When someone we care about has an illness or health crisis, it’s very difficult to watch them suffer. We hurt, because they hurt. There is concern over whether they will get well or not. We pray for healing, but sometimes it isn’t God’s will to heal. In the Bible, we find the story of Lazarus’ illness and death and even though Lazarus is dead, when Jesus arrived, Mary and Martha found hope.

To find hope, we must go to Jesus

Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were friends of Jesus. In fact, the Bible records that it was this Mary that anointed Jesus with oil and wiped His feet with her hair. When Lazarus became sick, his sisters did the only thing they knew to do – they sent for Jesus. They had complete hope and faith that Jesus could heal him. And yet, we don’t find Jesus dropping everything and running full speed to Lazarus’ bedside. He already knew what He was going to do and why, and in order to fulfill His will, it meant that Lazarus must die first. So Jesus hangs out where He was for another two days. Then He says to His disciples, “Let’s go to Judea.”

Why did Lazarus die?

For the disciples, there was great concern for Jesus heading back to Judea. The last time Jesus was there, the Jews sought to stone him. They try to remind Jesus of that and they say, “And you want to go back there?! Really?”

So Jesus tells them that Lazarus has fallen asleep and that He must go wake Him up. Still worried for Jesus’ safety, the disciples reply, “That’s a good thing. Let’s let him sleep. If he is sleeping he will get well.” So Jesus bluntly informs them that Lazarus is dead. But there is purpose in Lazarus’ death. Jesus tell the disciples that it was a good thing that He did not go to Lazarus and that he had died so that the disciples would believe. On this day Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead so that the disciples would have hope when Jesus died and was resurrected.

Lazarus’ resurrection would give hope to the disciples…and us

The miracle of raising Lazarus from dead anticipated Jesus’ own resurrection. In John 11:25, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” By raising Lazarus from the dead, rather than just healing him, Jesus gave proof to His words. So as puzzling as it may seem for Jesus to linger where He was for two days before coming to Bethany, it served to reveal God’s glory and to show the people an even harder miracle. One that would prepare them for the day when Jesus would be resurrected from the dead after the cross. For us today, it also gives us hope of our own resurrection into eternal life.

Martha’s confusion changed to hope

I am sure Mary and Martha were confused and maybe even hurt that Jesus didn’t come when they asked Him to. In fact in verse 21, Martha says to Jesus, “If you had come, he would not have died.” But then in faith, she followed the accusation with, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Lazarus was dead, but Martha had hope that Jesus could ask God to bring him back again. The simple fact is that with Jesus, hopelessness turns into hope and the moment that Jesus arrived, Martha had hope again.

We many not always understand, but we always have hope

We may not understand why God chooses to heal some people and others are not healed. But we can trust that God is always in control and if He chooses not to heal, then He has a reason and a purpose – one that will bring Him glory. Sometimes, that means our loved ones step out of this world and enter eternity – but what a glorious eternity when spent in the presence of God.

Can you imagine Lazarus’ disappointment to leave the glory of heaven and the presence of God to return to this broken world and to have to face death all over again? The Bible doesn’t really tell us Lazarus’ reaction to finding himself back in his mortal body and living again. In fact, because Jesus raised him from the dead, the chief priests began plotting how to kill him – again. But just as His death served a purpose, so did his being raised from the dead.

Would your hope return if Jesus arrived today?

Put Martha’s words to Jesus in your mouth. If Jesus came to you today and you said, “Jesus, if you had just been here two days ago….” how would that sentence be finished for you? Do you have the same faith that Martha did to then say, “But now that you’re here, I know whatever you ask of God, He will give it to you?” Would your hope return the moment Jesus arrived? Are you able to trust God that even if you don’t understand why that prayer wasn’t answered that God is working all things out for your good and His glory?

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Now you can enhance your Bible Reading with the Verse Mapping Template

Our Verse Mapping download is FREE and includes 6 pages: 3 pages of instructions for using the template and the 2 page template, plus the cover page. If you’re looking to go deeper into God’s Word, learn more about God and develop a stronger spiritual life, Verse Mapping will help you dig into the scriptures. As you apply God’s Word to your life, you will develop a more intimate knowledge and relationship with God.

[Download not found]

Download our Free 2021 Bible Memory Verse Plan

We’ve put together 52 memory verses for you to hide God’s Word in your heart! You can download the full document for free and then print a new verse each week and as many copies as you’d like. Each verse prints four times on a page so that you can then cut them into index size cards and place them in prominent places where you will see them frequently throughout the day to help you remember to memorize them. Just because you visited our site, they’re yours for free! Download today.

[Download not found]

Download our Free 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan

With just 30-40 minutes per day, you can read the entire Bible in one year. The One-Year Bible Reading Plan consists of both Old Testament and New Testament readings for each day of the year. The Bible is God’s personal Word to you. What is He saying to you today? Open your Bible and find out!

[Download not found]

Download our Free Self-Care Wheel

The Self-Care Wheel provides ideas for practicing self-care in six dimensions of yourself: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Sensory, and Social. NOTE: You will need 11X14 paper to print the wheel.

Want to know more about self-care? Our Self-Care blog series targets people who serve in any ministry position and takes a Biblical approach to self-care.

[Download not found]

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This week’s featured Christian Tees designs:

Battle Isn’t Over and Just Pray

In every battle and every situation, our first response should be to get on our knees in prayer. When life brings us to our knees, the battle isn’t over, it’s just begun. So no matter what happens in life, stop worrying, stressing, panicking, overthinking, assuming, controlling, and wondering. Just pray.

See our graduation tees and products:

Graduating Seniors, Class of 2021, #Done2021, and Tassel worth the Hassle

Once in the store, you can click on the customize tab and add your school name or graduate’s name!

The slide show below highlights some of our favorite Christian Tees designs available in our Spreadshop and Teespring stores.

Canvas art and posters are available in the Teespring store. Many of our Christian Tees are also available at Teespring.

To see the collection of Canvas and Poster Prints

---

Need some music to get you through the day? Check out one of our Playlists on YouTube

You can also watch our animated devotionals on the YouTube Channel

---

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

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Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. — John 10:27-29

Think for a moment about your hand. What is it’s purpose? What does it represent? Certainly we use our hands to grasp things and pick them up. We use them to work, get dressed, type, etc. Hands can be used for communication through sign language or just waving them around when we are talking. We can communicate emotions with them, such as a soft caress. We use them to care for others. These hands God gave us, are quite useful for life. But for some, they choose to use their hands to hurt others, to steal, kill, and destroy. They allow their hands to become tools for Satan to carry out his destruction, evil, and chaos.

Three ways the Bible uses the word “hand”

In the Bible, the word “hand” is used in several ways:

• A physical body part, such as when Noah reached out his hand to bring the dove back into the ark in Genesis 8:9
• A period of time, such as “the day of the Lord is at hand” (Isaiah 13:6, Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, and Zephaniah 1:7)
• The hand of the Lord, such as “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not to short, that it cannot save.” (Isaiah 59:1)

In John 10, Jesus teaches several things about the hand of God to teach us that we are saved, safe, and secure in His hand. As we stop for moment and think about the hand of God, we discover that there is provision, power, presence, and protection in his hand.

There is provision in the hand of God

In verse 28, Jesus that He gives. Specifically in this verse, His provision is for eternal life. There is no possible way that we can give ourselves eternal life. Instead, it can only be received as God graciously gives us eternal life as gift. Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

God also supplies our every need out of His own riches. Philippians 4:19 tells us: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” That doesn’t mean He gives us our every want – but He does give us what we need.

In Matthew 7:11, we find that God’s hand of provision gives us good things: “your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him“

In 2 Peter 1:3, we find “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” These include spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit.

All this is graciously provided from the very hand of Almighty God.

There is power in the hand of God.

Jesus tells us in verse 29, “My Father…is greater than all.” There is no one more powerful than God. The story of Job is a great example. God allowed Satan to test Job and some rather awful things happened to him. He lost all of his children, wealth, crops, health. He basically lost everything except for some nagging friends who were insistent that God was punishing him for some reason and a nagging wife who wanted him to just curse God and die.

Job was a righteous man, and still these things happened to him. But what we learn is that Satan couldn’t do anything to Job that God didn’t first allow to happen. And at the end of Job’s story, we find that God blessed Job even more so than before. So there is nothing on this earth or in the spiritual realm that remove us from the powerful hand of God. In verse 29 Jesus said, “no man is able to pluck you out of my Father’s hand.” The power of God’s hand, means eternal safety and security for those who place their faith and trust in Him.

Being held in the Hand of God means His Presence is always near to us

Jesus wanted us to know that God is always near us. Jeremiah 23:23 says, “Am I a God near at hand…and not a God afar off?” Sometimes it feels like God is way up there in heaven and so far removed from our struggles, but we need to remember that he holds us in the palm of His hand. So we are never far from His presence. In Psalm 139, David asks, “Where can I go that you, God, are not there?” In Hebrews 13:5, we have the promise that God will never leave us or forsake us. What’s more, there’s fullness of joy in the presence of God. Psalm 16:11 tells us, “in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.“

There is protection in the Hand of God.

In verse 28, Jesus said, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” We can’t lose our salvation once we give our lives to Christ. We are eternally protected and secure. Peter tells us our salvation is “reserved in heaven” for us. He also wrote that it is “undefield, it cannot change or decay.” (I Peter 1:4-5.) Paul let us know that once we are adopted into God’s family He will never disown us (Ephesians 1:5). Jesus said in John 6:39 that every one of us who trusts Him for salvation is give to Him by the Father and they he loses none. And here in John 10, Jesus says that He is the giver of eternal life and no one who accepts this gift will perish. We are eternally protected from the condemnation and wages of sin.

Allow your hand to remind you of your Father’s hand

As you go about your day today, whenever you notice your own hand, think about the hand of God and remember He gives us His provision, power, presence, and protection. Remember that He holds us in His Hand and no one can remove us from it. Remember that the same hands that created the universe and keeps it perfectly orbiting around the sun keeps you saved, safe and secure in his Son. The result: His sheep “shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” This is the security the sheep enjoy.

---

---

Now you can enhance your Bible Reading with the Verse Mapping Template

Our Verse Mapping download is FREE and includes 6 pages: 3 pages of instructions for using the template and the 2 page template, plus the cover page. If you’re looking to go deeper into God’s Word, learn more about God and develop a stronger spiritual life, Verse Mapping will help you dig into the scriptures. As you apply God’s Word to your life, you will develop a more intimate knowledge and relationship with God.

[Download not found]

Download our Free 2021 Bible Memory Verse Plan

We’ve put together 52 memory verses for you to hide God’s Word in your heart! You can download the full document for free and then print a new verse each week and as many copies as you’d like. Each verse prints four times on a page so that you can then cut them into index size cards and place them in prominent places where you will see them frequently throughout the day to help you remember to memorize them. Just because you visited our site, they’re yours for free! Download today.

[Download not found]

Download our Free 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan

With just 30-40 minutes per day, you can read the entire Bible in one year. The One-Year Bible Reading Plan consists of both Old Testament and New Testament readings for each day of the year. The Bible is God’s personal Word to you. What is He saying to you today? Open your Bible and find out!

[Download not found]

Download our Free Self-Care Wheel

The Self-Care Wheel provides ideas for practicing self-care in six dimensions of yourself: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Sensory, and Social. NOTE: You will need 11X14 paper to print the wheel.

Want to know more about self-care? Our Self-Care blog series targets people who serve in any ministry position and takes a Biblical approach to self-care.

[Download not found]

---

This week’s featured Christian Tees designs:

Battle Isn’t Over and Just Pray

In every battle and every situation, our first response should be to get on our knees in prayer. When life brings us to our knees, the battle isn’t over, it’s just begun. So no matter what happens in life, stop worrying, stressing, panicking, overthinking, assuming, controlling, and wondering. Just pray.

See our graduation tees and products:

Graduating Seniors, Class of 2021, #Done2021, and Tassel worth the Hassle

Once in the store, you can click on the customize tab and add your school name or graduate’s name!

The slide show below highlights some of our favorite Christian Tees designs available in our Spreadshop and Teespring stores.

Canvas art and posters are available in the Teespring store. Many of our Christian Tees are also available at Teespring.

To see the collection of Canvas and Poster Prints

---

Need some music to get you through the day? Check out one of our Playlists on YouTube

You can also watch our animated devotionals on the YouTube Channel

---

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

---

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

Wellspring Christian Ministries receives an 8% commission on any purchased made from Christian Book Distributors through any affiliate link on this site. Your price for any item is the same as purchasing from CBD directly.

---

Here’s some of our recent posts.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 

Follow us on: