Lazarus

Romans 8:2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.



I believe Jesus when He said, "Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." I believe that while He ministered on the earth for 3 1/2 years He was showing me how to overcome. Jesus having a life-giving Spirit in Him is a far easier concept to believe than I having a life-giving Spirit in me. Easy to believe or not easy to believe is meant only to imply that to believe may take strength. I do believe but living like I believe takes a strength only God can give me. The truth is that He did give me that life-giving Spirit .



While Jesus ministered to the earth as the Son of man , people had not as yet been given this life-giving Spirit to dwell in them.



I believe that Jesus wanted me to be able to believe and receive "ALL" that He did for me. When He spoke life into Lazarus He was saying (with His actions , I believe), that He could give that same life giving experience to me.



Romans 8:6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.



I can choose to look at the way my mind thinks when caught following the flesh and believe it is dead. I can say to myself, "Look how it always goes back to thinking like my parents thought. Look how it is so easily deceived into thinking like some charismatic person is thinking. Look how my thinking stinks! "



Or I can choose to believe that Jesus can arrive on the scene at any moment He chooses and breath life into my stinking mind. He can bring it alive with the power of His life-giving Spirit that He gave me.



Romans 8:9-10 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. ( And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.) Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.



That means I have a right spirit .



When Lazarus came alive he still needed a little help from his friends. Jesus told them to take his grave clothes off him .



It took some really brave people to stay around while Jesus performed this miracle. I do not want to smell a dead rat. That is a small smell though compared to a dead dog , or cow. These people were surely use to coming upon a dead something when they traveled from town to town. There were no animal control people to call back then and say, "please come get this dead deer that died on the path from my town to my friend's town."



Yet Lazarus' friends were there when Jesus said, "take the grave clothes off him." I think not only Jesus loved Lazarus but his sisters and friends loved him too. Friends that hang around and expect Jesus to do something miraculous in your life are priceless. Friends who believe that Jesus is still doing miracles today are the kind of friends I need.



I also want to be a friend to those who are believing that Christ lives within them. When they say, "I sin." I want to encourage them like Jesus has encouraged me. "Be of good cheer, "He said, "For I have overcome the world."