WHY?!?!

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why…?”

It seems pretty common that people ask this question. We all like answers. It is good to be informed. But there is another perspective on why someone would ask that question. Motivation.

Let me compare two sentences.

“Why is the sky blue?” vs. “Why do I go to church?”

Do you see the difference? The first question deals with facts and information. Those are great questions. Learning is good.

The second one, however, deals with motivation.

I am thoroughly convinced that a person will make time for what is important to them.

This weekend I have been challenged to seek God more than I have been. In response, I have been asking my self, “Why?”

Why do I not read my Bible more often?

Why can I only pray for a few minutes without getting distracted?

Why do I attend church?

Why do I…?

Why?

God desires me to know Him more. The Holy Spirit is a constant companion throughout my day. Jesus died for me.

Why do I do what I do? If I can sum it up in a sentence…

“I do what I do to bring glory to God.”

What are you asking yourself today?

Death and God’s Word…What a combo!

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Ever had those days? I am having that kind of week. On Monday, my grandpa, 98 years old, went to be with the Lord. He was a great man and a godly man. My life has been forever shaped by his influence. Thanks Grandpa!

We drive to North Dakota this week for the funeral. It will be great to see cousins, aunts, and uncles I have not seen for years. That is the part about this whole thing that will be wonderful. Reunion.

Reunion. A getting-back-together again. I now have all four of my grandparents in heaven. My parents are also there. I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty that when I die, I will be reunited with them. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 comes to mind. It will be pretty awesome to see Jesus and my loved one again.

So why am I fighting depression right now? Why do I feel like sleeping all day? I am not a therapist or counselor but I am a pastor. And my experience tells me to go to the Word. So I did just that. Psalm 91 to be precise. You can click on the link to open another window but I felt like posting here also.

So for any of you out there who are grieving a loss, fighting depression, or just having a rough day, let Psalm 91 do what God intended in to do.

Psalm 91

1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^a

2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.

4He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

8You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

9If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

12they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14“Because he^b loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

How far to Wall Drug from here?

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Have you ever seen this a billboard or bumper sticker like this?

In my road trip out west, we encountered numerous Wall Drug signs. See my previous posts of my Yellowstone trip for some background info.

Wall Drug is a small town in western South Dakota. It’s near Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. But you probably would not drive there just to see Wall Drug. It makes a great pit stop when seeing many other attractions. And for us, it was the last stop before heading east, back home.

As far as a tourist trap, this one sets out a fantastic bait. There are signs for miles and miles in every direction telling that Wall Drug is getting closer. They advertise anything and everything. If curiosity killed the cat then I am glad I am not a cat. I don’t recall when I first heard about Wall Drug but I feel like I have know about all my life. Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, and similar places are places you just know about. Wall Drug is like that. You just always know that it is a real place. They have really good marketing! Like this picture I found online.

When you are at Wall Drug, there are, of course, the shops. But I found that the real treasure was in all of the pictures they have hanging on any available wall. Pictures of all things Wall Drug. Like the one of the marine. There were hundreds of people from all over the world with signs saying how far Wall Drug was from their location. It was bizarre and fascinating!

Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus says that the disciples would be empowered to be witnesses. Not lawyers, judges, or even jury members but simply witnesses. They were supposed to tell what they have seen and heard.

Isn’t that what these Wall Drug signs that are scattered all over the earth are doing? They, in a very clear manner, state that Wall Drug is X miles away. They might have pictures or sayings on them as well. But they are not Wall Drug. The signs are just that, signs. They tell of something else.

When people see your life, what message are they getting? John the Baptist was a sign. He was very clear that he was not the Christ. Read the full story here.

I close with these thoughts:

I am a sign and so are you.
God has filled His followers with His Spirit.
He can help us to display the right message.
What are people reading in your life?

By the way, Google maps tell me that I am 775 miles from Wall Drug.

Standing in front of a wall…

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

I would label the wall in front of me Writer’s Block. For September, I had planned on writing about my Yellowstone road trip. Fallen short on that project. But hey, who am I to stay defeated? I can get up and keep moving forward.

This morning, I had an email in my inbox that was awesome. As a blogger, I follow other blogs. It is nice to get inspiration, encouragement, or whatever else may be in those posts. This one was really timely for me. I had been planning on using a verse from Isaiah 40 when I wrote about the Grand Tetons. It just made sense to me. However, I am going let someone else expound on God’s creation. There will be a link for that blog at the bottom of this post. I felt it was much better written. You can start by enjoying a few pictures…

Thank you for reading my post and I hope you are truly inspired by the other one. It inspired me.

Here is the link: The River Walk

My words don’t do God’s creation justice.

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Yellowstone National Park. I have been torn as to what to write today. Last week I wrote about Mt. Rushmore. I knew this week was about Yellowstone.

So I decided that I am not going to write much. There will be some pictures that will tell the story. These pictures are all from a google search so I can’t take credit for any of them. Please do your self a favor and check out many of the websites about Yellowstone.

Better yet, go there. It will be completely worth it. After all, over 3 million visitors a year can’t be wrong, can they?

It really was amazing to see all of the wildlife and geographical features in one place! When the buffalo stood on the road and we just waited in our cars for them to move was a very fond memory. Watching Old Faithful do its thing. Super cool.

I just kept coming back to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created…”

And wow! Did He do an awesome job or what!?!?

Two Minutes With Tim

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