email : Webview : Duane Brooks - Every Day with Jesus

October 18, 2017

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

New International Version (NIV)

Have you ever felt like you were too late for an important event? Jesus loved his friends. When Lazarus became ill and died, Jesus made his way to their home in Bethany where he sometimes stayed. We love the honest thoughts of Martha and Mary who have lost their brother, the “one Jesus loved.” They believe they will see their brother again in the resurrection, but in the moment, they are heartbroken and disconsolate.

One of my favorite ministries at Tallowood is GriefShare. I spoke to the group last year. I would approach it differently if I spoke now, because I see grief through a different lens. In fact, I don’t need to speak but to listen and to grieve. C. S. Lewis described the loss of his wife Joy by comparing it to the sky, spread over everything. Grief cannot be short-circuited. If we don’t deal with it, sometimes it comes back and deals with us later.

Faith helps more than anything. God’s promises are true. What we believe matters. Jesus’ words to Martha help us. The resurrection is not just a future event. In Christ’s death and resurrection the tide has turned once and for all. Life overcomes death for believers in Christ. I shared Sunday that atheist Christopher Hitchens read these verses aloud and found them fascinating as he approached his own death. We don’t have to understand death, or “be ok” with it. But if we believe in Jesus, then we know that death has its day but does not last forever. With John Donne we defy death because we know that someday, “Death will die.”

Pray with me:

Father, help us to hold on to hope today. If our grip begins to slip then let your hope hold on to us, we pray. Remind us that our Savior knows his way out of the grave. Fill us with confident expectation that we will see Jesus and our loved ones again and know even as we are known. In the name of the Resurrection and the Life, Amen.

I want to invite you to join me in memorizing 52 passages this year from the 2017 set of Fighter Verses. You can find the Fighter Verses App at the App Store on your phones or via this link http://fighterverses.com/the-verses/fighter-verses/. As we study the Bible this year, let's look at each text and learn what it says about God.

Joyfully,

Duane

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