Good from the Bad

April 4, 2014

Opening Hymns:
341 I Sought the Lord http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh341.sht

Scripture Reading:
John 11:1-14
11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

11:2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.

11:3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

11:4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not end in death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

11:5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,

11:6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

11:7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

11:8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"

11:9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.

11:10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."

11:11 After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."

11:12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right."

11:13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.

11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.”

Message:
I can’t imagine how Mary and Martha must have felt. Jesus had said the illness wouldn’t end in death, and yet Lazarus is dead! How could that be? Has Jesus been wrong before? Reading it over again, we can see that Jesus wasn’t wrong. The illness wouldn’t END in death. But before Jesus’ arrival Mary and Martha were devastated.

Thankfully, God is able to use even sad or bad things to bring good to the world. Do you remember the story of Joseph? Joseph was sold to be a slave by his brothers, and because of all the bad events in his life he was later able to save the Egyptians and his people from starvation. He even stated “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 45:5-8)

Looking back, the hard times in my life have shaped who I am. I wouldn’t be as strong as I am had I not gone through all of those struggles. As I’m Thinking about the challenges, heart break, and “bad” parts of my life I find it hard to think of one thing in which no good was born out of the bad. God can use bad things for good. He can even use all of us who are sinners for good things. Just another reminder that we have an awesome God.    

Time of Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You for making good things out of bad things. Shape us and mold us so that we can serve and do Your will on this day. Amen


The Lord’s Prayer


Closing Hymn
420 Breath on me Breath of God http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh420.sht

May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Amen.

Go in peace, serve the Lord
Thanks be to God