February 26, 2011
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Lazarus Awakening – book review
I just finished an awesome book, thought you might like to see my review. If you want, I would love for you to go and vote for my review at the following address:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/4585
While you are there, consider joining the site and reviewing books. It is an incredible site.
Have a blessed day,
Heather
Lazarus Awakening by Joanna Weaver
Joanna Weaver has a gift of taking a Bible passage and looking at it from new angles. In the passage where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, most commentators focus on Mary and Martha, but Joanna shows us that Lazarus plays a vital role as well. What did he do? He died. He never speaks in the Bible, never does anything dramatic, but when Jesus is sent for, they tell Him that the one He loves is sick unto death. We live in a performance-oriented world and it is hard to believe that God loves us and it has nothing to do with what we do or don’t do. Joanna shows us how to live in His love and how Jesus can bring us back to life no matter how dead our circumstances and life seems. There is a resurrection awaiting each and every one of us if we reach out and accept His love.
Jesus rolls away the stones of our lives and commissions others to remove our grave clothes. Lazarus Awakening speaks about how God deals with the stones of unbelief, unforgiveness and unworthiness that cover the tombs of our lives. Jesus calls us forth from our tomb, but we need to take the first shuffling steps out. With study guides that provide provocative questions, individuals and small groups can begin to look at what stones need to be rolled away and how to shuffle out of our tomb. Joanna answers questions that we have most likely asked, such as, why did Jesus wait for so long to come to aid Lazarus? Why do circumstances seem to repeat themselves in our lives? Why is God taking so long to answer my prayer? This book provides answers that make it easier to trust in God and wait on His timing. She points out that Jesus loves us so much that He is willing to wait until we are willing to die to ourselves so He can restore us.
Once out of the tomb, we do not grow spiritually in a vacuum. Restoration is a process, but true restoration comes only after what is old and no longer working in our lives dies. One of the most helpful chapters for me in Lazarus Awakening was Joanna Weaver’s guidelines of things we can do to lovingly help others unwind the grave clothes that bind. The one who is in charge of healing is the Holy Spirit but there are things we can do to help. She also shows us how to avoid hurting others in our zeal to help them.
Besides the study guide, there are appendixes that provide websites and resources for resurrected living, reminding us who we are in Christ, hints for unwinding grave clothes, and recognizing strongholds in an individual’s life. I was so blessed by this book that I plan to purchase extra copies to give to friends that I know have been delivered from their own tombs.
I highly recommend this book. To find out more about her and her other books, you can visit her website at www.JoannaWeaverBooks.com
Waterbrook Multnomah books provided me with this copy of Lazarus Awakening for review.
