May 20

John 11

What an incredible account of how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. There is so much in this story and what I enjoy most about reading the Bible is that every time I read something, God points out something new to me. I don't necessarily know that I am right, I can only share what God put in my spirit. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He said "Cut him loose, and let him go" (Tree of Life Version). The Message Version says "Unwrap him and let him loose", and the ESV says "Unbind him and let him go". All versions lead to the same image, once Jesus calls us out from where we were and we are baptized, our spirits are made new. We are no longer bound to the things of this world that hold us to sin and death. We are new creations in Christ. (Romans 6:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17) We have entered into a new covenant and are now wearing a new outfit so to speak. But see there's a fine line we walk here, because if we aren't careful, we loose our focus. (Ezekiel 16:9-19) It's so easy to put back on the clothes we were buried in like pride, guilt, self righteousness, and the list goes on. In his book Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation, Robert Morgan takes us through scripture and points out the importance of seeing ourselves and our lives as the Lord sees us, through the truths and the lens of scripture. Through prayer, we can learn to see ourselves through the eyes of God. As a result, decisions and behavior should no longer come from our flesh, but from our spirit, which was made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) I pray for all of us that with so much going on around us, we take time to realize we have been "unwrapped, and cut loose", the old is dead and we now live, move, and have our being as one in the body of Christ.

Randi