He was always coming.

 

Now a certain man named Lazarus was ill. He was of Bethany,

the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.

This Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume

and wiped His feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus

who was [now] sick.

So the sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, he whom you love

[so well] is sick.

John 11:1-3

 

Mary and Martha were in need of a miracle. Their brother

was sick and it didn’t look like he was getting better.

 

Like Mary and Martha I NEED a miracle! I need Jesus

to come through for me. If He doesn’t come through for me

what am I supposed to do? The enemy will win if He doesn’t

come through.

 

“Therefore [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He still

stayed two days longer in the same place where He was.

So when Jesus arrived, He found that he [Lazarus] had already

been in the tomb four days.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11:6, 17‬ ‭AMP‬‬

 

I sort of understand what happened here. Jesus could have left

immediately but He didn’t.

Was He testing Mary and Martha’s faith?

 

But let’s look at what was happening with Martha and Mary.

They had called for the Master but He hadn’t arrived yet.

That time of waiting couldn’t have been easy. As time passed

their brother’s health deteriorated.  Where are you Jesus, was

the question on their minds. How long could they keep

waiting? Did they feel abandoned by Jesus, like He didn’t

care what they were going through?

 

Lazarus died…..

Still no show.

 

Day two……

No show.

 

Day three….

It’s hopless.

 

Day four….

It’s over.

 

As all this was happening, the bible tells us that:

 

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [They were His dear friends, and He held them in loving esteem.
‭‭John‬ ‭11:5‬ ‭AMP‬‬

 

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters very much. It wasn’t

easy seeing the sisters broken at thier loss. He wept with

them!

He is not up in heaven playing cruel jokes on His

people. He doesn’t get a kick from seeing us in pain.

He has a plan for us!

 

When I read this story I think of the things I am trusting

God for. There were times in my life in my trusting that

I would lash out at God because I thought He had abandoned

and forgotten about me. But it’s not true!

There are still some things I am trusting Him for, things

that I prayed for, years ago. Has it been easy? Heck

no. But I know He can be trusted. He has a plan in the

waiting. He has a plan in the midst of the pain. He has a plan!

As I wrap up I would like to challenge you to wait on Him.

He knows where you at, truly!

 

photo credit: google images

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Has The Reverence Gone???

Ezra opened the book in sight of all the people, for he was standing above.them; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Nehemiah 8:5

I have being enjoying the book of Nehemiah so much. It has really been an eye opener for me especially concerning the word. If there is anything I have seen consistently in the book of Nehemiah it would be the people’s attitude toward the word of God. They had a reverence for the word of God. The word says, as Ezra opened the book of the law to read from it the people all stood up!! Wow!
I am not advocating that we stand up in church when the word is being read but what I am trying to show you is these people had a deep reverence for God’s word which reflected in their actions! Do you reverence the word of God? Can you imagine the kind of picture that was being painted to the children? The reverence and respect you have for the word of God will be seen by all, through your actions.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest an scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.  Nehemiah 8:9

They wept when they heard the word of God. When I was reading all this I asked myself, does the word of God break me anymore? What have I allowed in my life that has dulled the living power of the word in my life? The thing is, we have become familiar with the word! Familiarity is a killer. We cannot be familiar with the word of God. These people wept when they heard the word, do you? Television and the internet are some of the things that dull our spirit to the word of God. We watch too much TV. We are always on the internet. We read the newspaper or that car magazine or the porn magazine more than the word and then we wonder why we are powerless???
And it doesn’t just stop there, it carries over to our kids. We allow them to watch anything and listen to anything. They don’t respect the word because you don’t!  Television cannot be the main attraction in the house. The time’s when you gather together as a family should be the most exciting thing at home!
On the second day, all the heads of fathers’ houses, with the priests and Levites, gathered to Ezra the scribe to study and understand the words of divine instruction.
Nehemiah 8:13
Let us get back to the word. Let us desire to understand what the word means. Let us teach our kids. They are looking to us as examples. Desire to study the word. Don’t be familiar with the word. It has the power to change your life. Block out those things that are hindering you from reading the word more. Watch less TV. Spend less time on the internet or reading those newspapers. Ask God to ignite a fire for the word. But it starts with you. Steps need to be taken. The fire is not just magically going to happen. If you read the word for 10 minutes a day then extend it to 15 minutes a day. Wake up earlier, cut down the amount of time you spend watching Television and so on. I hope you are beginning to get the picture.