It’s never too late for resurrection

Posted byoakhillcrossvillePosted inUncategorized
Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “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.”” John 11:32 (NIV)
 
Our thought for today: “It’s never too late for resurrection”
 
In addition to writing a daily devotional message of my own, in my personal daily quiet time I also rely on devotional messages written by others. This year I’ve been using Alan Fadling’s “A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotionals for Unhurried Living.” It is exceptionally well-written and very rich.
 
This morning I want to share with you an insight I learned from one of Alan’s devotionals that coincides nicely with our theme for this month of deep discipleship. It comes from the scene in John 11 where Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, has died and his sisters, Mary and Martha are grieving. They had sent word to Jesus in advance that Lazarus was deathly ill and they asked Him to come quickly in order to heal him. But Jesus delayed and Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. That’s what led to the comment from Mary which we just read in 11:32, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Here’s the insight Alan shared about this:
 
“Mary is not wrong. Jesus certainly could have prevented Lazarus’s death. He has that power. But there is a deeper truth Jesus wants Mary to experience. There is something about Jesus she doesn’t know. He wants her to learn that not only can he prevent death, he can also conquer death. He wants her to encounter him as the Resurrection and the Life. Resurrection is a greater miracle than death prevention.”
 
Alan goes on: “When we feel disappointed by what appears to be God’s failure to show up, is it possible his intent might be to do something far greater for us than we could imagine? Might we learn something in the thirteenth hour, after God has seemingly failed to act on our behalf, that is greater than what we would learn if God arrived just in time to save us? The reality of resurrection requires the reality of death first.”
 
The point I want to make this morning is that whatever your situation is, as bad as it might seem, even if the time of salvation seems past, it’s never too late for resurrection. Jesus can raise the dead, restore life to dry bones, and He can redeem your apparently dead and lost situation.
 
One of our goals in deep discipleship is to learn to continue trusting Jesus after all seems lost. I encourage you to trust Him today, because it’s never too late for resurrection.
 
God bless,
Pastor Jim
 
(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville
 
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