Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Tag: Jesus wept

Are you (Spiritually) Alive?

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On October 3, 2016

In Christian

Dennis FernandesOn September 30th of the year of the Lord 2016, I had to bring the Lord’s message to the gieving family and friends of a dear dear friend of our family, in his memorial service. Dennis Fernandes (1979-2016) was a dear brother of mine and his tragic passing away by drowning in Lake Buchanan on September 24th was a heart wrenching experience. It was not until 48 hours later that the Texas Game Warden and his special ops team were able to recover his body. That evening, when I met my children, Reuben (10 years) and Ittai (4 years) and told them, “They found Dennis uncle”, their very first question was “Is he alive?” to which I with sorrow replied “No”, only to recognize quickly, how incorrect and wrong, I was. For Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” Then Jesus questioned “Believe thou this?” (John 11:25-26).

Dennis, our brother, is alive. He is spiritually alive, because he trusted and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the destroyer of the devil who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) and who will eventually destroy the last enemy – death itself (1 Corinthians 15:26). Dennis was a child of God for he had received and believed in Jesus Christ (John 1:12). So though he is physically dead, yet he is spiritually alive and has merely a change of address, from earth, where sorrow and pain abounds, to heaven, where there is no more sorrow or pain – only the Joy of the Lord for eternity.

Like many of Dennis’ family and friends, Sangeetha, Reuben, Ittai and I miss Dennis and we weep, because we love him. Jesus wept (John 11:35) even though he knew that he would raise his friend, Lazarus from the dead. So our tears are only temporary for God himself will wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

Points to ponder:
It is only a matter of time, before we will join Dennis and our loved ones who have gone before us, for it is written, that it is appointed unto men to die once and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The judgment of God, where the verdict can only be one or the other – dead or alive? Spiritually dead or Spiritually alive? To all who have believed in Jesus as their Savior, King and Lord – the verdict would be Spiritually alive and to the others who willfully chose to reject him, their condition would be worse than physical death for they would die the second death – eternally separated from God. The question that then ought to be answered is: Are you (Spiritually) alive?

John 11:25-26 (KJV)
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Revelation 21:3-5 (KJV)
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

The LORD’s visitation

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On March 5, 2015

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 21 starts out by saying that the Lord visited Sarah as he said he would and did unto Sarah as he had spoken. This establishes the fact that you can take the Lord at his word. He shows up (visits) as he promises and does what he says he would do.

Jesus showed up at the appointed time (Galatians 4:4) as God had promised (prophesied) in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) and did the will of God the Father (John 6:38). However the people did not know the time of the Lord’s visitation which grieved the heart of Jesus, so much so, that he wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). Jesus has also promised to return again and visit mankind just as he had done in the past (John 14:3).

Points to ponder:
God shows up as he promises and does what he says he will do. He said that he will come back to take those who believe in him to where he is (John 14:1-3) and you can take him at his word. The LORD’s visitation is a surety. The question is whether we will be ready or not to know of his vistation? Failure to recognize his visitation grieves the very heart of God. Would you have Jesus cry again? Watch and be on guard for the Lord’s visitation, for he has promised it.

Genesis 21:1 (KJV)
1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

Luke 19:41-44 (KJV)
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Jesus “REALLY” wept

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On February 2, 2010

In Christian

When we hear the word, Jesus wept, we usually think about it,  in the context of Him, expressing a human emotion at the death of his friend, Lazarus (as recorded in John 11:35). Additionally, this verse’s claim to fame is that it is the shortest verse in the King James Version of the English Bible.

But there was another time that Jesus wept, which is recorded in the Bible. This is recorded in Luke 19:41-44. In this instance, Jesus wept over the city (Jerusalem) as He triumphantly entered it.  Why? Because the people of the city did not know of the time of God’s visitation. God had visited them through the voice of the prophets, and now was visiting them in the person of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ and yet the people did not want to accept Him as God and King (Luke 19:14,38).

Jesus wept for his friend Lazarus who was only in a state of ephemeral physical death. But I believe, Jesus “really” wept over the people of the city, who were in a state of eternal spiritual death. There were some in the city, whom Jesus anguished over as they were caught up in their own self-righteousness, as if they needed no repentance (Luke 3:8), rejecting him as the King over them (Luke 19:38).

Point(s) to ponder:

  1. Are we weeping for and over those in our city, who are in a state of Spiritual death? If not, we should be and should start taking action by telling them about God visiting them through Jesus, His only begotten and beloved Son. To be in a state of physical death is better than to be in a state of Spiritual death in God’s kingdom.
  2. Are people coming to know the time of God’s visitation through our voices and lives?

Luke 19:41-44 (KJV)

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Weeping God

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On October 19, 2009

In Christian, The 'W' series

The shortest verse as stated in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is recorded in John 11:35 which reads, “Jesus wept.” when Lazarus died and was laid in a tomb. While this may seem to be a natural reaction to the loss of companionship of a dear one, this account have deep undertones with the eventual glory being all God’s, that ought not to be missed. What I want to focus on today is simply the reaction of Jesus when someone dear to him died. Jesus wept.

According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word ‘wept’ is the past or past particle of the word weep. Weep is a verb. Transitively it means to express deep sorrow for (usually by shedding tears) and intransitively it means to express passion (as grief by shedding tears).

Jesus expresses deep sorrow for all those who are dead spiritually and wishes that each one of us are saved. He expressed God’s passion for us by dying on the cross. Even Mel Gibson’s wonderful movie, The Passion of the Christ falls short of the true passion that Jesus had and continues to have for you and me today. Think about it, Jesus is a weeping God, a God who weeps when man choose to be separated from His companionship with them, a.k.a. when they choose to be spiritually dead. He passionately seeks after each one.

Jesus wept because He cared!

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On January 14, 2009

In Christian

The verse “Jesus wept” as recorded in John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible and while this is a favorite for many children for its brevity, in reality, speaks more volumes than other verses that are longer than this.

Many preachers have preached on this with various salient points such as 1. The humanity of Jesus. 2. The emotions of Jesus (he ate with the disciples, he slept and he also wept), 3. his value for friendship (Lazarus who had died for whom he wept was his friend).

I believe, that while all of these are individually or collectively true, Jesus wept because He cared. He cared for his friend and missed him, He cared for the relatives (sisters) of Lazarus.

So in other words, Jesus (my God) cares and is willing to cry for us. So if anyone is hurting, you can trust that there is a God who will weep for you.

Point(s) to Ponder –

My God cares, and so He weeps for us. How about yours?

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