Lazarus

Only by the Word

Posted on by Betsy

Today’s Scripture from Ezekiel 37 is the famous “dem bones gonna rise again” passage. Ezekiel faced a difficult task because he was called to prophesy to the Jewish people at one of the lowest points in their history. The small nation of Israel had been under siege for years and had been conquered by the mighty army of Babylonia. Jerusalem lay in ruins; the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. Ezekiel, along with thousands of other Jews, was forced into exile to the capitol city of Babylon which was in modern day Iraq. Ezekiel was told by God to prophesy to the Jewish refugees about the future of their nation. God showed him a vision of a valley filled with dry dead bones as far as the eye could see. God asked Ezekiel if he thought the bones could live, and Ezekiel replied, “Oh God, only you know.”

Ezikiel 37 (Common English Bible)

37 The Lord’s power overcame me, and while I was in the Lord’s spirit, he led me out and set me down in the middle of a certain valley. It was full of bones. 2 He led me through them all around, and I saw that there were a great many of them on the valley floor, and they were very dry.

3 He asked me, “Human one, can these bones live again?”

I said, “Lord God, only you know.”

That was a really good answer. There are three things to take away from his response. First, Ezekiel had no hope in the bones, but his response demonstrates great hope in God. Second, he certainly would never presume to know what God was planning to do with the bones, acknowledging that God’s ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. And third, while he didn’t know, he was confident that God had a specific plan in mind. I think those are important lessons for us today. Hope, wisdom, and trust are the lessons Ezekiel learned. 

So let’s talk about hope. I think that many, many people live in the valley of dry bones today. Some live in that valley for a long time, and the truth is that all of us visit it for at least for a season. Mary and Martha were in that valley when their brother Lazarus died. They sent for Jesus as soon as he fell ill, but Jesus was delayed. Now Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. “Lord,” said Mary, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Then she began to weep. Her tears were so moving that Jesus began to weep as well. For a time Mary and Martha were living in the valley of dry bones. It is a valley of grief and hopelessness. Some of you have been there. All of us will be in that valley at some time in our lives. I am counseling a woman whose husband is fighting cancer for the second time. The outcome does not look good. Every time we meet, she wrestles with the same question. If he dies, how can I go on living?

There in that lonesome valley we will find ourselves asking, Is there any hope? Can I go on? Can these bones live again?

The answer is a resounding yes. There is hope. You can go on. These bones can live again. The question, then, is how? How can we find hope in the midst of desolation, courage in the face of impending collapse, comfort in our hour of ultimate distress? The answer is by the word of God.

God told Ezekiel: `Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'”

The answer is in the Word of the Lord. Remember, it was with a word that the world was created. “And God said, `Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3) It was by the Word that God revealed the fullness of His love for humanity, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14) And it was by a Word that Christ brought Lazarus back from the dead, “Jesus cried with a loud voice, `Lazarus, come out.’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth.” It is by the Word of the Lord that we live and move and have our being.

Our hope is in the word of the Lord. THAT IS WHY THE SCRIPTURES ARE SO IMPORTANT TO OUR LIVES. That’s why you need to be reading your Bible every day and participating in a small group or Sunday School class here at your church.

It’s hard to have hope in the word if you don’t know the word. (Read that again.)

Many of you have been reading these devotionals since the beginning, in 2018. You agree with me that daily immersion into Scripture is vital for living, and I thank you for that! It’s why I get up every morning and reach for my laptop (and strong coffee). My fervent prayer is that you are also engaging in a group study and weekly worship.

How about it? Do you know the Word? It’s our only hope.

Monet’s Garden

Unbinding

Posted on by Betsy

What has you tied up in knots today? Surely the election results have at least half of the country feeling bound up in restrictive cloths while the other half is feeling suddenly set free. There are lots of things in life that can make us feel wrapped up in burial cloth: Divorce, the sudden death of a loved one, financial woes, natural disasters, food and housing insecurities … the list goes on and on. What has you trapped today?

Our lectionary passage from last week tells the incredible story of a man who died and was bound up in strips of cloth like a mummy. This man was dear to Jesus, as were his sisters. Mary and Martha were strong believers in Jesus’ power to heal. They had sent for him to come and heal their brother, but he arrived too late:

John 11 (Common English Bible)

32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?”

I find it striking that he was deeply disturbed and troubled at the news of his friend’s death and at their grief. Do you know that whatever has you bound up today causes Jesus some consternation? He loves you that much.

They replied, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Notice that the Jews who were observing this acknowledged Jesus’ power to heal. They were believers.

38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.”

In the King James Version, this sentence reads “He stinketh.” I think we should revive that word. It kind of adds class to a smelly situation. If you’ve ever changed a diaper, you know what I mean.

Then Jesus had his “hold my beer” moment. They wanted him to heal Lazarus, but he showed an even greater power than that: He showed them the power of resurrection.

40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

The bottom line for this story for us today is this: Jesus wants to unbind you from whatever has you trapped. He longs to set you free from your burial shroud and watch you enter into new life, healed and whole. I bet you know exactly what to do to make this happen. Whether it’s leaving a toxic relationship, ending a destructive habit, stop obsessing over the past, or standing up for yourself against an enemy, you know what to do. So do it!

Untie yourself and let it go.

Free Flowing by Kathy Schumacher

Let Loose

Posted on by Betsy

I apologize in advance, but today’s devotional begins with a tragic and bizarre story.

My sister-in-law once owned a rental home in the town where I lived. She had a faithful older gentleman renter who was always on time with his rent, and liked to do small repairs to her property. So when months went by with no rent check, and calls to his home went unanswered, she contacted her brother (my husband) and asked him to meet her at the house so she could check on her renter.

The rest reads like a Twilight Zone episode.

As they approached the house, one remarked to the other that if they saw a convergence of black flies on the inside of the windows, they would know the worst had happened.

Cue the black flies.

However, the lawn was mowed and there were no newspapers on the lawn, giving them hope. But a quick trip around the back revealed that the nice lawn guy had been stacking the papers up on the back porch as he mowed every week.

Cue the unnoticed, over-stuffed mailbox.

Beginning to put two and two together, they called the non-emergency line for the local police station and asked for assistance.

Cue the young officer in a full Hazmat suit.

You can probably guess the rest of the story. The gentleman had perished inside the house two months earlier. When the officers opened the front door, it was obvious.

Cue the horrific smell.

The retelling of this sad story is offered to put into context what you are about to read. In the book of John, the story is told of the death of Lazarus. Jesus had been informed of his illness, but elected not to go in time to heal him. (Which, being Jesus, he could have easily done.)

Ever wonder why?

John 11 (The Message)

5-7 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

11 He said these things, and then announced, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I’m going to wake him up.”

12-13 The disciples said, “Master, if he’s gone to sleep, he’ll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine.” Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap.

14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him.”

You see, up to this point, Jesus had performed many miracles of illness-healing, lunch-multiplying, demon-casting, storm-calming, and water-walking. The disciples had witnessed all of it. But they didn’t know the one thing that was the most profound of all of Jesus’ miraculous powers: he had power over death.

37 Others among them said, “Well, if Jesus loved him so much, why didn’t he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man.”

38-39 Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”

The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, “Master, by this time there’s a stench. He’s been dead four days!”

40 Jesus looked her in the eye. “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

And with that, the stone was removed and Jesus called Lazarus to walk out of the tomb.

The power of the resurrection is the greatest miracle of all. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. The glory of life after death was on display for all to see, and all who saw were invited to believe.

Do you believe? What needs to die in you so that you can see the glory of God in your life? Where is God inviting you to walk out of the stench of your decay and shed your grave clothes?

When Lazarus walked out, Jesus instructed his friends to “let loose” the burial strips of cloth that had bound up his body.

The invitation is the same for you. Let loose everything that is constricting your faith, confining your life, and walk free.

Child of God, COME FORTH.

The Light of New Life by Cheryl Smith