Influencers Weekly Devotional

Abide with ME

Embracing and Being Embraced by Christ

Listen up. He’s alive!

SCRIPTURE: Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29 I am changing my normal devotional format this week. This week is a special time of recognition in the Body of Christ, and I feel a special recognition in this devotional is needed as well. After yesterday’s church service, I have been delivered into a time of recognition as I have not experienced before, and I would like to share it with you. I went to church alone yesterday, as my wife had a special friend in town. They had a conflict and couldn’t go. On one hand I wish they could have experienced what I did. On the other hand, I am glad I had my special time alone, for there were lots of tears that I would have had to explain. Believe me when I say that there was no emotional overload or conflict going on in me before this service. I was in a good place emotionally. However, before this day, I don’t think I really realized how emotionally disconnected I had been with the truth of the crucifixion story and its impact on my life. Maybe it was what I did before going to church that helped me see it better? Maybe this is something we all need to do before going to church as an attendee or as a leader? While driving to church, I prayed for the people leading the service and that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts of the congregation. The church was packed, with standing room only. I found a seat and discovered the service would be led by the choir and worship leaders, as they mixed scripture and thoughts, corresponding with the crucifixion and Christ’s purpose. Never have I been so inspired to understand the great price Jesus paid for me. I do not know if the rest of the congregation connected with the service as profoundly as I, for the lights were darkened, and my eyes were clouded with tears. If ever a man’s prayer was answered, it was that day, for God touched someone in that congregation is a very special way. I don’t know about the other people. But, the Holy Spirit sure got to me. What was it that happened that day? I don’t know if I can find words to describe it. I think it is on the “calling card” of the Holy Spirit that His work is a mystery, and a mystery is hard to explain. I do know I have been praying with some other men for several weeks now that Holy Spirit would make Himself known to us in a more evident way. I know we have humbly recognized our inadequacies, and His great adequacies, as we have called on Him to heal our churches and set them free from the various bondages they are under. We have cried out for His leadership and His filling, as we lead Influencers in following Him. We have sincerely sought Him. We have seriously sought Him, and maybe it was during this service that He chose to come closer to me, allowing me to look through His eyes at His Church and feel His heart. Maybe it was just for me? As the music played, and the scriptures were read, the service moved toward its climactic finish with communion. Each aspect of the bread and juice representing the broken body and shed blood of Jesus were driven home to me. My mind journeyed back over 2,000 years ago to a dimly lit room where Jesus spoke to His disciples the very same words I heard. Jesus connected the Passover that had been celebrated for centuries in Jewish homes with His purpose. This is what He shared with His disciples that night. The unblemished lamb, representing Him, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the meal and eaten. The original Passover in Egypt was when the Angel of Death “passed over” the Jewish home where the blood of the lamb was seen on the doorpost. Christ Jesus’ life was also sacrificed so that His blood could be seen on the doorpost of our life, and we too will be “passed over” by the Angel of Death at our mortal death and allowed to experience eternal life with God, provided we partake of Him. In the dimness of the service I was allowed to overflow emotionally without been seen, as I clearly understood His broken body and shed blood and my desperate need for His redemption. It was a very special moment, and one I will not forget. I share my private moments with you with hope that you too will find a connection to the truth of the crucifixion as I did, and I pray you do it before Sunday. You see Easter Sunday will be a celebration of life eternal, as Jesus was raised from the dead, as we will be through Him. It is a day of joy, a day that should be most recognized by every Christian as being the best day of our lives. But this week, and especially Good Friday, is a time for recognizing the cruelty of Christ’s torture and crucifixion. It is important for us to realize that He allowed it to be done to Him voluntarily, so that you and I will be passed over. Good Friday is a day of mourning. It is a day to connect with what the disciples were going through, but most assuredly, what Jesus went through. When the Holy Spirit opened my heart and eyes to the greater truth of the crucifixion that I had not recognized before, I could not help but weep. In my tears, I was glad to know that “Sunday is a comin,” and it is Resurrection Sunday that gives us our hope. We have hope because Christ did resurrect. But it is what Christ did on Friday that started the redemption process. Spend some time seeing Jesus on the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit, as I did, to help you see Him there. That is what the Holy Spirit did for me, and I will never take Jesus’ sacrifice for me lightly again. I needed to connect with this, and it might be the same with you. He’s alive! Rocky TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS DEVOTIONAL, CLICK HERE