Doubt turned to faith…

Jesus and Thomas – Seeing and believing…

Thomas, who was not present when Jesus first appeared, refuses to believe until he can see and touch Jesus’ wounds.

Eight days later, Jesus appears again and invites Thomas to touch His wounds.

Thomas then  believes and confesses Jesus as “my Lord and my God.”

Read John 20:24-29

The account of Thomas appears immediately before John’s mission statement in verses 30-31.

The goal of John’s Gospel is always evangelistic. He wanted people to understand the truth about Jesus, to believe that He is the Son of God, and thereby to experience the life of which we have been reading in this Gospel.

Faith itself is not an end, but a means to an end.

Our faith is always defined as the substance of things which we hope for, regardless of any negative feelings and/or circumstances.

Our faith is always based upon our absolute trust and reliance upon the reliability and trustworthiness of  God and His Word.

Have you ever wished you could actually see Jesus, touch Him, and hear His words?

Are there times you want to sit down with Him and get His advice?

Thomas wanted Jesus’ physical presence. But God’s plan is wiser.

He has not limited Himself to one physical body; he wants to be present with you at all times.

Even now He is with you in the form of the Holy Spirit.

You can talk to Him, and you can find His words to you in the pages of the Bible.

He can be as real to you as He was to Thomas.

Jesus wasn’t hard on Thomas for his doubts. Despite his skepticism, Thomas was still loyal to the believers and to Jesus Himself.

Some people need to voice their doubts before they believe.

If doubt leads to questions, and questions lead to answers, and if the answers are accepted, then doubt has done good work.

It is when doubt becomes stubbornness and stubbornness becomes a prideful lifestyle that doubt harms faith.

When you doubt, don’t stop there. Let your doubt deepen your faith as you continue to search for the answers.

Jesus’ resurrected body was unique. It was not the same kind of flesh and blood Lazarus had when he came back to life.

Jesus’ body was no longer subject to the same laws of nature as before His death.

He could appear in a locked room, yet He was not a ghost or an apparition because He could eat and be touched.

Jesus’ resurrection was literal and physical—He was not a disembodied spirit.

Thomas, so often remembered as “DOUBTING THOMAS,” deserves to be respected for his faith.

He was a doubter, but his doubts had a purpose—he wanted to know the truth.

Thomas did not idolize his doubts; he gladly believed when he was given reasons to do so.

He expressed his doubts fully and had them answered completely.

Doubting was only his way of responding, not his way of life.

Although our glimpses of Thomas are brief, his character comes through with consistency.

He struggled to be faithful to what he knew, despite what he felt.

At one point, when everyone could see that Jesus’ life was in danger, only Thomas put into words what most were feeling,

“Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus” (John 11:16).

He didn’t hesitate to follow Jesus.

We don’t know why Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared to the disciples after the Resurrection, but he was reluctant to believe their witness that Jesus was alive.

Not even ten friends could change his mind!

We can doubt without having to live a doubting way of life.

Doubt encourages rethinking. Its purpose is more to sharpen the mind than to change it.

Doubt can be used to pose a question, get an answer, or push for a decision.

But doubt was never meant to be a permanent condition.

Doubt is one foot lifted, poised to step forward or backward.

There is no motion until the foot comes down.

When you experience doubt, take encouragement from Thomas.

He didn’t stay in his doubt but allowed Jesus to bring him to belief.

Take encouragement also from the fact that countless other followers of Christ have struggled with doubts.

The answers God gave them may help you, too.

Don’t settle into doubts; move on from them to decision and belief.

Find another believer you can share your doubts with.

Silent doubts rarely find answers.

I think it would do us all good to remember what Jesus said in Matthew:

Matthew 18:2-3 (NKJV)

2 “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I know for myself, ever since I first got saved, I just made the commitment to the Lord that if I can find it in His Word I would believe it.

SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)

____

Monday, Sept 2
cFaith Devotion

HEAD FAITH
by Kenneth E. Hagin

“The other disciples therefore said unto him (Thomas), We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

“And after eight days…came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and BE NOT FAITHLESS, BUT BELIEVING.

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:

BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED.”
— John 20:25-29

Thomas’ faith was head faith. And Jesus did not commend Thomas for it.

Jesus said, “You have believed because you have seen.”

Anyone can have that kind of faith, whether he be saint or sinner.

That’s head faith. Head faith is believing what your physical senses tell you.

Jesus commended heart faith. He said, “…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (v.29).

To believe with the heart means to believe apart from what your physical body or physical senses may indicate.

The physical man believes what he sees with his physical eyes, hears with his physical ears, or feels with his physical senses.

But the heart, on the other hand, believes in the Word of God regardless of what the physical senses say.

Confession: I am not faithless; I am believing. I believe according to what God’s Word says, regardless of what I see, hear, or feel.

In Jesus’ name. Amen

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