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While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate in their presence. Then He said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:36b-48)
Good day Dear Friend, I trust you had a wonderful weekend and found time to worship the Lord. He is risen! And that's the theme we will again proclaim through this passage and our devotional.
As you may have heard me share through these devotionals that on Wednesdays at First UMC of Gonzales I teach a class on the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. It is the biggest seller on that topic and it is a huge book that answers to tries to answer on biblical perspectives what we can expect upon our entering Heaven. The book has almost all the questions and some I didn't think about or care about, for I have told the class and I'll tell you: I just want to get in! I'll leave the details to God; I trust God! But one of the questions was this, "Will we eat and drink in Heaven?" The author, based on scripture, including this one, is YES! And he makes the case for the risen Christ who during His appearances on the earth after His resurrection ate. In this passage, Jesus appears to the Twelve who are, as you can well imagine, still discussing all they had seen and heard. They witnessed Jesus' death, mourned it, and then, to their great surprise, saw Him risen! And this visit to them, Jesus grants them (again) peace. Jesus knows their fears and calms them, and even their thoughts and tells them He is not a ghost as they were thinking. He even shows them His hands and feet. They were joyous, but still "disbelieving and still wondering;" but Jesus asks for something to eat. Jesus rose from the dead in His body and as a risen person, He still had hunger and eats the broiled fish they had prepared. I must add Jesus was a healthy eater! Most of us would have asked for the fried fish, side of fries, hush puppies, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and maybe a side of shrimp! Okay, it's no longer Lent!
The powerful part of this passage to me, besides His hunger, is that Jesus feeds their doubts and fears and feed the hunger they had to more fully understand Him and God's plan and purpose for their lives. Like He would do with the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus speaks to their hearts and minds by "opening" them to understand the scriptures. He shared the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms; covering all the foundations and prophecies concerning the Messiah and says, "Here I am; I am the Messiah." And, Jesus gave them homework: You must share that everyone should repent of their sins and receive forgiveness of those sins from God; you saw it and heard it in me - now tell others!
Dear one, no better way to start the work week than by sharing with someone about what you heard yesterday in church; if you missed church, make something up! Share this devotional if nothing else! But tell someone about Jesus and His love for all people. And then, live it! Let people see in you the Risen Christ!
People are still hungry...
PRAYER: Loving God, we praise You and thank You for Jesus. What a joy is ours to know that You love us enough to forgive us. Lord, lead us to the ones who think You have given up on them, and grant us the words of life that will bring them satisfaction to their hunger; in Jesus' precious and powerful name we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Feed the hungry people whose souls hunger and thirst for Jesus in whatever way God leads you to!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER REQUESTS: Please be in prayer for the family of Ann Robinson, who passed away yesterday. Please also remember the school children of Texas who are taking the STAAR exam. May God grant them peace and clarity of heart and mind as they take this test. And remember to pray for one another.
