John 20: 19-31v 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
The disciples were meeting behind locked doors. They were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. Then He breathed on them and said” Receive the Holy Spirit”. Thomas was not with them and had trouble believing what they told him. Eight days later Jesus suddenly appeared again and this time Thomas was with them. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. These are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of His name.
I am learning new things in school this week about the history of childhood regarding education, play and work. Part of what I had to do was interview someone who was born before 1980, to have them recount their memories of being a child. We also looked at the lives of slave children as they grew to be adults through the diaries of a slave owner. Just as in the books of the bible in the interview certain stories were told which illustrated the life of a child in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In the diaries of the slave owner, we saw the conflict between a slave and his owner as he grew from a child of 10 to an adult. My beliefs were strengthened that life in the 1950’s and 1960’s was focused on the needs of the parents and children helped when they could. That life as a slave was hard, and that disobedience was punished but still occurred repeatedly. In the same way the written word of the bible tells us about the life of Jesus. Written by people who had lived the stories to strengthen our belief. To confirm that Jesus is the Messiah. So that we can have life by the power of His name!
Prayer: Almighty God we thank you for the words in the bible and that you sent Jesus , the Messiah and the Holy Spirit so that we can believe and choose life by the power of His name. Amen.
CrossWalk 