Meet Me in the Word: Bible Study with Pastor Tim

Send Tim a note How do you respond when tragedy strikes?  Amongst other things, I want to know why it happened and who (or what) caused it.  Most of us look for someone to take the blame for the devastation that’s taken place. We may point the finger at the person we believe is responsible or maybe a company, nature, “the system”, or even God.  The trouble is that we’re not always right or even ra...

Send Tim a note I really like the idea of starting my day with a hot cup of coffee, a quiet room, and some time in Scripture that will make me feel better about life and equipped for my day.  Sometimes that happens but then again the room isn’t always quiet and sometimes I’ve forgotten that I’ve run out of cream for my coffee or worse, run out of coffee. And sometimes the Scripture doesn’t make me...

Send Tim a note If I had a dollar for every time someone told me how crazy and messy their family was, I’d have a lot more money than I do now.  Families all have a little bit of dysfunction in them, that’s just the nature of people.  If you just nodded your head knowingly, I want you to know that even the family that became the nation of Israel had more than its share of family drama. It reminds...

Send Tim a note Jesus really is good. Jesus loves you.  Sometimes in the midst of sorting out our faith and learning what it means to follow God, we just need those simple but powerful reminders.  The man from Nazareth performed plenty of miracles but more than that He met people where they were at and called them into a life that was better.  He’s still doing those exact things for us today. We’r...

Send Tim a note Have you ever wondered what the worship time during a church service is all about?  I know… I know that you know it’s all about Jesus  and yet we want certain things from it don’t we.  We want to be included. We want to feel some kind of engagement and definitely to be blessed by the LORD in it. I’ve been contemplating worship throughout my adult life and I can’t help but think tha...

Send Tim a note How do you discern between the kind of faith that says, “God’s got this, and I just need to wait”, and the faith that says, “God’s got this, and I need to do my part”? The Christian life is full of moments that are like a dance between us and God and between our part and His. This podcast is a good example. Every day I do my best to listen to what God has for me and what I should s...

Send Tim a note What should we do with passages of Scripture that engage with other passages of Scripture?  It happens quite a bit and it can be an enriching experience when we recognize it. Today we’re in Romans 9:6-15, where Paul references Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau. All of these Genesis people lived thousands of years before Paul and yet, here he is helping the church in R...

Send Tim a note Have you ever wondered why God intervenes when He does and seems to be uninvolved at other times? God visited Jacob in a dream in Genesis 28, one that moved Jacob to worship the LORD when he woke up. Today, in Genesis 29, we get to read the part of the story where it seems like everyone is just doing whatever they want.  The events are ultimately good but we definitely see the way...

Send Tim a note What do wineskins, fabric, and monkey bars have in common?  Hear me out… Remember playing on the monkey bars when you were a kid?  I’m not sure if they have those anymore so if you don’t know what I’m talking about, ask someone over 30.  I remember feeling intimidated by them at first, not knowing if I was strong enough to actually do it.  Definitely not wanting to make a fool of m...

Send Tim a note Have you ever been out in nature and found yourself in awe of the bigness and power of God?  It’s amazing to me how God reaches out to us and reminds us of His creativity.  The Bible writers definitely connected with the LORD in nature, recognizing His power in the weather and in the beauty (or harshness) around them.  We’re in Psalm 29, a testimony to the immense power and strengt...

Send Tim a note If reaching your dreams was easy, everybody would be doing it. You don’t know what you don’t know until you go through it.  Growing pains are a part of the experience and you don’t get to pick when they happen or how long they last. The truth is that even the ones who achieve their goals find that the end result looks different than they expected. We’re in Joshua 17, the part of th...

Send Tim a note Have you ever wondered what compels someone to leave their home and serve as a missionary in another country and culture? While there are specific reasons for each person, I’ve noticed that these people are filled with a profound compassion for the people they go to.  Jesus offers abundant and eternal life to all who follow him and I believe that part of that life is sharing that h...

Send Tim a note How does God speak to you? It’s not always an audible voice or lightning bolts. I’ve personally had the LORD direct me through times in the Scriptures, through prayer, through conversations I’ve had with other people, and I’ve had moments where Jesus seemed to simply speak directly to my mind.  I’ve learned over time that prayer is just as much listening as it is speaking. We’re in...

Send Tim a note Have you ever been invited to a party or some event but you know that “they” were going to be there so you had to prepare yourself for that potential interaction? Maybe you even decided not to go if that  existing tension was strong enough. We’re interesting creatures, aren’t we? We don’t want that social discomfort and at times we will go to great lengths to be with our people rat...

Send Tim a note Have you ever been in a place where the ground wasn’t stable?  It’s a pretty disconcerting feeling to have the ground move out from under you.  Spiritually, it can be even more disorienting. We’re in Psalm 28 where David calls out to God looking for strength and mercy.  He wants firm places to put his feet. I find myself wanting to do the same thing as I grow spiritually.  Support...

Send Tim a note How much do you think about your own legacy?  It’s kind of an old person thing to think about but it’s been on my mind more and more lately.  Make of that what you will. I’ve been reading a decently thick book on the history of Rome and was reminded that people are usually remembered for their accomplishments or their mistakes. We’re in Joshua 16, the chapter where we learn about t...

Send Tim a note If you’ve ever felt like your faith was precarious or wondered if you were doing the Christian life correctly enough, hang out with me for the next few minutes.  It’s a pretty common experience to have doubts about a variety of things but when we begin to wonder if we’re worthy enough or saved enough, that can push us into panic and fear.   The truth is we don’t need to stay there....

Send Tim a note Hey did you know that manipulating people causes a lot of pain for both them as well as you?  Well, now you do.  I’m sure you already knew that but it’s amazing just how often people think they can work an angle on the people who love them. We’re in Genesis 27, the part of the story where deception and blessings take center stage with Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau playing the maj...

Send Tim a note What’s the most important thing Jesus has done in your life?  I hope that he’s done lots of important things and that those things continue to happen. The most important and freeing thing he’s offered me is forgiveness. We’re in Matthew 9:1-8, the part of the story when a few men exercise faith and bring their disabled friend to see Jesus and he receives healing in two very importa...

Send Tim a note Do you have a less famous favorite Psalm?  Most people know about Psalm 23 or Psalm 8 or even Psalm 119 because it’s so long but outside of those, do you have one you keep coming back to because it encourages you?  Psalm 27, our Scripture for today, is one of my favorites.  God has used it to encourage me in a variety of seasons.  In it we learn more about what it means to have cou...

Send Tim a note Who are your people? Where are they from?  Who do you belong to?  These are the kinds of questions we ask when we want to understand our own identity better.  We’re in Joshua 15 today where we learn about the tribe of Judah in the new land.  We’ll take a look at his story, their story, and the relationship to two prominent people that come later in Scripture. Support the show For a...

Send Tim a note If you want to become more spiritual, let the Spirit do the work. Whenever I think about the person I’m becoming, the person I want to become, I’m reminded that the One who knows me best will do a far better job than I ever will. It’s not because I have no value, it’s because He has deemed me worthy of the process. By the way, none of this is unique to me, it’s available to all who...

Send Tim a note What do people do when the economy around them dries up?  Many of them move in order to look for work much like the people in our passage today.  We’re in Genesis 26, probably not one of the stories you remember reading but a good reminder of how God works in all kinds of situations to accomplish His purposes.  There’s a new famine that hits the land so Isaac & Rebekah go to th...

Send Tim a note What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think about Jesus? He is such an interesting person!  He was and is compassionate to people on the fringes of society and certainly demonstrated what love and humility are all about during his life on earth. He is also powerful with authority uniquely his that he wielded in ways that sometimes scared people. Jesus is both the lamb a...

Send Tim a note If it was possible to let someone know every single thought you had, would you do it? A total mind-meld is kind of scary and I’ll bet that if you’re even remotely considering it, you’d be very choosy about who it was.  Here’s the thing, the LORD does know every last little detail about you, and it really is okay. Because He cares for us and knows us so intimately, we can pray like...