Chester ARP Devotional Podcast

Jesus stood by Lazarus's tomb and told Martha that if she believed, she would see the glory of God. She was too focused on all the limitations instead of the possibilities of Christ's power. 

Jesus wept by the tomb of Lazarus. Why? He loved Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. He hurts for them because they had to deal with the full effects of the fall of man. Death is painful to all of us, even Jesus. 

Jesus loved Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus. So, when Lazarus died, it was a tough time for them all. But Jesus was there for them and ministered to them. He does the same for us. 

Jesus delayed in coming to Lazarus's aid because he loved him. He wanted Lazarus, his sisters, and the disciples to experience God's glory and to be able to testify to it.

The Jews wanted to kill Jesus for blasphemy, and yet they ignored the numerous signs that he performed to prove his identity as God. They did it because they weren't members of his flock. They weren't numbered among his chosen people. 

Jesus demands a verdict. Is he God's Son and the world's savior or not? Our answer to that question will cause division among us. 

Jesus is a good shepherd who cares for his people because they belong to him. His love for them is entirely selfless. He brings them together and unites them in his grace. 

Jesus is a good shepherd willing to lay down his life for this sheep. He is the one who cares for them and protects them from harm's way. 

Jesus is the good shepherd who does his job. He knows his sheep, and they know him and follow him. The Pharisees had failed, and Jesus called them out on their failure. 

The man born blind in John 9 was called to testify before the Pharisees a second time. He gave the same testimony but challenged them in their unbelief this time. They rejected him and kicked him out of the Synagogue. Jesus found him and treated him with grace. 

The evidence of Jesus's miraculous healing of the blind man was apparent. Everyone could see it. However, some of the Pharisees refused to recognize it. And they had controlled the population so much with fear that the man's parents wouldn't testify to his healing.  

Jesus healed the man born blind in John as a demonstration of his glory on this earth. People were confused by the change in this guy's life. Was he the man? He definitively answered their questions with, "I am the man!" His testimony brought glory to Jesus. 

The question of John 9 is, "Who sinned that a man should be born blind?" Jesus answered that no specific sin caused his blindness. Sin, in general, brought about brokenness in the human condition. But this man's condition was tied to any particulars. Rather, his blindness provided an opportunity for the glory of God to be revealed in his healing. 

Jesus is 100% divine and 100% man. Though he was humanly born into the world from Mary's womb, he always existed in his divinity. Therefore, he can give us eternal life because he is the source of that life. 

Jesus told his opponents that they were not of their father Abraham because they rejected Him as their Lord. True children of Abraham are those who receive Christ by faith and rejoice in His coming. 

If we abide in God's Word, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. Free from what? The power of sin. God's truth in Christ as it is found in his word is that which frees us from sin. 

Jesus was clear about his true identitiy as God's Son. He was also clear about our need to trust and follow him. May we see him as he is through faith and share the good news of his story with everyone we know. 

Jesus told the Pharisees that he didn't judge anyone during his earthly ministry because he came to save. He will, however, judge the wicked when he returns. Following him, we are called to judge no one, but we are also told to rightly evaluate all people and circumstances. 

Jesus said that all of those who trust in him and drink from the living water that he gives will have rivers of living water flowing out from them into the world. This is a remarkable statement about how the cource of life is given to God's people through the ministry of the Spirit. 

The crowd and the Pharisees are starting to line up against each other over Jesus and his identity. The crowd is intrigued and are beginning to beleive while the Pharisees and chief priests are growing more and more skeptical. 

Jesus told the crowd that they failed to see him as he is becase they weren't doing God's will. Our faith is confirmed when we are doing the will of God -- beleiving in Christ and loving others.

The ordinary people conversed about who Jesus is during the time in which he lived. The leaders had an opinion, but ordinary people were open to faith. The same is true today.

Do you have members of your family or friends who don't know the Lord? Don't give up on them. The Lord can always work to bring them to himself. Jesus's own brothers are proof.

After Jesus's hard sayings about having to grow in our understanding of life with him and the importance of committing our lives to him, many of his disciples walked away in John 6. But, the twelve, led by Peter, said, "To whom shall we go for eternal life?" They knew he is the only way. Do you? Are you willing to commit to him as well?

Jesus meets are greatest needs in his abundant grace. All of whom call upon him in faith and trust him with their lives will be saved and raised up on the last day. Guaranteed. Let us find comfort in his grace.