From Death to Life - Greg Laurie Devotion - September 4/5, 2021
Weekend, September 4, 2021
From Death to Life
“Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign” (John 12:17-18 NLT).
Just for a moment, try and contemplate the glories of Heaven. And then imagine having to leave Heaven and return to this world. It’s sort of like dragging children out of Disneyland. As far as they’re concerned, they’re leaving the Promised Land.
For Lazarus, it was bad enough to die once, but ultimately he had to die twice. When Jesus stood at the tomb and shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43 NLT), He called His friend back to Earth again.
The news of Lazarus’s resurrection spread like wildfire. Eyewitnesses were telling their friends and family that Jesus raised a man from the dead. And there was no question that Lazarus had been dead because he was in the tomb for four days. The process of decomposition already had set in.
Yet Lazarus was alive again. In fact, the Bible tells us it was the reason that so many people went out to meet Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (see John 12:17-18).
This is a classic example of how a good testimony works. When we become Christians, the Bible says that we pass from “darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18 NKJV).
It’s also true that we pass from death to life. We were spiritually dead in our sins, and now we’re alive through Christ. And when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, people essentially see us raised from the dead spiritually.
The resurrected Lazarus was like a magnet. People heard about him and came to see him, but ultimately they saw Jesus.
In the same way, if we’re living for Christ as we ought to, we will draw people to Him. People will want to know our secret. They’ll want to know what happened to us. And that’s when we can point them to Jesus.
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Grief is one of life’s most difficult challenges. Pastor Greg Laurie experienced this truth when his son Christopher passed away suddenly. Discover comfort and healing in times of pain as you read his book Hope for Hurting Hearts. Receive your copy as our gift for your donation of any amount to Harvest Ministries this month.
