Daily Devotional ~ Rise Up

🧡 Worship: If you'd like to play a song before you begin or while you read, may we recommend "Rise Up (Lazarus)" by Cain. Why not try asking alexa, siri, or google to play it for you?!

💙 Daily Verse: 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 11:44 NLT

💜 Let's Talk About It: This is a picture of what we look like before we submit our lives to God. We are dead in our sin, stuck in our tomb, awaiting our eternal existence.

But just as with Lazarus, Christ wants to call us to our own resurrection. You see, when we lay our lives down as an offering for the Lord, it is only then that Christ can roll away the proverbial stone in front of our tomb and call us out.

And from that moment that we walk out of that grave, the graveclothes are removed by the King as He clothes us with His righteousness and holiness. Those are things we simply cannot earn due to our human (and imperfect) nature.

While the Holy Spirit sanctifies us (making us more like Jesus and helping us leave our sinful ways behind), it can only do so as long as we are walking with Christ. We can't merely submit our lives and continue living as we always have, nor can we do it in our own strength by making the changes we think God wants by dressing a certain way for church or pretending to be better or more righteous than we are. We must be willing to do things God's way. It's really that simple.

That doesn't always look the same for everyone. For me, it meant leaving a job working for a new age/occult company. It meant marrying my boyfriend. It meant going back to school to study theology. For you, it may mean you switch jobs, continue homeschooling your kids, or begin waking up earlier to read your Bible. Only God knows the direction He wants you to go, and you can only find out what that it by seeking Him.

The point is this...God cannot do a good work if we are not willing to step out of the grave.

Here's a westernized example: Imagine you're in a jail cell. The door is opened and unlocked (Jesus unlocked it when He died and conquered sin and death), you just have to be willing to step out. You have to take the STEP OUT IN FAITH, believing that Christ paid the penalty for your sin on the Cross. Once out, Christ starts you on His rehabilitation program that consists of listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit within you, reading and meditating on God's Word, and loving God and others with all your heart by selflessly assisting whomever God allows you to any given day (may just be your kids some days and may be a boardroom full of people the next).

What do you say...are you ready to come out of the tomb? If so, message me and let's pray about it! If not, message me and let me know, what are you waiting for? 🤗❤

💛 Additional Reading: John 11:1-44

❤ Prayer: Dear Father, I am so thankful for this day, and for another opportunity to wake up and enjoy this world. Lord, help me to realize today that I am blessed to be a blessing. Help me to love others as you do, Jesus. Thank you for protecting me and my family and for healing those who need a touch from you. I am so grateful for your Holy Spirit that guides me. Thank you for everything you've given me, God. I love you Jesus, and in your name I pray, amen.