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John 16:16-33
Just a short reading this morning...I am in the throws of studying for a massive test that is only a couple of weeks away and I trying to get as much studying done as possible, as early as possible, before the family wakes up.
At any rate, this morning is the continuation and finale of the pep talk that Jesus was giving the disciples yesterday. But today’s pep talk has a great ending to it that really commands its own entry...at least in my opinion. Today’s final comment from Jesus is as follows:
John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
What a powerful statement. It is a reality that we WILL struggle in this life at times...we have already done that! But this final proclamation to take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world; what a fantastic reminder of another reality. If Jesus died and rose from the grave as we profess to believe, then is there anything else in scripture that is unbelievable? Think about that...if this happened, then nothing else that is in here scripture should be questionable in terms of whether or not not God COULD do it. We can have a separate conversation about various writings and manuscripts that should or shouldn’t be in the Bible itself, and that’s fine and good, but in terms of these fantastic Old Testament stories that doubters will sometimes pick on, with questions like, “Do you really think Jonah lived in the belly of a whale for several days?”, or “Do you really think God literally parted the Red Sea?”, etc...those types of questions don’t have to put us on our heals with regard to our faith. If Jesus got out of the grave, if He was dead and then came back to life, is any of this other stuff really that hard to believe? No! Or course not!
One of our jobs as believers is to focus on what’s undeniable, and to worry less about what’s unexplainable. Another way to say that is that we should major on the majors, and not major on the minors. The resurrection is THE thing.
Today is a great reminder of the confidence we can have as Jesus-followers!
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By Steve AndersonJust a short reading this morning...I am in the throws of studying for a massive test that is only a couple of weeks away and I trying to get as much studying done as possible, as early as possible, before the family wakes up.
At any rate, this morning is the continuation and finale of the pep talk that Jesus was giving the disciples yesterday. But today’s pep talk has a great ending to it that really commands its own entry...at least in my opinion. Today’s final comment from Jesus is as follows:
John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
What a powerful statement. It is a reality that we WILL struggle in this life at times...we have already done that! But this final proclamation to take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world; what a fantastic reminder of another reality. If Jesus died and rose from the grave as we profess to believe, then is there anything else in scripture that is unbelievable? Think about that...if this happened, then nothing else that is in here scripture should be questionable in terms of whether or not not God COULD do it. We can have a separate conversation about various writings and manuscripts that should or shouldn’t be in the Bible itself, and that’s fine and good, but in terms of these fantastic Old Testament stories that doubters will sometimes pick on, with questions like, “Do you really think Jonah lived in the belly of a whale for several days?”, or “Do you really think God literally parted the Red Sea?”, etc...those types of questions don’t have to put us on our heals with regard to our faith. If Jesus got out of the grave, if He was dead and then came back to life, is any of this other stuff really that hard to believe? No! Or course not!
One of our jobs as believers is to focus on what’s undeniable, and to worry less about what’s unexplainable. Another way to say that is that we should major on the majors, and not major on the minors. The resurrection is THE thing.
Today is a great reminder of the confidence we can have as Jesus-followers!