The End I'd like to tell you a little bit about a boy named TJ. Every summer, as soon as school let out, old TJ would pack his bags and head on down to visit his cousin Peter, just like clockwork. But this year, this year things were going to be a little bit different. Now, TJ, he really wasn't a bad kid, but it just seemed like, well, that trouble followed him wherever he went. And it wasn't too long before he found himself in another fix. Here, have some ice cream. Let's go! Come on, Brad! Come on! Come on! Come on! Get off of him! Let's go! Come on, break it up. Go, Brad. Come on, Brad. You just wait. Go get in the truck. He started to go. You just wait. You'll get yours, Wim. You'll get yours. What's the matter with you? You stay there. TJ. Welcome back. Look at you. Hi, Mom. Where'd you get all that stuff? What's going in? Where'd you grab all that? He's inside. we're getting something all fixed up for you. In the excitement of seeing his aunt again, the incident was nearly forgotten. And the next day, Peter took TJ to the local BMX races. That was something TJ specialized in. Hey, nice work. No kidding. because I used to race BMX up in Chicago, and you looked great. But TJ was in for a little surprise. You ain't seen nothing yet, dog face. It was his enemy, Brad. You want some real racing? You should try old man Frederick's Enduro. What's that? The toughest race you'll ever see. And this year's first prize is a Honda XR80, and it's all mine. The challenge was made. If TJ could buy a bicycle and get into that special Enduro race, He'd beat Brad at his own game. That would show him. That would show everybody. Hey, I said I'd be there. By talking the family into cutting and selling firewood, well, T.J. was hoping to earn the extra money needed to buy the bike. Try hitting the branch here, boy. It's square now. You sure cutting down these trees is okay? Yeah, it's no problem. As long as they're dead. How'd they die? I don't know. They probably got some disease or something. Like people do? Yeah, I guess so. You know, Jesus talked about that. About what? About disease. See, only he called it sin. He said that you, me, well, that we're all born with it. No matter how good we are, we all still have it. And the only way we can get rid of it is by asking him to come inside and forgive us. Jesus said that? Yep You see he wants us to be strong and healthy Kind of like that tree over there But if we not you see if we haven asked Jesus into our hearts well, you know, like me and Mom did, well, when we stand before God, instead of spending an eternity with him in heaven, we'd only be fit for hell. Just dry, dead firewood. $250. Now that he had the bike, the next step was to get ready for the enduro race, to practice so he could beat Brad, so he could beat him good. Excuse me, sir. You think you could tell me where old man Frederick's enduro course is? Oh, yeah. That's just down the road, about a quarter mile. That's scary. You're going to see yourself a big gravel pit to your right. There it is. That one? Yeah. Thanks. Tim, let's go. Thank you. The End What do you do, dog face? You already dusted yourself this time. You're such a wit, man. You can't take that from you and get a chance in the enduro. What's this? It's a brand new bicycle. Leave it alone. Where are the training wheels? Leave it alone. You should take better care of your equipment, dog face. I mean, like, it might get scratched or something. I said leave it alone. You want me to leave it alone? Okay, I'll leave it alone. Get it! Come on, guys, get it! Come on! Get him! Get him, guys! All right! Yeah, let's go! We've got to stop this time, guys! Right, fool? He's a racist! Well, if you thought old TJ was steamed before, you really hated that kid now. In fact, he was so mad he'd do anything to get even. Anything. Hey! What? Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing to my bike? What are you doing to my bike? This time, TJ was lucky. He got away. And eventually found himself hiding out in the very woods where they'd cut down the trees. Hearing of the trouble, Peter had gone out to look for him. And it wasn too long until they got together You know you get quite a few people worried about you And if you'd like to kill me. I've really messed things up, haven't I? Yeah, well, hate and bitterness. That can be mighty ugly stuff. But you know, it's really no different from any other sin. The way it eats in and starts to destroy us. But how do you get rid of it? Well, I can only tell you how it worked for me. Jesus? Yeah. See, before, before I was kind of like this tree here, all dried out, full of sin, just dead wood. But when I asked Jesus to come inside and forgive me, and when he took control of my life, then his life started to flow through me. And I started to become more like that tree over there, full of life. What if I do that? If I ask him to come inside, then I can't do the things I used to. I'll have to start doing what he says. Well, that's right. You see, you'd be putting him in charge. How do you do it? Well, it all starts with a simple prayer. Would you help me? It would be my pleasure, old buddy. So as you pray with me now, you're actually going to be asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. And not only to forgive you, but to come in and take complete control of your life. You sure you're ready for something like that? Great. So why don't we pray and we'll just pray after now, okay? Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. And it was there by the lake that TJ asked Jesus into his heart to forgive him of all of his sins and to become his Lord. But it wasn't over yet. There was still the race. Would T.J. really be able to forgive his worst enemy? Would he really be free from all that hate and all that anger? Thank you. Come on. The End Come on Come on. The End If you forgive man when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. They're still neck and neck, but 57 is in perfect position to go low on that final burrow. With Jesus' help, you can forgive. Forgive him. He was free. Jesus had helped him to forgive. In fact, TJ actually pulled up higher on that track, allowing Brad to pass him and to win. Atta boy! Hey, you did good. Sure you did. You did your best. That's what counts. Nice try, boy. Maybe next time. Nice try? That was terrific, TJ. What do you mean? I lost. Did you? I didn't think so. Yes, me, I think you're starting to learn what winning's all about. Hey, TJ, my dad said we could fire this baby up over my place. Want to come? Yeah, that was one special summer for TJ. Lots of changes. But the biggest change was inside TJ's heart. Because, you see, with Jesus inside, not only were all his sins forgiven, but he actually had the power to love his worst enemy, to overcome evil with good. And with Jesus inside, TJ would continue to grow and mature, becoming everything God would want him to be. Thank you.
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