Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Father, thank you for being ever near. Thank you for coming all the way here. Thank you for making Jesus available. And now, dear Savior, I cry out and ask you into my heart. I know you are always here and always near, but I want you to know you are welcome here. I willingly open myself to you. Your wisdom, strength, care, healing, guidance, love, inspiration, tenderness, strength, and power are always welcome in my life. Please come alive in me. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

There was a man named Lazarus who was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany. This is the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Mary is the same woman that later put perfume on the Lord (Jesus) and wiped his feet with her hair.) Mary's brother was Lazarus, the man that was now sick. So Mary and Martha sent a person to tell Jesus, "Lord, your dear friend Lazarus is sick." When Jesus heard this he said, "The end of this sickness will not be death. But this sickness is for the glory of God. This has happened to bring glory to the Son of God." (Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then Jesus said to his followers, "We should go back to Judea." The followers answered, "But teacher, those Jews in Judea tried to kill you with stones. That was only a short time ago. Now you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "There are twelve hours of light in the day. Right? If a person walks in the day, then he will not stumble and fall. Why? Because he can see with the light of this world. But when a person walks at night he stumbles. Why? Because there is no light to help him see." After Jesus said these things, he said, "Our friend Lazarus is now sleeping. But I am going there to wake him." The followers answered, "But Lord, if he can sleep, he will be well." Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead. But Jesus' followers thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was really sleeping. So then Jesus said clearly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad that I was not there. I am happy for you, because now you will believe {in me}. We will go to him now." Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other followers, "We will go too. We will die with Jesus {in Judea}."

Related Scripture Readings

"I correct and punish those people that I love. So start trying hard! Change your hearts and lives! Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If a person hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person. And that person will eat with me. "I will let every person that wins the victory sit with me on my throne. It was the same with me. I won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. Every person that hears these things should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."

A man that had leprosy came to Jesus. The man bowed on his knees and begged Jesus, "You have the power to heal me if you want." Jesus felt sorry for the man. So Jesus touched the man and said, "I want to heal you. Be healed!"

But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. This is terrible! Who will save me from this body that brings me death?