Believe in Me
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1 (NIV) Your heart is looking for something to hold onto. That is not a weakness, it is the most honest thing about you…
Take Off the Grave Clothes
“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” John 11:44 (NIV) Lazarus came out alive…
He Already Knew What He Would Do
“When he heard this, he said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’” John 11:4 (NIV) Jesus named the destination before He took a single…
If You Had Been Here
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” John 11:21–22 (NIV) Martha brought her prayer exactly as it was. She walked out to…
Grief Is Not Unbelief
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 (NIV) Grief and faith are not enemies. We have been taught, quietly and without anyone meaning harm, that strong believers do not fall apart. That tears are a sign of wavering. That the right response to…
He Loved and He Waited
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:5–6 (NIV) Love and delay do not cancel each other out. That is the…
You Are Not Who You Were
“‘I am the man,’ he said.” John 9:9 (NIV) Three words. The whole chapter in miniature. When the neighbors and bystanders could not agree on whether this was even the same person they had always known, the man born blind…
Outnumbered but Unshaken
“Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!’” John 9:28 (NIV) He stood alone in a room full of experts. The man born blind had no religious training, no legal…
The Sign Hidden in the Name
“‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’).” John 9:7 (NIV) God hides theology in geography. Jesus did not send the blind man to just any pool of water. He sent him to Siloam,…
The Mud He Did Not Ask For
“He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.” John 9:6 (NIV) Nobody asks for the process that changes them. The man in John 9 did not request mud on his…