SATURDAY, July 5th, 2008

Hey Everyone! Yesterday was such a fun day! I enjoyed doing the freedom swim, going out to eat with my family, and watching the fireworks with over 35 people from our church at Laishley park! It was a great day! Katie, Jill, and Jessica Staley made the news both on NBC and ABC... and My foot and leg made the news too! Cool Huh!

A Few Thoughts From Yesterday:
Thanks for all the "Happy Birthdays" yesterday! It was a great birthday thanks to many of you!
Jeff: You are crazy! You are like... "Josh if you died I would probably cry" Unbelievable!
Marvin:It is good to know that you love your brother! :) Good application yesterday!
Grace: We will miss you very much! Hurry back! I had fun yesterday too! I am glad we got to hang out with all you guys!!
Jon: Hey man! I agree, the fireworks were just ok, but the fellowship was a real "bang"! Ha!! :) I crack myself up, like a firecracker! :) I am on a roll!!
Jessica M: Hey girl, I hope that you had fun last night! I wish they had used the money that they spent on fireworks to build you a new school... Nevermind! I enjoyed the fireworks!!! :)


John 11:39-44
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Ok, so this is the climax of the story that we have been looking at for the last few days. Jesus comes to the tomb. When it says that He is groaning within himself, it does not mean that He is Hungry!! It means that He has a broken heart!

Verse 39 Jesus tells the people to move the stone off the front of the tomb, and Guess what Martha says. (This is so great) She says: "Um... Jesus listen, His body has begun to decompose and it really STINKS!! You do not want them to open up that tomb!!!

Then Jesus tells Martha, Didnt I tell you to have faith and then you would see AMAZING things...?

In Verse 42 we see Jesus praying to the Father, publically! Why? To be a testimony to God! Do you pray publically? so that people can see you praying and know that you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ!

Verse 43 has the incredible statement from Christ. As He speaks here on earth, and He is heard all the way to Heaven where Lazarus was probably just getting use to things up there... Lazarus heard Christ and instantly came back into His body, and came alive.

The very next scene is this "mummy like" man, walking out of the tomb. That must have been so freaky! Think about that, He was dead one moment and alive the next! Just like us! We were dead in our sins, and Christ gave us eternal life! What a great God we serve!

I think that if I could go back and watch any miracle that Christ did, this would be the one I would choose! I would love to look at Mary and Marthas face whenever they saw Lazarus walking out of the tomb! It would be so cool to watch this miracle and know that it happened because of Marthas faith!!

What does God want to do in our life, BECAUSE OF OUR GREAT FAITH IN HIM! I guarantee you that God wants to do something GREAT!