The Misunderstood Savior
“And some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?’ Jesus, therefore, again groaning in Himself came to the grave. . .”
John 11:37-38a
Do You Believe This?
“Jesus said unto her, ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this’?”
John 11:25-26
Lord, If You Had Been Here
“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him—but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died’.”
John 11:20-21
Resurrection Faith is rooted in Who He is, not just what He can do.
Hers was a partial faith, if you will—this faith of Martha. She’d sent word to Jesus two days before that her brother, Lazarus, “the one Whom you love,” was sick (Jn. 11:3). And, knowing Martha’s propensity for being punctual, prim-and-proper (Lk. 10:38-40), we must assume she expected Him to drop everything and immediately come to Lazarus’ bedside.
But, He didn’t.
He “abode two days still in the same place where He was” (Jn. 11:6).
She was okay the first few hours after the servant returned and told her he’d given Jesus the message. She kept going to the window, looking out to see if this One with healing in His Hands was scurrying their way.
But, He wasn’t.
No sign of Him anywhere on the horizon. And when Lazarus gave up the ghost. . .after Jesus had had sufficient time to get there. . .her disappointment (and possible resentment) in Him began to surface.
The Secret to True Life
“Jesus said unto her, ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this’?”
John 11:25-26
Living in this Reality will change our lives forever.
The Apostle Paul understood what Jesus meant in today’s Manna when he wrote I Cor. 15:12-58. His explanation of the implications and impact of Jesus’ Resurrection is truly profound and hard-hitting; yet, even then they are still just theological truths until Jesus’ words come alive in our own lives.
The Greek word “zoe” is used here for “Life” and is always used in the New Testament when referring to the Christ-Life, spiritual life or eternal life. Although it’s the root word from which we get “zoology,” Jesus’ use of it for Himself opens unto us a whole new world of meaning—especially when contrasted with the other two, primary Greek words used for life: “Bios” and “Psuche.”
The 26 Guards of God
Here’s a message that will bring you chills. Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and Then just put it on a list and said, ‘I’ll pray for them later’? Or has anyone ever called you and said, ‘I need you to pray for me, I have this need?’
Read the following story that was sent to me and may it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this….
A missionary on furlough told this true story while Visiting his home church in Michigan .
‘While serving at a small field hospital in Africa , every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.
On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, Purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin My two-day journey back to the field hospital.
Christ’s Life-Changing Claim
“Jesus said unto her, ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this’?”
John 11:25-26
Of all of His sayings, none are more powerful than this.
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life.”
The Incarnation—the “Word made flesh” (Jn. 1:1, 14). A mystery, but not life-changing. The Virgin birth—incomprehensible, but not life-changing. His sinless life—remarkable, but not life-changing. His Substitutionary Atonement on the Cross—that which frees us from the “Curse of the Law” (Gal. 3:10-13), but not life-changing.
But, Jesus’ words to Martha that day. . .on His way to raise Lazarus from the dead. . .were radical. Never-heard-before radical. Way-over-my-head radical.
Yet, later—after His Resurrection—she’d understand them.
And, she’d never be the same again.
And The Place Was Shaken
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together. And, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke the Word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4:31
If there was ever a time we need it to happen again, it’s now.
Theirs was no normal, Wednesday-night-prayer-meeting-as-usual gathering. Instead, something happened that day/night when Peter and John met together with their fellow believers to tell them all that had happened to them after their arrest and imprisonment (4:1-23).
Even though the Holy Spirit had come in power on them at Pentecost (2:1-13). . .and even though 3,000 souls had been added to their number after Peter’s powerful sermon (2:14-41). . . and even though God had miraculously healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, which resulted in an additional 5,000 folks being saved (3:1-4:4). . .Peter and John had been arrested and thrown into jail overnight (4:3).
Clothed With Humility
“. . .Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility—for ‘God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
I Peter 5:5b-6
It’s a soft garment of Grace given by the Master Designer to those who know His heart.
Humility.
We don’t hear much about this spiritual virtue these days in this “I’m right and you’re wrong,” proud world of ours. Yet, if we are to truly “know Christ and the power of His Resurrection” (Phil. 3:10a), we must “humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of God;” otherwise, we’ll always find ourselves in opposition to Him.
The question, then, is “What is humility and how do we recognize it?”
The Greek word “tapeinophrosune” is used here for “humility” and basically means “humbleness of mind, self-abasing, modesty, cast down, of low estate, to rein in or curb, etc.” Thus, it’s just the opposite of exalting one’s self or always seeking to be in the spotlight.
God’s Requirements for Drawing Near
“Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
It’s an open-ended invitation that clearly spells out the terms for entrance.
“Come unto Me.”
Never has there been a simpler, more blessed invitation than this one. If we received a handwritten, special-delivery invitation today from the President we’d sit down dumbfounded. If a courier showed up at our door with a beautifully embossed invitation on expensive, designer paper . . .inviting us to a gathering of the world’s “rich-and-famous”. . .stating we’d be the special guest at the head table of the wealthiest man on the planet. . .we’d stare in disbelief and say, “Why me?”
Yet, the God of the universe has invited us to “Come unto Him,” even though He knows everything about us (Ps. 139).
Every evil thought we’ve ever had (or will have). Every sinful deed we’ve ever done (or will do). Every unloving, critical word we’ve ever spoken (or will speak).
But, He still says “Come unto Me.”
The question is “Will we, like the prodigal son, arise and go” (Lk. 15:18a)?