"Negate Any Doubts"

"Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already." (John 11:17 KJV)

  ""Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him, He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of the rains in early spring."" (Hosea 6:1-3 NLT)

 There was a reason Jesus waited, as it was to remove any doubt that Lazarus had been dead; after 3 days, the body begins to decay. Besides that, some Jews believe that the soul lingers around for 3 days, waiting for a chance to reenter the body. Four days or more, and it is pretty much settled, he was dead! 

 If you have anything within you that might be causing you doubt, you should do whatever you can to be done with that matter, once and for all! Don't let it keep festering up inside of you; don't let it keep showing up inside of you mind, robbing you of the boldness you should have to share the Good News about the eternal life available through Christ! 

 On a little different note, I knew what to expect from the message Pastor Bryan was going to share, as I know he knows what I believe about Mark, because I told him what I believed during a round of golf. It really doesn't matter, we can agree to disagree, because it really isn't a salvation matter; it's just mostly interesting to discover things you might not otherwise know. 

 That said, I see now why it is hidden, because the impact of the message is more vital with the Young Rich Ruler walking away, never to consider changing his life again. It really makes the current chance to change your mind, the most important time to change your mind. He could have walked away and been eaten by a wild beast of struck by lightning; or worse, he could have hardened heart and ruined the lives of other noble men; as if they were not ruined already. 

 The little twist at the end was more important than the whole rest of the story! That thing about the reason we doubt in the first place! Those missing things, or things that get missed! "Wait a minute! I gave my life to you, Lord; why do I still have these sinful desires?" 

 We must know, without a single little speck of doubt, that we belong to Jesus; He bought and paid for every sin, those past, those present, and those to come! We will struggle with temptations and sin as long as we are living in these mortal bodies, so we need to stop letting that make us to doubt! 

 Stop focusing on the sin, and start focusing on the victory we have in Christ...

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I and a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." (Romans 7:24 - 8:2 NLT)