Do you believe this?

Passage of the Day
John 11: 1 – 44

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?”
John 11:25 – 26  New International Version

The followers of the Lord Iesus did not believe that the Lord could bring a dead person to life again.

In verse 11 of today's passage, having waited for two days after receiving news from Bethany that Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, was sick, our Lord finally told his disciples that Lazarus had "fallen asleep" and that He was going to wake him up.

The disciples only thought that Lazarus was literally sleeping. (v.12)

The Lord Iesus then told them plainly that Lazarus had in fact died and He asked them to go with Him to visit Lazarus.

One of the disciples, Thomas (the Twin), could only think of the Lord's invitation as going to die with Lazarus. (v.16)

Upon arriving in Bethany, Lazarus had already been dead and buried for four days. Martha came out to meet the Lord outside the village (v.30). Our Lord told her that her brother would rise again.

Martha could only believe that Lazarus will rise again in the final resurrection at the end of the world (v24).

Martha went home to tell Mary about the Lord's arrival outside the village (v.30). Mary went out to meet the Lord and told Him,

Lord, if you had been here
my brother would not have died.

Mary could only believe that the Lord Iesus was able to heal her brother from his illness and to prevent him from dying.

None of the disciples in all the above account could imagine, much less believe, that Iesus could raise Lazarus from death and bring him back to life again.

When our Lord finally called out,

Lazarus! Come out!

— it was a sign, a glorious sign, that Iesus was indeed the Resurrection and the Life.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, do you believe this? Do you believe in the Lord Iesus the Anointed One?

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Nine years ago, I wrote about the verse from 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.", link below:

• If in this life only we have hope

The Prayer of our Lord Iesus

Passage of the Day

And in this consists the Life of the Ages--in knowing Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
John 17:3  Weymouth New Testament

Today I ponder over the high priestly prayer of our Lord Iesus the Anointed One as written in John chapter 17, reading from Weymouth New Testament.

When Jesus had thus spoken, He raised his eyes towards Heaven and said,

'Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee;
even as Thou hast given Him authority over all mankind, so that on all whom Thou hast given Him He may bestow the Life of the Ages.

And in this consists the Life of the Ages--in knowing Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.

I have glorified Thee on earth, having done perfectly the work which by Thine appointment has been mine to do.
And now, Father, do Thou glorify me in Thine own presence, with the glory that I had in Thy presence before the world existed.
'I have revealed Thy perfections to the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to me, and they have obeyed Thy message.
Now they know that whatever Thou hast given me is from Thee.
For the truths which Thou didst teach me I have taught them. And they have received them, and have known for certain that I came out from Thy presence, and have believed that Thou didst send me.

'I am making request for them: for the world I do not make any request, but for those whom Thou hast given me. Because they are Thine,
and everything that is mine is Thine, and everything that is Thine is mine; and I am crowned with glory in them.
I am now no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to Thee. 'Holy Father, keep them true to Thy name--the name which Thou hast given me to bear--that they may be one, even as we are.

While I was with them, I kept them true to Thy name--the name Thou hast given me to bear--and I kept watch over them, and not one of them is lost but only he who is doomed to destruction--that the Scripture may be fulfilled.
'But now I am coming to Thee, and I speak these words while I am in the world, in order that they may have my gladness within them filling their hearts.
I have given them Thy Message, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

I do not ask that Thou wilt remove them out of the world, but that Thou wilt protect them from the Evil one.
They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
Make them holy in the truth: Thy Message is truth.

Just as Thou didst send me into the world, I also have sent them;
and on their behalf I consecrate myself, in order that they may become perfectly consecrated in truth.
'Nor is it for them alone that I make request. It is also for those who trust in me through their teaching;
that they may all be one, even as Thou art in me, O Father, and I am in Thee; that they also may be in us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send me.

And the glory which Thou hast given me I have given them, that they may be one, just as we are one:
I in them and Thou in me; that they may stand perfected in one; that the world may come to understand that Thou didst send me and hast loved them with the same love as that with which Thou hast loved me.

'Father, those whom Thou hast given me--I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see the glory--my glory--my gift from Thee, which Thou hast given me because Thou didst love me before the creation of the world.

And, righteous Father, though the world has failed to recognize Thee, I have known Thee, and these have perceived that Thou didst send me.
And I have made known Thy name to them and will make it known, that the love with which Thou hast loved me may be in them, and that I may be in them.'

The Good Ground

Shabbat Shalom.

The sun has set and we have entered into the Seventh Day of the Biblical Week. Let us rest from all our work and obey the Fourth commandment to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

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Passage of the Day

Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.
Luke 8:15  World English Bible

As I was reading the Parable of the Four Soils in Luke chapter 8, I asked myself what made the good soil bear fruit successfully. I wanted to find out what made the good ground, as narrated by our Lord in the Parable, distinctly different from the other grounds like the roadside, the rocky ground, and the thorny ground.

My answer was found in the Lord's explanation to his disciples in Luke 8:15 — the good soil (or good ground, WEB) are those who hear the Word with an honest and good heart, who hold the Word tightly, and who persevere in bearing fruit in life.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Iesus the Anointed One, let us hold the Word tightly with honest and good hearts. Let us persevere in bearing the fruits of the Spirit.

Trustworthy sayings of the Apostle

Passages to ponder over . . .

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.
16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:15-17  New International Version

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.
2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
1 Timothy 3:1 - 3  New International Version

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
1 Tim othy 4:7 - 9  New International Version

11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
2 Timothy 2:11 - 13  New International Version

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared,
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Titus 3:4 - 8  New International Version

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One. Let us ponder over these trustworthy sayings and take them to heart.

May the grace of the Lord Iesus the Anointed be with us all.

He who endures to the end will be saved

Passage of the Day

5 Believe ye not in a companion, put not confidence in a familiar friend: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: a man's enemies are the men of his own household. 7 But as for me, I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the °God of my salvation: my °God will hear me.
Micah 7:5 – 7  JN Darby's Translation

21 “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:21 - 22  World English Bible

34 “Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s foes will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
Matthew 10:34 - 37  World English Bible

The Prophet Micah of Moresheth-Gath prophesied that a perplexing time will come in future when people become so wicked that one cannot even trust his own family and friends. In fact, a man's enemies will come from his own household (Micah 7:6)

This words are echoed in the teachings of our Lord Iesus in Matthew chapter 10, when the Lord warned his disciples about the difficult times that will have to pass before his Second Coming.

In fact, our Lord told the disciples that it was his very ministry among the children of Israel at that time that would trigger such disturbing conflicts, setting children against parents to the extent that a man's foes will be those of his won household (Matthew 10:36).

In saying these words, our Lord revealed to his disciples that the fulfilment of the prophecy in Micah chapter 7 was already happening.

It is in this context — that of the fulfilment of Micah's prophecy — that our Lord told his disciples these solemn words in Matthew 10:37 :

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, we are living in difficult times. We are surrounded by wickedness. Many around us will hate us because of the Name of Iesus, even those of our own family. What shall we do? How shall we live through such times?

The prophet Micah has the answer, "But as for me, I will look unto Yehovah, I will wait for the God of my Salvation. My God will hear me" (Micah 7:7 JND).

Our Lord likewise told his disciples, " . . . he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22 WEB)

Let us continually look to Our Father in Heaven, the God of Salvation. He will hear us. Let us endure to the end. We will be saved.

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The following are links to several related blog posts on the Lord's teaching about loving our Lord more than our family, that I have written between the years 2010 and 2019 —

• The Course of Discipleship (Feb2010)
• The Course of Discipleship: a Summary (Feb2010)
• Trying Times (Sep2019)

Now is the Accepted time, Now is the Day of Salvation

Passage of the Day

1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:1  New King James Version

8 Thus says the Lord:
“In an acceptable time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will preserve You and give You
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
Isaiah 49:8  New King James Version

Today we are reminded from the writings of the Apostle to the believers in Corinth, quoting from the Prophet Isaiah, that our God has heard us and has helped us in an acceptable time.

When is this acceptable time?

The Apostle tells us, "Now is the accepted time, Now is the day of salvation". In saying this, he pleads with the Corithian brethren not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Brothers and Sisters in Iesus the Anointed One, has any of us received the Grace of God in vain? Let us ask our Father in Heaven to search our hearts that we may live our lives in His Grace.

Let us offer a sacrifice of praise through our Lord Iesus

Passage of the Day

12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
13 Ye have ploughed wickedness, reaped iniquity, eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst confide in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
Hosea 10:12 – 13  J.N.Darby's Translation

1 O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah; say unto him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips.
Hosea 14:1 – 2  J.N.Darby's Translation

2 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God; for the people have fallen through your iniquities.
3 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God: speak to him, that you may not receive the reward of unrighteousness, but that you may receive good things: and we will render in return the fruit of our lips.
Osee 14:2 – 3  Septuagint British English 2012

The prophet Hosea ben Beeri prophesied to the children of Israel, particularly to the tribes of Ephraim and Judah in Hosea chapter 10, telling them to break up their fallow ground, to sow in righteusness instead of ploughing in wickedness; and to reap according to mercy instead of reaping iniquity.

In verse 12, Hosea tells them, "it is time to seek Yehovah"

Towards the end of the book in chapter 14, the prophet Hosea calls the children of Israel to return to the Lord (Adonai) their God, taking words with them, to render to God the fruit of their lips (ref Osee 14:3 LXX)

This call to offer the fruit of our lips to God is again given by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter 13, quoted below:

Through him (Iesus) then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. Hebrews 13:15  American Standard Version

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus Anointed, let us likewise remind ourselves to break up fallow ground in our lives, to sow seeds of righteousness, that we may reap according to the mercy of God our Father in Heaven.

It is time to seek God, to return to Him with our words, offering a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips through Iesus our Lord.