Tag Archives: Faith

Surprise!!!

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You know that moment…the lights are off, people huddled in every corner of the room. The unsuspecting victim walks through the door and with the turning on of the lights, everyone yells Surprise!!!

I was that ‘victim’ on my 40th birthday. Without all of the details (which would take way more time than two minutes), my wife threw the biggest surprise of my life.

I walked into the large room at our church and there were over 100 of my friends and family waiting for me. SURPRISE!!! Totally and completely surprised. I had no idea.

surprise

The Word – surprise

The Worth – Why is it that we are surprised when God does something great?

Sure, it is understandable when the Red Sea parts. Exodus 14

Or when the walls of Jericho fall down. Joshua 7

Or when the bush is on fire but not burning up. Exodus 3

Or when Jesus turns water into wine. John 2

Or when Paul prays and the boy returns from the dead. Acts 20 

In 1 Thessalonians 5, there is a single verse that has had my attention for many years. I would say it is in the top three of my favorites.

vs. 24 “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

Or, in my translation, “If God said it, it will happen.”

It may not happen when or how we would like to see it but God is sovereign. It will happen as He said it would. So I ask again, why are we surprised when God moves?

The Work – Can I challenge you? This is a challenge for all who follow Jesus.

Live in such a way that you are not surprised when God does something awesome.

God gives us so many promises in His word. We can count on every one of them. So when you pray, let your faith expand. Know that God will accomplish what He said.

And don’t need to be surprised when it happens. =-)

Because of P, we get Q.

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Before I get into this post, please read my previous post. It is the foundation for today’s message. Here is the link, Two people, a bus, and a gift.

foundations

A through P. That marks my progress so far this year. Today is about the letter Q. This one was more difficult than most of the others. But as I typed the last post, a seed of an idea started to grow. Again, Two people, a bus, and a gift was the beginning and now it will continue.

My best friend is computer/IT guy.

I have a friend who is a medical doctor.

I have another friend who is a financial planner.

My wife is a graphic designer.

My pastor is also my mentor.

What do these people have in common? They are all qualified.

The Word – qualified

The Worth – In any type of setting where a person is receiving something, it is important that the giver is qualified.

In no way would I go to the doctor for a surgery unless I knew that he/she was trained and educated to do the procedure!

It would not make sense to take advice from someone unless they have experience and knowledge in the specific area in which I need advice.

You know what? God is qualified. 

That begs the question, “What is God qualified to do?”

The short answer is that He can do anything because He is God.

But the specific answer is that God is qualified to forgive me and you.

Hebrews 9 talks about the superior quality of Christ’s blood over the blood of goats, calves, etc. that were used in sacrificing. Reading the whole chapter would be better because of the context but I will put verse 12 here for now.

Hebrews 9:12 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”

The blood of animals was temporary. It did not last. In essence, the animal blood was not qualified to take away sin. But Jesus, who was perfect, eternal, and human, was uniquely qualified for the task of removing sin.

I like that phrase, uniquely qualified. It would be good to remember it.

The Work – Because God is passionate about loving us and Jesus is qualified to remove our sins, we don’t need to try to save ourselves! We can’t do it anyway! Our good works and the like are not qualified to save us.

What we can do is accept this truth by faith. We can rest in the knowledge that God has taken care of everything. His life can flow through us everyday!

Make and spend time with Him today. Thank Him that He is qualified!

And you know what that means? We are now qualified!

When, by faith, we accept His sacrifice, we are now seen as righteous!

We become His tool on earth for His work and His kingdom!

So go out and live purposely because you are qualified to do so!

Qualified With Green Tickmark

 

Two people, a bus, and a gift.

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Two people.

A couple of weeks ago, I had an exciting experience. As I have mentioned before, I am a licensed minister. Part of that calling for me is that I get to do lots of weddings. It has averaged out to roughly 35 weddings a year for the last 5 years. 2018 is starting to look promising as well!

i do

Sometimes people just do an internet search for a wedding officiant. They would be taken to my website, www.timsorbo.com

Or, I will get recommended by the venue, photographer, or even the DJ.

Almost always, I will get an email from the bride (grooms make the initial contact about 10% of the time). And so the process begins.

So, when I received an email from Christian Visholm (one of the 10% grooms),  I was not surprised. Until I read that he was from Denmark.

Denmark…as in Europe! Here is a link to catch the short news story about it.

Couple from Denmark flies thousands of miles to marry at Lambeau Field.

It was a truly great experience that will be a fun story to tell for many years!

A bus.

Last week, I was on the road that goes right by Lambeau Field. There was a city bus in the lane next to me. The entire side was a huge graphic with this short slogan;

Many Hearts. One Passion.

The graphic was something relating to the Green Bay Packers.

This town, Green Bay, really loves their Packers. To say that there are Packer things everywhere is not an exaggeration.

A gift.

The Word – passion

The Worth – There is a verse in the bible that could truly be the entire summation of God’s Word in just one sentence. John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that He gave is one and only son and that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” My paraphrase. Underline is mine also.

Again, people in Green Bay, Denmark, or anywhere else on this earth, love their football team.

They are passionate about it.

packer fan

But God so loved the world. To me, that describes passion more than anything else.

He gave us the gift of His son.

Pause and meditate on that gift.

Dwell on that love for a moment.

Think about what He did for you. Wow!

The Work – As with most truth statements in the bible, there has to be action involved. It is one thing to hear it but another thing to act on it.

Your desire will drive your decision.

Your craving will create your choice.

Your pursuit will prove your passion.

My dad always told me that “there is always enough time to do what you want to do.”

What is my passion? What’s yours? And what is going to be done about it?

OMG!!!

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Food, fun, and worship with a bunch of smelly dudes! Yep, that was me and about 250 other men joining together for a men’s conference this past weekend.

salad?

There was plenty happening in a social setting but God was also moving spiritually. I have many things swirling in my brain that God needs to help me sort out. But I like learning so this was a great weekend for me.

I want to share one thing that God gave me.

The word I need to use for the letter O is obedient.

The Word – Obedient

The Worth – Philippians 2: 1-11 gives us an account of Jesus and also the attitude that he possessed. Verse 5 uses the term mindset. Jesus had his mind set a certain way. I feel like we should strive to have this same attitude or mindset.

Here is verse 8 “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” NIV

Many times in the Gospels, Jesus talks about His relationship with His Father. He only wanted to do what the Father told Him. He was obedient. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked to have “this cup taken from Him”. But then immediately following that statement, Jesus showed His Phil. 2 attitude. He told the Father that His will was secondary to the Father’s will.

It is amazing to me how Jesus was able to do what He did. With all the miracles and then raising from the dead? There was a connection with a great power source. He was always talking with His Father. The relationship was constant and frequent. That was how he was able to be completely obedient in the face of horrible circumstances!

The Work – If I am being honest here, the section has been the most difficult to write.

The Word and The Worth come more easily to me. I may be waiting tables or driving and a thought will come to me. It never seems to be in the The Work part of this blog though!

I think I know why. Because it involves work. I, personally, am not a big fan of work. It is more fun to have fun.

But God didn’t call me to have fun all the time. Yes, I am full of joy and there are many things in my life that bring fun, joy, smiles, etc.

I don’t think Jesus considered sweating drops of blood while praying in the garden something that would be fun. He was working. Hard work.

But his relationship with his daddy was inseparable. This is how he was obedient.

When my relationship with my daddy is strong, I am obedient as well.

So to end this post, I have one question:

How is your relationship with God your Father?

not my will

Am I being productive enough?

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If you have read any of my posts for 2017, you have seen the pattern. This post is going to be a word that starts with the letter K.

If you have done the math, 26 letters in the alphabet translates to one post every two weeks. That would get me through the alphabet and 2017 at the same time.

If you have figured it out, based on the schedule of one post every two weeks, then you know that I should be on the letter P! I am a slacker!

So I ask myself this question, “Am I being productive enough?”

In so many situations, we think we need to be ‘productive enough’ to succeed.

Perhaps these thoughts have wormed their way into your mind:

Did I do all I could? 

If I stay one more hour…

I need to make more money…

I feel so lazy!

I don’t deserve that…

  • promotion
  • raise
  • new job
  • woman
  • man
  • blessing
  • __________

…because I have not earned it. 

That list could go on a lot longer!

Why do we have this mentality that life is ‘works’ based?

I think we I can answer that question.

light bulb moment

We work because we don’t trust.

The Word – Kinetic

The Worth – We need to start with a quick and easy science lesson. This is physics 101.

There are two types of energy: Potential and Kinetic

Potential energy is stored energy. Kinetic energy is moving energy.

Potential-and-kinetic-energy

In the diagram, the ball is filled with potential energy because it is not moving.

When released, the ball is now falling (moving). It is now kinetic energy.

Here is where science and God meet.

God is always moving. He is kinetic energy. We can’t always see it. And because we can’t see something we tend to not trust it.

The Work – 

I got married at the age of 26. There were many years of asking God why He had not provided my wife. He was moving and preparing me even though I did not see it.

I used to be addicted to pornography. God was moving that whole time even though I was stuck. Now I can help others who are stuck in sin. Thank you Lord!

I was called into the ministry (specifically, March of 1990). Even today, there are times when I wonder about how to live out that calling. You can bet that God is still moving.

These are the biggest examples of my life. What about your life?

In what area is God moving even though you don’t see it?

Isaiah 55:8-11 give insight to our kinetic God.

Genesis 37-50 recounts the wonderful story of Joseph. God was certainly moving then.

Even when Jesus was in the grave, God was moving. Do you believe that God has, still is, and will continue to move in your life?

So start trusting God today. Trust Him because He is kinetic!