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.

7 Deadly sins (Lust)

Lust: To have an intense desire.

Ok, so of the seven deadly sins, this is the one I struggle with the most. I am a night and day difference from where I was 5-10 years ago, but I still have my moments.

I call lust the silent destroyer because unlike other sins, you can hide lust within the depths of your being and nobody is privy to your issue......but it destroys you from within.

I could be talking to a woman and looking her in the eyes and sincerely listening to her intently, all the while catching glimpses of her body and wondering what it might look like with nothing else on.

I can recall when I really started trying to remove lust from my life. My wife and I were watching an award ceremony on TV and my wife said, "Tom look at the dress on this woman, she might as well not even be wearing anything".

She was actually helping me along in my sin without knowing it.

At that moment I sat her down on the couch and told her that I struggle with lust. I explained that I had no desire to act on any of it, but it was a real struggle and I would need her help to get me through it.

I am convinced that the majority of my lust issue stems from having intercourse with other women before I found my wife and got married.

God doesn't tell us not to have sex before marriage to be mean.

He tells us not to have sex before marriage because He knows that the road afterwards is going to be so much more difficult to travel down afterwards.

What truly helped me out of it was I had a great mentor in Christ named Pastor Jake (He is still a great mentor in my life). He shared with me and listened to me and told me about this book called Every Man's Battle that he thought would help me even further.

It did.

To any man that reads this that struggles with lust..........which is every man that reads this, I highly recommend that book.

I still have my moments.

I am imperfect..........but my marriage is so much better now that I am in the trenches fighting against the sin instead of being buddies with it.

When you lust after another woman. You steal from your spouse. You steal the thoughts that she and only she is entitled to.

Lust.

Get in the trenches, men.

7 Deadly sins (Envy)

Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.

Did you ever know anyone that no matter what they did in life it resulted in a win?

It seems like no matter if they make a bad choice or a good one that they come out of it smelling like a rose.

I knew this guy that life just happened right for him. Anything he touched turned to gold.

We were friends.

It was at a stage in my life where I felt like everything that came to me I had to work extremely hard to get it. Nothing came easy for me.

That alone is a tough thing to go through but add to the mix a guy who seemingly worked hard for nothing, and everything just showed up on his lap.

It began to drive me insane.

I seriously remember praying one day:

"God, why are things so difficult for me? I am trying to live my life the way you ask me to and this guy doesn't pray, doesn't read the Bible, doesn't go to church, and you are bending over backwards to make sure he has it all"!

Well God wasn't listening to me that day. This dude just kept reaping things he wasn't sowing.

I began to despise this guy even though he did nothing wrong to me.

My friend turned into my enemy, not because of something he did to me, but because of my perception that I was more deserving of good things than he was.

I would almost guarantee that if my envy had not gotten in the way, that he and I would be good friends to this day.

Do you see the danger of envy?

God tells us, "I am sufficient".

Envy shouts back, "I deserve more".

Envy leads to destruction.

Countries go to war all the time because of what another country has and they feel entitled to it.
Proverbs 14:30 -A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Perhaps you are feeling uncomfortable today.

Maybe you are in need of some inner peace.

I would ask you, are you suffering from spiritual osteoporosis?

Do you need to let go of some envy?

Let it go.

It will give peace to your soul.