{"id":29502,"date":"2021-01-07T03:30:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T11:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=29502"},"modified":"2021-01-06T15:31:31","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T23:31:31","slug":"january-7-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2021\/01\/07\/january-7-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"January 7, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“…and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen….”\u00a0<\/em>1 Corinthians 15:4-5<\/p>\n

Believing Is Seeing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The thought has risen in my mind that perhaps all this about Jesus and Christianity and faith in God is just a fleeting fairy tale, an ancient legend, or mere wishful thinking. As I entertained that notion I asked myself why I still believed. What was the basis of my faith?<\/p>\n

I readily turned to my Bible. But wait. What if the Bible were not true? I could not mount a defense for faith if the very source of my knowledge was in fact fictitious. Why did I find the words of scripture so authoritative and compelling?<\/p>\n

I could quote the incredible history of the accuracy and meticulous preservation of this holy writ, but I will not bore you.\u00a0You can research it for yourself if you like. Over the period of thousands of years there were those living at the time who could have revealed falsehood in the stories, the testimonies, and the experiences of patriarchs. Instead that revelation has endured and has spread across the planet. The Bible has been attacked, tested, and criticized, yet it stands. I believe it stands because it speaks truth, a pragmatic truth that delivers a way to live life with wisdom and grace and hope.<\/p>\n

Another reason I believe the Bible to be true is because no human mind could have written such a work. In our humanity, flaws would have been softened and tragedies minimized, but the writing is real and raw.\u00a0It’s all there\u2014the good, the bad, and the ugly. What human mind could have conceived of the forgiveness, the goodness, the grace of God?\u00a0We are just not built that way.\u00a0Who could have imagined the incarnation or the resurrection?\u00a0Who could have pieced together such a redeeming story written by many men across the centuries?<\/p>\n

So with renewed confidence I turn again to my Bible. I could give multiple examples, but I will refer to only one. What is more unbelievable than the concept that when we die, we can live again? Not only live again, but in the presence of God in a new dimension, a new body, made more alive than ever before. First Corinthians 15 opens talking about the gospel and encourages us to hold fast the word that has been preached. Hold fast to the gospel that Jesus died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again.\u00a0These verses note that this was according to the prophecy of scripture and all occurred according to the written Word.\u00a0The gospel is in fact the Word confirmed. We can believe it.<\/p>\n

The chapter goes on to repeat the phrase “He was seen!” Four different examples were given that Jesus was seen after the resurrection. Even though it all happened so long ago, there was undeniable evidence of His resurrection.\u00a0There were eyewitnesses. He was seen by Peter. He was seen by over 500 at once. He was seen by James.\u00a0He was seen by Paul.\u00a0He was seen!<\/p>\n

My eyes have not seen Him. But I believe the scriptures which prophesied the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. I believe the eyewitness accounts I have read in the Bible. I believe the disciples died a martyr’s death because the certainty of the resurrection compelled them and gave them a courage that did not waver. He was seen!<\/p>\n

And in my own life I have found that the words are true.\u00a0I have tested them and they held. Jesus has kept His promises to me. I believe all that has come to pass as it was foretold by the ancient writ and because of that I can believe Him for all that is yet to come. My faith is not a fairy tale.\u00a0It is my reality.<\/p>\n

Father, I have seen the invisible and believe.\u00a0Your love is the beating of my heart. Your plans and purposes have amazed me and nothing is more intimate, more present, or more precious than You. Blessed be Your name. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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