If you read the Old Testament very much, you probably grow weary of reading these words: “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. . .” (1) The operative word being “again.” 🙄 My reaction sometimes as I read this is, “What’s wrong with these people?” But then my gut tells me, “I am one of these people.” 🙁

Why is that? Why do we continue to do leave good things and return to what is “evil in the sight of the Lord”? My only conclusion is Paul’s conclusion, who also struggled with it. He wrote: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (2) I must pause there, however, for I actually believe that most of the time people do what they want to do. So am I disagreeing with Paul? Actually no. Paul says he ends up doing what he wants, which happens to be what he hates. Wait. What? 🤪 Paul is wise enough to realize that what he wants is of far less value than what God wants; therefore, he hates that he does not really want to do what God wants. (If you need to take a sip of coffee at this point to follow this logic, please feel free to do so! ☕ )

The rest of us mortals (excluding Paul and a few other godly people—the disciples perhaps and some Old Testament folks like Deborah, which we will get to eventually) are not even wise enough to truly believe that . . . that doing what God wants would be way better than doing what we want. And so: the struggle.

Most of us—with some exceptions, I am sure (but they are few😏)—most of us do exactly what we want to do. Most of us—if we even commit to anything—leave a back door open in case something better comes along. In other words, we are committed to living for the Lord . . . until something else catches our attention. Yes, I believe we are that selfish and that fickle. ☹️

My evidence for such a depressing philosophy? The number of meaningful relationships people forsake. The number of promising jobs people quit. The number of excellent programs people abandon. The number of wonderful diets people ditch. The number of notable churches people leave. Etc. Etc. Etc. 🙄 And so our story reads like something out of the Old Testament: “And the people of _____ again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” We are just not very good at sticking with things—even good things!

But that’s on the large scale, regarding the big decisions in our lives—relationships, jobs, programs, health, churches, etc. What about the little decisions? The daily ones? How do we handle those? Well . . . 🙄 basically the same way. We commit to praying more . . . until our phone buzzes. We commit to reading the Bible more . . . until that TV program lures us away. We commit to exercising more . . . until we are too tired (lazy). We commit to attending that class . . . until something else needs our immediate attention. And so: the struggle. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (3)

But wait a minute. 🤨 Am I saying these other things are actually “evil”? No, not independently evil. But, yes, if they keep us from doing the better thing, the godly thing, the thing God wants us to do. The fact is, God’s ways are so much better. We just have a hard time really believing that . . . because if we did, we would do what God wants! Instead, we do what we want to do. And settle for less. 😕 And struggle. Aargh! 😠 “I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” (4) It’s serious! We are actually in bondage to this lesser way of thinking—this double-minded, on-again-off-again unstable way of living. And there is only one way out of it: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (5)

My goal one day is to be able to say with Paul, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” and understand that what I want (and generally end up doing) is not as good as what God wants, and then conclude that I really hate that. 🙁

(1) Judges 4:1    (2) Romans 7:15    (3) Romans 7:19    (4) Romans 7:23    (5) Romans 8:2

James tells us, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (1) And I agree! Be careful, people! 😦 The devil is out to get us and bring us down. According to Jesus he is “a liar and the father of lies.” (2)  This world is a treacherous place. We must be alert at all times. People will trick us and lure us in to their dangerous ways. Therefore, so that I might “not be deceived,” my question for James is what were the “beloved brothers” being deceived about? And the surprising answer is this: Blaming their temptations on God. Wait. 😮 What? Yeah, that’s right. The brothers were deceived into believing that God was tempting them.  

James was quick to point out their mistake, though. He writes, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (3)  It wasn’t God and it wasn’t even the devil tempting them—it was themselves! “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (4) It was their own fault! 😒

And that’s not all they were deceiving themselves about! James reveals that the brothers believed they were actively applying the Word of God to their lives. They were not! They were only listening to the sermons, but not doing anything the sermons commanded or suggested. He warned them: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (5)     

And one more thing. The brothers deceived themselves into thinking they were religious people and yet did not control their tongue—which could mean they were saying untrue things, or hurtful things, or offensive things, or maybe just useless things. “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart. . . ” (6) But the worst part of all of this is the last part of that sentence: “this person’s religion is worthless.” (6)

Wow. 😟 How sad is that? No one will pay attention to anything these people say or do. And remember, these are “beloved brothers.”

So, what’s the lesson? “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”–not by others, not by the devil, but mostly . . . do not be deceived by yourselves.

Don’t kid yourself. Deception is very deceptive. 🙄 We believe others are responsible for our downfall because surely we are quite capable to resist temptation. We believe others need to apply the Word of God to their lives because surely we are quite adept at hearing a good sermon and working it out in our lives.  We believe others need to tame their tongue because surely we will not say anything that might be a stumbling block. We are easily deceived because we have it all figured out. We trust our instincts; we are intelligent people. We think quite highly of ourselves. 😉

But our understanding of things is limited. We really cannot even see ourselves properly. James explains, we are “like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” (7)

So, there’s the problem. 🧐

What’s the answer? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.” (8)

Don’t trust yourself. Don’t be deceived. Deception is deceptive.

(1) James 1:16)    (2) John 8:44     (3) James 1:13    (4) James 1:14   (5) James 1:22     (6) James 1:26    (7) James 1:23-24    (8) Proverbs 3:5

Paul tells the Christians in Rome to “Abhor what is evil.” (1) Why would he need to tell them to do that? Isn’t it common sense—to hate evil?  🧐  Are people inclined to love evil? Well . . . 🙄 sometimes! Evil comes pretty naturally to us. And we are very good at covering our actions so they do not appear evil. And what is bad for other people is not necessarily bad for me. 😬 My reasons are justifiable. I promise.

But it is undeniably clear what we are to do. We are to abhor (hate, detest, recoil from, run for dear life from 🏃‍♀️—my favorite🙂,  regard with horror, abominate, despise, detest, deplore, disdain, and loathe) evil (iniquity, sin, villainy, wrong, atrocities, devilry, fiendishness, corruption, depravity, and that which is morally unacceptable).

Yes. It’s obvious how we should approach this directive. Why then does Paul reiterate with this warning: “Repay no one evil for evil”? (2) If it is clear that we are to run for dear life from evil, then why are we tempted to seek revenge? I think it is because good is slippery. What? 😦 Yeah. Right after Paul writes, “Abhor what is evil,” he adds, “hold fast to what is good.” (1) We need to hold on tightly to good or it will slip away from us. You see, good is slippery; evil, on the other hand, sticks with us. Good and evil are always at odds with one another. And evil often disguises itself as good, so it is hard to know what to do sometimes. That’s why I think Paul gives us a list of things we should not do—as if we would be more inclined to do the evil things than the good ones.

Here’s the list: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and DO NOT curse them.” (3) “DO NOT be haughty, but associate with the lowly.” (4) “NEVER BE wise in your own sight.” (4) “Repay NO ONE evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” (5) “IF POSSIBLE, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (6) “Beloved, NEVER AVENGE yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” (7) “TO THE CONTARY, if your enemy is hungry feed him.” (8)

My favorite one is this: “If [your enemy] is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will HEAP BURNING COALS on his head.” (8). It sounds like by doing something good, it will feel like we are doing something bad, which will make us feel good! 😏 Why does that make me smile? Because I kinda’ like doing rebellious stuff and being the bad guy sometimes. I grow weary of being a goody two shoes. I like to shock people at times. Don’t you? 😉

And there’s the rub. It’s not funny. Evil. It is not fun. It is dark and dangerous. As a matter of fact, if we are not careful, it will destroy us. Even so, it will be tempting. So listen carefully to the last word on the matter.  “DO NOT be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (9) Hmm. 🧐 Evil will overcome (defeat, annihilate, conquer, overwhelm, and get the best of) us. It is an ongoing battle to cling to what is good and repel what is evil. And that is why Paul mentions it. And warns us about it. And commands us to Abor what is evil. To run for dear life from it. And hold on for dear life to what is good.

(1) Romans 12:9    (2) Romans 12:17    (3) Romans 12:14     (4) Romans 12:16    (5) Romans 12:17    (6) Romans 12:18     (7) Romans 12:19     (8) Romans 12:20      (9) Romans 12:21

When Paul wrote his letter “to those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (1), he included this little verse. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (2) Sounds simple, right? Let’s take a look. 🧐

Let love be genuine. What does that look like? Here is what I discovered when I compared multiple translations of the verse. Genuine love is love with no hypocrisy, without deceit, without pretending, love that is not merely an outward show, one that is unfeigned, completely sincere and without dissimulation, love that stems from the center of who you are and not faked but real love that is honest and true and perfectly sincere. That’s all. 😬 So . . . how’s that going for you? 😏

The problem with this directive is that the instructions imply that we are to love everyone this way—not just the people we are drawn to love. And just so we are clear, let me define a couple of these descriptors with the help of my friend Merriam Webster. Feigned love would be artificial, not natural or real and never spontaneous. And dissimulation is the practice of misleading others through lies or trickery. 😮

So here’s a good measuring rod for you: which definition jumps out at you? And who are you thinking about as you ponder it? Sorry. 😕 I don’t mean to be so personal but scripture pricks us where we need pricking. The fact is there are people in our world that rub us the wrong way, and we find it hard to love them genuinely. Instead, we “fake” it. We say things to them we do not mean at all. As our mouths are verbalizing one thing, we are thinking something entirely differently and probably rolling our eyes secretly. 🙄 And that, my friends, is not love. It is the opposite of love. Wait. What? 😦 Does that mean when our love is not genuine it is actually hate? Not exactly. We simply need to understand that we must love people even though we dislike them.  Paul is not telling us to like everyone. He is instructing us to let love override our personal feelings for them.

We will not like everyone, including dedicated and faithful believers. And by the way, not everyone likes us either! 😉 So how do we love people we do not like? I think we have to refer to the greatest thing ever written about love: 1 Corinthians 13. Here’s the meat of it: “Love is patient and kind.” (3) That’s it. The rest is details. Patience and kindness are the essentials of love. Especially patience. And kindness. 😏

The pressure is off. We are not expected to like everyone. And we are never to fake our love towards others. But it is imperative that we are kind to everyone. That we are patient with everyone. It is the most loving thing we can do.

So, here is your challenge for the week: Really love others—especially those you do not like. We’ll save the other parts of Paul’s simple little verse for next week. 😏

(1) Romans 1:7    (2) Romans 12:9   (3) 1 Corinthians 13:4

So, what is your greatest fear? Take a moment to think about it. And I’m not talking about the easy stuff like acrophobia (heights) or claustrophobia (confined spaces) or arachnophobia (spiders) or hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (long words)—all perfectly legitimate fears, in my opinion. 😉 I’m talking about the intangible ones like fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of letting people down, fear of change, fear of loneliness, fear of abandonment, fear of intimacy—those things. Which one of those fears grips your heart? Why do I ask? Because that’s the thing God wants you to face—and not only face but get over. 🤨 As in overcome.

And so . . . be advised that one day . . . probably sooner than later . . . God will give you an opportunity to conquer that fear. Meaning, you will fail. You will be rejected. You will let people down. You will face change, etc. What? 😯 Why would God do that to you? Very good question. And here’s the answer.

In order to conquer something, you must be defeated by it first. The defeat is where you learn your weakness. And identifying your weakness is the first step in overcoming it. Here’s the thing though. You will probably not conquer it the first time or the second time, or even the third.  But if failing is your fear, then God will give you an opportunity to fail. And when you do—fail, that is—he will be there to catch you, to walk with you through the agony of it, to offer his strength to endure it, to embrace you with his compassion to soften the blow of it.

And when you have another chance to fail, you will remember that God carried you through it. Of course, you will still fear the failure that second time. But there is a chance you will not fear it as much, knowing you did survive the first time with God’s help. And as you continue to have opportunities to fail, your fear decreases because you are so familiar with failing that it is no big deal anymore. 😁 And one day you will overcome the fear of failure and merely look upon it as an opportunity to grow stronger. But make sure you’re catching the meat of this lesson. The result is not that you become more successful and your chances of failing decrease. No. The result is that the fear of failing decreases. 🙂

However. 😏 

However. If failure is your greatest fear, there is a chance that you will always fear failure. That you will never overcome it. Wait. 😕 What? Yeah, sorry about that. Why would I say such a thing? Because this fear just might be your thorn—the thorn that God wants you to have. God wants us to have a thorn? 😦 Maybe. He gave one to Paul. Paul didn’t want it. He prayed God would take it away. But God did not! Why not? Paul concluded it was to keep him “from becoming conceited.” (1) Paul’s thorn kept him humble.  

And so, I think, perhaps that your greatest fear can do the same thing. Now, I firmly believe that it is possible to conquer fears. I have conquered some myself with God’s help. And I hope you conquer your greatest fear. But I also know, from personal experience, that my greatest fear—even with countless opportunities to overcome it—is still my greatest fear. And recently I have concluded that it will always be with me because it keeps me humble and very dependent on God. It is where I have learned the same lesson God was teaching Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2)

And so. My weakness, my greatest fear, is also where I experience God’s grace and God’s power and God’s presence. And although I hate my greatest fear, I love experiencing God on that level.  And as I continue to have the opportunity to face my greatest fear, I am now in the habit of reciting this verse aloud: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (3)

And God’s presence and God’s promise relieves my fear. Every time.

Until the next time. 😬

I’m a work in progress. 😏

(1) 2 Corinthians 12:7      (2) 2 Corinthians 12:9        (3) Deuteronomy 31:8

Patty went to see the movie Top Gun: Maverick on Sunday, July 24. Mark and I went to see it on his birthday, Wednesday, July 27. When I told her we had seen it, she texted me: “I’m glad you liked the movie! Could you weave Tom Cruise into a devotional???” I laughed. And then I read my devotional the next day—July 28. In it I mention the movie Jerry Maguire, a Tom Cruise movie. I actually quoted Tom Cruise in the devotional!! 😮

What are the chances of that happening? And how did that happen? My answer? It was God. I know some of you will disagree. But for me, there is no other explanation. Look at the odds. First of all, the last time Mark and I went to a movie was . . . I can’t even remember when. We rarely go to the movies. I think it has been a few years. (I know. 🙄 We are boring.) Secondly, Patty went on a whim, last minute decision, not planned. Thirdly, I did not remember writing the devotional about Jerry Maguire until I read it on July 28. So, the odds? What are the odds on Patty sending me the text on July 27 and the Tom Cruise devotion being on July 28? I guess you could say they were 365 to 1. Okay. So, it’s possible it was just coincidence and not God.

But if I believe this: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether” (1)—if I believe that (and I do), then God made the Tom Cruise thing happen. How? That’s the tricky part. I wrote the devotional a couple of years ago, I believed inspired by God. Patty, my good friend and publicist, is always encouraging me in my work; it is a relationship inspired by God. So, what I’m saying is God inspired Patty to go to the movie, which led Mark and me to the movie, which led her to make the comment about Tom Cruise. Now that in and of itself is pretty amazing but the most amazing thing is God’s timing. When Patty made the comment—the day before I mention Tom Cruise in the devotional. That’s the amazing thing. God’s timing.

So, what I’m saying is that God planned that little insignificant “coincidental” thing years ago. 😕 Yeah, I knew I would lose some of you with my explanation. That’s okay. And I agree—it was insignificant—nothing life-saving or monumental about any of it. But that’s what convinces me the most that it was God. It was his way of saying to me, “I know everything about you and I thought this would make you smile. And by the way, I am deeply involved in the work you are doing with Patty and the devotional.”  That’s what I believe.

The whole thing was absolutely unnecessary and so very very special. And that’s the kind of God I serve. He speaks to us in whispers most of the time and much of the time he is reminding us that he is with us all the time.

That was not the first time God has given me a sign that he is involved in my everyday life. And I am sure it will not be the last time. I agree with David who concluded about God’s intimate knowledge of his life: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (2)

I believe God sends us signs often. But we dismiss them as coincidental or fate or karma or simply a serendipitous moment or maybe even nothing at all. So, all I’m saying is the next time you hear yourself say, “What are the chances of that happening?” Consider God. 🙂

(1) Psalm 139:1-4     (2) Psalm 139:6

Have you ever started a diet, 🙂 lost some weight, 😀 stopped the diet,🙄 and then gained back more pounds than what you lost?😠 (Most of us are nodding our heads.😒) You could insert just about any habit for the word “diet” and the results would be the same. We decide something in our life needs to change, we make the change, things are great, but then time goes by and before too long we are worse off than where we started. Unfortunately, this is what happens after 12 months to 80-95% of people who leave a rehab center for alcohol, tobacco, and other substances.* It’s a problem. And it’s not just a 21^st century problem. Jesus talked about it! Take a look.

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. (1) 

Hmm. 🤔 So . . . Let’s study this and see if we can figure out some things. First, the “unclean spirit” (bad habit) leaves—it is gone. Yeah! 😁Good for us!  We have worked hard, disciplined ourselves, made a few changes, and have started a new path. Second, the bad habit “passes through waterless places seeking rest.” (2) Hmm. 🤔 These habits we struggle with are not really gone. They lurk. They linger. They float round us. They are always within arms’ reach. And eventually they will return—which means we open the door and let them back in. Why? Well, we have cleaned house. Our lives are back in order. We feel safe inviting the old habit back because we have conquered it. We know how to handle it this time. We know how to battle it, to keep it at bay, etc. And sure enough the bad habit comes in, looks around, sees the clean and tidy house and then it leaves. Yeah! 😁Good for us! We fought the temptation and did not succumb to it.

Until . . . Until the bad habit returns. And it comes back with a vengeance! It comes back with “other spirits more evil than itself.” (3) It’s easy to say no once or twice to something we are tempted with. But after that, it’s really hard. Really hard. ☹️ So we give in. And the bad habits—now seven times worse than before—“enter and dwell” in our home. We are worse off than before.

Well, this is quite depressing. ☹️And Jesus does not give us any solutions here. He is just stating the facts. I believe Jesus wants us to reflect on this one ourselves. Here’s what I observe. 1) We are really good at looking good, sweeping up, putting things in order, and giving off the impression that our lives are neat and tidy: no problems here.  😬 But all we have done is create a façade. 2) True change in our lives begins in our hearts. On the inside, not the outside. And our hearts require daily attention. We are never done. And 3) we cannot change on our own. The great Apostle Paul struggled with it, too. He wrote this: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing.” (4) What was his solution? “I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.” (5)

And that’s it. Our strength is never enough. His strength is always enough. 🙂

(1) Luke 11:24-26    (2) Luke 11:24    (3) Luke 11:26     (4) Romans 7:19    (5) Philippians 4:13

*“What Percentage of Individuals Relapse after Leaving a Rehab Center?”ARK Behavioral Health, 10 Nov. 2021, https://www.arkbh.com/blog/relapse-after-rehab/.

Sometimes we are full of doubt. 🧐 And we get discouraged. ☹️ Which causes dismay. 😕 Which can lead to despair. 🙁 Which makes us depressed. 😟 Where we can be despondent. 😒 Wow. That’s disheartening. 😯 And when we find ourselves dis-heartened we have no heart for anything. We have no hope.

It happens.

So what do we do? 😦

First of all, we need to understand that this downward spiral is satanic. That’s right – of the devil – it is the father of lies who is telling you, there is nothing anyone can say to make you feel better; there is nothing anyone can do to change things. Which is just not true. So there’s that. 🤨

Secondly, there is a solution when we have no hope. And here it is: Be hopeful! Well, duh! 🙄 If we knew how to do that, we would not be so hopeless, now, would we? The advice sounds quite unhelpful.

But it is not. For there are steps we can take to become hopeful again. Seven things we can do to find hope, all in one neat little passage from Romans. Take a seat. Read this.

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instructions, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. . . . May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (1)  

Let me break it down for you. But we will dissect this in the reverse order in which it is described. 🤓

Verse 13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. STEP ONE: Turn to the God of hope. Nothing else will come close to filling your soul. After all – he is the God of hope, the king of it, the one who has a lot of it to give to anyone who seeks it! He actually says you can abound in hope! So go ahead. Ask for hope!

Verse 7 – Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. STEP TWO: Have a welcome party! Visit with one another! Be with people. You are not meant to suffer alone.

Verse 6 – That together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. STEP THREE: Turn to a godly friend who will help you stop believing the lies. Or turn to a Christian counselor. Together you will have the power to glorify God rather than be crushed by Satan.

Verse 5 – Live in such harmony with one another. STEP FOUR: Seek peaceful places and nonabrasive people to be with. They are a salve for the soul. Find the harmony. 

Verse 4 – Through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. STEP FIVE: Turn to scripture. Read it; study it; memorize it; recite it. There is nothing more powerful than God’s word. It is the best place to receive encouragement and have hope.

Verse 4 – Through endurance . . . we might have hope. STEP SIX: This is the tough one. What you are going through, what you are enduring at the moment, is hard. But James tells us to let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (2) Become stronger in your suffering, not weaker. Grow (be mature). Do not give up. Do not quit. Consider yourself in a strength training class. Because you are!

Verse 4 – Whatever was written in former days was written for our instructions. STEP SEVEN: So here it is, written in former days long ago for someone else (Joshua) but still applicable today. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (3) 

Could you ever really think that God would not be with you?

I hope not. 😬

(1) Romans 15:4-7, 13     (2) James 1:4 NRS    (3) Joshua 1:9

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to the disciples. And when I say “appeared,” I mean exactly that. “. . . the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (1) So he just “appeared.” Voilá! 😮 And they were in shock. They gasped. They jumped back. They grabbed a brother by the arm. Then, “when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” (2)

At first they were scared, in shock. But after a moment “the disciples were glad.” Glad seems a bit understated, don’t you think? I’d like to picture them hugging one another, crying tears of joy, staring at his scars, speechless at his presence, asking a hundred questions – all while Jesus was laughing and trying to calm them down. I really like that Jesus addresses their initial problem: they were locked in the room “for fear of the Jews.” That’s why Jesus’ first words to them are “Peace be with you.” Translated: “Hey guys! Don’t be afraid. It’s just me!”  Yes, they were definitely glad. But they were also relieved. They breathed a deep sigh. They secretly thought, “I knew he would come back!” But they weren’t quite sure. Until he did. 😏

And as they breathed a sigh of relief, Jesus “breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (3) These guys were the first to receive the Spirit of God in their hearts. I’d like to think that John leaned over to Peter and said, “Man, I wish Thomas were here!” Yeah, that’s right. Thomas was absent. He missed the whole thing! 😧

Where was he? We don’t know. But shortly thereafter the disciples found him and said, “We have seen the Lord!” But [Thomas] said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’” (4)

Unfortunately, he was dubbed right then and there “Doubting Thomas.” But I don’t think that’s really fair. I like Thomas for this. He needed to see this for himself. All of us should respond the same way; that is, listen to the testimony of others who know Jesus and then find out about him for ourselves and make our own decision.

So that’s what Thomas did. “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” (5)

Hmm. 🤨 That sounds really familiar. Because it is. This is the same exact scene as the one previously described: doors locked – again.  Jesus “appearing” – again. Jesus saying, “Peace be with you,” – again. The very same scene. Why? I think he did it for Thomas. He recreated the scene just for Thomas. So he wouldn’t feel left out! He even told Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (6) He knew exactly what Thomas needed to believe. This is Jesus taking care of Thomas. How personal is that? 🙂 What is Thomas’ reaction? “My Lord and my God!” (7) He was glad. 😀

We serve a loving God who knows our needs and who loves to make us glad. I can’t really recall how I felt that first moment when Christ came into my heart. It was so long ago. But I can tell you that his peace still quiets my fearful soul. His presence still makes me glad. 😁

(1) John 20:19     (2) John 20:20    (3) John 20:23    (4) John 20:25    (5) John 20:26    (6) John 20:27   (7) John 20:28

Jesus comforted the disciples with this message: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (1) And then he talked about going away to prepare a place for them but promised to come back and take them to this place. Then he said, “And you know the way to where I am going.” (2) And that’s when Thomas spoke up and said (abruptly, I think), “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (3)

And I want to jump in with Thomas and yell, “Yeah, how can we know the way? I do not know where you are going either, Lord! I am following you, but I don’t know where you are leading me! Why can’t you tell me where you are going? Thank you, Thomas, for asking the question. How can we know the way? Lord, really, tell me where to go, please! Else, how will I know if I am on the right road or even headed the right direction? Give me a hint. I just want to plan properly. That’s all. What is the next step? Is that too much to ask – the next step?” 😠

Yeah, that’s what I would have said. 🤨 Actually, that’s what I did say to God last week. It’s a valid question: How can we know the way? It can be regarding our careers, our relationships, our ministries, our everyday decisions about people and health and money – that about covers everything, I think. It’s a good question. And Jesus gave Thomas an answer. But before we look at that we need to go back and hear what Jesus has already told Thomas; that is, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Translated: Don’t worry about it. Oh. 🙄 Okay. And . . . “Believe in God; believe also in me.” Translated: Trust me. Oh. 😒 Okay.

But trust is hard. Mostly because it means I am giving up control. And I like being in control. I’m good at being in control. I like making plans and knowing the right direction to take. But Jesus comes along and says, “I got this.” And if we are wise, we will let him take over – our decisions, our ministries, our relationships, our careers. And if we are super wise, we will not worry about his leadership skills, his sense of direction, and the map he is using.

So here’s the answer to Thomas’ question How can we know the way? “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way.’” (4) Translated: You already know the way;  you know me. It’s that simple. And it’s that complicated. But really the answer is to focus on Jesus, spend time with Jesus. And listen to his voice for he will tell you where to go, what to do, and what to say all at the perfect moment that you need this information – and unfortunately, not a moment before! Hence, the trust thing.  😬 

And here’s the promise: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do.” (5) Translated: Trust me. You will do great things!

Oh. Okay. 😁

(1) John 14:1    (2) John 14:4    (3) John 14:5     (4) John 14:6     (5) John 14:12