Monday: John 20—Doubting Thomas
Jesus was patient with Thomas. In John 11, when Jesus announced
that He would go to Lazarus’ tomb, Thomas responded sarcastically,
“Let us also go that we may die with Him.” Jesus ignored the comment and Thomas followed quietly. In John 14, when Jesus told them
that they knew where He was going, Thomas interrupted in disagreement. Jesus patiently explained that He, Himself, was the way to the
Father. Philip continued the questioning. Jesus patiently described the
mystery of God being three, yet one, an answer that has helped believers for centuries. In John 20, it was Thomas again, this time raising doubts about Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus had come through the
walls in His resurrected form and had breathed the Holy Spirit into
the disciples. For some odd reason, Thomas missed the meeting and
upon hearing the chatter of his friends, he was obstinate: “Unless I
see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the
mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Once again, Jesus addressed Thomas’ doubts with patience.
He appeared again to the disciples, this time, specifically for doubting
Thomas. When Jesus invited Thomas to touch His wounds, Thomas’
heart melted. He humbly exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” For the
believers that experience episodes of doubts about God—be encouraged. Jesus will reveal Himself to us in unexpected ways. Don’t be
afraid to ask. Jesus will patiently dispel our uncertainties.
Tuesday: Ruth 1—Your people will be my people
The book of Ruth is one of the most heart-warming and inspirational
stories in the Bible. Elimelech and Naomi immigrated to Moab during
a famine in Israel. The decision, based on economic needs, was a
turning away from God and from His people and resulted in heartache
and failure. Both Elimelech and the sons passed away. Naomi, now a
widow, was left with two widowed daughters-in-law, who were not
only of a different race but grew up worshipping other gods. Naomi
became convicted that she needed to leave her backslidden past and
return to God and to the people of God. One of the daughters-in-law,
Ruth, insisted that she return with Naomi. It was unexpected that this
young widow would leave behind her family and everything she was
familiar with, but she told Naomi, “Where you go, I will go and where
you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God
will be my God.” But so it is for everyone who departs their earthly
way of life and enters into God’s heavenly kingdom. Our life in this
world has left us empty and lost. When we discovered the church we
saw a people with a different way of life, a community full of hope,
joy, and righteousness. God is a living God and the church expresses
this heavenly way of life. The vision of the church compels us to declare as Ruth did, “Your people will be my people and your God will be
my God.” This is our heart-warming story.
Wednesday: John 21—Breakfast with Jesus
“Come and have breakfast,” Jesus said to His disciples as He was
cooking some bread and fish on a coal fire on the beach. This was Jesus’ third appearance in physical form to His disciples after His resurrection. He had one more lesson for them, so He prepared a fire and
a hot meal for them to enjoy. They had come to shore after a long
night of fishing. It felt good to relax and warm themselves around the
fire. As they were enjoying their meal together, Jesus asked Peter if
he loved Him. When Peter responded that He did, Jesus exhorted Peter to feed Jesus’ lambs. The dialogue was repeated 2 more times and
concluded with Jesus entreating Peter to shepherd His sheep. As Peter was contemplating what Jesus meant, Jesus told him, “Follow
me.” The lesson could not be more clear. Peter was experiencing the
shepherding of the Good Shepherd Himself, right there on the beach.
The resurrected and ascended Christ, who was seated on the throne
in the heavens, appeared in physical form to serve a meal to 7 hungry and tired disciples. This beautiful example of humble hospitality
around that little campfire spoke volumes to Peter, more than words
could express. When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” He meant to shepherd
just as He was at that moment, that is, to prepare a warm and loving
setting for a small number of people and when they are comfortable
and relaxed, minister words of life. This is not a gimmick. This is the
way to follow Jesus. First, create our own breakfast on the beach, a
warm and loving atmosphere, and second, speak words of life.
Thursday: 1 Samuel 1-3—Our Children
Our children are gifts from God. Therefore, our foremost responsibility before God is to raise them up in Christ. It is important to understand that our children are not the responsibility of the church or society at large, but the responsibility of the parents. Our children are
precious gifts from God for us to nourish and cherish until they are
full-grown in Christ. Hannah was an exemplary mother. Although the
marriage was not proper, Hannah and Elkanah were a God-fearing
couple. They habitually traveled to Shiloh every year to worship God
at the holy feasts. When barren, she turned to God for help, praying
desperately for His mercy and vowing to dedicate her child to God.
God answered her prayer. Samuel was born. Hannah was not a parent that tells their kids, “Don’t do as I did …” She trained Samuel to
fear God. When Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him to God’s
house to serve in the priesthood. As it turned out, the sons of the
high priest, Eli, were profane and corrupted. But, their behavior did
not affect Samuel. He was respectful of the old High Priest and served
virtuously. It was no surprise that when God called him, he listened
and obeyed. His mother had taught him this, first by their own example, and second by their godly upbringing. What a joyful experience it
must have been when Hannah brought Samuel new clothes every
year, admiring how her son was growing in the grace of God, a joy
that a faithful parent appreciates.
Friday: Acts 1—Witnesses for Christ
In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples, “You will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus then ascended to the heavens. The power of the Holy Spirit came
and the witnessing began. Acts records the stories of how this witness
spread through speaking the word of God. Through the power of the
Spirit, Peter stood up with the 11 and spoke the word of God with
boldness to the crowd gathered at the Pentecost feast, exhorting the
crowd to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. That
day, 3,000 souls were added to the church. On another occasion, Peter took the opportunity to proclaim the word of God to a crowd that
had just witnessed the healing of a lame man. When Jewish leaders
summoned the disciples to appear before their council, Peter and
John boldly declared, “This Jesus was the stone that was rejected by
you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is
salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved.” The Jewish leaders
threatened them, but Peter and John replied that they must follow
God and not man, that they must speak what they “have seen and
heard.” They continued speaking. The desperate Jewish leaders imprisoned them, but an angel freed them and charged them to “Go and
stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”
To be a witness for God means to take every opportunity to speak the
word of God. We should not fear persecution or ridicule and we
should not worry about what to say, because the power of the Holy
Spirit is upon us. We just need to pray, “Amen, Lord, speak through
me.”
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