Category: Pastor Tim’s Blog

The Bible is filled with images and geography of specific locations where people met with God.  Where God changed their path, their life. Think Moses at the burning bush in the Midian desert or Abraham on Mt. Moriah where Isaac was laid on an altar.  Often, when a person met God a physical structure was erected to remember it. You may have such a place or places in your life. The church where you were married. The pool of water where you were baptized.  The chair you sat in the night an invitation was given and you were saved.
Holy spaces…holy places.

Last week, I encountered one of mine.  Over the past week I have logged 2000 miles in a pick-up truck and have toured West Virginia through our Florida missions partnership from north to south. On Friday evening, I was given an address off an exit near Charleston, the capital of the state. As I drove deeper into an impoverished neighborhood, I came around a corner to the address I had been given.  The church that stood there contained a holy place in my life.  Not the sanctuary or even the multipurpose gym.  Not the lovely lush green hillside.
The basement.

In 1977 Pam and I were still newlyweds and we were traveling with a Christian band called Decision led by Bill Traylor. We had been invited to do a weekend revival at a church in Charleston. I really never paid much attention to the name. And when we got there, it was just a basement in the middle of…nowhere. The church didn’t have the money to build the rest of the facility.  So we parked the motor home we traveled in, unloaded our equipment onto a makeshift stage and that night began a series of three days of concerts. After we finished playing Saturday night, a leader in the church asked Bill who would be preaching Sunday morning.  Bill informed them that we were a musical group and did not have a preacher with us.  After the conversation, Bill walked over to me and said, “You’re the preacher in the morning.”  “ME? Preach?  In a church??  Don’t think so!”

But after some conversation, I relented and the next morning, I stood behind a small wooden podium on a makeshift stage in the basement of North Charleston Baptist Church… and I preached.  I could not for the life of me tell you what I said!  When I finished, two women came up to me (separately) and said, “Are you a preacher?”  “No, I’m just the drummer.”  “Well, “ the first replied, “God is calling you to preach.”  A second woman said roughly the same thing. God is calling you.  To ministry.  To preach!  Their words did not leave me.  And one year later, I surrendered to the call to preach.

As the men who gathered there Friday night were enjoying their meal I stood staring at a line on the floor where the front of the platform…and the pulpit stood.  All that’s left on the floor is a line marking where the stage used to be. But it was in that place that a line was crossed.  Seeing it Friday night brought the memories of 1977 flooding back….remembering.

Because holy places do that.

As we prepare to send our graduates out onto college campuses, into missionary or military service, into marriage and parenting and the reality of making a living and making a life, we do so with a mixture of tears and joy, fear and relief, confidence and questions.

Rest assured they feel the same emotional blend as you. Though their next few weeks will be filled with parties, gifts, well-wishes and celebrating;  they too have fears, anxieties, uncertainty and questions.

My prayer as a pastor is that those questions and uncertainties are not spiritual ones. My hope is that we have adequately prepared a foundation for them that will not shake under the assault of questions from unbelieving professors and friends. That they will remember the lessons and models of godly friends and teachers, mentors and parents. That they will not forget the “rock from which they were formed.”

And when the party decorations congratulating the graduating class of 2015 have been thrown away, pray that they will never lose touch with their roots as they begin to fly. That they will never lose touch with the family and church body that loves them.

And that, having done all, they will stand.

Amy Carmichael, praying for the girls of an orphanage she operated in India, offered the following words:

Dear God, make them good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let them never turn back in the day of battle. Let them be winners and helpers of souls; let them live not to be ministered to but to minister. Make them loyal; let them set loyalty high above all things. Make them doers, not just talkers. Let them enjoy hard work and choose hard things rather than easy. Make them trustworthy, make them wise for it is written: God takes no pleasure in fools. Let them pass from dependence upon us to dependence on Thee. Let them never come under the dominion of earthly things; keep them free. Let them grow up healthy, happy, friendly, and seeking to make others happy. Give them eyes to see the beauty of the world, and hearts to worship its Creator. May them walk, Lord, in the light of your countenance. And for ourselves we ask, that we might never weaken. God is my strong salvation. We ask that we might train them to say that word, and live that life, and pour themselves out for others, unhindered by self78.
How we need these words to live again today in our children, that they may “pour themselves out for others, unhindered by self.”

And so may we do the same!

Think your way around the room where the saints gather on the Lord’s Day. Over here there is a family who’s income is $800 a week and their outgo is $1000. There are two children in one family who, according to their Dad, are “failures.” “You’re stupid…why can’t you be more like your sister?” The lady in the back just found out a tumor tested positive…Sam and Louise had a nasty fight last night…one that broke the camel’s back. Each is thinking about divorce. Last Monday Jim learned that at week’s end he has no job…Sarah came to church this morning trying her best to cover the bruises from a beating she received at the hands of her drunken husband. The Smith’s found out their infant girl has a hole in her heart. That teen over there feels like he’s being pulled apart by his parent’s expectations which pull one way and his peer group and his glands pulling the other. The lonely, the dying, the exhausted, the confused, and others at the mercy of crises and forces beyond their control…they’re all there. You can travel down the pew of every church…..and find a broken heart. And often, a broken family.

The Chinese symbol for crisis is actually a combination of two symbols: One that means danger. The other means opportunity. A crisis is certainly a threat. A danger to our understanding of how life operates. But it is also an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to do a reset of how we are living…how we are functioning. It’s an opportunity for us to ask ourselves the question, “Is the Lord really building this house, or are we laboring in vain…?” Is our foundation really God’s Word, God’s truth, God’s wisdom? “By wisdom a house is built….” (Proverbs 8)

Jesus had some important things to say to us about how our families are to be built….What our foundation is built upon…what we are to do BEFORE the crisis comes, BEFORE the threat becomes a reality, BEFORE the storm hits….(Read Matthew 7:24-27) EVERY HOME IS BUILT ON SOMETHING. Jesus compared the foundation of our life and of our home to two possible scenarios. You can build your house on sand or rock. You can build your family on shifting realities or on that which does not shake. You can ground your home and family in wisdom or in foolishness.
Jesus is saying with this THE CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE.

What will your choice be?

So what does a Christian believe?  What constitutes the “faith once for all handed down” to the saints, as we read in the Letter to Jude?  Are there negotiable pieces of our faith or is it all a part of the tapestry that cannot be removed without unraveling the other parts?  According to Focus on the Family, a Christian worldview involves the following:

Do absolute moral truths exist and is absolute truth defined by the Bible?

Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life and was He resurrected physically?

Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today?

Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned and is Jesus the only way to know salvation?

Is Satan real?

Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people?

Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?

Did you answer yes to these? Only 9 percent of “born- again” Christians did so!  Our worldview determines our behavior, our core values, our philosophy of life.  According to George Barna, a child’s worldview is set by the time he is nine years old!  That means long before she enters adolescence, the worldview that governs decision-making and behavior is set in place, informed by:

• Parents
• Media
•  Peers
• Music
• Teachers /Educators
• Coaches /influencers
• Pastors /church leaders

The question the church must continue to ask itself is:  Are we communicating a Christian worldview to our children, to “the next generation?”  If we are not, then we must stop and ask ourselves “why?”

There is a poem written a number of years ago about four blind men who stumble upon an elephant.  The first man feels the massive side of the animal and decides, “an elephant is flat and large like a wall.”  Another fell at the elephant’s leg, felt it, and determined, “an elephant is like a tree.”  A third blind man feels the elephant’s large flat ear and declares, “an elephant is like a fan.”  The fourth feels the elephant’s trunk and determines, “an elephant is like a snake.”  The point of the poem, of course, is that each of the men were partially right, though coming away with differing descriptions of the same animal.

That, according to the author, is the way it is with men finding their way to God.  One has one description, and one has another. But all are describing the same experience, with different personal interpretations based on their limited knowledge.  Since all of us are blind, the reasoning follows, then we are like the blind men describing an elephant when it comes to religion.

If we were truly like the blind men, then our search for God would be no more profitable or successful than theirs.  But we are not like them.  While we may be blind, we have a God Who Sees Who is searching….for us!  We are not stumbling in the darkness any more.  God has come, has sent His Son to seek and save that which was lost.

And by trusting in Jesus Christ alone, we can be found!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 will be an historic and potentially culture-altering day for the United States.  On that day, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments concerning the issue of same-sex marriage.  The outcome of these hearings, slated to be released in late June, will have tremendous consequences for how churches in America do ministry going forward, and it will have significant impact on issues of religious freedom.  It is IMPOSSIBLE to overstate the importance of this decision.  We must reaffirm some things that do not change:

1. We must affirm the importance of PRAYING FOR OUR LEADERS in America.  While we may not agree with or necessarily affirm the direction they are leading, we must remember that Scripture commands we be faithful in praying for all in authority, and in this instance this means members of the Supreme Court as well.  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

2. We must remember the foundation on which we stand and that NO COURT OR CONSTITUTION can define what doesn’t belong to it. Marriage is an institution ordained by God and DEFINED BY HIS UNCHANGING WORD, not by the opinions of man no matter how highly placed or intelligent he may seem.  Genesis 2 gives us the precept on which we are to stand regarding Scriptural marriage, and it is clearly a relationship established between male and female.  It is a relationship established and imbedded in the creative order that men and women may become moms and dads.  It is a relationship that clearly portrays a spiritual reality, that of Christ’s relationship with His bride, the church and His death and resurrection that secured that Bride for Him.

3. We must stand apart from the cultural decay that surrounds us.  Though we live in the midst of the cultural ruins of our day, we must continue to shine the light of the Gospel and the hope that Jesus brings to a lost and dying people.  Nothing that happens, no matter how marginalized or discriminated against we may feel, must stop us from being the salt and shining the light of the Gospel.

So on Tuesday, April 28 at 10:00 AM, PRAY for this significant decision placed before the Supreme Court:
Pray that all people everywhere would honor the institution of marriage.
Pray for the Supreme Court justices that they would be receptive to truth when they hear it presented.
Pray for lead attorneys who will be arguing on behalf of states seeking to uphold Biblical marriage
Pray for those who disagree with the Biblical definition of marriage, that God would help them understand and respect the opinions of those arguing for the foundation of marriage grounded in Scripture.
Pray for God’s people to be prepared even in the event of a decision that does not go as we hope.  God is not mocked.  He is sovereign, and His purposes will ultimately prevail!

As Christians, we must walk in confidence that God is in control even of this circumstance.  We live, not in fear or in anger, not in malice or rancor, not in bitterness or wrath but in the love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts.

May they know we are Christians by our love!
(adopted from article on http://russellmoore.com)

In the movie, The Mission,  Robert De Niro plays the role of a slave trader-turned Jesuit priest.  Practicing his trade among the Guarani Indians in South America, he is portrayed as a ruthless, cruel man.  Personally, his life was falling apart and this culminated as he caught the love of his life, his fiancé, and his brother, whom he also loved deeply, in bed together.  Enraged, he killed his brother in a duel.

Carrying his guilt to a Jesuit priest, he receives an act of penance to remove it.  The priest prescribes that he drag his armor and weapons of war in a net behind him and go back into the South American jungle to serve and live among the Guarani…the tribe he at one time victimized by his slave trading.

Climbing the Iguazu Falls, Mendoza (the character played by DeNiro) drags his net through the mud and the underbrush to exhaustion. When they reach the top of the falls, the group encounters some warriors from the Guarani tribe.  One of the warriors walks over to Mendoza, draws a long knife blade, and appears to be coming to slit the throat of this slave trader.  Instead, the knife slices through the ropes that held the burden being dragged behind Mendoza, pushing the net over the cliff and setting him free.  In relief and gratitude, Mendoza both weeps and laughs as the burden of his guilt is now gone.

The message portrayed in this moment in the film is powerful.  As Mendoza seeks to enact his own penance and find forgiveness by his own exhausting efforts, he learns that forgiveness comes as a gift…not as the result of our own effort.  We cannot earn our way into God’s favor…we must receive our access humbly as a gift given.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  -Romans 6:23

What do you need to be set free from today?

MAX LUCADO, in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily. A hospital was not too terribly far away- just across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.

That’s exactly what Jesus did! He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe. He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe. He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result. He let a dead man spend 4 days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him. Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side. Victory!

And today, you can experience that same victory:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  (Romans 10:9-10 NLT)

Believe… receive…  and you will know eternal life NOW!