My goal

When I started writing this blog a few years ago, I really only one goal in mind.
Actually, I only had one person in mind.

I found this thing called "Stats" on my blog page about a few months ago. I'm not sure if it is new or if I just now noticed it, but this thing is amazing.
When you click on it, it shows you how many people have read the blog and where people are reading it.

Without giving details and appear like I am bragging, I will just say that this blog has been read on 6 of 7 continents (and several islands that I never knew existed). That is so amazing to me.
God embraces technology!!!

The problem was this though: That was not my goal.
My goal had not been achieved........

..........Until now.

2 1/2 years later.

I began writing this blog with my friend in mind.
Only my wife knew the reason.
My idea was that through this blog, I could show her that God is not a God of rules but a God of grace.
I wanted to show her that not all Christians are hypocrites, just flawed humans like everyone else trying to make sense out of this life and clinging to the only hope we know....Jesus.
I know sometimes we screw up and say the wrong thing and we pretend to have all of life's answers.
When questioned why bad things happen to good people we want to spew something spiritual, when in fact the person would be content with an "I don't know" response.

Knowing that she has been hurt in the past. Knowing that when she lost her father, she was angry at God. After all, why would a loving and caring God take this little girl's daddy away from her.

I don't know.

But I knew if I wrote this blog, that because she is my friend and we have had conversations about God at times, that she would read it.
I knew that if she felt pressured to believe something, she would walk the other way so our conversations never got to deep.

So I began this blog. Read it when you feel like it.
No pressure.
I just kept praying that at some point, God would tap her on the shoulder and let her know that He is real and that He loves her.

The other day, I received an e-mail from her.

These are her words:

[ Our house was broken into on Friday. Luckily no one was home. They took lots of electronics and some sentimental items. I was wrecked that my first engagement ring that ---- bought me was missing. For the first time in my life I prayed and questioned...

Dear God, why? We are good people, we do no wrong to others and we try very hard to raise our son to love everyone and not be biased. The little we have, we have worked hard for.

I prayed to make this incident go away quickly and without a lot of aggravation.
I believe I have been answered.
As of 9PM last night my claim with the insurance company has been closed and a check mailed to us for replacement of our items. This might not be traditional in the sense of prayer for you but I asked for help and received it. Not only will I get to replace what was missing, I will also make a little money to help with some other things. ]

FREAKING SWEET!!!!!!!

I'm not saying my friend joined a local church and plays handbells now (I actually pray God never let's the handbells thing happen), but it's a breakthrough.


Christians reading this, I know you have someone on your heart and it seems like there is no way they are ever going to believe.
Stop acting like God is small. His timing is perfect. Keep praying.

If you are a skeptic, atheist, or agnostic, my friend prayed to God and in her words...." I asked for help and received it".
What do you have to lose?

Since receiving this e-mail, I haven't really felt like posting anything else and to be honest, this blog will change going forward. I probably will not post as often as I have been and when I do, it may not even be anything spiritual.
I'm just not sure. I just know that I am thankful that it helped my friend inch closer to a relationship with God.

It's a beautiful day

Some friends and I were at the U2 concert in Minneapolis this last week.
It was amazing!

60,000 + people in the brand new TCF outdoor stadium.
The lights went down and Bono's voice came across the speakers, and when the lights came on the place went absolutely nuts.

The sky was threatening but it had remained dry into the evening.

About 3 songs into their set, I felt it.
A drop of rain hit my head.

Midway throughout the song, it was thundering and lightning was flashing and it was pouring down rain.
Wise people pulled out their ponchos and threw them on quickly.

Not me.
Not wise.
No poncho.

My first thought was "This sucks.....this is gonna put a damper on the night for sure".

I was completely drenched, but just when I was beginning to be bothered by it, something amazing happened.

From outside the stadium, fireworks began exploding in the air.
Inside the stadium, on the giant screen, a video played of an astronaut named Giffords, who floated cutout words toward the camera from zero gravity.

The words: "It's a beautiful day".

You may remember his name. His wife, Gabrielle Giffords was at a political function at a mall a few months back when a man showed up and shot her in the head.

The band started singing "It's a beautiful day".

60,000+ people erupted in dancing, screaming and applause.

.........And in the midst of a storm

.........Joy!

I thought to myself, why?
Why would a crowd this big in the middle of a huge storm be joyful?
How could they be this excited?

Here is how.

The fans at this concert saw a bigger picture.
If there was nothing happening but the rain, people would have been running for cover and miserable.

But there was more than rain happening.
U2 was playing live for them. Fireworks were going off. There was an awesome stage and an amazing light show.....and an astronaut that had every reason to be depressed and miserable, telling them that today is a beautiful day.

Christians reading this listen to me.
This is how we are to live our lives.

You may have just been handed divorce papers.
Maybe you just got laid off.
Maybe your world is crumbling down around you...

Rain

We need to live our lives seeing the bigger picture.
Jesus came. He was crucified for you and I.
He rolled the rock away and came out.

He did all of that so we have a bigger picture than the huge storm hovering over us from time to time.

In the end He wins, and we win right along with him.
Like the old hymn goes, "Trouble don't last always".

In the midst of the storm...

May you see the fireworks.
May you hear the music
And may you hear the voice of God telling you, "It's a beautiful day"

The body slam is coming

Not too long ago there was a news story about this kid who was getting bullied in Australia.
The video went viral and it was on every major news channel by days end.

The kid that was being bullied was just standing there in an outdoor hallway while this smaller bully kept taunting him. The bully threw a couple of punches and the kid just stood there and took it.....

Until the kid decided that enough was enough.

The boy that was getting pushed around and taunted finally just grabbed the bully around the waist, picked him up in the air, and body slammed the bully down on the concrete.

Something snapped in that kid and he decided that he was not going to let the bully disrespect him any longer.....and when it was decided, it ended very bad for the bully, who had trouble getting his footing back, and limped off.

I don't know that bully, but I would be willing to bet that he has learned a lesson, and if he were speaking to you and I he would tell us, "Be careful who you disrespect, A body slam is coming".

You need this warning.
So do I.

Most likely, just today you poked God in the chest with your pointer finger and told him, "Look pal, I'm doing this thing my way"!
Most likely, just this week you got up in God's face and told Him, "You make me sick with all of your rules".
Most likely, recently you pushed God out of your way and said, "I don't need you in my life"!

You need this warning.
So do I.

God will take being pushed aside.
God can handle the disrespect of the finger to His chest.
God can shoulder the hurt of us edging him out of our lives.

But there comes a point when He is done being bullied by us.

You may not have received it yet, but if you are bullying God around, it's not too far away.

You need this warning.
So do I.

A body slam is coming.

The disappearance of Lazarus

It doesn't matter if you are Christian or not, you know the name Lazarus.
You know the story.

He was Jesus' friend.
He died.
Jesus wept.
Jesus made the journey to Lazarus' tomb.
Jesus shouted for Lazarus to come out.
Lazarus came back to life and exited the tomb.

We remember the story because it was an amazing miracle.

Lazarus was a part of one of the greatest miracles ever witnessed.
And then...........

Lazarus disappeared.

You might be reading this now and saying to yourself, "Tom, you're missing the point. The story is about Jesus and the miracle he performed. Lazarus is insignificant".

I would respond by saying, "You're right".

However, I also believe that is only half of the reason this story exists in the Bible.

My opinion is that this story is not just to inform us that Jesus raised somebody from the dead.......He has done that before.

You don't hear anything else about Lazarus after that day (except once, where someone mentioned his name along with Jesus, as people that they wanted dead).

This story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead is more than just about the miracle that Jesus performed.

Lazarus disappeared!!

Here was a man that had been given a second chance at life.
A new beginning.
HE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!!!

What did Lazarus do with his second opportunity?

We don't know......Lazarus just vanishes into thin air.

Now, let's say that Lazarus did something awesome with his second chance.
Wouldn't you think it would be recorded in the scriptures?

Of course it would.

Here is what I think. Lazarus went on living a normal life.
And he totally blew a second chance at life.

I can't prove it, but it makes sense to me.

If you are reading this and you are a skeptic, I pray that Jesus'. Miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead leaves you in awe and that maybe you decide that if Jesus truly did that, that He may actually be God incarnate.

If you are reading this and are a Christian, I want you to think about this.
There was a day when Jesus called you out of the tomb as well.
HE CALLED YOU OUT!!!!!

What are you doing with your life now?
Are you alive but still have the stench of death on you?
Or have you charged out of the tomb with a bucket of ice water looking to push back the gates of Hell?

Christian, Don't you dare just come out of your tomb and live an ordinary life.
Don't you dare!

Jesus has called you out!

Leave the disappearing act to Lazarus........and you go change the world!

I just have 2 questions

There was a rabbi back in the first century named Rabbi Akiba.
One day he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, reciting scripture out loud.

He was so deep in thought that he made a wrong turn and darkness had fallen.
He ended up in front of a large gate.

As he was standing there, a loud voice echoed out to him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here".

Startled, the rabbi stood in silence trying to figure out where the voice came from.

Again the loud voice boomed, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The voice was that of a Roman soldier standing guard over the gate to a fort.

Rabbi Akiba thought for a moment and then spoke.
"How much do they pay you to ask these questions"?

The Roman soldier replied, "3 Drachma".

Rabbi Akiba responded, "I will pay you double if you agree to stand outside my house and ask me those same two questions every morning".

It's easy to forget who we are isn't it?
It's easy to forget as Christians what our purpose is on this planet isn't it?

Think about those 2 questions for a moment and ask them of yourself.

Who am I?
What am I doing here?

We hate questions don't we?
We love answers but we hate questions.

That's because questions force us to examine ourselves.
We can lie to someone in our answer to their question, but the damage has already been done once the question is posed.

Internally, questions like "who am I", and "what am I doing here", can rip our soul apart looking for the truth.

It's uncomfortable ground we are on now isn't it?

Rabbi Akiba knew who he was.
He knew what he was put on Earth for.......

What he wanted was a reminder. Something to move him from comfortable to uneasy.

That's where growth happens.

So I will end with just 2 questions for you.

Who are you?
What are you doing here?

May you be confident in your answers but more importantly, may you be made uncomfortable through the questions themselves.......

And may you grow as your soul dives for the truth.

As is

I have never been the kind of person to purchase something "as is".
I like to have the ability to return the item if something is wrong with it.

The only reason someone wants to sell something "as is", is because they know something ain't right with what they are trying to sell.

Trust me on this:
If you are buying a shirt and the label says "as is", a button is missing.
If you are buying pants and the label says "as is", one leg is longer than the other.
If you are buying food and the label says "as is", you need to be slapped upside the head.

What I'm saying is that the "as is" label is telling you something.

"As is" is jacked up.
"As is" has some issues.

"As is" is imperfect.

In short, I want nothing to do with "as is".............but I am imperfect too.

I am "as is".

I am jacked up.
I have issues.
I am imperfect.

So who in there right mind would be interested in us who are "as is"?

Well I just so happen to know somebody who specializes in purchasing "as is" people.
He seeks them out.
He hangs around the clearance rack.
He is not concerned about imperfections........not worried about a return policy.

Jesus is an "as is" God.

You don't need to clean up your act before he takes interest in you.
He is interested in you now. With all of your imperfections.

He is waiting for you......"as is".

7 Deadly sins (Laziness)

I will write about this later.