Author: coachdkeith

John 11:17-37
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus wept. I don’t pretend to know why. He was flesh and bone, perhaps He felt the weight of death for the first time. Even though He had healed the blind, the sick, and the lame, this was different. This was death, and death stings all who come close to it. Jesus loved Lazarus. That was His friend.

As Jesus was getting closer to Lazarus and his sisters, the realization of the women that Lazarus may have been saved must’ve been a very painful one. Yet they were so sweet even then. Their faith still so strong and evident ,even in this dreadfully painful hour. Jesus saw this, and loved them deeply. This show of humanity as Jesus cried is beautiful.

I have heard time and time again how much Jesus loves me. I know He does, but it’s this verse that really shows just how He loves me. When I sin, He cries for me. When I am in pain, there He stands, right next to me in support and love. His love never fails and it never gives up on me. The best is yet to come. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Believe.

John 11:1-16
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Lazarus was a dear friend to Jesus as He walked this earth. He loved all He came in contact with, but Lazarus held a special place in Jesus’ heart. It must have really hurt Jesus when He heard the news, yet was in constant contact with our Father IN heaven. He knew that God would be glorified through this difficult trial.

Jesus understood His job so well, that He waited another two days before He went to Lazarus. Those that were with Him could not understand why Jesus would wait, but it is in the wait that His plan would be revealed. Nothing through spontaneity. The plan was God’s and it must be according to God’s will. His plan never fails and is always perfect.

Patience is an amazing characteristic of Jesus. He truly understood the power of the wait. Paul was the essence of passionate patience. He knew, as Jesus did, that the power in the wait is stronger than the quick and eradicate action that can be wasted. We must learn to be patient in all we do. It is in the patience, coupled with a connection with the Holy Spirit through orayer, that we can act in His authority. In this patyern, we begin to act as Jesus did, and when that is done, we possess and can activate the power that He left in us at Calvary.

As we walk in the flesh, it is our job not to allow doubt or ignorance to overtake us. If we connect to Jesus through daily reading of His Word in the Bible, we can become more and more like Him. It’s not easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. We must persevere and commit to becoming a true believer and friend of Jesus. Fear not, for fear is as much a sin as anybother. Instead, trust in the Lord. For He is always with us. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Jesus is the Messiah…

John 10:22-42
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[d]? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

The Pharisees are losing control of this world, but rather than surrender to Him, they are holding on to law. They grasp and claw for the seen world and forget the unseen. They are afraid to let go their own understanding. They are being fooled by their thoughts and feelings and for that reason they are unable to walk in the Spirit of God.

Once again the learned and all knowing people are trying to get rid of Jesus. They are not ready for Him. That is actually the reason that Jesus came down from Heaven in the first place. Had the Pharisees known the truth, perhaps God would never have has to come down from Heaven and send His Son to die for us on the cross. But, we can what if all day. The bottom line is, we needed Jesus then, and we need Him now.

God is in us. He is in our hearts, and walks with us. However, we walk this world completely saturated in sin. We bathe in it daily, and at many times don’t even know it. We fight and battle in a war played out over our souls focused only on the sins that we can see. We have no clue of all of the thousands of sins that we commit without even knowing it. The obvious fight is a good one. The sins we do see require repentance on our parts, as we ask God for forgiveness. However, there are many more sins that a tree numerous as the stars that we don’t even know that we commit. What about those?

Jesus took them to the cross along with the ones that you go to war with every day. Jesus was and is the Son of God. He came to earth to save us. He cried tears of blood as He begged for our forgiveness. He taught us how to love and lift others up to a place higher than ourselves. He taught us to trust and to be humble. He rebuked our wicked ways, and then took them with Him to the cross. Jesus is the Messiah! No if, ands, or buts about it. Jesus hung on the cross and died so that we would live. It is my hope that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. He waits with open arms for you. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

He is our Shepard…

John 10:1-21
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

These verses speak to the heart of who we are. Not who the Jews are, not who the Christians are, who WE are. We are all His flock. He is OUR Shepard. To follow anyone or anything else will lead to death and destruction. To follow Him brings life and Salvation and safety. Our Shepard lays His life down for us.m…Every day.

There is no easy way in. To get into the Kolingdom of Heaven you have to believe. For many, that was and still is the battle. That is the war. To believe the message that Jesus brings to this world. His world. He was sent so that all of Man would be saved. He did this through miracles of healing, through His words as He taught, and through His death and resurrection at Calvary.

As Believers, we are given the duty…the Commandment to go out into the world and spread the Gospel. We are to be the sower of seeds. These seeds that we plant are planted by what we say and how we walk in this world. We are to walk and speak in such a way that calls upon someone to ask you, “What is up with you?” You have been called to be different. Not of this world.

Some Pharisees saw Jesus as a man of God. Some as a demon-possessed man. How do you see Him? Okay.. now go tell someone. #JesusSaves

Amen.
DK

John 9:35-41
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The call is for us to shut our eyes to this world and look through His eyes. I can only dream of what He sees in all of us. The beauty He saw and continues to see in us must be astoinding. So beautiful that He came and gave His life for us on the cross.

Jesus came to teach and to save, not to destroy. There is way that we can walk this earth in control through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must practice His ways. We must strive to be more like Jesus every day.

Those that see will become blind. Those that are blind will see. The meek will inherit the earth. Those in first will be last. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. The list goes on and on. It’s time to serve others and receive His blessing through giving it away to others. It will come back…7×70. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK