Jorge Bergoglio

Jorge Bergoglio grew up in Argentina and became a Catholic priest in 1969. He was a Jesuit who loved the Lord and dedicated his life to serving God and helping the poor. He fulfilled his ministry with distinction and was appointed the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998.

Instead of living in luxury and riding in the chauffeured car that was provided to the archbishop, he lived in a modest apartment and took the subway to the cathedral each day. As he participated in ecumenical prayer and worship events in Buenos Aires, Jorge became friends with Giovanni Tarantino, an apostolic leader from Caserta, Italy.

In 2013, Giovanni was driving in Caserta with his son Luigi when his phone rang. Luigi answered Giovanni’s phone.

“Hello, this is Pope Francis, is my friend Giovanni available?”

“Sure, this is the Apostle Peter,” he replied. “What can I do for you?”

“This really is Pope Francis. Is Giovanni available?”

“Yes, and I’m really the Apostle Peter…..”

At that point Giovanni realized what was happening and took the phone from Luigi. Jorge then told Giovanni that he had just been selected to become the next Pope and he wanted his friend to be one of the first people to know.

Giovanni has a worldwide network of friends, including Joe Tosini, who leads the John 17 ministry and lives in Carefree, AZ. Over the years Joe and Giovanni took many groups of Christian leaders to Rome to meet Pope Francis. In 2017, I joined thirty leaders who met with Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace one day and in his prayer chapel the next day.

We sat in a circle in the chapel and talked, sang and prayed with Pope Francis for two hours. We asked him questions and discussed biblical issues. If you were to look at a transcript of our dialogue without knowing who was speaking, you would think we were talking with an evangelical leader who loved Jesus deeply, knew the Word of God thoroughly, and had a heart for the poor.

I asked Pope Francis how he came to understand that we were all brothers in Christ. I appreciated his reply. “One day when I was a young boy, I was walking through the streets of Buenos Aires with my grandmother. We passed by some Salvation Army missionaries who were in their uniforms. I asked my grandmother, “Who are these people?”

She replied, “They are servants of God.”

“Ever since then, I have understood that God has his servants in many different denominations.”

Pope Francis met with us because he believed John 17:21, where Jesus prayed, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

I want the world to believe Jesus is the Son of God. I’ve worked most of my life to help people understand that Jesus really died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. Yet the most effective way for this truth to be communicated is not just the faithful witness of individual believers. Jesus said the most effective way to reveal his relationship with his father is for his disciples to be in unity.

Unity in the body of Christ does not require us all to become Catholic, Evangelical or Pentecostal. Unity does require us to love one another, speak well of each other, and honor each other’s uniqueness, rather than judging and condemning each other over non-essential differences.

I could tell you areas of doctrine and practice that Pope Francis and I disagreed about. I could also tell you areas of practice and principle where I disagree with my local church pastor, my pastor friends, or my wife,

Kristina andI have been married for fifty-one years. We don’t always agree about things. However, because we love each other and want to continually enjoy life and God’s blessings in our marriage, we work to understand each other. We speak well of each other. We pray for each other. We forgive each other. We serve each other and we stay faithful to each other. We will continue to do these things as long as we live.

For Christians to have meaningful unity and fulfill the John 17 prayer of Jesus, we must have that same commitment towards other believers.

A few months ago, Mary Tosini, Joe’s wife, took a terrible fall and hit her head on their tile floor. Her brain swelled greatly and part of her skull was removed in the hospital. For days the doctors did not know whether Mary was going to survive. Hundreds of people who love Mary were praying for her. She has been a wonderful hostess and a true servant to the many friends that come to stay in their home from all over the world.

At the hospital, the doctors and nurses were amazed. Catholic bishops and priests, along with pastors and leaders from many churches came to visit and pray for her. They wondered who this woman was who drew such a diverse group of Christians to her bedside. Mary is a humble servant, a beautiful woman of God and a true saint.

Joe recently told me that Mary’s recovery has been incredible. Her doctor told her, “When you look in the mirror, you are looking at a miracle!”

Miracles happen when people love and obey Jesus. Miracles also happen when the Lord is trying to get our attention so we will turn our lives from sin and seek him. We need miracles and God’s grace to heal our broken families, mend our broken hearts, and to unite the body of Christ.

I conclude with a phrase I heard Pope Francis say several times, “At least that is my opinion.”

Another Perspective

We were wrapping up a home group meeting one Sunday night when the host asked me, “Don’t you believe in eternal security?”

Eternal security is a doctrine that basically says, once you have trusted Jesus Christ to be your savior, you are eternally secure. You are saved from your sins and you will be going to heaven no matter what you do for the rest of your life.

I had been up since 5:00 am that morning, driven two hours to Oracle, AZ to preach for two church services and then driven two hours home. It was not a good time for me to discuss a doctrine which often divides believers.

I wanted to respond to my friend’s question when I wasn’t tired. The short explanation is that many scriptures encourage Christians to trust God and believe his promises to protect us and bring us safely to heaven through the trials of life. While many other scriptures warn us that there are severe consequences if we depart from the faith by denying the Lord or returning to our old sinful lifestyles.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” Scriptures which emphasize different aspects of truth are not actually contradictory, but they do create paradoxes which require the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to understand.

To use a natural illustration, let’s pretend you are running away from a group of angry bad guys. They have chased you to the edge of a cliff overlooking a river. Which of these two contradictory sayings should you apply. “Look before you leap.”  or, “He who hesitates is lost.”

Both of these saying can be true, but the correct answer depends on how close the bad guys are to catching you. If they are still a good distance away, then look before you leap. If they are right behind you, then he who hesitates is lost.

Since my friend plays golf, I’ll share some factors that good golfers consider before hitting a putt. Golfers often look at a putt from both sides of the cup before putting. The contour of the green is a major factor in determining which way the golf ball will break as it rolls towards the cup. Sometimes if you look at a putt from below the cup, it appears the green breaks to the left. Then, when you look at the putt from above the cup, the green seems to break in the opposite direction. Golfers contemplate this illusion before determining where to hit the putt.

They consider other factors as well. If you hit a putt hard, it won’t break (or curve) as much as it travels towards the hole. If there is a mountain in the near distance, the entire green usually slopes subtly away from the mountain.  If there is a pond near the green, the green probably slopes towards the water. Later in the day, the grass may be growing towards the setting sun and the grain of the grass effects the speed and curvature of the putt.

In the same way multiple factors influence a golf ball, there are multiple scriptures that must be factored into the formation of sound biblical doctrine, and sound doctrine effects people’s lives.

Unwise teachers gather scriptures that support a doctrinal position they prefer and ignore other scriptures which emphasis another biblical perspective which counterbalances their position.

For instance, some teachers say believers will experience tribulation before Jesus returns and they site scriptures which say this clearly. While others emphasize the rapture, which will enable believers to escape tribulation.

There has been much debate about whether believers receive the power of the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion, or as a subsequent experience at a later date. There are examples in Acts of believers being filled with the Holy Spirit when the apostles lay hands on them days after their conversions i.e. (ACTS 8 and Acts 9). Yet in Acts 10, those at Cornelius’s house are filled with the Holy Spirit the moment they realize Jesus is raised from the dead.

These scriptures illustrate that may God work in the lives of believers in different ways according to His timing and their needs. It is false to say that what happened in one setting is what happens to all people in every setting, as these different experiences in Acts illustrate.

Political pundits also often simplify complex dilemmas into simple judgments. For instance, is our president a good guy or a bad guy? If he is in our party, he is a good guy, his decisions are good and we will defend them. If he is in the other party, he is a bad guy, his decisions are bad, so we will attack them.

Those are naive assumptions. I assume you and I are both good guys, and though most of our decisions are good, in hindsight, some of our decisions have been bad. Haven’t they?

We have to resist being pulled by political parties into one camp or another and instead make our judgements about what is right or wrong based on what the word of God and the Holy Spirit show us.

Our responsibility is not to judge the politicians, but to pray for those in authority and submit to them as long as they don’t require us to disobey God. Since Jesus is the head of all rule and authority (Colossians 2:10), those in authority will ultimately answer to him.
We believe that we should obey the law. Yet if our neighbor is bleeding to death, we will take him to the hospital in haste and have a clear conscience if we break the speed limit as we drive to save his life.

Emotionally healthy people can hold two seemingly contradictory ideas in their mind at the same time. They can accept the paradoxes and ambiguities of life. We accept the people we love in spite of their imperfections. Our challenge is to extend our love and faith beyond our family and friends so we can expand the borders of God’s kingdom as we preach the gospel and bring people the grace of God in Christ.

Not Everyone is Afraid

I took a steak knife with a sharp point out of the kitchen drawer and walked out our front door. As I headed down our driveway, I rotated the knife so the blade was pointed behind me. I wanted to conceal it before I did what I was about to do.

To my left I saw a mother with a child in a stroller stopped on the sidewalk. She was watching a young boy who was tottering along the top of the bricks on the wall which borders our yard. I assumed he was her son.

I walked down our driveway and approached the mother and her children. The little boy stopped walking along the wall and asked me, “Do you have brothers?”

I tried to conceal the knife behind my leg. “Yes, I have three brothers and four sisters, but they all live in California.”

“Do you want to be with them?” He asked.

I realized he was hoping they would be his age and he could play with them. “I like being with them, but God has me here in Phoenix for a purpose.”

“Do you like the Giants?” he asked. He was wearing a SF Giants tee shirt.

“I like the Giants, but the D-Backs are my favorite team now.”

“I like the Giants”, he said as he pulled the tee shirt away from his chest and looked down at the lettering.

“Where do you guys live?” I asked the mother.

“We just bought a house around the corner from here,” she replied.

“Welcome to our neighborhood. I had better get going, because my wife wants me to cut some rosemary off our neighbor’s bush.”

As I started walking away, the mother said, “I wondered what you were doing with that knife.”

“Yeah, I have a job to do. My wife is making soup tonight.”

As I approached the rosemary bush in our neighbor’s front yard, I thought about the mother. She loved her children, but her instincts told her the man who had emerged from the house, who was clumsily trying to conceal a knife in his hands, was harmless.
So, she stayed to let her son finish his walk and allowed him to talk with me.

The world has been, and still is full of troubles, but not everyone is afraid. Some people have learned to overcome fear and triumph over adversity.

In 1974 I did a construction project on a home in Greenbrae, CA for a couple who impressed me. The husband was blind. Every day he commuted twenty miles to San Francisco for his work. I watched as he walked down his driveway with a cane, lightly tapping the sidewalk. He walked down the street and headed to Sir Frances Drake Blvd., where he caught a Greyhound bus into the city.

Three days after our project started, he left on a business trip. He took a bus to the airport in San Francisco and then flew to the east coast, where he was to speak to a gathering of parents who have blind children.

I asked his wife about how he navigated the bus, the airport and the travel in cities where he had never visited before. In those days curbs, crosswalks and elevators were not yet designed to help blind people. She explained how her husband’s parents had raised him.

Their son was born blind and, from the time he learned to walk, they would not shield him from walking into a chair or a wall. If there was a toy left on the floor, they would not warn him if he was about to step on it. They realized that bumping into a wall or tripping over a toy might be painful, but it wouldn’t be fatal. They did not want him to live in fear, but to be as free as possible.

They wouldn’t let him walk into a passing car, but, aside from life threatening situations, they let him experience the consequences of running into things without their interference. As a result, he grew up without fear of unseen factors. He literally traveled the world for his work, which was helping parents of blind children understand the best way to give their children a life without fear.

Every parent wants to protect their children from harm. We want them to grow up healthy and happy. Unfortunately, many parents overprotect their children. As a result of removing consequences which cause short-term pain, those children never grow into adults who live life to the fullest.

Several years ago, I was talking with my pastor friend Kurt, who was frustrated by a lack of opportunities to preach and do ministry he considered significant. I could relate since I have had those feelings. I told him, “You need to slay your Goliath.”

Spiritual giants are not people, but spiritual forces of wickedness which seek to hinder our relationship with the Lord. Those forces work through people who intimidate or hinder us. They may threaten our jobs or the people we love. The people might not be evil, but the way we react to them causes us problems. The ultimate giant is the fear of death. We have to face these fears if we travel to dangerous places or speak out in ways that may provoke unhealthy people.

God knows our circumstances and our vulnerability. He doesn’t want to harm us, he wants to set us free from fear. So, our wise and loving father leads us into situations where we have to confront those spiritual giants and overcome them.

Fifteen years ago, I took pastor Kurt with me on a trip to Ecuador. We had a wonderful time preaching and teaching in churches, and on radio and TV. Many people made commitments to follow Jesus and we ministered to pastors and leaders in several cities. At the end of our trip, Kurt got very sick and had to be hospitalized overnight. I was really concerned for him, but he soon recovered, by the grace of God.

I saw Kurt recently and asked how he was doing. His face lit up. He is excited about life and ministry. Over the last several years, he has told me numerous times about the hundreds of people who have committed their lives to Christ and the hundreds more who have been healed in his mission outreaches.

Kurt has traveled back to Ecuador doing missions work every year since we went there together. He also leads teams on men’s retreats and ministers to pastors in Mexico. He has done several ministry sessions over Zoom with over 1,000 people in Pakistan. He is flying to Pakistan for ministry in April. Kurt has slain giants, and his life has been transformed in the process.

Each of us have opportunities and challenges. Sometimes we must battle with powerful spiritual forces. Whether your giants are big or small, they must be dispatched if you are going to fulfill your destiny fruitfully. Fruitful believers learn to resist fear. Their destiny is shaped by the One who loves us so much that he sent his son to the cross so we can have forgiveness and freedom to enjoy life.

It's About Time

Ever since I was a boy, I have been able to guess time pretty closely without looking at a watch. Seeing the sun, sensing the approaching darkness, or thinking for a moment about how long I have been doing something, usually gives me an accurate sense of what time it is.

As a preacher, it’s important to know when my sermon should end. Not knowing when enough is enough does more to take away the effectiveness of a message than anything other than exaggeration or shouting. It is insulting to bore people or continually repeat yourself in a conversation or a church service.

For comedians, knowing the pacing of a joke is vital. For a baseball player, the timing required to hit a fastball is essential. In football, the timing of a screen pass or draw play can be the difference between a touchdown and a loss of yardage.

When the timing of a phone call or a message is good, it increases its impact. Since the Lord knows what people need and when they need it, staying close to the Lord and obeying the prompting of the Spirit makes everything we do to bless people more effective.

“Waiting on the Lord” is a phrase we use that indicates God speaks to us when he decides the time is right. Since God is omnipresent and always with us, waiting on the Lord implies the presence of the Holy Spirit can be manifest at times and distant at other times.

Those who wait on the Lord, renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31). Our strength is renewed by the Spirit when he imparts grace to us. We partner with the Lord who gives us energy or gives us the revelation we really need. As Paul says in Colossians 1:29, I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.  

When I go salmon fishing there are times when the salmon are biting constantly and other times when the bites are few and far between. Those times can be dictated by tide changes which move bait fish in from the deeper water. If the ocean below our boat fills with anchovies, chances are the salmon will chase them and we will soon be catching the salmon.

Conversely, if sea lions or orcas swim alongside our boat, they will scatter the salmon like a shotgun blast scatters a flock of birds. You can fish all you want, but you probably won’t be landing many salmon when predators are lurking nearby. Jesus said he will make us fishers of men.

In January, the calendar changed and our government changed. Beyond that, most of us can sense the times we live in are changing significantly. Watching the wildfires in LA burn hillsides and neighborhoods was an apocalyptic experience.

The Lord said 2000 years ago that the earth will be destroyed by fire (II Peter 3:7). It says in the next verse “A day in the eyes of the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day” (II Peter 3:8).  Therefore, the Lord may gradually turn up the heat on the earth, perhaps as a wake-up call which will lead people to repentance before the end.

You can call this climate change, or the coming judgment, either way, the time is right for us to call people to repentance so they can be saved while they still have a chance to experience the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

I’ve been thinking about the brevity of life because I have had three friends die suddenly in the last couple of months. I recently joined a few hundred people who gathered at the Bridge Church in Santa Rosa to honor Mike Whitwell. Mike had a barber shop on Grant Avenue in Novato where he served customers five days a week, fifty weeks a year for the last forty-eight years. Mike loved to talk with his customers about the Lord, their families, their churches, and the S.F. Giants.

Mike cut hair at the Santa Rosa Rescue Mission on his day off once a month for over twenty years. He did local outreaches with his church and took numerous mission trips to Mexico where he cut hair for the people his team worked with.

I estimate Mike did over 150,000 haircuts through the years. He did more counseling than most counselors and shared Jesus with more people than many evangelists. In the process, he bore great fruit and enjoyed life to the full.

Mike loved what he was doing because he loved connecting with people while he served them. He wasn’t in a hurry to get to the next customer because every person mattered to him. If you enjoy your work, whatever it is, that is the gift of God.

Mike ran a cash business with no advance appointments. He served whoever was ready to sit in his chair next. He even kept books with the names and dates of every haircut he ever gave. He recorded the names because he was proud to serve each of his clients, no matter what their status in life.

God has a book of names as well. It’s called the Lamb’s Book of Life. He puts our names into it when we trust Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord. Jesus said to his disciples rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

If you haven’t found fulfillment in your work, you should focus more on helping people find eternal life. Serving the Lord indeed comes with many challenges, but it also comes with a reward of great joy. The time is right. This is the day of salvation.

Time is our most valuable resource and it’s one thing we cannot increase no matter how hard we try. Working out and eating well can help us stay healthy, but the best way to increase the quality of our lives is to focus on blessing the people we spend our time with. We cannot increase the number of our days, but our time can be enriched by the love we share with one another. This is a blessing from the God we serve.

I want to close with a confession. In a leadership meeting not long ago, I recommended we take action on a specific topic. The pastor leading the meeting, who loves me responded, “For once Mark, you are not too far ahead of the Lord.”

I’m not always good at knowing God’s timing. However, I believe its possible to keep growing in this grace as we follow Jesus and walk in the Spirit.

Christmas Gifts

Christmas morning was special when I was a boy. My brother Barry and I would get out of bed early and go into the living room before our brothers and sisters woke up. Under our decorated Christmas tree were huge piles of gifts for the eight children in our family. There were presents labeled, “From Santa”, purchased by our parents, and also presents from our grandparents, from our aunt and uncle, and from our godparents.

Christmas was a big deal in our house. There were new bicycles, toys and games when we were young. As we got older, clothes, books, fragrances and real guns were under our tree, along with presents we started buying for our parents and each other.

Gifts can express our love and they are celebrated throughout the Bible. Jesus and his family were given gifts by the Maji to celebrate his birth. The gold they received helped Joseph and Mary escape to Egypt with Jesus and live there until King Herod died. The frankincense and myrrh added fragrance and comfort to their lives.
In Matthew 7:11 Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” Our Father in heaven delights in giving good gifts to his children. These include natural provision and supernatural grace to enable us to be fruitful in life.

We are encouraged to eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 14:1), which enable us to build up the body of Christ. With the gifts of the Spirit we can prophesy, bring healing to the sick and do miracles in Jesus’ name. It sounds audacious to say such things, but those are all gifts the Spirit gives to regular believers according to his will.

There are many sacrifices believers make to faithfully follow the Lord. The gifts of the Spirit are rewards God gives us that can add great value by making us supernaturally effective as we serve Jesus. If you are frustrated by a lack of progress in ministry, it may be because the Lord wants you to depend on the gifts of the Spirit and not simply on your own understanding of ministry.

In early December, I played golf at the Indian Valley course in Novato, California, while on a ministry trip. I joined a threesome that I met on the first tee early in the morning. I was hoping to play well and share Christ with the men. However, I soon was grumpy because I wasn’t playing well. On the back nine, I noticed a smiling little Santa Claus decorating an elevator that was ferrying me and my clubs up a hill.  Earlier I had seen tiny green Christmas trees on fences by tee boxes as well as bright little angels placed around the course.

As I pondered these decorations, I wondered, “What does a Santa Claus and a Christmas tree have to do with the birth of Jesus?”
I thought of the angel’s proclamation 2,000 years ago: “Do not be afraid. I bring you news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” The Lord was speaking to me, “Why are you grumpy? I have given you good news of great joy!”

Somebody was sharing the love of Jesus by placing these decorations around the course. Their bright colors radiated the joy of Christ. I had been ignoring the decorations in my frustration. “But Lord, I want to play great so I can show these guys how great you are!”

I always want to make wise choices, be successful, be victorious and show people how the blessing of God enriches my life.

Unfortunately, my life often doesn’t go that way. As I explained to one of my playing partners that morning, “I’m a Romans 7 golfer.”
“What’s that?” he wanted to know.

I told him, “Romans 7 says, The good I want to do, I do not do. The evil I do not want to do, that’s what I do.”

Most golfers understand that paradox. We stand on the first tee and say in our hearts that we want to relax, swing in rhythm and keep the ball in the fairway. By the third hole, we are swinging too fast and slicing the ball into the rough. The more frustrated we get, the harder we swing and the worse we do. The next time we play, it’s “rinse and repeat.”

If golf were the only time I behaved like that, it would be no big deal. Golf is a metaphor for life. I told myself to avoid negative political talk and then opened my mouth in an attempt to be honest and out came negativity.

I told myself before going to bed that I planned to eat less the next day and yet the next night, I did the very thing I planned not to do. I was living out Romans 7.

After a morning spending more time reading discouraging news than reading my Bible, I committed to read the Word before getting into the news; however, by the next week, I was once again reading the news first and my Bible was in second place.

In the lives of some mature friends, I have seen that there is a way other than triumphant success in which to show the goodness of God. They are so secure in God’s love that they can lose a game without losing their joy. They can make poor decisions without berating themselves. They can learn from their mistakes and still remain in God’s love. People who are that secure in God’s love reveal the true nature of Christ to me. I don’t want to lose, but I do want to be more like them.

That approach to our human condition takes grace and brings peace. Grace is the power to change our lives and peace is God’s presence resting on us. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he came to bring peace on earth to men upon whom his favor rests. This is one of his great gifts to those who trust him.

Speaking of gifts, Kristina recently ran in a 1K race called the Donor Dash. It is an annual benefit for organ donors and recipients that is run alongside the Kiwanis Park. It may be the smallest race in Arizona, but she came in second place in her age group. Afterwards she told me, “I would have come in first place, but I stopped to talk with a guy who was fishing in the lake.”

Not everyone has my approach to competition. Some people just enjoy being in the race. That too is a gift.

Thanksgiving Surprise

David Stockton asked me to preach at Living Streams on the theme of Thanksgiving. As I prepared the message, I was blessed to think about being thankful. I had recently given a sermon called, “The Roots of Insanity,” about the pride that cost King Nebuchadnezzar his Babylonian kingdom for seven years. It’s not that fun to meditate on pride and insanity in an election year.

At the request of another pastor, I preached on “Generous Giving and Deadly Deception,” contrasting the generosity of the believers in Acts 4 with the financial deception and deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. This was another sobering topic.

I was David’s pastor when his parents joined our church in Novato when he was one year old. His parents helped us plant Living Streams in Phoenix when he was six years old. He grew into a mature man of God and I called him in Oregon after he graduated from college and invited him to become our youth pastor. We worked together for fourteen years before he transitioned to become the lead pastor—and my pastor—at Living Streams.

David is secure and wise enough to give me counsel when I need it. He listens to my advice for the church and applies it, if he thinks it’s helpful. There are some great multi-site mega churches in our Valley. However, I’m thankful for having a pastor who knows my name, shows up at the hospital when we have a family crisis and speaks truth to my heart with love.

One point in my message came from I Timothy 2, where Paul says we should pray with thanksgiving for all people, including those in authority over us. As I talked with a friend on a recent hike, I shared a story about respecting authority.

Years ago, Living Streams was hosting Grace Association, a monthly pastor’s meeting, where I introduced myself to a visitor. He told me he came to our meeting because he was the community relations officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. I had been frustrated for years with Joe Arpaio, our county sheriff, so I told him how I felt.

“I don’t like the fact that Sheriff Arpaio sends his deputies to arrest immigrants on Sunday mornings as they drive to church with their families. He also makes the men in the jail wear pink underpants and eat green baloney for one of their two daily meals. I think he is needlessly antagonizing the prisoners and they will become a greater danger to our community when they get released.”

He listened politely and then asked, “Would you like me to set up an appointment with you and the sheriff so you can tell him what you think?”

I felt like he had called my bluff. I realized I was talking behind the sheriff’s back and I should either have the courage to say what I thought to his face, or I should keep my mouth shut.

I swallowed hard and replied, “Sure. I would be glad to speak with the sheriff.”

A couple of weeks later, the officer met me in the lobby at 550 W. Jackson Street and accompanied me up the elevator to the fifth floor of the sheriff’s headquarters. We walked past a guard and into a spacious office with pictures and plaques on the walls. On the far wall at the end of the rectangular room was an American flag and an Arizona flag behind a large desk where the sheriff was sitting.

As I approached, Sheriff Joe stood up and stretched out his hand, “Welcome Pastor Buckley. I hear you have some concerns about me. Before you get started, I would like to tell you a little about myself. Please take a seat.”

I shook his hand and sat down in front of his desk.

“Pastor, 81 years ago there was a young wife in Springfield, Massachusetts who had serious complications with her pregnancy. She was counseled to get an abortion because her life was in danger. She didn’t believe in abortion, so she decided to have her baby and take her chances. She died while giving birth. Pastor, that baby was me. I am here today because my mother had the courage and love to bring me into this world at the cost of her own life. I have always been against abortion. I thought you might like to know that.”

I realized I was talking to a bold and smart man. He had disarmed me before I opened my mouth. Sheriff Joe then looked me in the eye as I explained my concerns about the need for his department to treat inmates and immigrants with dignity and respect.
I don’t know if our talk brought any more compassion to the people in our jails or to those who were getting arrested in the Sunday immigration stops down the street from their churches. However, our meeting was good for me.

It was a reminder that the Lord puts people he chooses in authority and there is often more depth to them than I can understand from reading about them in the newspaper. It was a reminder to show respect to authorities with whom I disagree on issues. I’m hoping they will show more respect to those they oversee, so I need to show respect for them.

I believe it is good to vigorously debate the issues and the political positions of the candidates who run for office. However, once our elections are over, it is vital that we pray and intercede for our leaders as Paul says, with thanksgiving.

If you want a good marriage, be thankful for your spouse, appreciating who she is rather than being frustrated for what she is not. If you want to positively influence your spouse, your children, or your friends, be thankful for them. Otherwise, your judgments will frustrate them and cause a barrier between you.

Let’s pray for the current administration as well and the incoming one. Let’s give thanks that we live in a prosperous nation where almost everyone who is willing to work can find a job, food and housing. Let’s pray that our leaders will make wise choices as they seek to shape our economy and protect our nation.
If our leaders are guided by God’s wisdom and grace, we will all benefit, regardless of our political persuasion. The gospel flourishes in a climate where the church can grow in peace.
We recently had a neighborhood Thanksgiving party. Most years, one of our neighbors hosts a party and invites everyone who lives on our street. It is a great time for us to connect, catch up and get to know new neighbors. At our first neighborhood party twenty years ago, Kristina and I were told a surprising story about our house.

On Thanksgiving weekend in 1985, bandits broke into our house, which was then the home of the Marks family. They took the dad, Richard, and his family hostage. Richard was the manager of a Valley National Bank branch in Phoenix. They wanted him to take them to the bank and open the vault

Richard told them the vault was on a timer and it could not be opened until Friday morning. So, the bandits decided to spend the next two nights with the Marks family. Mrs. Marks fixed a big Thanksgiving dinner and they all ate together that night and the next day.

Early Friday morning when the vault opened, they drove Richard to the bank where they robbed the vault. The bandits escaped with the money, only to be captured months later.

Richard and his wife were shaken up, but nobody was harmed. They had fulfilled Jesus’ words, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.”

The year after we heard the story about this adventure, we were blessed with unexpected visitors on Halloween. Among the many trick-or-treaters who rang our doorbell, two costumed little children came to our door with their mother. She introduced herself and told us she was from the Marks family and was a young girl living in our house when they were taken hostage. She now lived in north Phoenix asked if we would allow her and her children to see the inside of our house?

We welcomed them in and gave them a tour. Her children were enthralled to see the house where the bandits had captured their mother before they were born.

They came back the next several Halloweens as well. We always invited them in and talked with them about the Lord. They loved Jesus and made a special trip to join us at Living Streams one Sunday. What the enemy had meant for evil, God used for good, because our hearts have been knit together by the Lord.

None of us knows what the future holds. We do know that God works everything together for good for those who love him. So, let’s have faith and be thankful.

Life is a Precious Gift

I’ve had two friends, Jack Straw and Hank Hahn, go to be with the Lord in the past couple of weeks. They loved the Lord, worked hard, stayed in shape and were faithful to their families and churches. Hank, my friend in Phoenix for thirty-five years, died from a pulmonary embolism. Jack, my friend from Novato since 1974, died from a heart attack in Oregon. They were both tall, gentle, gracious men of faith who were younger than me.

Death does not claim bad people first, or always take the oldest among us. Many wonderful people I have known have died young. The influence of my friends who love God continues to grow in my life after they die. I want to be like them and finish strong. I too want to stay faithful, be generous and make my days count.

I’ve been thinking about Louise Loper lately. Louise was in her sixties when her husband died. As her grief subsided, she decided it was time to fulfill her lifelong dream. She sold her home, gave away most of her money and joined YWAM as a missionary. After many years doing missions, she returned to the US and joined Living Streams when she was in her eighties.

Louise was full of faith and joy. She volunteered in our church office and we eventually hired her as a receptionist. She prayed with me every Sunday morning before our services, often laying her hands on my shoulders and asking God to bless me and use my message in powerful ways. She once asked the Lord to cast the spirit of competition out of me. That prayer has still not been answered. Nevertheless, her joyful spirit encouraged our church family.

In her nineties, Louise moved in with a Romanian couple who had opened a five bedroom home to care for seniors. I went to visit her one day before she died. We were sitting in her bedroom when I asked her, “How do you like it here, Louise?”

Her eyes got big and a smile filled her face. “Oh Mark, I love it here! This room is wonderful. Look at that beautiful tree outside my window. Do you know that every morning God sends a bird to sit on a branch and sing a song to me? And, for breakfast they serve me a pear sliced on a plate, and pears are my favorite food!”

The Lord used Louise to teach me an important lesson. A wonderful reward God can give us is the ability to enjoy each day and the simple pleasures of life. God’s grace can enhance our appreciation of food, nature and our relationships. The grace to appreciate our circumstances is a blessing that brings more joy than anything we own.

Kristina and I were blessed by hundreds of people who gathered recently to celebrate our 40 years of ministry at Living Streams. It felt a little like attending our own memorial service as we listened to friends speak about our impact in their lives. One of our greatest treasures is the love we share with those who follow Jesus with us.

A special joy that night was listening as our three children spoke. Philip, Kelly and Kathryn made many sacrifices throughout their youth growing up in our home. We didn’t have much money for special vacations or to help them with cars or college expenses. Yet, they all love Jesus and are living fruitful lives.

On another subject…I get more obsessed with the presidential elections than most people. For many years I joined Jack Straw and other friends to fast and pray every week for our nation and the issues that burdened our hearts. We had some wonderful spiritual breakthroughs and answers to those prayers, yet over the years, we haven’t always supported the same political candidates.

I think it is important who wins elections. I think it is important for believers to pray, vote and stay informed about politics. However, since politics are temporal and the Kingdom of God is eternal I try to stay focused on teaching God’s word and maintaining unity in the body of Christ, rather than endorsing candidates. That said, I have taken comfort in Daniel 4:17 recently:

The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.

May the Lord grant us wise and righteous leaders.

Many of you have held us up in prayer through the challenges we have faced and some of you have supported our ministry financially. We have joined our hearts and lives to serve Jesus together. We have been fruitful because our lives are linked in love for Christ and one another.

I will always be grateful for you. I pray that you will taste the goodness of God and see more of his glory revealed as you continue to serve the Lord and approach your reward in heaven.

Honoring Our 40 Years of Legacy

Forty years ago, we packed up a moving van and drove from Novato to Phoenix to begin our journey in the desert. Our son Matthew needed a climate with clean, dry air to overcome the asthma that was plaguing him in California.

Kristina and I were starting a new chapter in life with our four children. We were not sure what God’s purposes were for us beyond the healing of our son. I felt like I had been sentenced to serve time in a barren desert. People were moving to Phoenix from all around the country. When I introduced myself, I sometimes asked, “What are you in for?”

When I was ordained in 1974, I had a clear sense of my purpose in life. I wanted to help people discover that Jesus is alive. I wanted to establish healthy churches so believers could mature in Christ and develop their spiritual gifts as they served God.
I had resisted moving to Phoenix because I loved our churches, our family and our friends in Marin County. After we moved to Arizona, I began to question my purpose. I had thought the ministry we were doing in California was important to God. I had prayed intensely for Matthew’s healing and, when it didn’t happen, it was very unsettling.

At the end of September 1984, Kristina and I along with Billy and Patty Stockton started Living Streams in our living room. I worked as hard as possible to help our church grow. I went door to door to talk with people in our neighborhood about Jesus and invite them to join us. I went to local parks and handed out tracts about Jesus with our address stamped on them. I hosted a late night radio call-in show called “Jesus is the Answer”. I believed Jesus was the answer, and I needed him to answer my prayers to bless our little church.

We lived on the northern outskirts of Phoenix. I often rode my bicycle into the desert to pray and study my Bible. Sometimes I ended up crying in frustration because our church was tiny and we seemed stuck in a no-growth mode. Many of my best efforts seemed futile. More than once, families in our church who we invited over for dinner never returned for another Sunday service.

I had been accustomed to preaching to hundreds of people in Novato; yet in Phoenix, I was like a baseball batter trying desperately to come from behind and win the game with a ninth inning home run. I was so anxious about doing well, that I was tight and anxious in front of our little congregation.

On one trip to the desert, I laid on my prayer tarp and read a promise from God in Hebrews 6:14, “I will surely bless you and I will multiply you.”

I read that chapter over and over and became convinced this promise, originally given to Abraham, applied to me as well. I said, “Lord, I am definitely not being multiplied, so I must be getting blessed. Yet this sure does not feel like a blessing to me.”

The Lord showed me I needed to trust him on a deeper level. In the weeks that followed, I began to relax as I preached because I believed multiplication would happen according to God’s promise in his time.

Eventually, our little church started to grow. One lady joined us from the park outreach. Another came from the radio program. I prayed with Mark Dugan at the gym and he started attending. God was faithful, but he was not in a hurry.

Now, forty years later, we have had many trials and tears, but also wonderful testimonies of what God has done. Living Streams is a thriving congregation with healthy leaders and a strong government. We have planted churches, started many ministries, sent out missionaries, and have members who are living bold, Spirit-filled lives.

Moses spent forty years in the desert being prepared by God to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. During his wilderness sojourn, he learned that it takes God’s power, not just human effort, to fulfill God’s purposes.

It took Israel forty years to cross the wilderness before they entered the promised land. Their journey was filled with spiritual lessons about the necessity of trusting God’s timing and obeying his commands.

Once in the promised land, there were battles to fight, giants to vanquish, and land to cultivate. Their victories were still dependent on their obedience to God and their trust in his word.

In this promised land, many years later, Jesus Christ the Savior was born.

I was leading communion at the River Church in Reno this summer when I took a close look at the broken piece of matzo in my hand. It looked like a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. I realized that everyone in the congregation was holding part of the puzzle that could be reassembled into a single large piece. Together we represent the body of Christ.

I am part of several networks of churches and pastors. Each one of us and every congregation is an important part of the body of Christ. As we are united in the love of God, we reveal Jesus Christ to our community.

Life is like a puzzle. You may feel like you are stuck in a desert, but every season of life is an important part of the puzzle. Every person in your life is also important. If you recognize the significance of the season and the people in your life, you will better understand how you fit into God’s purpose.

When we meet the puzzle master in heaven, we will see how all the pieces fit together. In the meantime, if you are obedient and thankful each day, you can stay filled with the Spirit and the grace of God.

Our biggest battles are in our hearts, because the kingdom of God is within us. Without any geographic change, God’s grace can transform what seems like a sentence in the wilderness, to fruitfulness, no matter where you live. This is how we enter the promised land.

Keep on Loving

Friends often ask me, “How is Kristina?” They prayed for her when her life hung in the balance, now they have joy in her health. I’m assuming you are a friend, so I’ll answer that question for you as well.

Kristina’s transplanted heart is going strong. She goes to the hospital yearly for a procedure called a heart catheterization. The doctors insert a wire through one of her veins and clip off a piece of her heart to see if it is beginning to experience signs of rejection.

Fortunately, her heart has looked good. However, her life is complicated by the anti-rejection meds. Those medications suppress the immune system, which prevents her transplant from being rejected, but at the same time makes her susceptible to other ailments that her immune system needs to fight. Similar to chemotherapy, it is a scientific trade-off to determine how much medication to use before the medications cause more harm than good.

One side effect of these medications is neuropathy. Kristina’s feet get numb and she experiences sharp pains. This is a trial we pray about and would appreciate your prayers for, as well.

Neither of us believe that the pain and trials of life are a sign we should stop serving the Lord. Kristina coordinates a Zoom group for heart transplant patients every week. She assists sewing groups where the ladies make hats, blankets and quilts for cancer patients, preemies, and the homeless. She also does counseling with women and manages our household and ministry office.

We have a big family with children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and over twenty nieces and nephews. Families like ours are wonderful, but also messy. Someone is always hurting. We also have a big church family which encompasses a few thousand people in Arizona and California. There are many blessings because of the love in this family. At the same time, there are always people we love who are hurting. Being able to rejoice with those who rejoice and stay sane when they are in pain, can be a challenge.

It can be difficult to love people deeply and not live with a heavy heart continually. We have laid down our lives to serve God’s people, but we cannot be their savior. We can stand with them in the battle, but we cannot fight their battles for them. Whether they are in our natural family, or the family of God, every person has to slay their own Goliath.

This month Kristina and I will celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary. I travel a good deal for ministry, but when I’m home, we enjoy our time together more than ever. We also give each other freedom. If Kristina wants to go to our cabin and I don’t, she goes without me. If I want to take a ministry trip and she is not up for it, I go alone. We miss each other when we are not together, but the freedom to fulfill our hearts’ desires apart from each other enables us to enjoy our time together all the more.

If the people we love are struggling, we pray for them before we go to sleep each night. We have prayed together each night our entire marriage. When we first got married, I insisted we get down on our knees and pray before we got into bed.

One night Kristina was laying on the bed waiting for me. I suggested we pray. She agreed, but she didn’t move. She said the Lord could hear her just fine when she was laying down. I wasn’t so sure. I assumed any prayers offered up from that position would arrive at the Lord’s “This is not too serious” in-basket. But after further discussion and the futility of trying to pray after arguments, we now close most days laying down together and staring towards heaven as we pray. Sometimes a spiritual leader has to adjust to the sensibilities of his flock 😊.

I think we all need a little spiritual anti-rejection medication from time to time. If the people you love are like the people I love, they don’t always want you around. They don’t always want your advice. They don’t always forgive you. They may not respond to your voice mail, email or your text.

However, if we reject everyone who offends us, we end up with just me and you. Then when I fail you, you’re all alone. If we build walls around our hearts so we don’t get hurt, we lose the joy the Lord gives us when we love one another.

Fortunately, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He experienced rejection from those he loved, even though he never sinned.  Whether you are running for President, or simply asking God to bless those you love, find the position that suits you, then humble yourself before the Lord in prayer. In time, the grace of God will lift you up.

A Bright Light Shines

In June, two prominent pastors in Dallas resigned from their positions because of past immoral relationships. Both of these men have had ministries which reach across the nation. They spoke to more people in one week than most pastors do in a year.

I’ve heard these gifted men preach and have admired them. I was sad when I heard about their failures and reminded of the scripture, For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (I Peter 4:17)

I heard one of those men say on TV that he had a moral failure in the early years of his marriage. It was refreshing to hear a man admit to his sin. I thought he was setting a good example for other preachers who act like they never experience temptation. He gave the impression that he had committed adultery many years ago; however, it recently came to light that he had molested a girl over a period of four years, starting when she was twelve.

Molesting a child is a sin with serious consequences. Some people say, “All sin is the same in the eyes of God”; however, Jesus said, “It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (Luke 17:2)

When people are deceptive, you never know what they have been involved with in the darkness. If they get exposed and only admit to what has come into the light, you don’t know what else has gone on in their lives.

It is futile for anyone to think they can get away with their sin in the long run. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:13)

We all fall short of God’s glory, so we all need the forgiveness that comes from the blood of Christ. We can receive that forgiveness and cleansing when we confess our sin and walk in the light with each other (I John 1:7).

I was troubled as I watched our recent presidential debate. I’ve watched every presidential debate since the Nixon/Kennedy debate in 1960. This was the worst one in my opinion.

Our past president said America has been destroyed, social security has been destroyed, food prices have quadrupled and thousands of people have been murdered by illegal immigrants. I travel around the country. I’ve been in Arizona, California, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, New York and Nevada in the last few years. These states, like our entire nation, have challenges, but they have not been destroyed. If you look up a fact checking site for the debate you will find he was using distortion and deception to make those points, and others, as well.

Our current president also used deception which the fact checkers exposed. The saddest reality was his inability to speak clearly for two minutes at a time on any subject. He has had poor policies on abortion, the border and a two-state “solution” for Israel. He has also lost the communication skills which are vital for our president. Cognitive problems get worse as people age. His administration has been trying to hide his cognitive decline. That too is deception.

Those who use deception get deceived, because we reap what we sow. Satan is the father of lies and people serve his purposes when they lie. Those who use deception lose their ability to discern the truth. When deception takes root in a society, the population becomes vulnerable to the strong delusions described in II Thess. 2:10-12, They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

God is light and nothing is hidden from his sight. One day we are all going to stand before him. Our best protection against deception is to always tell the truth. Our protection on the day of judgment is Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. If our sins are exposed before the final day of judgment, it is actually God’s mercy because he is giving us a chance to repent.

Prominent pastors are being sifted as the light of God shines on their lives. Our presidential candidates are being exposed. Israel is being sifted by a terrible war in Gaza. Ukraine is being sifted by a terrible war with Russia. Intense summer heat is causing challenges around the world. These are end times wake-up calls.

I’m trying to live my life as if everything I do and say will be brought into the light, for it is only a matter of time before all believers stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We will either receive a reward for what we have done in this life, or what we have done will burn up in the fire of God’s presence. (I Cor. 3:10-15)

I’m praying for mercy for our nation. I’m praying for wise and righteous leaders for our country. I’m praying for an outpouring of grace on the Church.

We have battles on all fronts, but we can win the battles we face if we don’t become intimidated by the enemy and give up the fight of faith. We serve the Lord who is mighty in battle (Ps 24:8). He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Check out the book of Revelation. After many battles, He who overcame the world when he walked among us, wins in the end. The entire New Testament confirms this truth: God’s Kingdom endures forever.