"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:25, 26-KJV)
Believe our text and the rest of our life will be victorious, full of peace, and we will always, "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." We will be undefeatable.
The chapters of one of my Bibles have "titles." As I was going through the Gospels this quarter, the John 11 title gripped me----- "The Death of Lazarus." Now Christians love to say, "He went to be with the Lord," or, "She passed away." All true, but when Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep," the disciples, "thought He was speaking about taking rest in sleep--------- Then said Jesus unto them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.'" Our Lord never denied reality or camouflaged the truth. In the eternal realm, Lazarus was indeed sleeping; in this time/space world, however------ "Lazarus is dead." This realization of life, the realization that someone close to us, "is dead," is the saddest moment in life. And, the realization that unless we are alive, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels," it will be said of us some day, "_______ is dead."
But rejoice, you who loves Jesus, "....but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep"! What glory! What release! What peace! What victory! Someday, disciple, some day in time, this too will be the triumphant shout of our Lord Jesus Christ to the universe, yes, the Universe, the saints of old, those who, "are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord," to the Devil and his angels, every creature, "....BUT I GO, THAT I MAY AWAKE HIM (our son, Stephen, that child of yours, that parent) OUT OF SLEEP."
"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen." But the, "Even so, Amen," for you and me will be: "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come..." Sorry, but just one more time?----"BUT I GO, THAT I MAY AWAKE HIM OUT OF SLEEP." Okay, I'm all right now.
Father, in Jesus' Name, such love, such power, such fresh liberation in Your Word.
Thank You. Amen.
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Keeping up? Another New Article at: apf327.blogspot
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
