Daily Encouragement (04/15/10) "The 'Show Me' Disciple"

Daily Encouragement Net - A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
Trouble reading this message?  Read online or see archives

The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us ·· Podcast · Free email <Previous Message  ·  Archives  ·  Archive edition Thursday, April 15, 2010 Listen to this message on your audio player. Note: I failed to update the link yesterday for the audio message! The correct audio message link for yesterday's message is here. "The 'Show Me' Disciple" "Now Thomas (called 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 it.'  A week later His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' 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'"  (John 20:24-29). I grew up in Missouri, which is known as the "Show Me State".  On occasion or in certain circumstances I find myself skeptical and want proof before I accept  something as true. I sometimes jokingly ask, "What state did Thomas come from?" Of course, people are perplexed, but I respond to my own question by answering, "He must have been from Missouri since he essentially said 'Show me'." Thomas is nicknamed "Doubting Thomas" based on today's Scripture portion, but in reality Thomas was an earnest seeker as evidenced  by the fact that he was with the disciples a week after Resurrection Sunday and "God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). "Though the doors were locked Jesus came and stood among them."  Jesus suddenly  appeared in bodily form and gave the disciples a word of needed assurance, "Peace be with you!" before turning His attention to Thomas. Jesus was aware of Thomas' request for evidence, either having been informed by one of the other disciples or more likely by supernatural knowledge.  He met Thomas at his point of need. "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." I don't see any evidence in the text that Thomas actually exercised this offer to physically examine the signature bodily evidence on the resurrected Christ. However, some interpretive art does indicate this. But Thomas saw the powerful visual evidence and it was sufficient. He emphatically responded, "My Lord and my God!" When our daughter Ester was little, like many children, she was intrigued by boo-boo's and even more so due to her many "boo-boo's" from her frequent heart procedures and surgeries.  If anyone was wearing a band-aid she would go right up to them and ask, "What happened?"  This could sometimes be quite embarrassing when she'd approach a total stranger or if the injury was one that people would rather not call attention to! She had a shirt she loved to wear with a very special picture on it.  It showed a concerned little girl looking up to Jesus, whose nail-pierced hand was stretched out to her.  With inquisitive eyes she asked, "What happened to your hand?" I had Ester wear this shirt when we had a special ministry opportunity in a nursing home and was able to illustrate my sermon by having her greet each resident and show them her shirt! Brooksyne thinks we may still have that shirt in a childhood sentimental collection! Indeed, the nail-pierced hands of our Lord are a lasting reminder of the price paid for our redemption.  Following the inquiry of Thomas in our daily verse Jesus was quite ready to provide him with this stunning evidence of His death and resurrection. On another occasion Jesus was recognized following the resurrection when He opened His hands to break bread with two of His disciples (Luke 24:35). In our daily text Jesus gives a wonderful word of blessed assurance to all who would believe without the benefit of being an eyewitness in subsequent generations: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  I believe today! Yes, I'm headed for a home built by God alone. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I am where the only thing that's been made by man Are the scars in the hands of Jesus. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we consider the greatest proof of genuine love is when one lays down his life for another. We are grateful recipients of Christ's substitutionary death for us - the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Thank You for proving Your genuine love as You endured the greatest test of love and presented the greatest gift to humankind - forgiveness for our sins. We're eternally grateful and, though we have not seen, by faith we do believe. Amen. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Click on the link to open and play. (In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "My Savior's Love"  Video "By The Mark"  Video "I Shall Know Him"  Video "The Scars In The Hands Of Jesus"  Video Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne

"We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks!  See here for details. 2010 YTD financial offerings as of 4/14/10 $4,498.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net?  If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed or as an email subscription  through feedburner. Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If these messages no longer meet your needs (providing encouragement) you can remove your address by merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) Last updated with the story of Mildred Swanson, who joyfully discovers her "spiritual gift" is sending forwarded emails! (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD! Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. © Copyright 2010 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net

Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday.  To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below.  However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!

 

You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery Forward to a Friend  |  Manage Subscription  |   Subscribe  |   Unsubscribe