"The Raising of Lazarus"

 "When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. 

 They told him, "Lord, come and see." Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him!" But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?" 

 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them.

 But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible." 

 Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?" 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 that they will believe you sent me." Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!"" (John 11:33-44 NLT) 

  "Answer my prayers, O LORD, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful." (Psalm 69:16 NLT)

 If you don't mind, I would like to share something about yesterday and why I was so determined to try and make that point, "If You Like." It is mostly because I have learned something very important over these last nine-teen years of misery; that you do not have to be miserable! You do have a choice! 

 You know that saying, about the glass is half-empty or whether it is half-full; well, some people like the glass to be half-empty, because it might represent closure will be coming soon. Those who see that the cup is half-full, they are looking for goodness and blessings to be added, to any circumstance or any situation, no matter how hard it might get, the getting can only get better! 

 Even when it seems like it might be getting worse, the worse it might get, the better it will end up! That is what God can do with whatever it is that you are dealing with! Don't you know by now how that works? 

 In this situation with Lazarus, it really couldn't have gotten any worse. Jesus was angry, not because of the people that wept, or the fact that Lazarus was placed in a tomb, or even that Lazarus was dead! Jesus had a mission, a glass that was half-full and needed to be filled to overflowing! 

 Not to change the subject, but God does not harden hearts! Some people might think that God does, as the Bible says in several areas, "and God hardened their hearts." No, God shows off more on His goodness and glory, and then they harden their hearts against Him! 

 Pastor Robert shared something yesterday, saying, "God is angry with the wicked," and then adding, "When I say that, people say, 'Show me the verse that you get that from', and then I say, Here!" God is angry with the wicked every day...

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalms 7:11 KJV)