Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

We had a catacombs last night at Club Nation. We try to approach those events without any agenda except getting into God's presence. I felt like the Lord gave me such a clear picture of what He wanted to do in our lives last night as we worshipped him. In John 11, Lazarus has been in a tomb for four days and Jesus said, "Lazarus, come out." I felt like the picture the Lord gave me was this. Everytime we sin part of us dies. We entomb ourselves. Our sins are like the burial clothes that were wrapped around corpses. And eventually, if we allow sin to run it's course, we turn into a mummy. Sin mummifies. But Jesus calls us out of the tomb just like he called Lazarus out. He wants to unwrap us like he unwrapped Lazarus. To think of sin as "right and wrong" is a shallow understanding of sin. Sin is about life and death. When we sin, part of us dies relationally and emotionally and spiritually. Sin kills dreams. But Jesus came to resurrect us. He wants to resurrect laughter. He wants to resurrect dreams. The story of Lazarus isn't just about something that happened 2,000 years ago. It's a picture of what Jesus wants to do in each of our lives today. By the way, the mental picture I had all night was Lazarus coming out of the tomb. He must have been "hopping" since he was wrapped like a mummy. So we ended the night "doing the Lazarus" and singing Trading my Sorrows. I guess we invented a new dance? The Lazarus dance. There is nothing like getting into the presence of God. Anything can happen!