Love is not just emotional. Biblical love starts and continually involves the mind. The affections are merely the expression of the love. Jeremiah tells us the heart is desperately sick. If we let our affections direct our love, we’ll be no different than the world – falling in and out of love. Biblical love is also a self-sacrificial action that puts the needs of others above ourselves. Affections will never get you to that level. Additionally, biblical love only loves what God loves. Again, mere affections will never rise to that level.
Randy Smith

Tim Dorf

Tim Dorf

Tim Dorf

I was raised in what you would call an average Polish, Roman Catholic household, parochial schools and church every Sunday. I remember crying because I couldn’t go to church because my parents thought I was too young. They probably didn’t want the hassle or embarrasment of me acting like a normal three year old in church.

My first touch with church was being made an altar boy in first grade, boy did I think that was neat. I remember the first time I “served Mass”, I was scared to death and made some big mistakes, vowing never to be an altar boy again. I looked at my priests growing up wondering if they did the same things that I did, eating, crying, being sick etc., I really thought they were supernatural, I found out later, much to my chagrin they weren’t.

As far back as I could remember in school I developed this fear of death, but never wanting to tell anybody. It actually at ten years old kept me up at nights thinking I could die and never wake up! It was at this time I started thinking about purgatory, and deciding that I didn’t want to go there because I was taught we had to suffer in fire for awhile, because we hurt God by our sins, so I just decided to forget about those things, thinking as a child does that if you forget, they would go away, of course many years later God reminded me again that we spend eternity somewhere.

The most fearful thing at that time was going to confession to a priest and telling him what I did wrong, I was embarrased and lied in confession, and of course when I got old enough I stopped going all together. I was in retrospect on the road to salvation because I was rejecting even though I didn’t know it things that God didn’t require of mankind.

As I got into my teens the experimentation with sin began, smoking, girls, rebellion, etc. I remember starting to go out and drink at that time, coming home when ever I wanted too. My parents had no choice but to more or less ask me to leave home. I didn’t want to work or be responsible, I wanted everyone to take care of me while I goofed off, sleeping or partying, oh of course I blamed everyone but myself. I didn’t realize it at the time but God had plans for me!

I moved into the YMCA at this time and continued my rebellious ways, not wanting to work or be responsible, while I was asleep the problems didn’t exist or so I thought. But, it was at this time my sister got saved and came back to Racine and invited me to a Jack Van Impe crusade at Memorial Hall in Racine. I remembered him speaking about the signs that pointed to Christ’s return and that if you weren’t saved Hell awaited for you. It was the last night of the meetings that I went forward when the invitation was given. I remember going into the back room with a counselor and being asked if I knew why I was there. I started crying and babbled about my relationship with my parents. I actually don’t remember anything that happened after that. I know if the counselor was doing his job that the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ was faithfully preached, but as the Bible says that the wicked one will come in and snatch that seed away before it can take root in our heart. I went away I believe not saved, but the word of God was sown in my heart and no matter what I did He was there! (Psalm 139:7,8)

I was raised in a Polish Roman Catholic home, parochial schools and church every Sunday. My first thoughts about religion was the concept of purgatory, what would it be like? I was taught that it was a fire that cleansed you of your venial sins. The thought of fire scared me to death and decided I didn’t want to go there. I must of realized that I wasn’t good enough to stay out of purgatory that I just decided not to worry about it anymore, like most kids you think if you don’t think about it, it would go away.

I also remember at this time my unbelievable fear of going to confession to tell my sins to a priest, I was ashamed and embarrased to do it, so I went in there and lied thinking that God would understand, not knowing that Catholic theology teaches that it is a mortal sin to make a bad confession.

It seems to me God had His hand upon my life already, I had already given up two hopes of Catholicism absolution and purgatory.

It was in my mid teens that I started the downhill slide with sin. I started experimenting with tabacco, alcohol, pornography, women, you name it I did it, just so I could be one of the guys. I was irresponsible about my own life, not wanting to work, sleeping all the time, thinking my parents would take care of me! It was at eighteen that the shock came! OUT! My parents requested that I leave the house. So I moved into the YMCA and took up where I left off, partying and being totally irresponsible about work etc., thinking ole mom and dad would bail me out. Now I realize only Jesus Christ could bail me out. My parents did as best as they could with a total jerk!

It was at this time my sister had gotten saved and invited me to attend the Jack Van Impe crusades at Memorial Hall in Racine. I went to almost all of them. What stands out in my mind was the fact that he showed all things going on in the world pointed to the fact that Jesus was coming soon, and I could escape Hell!. I don’tthink I realized it was Jesus that I needed but an escape. On that Friday I went forward to get out of my predicament. I remember the counselor asking me why I came forward, I babbled about my relationship with my parents but don’t remember anything else. The Bible says that the wicked one will come in and steal the seed, but I believe even though I don’t remember, the seed had been sown, the GOSPEL of Christ! I went away unsaved, but our merciful God had called me and wouldn’t stop calling me until he saved me! The events surrounding my salvation were all according to His plan! (Psalms 119:7,8)

I went away from the Jack Van Impe crusades an unchanged man and the problems followed me also, not wanting the responsibility of an adult man, job, bill paying etc.

God had plans for me, even though I didn’t realize it, my partying was more important I guess. I remember going shopping with my dad and sister to a furniture store in Racine. I remember so well my fathers voice sounding odd, he had a bad rasp and couldn’t get any volume. We suggested that it might be pnuemonia, but in our hearts we knew it was much worse. My dad went to a specialist who checked him out and gave us the bad news-CANCER! We refused to believe it at first and when the doctor said maybe a year to live we almost fell apart. To make a long story short exploratory surgery was done and they found a tumor on the trachea which couldn’t be operated on. Chemotherapy and radiation were the only alternatives.

I don’t remember ever having been more emotionally upset in my entire life. During the first few months of the therapy not knowing if it would work, getting up each morning was a difficult undertaking. The days were long and drawn out, and the worst part was I blamed myself for his being sick, and manifested that guilt by accusing my family they didn’t care as much as I.

In the spring of 1982 I was living alone on the east side of Racine, our wonderful loving Father got a hold on my heart. I believe with all my heart that God was sparing my life, I was at the end of my rope, I was that depressed over my father. At 3:00 in the morning I awoke and sat upright in bed, I don’t know why, but I went into the bathroom and I believe that God was trying at that time to get a hold on me, I fell to my knees and and cried out to God to take whatever I had left to use it for His glory because I had made a mess of it all, I believed that God miraculously saved my hell bound soul that morning. Romans 10:13. The seed was planted at Van Impe’s crusade and bore fruit those few years later. I look back and realized that God took me through that experience to teach me to trust Him totally. After salvation a mistake I made was a mistake many new babes in Christ make they don’t seek out a good church or even look for a church, and God brought more heartache into my life to teach me that I needed His Word and His people, the world didn’t hold any answers! 1 John 2:17

To start out this last part of my testimony it has been 7 years since that night and praise our God my dad is doing fine, a miracle was performed in my dad’s life, he needs to be saved so pray for him.

I remember after that experience in the bathroom that morning that things didn’t hold any allure for me, but as an uneducated person I just thought that I was growing up, not realizing that the Holy Spirit was doing things in my life.

I got mixed up with some bad people also. One was a homosexual who had designs on me, Satan used that to convince me I might had homosexual tendencies. That was the second most stressed emotionally I had ever been. I met some people at this time who claimed to be Christians, one was a charismatic, no offense, but in many ways made my situation worse, because he had no answers to my problems. The other knew the right words but didn’t have the testimony, it was like the blind leading the blind, but I was the one who almost fell into the ditch.

I remember even trying the Catholic church again, and went twice and realized it was hypocrisy to go to a church I knew was not right just to be going to a church. The next church was a “Word Movment” church. They taught me it was more important to dance around, swing your hips, shake you back end, play loud music in the service, and speak in tongues and healing than to worship God according to your spirit. I rejected that and was told I didn’t have enough faith… sound familiar?

So one day I decide to call churches and decide for myself who was right, and where I belonged, I had been studying my Bible at this time, but it was so disjointed I didn’t know which end was up. I called St. Rose Catholic church and was told just to believe in God. I called the Lutheran church down the block and was told baptism was the way you were born again. I called the 1st Presbyterian church down town Racine and was told by the office lady that it wasn’t any of my business what she believed! God had the next call all planned out in His sovreign will! I called Calvary Baptist Church in Sturtevant and asked the pastor there “What is your doctrine of salvation?”, he answered “The blood of Jesus Christ is the only way that a man can get saved”. It was like a light went on in my head! That’s It, so simple, that day I believed I got the assurance of my salvation! It took five weeks but I started attending that church and what a baptized in November of 1985, what a glorious feeling to know I had done God’s will! I now attend Lighthouse Baptist Temple in Racine and it is a privilege to serve our Lord Jesus Christ! It has been a long road and often times tough, but I know that God has directed every step just to save my soul, even though He didn’t have to. That kind of love is incredible, have you experienced that kind of love in your life? If there wasn’t a time in your life that you realized that you were a lost, hell-bound sinner who couldn’t get to heaven on his own strength, and you just by simple faith put you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, the one who died for you at Calvary 2,000 years ago to reconcile you with God, why don’t you take care of that right now? I pray that you will before it is eternally too late!

Tim