Monday - Sickness
John 11:1-3
Loved by the Lord, yet smitten with sickness. Through some cause or other, soul-sickness is almost invariably the prelude to enlarged and deeper spiritual blessing. When Jesus heard of it, He said, "This sickness ... is for the glory of God." Yes, blessed be His name for that sickness which brings us down to the place of death, that the Son of Man might be glorified in doing a marvelous work in us and for us. The Holy Spirit must convince of sin before He quickens into newness of life. We must realize that Christians do get sick, and that Christians do die, but if they are loved by the Lord, His glory becomes their reward.
Father, I am amazed at the manner in which You use paradoxes to bless those You love. In the name of Jesus, Amen
Tuesday - Death
John 11:14
This sickness was not unto eternal death, but unto that death which in a singular way made Lazarus a fit subject for the resurrecting power of the Son of God. Real sin-sickness is only unto the death of self-love and self-will, that the power of Christ might be manifested. Sin, when it is completed, brings forth death. When the Spirit convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement, it is the passing of the sentence of death upon the sinner. All hope of salvation from any other source had to be abandoned. Look at your life and decide what must die. It won’t be easy!
Father, allow me to die to sin, yet live in You. My desire is to kill selfishness and embrace Christlikeness. In His name, Amen
Wednesday - Life
John 11:44
The life-giving power of Jesus Christ could only be manifested in the case of a dead man. If Lazarus had only been in a swoon, or sleep, there would have been no glory to God in his awakening. Christ came into this world to save sinners. It would bring no glory to Him to give life or salvation to those who did not need it. Before the Apostle Paul could say, "Now I live," he had to say, "I am crucified." Resurrection life can only come where there has been death. We must die to self if we would live unto God. To share with Christ His resurrection power, we must go to the Cross and the grave with Him. If we refuse to die (to self), we refuse to enter into the new and fruitful life. Jesus in our lives signals a call to deny self in order to receive the promises of life. What would Lazarus have lost if he had decided to stay in the grave for his own reasons?
Father, I ask for Your help, of my own free will, as I work to deny self. In the name of Jesus, Amen
Thursday - Liberty
John 11:44
It does not become one who has been raised from the dead by the power of God, to be in bondage to any man, or the customs and habits of men, especially those manners and customs that belong to the dead. As in nature, so in grace, where there is a fullness of life there will be the bursting open and a breaking forth from the old dead forms and habits. All that we can do for our dead is to bind them and bury them, but how different when, with a loud voice, the Son of God speaks to them. The man that has been liberated from death and the grave, must not be hindered by any fashion of grave clothes. Whom the Son of God makes free is free indeed. The relatives of those saved by Christ may do much to bind or loose their lives for His service. The Lord’s command to the friends of Lazarus was, "Loose him and let him go." Are you out of the grave, but still dressed for death?
Father, thank You for redressing me after the manner of salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Friday - Communion
John 12:2
What a blessed privilege to join Him who has given us to know, in our own experience, that He is the "Resurrection and the Life." To those who have passed from death unto life there is no fellowship to be compared with His. As like draws like, so must the resurrected spirit draw to Him who is the Resurrection. Every time we sit down prayerfully to study His Word, we are sitting at the table with Him, listening to His voice, and receiving food for our souls. Are you one of those who sit at this table with Him?
Father, Jesus promised to prepare me a place with Him in Glory, please allow me to sit with You now. In His name, Amen
Saturday - Testimony
John 12:11
The power of the testimony of Lazarus lay, not so much in what he was able to say, as in what he was (what are you?). The fact that he had been raised from death and corruption by the word of Jesus, was in itself a most convincing witness to His divinity and Messiahship. The greater the work of grace wrought in us by God’s mighty power, the greater will be the force of our testimony for Him. The influence of Christ’s risen life in us should be the leading of others to "believe on Jesus." Have you checked your testimony lately? Does it need work?
Father, allow all that I say, think, and do be a testimony of Your presence and power in my life. In the name of Jesus, Amen
Sunday - Suffering
John 12:10
Because of the converting power of this new life in Lazarus (the same will happen in you) "the chief priests consulted that they might put him to death." His old life brought no persecution, but now he has the happiness of those who are reproached for the Name of Christ (I Peter 4:14). It is beyond the power of the enemy to kill or destroy the resurrection life. Your life is hid with Christ in God. "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf" (I Peter 4:16). Know that the world loved you in your old life, but will fight you to the hilt in the new.
Father, if suffering is what will make the difference in the way people view you, I am ready to suffer in the name of Jesus, and for his sake. Amen
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