Shine Upon Us

This coming weekend is Penn State Graduation and as we enter into the graduation season for colleges and high schools we will hear once again the debate over the role of prayer at graduation.  Several years ago the Washington Community HS in Washington, Illinois was forced to remove the invocation and benediction from their graduation ceremonies, but a group of students found a way around the prohibition.  Ryan Brown, a graduating senior who was scheduled to give a speech, paused before he went to the podium and bowed his head in silent prayer.  That prompted the audience to stand and applaud, but Ryan wasn’t done.  During his speech Ryan sneezed and right on cue all of his friends shouted God Bless You.

When people graduate we ask God to bless them.  When people get married, which happens often in May, we ask God to bless them.  On Mother’s Day we ask God to bless our mothers and all the women who have loved us and been part of our lives – so in many ways the month of May is a month filled with requests for God to bless people, so today we are going to look at a psalm that asks God to bless us and we are going to learn from this psalm what the blessing of God is really all about.  Psalm 67

The first thing we learn about God’s blessing is that it is neither earned nor deserved, look at 67:1.  God’s blessing comes from God’s grace.  Other translations says God be merciful to us and bless us, which shows us that God’s blessing comes from God’s mercy.  Mercy means compassion given to us when we didn’t deserve it, so again we see that God’s blessing is really a gift given to us.  God’s blessing comes from God’s grace and not our obedience.  It comes from God’s love for us and not our love for God or our desire to live for God.  

Think about some of the blessings God has given you.  Now ask yourself, did you deserve these things?  Did you earn them?  One of the blessings of my life has been my family and there is nothing that I did to be born into my family.  I didn’t earn it and I did nothing to deserve it, but it has been a significant way that God has blessed me.  Another blessing God has given me during the past 23 years of my life has been the church families God has given to me.  Each church has helped me grow and given me amazing support, love and opportunities that I didn’t earn or deserve – these have been the blessings given to me by God.  There are so many things I can point to in my life and say, this is God’s blessing.  I did nothing to either earn or deserve these gifts.  It is simply God’s grace and mercy at work in my life.

One of the things that can help us see that God’s blessing in our lives is as an act of grace and mercy is when follow through on one word often find in the psalms but we tend to ignore, the word Selah.  This word appears 71 times in the book of Psalms and while an exact definition isn’t known, we believe it is some kind of musical direction.  The word might indicate that at this point in the psalm there is to be some kind of musical interlude but the best definition for us would be the word - pause.  When we come across this word in the psalms we need to stop and think about what we have just heard or read.

That the psalmist chose to place this word in the middle of a sentence tells us that we can’t overlook what we just read and what we just read is that God’s blessings come from God.  They are gifts of God’s grace and reflections of God’s unconditional love.  We need these moments of Selah in our lives to reflect on God’s grace and blessings because it helps us keep the right perspective and it helps us stay grounded.  When the world is shouting that we deserve more and we have earned the best, we need moments to pause and remember that all the blessings in life truly are gifts from God.

This week I want to encourage us all to create some moments to pause and reflect on what God has done and what God continues to do in our lives.  We need to consider how God has blessed us and where we want to experience God’s blessing.  We also need to think about what God’s blessing means for us because it might not mean what we think it does.  For example, God doesn’t bless us so that our lives will be better or pain and problem free, God blesses us so that God can be lifted up and so God can be glorified.
Look at - Psalm 67:2.   The psalmist doesn’t ask for God to bless him so he can get what he wants in life he asks God to bless him so that God would be lifted up and so that God’s ways and God’s salvation might be known in all the earth.  This is a very different way of thinking about God’s blessing.

Many times we associate God’s blessing with some kind of benefit to us or others.  At graduation we ask God to bless those moving into a new stage of their lives and part of what we are asking is for God to help them find jobs and have success in their future.  When we ask God to bless a newlywed couple we are thinking in terms of them living in peace and finding ways to work through all their problems in the years to come.  When we ask God to bless our mothers we are asking for their lives to be filled with health and strength and love and many good things.  Now there is nothing wrong with all of this.  These are all good things to pray for and they are part of God’s blessing in our lived and in the lives of others, but what Psalm 67 is trying to tell us is that God’s blessing isn’t always to benefit us.  God’s blessing in our lives needs to glorify God.  God’s blessing needs to be a benefit to God and build up God’s kingdom on earth.

What is so important about this verse is that it shifts our thinking about God’s blessing so we don’t just see it as asking God for some gift of help.  First and foremost we need to see God’s blessing as something that glorifies God.  When we ask God to bless us or others the focus needs to shift from what we need and want to what will honor God and what will lift up God’s name in the world.  This is an important lesson for us today because we live in a world that teaches us to focus on ourselves.

We are living in a selfie world.  While self portraits with a camera can be traced all the way back to 1839, selfies have become popular in the last decade with the ability of cell phones to take digital pictures anywhere and everywhere.  Now everywhere we go we are taking pictures of ourselves and posting them on social media which is also there to promote ourselves.  One of the interesting things about a selfie is that when we take a picture of ourselves in any setting, we usually become the largest object in the picture.

Let me show you some of my pictures from Israel that you will not see anywhere else and that’s because my head is the largest image in the shot.

Selife at Masada 

These are some selfies from Israel.  As amazing as the locations are, what you see when you look at these pictures is me.  I’m the focus.  I’m the center of attention and we are living in a selfie driven world where we think everything and everyone is here for us and so when we ask for God’s blessing what we think about is God doing something to benefit us, but that is not what the psalmist says.

The psalmist seeks God’s blessing knowing it won’t be something to just help him in life but something that will honor God by having God’s will be known.  The blessing isn’t for him to be saved but to have God’s salvation lifted up for all to see.  The blessing isn’t for him but for God and this needs to be part of what we think about when we ask for God’s blessing.  When we ask God to bless us or when we ask God to bless others the focus shouldn’t be on what we need but on what God wants and what God wants is for His glory to be revealed and for His love and salvation to be shared with everyone.

That God’s blessing shouldn’t be focused on us is also shown to us by Jesus.  In the days before his death, Jesus is talking to his disciples and he tells them that he is going to die and then he says this: John 12:27-28. Jesus doesn’t ask for God to bless him and save him from the coming struggle of the cross instead he asks for God’s glory to be revealed.  When we ask for God to bless us we should first think about what it would be like for God’s glory to be revealed in all the earth.  When that happens, it is a benefit to us all.

Psalm 67:3-4.  When God is lifted up and people see God’s grace and glory and power - people praise God.  When people praise and give thanks to God then the earth is given life.  Psalm 67:6 Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God will bless us.

So instead of asking God to bless us with good things we need to ask God to bless us so that the world can see God’s goodness, grace and power because when the world sees the fullness of God and when we come together as one to allow our life together to reflect God’s goodness and glory – not only is God glorified but we all benefit.  Life is given to us all.

So this month as we ask God to bless graduates, newlywed couples and all our Mothers, let’s remember that the blessing God seeks to give isn’t just to improve our lives or the lives of others but for God to be lifted up in this world.  God’s blessing in our lives means that God is honored and glorified and when that happens our lives and our world are so much better and know that God shines upon us.

Next Steps
Shine Upon Us


Read Psalm 67.

1. Think back to a time when you experienced God’s blessing.
• How did you know this was a blessing from God?
• Did the blessing benefit just you or others?


2.  God’s blessings are a gift, they are unearned and undeserved.
• Pause this week to reflect on what God has given you.
• Thank God for his mercy and grace.


3.  God’s blessings should not first focus on us but on God.
• What would it look for God to be glorified in your life?
• How can God’s blessing in you help reveal God’s will and salvation in all the earth?


4.  The month of May is filled with opportunities to ask God to bless others (Graduates, Newlyweds and Mothers).  Pray for God’s blessing to bring these people the fullness of God’s glory and not just earthly benefits and gifts.


5.  As we continue through this presidential campaign and election season, we need to remember that God is the one who rules the people justly and guides the nations of the earth.  God is sovereign over our elections and over our nation so we can praise God and ask for God’s continued blessing in our lives and in our land.

Witnesses ~ Saul

The reason we are able to gather here today to worship the risen Jesus is because there were people who saw Jesus after his resurrection and this witness changed their lives and then they shared this news with others.  For 40 days after his resurrection Jesus appeared to people and did miracles to prove that he was alive, and then he ascended into heaven.  After his ascension there are no more stories of Jesus appearing to people and the focus in the Bible shifts to the work of the Holy Spirit and what the followers of Jesus did to continue the work of God in the world.  There is one more appearance of Jesus, however, that not only changed a man’s life but changed the world and that man was Saul.

Saul was a devoted Jewish leader who had learned his faith and the finer points of Jewish law from one of the most well respected rabbis of his day, Gamaliel.  Saul was a zealous leader who felt like the followers of Jesus posed a threat to the Jewish people so he began a campaign of having the early Christians silenced.  In the book of Acts we learn that Saul authorized the stoning of Stephen, an early church leader who was the first Christian martyr.  The Bible says that Saul stood there and watched it all happen.  After Stephen died, Saul continued to persecute the followers of Jesus.  Acts 8:3, Saul began to destroy the church.  Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

Saul’s passion was to put an end to the teaching and movement of Jesus and he set off from Jerusalem to Damascus with letter’s authorizing the arrest and imprison the followers of Jesus.  It was along the road that Saul witnesses the living Christ and we hear this in Acts 9:3-9.  The witness of Jesus here is different than in other places because Jesus doesn’t appear in bodily form, but the appearance of Jesus is no less powerful.  The presence of Jesus came in a blinding light and a powerful voice that literally stopped Saul in his tracks and while Saul did not physically see Jesus he talked about the power of Jesus’ appearance in his first letter to the Corinthians – 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
 
After Saul witnessed Jesus he continued his trip to Damascus where a few days later a leader in the early Christian church not only opened Saul’s eyes but opened his heart as well.  Acts 9:17-23.

Again, Saul’s witness of Jesus was affirmed by Ananias who said that Jesus appeared to him on the road as he was travelling.  So Saul witnessed Jesus and like all the others who witnessed the risen Christ, seeing Jesus changed him.  Saul went from being a man who persecuted the followers of Jesus to someone who now professed that Jesus was the Savior.  Saul’s witness of Jesus not only changed him but his witness to the living Jesus changed others.

The rest of the story with Saul, better known as the Apostle Paul, is that he became the person God used to take the news of Jesus Christ to the gentiles.  While Peter and many of the other disciples shared the news of Jesus among the Jewish people, it was Paul who insisted that salvation through Christ was not just for the Jews but for the gentiles as well and Paul gave his life to that mission.  Paul’s witness to the gentiles changed the church and it has changed our world.  Now, if we go back to that road where Saul first witnessed Jesus we will see three important lessons about how our witness of Jesus can change us and the world around us.

The first lesson we learn is that contact with Jesus always starts with Jesus.  Saul isn’t looking for Jesus when he sets off for Damascus, in fact, Saul is looking to put an end to any talk about Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t appear to Saul because Saul is looking for him or because Saul has been good or because he has been faithful, Jesus appears to Saul and gives him new life only because of God’s grace.  God initiates the contact and God brings the new life.  It all comes from God and it all starts with God and God does the same thing in our lives.

Our witness of Jesus and our contact with God are not initiated by us but by God.  When God reaches out to love us or offer grace and mercy to us or when God steps into our lives to offer healing, hope or power it is not because we have earned it or deserve it – it is always because of God’s grace.  It is God’s grace that pursues us and it is God’s love that first reaches out to connect with us.  In 1 John it says that it’s not that we loved God but that God first loved us.  It always starts with God.  In my own life it was God who reached out to me when I was in college and it was God who rescued me when I chose to walk away and it was God who called me into the local church when I wanted to explore other areas of ministry and it is still God who pursues me in love and offers me grace and fills me with power when I am in need.  It is God’s grace that enables us to see Jesus and it is God’s grace that helps us experience him.  Our connection with God always starts with God.

John Wesley calls this prevenient grace or the grace that goes before our turning to God.  We may think that we are the ones looking for God or that on our own we have found God, it is always God who first reaches out to us.  If God did not first reach out to us the truth is that we would never be able to see or hear or experience God.  It always starts with God.

It is God’s grace that reached out to Saul if God’s grace can connect with a man who was actively persecuting the followers of Jesus and who was personally responsible for the first Christian martyr – then we know God is reaching out to all people.  That God went looking for Saul means God is actively looking for all of us.  We don’t have to ask for God to come to us – God is already with us.  We don’t have to ask God to reveal himself to us – God is working to draw us to him.  God initiates the contact and Jesus is at work in our lives today.  He may not come to us in a blinding light that causes us to fall to the ground, but Jesus still comes to us and we can witness him if we will open ourselves up to him.

When a friend comes to us the moment we need help – we are witnessing the presence of Jesus.  When a word of encouragement or truth jumps off the pages of scripture the moment we need it or when a silent word of affirmation speaks to our hearts  – we are witnessing the presence of Jesus.  When we know that God is using us in a specific moment for his intended purpose – we are witnessing the presence of Jesus.  God comes to us each and every day in so many different ways and if we will open ourselves up to God, we will witness Jesus and that witness will change us.

Saul witnessed Jesus and from that moment on things in his life began to change.  Conversion is the second lesson we learn from Saul’s witness of Jesus and what Saul’s conversion shows us is that God can take even the worst person and make someone great.  This means God take the worst part of us and turn it into something great.  For Saul the conversion meant he no longer persecuted those who followed Jesus but now he was the one proclaiming Jesus as the Savior.  All of the witnesses we have looked at experienced some form of conversion.  For Peter it had to do with how he forgave himself and others.  For Thomas the conversion was that he now had a vision of how Jesus could change the lives of others and for Mary seeing Jesus changed what she believed about herself and her world.  Everyone who witnessed the risen Jesus was changed and their conversion made them into something greater and better than what they were before and God wants to do that same work of conversion in our lives as well.

I hope this will make sense when I say it, but none of us should feel content with where we are in life and faith.  We all need to change and we should want the power of conversion to be working in us.  Whether a dramatic change in our hearts and lives is needed or whether it’s just the constant conversion that comes with spiritual growth – we should all want to experience the power of conversion and that change comes when we are in the presence of Jesus.  Saul witnessed Jesus and his life changed and that change came as Saul was willing to be still and silent and as he listened to both God and others and this is still how God can bring change in our lives.

Look at what happened to Saul after he witnessed Jesus.  He was led into Damascus where he had to wait in darkness for several days.  Saul couldn’t see anything, he didn’t know what was going on and he couldn’t do anything so in silence and stillness Saul waited.   Waiting in stillness, silence and even darkness is not easy and yet many times conversion can only begin this way.  May of us need time to reflect on what we have been doing or where our life has been headed and the only way to do this is to be still and silent.  I imagine Saul sitting in Damascus asking himself, how did this happen?  How did I end up here?  We all need to times to reflect on our lives to see if we are going in the wrong direction and so times of silence and waiting are often the first steps toward change.

Saul then had to listen to others – specifically Ananias.  Saul had to be willing to let this man into his life to bring healing and he had to allow the man to speak into his future.  It was Ananias who not only opened Saul’s eyes and restored his sight but he was the one used by God to fill Saul with the Holy Spirit.  Conversion comes with the help of those people God places in our lives and it takes a spirit of humility to allow others to minister to us and guide us.

We also see here that no conversion takes place without the work of the Holy Spirit.  God not only sent Ananias to heal Paul’s blindness but to fill him with the Holy Spirit and it is that spirit of God that changes us because it is the spirit of God that brings new life and it is the spirit of God that brings courage and the power to live differently than we did before.  No lasting conversion and change can take place in our own strength and power so we need to ask God for the gift of His spirit to fully change us.

The last thing we see happen in Saul’s witness of Jesus is that God calls Saul to a new mission and purpose.  It starts with Jesus calling Saul to go to Damascus and wait (Acts 9:6).  Saul gives us more insight into this new calling when he shares the story of his conversion in Acts 22:10, 14-16.  God has now called Saul to be a witness of his grace and truth to all the people of the world.  Saul’s unique call was to go to the gentile people and make clear to them that Jesus was not just the Messiah of Israel but the Savior of the world – and that is what Saul did.

When we witness the living Christ it comes with a call from God.  If nothing else, the call is for us to share our witness of Jesus with others.  In my own life, that is what God has called me to.

My witness of Jesus was not a blinding a light that knocked me to the ground, but a voice that cried out one morning in a dream.  I was struggling with what I should do with my life and had asked God to speak to me in a dream, but after 4 or 5 months of no spectacular dreams, I had given up on that prayer – but God was faithful and initiated the contact.  One morning as I was lying in bed dozing in those moment between sleep and being awake I heard someone call out 2 Timothy 2:2 and then I heard the phone ring.  I got up to answer the phone but there was no one on the line and so I hung up and sat there saying to myself – 2 Timothy 2:2.  What on earth is 2 Timothy 2:2?  I found a bible and this is what I read.
The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.   2 Timothy 2:2

While I didn’t understand this at first, I could not get this verse out of my head nor the sound of the voice ringing in my mind.  I have come to the conclusion that the voice was the voice of Jesus and that this was what God was calling me to do with my life.  I am to share my witness of Jesus with those who will be qualified and willing to share that witness with others.  It took me a while, but I have come learn that the best place for me to do this is in the local church where every day God raises up reliable men and women who are qualified and eager to share their own witness with others.

God calls us each of us to a mission.  God has a purpose for us in the work of his kingdom and for all of us part of the work is to be a witness of God’s love and grace.  Like Mary, Thomas, Peter and Saul, each of us will do this in our own unique way, but God calls us all.  God contacts us with his grace, converts us in His love, fill us with his power and calls us to his purpose and it all starts when we witness the living Jesus.

Next Steps
Witnesses ~ Saul

1.  The story of Saul’s conversion is such an important witness of the risen Christ that it is told 3 times in the book of Acts.  Read each account:
• Acts 9:1-22
• Acts 22:1-16
• Acts 26:12-18
• See Also 1 Corinthians 15:5-8

2. Identify in Saul’s testimony the…
• Contact with Jesus
• Conversion of Saul’s life
• Call to God’s mission

3.  Contact.  God always initiates the contact.  Identify the moments when God’s prevenient grace (the grace that comes before we turn to God) has been experienced in your life.  If you are in need of contact with God today, look for God’s grace and presence already at work in you.

4.  Conversion.  God takes the worst of us and makes something good.
• What area of your life needs to be changed?
• What resources are needed for that change to take place?
• How is God already providing for this conversion?
• No conversion takes place without the work of the Holy Spirit.  Pray for God’s spirit to fill you and change you.

5.  Call.  God calls us to be a witness to His truth and love.
• What mission do you feel God calling you to?  
• In what ways has God already prepared you for this work?
• What one step can you take to move into this mission?

Witnesses ~ Peter

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his followers on several occasions and performed many miracles that proved he was alive.  Peter and the rest of the disciples witnessed these events, but there was one particular incident that stood out for Peter because it was not only an opportunity to see Jesus but an opportunity to witness his forgiveness and love.  The story takes place early in the morning along the Sea of Galilee, perhaps this very location.

The shores along the Sea of Galilee

The disciples had returned home to Galilee after their time in Jerusalem for the Passover and all that took place during Jesus death and resurrection and one night they decided to go fishing.  When morning came and they still had not caught anything a man on the shore told them to put their nets out on the other side of the boat.  When they did, they hauled in a huge catch of fish and Peter remembered that this happened once before and when it did the man who told them to put their nets out was Jesus so he realized that the man on the shore this time was again Jesus.  

Peter jumped into the water and swam to shore where he found Jesus had prepared them breakfast.  We pick up the story after they ate.  John 21:15-17.  Three times Jesus asked Peter, do you love me, which allowed Peter to affirm three times that he did love Jesus.  These affirmations of faith and love correspond to the three times Peter had failed to love Jesus and failed to acknowledge and help Jesus the night Jesus was arrested.

If we look back to that night, as Jesus was led away, Peter followed in the shadows.  Jesus was taken the home of the high priest where he was questioned and as Peter watched, cowering in the dark, a servant girl thought she recognized Peter as being one of Jesus followers and so she asked him.  Peter denied it.  Two more times she asked Peter and each time he denied it and even denied knowing who Jesus was.  Three times Peter had failed Jesus and so here was Jesus giving Peter three times to redeem himself.  Peter was not only a witness to the living Jesus (he not only saw him) but he was a witness to the forgiveness given to us by the living Jesus.

Those first witnesses of the risen Christ didn’t just see Jesus alive and share that message, they witnessed and received his forgiveness and the new life that comes with redemption.  Today we not only need to be assured that Jesus rose from the dead but we need the assurance of his forgiveness.  We need to be witnesses of this forgiveness in our lives and we then need offer this witness to others and this story of Jesus and Peter shows us how this works.  The first thing to notice is that Jesus does not point out Peter’s failure or sin.  Jesus doesn’t make Peter return to the past and remind him of his failure to stand up for him when he was arrested.  Jesus doesn’t ask Peter if he is sorry for what he did; he doesn’t make him acknowledge his failure or confess his sin.  In offering forgiveness, Jesus is not focused on Peter’s past sins but on his future living.

Redemption is needed certainly, but there is no shame involved.  New life is needed but that doesn’t come by looking back but looking forward.  While it’s important for us to be honest about who we are and where we have come from in life, Jesus does not ask us to spend time making a list of all our sins so we can confess them to him.  Jesus doesn’t ask us to relive our failures in painful detail and he doesn’t take the time to shame us for the past; instead his focus is on the future – our future.  Jesus did the same thing when a woman was brought to him who was accused of adultery.  When the crowds wanted to point out her sin and condemn her, Jesus didn’t ask about her past – instead he pointed to her future.  John 8:10-11.

Jesus didn’t condemn her.  He didn’t point out her sin or make her repent and confess all her failures – he lifted her up and pointed to her future by said, Go and leave your life of sin.  Too many times when we talk about forgiving ourselves or forgiving others our focus is on the sin.  We look to the past.  I have heard so many people say that they can’t forgive themselves and they say that because they can’t stop looking back, but Jesus doesn’t look back because the past is gone.  The sin of our past is gone – that is what happened on the cross.  Jesus took our sin to the cross and he paid the price for it so our sin is gone.  The price has been paid, sin has been defeated, it has been buried and wiped away.  Jesus doesn’t look at our past sin because it isn’t there and so with Peter there is no dredging up the denials of that night there is just an opportunity to love again.

Peter’s witness of Jesus in this moment teaches us that when God forgives us the focus is not on the past, but on the future.  With Christ, we don’t wallow in our failure but profess our faith and love for God and move forward. We cannot be consumed by our sin but celebrate the mercy given to us through the risen Christ.  Peter is given these three opportunities to say that he loves Jesus and with each one Jesus points Peter to the future.  This is the witness of forgiveness – we don’t look back – we look forward.  

Each one of us needs to witness the forgiveness that comes with Jesus and the way to receive this grace and mercy today isn’t to make a list of all we have done wrong but to simply say to God, yes, God, we love you – with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.  If we stay focused on the love we have for God, we will witness God’s grace at work in us and we will move forward into a new life and part of that life is to now be a witness of God’s grace and mercy in our world.

Peter was not only a witness of God’s forgiveness and grace in his life but he gave witness to it as well.  In Peter’s early sermons in the book of Acts he doesn’t call people to review their lives and dredge up their moral failures and confess their many sins, he simply says Repent and be baptized, everyone one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Peter is asking people to turn away from their sin because it is past and gone and embrace the new life that God has for them.  But this was not always how Peter had seen forgiveness at work.

Years earlier, Peter was the disciple who went to Jesus and asked him how many times we had to forgive people.  Peter asked Jesus, do we have to forgive people up to 7 times?  Peter is focused on the offense and counting up all the failures and keeping track of them, but even then Jesus was trying to tell Peter he had it all wrong.  We don’t count up the sins but we just offer forgiveness.  Jesus said we forgive 70 x 70 times which basically means we ALWAYS forgive and the reason we always forgive is because we don’t focus on the past we look to the future.  Peter has now witnessed this principle of forgiveness in his own life and so is able to help others witness it in their lives.  We turn away from our sin (which is what repent means) and we focus on the new life which comes through the Holy Spirit.

Again, today Jesus offers us this kind of forgiveness.  We don’t need to count up our failures, we need to turn away from them and simply love God who in turn forgives us by pointing us in a new direction and giving us his spirit which brings new life.  We need to witness this kind of forgiveness in our live and then we need to be a witness to this kind of forgiveness.  We give witness to Jesus by forgiving others the way God forgives us and by lifting up the power of forgiveness and the new life of freedom that comes with being forgiven.  The witness of forgiveness is powerful and it is needed.

Our society today loves to point out people’s mistakes, faults and failures.  People love to be perpetually offended by every word, action and even thoughts that others have or we think they have.  Because so much of our lives are being recorded by others or shared by ourselves through social media, our every thought, word and action can be seen and heard and therefore they can be evaluated and as we observe others we love to find fault with everyone and everything.  We look for the failures in politicians, in community leaders, in teachers and coaches, in doctors and nurses.  We look for the inconsistencies in our friends and neighbors and we are quick to point out all the problems we see.  Our culture today is really good at looking at the sin and keeping a meticulous record of the mistakes and failures so think about what a powerful witness it would be for the followers of Jesus to turn away from all of that and simply point people to the future.

We give witness to the risen Jesus by forgiving others in ways that don’t call for them to be shamed but celebrates the future God has for them.  We give witness to the forgiveness of God by not discussing the sins of others but considering them truly gone – the way Jesus did.  When others want to point out sin can we point them to grace and new life?  Every time we do, we are being a witness of the risen Jesus.

This kind of witness is powerful and when we see and share stories of forgiveness, it begins to change our lives and our world.  Think about how powerful a witness of grace and love it was when the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston reached out in love to forgive the young man who killed many of their members at a prayer meeting.  It was one of the few mass shootings that had racial overtones that was not followed by massive protests and unrest.  The witness of God’s redemption and love made a difference.

The more we hear about forgiveness, the more our hearts can forgive and the more we can offer the witness of forgiveness to the world.  I want to encourage you to check out an amazing organization called the forgiveness project.  Maria Cantacuzino was a freelance journalist who shared people’s stories of overcoming some of life’s greatest challenges.  In 2004 she founded the forgiveness project to tell the real stories of people whose response to being harmed was not a call for revenge but rather a quest for restoration and healing.  She says, With the war in Iraq still a topic of fierce debate, and against a background of pay-back and retaliation, these narratives of hope seemed to tap into a deep public need for alternative and peaceful responses to violence. The stories reflect the complex, intriguing and deeply personal nature of forgiveness, occupying a space of inquiry and authenticity rather than dogma or the need to fix.

What the project has done is collect stores from around the world of people who have chosen to forgive those who have hurt them.  There are stories of forgiveness in the face of physical and sexual assault, religious persecution, and all kinds of criminal activity and victimization.  The more stories I read this week the more I could see the power of forgiveness as a force that could change our society.  The more stories I read the more I wanted to forgive and be a witness of letting go of the past in order to fully embrace the freedom of God’s future.  Just hearing the stories made a difference in me and so being a witness to forgiveness can make a difference in others.

I can imagine Peter writing up one of these stories about his own experience of being the one forgiven.  When Jesus could have shamed him, crushed him and abandoned him – he didn’t, instead he chose to ask a simple question – do you love me?   Jesus forgave and the witness of that forgiveness changed Peter and sharing that witness changed others and brought hope and life to the world.

Today we can witness the forgiveness of Jesus in our lives but we also have the opportunity and I would say the responsibility of being a witness to the forgiveness that comes with Jesus.  Can we choose to forgive others and not highlight the past but look to the future?  Can we read and share stories of forgiveness that can help turn our society around so that instead of being constantly offended we form a community that is constantly forgiving.  It seems like a daunting task today, but it all starts with one witness of Jesus being willing to say, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you and then being willing to go out and love and forgive others.

 
Next Steps
Witnesses – Peter


1.  We all need to be forgiven.  Instead of looking to the past and identifying all your sins to confess to God, simply repent (turn) from them and say what Peter said.  Yes, Lord, You know that I love you.  Begin each day this week with this simple affirmation of faith and trust.


2.  Who in your life do you need to forgive?  Instead of making them acknowledge all the ways they have hurt you, or making a list of all the ways they have offended you, turn from the past and find one positive way you can move into the future God has for you.


3   Read and share stories of forgiveness, you can find many of these at theforgivenessproject.com.  Take time this week to read a story of forgiveness from 2 different countries and that address 2 different topics.  Use these stories as motivation to forgive others in your life.


4. Share your own story of being forgiven or forgiving someone else with a friend, small group or Sunday School class.


5. Invite others to read and share stories of forgiveness from the forgiveness project.

Witnesses ~ Thomas

As much as I love worship on Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve and the amazing stories we get to share on those occasions, I must confess that my favorite Sunday of the year is this one because it is this day that we hear the story of Thomas.  Of all those who witnessed the resurrected Jesus, it is the story of Thomas I love to hear and share because he shows us the kind of power there is with vision.  When we are able to witness Jesus ourselves and when we are willing to share that witness with others - life for everyone changes.  The story of Thomas is found in John 20:24-29

While we don’t know very much about Thomas, unlike many of the disciples, we do hear Thomas speak a few times and what he says gives us some insight into his personality and character.  Thomas is first heard when Jesus said he was going to Bethany after the death of Lazarus.  Bethany was a dangerous place for Jesus because the last time he had been there the religious leaders wanted to kill him.  The disciples reminded Jesus of this danger, but he insisted that he was going, to which Thomas replied, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”  (John 11:16).

Thomas seems to be a bit of a pessimist here, always seeing the negative, but maybe he just has a hard time seeing who Jesus really is and what the power of Jesus can really do.  All Thomas could see by returning to Bethany was disaster, but to give him credit – he did go and he was there when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb

The next time we hear from Thomas is in John 14:4-7.  Again, it is Thomas who speaks up and said what the rest of the disciples were probably thinking which was that he doesn’t understand what Jesus was saying.  Thomas couldn’t see this home in heaven and so he couldn’t see the way to that home.  While Thomas is often described as a doubter, I’m not sure he struggled with doubt as much as he lacked vision.  Thomas had a hard time seeing beyond what his eyes told him.  He couldn’t see a home in heaven, he couldn’t see how Jesus could be victorious in Bethany and he couldn’t see how Jesus rose from the dead even though all his closest friends told him.  

On the day that Jesus rose from the grave He visited his disciples in the upper room and they all got to see him, all but Thomas. We don’t know where Thomas was at that moment.  Like the rest of the disciples, Thomas had fled when Jesus was arrested but we don’t know if he regrouped with the rest of the disciples during those long three days Jesus was in the tomb or if Thomas had really run away, but he wasn’t there when Jesus chose to return.  And Jesus did choose the moment he returned to the disciples.  He could have chosen a time when all the disciples were together, but he didn’t and maybe Jesus choose the moment he did to give a word of blessing and encouragement to all those who would follow him in the future.  

Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus returned but he was with the disciples that next week and he refused to believe that Jesus was alive no matter what the rest of the disciples said.  Again, Thomas had a hard time being able to see that Jesus had risen from the dead because all Thomas could see was what his eyes had told him.  He saw Jesus betrayed, beaten, crucified and buried.  He saw Jesus die and so he couldn’t see any way possible for Jesus to now be alive.  I don’t know if it is a lack of faith as much as it is a lack of vision that keeps Thomas from believing.

Like Thomas, it may also be a lack of vision more than a lack of faith that keeps us from believing.  Too often we are bound by what we have seen and experienced in life and so it’s hard for us to think that Jesus is alive or that the power of his resurrection is with us so we often say things very similar to Thomas.  Unless I can see Jesus, I am not going to believe.  Or maybe we have said, unless I get some kind of sign from God – I am not going to believe.  Unless I get some kind of clear message from God I am not going to move forward and follow.  We may not go to the extreme that Thomas did and say that we need to see the wounds of Jesus and place our hands in those wounds, but we can be just as stubborn as Thomas and just as blind.

While Thomas struggled to see and believe, what’s important for us to learn from Thomas is that he didn’t give up on Jesus or the disciples.  Even with his doubts, fears and frustrations, Thomas was still with the disciples a week later when Jesus appeared again.  The lesson for us is that God will speak to us and reassure us and strengthen our faith but we need to be willing to wait for God and we need to be willing to wait with the people of God.  It is important to keep meeting together in worship and in Bible Study so that we can see Jesus.  It is important to continue to spend time together in fellowship and service because the times we spend together are often those times when Jesus will show up.  In fact, the promise Jesus makes is: where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among you.  (Matthew 18:20)

As much as Thomas may have struggled to believe something that every other disciple got to see – he stayed with them and in time Jesus showed up again and revealed himself specifically to Thomas and when Thomas witnessed the living Jesus – everything changed.  John’s description of what happens here is pretty brief, but it is profound.  First of all, Jesus knew exactly what Thomas said he needed in order to believe which means that Jesus knows everything we need in order to believe.  Then Jesus invites Thomas to reach out and touch his wounds which tells us Jesus gives us what we need in order to believe but what’s interesting is that there is no record of Thomas touching Jesus.  Maybe Thomas didn’t need to touch Jesus in order to believe because the vision of Jesus alive replaced the vision of Jesus dead and in that moment Thomas believed.

Thomas response to seeing Jesus alive was to say, My Lord and my God.  The witness of the risen Jesus changed everything for Thomas.  No longer was Jesus just his earthly master or lord, he was now also his God.  The witness of the living Jesus moves Thomas to proclaim that Jesus is indeed the very fullness of God.  Thomas has not just seen the risen Jesus he is looking at Jesus who was and always had been – God in the flesh.  For Thomas, all the teaching and actions of Jesus takes on new meaning.  Jesus had told Thomas, I am the way and the truth and the life and now Thomas clearly sees that Jesus being fully God is indeed the only way and that Jesus is the divine truth and the author of life itself. It is a profound moment for Thomas that changes everything.

But it is also a profound moment for you and me because Jesus response to Thomas includes a blessing for us.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.  (John 20:29)  This is a blessing for us because we are the ones who have not seen Jesus the way Thomas did and yet we have come to believe.  After Jesus ascended into heave people were not going to see him the way Thomas did, instead God was going to open their eyes and hearts through the witness of others.  This blessing is for all who have come to believe in Jesus as their Lord and God without physically seeing him.  We have been blessed by God and it all came about because Thomas was missing the first time Jesus appeared, maybe Jesus planned it that way so he could bless us.

So Thomas witnessed Jesus alive because he was willing to wait with the disciples.  Even with all his doubts and questions and fears, Thomas was willing to wait and so he was able to be a witness.  When we are willing to wait we will also witness the risen Jesus in ways that will change our hearts and lives.  But Thomas wasn’t just a witness of the risen Jesus he was also a witness to the risen Jesus.  After being willing to wait with the disciples, Thomas was then willing to go and share what he has seen.

While the Bible doesn’t tell us anything more about Thomas and his ministry, history and tradition helps fill in some of the details.  We believe that Thomas travelled east into what we know today as India and that he shared with people his witness of the risen Jesus.  Thomas told people about Jesus’ teaching and he told them about his death and then he told them about his resurrection.  Thomas told people that Jesus was not just a good teacher and master but that he was God in the flesh and so his teaching was truth and his way of living and loving was what leads to life and life eternal.  Thomas gave witness to the risen Jesus being the way, the truth and the life.

The reason we believe Thomas travelled to India is because when the western world finally made voyages into India and missionaries took the gospel to the people they were amazed to find Christian Churches had already been established.   These churches didn’t know a lot about the teaching of Paul and they didn’t have the gospels as we know them but they did know about Thomas and many of the churches and people had taken his name.  

While the rest of the disciples headed west to Rome, Thomas went east.  After not having a vision of how the risen Jesus could change his life, Thomas now had a vision for how the risen Jesus could change the world.   Thomas saw an opportunity to go in a direction no one else was going and he knew that there was power in his witness of the risen Jesus because of the blessing of God.  Thomas knew that those who heard his testimony would be able to believe without actually seeing Jesus because that is what Jesus had said.    

Thomas was willing to go where he saw a need and an opportunity to share the vision of God.  Are we?  Are we willing to go when we see an opportunity to share the love of God?  Are we willing to go when we see a need?  Are we willing to go and share what we know and what we have experienced of Jesus?  Thomas didn’t have all the answers; he just went and shared what he had witnessed.  He shared that Jesus, who once was dead, is now alive. He shared that Jesus was God in the flesh and so He was the way and the truth and the life.

What I love about Thomas is that his vision of Jesus alive was so powerful that it gave him a vision of the world that he worked to fulfill.  Our witness of Jesus can also fuel a vision for our lives and our world if we will allow it to.  If we will open our eyes and more importantly our hearts to the power of the risen Jesus then we will see needs and opportunities to share this witness with others.  God can give us a vision of how our lives can be used to change our families, and community and the world in which we live.  Like Thomas, we all have the power to be the kind of witness that can make a difference.  We can be a witness that can change someone’s heart and life.  We can be a witness that can change the direction of a community.  Our witness might even be the one that will begin a movement of spiritual renewal or revival that will change the world, but it comes by first being willing to witness Jesus for ourselves.
If we need to be able to see Jesus alive for our faith to come alive, then today are we willing to wait?  Are we willing to wait and stay connected to God’s people so that we can be blessed by God and witness the fullness of God when God reveals himself to us?  And then when God comes – and God will come to us, will we be willing to go – go and meet the needs that we see and take advantage of the opportunities we see in a world that still needs to hear the witness of the risen Jesus.

 
Next Steps
Witnesses ~ Thomas


1.  At first Thomas did not see the risen Jesus, but he was willing to wait with the disciples.
• In what ways do you need to “wait” until God appears to you?  How can you wait with God’s disciples?
• What can you do to…
o Wait in worship?
o Wait through prayer and study?
o Wait through service and mission?


2.  Once Thomas had a vision of the risen Jesus to replace the vision of the betrayed, beaten and buried Jesus, he saw hope and possibility.
• How has a vision of defeat defined your life?
• Where do you need a vision of Jesus to bring you hope and possibility?
o Family, job, finances, purpose in life…
• Identify a time and place where you have had a vision of Jesus in the past that gave you hope and possibility?


3.  Fueled with a vision of the risen Jesus, Thomas was willing to go and be a witness of this miracle.
• Where is God calling you to go?
• What opportunity has God revealed to you?
• What message of hope and possibility has God given you to share?


4 Identify one way you have witnessed the power of the risen Jesus.