More…there is always more.

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

I saw an old friend today while waiting tables. She was a young lady who got married almost 10 years ago. I officiated her wedding. It has been fun to see her grow in God. She is happy with her husband and has two children. God is good.

I do not typically remember my wedding sermons. In fact, I throw away the notes and make new ones for every wedding I do. My count is around 165 or so. Most of the messages don’t stick with me. It was different for this young lady’s wedding as I can still vividly recall the message. The topic was simply “more”. I encouraged them to keep seeking God because there is always more…in God. Regardless of the circumstances or situation they will face as a married couple, there is more!

Jump back to the present.

After she leaves the restaurant, I begin thinking about Paul. You know Paul, right? He is perhaps, the most famous Christian to ever live! He also wrote much of the New Testament. Take a look at this passage from II Corinthians 11:22-30; 12:1-10:

22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?17In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! 30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 1I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul had plenty to boast about. But he realized that God allowed him to experience all of it. He also knew that his weakness was God’s opportunity to be strong.

Paul knew that there was more!

In my own flesh, I could write a list similar to Paul. It would not be quite as intense or even as long but it could be something in which I could boast. But I am learning (every day, practically) that I need God more. The more knowledge and experience I accumulate, the more I understand my need for God. But in a mind-blowing way, there is still more to God! You never even get close to the end of the Almighty! Think about…

His love for me…

His patience for me…

His mercy in my life…

Let me echo the words of Paul as I conclude;

“He is sufficient for me. In my frailty, He can be my support. When my limits are reached, His are just beginning.”

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.”

Biology and the Bible: Can they be friends?

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

I have two college degrees. Bible and Biology. Some people might think that those two topics are like oil and water, i.e. they do not mix. I wholeheartedly disagree. Not only can they go together but they even support each other. Keep reading and see if you agree with me.

Let’s start with Biology.

You and I are living things. The plants, trees, and flowers are living as well. Bugs, birds, and all other animals are living creatures. But is a rock a living thing? How does one determine what is living and what is not living? After doing some research, there are characteristics that an object must possess to be considered living. Some sources might say there are 7 things and others say 6. For my purpose here, I will adhere to this rule:

For an object to be considered living, it must demonstrate the following 6 characteristics.

Here is a list of each category and a short description:

1. Cells – Living things are composed of cells

2. Organization – Living things are organized at the molecular and cellular level

3. Metabolism – Living things use energy

4. Homeostasis – Living things maintain stable internal conditions

5. Growth – Living things grow as a result of cell division and cell enlargement

6. Reproduction – Living things have the ability to produce

There it is. The filter of questions that can be asked of literally anything. If the “thing” in question has a positive response for all 6 categories, it is living. To make this more easily understood, ask these questions of yourself.

Do I have cells? Yes.

Are those cells organized in some way? Yes.

Do I use energy? Yes.

Do I maintain a stable internal condition? Yes.

Do I grow? Yes.

Can I reproduce? Yes.

Congratulations! You are alive! As if there was any doubt! =-)

Now let’s take a look at the Bible.

Please read I Peter 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,.” For the whole chapter, click I Peter 1.

Let me focus on two words, living hope. Hope is a great thing. In fact, you can read some of my earlier writings about Hope. But we can be born into a living hope. That seems to be better than just regular hope, right?

Let’s mash things up and see what we get.

Does my Hope have cells? Yes. I can read about my hope in every book of the Bible. I can talk to other Christ-followers. I can pray and worship.

Are those cells organized in some way? Yes. Church is organized. My Bible is organized. Even my prayers can be organized.

Do my Hope use energy? Yes. Following Christ is work but that Hope keeps me motivated!

Does my Hope maintain a stable internal condition? Yes. Regardless of what is happening outside, my hope remains stable on the inside.

Does my Hope grow? Yes. Certainly! My maturity level goes up which in turn allows my hope to increase as well.

Can my Hope reproduce? Yes. When I share my hope with others, I am, in essence, reproducing what God has done in me.

And there you have it. You have just successfully blended the Bible and Biology.

Now go and enjoy the living hope into which your were born!

Bad Words #3

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Next week I will be on a large cruise ship in the Caribbean Sea. I have never been on a cruise before so I am excited. Even though I normally post every Tuesday, it is not going to happen next Tuesday. In June, I will pick up my posting again.

In thinking and preparing for the cruise, I had a thought about a bad word. For a better idea of the context for this post, please go back and read Bad Word #1.

Cruise. There are two main things I think about when I hear that word. Cruise ships and cruise control. Well, three things…Tom Cruise also.

The idea of getting on a cruise ship is easy to understand. We will be stopping at three different ports. After all of this, we come back to the States. There are an itinerary and a plan for all the time that we will be on the ship. Everything is accounted for on the trip.
The second idea is using the cruise control in a vehicle. Nice feature for someone like me who tends to push the speed limits. Setting the cruise helps me to stay within the acceptable limits. It makes long trips much safer! =-)

By now, you might be wondering what the bad word is for this post. You can probably guess it. Cruise. That is the bad word.

Let me ask you some questions. What if the cruise ship did not have an itinerary? What if there were no scheduled ports? No GPS? What if, you got onto the boat and just started cruising. No destination in mind. No agenda or plan. Just cruising. That is when cruising is bad.

There are times when I feel like I am cruising through this life. Not the good kind though. Do I have a plan? Do I have scheduled ports of call in my life? Am I following a Divine Captain or I am just floating along the sea subject to every wave? Does this ship that I am on have a purpose and a specific destination? Or, do I just blindly walk into everyday without and purpose or destination?

Friends, you and I do not have to just cruise (in the bad sense) through this life. I am so grateful that God does have a plan. He does have a purpose for me. He does have GPS. He does know where this boat is headed.

I am filled with Hope today as I write. Just like the cruise I am taking next week, there is a plan. I know when things will happen. With God, I know the plan. Maybe not all the details but God is in control. He authored my life and the plan for me.

So if you find yourself cruising through your days, there is hope. You can get back on track with God. I will close with some famous verses to bring hope to you today:

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:10-14

Hope…so what?

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

So what? That is the question. We have the Person, Plan and Place of Hope. But why? There is a Purpose of Hope and to illustrate it, there is an Old Testament story that most beautifully describes Hope.

Jericho. You remember the story, right? The promised land was right there in front of them. The Israelites just crossed the Jordan river. BUT in the way was the massive, walled city of Jericho. Joshua gave the orders that came from God. The people marched. The people shouted. The walls fell! Praise God!!! Now the conquest of the promised land could get under way. Hold on…we need to take a closer look.

Joshua 6: 15-19 says, “15On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”” You can read chapter 6 here.

The people followed God’s directions and the city was captured. Verse 18 says to “keep away from the devoted things,” Let’s keep that phrase in mind.

The first verse of chapter 7 give us a telling picture of the heart of man.

“But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.” Italics mine.

Achan stole some plunder for himself. And, as a result, was stoned to death along with his family. Here are the last two verses of chapter 7, “25Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.”

The Valley of Achor. This is where we meet the story. Yes, we are living thousands of years later but the principles are the same. We can “covet” the devoted things of this world. In fact, that word, Achor, means trouble or disturbance. You know what I am talking about here. Not all of us deal with the same stuff but we all have that sin in our hearts. You might be a chronic liar or filled with anger. Does gossip push your buttons? For me, I was addicted to pornography for years. I am sure that all of could identify with Achan. We want things. We can live in the Valley of Achor.

That would be depressing if we live in a valley of trouble all of our lives. So now we get to the Purpose of Hope. Turn in your bibles to Hosea 2.

The prophet Hosea comes on the scene. Israel is being unfaithful to God. Just like Achan, I might add. Kind of like us at times. The prophet is describing how God will bring judgement. Not good. But then in verse 14 of chapter 2, God starts pursuing Israel. Here are the verses, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”

The Purpose of Hope is to show us how much God loves us. He decided to allure her (Israel). They were adulterous. He will lead her, speak to her, give back to her the vineyards. In fact, what ever was trouble, God will turn into hope. Israel was in the Valley of Achor both literally and figuratively. But God changed things. That valley of trouble is now a door of hope. That is how much God loved Israel.

He loves you and me that much also. Romans 8 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We always can come back to God.

And that is the Purpose of Hope.

To remind us that there is Hope even when all hope seems lost. God will not forsake you. Come back to Him. Enjoy Him and all of His glory. Surrender your life to him. Let Him turn your Valley of Achor into a Door of Hope.

Two Minutes With Tim

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