That you might believe . . .
John 20:19-23,30-31 NLT
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them!
“Peace be with you,” he said.
As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
Then he breathed on them and said,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
Reflection . . .
Below is a Poem in video form. The text is below the video so you can reflect on the words once you’ve listened to it. It’s a powerful declaration of what we believe.
I Believe in Jesus (lyrics)
I believe in Jesus - the firstborn of all creation The prelude to Adam, the author of Eden By all, in all, through all, Genesis’ reason The husband of the newborn bride I believe Earth is One of His love’s brightest beacons I believe in Jesus - the infant king Ruler of the heavens, the universe’s spring Yet He took the frailest of forms The weakest of things For our mighty God was not too proud For the stable and trough of Bethlehem’s sting I believe in Jesus - the forgiver of men Since man would not come to God God came to them Though we spit in His face Through our arrogance and sin Holiness became flesh So that it might be forgiven I believe in Jesus - the perfection of the law For creation was doomed By the requirements it scrawled But He came not to abolish correction But succeed where we did fall And wrote a new law on our hearts Love God and love all I believe in Jesus - the horribly betrayed Unknown by the world He Himself had made Handed over to death by a follower To whom silver was paid Disowned by a friend three times in one day I believe in Jesus - the suffering servant on the cross To save the lives of the sinful He considered His own life lost Endured the torture of man Whips and nails in His flesh were embossed Received the righteous wrath of God The judge bearing our judgment - the ultimate cost I believe in Jesus - the flesh in the tomb He bore the end of a normal human As He was born of a human’s womb He died a criminal’s death And was buried in another man’s room God the Son lay dead, the lifeless groom But I still believe in Jesus And the body of His resurrection For He redefined life in death’s final rejection Showed holes in hands To over 500 of His own selection So that humanity would not be able to raise an objection To the fact that Jesus Christ is God the Son And has made the ultimate connection So I believe in Jesus And the commissioning of his ascension He ascended to God’s right hand, forever in intercession Leaving His truth in the hands of a few The first to be called His Christians His hands and feet are now the Church His boundless reconciling expression This is our heritage They are our relatives And this This is our confession We believe in Jesus Christ His Death Burial And resurrection
Into Practice 