Wake Up!!!

John 11:44 "And he who had died came out bound hand and foot in grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them "loose him and let him go"

One of the many things we (Marissa and I) say in regards to our spiritual walk is that we "Die to self, daily". This statement, like many others, is easier said than done in that I still struggle with my own fleshly desires. Desires that aren't of God, which I've learned to realize is normal. To die to self is to live in Christ. We have two choices, we either die in sin or live in Christ. Of course, the latter seems like the obvious choice; however, it's not highly chosen.

Looking at this text we see a man, whom is a close friend of Jesus, that has been dead for days. Martha, Lazarus' sister had been calling for Jesus to come save her brother long before his death; however, Jesus wasn't in a rush to get there. It's obvious that Jesus knew there was purpose in the death of Lazarus. Fast forward to present day, some of us choose to be dead [in sin] because we don't know what else to be. We feel that because of our sin we are not worthy of coming into the presence of Christ. We don't think Christ will forgive us because we can't forgive ourselves. We believe that Christ can't love us because we don't love ourselves. Now, I'm not saying Lazarus died because of sin because I don't know the details of his death this is just a parallel to the scripture.

So, stop feeling sorry for yourself and start believing in God which will in turn cause you to believe in yourself. WAKE UP, COME FORTH and recognize that you have purpose. I'm a firm believer that what we consider as flaws are actually vehicles that God has given us to deliver His Word. The same concept can be applied to sin. Jesus didn't show up when Lazarus was dying because He knew that He had to die in order to live (just as Jesus did when He died on Calvary). But when the time was right God showed up revealing that the purpose of Lazarus' death was so that Christ could be glorified.

Lazarus was surrounded by those who believed and they didn't give up on Him when He couldn't help himself. Even after he was deep in the grave they held on to their faith and belief that Jesus had the power to do all things. Make sure you have those kind of people around you. People that are there even when you are deep in sin they still believe that God is God and He can do all things. Don't miss your wake up call. Be ready to come forth when your name is called. All the bondages will be broken God will be glorified.