I AM: Discovering the Nature of Jesus!

Friday, March 26, 2004

My Prayer Today

Dear Jesus, I thank you for being my Savior. I thank you that your glory has been revealed in me. Just as your Father listened to you when you prayed, I know that God hears me whenever I pray because of You. Help me to live my life with purpose today. I don't want to waste my words or actions. I want to do everything so that others may believe in you. I ask you for your grace to do this. In Your name I pray, Amen.

God's Word Today

John 11:38-42

"And again Jesus was deeply troubled. Then they came to the grave. It was a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 'Roll the stone aside,' Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, said, 'Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for four days.' Jesus responded, 'Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?' So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, 'Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me."

Reflecting on God's Word

In verse 41, when Jesus began praying what did he first say?

In verse 42, what did Jesus say regarding how often God heard him pray?

According to Jesus, why did he speak these things out loud?

A Deeper Exploration of God's Word

Why was important for the people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

Did Jesus do anything without a purpose? How does speaking out loud reveal this?

According to verse 40, is God's glory contingent upon belief? How?

Understanding God's Purpose

To Jesus, what was the most important thing that he wanted from those at the tomb?

From Jesus' prayer, what can you tell about the relationship between himself and his Father?

Does faith precede this miracle, or does it follow?

Applying God's Word to Our Lives

Using Jesus' prayer as an example, what should be the purpose of every word and action that we have?

Why do others around us need to "see" and "hear" our faith in action?

Name a person who helped you to believe in Jesus, through their witness and example?

Thoughts

All of us can probably think of somebody that helped us on our journey to faith in Jesus through their example. This person (or persons) most likely had something "different" or "contagious" about their life -- that we were attracted to. They lived in such a way where it led us to believe in Jesus Christ. This is the type of person that God wants us to be. In everything we do, we must seek to glorify God through showing others the love of Jesus so they may believe him.

In Jesus' prayer just before he raised Lazarus from the dead he said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me." We can see Jesus' concern for those who were witnesses to what was going on. Jesus spoke out loud so that they could hear with their ears what he was saying, and he did this so that they would believe -- that was his entire purpose. (And it was why John wrote his entire Gospel). Jesus was purpose driven so that others might believe -- and so must we! We must seek, even this day, to do everything so that others around us may see and hear the good news of the hope that is in Christ Jesus.

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