“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” – John 20:29

Thomas only believed Jesus had risen from the dead after seeing Him, hearing Him, and touching His scarred hands and side. We don’t have that luxury. We don’t have the simplicity of having the central truth of our faith standing visibly in front of us and inviting us to touch Him with our hands. We must believe on faith. Faith that Scripture is telling the truth. Faith that fellows believers are telling the truth. You know what? Jesus blesses us for such faith!

If you believe that Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead you do so based on the testimony of Scripture. You do so by faith, not personal experience, sensory evidence, or rational deduction. Because you do, Jesus blesses you. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That’s you, enjoying Christ’s ongoing blessing!

You’re blessed by Christ for having genuine faith. You’re blessed to worship and be united with Christ by the testimony of Scripture and the evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life. God’s favor is in that blessing. The blessings of faith extend from today through all of eternity. Don’t lament that you weren’t there in the room that day, rejoice that Jesus favors you with a faith that isn’t dependent on personal experience.

Rejoice because you’ve overcome a much tougher set of obstacles to faith than Thomas. Rejoice because your faith can sustain you through other seasons of life in which your personal experience may fall short. Rejoice that Christ is with you and in you, regardless of whether you’re feeling it or not. Jesus loves you, this you know, for the Bible tells you so!

“Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”
– Revelation 19:7-8

Before diving into these verses, let’s quickly cover the “who’s who” that’s been developed throughout the Bible and particularly in Revelation. The Lamb is Jesus, the Son of God, crucified, resurrected, and reigning in heaven. The Bride is the church. The saints are every single follower of Jesus (not just a few super-Christians).

There will be a glorious day when Jesus will return to Earth and claim His beautiful bride, which is the church around the world. In anticipation of that day, the church (each individual church and thereby the entire church as a whole) should be making herself beautiful (not in appearance but in character and action). By the power of the Holy Spirit, God has empowered His churches to do this. Unfortunately, there are currently still plenty of times when the church isn’t beautiful. Too often, fighting, pettiness, division, greed, selfishness, abuse, politics, and power make the Bride ugly as sin.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! The church has been given everything needed to be beautiful, spotless, and pure. However, that doesn’t happen automatically and it doesn’t happen through the efforts of a relative handful of church leaders. These verses tell us the beautiful fine linen that arrays the church for her wedding day consists of the good works of every follower of Jesus.

Every believer has work to do to make the Bride beautiful. If Jesus is your Lord, then you have a responsibility to help make the church beautiful. You’re not simply called to make yourself beautiful with good works, but to invest in the church (around the world) and through a church (local) with good works of love, compassion, care, justice, mercy, kindness, and sacrifice. You have a role in dressing the church for her wedding day by making disciples, going, baptizing, and teaching others to obey Jesus.

Are you, by your Christ-like good works, helping make the church more beautiful for her wedding day? If so, stay encouraged and keep up the good work. If not, it’s time to take up your sacred responsibility.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.”
– Job 38:4

After vast suffering at the hands of Satan and suffering through the miserable advice and spiritual abuse of his “friends”, Job heard from God Himself. Job had been crying out to God, questioning God, arguing with God, and doubting God’s goodness. Now, he’s blessed to hear from God directly.

However, God doesn’t explain Himself. He doesn’t answer Job’s questions. He doesn’t explain the work of Satan or God’s purpose in permitting an evil adversary to work in the world for a time. God doesn’t defend or justify Himself. Instead, He does something much, much better. He reminds Job of His infinite knowledge, eternal perspective, and absolute authority over all of creation. God asks a series of questions that contrast the finite perspective and understanding of any human being with the infinite greatness of Almighty God.

These questions remind Job, and us, that God’s way aren’t our ways. He doesn’t suffer from our flaws, weaknesses, or tainted motives. His thoughts are infinitely superior to our thoughts. His understanding of how all things in creation work together across all of time is infinitely greater than our understanding could ever be. God’s power and involvement in the universe is both unlimited and meticulously detailed. He moves galaxies and cares about the finest details of your life.

When you endure long seasons of suffering, it’s natural to believe that answers to the question of “why” will satisfy your hurting soul. They won’t. What will truly satisfy your soul is a deeper appreciation, relationship, and worship of the infinitely good, wise, powerful, and present God of the universe. Rather than argue with Him, find true and lasting peace in knowing Him more richly. Cultivate His presence in your life. Bask in His goodness, love, and mercy. Soak in His Scripture. Meditate on His infinite greatness and personal presence. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t know everything. Rejoice in knowing the One Who does!

“But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.” – John 19:34-35

Here, John wants us all to know one thing for certain…Jesus was absolutely, completely dead on that cross. John saw it with his own eyes and there was no mistaking it. The Romans made sure Jesus was truly dead and He was. Stabbed in the side with a spear, there was no moaning or groaning. Just the pouring out of blood and fluid. This is important to know and believe – Jesus truly died on that cross.

His death matters because of what happened just a few days later. Jesus came back to life. Jesus rose from the dead, physically alive, eating and fellowshiping with His followers. Many hundreds of witnesses would be able to verify this fact personally for decades afterward. However, the power of those appearances lies in the assurance that Jesus had been truly dead.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the most important event in all of human history! It’s the proof that His sacrifice on our behalf was sufficient and accepted by God. Our sins have been paid for. We just need to believe in Jesus as Lord to be saved. We can rationally and confidently believe – because He is the One Who died and rose from death.

We can believe in life after death for ourselves because Jesus led the way. We can believe in everything Jesus ever said and did, because He rose from the dead. We can believe Jesus is truly the Son of God because He rose from the dead. There is no greater truth or better good news and it all begins with the confidence that Jesus really did die for you on that cross!

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.”
– Job 38:4

After vast suffering at the hands of Satan and suffering through the miserable advice and spiritual abuse of his “friends”, Job heard from God Himself. Job had been crying out to God, questioning God, arguing with God, and doubting God’s goodness. Now, he’s blessed to hear from God directly.

However, God doesn’t explain Himself. He doesn’t answer Job’s questions. He doesn’t explain the work of Satan or God’s purpose in permitting an evil adversary to work in the world for a time. God doesn’t defend or justify Himself. Instead, He does something much, much better. He reminds Job of His infinite knowledge, eternal perspective, and absolute authority over all of creation. God asks a series of questions that contrast the finite perspective and understanding of any human being with the infinite greatness of Almighty God.

These questions remind Job, and us, that God’s way aren’t our ways. He doesn’t suffer from our flaws, weaknesses, or tainted motives. His thoughts are infinitely superior to our thoughts. His understanding of how all things in creation work together across all of time is infinitely greater than our understanding could ever be. God’s power and involvement in the universe is both unlimited and meticulously detailed. He moves galaxies and cares about the finest details of your life.

When you endure long seasons of suffering, it’s natural to believe that answers to the question of “why” will satisfy your hurting soul. They won’t. What will truly satisfy your soul is a deeper appreciation, relationship, and worship of the infinitely good, wise, powerful, and present God of the universe. Rather than argue with Him, find true and lasting peace in knowing Him more richly. Cultivate His presence in your life. Bask in His goodness, love, and mercy. Soak in His Scripture. Meditate on His infinite greatness and personal presence. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t know everything. Rejoice in knowing the One Who does!