The Pastor’s Corner

The events under consideration today are not unfamiliar to most. Here in John 11, we find the Savior raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was a friend and one Jesus loved deeply. Mary and Martha are the sisters of Lazarus, and they are in mourning over their brother's illness. Upon the news, they immediately sent word to Jesus (11:3). Jesus determined to delay for a brief period before making his way to Bethany near Jerusalem (11:18). In the meantime, the illness of Lazarus had taken its course, and, as a result, he died (11:14). Upon the Savior's arrival in Bethany, he first met Martha, who emphatically declared, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Later in the narrative, Mary utters the same words. How strong their faith in Christ! As the narrative moves to its climactic end, we take note of the heart of Christ for his children. On two occasions, we read that he was deeply moved (11:33, 38), and we also read that he wept over the circumstances he was facing. The love of Christ for us has not wavered since his ascension. He still loves his people in this way. Determining to resolve the matter, he raises Lazarus from the dead because he was the only one who could. Mary and Martha were utterly insufficient to resolve the problem that grieved them.

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Prayer: Our Father in heaven, you have told us that our lives are brief, that they are a vapor. We are here today, and we are gone tomorrow. As your redeemed people, purchased with the blood of the spotless Lamb, your only begotten Son, we have been told by him to store for ourselves treasures in heaven where rust and rust will not destroy. In his great sermon, he has warned us that where our treasures are, there will our hearts be also. Forgive us, Father, for the numerous ways in which we value this fleeting life and store up treasures on this earth. Consciously or unconsciously, we create idols out of many things. We hold too tightly the material blessings of this world. So often, we seek to build our own kingdom and not the kingdom that you desire for us and command us to see. We labor for ourselves and not for that which is eternal. We groan and bewail our fleeting lives, knowing that you have ordered the very day of our death. Please help us to live with eternity always in view. Please grant us a zeal to do your holy will while it is still day because the night is coming when no man can work. Thank you for your abiding grace and continued presence, and cause us to persevere to your glory today and every day you grant to us. We pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Meditation for the day taken from Everyday Prayer with John Calvin written by Donald McKim:

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

We live in a world today when people seemingly have everything they want instantly. The modern conveniences of our world have taught us to demand what we want and to get what we want now. Waiting? Patience? These virtues seem to be things of by-gone days. Accordingly, perseverance and persistence are lacking in the hearts and minds of many people. Laboring diligently and pressing forward even when things seem difficult are not things people are very good at, it seems. I am concerned that these virtues have been lost, by and large, in our world.

What is more alarming is how they seem to be lost in the church among professing Christians. Perseverance and persistence in the faith is something that all professing Christians are called to do. We are to do that in our lives as we strive after holiness and godliness using all the outward means whereby Christ communicates the benefits of redemption (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q85; Prov. 2:1-5). That is to say, that all of life is to be lived with persistence and perseverance. Therefore, that attitude and determination must be applied to the subject of prayer.

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Prayer: Our God in heaven: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank you and praise you for another day that you have made. You have given us this day that we would glorify you in all that we do. As your people, we are committed to being glad that you have made this day that we might serve you and honor you and praise your name in thought, word, and deed. Therefore, please help us, Father. Forgive us for our sins and transgressions against you and help us to walk worthy of the calling you have placed on us. We thank you for the privilege of the preached Word that we heard yesterday and ask that you would cause us to meditate on it, confer with it, and seek to bring forth fruit from it in our lives. We know that we are often slow to hear, but please grant us willing hearts as we ponder the living voice of Christ to us, your redeemed children. Be merciful and grant us these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer: Our God in heaven, you have redeemed a people to come apart from the world and be your chosen nation and treasured possession. Though we are not of the world, we still live in the world. As pilgrims, we are traveling to our heavenly rest, and you are pleased to give us one day in seven that we might come apart from our worldly employments and recreations and gather with our brothers and sisters in corporate worship. We thank you for this great privilege that is our in Christ. We know that you have no need of our worship but have given it to us that we might be reminded of your love for us as we exalt your name by singing your praises and hearing from you as your Word is read and, especially, proclaimed. Please help us, our Father, to take seriously the Lord's Day and especially the gathering of the saints. Do not allow us to make excuses to avoid your worship, knowing that as we miss worship, we miss Christ. Therefore, we pray for ourselves that we would have a zeal for your worship. We pray for our brothers and sisters who habitually miss worship. We ask that you would overwhelm our hearts with a desire to exalt you and that you would convict those who are absent for their disobedience. Please grant to us today a measure of your presence and give to us the eternal Spirit so we can worship you as you have commanded. These things we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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