The Study Corner    

John 20:24-29

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29, ESV).

You know, Thomas gets a pretty bad rap. He’s called “doubting Thomas” because he asked for something that–let’s face it–we all ask for: proof, evidence. Especially for something as hard to believe as a beaten, crucified man coming back from the dead.

Thomas asked because he wanted to be sure. But when he saw the resurrected and powerfully alive Jesus, it was enough. He probably never asked for proof or evidence again! And he dropped to the ground to worship Jesus as his Lord and his God.

Did you notice how Jesus responded to Thomas? He said, ” Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That’s you and me! We’ve never seen Jesus face-to-face, but we’ve believed in Him. And while it’s alright to see and believe as Thomas did, it takes a greater faith to believe without seeing.

Sometimes we look at people like Thomas and John and others who knew Jesus in person and we think, Wouldn’t it be great for my faith, wouldn’t I believe better if I could only have seen Him? Yet here Jesus says the greater faith is found in those who believe without the benefit of sight or touch or experience.

We can believe Jesus today. By faith, we take Him at His word and we enjoy a relationship with Him.

And when we do, like Thomas, it leads us to worship Him.

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17, ESV).

John 20:11-18

At times, Christianity has gotten a bad rap because some people complain it teaches that women aren’t as important or as valuable as their male counterparts. But look at today’s passage…clearly Jesus valued women highly. Look at the huge responsibility He handed Mary Magdalene!

Here’s a recap: Jesus dies on the cross for your sins and mine, three days later Jesus defeats death and rose from the dead, Mary came to look for Him, couldn’t find Him, and started crying. She had a short encounter with a couple angels…then met with Jesus Himself!

Remember this about Jesus: He was very intentional. He didn’t just “let things happen.” He planned carefully and had a purpose in everything He did. It was no accident that He chose Mary to be the first to see Him after His resurrection.

Now, look closer. Jesus didn’t just tell Mary, “Hey, look! I’m alive!” He gave her a mission:

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10)

“Go and tell my brothers” He said, “Tell my brothers to go to Galilee” This is huge! Jesus trusted Mary with the important job of convincing a bunch of men that He had indeed risen from the dead and that He was alive. I mean, what if she had kept this information to herself?

The whole crux of Christianity is based on the fact that Jesus defeated death by coming back to the life. Don’t you think Jesus might have wanted more than female eyewitnesses to His resurrection? No, He fully trusted Mary to get the job done.

If you’re a woman, know this: Jesus loves you and values you and has big plans for you. Get to know Him, and you’ll begin to discover that.

In today’s daily insight email from NotReligion.com they had a topic I just had to share.

December 21, 2006
Key Passage: Matthew 7:15-20
Topic: Bible Study/Theories

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves” (Matthew 7:15, NLT). J

Jesus is speaking about prophets whose messages were not from God. They sounded like the real thing but their words were false. And Jesus warned His followers to take care that they didn’t believe them.

Today we still deal with false prophets and false teachings: people or movements that promote something that’s not true according to God’s Word.

One false truth is that Christianity is too exclusive. Those who propagate this say there are many ways to God, not just one.

But the truth is only Jesus is the way. In the Bible, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLT).

Some false teachers tell us that Jesus would expect us to be tolerant and accept all kinds of lifestyles. For example, they’d say that Christianity can’t say an activity such as sexual relationships between individuals of the same gender is unacceptable–they claim such criticalness would displease Jesus.

In Romans 1:26-27, the apostle Paul tells us the truth about God’s attitude toward those “who suppress the truth in unrighteousness”: “That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other.”

Another recent teaching is that the verses recording Jesus’ death on the cross should be changed so God is seen as more nurturing. In this version Jesus’ death wouldn’t be presented from a typically violent, male approach. This “rewording” would add a softer, more feminine element to our God and so appeal to the feminist movement.

The truth: God hates sin. And Jesus had to die a tortuous death to rescue us from the result of sinful lives–eternal death in hell. The Bible says, “He [God] sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins” (Romans 8:3, NLT).

The dangerous thing about these false teachings is that they come disguised, just as Jesus said. They look logical or kinder or more tolerant than we would expect…and so they appeal to us. But they’re wolves. And they will destroy us.

Tony has a scathing and yet very accurate bead on how to scare people off before they even get to your doors.

Check it out