I am always happy to meet another brother or sister in Christ. One day we will all gather at the marriage supper of the Lamb and see face to face those we enjoyed on Facebook.
What an amazing reunion we are going to experience as we look into the face of Jesus Christ, touching the nail scars in His hands as we worship Him in gratefulness for what He did for us.
John 20:24-25
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 20:26-29 "26 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!” 27 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.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
People have called Thomas "doubting Thomas" but I think it was smart and reasonable to challenge anyone who claims to be Christ. Remember that Thomas didn't have the Holy Spirit yet to guide him, all he had was his senses.
When Christ said "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believer", I don't think he was chastising Thomas, I believe he was showing us that one day we will believe because the Holy Spirit reveals Himself to us and we choose to follow. That Holy Spirit lives in every born-again believer.
I ask this question to all of you; "if a man stood in front of you claiming to be Christ would you just believe without questioning?" I wouldn't I would want to be shown so that I don't fall into the end times deceptions.
Now we have the Holy Spirit Who tells us the truth all the time without having to see, therefore we are blessed because we have been born-again and we have the knowledge and wisdom given to us by Christ Who lives in us.
I will no longer call "Thomas the doubter", I will call him wise and accepting as soon as Christ revealed Himself. After all, Thomas was raised in a culture that was taught not to speak to the dead. It was forbidden to communicate with the dead, there was nothing unusual about a man making sure a Spirit being was who He said He was.
Of course, we would want proof from anyone claiming to be the Christ Who died for us, it is a reasonable and rational request.
Once again there is a teaching that has been floating around out there that something was wrong with Thomas because he required proof that is not accurate.
Nowhere in the Bible does God chastise Thomas for His questions.
Once Jesus Christ proved Himself Thomas became a loyal follower of Christ.
This is one of the reasons I am so adamant that we question all the things that we were taught and seek the Holy Spirit. So much that has come down through the centuries as traditions were not true but people didn't study or pray so they hung onto them without proof.
It reminds me of the story of a woman who cut off the ends of her ham before putting it in the oven. As her daughter grew up and became a wife she too cut of the ends of her ham. Then later the granddaughter learned to do the same thing. All the women cut off the ends of the ham before placing it in the oven.
One day the granddaughter asked her mother why she cut off the ends of the ham before cooking. The mother said she didn't know but would ask her grandmother. They went to the grandmother and asked why she cut off the ends and the ham, grandmothers reply was laughable. The grandmother said; "I had to cut off the ends of the ham because my pan was too small.
My question might be to ask if the daughter and granddaughter changed their practice after hearing the reason for the practice of cutting off the ends of the ham?
Very often we tend to hang onto what is familiar and comfortable even if it doesn't make sense. My prayer is that we pay attention to what God said in His word and ask Him if our practices have been traditional or truth.
Mankind has a way of interpreting God in the way they wish to think rather than what He actually said. We live in the Western world without a good understanding of the Jewish mindset as well as have only translations from men who interpreted their understanding in terms of that Western mindset.
We need to pray earnestly for the understanding when we read the Bible willing to lay aside everything we were taught by men to hear from the Holy Spirit. It is surprising how many things we believe that God never said. And, even worse, how many things we defend that are not true.
Let the Holy Spirit be your guide, not any man, any tradition or any fear that might drive us to do what others expect.
