Top Ten of 2023: Peace When the Bottom Drops Out – #10

Merry Christmas time! It’s a busy season, so how about a nice deep breath and a little refresher course? Over the next two weeks, you and I will be diving back into the moments that touched your heart the most this year. So brew a cup of peppermint tea and enjoy the 10th most downloaded episode in 2023… peace when the bottom drops out!

Special thanks to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, for bringing us the Bible For Busy People this Christmas season!

Show Notes:

• Who Is Jesus? Let us introduce you!
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Transcription:

Merry Christmas time. It’s a busy season, so how about a nice deep breath and a little refresher course. Over the next two weeks, you and I are going to be diving back into the moments that touched our hearts the most this year. So brew a cup of peppermint tea and enjoy the 10th most downloaded episode of 2023. Peace when the bottom drops out.

When I was a camp counselor, I remember singing on the bus with all the kids. One of our favorites was, I’ve got peace like a river. I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I remember belting that out with gusto and there have been many times in my life when I’ve had peace like that, peace like a river, and many times too, when that river of peace has dried up. What happens when the bottom drops out in your life?

I have found that when the worst happens, the peace Jesus offers can still make it through the cracks of your broken heart. Hi, I am Erica. Welcome to the Bible for Busy People. Today, you and I are going to meet two sisters whose hearts are breaking. The bottom has dropped out for them, in John chapter 11. Jesus was a frequent guest in the home. They shared with their brother Lazarus. They all loved him dearly, and that’s why Mary and Martha didn’t understand why Jesus didn’t come and heal Lazarus when he was sick, why he died when the Lord could have saved him. We pick up the story in John chapter 11, verse 20.

When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Can you hear her heart cracking over those words? Can you hear the bottom dropping out in her life?

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” 40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” 45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.

I bet. Jesus always shows up, and with him comes the peace and people notice when you receive that peace because it’s real. Next time you and I get together, I’m going to share my friend Deborah’s story. It’s a story about peace in the midst of pain and Jesus walking right into the middle of it. It’s powerful and I promise you will be inspired. Today, I want to leave you with this. When the bottom drops out of your life, you are not ever going to have to face that alone. The Lord is with you, and because He’s with you, peace is always possible. Till next time, remember, you are loved.

Thank you for making space to study the Bible with me today. If you feel something stirring in your soul, that’s the God who made you, saying, I love you and I want to know you. It’s what Christmas is all about. Jesus came for you so that your soul would know its worth. He came to bring joy to the world, and to your world. It’s the most beautiful love story ever written, and it’s true. It’s the greatest rescue mission in history, and it was for you. If you want to respond to that stirring in your soul, to know Jesus a little better, please take a moment and check out our show notes, where you’ll find lots of hope and encouragement for your journey.

The Bible for Busy people is brought to you this Christmas season by Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. Every day and every night, their team is on a mission to share the good news with our neighbors who are homeless. Like the angels who came on the night, Jesus was born. They make sure that every person who walks through the doors of the Mission knows that there is hope because Jesus came, and how much He loves them. Every person they meet on the street encounters the love of Christ through a friendly smile, a warm blanket, a cup of cocoa, and an invitation to take that next step toward healing from addiction or mental illness. If you want to be part of making sure every soul knows its worth in Seattle this Christmas, volunteer or donate at ugm.org. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

This podcast is one branch of a Christmas tree called Purposely, a network designed to connect you with life-giving conversations, and to inspire you to find and live out God’s purpose for your life. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose.