Transform Blog

READ: Hosea 2:15
I love the word of God in Hosea 2:15, “I will return her vineyards to her and transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope.” (NLT) Everyone reading these words occasionally finds himself in the valley of trouble. You may be in that valley at this very moment. You may be spending your days nursing, cursing, and rehearsing the hurts and troubles of your life. You may be mad at God, mad at the world, mad with yourself, or mad with others. Perhaps you think that you will never get out of the hole that you are in. Perhaps you are looking at an unknown and uncertain future with fear, trembling, and tears in your eyes. Maybe yesterday’s losses seem too large to overcome. Listen up! The Lord has a word for you. Your life is not over. God still has a beautiful future for you. What’s his promise? “I will transform your valley of troubles into a gateway of hope, leading you to a new and beautiful tomorrow.”

- Dr. Tim Thompson

READ: Colossians 3:23-24
Stan Bronson, Jr. is an icon of baseball. But he is not a pitcher, a catcher, an infielder or outfielder. He is not even an owner or manager. Stan is a bat boy—a bat boy who just completed his 55th season! The 84-year-old man, beloved by fans and staff at the University of Memphis, has mild palsy and a mental disability. His mom brought him to the school back in 1958. The coach said, ‘Well, son, I’m sorry but I don’t have money in my budget to pay for anybody else.” Stan replied, ‘Don’t need money. Need a job.” Today, the school has become Stan’s family.
Not all of us will be a “star player” in life, but we can all serve faithfully in some way. Even if no one else notices, scripture promises that if we do our job well, as unto the Lord, he will see and will personally reward and honor us. How can you be a faithful bat boy today?

- Dr. Tim Thompson

READ: Proverbs 4:10-19
San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Jeremy Affeldt—a self-identified Christian— recently made news by returning $500,000 to the organization when he noticed there was a clerical error in his multi-million dollar contract that was causing him to be overpaid by 5%. Although lawyers advised him he could legally keep it, Affeldt said. “I won’t sleep well at night knowing I took that money because every time I open my paycheck I’ll know it’s not right.”
Having a clear conscience is one of the best ways to improve your night’s sleep. Secret guilt has a way of robbing us not only of our “z’s” at night, but also our peace during the day and our joy in life. Is there something in your life that you know in your spirit is not right? It doesn’t have to be a half-million dollar thing. Perhaps it’s something you’ve justified as just a “small thing” or rationalized as “technically legal,” but your conscience knows better. Take steps to confess it and make it right today. You just might find that you sleep better tonight.

- Dr. Tim Thompson

READ: Isaiah 40:31
A car that has run out of gas has exhausted its power, and until a new supply of gas is put in the tank, that car is dead and lifeless. Human beings run out of gas, too. We get physically tired and we get worn down. We get mentally and emotionally exhausted. What do you do when you run out of gas, when you get depleted, when you exhaust your resources? Most of us try to back off or take a break or get away. Recreation becomes an important part of life. I think recreation should be pronounced re-creation. “Re” means to restore to its former state. We all need, again and again, to be re-created. We have made the word recreation mean playing golf, going fishing, looking at TV, working in the yard, reading a book, or searching the internet. Those things are good, but they are not enough. The prophet long ago said, “If you wait upon the Lord, He will renew your strength.” God is in the re-creating business. Are you out of gas? Then wait upon the Lord and He will renew your strength and you will mount up with wings as eagles, and you shall run and not be weary and you shall walk and not faint.

- Dr. Tim Thompson

READ: Luke 11: 9-13
It is early morning, the day before the wedding. The bride sends Virginia and me upstairs with the instructions, “Don’t come downstairs!” When we are called, she gives each of us two small slips of paper. She explains the rules: “No helping each other. You each have to follow your separate clues.” So Virginia and I begin a scavenger hunt. What a great surprise – with each clue found there is a small gift, a special card, a little “I love you.” We are having fun and being loved in another family tradition – a scavenger hunt. Dorothy is repeating for us what we have done for our children every holiday – putting on an elaborately detailed, personal, clever scavenger hunt.
The Christian life is like a scavenger hunt. God placed in His children, not just the desire for us to know, to seek, to search out His mind and will and our purpose, but in the searching to experience joy in the hunt. God placed in us a drive to seek truth, to discover knowledge, to seek Him. And God gave us a heart that loves the seeking. In this scavenger-hunt life, we are given clues and directions and when we obey God He reveals more and more of Himself to us.

- Dr. Tim Thompson