John 11:16 -- Then Thomas, who was called Didymus (the twin), said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, that we may die with Him.”
Thank You Lord for my wife, Mandy. Thank You for opening our eyes to look to You first in our marriage. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
We've seen these past few verses the disciples concern over Jesus' decision to travel to Bethany. It's only a two mile walk from those who wanted to murder Him. They also know everywhere He does miracles people can't help but spread the news. If Jesus goes to Bethany, heals Lazarus, the news could get to the Pharisees within an hour easy.
Then we find, not Peter, not John, not James, but Thomas stands up with something to say!
Most of the time Thomas is known for his doubting of Jesus' resurrection. There's even an older saying, "Don't be a doubting Thomas.". What led to this are the events recorded in John 20:24-29, where he refuses to believe Jesus was alive until he could see with his own eyes.
So, this is the guy we find right here in chapter eleven, who stands up in front of the others and says……...
"Let us go too, that we may die with Him."
Christian, I'll ask a question and I hope you will really, deeply, think upon it before you throw out the expected Christian auto-answer. When the time comes will you follow Jesus into persecution, imprisonment, and death? Us Americans have zero clue what it's like to face these things for Jesus, but it's a deadly serious question we each need to have resolved within us.
There is a shift happening for professed Christians as we move into 2023. There are lines being drawn in the sand. Play church or be the church. God is calling His flock (John 10:27-29), to shift their mindset from the temporal/carnal to His eternal kingdom. Be sobered by Galatians 1:10 as a choice must be made, are you here to please people or God, because you cannot do both. As we saw in Matthew 13:10-17 yesterday the "Christian" crowds are fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah, just as the crowds back then were.
This world has changed since 2020, grown darker, and it will continue to do so. As society moves deeper into embracing morale fluidity and rejecting the Way and absolute truth, it presents a few choices. Here are a few front runners:
Secular Humanism (no God, no religion, human reason, secular ethics)
OR
Fluid Spirituality (Basically watered-down Christianity, with No sin, No absolute truth, No conviction, No repentance, No higher moral authority, No unchanging Word or Bible, No Jesus the Way-Truth-Life, No change. Replace all that, with only love, acceptance, happiness, easy going, entertaining, best life now, embrace all things, it changes according to feelings or opinions, inclusive of all who agree-embrace-celebrate it, violently opposed to any who do not fully agree-embrace-celebrate it.)
We're quickly approaching the time in our country where those who genuinely believe and follow Jesus as the Way, Truth, and Life, and base everything upon the Word of God, will not be tolerated. So, if you are not rock-solid set that know that know Jesus, and you are willing to be like Thomas or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:16-28) then you will be swept up into one of these two categories.
I close again with a block of verses I was led to in Matthew 22. I pray you'll take the time to read and seek the Lord in prayer and in His Word over this.
Matthew 22:1-14 -- Parable of the Wedding Feast -- 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. 4 Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. 7 The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].
11 “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, 12 and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ 14 For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”
Don't take my word on anything. I'm just a guy sharing what I see and hear. Pray and get into your Bible. Let God show you things directly.
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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