Show Me Again - August 10, 2015

Show Me Again

August 10, 2015

John 12:37-43 NLT

³⁷ But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. ³⁸ This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:

“Lord, who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”

³⁹ But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

⁴⁰ “The Lord has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts—
so that their eyes cannot see,
    and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
    and have me heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. ⁴² Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

Show me again, show me again. This is what is often heard from a small child when someone pulls a quarter from behind their ear or some other illusion. We have a hard time believing what we see. We can be right there and still not believe it.

That is what was happening every time Jesus performed a miracle. Some believed and the rest were skeptical. Even Satan challenged Jesus to prove that He is the Son of God:

Matthew 4:5-6

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

Recently, Kepler-452b was discovered by the Kepler spacecraft. This planet is about 1,400 light years away from us. Scientists believe that it can sustain life and that it is very similar to Earth. For them to believe that they have to have faith. This faith is based on some similarities between the two planets. They have seen pictures of this new planet. Many would say that this is proof there is not a God. I agree with others who say this proves there is a God. After all, He did create the Heavens and the Earth. This new planet would be part of the Heavens He created.

Faith is defined by Merriam Webster as “strong belief or trust in someone or something.” People have faith that this new planet is like Earth based on some pictures and some similarities. I have faith in God, in Jesus and in the Holy Spirit. No, I have never seen a picture. I have read the Bible and other ancient texts. We have the writings of the actual eyewitnesses both in the Bible and in other writings. The ancient texts were written by those who were there at the time but had no vested interest. Josephus was one of those authors. His writing of the history of the time of Jesus match up to the Scriptures.

In our Digging Deeper study at Relevant Life we start by going through where the Bible came from. We discuss the fulfilled prophecies, the archaeological support and the historical evidence that provides the proof of the Bibles accuracy and authority. We have proof, yet people still want God to prove His existence.

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

John 20:29 NLT

Heavenly Father we thank you for all the evidence that you are real despite the rumors of your non-existence. We are so thankful that each day we get to see Your creation. We get to experience you love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Open people’s eyes and hearts to You Father that they would see all the miracles that You do each and every day. Then we would not hear “show us again,” instead we would all know that You are God. Amen!