"Grave Clothes"

"And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go." John 11:44

Lazarus was dead- no doubt about it, he had been dead for four days. When Jesus went to his tomb, He called Lazarus back to life. Lazarus came out of the tomb wrapped in grave clothes.

Let me point out a couple of things here. 1) This man who was dead came alive. Jesus put life back in him. He was no longer dead. 2) Lazarus came out of the tomb on his own, no one had to go in there and get him. He came out under his own power and strength. 3) He was still in grave clothes.

We were like Lazarus- dead in trespasses and sins but Jesus "called us forth"- He put "life" in us who were dead. Now, praise be to God, we are no longer dead men. But we are also like Lazarus in points two and three. We are alive but walking around bound up by grave clothes. Lazarus hopped, walked, scooted, some how, made his way out of the tomb, but because of the grave clothes he was limited in his mobility. He could move around to some degree but he did not have full or free range of motion.

So many of God's children have received life- eternal life- we are "walking around" serving God, giving Him praise, living for Him but we are hindered because we still have on some grave clothes- therefore, we are limited, only able to go so far, only able to accomplish a certain amount, unable to do it all.

These grave clothes may be past hurts, bitterness, insecurities stemming from past treatments by others, illness that keeps hanging on, fears, torments in your mind, any number of things. If you are "alive" but still have the grave clothes on- it's time to take them off. Jesus told the people to loose him. I am doing that this morning through this word. Allow God's healing power, His delivering power, His peace to flow into you that will cause those things to come off. Remember this- if Jesus can put life into someone who was dead, the "grave clothes issues" are not too big for Him to handle.

Have a great day. Do you still have on grave clothes? They will always hinder you from having the freedom you need to live an abundant life.