John 20:13
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”
The Holy Spirit showed me this and wants us to notice how Mary says “my Lord” and not “the Lord.” This shows the close personal relationship she had with Jesus. Can we say the same? Do we know Him intimately and call Him “my Lord” daily? Or is it more of a Sunday-only type of thing? Mary’s life revolved around Jesus. Can we say the same thing?
Besides Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, one of the greatest gifts God has given us is His Word. There is power, freedom, hope, strength, answers, peace, truth, and so much more in those pages. The Bible isn’t just a bunch of old stories, but Paul refers to it as the “sword of the Spirit,” and warriors are supposed to carry their weapons with them. They don’t go into battle without it or wait till the day of the fight to train with it but rather practice wielding it so that when it’s time to attack or defend, they are comfortable and confident with it.
Jesus quoted Scripture when tempted by the enemy, and if we’re gonna survive the trials and temptations in this life, we need to also! But if we don’t read and meditate on it, then how will we know how to handle it? We have to fill up on it and let the Holy Spirit lead us in loving it and living it! We have to be filling up on the Word of God to keep the world from filling us with its junk. The Spirit will reveal it, but we gotta be reading it!
1 Corinthians 2:9,10 - However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love Him— these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
John 20:24,25
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas had walked with Christ, ate with Christ, lived with Christ, and yet puts Christ to the test to prove He is who He says He is. If someone this close to Christ can fall into that kind of trap, then we too are vulnerable; we must be aware and on guard. For we are not unaware of the enemy’s schemes to cause division, doubt, and destruction among the members of the Body.
Thomas was at a crossroad in his faith; the tomb was empty, the body was gone, and the disciples claim they have seen the Risen Lord. Yet in spite of all that, Thomas does not believe and even goes as far as to put the Lord to the test. Let us not fall into this same trap, there are going to be things in this life that the Lord asks us to receive on faith alone. They will be crossroads in our faith that will either take us deeper into Him or further away.
Now, the Lord is merciful to Thomas, and He is merciful to us, but how much greater a blessing would it have been if Thomas would have taken by faith the words his brothers had spoken about Jesus? How much deeper and more vibrant might his faith have been at that very moment? Thomas’s refusal to believe them isn’t a death sentence or an unforgivable sin, but it would have effected him on some level.
God wants us to grow in faith, not live a life of setbacks and hiccups. What is God wanting you to receive in faith today? Will you? Will I? Lord, please increase our faith and let our faith burst forth like the first light of dawn and may it be a pleasing aroma in Your Throne Room!
John 20:27-29- Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
God bless! I love you all, but His love makes it all worth while! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
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