Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Yesterday I heard some amazing Resurrection sermons. One that stood out to me was by Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. He chose to preach on Thomas’s resurrection confirmation. This inspired me to spend this week focusing on personal discoveries with Christ.

Let’s begin by aligning ourselves with Thomas’s proper responses.

Today’s scripture, John 20:24-28 (NLT) shares…
[24] One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. [25] They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” [26] Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. [27] Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” [28] “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Consider…
At one time or another, you may have formed a belief about someone or something based on another person’s testimony. While there’s nothing wrong with allowing another person’s experience to influence your expectations, nothing can take the place of first hand knowledge.

The need for firsthand knowledge is what I read in Thomas’s response to his fellow disciples telling him they saw the risen Lord. Unfortunately verse 25 led to mislabeling Thomas as doubting, when he was in fact wholeheartedly seeking.

I believe that because it’s not the first time Thomas was honest about not fully understanding something happening with Jesus. We read in John 14:5 (NLT)…
[5] “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

This was Thomas’s response to Jesus telling the disciples that he was going to His Heavenly Father’s home to prepare it for them, and that they knew how He would get there.

I appreciate Thomas’s honest, open, and transparent (H.O.T.) response to Jesus, because is elicited a response in John 14:6-7(NLT)…
[6] Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [7] If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

You see we know the way to the Heavenly Father, because Thomas dared to be H.O.T. with Jesus.

This makes me think of what God said in Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
[13] If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

We would all do well to follow Thomas’s H.O.T. example with Jesus.

As the Holy Spirit continued to expand my appreciation of Thomas, He led me to Jeremiah 24:7 (NLT), where God declared…
[7] I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Notice God says we’ll have hearts, which I see as the desire, to recognize Him. That’s what Thomas had in today’s scripture, a desire to see Jesus for himself.

It’s also interesting that after we recognize the LORD, He says that He will be our God. But don’t miss why He promises to be our God, which is because we return to Him WHOLEHEARTEDLY!

I recommend we relabel our brother, wholehearted seeking Thomas.

I believe Jesus would agree with that revised label, because rather than leave Thomas wondering, the Bible says 8 days later Jesus showed up to show him that He had risen indeed.

What happened next is what left the biggest impression on me, from Pastor Furtick’s message. The preacher pointed out the fact that Thomas never touched Jesus, like he declared he would need to do in order to believe, instead when He saw the wounds he believed and declared, “My Lord and my God!”

Pastor Furtick, then taught me that’s the only time in the gospel of John that Jesus was declared Lord and God.

As I meditated on that fact, the Holy Spirit took me deeper by guiding me to Matthew 16:13-17 (NLT)…
[13] When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” [14] “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” [15] Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” [16] Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” [17] Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

Then the Holy Spirit pointed out Peter said that Jesus was THE Messiah and Son of the Living God, and the other disciples told Thomas that they had seen THE risen Lord. But Thomas’s response to seeing Jesus for himself was, “MY Lord and MY God!”

And with that the Holy Spirit said, that’s what Jesus wants to hear from all of us when we are in His presence, a personal declaration that He’s “My Lord and my God!”

You see that declaration says that Jesus is Sovereign and has complete authority over, and control of, our lives!

So today, like brother Thomas, wholeheartedly seek Jesus, and when you find Him declare, “My Lord and my God!”

Today’s song is…
How Great Thou Art

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)