Pastor A

He was the original “Doubting Thomas.” When the other disciples came to him and excitedly shared the news of Christ’s resurrection, he said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25. He demanded proof before accepting their remarkable claim. But eight lonely days passed before he knew the truth. Then, on the eighth day he was with the other disciples when Jesus appeared in their midst.

The Lord spoke to Thomas and invited him to touch His hands and side. But Thomas did not need to, because just the sight of the risen Master was evidence enough to convince him. He looked into the eyes of the Savior and said, “My Lord and my God.“

The Bible says that, “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Thomas believed because he met face to face the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. Of course, we cannot meet Jesus face to face as Thomas did, but we can meet Him through the written Word of God, the Bible. This perhaps was the most important lesson in the life of Thomas; learning faith through the Word of God.

There is an oldie but goodie that goes like this: Curious little Johnnie discovers a large dust-covered family Bible in the living room and asks his mother: “Mommy, whose book is that?”

“Why, that God’s book, Johnnie.” With childish brilliance he answers, “Well, why don’t we give it back to Him? Nobody seems to be using it.”

Sound familiar? Chances are you live in a household much like Johnnie’s. The Bible is there, but it is just a part of the furniture, not a part of the lives of the people who live in the house. By now you are probably shaking your head in agreement, and that is good. The first step toward solving a problem is recognizing what is wrong. But first, let’s personalize the issue: What role does the Bible play in your everyday life? Do you read it daily? Do you study it daily? Do you live by the belief that “a verse a day keeps the Devil away?”

If the Bible is not an indispensable part of your life, you have a real problem on your hands. Dozens of reason for the absolute necessity of Bible study could be listed. Over the next couple days we will examine some of the reasons you need to study the Bible.

Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia; today it is known as Salonica. On his second missionary journey, Paul visited this city and founded a church as is described in Acts 17:1-10. He met with opposition from unbelieving Jews there and was driven away. The situation was such that he was unable to return to Thessalonica to check up on the new church there, so he sent Timothy instead.

Timothy brought back an excellent report which thrilled Paul and moved him to write the letter we know as I Thessalonians. In I Thessalonians 1:9 Paul joyfully recalled that the Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” They had been guilty of worshipping gods of wood and stone. Paul presented the Gospel to them and they responded to the message by “turning to God… from idols.” This order (to / from) is no accident.

James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The emphasis in this very practical verse is also on the positive action. It is clear that resisting the devil is possible only after and, in fact, only because of submission to God.

In Exodus 33 we read of an interesting occurrence in the wilderness experience of the Israelites. “Operation Exodus” was over. The chosen people had marched two million strong out of the land of bondage In a time of crisis they had walked through the Red Sea. Now, as usual, they didn’t know what was going to happen next, so Moses asked the Lord. God answered his questions, but not in the way Moses desired. Moses wanted a road map; he wanted to know God’s will in advance. The Lord simply told him: “I’m going with you, Moses. That’s all you need to know.” Then thick-headed Moses finally began to understand and made this very important observation:

Exodus 33:16 “For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.“

What was it that “separated” the people from unbelievers? It was their identification with the Lord. It was not determined primarily by anything negative. They positively identified themselves with the true and living God and this positive separation to Him resulted in their negative separation from the world. Positive action, negative reaction.

So simple. Yet, so many fail to discover this life changing principle.