John 20:29

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Encouraging Words

Don’t we all like being blessed by someone that we love and respect? As blessed as the Apostle Thomas was, as an Apostle, as the person that established for all of us the physical and tangible proof that Jesus had indeed been resurrected from the dead, and as one who helped to spread the gospel of our Lord throughout the known world, Jesus has called use even more blessed. We have never seen Jesus in His resurrected body. We have never seen or touched His pierced side or nail-pierced hands, but we still believe that He is the risen, incarnate, Son of God. And for this, we are blessed. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-16

But the righteous live forever,
And their reward is with the Lord;
And their care is by the Most High.
Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity
And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord,
Because He will shelter them with His right hand
And protect them with His arm.

Encouraging Words

Our desire and associated attempts to live godly and righteous lives are never wasted. Our God rewards us for living this way. Some­times the reward is in this life, but it is always going to be there for us throughout eternity… an eternal life spent with God. Knowing this makes it easier to put our worries and cares at the foot of the Most High knowing that He will take care of us and crown us with the beauty of His glory. He will protect us and care for us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy?

John 20:25

The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “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.”

Personal Challenge

Most of my life I heard it taught that Thomas was a bad person for doubting his fellow apostles. But because of Thomas seeking proof, we have had this proof to rely on for our own belief ever since that event. I love how the notes in my study Bible put it…

The doubt of Thomas is described in the Church hymns as “blessed,” for it was not a doubt of resistance to truth, but one that desperately desired a truthful answer—a “doubt which gave birth to faith” when the answer was revealed. In hymns of the Church, Christ says to Thomas, “Your doubt will teach My Passion and Resurrection to all,” and we affirm that his doubt “brought the hearts of believers to knowledge.” The conversion of Thomas’ doubt into faith led him to the clearest confession of Christ’s divinity, addressing Jesus as my Lord and my God.

Thank you, Thomas, for laying the groundwork for so many of us who have never had the opportunity to see Jesus face to face. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-9

But though a righteous man may die before his time,
He shall be at rest.
For old age is not honored for its length of existence,
Nor measured by its number of years;
But discernment is gray hair for mankind,
And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

Encouraging Words

Old age is quickly becoming a very prevalent part of our culture. With the baby boomers entering into the age of retirement our society is beginning to see a tsunami of issues related to aging. I know, I am in this generation. There are many in our culture today that would prefer it if we would just step aside and let them take over. I am not ready to do that. I may not be in my prime physically, but I can still split a cord of wood with an ax (it might take me a month or so) or do an Iron Butt motorcycle ride (Google that). But I do believe that I am in the prime of my life with what I can give to my society. Forty years of experience in the business world provides wisdom and discernment that only comes from having lived through both successes and failures, hiring and layoffs, and just plain having done it before. I still have a lot to offer whether it be teaching high school students every Sunday at my church or helping out to coach college seniors on how to run a project, or leading a team on a mission trip, or riding my motorcycle from Ohio to California with my gorgeous bride as my companion. The message here is twofold. To the young ones coming behind us, don’t put us out to pasture because we are elderly, leverage what we know so that you can avoid some of the mistakes that we made and reap the benefits of some of our accomplishments. For those who are of my generation, get out of the pasture, stop resting on your laurels of retirement and give back to those who are coming behind us. Remember…old age is not honored for its length of existence, nor measured by its number of years, but discernment is gray hair for mankind, and a spotless life is the maturity of old age. Glory be to God!

John 17:20-21

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Encouraging Words

In the verses before these two, Jesus prays for the apostles for He knows that they will be the foundation upon which the Church will be built from that day forward. In these verses, He prays for all future generations that will be coming into His Church. His desire, His prayer, is that we will be unified in Him and in our relationship with one another. Unfortunately, we have fractured the Church with splits and personalization, but we are still His Church and covered by His prayer so that we will be lights in this dark world. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 4:2

When virtue is present, people imitate it, And when it goes away, they long for it. Throughout one’s lifetime, Virtue leads the struggle for undefiled prizes, Wearing a crown and conquering.

Personal Challenge

Virtues especially godly virtues are something that we should pursue with our entire being and rejoice when we find it. Virtue, as opposed to passions, draws us closer to our God and creates an atmosphere around us that people long for. Do I desire virtues or do I try to take the shortcut? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 17:14-17

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Personal Challenge

So! For those of us who choose to give our lives to Christ and strive to be like Him, our lot has been chosen. The world will not like us. Actually, in many cases, the world will hate us. If we live like Christ did then our opinions, our practices, our morals, our entire life will be contradictory to the ways of the world and the world will hate us because it also hates Jesus Christ. The good news is that Jesus prayed for our protection from the evil one of this world and that we be able to grow in God’s truth and sanctification. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride? Glory be to God?

Wisdom of Solomon 3:9

Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

Encouraging Words
Today would have been my father’s 91st birthday. This verse today reminds me of him. Dad trusted in God with his entire being and because of that he did understand truth very well. He was a man that put all of his faith in his God and because of that, I know that he is now continuing his life surrounded by the love of God. Dad is seeing today the full abundance of God’s grace and mercy and I know that he is fervently petitioning God on behalf of all of us who still remain here is this temporal realm. Memory Eternal, Dad?

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Encouraging Words

Throughout the history of mankind, there has always been the pursuit of eternal life. This is probably because we were created as eternal beings but lost that gift from God when mankind disobeyed God and caused the fall. However, the ways that we choose to pursue eternal life are all in vain, unless we pursue it Gods way. Jesus defeated the hold that death had on each and every one of us and provided the way for us to be eternal beings once again. And this verse tells us what this eternal life is. Eternal life is the ongoing pursuit, in this physical life and the heavenly life to come, of knowing the only true God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. This knowing is not about knowledge or studying, but about knowing God personally, sacrificially, unconditionally, and with a willingness to give up all for Him. This eternal life began the moment that we were baptized into His family and chrismated with His oil of regeneration. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and help me to eliminate all obstacles to knowing You!