The caves off of Southern France
John 11:1-38
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb
Empty Tomb of Lazarus in Israel.
Lazarus was in a cave and he exchanged caves. Each time the Rock is the foundation of Lazarus.
Jacob became Israel for taking what was spotted and making a life.
Romans 15:5
Now may the God of endurance and encouragement give you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus
Southern France Caves are Magnificent and plenty of local history about Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
The Grotto de Bethleham has round, carved stone pillars.
Caves are found on the coast of France with drawings pointing to Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit
Titus lived to be old on the island of Crete. He had a second chance at blessings and long life. Titus was probably one of the 72 disciples listed in the Gospels.
John 14:1
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God;
believe also in Jesus.
We have a second chance. Every day. Daily. And probably more than just one.
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Every day, every season has the opportunity to dwell on the unfortunate. No one in the Bible has a trouble free life. A recent speaker - a commentator on human lives - an author and a Psychiatrist was saying going to coffee in New York City was interesting because she observed her clients have carefree lives and the wonders of life to one another. They never mentioned seeing her - as clients. She said she was in a room with present clients and not one of them knew they all told her their secret troubles both past and present. The Good Doctor could hear her clients telling of the glories of their lives and their wonderful children - not knowing almost all the room were her present clients. The doctor told us - she knew their children as well.
Lazarus and his sisters waited possibly 3 days for Jesus to arrive. Where was Jesus?
Says Peter. David. Hezekiah. Solomon. Uzziah. Aaron. Hannah. Zarephath. Sarah.
In all of these lives. God has a plan.
Deuteronomy 10:17
For the Lord, your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
Colossians 2:2
That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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The cave is "Gouffre de Padirac." Use the stairs, go down and go across the bottom of the whole via the roofed pathway. The cave itself amazing. It even includes a boat ride on a lake where it rains! (inside the cave!) Unfortunately, the cave restaurant has closed!!!
Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Some days we will have our anxieties and the next day life is good - same life. Taking on the truth. Letting God have our anxieties. The same day with fewer worries is a good day.
Why did Jesus speak so often of vineyards?
While a vineyard is arranged in tidy rows - life does not flow like this Vineyard project would be supposed.
No year is exactly alike. No season is guaranteed. Each season has blessing and challenge. Recovery and hope. Work and reward. God tells us the work of mankind is to believe God. A vineyard is a project of hope.
We know Jesus would not think we would own vineyards, and yet Jesus used the analogy a lot. Till the soil - prepare for the seed. The work is done with hope. Finding weeds to work out of the soil. Making sure the weeds don't overcome. Not having wine so much that the next year is neglected. The blessing of success not letting the real life be pushed out. Giving the product time to age - letting it rest.
Each day we will have memories of blessings like vacations. My step-grandfather Rev. Wm Tate Young used to say, "Hell is a vacation with the ones you love in a small car." Each day we learn to have all of our memories - sort them out. Put the wine into the casks. Allow it to mature.
How do Oak Barrels Help Wine? It allows the slow ingress of oxygen–a process which makes wine taste smoother and less astringent. It provides a suitable environment for certain metabolic reactions to occur (specifically Malolactic Fermentation)–which makes wines taste creamier. (Mature your Fruit of the Spirit in your own lives - not just cave dwelling.)
We make our environment. Let Love be Genuine. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord.
We have within us to be blessed and be a blessing.
The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
We live - Eternally - Today. Not perfectly. We press onward in our race. Our race might be to tame the wildernesses. Jesus taught in the wilderness. John the Baptist baptized in the wilderness. Jacob raised 12 sons in the wilderness. And we set our paths straight. And know even the Prodigal Son is about ... seasons.
Doing what Jesus asked us to do daily - always pray with belief in God and His Son, Jesus.
Abba, Father,
We ask Your Blessing as we pray for the fruitfulness of our lives. We believe as David did - life will work far better to trust in Your Gracious Mercy. Resting on Your Good Will and Love will come to our help, mercy and blessing.
Father God we will make Large Prayers to cover the Nation in the Name of Jesus Christ. To cover the Nations trusting in You. We will rejoice in the believers around the world asking You, their Father, for more Heaven on earth.
And in doing this - You are Pleased. And we will give to You our cares as You are our Father. We will lift up elderly Jackson the Siberian Husky in being lame and needing the comfort of the Days and Word of Jesus. We will lift up all our cares and know You say, "Rise."
We will Rise and know Your Love and Comfort will live in the hearts of those we Love. We will pray for better conversations and stories of Blessings. (Especially at meals!) Knowing our Children and the generations and even the unborn are in Your Plan of Hope and a Future.
And we will say and rely upon Jesus and His Holy Name. Jesus is Lord God. Our Father has been pleased to give us the Kingdom. Amen and Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
“In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.”
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