You have a greater responsibility to love and respect someone than you have a responsibility to afflict them with your opinion. Believe it or not, they didn’t return to church so they could hear your opinion about masks and social-distancing and the Constitution, etc. They are hungry for the Word and worship and fellowship. May you have a greater passion to love others than you do to visit your opinion upon them. Let’s not have the church lobby look like CNN or FOX News with people rolling their eyes and disrespecting one another.
The apostle John has a great word for us: “Little children, love on another.” Let’s not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes. It is so easy to become angry over these issues. Yes, anger is a work of the flesh AND it’s something easily exploited by Satan. So do this – when your anger stirs, know that Satan is stirring. Come against that stirring of anger as you would if you knew you had a COVID-19 germ on your hands – vigorously rid yourself of it. For the sake of the agape love of God don’t allow yourself to judge those who don’t see eye-to-eye with you. I know that I can stand heart-to-heart with someone I don’t see eye-to-eye with (after all, I’m married!).
We will require masks – whether you or I think it’s unnecessary or very necessary. Please don’t come to church and then take your mask off as if you’re making some kind of radical political statement. That’s not loving others. If you want to be a radical political firebrand, take it off in the middle of Wal-Mart – more people will witness it there anyway! If you do take it off in church, we will respond very Biblically – we will lay hands on you, vigorously and repeatedly! In love, of course!
The time of greatest testing is just ahead. Little children, let us love one another.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 22, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
David was an impressive warrior, a good king, and a lousy father. At our Wednesday night Zoom Bible Study we looked at a very dark time in David’s life. I selected portions from 2 Samuel 13-19 that recorded David’s responses to the crisis unfolding in his family. It ran the gamut from Amnon’s rape of Tamar to Absalom’s murder of Amnon to David’s indifference toward Absalom to Absalom’s rebellion against David and the aftermath of that. Read it. You’ll agree – David was a lousy father.
- When Amnon raped Tamar – David did nothing.
- When Absalom wanted Amnon over for lunch with the intention to murder him – David didn’t see this evil intent.
- When Absalom murdered Amnon – David did nothing.
- When Absalom exiled myself – David did nothing.
- When Absalom was finally restored to Jerusalem – David did not see him.
- When Absalom was finally allowed to see his father – David did not engage him.
- When Absalom stole away the hearts of Israel – David did nothing.
The period of time highlighted in the above bullet points covered a period of over five years.
David was an impressive warrior, a good king, and a lousy father.
- He didn’t discipline destructive behavior in his children.
- He didn’t correct their unworthy attitudes.
- He didn’t instruct them in godly behavior and worthy attitudes.
- He didn’t maintain healthy relationships with his children.
Contrast this with the “heat of moment” sins when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed. These were sins of passion AND calculation. The response of David to the crisis in his family was that of cold indifference – not just one or two super-charged moments – but an intentional indifference stretching over years. Just like you, David’s sins ran hot and cold.
But this blog isn’t about David’s poor fathering skills – it focuses on something else. All of the preceding has served as an introduction to the main point of this blog today. I want to compare and contrast the sins of King Saul (the king who preceded David) to those of King David. We’ve just had an overview of David’s failure – if we turn back a few pages in our Bibles, we’ll read the story of King Saul. 1 Samuel 13 reports that King Saul didn’t wait for the prophet Samuel before he offered sacrifice before going to war even after God had told him to wait for Samuel. Because of this, God told Saul through Samuel that his kingdom would not endure and that it would be given to another. “Wait,” you say, “there’s got to be more to Saul’s sin than that. One sin and his dynasty comes to an end whereas David can multiply his sin to heaven and his dynasty endures? One failure and Saul’s no longer qualified for the throne, but David can commit adultery and murder and let his family self-destruct and he gets to remain on the throne? What’s up with that?” That’s the question I want to pursue: What’s up with that?
If the TV reality show “Survivor” were renamed “Sinner”, David surely outwitted and outplayed and outlasted Saul for the title of “The Biggest Sinner.” Yes, Saul sinned in what he did, but there can be no doubt about it – David’s sins outweighed, outmatched, and outdistanced those of Saul. King Saul sinned in black & white whereas David sinned in living color. So why didn’t God remove David like He did Saul? There’s only one reason and one reason only that God didn’t dropkick David out of the kingdom – covenant. God didn’t make a covenant with Saul, but He did make a covenant with David. The difference between Saul and David wasn’t who was the biggest sinner, but who had the greatest promises – who was in covenant with God.
Here is the promise God made to David - Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever. 2 Samul 7:16
Of course, this wasn’t an excuse for sin nor was it a pass for sin. David (and others) suffered greatly for his failures. The essence of the promise is this - FAILURE ISN’T FATAL. God had told David in 1 Samuel 7:15 - My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Did you get that? Read it again. God tells David that He will treat him differently than He treated Saul. God didn’t promise Saul that his throne would be established forever whereas He did make that promise to David. Saul had to depend upon his obedience to maintain his kingdom. David could rely upon the promise of God to maintain his kingdom. His throne wasn’t secured by his obedience, but by the gracious covenant promises God made to him. This means that even though David had his hot and cold sins, even though he was an adulterer and a murderer and a lousy father, God didn’t take the kingdom from him. I love this. God is greater than sin!
My relationship with God isn’t secured by my obedience, but through the covenant that God has made with me in Jesus Christ. His obedience secures my standing before God. His promise of eternal faithfulness guarantees my eternal salvation. It is not the consistency of my obedience or the depth of my holiness that secures heaven for me – it’s God’s promise in His Son Jesus Christ. It is not the depth and multitude of my sin that can keep me from heaven. God’s covenant faithfulness to me in Christ cancels out my sin and failure and presents me before the Throne of God spotless! Hallelujah! David’s sin didn’t disqualify him for the throne and your sin cannot cancel your salvation promised in and secured by Jesus Christ. Your sins may be greater than your non-Christian neighbor or unbelieving friend, but so is the covenant God has made with you in Jesus Christ to cleanse you from all sin and forgive all your iniquity. God’s covenant faithfulness in Christ overcomes your failure and frailty. Your failure isn’t fatal. Praise God!
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 20, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Lesson #5 of the COVID-19 School of Ministry (continued from yesterday – which should be to read to grasp this blog).
Lesson #5: Read your Bible.
Do you want God to speak to you? Do you want to hear His voice? Read your Bible.
The Bible doesn’t contain the Word of the Lord, it is the Word of the Lord. The Bible doesn’t contain the voice of God, it is the voice of God. The Bible doesn’t become the Word of God when you read it in faith. Whether or not you have faith, the Bible is the Word of God.
Why does someone say, “I’m hungry to hear from God”? They say this for at least four reasons (and I’m sure you can think of more). “I’m hungry to hear from God” =
- I really need to know God’s will.
- I really want to know God’s heart.
- I really desire to sense God’s presence.
- I really need specific guidance that I can’t receive by reading my Bible. (I’ll get back to this one.)
Do you want to know His will and understand His heart and (maybe) sense His presence? Read your Bible. (I wrote ‘maybe’ sense His presence because this is understood and experienced in different ways by different people. Yet know this – He is present, whether you can sense Him or not!)
I want to demystify Bible reading and rid you of notions that don’t help, but rather hinder you hearing God’s voice. Since you are holding the Bible in your hand, you don’t need to pray that God’s voice come to you for it has already come to you in the form of the Bible. You don’t need to pray to hear His voice, for when you read the words of the Bible you are hearing the voice of the Lord. Here’s the pressing need – you don’t need to pray to hear His voice, you need to pray to understand the voice that you hear in the words that you read. You don’t need to read three chapters before you hear the voice of the Lord, in the first sentence you read you are confronted with the voice - the will and the heart of God.
Many think that the problem with Bible reading is that it is often a dry time – merely academic – there seems to be little experience of hearing God speak to them. “O, if only I could hear God’s voice when I read my Bible,” is the cry of so many. (Please see yesterday’s blog to drill down into this bit of misunderstanding.) When Bible reading is approached properly, the real challenge is to not drown in the flood of the revelation of the will and heart of God. When you read your portion for the day and then say, “Well, I didn’t get much out of that. I didn’t hear His voice,” the problem isn’t in hearing His voice, but in understanding His voice. Like Samuel, you heard the voice of God, but didn’t know it was His voice. Without recognizing that the printed Word is His voice, the soul is parched even after Bible reading, and not drenched with the dew of the revelation of His heart to you.
Sometimes when someone says, “I’m hungry to hear from God,” they mean that they need specific guidance that doesn’t come by way of Bible reading and study. Stuff like: “What should my college major be?” “Should I start a church in Fremont or Hayward?” “Should I move my family to Kansas City?” You won’t find these things addressed in Deuteronomy - or any other book of the Bible, for that matter. Yet you know full well that your Bible reading has prepared and equipped you to tackle these, and other, life questions. You are to walk in conformity with the holiness of God as well as seek out godly counsel and take into consideration your desires and the circumstances, etc.
Sometimes when someone says, “I’m hungry to hear from God,” what they mean is that there is a thirst in their soul for fellowship with God – there is a hunger to know God experientially. Hopefully all of us have that passion within us. And please hear this, this passion, though it includes reading your Bible, encompasses other spiritual disciplines: prayer and praise and worship and confession of sin and repentance and personal renewal. To read your Bible outside the reality of these other spiritual dynamics at work in you is to set yourself up to miss the God who is addressing His Word to you. Also, to read your Bible apart from the attitude of obedience to what is read is to miss God who is addressing His Word to you. Try this – read your Bible as a soldier would read the marching orders of his commanding general.
Some people make “hearing from God” a lot more mystical than it needs to be. What Paul writes in Romans 10 can easily be applied to reading your Bible -
But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"…Romans 10:6-8
Paul demystifies and makes very accessible the salvation of God. What Paul says of Christ and His salvation can be said of the Word of God: even as God’s salvation has come to you, so His Word has come to you. You don’t need to jump through spiritual hoops and twist yourself into spiritual knots to hear from God. The Word is near you.
Lesson #5: Read your Bible – it is the voice of the living God speaking to you.
Be blessed and stay healthy, learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 19, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Lesson #5 in the COVID-19 School of Ministry.
“Did you read your Bible today?”
“Yes, but God didn’t speak to me.”
Huh?
“So, let me get this straight – you read your Bible and God was silent?”
“Yes, I read my Bible, but I didn’t hear the voice of God.”
Huh?
There are some who think that reading your Bible and hearing from God are two different things. Let me ask you this: what has greater authority – the spoken orders of the commanding general or the written orders of the commanding general? A soldier would tell you that they have equal authority. The spoken words of the general are what come to your mind via your ears. The written words of the general are what come to your mind via your eyes. The colonel standing in the presence of the general and hears the general’s words does not have a more authoritative word than the platoon sergeant who reads the very same words of the general on a piece of paper. (In fact, the words on paper are preferable to words in the ears for they provide a permanent record of the general’s words.) A soldier saying, “I really want to know the will of the commanding general,” would be directed to read the written orders. How does this apply to you?
Lesson #5: Read your Bible.
I recently discovered the voice transcription feature on my smart phone and tablet where I can speak my message and it is converted to words on the screen that I can then send. The spoken word becomes the written word. There is a one-to-one correspondence between what is spoken and what is written. The written word is the very essence of the spoken word. Read your Bible – it is the voice of God. (For you Greek geeks, think of 2 Tim. 3:16 & theopneustos.)
Lesson #5: Read your Bible.
Can you imagine the lieutenant asking his sergeant, “Did you read the general’s orders?” The sergeant replies, “Yes, but I didn’t hear the general’s voice.” The lieutenant would say, “Huh? What you read is the voice of the general – it expresses his will. Hearing him say it would not change the substance or the authority of what you just read. Now get moving, soldier!”
OK, I need to be fair. I read my Bible not only to know His heart expressed through what He has said, I also read my Bible in order to fellowship with Him. When I read my Bible I want to have a deep sense of communion with God. Maybe that’s what people mean when they say, “God didn’t speak to me,” or “I didn’t hear His voice.” Maybe they mean, “I didn’t sense His presence. My time spent in Bible reading was kind of dry.” Possibly that’s what you mean when you say such things. But what you can’t say when you read your Bible is, “God didn’t speak to me, today.” What you can say is, “I wasn’t listening to the Word of God. I wasn’t paying attention to His voice.” The Bible isn’t the Word of God only when you have a sense of communion with God. The Bible is the Word of God, it is God speaking even when your soul is a thousand miles away somewhere else. I think that some think that it is God’s fault if they don’t “hear His voice.” (This is a subject for another blog.)
We’ve all heard it said, and possibly have said it ourselves: “I’m hungry to hear from God.” And we’ve probably heard sermons and read books or articles on how to recognize the voice of God. The idea is that we hear so many people talking to us, so many voices directed at us, that if we’re not careful, we’ll mistake the voice of the devil or that of our overly pious weird uncle for the voice of the Lord. Just like the boy Samuel, we need to be able to distinguish between the voice of God and the voice of man. I want to share with you a sure-fire, can’t-fail method of hearing the voice of God.
Read your Bible.
Lesson #5: Read your Bible. (To be continued…)
Be blessed and stay healthy, learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Lesson #4 of the COVID-19 School of Ministry has to do with our unmasked enemy.
The devil isn’t sheltering-in-place, he’s not wearing a mask, and he’s not keeping six feet from you. Unmasked, he seeks to shelter-in-your-place, and get as close as he can so that he might pollute you with his hatred of God, hostility toward holiness, and rejection of the beauty and sanity of truth. The first time he shows up in Scripture he is unmasked and breaking social distancing protocols and breathing his diseased breath in Eve’s face so that she might be infected with discontent and unbelief and become alienated from God.
It worked.
I’ve always heard that the original sin was pride. Lucifer was so puffed up with pride, we are told, that he actually thought he deserved to be sitting on the throne of God. I have no doubt that pride was part of the mix, but I think that the first stirring that began to twist his heart from God was discontent. A voice arose from within, “I’m missing out on all I could experience. I was created for more than this. I want more than this.” And so it began. A tiny rivulet in one single heart developed into a flooded river that overran its banks and brought universal ruin. This anxiety, this FOMO (fear of missing out) festered into the infection of pride and broke out into the fever of rebellion which grew into a cosmic pandemic bringing universal disaster.
This same foul breath he breathed upon Eve and she, too, became discontent with the ways of God. In the garden, every tree but one could be harvested and enjoyed. Every tree but one was for the blessing of Eve and her husband. Every tree but one - all the fullness God had for Eve and Adam could be had in what God allowed, but Eve now desired what was disallowed – that one tree. It held all the promise her deceived heart desired. The serpent had convinced her that God was holding out on her, that God was not as good as she was led to believe. The poisoned vapor of his speech entered her heart and something began to incubate and multiply and grow within her. Discontent was conceived within her. She was pregnant with anxiety and would give birth to nothing but misery and sorrow.
The devil hasn’t changed tactics. Why would he when instilling FOMO into human hearts has been so effective down through the millennia. Kingdoms have fallen, nations have been ripped apart, marriages have failed and families shattered because our unmasked enemy goes about as a slithering snake spewing his venom into vulnerable hearts. But we are not ignorant of his schemes! God has given us the means to fight back. The venom of discontent and anxiety can only be met with the virtue and power of the truth.
I have breathed in the diseased vapor of our unmasked enemy as he has insinuated to me that God is holding out on me. “Tim, why isn’t your church bigger, your influence broader, your reputation brighter? God is holding out on you. He wants to keep you always partially full, but never completely satisfied. What He has allowed other men, He has disallowed you. But there’s more for you.” And, like Eve, this poisoned blob entered my heart and discontent was conceived and the bitterness of dissatisfaction grew within me. I yearned for that one tree that held all I wanted, but was withheld from me. I longed for the crowds along with the acclaim, the applause, and the affirmation of my ministry. I was in the fever of infection. I was missing out on what God allowed other men, yet had disallowed me. I was sick with the anxiety of missing out and embittered with the poison of jealousy. I needed an antidote to this venom, something to banish this virus from my spirit.
Lesson #4 The virtue and power of the truth is greater than the discontent and anxiety of the enemy.
God has used three phrases from the Psalms to extract the serpent’s venom from my heart and instill in my inner man the healing power of His truth. As these truths fastened themselves to the walls of my heart and began dispensing the power of the love of God for me and His faithfulness to me and His delight in me, the poison of the serpents’ venom and the power of the devil’s virus began to drain. Here is what the Spirit spoke to my heart through His Word -
My times are in Your hand. Psalm 31:15
The LORD will accomplish what concerns me. Psalm 138:8
The nearness of God is my good. Psalm 73:28
This is the medicine of the Spirit. This is the balm of Gilead. This is the wine of recovery. These three truths of God’s Word speak of the When the What and the Who of my life – and yours.
The When: my times are in Your hand.
The What: the Lord will accomplish what concerns me.
The Who: the nearness of God is my good.
I am not patient: I want to rush things.
I am not discerning: I want to rush into things that God doesn’t have for me.
I am not spiritual: I think that the things of earth can ultimately satisfy my heart.
Our unmasked enemy seeks to exploit each of these vulnerabilities as he did with Eve so long ago. Impatient with the pace of things, dissatisfied with the substance of that which is, wanting to rush into that which cannot satisfy – this describes so many lives. May you learn that your times are in His hands and that He will accomplish what concerns you and that God, and not His gifts, are your ultimate good. May you learn His love for you and His faithfulness to you and His delight in you.
Lesson #4 The virtue and power of the truth is greater than the discontent and anxiety of the enemy.
Be blessed and stay healthy, learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont – (this article is a little longer than usual)
As some of you may know, about 500 California churches will be opening up on May 31st in defiance of Governor Newsom’s lockdown order. Those opening cite 1st Amendment rights, coronavirus misinformation, and the essential nature of the church as their reasons for opening. Here are the reasons that Calvary Chapel Fremont will not be opening up on May 31st.
Reason #1 I do not believe that the Church is being singled out for State persecution.
I have considered, but am not convinced, that the government is against the Church or that this is Step 1 of an effort to banish Christianity from the land and silence the voice of the Church. When the Church is lumped in with gyms and movie theaters and nail salons, and is set to open before concerts and conventions and Coliseums, this undermines the argument that the Church is in a special category of its own as singled out for censorship and persecution. If I thought that the Church was being singled out and that the State was trying to silence the Church in order to advance its evil purpose, I would open the Church this Sunday and be in open defiance. If this was my conviction, I wouldn’t wait until May 31st to open. This leads to Reason #2.
Reason #2 The State assigning the status of “not essential” to the Church is a relative status, and not an absolute one.
Many in the Church are outraged that the State doesn’t consider the Church to be an essential service. Liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries can be open, but not the Church? That’s nuts! (And I agree – the State has been unfair and arbitrary in what it allows and disallows and what it considers to be essential and non-essential.) Yet the status of “not essential” speaks to the issue of what is “essential” to maintain the defense and sustain the physical life of the nation. (Obviously liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries are “non-essential with this in mind.) And I get it, when it comes to maintaining the defense of the nation and sustaining the flow of goods to the populace, the Church is relatively “non-essential.” My job as a pastor in the Church of Jesus Christ is not to shoot a missile at our enemies nor is it to grow vegetables in my back yard to help feed people. My calling as a pastor is to pray and to preach, to train and to teach. If the State did assign the Church a permanent an absolute status of “non-essential” and moved to shut us down permanently, we would open this Sunday and say to the State that you might consider us absolutely “non-essential”, but God says we are absolutely “essential.”
Reason #3 I am not fully convinced that there is no medical necessity for the temporary suspension of services.
No matter what position you take on this, you will be considered either a tool of the State or someone selfishly indifferent to the well-being of others. Those who make the case that C-19 isn’t as serious as its been made out to be make a lot of sense. Those who claim that it is a greater contagion than the common flu we’ve been familiar with make a lot of sense. I do not have certain knowledge and therefore will err on the side of caution. Having said that, I see no reason why people can’t make their own decision as to whether to congregate or not.
Reason #4 Congregations behave differently than shoppers do.
I drive by Lake Elizabeth every time I come to the church building. There is a sign on the street that says, “6 feet distancing. Do not congregate.” Here’s the origin for the word ‘congregate’: from Latin congregāre to collect into a flock, from grex, flock.” Congregants flock together whereas shoppers spread out. Shoppers don’t like a crowd. Shoppers don’t want a crowd. Shoppers don’t go to store to congregate, they go to shop. This is me at a store – I want to get in and get out with as little human interaction as possible! And even without the social distancing protocols – I don’t want to be that close to you. If I go down an aisle at a grocery store and there’s someone already there, that’s one person too many. The crowd dynamics of stores are different than that of churches. (That’s the only reason I can see why liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries can be open. It doesn’t have to do with them being more important than the Church or a sporting event, it’s that the crowd dynamics are different.)
Reason #5 If CC Fremont were to open up on May 31, it would damage in our witness in the community.
I know, I can hear it now, “Who cares what people think, we need to do what God wants us to do.” I get that. The thing is, remaining closed and livestreaming and zooming is what I believe God would have us to do – at least this week. Who knows what might change next week. (I reserve the right to change my mind at a moment’s notice!) The truth isn’t being muzzled and the gospel is being preached. We live in Alameda County where the mood of the people is largely in compliance with the State’s ‘stay-at-home’ order and to defy that order would bring a reproach to the Church. In addition, many in the congregation wouldn’t be in attendance if we did open. They wouldn’t be offended by the opening of the church, but they would still be very cautious in light of what many still consider to be a health risk to them and their families.
Reason #6 If CC Fremont were to open now, our insurance wouldn’t cover a C-19 case traced to us.
I can sense the contempt of many even as I write this. “You can’t let fear of litigation dictate whether or not the Church of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, will open or not. What kind of pastor are you?” Yeah, I get it. I hesitated to include this as one of my reasons for fear of having to put up with your contempt of me. Yet it’s a real factor whether pastors will acknowledge it or not. If a case of COVID-19 infection can be traced to a church meeting in defiance of the ‘stay-at-home’ order, it would only take one juicy lawsuit for thousands of churches to shutter their doors for good.
I fully believe that the churches should be allowed to open up with whatever safety protocols need to be in place. The time is now. People are not always in shopping mode and do need to assemble and congregate and be prayed for and pray with others and worship with others. Christianity is a contact sport. It is incarnational and visceral, and the virtual can only be a temporary stopgap measure. An exclusively digital Christianity is a dying Christianity – Spirit always seeks flesh for expression. Yet, having said that, I am willing to wait a while to open the Church.
“But Pastor Tim, we need to take a stand.” I am taking a stand and I just described what that stand is. “But Pastor Tim, we have to take a bold stand.” I am taking a bold stand in that I know there are many men who I know and love and respect who will accuse me of not taking a bold stand because I’m not standing with them. And though I’m not standing with them, I am not standing against them. May God be glorified in His Church and may His Church love one another and stand shoulder-to-shoulder even when we don’t see eye-to-eye.
So, CC Fremont – I wanted to let you know that your pastor is thinking about these things and let you know what I am thinking about these things that concern us all. Romans 12:17-18 instructs us to respect what is right in the sight of all men and as much as it depends on us, to be at peace with all men.
Be blessed and stay healthy, learn your lessons and love Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Our present crisis has stirred up a lot of raw emotion. We need to know how to respond to those who speak out in anger and frustration and confusion. This is what Lesson #3 of the COVID-19 School of Ministry will address.
You’ve heard it said and, more probably than not, you’ve said it yourself. When someone gets really worked up – a spouse, a child, a friend, a colleague – and in their agitation blurt out something really awful and hurtful to you or about you, you react with “Aha! Now I know how you really feel and think about me.” Yet it would be more accurate to say, “Aha! Now I know what you are really feeling and thinking about me – at this moment under this stress in this current circumstance.” Why say it this way? Because in the next 15 seconds they can feel something different and think something different. Lesson #3 is wonderfully encapsulated by a verse in Job.
Do you intend to reprove my words, when the words of one in despair belong to the wind? Job 6:26
We have all heard of the patience of Job. The patience of Job lasts for two chapters and pretty much the rest of the book is Job giving expression to his impatience. In chapter three he wishes he was never born and that he was a miscarriage and a lot of other pretty dark stuff. His friend Eliphaz begins to take him to task in chapters four and five for saying such foolish things – he really lays into him. One of Job’s responses to Eliphaz I have quoted above. Job told Eliphaz: the words of one in despair belong to the wind. Job is basically saying, “Hey, I’m in a lot of pain and confusion and my life has just been turned inside out and upside down and if I say some goofy stuff – give me a break! Cut me some slack! I’m blowing off steam! My words are like vapor and are nothing and belong to the wind.”
LESSON #3 The words of one in despair belong to the wind.
It is so easy for us to get worked up into righteous indignation when someone says something goofy and gives voice to judgmental thoughts, unworthy motives, and ungodly desires. We think that we need to jump in and correct them and rebuke them and be the instrument whereby they repent and bow the knee before the throne of God. But if you can get Job’s counsel under your belt, it will save you a whole lot of energy getting worked up into unnecessary righteous indignation. Job said he was in despair. The word 'despair' in Hebrew carries the sense of being frustrated to the point of hopelessness. Those in despair, those who are frustrated unto hopelessness don’t need our righteous indignation, they need our understanding and compassion. They desperately need the mercy of Christ. Unfortunately, they often meet with the buzz saw of the Church.
Friends of my wife and I had a child who died in infancy. I went to be with them and my friend and I took a walk. He was giving voice to his grief and despair and was cussing and saying some unkind things about God. He even used four letter words. After going on for a while like this, he looked at me and said, “Aren’t you going to rebuke me for the things I’ve been saying.” I said, “I think that God is big enough to absorb your pain and confusion. If I thought that the things you are saying was your settled attitude, I’d address them, but they’re not settled attitudes, they’re fleeting emotions, and momentary thoughts. You’re blowing off steam.” He said he knew this to be true and appreciated my approach to the whole thing. If what he gave voice to was his permanent attitude, he would no longer be walking with God. But he continued to walk with God. His words belonged to the wind.
The words of one in despair belong to the wind. Let them blow away.
You are hereby relieved of what you have perceived to be your holy duty of rebuking those who say goofy and stupid and hurtful things – to you, about you, to God, about God – when their lives have been turned upside down and inside out or when they are in the stress of the moment and in the heat of battle. You don’t need to uncomfortably clear your throat or look down while shifting your feet or give them the stink-eye or gasp as if your halo will warp if you listen to one more word. Let them vent. Cut them some slack. Let them blow off steam. This will help us relax and enjoy each other during this stressful season.
LESSON #3 The words of one in despair belong to the wind.
Be blessed and stay healthy and learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 13, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The COVID-19 School of Ministry is now in session. Class is already underway, so please enter quietly, find your place, take out your notebook and ask the Lord to teach you His heart. We will look at Lesson #2 today. Here’s a quick review of the first two lessons.
Lesson #1 Take the initiative and call or contact someone.
Lesson #1a Quit feeling sorry for yourself that no one is paying attention to you – you go and pay attention to someone.
Lesson #2 When my second son Benjamin was nine years old, the church I pastored in San Jose had a Father-Son beach day at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz. To make a short story even shorter, he fell out of a tree and somehow laid open his upper forearm down to the bone. It was pretty gross. I cringe even now. I wrapped his arm in a cloth, bundled him up, and rushed him over to the ER at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.
The doctor immediately took him in to stitch up his arm, but before he did this he needed to anesthetize the wound. As the needle came closer to administer the anesthesia, Benjamin would scream and draw back making it all but impossible for the doctor to give him the shot. After this happened a few times, the doctor got frustrated and began to reason with him and then, when reason wasn’t effective, he began to scold him. As Benjamin’s screams increased, the doctor’s scolding intensified. This was going nowhere fast.
Finally, I said to the doctor, “Doctor, what is your purpose in scolding my son? What are you trying to accomplish?” He said that he was trying to console him. I said, “You should know, more than most people, that pain and fear don’t respond to reason and anger.”
This little encounter taught me a lot about ministry to people. As a pastor I meet often with people who are filled with anxiety and worry and fear. I’ve learned that I can’t reason them out of their fear. I can’t scold them or shame them out of worry. Fear and pain do not respond to reason or shame. And let me say this very carefully lest I be misunderstood and branded some sort of heretic – I’ve discovered that pain and fear don’t give way to a Bible verse that is flung at them – as if that were the end-all of ministry. I used to hand out Bible verses like a doctor would write out a prescription. Here’s what has finally been made clear to me - fear and pain respond to large dosages of love and the medicine of tears. Lesson #2 – be with someone in the love of Christ.
I not only need a rational ministry, but also a relational ministry. I’m not only a teacher of the Word, I’m a pastor – and that right there has probably been the lesson that has taken the longest to sink into my unobservant soul. The patient lying in the hospital bed or their loved one sitting in the surgery waiting is often more greatly helped by the presence of a loved one than the words of a loved one. The Ministry of Presence is sometimes more needed, more powerful, more comforting than the ministry of words. They will remember your presence and forget the words you speak. This is counterintuitive because we believe that it is our words that hold value, but our presence is negligible. Yet words can distract from presence; words can get in the way of love and empathy.
When someone cries out in pain or fear, “Why me, why this, why now?” they are not asking a question. They are stating their dread in the form of a question – but it is not a question – even as when Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” He wasn’t asking a question, He was announcing His grief and agony. How silly for someone to respond and say, “Well, You fully know that the cross was prophesied and that You are bearing the sin of the world.” True enough. Yet something can be completely true and at the same time be wholly ineffective in meeting the need of the moment. We are told to weep with those who weep, not give words to those who weep. Words can come later. The Ministry of Loving and Attentive Presence is a powerful thing.
But how does the Ministry of Presence operate in a season of social-distancing? How can we be with someone when we can’t be with them? It seems like the two are mutually exclusive. Well, here’s my best shot – be with them in the best way you can be with them. (And the thing is, too, they know you can’t be with them.) What’s the best way to be with them? Technology comes to our aid here: a call, an email, a Facetime or Zoom call can make a world of difference because they know you are thinking of them and caring about them and praying for them. Lesson #2 – be with someone (as much as you can be) in the love of Christ. Your call or email or Facetime or Zoom will be greatly appreciated.
Be blessed and stay healthy and learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 12, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The COVID-19 School of Ministry is now in session. Class is already underway, so please enter quietly, find your place, take out your notebook, and ask the Lord to teach you His heart.
Lesson #1 Some people are sitting around wondering why so-and-so doesn’t call them. Instead of waiting for so-and-so to call you, why don’t you call so-and-so? Lesson #1 – take the initiative and call or contact someone. This lesson is illustrated by God becoming a man. He didn’t have to, He was under no obligation except that of the obligation of love. We should have called upon God, but we didn’t. And so God came calling among us. God as love didn’t wait for us to do as we should have done. He didn’t sit around on His throne fretting and wondering why we didn’t make the first move. He made the first move. He made the decisive move – He didn’t demand what was His, but humbled Himself and went out and won what was His. Lesson #1 – those who love call and contact so-and-so whereas those who don’t love sit around waiting for so-and-so to contact them and grow angry and resentful when this doesn’t happen. Lesson #1 – take out your phone and call so-and-so. Open up your email and write to so-and-so.
You think that so-and-so has the responsibility to call you and so why should you call so-and-so? Lesson #1a – quit feeling sorry for yourself that so-and-so is not paying attention to you and go and pay attention to so-and-so. “Well, I don’t know what to say to so-and-so.” Maybe so-and-so doesn’t know what to say to you. “Well, they should,” you say. “So-and-so is the pastor or the elder or the small group leader or my Sunday School teacher or the Men’s Group leader or the Women’s Group leader or the Worship Team leader or the Children’s Ministry leader or the Youth Ministry leader or the Outreach Ministry leader” and on it goes. There’s the Donut Ministry, Coffee Ministry, Usher Ministry, Greeting Ministry, Parking Lot Ministry, Tech Team Ministry, Benevolence Ministry, Foster Family Ministry, Missions Ministry – there’s a ministry for everything! And more are coming – just ahead is the cluster of COVID-19 Protocol Ministries: Hand Sanitizer Ministry, Temperature Ministry, Cleaning Between Services Ministry, Handing Out Masks Ministry, Social Distancing Enforcement Ministry, Make Sure You’re Not Coughing Ministry – and I’m sure if we were all together we could think of more. You get the point – they’re the ‘professionals’ – the leaders, the called and the equipped. And all of this just multiplies the people you think should be calling you.
Lesson #1a says that you are a born-again, blood bought, Bible taught, Spirit filled child of God who doesn’t wait for so-and-so to minister to you, but you are the so-and-so who ministers to others. “Well, OK, but I still don’t know what to say to so-and-so.” That’s fair. I get that. Please believe me, I have been there countless times. Here’s what you can say when you call or write so-and so: “Hi, this is (fill in the blank). I just wanted to contact you to see how you’re doing through all this craziness. I really don’t have anything to say to you except that I was thinking about you and hope you’re OK and ask if there is anything I can pray with you about.”
There, isn’t that fairly easy and non-intimidating? No matter how awkward you may feel, they will be touched by your love and concern. You’ll feel like a million bucks. Don’t forget that you are a born again, blood-bought, Bible taught, Spirit-filled child of God. As such, the heart of the King of kings beats in your chest. Let the body of Christ rise up in the love of Christ and love one another. Don’t wait for the ‘professionals’ to call you. We are a kingdom of priests unto our God. I don’t minister among you as a professional, but as a priest among priests under the headship of our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Stay tuned for more lessons.
Be blessed and stay healthy and learn your lessons and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 11, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont – (from Robert Romero)
Don’t let the mask cover your kindness!
One year for the Harvest Festival at CC Fremont I dressed up as a priest and my wife as a nun. I was working the evangelism table and people would come up and not only start asking me questions, but would start pouring out their heart to me, asking for forgiveness and telling me things that I wasn’t even asking them. To be honest, it was a great experience, but I realized at some point that the people thought I was an actual priest and they would ask for prayer - ingenious, I thought! Obviously, we know that we are a kingdom of priests and yes, it was nice for people to show me more respect than usual and treated me different because of the outfit that I was wearing. So I began to play the part walking around with my hands behind my back smiling at people. I thought it was quite funny myself, but in reality I began to play the part just because I was dressed the part.
Because of COVID-19, all of us have begun to wear a mask on our face. And I’ve noticed in the stores that people would not only avoid me, but would not even look at me, as though I possibly may have the virus. It’s as if since the mask covers up your smile and your frown people felt like they can ignore you all the more. My wife went out to the grocery store and was going to stop by Trader Joe’s, but the line was horrendously long. So as she is waiting in line at the grocery store, she overheard two people talking about going to Trader Joe’s. So my wife told them that the line was long and that they should be ready to wait for a while before they could get in. But they looked at her and never said a word and turned around and continue to talk amongst themselves never even responding to her. I remember her coming home thinking how eerie it felt – like people were allowed to be rude now or to ignore you all the more. Letting the mask transform how we relate to others kind of like the costume I wore at our Harvest Festival.
But we brothers and sisters need to get back to the basics of just showing kindness. You see, the mask may be able to cover up your smile or your frown or even some imperfections in your face like a pimple or something, but don’t let it cover up your kindness. People may not recognize you because of the mask, yet they do recognize kindness - everyone knows that kindness crosses language barriers. Opening the door for someone, allowing that person to go in front of you in line, saying hello or good morning or good evening – these are acts of kindness. Remember that one of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness. Fruit is for others to eat. Will something sweet and wholesome or bitter and offensive flow from you? 2 Peter 1 says: “…add to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” Here, kindness is sandwiched in between godliness and love. It is a natural progression as a believer in Jesus to grow in your kindness towards people.
So let’s do our part in showing kindness, even if people do not receive it - let’s do it because God has shown kindness towards us. Regardless of what political party they are, or how much money they make or don’t make, if they are married or divorced, the color of their skin, what religion they are, these are not the most important things to Jesus.
What matters to Jesus is the soul of a man He desires to save! One of our main purposes in life is that we are ambassadors for Christ showing people the goodness of God that leads men toward repentance. We don’t know why people may be rude or angry, distant or indifferent. They may be going through something very difficult and we don’t even know. The encounter you have with someone may be divine in nature – even entertaining Angels – and in doing so you may change someone’s life. Don’t miss it!
Be Jesus to someone today. Robert Romero
May 8, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
There are some very real challenges we face as a church and nation. A medical crisis has developed into an economic crisis which has morphed into a political crisis. I’ve got a lot roiling through my head. I have a lot of questions, not many answers, and a lot of “Let’s wait and see.” A ton of competing info and data shows up in my inbox everyday and I’m not sure how to process it – who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who’s a quack!? I want to present myself as the supremely confident leader who knows the way forward and pity those poor pastors who don’t – but that wouldn’t be accurate. There’s a lot of “I don’t know and I’m not sure” in me. I am crystal clear about what I should be doing when it comes to ministry and the gospel, but when I listen to the supremely confident leaders who assure me they know what’s happening and they know the way forward, I don’t come away filled with the same confidence they have. I see things differently. Let me begin addressing my first concern with an analogy that will hopefully be helpful in understanding my post today.
If Pastor Chuck had attempted to take the Calvary Chapel Movement into the Roman Catholic understanding of transubstantiation (where the bread becomes the actual flesh of Christ and the juice becomes the actual blood of Christ), hopefully all of us would say that our loyalty is to what is written in the Bible above what is said by Pastor Chuck. We put what the written Word says above what a pastor says. We would follow the founding Document of Christianity (Bible) before we followed an Occupant of the pastoral office (pastor). A pastor is supposed to follow the Living Word (Jesus) and the written Word (the Bible). When a pastor no longer follows Jesus or the Bible, we are to no longer follow him. We put Document above Occupant. I think you get that. If I departed from the Bible, you’d depart from me (and well you should.)
Let’s move from religion to politics. Romans 13:1 is often quoted in this discussion: Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
OK, that seems straight forward enough, but what does it mean in the American experience? Who or what is the governing authority? Is our loyalty, as citizens, to the Occupant of an office or to the Document (the Constitution) that governs the Occupant of a political office? We have a permanent Document and a temporary Occupant in the Governor’s or President’s office. Both the President and the Governor (at least of CA) swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. One of the reasons whoever is in office got into office is because those who voted him/her in expected them to hold to and uphold the Constitution.
- Paul said: Follow me as I follow Christ.
- Any President or Governor should say: Follow me as I follow the Constitution.
So, what do we do when the Occupant departs from the Document? Does our allegiance belong to the temporary governing Occupant or to the permanent governing Document? Or do we follow the Document as understood by the professional interpreters of the Document – (Federal/Supreme Courts)? Can the professional interpreters of the Constitution get it wrong? (Don’t forget that the professional interpreters ruled that abortion is Constitutional.) Can professional theologians and pastors and priests and popes get it wrong? Of course they can and have and will. If we question the professional interpreters of the founding Documents (Constitution in politics/Bible in Christianity) when they are wrong in their interpretations, are we out of step with the Document(s) they are out of step with? Does the Document tell us that we are to obey the Occupant even when he/she departs from the Document? If so, why is there even a Document?
In my thinking -
- We can allow for suspension of certain rights for specific reasons for a short time.
- We can forgive the misjudgments of the government in moving forward through a crisis.
- What we can’t turn a blind eye to as responsible citizens is a permanent departure from the Constitution and a different political trajectory.
- What we can’t turn a blind eye to as responsible citizens is the arbitrary imposition of the will of the temporary Occupant. One of the primary reasons for our ruling Document is to protect us from the arbitrary will of an Occupant (in the original historical setting – King George of England).
- The permanent Document is to protect us from the hostility, indifference, and arbitrary rule of the temporary Occupant.
In my thinking, there has been governmental overreach in the C-19 crisis – not in all areas, but in some. And if I were to follow the logic of what I have presented so far, I would be ripe for being recruited for civil disobedience in opening the church doors before the government said I could. But I have something else going through my head, too.
This is crucial to my thinking: I do not believe that the government is against the church. If I believed this, if I were convinced that the premise of government persecution was correct, I would open the church next week. But I don’t believe it. If it’s true – then they are persecuting bars and karate studios and professional sports, too. The church is not being singled out. I do believe that the government has been incompetent in some of its responses and arbitrary in some of its rulings, but I don’t believe it is conspiring against the church. And, as I’ve written before, I’d much rather have an incompetent government than a conspiratorial one.
And so, since 1) I do not believe that the government is against the church and 2) I do believe that there is a public health reason for social distancing and sheltering-in-place, I will wait for the go-ahead from the government when it comes to reopening the church for public services. Those seem to be the two main battle ground of ideas. I have developed a maxim that has served me well through the years: When in doubt, don’t. And therefor since I am not clear that it is time to re-open the public services of CC Fremont, we won’t.
PS – I reserve the right to change my mind! Maybe even in the next five minutes! Stay tuned. But I would like to hear from you – especially those of CC Fremont – and I’ve heard from some of you already. Thank you. Tell me what you think without losing your cool or calling me names! Respond in the Comments section or email me.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 7, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
This is a post by Steve Tvedten on 7.15.2011 and is a modified version of a text originally attributed to Lori Borgman.
OBITUARY---Today we mourn the passing of an old friend, by the name of Common Sense.
Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from heart failure on the brink of the new millennium. No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, factories, and helping people get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable time-tested parenting strategies (the parents are in charge, not the kids), and it is O.K. to come in second.
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends, including body piercing, whole language, and "new math.” But his health declined when he became infected with the "if-it-helps-only-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus.
In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well-intentioned but overbearing regulations. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and Federal judges stuck their noses into everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports. Finally, when a woman, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low-flow toilets, rocking chairs, and step ladders.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone…
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Chapel –
Pray like you eat – consistently, diligently, intentionally. You are to be constant and diligent and intentional in prayer whether you are in a crisis or coming out of a crisis. In the attempt to strengthen your prayer muscles, to encourage you to pray like you eat, I am unpacking these five sentences of Rabbi Joshua Abraham Heschel. We looked at sentences 1 & 2 yesterday and this post will finish the unpacking. Here is the paragraph comprised of five sentences.
“How grateful I am to God that there is a duty to worship, a law to remind my distraught mind that it is time to think of God, time to disregard my ego for at least a moment! It is such a happiness to belong to an order of the divine will. I am not always in a mood to pray. I do not always have the vision and strength to say a word in the presence of God. But when I am weak, it is the law that gives me strength; when my vision is dim, it is duty that gives me insight.”
Sentence #3 I am not always in a mood to pray.
- Do I really need to unpack this? You immediately get it!
Sentence #4 I do not always have the vision and strength to say a word in the presence of God.
- I think that what Heschel is saying here is that he doesn’t always know that he should pray or knows what to pray about. I’m sure that you have had the same experience as me – something is so obvious that I don’t think to pray about it or if I do think to pray about it, I really don’t know what to say in my prayer. I am going along in life doing what I should be doing – why do I need to pray about something that is so clear and obvious?
- And so much in my life is clear and obvious. I am to love God and my wife and my children and the church I serve and all my brothers and sisters in Christ and all those who are not in Christ. That’s obvious! (Did I leave anybody out?) If I know the will of God why pray to know the will of God? I don’t need insight here – I already have insight – that’s why I’m attempting to love God and people in the first place!
- No, I don’t need insight, but I do need infilling. I don’t need wisdom, I need strength. I need God’s strength to fulfill God’s commandment. I require supernatural strength for the obvious.
- And when he says that he doesn’t always have the strength to pray, he is mentioning an obvious human frailty known by all of us. Here’s my theory – I can think about you for an hour with no problems. But once I begin to pray for you, I meet resistance and my mind wanders, my desire diminishes, and my strength weakens. When I think of you, my mind is on earthly things. When I begin to pray for you, my mind is on heavenly things. As my soul ascends in prayer, I meet spiritual opposition. The devil doesn’t care if I think about you, but praying for you is a direct attack upon his kingdom. I don’t need faith to think, but I do need faith to pray. Thoughts remain on the ground, but prayer ascends into the heavenlies. I can think of you and experience no resistance, but once I begin to pray for you or for me, I enter into spiritual warfare. I’ve never swung an actual sword before in my life – but I’m sure it would wear me out pretty quickly.
Sentence #5 But when I am weak, it is the law that gives me strength; when my vision is dim, it is duty that give me insight.”
- Allow me to unpack this sentence with another quote from Rabbi Heschel which itself needs to be unpacked – but I’ll leave that to you. He speaks of the difficulty of Jewish prayer. What he describes is also the difficulty of Christian prayer.
“There is a specific difficulty of Jewish prayer. There are laws: how to pray, when to pray, what to pray. There are fixed times, fixed ways, fixed texts. On the other hand, prayer is worship of the heart, the outpouring of the soul, a matter of devotion. Thus, Jewish prayer is guided by two opposite principles: order and outburst, regularity and spontaneity, uniformity and individuality, law and freedom. These principles are the two poles about which Jewish prayer revolves. Since each of the two moves in the opposite direction, equilibrium can be maintained only if both are of equal force. However, the pole of regularity usually proves to be stronger than the pole of spontaneity. Our great problem, therefore, is how not to let the principle of regularity impair the power of devotion. He who is not aware of this central difficulty is a simpleton; he who offers a simple solution is a quack.”
Therefore, pray. Don’t be robbed of prayer. Don’t wait until you feel like praying and don’t wait until you need to pray. Pray. Even when you don’t “feel” like praying you can pray in faith. Pray like you eat – consistently, diligently, intentionally.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 5, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The first thing a crisis gives birth to is prayer. The first thing to die when a crisis is over is prayer. Prayer comes to life when things are dying and then dies when things come back to life. Prayer, for many, is the undersized spare in the trunk to be used in case of a flat tire. And then when the regular sized tire is repaired and replaced and we can roll along like before, the undersized tire that we’re really leery of depending on is safely tucked away for the next rainy day. To be regular and diligent and intentional in prayer has always been a challenge and I know it’s a challenge for you, too.
In his essay, “The Spirit of Jewish Prayer,” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel faces this challenge and writes the following -
“How grateful I am to God that there is a duty to worship, a law to remind my distraught mind that it is time to think of God, time to disregard my ego for at least a moment! It is such a happiness to belong to an order of the divine will. I am not always in a mood to pray. I do not always have the vision and strength to say a word in the presence of God. But when I am weak, it is the law that gives me strength; when my vision is dim, it is duty that gives me insight.”
This five sentence paragraph is so densely packed it’s like an overstuffed suitcase! Let’s unpack this and try and get a handle on what the good rabbi is saying. Each sentence is rich in its own right and deserves a slow read.
Sentence #1 How grateful I am to God that there is a duty to worship, a law to remind my distraught mind that it is time to think of God, time to disregard my ego for at least a moment!
- Prayer is a duty. Our theology doesn’t like the word ‘duty.’ This falls like a lead balloon on evangelical ears. This is like fingernails on a blackboard. “Duty? You mean I have to pray? Doesn’t prayer as duty work against prayer as delight? Shouldn’t I only pray when I am moved to pray?” Rabbi Heschel would agree with that, but would add that if you waited on you to move you to pray, you would rarely pray. Why? Because you are self-centered and self-sufficient. (And he includes himself in the ‘you.’) Self-centered and self-sufficient people don’t pray. And please note that he does say that we are to pray when we are moved to pray – and it’s the law that moves us to pray! Now this is foreign to evangelical ears – if only he had said that it is the Spirit that moves us to pray – at least we would feel like we’re on home soil. But he uses the dreaded “l” word – law. And since I’m a New Testament follower of God the Son and not just an Old Testament follower of God the Father – the law is about as welcome as the antichrist.
- Sidebar: Rabbi Heschel is not a Christian and is therefore unfamiliar with, at least in experience, our understanding of the moving of the Holy Spirit. He would probably, if I read him right, attribute the stirrings of his soul to the moving of the Spirit, yet because of his training and commitments, he uses the language of law as it is understood within Judaism.
- He tells us that this duty to pray should be seen as a delight because in prayer I am rescued from myself. He writes, “…there is a duty to worship, a law to remind my distraught mind that it is time to think of God…” We think of law as weight and obligation; Heschel thinks of law as rescue and salvation. The law comes to my overburdened mind – my stressed out, uptight, anxious, selfish mind – and points to an escape: prayer – calling upon the name of the Lord. Prayer is Face-Time with God. If Bible reading is like reading a text from God, prayer is like Face-Timing God! The law informs me and then prompts to come face-to-face with God.
- And in Face-Time with God, in the moments of prayer, I disregard my ego, my self-centered, self-driven, self-sufficient life. In giving regard to God I am disregarding me. Now, in our ME-driven culture of self-sufficiency, to disregard me is probably the worst thing that could happen. But in Rabbi Heschel’s God-soaked reality, to disregard your self is the best thing that could happen to you because in prayer you lift up your eyes – off of you and on to God. And yes, that’s a good thing!
Sentence #2 It is such a happiness to belong to an order of the divine will.
- This statement reminds me of Romans 7:22 where Paul exclaims that he joyfully concurs with the law of God in his inner man. When the law is used wrongly, it will burden you and turn you into a joyless legalist. When the law is used correctly, it ushers you into the very heart of God. And this use of the law brings happiness because it connects you to how God has ordered life to be. When you walk in God’s ways you are in His will – your steps are ordered by the Lord. To be in the will of God is to experience a blessed happiness! Heschel says that he loves the will of God that moves him to pray. Psalm 119 is full of this same sentiment expressed in a variety of ways.
If you’re like me, just about everyday you pray the Lord’s Prayer. And just in the first few stanzas of that prayer you can taste something of what Rabbi Heschel writes about.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
- Immediately, my eyes are off of me and on to Him. I am asking that His kingdom come and His will be done. I am distracted, for a moment, from building my castle and seeking my will. I am lifted out of the poverty of a self-centered, self-driven, self sufficient life and get a glimpse, once again, of the vast kingdom of God I am invited to participate in.
It is such a happiness to belong to an order of the divine will.
I hope to unpack the rest of Rabbi Heschel’s paragraph tomorrow.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 4, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Three times in the 1st eight verses of Psalm 37 (New American Standard) we are told ‘do not fret.’ Here they are –
1 Do not fret because of evildoers…
7 Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way…
8 Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Here’s the English dictionary definition of ‘fret’: to feel or express worry, annoyance, or discontent.
Here’s the Hebrew definition of the word translated ‘fret’: to burn with anger.
Hmmmm – those definitions go in two different directions. I think that maybe in melding the two together we can get at what the translators of the NASB were attempting to capture in the phrase ‘do not fret.’ “Don’t work yourself into a frenzy. Don’t allow your discontent to develop into anger.”
There’s a lot to be discontented about:
- Sheltering-in-place – whether called for or not is causing great discontent tending toward anger across America.
- Some businesses are allowed to be open while others have to remain closed. Sometimes this makes sense, at other times it appears completely arbitrary. When landscapers can work on government property, but not private property - this is confusing. When people can roam the aisles at Target but not at Ross – this is confusing.
- When prisoners are released to stem the spread of C-19 while others are arrested for not honoring social-distancing, this can lead to discontent within the American populace.
- When churches are denied First Amendment rights, it’s easy for discontent to develop into anger. And when theories of permanent government overreach take hold, anger becomes righteous indignation. And righteous indignation only needs the heat to be turned up a few degrees to boil over into civil disobedience. Complaining about governmental edicts is not disobedience – civil or otherwise. Ignoring governmental edicts is civil disobedience. When government says, “You shall do X,” and you do Y, that’s civil disobedience. Yet, at times, civil disobedience is the higher road of citizenship.
We’re sitting on a powder keg.
And then we have the triple, “Do not fret,” of Psalm 37. “Don’t work yourself into a frenzy over the hurtful things wicked people do.” OK, in one way I get it, yet at the same time I think of Moses coming down from Sinai full of righteous indignation because Israel was worshiping the golden calf. And then we have this from the life of Jesus:
After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Mark 3:5
Jesus was angry because the synagogue officials said that he shouldn’t heal anyone on the Sabbath! They would drag a donkey out of a ditch on the Sabbath, but were outraged that Jesus wanted to lift this man from his disease on the Sabbath. No wonder Jesus was ticked! Talk about arbitrary rulings!
So, Psalm 37 says of the discontent that becomes anger because of the wickedness of other people, “Don’t go there.” And then we see two Bible heavyweights, Moses and Jesus, going there. How can this be resolved, or is this just another of the alleged “contradictions in the Bible” that people try and come up with? I’ve got two responses for you –
#1 David wrote Psalm 37 and has to be understood within the context of his life and experience. King Saul wanted to kill David. David had a couple of opportunities of killing King Saul, but he wouldn’t do it. He would not kill the man God had chosen and anointed to be king. He would not work himself into a frenzy over King Saul – he would allow God to deal with Saul in His timing.
#2 The “do not” in the phrase “do not fret” is an interesting word. Here’s what the Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary says of it: “This adverb means "no." What it negates is not categorical, but is a warning against doing something that brings about evil.” Here’s the operative thought – it is not a categorical NO. It is a cautious KNOW – KNOW what you’re doing if you take the pathway of righteous indignation. Paul put it this way in the New Testament –
BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:26-27
KNOW – take into consideration what may result from your fretting, your anger. You may not like it.
It seems to me that America is sitting on the front burner and the heat has been turned up. Some see it as America sitting on one burner and the church sitting on another burner. The church is being singled out for State persecution of some form and after COVID-19 goes its way, the church will still be under the boot of the State. Some believe that the dial on the American burner is being turned down while the dial on the church burner is being turned up. This is what concerns some and pushes others to anger and the actions that may result from that. For me, right now, I don’t perceive that. I am frustrated. I am baffled by some of the decisions that government is making – but I don’t feel the heat of persecution nor do I smell the stench of conspiracy.
“Well, Pastor Tim – you’re blind and you’re nose doesn’t work right.” Wouldn’t be the first time.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
May 1, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
“The Philistines are upon you,” Delilah cried out to Samson as she attempted to sideline the man that God had raised up as a champion for Israel at that time. (You can read the story of Samson and Delilah in Judges 16.)
“Tell me the secret of your great strength,” she pleaded day after day. Delilah was an agent of the Philistine enemy and she wanted to discover the secret of his strength so that he would be stripped of his great strength. The enemy of the Church today has the same agenda as Delilah of old - what is the secret of the great strength of the Church and how can it be stripped from her?
The Church said, “If there is a Plague on the land triggering a Government Edict preventing us from physically meeting together, then we will be shorn of our great strength.”
And so Delilah caused a great Plague to descend upon the land, moving the Government to issue an Edict preventing the Church from physically meeting together. The enemy was waiting nearby to silence the Church. Delilah cried out, “The Philistines are upon you, Church.” But the Church rose up in the strength of Christ and went out and began to broadcast the gospel throughout the land and the Edict could not bind the church.
“You have deceived me,” said Delilah to the Church. “What is the secret of your great strength?”
The Church said, “If the offerings to the Church begin to diminish and our coffers run low, then we will be stripped of our great strength.”
Delilah sent out an influence persuading those of the Church to be prudent with their resources during this time (and that the money they would give to the Lord via the Church should be spent on toilet paper!). The Church began to suffer financial hardship and many pastors and churches began to wonder if they would institutionally survive the Plague. The enemy was nearby waiting to destroy the Church. Delilah cried out, “The Philistines are upon you, Church.” But the Church roused herself up from her fear and doubt and began to praise her Lord and Savior and redoubled her efforts to use whatever means possible to love the people and take the gospel to the world and the financial cords meant to bind the Church were snapped in two.
“You have deceived me,” Delilah wept before the Church. “Tell me the secret of your great strength.”
The Church said, “If you make the reopening of the churches months away and not weeks away, we will become weak as other institutions and be stripped of our strength.”
Delilah prevailed upon the powers that be and moved out the reopening of the churches from weeks to months. The enemy was waiting nearby to crush the Church. Delilah cried out, “The Philistines are upon you, Church.” But the Church went out as at other times and strengthened herself in her God and shook off the disheartening effects of the bad news and got back to the gospel ministry that God was so richly blessing.
“You have deceived me these three times,” moaned Delilah. “Tell me the secret of your great strength.” And Delilah wept before the Church and daily pestered her until she gave up the secret of her strength.
The Church said, “If I am stripped of my hope in God, if the confidence of my faith in His overruling hand of Providence is shaken, if I begin to despise my brothers and sisters, I shall be shorn of strength and might.”
Delilah went out and began to sow discord in the Church and convinced some that Government would rob them of all Constitutional rights. She persuaded others that the power of Plague was greater than the hand of Providence. She turned one against another as they quarreled about the best way to respond to Government Edict during the time of Plague. The Philistines were waiting nearby to bury the Church. “The Philistines are upon you, Church.”
And the Church rose as at other times, but she had been stripped of her hope in God, shaken in the confidence of her faith in His Providence, and where there once was love for one another there was now only scorn. She rose to shake off the enemy, stumbled forward a few steps, and then collapsed at the feet of Delilah.
Keep following Jesus – Pastor Tim
April 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
We’re still in the middle of this 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Pandemonium Smackdown. I’ve pointed out that dueling experts contradicting one another present the layman (non-expert: you and me) with a real challenge. And then we have to deal with the onslaught of those who vilify us when we don’t support the expert they support. Who do I believe? What do I believe? Why do I believe Doctor #1 more than Doctor #2? Why do I think Expert #3 is more credible than Expert#4? These are not insignificant issues.
- No, we’re not supposed to believe and blindly follow governmental guidelines no matter what. Sometimes civil disobedience is the higher road of citizenship.
- No, it is not wisdom to watch a YouTube video or read an article and arrive at an opinion that you won’t budge from..
- Yes, watch a YouTube video presenting one point of view and then watch another with another point of view. Take notes. Ask questions. Seek out answers. Try and identify where the disagreements lie.
- Yes, read an article presenting one point of view and then read another article with another point of view. Take notes. Ask questions. Seek out answers. Form an opinion and then test it out against those who disagree with it. This is not the work of a few hours one afternoon. A microwaved education doesn’t speed up your education, it just melts your brain. 😊
- If you’re like me, you’re convinced by the last thing you read. This is not good. Do your homework!
“Pastor Tim, what do you think about all this as of today, April 29th?” I’m glad you asked!
In my Easter sermon, I used some material from J Warner Wallace. He was an atheist police detective who decided to apply the investigative forensic tools of cold case detective work to the resurrection of Jesus. (Go to YouTube and enter into the search engine: Cold Case Christianity. Awesome stuff!) Anyway, he gave his life to Christ. One of the lines of investigation he applied to the resurrection has to do with conspiracy theories. Detectives work on the premise that conspiracies need to include the smallest amount of people for the shortest amount of time in order to be effective. He applied this forensic tool to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and concluded that too many people over too great a length of time held to the resurrection story even when facing stiff persecution. Is it possible that the resurrection story was a known falsehood held to by thousands of people over decades? It’s possible. Is it reasonable? No. By applying the tools of his craft, he came to faith in Christ!
OK – let’s do the same with C-19. Is it possible that the COVID-19 pandemic is not as serious as thousands upon thousands of doctors and experts and politicians and pundits and journalists make out? Is this a conspiracy by these people to dupe the American people? Let’s stop right there. If this is a conspiracy to deceive the American people, what is its purpose?
- Have the Democrats duped all the doctors and pundits and experts and politicians in order to thwart the reelection of President Trump?
- Has China deceived all these professionals in order to bring America to her knees? Or are the doctors and experts all in on this?
- Have evil bankers concocted this crisis to use as a smokescreen in order to transfer wealth out of America?
If this is a conspiracy, it is being held a tight secret by tens of thousands of people over a few months time. Possible? Yes. Reasonable? No. Now, can Democrats or Republicans or the Chinese or the bankers (or anyone else) try and use the C-19 crisis to seek an advantage for their cause? Of course. But then you’ve changed the subject from conspiracy to opportunism. Let’s not change the subject.
Do I think that COVID-19 is a vast conspiracy foisted upon us by some evil group of people? No. Do I think that our government has acted or is acting competently through all this? No. “Pastor Tim, you just changed the subject from government conspiracy to government competency.” Yes, I did. Let’s go with that. Does being a good citizen or a Christian citizen mean that I have to support the government in all they do? No. The 1st Amendment of our Constitution says that we can petition the government for the redress of grievances.
- I am grieved by the arbitrary nature of what businesses have to be shuttered and what businesses can remain open.
- I am grieved by those facing economic hardship, emotional isolation, and job instability.
- I am grieved that the government is not treating the American population like adults, but as children needing to obey.
Yet, having listed my grievances (and I have more and so do you), these grievances do not (in my opinion) warrant civil disobedience. When and if I become convinced that this is something more and other than medically motivated, my tune will change. As I wrote earlier, sometimes civil disobedience is the higher road of citizenship. Do I believe that the approach the government has taken is the correct one? No. Yet I’m not convinced that it’s wrong, either. I’m somewhere in the undefined middle, in the indeterminate muddle. What I am convinced of is that this is not a government conspiracy. I’d rather have a partially incompetent government than a wholly conspiratorial one.
Psalm 131 is the spirit that I try and live in –
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. Psalm 131:1-3
Am I hiding my head in the sand? I don’t think so. I’m trying to bury my head in the truth and trying to keep my heart in the love of the Lord. So, think until your thoughts are clear and strong. Pray until your motive is love. And when you do speak, do so in the love of Christ – not the anger of a partisan.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
April 28, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont – let’s listen to our announcer.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Pandemonium Smackdown.”
- “In the far corner, wearing white trunks, we have doctors from prestigious universities who think they know it all and have the data to back it up and they make a lot of sense.”
- “In the near corner, wearing even whiter trunks, we have another group of doctors from prestigious universities who think they know it all and have the data to back it up and they make a lot of sense.”
This is also a tag-team match.
- “In the far corner, joining the doctors who think they know it all, wearing black trunks, is a gang of politicians who back them up and are ready to spin any and all information to the disadvantage of their political rivals.”
- “In the near corner, joining the other group of doctors who think they know it all, wearing even blacker trunks, is a rival gang of politicians who back them up and are ready to spin any and all information to the disadvantage of their political rivals.”
Actually, this is a triple tag-team match. (Yes, it’s all-out warfare.)
- “In the far corner, joining the doctors and the politicians, wearing nothing at all, is a gaggle of media personalities who mock and ridicule all who don’t agree with the doctors who know it all and the politicians who support their version of the data.”
- “In the near corner, joining the other doctors and the rival gang of politicians, wearing less than nothing at all, is another gaggle of media personalities who mock and ridicule all who don’t agree with the doctors who know it all and the politicians who support their version of the data.”
Each corner of doctors and politicians and media personnel is supported by experts in various disciplines and self-appointed pundits and conspiracy theorists who scream at anybody not in their corner. And then there are the self-anointed prophets of doom who tell us that they can hear the hoof-beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse becoming louder and getting closer. They point us to the economic collapse of the United States and tell us that the Antichrist is just over the horizon and the mark of the beast is just one chip away. Yikes!
“Welcome to the daily media coverage of COVID-19. Let’s get ready to rummmmmmbbbbblllleeee!”
What’s a Christian to do? How are we to keep our footing in the flood-waters of information and misinformation and disinformation and passion and politics and partisanship and personalities?
This Milky Way of experts generate more questions and concerns than answers. Here is a sampling of what comes my way. “Pastor Tim, what do you think? Are the civil rights of the church being trampled? Is this a conspiracy to silence the churches and therefore the gospel? Is C-19 a biological weapon fashioned by a lab in Wuhan, China that was intentionally released or is this an unfortunate animal-to-man transmission of the virus? Are the doctors overstating this? Understating this? Misstating this? Is our government overreacting to this? Is the data accurate, but inaccurately analyzed? Is the data inaccurate and therefore any analysis is doomed from the start? Is this a plot to transfer wealth out of America? Is this a conspiracy to prevent the reelection of President Trump? Is this a real crisis or one hyped by the media? Is this all one big manipulation by the deep state and the dark web? What are the prophetic implications of all this? Should we be sheltering-in-place in our homes or standing shoulder-to-shoulder out in the streets?” And on it goes…
Joining the confusing chorus of doctors and politicians and media and the self-appointed and the self-anointed is a further layer of disharmony. There are plenty of things that irk me at this time, but one of the most irksome is the instant expertise of the layman. So many are getting advanced degrees by spending an afternoon at GOOGLE University. Hey, everybody – GOOGLE U is the place to be! There’s no registration, no tuition to pay, no enrollment fees, no class times, and no buzz-kill final exams. And forget about grades! GOOGLE U is churning out experts at an astonishing rate. After a few hours at GOOGLE U, people with no training in or even understanding of virology or public policy want to be the policeman in the global intersection directing the world’s traffic. Yet an inadequate education leads to immature thinking and premature judgment.
Here’s what I mean – we are asked to watch this video, read that article, access this program where an alternative view point is intelligently presented by actual professionals utilizing highlighted data and featuring supportive data from prominent journals. People go away from watching/reading these presentations and they say, “I believe that guy.” My question is very simple, “Why?” Now the video or article may very well be the best thing ever produced that addresses this pandemic – but how do I know? What on earth do I know about amino acids and bat germs and receptors and immuno-deficiency diseases and genome sequencing. I watch Science Expert 1 make a certain claim and then listen to Science Expert 2 thoroughly debunk what Science Expert 1 claimed. Or at least Science Expert 2 asserts that he has thoroughly debunked Science Expert 1. How do I know if he refuted him? I took Hebrew in Bible College, not advance virology and genome sequencing. If RNA were to replicate right in front of me, I’d be clueless. If I told you that “dag” means “fish” in Hebrew and another Hebrew student told you that “cat” means “fish” in Hebrew – how on earth could you know who was telling the truth? The one who looks more sincere? The one with the flashier presentation? The one who aligns with your political party or religion or philosophy?
“Yeah, but Science Expert 1 has a document signed by 20,000 medical doctors supporting his/her findings.” OK, that’s impressive. Yet there are about 12,000,000 doctors in the world. Why didn’t the other 11,980,000 medical doctors sign it? Which doesn’t in itself prove anything. He/she could still be right. Or wrong. Or on to something. Or not. I just don’t know. But then I’m not a GOOGLE grad – I don’t know it all. Here’s what I do know – God is God and I am to follow Jesus regardless of which expert is trying to recruit me to their corner. “Well, Pastor Tim, it sounds like you’re just allowing others to put a leash around your neck and lead you wherever they want. It sounds like you’re telling us not to think for ourselves.” Such is not the case – we need to think for ourselves, yet at the same time not think too highly of ourselves. If you think that an afternoon at GOOGLE U qualifies you to speak intelligently into this situation then you are thinking too highly of yourself. When we think too highly of ourselves we have a tendency to smackdown those who think differently and we jump into the ring and begin to wrestle in the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Pandemonium Smackdown.
This is getting too long. To be continued…
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
April 27, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Q: When is it OK to complain?
A: When you complain to the Lord.
Q: When is it OK to complain and lament and carry on like God’ doesn’t care for you?
A: When you complain and lament to the Lord.
I’m reading a book entitled: “Dark Clouds/Deep Mercy” by Mark Vroegop (no, that’s not a typo). It is subtitled: ‘Discovering the Grace of God in Lament.’ I don’t remember why I bought it, but when I went to read it I thought it would probably be full of unoriginal platitudes, tired clichés, and that I might underline one sentence every five pages or so. Boy, was I delightfully surprised. I am underlining about five sentences per page and putting an asterisk next to the super-standout points that are being made. Thumbing through the pages I see a bunch of asterisks that I’ve made.
Mark pastors College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana and is no armchair theologian. His struggles come from real-life wrestling with suffering in both his personal life and his vocation as a pastor. This season of COVID-19 has been trying and stretching and has caused much suffering and given birth to many heart-felt complaints. I think the insights offered in Pastor Mark’s book are relevant for what we are collectively experiencing. What follows are just some bullet-points that I consider to be outstanding. Maybe this trailer will whet your appetite to get it and read it yourself.
- Lament can be defined as a loud cry, a howl, or a passionate expression of grief. Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God. Without lament we won’t know how to process pain.
- We need to recover the ancient practice of lament and the grace that comes through it. Christianity suffers when lament is missing.
- Christians affirm that the world is broken, God is powerful, and He will be faithful. Therefore, lament stands in the gap between pain and promise.
- To cry is human, but to lament is Christian. (I loved that!)
- Lament typically asks two questions: 1) “Where are You, God?” 2) “If You love me, why is this happening?”
- You might think that lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t. Instead, lament is a path to praise. (I loved that!)
- At least a third of the 150 psalms are laments. (Wow!) A third of the official songbook of Israel wrestles with pain.
- It takes faith to pray a lament.
- Many people are afraid of lament. They find it too honest, too open, or too risky. But there’s something far worse: silent despair.
- Lament does not always lead to an immediate solution. Grief is not tame. Lament is not a simplistic formula.
- Lament is humbling turning to God through the pain.
- If you read the psalms of lament, you’ll discover a lot of creative complaining. The Bible is full of complaints. And apparently they aren’t sinful. In fact, they are set to music. (I loved that!)
- Without a complaint, there would be no lament.
Two more –
- Mark quotes another author: A lament honestly and specifically names a situation or circumstance that is painful, wrong, or unjust – in other words, a circumstance that doesn’t align with God’s character and therefore does not make sense within God’s kingdom.
- Lament is the language of a people who believe in God’s sovereignty but live in a world with tragedy.
OK, one more –
- The psalmist is basically telling God that he feels as if God is not being God-like.
This is just a sampling – there’s a lot more in the box.
My soul resonates with Mark’s theme. He is spot-on and expresses these truths so simply and eloquently backed up with solid exposition. As a pastor, I’m always reading for more material, but this book has deeply edified me. I see God in a greater light – His mercies and compassions toward the broken and hurting make our beautiful God more beautiful still. If you’ve not expressed yourself toward the Lord in this way before – or have felt guilty in doing so – this will be a great read for you. Guilt free complaining – set to music!
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 25, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I want to talk to you about the awkwardness of livestreaming a service when no one (except the tech crew) is present. It is very disorienting to preach to an empty room. (Now, some wit will say that you’re not preaching to an empty room, you’re preaching in an empty room. So, let me restate this and say that it is very disorienting to preach in an empty room.)
Whether a preacher is aware of this or not, there is a symbiotic relationship between him and the congregation. Symbiotic here means that there is an interdependency between preacher and congregation. When the people are present there is an energy that the preacher feeds off of – whether that is ten people or 100 or 1,000. Whenever I’m asked to go to an A’s game, I never want to go. But once I get into the Coliseum with tens of thousands of people, there is a vibrant crowd energy that I can feel in my gut and feed off of and I’m always glad I went. When it comes to preaching, I’ve grown accustomed to the symbiotic relationship – the interdependency between the church and me – and this symbiotic relationship creates a feedback loop. There is this constant interplay between the preacher and the congregation. The congregation gives cues which, even if he isn’t consciously aware of them or can even articulate them, the pastor notices and absorbs. But when I preach in the empty sanctuary on Sunday mornings for the livestream broadcast, I have a real awareness of sensory deprivation. Instead of being in a forest surrounded by the presence of life and full of sound and movement, I feel like I’m in a darkened cave where all I hear is the echo of my own voice. Yes, there is something visceral and immediate in preaching to a room full of people. In one way, preaching is a contact sport.
- Heads nodding in agreement or nodding off into unconsciousness signal something!
- The worst is when I tell a joke and the congregation stares at me with that look of “Huh, I don’t get it.” When I expect smiles and get looks of confusion instead, that’s feedback! Or I get the, “That’s not funny” look.
- When people stare at me intensely and the room is breathtakingly quiet, I know that the Lord is really ministering to their hearts. (Or I just said something really stupid!)
- When people stare blankly into space, I know it’s time to move on.
- When someone gets up and goes out the door, I replay in my mind the last thing I said and wonder if that offended them. Once, we had 15 women get up and go out at the same time. My feedback red light was really flashing and my inner alarms were blaring. I thought, “Yikes! What on earth did I say? Did I just say something sexist and offensive?” (Don’t put that past me!) What happened was that the nursery gives pagers to all the parents so they can be summoned during the service in case their child needs their attention. One of the nursery workers had pushed the “Call All” button on the base unit.
Yes the feedback loop is something very instructive for the preacher. But in preaching in an empty room, I’m out of the loop. This sensory deprivation is discombobulating.
When I’m preaching in a room with people in the chairs I feel like an infantryman on the front lines. Again, there is something visceral and immediate and all my senses and attention are in the moment. Preaching in an empty room doing a livestream service feels, to me, like I’m an artilleryman on a battleship five miles offshore lobbing 500 pound bombs and hoping they hit something and are effective. It feels disconnected and impersonal and the energy of being on the front lines is missing.
I know that I’m not the only one who feels awkward and like a fish out of water just flopping around. The lead elder feels this as does Mike, our worship leader. What may come across as nervousness is just us trying to find our footing on some very strange terrain. Even as someone trying to walk normally in an atmosphere with different gravity than earth’s, so we’re trying to make our way through the alien dynamics of sensory deprivation in ministering in an empty room where there is no feedback loop. The very reason for ministry is people, but when there are no people present, ministry is awkward. And we’re not professional broadcasters who have mastered this stuff. And the tech crew is scrambling, too! They are awesome!
And I’m not the only one feeling discombobulated. Plenty of pastors for whom livestreaming (or even airing prerecorded services) is a new thing are trying to get the hang of it, too. Many churches are on a steep learning curve when it comes to having a presence on social media. In light of this, be O so slow to criticize your pastor/your church for not having a stunning presentation when livestreaming. When camera angles, lighting, the sound, the mix, the power point can be improved, when the transition from one part of the service to the next doesn’t go smooth – cut your church some slack! If you have constructive feedback, offer it. But to say, “These guys don’t know what they’re doing,” is to state the obvious! You’re right – we don’t know what we’re doing! Don’t complain about their less than stellar performance. Remember – your pastors aren’t stars and this isn’t a performance. We’re not trying to entertain you or bring you a Hollywood quality presentation. (I don’t have a stunt double!) All the pastors are here to minister the Word of God and the love of God and the peace of Christ to you. Your pastor doesn’t need to hear, “Good sermon, Pastor.” What he would like to hear is that you are hearing from the Lord in this season of time – that the bombs are landing – that ministry is taking place in this alien landscape.
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 24, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
We find ourselves in a season of time described by 1 Samuel 4:2.
The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines…
Please note the phrase, “When the battle spread…” When was Israel defeated? When the battle spread. They were unprepared for the spreading battle. This clash with the Philistines got out of hand, it extended longer than they anticipated and was more intense than they expected. They foresaw a short, easy battle. They didn’t bring along enough resources or have enough resolve within them to endure and respond with strength when the battle spread.
We don’t like big, messy, sloppy battles. We like David & Goliath stories – you know – one shot fired and it’s all over. We want to knock out our opponent in the first minute of the 1st round – not in the final minute of the 15th round. Like Israel in 1 Samuel 4, we find ourselves unprepared for the spreading battle. This is not an uncommon misjudgment -
- The five foolish virgins didn’t expect the bridegroom to delay his arrival as long as he did and didn’t bring sufficient oil to last the night.
- John Mark didn’t think ministry would be as difficult as it turned out to be and turned back from serving with Paul and Barnabas.
- You were sure that it would only take your husband or wife two or three months to come around to doing things your way – but it’s been 10 years now!
So many are unprepared for the spreading battle – and it takes its toll.
COVID-19 is sure taking it’s time to go away – it’s like rush hour on Highway 880. Everyone is frustrated and honking their horns and shouting out the window, “Come on, let’s go!” I really thought (truly) that we’d be having services by Easter Sunday (April 12). Boy, was I wrong. The spreading battle of C-19 has caught me unprepared. Even as Israel entered this battle against the Philistines with naïve expectations, so I thought that C-19 would blow in and blow out – but instead it has blown up. Even as the Philistines weren’t as easily displaced and pushed back and were more tenacious than Israel anticipated, so C-19 has dug in and it seems like it’s trench warfare now.
Our text sets before us a defeat in Israel’s life and the reason for that defeat – they were unprepared. And as Israel headed into this battle, we head into life with naïve expectations. We have expectations of financial security & family stability & career advancement & physical health – and then life happens and spreads out and dreams don’t come true and hearts break – and we’re not prepared for this. Some of you have been wounded in the spreading battle – lingering illness, uphill financial struggle, long standing personal problems, unresolved marital difficulty, entrenched career problems, etc.
I have found myself unprepared for the spreading battle of C-19. My expectations have proven naïve and my hopes have been unfulfilled. What I thought would be over and done with in weeks will be stretching out for months. It’s something akin to a story in Jeremiah 28 & 29. Babylon had defeated Judah and taken a significant portion of the people into exile. Jerusalem during exile looked a lot like Fremont in quarantine – empty streets, bazaars shuttered up, a spooked populace. Hananiah, a false prophet says the following in response to this -
Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.Jeremiah 28:3
What would turn out to be 70 years of captivity to Babylon, Hananiah falsely prophesied would only be two years. “The Babylonians are going to blow in and blow out and this thing will blow over and then it will be life as normal again,“ Hananiah shouted. And who doesn’t want to hear that!? But Hananiah was wrong and was denounced by Jeremiah. Jeremiah then wrote the following to the exiles in Babylon –
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.' Jeremiah 29:4-7
Jeremiah said to the exiles in Babylon – the exile is going to s-p-r-e-a-d and it won’t be over soon. He encouraged Israel to pray to God right where they were and God would meet them right where they were. Dig in and bloom where you’re planted and seek God! Seek the shalom of the city, for in its shalom you shall have shalom. The only way through this for me – and you – is to seek God right where we are and expect Him to meet us right where we are. Shalom (the peace of God) is realized in the presence of God and not because circumstances are just right. I don’t know how long this is going to last (not 70 years!), but for however long it lasts – may we be on our knees seeking God and on our feet serving God in the shalom of the Lord! Our God gives us strength to stand and thrive when the battle spreads.
And then don’t forget that verse just down the page one inch - 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 22, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
A lot more people are tuning into livestream church than attended live church before COVID-19. I just looked at our YouTube page and saw that Sunday’s service (April 19th) has 300 views. If you estimate that there are at least two people viewing the same device (and it probably averages out to more than that) that means approximately 600 people viewed our Sunday morning service. That’s more than three times as many than are in the sanctuary on any given Sunday. Now, I don’t know what YouTube is measuring when it says ‘views.’ I guess someone could tune in for 60 seconds and then leave the page and it would count as a view. However this is measured, we’re certainly getting more virtual traffic than we did actual traffic. COVID-19 has forced many into doing livestream church. And that’s good. What’s good about it?
- The digital footprint of the church (and I mean all the churches) has expanded and we have a much larger virtual presence than just five weeks ago.
- The technical competence of the church has sharply increased over the last five weeks. We have invested in cameras and switchers, etc., in order to improve the quality of our online presence.
- When life returns to the new normal (whatever that is and however long it takes to unfold and shape up) we will continue to livestream live church.
- Many have been inviting friends and family to tune in to our livestream service and it appears that they are – that’s why the numbers are up.
- Livestream church has the advantage over live church of being convenient, comfortable (you’re at home, in your robe, sitting in your easy, chair, sipping your latte), and non-confrontational. Plus – you can miss the actual service and watch the recorded one on your time table.
- You can get another cup of coffee or use the bathroom or yell at your kid or turn the service off whenever you want to.
- You don’t have to sing or greet your neighbor or have to put up with your kids eating more donuts than they should, and you don’t have to feel the pressure of the offering bag being sent around. And - here’s a big plus – you don’t have to wear that silly ‘Praise the Lord’ smile. Yes – it’s just what the doctor ordered.
- Another cluster of good things is that more people are hearing the gospel and being evangelized and some are being saved. In addition, the Bible is being taught and Jesus is being glorified and cultural strongholds are being challenged.
- This is all good. So, what’s the downside? The downside will have to be pretty steep to even out the upside.
Some, not many but some, who previously attended live church will not return, preferring virtual church to actual church – opting for livestream church instead of live church. And some who develop an interest in Christianity and are won to Christ via livestream church may prefer virtual church to actual church and never seek out a local assembly of believers to belong to. Is it possible to be a virtual church member? Is it possible to be a member of the body of Christ without being an actual part of a local body? Some will answer immediately, “Well, of course. What of shut-ins, and the sick, and those whose work schedule doesn’t mesh with scheduled Sunday and Wednesday services. They are members of the body of Christ though they are not in actual attendance.” I agree and I have no argument with that. I think that the principle of the lack of ability leads to the lack of responsibility is in play here. But what of the one whose health and schedule allows for participation in the actual church, but whose preference is to remain in the virtual church? What of the one who can be involved in live church but prefers livestream church? Can you be a ‘good’ Christian, a ‘mature’ Christian, a ‘responsible’ Christian and stay at home and livestream the church service and not be a part of a live church?
Let’s shift gears and look at it through another lens. Can a man be good husband and not live with his wife? Well – what if he is in the military and deployed overseas? Sure – let’s stipulate that a military man deployed overseas can be, even if he’s not home, a good husband. But what if, upon his return, he doesn’t move home but rents an apartment instead and chooses to Facetime his wife every day? Hmmm – that’s weird. We would think that this is not normal and that the health of the marriage can’t thrive in this scenario. Given how a husband is supposed to relate to his wife and given how this man is relating to his wife, this is an abnormal – no, subnormal – relationship. Now, it does save each one the hard work of living together under one roof with all the give and take and push and pull that this requires, but at the same time it is not need meeting nor is it life giving. I am not saying that the man who relates to his wife in this manner is not a husband – what I’m saying is that he is a lousy husband.
Let’s apply this – I am not saying that if you prefer livestream church over live church you cannot be a Christian. I am saying that if you prefer livestream church over live church you are a lousy Christian. If you can, but do not attend live church and instead stay home in your bathrobe, cradling your cup of coffee, and tune in to livestream church – my contention is that you are a lousy Christian in the same way that the husband who rents an apartment and Facetimes his wife is a lousy husband.
And I know that you know this, too. I am looking forward to seeing you real soon!!
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 20, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
What if God answered prayer as efficiently as Amazon Prime delivers packages?
Yesterday morning during pre-service prayer, our worship leader Mike said that he proudly belongs to the Amazon Prime generation. He is very willing to pay $2 more to have whatever item he ordered delivered ASAP. I realized that though I’m older than Mike, I belong to the Amazon Prime generation, too. (We just created a new sociological category – Generation AP. Yes, I’m a GAP baby.) What the microwave does to your food, Amazon Prime does to your online orders. With being stuck at home, it’s impressive to order something Tuesday afternoon and have it delivered Wednesday morning.
Amazon Prime (AP) with its ease of use and speedy delivery fits perfectly the American lifestyle. AP goes at the speed of life (to parrot an ad-line for another product – I can’t remember which one). Don’t you wish God answered prayer with the same efficiency of AP? Don’t you wish God went at the speed of life? But here’s the thing – He doesn’t. God doesn’t go at the speed of life, He goes at the speed of God. And that is probably one of the most frustrating things about God. I thought we would be back to normal life at ‘full steam ahead’ by Easter Sunday and all be together and this COVID-19 thing would be a blip on the radar - but it’s draaaaaagggggging out. I pray for deliverance on Tuesday afternoon and when it’s not here by Wednesday morning, I’m thinking, “God, where are Your mercies and the power of Your hand? Don’t You see what’s happening? The feeble economy is crippling personal finances. The quarantine is having serious emotional and psychological effects. The unknowing is eating away at everyone. How long, O Lord?” But there’s no answer even by Wednesday afternoon. Maybe I should start praying to AP and see what they can deliver. (But I probably won’t – I think the Bible warns against praying to other gods in a couple of places.)
Why doesn’t God take a cue from the business practices of AP? Why is God’s customer service seemingly so lousy at times? I complain about the long lines and slow service at my local bank. If I’m honest, I find myself at times impatient with God and His lousy customer service. It seems like the line I’m in hasn’t moved in five minutes or five days or even five years. Yikes! What am I even doing standing in this line? Is there something I’m not understanding? Yes, there is -
God doesn’t move at the speed of life – He moves according to His purposes. And one of His greatest purposes is to form the heart and character of His people. Character is shaped and formed in the pressure cooker of unfulfilled desire. It’s fashioned in long lines. Character is forged by the grace and mercy of delay. The best definition of maturity I have read is that maturity is the ability to postpone gratification. You need to get that definition under your belt.
- If you’re not married or engaged – delay the gratification of sexual intimacy.
- If you want that new car or piece of furniture or that vacation trip – delay the gratification of enjoying these things until you can afford them.
- If you desire a promotion – don’t acquire it illegitimately. Don’t put down another, pass someone else’s work off as your own, or flatter your way to a promotion.
Premature gratification delays the development of character.
Through Samuel, God anointed David to be king after Saul. Saul was threatened by David and hated him and hunted him for many years in order to kill him. As the story goes, David had an opportunity to kill Saul – but he didn’t. Here’s why -
So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed." 1 Samuel 24:6
David knew it would be wrong to kill Saul in cold blood and this was an illegitimate path to the throne. David had another opportunity to kill Saul – but he didn’t. Here’s why –
David also said, "As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed…1 Sam 26:10-11
David believed that God would accomplish what He had promised. We are to obey the commands and believe the promises. What God has promised, He will do. What God commands, we will do. And God didn’t command David to kill Saul. David could have come to the throne years earlier than he did had he taken things into his own hands, but he was willing to postpone gratification in order to do the thing right. David’s character was being forged and exhibited at the same time. AP wouldn’t overnight the throne to David – he had to wait upon the Lord.
Yet we all know about the time David didn’t postpone gratification. He laid eyes upon the beautiful Bathsheba and committed adultery with her. This became a huge hole in his soul and a blot upon his reputation and a blight in his character. David had numerous wives and concubines and could have channeled his sexual desires down legitimate pathways, but his lust burned within him. AP did deliver Bathsheba to him quickly – but it’s an order that should have never been placed.
When God denies you what your soul legitimately desires, or He delays your enjoyment of what your soul legitimately desires, He does so to forge and fashion your character and deepen your maturity. God doesn’t move at the speed of life – He moves at the speed of God.
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I read about some stadium somewhere (sorry, can’t remember) that changed the width of its seats from 16” to 18”. They experienced a significant decrease in fights between the fans. Being jammed together for a long time can generate some raw feelings. Sound familiar? The COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have many feeling like they’re stuck in a 16”wide seat and can’t get out. The result: there’s a lot of ‘ugly’ boiling up and spilling over.
Yesterday I wrote: The strategy you and I should pursue as we seek spiritual maturity is not to try and get rid of the ‘ugly,’ but rather we should seek to give expression to the beautiful.
What is the beautiful? The love of God is beautiful. Rather than focusing on getting rid of ‘ugly’ feelings and attitudes, we should focus on loving one another – demonstrating to one another the beauty of God. I know it sounds flowery and poetic, but we can give each other the beauty of God. I’d rather you give me the beauty of God than a dozen roses any day. I am aware that encouraging us to love one another is very cliché and unoriginal and something everybody knows – it sounds syrupy sweet, and something you’d expect a pastor to write. But don’t change the channel quite yet. Let me try and unpack it for you and see if we can get a fresh perspective on the love of God. I think that this will give you a very practical handle on how to love another person – even the one jammed up next to you that you can’t get away from!
The beauty of God is locked up in and revealed by six words in 1 Corinthians 13:4 - Love is patient, love is kind… Those six words unlock the heart of God. Patience and kindness are the essence of God’s love and they are the expression of God’s love. Bracket out, if you can, everything else you’ve been told about the love of God and etch this on your soul: love is patient and love is kind. That’s it – that’s the essence, the ‘isness’ of the love of God. 1 Corinthians 13 goes on and tells us what love isn’t and what it does and doesn’t do – but it “is” only two things – patience and kindness. This is the beauty of God. Let’s unpack the beauty of God.
Patience is where I slow down (or speed up) and merge with those around me and go at their pace. We do this all the time when we maneuver our car onto the on-ramp and adjust our speed so we can get on the freeway and flow with the traffic that is already there. Those around you are traveling at different speeds. If I want to travel with them, I need to fall in beside them. I can’t be too fast or too slow. If I want to travel through life with my wife, I need to adjust myself to her pace and honor that (and vice-versa). When do we get impatient? When someone makes us wait, when they slow us down, when they don’t move at our pace. Patience is very simply adjusting myself to someone’s pace so that I can travel beside them. This is where love begins. Without patience, the beauty of God cannot be expressed. Patience is the context and part of the content of the love of God. Thought I’ve pastoring more than 40 years, I’m still amazed when, after a 60 second conversation in the lobby, someone will say, “Thank you for taking your time and talking with me, pastor.” It was 60 seconds! And yet they were touched by the beauty of God. But it gets better…
Love is not only patient, love is kind. Kindness is practical helpfulness. A farmer had a donkey that died on the way to market. It was dead on the road and all the neighbors who gathered round were saying that they were sorry the donkey had died. One man took his hat off and put some money in it and said, “I’m sorry $5 worth – how sorry are you?” He passed the hat and the farmer was able to replace his dead donkey. That’s practical helpfulness – that’s expressing to someone the beauty of God. But the thing is this, if the man who passed the hat hadn’t been patient, he never could have been kind. If he hadn’t stopped to see what was happening and hadn’t, to some small degree, felt the pain of the farmer, he never would have passed the hat – never would have shown kindness to him. The Good Samaritan is a great example of patience and kindness. He slowed down, entered the pain of the mugged man, and rendered aid. Patience precedes kindness. Kindness is impossible without patience.
The gospel is the story of patience and kindness. God came down in Jesus Christ and fell in step with us! Imagine that. He had to slow Himself waaaaaaaaay down!! What beauty there is in the patience of God. You know the story – the cross and the resurrection and forgiveness and cleansing and regeneration are the greatest acts of kindness ever displayed. In Jesus, the beauty of God is in full bloom. If Jesus wasn’t patient – hadn’t become a man and walked with us for 33 years – the cross, the kindness of God, would never have happened. There can be no kindness without patience. Something beautiful begins to grow when you exercise patience and something beautiful comes into full blossom when kindness is displayed.
Something beautiful happens in a marriage when spouses adjust and keep pace with one another. Something beautiful happens when a parent slows down and enters the world of his/her child. The kid loves it! And then further beauty as a parent plays with their child or reads a book to them. You think, “Big deal.” But your child feels so loved and cared for. Beauty is in simplicity.
A lot of my marriage counseling is unfolding this simple, yet powerful understanding of the essence of the love of God. Whatever else may be amiss, when couples end up in my office I know that there is the missing ingredient of patience and kindness. Beauty is missing in their marriage because patience and kindness have been scuttled somewhere along the way. They wind up in my office because things have gotten ugly. In fact, where patience and kindness are surging, a couple will never end up in my office – at least not for relational help.
Let me end with this expanded version of 1 Corinthians 13:7-8a – “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”
Let me paraphrase using the essence of love to do so. “Patience and kindness bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. Patience and kindness never fail.”
One of the most impacting things I have ever read was an expanded paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:7-8a.
“Love bears all things – and when it can no longer bear all things, it believes all things. And when love can no longer believe all things, it hopes all things. And when love can no longer hope all things, it endures all things. And when love can no longer endure all things, love never fails.”
You can fail to exercise patience and kindness, but patience and kindness never fail. Really, all I want from my wife is patience and kindness and that’s what she wants from me. That will make us last a lifetime.
April 17, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I posted an article a couple of days ago about how time tests us and reveals who and what we are. Someone responded with this: “It is becoming ever apparent that at the core of who I am, sin has a grip that I alone cannot control. There's an 'ugly' under the surface that is quick to rear its head at the slightest aggravation.” And this confession brings us to the question: “How do I get rid of the ‘ugly’?”
Paul addresses this very question – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
He doesn’t write that if you walk by the Spirit you won’t have the desires of the flesh – I think that some come away with that conclusion – but that’s not what Paul wrote. He says that if you walk by the Spirit (and I take this to mean: live a Spirit-filled life) that you won’t give expression to the ‘ugly’ inside you – you won’t carry out the desire of the flesh.
Remember what Jesus cried out on the cross: “It is finished!” That same Greek verb is in play in Galatians 5:16. If you walk by the Spirit you won’t finish, or fulfill the desire of the flesh! That’s huge! Please hear this – walking by the Spirit doesn’t quash the beginning of the desire of the flesh – waking by the Spirit quashes the end of it and doesn’t allow it to be fulfilled. An unfulfilled prophecy is one that hasn’t come to pass and an unfulfilled desire of the flesh is one that doesn’t come to pass!
We are concerned that even feeling the ‘ugly’ inside of us is some kind of spiritual defeat. I don’t think Scripture has this concern. The Lord is concerned that you don’t express the ‘ugly’ more than the fact that you feel the ‘ugly.’ Someone might protest and say, “But if I don’t express what’s on the inside and instead repress it, two things happen. First of all, I can do some emotional damage to myself when I deny and repress what I’m really feeling. I’ll stuff it and stuff it and one day I’ll explode. And secondly, if I don’t express what I feel, I’m being a hypocrite and pretending to be someone I’m not – and I want to live an authentic life.” Let me address this.
First of all, when Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, He’s not directing us to live in denial. To deny myself means that ‘not my will, but Thine be done.’ But to live in denial is to live in dishonesty about what’s going on inside of me. I can deny myself and follow the will of my Father and at the same time honestly acknowledge the ‘ugly’ inside of me. I can own the fact that I want to speak an unkind word to my wife, that I want to yell at the man in the car next to me, and that I am increasingly impatient with people who hoard toilet paper. I can own all those feelings and at the same time not allow them to own me. I can confess all my ‘ugly’ and not fulfill it – carry it out.
Secondly – a person is not a hypocrite when they don’t live in sync with their feelings – a person is a hypocrite when they don’t live in sync with their values. My feelings and attitudes at any given moment are not the deepest thing about me. My feelings and attitudes come and go – but my values remain the same. I want to live in sync with my values and not my feelings. I want to live in sync with the deepest part of me. I don’t want to erupt in ugliness, I want to pursue my values.
One of my values is to walk in self-control. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So – let’s suppose that I want to speak an unkind word to me wife because I am angry or hurt. One school of thought is that I need to be authentic and transparent and just let her have it. But the Lord instructs me to walk in self control and not carry out the ‘ugly’ inside of me. I value self control and I value my wife, therefore I will not allow my ‘ugliness’ to speak the unkind word. I am not being a hypocrite for I am being consistent with my values. If you and I were together and I got mad at you and wanted to hit you, I’m sure you would prefer that I walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the desire of my flesh.
The strategy you and I should pursue as we seek spiritual maturity is not to try and get rid of the ‘ugly,’ but rather we should seek to give expression to the beautiful. Paul says that the goal of Christian teaching is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. He doesn’t say that the goal of Christian instruction is sinlessness. Pursuing sinlessness is a sure way to become a legalist and get your focus off of Christ and on to yourself. Do this: when you get up in the morning make this a part of your prayer – “Lord, help me to love those I come in contact with today. Help me to put them first, before me. May I consider them more important than me.” See – the focus isn’t on eliminating the ‘ugly,’ but nurturing the beautiful. Someone might say, “I can’t give expression to the beautiful until I get rid of the ‘ugly’.’ That’s an unscriptural notion. Now you might think that the logic is this – that as I express the beautiful, I’ll get rid of the ‘ugly’.’ That may happen – I’m sure it happens for some. But the way I read the Bible and have lived the Christian life for 48 years is that as I give expression to the beautiful, the ‘ugly’ becomes irrelevant. It may be there; it may not be there. It’s irrelevant because it’s not controlling me nor am I focused on it. The love of Christ is controlling me and I am focused on others.
So, what do you do about the ‘ugly’ inside? Determine to be a person who loves. Love covers a multitude of sins – even your own!
Be blessed and stay healthy – Pastor Tim
April 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Chapel –
I hear it often: “COVID-19 has changed everything.”
Well, my birthday hasn’t changed. It’s still the 24th of February.
I’m still married and have three children and eight grandchildren. That remains unchanged.
The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on February 2, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. That’s something that we in the Bay Area wish would change - but it won’t.
Abraham Lincoln is still the 16th President of the United States. C-19 hasn’t changed that.
2 + 2 still = 4.
100 degrees Celsius remains the boiling point for water.
The sun continues to be 92,000,000 miles from earth.
The Bible endures as the Word of God.
Jesus Christ is still risen from the dead.
I think you get the point… Millions, even billions, of personal, historical, and scientific facts have not been changed by C-19, nor has eternal Truth been altered in any way.
“But what of those who have lost their jobs, their income, and their health? What of the thousands who have lost their lives? COVID-19 has changed everything for them.”
Let me offer a perspective which may rankle you and is sure to get me in trouble with some. The following is a portion of Psalm 11 -
In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain; for, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven… Psalm 11:1-4
David declares that if the foundation upon which the righteous stand can crumble away, if the wicked, and here let’s substitute C-19 for the wicked – if C-19 can destroy that upon which the righteous base their lives – then the righteous are up a creek without a paddle. If the substance of my life is my job or my income or my health – or even my physical life – if the substance of my life is the sum total of these things, then yes, C-19 has changed everything. But if the substance of my life, that upon which I build my life and derive the meaning and purpose of my life, is the truth of Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death and physical resurrection and glorious ascension and present reign at the right hand of God and the promise of His soon return to establish His kingdom – if that is the foundation upon which my life is built – then I can lose my job and my income and my health and even my life. I can lose it all and still have everything. Please hear this - C-19 can’t destroy the foundations of my life. Indeed, C-19 can’t even touch the foundations of my life. If all you have is your job and your income and your health then, yes, C-19 can change everything for you. But if you are a follower of Jesus and have built your life upon the Rock, C-19 can take your job and your income and your health – but that’s all it can take. Of course, there will be suffering and sorrow for those affected by these things, but part of the foundation I stand upon assures me that suffering and sorrow are for a season and will be swallowed up by heaven, Yes, there’s an untouchable foundation below me and a glorious hope before me.
I’ve probably alienated myself from some of you because what I wrote seems callous and indifferent toward those who have been so cruelly treated by C-19, yet let me attempt to redeem myself by pointing out a couple of things.
First, C-19 is not God’s punishment on a world that refuses to believe in Jesus Christ. C-19 is not God’s judgment on a sinning world. C-19 affects Christians and non-Christians alike. C-19 takes down the most moral to the most immoral, the most pious soul to the blasphemer. If C-19 is God’s judgment on a sinning world, this would be like my brother stealing a cookie from the cookie jar and my dad spanking my brother and then me and then my other brother and then my sister and then my cousin who was over at the house playing with us in the back yard. No, C-19 is not God on a rampage and having a fit because there are those who won’t believe the gospel and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
Second, we are to weep with those who weep and have mercy upon the suffering – whether Christian or not. We are to comfort and aid the suffering while continuing to hold out the hope of Christ to all, especially to those who are suffering.
No, COVID-19 has not changed everything. The foundation holds!
Writing from upon the unshakable foundation of Jesus Christ – Pastor Tim
April 14, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
It’s about time.
Time tests all things.
Time isn’t temptation – but it tests you nonetheless.
Time isn’t intended to test you, but it’s probably the greatest test you’ll ever undergo.
Time isn’t the world, the flesh, or the devil – but it can undermine and deceive you just as much as they can.
Time is the most common and commonly repeated test you’ll have to endure.
Time tests marriages and ministries, billionaires and the penniless, Ph.D.’s and high school dropouts. You can’t hide from time nor can you outrun it. It is the bright interrogation lamp that is always shining in your eyes. Time can’t be bribed or bullied, silenced or ignored. Time is unavoidable, inescapable, and irresistible. Time tests Baptists and Methodists, the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic, the Muslim and the Jew, the atheist and the agnostic. It doesn’t matter what creed or color or gender or race you are – time isn’t racist or sexist or an unrepentant bigot. Time regards all the same and treats all the same. Time isn’t temptation, but it’s the greatest test you’ll ever face.
How does time test all things?
Time comes with promises that are never realized.
Time offers opportunities that never materialize.
The passing of time isn’t accompanied by the passing away of our troubles and sorrows and failures and brokenness.
Time is the stage upon which truth is revealed.
Time tests all things because it proves all things.
Time proves whether you will go on or if you will give up.
Time proves whether you will walk by faith or walk by sight.
Time proves if your character is selfless or selfish.
Time proves if your promises are brass or gold.
Solomon said this about time -
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? Proverbs 20:6
What makes a loyal man a trustworthy man? Time. Loyalty demonstrated through time results in a trustworthy man. Time demonstrates if you are faithful or just full of fluff. A person who makes a promise and then keeps it isn’t a faithful person – they’re an honest person, but not necessarily faithful. A person who makes a promise and keeps it day after week after month after year after decade becomes a faithful person. Faithfulness is a pattern of dependability carved into the fabric of time. A person committed to a godly way of life doesn’t become godly after a week or a month, but only after time has carved this into the fabric of their soul.
Right now, a lot of us have a lot of time on our hands – at least that’s what I’m told. I can’t see it – but I sure can feel it. And I don’t feel it on my hands, but in my soul. I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, but I do have a lot of time on my soul. Time tests my promises and my commitments – will I be doing what I have said I’ll be doing in one month, one year, one decade, one lifetime? Time tests me and time tests my faith. Will I trust in God when I don’t think His timing is right or when it seems He is late – like He seemingly was with Lazarus. Remember, Martha said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died.” What she meant was, “Your timing stinks.” Walking by faith puts me in God’s time zone. Having recently returned from Israel, I was always doing the math of California being eight or nine hours behind us when I would call home. Israel is ahead in time and California is behind – God’s time zone is neither ahead of us or behind us – it is above us.
How do I get in sync with God’s time zone? Those who travel across the oceans know about jet lag – my body doesn’t know what time zone it’s in. My watch is set to Israeli time, but my internal clock is set to California time. This leads to some sleepless nights and sleepy days. I think many of us have ‘faith lag.’ Our minds are set upon the things of the Lord, but our desires are still bound to the things of this world. Part of us is reaching toward things above and part of us is bent toward things below. We’re caught in two time zones – both of them are influencing us. This is why time isn’t temptation, but it tests you nonetheless. Time is the battlefield on which different versions of me slug it out.
What’s the best way to overcome faith-lag and integrate into God’s time zone? The greatest commandment can help here. Moses wrote:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5
To love God reconciles me to His ways and to His timing. And though I live in unavoidable and inescapable time, by love through faith, I also live in God’s time zone. And though I am not lifted above time (which is unavoidable and inescapable), to love God is to have time as a friend and not an enemy. Time becomes a friend because it is the stage on which God demonstrates His lovingkindness toward me and the stage on which I live in loving obedience to Him. Time is no longer an enemy where God is late and I wonder about His love. Time is not against me, but it is for me because in time, I experience the goodness of God.
It’s about time – and it's time to love God and live in His time zone and to experience time as a friend.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 13, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont
Psalm 139 is very appropriate for such a time as this –
You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,"
Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
Psalm 139:5-12
No matter how far I go up or go down – the Lord is there. Regardless of how far I travel to the right or to the left – the Lord is there. God’s hand is above me, below me, behind me, before me – He surrounds me! And here’s the real comfort in a time like this – even when I don’t go anywhere and stay at home and shelter-in-place – the Lord is there. He is certainly persistent, isn’t He? It’s like He loves me or something! This just isn’t a doctrinal Psalm describing the Lord’s omnipresence, this is a love Psalm illustrating the dogged intention of the Lord to never leave me or forsake me. God is the Divine Chaperone. A chaperone is one who accompanies and looks after another. You’re the other and the Lord is the Chaperone.
The thing is, the older I get, the less I need a chaperone. And right here is where I blunder. I looked up the word ‘blunder’ and it comes from a Scandinavian word meaning ‘blind.’ A stumble in the dark is a blunder. I blunder because I think I can see the way ahead when, in fact, I can’t – I just think I can because I’m so clever and experienced and grown-up. I can figure it out on my own. I’ve developed night vision, or so I think. Yet after blundering around in the dark and never finding my way out, I confess with the Psalmist, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me.” I realize I am disoriented and going in circles and I need help.
A chaperone is one who accompanies me – whether I go up or down or this way or that way – the Lord is there. But a guide is one that I accompany. Not only is the Lord my Divine Chaperone who goes with me, He is my Divine Guide who goes before me. And when the darkness settles in and refuses to lift, my Guide can see – even though I can’t. If I’m fixated on the path and where it will lead and when it will end and how it’s going to turn out – I can become overwhelmed with all the alternatives or become arrogant because I think I know something when I really don’t. Why pretend that you know something when you can’t see in the dark? I can’t see in the dark, but I know One who can. And though I can’t see in the dark, God sees me and tells me that His hand is above me and below me and behind me and before me. I don’t need to know the path, I just need to know the Lord.
If you’ve been watching the news, it seems that the current rage is airing all the sound bytes of the silly things politicians and health experts have said about COVID-19 and the wrong predictions they have made and the false assurances they have given the American people. The liberal news outlets constantly run all the wrong-headed things President Trump and his Republican allies have said and the conservative news outlets air all of the wrong-headed things that the Democrats have said. The Democrats want us to think that the Republicans really missed it on this one and the Republicans want us to think that the Democrats really missed it on this one. Each wants us to conclude that the other has given the American people a false narrative. After watching this hate-fest I have concluded that they’re all wrong and all the politicians and health experts and guardians of public safety really missed it on this one. They’re as much in the dark as me! All the finger-pointing and blaming and shaming wearies my soul! My soul longs for something better. My soul longs for the Lord.
Listen, beloved – God’s hand is above you and below you and behind you and before you. It is a time of darkness, and even though you can’t see in the dark, God can. Darkness and light are alike to Him. My soul takes refuge in the Lord.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? Psalm 27:1
In the strong name of Jesus – Pastor Tim
April 11, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
You and I can help people recover from the negative effects of COVID-19 and social distancing. But let’s get some Bible under our belt first. Look at these two very different responses to being raised from the dead -
As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet. 2 Kings 13:21
When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. John 11:43-44
In the 2 Kings passage, the Israelites were burying a man when they saw a hostile gang of Moabites coming toward them and so they tossed him into Elisha’s grave and hightailed it out of there. Upon touching the bones of Elisha, the dead man came back to life! My English text says ‘he revived’. The Hebrew is ‘he lived.’ He was dead and now he’s alive! I don’t get the sense that he came back to life and then slowly sat up and looked around confused and bewildered and scratched his head and said, “What’s going on?” That’s not what happened. The story says he came back to life and got to his feet. And what happened next? We’re not told - but here’s my sanctified speculation version. He came back to life and got to his feet and saw all his buddies who were burying him running away and wondered why and then looked behind him and saw the Moabites coming toward him and so he ran after his friends! Sounds logical to me, but no matter how it played out, here’s my point: he was raised from the dead and on his feet and ready to go.
But look at Lazarus in John’s gospel – he is risen from the dead and on his feet, but he’s still encumbered by his graveclothes – he’s not running anywhere. He’s not bouncing back and his reentry is slow. He’s bound hand and foot with swaddling linens which impedes the full motion of his arms and legs and the cloth wrapping around his head blocks his eyesight. If he tried to run he would fall flat on his face. The most he can do is the graveyard shuffle. He’s risen from the grave, but he’s dressed like he’s still dead!
As we emerge from the isolation of COVID-19, there will be those who bounce back as if nothing happened like the Israelite of 2 Kings. And there will be those who, like Lazarus, will shuffle back to church and even though the pandemic is behind us, they will still be in pandemic mode. They will be wrapped in the grave clothes of fear and anxiety, and the sorrow and disruption that COVID-19 brought into their lives. With the graveclothes on, Lazarus smelled of the tomb. And just like Lazarus, there will be those who will carry the odor of fear and sorrow into our fellowship. The dead man of 2 Kings was quick to recover from death while it appears that Lazarus didn’t get off to a running start after he emerged from the tomb. These two stories can help us understand different people’s reactions to the COVID-19 isolation and social distancing. Some will jump back to life whereas others will shuffle their way to normalcy.
The Israelite of 2 Kings 13 didn’t need any help in returning to normal – not so Lazarus. Here’s what Jesus said to those who witnessed the raising of Lazarus who was still wrapped in his grave-clothes. Here’s how they could help him -
Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." John 11:44
You and I can help people recover from the negative effects of COVID-19 and social distancing. Lazarus’ friends were to grab hold of the edge of the graveclothes and unwind them. The unbinding was in the unwinding. You and I can lay hold of the graveclothes of sorrow and fear and anxiety that may lay heavy on some people and seek to bring that person into the joy and the peace and the comfort of the Lord. “How do we do that?” someone will ask. Let me attempt to answer that question.
The ”let” of ‘let him go’ has the primary idea of releasing someone from that which holds them. This word is often translated ‘forgiveness’ - which is a form of release. It is the exact opposite of judgment and condemnation. So, picking up on this verbal cue, when someone isn’t quick to bounce back from the social & emotional & spiritual affects of COVID-19 – don’t judge them or shame them or somehow indicate that they’re not as spiritual as they should be. Don’t communicate that they have disappointed you or are a burden to you. Christians can be such jerks at times. When someone comes to church in their graveclothes – they’re stand-offish, negative in their speech, depressed in mood, wanting unhealthy attention – show them the love of Christ. Let them know you are glad to see them and you are glad they are healthy and back with you.
I read about a barge sinking in the New York harbor and getting stuck in the muck and mud on the harbor floor. Many attempts were made to raise the barge, but nothing worked. Finally, at low tide, they ran cables from a floating barge to the sunken barge and as the tide rose, the floating barge rose and the irresistible power of the rising tide was able to raise the sunken barge. I love that story. There was a lady years ago in a church I pastored who had a number of personal and physical challenges that no matter what, wouldn’t go away. She would often seek counsel and prayer. After a long while I told her, “I have run out of words to say to you, but I haven’t run out of love for you.” Those words were like cables to her soul and though her challenges persisted, she knew that God loved her and wouldn’t let her go.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and people. Paul said that goal of our instruction is love – from a pure heart and a sincere faith and a good conscience. He also wrote that now abide faith, hope, and love – but the greatest is love. Though you’ve heard it a thousand times, let it sink in – nothing beats the power of love. Let’s tie the cables of love to everybody who comes in our doors whether they are bouncing back or shuffling in still wrapped in graveclothes. What does it matter how they’ve responded to the threat and isolation that COVID-19 presented them? What matters is whether we will love everyone who comes through our doors – whether they are whole or broken, bouncing back or shuffling in. Your unconditional love for them is the first step in unbinding them and letting them go.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 10, 2020, Good Friday
(The following article has been inspected and is guaranteed to be free of any references to COVID-19.)
Hey, Calvary Fremont
I have a confession to make. I don’t become sad on Good Friday. I don’t experience morose feelings or morbid thoughts or find myself in a miserable mood. I can’t even work these things up. Maybe it’s because I’ve been conditioned by the English language. After all, It’s Good Friday – not Bad Friday. Maybe, if for the six decades + of my life this day was called Bad Friday, my thoughts and feelings and mood would have had ample time to absorb that message and appropriately respond. But it’s Good Friday and not Bad Friday, and I feel pretty good about Good Friday.
The phrase ‘Good Friday’ first appeared in 1290 AD in a Christian book in Southern England. The original is ‘goude friday.’ Some say it is called ‘good’ because back then ‘good’ meant ‘holy.’ Some say it’s derived from the German and means ‘God’s Friday.’ The Baltimore Catholic Catechism says that it is called Good Friday because on the cross God showed His great love for mankind. Whatever its history, all these meanings point to something Good, not something Bad.
Now don’t get me wrong. I was moved to tears as I watched the brutal treatment of our Lord in the movie “The Passion of the Christ.” Here, the word ‘passion’ means ‘suffering.’ Yet even these were tears of shock and sympathy, not of despair and hopelessness. No matter how far I drill down into the sufferings of Christ, I cannot bracket out the resurrection. There is this huge deposit of joy at God’s ultimate victory sewn into the fabric of my soul and diffused throughout my whole being and try as I might, I don’t become sad on Good Friday.
It’s Good Friday because on the cross He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. On the cross He redeemed us – He paid the price for our salvation. There was nothing redemptive in His ill-treatment and torture and brutal suffering. Had they torn out His beard, and laid bare His back, and crowned Him with those cruel thorns, and forced Him to carry the cross – and then notice came that He was pardoned and was now a free man – we would still be in our sins in that redemption had not been accomplished because Christ had not died for us, in our place. That would make it Bad Friday.
The Goodness of Friday is in His death – and not in His suffering. His unjust trial(s) was not Good. His beating and torture were not Good. His hard journey to Golgotha was not Good. The nails and the pain of the cross were not Good. His death on the cross was Good.
So, today is Good Friday. But it gets gooder – Sunday’s coming!
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 9, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about the implications of the following passage.
'Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' Deuteronomy 27:17
Naturally occurring objects like streams and rocks and trees served as boundary markers in the ancient world (and still do today in some places). These naturally occurring elements were used as boundary markers to delineate between this family’s property and that family’s property. If you moved the boundary marker (of course, it’s easier to move a pile of rocks than it is to reroute a stream or uproot and replant a tree) you would increase one man’s property while decreasing another’s. God said, “Don’t do this, because I’m the One who set the boundary.” In moving the boundary, you were encroaching on another man’s God-given inheritance.
Alright. So what? What does this have to do with anything? Even as there are geographical boundaries delineating real property so there are spatial boundaries delineating an individual’s personal domain. So, for example, if you are facing me while talking to me, I want about 2½ feet (30 inches) between your head and my head. If someone steps in a little bit closer, if someone crosses that invisible boundary and crowds into my personal domain, I start to get nervous. I begin to back away in order to maintain the 30 inch boundary. There have been times I have been backed up clear across the church by people invading my personal space!! My backing away from them should serve as a non-verbal cue for them to stop moving closer – but they’re clueless! Sometimes I feel like I’m under assault!
Even as God wanted Israel to recognize someone’s property and exercise geographical boundary etiquette, so the church should recognize someone’s personal domain and practice spatial boundary etiquette. What do I mean? Some of you are great huggers – in fact, you are world class huggers. When you wrap your arms around someone they feel like they’re smothered in the arms of God. The love of God comes through so clearly and they feel so accepted despite their many faults and failures. This is a good thing. But let me say to you world class huggers: when the church gets back together in a few weeks, not everyone is going to want to be a privileged recipient of one of your world class hugs. And when your holy exuberance to demonstrate the agape love of God comes into contact with their reticence to be embraced by one as noble as you, the picture I have in my mind is the lava from a Hawaiian volcano flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Great clouds of steam dramatically rise up as the Pacific takes all the fire out of the lava. When huggers collide with (hand) shakers, the scene is set for mutual misunderstanding, hurt, and judgment.
So, if you’re an enthusiastic hugger - become a discerning hugger. I think that maybe the rule should be (at least as long as we learn to adjust to the new normal) that you will default to being a shaker & only be a hugger when you are signaled by the other person that your hug is welcome. And it can very well be that a former hugger has become a shaker in the current climate. Or a former shaker may have converted to being a hugger as they have realized how precious it is to be together and they have purposed to be as demonstrative with their love as they can be. O my – it can be so confusing as the spatial boundaries of personal domain are fluid in a time like this.
“Know well the condition of your flocks,” we are exhorted by Solomon (Pr. 27:23). As a pastor, I know it’s OK to hug that person, shake that person’s hand, bump that fist, tap that elbow, nod my head in their general direction, or grunt toward them – or just make eye contact! We have huggers and shakers and bumpers and tappers and nodders and grunters and lookers! And then we have variations even of these. Some fist bumpers are ‘air’ fist bumpers – they want at least two inches of space between the two greeting fists or someone has violated protocol. I have made the mistake of fist bumping air fist bumpers and have been corrected in doing so. Then there’s the full hug, the teepee hug, and the side hug. O my! Someone needs to provide the churches with an illustrated manual!
So, whether you are a hugger or a shaker or a bumper or a tapper or a nodder or a grunter or a looker – do so in the love of God! Don’t hug a looker or shake a nodder or tap a grunter. As we come back together in a few weeks, be sensitive to how COVID-19 social distancing routines have affected the people of our fellowship and honor their personal boundaries. Don’t allow someone’s reticence to be greeted as you would like to greet them cool your love for them. Don’t turn away all steamed up when they are not receptive to your enthusiasm. Listen up - it will happen – someone will draw back from you while someone else might thoughtlessly press in. Don’t become offended or judgmental – we’ve not been this way before. This is unfamiliar ground and all of us are trying to get our footing. Let’s wait on one another and love each other as we walk through this challenging time together.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 8, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I referred to Psalm 3 in my article yesterday and want to drill down into a bit further today. The third Psalm was written by David concerning the time of the rebellion of his son Absalom.
O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.
Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. Psalm 3:1-2
I’m sure that there were at least some people in Israel who wondered why God hadn’t judged and punished King David for all his sin. God had judged and removed King Saul from the throne for his sin. And compared to David, Saul’s sin didn’t look so bad. If King Saul sinned in black and white, then King David sinned in living color! Surely Absalom’s rebellion was God’s judgment against him – it ripped him off the throne, removed him from the tabernacle, and ran him out of town. And in the thinking of many, he had it coming.
God didn’t remove him from the throne when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then became complicit in the murder of her husband. God didn’t remove him from the throne when he did nothing in response to his son Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar. God didn’t remove him from the throne after David’s tepid response when Tamar’s full brother Absalom murdered his half brother Amnon for the rape of his sister. David failed as a husband and as a king and as a father – yet he’s still on the throne! Amazing! And now his son Absalom rebels against him - ripping him off the throne, removing his access to the tabernacle, and running him out of town. Yeah, it’s David’s time – you can’t do what David has done and get away with it forever. There’s a price to pay.
Many said of David that there is no deliverance for him. He’s crossed one line too many this time. God helped him after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. God helped him after the sordid affair of Amnon and Tamar and Absalom – but that’s it. David has used up all his nine lives. He’s gone too far and now has to suffer his fate. There is no deliverance for David in God. God is done with him.
Even as David had enemies, so do you. And even though you are in quarantine, unfortunately, the devil won’t be quarantined until Revelation 20 when he is confined to the abyss for 1,000 years. The enemy would say to you what was said to David – “God is done with you. The first 10,000 times you did that or said that or thought that or played that out in your mind, God had mercy on your soul – but no more. There is no deliverance for you in God.” And we think, “Yikes! I have said that, done that, thought that, played that out in my mind 1,000 times. I get it, if I were God, I’d be done with me, too.” We can end up agreeing with the devil! Now that’s messed up! But even as David’s enemies were wrong – so is the devil and so are you.
The Hebrew word for ‘deliverance’ in Psalm 3:2 is YESHUA. Sound familiar? It means ‘Yahweh saves’ and is the basis for the name of Joshua in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus means ‘Yahweh saves.’ Jesus is the deliverance of God. It’s as if they were saying of David, “There is no Jesus for him. He’s gone too far for the grace of God to reach to him and rescue him.” And this is what the devil would say to you, ‘There is no Jesus for you. You’ve gone beyond the reach of His mercy and the scope of His grace.’
But here’s the genius and enduring legacy of David – he knew his enemies were wrong about God and His deliverance. He knew that even when his failures were the cause of his problems, God was for him. He writes –
But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. Psalm 3:3-6
David would say, “God, they’re telling me that You’re done with me, but I know different. I know You in a way that they do not. You have brought me into covenant with Yourself and have pledged yourself to me. They say that You have abandoned me, but I know that You are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.”
The Lord gave David His peace – so much so that he could fall asleep amidst all the uncertainty and heartache. The Lord took away all the fear that could have pulled David’s heart in a hundred different ways. And God will do the same for you, beloved. As the Lord is your shield and your glory and the One who lifts your head – may you also experience Him as the One who gives you His peace and takes away all your fears. God is not done with you! We don’t serve a little Jesus to help us through little problems; we serve a big Jesus who can and will bring us through the big troubles of our lives and of this world. One of the men on the worship team has a Bible which has printed, where your name is usually monogrammed: "Jesus is LARGE." I love it.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 6, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
When the first plane crashed into the north tower at 8:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time) on 9-11, people wondered how this could happen. Was this an accident of monumental proportions or was it a deliberate act? When the second plane flew into the south tower 17 minutes later at 9:03 AM (EST) that question was definitively answered. Without doubt, America was under attack. But by who? We didn’t know. Why? We didn’t know. How were they (whoever ‘they’ were) able to pull this off? We didn’t know. Where would the next strike come from? We didn’t know. That’s a lot of ignorance in one place at one time.
As the facts progressively came in over the next few days and weeks and months, a blurry picture began to come into sharper focus. The unimaginable became imaginable and the unthinkable became thinkable. In 17 minutes on a September morning in 2001, our world permanently changed.
It took more than 17 minutes, but COVID-19 (C19 from now on) has permanently changed the world. Yes, we’ll get back to normal, but it will be a new normal. C19 has negatively affected the colossal structures of business & industry (and therefore the economy), entertainment, sports, education, religion, government, social behaviors, etc. How all of these institutions will bounce back or limp back will be presently seen. This has been an incredibly stressful time for all (whether you enjoy staying at home or not).
We are in a season of time when millions upon millions of people have been thrust into a time of deep uncertainty, leavened with a palpable mood of doom, leaving us vulnerable to panicked behavior. You only have to look at the stock market and empty toilet paper shelves to verify this. Because of this, we need to be very careful in our speech. Yelling “FIRE” in a crowded theater will cause a stampede of frightened people to rush to the exits. And speaking irresponsibly in the present climate will cause frightened people to become even more traumatized. OK – what am I talking about?
Proverbs 14:17 says:
He who gives an answer before he hears,
It is folly and shame to him.
I enjoy unpacking Scriptural phrases. It helps me to dig in and understand with greater fullness what is being intended by the author. To ‘give an answer’ is literally ‘to return a word.’ And in essence, this is what an answer is – it’s a response to a question. Someone has given you a word in question form and you are returning a word in the form of an answer. Now, an answer is a very specific type of word. An answer is meant to serve as a solution to a problem posed in the form of a question. For example: Question: what is 2 + 2? Answer: 4. Question: Who crashed the planes into the World Trade Center? Answer: Members of radical Islam. Question: What is behind COVID-19? Answer: You better be careful here!! Why? Because he who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him. To ‘hear’ means to ‘listen with understanding.’ Proverbs 14:17 in paraphrase sounds like this: He who gives a definitive solution to a question that’s been asked without really gaining an understanding of all the facts – is a fool. A fool isn’t one who is mentally challenged, but is morally perverse.
There are those spinning various conspiracy theories indicating that C19 is an engineered bioweapon intended to target populations in order to kill them and destabilize their economies and weaken their infrastructures making them vulnerable to attack and defeat. I have read of ‘certain government agents’, or ‘some scientists’ who ‘have evidence’ that C19 is an engineered viral bioweapon. In these reports no scientific evidence is offered, the government agents or scientists are ever named, and the antagonistic nation is never revealed (except China – and this makes no sense).
Believers should not be passing along unsubstantiated reports by unnamed sources containing no evidence. Period. Especially in this time of deep uncertainty and anxiety. To do so is not wise – it is pure speculation on the part of the one who is giving an answer before truly understanding what he/she is passing along. “Well, Pastor Tim, how do you know that C19 isn’t an engineered bioweapon?” My response is that I don’t know definitively that it’s not. So, since I don’t know, why should I visit my ignorance upon you? Here’s what I do know - C19 is a very contagious viral disease that has infected well more than a million people and is killing tens of thousands of people. It can be mitigated by social distancing, sheltering, and increased hygiene. So I will confidently and lovingly tell you what I do know and not smugly speculate about conspiracy theories that indicate that somehow I am in the know or have inside information that you don’t have. To pass on unsubstantiated reports by unnamed sources containing no evidence does no service to anyone – it does not build up the body of Christ nor does it serve the wider public.
Let Proverbs 25:11 serve as a guide to how we communicate with others –
Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 3, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Even as there is a difference between a headache and a brain tumor, so there is a difference between depression and despair. Depression, as used in the Scriptures, conveys a sense of heaviness weighing upon the soul. Despair, as used in the Scriptures, conveys a sense of hopelessness. There is a sliding scale of depression – you can be mildly or seriously or severely depressed. Mild to serious depression is characterized by a heaviness or sadness weighing upon the soul. Severe depression (clinical depression) is characterized by, among other things, hopelessness. There is a big difference between heaviness and hopelessness even as there is a big difference between vision and blindness. Yes, heaviness can cross an invisible line somewhere and slump into hopelessness, yet there is a big difference between heaviness and hopelessness. Heaviness means I am weighed down; hopeless means that I don’t see a way through (which increases the heaviness I feel).
Believe it or not, Jesus was depressed –
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death…" Matthew 26:37-38
The word ‘distressed’ carries the meaning of heaviness and depression. He wasn’t afraid to acknowledge or own the fact that He felt that way. What He didn’t do was allow it to own Him. Remember – He said that He was depressed about His circumstances and wanted them to change, but then He said to His Father, “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Mt. 27:39) His heaviness wasn’t hopelessness to the point of giving up, giving in, or giving up. He saw a way through – submission to the will of His Father.
The apostle Paul spoke of the heaviness of his heart in 2 Corinthians 7:6
“But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus…”
He notes another time of heaviness -
“ …we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing…” 2 Corinthians 4:8
Even though heavy things were happening to Paul and there was a heaviness in his heart, there wasn’t a hopelessness – he saw a way through. He knew that God was with him and for him and had him covered. Heaviness doesn’t mean hopelessness.
So, if you find yourself with a heavy heart, please don’t think that somehow your faith is deficient or that there is sin in your life. Don’t let anyone shame you. You’re in good company! Was Jesus depressed about His situation? Yes. Was there sin in His life? Yikes! I hope not!
Beloved, we might be in heaviness, but we’re not hopeless for we see a way through. We might be down, but we’re not out. We might be experiencing heaviness of heart, but not hopelessness of soul. We believe that God is doing and will do great things. Though we don’t see all that God has for us and is working out for us, we do see Jesus Christ risen and ascended and seated at reigning with the Father at His right hand! We believe in and look to Him who said that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 2, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
OK, I admit it – I’m depressed. Well, maybe not depressed, but certainly in a funk. And maybe I’m using the word ‘funk’ because I don’t want to use the dreaded “D” word – depression. To be honest, I don’t feel like I’m walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death – it’s more like the Basin of the Twilight of Funk. Anyway (semantics aside), I’m down – and this is unusual for me.
When I heard that the stay-at-home order was being extended through Sunday, May 3rd, I inwardly groaned. And then when I read the some experts think there may be another outbreak of Coronavirus in the Fall, I groaned out loud. “How long, O Lord?” was one of the laments of the Psalmist. We would be more apt to say, “Really, God – you’ve got to be kidding me.” I know there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel keeps getting longer!
Now there may be someone reading this who is rebuking me for admitting that I’m down. “You’re a Christian – good grief! – you’re a pastor, what kind of example are you setting for the church you serve?” Well, hopefully, a good and godly and credible example. It’s OK to acknowledge your funk or depression or despair or dejection or sadness. It’s OK to own these thoughts and feelings - just don’t let them own you. You can be honest about them without surrendering to them. Just because the watchman on the wall calls out that an army has surrounded the city doesn’t mean he has surrendered the city. Being surrounded by those things that would damage your soul doesn’t mean you have to surrender to them. Such a notion is grounded in bad theology and an inadequate knowledge of human nature and human experience.
Those who are down are often encouraged to read the Psalms. And great encouragement it is! So many of the Psalms begin with someone having a problem they can’t overcome on their own. Then they cry out to the Lord and the Lord delivers them and this is followed by a shout of praise. Many Psalms follow that pattern in one way or another. Whatever the problem is, it is resolved by the end of the Psalm. Even if deliverance hasn’t come and the author of the Psalm is still in hot water, he has had a revelation of God and his soul has come into faith and he has a glorious assurance that the Lord will deliver him and shouts of joy come from him as he waits upon the Lord to do what He has promised. Absolutely awesome! In one way or another the Light always breaks through.
Except Psalm 88. Psalm 88 is unique among the Psalms. It begins in darkness, it meanders through the depths of darkness, it ends in the darkness. There is no breakthrough or deliverance, there is no revelation or light from God, there is no worship or shout of joy. Psalm 88 is a real oddball. See for yourself –
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Lord, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul has had enough troubles,
And my life has drawn near to Sheol.
4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit;
I have become like a man without strength,
5 Forsaken among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths.
7 Your wrath has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.
Selah.
8 You have removed my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an object of loathing to them;
I am shut up and cannot go out.
9 My eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have called upon You every day, O Lord;
I have spread out my hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will the departed spirits rise and praise You?
Selah.
11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, have cried out to You for help,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 O Lord, why do You reject my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on;
I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.
16 Your burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They have surrounded me like water all day long;
They have encompassed me altogether.
18 You have removed lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.
Psalm 88 is a real faith-booster, right? We can see his sorrow and all that has been taken from him. What we don’t hear is God’s revelation. What we don’t see is God’s deliverance. - there is no shout of joy. Who included Psalm 88 in Israel’s and the church’s praise book and why? Talk about a buzz-kill!
I am so grateful for Psalm 88. Admit it, be honest – you don’t always hear from God; you don’t always have the Light break through; you are sometimes left in the darkness and in the silence. This Psalm is for you. This may sound weird, but I am so blessed and encouraged and comforted by the fact that the author of this Psalm didn’t get his miracle. But here’s what I want you to notice and rejoice in and be encouraged by – he begins in V1 by addressing the Lord: O Lord, the God of my salvation…
All of his complaining, all of his lamenting, all of his sorrows are addressed to the Lord and in the presence of the Lord. This psalmist is full of faith! Yes, he is full of faith because he has not allowed his trouble and the darkness and the silence keep his soul from God. It is to God and in the presence of God and in the hope of God that he pours forth all his depression and funk and despair and questions. So, own your depression and funk – but don’t let it own you. Had the author of this Psalm allowed his depression to own him, he never would have penned this Psalm. He was surrounded, yes – but he didn’t surrender. Don’t surrender – cry to the Lord.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
April 1, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I want us to participate in communion together this Sunday. I don’t have anything to distribute to you – I want to save what we have for when we meet again for Sunday services at our building. But you can get juice and crackers (unleavened is best: matzo, corn or flour tortillas {yes, these are unleavened}, naan bread) and be prepared for our livestream service this Sunday and we’ll participate in communion together after the message.
Paul writes:
Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
We don’t have to be in the same place to be of one heart and one mind and the same love. We don’t have to be in the same building to be one in Christ. Social distancing doesn’t mean spiritual distancing. When I am away from Fran it doesn’t mean that we’re divided and then have to mend when we get back together. Our oneness in the covenant of marriage and in Christ transcends distance and time and circumstances. As the body of Christ, our oneness in Jesus is something that we wonderfully enjoy when we are together, yet it is not broken when we are apart. Our union with Christ and our oneness in Christ is to be celebrated and declared and God has given us the ordinance of communion to ritualize and embody this.
An ordinance is a religious ritual whose intent is to demonstrate an adherent's faith (that ‘s you, you are an adherent – you confess the Christian faith). And we don’t have to be afraid to admit it – we practice religious rituals - you don’t have to be spooked by that. Here’s the definition of a ritual: a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Let’s be honest, that’s what we do every Sunday morning as I come down from the pulpit and break the bread and lift the cup and recite the words of Scripture. I know, a religious ordinance, a solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions according to a prescribed order sounds so stuffy and stifling – yet it doesn’t have to be so. Our practice of the religious ritual of communion is life-giving and joyous and worshipful and meaningful! And that’s what it will be this Sunday in our livestream service. The living stream of God’s love and grace that is pictured by and demonstrated in communion will wrap your hearts in His boundless, infinite mercy.
This question may be on your mind: “What if my unbaptized children want to participate in communion. What do I do? How do I handle that? Normally, they’re back in the children’s ministry area, but they’ll be sitting right next to me Sunday morning. So, how do I handle this?”
I know that my answer (well, any answer) will be controversial, but let me give it my best shot. When I stand before you on Sunday mornings and present the elements of communion, I say, “And we invite all believers in Jesus to partake with us.” That is a controversial statement for many church traditions. The majority of church traditions would present it this way: “We invite all baptized believers to partake with us.” Most church traditions in the last 2,000 years would not allow unbaptized believers to receive the bread and the juice. But we do – and we’re certainly not alone in this.
When I say, “We invite all believers in Jesus to partake with us,” I am inviting all baptized believers and, as yet, unbaptized believers to participate. The key distinction for me isn’t whether you are baptized or not, but whether you believe or not. (Now let me say this – if you are a believer, you will be baptized. A refusal to be baptized is an indication that you have not put your faith in Christ.) So, parents – it’s your call. If you believe your child is old enough to understand that they are a sinner in need of Christ’s redemptive work for them and that they believe that Christ is risen from the dead and have confessed that Jesus is Lord – let them participate. Why not sit down with your child(ren) this Saturday night and let them know that you plan on taking communion along with the rest of the church in the livestream service on Sunday. Let them know that they can participate, too, if they have put their faith in Jesus. Now, you probably already know the spiritual condition of your child(ren) – but it would be good to talk about the things of the Lord with them. In the end – it’s your call. Parents trump pastors any day of the week. Well, this post got a little more theologically in-depth than I had anticipated, but I’m not sorry for it – you’re a smart crowd! and can follow the line of the argument.
On another note, I just received a phone call from the Alameda County powers-that-be and was informed that the stay-at-home order, the shelter-in-place directive has been extended through Sunday, May 3rd. Yeah, I’m bummed, too - but if this is effective in defeating COVID-19 – I’m all for it. So, CC Fremont’s GRAND REOPENING will be on Sunday, May 10th! Hallelujah!
I love you all and miss you all – and pray for you all.
March 31, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Yesterday I posted some reasons why live church is better than livestream church. Here are the reasons -
- What can you receive and experience at live church that you can’t at livestream church? Here’s the answer - the joy and the frustration and the love and the vexation of community.
- Not only does the Spirit by the Word give shape to your soul, living in community forms and shapes your soul, too. God said of Adam that it was not good for him to be alone. It wasn’t good for Adam not to live in community. Marriage is the smallest community you can be a part of – and marriage demands something/everything of you. It demands that you put someone else first, consider them more important than yourself, seek to please them before you please yourself. Marriage s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s you in a way that living by yourself and answering to no one ever could. And then when children come along, they s-t-r-e-t-c-h you in ways you didn’t know you had ways. Living responsibly in community changes who and what you are. This is the design of God.
- Worship in community is meant to stretch you as you lift your voice to God - whether you sing well or not or whether the person behind you is two keys off. And if the worship leader doesn’t do the songs you like, or repeats the chorus too many times or not enough, this isn’t about you – it’s about you worshipping a worthy God even if you are dissatisfied with the song selection or the way the music is performed.
- Passing the plate or putting your tithes and offerings in the box in the lobby stretches you as you exercise love toward God and faith in God. And those who give online or through the mail or through their banks are being stretched in doing this when they give to the Lord as part of a church community.
- The fundraisers and missions’ tables and orphan cards all serve to draw you out of yourself and stretch you as you participate in the life of the community.
- Volunteering and serving the needs of the church community draws you out of yourself and stretches you and gives shape and form to your soul.
What other reasons can you think of for why live church is better than livestream church. Share them here. I’m thinking of a few more even as I’m typing this out. Please contribute!
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
Also – I am inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: CC Fremont Midweek Bible Study
Time: Apr 1, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/273332948?pwd=Mm5ZNmlKWnJURzdVeXdBNm43OTFqZz09
Meeting ID: 273 332 948
Password: 027717
This will be my first time hosting a Zoom meeting and so there might (will be) a learning curve for me. I am told that with the Galley View I can have 49 attendees show up on my laptop screen. So, if you are #50 or above (if we have that many), I won’t be able to see you, though I think I’ll be able to hear you. But here’s the thing, in order to minimize distraction, when you log in to the meeting I will have hit the MUTE ALL button on my end. Later in the meeting I will hit the UNMUTE ALL button and we can have some interaction. Well – that’s the plan. If you log in to the meeting and everything is dark and silent, don’t assume that the rapture has happened and you’ve been left behind, assume that I messed something up. I hope that you can join me in our midweek Bible study. We’ll be studying the last half of Joshua 5.
March 30, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
I know what you’re thinking - and I don’t like it. You should stop thinking what you’re thinking for what you’re thinking is not healthy thinking. I know that no one at CC Fremont is thinking this way, but probably someone at the church down the street is because we know that they aren’t as spiritually mature as you are. But it’s possible that there is at least one person at CC Fremont who is thinking this way and so I want to address it.
You’re thinking that you can get used to this livestream church thing – you can just stay at home and enjoy church in the comfort of your own living room. And you’ve got some reasons for this that make good sense – at least they make good sense to you.
- It saves a lot of time – showering and shaving and getting the kids ready and loading the family into the car to be at church on time – it’s exhausting; it’s almost like a school morning. But with livestream church, Sunday almost seems like Saturday. In addition, if you miss it, you can just watch the archived file. Brilliant!
- It saves a lot of money, too. You don’t feel the pressure to give when the basket is passed. You’re not confronted with the fundraising bake sales and the cry of your kids for nachos or pancakes or hot dogs that come with the obligatory donation to someone’s camp or missions’ project. You don’t have to pass the displays of visiting ministries and missionaries with their orphan cards and donation envelopes. You’re also not invited by someone out to lunch after service to who knows where and who knows how much it will cost. Whew – dodged a bullet there. Not to mention the clothes you won’t have to buy.
- It saves you from a lot of awkward “fellowship” time with people that strike you as strange or boring or over-zealous or “not your kind of people.”
- It saves you from the potential embarrassment of having to sing out loud.
- It saves you from the pressure of volunteering to serve when you really don’t want to, but there may be someone who notices that you haven’t done anything for seven years and so you have to put on a good show.
- It saves you from the anxiety of your favorite team playing the morning game as you try to check out the score on your smart phone while trying to look like you’re paying attention to the sermon.
- It saves you from the semi-mandatory laugh at the pastor’s lame jokes. Plus, you don’t have to wear a fake smile when all you really want to do is growl at people.
- Yes, this livestream church thing may be just the thing for you.
I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING - AND I DON’T LIKE IT.
And ultimately, you won’t like it, either. If you don’t attend live church, but instead attend livestream church, will your faith shrivel up and will you end up in hell? No – but your faith will shrivel up – for sure, no doubt about it. Here’s why:
- A lot of families love going camping. O, they would camp out in the mountains all the time if they could, so they say. Or could they? Is it possible that the short-term thrill and loveliness of camping in the mountains would turn into long-term drudge and misery? Of course it could! Cooking over a campfire or a propane stove would get old. Making a campfire would get old. Sleeping in sleeping bags on pads or blow-up mattresses or cots would get old. Getting clothes washed and dried would be a huge chore. Not having your couches and easy chairs would get old. Keeping ice in the cooler for the things needing to remain cold would put a cramp in your caboose. And what about wi-fi and on-demand? Hmmmm?
- What is sustainable in the short-term is unsustainable over the long-haul. I think that many churches livestreaming for the first time (like CCF) will continue to do so after life returns to the new normal. The rationale for livestreaming now is to stay connected and get the Word out during the present COVID-19 crisis. The rationale for livestreaming when life returns to the new normal will be to reach those who for whatever reason can’t attend live church services. And I can guarantee you this – those who are sick and shut-in or whose work keeps them away from live church, though they appreciate the livestream, would prefer live church over livestream church.
- What can you receive and experience at live church that you can’t at livestream church? Here’s the answer - the joy and the frustration and the love and the vexation of community.
- Not only does the Spirt by the Word give shape to your soul, living in community forms and shapes your soul, too. God said of Adam that it was not good for him to be alone. It wasn’t good for Adam not to live in community. Marriage is the smallest community you can be a part of – and marriage demands something/everything of you. It demands that you put someone else first, consider them more important than yourself, seek to please them before you please yourself. Marriage s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s you in a way that living by yourself and answering to no one ever could. And then when children come along, they s-t-r-e-t-c-h you in ways you didn’t know you had ways. Living responsibly in community changes who and what you are. This is the design of God.
- Worship in community is meant to stretch you as you lift your voice to God - whether you sing well or not or whether the person behind you is two keys off. And if the worship leader doesn’t do the songs you like, or repeats the chorus too many times or not enough, this isn’t about you – it’s about you worshipping a worthy God even if you are dissatisfied with the song selection or the way the music is performed.
- Passing the plate or putting your tithes and offerings in the box in the lobby stretches you as you exercise love toward God and faith in God. And those who give online or through the mail or through their banks are being stretched in doing this when they give to the Lord as part of a church community.
- The fundraisers and missions’ tables and orphan cards all serve to draw you out of yourself and stretch you as you participate in the life of the community.
- Volunteering and serving the needs of the church community draws you out of yourself and stretches you and gives shape and form to your soul.
If you can be part of the community at live church, but opt instead for livestream church, your faith will shrivel. Yes, I know that’s a bold statement, but to deliberately avoid doing what God commands you to do is an indication that your soul is already shriveling! Hebrews 10:25 instructs us not to forsake gathering together as a community centered in Jesus. Now someone may pushback and say, “So, Pastor Tim, are you arguing that shut-ins and the sick and those whose work schedule won’t allow them to be at live church and who watch livestream church have a shriveled faith?” Not at all. Jesus said in Luke 12:48 that to whom much is given, much is required, and to whom is entrusted much, of him more will be asked. It is not given to shut-ins and the sick and those with conflicting work schedules to attend live church – and so livestream church is for them and God will use this for His glory in their lives. But for the rest of us, the overwhelming vast majority of us, it has been given to attend live church. Let’s take what’s been given us. Let’s live in the love and the s-t-r-e-t-c-h of our church community.
So, heads-up – for the vast majority of us, livestream church is a temporary situation – like camping – and we’ll get back to the familiar rhythms of life and live church soon enough.
Stay healthy and blessed – Pastor Tim
March 29, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I asked two health professionals in our church some questions that have been on my mind concerning COVID-19 and they were gracious and responded to me. Quite possibly, these are questions you’ve been asking.
Dr. Scott Kehl graduated from medical school in 1988 and has been working as a physician at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic here in Fremont since 1991. Charlotte Tran has been an ICU nurse for 15 years. For the sake of brevity, I have consolidated their responses.
Q: We have been all informed of best practices during this coronavirus pandemic – social distancing, sheltering-in-place, hand-washing, disinfecting surfaces, etc. – will you please address the reasoning behind this and how the coronavirus differs from influenza which calls for these extreme measures?
A: The basic difference this time is that no one is immune to this virus. It is more contagious than influenza with each infected person passing it to a greater number of other people than occurs with the flu. People are contagious without having symptoms for the first three to four days so isolating once one is ill is not as effective as it is with the flu which hits hard within about a day of becoming infectious. The early course of COVID-19 is relatively mild with more severe symptoms coming five or more days later; this again leads to people being out and about while they are ill, spreading the virus. Sheltering-in-place is a key strategy here because we need to keep people who appear to be healthy but are actually infected away from others. The purpose of all of the social distancing and sheltering-in-place is to dampen the curve. What does that mean? The United States is a very large country. When we dampen the curve, it will help the CDC, NIH, and John Hopkins University pin point the hot spots in the country and focus efforts in those areas.
On Monday, March 23, UCSF professor of epidemiology Dr. Jeffrey Martin said what we’ll see in the next week or two really represents transmission that occurred in the past one to three weeks, roughly between Feb. 14 and the first week of March. "Most of that period was when we were not in an intensive social distancing mode," Martin said. "It was spreading in an invisible way in early March. That is what we will see in the next 10 to 14 days. People shouldn’t be confused by that, however, and thinking that what we have been doing hasn’t been working."
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/when-will-coronavirus-peak-Bay-Area-SF-15152009.php
There is also a delay in getting test results – it is taking up to 10 days or more to get results on patients who have not been hospitalized. Our numbers will rapidly rise when these tests results are released, even though we may have been making good efforts in our communities.
Q: Why has the coronavirus, which has so far killed 3,000 people in America, overtaxed our medical delivery system when influenza, which killed 80,000 people last year, didn’t do the same?
A: Our medical system does get overtaxed by influenza infections and we should take influenza more seriously. Washington Hospital will go on diversion, turning away ambulances because all the beds are full. We have a treatment for influenza, and this can shorten the course, leading to shorter hospital stays. People hospitalized with coronavirus have longer stays. The COVID-19 infections can rapidly worsen in the later stages and more commonly need ICU care including ventilation. The use of flu shots helps flatten the curve with influenza, so we do not see such a rapid peak of cases as we are seeing with COVID-19. Many of the measures being put into place are being done to try to avoid situations like Italy or New York City. The growth in the number of infections is exponential and those locations were overwhelmed with a surge of cases within a week or two.
This is nothing like the seasonal flu — this is a novel virus; we have no immunity to it. COVID-19 causes viral pneumonia, not the flu as we are accustomed too. We have no therapy for it. We have no vaccines. And there is a good possibility that we won’t for perhaps 12-18 months. Which means this virus has the potential to cycle throughout the year. It’s 3x more easily spread than seasonal flu. It can be spread by infected individuals who do not have symptoms. Seasonal flu death rate is 0.1%. The COVID-19 death rate is 1.0 % - so it is 10 more deadly than seasonal flu; in fact, there were times China had a death rate of 2.0%-3.0% due to the higher number of the elderly being infected before they instituted shelter in place.
Q: What are the best sources for us to get our medical information from?
A: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html - the CDC website
http://www.acphd.org/ - the Alameda County Department of Public Health
Websites from local medical providers – Kaiser, Sutter, Washington Hospital, etc. Also information from Stanford, UCSF or any of the other large medical centers. Another good source are any of the nationally known medical clinics like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Hopkins.
Any article written by UC Berkeley infectious disease professor Dr. John Swartzberg – editor of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.
There is a lot of fake news and conspiracy theories, I haven’t seen any truth to them. No one is trying to get of religion or trying to kill everyone with a biological weapon. Trustworthy info on the COVID-19 can be found at: WHO.INT, CDC.GOV, NIH.GOV. Facebook and the internet info, needs to be fact checked before believed.
Good site for world statistics on COVID-19 - https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I would like to thank Dr. Kehl and Charlotte Tran for what they have provided us. On another note – CC Fremont is livestreaming this morning (3.29.20) at 10AM PST at www.calvaryfremont.org. Click the livestream banner at the top of the website and it will take you to YOUTUBE. I hope that you can join us. A big shout-out to the livestream team that makes this possible: THANK YOU!
Stay healthy and blessed and go to livestream church today. Read your Bible and pray and sing to Jesus.
Pastor Tim Brown
March 28, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I was born less than eight years after Hitler shot himself in his underground bunker in Berlin in April of 1945 and the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August of that same year. The end of WW2 marked the beginning of the Cold War between America and her allies and the Soviet Union and her allies. The hot war of WW2 and the Cold War arising from it shaped the world I was born into. I can still hear my dad - when the newspaper or TV news announced some new Communist advance somewhere in the world or some Communist shenanigans close to home – my dad would say, “Just nuke them all. Just kill them all.” In elementary school we would often have drills where we crawled under our desks and curled into a fetal position and tightly closed our eyes in case of a nuclear event unleashed by the Soviets sent glass flying everywhere as the windows imploded when the bombs exploded. We lived with the existential threat of MAD (mutually assured destruction). This is the world I was born into.
The 20th century had already seen many world-changing and culture-shaping events before I was born: wars and scientific discoveries and medical advances and technological innovations that restructured the world emerging from the 19th century.
I remember exactly where I was on November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. And though this shook the world, it didn’t change the world. What follows is a list of what, to me, have been world-changing and culture-shaping events in my lifetime. You may disagree with what I include, and/or you may include other events - that’s alright. I am not a professional sociologist or historian, I am just a man with a memory.
The Beatles and the Counter-culture Movement of the late 1960s changed the world. The music of the Beatles specifically, and rock ‘n roll generally, gave voice to the frustrations and aspirations and changing value-system of the growing Boomer Generation. The Counter-culture Movement with its ‘turn on, tune on, drop out’ slogan was the mechanism whereby the Boomer Generation rebelled against their parents and the values they represented. The Beatles (and all they represented) and the Counter-culture Movement swept the world and shaped much of the culture that is still with us today.
The Jesus Movement in tandem with the Charismatic Movement of the late 1960s changed the world. The Charismatic Movement with its emphasis on the powerful working of the Holy Spirit reshaped much of the church worldwide and the Jesus Movement with its emphasis on evangelism and a personal relationship with Jesus gave birth to a revival where millions of people worldwide were born-again and brought into the church. (I like to say that we gave up our drugs & sex & rock ‘n roll – but then I realized that we didn’t give up rock ‘n roll!) The church in America was re-energized and local church-planting and world-wide missions were given priority. Much could be said here - it is enough to say that the Jesus Movement and the Charismatic Movement impacted the world and the result of that is still with us and continues to shape us.
The first successfully mass marketed personal computer was the Commodore PET in 1977. Who could argue that the PC has changed how the world works and how it has shaped culture since its appearance 43 years ago. Many would argue that computers began to change the world and shape the culture long before this. I leave that debate to the experts and only want to note here that the PC has changed the world along with all that it has spawned: phones and tablets and gaming consoles and other gadgets and its countless applications in countless products.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1991. This had global impact as the Soviet era came to an end – the Cold War was over, the Soviet Empire fell apart, and new nations were born. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that though getting into a fetal position under my desk in elementary school may have been a wise precaution (though not against radiation!), it turned out to be unnecessary.
September 11, 2001. I naively thought America had no enemies. I was shaken to my core to realize the tsunami of hate and violence that was just waiting to be unleashed against us. 9-11 chilled America to the bone and has awakened a global military and philosophical response to radical Islam.
COVID-19. We are in the middle of another world-changing & culture-shaping event. We have been stunned by how quickly borders can close, businesses can shutter, planes can be grounded, medical delivery systems can be overwhelmed, and how social life can be so drastically altered. We are not at the end of this thing yet. And though we will return to normal, it will be a new normal. How America and the world has responded to this pandemic will be spoken & written of for decades to come.
Well, there’s my list & and I say all this to say that though the world can change around us and culture can be reshaped by forces that are beyond our control, and though we can feel like powerless pawns on a cosmic chessboard, there is One above history & culture who cannot be changed or shaped by these things. There is One above the brutality of war & the cruelty of disease & the movements that shape the thoughts and allegiances of people. Check this out –
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The LORD on high is mighty.
Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness befits Your house, O LORD, forevermore. Psalm 93:3-5
Floods threaten everything. Wars have lifted up their voice. Disease has lifted up its pounding violence and wave after wave of infection sweeps over the people. Yet more than the voice of war, more than pounding violence of disease, more than the world-changing and culture-shaping events through history and in our lifetime – the Lord on high is mighty! His Word is fully confirmed! O, Church – walk in holiness of life as you trust in and worship the God who is above it all – and at the same time, sent His Son into it all in order to bring you out of it all. Do not fear the floods, fear the Lord and walk in His ways.
Blessings – Pastor Tim
March 27, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
The first memories that come to mind of Steve McQueen are of him sailing a car off the hills of San Francisco in "Bullitt" and him jumping a motorcycle over barbed wire (or is it into barbed wire?) in "The Great Escape." For a while, Steve McQueen was Hollywood's hottest commodity. In his later years, McQueen came to faith in Jesus Christ and Greg Laurie has made a movie about it.
Check it out - this is from Greg Laurie.
Hello Harvest Family,
While the COVID-19 crisis continues, we are launching a brand-new way for you to share the gospel. It’s called: Movie Night in America.Each week we will live-stream a movie COMPLETELY FREE. This week we will be showing the popular movie, Steve McQueen: American Icon.
At the end of every movie there will be an opportunity for people to pray to receive Jesus, so invite your friends and family! Join us THIS FRIDAY for Movie Night in America at 7 PM PT.
Go to this URL:
https://inbound.harvest.org/harvest-movie-night-2020-0…Blessings, Harvest Christian Fellowship
I hope this link works. If not, check out the hyperlink below.
Stay healthy and blessed - Pastor Tim
March 26, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
Someone sent me a question concerning the meaning of the fear of the Lord and here is how I responded. Feel free to add your own understanding of the fear of the Lord in the 'comments' section.
That's a great question you asked and here is how I've come to understand the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:7 says:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Let me explain by way of analogy. If you were in a room and there was a lion in the room w you, you would not take your eyes off that lion. That lion has a great ability to affect the quality of your life! Everything you did, every move you made, every muscle you twitched, you would keep your eye on that lion to see how he would respond.
I think the fear of the Lord is like that - minus the scary factor. What I mean is that God has an incredible ability to affect the quality of my life! Everything I do I want to make sure it is in alignment with His will for my life. It's not that I'm afraid that He is going to rip me to shreds if I step out of line, it's that I know my best life is lived in accordance with His will for me. I want to keep my eyes on Him and my ears open to Him and my heart submitted to Him. For me, that's the fear of the Lord.
So, let me paraphrase Proverbs 1:7 -
Keeping your eyes on God is the beginning of knowledge - fools don’t do this.
I hope that is helpful.
On another note, a man with a tangential relationship to CC Fremont called me a couple of nights ago and basically scolded me for cancelling church services and that as Christians this is when we need to open our buildings so sinners can come and be saved. He intimated that it's a shame that we have allowed the devil to cow us into silence at such a time as this. I tried to respond, but he just talked over me and I realized that he wasn't interested in a dialogue, only a monologue. He didn't care what I had to say, he just wanted me to hear what he had to say. I was reminded of Paul's words to Timothy that the man of God must be patient when wronged and deal gently with those who wrong him. So, I listened and gave the obligatory grunt every now and then.
When he had wound down I asked him that since he felt so strongly about this matter why didn't he go rent a room and advertise services and hold a meeting. He said that he wanted me to open CC Fremont's building for that very purpose - so he could preach. I assured him that that would not be happening. He then affirmed his love and respect for me and hung up. Hmmmm.....
Here's how I see it - correct me if I'm wrong...
- There is a very contagious virus stalking the nation.
- This virus is easily spread through social contact.
- Social distancing, sheltering-in-place, self-quarantine will greatly serve to halt the spread of this virus.
- Therefore, because we love people (church and community) we will hold church services via other means than large gatherings.
- We have no promise that Christians will not be infected or will not die from this virus even as we have no promise that no Christian will ever be hit by a car or that no Christian will ever drown at sea or that no Christian will ever die on the battlefield.
- Therefore, we don't hold church services in the middle of the freeway or treading water in the middle of the ocean or in the middle of a battlefield - or in the face of a highly contagious virus spread by social contact.
Where am I missing it?
Stay healthy and blessed by Jesus - Pastor Tim
March 23, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont -
I am having an online discussion with a group of pastors about our current challenges and one put forward a theory that the restrictions placed upon public gatherings won't be lifted and that the church will greatly suffer for it. In fact, what is happening now is possibly a dress rehearsal for what the antichrist will do to the church.
He writes: Gone is body ministry, prayer and exhortation one to another, gone is assembly at the table of the Lord, gone is church discipline. Gone is watching for wolves, the gates have been opened and the sheep let loose... Will large group assembly ever be allowed again? Could it be that regardless the outcome the "powers" to be maintain the restrictions to a degree because as they will claim.... It worked.
I responded by pointing out a number of false premises in his argument.
He said: Gone is body ministry
I wrote: not necessarily. It has temporarily morphed. If you live-streamed yesterday, you were ministering to the body. And for many people, what happened yesterday - live-streaming - is what they live on anyway. The shut-ins, those who have been wounded by the church, the sick who must temporarily stay at home live off of radio and televised and live-streamed services. Body ministry didn’t vanish – it morphed, temporarily.
He said: Gone is prayer
I wrote: more people have been offering more prayers than ever before – even praying for one another.
He said: exhortation to one another is gone
I wrote: not so. Social media has allowed a connectedness never before possible.
He said: Gone is the assembly at the table of the Lord
I wrote: this is true, in a fashion. We have ordered individual communion cups w wafer included and will set a time to distribute these at the church and in the Sunday morning live-stream we will partake together.
We have communion every Sunday. (PS - we'll let you know when these arrive. They are on back order.)
He said: Gone is church discipline
I wrote: not necessarily. And who effectively exercises much church discipline anyway. If a member is exhorted, corrected, or rebuked by you, they’ll just go down the street to the next church.
He wrote: Will large group assembly ever be allowed again?
I said: This is the big question! If it is disallowed, my church and your church and hopefully all the pastors reading this will participate in one big act of civil disobedience.
If I thought that the church was being singled out in a unique way in all of the current restrictions I would probably lean toward the trajectory of what this pastor wrote. The current restrictions affect all of culture: religion, business, entertainment, sports, education, etc. I do not have any sense of persecution being directed toward the church.
I’m thinking that great things will come from this – the digital footprint of the church will expand and those we serve will see how sweet the gathering of the saints truly is. A thirst for fellowship will emerge. Maybe we should be ready to seriously promote small groups because of this strategic time.
CC Fremont - don't allow your minds to be carried away and your hearts trapped in fear by conspiracy theories that are beginning to be spun. This is a web of thinking to avoid. I believe that God is using this time to help us think clearly about those things that are truly valuable. May there be a longing in your heart for the Word of the Lord and the fellowship of the saints and the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the love of God.
What is happening is temporary. And I thank God for all the resources to keep us connected to one another. And not just social media - pick up your phone and call someone and see how they're doing.
Blessings - Pastor Tim
Calvary Chapel Fremont Kids Church
Sunday Mornings at 10:00am
- Nursery: 6 weeks – 2 years
- Pre-Schoolers: 3 years – 5 years
- Elementary: Kindergarten – 5th Grade
March 21, 2020
When we made the decision to cancel Sunday and mid-week services, yet livestream some worship and a sermon, I knew it was a lose-lose situation.
If we cancelled, we’d get: Why are you walking in fear and not in faith?
If we didn’t cancel, we’d get: Why aren’t you walking in love and in concern for the health of the church and the community?
Here’s how I resolve this. Paul tells us that now abide faith, hope, and love – but the greatest is love. If I have to err in one direction, I will err in the direction of love and not faith. We’re not walking in fear – we are not afraid to love our neighbors.
I’ve read where weddings have been cancelled. Cancelling a wedding doesn’t cancel the love and commitment between two people and cancelling church services doesn’t cancel the church. The church can’t be cancelled. It is built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ.
Cancelling church services doesn’t cancel the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t shrivel up inside of you or go into catatonic shock because you’re watching livestream and are not physically at the church building. The Holy Spirit is not quenched or grieved because you can’t attend services on a temporary basis. The Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you is not so fragile and sickly that a missed service sends Him to bed with a temperature. Christ inside you is mighty and powerful!
Jesus livestreamed in the gospels! Here’s the story -
And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."
Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. Matthew 8:5-13
The word that Jesus spoke in one place was effective and powerful in another place! The sickly servant wasn’t in Jesus’ presence – he was quarantined at home! The word flew through space and time and healed the servant of the centurion. Hallelujah!
We have great confidence that your faith can be sustained and grow and remain firmly anchored in Jesus during this difficult time.
PS – go to our website www.calvaryfremont.org for the link for the livestream on Sunday, March 22, @ 10:00 AM. May Jesus send His word to you and bless and heal and deliver you.
Posts from Israel
March 13, 2020
Hey, Calvary Chapel. It’s early in the morning at Nof Ginosar on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and I can’t sleep. 😔But all is not lost. With all the corona virus anxiety and the cancelling of services to help containment, it’s good to know that heaven has not been cancelled!! There’s going to be a large gathering before the throne and there will be no social distancing then. It will be all hugs and smiles then.
Also, the Christian life has not been cancelled. The love of God has not been cancelled!! We are still to walk in patience and kindness toward one another - even more so at a time such as this.
And though worship services have been cancelled, worship hasn’t been cancelled. May your heart be filled with love towards God and may your song to Him fill the air.
Likewise, Bible reading and prayer haven’t been cancelled. May the peace of Christ fill your heart and mind as you pray about everything and worry about nothing.
In the strong name of Jesus - Pastor Tim Brown
March 15, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont - 27 of us are still over in Israel. All the holy sites are closed and no more than 10 people are to congregate at any one time. This has presented some unique challenges, but the Lord is good. And every time I hear news from the States, more and more restrictions are being announced and implemented. From what Fran tells me, wide-spread panic has emptied out the stores. I’m sure this seems surreal and nearly apocalyptic to most, if not all, of us.
This is the time to not forget in the darkness what we have heard in the light. Psalm 46 is truly a word for such a time as this.
Psalm 46:1–3 (NAS): God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;3Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
Yes, the earth is changing and things that have seemed immovable are slipping into the heart of the sea. The waters roar and foam and wave after wave of bad news sweeps the world.
Psalm 46:4–7 (NAS): There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.5God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.6The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.7The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
We are the city of God and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is still flowing. There is no shortage of God. Though the whole world call upon Him and He sends His fullness to all, nothing can put a dent in His inexhaustible supply. God is not moved and He is our help. The nations are in an uproar and the earth is melting in fear and uncertainty, but the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Psalm 46:8–11 (NAS): Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.9He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.10“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”11The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God will bring COVID-19 to an end. He makes wars to cease and breaks the power of the weapons that are against us.
The Lord would have us to cease striving in fear and panic and depression. God is with us. In the Valley of the Shadow of Death where the darkness is deep and visibility is limited, His rod and staff will comfort you and He will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. God is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
March 17, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont - our tour is at the Dead Sea right now. After floating for 10 minutes, a policeman came and kicked us all out. The Dead Sea is closed!!
I woke up this morning to a recorded call about sheltering in place for those living in Alameda County. I have to self-quarantine anyway because I’m over 65 when I get back, but now this has been broadly expanded. I am so glad that God isn’t in quarantine!! I’m so blessed that He is not limited in where He can go. You may not be able to make it to church, but the Lord is not sheltering in place and He makes house visits!! David learned this –
Psalm 18:4–6 (NAS): The cords of death encompassed me And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.5The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.6In my distress I called upon the Lord,And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.
And look what the Lord did –
Psalm 18:9–11 (NAS): 9He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.10He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.11He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
The Lord came down and more than that, He came down with speed. And not only did He come down speedily, He came specifically to and for David. Count how many times David refers to himself in the following passage.
Psalm 18:16–19 (NAS): He sent from on high, He took me;He drew me out of many waters.17He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.18They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my stay.19He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
I count 12 times. David could say with confidence and no sense of foolish pride, “God is interested in coming to me and delivering me and blessing me because He delights in me.” Friend, God is interested in you - He’s interested in coming to you and delivering you and blessing you because He delights in you. May the confidence of David be your confidence, too. May you rest in the God who delights in you.
The Dead Sea May be closed for floating, but the Living Water is available to any and all who call upon the name of the Lord. When the torrents of death surround you, call upon the Lord and He will deliver you of fear and anxiety and worry because He delights in you.
March 18, 2020
Hey, Calvary Fremont- carefully read the following portion of Psalm 91.
Psalm 91:1–10 (NAS): He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.2I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”3For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.4He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.5You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;6Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.7A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.8You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.9For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.10No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.
I think some would read this and wrongfully conclude that since they are dwelling in the shelter of the Most High that no plague will come near their tent - that they are immune to COVID-19. Since I am returning from Israel and am in LA waiting to fly to San Francisco and slept about 20 minutes on a 14 hour flight and less than three hours last night - let me give vent to my grumpiness: to contend that Christians can’t be infected w COVID-19 is silly and irresponsible (and probably stupid, too).
COVID-19 is not God‘s punishment on a wicked world. The judgment of God is upon the unrighteous - not the unrighteous and the righteous. And C-19 is afflicting the just and the unjust. C-19 falls into the category of “we live in fallen bodies in a fallen world”. This virus doesn’t care if you’re a Christian or Muslim, gay or straight, male or female, poor or rich, left or right, global warming enthusiast or not, oppressed or oppressor, privileged or victim, etc., ad nauseam. This is a common disease even as rain is a common grace - it falls upon the just and the unjust.
So, if all are infected or vulnerable to infection, what is the promise of Psalm 91? What is not coming near my tent? Consider the following portion of Psalm 91 –
Psalm 91:11–13 (NAS): For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.12They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
The worst thing that can happen to you isn’t C-19, the worst thing that can happen to you is that you no longer dwell in the shelter of the Most High or in the shadow of the Almighty. Beloved, there is a peace that passes understanding and a security and assurance that passes comprehension when the Lord is your refuge. You will not be afraid of the arrow that flies by day or the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. Whatever befalls me is allowed by my Father. Whatever I come across or come against has been filtered through His loving and gracious will for my life.
When doubts of God’s goodness and grace assail your mind, own them - but don’t let your doubts own you. When feelings of fear sweep over you - don’t deny them - identify them as real feelings and own the fact that you’re experiencing them - but don’t let them own you. Know that nothing ordained by your Father and filtered through His will will come near your tent.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
In the powerful name of Jesus - Pastor Tim
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