Four Days Late, But Right On Time
May 26, 2012/R16/R17R24
Author: Pastor Pat Aman
Jesus Was Four Days Late, But Right On Time.
There are times in all of our lives that we reach a point that all we can do is just stand. We feel that we are facing stones so big in our lives that they cannot be moved. During these times I have learned that God is standing with me. He is preparing me for a new journey, or a new Ministry.
Mary and Martha had stood. They sent a message for Jesus to come now because their brother Lazarus was sick.
Jesus received the message but He tarried, for He was about His Father’s business. Jesus also knew the out come.
See, God knows the out come to our circumstances when we turn them over to Him and believe by and in Faith.
When Jesus was coming to the home of of His dear friends, Martha met Him and said, ” if you had come my brother would not have died.”
Jesus told Martha, I Am the resurrection and the life.
Of course Martha still questioned why?
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
She said yes, Lord.
Then Lazarus sister Mary and others coming up and weeping. Mary said, to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
As Jesus saw them weeping, He begin to weep, but not because Lazarus had died, but, because of their unbelief.
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.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
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.” 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.””
Do you UNDERSTAND, that Jesus could do nothing until Mary and Martha gave Him permission to remove the stone away.
We may have a stone or stones in our lives, but Jesus cannot break the bondage we are in, until we give Him permission to remove the stone.
So, today, let your faith arise up in you. Give Jesus permission to remove and loose the stones of bondage in your lives and see a miracle take place within you.
God bless each of you,
Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman
“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 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.” 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.” 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 11:1-27, 32-34, 36-44
Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman
(Nehemiah 8:10)
“The Joy Of The Lord, Is Your Strength.”
(Proverbs 17:22)
“A Merry Heart Does Good, Like Medicine, But A Broken Spirit Dries The Bones.”
Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2023 “Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals” “Coffee With A Little Spice Of Life” and Westbow Press a division of © Thomas Nelson and Library of Congress Control Number: 2018910976