(from last time)
They jumped on the bicycle/time machine and began pedaling! Just as they got going, here came that dog again! He saw the kitten and jumped up and tried to bite her! The kitten jumped onto the Professor’s head! The Professor tipped over backwards and almost fell off the bicycle/time machine! Shane caught the Professor so that he did not fall off! The Professor’s foot hit the gear shift lever and shifted the bicycle/time machine into high gear!
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly Martha and Mary’s house disappeared and….
They were right back inside Martha and Mary’s house again, and they were headed right toward Martha! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The Professor turned the bicycle/time machine to the left and barely got it stopped before they ran into a crowd of people! There were people everywhere, and they all looked sad! Even Martha did not look angry like she did last time, she was crying! The Professor, Shane, Shelly, and the kitten quietly got off the bicycle/time machine and tried to figure out what was going on. They heard one man say, “It’s so sad! We are going to miss him so much!” A woman said, “Now those two sweet girls, Mary, and Martha, are left all on their own with no one to take care of them! It is so sad!” Another woman said, “We are going to miss Lazarus!” Shelly whispered to the Professor and Shane, “I know this Bible story! Lazarus is the brother of Martha and Mary. This is an exciting story! Watch what happens!”
Just then they noticed that Martha was not in the room anymore. The Professor, Shane and Shelly went outside to look for Martha. The kitten stayed inside with Mary because she was so sad and crying! Shane pointed down the road and said, “Look! There’s Martha sitting by those trees looking down the road like she is expecting someone!” Sure, enough there was Martha, and it did look like she was expecting someone to come down that road. The Professor, Shane, and Shelly waited to see what would happen, and in about 10 minutes a group of people came up the road and stopped by Martha. Martha said, “Jesus, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!” Jesus answered her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Martha left Jesus and his disciples standing there and she ran back into the house to get her sister Mary. When Mary got up to go and see Jesus, all the people in the house followed Mary and Martha. When they got back to the place where Jesus and his disciples were waiting, Jesus looked at Mary, Martha, and the whole crowd of people. Jesus saw how sad they were and how they were all crying. Jesus cried with them because he loved them so much and he felt very sad because they were so sad!
Then Jesus said, “Take me to the place where Lazarus is buried.” Martha and Mary did not know what to think then, so they took Jesus to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. It was a small cave with a big stone closing the opening. Jesus said, “Move the stone!” Martha answered, “But Jesus, he’s been dead and buried for 4 days.” Jesus answered Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So, they pushed the stone out of the way. The stone began rolling down the hill, right toward the Professor! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The Professor began running as fast as he could down the hill to try to get away from the stone!
No one paid any attention to the stone and the Professor because they were all watching Jesus! Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed. He thanked the Father for always listening and prayed that all the people would believe that the Father had sent Jesus. Then Jesus yelled in a loud voice, “Lazarus! Come out here!” The people were so scared! They heard some noise from inside the cave and in a minute, Lazarus came stumbling out of the cave! He was still all wrapped up in the grave clothes, so he could hardly walk! Jesus said, “Take the grave clothes off of him, and let him go!”
At first everyone was kind of scared to go up to Lazarus because he had been dead, but when they finally understood that Lazarus was alive, they ran to him with such excitement! His sisters, Martha, and Mary were the first ones to get to Lazarus! They just ripped those grave clothes off him and hugged him and kissed him! They could hardly believe this miracle that had just happened right before their eyes!
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus went back to their house and the whole crowd of people went with them. They had a party because Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead! People in the village heard what had happened, and more and more people went to the house to see Lazarus! Shane and Shelly went to the party with all the rest of the people, and the Professor finally outran that stone, and he came back to the party too!
During the party Mary came up to Shelly and asked if she could keep the kitten. Shelly thought about it for a minute and decided to leave the kitten with Mary. The kitten would be happy there in that happy house where Lazarus was alive again!
Shane said, “I can’t believe that I actually got to see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead!” Shelly answered, “It was awesome! But remember what Jesus said, ‘whoever believes in Him will never die’. Just think, after this life all those who believed in Jesus will live with Him forever in heaven!” Shane answered, “That’s right, and don’t forget that those who choose not to believe in Jesus will be punished forever in that place called hell.”
Shelly said, “I think it’s time for us to leave here! I will miss the kitten, but I think it is for the best. I wonder where we will end up next?” So, Shelly turned the handle on the side of the bicycle/time machine, and the Professor, Shane and Shelly got on the bicycle/time machine and began pedaling. There was a little hill as they were leaving town, and they began to pick up speed. They were going faster and faster, then it happened…they hit a big rock! The bicycle/time machine went flying up into the air! The Professor said, “Ooops!” When they hit the ground there were going about 50 miles per hour! Shane and Shelly said, “Ooops!” The Professor shifted the bicycle/time machine into high gear!
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly Martha, Mary and Lazarus’ house disappeared and….
Application:
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is found in the Bible in the book of John chapter 11 verse 1-44. Please read these verses.
This story is about resurrection. The word resurrection means, raising someone from the dead. All of us will experience resurrection someday, all of us will rise from the dead!
All the people who believe in Jesus and have asked Him to forgive them will live forever with Him in heaven. Jesus is going to come back some day to take the Christians off the earth and take them to heaven (this is called the rapture). When that day comes, the Christians that have already died will rise from the dead (like Lazarus) and those who are still alive will instantly get a new body. All the believers in Jesus will go to heaven, and we will never die up there. If you have had relatives or friends that believed in Jesus and asked Him for forgiveness, then you will see them again in heaven if you have also believed in Jesus and asked for forgiveness.
In the Bible in I Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51-53 it says, “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
All the people who have not believed in Jesus or asked Him to forgive them will also live forever. They will not be in heaven with Jesus but will be in the place of punishment called hell, forever.
If you want to leave your old life and live your life for Jesus, then take the time and pray today. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins, tell Jesus that you believe in Him, thank Him for dying on the cross to pay for your sins and ask Him to forgive you and come into your life.
Jesus has done all the work to pay for your sins, all you must do is come to Him, and really want to leave your own life and live for Him.
If you asked Jesus to come into your life, please let me know. Post a comment, and I will be praying for you as you start your new life!