Come Forth

John 11
And when he (Jesus) thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come forth."  John 11:43

LET IT GLOW

I tell people that I am living my extended life and daily thank my Heavenly
Father for it.
It happened in December of 2002. I was settled into my hospital room after
surgery and given a pump for pain medication. However, the medication pump
was not regulated correctly and I received too much at once.
My husband decided to pop in to see me before he, our son, and his wife
went out to eat. When he entered my hospital room, my husband knew
something was wrong. He saw my lips turning blue and I had stopped
breathing. Immediately, he yelled for help in the hallway. Soon my room was
filled with nurses and doctors. (My family doctor, which was an internal
medicine specialist, happened to be in the hospital at the time.) Obviously, they
brought me back to life.

This chapter in John begins with Lazarus being sick and his sisters, Mary and
Martha, sending word to Jesus. They needed and wanted His help, but Jesus
didn't come for two days.
Jesus said,"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,
that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." (verse 4)
Remember, He loved this family and often visited them.

By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead in the grave four days.
Both sisters told Him,"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

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?"

The three went to the grave of Lazarus.
He told them again,"Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou
shouldest see the glory of God?" And they did.
In verse 43, Jesus spoke with a loud voice,"Lazarus, come forth."
And he did.

As a result of all this happening, the sorrow of the sisters and pain that Lazarus
suffered, many Jews believed on Jesus. (verse 45)

I consider this an illustration of what Jesus did later-His resurrection from the
dead. He calls us to Himself for salvation and to believe. When we do, our old
person is buried and a new person is made alive in Jesus. All we do is ask
Jesus to forgive us of our sins and come into our heart. Baptism illustrates this,
though it is not a part of salvation.


LET IT GROW

In verses 49-52, Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, prophesied that " it is
expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not. And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather
together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad."
He was speaking of Jesus dying for the Jews and the Gentiles.
After that, the chief priests and Pharisees gave a command that if any man
knew where Jesus was, they must report it immediately.
Then the Jewish leaders began plotting Jesus' death.


LET IT GO

Go when Jesus calls me to Him.
Believe in Jesus, that He is the resurrection and the life.