Category: Hope

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No Worries

I really spend very little time worrying about anything. You see, through the years I’ve gone from worrying about many things to where, most days, I am completely comfortable with rolling all my cares over on the Lord and letting Him control the outcome.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:7 CEV

When I was a girl I grew up hearing Mahlia Jackson and Ethel Waters sing “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and it became a theme song of sorts for me. I would walk around the house, when no one could hear me, singing it at the top of my voice. “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me”.

What’s your focus when you wake up in the morning? Is it the project before you – the diagnosis you recently received from your doctor – the financial challenge that seems overwhelming? Maybe it’s physical pain in your body – a relationship that is fractured and fragile – possibly, physical danger and unrest?

If those things remain in the forefront of your mind your day will wrap itself in worry, distress and eventually lead to despair and depression.

However, if your focus is on God’s goodness and His provision you will find hope, joy and peace. That’s why I love starting my mornings in the Psalms – it is good to begin each day celebrating the faithfulness of the Lord.

“Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole world sing to the Lord!

2 Sing to the Lord and praise his name! Tell the good news every day about how he saves us! 3 Tell all the nations how wonderful he is! Tell people everywhere about the amazing things he does. 4 The Lord is great and worthy of praise. He is more awesome than any of the “gods.” 5 All the “gods” in other nations are nothing but statues, but the Lord made the heavens.

6 He lives in the presence of glory and honor. His Temple is a place of power and beauty.

7 Praise the Lord, all people of every nation; praise the Lord’s glory and power. 8 Give the Lord praise worthy of his glory! Come, bring your offerings into his courtyard. 9 Worship the Lord in all his holy beauty. Everyone on earth should tremble before him. 10 Tell the nations that the Lord is King! The world stands firm and cannot be moved. He will judge all people fairly. 11 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy! Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy!

12 Let the fields and everything in them be happy! Let the trees in the forest sing for joy

13 when they see the Lord coming! He is coming to rule the world. He will rule all the nations of the world with justice and fairness.” Psalm 96 ERV

Let the Lord rule over the circumstances in your life today and receive the peace that floods in when you let go and trust God.

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Hope is the Anchor

Determination — Perserverance — Strength

All three are needed to get through the tough times and come out victorious.

“God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. 19  This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place.” Hebrews 6:18-19 CEV

I want us to look at a few guys from the Bible who stepped up and came through in victory.

Noah preached the whole time he was building the ark and didn’t have one convert but he kept building.

Abraham was promised a natural born son and he had to wait 25 years to see the promise fulfilled.

Joseph was sold as a slave, spent time in prison, was forgotten and then made it to pharoah’s palace.

Moses led a nation of grumbling and complaining people for 40 years in the wilderness and never made it to the promised land. That should have been about a 3-4 week trip.

Jesus preached, died, rose again to show us that He is the Messiah and still many did not believe.

Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, nearly drown and held in prison but never tried and still he kept preaching.

God, the Father, isn’t willing that any should perish and has offered salvation to all. He hasn’t given up!

Each of the men above had been given a promise by God and that gave them courage to continue. They encouraged themselves with God’s word and used it to fight discouragement.

“There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “You will have many descendants.” 19 Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. 20 He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God.” Romans 4:18-20 ERV

” But the Lord said, ‘My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.‘ So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me. 10 Yes, I am glad to have weaknesses if they are for Christ. I am glad to be insulted and have hard times. I am glad when I am persecuted and have problems, because it is when I am weak that I am really strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 ERV

I pray that we become like these men and we continue to hope and find that when we are weak we truly are strong because we go forward in a strength that only God can give!

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My Heart is Full

Those were the only words I had in mind when I sat down to write this morning. My heart is full of gratitude, joy, peace and contentment. I have all I need and all I desire because of the love of God.

Opening my Bible I began to read:

“ God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace! 3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4  God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7  Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.

8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. This is why you have faith…” I Peter 1:2-9 CEV

Faith, tried in the fire of adversity, disappointment, betrayal or physical struggle, is refined. James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” James 1:2-3 ESV

The “testing” referred to here is a comparison to the refiner’s fire for purifying gold. The process destroys what is useless and invaluable and at the same time increases the value and quality of the gold.

The same is true in our lives. Trials test us. In the process selfishness, bitterness, anger, envy, and greed are removed and pure faith and love remain.

“ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. 8 Love will never end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 ERV

It is Christ who is the example of this kind of love. He paid our ransom, not with silver and gold, but with His life. He never gives up on us and His love will never end.

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God…” I Peter 1:18-19 NLT

Because of Him, my heart is full!

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Storm Warning

Have you ever been in a storm? I mean a real storm! An “all hope is lost” time in your life? That’s what I was reading about this morning.

The Apostle Paul is prisoner on a ship headed for Italy. He had told the captain that they should stay where they were because the seas would be rough. However, things appeared calm and since is was late in the sailing season the captain didn’t want to lose any more time and they set sail.

But, the weather started getting rough…you know how it goes.

“But then a very strong wind called the “Northeaster” came from across the island. 15 This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against the wind, so we stopped trying and let the wind blow us…20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.” Acts 27:14- 20 ERV

I have never been in a ship on rough seas and for that I am grateful but I’ve been in tornado warnings, monsoons, blizzards, etc. Some other storms that caused me to lose hope -storms of financial devastation, betrayal, fractured relationships. Not every storm has high winds, boisterous seas or floods of destruction.

Listen to what Paul said.

“21 The men did not eat for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, ‘Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to be happy. None of you will die, but the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel came to me from God—the God I worship and belong to. 24 The angel said, ‘Paul, don’t be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’ 25 So men, there is nothing to worry about. I trust God, and I am sure everything will happen just as his angel told me. 26 But we will crash on an island.” Acts 27:21-26 ERV

How can this be good news? First he started with I told you so and ended with we are going to crash…but be happy because none of you will die! They had been in this storm for 14 days. How long had you been in your storm? 14 years? Be encouraged although the things around you may be destroyed; don’t worry you won’t die.

Remember our verses from yesterday?

“ So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 AMPC

When we know a storm is coming, we can prepare. We can build with God’s word, prayer, and trust in God’s faithfulness.

Now look back at Paul.

“Just before dawn Paul began persuading all the people to eat something. He said, ‘For the past two weeks you have been waiting and watching. You have not eaten for 14 days. 34 Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.” Acts 27:33-34 ERV

Let me paraphrase what Paul said. Don’t worry, trust God and let’s eat and live.

Let God guide you through the storm. Stop worrying, trust Him and live! Remember what Jesus said to another storm – “Peace, be still” and the winds ceased.

Praise God today for getting you through!

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Heavy Weight or Light Affliction

How many of you struggle with the challenges of success and failure? We all do, don’t we? It’s amazing to me that some well-meaning people think that if you are doing “God’s will” that the path will be easy. Really?

They haven’t been reading the same Bible I have!

This morning I was reading about the disciples and their actions after the resurrection. A week later they were still hiding behind locked doors. They were still uncertain as to their future existence. The religious leaders were trying to come up with answers for the missing body of Christ. They were claiming the disciples stole it and if that was true, they could be arrested, tried and condemned.

Jesus met them behind the locked doors. He gave them encouragement, peace and power.

“Eight days later the followers were again inside a house. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, ‘May you have peace!‘” John 20:26 NLV

Those words weren’t just for the disciples, they are written for us too.

“Jesus said to him, “You believe because you see me. Great blessings belong to the people who believe without seeing me!” John 20:29 ERV

We are the ones who believe without seeing Him. We believe by faith.

The Apostle Paul encountered tremendous opposition on his missionary journeys. Town after town Paul was either thrown in prison, beaten, run off or all of the above. Yes, he would teach and see people born again but it wasn’t easy.

Here’s Paul’s mindset on all of it.

“We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. 9 We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.” II Corinthians 4:8-9 ERV

and this

“I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his. 13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. 14 I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven.” II Corinthians 4:12-14 ERV

There it is – One Thing! Our one thing in life is to look to Jesus. Running the race that He has called us too; knowing that He will never leave us or abandon us. Knowing that even though things may look their worst God is in control and we will not be destroyed.

Take a look at this. Jesus’ life appeared to be a failure to his followers. He was killed by the Romans, but it didn’t end there. He rose from the dead by the power of God. He died for us! And He lives for us!

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:1-3 ERV

Don’t get discouraged! What others see as failure Paul saw as light affliction. What others see as defeat, Jesus looked past and saw the joy of victory.

Keep focused on the One Thing – doing what God has called you to do – and you’ll end in victory!

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At The Feet of Jesus

In my prayer time this morning I heard myself say, “Lord, I’m laying this at your feet”. That may sound strange, I know, but my heart is filled with such gratitude for all the Lord has done for me; for His forgiveness and love, His direction and peace, His protection and strength.

I don’t want there to be anything that hinders my relationship with Him. My desire is to give Him all that would distract from Him being my Lord and my God. The woman who had a bleeding disorder came to mind when I was thinking about placing all at Jesus’ feet.

“In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26  She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

27 The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. 28 She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was healed.

30 At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” 32 But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.

33 The woman knew what had happened to her. So she came trembling with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”” Mark 5:25-34

This woman had no right to be in public because of her bleeding disorder. She was deemed “unclean” by Jewish society; yet, she came. If only she could touch the hem of His garment, she believed she would be made well. She sacrificed well-being and reputation, just to be at the feet of Jesus.

Then there was this woman.

“ He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Have you noticed this woman? When I came into your home, you didn’t give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t even pour olive oil on my head, but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet. 47 So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love.”

48 Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” Luke 7:44-48 CEV

Sitting at someone’s feet or washing their feet was a sign of servitude, an act of humility.

Jesus’ feet were pierced for our sins. It was a sign that we have been forgiven all. At the feet of Jesus there is healing, salvation, hope and forgiveness.

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Knowing What’s Ahead

How many times do we wish we could know our future? What will happen next week, next month, next year? If we only knew…

Jesus knew.

He had preached a message that He was the Good Shepherd and like a good shepherd He would give His life for the sheep. He boldly proclaimed, “I am the Son of God”. Some people believed Him but most wanted to arrest Him and have Him killed. (John 10)

Jesus knew what was ahead. He separated Himself and His disciples.

A few days later He received word that His friend Lazarus was sick. He stayed where He was another two days. He knew what would happen.

Lazarus died. He went to Bethany and He knew that He would perform another miracle. He would raise Lazarus from the tomb after he had been dead for four days. This miracle sealed Jesus fate. The religious elite were determined to have Him killed.

“ From that day on, the council started making plans to put Jesus to death. 54 Because of this plot against him, Jesus stopped going around in public. He went to the town of Ephraim, which was near the desert, and he stayed there with his disciples.” John 11:53-54 CEV

Jesus knew. It was almost Passover and people were asking if Jesus would come.

“The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, ‘Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hail to the King of Israel!'” John 12:12-13 NLT

This incident has become known as Palm Sunday. The day we celebrate today!

“Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.” Psalm 118:25 NLT

Jesus knew. He also knew this would lead to His arrest, mock trial, beating and crucifixion. He knew.

So why did He put Himself through all of this?

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” II Corinthians 5:21 NLT

Jesus knew the Father’s plan and He submitted to it willingly.

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:2-3 ERV

He knew and He endured the cruelty because He also knew that joy that was waiting for Him.

Jesus knew that His obedience of suffering for sin would keep us from having to pay that price!

Now we can look ahead and see that we have been made right with God and our future is glorious!

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Mercy – A Life Changer

There’s an old song we used to sing and this morning it came to mind once again and has filled my morning quiet time.

“Mercy rewrote my life. Mercy rewrote my life. I could have fallen, my soul cast down But mercy rewrote my life”.

Oh yes, thank you heavenly Father for Your mercy!

“You know that the Lord your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands, and he will faithfully keep his agreement with you and your descendants for a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9 CEV

This is a promise from God’s heart to ours. He faithfully keeps His agreement with us.

Simply put, mercy can be defined as being protected from judgement for the things we have done that deserve punishment. One of my favorite “mercy” verses is found in the book of Lamentations.

“The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. 23 The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. 24 Deep in my heart I say, ‘The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!’” Lamentations 3:22-24 CEV

If there’s anyone in the Bible that knows about mercy, it’s the Apostle Paul. He carried arrest warrants for Christians. He was responsible for their imprisonment and even their deaths.

But, mercy rewrote His life.

” In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn’t obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven.” Ephesians 2:1-6 CEV

The worst of sinners became the man that God used to teach us all the message of grace and forgiveness.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. ‘This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all!‘ 16 But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life.” I Timothy 1:15-16 CEV

When we fail, and we do. When we feel we are undeserving of forgiveness mercy steps in. God’s love covers our sins, completely!

“The Lord is merciful! He is kind and patient, and his love never fails.” Psalm 103:8 CEV

That’s what makes my heart sing – “Mercy rewrote my life”!

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Oh Eeyore!

The Lord is still impressing me to stay on this subject of looking up. Maybe it’s not for you but maybe for someone close to you.

Do you ever have one of those days when you just feel down and you don’t know why? I am glad to say that really doesn’t happen much in my life but it used too. It was a real battle to stay “up” and see the blessings that surrounded me.

About 30 years ago the Lord began to use the characters in the Winnie the Pooh stories to help me identify people according to their personalities. Our son is definitely a Tigger; our oldest daughter is Rabbit; our youngest is Pooh; my husband is Owl and I’m, well, I’m Kanga. You get the picture. But then there are those who are Eeyore’s – always gloomy. An Eeyore is always walking around with their head down, eyes down, looking for the worst and finding it. Eeyore needs to change his focus – he needs to look up and consider Someone bigger than himself.

This morning, I really felt the Lord wanted me to share Psalm 42 with you and as I read it, I thought, “Lord, did I hear you right? This is a good Psalm but what does it have to do with “looking up”, with keeping our focus on you?” And there it was!! You can always trust God.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” Psalm 42:5

Why are we cast down, o my soul? Why is our focus downward and not looking up? Why are we discouraged? We aren’t putting our hope in God, we aren’t looking up. When we do, we will praise God and praising God will improve our countenance – both our inward and external appearance. God always knows what He’s talking about.

So, consider our soul today and ask it this question – are we looking up? Hope in God!

“As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God…5 Why am I discouraged? (Why are you cast down) Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, 6 and you are my God. I am deeply discouraged (I am cast down) as I think about you from where the Jordan begins at Mount Hermon and from Mount Mizar. 7 Your vicious waves have swept over me like an angry ocean or a roaring waterfall. 8 Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living LORD God. 9 You are my mighty rock. Why have you forgotten me? Why must enemies mistreat me and make me sad? 10 Even my bones are in pain, while all day long my enemies sneer and ask, “Where is your God?” 11 Why am I discouraged? (Why are you cast down) Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.” Psalm 42 CEV

There is no condemnation in being discouraged. We can be honest with ourselves and with God. He can handle it. But don’t let discouragement rule! Praise the Lord again and again – He is our help!

Stay thirsty for the Lord!

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Keep Looking Up

Yes, one more message on looking up! Why? Because that’s what the Lord said for me to do. This is a message I’ve shared before, but it bears repeating.

I want to draw your attention to a time when Jesus “looked up”. Jesus had left the area of Judea just days earlier because the Pharisees were trying to kill him. And now he learned that his dear friend Lazarus was very sick. He told his disciples that they needed to return to Bethany and they reminded him that the people in that area were against him.

Jesus waited a couple more days and then he told the disciples we MUST go to Bethany, Lazarus is dead. When Jesus arrived he learned that Lazarus had already been in the grave four days. Martha came out to meet Jesus and told him if Jesus had been there she knew her brother would not be dead.

So, do you get the picture? Jesus is grieving over the death of his dear friend. He is just a two mile walk from a town where a mob had tried to kill him just a few days ago and now his friend’s sister is blaming him for her brother’s death. WOW!

The story goes on from there. Lazarus’ other sister, Mary, and the mourners came to where Jesus is. Mary falls at Jesus’ feet and says the same thing, “If you had been here my brother wouldn’t have died.” And now comes the shortest verse in the Bible – Jesus wept.

I think he wept because he felt the grief of the loss of a friend; I think he wept because he was being blamed for that death; I think he wept because the people around him had no faith and hope. But he wept. And then he did something that we all need to do – He looked UP!

“Jesus was still terribly upset.,, 41 After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, ‘Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42 I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so that the people here would believe that you sent me.” John 11:38-42 CEV

He looked up to the Father – he reminded Himself that God the Father had not abandon Him and that even in His grief, the Father was there to bring victory to the situation. He looked up and he thanked the Father for answered prayer. He knew the purpose of all of this was that the people would believe!

His words, “Lazarus, come forth” brought the power of God to the situation and Lazarus came walking out of the tomb! Awesome!

A kind and loving God brought an end to grieving and despair. He brought life to Lazarus and life to the hope and faith of the people who were there. He can and will still do the same today.

What is it in your life that is dead and needs to be resurrected? Your hope? Your faith? Your health? Your marriage? Your joy? Your finances? What???

Look up to the one who has life giving power – look up and thank Him for resurrection and then be bold like Jesus and call it forth from the grave. You notice Jesus didn’t agree with the things that Mary, Martha and the people were saying.

He was focused on looking up – we need to do the same!

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