Scripture for the week - John 20:19-31
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Have you ever doubted? Doubted God? Doubted yourself?
I certainly have. You are certainly not alone.
To allay all your ‘doubts’ and to be clear; I do not think that doubt – in itself - is sinful.
In order to doubt, one must have believed in the first place. Such was the case of the disciples after they have heard from Mary regarding the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to correctly think about ‘doubt’, we must think in terms of the ‘bouts of doubts’ that we have in our lives from time to time.
Understand that these bouts of doubts does not lead us immediately to a state of unbelief and rejection of God’s truth, but leaves us feeling uncomfortable; because what we thought to be true has somehow lent itself - in reality, owing to our own limitations and fallen condition - to be shown otherwise.
In other words, that which was once consistent, is now - in our experience of late - not as consistent as we would like.
Enter: the bout of doubt.
As a matter of fact, bouts of doubts are really emotional roller coasters in which we cycle cognitively round and round, between belief and unbelief, faithfulness and unfaithfulness - pertaining to a ‘truth’ in our lives, which we are attempting to re-understand and re-solve.
And it is precisely during our bouts of doubts that God enters in our hearts to reveal His truth – if we have the courage and wisdom to be true to ourselves - to doubt objectively.
Doubt objectively?
Yes. Because to doubt objectively reveals an open heart, a seeking heart, a heart that will ultimately accept the revealed Truth.
To doubt objectively, is to seek objectively.
Christ did say, “Seek and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7)
So when you seek objectively the matters of God, God enters your life.
And such was the case in John 20:19-31 – which clears the air on the issue of ‘doubt’ – in that, Christ re-entered the lives of His disciples in their greatest bout of doubt.
Did Christ really rise from the grave? Has Christ really conquered death? Is Christ really alive today? Who is this Jesus???
The world is faithless and unbelieving to the reality of our living Christ.
But the Church must be ever faithful to this reality. Amen?
What is the state of your faith in this matter? Do you doubt?
If you do, understand that this is a spiritually formative phase in your life, and all you need to ensure is that as you doubt, you must keep an opened mind, as well as an opened heart, and weigh every given evidences without prejudice.
In short, doubt objectively.
And if you do, Christ Himself, will deal with your doubts.
As we look at the events in John 20:19-31, we learn what we must do and expect, when bouts of doubt arises.
Just as the disciples met together and locked themselves in for fear of the Jewish leaders, when bouts of doubts arise in your life, surround yourself with true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Be discerning. Choose your brethren wisely. It matters truly.
For the faithful will lead you to faithfulness; and the unfaithful, to faithlessness.
To the faithful, freely reveal your fears, and your doubts. Lock the doors. Deny entry to anyone who is not an authentic disciple of Christ; for doubt is already at work, it is simply unwise to infect this doubt with more disbelief and unfaithfulness.
In fact, Christ will make His own way into the fellowship (John 20:19).
When He does, you will know, for -
How does this apply to our lives?
In this, we must learn to establish faith-markers in our lives.
Keep meticulous records of all the tangible and intangible evidences of God’s revelation and work in your life.
Document your doubts and your joys when Christ reveals His truth to you.
If you do, you would find your faith steadily increasing, and your propensity to doubt diminishing.
And that, my friend, begets the deeper life – the life established upon Christ and not upon the circumstances of our life.
Christ’s disciples doubted then. But observe what happened to them thereafter.
In the end, all but one gave their lives in proclaiming the gospel of the most high God.
So, I challenge you. Doubt objectively, if you dare…. Remember, active ministry is in store to those who do. Praise the Lord!
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
How do we deal with bouts of doubts, and keep our faith?
This Children’s chorus shows us precisely how.
We read the bible; for that is why ‘these are written’.
How many fools amongst us have complained of the shortage of God’s revelations in our lives, when we have failed ourselves by denying His most obvious revelation - the Bible?
Read the Bible! Pray everyday!
This is the apple that keeps Dr. Doubt away!
The more we read it, we more we will believe God’s Word and Love to be true.
And when we believe, we will have life in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Christ deeply desires to deal with our doubts, because He deeply desires for us to receive life in His Name.
May you realize that our Lord Jesus Christ stands with you in your days of doubt, and assures you that His presence, peace, purpose and power is truly, and always, with you.
Let Christ enter into your doubts, and He will enter into your life.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your Revelation of Truth, Wisdom and Love through Your Son, Jesus Christ.
We stand before You as people of faith, and yet, we realize that we are still sorely lacking of the faith required so that Your Holy Spirit may fully realize our destiny in You.
Lord Jesus, you said that ‘everything is possible for one who believes.’ (Mark 9:23)
May Your Holy Spirit seal this truth in our lives as we respond to You this day, “Lord, I do believe… help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
Grant me a deep passion for Your Word, and a deep fervor for prayer – that I may daily grow deeper and deeper in love and intimacy with You, My Lord and My God.
In my bouts of doubt, may I realize that You are constantly by my side, and that through the doubts, You are forming me into Your image more and more.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for instilling God’s Truth in our hearts, and preparing us for a life of Christ’s ministry unto the world.
We pray all these in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Have you ever doubted? Doubted God? Doubted yourself?
I certainly have. You are certainly not alone.
To allay all your ‘doubts’ and to be clear; I do not think that doubt – in itself - is sinful.
In order to doubt, one must have believed in the first place. Such was the case of the disciples after they have heard from Mary regarding the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to correctly think about ‘doubt’, we must think in terms of the ‘bouts of doubts’ that we have in our lives from time to time.
Understand that these bouts of doubts does not lead us immediately to a state of unbelief and rejection of God’s truth, but leaves us feeling uncomfortable; because what we thought to be true has somehow lent itself - in reality, owing to our own limitations and fallen condition - to be shown otherwise.
In other words, that which was once consistent, is now - in our experience of late - not as consistent as we would like.
Enter: the bout of doubt.
As a matter of fact, bouts of doubts are really emotional roller coasters in which we cycle cognitively round and round, between belief and unbelief, faithfulness and unfaithfulness - pertaining to a ‘truth’ in our lives, which we are attempting to re-understand and re-solve.
And it is precisely during our bouts of doubts that God enters in our hearts to reveal His truth – if we have the courage and wisdom to be true to ourselves - to doubt objectively.
Doubt objectively?
Yes. Because to doubt objectively reveals an open heart, a seeking heart, a heart that will ultimately accept the revealed Truth.
To doubt objectively, is to seek objectively.
Christ did say, “Seek and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7)
So when you seek objectively the matters of God, God enters your life.
And such was the case in John 20:19-31 – which clears the air on the issue of ‘doubt’ – in that, Christ re-entered the lives of His disciples in their greatest bout of doubt.
Did Christ really rise from the grave? Has Christ really conquered death? Is Christ really alive today? Who is this Jesus???
The world is faithless and unbelieving to the reality of our living Christ.
But the Church must be ever faithful to this reality. Amen?
What is the state of your faith in this matter? Do you doubt?
If you do, understand that this is a spiritually formative phase in your life, and all you need to ensure is that as you doubt, you must keep an opened mind, as well as an opened heart, and weigh every given evidences without prejudice.
In short, doubt objectively.
And if you do, Christ Himself, will deal with your doubts.
As we look at the events in John 20:19-31, we learn what we must do and expect, when bouts of doubt arises.
Just as the disciples met together and locked themselves in for fear of the Jewish leaders, when bouts of doubts arise in your life, surround yourself with true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Be discerning. Choose your brethren wisely. It matters truly.
For the faithful will lead you to faithfulness; and the unfaithful, to faithlessness.
To the faithful, freely reveal your fears, and your doubts. Lock the doors. Deny entry to anyone who is not an authentic disciple of Christ; for doubt is already at work, it is simply unwise to infect this doubt with more disbelief and unfaithfulness.
- Know that Christ alone can, and will, increase our faith to deal with our bouts of doubts. (Ref: Mark 9:17-27)
In fact, Christ will make His own way into the fellowship (John 20:19).
When He does, you will know, for -
- He bestows His peace upon our hearts – established on the reality of His Resurrection.
- He reveals tangible evidence – ‘touch my hands and my side’(v20);
- There will be joy (v20);
- Tangible evidence will be followed with intangible evidence – Christ breathes on His disciples (v 22) – in order to re-direct your physical reality (which does not require faith) to a spiritual reality (where faith is required).
- He ultimately bestows life upon His disciples; just as Adam came to live after receiving the breath of the living God.
How does this apply to our lives?
In this, we must learn to establish faith-markers in our lives.
Keep meticulous records of all the tangible and intangible evidences of God’s revelation and work in your life.
Document your doubts and your joys when Christ reveals His truth to you.
If you do, you would find your faith steadily increasing, and your propensity to doubt diminishing.
And that, my friend, begets the deeper life – the life established upon Christ and not upon the circumstances of our life.
- Expect that objective doubt will lead to definitive faith; and definitive faith will lead to active ministry. (John 20:21-23)
Christ’s disciples doubted then. But observe what happened to them thereafter.
In the end, all but one gave their lives in proclaiming the gospel of the most high God.
So, I challenge you. Doubt objectively, if you dare…. Remember, active ministry is in store to those who do. Praise the Lord!
- ‘Read the bible, pray everyday, and you’ll grow, grow, grow.’
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
How do we deal with bouts of doubts, and keep our faith?
This Children’s chorus shows us precisely how.
We read the bible; for that is why ‘these are written’.
How many fools amongst us have complained of the shortage of God’s revelations in our lives, when we have failed ourselves by denying His most obvious revelation - the Bible?
Read the Bible! Pray everyday!
This is the apple that keeps Dr. Doubt away!
The more we read it, we more we will believe God’s Word and Love to be true.
And when we believe, we will have life in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Christ deeply desires to deal with our doubts, because He deeply desires for us to receive life in His Name.
May you realize that our Lord Jesus Christ stands with you in your days of doubt, and assures you that His presence, peace, purpose and power is truly, and always, with you.
Let Christ enter into your doubts, and He will enter into your life.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your Revelation of Truth, Wisdom and Love through Your Son, Jesus Christ.
We stand before You as people of faith, and yet, we realize that we are still sorely lacking of the faith required so that Your Holy Spirit may fully realize our destiny in You.
Lord Jesus, you said that ‘everything is possible for one who believes.’ (Mark 9:23)
May Your Holy Spirit seal this truth in our lives as we respond to You this day, “Lord, I do believe… help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
Grant me a deep passion for Your Word, and a deep fervor for prayer – that I may daily grow deeper and deeper in love and intimacy with You, My Lord and My God.
In my bouts of doubt, may I realize that You are constantly by my side, and that through the doubts, You are forming me into Your image more and more.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for instilling God’s Truth in our hearts, and preparing us for a life of Christ’s ministry unto the world.
We pray all these in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.