Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Meet Laurent & Amanda Felizardo

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putting names to faces…

Laurent, Amanda and their son Sammy moved to the Black Hills from Maryland in July of 2020. God’s grace provided for Laurent to continue his employment, working remotely from South Dakota. Amanda keeps herself busy managing the World Fossil Finder Museum here in Hot Springs (owned by her mother and stepfather, Frank & Debby Garcia)… and caring for the new farm animals they keep acquiring.

Laurent & Amanda Felizardo and Sammy

Laurent grew up in a Catholic home, but by the time he graduated from college, he became a full blown atheist. He joined the U. S. Navy with a disdain for christianity and openly mocked those who believed in a real God. But through the faithful testimony of a commanding officer, Laurent began to question what he so adamantly resisted, the existence of God. One night, he recalls crying out to God that if He was real, He would show Himself. God moved upon Laurent that night in such a way that he immediately sought a church to learn how He might know this God. By God’s providence, he learned about his sin and the need for the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse him and to redeem him for God. Laurent gives thanks that God has made a way for man to know him and that by faith, he has been saved from the penalty of sin.

Amanda pursued a relationship with the Lord at a young age. Although she did not understand the gravity of her sin, she placed her faith in Christ Jesus for eternal life. Amanda spent her childhood and young adult life learning and growing in church. After leaving home however, Amanda pursued a life serving her own self, leading her into sin and forsaking what she knew to be true. But God, who is rich in mercy brought Amanda to the end of herself, and by the convicting work of God’s Spirit through His Word she was brought to repentance. Learning and seeing what true salvation is and what it looks like, Amanda now sees that our Father’s hand was upon upon her all along. God’s faithfulness continues to work in her life as she grows in His Word and walks in His ways.

Laurent and Amanda will be introduced to the church and welcomed into the membership of Calvary Baptist Church. We thank the Lord for the Felizardo family.

Meet Grant & Justine LeBar

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putting names to faces…

Grant & Justine LeBar

Grant & Justine have lived in both South Dakota and Arizona for several years before settling in Hot Springs. Grant grew up in the Black Hills, leaving shortly after graduating from high school. Justine is from Arizona.

Grant grew up in a Christian home and came to faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized at an early age. Like many, his walk with Christ was superficial… it wasn’t real until after he left home. In His kindness, the Lord pursued him, and through the course of life and a series of major events he faced, Grant’s relationship with the Lord became “his own.” Grant believes that Jesus’ death and sacrifice on the cross for the sins of world redeemed him, and that by believing in Him, He is saved.

Not being reared in a Christian home, the first real exposure to the gospel Justine had was after she and Grant started dating. God’s grace began to stir in Justine’s heart and mind early on in her life, creating a longing for something more than what she had known. It was at a Bible study group in a coffee shop in Arizona that Justine first heard the gospel. Hearing it for the first time, Justine knew that Jesus was who she had been searching for. It was then that she came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. As Justine grew in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, she became convinced that she needed to be baptized. So as an act of obedience, Justine was baptized in September of 2019.

The LeBars were joyfully welcomed into the membership of Calvary Baptist Church, last Sunday, November 14.

Created for God’s Glory

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Thinking Out Loud

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 

Psalm 139:13–18

I like to be liked. Suffice it to say, I don’t like not being liked. I feel safe making this confession because frankly, I’ve never met anyone who genuinely claimed to enjoy not being liked. One of life’s realities is that sooner or later, you will meet someone who doesn’t like you. Maybe they simply dislike you because of something you can’t change. Maybe you did something that disappointed them. In either case… I don’t like not being liked. And neither do you.

The matter of needing to be liked, and the fear of not being liked becomes harmful when ones identity and sense of worth rests upon it. If the sense of value, worth and of well being is determined by what people think of you, then chances are, you spend a lot of time in self-doubt, discouragement and perhaps depression. The John Lydgate adage is true: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” Obviously, living life in a pleasing way, with the aim to put others first and to serving them is biblical, but it is contrary to being a Christian to live in fear of not being liked or accepted. You cannot allow your fear of man (fear of not being liked) to dictate how you live and how you think of yourself.

The psalmist in Psalm 139 declares with awe the idea that the sovereign God of creation would choose to take thought of him. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you (17-18).

The context of the chapter tells us that the thoughts of which the psalmist writes are thoughts about him in particular, and about God’s people as a whole. They are numerous thoughts (more than the sand), and they are precious thoughts of me. I am ever on His mind, so while awake and while asleep, I am still with you. Simply put. God not only loves, but He likes His people. God likes you! God likes me!

There’s more!

The entire chapter speaks of God’s omniscience and omnipresence, particularly in regards to God’s people. Notice how he describes God’s active role in his development in the womb (Read 13-15). And then, while still yet unformed, every day that man now lives was, before time known and formed specifically for him (Read 16). The Lord is intimately and actively at work in our makeup and has laid out before us the life we would live.

Do you see what the psalmist is proposing? It is remarkable that the Lord, in His mercy chose to place His love upon you, knowing you for who your really are. Equally as remarkable (or perhaps more so) is that from eternity past, He chose you, loved you (Ephesians 1:3), knew you, and predestinated you to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29). In other words, you were created for God’s glory through the love that He abundantly pours out upon you.

If you are in Christ, you are loved. You are liked. And in this reality rests your true identity, your value and your worth. 

Certainly, there will be times of insecurity because of a person’s opinion of you. At times you will wonder where you fit in, or if your life is making a difference. You’ll wonder if you have a purpose. You will experience struggles, failures, defeats, frustrations and self-doubt. The Christian is not exempt from human emotions, and for this you can thank the Lord. God’s grace however, keeps us from allowing these emotions to define us. God’s grace shows His strength in our weakness. God’s grace reminds us that we are in Christ, and…

… in Christ… you are loved! 

… in Christ…  you are liked! 

… inChrist… you are accepted!

Your worth, your identity and your purpose is this, that you have be created for God’s glory. And His glory is manifested in the abundance of His love for you. So the more you revel in God’s love, the more of His glory is revealed in you and through you to the world. I like being liked, don’t you?

—Soli Deo Gloria! (To God Alone Be Glory!)

Meet Jodie Lim

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putting names to faces…

 Jodie Lim and her husband Drew moved to Hot Springs in April of 2020, right smack dab in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandamic. After two weeks of isolation from the Hot Springs community, she and Drew, along with their three boys (Jude, Deacon and Malakai) moved in with her ever so quirky in-laws until they found a home for themselves. Praise the Lord, with just a few more details to get past, they will be moving in to their own place real soon.

Drew & Jodie Lim, Jude, Deacon, Malakai

Jodie and her family moved to Hot Springs in 2001 when she was just 13 years old so that her dad could attend Cornerstone Bible Institute. She and her two brothers eventually attended and graduated from CBI as well. After graduating from CBI in 2009, Jodie remained in Hot Springs until marrying Drew in 2011 and moving to Lakewood Washington where Drew was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord at the time. After leaving the military, Drew and Jodie remained in Washington for 9 Years before moving back to Hot Springs.

Jodie was blessed to have been reared in a home where the gospel was explained and demonstrated on a regular basis. Her parents Dan and Diana Kunnari loved the Lord, His Word and His people. Dan pastors in Ashton, Iowa. At the age of 5, the Lord worked in Jodie’s heart to show her need for a Savior. She says, “I remember thinking I was a ‘good’ girl. I went to Sunday School, I memorized verses and I tried to obey the rules. I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t know I needed Jesus. There are a few distinct memories I have of the Lord using my older brothers to bring out anger and self-righteousness in me that finally opened my eyes to see my sinfulness. I remember a conversation I had with my dad following one of these instances that started in tears and ended in joy. I know he shared verses with me about my sin and need for a Savior and I believe that is when God opened my eyes to understand and accept the Gospel.”

Jodie’s confidence for eternity to come is in Christ’s work on the cross. She’s thankful that the Gospel continues to be at work in her even today, as the Lord often reminds her of her need for Him and then points her once again to Jesus who fulfilled that need. 

The Darkness of the Soul

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Thinking Out Loud

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:8-12

The very first time I experienced the starkness of the dark was when Kellie and I first made our way across eastern Wyoming on the way to Hot Springs. Even with headlights on, the darkness on either side of the pickup appeared to be as a black curtain beyond which nothing existed. 

As a shepherd in the middle east, David knew this sort of darkness, perhaps even more so than we. Thus, he wrote the above. But the darkness of which he wrote was likely not the darkness of the night, but rather the darkness of his own soul. You don’t need to read too far into the Psalms to notice that David had very strong emotions, and that often those emotions experienced great sorrow. For example, throughout Psalm 42 David writes, Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? (5, 11)  My soul is cast down within (5), Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? (9)

This darkness of the soul is not unique to David. We call the prophet Jeremiah, “The Weeping Prophet.” The Apostle Paul spoke of being utterly burdened beyond… strength and of despairing of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8). The Reformer Martin Lutherwas afflicted with a melancholy that threatened to destroy him. The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon suffered from depression for many years, even in the midst of a thriving ministry. His wife, Susannah Spurgeon wrote, “My beloved’s anguish was so deep and violent, that reason seemed to totter in her throne, and we sometimes feared that he would never preach again.”1 Of course, the prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death (Matthew 26:38). This is not to indicate our sorrows to equal that of Jesus, but to point out that Jesus identifies with us in affliction.

Sorrow, affliction, despair, depression… whatever you’d like to call it, is a reality of life in a fallen world, even for a Christian. This is why passages such Psalm 139:8-12 is such an encouragement. Let me make just a couple of observations and then encourage you to look at it yourself.

First, notice that although David spoke of personal emotions, the primary focus of the passage was the Lord, not himself.

Second, notice that David was speaking of the omnipresence of God. Specifically, he spoke of God’s omnipresence in his life (or the life of every person). This is not just in a spacial sense, but in the omnipresence (omniscience) of the whole of who you are (read the entire chapter).

Third, notice that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

Finally, notice that there is no mention that the darkness that overcomes is ever removed. It may be, in the sense that in God’s presence, His light dispels the darkness (John 1:5)… but maybe not. It doesn’t actually say. What it DOES say is that wherever I may be, even in darkness of soul, your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Ponder that for a moment… 

The confidence of the psalmist was not that the darkness would be removed, for God’s purposes may be to work in the midst of the darkness rather than in its removal. Because the Lord is omnipresent, the confidence of the psalmist was that He would be with him in the midst of it all… even when it didn’t feel like it.

If you find yourself in a dark place (or before you get there), be encouraged to read and to meditate on Psalm 139 and Psalm 42-43. Read it numerous times, marking it and making notes of what you learn. Also, I found the following articles to be helpful in thinking through these matters from a biblical perspective. 

Did You Know That Charles Spurgeon Struggled with Depression? by Michael Reeves (https://bit.ly/MRonSpurgeon)

Spiritual Depression in the Psalms by John Piper (https://bit.ly/PiperonPsalm42)

Spiritual Depression: The Dark Night of the Soul by R. C. Sproul (https://bit.ly/SproulonDepression)

Honesty About Depression by Heath Lambert (https://bit.ly/LambertonPsalm102)

—Soli Deo Gloria! (To God Alone Be Glory!)

Meet Sheri Coleman

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putting names to faces…

 Sheri was born in South Dakota and raised in Wyoming. She and her husband Gale lived in Kaycee, Wyoming before moving to Hot Springs in 1986. Sheri is a “retired” school teacher after 40+ years of teaching. She enjoyed teaching in town schools as well as in the one room school house in Buffalo Gap. With the many years of experience and training, Sheri now coaches and mentors teachers for the Oelrichs and Hot Springs School Districts.

Sheri enjoys quilting when the weather turns cold but has spent much of her summer camping, kayaking and bike riding in the hills with her lady friends. She and Gale have two children, Jason in eastern South Dakota and Amanda in Custer, and seven beautiful grandchildren.

Gale and Sheri have been a part of Calvary for 34 Years, and have seen its ups and downs. With servant’s hearts, they have poured their lives in almost every aspect of the life of the church and have had an immeasurable impact on the lives of many who have come across their paths. Many students from Cornerstone Bible Institute have spent Sunday afternoons and days throughout the week in their home learning the practical side of Christian living and Christian loving. 

Sheri came to a saving faith in Christ Jesus in 1980 as the result of many years of hearing the gospel. They were loved and discipled in their early Christian life by Pastor and Mrs. Arthur Bigelow and Pastor Ray and Grace Herd. Sheri’s confidence for an eternal hope rests in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ on her behalf. 

Your Works Matter to God, Romans 2

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“Romans Chapter-By-Chapter Series”

“He will render to each one according to his works.” – Roman 2:6

Your works matter to God. By this I mean that they matter to God with absolute objectivity and eternal consequence. We usually don’t evaluate behavior that way. We expect our children to behave, but we understand that they won’t all the time. Or we like our friends for their positive qualities but understand that they have some character flaws too. Or we overlook our own flaws but don’t consider them to be detrimental. “Everyone’s got some quirks,” we might say, “nobody’s perfect, not even me.”

God is not that way. He’s never overlooked anything. He has no quirks. He is, in fact, perfect.

Romans 2:5 predicts a future time when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. On that day “He will render to each one according to his works” (2:6). As judge, God will rule with perfect justice and with perfect knowledge. Even our words are recorded and will be brought as evidence (Matthew 12:36).

Let’s bring this truth closer. Note today’s date, the day you are reading this article. You have performed works, good and evil, TODAY that will appear before God on the day of his judgment. Nothing will slip by.

Paul’s purpose in Romans 2 is to expound the reality that God’s judgment will be impartial. There are no “privileged” people in God’s court. None who have bribed the judge. None with any blackmail leverage. None who run in His social circles. Verse 11 says, “God shows no partiality.”

The Jews of Paul’s day often thought that they were privileged. They stood in arrogant judgment against the Gentile people who lived around and among them. Their self-identity was wrapped up in their Jewish heritage. They relied on the law and boasted in God (2:17). They considered themselves to be “a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, and instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children” (2:19-20). Observe how these phrases set their perception of themselves up against their perception of others. Jews: guides, light, instructors, teacher – God’s chosen people. Gentiles: blind, darkness, foolish, children – stupid pagans.

The Jews had one, little problem: God shows no partiality.

True, the Jews were God’s chosen people, but Abraham’s DNA got them exactly NOWHERE before God. They had a good heritage, but their works damned them! God has never been bamboozled by ethnicity. He has no favorites. He’s never winked His eye at the sin of his friends. “You have no excuse, O man,” Paul says to those exalted Jews, “For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (2:1).

God doesn’t prioritize your ETHNICITY! For that matter, He isn’t impressed by your RELIGION either! While the Jews boasted in their heritage and in their religious behavior, they dishonored God and damaged His reputation because of their terrible behavior (2:23-24). The sign of their covenant was circumcision. Their bodies were literally different than the nations around them, but their hearts – and the behavior that came out of those hearts – were no different.

God, through Paul’s pen, exposes the problem before displaying the solution. True “circumcision” happens at the heart level (2:28-29). Outward religion and outward identity cannot save anyone from God’s wrath against sin. Cutting off a bit of skin is no substitute for carving the rottenness right out of the heart. Our works will condemn us is the day of God’s judgment unless something changes on the inside.

How is this to happen? Who can perform this spiritual heart surgery? Who can save us from God’s wrath against our works?

Let me assure you that you can’t do it yourself. Rambo may be able to sew his own stitches, but he can’t do heart surgery on himself. All sinners need inner transformation and verse 29 tells us “circumcision is a matter of the heart, BY THE SPIRIT.” God is the rescuer.

This is stunning! The beginning of Romans 2 taught us that our problem is God’s wrath against our works. We need to be saved from God. By the end of chapter 2, God Himself is the rescuer!

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

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Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

After reading Psalm 139 with a brother this morning and pondering its truths I once again am amazed at the kindness of our God. The psalmist makes five bold claims about the Lord’s relationship with His people and its compelling call to seek Him. You can read the entire chapter on your own.

The Lord knows me…

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!… Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 

The Lord really KNOWS me. He knows my ups and my downs, my deep thoughts, my course of life and where I find my rest. He knows not only my works, He knows my ways. He knows altogether even before a word is on my tongue (I wish sometimes He would stop me from saying it before I got myself into trouble). He keeps me close beside Him and with a gentle hand on my shoulder, He not only directs my steps, He assures me of His presence. The Lord really knows me.

The Lord surrounds me…

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?… If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 

There is not a single place in all of creation where I can escape the Lord’s presence. This is a dreadful thought for the wicked, but not for the righteous. The righteous are assured that the Lord is ever there to lead by the hand through the course of life and to provide security in His right hand. When entering into the unknown and when living in uncertain times, I am assured that these dark times are not dark at all to the God of light.

The Lord formed me…

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb… Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

The Lord is the giver of life and is its architect. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Moreover, He has established and knows my days. Before the substance of my being came into existence the days of my life were already established. In His providence He set into motion all the affairs of my life. Nothing that I face catches the Lord by surprise.

The Lord considers me…

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. 

The sovereign God of creation who sustains all things, takes thought of me. But not just a passing thought. His thoughts toward me are so vast, it is beyond measure, more than the sand. They are loving thoughts for my good, and I can be assured that He works for His glory and for my benefit.

The Lord searches me…

Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain.… I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

The preoccupation with the world system blinds the me from the goodness of God. It robs me of the confidence and security that comes from being God’s own possession. 

In contrast, a steadfast gaze upon the Lord sets the world in true perspective. It gives to me a healthy hatred toward the things that oppose God and brings about a yearning for a release from its clutches. Meditating upon the things of God evokes the longing to rid myself from any and all that detracts from the view of God and that is grievous in His sight. 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

—Soli Deo Gloria! (To God Alone Be Glory!)