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“Then from that day forth they (the Jewish chief priests and Pharisees) took counsel together for to put Him to death” (John 11:53).

“For he (Pilate) knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18).

The Lord Jesus had just performed a most amazing miracle — He had raised from the dead a man who had been dead four days. The Jewish leaders could not deny it, for Lazarus was living evidence of what had happened, and as a result, many people believed on the Lord Jesus. But as our first verse today says, those same leaders decided that they had to get rid of Jesus, because He did so many miracles. We know, of course, that in putting the Lord Jesus to death, they were only doing what God had planned from a past eternity, for there was no other way for us to be saved. But all this does not make those who plotted to kill Him less guilty.

We learn from our second verse that it was mostly for envy that the Jewish leaders delivered the Lord Jesus to Pilate, asking that He be crucified. Envy is one of the strongest and most wicked emotions in our sinful nature, and in Proverbs 27:4 we read, “Who is able to stand before envy?” What is envy? It is wanting something that rightfully belongs to someone else. The Jewish priests, scribes and Pharisees wanted authority and influence over the people, and took the place of being their religious leaders. However, while they taught the people what was right, they themselves always found ways to do what they wanted, and resorted to lying, Jewish traditions, and their own “loopholes” to avoid keeping the law. When the Lord Jesus exposed all this, they hated Him, and wanted to get rid of Him. They even considered killing Lazarus, because so many people believed on the Lord Jesus when they saw the wonderful miracle of raising Lazarus back to life (see John 12:10). Back in the Old Testament, Joseph’s brothers envied him too, and it was largely because of this that they sold him into Egypt (see Genesis 37:11), hoping that it would be the end of him.

This is a good lesson for us. It is easy to be envious of others who have something we do not have, whether it is possessions, abilities, good looks, and perhaps other things. But envy is a most serious sin, and as we have seen, it even led people to put the Lord Jesus to death. Let us be content with what the Lord has given us and use it for Him.

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“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

This is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet it says a lot! When I was young, we sometimes picked this verse to memorize because it was so short, but later, as we realized what it meant, we thought of it in a different way. Here was the Lord Jesus at the grave of Lazarus, and he had lain in that grave four days. But Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead; in a few minutes he would be alive and well again. Why then did Jesus weep? It is true that other friends of Lazarus were weeping, and especially his sisters, Martha and Mary. But why did not the Lord Jesus say, “You do not need to cry; I am going to raise him back to life again?” Why did He join in with their weeping?

It was true that in a few moments Lazarus would rise from the dead, but the Lord Jesus wept for another reason. He saw all the heartache and sorrow that sin had brought into this world, and He truly felt it with those who were so sad. They had probably seen Lazarus get sick, then get worse, and finally get weaker and weaker until he died. Jesus knew all this, and He felt it too.

Some people today accuse God of being indifferent to the suffering in this world, but that is not so. God cares a great deal about it. The Lord Jesus came right down into the world as a man, and experienced what it was like. Then He went to the cross, and suffered so that men and women could be saved.

Sometimes you and I, even as Christians, go through suffering. Perhaps someone we love gets seriously ill, or even dies. I knew a young girl (about twelve years old) some years ago whose grandmother died of cancer, and she was very upset about it. She had prayed that the Lord would heal her grandmother, but instead she died. Sometimes someone we love is involved in a serious car accident, and is badly hurt. Or maybe we lose something valuable, and it makes us very sad. The Lord Jesus cares about all that, and He wants to comfort us. He wants us to come to Him, because He loves us so much. He can comfort us better than anyone else.

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“If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not … but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth” (John 11:9-10).

We might wonder why the Lord Jesus said these words, but He was explaining something very important to His disciples. He had just heard that His good friend Lazarus was very sick, but instead of going immediately to heal him, He had stayed where He was for two more days. Then, when he announced that they were going south to Judea again, His disciples reminded Him that just a little while ago, the Jews down there had tried to stone Him. Naturally speaking, we could say that the Lord Jesus had a hard decision to make. Should He go to help His good friend Lazarus, or avoid going to an area where He might get stoned?

Perhaps you have tried to walk at night without a flashlight, and found yourself stumbling and tripping over things. But if you walk in daytime, you can easily see. The Lord Jesus likens His guidance by the Holy Spirit to walking in the light. He did not simply guess at what He should do; He asked for guidance from His Father by the Holy Spirit, and He knew exactly what to do. He was not walking in darkness; He had perfect guidance, and knew that it was now time to go down to Judea. Of course, by this time Lazarus had died and was in his grave, but all this became an opportunity for an even greater miracle than simply healing him while he was still alive. God’s ways are always perfect.

If we are truly saved, we have the Spirit of God living in us, and can ask for guidance in our lives. Sometimes we are in difficult situations, and no matter what choice we might make, there seems to be some reason not to do it! But if we ask the Lord for guidance, He will show us what to do, and then we can go ahead with confidence.

Remember though, when we ask for help, we must be willing to do what He tells us. Sometimes when we ask the Lord about something, we have already made up our minds what we want to do, and we want the Lord to agree to it. But if we ask Him to help us, we must be perfectly willing to follow what He tells us.

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“And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour” (Matthew 17:18).

Many people today do not want to believe that demons (called devils in our verse) are real. They like to think that they are just imaginary beings, and do not actually exist. But demons are real; they are fallen angels who rebelled against God long ago, and Satan is their leader. They have a certain amount of power, and use this power to try and turn people away from God.

Here in our chapter there was evidently a child, a boy, who was possessed of a demon. That means that the demon actually lived in him, and made him do dangerous things. Sometimes demons make people have strange diseases that no one can cure, not even good doctors. People are afraid of the demons because of the power they have, but the Lord Jesus is more powerful.

Several years ago, a man in a foreign country I was visiting told me a story about a young man who heard the gospel and accepted Christ as His Savior. His parents worshiped idols, and were so angry that they told him to leave home and go to live somewhere else. He went to live with the family who had told him about the Lord Jesus, but after a few weeks his family contacted him and asked him to come home. Your younger sister is very sick, they said, and we do not know what to do. The doctors say that it is a demon, and that only a Christian can help her!

The young man immediately went home, knelt down beside his sister, put his hand on her shoulder, and prayed to the Lord, asking the demon to leave in the name of the Lord Jesus. The demon immediately left her and she felt perfectly well. That is the power of the name of the Lord Jesus! I wish I could tell you that her parents got saved, but that did not happen right away. But as you may imagine, they were very happy for their son to move back home again.

Demonic power was not so common in so-called Christian countries for many years, but as the Bible is being given up and people turn to false religions (or no religion at all!), Satan’s influence is increasing. We are seeing more evidence of demonic power in Western Europe and North America. But name of the Lord Jesus is still just as powerful as it was when He was here on earth, for He came into the world to destroy the works of the devil.

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“And He (Jesus) said unto them (His disciples), Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

“And the people saw them departing … and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto Him. And Jesus … was moved with compassion toward them” (Mark 6:31-34).

The Lord Jesus had just heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist. As our verses tell us, He and His disciples were also weary, for there had been so many people coming and going that they had not had time even to eat! The Lord Jesus told His disciples that they were going to a desert place for a rest.

But the people saw them leave in a ship, and being rather thoughtless, they ran around the Sea of Galilee, and were waiting for the Lord Jesus and His disciples when they arrived on the other side. How would you have reacted if that had happened to you? I hate to think of what I would have said! Those people were thinking only of themselves! But the Lord Jesus felt sorry for them, and instead of “telling them off,” He began to teach them. In another scripture it says that He healed their sick (Matthew 14:14). Then later, when it was time for them to go home, the Lord Jesus did not want to send them away hungry. He took five loaves and two fishes, and multiplied them so that they fed about five thousand men. There was even food left over! Only then did He send the people away. There is no record that either the Lord Jesus or His disciples got any rest that day.

This story is a good example for us. The Lord Jesus was a real man, and like you and me, He needed rest. But He did not come into this world to take a rest; He came to do the Father’s will. When He saw people who needed healing and teaching, He took the time to do it instead of resting.

God has left us here in this world to serve Him, and to represent Him to the people here. Sometimes they are thoughtless and may want us to do things for them when we are tired. At times like these we need to ask the Lord if these requests are something He wants us to do. Then the Lord will give us the strength to do it, and give us the right attitude too. Our rest will be in heaven, not down here.

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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

“Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division” (Luke 12:51).

When the Lord Jesus was born in the manger in Bethlehem, we read in our first verse that the angels came and told the shepherds, who were out keeping watch over their flocks at night. Then suddenly the angels spoke, telling everyone that this occasion meant glory to God, and peace on earth. What a wonderful message this was! Men had been fighting ever since sin entered this world. How nice it would be to have peace on earth!

Yet we find later on in the same gospel of Luke that the Lord Jesus warned people that He had not come to give peace on earth, but rather division. What had happened? Why could He not give peace on earth? Had the angels really said something that the Lord Jesus was not ready to do?

The answer is that the Lord Jesus came into the world as the rightful King of Israel. If He had been accepted by the nation of Israel, He would have set up His kingdom and reigned over this world. But people, especially the Jewish nation, did not want the Lord Jesus. They eventually said, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). They wanted to get rid of the Lord Jesus, because He reminded them that they were sinners and needed a Savior.

But thankfully some people did believe on the Lord Jesus, and this produced the division that the Lord Jesus speaks of in our second verse today. Ever since the Lord Jesus has come into this world, it has been divided between those who are saved and those who are lost. As the Lord Jesus pointed out, sometimes even families are split on this most important decision.

The world today continues to be divided on the Lord Jesus. Some do not want Him, and do not want to be reminded that they need a Savior. Others who know Him as Savior love Him, and love to hear about Him. To which group do you belong?

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30).

Do you know how many hairs there are on your head? It would be quite a big job to count them all, yet this verse tells us that the Lord knows how many are on each of our heads. If you are interested, then I can tell you approximately how many hairs you have, and it actually depends on your hair color. People with blond hair usually have the most; they can have up to 150,000 hairs on their scalps. Others with darker hair probably have close to 100,000, or maybe even 110,000. People with red hair have the fewest, perhaps about 90,000. Of course all these numbers can vary, depending on the size of your head. Also, as we get older, we tend to lose some of our hair, as it gets thinner. Some people, especially men, frequently go bald, and then their “hair count” goes down considerably. But what an amazing fact it is that the Lord actually keeps track of all this!

The Lord does this to show us how much He cares for us, and how much He loves us. But more important than our hair count, is the fact that He knows everything about us, even what we are thinking. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, he sometimes answered people according to their thoughts, for he knew exactly what was going through their minds. When He answered them this way, it ought to have shown them clearly that He was God, although He became a man too. But sad to say, most people did not believe on Him.

However, for us who know the Lord Jesus, it should give us real peace to know that He knows all about us, and cares for us. It is a great comfort to know that someone who knows everything about us is also looking after us!

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Probably most of those who are reading this have crossed an international border. If you live in Canada or the United States and wish to cross over the border between them, you may be asked, “Citizenship?” You will also have to show your passport to prove your citizenship. If you are traveling among the so-called Schengen group of countries in Europe, you may cross borders between them without showing your passport, once you have entered one of them. Still other countries require more than simply a passport; they require a special permit called a visa, which often must be obtained before you leave home.

Do we realize that the Bible tells us that we are also citizens of heaven? We may be citizens of different countries in this world, but if we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are all heavenly citizens. We are waiting for the Lord Jesus to come and take us there, and He may come at any moment.

Some years ago, a woman came to our door with some literature, asking us if we would like to live on a beautiful earth where everything went well, where animals were never mean or savage, and where life was always peaceful. Since she had a Bible in her hand, I asked her to turn to today’s verse and read it. I told her that this was my future, and that I was not looking for a paradise on earth. She looked blank for a moment, then turned and walked away. I doubt that she even knew the Lord Jesus as her Savior.

If we are really citizens of heaven, it should make a big difference in our lives down here. We should be, as Peter says in his epistle, “strangers and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11) in this world. A stranger is not at home, but a pilgrim is going home. When I visit India, I am a “stranger” there. It is not my home. When I leave there and head towards Canada, I could be called a “pilgrim” in Germany or other countries that I just pass through, because I am on my way home. Do our lives show that we are strangers and pilgrims?

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“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

The believers in Philippi were not wealthy like the Corinthians. They were relatively poor, and in writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul refers to “their deep poverty.” Yet they had apparently collected a large amount of money and sent it to Paul, who was in prison in Rome at this time. Paul appreciated this very much, as he was in need of help, but he knew that they had really given more than they could afford to give. It was not the first time they had sent money to Paul, for he reminds them that when he was in Thessalonica, they had sent help to him twice (Philippians 4:16). It had been a real sacrifice for them, but Paul assures them that the Lord would supply all their need “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

There is a difference in someone’s supplying our need out of his riches, and supplying our need according to his riches. If a wealthy man helped us “out of” his riches, he might give us enough to meet our need. But if he helped us “according to” his riches, he would give much more than we needed. I remember a young couple who received many wedding gifts, some from average people, and some from rich people. In particular, two rich people each gave them a gift. One gave a very small gift, smaller even than most of the average people gave; he gave “out of” his riches. But the other gave a large gift, larger than almost anybody else. He gave “according to” his riches.

God does not promise to give us everything we want, for it might not be good for us. But He loves to give, and when we use our money for the Lord, He often gives back “according to” His riches. The Apostle Paul was sure that the Lord would do this for the Philippians who had been so generous with him when he was in prison.

This verse has been a wonderful encouragement to many people who were in need and did not know what to do. But the Lord knows our need and has promised to supply it. He keeps His promise!

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

During our day at school or at work, we may have to think about many things. We have to do our schoolwork well, and we have to do our work well. But what do we think about when our minds are free? Some people think about how hard their life is. Others think about the wrong things that have been done to them. Others get angry because they think the world is very unfair. Sometimes angry people think of ways they can “get even” with those who have insulted them or done some kind of harm to them.

Here the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians that they are to think of good things — things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. In the world today, we often hear things that are not true, for telling lies has become rather common. We also hear a lot of things that are not pure, for the natural heart of man is not pure, and what flows out of our sinful hearts is very impure. We may also hear things that, although they are true, are not “of good report.” This means that some of the wrong things done in this world do not need to be spread all over for everyone to hear. The Bible says, “It is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret” (Ephesians 5:12). Even if they are true, we can defile our minds by speaking and thinking about evil things.

We do not have to think about every kind of thing that comes into our minds. Our minds can be controlled, and we can push wrong thoughts out. In Romans 12:2, we are told, “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Since we have a new life in Christ, we can renew our minds by turning them to think about better things. It is like hitting the “refresh” button on your computer! It is important to make the effort to do that!

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