Jesus Is The Door

The last couple of weeks we have been taking about the vision God gives us for our lives. The story of the disciple Thomas who struggled to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead showed us that God gives each of us a vision that is personal, powerful and purpose-full and then last week see saw that God shapes this vision through ordinary moments of life and everyday moments of life in the church. God also shapes this vision through the opportunities he gives us to serve those in need and I know that in different ways God shaped the lives of the over 100 people who served yesterday in our first Annual day of service. Today I want us to keep thinking about God’s vision for our lives and how God works to refine and clarify that vision by looking at a teaching of Jesus found in the gospel of John. John 10:1-10.


One of the most familiar images for God used in the Bible is that of a shepherd. Psalm 23, King David says, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, and then David goes on to talk about all the ways God as a shepherd leads and guides his people. Here Jesus builds on that idea and talks about himself being the shepherd who not only guides God’s people but who at times acts as a gate or a door for the sheep.

In Jesus day, there were two places that shepherds could take their sheep for the night. If they were near a town they would take the sheep to a common pen in the village that all shepherds would use and the sheep would be all mixed together for the night. 

A watchman would stand guard at the gate to make sure no one entered to steal the sheep while the shepherds slept and then in the morning, each shepherd would come to the gatekeeper who would let them in. Once inside the pen, the shepherd would call out to their sheep and the sheep would recognize that voice and follow their shepherd out of the pen. Through this process, all the sheep would be separated into their own flocks and the shepherd would lead them out to find food and water.

Now if a shepherd was not close to a town and so had to keep the sheep out in the fields through the night they would find one of many small stoned pens that dotted the countryside where they could keep their sheep safe for the night.

As you can see , the problem with these pens was that there was no gate, so the shepherd would literally become the gate, or door, by lying down across the entrance to the pen. The presence of the shepherd would keep the sheep inside the pen through the night by becoming a physical barrier that would keep them from just wandering off. The shepherd’s presence also helped keep the wild animals away. So the shepherd literally become a door that closed off the dangers of the night and then in the morning when the shepherd got up the door would be open for the sheep to go out and find food and water for the day. As a good shepherd, Jesus is the door who shuts out the dangers of the past and open up to us the potential of the future and it is this opening and closing that refines God’s vision for our lives.

As we think about Jesus being this door in our lives, let’s start with how Jesus is the door who shuts out the dangers of the past. None of us has to look too far into our past to find some problem that can keep us from moving forward in life or in faith. For Thomas it was his struggle to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. For Peter it was wondering if Jesus could ever forgive him for denying that he was one of his followers. For the apostle Paul it was the pain of a life spent persecuting the followers of Jesus and seeking to put an end to both their ministry and their lives. For us it might be a failed relationship that keeps us from being able to trust or love anyone – including God. It might be the guilt of having been the one who failed in the relationship and broken vows made in marriage. It might be the pain of losing a loved one, or the pain of losing a job, or a house or our savings. The problems of our past might just be the reality of our own sin because every day we are reminded how we fall short of God’s glory.

Our lives, all of our lives, are filled with sin and failure, brokenness and pain, shame and guilt and if we can’t shut the door to these problems we will never be able to move forward. If we spend all our time looking behind us reliving the past, we can never really move ahead in life. Have you ever noticed in a car how small the rearview mirror is compared to the windshield? There’s a lesson for us in that – we need to spend more time looking forward than we do looking back and the only way we can really do this is to ask Jesus to be the door that shuts out the problems of our past pain and problems and sin.

But asking Jesus to be the closed door to our past doesn’t mean we just ignore our problems or pretend like they aren’t real. That’s called denial and usually those problems come back to disrupt our lives. Asking Jesus to be the closed door means asking Jesus to bring real forgiveness, healing, hope or understanding which brings closure and freedom so we can move forward. If what we need is Jesus to be the closed door to the reality of our sin than we need to understand the reality of God’s forgiveness which does close the door to the guilt and shame that comes with sin. Jesus is always willing and wanting to do just that, to be the door which removes our sin from us.

When a woman was caught in the very act of adultery, the very act of her sin, Jesus didn’t ignore her problem or pretend like she never sinned – he forgave her and in that forgiveness closed the door to her past. Jesus said to the woman, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. Jesus forgave her and his forgiveness shut the door to her past so that she was free to live a new life, to really be able to go and sin no more. If what we struggle with is closing the door to our past sin, then we need to come to terms with the reality of God’s forgiveness. In Psalm 103:12 it says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sin from us. God’s forgiveness is not God looking the other way, it is God wiping the slate clean, and it is God wiping our hearts clean. In this forgiveness, Jesus becomes the closed door to our sin and all the guilt and shame that comes with it, which allows us to experience the freedom of new life.

If what we need is for Jesus to be the closed door to our past pain and loss, then what we need from Jesus is healing and hope which is exactly what Jesus offered people during his lifetime. To those who only knew the reality of disease and the loss that comes with it (like the lepers, blind and lame) – Jesus brought healing. To those who felt shunned by society and unworthy of love and acceptance (like the sinners and outcast), Jesus brought a sense of self worth and dignity that filled them with hope which gave them life. Again, Jesus didn’t pretend like their problems weren’t real – he faced them head on and brought about real changes in people’s lives. In the midst of our own pain and loss – God still is able to bring healing and hope. God affirms us when we need it, he offers encouragement and direction and love when we need it - which all becomes the closed door to our past pain and loss.

So Jesus is the door who helps us shut out the problems of our past but there is another purpose of a door and that is to open up for us new opportunities so we can move forward. Sheep couldn’t be kept in a pen forever because they would run out of grass to eat, and there was no water for them, so the door had to be opened if they were going to experience the fullness of life and the same is true us. We need Jesus to be the open door for us to grow in faith and experience abundant life, and that is exactly what Jesus does.

When Jesus called people to follow him, the reason they did was because they saw in and through Jesus new possibilities for their lives. When Jesus looked at Peter, Andrew, James and John he didn’t see fishermen – he saw skilled, hard working, organized leaders who had passion and faith and who in time could teach, preach and love others enough to change the world. Jesus saw this and in time these fisherman came to see the same thing. Jesus was the door to a new life for them. What I love about Jesus is that he never sees us for who we are in this moment – he sees the new creation we can become when we are willing to trust in Him to be that open door.

In 2 Corinthians 5:12 Paul writes, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see everything has become new? And all of this is from God. In other words, Jesus is the closed door to the past and the open door to new life so when we are in Jesus, we are trusting in Jesus, we can step out and experience the abundant life Jesus offers.

But here is the most important thing to remember about a door, it is only good if we use it. A door is only good if we use it, and the way we use this door is simple, we trust in Jesus. If Jesus is the door then to find freedom from our past and hope for our future, we need to learn how to trust Him. We need to learn how to trust the forgiveness God offers us through Christ. We need to trust Jesus to truly take away our sin, to remove it completely from us. To trust Jesus as the door means trusting Him to heal our pain and fill up the areas of loss in our lives that we sometimes we don’t want to let go of. Trusting Jesus to be the closed door in our lives means trusting Jesus to forgive us and heal us and love us.

Trusting Jesus to be the open door in our lives means trusting Him to love us enough to provide new opportunities for us that might stretch us but will not break us. Sometimes trusting Jesus to walk in new ways is hard because change is hard and trying new things is hard and taking a risk a hard – but if we trust God to love us – then walking with Jesus into new opportunities won’t be a terror but an adventure.

The process of Jesus being closed doors to our past and open doors to our future is part of how God refines and clarifies His vision in our lives because every closed door brings an end to one direction and every open door brings a new direction and as we walk with Jesus, God guides us and leads us to where he wants us to be. Sometimes this process is long and slow and painful – sometimes it is quick and simple and full of joy but the end result is always the same – we end up where God wants us and doing what it is God wants us to do. We also end up with a clearer Vision of what God wants for our lives.

Jesus is the door in your life today. He is the door who brings closure to the pain of yesterday and he is the door to the exciting potential and purpose of tomorrow. So today, let us trust Jesus to be the door who through his closing and opening brings abundant life.
 

Next Steps
Jesus is the door.

What door does Jesus want to close in your life?
The door to past sin? Guilt? Shame? Pain? Loss? Failure?

• Identify past problems and ask God to bring the healing, hope and forgiveness you need to close that door.

• Use Psalm 103:8-14 and 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 as tools to bring about needed closure.


What door does Jesus want to open in your life?
The door to new opportunities? Relationships? Faith? Power?

• Name one door God has opened for you in the past that you walked through with success. Celebrate that victory.

• Name one door you sense God has open before you today.

• What will it take for you to walk through that door? Who can help you take the necessary step?



Opening and closing doors is a way God refines VISION.
Make a list of doors God has closed and opened in our life in the past few years and begin to look for God’s vision through these doors.
Opened:

Closed:

God’s vision:

Shaping Vision

Last week when we looked at the story of Thomas, we saw that when Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection and gave him the opportunity to place his hand in the mark of the nails and the wound in his side, he was giving Thomas a personal, powerful and purpose-filled vision for his life. The vision of the resurrected Jesus forever changed Thomas and it gave him a mission, but this God given vision didn’t come all at once. It was over a period of time that God worked intentionally and patiently in shaping the vision for Thomas and God works just as patiently and intentionally in shaping the vision he gives for our lives as well, and we see how and when God shapes vision from the resurrection story found in Luke 2436-49.


It is again immediately after the resurrection of Jesus and the disciples are struggling to understand what is going on. They are filled with doubts and fear because they are not sure if Jesus is alive, but they are also experiencing some joy and amazement because some among them said that they have seen him. Mostly what the disciples are right now is confused and it is into the confusion that Jesus appears and again shows them his hands and feet. Now the reason Jesus does this is to help shape their vision. Like Thomas, they need to see a resurrected Jesus, but like Thomas they also need to be sure that the one they are seeing is Jesus, so Jesus gives them proof. The mark of the nails in Jesus hands and feet would convince the disciples that the person they are talking to really is Jesus and then when he asks them for something to eat it shapes their vision again because it helps them understand that they aren’t seeing a ghost but the living, breathing resurrected Jesus. Just as he did with Thomas, Jesus gave his disciples a personal and powerful vision to assure them that he was alive but something else we learn here is how and when God goes about shaping that vision.

The first thing we notice here is that Jesus comes to his disciples in some very ordinary moments of life. It says that they were just gathered together talking about what had been going on when Jesus appeared. Maybe it is during lunch because we see that there is some broiled fish at hand, whenever it is, Jesus just appears to them in the course of their day. They aren’t doing anything special or particularly religious at this moment, they are just living their lives. In the gospel of John there is a story about how Jesus prepared breakfast for the disciples while they were out fishing and then invited them to come and eat with him. Again eating with the disciples helped shape their vision because it reminded them that Jesus was indeed alive, but by coming to them at breakfast shows us that God chooses to shape vision during the daily routines of life.

Throughout the Bible, God has shaped the vision of His people through ordinary daily events. Moses was at work tending sheep when God appeared to him in the burning bush and gave him a new vision for his life. The people of Israel had their faith in God shaped every day through the simple routine of gathering food. As God’s people travelled through the wilderness they learned how to trust God by going out every morning and gathering up the bread, or the manna, that God provided. By giving them only what they needed for each day, God was shaping his people and teaching them to lean on him and trust him every day for what they needed. If they tried to provide for themselves and gather more manna than what they needed, God made the manna rot through the night. Through all of this, God was shaping their vision and helping them see that God could be trusted each and every day, and God did all of this through the simply routine of gathering food.

Too many times we think we have to be in some holy place doing some religious thing for God to speak to us, reveal himself to us or shape our lives but actually the opposite is true. God usually works to shape vision through very ordinary moments and daily routines. For example, God shapes our vision while we work. Whether it is a paid job or the time we give volunteering to help others, God shapes our lives through the work we do each and every day. When we feel satisfied and fulfilled in what we are doing, it can confirm that we are right where God wants us, but if we are feeling unsatisfied and longing for something different or something more it can be a prompting from God for us to explore something new.

The reason I am a pastor today is because the job I had as a manager of a movie theater just didn’t fulfill me and then after a few years of searching and studying I spent a year as an intern in a local church and it was while I was working in the church each and every week that I realized, this is where God wants me. He shaped my vision through daily routines and jobs that I had.

Now just a word of advice here, if you are feeling like God is shaping your vision for a different vocation or a different job, and you are wanting to move in that new direction, don’t quit where you are now! Seriously, don’t stop doing what you are doing, instead allow God to guide you from one place to the next. Not only are there realities of life that need to be cared for by your current paycheck, but since God uses our current jobs to shape our vision for the future, we need to trust that when a new opportunity is needed God will bring it to us. We can explore all we want, but if we quit where we are without knowing where we are going – we cut ourselves off from one of the ways God chooses to shape us and that is through our work. So we need to keep going in our work because that’s when and where God shapes the vision he has for us.

Another ordinary daily event that gives shape to God’s vision is when we eat together. Jesus had breakfast with the disciples; he actually cooked it for them and then invited them to eat with him. Here in Luke Jesus asks for food to eat and eating the broiled fish actually helped strengthen the faith of the disciples – it helped them believe that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, but maybe Jesus was also setting an example saying it is important to eat togehter. These moments of eating together shaped vision and eating together can still shape vision. Spending time with family around a table where we share food and faith actually does shape our lives. Studies show that children and youth learn more from eating meals together with their families than maybe any other time during the day. If we want God’s hand to shape the vision for our lives and for our family then we can’t ignore the important routine of meals together – breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Now it’s not just the ordinary times of life that God uses to shape vision; it is also simple routines of life in the church. Jesus most often appeared to his followers, gave vision to their lives and deepened and directed their faith when they were gathered together. It’s while they were together talking about what had happened that Jesus appeared and stood among them (Luke 24:36). Jesus shaped their vision by opening their minds so they could understand the scriptures and he did this, he taught them, when they were together (Luke 24:44-45). In other words it was during Bible Study that God shaped the lives of the disciples and gave them a clearer vision and a better understanding of all that had taken place and all that was to come. Today the world has a good understanding of what Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are all about because the disciples were willing to have God shape their lives through small group learning.

This is why Sunday School classes, small groups and bible studies are so important, it is one of the ways God shapes His vision in us. Thomas was able to share his faith with the world because he was there when Jesus taught them and opened up for them the scriptures. He was there when Jesus explained what had happened and what they needed to do in the future. Thomas was there when Jesus gave them the mission of making disciples of all nations. God’s vision for our lives will take some molding and shaping and while that can and does take place in a lot of different ways we can’t ignore the power of small group learning.

Teaching in small groups was one of the very first things Jesus did after the resurrection and we see throughout the book of Acts that the early church continued to commit themselves to this way of life. The disciples prayed together, worshipped together, learned together, met together, celebrated baptism and communion together, they lived as a church together and their daily routine as a community of faith was used by God to shape the vision He had for them.

If we want God to shape the vision he has for us, we need to commit ourselves to meeting together for worship, prayer, learning and service. My hope for the youth who have been confirmed and baptized today is that they will take this to heart. You know, Confirmation isn’t graduation; you aren’t leaving the church today, look around at your family and friends who gather here each week. One of the reasons we do this is because we want God to keep shaping the vision he has for us and we believe God does that most powerfully every time we come together. The vision God has for our lives will be shaped as we continue to take part in the ordinary moments of life in the church. Worship, study, fellowship, service, prayer, mission trips, coffee and cookies, church dinners - they are all ways God shapes the vision he has for us and making the commitment today in words to keep going in this way of life and faith isn’t enough for any of us, we need to make this our way of life.

And then Luke 24 shows us that God goes about shaping vision in our lives through mission and ministry. Look at Luke 24:48-49. God sends his disciples out to work, to be witnesses to what they have seen and learned from Jesus and to share God’s power with others. When we serve God in any capacity in the church or in the world, it is an opportunity for God to shape the vision he has for us. There are many people right here, who have had their lives changed by going on a mission trip. Working day after day meeting the needs of people shapes our hearts and lives and we don’t leave those weeks the same. Going away on a mission trip may not be possible for many people due to commitments and schedules, but we would invite you to serve for a day – next Saturday to be exact. Serve the needs of your friends and neighbors. Reach out to those in the church and community who need some help doing things they just can’t do on their own right now and as you serve I guarantee that God will be shaping the vision he has for your life.

As we saw with Thomas, God’s vision always involves reaching out to others. It always involves loving and caring for others so it makes sense that God would shape our lives as we are serve. If you feeling somewhat unsure about the God given vision for your life then step out and serve in some way, in any way. Serve in the church or volunteer in the community, it doesn’t matter - what matters is being the hands and feet of Jesus so that God can place his hands on us and give shape and direction to our lives.

God doesn’t just reveal the vision he has for us in one shining moment and then return to heaven. God is the master potter who diligently and patiently molds us and gives shape to the vision he has for our lives. The shaping comes during the daily routines of life and the ordinary moments of life in the church and it comes when we are willing to stretch ourselves and reach out in love to serve others. May we allow God the opportunity to shape the vision he has for our lives through the simple routines of this day and this week and through our life and service together as the church.


Next Steps
Shaping Vision

God shapes vision during ordinary moments of life:
• Plan to eat one additional meal this week with your family (or friends) and make sure to start with a prayer asking God to shape the vision He has for you.
• Pray before work each day this week and ask God to use your job or service to give shape to His vision.

God shapes vision during ordinary moments in church:
• Commit to being in worship 4 of the next 6 weeks.
• Gather with others in Sunday School or Bible Study for the next 4 weeks so God can open your mind and help you understand the Scriptures.

God shapes vision during ordinary moments of ministry:
• Sign up today to help those in need next Saturday and be part of our Serving Our Seniors mission event.
• Volunteer one Sunday next month to work with our children’s ministry.
• Give one day during the next month to a community organization that you feel passionately about (PAWS, Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross…).

What VISION shapes your life?

I have always felt bad for the disciple Thomas because throughout history he has been called doubting Thomas because he struggled to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead – but the truth is that all the disciples struggled to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. When the women first told the disciples that the tomb was empty and Jesus was not there, they doubted the women’s story so they raced to the tomb to see for themselves. Even after seeing the empty tomb they doubt Mary’s story that she had seen Jesus alive. So it wasn’t just Thomas who doubted, all the disciples doubted Jesus had risen from the dead and the reason they were filled with doubt is because there is power in vision.


Think of everything the disciples had seen in the last 72 hours. They saw Jesus betrayed by his friend and led away in chains. They saw Jesus falsely accused and spit on by the religious leaders. They saw Jesus flogged and beaten by soldiers. They saw a crown of thorns forced onto his head and the beam of a cross placed on his back. They saw him nailed to a cross, struggle to breathe and die an agonizing death. And then probably from a safe distance away they saw Jesus dead body taken off the cross and laid in a tomb and in that moment they were certain, 100% certain, that Jesus was dead. What they had seen with their own eyes was powerful and their vision shaped what they believed. Jesus was dead and the testimony of one woman wasn’t going to change that, even seeing empty grave clothes and an empty tomb wasn’t going to change that. There was only one thing that was going to change their belief and that was seeing Jesus alive. They needed a vision of the risen Jesus to replace the vision of the crucified and dead Jesus, and a vision of the risen Jesus is exactly what they got.

When Jesus finally appeared among the disciples on the evening of that resurrection day and showed himself to be alive, the vision of the risen Jesus changed everything. They no longer doubted Jesus was dead, they believed and knew he was indeed alive, but the vision of a risen Jesus changed so much more. The vision of Jesus alive meant for Peter that he no longer had to live with the pain of sin and failure – there was now hope that Jesus would forgive him for his denial. For John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the vision of a living Jesus meant that a friendship and relationship of love and loyalty could continue. This vision of ongoing love was profound for John, it shaped the rest of his life and we know this because when we read the letters he wrote we see that that their main focus is love – the love of God seen in Jesus and the power of love we can now share with one another. A risen Jesus meant love could continue and be shared and that vision shaped the rest of John’s life, the vision of Jesus alive shaped the life of the disciples.

But one disciple wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared and that was Thomas. We don’t know where Thomas was that day, but because he wasn’t there his only vision was of Jesus chained, flogged and crucified. The vision that continued to dominate Thomas’ heart and mind and therefore shaped his beliefs was of a Jesus beaten, bloodied and buried. The only thing Thomas knew for certain was that Jesus died and he knew that because it is what he had seen with his own eyes and there is power in vision. In fact that vision was so strong that it could not be wiped away by the testimony of his friends no matter how passionate and heartfelt that testimony was. What Thomas shows us here is that there is power in vision and that all of our lives are driven by some kind of vision.

There are certain things that we have seen or ways that we see the world or our lives that shape what we believe and that vision is powerful and determines how we live. One of the places we see this clearly is in the world of politics. I am always amazed how there can be passionate people on both sides of political issues who invest their entire lives in a certain vision of how society should be structured. For example, there are those who believe strongly that government should do more and take a more active role in the world to help make things better and they fight for and give themselves completely to that vision and on the other side there are those who believe just as passionately that if we want a better society government should do less. They each have a vision of how things should work and their vision is powerful and that vision drives their lives.

Each of us has a vision that drives our lives and it is a vision of who we are and how we see the world. Our self image and the understanding of our own self worth and our place in the world determines much of our lives. For example if we are see ourselves as smart and capable we might try to achieve more in life, but if our self image is that we can’t do anything and we aren’t smart enough to achieve great things – we might not try to do anything at all. How we see the world around us and how we see ourselves shapes our hearts and minds and it shapes our attitudes, beliefs and actions and so an important question to ask ourselves is what is the vision that shapes our life?

Is our vision only shaped by what we can see with our eyes?
Is our vision only shaped by what we think is true about ourselves?
Is our vision shaped by God?

If we limit our vision to only what we have seen and what we think is true about ourselves and our world, then like Thomas we run the risk of missing out on what God wants to do in us and through us, but if we allow the fullness of God to shape our vision we begin to open ourselves up to the abundant victorious life God has for us. Now the good news we see from the story of Thomas is that God never wants to leaves us in a place of narrow vision. God understands the power vision so he works to expand the vision of our lives by helping us see the fullness of Jesus. It was finally being able to see Jesus that changed everything for Thomas.

As we heard from John’s gospel, it was a week later when the disciples were again gathered in the upper room but this time Thomas was there. For a week Peter, Andrew, James, John and the rest of the disciples had been trying to convince Thomas that Jesus was alive, but Thomas simply could not believe and the more they talked the more Thomas dug in his heels, to the point where Thomas finally said, look, unless I put my hands in the mark of the nails and reach out my hand and place it in the wound in Jesus side made by the spear, I won’t believe that Jesus is alive.

What is so wonderful about this story is that Jesus heard Thomas’ words and instead of allowing Thomas to remain in a place of narrow vision and weak faith, in love and grace Jesus appears and gave Thomas exactly what he needed to believe. Jesus gave Thomas the vision he needed to see life a different way and while God may not give us that same vision, God does give us a vision of himself that can shape our lives and like Thomas, the vision God gives us is personal, it is powerful and it fills us with purpose.

When Jesus appeared to Thomas the first thing we see is that this was a personal vision. Jesus came in this moment specifically for Thomas. After greeting everyone Jesus immediately goes to Thomas and gives him what he said he needed to believe. Put your finger here, Thomas, see my hands and the mark of the nails. Reach out your hand and place it in my side. Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he said he needed, it was a personal vision, a personal encounter for Thomas.

We all need a personal vision from God if we are going to have a God given vision for our lives. In other words, we need to have our own encounter with Jesus Christ or our own personal relationship with God. What Thomas shows us is that we can’t build our faith on the experience or vision of other people. The testimony and experiences of others can help us and encourage us and even open us up to God, but at some point we all need a personal vision from God, a personal experience of the risen Jesus. It’s not enough to depend upon the faith of our parents or grandparents or friends, if we are going to have a God given vision that shapes our lives then we need to have a personal vision of Jesus, a personal encounter with the living God.

While Jesus will come and reveal himself to us, it will not be the way he did with Thomas. Jesus will not physically stand in front of us with arms open wide – but I do believe that God will reveal himself to us in very personal ways. Throughout the Bible God revealed himself to people in a variety of ways; for some it was through clouds and lightening while for others it was silence. For some it was through the words of the prophets and for others it was through the silent direction of the Holy Spirit. God revealed himself in different ways, but each way was personal and spoke to the unique needs of the individual. God knows what will speak to each and every heart and mind here and what this story of Thomas shows us is that God is willing to step into our lives and give us the personal vision that we need.

A friend of mine started seminary a few weeks ago and she has been having a difficult time transitioning to the new location and a new routine. I encouraged her to find some support at a specific church and she told me later that day that after an appointment she had she looked up and across the street was that very church. In many ways that was the personal experience of the risen Jesus she needed and it reminded her that God was with her and that He would give her the strength she needed to make it through. God knows what we need and he works to give us that personal vision

God gave Thomas that personal vision and that vision was powerful. The risen Jesus with hands stretched out was a powerful vision that wiped away any lingering vision Thomas had of Jesus crucified, dead or buried. It was such a powerful vision that Thomas cried out “my Lord and my God” which is the first time anyone had called Jesus God – but Thomas did because the vision of the risen Savior was so powerful that he suddenly knew exactly who Jesus was. The vision for Thomas is so powerful that he also didn’t even need to touch Jesus’ hands or side in order to believe, did you notice that. While Thomas said he would have to actually touch Jesus in order to believe, the vision God gave was so powerful that he didn’t need to do that in order to believe

What we see here is that any vision God gives will be filled with power and that makes sense because God himself is powerful. Any time God moves there is power. Any time God speaks there is power. Any time God reveals himself there is power and that power brings healing, grace, forgiveness, courage, strength and assurance. The vision of a risen Jesus was powerful enough to bring hope, forgiveness, faith and strength to the disciples 2000 years ago and it still brings hope , forgiveness, faith and strength to disciples, to us, today.

The vision of Jesus alive also gave Thomas purpose. As a tax collector, Thomas had left everything when he turned to follow Jesus and when Jesus died I’m sure Thomas felt like his life was over. Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen so they could go home and pick up their nets and get back into their boats, but Thomas had no future. He couldn’t become a tax collector again so in many ways the death of Jesus meant his life had no direction, but the vision of a risen Jesus began to give his life direction and then when Jesus said to Thomas and the rest of the disciples, go into all the world and make disciples, Thomas knew his life’s purpose.

Tradition tells us that Thomas travelled to what today we know as India and spent the rest of his life telling people what he had seen – a risen Savior. What Thomas had seen in Jesus life, death and resurrection he shared with people who placed their faith and trust in Christ and become followers of Jesus themselves. We believe this is what Thomas did because centuries later Christian missionaries from England went to India and they didn’t expect to find any Christian presence in that region at all but what they did find were churches and followers of Jesus who didn’t know anything about Peter or Paul and they didn’t have the writings of the New Testament, but they knew about Jesus and they knew about a disciple named Thomas. Thomas’ vision of Jesus alive didn’t just give shape to Thomas’ faith it gave purpose and direction to his life.

When God reveals himself to us, that vision is also filled with purpose and like Thomas that purpose always has to involve reaching out beyond ourselves. As followers of Jesus, the vision God gives us for our lives always includes loving and serving others in some way. God’s vision for our lives has to include working to bring people to Jesus and working to bring the kingdom of Jesus into our world. God’s vision for our lives is always filled with purpose because God has a purpose for our lives. Through the prophet Jeremiah God says, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future. (Jeremiah 29:11).

What is the vision that shapes your life? What is the God given vision that defines who you are and drives you in faith and life? If we struggle to see that vision today then we can find encouragement from Thomas, because his life story teaches us that God is always willing to reveal himself to us in ways that are personal, powerful and in time will fill us with purpose. May a vision of the living God and the risen savior give shape, power and purpose to our lives today and every day.


Next Steps:
What VISION shapes your life?


1. How has God revealed himself to you personally?
This week? This month? This year? During your life?

If you can’t identify a personal encounter you have had with the living God (or the risen Jesus), ask God to reveal Himself to you and then every day pray for eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to receive God’s vision.


2. How has God’s vision filled you with power?
power to love – power to forgive – power to dream
power to believe – power to step out in faith


3. What purpose (shape or direction) has God’s vision given to your life? It may not be something big like becoming a missionary to India, but remember it will always include loving and serving others.

If you struggle to see God’s purpose for your life, read Jeremiah 29:11-14 and ask God to reveal his purpose to you and then trust that in time He will.


4. Share God’s personal, powerful and purposeful vision with someone this week.

Christ the Victor

As we have seen throughout this Lenten season, the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life were filled with betrayal, lies, accusations, failure, abandonment, suffering, brokenness and pain. When Jesus was finally laid in the tomb and the stone sealed the grave it looked as if this was the end. As the sun set on Friday it looked as if all the ugliness, violence and evil of the world had won and that sin had prevailed, but if we take a closer look at the story of Jesus burial – we see that this isn’t true because hidden in that story are the seeds of hope and resurrection.


Look at Mark 15:42-46. Now this Council which Joseph was part of was the Sanhedrin, which was the same group of men who earlier that same day had falsely accused Jesus and sent him to Pilate seeking an execution. So there was at least one member of the Sanhedrin who had seen something positive in Jesus and while he wasn’t willing to help Jesus at the trial, he now steps forward in faith to help Jesus. Joseph’s presence at the cross is that glimmer of hope that shows us that evil and sin doesn’t have the last word. There is always hope.

If we look at John’s gospel we see that Joseph wasn’t alone when he went to take Jesus body off the cross, there was another man with him, Nicodemus. Nicodemus was also a member of the ruling council, or the Sanhedrin, and he was the one who had come to Jesus years earlier asking him want it meant to be born again. At that time Nicodemus came to Jesus during the dark of night because he was afraid of being associated with Jesus and his movement, but he felt like Jesus had the truth and he wanted to learn more. When he comes to Jesus here at the cross, he is not ashamed. Nicodemus approaches the cross boldly and helps take Jesus down and it is Nicodemus who brings with him 75 pounds of spices that they would use to wrap Jesus body for burial. Nicodemus presence at the cross and his gift to Jesus shows us that there is hope for resurrection because here is a man whose life had been changed by Jesus. Nicodemus was a changed man. He had once been afraid and filled with doubt but here we see him filled with faith and courage. He has been born again and his presence at the cross shows us that there is hope. Darkness doesn’t have the final word.

So even as Jesus is being taken off the cross and his grave is sealed we see a glimmer of hope. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus show us that there is still faith and there is still the hope of new life and changed hearts. So when the third day arrives and the women make their way to the tomb maybe all is not lost. Now the women come early to properly wrap Jesus body because there had been no time to do it on Friday. When Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus off the cross it was close to sunset which marked the beginning of the Sabbath which meant that they could not do the final work of preparing Jesus body for burial. The women come to do that and they come fully expecting the grave to be sealed and the body of Jesus to be lying inside. In fact as they make their way to the tomb they begin to ask themselves how they are going to roll that heavy stone away so they can get to Jesus.

That concern was quickly forgotten when the women arrive and see that the stone had already been rolled away. Now the accounts of the resurrection from this point on are all a little different, which for some people is unsettling, but for me it makes perfect sense. The resurrection of Jesus is such an unexpected and in many ways unbelievable event that as people looked back on it - everyone remembered different details, but there are some things that are clear to see in all 4 gospels. #1, the women are filled with fear when they see an open grave and #2 the disciples have a hard time believing that the tomb is open and that the grave clothes are empty and that Jesus is alive. I actually find it encouraging that the disciples struggled to believe. Even after seeing the open grave and the empty grave clothes they struggled to believe which means that our struggle to believe 2000+ years later makes a little bit of sense. Just like the disciples, sometimes it is hard for us to wrap our minds around the reality of Jesus resurrection and while we don’t how it happened, we can be confident that it did.

While there is no scientific proof that we can point to which says that Jesus rose from the dead, we are not without facts which help us accept this as truth. What we know is that Jesus died and that of his followers saw him alive. Those are facts. In light of those facts some still want to say that Jesus didn’t die but just passed out on the cross and then slowly revive in the coolness of the tomb. The problem with this is that Roman soldiers were experts at crucifixion and they didn’t remove someone from the cross unless they were 100% sure that person was dead. So Jesus was dead when Joseph and Nicodemus laid him in the tomb, but even if there had been some remote chance that Jesus had not died, there is simply no way that in his weakened state due to blood loss, dehydration and a pierced lung that Jesus would have been able to have enough strength to unwrap his body, move away a huge stone by himself and walk out of the tomb.

We also know that Jesus body wasn’t taken away by the disciples. First of all there was a guard at the tomb and even if the disciples had been able to get past the guard and steal the body, it makes no sense that they would have suffered the persecution and pain they did for something they knew was a lie. Many of the disciples suffered and died because they believed in and proclaimed that Jesus rose from the dead and there is no way they would have done that if they had known Jesus had not in fact risen. They would not have given their lives to a mission they knew to be a failure.

We also know that the appearance of Jesus after his death wasn’t a ghost or spiritual apparition that they all saw. First of all Jesus appeared to too many people in too many different places for that to make sense, but Jesus actually offered his body to the disciples to touch and hold on to. Jesus then eats with them and he does this specifically to show them that he is not a ghost but physically present with them.

While we can’t explain what happened while Jesus was in the tomb and while we don’t know how Jesus actually rose from the dead – all the evidence points to the fact that he did and that Jesus is not just victorious over his grave but that Jesus is victorious over all things and nowhere is that victory more clearly seen than in the life of his disciples.

After Jesus died the disciples were hiding in guilt, shame and fear. They must have experienced great guilt and shame because they weren’t there when Jesus needed them – they weren’t even there to help lay Jesus in the tomb and did you notice that they aren’t even the ones heading out early in the morning to make sure Jesus is properly buried. The women have more faith and courage than the disciples. The disciples are broken, defeated and living with the burden of their sin, but after the resurrection we see them bold and courageous. The victory of Jesus over the grave brought them victory as well, victory over fear, victory over failure, victory over their sin. It is the changed lives of the disciples that maybe more than anything else gives us the best evidence of that Jesus rose from the grave and it is the changed lives of Christians throughout history that also point to the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

Think about the Apostle Paul, he an encounter with the resurrected Jesus that profoundly changed his life. Paul had been the #1 enemy of the church. He actively and viciously persecuted the followers of Jesus by sending them to jail and giving approval to their execution by stoning, but an encounter with the living Jesus changed all that. Paul goes from being an enemy of Jesus to his most effective witness and while Paul couldn’t tell you what happened in the grave and how Jesus rose from the dead his experience with the risen Jesus radically and forever changed him.

Just like Paul I can’t tell you what happened during those three days or how Jesus rose from the dead but I can tell you that he did because his risen presence in my life has changed me. The victory of Jesus over the grave has changed and shaped my life. I have heard the voice of Jesus at times, I have felt his presence and been overwhelmed by his love and grace. I have found peace in the midst of storms, hope in the midst of depression, comfort in the mist of pain, forgiveness and love in the midst of sin and even again this week life in the midst of death. The victory of Jesus over the grave doesn’t just mean that death has been defeated it means that all the powers of darkness, sin and evil can be overcome and that in time they will be overcome and the resurrection of Jesus means that we can experience this same victory in our own lives every day.

The victory of Jesus means that we can find victory over doubt. Everyone who encountered the empty tomb that day was filled with doubt. The women couldn’t believe the tomb was empty and the disciples couldn’t believe the message of the women. When Thomas heard the stories of Jesus being alive from his friends whom he trusted - he was still filled with doubt. They all had doubts and fears and questions but eventually the risen Jesus gave them answers and his victory filled them with faith. In time they all found victory over doubt and so can we when we open ourselves up to God. Doubt and questions are not bad things if they move us to seek answers; the key is for us to be open to God as we search to find those answers.

The victory of Jesus over the grave also means that we can experience forgiveness even in the midst of our sin. Think about Peter. During the three days of Jesus being in the tomb he must have been consumed by guilt because of the reality of his failure. He had failed to stand with Jesus, he had failed to walk with Jesus, he had failed to acknowledge that he even knew Jesus - 3 times! The sealed grave must have led him to believe that his failure was final. There would be no hope of forgiveness or reconciliation and no opportunity for a second chance, but an empty tomb meant that the door was open for forgiveness. The victory of Jesus means there could be victory for Peter and the victory of Jesus means that there can be victory for us. While we know all too well the reality of our sin the victory of Jesus over death means that we can also experience the reality of forgiveness. The resurrection of Jesus means that our sin has been forgiven and that our failure can been redeemed. No matter what lies in our past the victory of Jesus means that we can move forward in life and faith. All is forgiven and all is redeemed. Everyone is given a second, and third chance.

The victory of Jesus also means that the power of evil and darkness in our world will never have the final say. We will still the reality of sin and evil and we will continue to see the brokenness of our world all around us, but this darkness never fully wins – God always emerge victorious. The victory of Jesus means that in the end God always wins and His life and love always prevail.

And then last, but certainly not least, the victory of Jesus over the grave does mean that death itself has been defeated. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul writes, Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? God gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. When Jesus rose from the dead he didn’t just defeat death for himself but for all time which means that there is a resurrection and eternal life for all who place their faith and trust in Christ. On the cross Jesus paid the price for our sin and in the resurrection he shows us that we have been restored into a right relationship with God forever.

Christ emerges from the tomb victorious which means that there is a victory for us as well. There is victory over doubt, victory over sin and failure, victory over all the evil and darkness of our world and victory over death itself. Whatever is broken and hurting in our lives today can be healed through the power of Christ’s victory. Whatever fear or failure we experience today can be overcome in the power of Christ’s victory. Whatever sin we experience today can be forgiven in the power of Christ’s victory. Whatever need we have for life, life abundant here and now or the hope of life eternal in the kingdom of God can be claimed and trusted and lived out in the power of Christ’s victory. Today I invite you to not just remember that Christ rose victorious over the grave, but to accept the power of that victory into your own heart and life and to allow the power of Christ resurrection to bring you victory in every area of your life.


Next Steps: Christ the Victor

1. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus risked their personal safety and reputation to take Jesus from the cross and lay him in the tomb. What might God be calling us to risk to stand with him? Like these two, what personal sacrifice do we need to make to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ?

2. Read the Resurrection account in each gospel. Notice the differences and similarities and ask God to shape your understanding of his victory in your own life through His word.
• Matthew 28:1-15
• Mark 16:1-13
• Luke 24:1-49
• John:1-23

3. Where do you most need the victory of Jesus to be experienced in your own life?
• To help you overcome doubt? Fear? Failure?
• Healing for broken relationships?
• Hope in the face of shattered dreams?
• Accepting God’s forgiveness and grace?
• Offering forgiveness and grace to others?
• Feeling loved by God and others?
• Finding hope for an uncertain future?
• Healing of mind, body or spirit?

Wherever victory is needed, ask God to bring it and trust that He will through the power of Jesus Christ and his resurrection.

24 Hours that Changed the World ~ The Crucifixion

As Jesus made his way into Jerusalem on a donkey with crowds cheering him on and waving palm branches in the air, he knew what lied ahead would not a coronation but a cross. The victory would come, God’s love and power would eventually win the day, but the only way that was going to happen was through his death on the cross and Jesus knew this as he entered the city. Every event and detail that we have seen in the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life have been leading up to one thing, Jesus death on the cross and before we look at the actual details of his crucifixion, let’s remind ourselves why Jesus was so driven and so determined to make this happen.


Jesus made the decision to die on the cross because he knew that as the Messiah it would be his death that would bring forgiveness for our sin and restore us into a right relationship with God. Because of our sin, our relationship with God has been broken. It says in Romans 3:10-12 & 23… So we have all sinned and our sin has separated us from God and this separation results in death, Romans 6:23. So our turning away from God not only separates us from God here and now but it forever cuts us off from a relationship with God and the eternal life He offers. Our sin also keeps us from being able to restore ourselves into a relationship with God, we just can’t do it on our own, we need a savior - someone who can forgive us and reconcile us to God.

Jesus understood this need, so he came to bring about this very reconciliation, but the only way to achieve it was for someone to pay the price for our sin. In other words, someone needed to die in our place and so as the Messiah Jesus made the choice to do just that. Jesus was clear that he must die on a cross because he knew that it would be his death that would atone for our sin and bring forgiveness. Again in the book of Romans the Apostle Paul says that this one act of Jesus on the cross, his death, brings forgiveness and life for all people.

So on the cross, Jesus offers himself to God as a sacrifice for our sin. From the very beginning people offered sacrifices to God not just as an expression of love and gratitude but with the understanding that God would accept these offerings and then grant forgiveness. God accepted the blood of birds and bulls and goats and lambs instead of his people and each time these offerings were made it not only helped to relieve the people’s own sense of guilt but it helped restore them into a relationship with God.

Jesus understood that he was coming as the perfect lamb that willingly offered his blood for the sin of the people and we know Jesus saw himself as this sacrificial lamb because of what took place on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday wasn’t just any day that Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem; it was 4 days before the Passover which meant that it was Lamb Selection day. This was the day the people chose the lambs they would sacrifice at the Passover. So Jesus entered the city on lamb selection day because he understood that he was coming to be the perfect Lamb of God who would once and for all take away the penalty for our sin. When we place our faith in the offering of Jesus on the cross we trust that God forgives us and begins the work of reconciliation in our hearts and lives. This is what it means to call Jesus our savior, we see his work on the cross as an offering for our sin and through the cross we believe that Jesus redeems us and restores us.

So Jesus is so determined to carry and die on the cross because he wants us to be reconciled to God. The love of God in Jesus is so strong that Jesus willingly suffers and dies in order for us to be forgiven and redeemed, and the love we see is very strong because the suffering we see is very great. Like flogging, crucifixions were excruciatingly painful and the pain could last for days, but it wasn’t just a painful way to die, it was also very public. In fact, most crucifixions took place along busy roads where people had no choice but to pass by and see those who were suffering. When the criminals finally died, many times their bodies would be left on the cross for the birds to devour or taken off the cross and simply tossed to the side for the wild animals. This very public and painful display helped make crucifixions one of the most effective means of crime deterrent, but for those convicted, it was just the most horrible way to die.

Most of us probably have an image of what the crucifixion of Jesus looked like. We picture three tall crosses far away on a hill with the bodies hanging up high far away from the people. We picture Jesus nailed a certain way maybe with nails through the palm of his hands and the center of his feet. Today I want to challenge those views a little because in 1968 a grave as found for a man who had been crucified and there was clear evidence of how his feet where nailed to the cross. Instead of one foot on top of the other with a nail driven through the top, the feet would have been pulled back to the sides of the cross with nails driven through the heel of the foot. Not only would this be more painful because of the position of the legs, but the nail driven through the heel would have been able to hold up better than a nail through the smaller bones of the foot. The body nailed this way would stay on the cross longer and prolong the suffering which was the whole point of crucifixion.

Many times the arms would be tied to the cross but it wasn’t the hands that were nailed it was the wrists. Again the bones in the hand would not have been able to support the full weight of the body, but the center of your wrist is stronger and the bones would have held up better. This part of the wrist also has many nerve endings so nails being driven in here would have been more painful which is something the Romans would have wanted. Again crucifixions were to maximize pain and suffering until death.

Hanging on a cross with the full weight of your body pulling down would have made it difficult to breathe and so many doctors believe that the cause of death in crucifixion wasn’t from blood loss from the nails but asphyxiation – the person simply couldn’t breathe anymore. Just the process of trying to get a breath would have been excruciating. If a person tried to lift themselves up in order to breathe, the pain from the wrists and heels would have been tremendous, but that wasn’t all, most of these criminals like Jesus had been flogged, so the skin on their backs would have been torn away and here they are pushing up against a rough wooden pole. Every act and every moment on the cross would have brought pain.

No matter how you look at it, crucifixion was painful and it is difficult for us to think about Jesus experiencing this which is maybe one reason why we picture Jesus hanging high up on a cross, but the truth is that the cross was probably only a few feet off the ground and it wasn’t high up on a hill away from the people, it would have been along the side of the road. So think of it this way, Jesus would have been just a few feet away from people. Think how much more painful it must have been for those who loved Jesus to be this close him, to see him suffer and not be able to help. I think we like to picture the cross far away to keep ourselves from thinking about all that Jesus suffered, but we can’t keep it far away, we need to bring it close up. We need to confront for ourselves and accept for ourselves what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Jesus suffered and died because he wants us to experience forgiveness. He wants us to trust in what he did for us on the cross so we can be restored into a right and strong relationship with God - forever.

Thinking about Jesus being this close to the people also makes sense when we remember that his last words were recorded. If Jesus had been high up and far away, his weakened voice would not have been heard. Jesus would not have been able to get enough air into his lungs to talk loud enough for those on the ground to hear him, but if he was this close, his last words even whispered would have been heard – and they were. The last words of Jesus teach us the kind of change Jesus wanted his life to bring. In many ways Jesus last words are his vision of what he wants for his people.

From the cross Jesus looked down and said to the disciple whom he loved, here is your mother. Jesus is talking about Mary who was also standing right there and then he says to Mary, behold your son. What Jesus does in this moment is create new and stronger relationships among his followers. Jesus is asking his friend John to take care of Mary when he is gone and this is what God wants for all of his people. One of the changes that Jesus wants to bring to the world isn’t just a change in our relationship with God but with one another as well. God wants us to care for one another and love one another and be committed to one another with bonds as strong as family. Jesus calls us to change from living just for ourselves and begin to intentionally care for and support and really love others.

Another change that Jesus calls for in his final words is for us to forgive and then to see the power that comes in forgiveness. From the cross Jesus looks out at all those who have accused him, beaten him and now are insulting him and he says, Father forgive them, for the don’t know what they are doing. Even in his final moments Jesus shows us that life and freedom aren’t found in seeking revenge but in offering forgiveness and that is a change we need to live out in our lives. Real freedom isn’t found when we finally get revenge but when we are willing to offer forgiveness, so we need to learn what it means to offer this kind of forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t allowing evil and injustice to continue, but it’s also not seeking to harm those who have harmed us. God is the one who can teach us what true forgiveness and freedom look like in each and every situation.

Another change that Jesus wants for us is to make sure we are living our lives fully in the hands of God. Jesus final words are these, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, which means that God has not forsaken Jesus in these moments but that He is right there with him. Sometimes we feel alone and even abandoned by God, but the change Jesus wants for us is to know that in every moment of life, even the most painful ones, we can experience the power of God’s hand. Even in death we can experience the powerful presence of God and the promise of eternal life when we are willing to turn to and trust in Jesus.

Creating healthy and strong relationships, showing us the power and freedom that comes with forgiveness and living our lives fully and forever in the Father’s hand are some of the changes Jesus wants to see in our world and so he takes his final breath to tell us that, but you know his last 24 hours on earth began that way as well.

In the last supper, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples who were the new family Jesus created and supported in love, and in the Passover meal Jesus talked about the power of forgiveness that would come through his body and blood, and in the Passover meal Jesus shows that he was living his life fully in the hand of God as he surrendered himself to God’s will. As we reflect on the offering of Jesus on the cross and as we share in this meal today, I hope we will commit our lives to God and that our prayer today will reflect the last words of Jesus final 24 Hours…

Father into your hand we commit our lives.


Next Steps
24 Hours that Changed the World ~ The Crucifixion

1. Read and reflect on the story of Jesus Crucifixion.
• Matthew 27:32-61
• Mark 15:21-47
• Luke 23:26-56
• John 19:16-42
What similarities do you see?
What differences does each gospel writer highlight?
What have you never noticed before?

2. Join us at 7:00 PM this Thursday and Friday for times of worship and reflection that will continue to help us consider the gift of Jesus on the cross

3. Accept the offering of Jesus on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for your sin. Ask Jesus to be your Savior and begin (continue) to live a life of serving him as your Lord by committing your life into the hands of a loving God.