Category: Bible Reading & Meditation
“A week later, the disciples were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came.” —John 20:26 We have a Church full of doubting Thomases. As Thomas later became a great missionary and martyr, so these doubting Thomases today are called to renew the face of the earth in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Ps 104:30). However, they must first be transformed from having little faith to having strong faith. We have a Church full of fearful disciples. These Christians acknowledge that Jesus is risen. However, because these disciples...
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“Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows what a remarkable show of power took place through them. We cannot deny it.” —Acts 4:16 How do we know that Jesus has risen from the dead? The historicity of the Resurrection accounts in the Bible is more credible than other ancient documents because of the number and accuracy of the manuscripts of the Gospels and the reliability of the authors of the Gospel. This has been confirmed by the Gospels’ internal consistency and by archaeological discoveries. We have an intellectual, factual basis for believing that Jesus has risen. However, to know the significance...
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“There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved.” —Acts 4:12 Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has saved us (see Ti 3:5). To accept the grace of salvation, we must believe in Jesus (Eph 2:8). We must also admit our need to be saved. We all have sinned (Rm 3:23), and we are unable to atone for even one of our sins, because the effects of any sin are very serious and destructive. Therefore, to admit our need for salvation, we...
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“The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own kinsmen: you shall listen to Him in everything He says to you. Anyone who does not listen to that Prophet shall be ruthlessly cut off from the people.” –Acts 3:22-23 In the early Church, many believed in the risen Christ because of the prophetic power of Jesus and His followers. Jesus was the Prophet prophesied by Moses (Acts 3:22; Dt 18:15ff). The words of the risen Christ and His witnesses “were as a flaming furnace” (Sir 48:1). Their words were like fire in their...
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“The people saw him moving and giving praise to God.” –Acts 3:9 The Lord told the prophet Ezekiel to wade through fields of dry bones (Ez 37:1ff). These bones represented the state of the chosen people, Israel. Then, the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones. The bones began to rattle. This symbolized the Israelite nation beginning to rise from the dead. When something moves that can’t move, it may be a sign of the Resurrection. Peter and John healed a forty-year-old man who had been paralyzed from birth (Acts 3:7). When this man who couldn’t move moved, ran,...
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