Freedom - My Thoughts on John 11, the Story of Lazarus (Part 3)

Read John 11:38-44

These verses take us to death's door. I love this story and the way you can hear and feel His compassion coming through the words. Isn't it wonderful to know how He is moved by our hurts? Such love!

Jesus simply said "Take away the stone." Sounds simple enough, but Martha being the practical-thinking woman she was, explained how if they did that then there would be a bad odor because he'd been there for four days. Don't you know that death stinks? Our sin-nature stinks! It's putrid. However, there is the "but God" moment of "when you believe". Jesus says in verse 40, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

Then Jesus looked up (from where does your help come from??) and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me. I knew that You always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent me."

He always hears, but do we always believe? He said those things for the benefit of those hearing Him SO THAT THEY WOULD BELIEVE THE FATHER SENT HIM.

When Jesus spoke his name - "Lazarus, come out!" - the funniest thing happened. He obeyed. Lazarus came out, but he was still dressed in his grave clothes. His hands and feet were wrapped and there was a cloth around his face. We can be wrapped in sin and bound to the things of this world. It wasn't until Jesus said "take off the grave clothes and let him go" that he could walk away from that which had bound him in his death.

Step One - obey. Walk out of the pit when Jesus calls your name.

Step Two - get rid of the grave clothes. It may require others helping you and praying with you.

Step Three - let go. Don't turn back. Walk away from the grave and leave the things that bound you to it behind.

The things of your past do not have to bind you in your present or in your future. There is freedom. He is the resurrection and the life! Do you believe this?

Freedom - My Thoughts on John 11, the Story of Lazarus (Part 2)

Read John 11:17-37

So, here they go to Bethany, otherwise known to Thomas as their "death march". Martha goes to Jesus and leaves Mary at the house. I think this is very much in character for her. She wants to know the when, where, how and why not! I find it interesting that Jesus chooses this conversation to declare once again who He is.

Listen to what He says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

I read that and I hear the power in those words. However, Martha who was living out a nightmare, simply retorts '"Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."' I could be completely wrong, but when I read that I hear obligation on Martha's part. It wasn't really what she wanted to hear from Him, but not wanting to deny Him she made her confession and left. Following that same logic, I think she was basically saying to Mary "you go deal with the Teacher...I can't do this right now".

Be honest. How many times have you felt that way? How many times have we done the exact same thing? He speaks, but it doesn't always line up with what we had in mind. Yet, remember that Martha still believed. She said, "I know that God will give You whatever You ask." She had faith! Oh, yes she did!

And then, there is Mary. When she hears of His arrival she runs to Him. Side note: have you noticed that Jesus only went so far and that the women had to go to Him? He will make Himself known, but it's up to us to take the steps toward Him for relationship and reward.

Jesus was moved and troubled when He saw her and those with her weeping. He hurts when You hurt. Verses 35 & 36 say, "Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, 'See how He loved him.'" Jesus knew what miracle He would perform that day. I don't think he wept because of Lazarus. I think He wept because of the compassion He felt for the people crying at His feet.

He loves you. He loves deeply. He is moved by your tears. He is moved by your prayers.

These are the complete lyrics to Jesus Loves Me. Let it be your confession today.


Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Chorus:
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.”

Jesus loves me when I'm good,
When I do the things I should,
Jesus loves me when I'm bad,
Though it makes Him very sad.

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! Loves me still
Tho' I'm very weak and ill;
That I might from sin be free
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Jesus loves me! See His grace!
On the cross He took my place.
There He suffered and He died,
That I might be glorified.

Jesus loves me! God's own Son
Over sin the vict'ry won.
When I die, saved by His grace,
I shall see Him face to face.

Freedom-my thoughts on John 11, the story of Lazarus (Part 1)

I had someone tell me recently that I needed to put the devotionals I've been doing on Lazarus "down on paper". Well, I guess in this day and time a blog IS "down on paper"! I'm going to do this in 3 parts, which is how I presented it in devotional time with my staff.





Read John 11:1-16



First, let's take a look at verse 4. "Jesus knew his sickness would not end in death." Okay, now, when I hear that then I take it for face value and believe that he will be made well and NOT die. I feel certain that others thought that as well. Jesus stayed put for 2 more days, then Jesus said, "let's go back to Judea".

The disciples, the brilliant, sweet people that they were, reminded Jesus that those were the very people who had tried to stone him. But Jesus had to go to Lazarus because, in His words, he was "asleep" and he had to go there to "wake him up". Again, these sweet disciples in all their wisdom informed Jesus that if he were only asleep then he would get better on his own. Verse 14 tells us that Jesus had to speak "plainly" to them and tell them that he's dead. He went on to tell them that for their sake He was glad that He had not been there so that the disciples could finally believe. Sometimes He does things that we really don't get so that we will believe. It's not mean...it's parenting...it's teaching...it's compassion.

I love verse 16 when Thomas says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." I'm sorry, but that makes me laugh out loud. It's hard to say if he was being brave and saying "where you go, we'll go" or if he was being stupid because he was living a woeful attitude of "we're all going to die now...here we go....get the funeral procession in line...dead man walking..."

Not wanting to end with Thomas, let's look back up at verses 9 & 10. Jesus responded to the statement about stoning with this, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." Where are your feet? Where are you walking? What are you facing? Have you given up like Thomas and just decided that you're a dead man walking? Understand, it's not always a physical thing for everyone. How many people are walking around dead on the inside? Terminal....in YOUR eyes; NOT HIS!

Are you walking in the Light? Jesus says in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." I don't know about you, but I'd rather be in the Light where nothing can hide!

Small Pieces, Big Puzzle

Have you ever put together a monster puzzle that has a ga-zillion pieces and you think there's no way that this box of chaos will actually make the beautiful picture that's on the box? I think that's what life is like. We can see the hope of an end result, but we focus (and let's admit it...we obsess too) over the small pieces.

The fact is that each piece has a place. Each piece has a match and in some cases it has matches on every side. There are those edge pieces that will only fit with 2 or 3 other pieces with smooth edges on a side.

Then what if the unthinkable happens? What if you get to the end of the puzzle and there's a piece missing?! *gasp* It's nowhere to be found. It's been left out of the box. Does it mean that the puzzle is incomplete or could it be intentional? Here's what I mean by "intentional" - I love art and I think some of the best art contains hidden elements. Something that makes you hunt, wonder and imagine "what could be".

I think it's important to take life a section at a time. Let God help us with each piece of our puzzle. We know that if that piece has been cut by the Master's hand then there is a match for it somewhere along the way and if you get to what you think is the end of the road and all the pieces aren't there then ask if it's intentional. There may be something that can ONLY be filled and revealed by the hand of God and who would want to try to make some other piece fit that would take that place.

What part of your life's puzzle are you and God working on right now? Trust Him. It may seem like a box of ga-zillion little pieces, but God sees the big picture. He sees the beauty. He sees His Son in you.

To Build or Not To Build

I wrote this while still in Austin, but never posted it!

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Austin (one of my favorite places in the world) watching yet another new building going up in the city. There are people on every level of this 10 story building walking around doing various jobs. It's quite a site to behold. However, as I'm watching all of this motion and industriousness take place I notice that the view of the river is greatly diminished by the addition of the building. I can only see a small part of the river. What little I can see is gorgeous as it's glimmering in the sunlight. It got me to thinking...

How often do we get so busy building up "things" and allow others to help us build it up and all the while we are blocking out our Life Source. Obviously there are things that have to be built; we must work and be industrious for the Kingdom of God. We have to take care of our family. However, we shouldn't do this at the expense of losing our vision. The river was still there, i.e. God doesn't leave us, but He does give us a choice of how we spend our time and resources. It's up to us to use them wisely.

Lord, show me where I've built things up and blocked the vision You gave me. Give me the courage to go where You want me to go and do the things You are calling me to. Forgive me for building anything up in front of You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus

Remember that song?

One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do
Yesterdays gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time

Been there? I stay there! Personally, I think we all ought to stay in that place. It's humbling. We're a quick fix-it generation. We have access to so many different technologies that makes life so much simpler; however, we shouldn't translate life's functionality over to fixing emotional and spiritual needs. We should always look to God...He is where our help comes from!

I shared a devotional yesterday as I always do on Sunday mornings with my Caregiver staff. It was on Jehovah-Jireh (see Genesis 22:1-19). One of the questions was - "Can you imagine taking the 3 day journey to Mt. Moriah to put an end to that which God had promised?" Wow! That struck me. God stopped the forward progression of the knife in Abraham's hand to keep His promise to Abraham. However, He did not stop the forward progression of Christ's sacrifice so that you and I can have eternal life in Him. What grace!

The next time I feel like I'm on a 3 day journey to Mt. "Whatever", singing "One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus", I hope to remember that God's promises are true. His love never fails. His joy is my strength. Don't worry about tomorrow - it may not be mine. My life is in His hands.

Testimony of Hope

Can I take a moment and share something with you? This is a testimony of hope. I was praying on the way home from church tonight for something that is a great need for me personally right now. It's one of those "in the future" needs, but I'm looking ahead and can't really see how this particular void can be filled so I'm praying! I began to thank the Lord because even though I don't see the answer now I know how faithful He's been in other things. I started laughing out loud as memories of how He's worked things out start rolling in my head. I know the Lord will take care of this need and look forward to how He is going to work it out.

Acts 2:25-28 says, "I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence."