JARS OF CLAY

LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES - Corinthians

Read 2 Corinthians 4-5

     Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

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     In this letter Paul encourages the Corinthian church to endure in their trials. He said of himself and his companions, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” (2 Corinthians 1:8b-9a)

     Though they themselves were “jars of clay”, he said, they endured because of the all surpassing power of God. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day...” (4:16)

     In view of eternity and what Christ accomplished for us on the cross, Paul reminds them and us, “...he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (5:15)

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     Lord, I will probably never face the kind of opposition that Paul and the early church had to face, but I know that there are Christians throughout the world who are being persecuted. Lord, show your all-surpassing power to them, and help me to remember that I too have access to this power in my life through your Holy Spirit.

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     "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us..."   2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV

TOUCH ME AND SEE

THOMAS BELIEVES

Read: Luke 24:36–43; John 20:24–31

But he (Thomas) said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 20:25 NIV

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Eight days before this scene, the disciples stared in amazed unbelief. Jesus suddenly appeared, and they thought they were seeing a ghost. Then He asked for something to eat and said, "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Luke 24:39)

Now Thomas is unconvinced, since he has not yet seen the Lord. When Jesus appeared again, and showed him his hands and side, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28) Jesus had been telling His disciples all along that he would rise from the dead, but this was something they couldn't comprehend.

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We have the advantage of the complete Scriptures, explaining how all these things fit together with Old Testament prophesy; yet Lord, there are times I struggle to understand Your plan for us. Perhaps it is just enough to say, "My Lord and my God!"

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Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29 NKJV