Glenn’s Meal 05-07-13

1 The Raising of Lazarus 050713

Good morning everyone. I’m going to take a biblical stand this day. The reason I feel I must take this stand is so that there is no mistake by anyone of what the truth of real life is. I was in a group setting a week ago where there was a lot of praise given to God but there was one key ingredient left out; the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, no one is heard by the Father. If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, you don’t have life but only sure death. Accepting Jesus resurrects you from death to life. Today’s meal is a biblical illustration of this principal. This is a very filling meal!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I come before you this morning on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ to ask you to forgive us for too often burying our heads in the sand when we are in situations that are out of order according to your word. Silence is acceptance. Anything that is against your word is a deception of satan which sometimes cause even the elect to be deceived; as many today seek to destroy our nation, our Christian freedoms, and our families. Remind us that we can’t serve “other gods.” Let us turn to You, and commit our lives to standing on Your Word, trusting that even in our weakness, Your strength will be sufficient for us. Help us, Lord, to look around and see that as believers, we need to move from being an ostrich to being a Prayer Warrior, for more changes are brought about through intercessory prayer than this world realizes! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Let’s eat.

The Raising of Lazarus

New Living Translation
John 11:1-44

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?” Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.” When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” So Mary immediately went to him. Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

Quote of the Day

Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace.

Martin Luther

WITH HOPE AND FAITH; follow us on the foundation community site: http://facebook.com/gckrshhfops

Rev. ELDER G E STERRETT

FOUNDER

GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION

http://gckrshelpinghandfoundation.info

Written by Glenn Sterrett, Founder and CEO of the GCKRS™ Helping Hand Foundation.

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