00:00:02
Speaker 1: Life Audio. Well, hey there, friends, I'm Jody Nisnick and welcome to a bonus episode in our lent series. We've been walking through the I Am Statements of Jesus, a phrase that echoes God's self revelation back in Exodus and declares who Jesus is, that he is God and reveals how he cares for us. My prayer is these guided moments of reflection will help you slow down and consider more of who Jesus is for you. We'll be back to begin our meditation after a quick word from our sponsors. Before we begin our meditation, I want to invite you to head into the show notes, where you will find a link to download the free I Am can Pan journal that I've made for this series. It has each scripture that we are meditating on, all of the reflection prompts, and it gives you space to take notes on your prayers and meditation time. I do hope you'll take advantage of this free resource. Well, with that, let's get started. Let's begin with a few deep in and out breaths. As you breathe slowly in, just notice that God is present with you right here, right now, no matter where you are, and as you slowly exhale, notice what feels tight in your body right now, consciously loosen that up. Take another deep breath in and again as you slowly exhale, notice us what's on your heart right now? Ask God to hold it for you. He will keep taking those deep in and out breaths as a way to settle you in as a way to just signal to your heart and mind, this is exactly where I want to be. And as you're doing that, let me pray for you. Lord Jesus, thank you for the space that we have set aside to be present with you. We ask now that all the distractions, the to do list, the many things that we have facing us, would just fade away, and that you would help us be fully present here and now. Lord, we ask that you would guide and lead us into your word, and that you would help us notice exactly what we need to notice so that we can have the conversation with You that we need to have. Mostly, we just want to grow deeper in our love for you, and we asked that you would guide us into that for our good, for your glory. We asked this in the name of Jesus, Amen our passage today goes back to one of the more traditional I AM statements of Jesus. It is when he says I am the resurrection and the Life. All of the I AM statements are powerful, but if I were ranking them, I would say this one may be one of the most important, because death is our enemy. When Sin entered the picture back in Genesis, the consequence was death. We all know the pain of death, and here Jesus is stating I have overcome death. This is the heart of the gospel. Death no longer has the final say it is defeated. Life, true, abundant and eternal life wins, and this is the life Jesus offers us. Our passage today is part of a much larger story about the death of Lazaruth, the brother of Mary and Martha. All three are people Jesus loved deeply and cared for deeply. Jesus perceives the news that Lazarus was sick, and he responds that Lazarus won't die. But then Jesus waits two days before going to see this family. Why wait, Jesus tells us it was so God in the so would be glorified. God is able to work through every circumstance in our lives, even the most difficult ones, to bring about His glory and our good. This is the Gospel. Death surrendered to God leads to life. Physical death, yes, at some point there will be no more physical death, but also right now it's all the little deaths we die, death to sin, death to our will done in our way. When we surrender these things, we find life. This is the upside down way of the Gospel. Death leads to life, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life. For our first reading, I want to invite you to just listen so you know where the passage is headed. Martha has heard Jesus was on his way, so she goes out to meet him. This is where a story picks up. Our passage is John eleven twenty one through twenty seven in the New Living Translation. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises. At the last day. Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha, Yes, Lord, she told him, I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Ask Jesus to help you identify where you need him to be the resurrection and the life in your life. Right now, holding that as I read a second time, ask God to draw you to a word or phrase that He has for you in this passage. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother wouldn't not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises. At the last day. Jesus told her, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha, Yes, Lord, she told him, I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Take a moment to reflect on what you notice and ask the Lord how this applies to the area where you need him to be the resurrection and the life in your life Today as I read a third time, notice again which you noticed in the second reading, and ask the Lord how he's inviting you to move forward with him. Perhaps he's inviting you to reframe a situation in your life, or renew your hope in his plan and timing, or lay aside a lie you've been believing, or perhaps something else. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises. At the last day, Jesus told her, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha, Yes, Lord, she told him, I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Take a moment to talk with the Lord about what He's leading you toward be open and honest about any fears or hesitations you have. Give him space to speak back to you in love. Before I read a final time, I want to remind you how this story ends. This story ends with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. After four days being in the tomb, Lazarus walks out alive. Death is defeated in his life. For now. This miracle points to the larger hope that one day all who belong to Christ will be healed from the effects of physical death. No matter where you are, no matter when or how healing comes to you or those you love, hold on to this hope. Because Jesus is the resurrection and the Life, we can trust that God is not finished. As Revelation twenty one promises us, there will come a day when there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. So as you listen this final time, rest in God's goodness and love for you. Rest in the truth that Jesus is the resurrection in the life, that he has defeated death, that he is coming again, And until that day we can cling to the sure and true hope we have in Him. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises. At the last day, Jesus told her, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha? Yes, Lord, she told him, I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Lord, thank you that you are the resurrection and the Life. And Lord, whatever it is that you helped us, notice, would you carry that with us today? Lord, the places where we need resurrection, the places where we need life, we ask boldly be that for us, bring new life in, restore our hope, renew our trust. Remind us you are not done. You are coming again. And Lord, we ask, would that day come soon? We cry out, together, Come, Lord, Jesus. Come until that day, though, help us keep our eyes fixed on you, help us to keep trusting you, to keep finding our hope in you. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. Amen. Well friends, if you are new to the So Much More podcast or if you're new to the season of LNT, I want to invite you head into the show notes and grab the free I AM Meditation journal. I unpack a little bit more about what LNT is and why Christians have been practicing it for a very long time. You'll also see in the notes my partner Life Audio, and I encourage you to check them out at lifeaudio dot com. Finally, if you are enjoying these meditations, one of the greatest things you can do for me is either share these with a friend or follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and if you're able, leave a review. All of those things they just go a really long way and spreading the word and helping get these meditations into the hands of those who might need them. As always, my friend, thanks for joining me on So Much More, because we really do believe Jesus has so much more to say to us, and this is one way we are creating space to listen