Jesus is Real

Do you ever have times in your life where the same verse or group of verses seem to pop up everywhere? You know, in your daily Bible reading, you come across a verse. In your small group study, you come across that same verse. At church, the pastor quotes that same verse...you even see it on a car tag in the store. Sometimes it relates to what you are experiencing in your life, sometimes it doesn't seem to fit.

Whenever this happens, I try to stop and pay attention to what God is telling me. It sometimes means totally halting my plans - for Bible study, what I wanted to blog about, what I am praying about - to further explore what God is showing me through the verse. Even if I don't think it relates to me at the moment, there is a reason He is revealing it. You see, I'm a little stubborn and thick headed so He sometimes has to thump me over the head repeatedly to get my attention.

Today, God revealed the following verses to me from 2 totally independent sources - as I was reading a devotional book entitled "Thank You Holy Spirit" by Marilyn Hecksher and in my daily e-devotional subscribtion from "Today's Christian Woman."

"Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. "Peace be with you," he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

"Why are you frightened?" he asked. "Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do." As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.

Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. "
Luke 24:35–45

These verses speak of one of the many appearances Christ made after He was raised from the dead. Notice what He said and did. He specifically said that He wasn't a ghost and He proved to them why - showing them his hands and feet, proving that He was flesh and blood. He was Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son of God!

Jesus is real! Jesus is alive TODAY, not as a ghost, but in flesh and blood. He is sitting at the right hand of our Mighty God - RIGHT NOW! His hands, feet, and side bearing the scars of what HE did on the cross for us. HE was resurrected in an immortal body, a body of flesh that lives today! A body that could appear and disappear but yet still be touched and felt by others.

The Holy Spirit is real. It is through the Holy Spirit that Christ was resurrected. "The Spirit...raised Jesus from the dead." Romans 8:11 This is the same Spirit that lives within each and every believer - within YOU! The third person of the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

So don't live a defeated life! You are a child of the living God! You have the Spirit within you. You are meant for God's glory! Jesus is real! So claim it and live it!

If you are not a believer, then click on the "Jesus 2020" at the right to see how you can claim Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Then tell someone! (Email me or contact the church if you'd like to learn more about becoming a Christian.)
In His Love, Cathy