New slant on a wonderful story, of resurrection life. John 11 verse 38 to 44: ‘The Raising of Lazarus from the dead’.

We were really dead and buried in grave clothes of our old life, but by understanding we were dead in sin {wrong-doings against God}, and understanding the needs for repentance and accepting the new life we have in Our Lord and Our Friend.

Lets get a picture from the story as to what has happen to us. Jesus has called us to come forth, from the death in sin, in our relationship to Him. Our Lord and Our Friend has called to come forth, out of that emptiness of life without Him.

Let also see a pattern from the story. Jesus had just called Lazarus, ‘Come forth’. Lazarus shuffled out, still bound from head to toe in grave clothes. His grave clothes didn’t just fall off the minute Jesus spoke to him. He needed someone to help him get out of the grave clothes.

There is a wonderful lesson here. When we accept Christ Jesus, He changes from the inside out. Experiences in our past can slow you down, keep us spiritual bound, which determines how we see ourselves.

While we are given the Holy Spirit as our Helper, transformation is a process, that needs the help of others. The clothes we were put in that grave of sin with, represent things that hold us back like self-esteem. That is why we need to love one another, John 13 verse 34;  Understand that we are all New creations in Christ, and we are all being transformed, which is an on going process.

That is why we need to develop an intimate relationship with God through prayer and reading His Word. Through searching and understanding His Word, we get the true picture of how He views us, we have been adopted into His Family. When that happens, we begin to live redeemed, released and redirected.

God Bless.

O F J.