More Hope

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

What do you hope for? That is the question I posed to my coworkers this past week. The answers were not surprising to me. They said things like financial stability, kids making good decisions, happiness etc. Those are all good things for which one can hope.

But like I posted last week, the one thing that does not disappoint is Jesus. Jesus Christ, the Person of Hope will always come through!

If we have the Person of Hope, Jesus Christ, then we can know that there is a Plan of Hope as well. It all starts with Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (click on the link to get the chapter), God has a plan. We are separated from God because of sin. But the Plan of Hope is that through Jesus, we can be reconciled back to God. Eventually, that leads us to heaven. We have a place in heaven because of being reconciled back to God! More on heaven next week!

The Person of Hope, Jesus Christ

The Plan of Hope, Jesus Coming

The bible gives us a definition of hope in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith and hope are closely related. In April, I will be posting about faith so please come back next month. =-)

Hope means that there is something out there that we don’t have but we know it is there. Faith gives us the action to keep us moving in that direction. Hope shows us the goal.

Here is an example that seems to make sense to me. You know those coin-push machines you see in gas stations? They are really a great way to exploit peoples’ hope in having a lot of money. Hope tells me that if I put a quarter in the machine, there will be some return. One quarter, or maybe even more, will fall into the hole and I will win! To be honest, I have spent $3 or $4 in the past year on these things. Faith means actually putting the quarter in the machine. Hope only tells us that there could possibly be a return. But this kind of hope is not good. Don’t waste your money. =-)

The culmination of this post is that my hope in Jesus is well-founded. Part of the Plan of Hope is that he will come back for me. He won’t leave me hanging. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells me about his return, the rapture.

Friends, Jesus is coming back. Are you ready? Do have your hope set on Him? He is the Person of Hope that will never disappoint us. His return is part of the Plan of Hope. That is really encouraging to me because some days, life sucks. It can be difficult to get through a day. I have issues and so do you.

But let’s put our hope in Jesus. That way, all will end well. So be lifted up today. Hold your head up proud because Jesus is pretty much to most awesome person you have ever met. Spend time with Him today. He wants to hang with you. Don’t let your day slip by and not see Jesus.

Next week we will discover the Place of Hope.

Chemistry, Christ, and Colossians

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Today is the first day of Lent so I thought I would post my wonderings about it. To do this, I want to make a comparison from the realm of chemistry. Please keep reading even if you hate science! This will worth two minutes of your time. =-)

The Law of the Conservation of Mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed; it is merely rearranged.

Here is a chemical equation with chemical symbols: CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O

Same equation in word form: methane gas + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water

Again but in picture form:

If you look at all the atoms, they are the same on both sides of the equation. There are four different substances but the amount of matter is the same.

Now let’s take a look at the idea of giving up chocolate for Lent. Fred is pretend. I am using Fred as an example so anybody named Fred is not to be directly associated with this post. =-)

Fred has 100 units of energy to spend each day of his life. These 100 units can be divided up however he wants to divide them. Fred really likes chocolate. He devotes 10 units of energy to chocolate. Thinking, buying, making and the eating of chocolate takes up 10 units of the 100 units that Fred has each day. The other 90 units are spent on everything else. Fred is disciplined so he only devotes 10 units for chocolate. Never more and never less. For Lent, Fred decides that he will give up chocolate. It will be difficult be he thinks he can do it. Now, he has all 100 units of energy to delegate to whatever he wants. Just because he always gave 10 units for chocolate does not mean that he loses those 10 units when he gives up chocolate. He has 100 units and will always have 100 units to spend. This is the law of the conservation of mass working in his life.

Let’s see if we can put this all together.

I can pursue God however I would like. Reading my Bible, praying, going to church, worshipping, or having coffee with another believer are all ways I can do this. I have the same amount of time that everyone else has. There may be a myriad of ways to spend it but it is there everyday. For Lent, the idea is that I am supposed to give up something. Great! But now what do I do with the extra time I have? Fred has 10 units of energy (that he used to spend on chocolate) that he gets to spend on some other thing. Maybe he will read or write or play a board game.

If I give up something, what will I do in place of that thing?

Whatever you are doing this Lenten season, I hope it helps you to draw closer to God. If you need to fast or give something up for these weeks leading to Easter, than do it. Make an effort to find God in a new way. I think Lent is about clearing the clutter and listening for our Lord. Whatever actions that means for you, awesome.

Remember the law of the conservation of mass. You will spend your effort on something so you might as well make it something great.

Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Jars, pt. 3

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Tim Sorbo

Have you ever been at the end of your rope? Has life beat you up and left you for dead? Mistakes are all too common in my life. We are messed up.

Following God can be tough. The problems don’t disappear when we get saved. And the stuff of life even make things more difficult at times!

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 gives me hope when I read it. So many times I feel all screwed up and confused. I have little motivation for God. Apathy is all to real. There are moments when I see Jesus and press on. When I pray, there is a real connection, not always but sometimes. But there are times when you or I are at the end of the rope.

I have been writing about jars this month. Today is no different except that the jar is not something that I bring to God so He can fill it.

I am the jar. An earthen jar. A jar of clay.

Remember this: a jar is just there to hold something. You and I are the holders of something great!

This is verse 7 of the Corinthians passage: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Let this post be an encouragement to you. Sure, I get it that life sucks and we can make mistakes. But the Word says that “He gives more grace.” James 4:6

So be reminded that when you are the end of your rope, you are never out of Hope!

Funnel or Bucket?

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Tim Sorbo

Hello friends and family! It is December 2nd right now and I have been reflecting back on 2014 and also looking ahead to 2015.

2014…what a year! Here are few highlights;

I celebrated 14 years of marriage to my beautiful wife.
My kids are doing well in 1st and 4th grades.
I will have performed 50 wedding ceremonies in 2014.
In July, I gave the Invocation at the Packer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Lastly, I started a blog.

I am sure I could list more but that is not the point.

SO….

If I am not more like Jesus than I was in 2013 than my list of things I did in 2014 is pointless.

In 2015, I am setting goals and changing things in my life. All for one purpose, to be more like Jesus. If my life is a funnel, being like Jesus is the smallest part, the very tip of the funnel. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, must flow through that one little section. If I am not a funnel than I would probably be a bucket. I would fill up on whatever comes my way. I’d rather be a funnel than a bucket.

So expect some changes with my blog. There might even be times when I will ask for feedback. Feel free to comment when asked or even if you are not asked. I welcome your thoughts.

So get ready friends, 2015 will be full of change. Which one will you be?

OR

Again…and again…yet again.

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Tim Sorbo

When I was a kid, I fell constantly. As an athletic boy, I was ALWAYS the messiest boy out there. Whether making a sliding tackle or sliding into second base, I was repeatedly getting dirty. The tops of my knees are permanently scarred from all of the scraps. It’s not that I was clumsy or uncoordinated, but rather, I played with passion. Baseball was my best sport. I played third base. Making a diving catch was the highlight reel that played over and over in my mind…and sometimes, it really happened!

Even now, in my forties, I play softball. I feel like I played my best when I can slide. Oh, and just in case you are wondering, I always slide head first. I have more fun that way. =-) In fact, I need to wear pants (as opposed to shorts) so that when I do slide, the wounds are much less severe.

The picture is Pete Rose, not me.

The other kind of falling down is the kind that is not so fun. In baseball, sometimes you strike out. In soccer, sometimes the other guy gets past you. Maybe you didn’t get that promotion for which you were hoping. It might have been the harsh words you had with your spouse. Or, if things are really bad, you lose a job because of some bad choices. The gambling problem eats away your savings account. The affair you thought you never would have has become reality. You fell down. Mistakes were made and you fell down.

Now you have a choice. Get up or stay down?

If I did not have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe, I would say that getting up is stupid or useless. Just get another job. Just file bankruptcy. Divorce is so common these days. Move away to another state. Yea…just stay down.

But I do have an ongoing relationship with the Almighty God and so I say get up. Yes, I fell down. But I am playing with passion right? So I am going to get up and keep going.

Whether you are down because of your own doing or something that has happened to you, make the choice and allow God’s grace to help you back up on your feet.

Here is what God’s word says about us when we fall down, “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.” 2 Corinthians 12:10. When we fall, He is right there next to us.

He will help you get up. He is ready to brush off the dust. He will give you a pat on the back. He will tell you that He loves you. He will teach you something. He will remind you that His plan for you only works if you get up.

Take it from someone who has fallen way too many times to count, getting back up is always the best choice.

Two Minutes With Tim

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