How can we know Jesus cares during our times of trouble?

In "Biblical Perspective" Gayle Woods writes:

Jesus is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. He is moved when His people are hurting. The tears of Mary and the Jews caused Jesus to groan — to be troubled. He is no less moved when we are going through our difficult times of life. He sees every trouble, every trial, every tear, and groans with us. The word translated troubled means to be “intensely agitated.”

Discussion: How does it encourage you to know that Jesus was "intensely agitated" by the tears of Mary and the Jews?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 70.

2016-02-19T09:00:00+00:00February 19th, 2016|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: , |0 Comments

Why is "Jesus wept" more than the shortest verse in the Bible?

In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:

John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible, but it is heavy with meaning. Jesus wept (edakrusen — aorist). The word itself means “to shed tears,” but the aorist signifies that He burst into tears. While Jesus was very God of very God, He was also very man of very man. The humanity He experienced was as real as yours and mine, and the tears He shed here are likely to be nothing less than the tears of sorrow over the loss of a friend to death, the enemy of all life. They were probably tears of sympathy for the family members, Mary and Martha. These people were, after all, some of His closest friends outside of the twelve. Jesus had spent many hours in the home of these fine friends, and He was saddened by their sadness.

Discussion: How does our viewing of John 11:35 as merely the shortest verse in the Bible obscure our understanding of the importance of what it teaches us about Jesus?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 69.

2016-02-18T09:00:00+00:00February 18th, 2016|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: , |0 Comments

Facing Reality

Read John 11:11-15
“Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (v. 14)
Recently, this fifty-two-year-old played football with teens. Early into the game, I caught a pass and ran toward the goal. A teen cut me off, so I tried what would have worked years ago, which is stopping abruptly, cutting to the side and running around everyone. The stopping abruptly part worked, but cutting to the side and running around everyone failed miserably. My brain had been living in a fantasy world of how things used to be.
We drift between two worlds. The first is imaginary — how things “should” be. The second is reality. Some spend so much time in the first that they never realize their potential for the second. In verse 12, the disciples are living in a world of optimism, believing Lazarus is sleeping. In verse 14, Jesus brings them back to reality. Lazarus is dead. It was difficult for the disciples to accept this news, but it set the stage for a great miracle. (DWM)
This devotional is the Tuesday, February 16, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.

2016-02-17T09:00:00+00:00February 17th, 2016|Categories: Opening the Word|Tags: , |0 Comments

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