Tag Archives: family

Turkey and Frosting

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Happy Thanksgiving! I know I am a week late, but I am still eating turkey leftovers.

Wow. Over a month has gone by since my last post. Time can really move!

If you have been waiting for the conclusion to this series or are brand new to this blog,

I welcome you.

Thanks for taking two minutes out of your day.

If you would like to catch up or get some context, here are the links to the first three posts:

Double Birthday

Double Birthday, Again!?!?

The Day of Atonement explained

“Jesus changed everything. He always does. More on that next week.”

These are the final words of my last post.

And friends, I believe that with all my heart.

I can’t speak on behalf of other people. However, I can speak about my life.

Here is a picture of my life without Jesus.

  • I wonder if I would have my family. Surely, my wife would have left me long ago because of my addiction to porn. That is something that I could not overcome without Jesus.
  • My kids would only be around part-time. It pains me to think about not seeing my kids on a daily basis because of the divorce.
  • Jobs…I think that I would be barely making ends meet. Fast food work is not something I would earn a living on.
  • There were bouts of mild depression in my early twenties. Most likely I would be in a depression right now.
  • Alcohol…not really something I abused. But who knows, without Jesus, the bottle might be more attractive to me.
  • My relationship history was not the best. That pattern would probably continue to this day.
  • I most certainly would not have excellent friends from my church. I would not even belong to a church.
  • And the list continues…

Of course, this is all hypothetical. Jesus changed everything.

I do have a loving wife and wonderful kids. My addictions are broken. I work at a dream job. My church is close to me.

Because I have Jesus, I have everything I need. All this other stuff is really just his blessing. Frosting.

May I conclude with a question or two?

Do you have Jesus?

He cannot be bought, earned, manipulated, or caught. He must be invited.

He will change your life…for the better.

Are you ready to send that invite?

If you have questions or comments, I would love to field them. You can comment below or email me directly – tim@timsorbo.com

Thanks, as always, for reading. It might just be the best two minutes of your day.

See you next week for some thoughts on Advent.

Do you believe in magic?

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When my kids were young (think 4 or 5 years old), I could do magic tricks easily. Pulling quarters out of ears or making a penny disappear were standard. Throw in a few cards tricks and they would be amazed.

magic-tricks

As an adult, I enjoy a good magic show. It amazes me how these magicians can make big things disappear! How does a helicopter vanish into thin air!?!?

But all of that is just slight-of-hand or misdirection. The helicopter does not really vanish.

The Word – Magic

The Worth – God is magic. No, not Harry Potter magic or Gandalf the Grey type stuff. He really can make stuff disappear!

magician

If you have not read the post “What do you want?”, please click here. It will give you a context that will make more sense when reading this post.

In that post, I had written a line near the end;

He took action so we can take action.

Let me unpack that a little more.

2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

John 1 tells us to “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

This is God doing magic! He took away the sin of the world. He made it disappear! The action that God took was to make it possible for us to be sinless. We now can become the righteousness of God!

He loved us so much and was longing to be connected with us again. He wanted us so much that he took His son and used Him to take away our sin.

When I was 16, I got my first speeding ticket. This was 1989 so it probably was not too much of a fine. It was more embarrassing because I had three friends in the car with me!

I broke the law and deserved to pay the fine. But then my dad performed a magic trick.

He told that he would pay for the first one. He paid my ticket. That was both merciful and gracious all in one simple act.

God did a magic trick 2000 years ago. Jesus became our sin. See Isaiah 53:6

cross bridge

The Work – This part takes faith.

Understand that Jesus is the way back to God.

Jesus also took our sin upon Him.

Our part is to accept that payment. Just like my dad paying my speeding fine, we can accept this gift.

We can now live our life because of what has already been done.

Stop trying to earn salvation and enjoy the magic that God has performed!

Live to reflect your righteousness!

After all, God is not going to bring back your sin.

You are free. Go out and live it!

 

AB+ and 44

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Today is my birthday. It was a pretty decent day. I had some great family time. Work was enjoyable. Had lunch with my wife which is rare so that was pretty awesome.

happy-birthday-meme

Now I am writing this blog. I have not written since late July. Taking time off was planned but not this much time. This blog has been good for me. It helps me to process what I read in God’s word and what I hear God telling me.

Back to the birthday. I am 44 today. Is that middle-age? Whatever 44 is called, so be it.

My life began 44 years ago. At some point, I became born again. For me, there is not a specific date that I can call my “spiritual” birthday. But I know it has happened. On that day, the blood of Jesus washed my sins away.

The blood of Jesus is an interesting thing. Somewhat morbid if you ask me. And then the bible says that though my sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. How can blood do this? What is so important about the blood that Jesus spilled while hanging on the cross? How can I be forgiven? More about this in upcoming blogs.

My blood type is AB+. In my adulthood, I have donated about 3 gallons. Take a look at this chart.

blood-types-red1

According to the chart, only AB+ people can receive my blood. On the other hand, I can receive from any type. Good deal for me.

Again, according to the chart, Jesus must have been O- because anyone can receive His blood.

He is the universal donor. Because today is my birthday, I have been thinking a lot about my life and all the it encompasses.

Of this I am sure: Jesus is my life. His blood purifies me from sin. His blood gives me victory over sin. His blood empowers to live like He wants me to live.

As I stated, I will explore the Blood over the next few posts.

Can I leave you with two questions though?

Do you remember your spiritual birthday?

If not, would you like to have one?