Shifting our focus right

Passage: John 11

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”  (John 11, NIV)-emphasis added

Jesus had already done his “homework” on this project – raising Lazarus up

That’s why Jesus said: “Father, I thankyou that you have heard me”. He didn’t say, “Father, I think that you have heard me”

Before going to a home or to a person to pray for them, it is important that we do this “homework” (If we are going there just as a formality, then it is a different thing)

Jesus knew, what the people around him were thinking. He had a crowd of non-believers around. Usually, in cases like that, Jesus would take just a few with Him and ask the rest of them to stay away (as in the case of Jairus’ daughter)

Here, He had to do it even as all these people were watching (in disbelief)!

When a person gets into a sickness or a “situation”, there will be more dis-believing and doubting people around, than those who dare to believe. That is true for almost anyone

When we have needs/issues of our own, we better work on it, on our knees. Many a time we expect automatic miracles, which may not happen always. As someone said, life itself is a battle; it is a constant fight

Those who do nothing, will be the losers in the end

We better tell Jesus at least, so that He can start working on it

After the tomb was opened, Jesus looked straight up and prayed

It is not always easy to look up, when we have a big problem right infront of our eyes. Some problems may come and go, but some last for weeks/months/years

If we don’t learn to take our eyes off the problem and look to God, life can become just a bundle of problems

But as we learn to transfer them over to God, we have a way to go so that we can keep moving forward

Have a blessed day, as we start transferring our “issues” to God and continue to work on the rest

BG

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your help. You are ready, willing and able to solve all my problems. Thank you, because I don’t need to look for someoene else since there is no one else who can do a better job than you. Thank  you. Amen

When we do not “own” our problem anymore, God can claim it and work on it

 

Sometimes, we need to……

Passage: Psalm 4

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  (John 11, NIV)

Sometimes, we need to shift our focus from our problem so that God can work on it

The gospel of John mainly focusses on the deity/divinity of Jesus

Yet in recording this incident of Lazarus, John didn’t forget to highlight the human side of Jesus. It is mentioned that Jesus wept and that he was very much “moved” by what happened to a personal friend-Lazarus

Jesus knew that that Lazarus was going to come to life. Yet it was the compassion of Jesus that was required. Jesus put himself in the shoes of Mary and Martha before going ahead and asking the Father to do it for the family

When we go and pray for people with sickness/issues, the effectiveness of our prayer is much linked to our attitude. If we don’t mean what we say/pray, we are accountable for hipocracy. We pay for it somewhere

Jesus worked everything as per directions from His H.Q in heaven

Do we ask God before we do some spiritual act? Better ask

Mary and Martha were taught by Jesus. They were focussed on Lazarus day and night, 24/7.  With those who are taught by Jesus, things work differently.

I believe, God wanted them to shift their focus away from their problem

Until burial, they had some hope that Jesus would come. Once buried, they lost their hope. May be they had some hope until the third day

Day 4: Getting back to their normal life; no more waiting on Jesus!

And that was when Jesus showed up! They were like: “why did you come now?”

Many times in our own life, we can see that God showed up when we forgot about it

God gave Isaac to Abraham when both Abraham and Sarah lost their biological ability to have a child. God waited till that point. He waits till the last drop of wine is out, so that we can say that it was 100% God and 0% of me!

Are we too much focussed on any particular issue/problem in life?

When we give our car to the w/shop or when a patiet is in ICU, they may not let us in. They need to work on it, freely

If we are worried about a hundred things, we can accomplish nothing. We need to  to work on one thing at a time. Check it off and move to the next item in the list

GOD IS AT WORK. Display that sign visibly somewhere

Have a great day!

BG

Pray: Lord Jesus, you are awesome. Yopu are our rolemodel. Sometimes, I have been too much concerned about things, without handing it over to you. From now on, help me trust you completely for all that I have handed over to you. Amen

When we let God work on one thing, we can focus on another

Human Nature

Who so trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
—Proverbs 16:20

 

There is much in our nature that perplexes us. Many people are disturbed as they confront the troubling riddle of their own existence. They are bewildered by their proneness to sin and evil. They quake and tremble at the thought of their inability to cope with their own lives.

Christ can give you satisfying answers to such questions as “Who am I?” “Why was I born?” “What am I doing here?” “Where am I going?” All of the great questions of life can be measured when you come by faith to Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Lord. Let Him be your Pilot. He can take away the worry from your life.

Prayer for the day

I trust You, Lord, to control my life. Knowing You will guide me in the right path gives me joy.

A New Birth

We started out bad, being born with evil natures. . . . But God is so rich in mercy . . . he gave us back our lives again
when he raised Christ from the dead . . .
—Ephesians 2:3,4 (TLB)

 

I am reminded of a period when all the agonies that afflict modern minds were felt by another generation, the young people who lived during the first century after Christ. They too sought change, but they directed their efforts at individuals, not at the Roman Empire, not at City Hall. And eventually the whole social and political structure felt their impact. In short, those renewed men and women became filled with a unique dynamic force.

Today this same force is available to all people. Over the centuries it has worked in the lives of millions. I personally have seen thousands of people changed. Jesus called it “a new birth.” The Scripture tells us that you need not continue as you are. You can become a new person. Whatever your hang-up—guilt, anxiety, fear, hatred—God can handle it.

Prayer for the day

I delight in knowing, Lord Jesus, that there is nothing in my life that is incapable of being changed through Your redemptive power.