I cannot imagine the emotional agony Jesus endured those last days before He was sent to the cross. He knew what the glorious result would be, but He also knew how much He would suffer. Who wouldn’t want to avoid the pain and humiliation of a public crucifixion? Yet His…
All of us like accolades, am I right? Who doesn’t want a pat on the back for a job well done, a bonus for going over and above at work, a trophy for coming in first? We like our “prizes.” But there is no prize on earth that will compare…
“By and By” by Fanny Crosby—oh, the promise of heaven with Him! (Feel free to listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhD4jTgHpSI) 1. We shall all clasp hands in glory by and by; We shall tell redemption’s story by and by; When the voyage of life is past We shall reach the…
Jesus fully understood His purpose, and He realized that His death meant opening the door to salvation for millions who would come to receive Him as Savior and Lord. If He’d refused that cross, we would still be stumbling in darkness, striving for a perfection none of us could reach.…
Are there any more life-changing words than “…we want to see Jesus”? When someone truly sees Jesus—sees Him as the only Son of God, the Savior who came to redeem the world, the Lord who reins on high—he reaches a crossroad. He either receives the Savior as his own, or…
“…fallen asleep.” Jesus knew Lazarus had passed away and was already in the tomb. His disciples, however, didn’t understand the choice of words. They said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t…
The scripture tells us that Jesus loved Martha and Mary. He loved Lazarus, too. His delay in going to them might make us wonder whether He really cared. Here’s the thing, Jesus’s delay was not His denial. He knew what lesson needed to be gained. He knew how best to…
HYMN DAY! The idea that faith is our victory fits well today, so here we are—“Faith is the Victory” by John Henry Yates. 1 Encamped along the hills of light, Ye Christian soldiers, rise And press the battle ere the night Shall veil the glowing skies. Against the foe in…
Lazarus’s sickness probably felt like a massive storm cloud descending on Martha and Mary, just as an illness or other hard life event affects us. But how many times, when we’re beyond the hardship looking back, do we see how God used the situation to bring about good? Right now…
Jesus had become close friends with a sibling group: Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Lazarus fell ill, which would have been very disconcerting to his dependent-upon-him sisters in that culture. They were distraught, they needed help, and they knew to whom to turn: Jesus. These days when we’re distraught and need…
