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Posts by Tim Bates

Tim lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Melanie and two children, Calvin and Caroline. He serves as a deacon, teacher and small group leader at Maranatha Bible Church.

Reflections on a World Without Sports

July 28, 2020 by Tim Bates

It’s over. America’s sportsless drought is over. We’ve gone months without professional team sports and it’s finally over. Sports are back. As an avid sports fan, I am thrilled. When 2020 did its thing and canceled sports I was devastated. In the month of March alone, I had tickets for 3 different basketball games. I […]

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: sanctification, sports

Inspired to Conspire

April 29, 2020 by Tim Bates

2020 is already the oddest and most surprising year of my life. Personally, it’s been filled with news and events I was not expecting (most of which was good) and then obviously the onset of SARS-CoV-2 and the ensuing global reaction have truly been historic regardless of what happens. One of the surprising side effects […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: conspiracy theory, coronavirus, COVID-19, noetic effects of the fall

How Much Is A Life Worth?

April 9, 2020 by Tim Bates

Have you ever thought about how much a person would sell for? Have you considered in dollar amounts what you would pay for a human being? If we’re ever going to resume normalcy then we have to figure out the answer to the question posed in the title of this post: how much is a […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, life

Speaking Rightly of God

March 19, 2020 by Tim Bates

The book of Job is best known for Job’s patience in enduring a multitude of difficult trials. The destruction of his property to the death of his children to his being inflicted with a skin disease and finally to the harsh rebukes from his friends. In the end, Job remains faithful to God (after God […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: accuracy, comfort, Job, Suffering

Strong-Willed Child or Weak-Willed Parent?

February 21, 2020 by Tim Bates

Anyone who has been around someone who is the parent of a child has heard the term strong-willed child. It should identify a child who is unusually resistant to usually effective discipline. This child laughs at a spanking and scoffs when their parent takes away privileges. He or she is so dead set on their […]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: parenting, strong-willed child

Unforgiving Attack Dogs

December 23, 2019 by Tim Bates

The National Football League recently decided to honor former quarterback Mike Vick by making him an honorary captain in the league’s annual Pro Bowl. Vick was undoubtedly one of the most electrifying players the NFL has ever seen. His speed, elusiveness, and arm caused a lot of problems for opposing teams. Vick, on the other […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: dogs, forgiveness, mike vick, NFL

Supported by the Public

December 17, 2019 by Tim Bates

Asking for a raise is one of the most intimidating aspects of being employed. An employee subjects themselves to an evaluation of their worth in hopes of garnishing an increase in wages. The wages are ultimately derived from the owner of the company, so the employee isn’t merely asking for more money out of a […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Money, taxes

Rebuke, Reprove, Recycle

December 5, 2019 by Tim Bates

The internet has proven to be a resource for Christians. It is a good resource for history, commentaries from sound Bible interpreters, answers to difficult questions, and information regarding the contents of the 66 books of God’s Word. It’s also a resource for bad information, wrong answers, and seemingly unloving people professing to have (and […]

Filed Under: Theology

Brown Journalism

September 27, 2019 by Tim Bates

This past week we witnessed one of the ugliest instances of “journalism” I have ever seen. A young man from Iowa stumbled into raising over a million dollars for a children’s hospital in his home state. It’s the same hospital that overlooks the University of Iowa’s football stadium. The same hospital that gets waved to […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: brown journalism, cancel culture, current events, journalism, routine background check, social media, Things Above Us, Tim Bates, tweets

Good Reputations

August 28, 2019 by Tim Bates

This past Sunday two men were up to be affirmed as new elders of our church. As our senior pastor read through the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3 I was struck by the last trait listed in the first paragraph: 1 Timothy 3:7 (NASB) And he must have a good reputation with those outside […]

Filed Under: Evangelism, Theology Tagged With: elder qualifications, good reputation

Outsourcing Discipleship

August 6, 2019 by Tim Bates

In the secular world, teachers notice a difference between kids whose parents are active in the education of their children and kids who have parents who assume no role in that arena. The teacher can be brilliant in their understanding of the material, exceptionally gifted at communicating information to their given audience, and highly motivated […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: apologetics, Youth Group

Choked Out by Thorns

August 1, 2019 by Tim Bates

In the fourth chapter of his Gospel, Mark records the Parable of the Sower as told by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the seeds is immediately gobbled up by birds (Mark 4:4), the next seed quickly grows in rocky soil but eventually withers away (Mark 4:5-6), the third seed falls in thorns, […]

Filed Under: Theology

How Much Should Pro Athletes Get Paid?

July 23, 2019 by Tim Bates

The short, cold, unflinching answer to the question posed in the title of this post is: whatever the market allows, but my fellow laborers at Things Above Us demand I write more than a dozen or so words. Let’s discuss this topic with sins like greed and envy at the forefront of our minds. Let’s […]

Filed Under: Sports, Theology

Balaam and His Donkey as a Historical Event

June 27, 2019 by Tim Bates

In the 22nd chapter of the book of Numbers, we find the story of Balaam and his talking donkey. I want us to think of this portion of Scripture as a piece of actual history. We hear about beasts of burden speaking to humans and we get the urge to chalk this up as a […]

Filed Under: Theology

How to Fix the NBA

June 19, 2019 by Tim Bates

If I had to rank my interest in sports it would go something like this: NFL MLB College Football College Basketball I would put the NBA at #5 but it wouldn’t accurately convey just how far from #4 it actually is. The NFL is definitely my favorite now that my Cleveland Browns are showing signs […]

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: finals, hakeem, lebron, NBA, playoffs

Sweat Shops

June 6, 2019 by Tim Bates

All of us have looked at a tag on a piece of clothing and found the words Made in _____. Typically the name of the country printed on the tag is not the United States or even Canada. It’s China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam or some other far away country. Companies opt to produce their clothing […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: economics, ethics, sweat shops

Tips for a Money Marriage

May 29, 2019 by Tim Bates

My wife and I do not have a perfect marriage. We have, however, done some things well. Money has never been a real issue in our marriage. Perhaps it was because when we first got married we didn’t have any money to fight over. The first few years of our marriage we made shockingly low […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Marriage, Money

I’m Sorry You Were Confused

May 22, 2019 by Tim Bates

On the daily, there is an instance where a social-justice-oriented famous “Christian” says something borderline heretical, completely asinine, or self-contradictory and then, after the backlash, tries to walk back what they said. During this walk back they try to shift blame to the receivers and accuse them of twisting words or of just not understanding […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: confused, social media, walk back

God Hears Your Prayers: STTA!

May 2, 2019 by Tim Bates

Something to think about!

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The first verse of the Bible as well as basic reasoning each point to God as the creator of the world. Nothing exists without Him. He is all-powerful. There is no being greater than He is. No being can be greater than He […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Culture, sanctification, Something To Think About

You Don’t Know What It’s Like

April 24, 2019 by Tim Bates

During my unintentionally extended tenure as a college student, I recall hearing this quote attributed as an Indian proverb: Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins. I have never walked a mile in anyone’s shoes but my own. I have three sisters and we were all raised by the same […]

Filed Under: Theology

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