Today is a special day…. we have a guest post by my dear friend Amy Stoehr. I have known Amy for 16 years. Amy is the kind of friend that you can pour your heart out to and know that it goes no further; and what you have shared will not change her love for you or her opinion of you. She is a prayer warrior, an amazing wife and mother, a shepherd with a heart and love for people; and a true friend!

Amy and her wonderful husband Matt have been the Senior Pastors of The River Family Church in Vista, CA, for 26 years.  Amy has a blog as well; she wrote a series on prayer that was awesome. You can check it out at Life Words by: Pastor Amy Stoehr.

Dare to Believe by: Amy Stoehr

Precious, beloved ones it’s a great day because Jesus is alive!

I love John 11:25. Remember when Martha and Mary were so distressed because their dear brother Lazarus had died? They were overwhelmed with grief, their strength depleted from sorrow. They were so disappointed in the circumstance and could only see the finality of death, even though the Lord of Life was standing right there with them!

Their minds were on the circumstance, not on Word of God, the One able to bring the dead to life again! Jesus said to them, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in Me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die Do you believe this?.” John 11:25

Jesus is the Resurrection! He is Alive! We must remember this every moment of our days. He lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection swallows up weakness, anxiety, sorrow, disappointment and even those things that are seemingly dead in our lives. Every temporary circumstance is subject to change because of the Resurrection!

Take a moment and ask God to reveal Himself to you as the Resurrection and the Life today. You will receive strength in Him.

What really strikes me about this verse today is the final four words. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? And that is the question today. Do you really believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life for you and in you?

Martha’s response to Jesus reveals that she is hoping for a future Resurrection…. after Jesus tells her that her brother will rise again, she says that she knows he will rise on the last day, in the future.

Here is the truth for us…..Yes we have the hope of  the Resurrection in our future, but the Lord wants us to see Him as the Resurrection today, this moment! He wants us to believe that He is the Resurrection and the Life in our life now, in our circumstance now, in the stressful things…now, in our marriage now, in our family now, in our disappointments now, in His Church now, in our Nation now!

Meditate on this verse today and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you as the Resurrection and Life this week. You will live life on a whole new level. He is the Resurrection and the Life……do you believe this??????