Above Only Daily Devotional http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly Sunday, APRIL 22 The Evidence of Things Not Seen John 20:26-29 (Living Bible)

Above Only Daily Devotional
http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly

Sunday, APRIL 22

The Evidence of Things Not Seen

John 20:26-29 (Living Bible)
…the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them and greeting them. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger into my hands. Put your hand into my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe! “My Lord and my God!” Thomas said. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway.”

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In the Living Bible, faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 as the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen and the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. In the King James Version, which many of us are more conversant with, this verse reads, “now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God did not design us to operate or be limited by our physical senses. He designed us to live and operate by faith, Rom.1:17. He designed us to live by our spiritual senses and to see what His Word says as our reality. When the disciples came to Jesus rejoicing because demons submitted to them, Jesus implored them to instead rejoice because their names were written in Heaven, Luke 10:17-20. He wanted them to rejoice because of their reality in God, even though they could not exactly see it in the physical.

Based on what God wants for us (which is always better than what we want for ourselves), He has spoken and made those things already possible. Our responsibility is to hear what God has spoken about us, believe it, speak it, pray in line and act in line with it so that it becomes our experience in the physical. Based on what Jesus said in our text above, Thomas missed out on certain blessings simply because he chose not to believe until he saw evidence of Christ's revelation in the physical realm. The grace of God to receive, see and believe God's word as your reality is upon you today. Function as God has designed you to function.

PRAYER FOCUS: Speak and declare what God's word says about you. Speak it with boldness and declare that it is your reality right now.

BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: 2 SAM 14-15; LUKE 17:1-19

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