Making connections with the Resurrection

     If today's final devotional after 50 days left you a little hanging, here is a little reflection based on John 21, modified and expanded from my "Gospel of John, One Day at a Time". (see https://johnoneday.blogspot.com/p/john-chapter-21-memory-verse-and-there.html )

 After the resurrection, the angels as well as Jesus told the women that He would appear to the disciples at Galilee (see Matthew 28:7–8; Mark 16:7).

 So why didn't they go to Galilee?

 Perhaps the disciples were too afraid due to Jesus's brutal death and stayed behind locked doors in Jerusalem, even after hearing about the empty tomb and His appearing to the women. Jesus even appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus on the day of His resurrection (see Luke 24:13–32). The Bible also indicates that Peter ran back to the tomb AGAIN, this time without John (see Luke 24:12), and Peter apparently saw Jesus then (Luke 24:34). When the two return from their aborted trip to Emmaus, Jesus had already appeared to Peter but not to the rest. Then Jesus, who always "meets us where we are" then appears to them all (except Thomas) in Jerusalem Sunday evening after the Resurrection.

 After this, they went to Galilee, taking “Doubting Thomas” along with them. John 21:1 says that “Jesus showed Himself AGAIN to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias,” indicating that the appearance to Thomas found in John 20:26 was also in Galilee.

 Jesus went to Galilee because He had been so well received there. People would have been most anxious to see Him alive. Therefore, today's reading found in John 21 is the third appearance of Jesus to the disciples, but not the last.

 But didn’t Jesus also tell them to remain in Jerusalem? So, which was it, Jerusalem or Galilee?

 There appears to be a 40-day gap between Luke 24:43 and 44, explained by Dr. Luke in his sequel, commonly called "The Acts of the Apostles". Acts 1:3-4 explains, "Jesus showed Himself alive to His apostles after His sufferings by many infallible proofs, appearing to them during forty days and talking about the kingdom of God. And while He was with them, He told them not to leave from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise— 'of which you have heard Me speak,' He said."

 Mark 16:9 says that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. I think it is interesting that she appears in all four of the gospels but then never in the rest of the New Testament, including Acts 1:14, where Luke specifically mentions Jesus’s mother and brothers. 1 Corinthians 15:5–7 says he was then "seen by Cephas [Simon Peter], then by the twelve [this must have meant to include Matthias, see Acts 1:26, since Judas was already dead, and of course Thomas, a week later].

"After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

"After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles."

 Why James?

 After He appeared to the 500, He went to His own brother, James, who would later become a strong leader in the church. Although the Bible never tells us specifically, He surely appeared to His own mother, Mary, and the rest of His brothers, who are next seen in Jerusalem with the 120 disciples in Acts 1:14 after Jesus ascended to heaven.

 Who are "all the apostles"?

 In Luke 10:1, Jesus sent out 70 "sent out ones".  “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two by two … where He Himself was about to go.” The verb “sent them out” in Luke 10:1 is “apostello” from which we derive the noun “apostle.”

 Wouldn't you like to have seen the resurrected Lord? Read Hebrews 9:28 about how Jesus will appear to those who look for Him: “Christ…will appear a second time for salvation…to those who eagerly await Him.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” James, the Lord's brother, wrote, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (see James 4:8).

 If you want to see the Lord spiritually, you must seek Him, and He will come to you.

 Pray this prayer to God:

“Father, I want to draw nearer to You, and have You come nearer to Me. Reveal Yourself to me today as I seek You. Thank You for rewarding those who seek You. Amen.”

 /For all of the Fifty Days of Devotionals by FBC Killeen, go to https://fbckilleen.com/march2res/  

Hold on Tight To Your Dreams

I am on track for what I posted a year ago .

(This is modified and updated from what I posted March 1, 2021.)

Challenge # 1: Today, write your own "I have a dream" speech. Where do you see God's will for you in 4 years (March, 2026)?

Challenge #2: What must you do TODAY to begin / continue the path to achieve #1?

What needs to happen by...

...One month from now?

...Six months from now?

...One year from now?

Write it down, then go toward your dream. The journey to a dream makes the dream become reality.

Every step of your journey will be one step closer to perhaps even MORE and even BETTER than your dream now. Each step will be your reality.

Stay on the journey.

Don't expect everyone to be excited for your dream: "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more," Genesis 35:7.

It is not their dream, it is yours. Do not be discouraged.

Stay on the path.

Don't expect it to be easy: Joseph's dream led him to rejection, slavery, and prison. Even after all of that, Joseph went through seven years of plenty before his brothers and eventually his entire family would fulfill his dreams. Joseph stayed on the path on which God was leading. You may even have to go alone. But every hard step is one step closer.

Stay on the map.

Don't expect others to remember. "Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him," Genesis 40:23. You need to remember and rehearse it in your heart and remind others who are on the journey with you. Make sure your dream lines up with the Word of God and the Will of God. Years later, Joseph could see that his brothers meant it for evil, but God's Will was for Joseph to stay on the map.

Stay in the moment.

Don't expect it right away. "For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay," Habakkuk 2:3. While Joseph was in Egypt, he married and had children, both would ascend to be tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh)!

Sometimes God's will happens while you are waiting for God's will to happen. Life is a journey and God will walk with you along the path, not just at the destination. We don't live in the past. We don't live in the future. We live in the moment. Enjoy the scenery along the way.

Stay until the end.

Don't say, "It's too late for me!" God saves the best to last! Remember when Jesus turned the water turning to wine? The master said, "You have saved the best for last!" So does God. " 'And it shall come to pass in the last days,' says God, 'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh...Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions," Joel 2:28 with Acts 2:17.

For Joseph, he could have given up or worse, given in to bitterness. When his brothers arrived, there was some understandable testing from Joseph, to see if his brothers had changed. But it was not vengeful, as seen in his weeping (Genesis 45:2) and forgiveness (45:5). Joseph stayed to the end to see that God indeed meant it for Good (Genesis 50:20).

Stay the course.

Remember God has put eternity on your heart, and God knows no age nor limitations of time. "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end," Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Had Joseph not stayed the course, he might not have seen his father again or even his little brother Benjamin. What's more, Joseph's father would have gone down to the grave mourning (Genesis 44:29, 31). What joy there is when we stay the course.

Stay with the dream until it is reality.

Don't doubt God may have placed it on your heart. God speaks through dreams. Who do you THINK put that desire in your heart?? If you walk with the Lord, God put it there! Psalm 34:7 says, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." Sometimes God tells you to reach for the sky, just to stretch you. No journey is "as the crow flies"... sometimes the road will head east, west, and sometimes south, so that it can go eventually go north.

Joseph stayed with the dream, even in death. He had his descendants to carry his bones back to the Promised Land, a dream for his children's children and beyond for more than 400 years. Your dream is the future's legacy. Don't let doubt destroy what faith has founded. This verse, Habakkuk 2:3, bears repeating:

       For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

​​But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

​​Though it tarries, wait for it;

​​Because it will surely come,

​​It will not tarry.

It is never a failure to follow the Lord God. Prepare, expect, and even count on course adjustments.

You don't need to see the destination to arrive there...

...You...

...just ...

...must ...

...trust...

Stay in the faith.

Finally, look to Jesus for your dreams. "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ," Galatians 1:12.

Jesus not only knows the way; He is THE Way.

Jesus not only knows what is true; He is THE Truth.

Jesus is not just alive, lively, and living; He is THE Life.

If the journey seems dark, just follow your headlights.

Stay with the Lord.