Believe to live with Jesus

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 11, the Bible gives the account of a man named Lazarus.

This man, whose sisters were Martha and Mary, were followers of the Lord Jesus and his ministry.

One day, Lazarus became ill and the Bible states that he died.

Jesus receives word of what has occurred and he returns to find the family in deep grief.

The word of God tells us that Jesus stands outside of the grave, commands that the stone be removed and says, “Lazarus, come forth.”

After four days in the grave, life returns, and Lazarus is restored to his family.

In John 11:44, Scripture reads, “The man who died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.”

Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” What a powerful story that captures so much truth about life, our life, in today’s world.

For sure, Jesus is revealing to us that he is the Resurrection and the Life and that life does not end with death.

Life is changed for each one of us when we depart this earth but it is not ended.

As a believer, we will live with the Lord forever in his kingdom, heaven.

Scripture is clear; there is no other name under heaven, by which a person can be saved.

It is the name of Jesus.

Salvation is deliverance.

Deliverance from eternal death, brought on by sin.

Salvation is God’s grace released and his mercy recognized in the person of his son.

Those who trust in Christ are saved at the moment of their confession of faith in him.

Scripture declares, “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”

That salvation, saving power is still available today.

Many of us face extremely trying times and the battle can be great.

God can and will help us to overcome any and all trials that life brings our way.

Some of our struggles are relational.

Relationships and family issues can tear a family apart.

For those who find themselves the acting “mediator,” it can be extremely difficult.

A mediator is one who has the gift of seeing both sides of a dispute and helping each side reach a mutual agreement and resolve.

If we find ourselves in such a place we need to make sure it is God’s will.

We are the only one who can answer that question.

Perhaps it is a pattern of allowing ourselves to become an enabler of another’s condition.

God wants us to recognize some things in our own lives in order to promote the freedom he has to offer us.

If Jesus is considered Lord and Savior, allow him to bring about the change needed.

We can be free of any and all things, with Christ’s help.

There are things in our lives that we can submit to the Lord so he can say to us, “be unbound and be free.” Looking at the account in Scripture concerning Lazarus, a couple of observations may be considered.

First, he was bound, hand and foot and then released by another’s hand.

They helped to unwrap him, but with freed hands he needed to remove the material or blinders from his own face and eyes.

It took an action and an effort by Lazarus to be fully released.

We find as Christ-ians that the Lord gives us new life in him, but we still tend to hang on to things of the past, be it attitudes, guilt, pre-conceived ideas or resentments.

Those are the grave clothes that hinder us from being completely healed.

Those are the things that stop us from moving forward in peace and freedom.

Second, one who is bound hand and foot is unable to walk forward progressively.

Sure they can try and hop along, exerting much energy to get only a few steps.

Is it worth the effort and is it beneficial to us or the Kingdom of God?

Doing things God’s way, and letting go of the things we hold onto from the past will bring freedom.

God will honor the surrender and submission and a fresh wind of the Spirit will produce change in the current circumstances.

Peace will ensue, relationships will change and freedom will be the blessing. Finally, let us forget the past and reach forward to what the Lord has for us in the future.

Although the past contributes to who we are today, God holds the future, your future, in his hands.

The past can remain where it is, and the pain associated with it can be surrendered.

Reach out to the Lord, there he stands, calling your name, come out and be free.

Patty Scahill of Austintown is a conference speaker, author and hospice chaplain.