Easter Devotion Seven: Prove It

Photo Courtesy of Fabio Slave

"Don't touch the pan. It's hot. It will burn you."

Parents often repeat these words to their small children. Some children believe their parents without needing to touch the hot pot. Others need to experience the pain of a burn before they will believe the words of truth their parents proclaimed.

Thomas was very much like these children. Doubtful. Questioning. Unsure. Unbelieving.

The disciples saw Jesus after Mary Magdelene proclaimed she'd seen Him risen and alive. But Thomas wasn't with them. When they told him "We have seen the Lord," he replied, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Thomas refused to believe Jesus had risen from the dead unless he saw it with his own eyes.
Thomas required experience in order to believe the truth. 

Throughout the gospels, we read of people who didn't require proof in order to believe in faith that Jesus came to save them and set them free. 

Several men heard Jesus arrived in their town. Their paralytic friend couldn't bring himself to the Healer, so they carried him to the house He visited. Not able to gain entrance via the doorway, they took to the roof. Lowering their friend before Him, Jesus recognized their faith. "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." (Matt. 9:1-2)

The woman with the issue of blood recognized that if she could simply touch the hem of His garment, Jesus had the power to heal her disease. The disease that no doctor or medicinal solution could touch. The disease that plagued her every day of her life. Jesus' response? "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." (Matt. 9:22)

These people weren't those who spent every day with the Master. They weren't the disciples who followed His footsteps daily. They were everyday people who understood the power of belief. They lived by faith.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 11:1

These people didn't need to see it to believe it. They believed in Jesus and His authority and power before they ever laid eyes on Him.

Do we live like Thomas, doubting until we have proof? Or do we live by faith, believing Him and awaiting the day our eyes are opened to the fullness of His truth?

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'
 Jesus said to Him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.'" 
 - John 20:27,29

We don't have the blessing of physically walking with Jesus through this life. He has conquered the grave and the sting of death, risen and sits at the right hand of the Father. It's easy to doubt His existence. It's easy to say, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Walking by faith and not by sight takes courage and endurance. It requires hope. We need to remember Jesus did not leave us blind and deaf. When we remember to use our spiritual eyes, we can see Him clearly.

Lord, give us eyes to see You clearly. Help our unbelief. We don't want to live as doubting Thomas'. We want to live by faith. Lord, allow us to dwell in Your presence this Resurrection Sunday, to know we have a hope that will not fail. We love You, Jesus and praise You this holy day! Amen.    

Easter Devotion Four: The Darkest Hour

Photo Courtesy of Sias van Schalkwyk

"Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
- Matthew 27:45-46

I've often wondered what Jesus felt in that moment. Did He wonder if He could complete His Father's will when the world went dark? Did He wonder if His Father's love had failed? Or did He know with all of His broken being that God loved Him as His Son and would not really leave Him alone to face His darkest hour?

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6

As a step-parent, I thought the days of bitterness and distrust would never end. My first five years of marriage weren't full of honeymoon bliss and waves of lovely feelings. They read more like driving through a dark tunnel without headlights to guide the way. And the end of the tunnel sat invisible around the bend.

My husband's and my relationship hadn't experienced conflict until we said, "I do." At that point, however, I walked on eggshells, wondering when the next explosion of anger and frustration would erupt from within the man whose relationship with Christ had so impressed me for the past four years. The difference was like night and day. This season filled with night.

I placed my hope and my trust in Jesus during that season of our marriage. I knew I could not always please the man I married, but I could sure as heck put my best effort forth to please the One who held my heart for eternity. I knew I could trust Jesus to never leave me nor forsake me, regardless of how many times my husband brought up the "D" word or told me I hated his son. I could lean into my Father's arms when my husband turned his back on me and slept on the couch in his anger. I knew Jesus would come through for me when man would not.

I knew Jesus understood the darkness I endured, because He endured it too, when the world went black.

What are you facing today? Does it feel like the tunnel is never-ending? Does it feel like you are alone in your circumstance? Remember:

"Seeing then that we have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
 - Heb. 4:15-16

Lord, as we face dark hours on this earth, may we find our comfort in knowing that You, too, faced loneliness, temptations and the like. May we focus on You and Your perfect love, knowing in our hearts that You will never leave our sides. May we find the hope and courage we need to endure the trials and tribulations of life, looking to the ends of the tunnels we travel through, where Your light shines brightest. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Easter Devotion Three: Don't Crucify Me

Photo Courtesy of Adam Ciesielski

As a teenager, I had my fair share of boyfriends. Although I didn't start dating until I entered my sophomore year of high school, I went out with at least ten guys before I graduated. My mother didn't approve of several of my choices, and I knew deep down she was probably right about all of them. However, I wasn't willing to give up the pleasure of feeling loved to be obedient to the truth.

In Matthew 27:11-25, we read of Pilate and the chief priests and elders. A decision must be made. Pilate must release someone to the crowd, according to custom. A well-known prisoner named Barabbas is in custody, as well as Jesus.

Pilate, like my mother, tried to persuade the multitude to hear the truth of the matter and pleaded with them to allow him to release Jesus.

"But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." (v. 22)

Jesus faced false accusations, lies, envy and hatred, to name a few things. 

Because He revealed truth to the hearts of men. And men followed Him, turning their backs on sin. The chief priests, Pilate discovered, envied Jesus' popularity. So they decided to take Him down.

"When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.'

 And all the people answered and said, 'His blood be on us and on our children.'"

 - Matthew 27:24-25

Pilate, in his wisdom, chose to turn from the wickedness he faced and said he would not participate in the crucifixion of the Christ.

But the multitude didn't want to acknowledge their sinfulness and requested a generational curse.

They believed the lie. They followed the crowd. They continued in their wicked way. They remained prisoner to their sin.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." - John 3:19-20

No one wanted to stand out, lest they be exposed. They loved evil and would pass that down to their children. 

Photo Courtesy of Vivek Chugh

It took me a few years to discover Jesus' truth and begin applying it to my life. It took me another year after that to come to a decision to expose my sinful deeds in the light.

Rather than yelling, "Crucify Him!" with the chief priests and the crowd, we need to crucify our own flesh and its desires to live under the influences of the darkness of this age. It's only then we can do as Pilate did and wash our hands of this world, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Lord, help us to live in You today. Help us to crucify our evil desires so we may rise again with new life in You. Let us stand out from the crowd, basking in Your glorious light today. In Jesus' name, Amen.