Wednesday, April 14, 2021

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  Play along with me if you would.  You’re blindfolded and I give a large gift.  Now, there’re a few ways you can go about trying to figure out what’s inside this gift.  You can feel the size of the package.  How heavy is it?  You can shake it.  You can open it up.  But all the while you’re blindfolded.  Your past experience may be able to help you figure out what it is.  But what if it’s something new?  Something you’ve never experienced before?  Still blindfolded, what if you asked and I told you is was a very elusive Thingamajig.  Would you believe me?  Everyone else around you are so excited to see the Tingamajig and can’t stop talking about it.  It’s amazing!  How do you react?  Do you take our word for it?  I mean, this is a pretty special Thingamajig.  Are you going to trust that we’re telling you the truth or are you going to have to see it for yourself? 

“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So, the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

A week later His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”  Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””  – John 20: 24-29

How easy it is to doubt.  Heck, you’re just being human, right?  If that’s the case, why don’t we all get that label…Doubting Shelly.  It’s not a very becoming name, but it’s not all about how others look at you.  It’s about who you are when no one is watching and it’s just you and God.  Then, what will you do?  Who will you be?  Who will you become?

There is so much in this world that we learn and believe as truth because we were told it was true.  As a young child someone told me this was BLUE and GREEN and RED.  I was also told that this was 4 and 7 and 23.  And so I believed.  At times, that’s not so easy with God.  Is it?  We’ve got history showing us what’s true, but we choose not to believe.  God tells us, “You’re life won’t always be like this.”  But we choose to believe in the moment we’re living in.  God tells us, “You’re faith will lead you.”  But yet we choose to go only where we can see.  God tells us, “I love you and desire no harm for you.”  But we choose to see the hurt and pain we are experiencing and ask, “God, why are you doing this to me?” 

Personally, I think doubt is the easy way out.  Will you trust or will you doubt?  Ask the Lord to turn your doubts and fears into faith and excitement.  Now, act upon your decision with authority.  For if you don’t bring authority to your decision, you may find that doubt will very quickly take back over.  You have to be strong in your decision and ask Him many times over.  “God turn it around.  God turn it around.  God turn it around.”

Bless others and be blessed. 

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.

#ChurchOfTheCity – God Turn It Around