CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
  • 'LIVELY STONES' MEDITATIONS
  • 'WRITE THE VISION' MEDITATIONS
  • A-Z ARCHIVE
  • BIBLE VERSE ARCHIVE
  • LINKS
    • AUDIO
    • VIDEO
  • ABOUT CORNERSTONE

LIVELY STONES MEDITATIONS

‘That They May Believe That You Sent Me’

28/7/2021

 

John 11:38-44

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
A cave with a stone covering the entrance was often the usual form of burial at that time; a cave or a hollowed out enclosure often designed to form a burial site for a family.
However, with what we know about Jesus’ death and resurrection we cannot help but equate the two events, with this as a foreshadowing of that momentous event.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
With Lazarus already dead for four days — and in the hot middle-eastern climate — there would inevitably have been the dreadful smell of corruption from the dead body.
Jesus is unconcerned about this. Indeed, what we know of Him, He was very grounded in reality, if we can put it that way; there is never a suggestion at any time, that Jesus was anything other than certain of the deepest reality and thus the fundamental truth in everything He did then — and does now through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.
And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Taking the stone away from the tomb is shining light into a dark place; it is revelation and it is life triumphing over death.
Jesus speaks aloud so that those around Him can hear His prayer and fully understand what is happening and the miracle that is occurring — that the awesome power of a Creator God is focussing on one man, turning time back on itself and restoring life where there was none.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
[John 11:38-44 NKJV]
After the long lead up to this event there is almost an anticlimax in these words; a matter-of -fact statement, no more than that. Their import has to be allowed to sink in to our minds. Indeed, from the Divine perspective, this is a daily occurrence — all in a day’s work. Jesus’ story now swiftly moves on.
AWESOME GOD lyrics
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom power and love
Our God is an awesome God.

Peace: Life in the Spirit

“If all God can do for me is to destroy the unity I once had, make me a divided personality, give me light that makes me morally insane with longing to do what I cannot do, I would rather be without His salvation, rather remain happy and peaceful without Him.”
But if this experience is only a stage toward a life of peace and union with God, it is a different matter.
[from ‘Biblical Ethics’]
21-07-28_‘that_they_may_believe_that_you_sent_me’.m4a
File Size: 2432 kb
File Type: m4a
Download File

    RSS Feed


    MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…

    Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
    PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018


    Archive by Title

    A-Z List of Meditation posts

    Archive by Bible Verse

    Meditation posts in book and verse order

    Authors

    GEORGE and GILL STEWART
    for Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Kilmartin
    (unless post shows otherwise)

Home

About

Picture
Logo copyright © 2019

Weblog

Contact

  • 'LIVELY STONES' MEDITATIONS
  • 'WRITE THE VISION' MEDITATIONS
  • A-Z ARCHIVE
  • BIBLE VERSE ARCHIVE
  • LINKS
    • AUDIO
    • VIDEO
  • ABOUT CORNERSTONE