Finding Rest

By Rob Gore

Copyright 2016 Rob Gore

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Unless otherwise noted, the stories within this fictional work are derived or paraphrased from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “MSG” are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Cover art is morning on the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kineret).

Second Edition: August 2016

ISBN 978-1311425317

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Table of Contents

Preface

Day 1 – Dear Mary

Day 2 – Just Because I Asked Him

Day 3 – The Goodness of God

Day 4 – The Old Tax Office

Day 5 – More Grace

Day 6 – Who Touched Me?

Day 7 – Whatever It Takes

Day 8 – No Misery Like a Lonely Heart

Day 9 – Healing on the Sabbath

Day 10 – Go and Sin No More

Day 11 – A Change of Heart

Day 12 – New Grace for Every Day

Day 13 – I Am Willing

Day 14 – The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Day 15 – Fallen From Grace

Day 16 – I Could Only See My Way

Day 17 – My Big Mouth

Day 18 – Help My Unbelief

Day 19 – Hypocrisy

Day 20 – I Didn’t Annoy Him

Day 21 – Qualifying the Unqualified

Day 22 – Speak and Rest

Day 23 – Momma Don’t Cry

Day 24 – The Disciple of Love

Day 25 – Stripes for a Cutter

Day 26 – The Centurion

Day 27 – Grace for the Doubter

Day 28 – An Unpardonable Sin

Day 29 – What a Transformation

Day 30 – Grace for a Terrorist

Day 31 – The Things Concerning Himself

Other Books By Rob Gore

About The Author

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Preface

If you are worn out from the constant demands of life or condemned by thoughts of never being good enough, this book is for you.

Unfortunately, so many people have come to see God as the one who is always in need and always demanding our service and sacrifice. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are the ones in need of him.

He is the one who sacrificed for us. He is the one who daily supplies grace (mercy, unmerited favor and blessing) to us.

You won't find rest in religion. Religious rules and expectations will lay heavy burdens on your shoulders and condemn you for not carrying them.

Neither will you find rest by rejecting religion and believing in yourself. You cannot supply what you do not possess.

Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Finding Rest is a collection of stories told by people who came to Jesus and found rest in his grace.

So relax. Allow these stories to focus your mind back on Jesus. You will find rest in his grace.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. (The Message Bible Matthew 11:28-29)

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DAY 1 – DEAR MARY

Dear Mary,

When you told me you were pregnant yesterday, I was crushed. I felt betrayed, rejected and alone. That all the hopes and dreams we had shared together had been a big lie. You know that I am not the father of this child and that I have not done anything wrong. I thought you had just ruined both of our lives and I was angry.

As I tried to go to sleep last night, I searched for a way to put you away secretly because I still loved you. I didn’t want you to be publicly humiliated or stoned. Yet I was distracted by thoughts of how many times our people had played the harlot with God and how he had forgiven us. How Rahab the harlot had saved our nation when she hid the messengers sent by Joshua. How she later became the wife of Salman and the great, great grandmother of King David. Surely, God knows the law. He wrote it. Yet his desire is to extend mercy and grace, not judgment. If we would only let him.

Mary, as I dreamed about these things, an angel appeared to me. He called me by my name declaring, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Thoughts reeled in my mind. You are not a harlot. You have not betrayed me. You have not rejected me. Your baby, your son, is the promised Messiah that will save our people. No one will ever believe us. What will your dad think, or do? What is my role? Am I to raise the Son of God?

I imagined how Moses must have felt when God told him to go back to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” Surely that was not what Moses had planned to do with his life. Why would anyone believe him? But because he went God was able to pour out his grace and deliver our people.

God didn't give us the law so we could judge each other on how well we've kept it. We've all failed. He gave us his law to point us to him and to reveal our need for his mercy and grace in everything. He wants to have mercy on us and pour out his grace once again. This time he is coming as Immanuel, God with us. Grace and Truth is coming as a person, a baby – our baby, and we are to call him Jesus.

Mary, I believe you.

Joseph

***

DAY 2 – JUST BECAUSE I ASKED HIM

Wherever my son Jesus went, the blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor had the gospel preached to them. Given the fact that Jesus gravitated toward the despised, the rejected and the hopeless, you might conclude he would only do miracles for the desperate. You would be wrong.

He would always tell the crowds, “The only reason the thief comes is to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that you might have and enjoy life, and have it so full it overflows with joy and celebration.”

One day while thinking about these things I realized that the first miracle God did through Moses (who taught us the law) was to turn water into blood, resulting in death. The first miracle God did through my son Jesus (who taught us grace) was to turn water into wine, resulting in joy and celebration. Yes my son had come to heal the sick and all those oppressed by the devil. But he also came to redeem their hopes and dreams, and to restore everything stolen from them.

That's why Jesus would always tell the people, “Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe that you have received them and you will have them. Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full. For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

The first miracle Jesus ever performed was at a wedding in Cana. He did that miracle for me just because I asked him.

***

DAY 3 – THE GOODNESS OF GOD

I really didn't mind lending Jesus my boat so he could preach to the crowd. But when he told me to launch out into the deep for a catch I had to complain.

“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing.”

Evidently my complaint didn’t impress him. I could tell by his expression that it was important to him that we go out for another catch, so I relented. “But if you desire, I will let down the net.”

At this point, I thought I was doing him another favor.

But later when we began catching the biggest catch of fish I had ever seen, I realized that he truly was a holy man from God and that he was blessing me for having helped him.

How could he be so good to me, when I am such a sinner?

As the boat began to sink from the weight of all the fish, his grace was too much. I fell to my knees and confessed, “Lord, you need to depart from me. I am a sinful man and I do not deserve to be blessed.”

Jesus told me, “Don't be afraid. From now on you are going to catch men.”

I would later learn from Paul that repentance means to change your mind about what you believe. Paul said, “It is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.”

As I reflected upon his grace and such an extraordinary catch of fish, I realized the real story was that his love and grace had caught me.

As soon as we reached shore, I left everything and followed him.

***

DAY 4 – THE OLD TAX OFFICE

It’s quite a place, this old tax office. You can make a good living here if you don’t care that everyone hates you for betraying your own people. Besides, I just enforce the taxes that everyone must pay. That is, if you ignore the fact that I skim a little off the top from time to time. But everyone does it. That is why fear is the only reason why anyone would ever come in here, until today.

I was sitting at my desk when Jesus just walked right in.

The only thing more intriguing than his invitation for me to follow him was my response. I stood up and followed him. I didn’t even know where he was going. Why was I so compelled to follow this man?

People seemed to be coming from everywhere to hear him speak and to be healed of their diseases. I had no frame of reference from which to categorize what I was seeing. There was no obvious way to tax it.

It was as if the water of his words were cleansing the dirt of humanity. It would have been frightening had it not been so glorious.

Later that evening I was pleased to offer my home for us to dine, and a bit amused that all my friends wanted to make a party out of it. Jesus obviously enjoyed being with all of us, though he didn’t participate much in the festivities. But my friends and I hung on his every word. We all agreed, no one had ever spoken to us as he did!

We caught the attention of the Pharisees, though. They were outside watching us. I heard they were indignant that Jesus was eating and drinking with sinners. But everyone sobered up immediately when Jesus opened the front door and announced to the Pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

That’s when I made up my mind about following Jesus.

I never went back to that old tax office.

***

DAY 5 – MORE GRACE

The news was horrifying. Herod had just beheaded John the Baptist.

Tired and hungry after so many days of ministering to the people and now hearing this news, we traveled by boat to a deserted place near Bethsaida to rest.

As we reached the secluded place at the top of the mountain I realized we were not going to be able to rest. Thousands of people from every city near us had come up from the other side of the mountain to hear Jesus speak and to be healed of their diseases.

I knew it was going to be a special day when I saw the compassion in his eyes.

He healed so many people. And after he healed them, they would not go away. Everyone just stayed to listen to him talk about the kingdom of God and just be with him!

I decided to remind Jesus it was getting late and there was nowhere for all these people to get food here in this place. But he objected, “Philip, don’t send them away. You give them something to eat.”

I was stunned. I asked him if he wanted me to spend almost a year’s worth of wages to go and buy enough food for all these people. We could only find five loaves and two fish here. He just smiled and said, “Bring what you have to me.”

After commanding all of the people to sit down and relax on the green grass Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. Gazing up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to us and we gave them to the people. We all ate and were filled. There were even twelve baskets of leftovers from those thousands of people! What a day!

No matter how great the demand or dire the need he always had more grace.

***

DAY 6 – WHO TOUCHED ME?

What difference would it have made if they stoned me for breaking the law? I was as good as dead anyway. I could not work. I was an outcast from society. For twelve years I had spent all my money on doctors who had only tortured me and made my blood disease even worse.

I had heard about Jesus doing miracles and healing all the people. So when I heard he was passing by, I decided I must see him. I declared, “If I just touch the hem of his garment I will be healed.”

I hid my face as I pressed through the crowd. Before I could even get close I noticed that Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue and the very person who could adjudicate my stoning, was already talking with him. If Jairus saw me he would punish me for being in public and breaking the law. I waited. But instead of finishing their conversation, Jesus and Jairus began to walk away together.

I was out of options. Even if Jairus saw me, I had to touch Jesus. Coming from behind him in the press I threw myself to the ground, reached out my hand and touched the hem of his garment. Warm healing power surged through my body. It quenched my issue of blood and every pain and discomfort quickly left my body. I felt my body begin to rest.

Abruptly he began interrogating his disciples, “Who touched me?” They were incredulous, asserting that almost everyone was touching him.

When his eyes met mine I knew I was discovered. I fell to my knees, fearing and trembling and told I him everything.

I was astonished when he insisted that it was his good pleasure to give me the kingdom, which included my healing. He never mentioned the fact that I had broken the law by going out in public with such a disease. He just reassured me that I did not steal my healing. It was his gift to me because he loved me. He concluded by saying, “Go in peace, rest and enjoy your life free from this disease.”

There was a beautiful, fresh fragrance in the morning breeze as I returned home to my family that day.

***

DAY 7 – WHATEVER IT TAKES

When I stormed out of the synagogue, the entire leadership was indignant, furious that I would go to Jesus for help. I understood, but my wife had just told me that our twelve-year-old daughter was about to die.

I will do whatever it takes to save my child!

I caused quite a stir as I pushed my way through the crowd. When I saw Jesus, I fell to my knees and pleaded earnestly, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come, lay your hands on her, that she may be healed and she will live.”

He motioned for me to lead him to my house. I marveled at the mercy and grace he showed me, especially after we had done so much to condemn his ministry. But just as hope began to rise within me a woman interrupted us.

She was still speaking with him when I noticed that messengers from my house had arrived. Obviously still agitated that I had gone to Jesus for help they vented, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher any longer?”

Before I could even think Jesus clutched my wrist to steady me and said, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”

I decided I was not going to do anything except keep my eyes on him.

I watched as he prohibited anyone from following us except his three disciples. When we arrived at my house and saw the tumult, he put out all of the weepers and wailers, chiding, “Why make all of this commotion? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

He didn’t even respond to their ridicule. He took my wife, his disciples and me into my daughter’s room, took her by the hand and commanded, “Little girl, I say to you, rise!”

I was astonished as her spirit returned and he gave our daughter back to us.

Then Jesus turned to me, and with the countenance of a father, he affirmed that he too will do whatever it takes to save his children.

***

DAY 8 – NO MISERY LIKE A LONELY HEART

Men wanted to use me. Women hated me. So I decided long ago to draw my water from the well during the heat of the day. It was better to be alone than scorned.

But I would not be alone today. A Rabbi was sitting by the well and asked me to stoop over and draw him some water to drink. I wondered what he really wanted since he had no container to hold the water. “Why are you asking me? You know I am a Samaritan.”

He replied, “If you knew who I am, you would be asking me for living water. I came here just for you. I arranged for us to meet today.”

I did not know who he was, but I did know that if he could keep me from having to come here to quench my thirst every day I would be interested.

“If you drink only of this water you will thirst again,” he said. “But if you drink of the water that I will give you, you will never thirst. For the water that I will give you will become in you a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

I perceived he was referring to quenching a thirst much deeper than just hydration. I did have an ache deep inside me. I longed to be loved unconditionally. A yearning I have attempted to quench for a long time. He seemed to discern my thoughts and insisted, “Go, call your husband and come here.”

Ashamed, I tried to avoid the issue and replied, “I don’t have a husband.”

He divulged he already knew that I had been married five times and that the man I was currently living with was not my husband. Yet he did not condemn me. He complimented me for not lying.

It occurred to me that my messed up life did not repulse him.

Then he explained to me, “When you believe that I know everything about you and still love you, you will rest assured in my love.”

I wondered if he might be a prophet. So I told him I knew the Messiah will come someday and that he will tell us everything we need to know.

Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

***

DAY 9 – HEALING ON THE SABBATH

“Step forward,” Jesus declared. The Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would heal me. They had asked him if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. It was obvious they were just setting a trap for him.

I wondered, “Why do they care more about their doctrine than about me?”

I also struggled to understand why healing on the Sabbath would be considered wrong anyway. Surely healing is a good thing to anybody who is sick. And if we pray for healing on the Sabbath and God does it, who are we to judge it as wrong?

Probably because the Pharisees do not believe it is God doing the healing. But that makes so little sense when I see the way they go wild giving God praise and glory when they are healed. I even think Isaiah prophesied about God taking our infirmities and bearing our sicknesses.

They must think Jesus is doing the healing, not God. That would be why they think healing is a work prohibited on the Sabbath. But who has the power to do miracles without God’s help?

Jesus answered the Pharisees’ question with a question, “What man among you, who has one sheep, if it falls into the pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath!”

I thought, “Did I just hear him declare that I am more important than religious doctrine?”

Jesus peered into my eyes like a sculptor examining a precious stone. He knew me and loved me before he had ever fashioned me.

Then Jesus commanded me, “Stretch out your hand!”

He knew it was impossible for me to stretch out my withered hand. But his voice sounded like the voice that commanded light to shine out of darkness, so I obeyed.

My mind could not comprehend what my eyes beheld. Both of my hands were outstretched, one as whole as the other! Suddenly, debates about religious doctrine became completely and utterly meaningless to me. The Pharisees could believe whatever they wanted.

Jesus had restored my hand!

***

DAY 10 – GO AND SIN NO MORE

I knew I was a mess. No one had to tell me. I had been condemned my whole life for being a terrible person.

“Just stop it!” they would always scream at me.

I wished I could. But I didn’t have the ability to stop. That is why I didn’t care when they caught me again.

What were they going to use me for this time? They didn’t care about me. They always had an agenda for which they were “community organizing” and I was their stick to agitate the crowd. This time, it appeared they wanted to challenge some teacher.

Throwing me down in the midst of the temple, they tested him. “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commands us that she should be stoned. But what do you say?”

I have to admit I chuckled a bit watching him write on the ground and ignore them.

Sarcastically they accused him, “Come on, teacher. Don’t you preach against sin? What about the law?”

Somehow I perceived he knew more about the law than they did. Instead of rejecting the law the way they expected, he applied the full weight of the law to all of us. He stood up and retorted, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone!”

There was great tension in the silence. I was afraid to open my eyes. Just because I didn’t care about my sin didn’t make what I was doing right either.

After what seemed like an eternity, I began hearing rocks fall to the ground and the shuffle of feet.

Then Jesus asked me, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”

I looked up and surveyed the temple, but everyone had gone. I learned later that they had left from the oldest to the youngest, evidently convicted by their conscience.

I answered apprehensively, “No one, Lord.”

Then, as if he were the judge of all judges, Jesus decreed, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Suddenly, I realized that those who wanted to condemn me could not and he who could condemn me would not. By giving me the gift of no condemnation Jesus had given me the strength I needed to go and sin no more!

***

DAY 11 – A CHANGE OF HEART

I thought that my position as Jericho's chief tax collector would have secured for me an honored seat by which to watch Jesus pass by. But these people were crazy. They acted like a mob. I had to climb a sycamore tree just see him!

As Jesus worked his way through the press of the crowd, he looked up suddenly and called my name, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay at your home today.”

I was stunned. Did he know that I was the chief tax collector? Did he know that I have cheated and stolen from my own people? Did he know everyone hates me? And how is it that he knows my name?

Ignoring the scorn coming from the mob, I jumped out of the tree and welcomed him and my tax-collector friends into my home.

As he spoke I thought, “No one has ever spoken like this man.”

Jesus taught as one having authority, and not as one of the scribes. He taught that all scripture pointed us to him. He never, not even once, mentioned my sin. For the first time in a long time I felt loved. I felt wanted, even forgiven! I had changed my mind about him, and I contemplated how to respond to this kind of love.

Finally, I just couldn’t help myself. I jumped to my feet and exclaimed, “Lord. I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I will repay them four times as much.” My friends were astonished at my outburst.

Jesus explained to them that people repent when they realize how much they are loved.

Turning to me, Jesus declared to my friends, “Today, welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, and safety have come to this house, because this man, also, is a son of Abraham. For I did not come to condemn this world but to save it.”

Most of my friends believed also. You should have seen the faces of the people we repaid!

***

DAY 12 – NEW GRACE FOR EVERY DAY

He knew everything about me and still loved me.

As Jesus reclined in the home of Simon the Pharisee, I quietly invited myself in and knelt behind Jesus. I cleaned his feet with my tears and dried them with my hair. Simon and his friends were obviously upset when they noticed me. But Jesus just gave me his giant smile, assuring me not to be afraid or ashamed.

Yet daggers of condemnation pierced my heart when I realized they were ridiculing him because they thought he didn’t know I was formerly a prostitute. I wanted to scream, “He does know!” as if I could defend him. But I remained silent.

Instead of spotlighting my sin, he directed their attention to my response to his forgiveness. Jesus declared, “The way this woman shamelessly expresses her love for me proves she knows how much she has been forgiven.”

Then he challenged them by asserting, “Most people do not love me as they should and thus have little self-control because they have forgotten how much they have been forgiven.”

Turning to me, he admonished Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

He did not deny my sordid past. Jesus declared that his grace was greater than my past and that he had forgiven all my sin. He asserted that my actions were proof that I knew how much I had been forgiven.

Then Jesus encouraged me to enjoy my new life by daily receiving an abundance of his grace.

***

DAY 13 – I AM WILLING

Leprosy had destroyed my life. Imagine being violently removed from your own home while your wife and children scream in horror. Then visualize the shame of being brought before the leaders of the synagogue, stripped naked and publicly examined.

But being forced to live without the touch of another human being was the most pernicious aspect of leprosy. Alone and rejected by humanity, I felt less than human.

Then I heard about Jesus. I wondered, “Is this what hope feels like?” It had been so long since I had experienced hope I wasn’t sure.

I stealthily moved through the crowd at the bottom of the mountain while they listened to Jesus. No one realized I was a leper until I was directly in front of him. I fell to my knees on the rocky ground imploring him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Nothing could have ever prepared me for what happened next.

Jesus touched me!

Do you know what it feels like for someone to put out his hand and comfort you with a gentle touch? Do you know how a heart can yearn for someone to not be afraid of you, to have compassion on you, to love you? I completely forgot about my disease. He healed my heart the moment he touched me.

Then Jesus declared, “I am willing. Be cleansed!”

Immediately, intense nerve impulses began emanating from my formally lifeless fingers and toes. Simultaneously, statutes from the law began to attack my mind. The law states that anyone who touches an unclean person shall be unclean.

I realized that something must have radically changed. The law I know makes a clean person unclean. But the grace Jesus knows makes an unclean person clean.

Jesus smiled at me, obviously pleased, and told me, “Go, testify to the priests of the great things God has done for you this day!”

***

DAY 14 – THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

All the years I had struggled to obey every detail of the law was now going to secure for me the greatest political endorsement of all time. No longer would they call me the rich young ruler. With his endorsement, I will be the next governor!

The opportunity to make my move was set. I began by flattering him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He retorted, “If you truly believed I am good, you would recognize who I am, because God is the only one who is good.”

I didn’t understand what he said at all, but I was prepared for his “to do” list.

Jesus said, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

Anticipating the public recognition I so richly deserved, I proudly proclaimed in front of everyone, “All these things I have kept from my youth!”

I could feel his genuine love for me.

But he ruined everything when he declared I could never inherit eternal life based upon my accomplishments.

I was dismayed by such an assertion. All my good works, all the times I resisted temptations, all my service, all my donations to the poor, and more! Surely my hard work MUST make me a better person than most?

Jesus said he wanted me to give up everything I have earned and follow him. But if I give up all I had earned and follow him, trusting only in his works, how will I ever get any recognition?

I walked off thinking, “Who does Jesus think he is anyway?”

Later, after our encounter, they told me that Jesus had remarked to his disciples how difficult it is for people who trust in themselves to enter the kingdom of heaven.

***

DAY 15 – FALLEN FROM GRACE

It took me years before I understood what Jesus meant that day.

I had always been obsessed with meeting his needs. And after Jesus had risen from the dead, I took the care of the entire church upon myself as my gift to him. That was, until I realized I had become angry with Jesus and bitter towards the church.

After having ingested many impassioned sermons such as, “Dying to Yourself,” “Crucifying the Flesh,” “Serving with Excellence” and many other appeals to personal sanctification, I was done. All of those well-intentioned sermons had the same fatal flaw – me. They all presumed upon my strength. And after years of trying I finally realized, I have no strength.

I, of myself, can do nothing.

How could I, who have nothing, give to him, who has everything? While I had been trying to meet his needs, I had actually been quenching his ability to meet mine. Why? Because I believed I could supply, I could provide, I could comfort, I could lead, I could protect. I did everything I could, but it was never enough. There was always one more thing!

That’s when I heard Paul minister about the difference between law and grace. I listened to sermons entitled “The New Covenant of Grace,” “The Law Demands, Grace Supplies,” “The Law Condemns the Best of Us, Grace Saves the Worst of Us,” “The Righteousness of Faith Rests,” and many other such messages. Each message took the spotlight off of my weaknesses and focused my attention back on Jesus, the one who does have strength and provision.

I began to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “Martha, you are worried about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the part that will not be taken away from her.”

If I had genuinely believed I could do nothing, I would have stopped serving and started receiving from him.

Serving should have been my response to his love, not the debt I owed for my salvation or the price I must pay to stroke my pride.

Paul admonished us, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law. You have fallen from grace. But those who receive an abundance of grace, and the gift of righteousness, will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.”

By focusing on my performance, I had fallen from his grace. Oh, Lord, forgive me. I need your grace for today.

***

DAY 16 – I COULD ONLY SEE MY WAY

I knew more about how things worked at the Pool of Bethesda than anyone.

Many sick, blind, lame and paralyzed people like me waited near the edge of the pool. We all knew that the first one of us to get in the pool after the angel stirred the water would be healed. For thirty-eight years I had attempted to be the first one in. But I was never successful because I never had anyone to help me.

Jesus asked me, “Do you want to be made well?”

Immediately I told him I could not be healed because I had no one to put me in the water. For twenty minutes I complained to him about the disappointments and frustrations of watching other people be healed, but not me. I just wanted him to understand that I had tried everything. I had prayed to God. I had begged people to help me. I had even tried to pay people to help me. I could not be healed because no one would help me be the first into the water!

When I finally calmed down he stated, “You did not answer my question.”

I was stunned. I had just spent twenty minutes telling him why I couldn’t be healed. Did he still not understand?

I guess it was the way he had patiently listened to my entire story that made me listen to him.

He asked again, “Do you WANT to be made well?”

“Yes I do,” I acknowledged, contritely.

“Then take up your bed and walk.”

How should I respond to that? I had not walked in more than thirty-eight years. The only way anyone had ever been healed here at the Pool of Bethesda was to be the first in the water. I thought that was the only way I could be healed.

I had never considered that God could heal me another way.

I decided to disregard thirty-eight years of rehearsing how I would be healed and just stand up. To my amazement, strength returned to my legs and I stood. I picked up my bed and walked home rejoicing in the grace of God!

***

DAY 17 – MY BIG MOUTH

Why do I answer before the question is even asked? Why do I feel compelled to say something when I don't know what to say?

I did it again today.

Jesus took James, John, and me up to the top of the mountain and he was transfigured before our eyes. His clothes dazzled brighter than the sun! Seeing Moses and Elijah speaking with him was just breathtaking. Here, in front of our very own eyes, were the three greatest men of all Israel. Moses, the deliverer, who had given us the law of God. Elijah, the prophet, who had called down fire and brought our nation back to God. And Jesus, our soon coming king.

I felt like someone asked me, “How should we celebrate these three pillars of our faith: The law, the prophets, and the king?”

Of course, no one was actually asking me anything. But since I didn't know what to say, I felt compelled to comment. When I glanced at James and John, they were like teenagers frightened by what they thought might come out of my mouth, yet still mischievously excited to hear it.

I blurted out, “Rabbi, this is awesome! We will build three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

James and John were aghast. They shook their heads in shame and tried not to smile as I considered the implications of what I had just said.

At that moment, a cloud enveloped us and a voice that shook the mountain knocked us to the ground. “This is my beloved Son. Hear him!”

The cloud lifted. Moses and Elijah were gone and only Jesus was with us. It was then I began to understand that Moses, Elijah and Jesus were not equally important. Moses had given us the Law, which revealed our need for God. Elijah and the prophets had brought us back to God. But Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus is much greater than Moses or Elijah. And because Jesus is the embodiment of grace and truth, grace is MUCH greater than law.

***

DAY 18 – HELP MY UNBELIEF

I had been deaf, mute and suffered epileptic seizures since I was a child. I lived in constant dread and shame, never knowing when a seizure might occur. When it did, I would become rigid and fall down, foaming at the mouth and gnashing my teeth. Several times, I nearly bit off my tongue. Yet my dad never gave up searching for a cure.

One day we saw some of the scribes arguing with some of Jesus’ disciples who were waiting for him to come down from the mountain. I could tell my dad was determined to see if the disciples could help me. And though I pleaded with him not to embarrass me, he asked the disciples to pray for me and they agreed. As they began to pray, a crowd gathered to gawk and to see if anything would happen, but nothing did.

Later, Jesus descended from the mountain and asked the scribes what they had been discussing with his disciples. The scribes were unable to answer because my dad yelled, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit. I spoke to your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

As Jesus motioned for me to be brought to Him, I seized up and started foaming from my mouth.

Jesus asked my dad, “How long had this been happening to him?”

My dad replied, “It has tried to kill him many times since he was a child. If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Jesus declared, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

My dad could have easily been offended by what Jesus said to him. My dad had sacrificed his entire life to take care of me. But instead of being offended because Jesus said, “If you can believe,” my dad asked for more grace, pleading, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”

Then Jesus told the spirit, “Come out of him and enter him no more!”

I had a grand mal seizure and dropped to the ground as if I were dead. Jesus took my hand and lifted me up. I was completely healed, no longer deaf or mute.

Hearing sound for the first time was overwhelming, but hearing my dad’s voice for the first time was priceless. As we embraced I spoke my first words, “Daddy, thank you for loving me.”

***

DAY 19 – HYPOCRISY

We were all together in the midst of the synagogue when the rulers viciously castigated Jesus for performing healings on the Sabbath day. Indignantly they snarled at me, “There are six days on which men ought to work. Therefore, come and be healed on those days, and not on this Sabbath day of rest.”

Jesus scolded them, “You hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

That was when I realized the rulers didn’t believe that people were more important than religious laws and traditions.

They also didn't believe that Satan was the one who had bound me for eighteen years. Like so many other people that had judged wrongly, they believed it was my sin or my parent’s sin that caused me to be crippled.

I was amazed that the rulers were willing to argue about why I was crippled, but not willing to help me.

Jesus, however, was passionate about his compassion for me. Not only was he willing to stand up for me in front of the rulers of the synagogue, but he was willing to be condemned for healing me.

Much to the consternation of the rulers of the synagogue Jesus decreed, “Woman, you are loosed from this disease!”

Instantly, I was healed and able to straighten my back for the first time in eighteen years. I began shouting, jumping and rejoicing for the mercy and the grace of God.

The entire congregation glorified God and rejoiced with me.

The rulers, however, were unable to rest on this Sabbath day of rest.

***

DAY 20 – I DIDN’T ANNOY HIM

A crowd began to form just outside the gates of Jericho. They said Jesus was passing by.

I had heard much about Jesus. How he had made the blind see, healed the sick and even raised the dead. Many even claimed he was the Messiah foretold by the prophets. So I was not surprised to hear that the religious leaders argued about him. I knew they had their doctrines, titles and egos to protect.

I had nothing.

Born blind, I would not be able to see Jesus when he came close. So I began screaming, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

The more I screamed, the more the crowd shouted at me to be quiet. The more they shouted at me to be quite, the louder I screamed.

You wouldn't have stopped screaming either. Blindness had forced me to survive as a beggar on the side of the road. I did not care if my screaming for help bothered anyone.

I may have annoyed the crowd, but I didn’t annoy him. When Jesus heard me, he told them to bring me to him.

“Cheer up,” they conceded grudgingly. “Come on. He's calling you!”

Immediately I threw off my coat. I was determined that my days of begging were over. I would never wear the coat that labeled me blind and helpless ever again.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

I declared, “Rabbi, I want to see!”

Then he commanded, “Go. Your faith has healed you.” And immediately I could see perfectly.

I was so glad I didn't allow anyone to discourage me from crying out to Jesus!

***

DAY 21 – QUALIFYING THE UNQUALIFIED

I saw Jesus and his disciples quietly entering a home near Tyre. I supposed they were hoping to rest, but a demon was tormenting my daughter.

So I went to the home where they were staying, banged on the door and cried out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

There was no reply, so I just continued crying out.

I could hear some disciples inside urging Jesus to send me away. But he told them that he was only sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

I knew what Jesus meant and he was correct. I did not qualify for his grace because I was not from the House of Israel. I was a gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. My cry of “O Lord, Son of David” was pretense, and he knew it.

I realized I had to drop my pretense and come to him just as I am.

So without the drama or pretense, I humbled myself and pleaded, “Lord, help me.”

They opened the door and let me in. Jesus spoke, as it were, a coded message to me, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”

I had to think for a moment. He was describing children eating at the dinner table. Of course parents do not give their children’s bread to the little dogs. But everyone knows that the little dogs have a feast eating around the children’s table. Suddenly, I realized want he meant. He was giving me a way to qualify for his grace.

I replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

Jesus seemed so impressed that he smiled and declared, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire. The demon has gone from your daughter.”

And when I arrived at my home, my daughter was lying in bed in her right mind. I thought, “What mercy and grace I have received today!”

***

DAY 22 – SPEAK AND REST

We were sailing to the other side of Lake Galilee just as he had commanded us, when the winds became so great that the waves began to overwhelm and sink our boat. We bailed water until every ounce of strength left our bodies and fear began to fill our minds.

While we toiled and feared for our lives, Jesus was asleep at the rear of the boat resting his head on a pillow. The more I thought about him resting and not helping us, the angrier I became. Straining through the howling wind and rain, I finally yelled at John, “Doesn't he care about us? Wake him up. We are about to drown!”

When John woke him, Jesus calmly admonished us, “Why have you allowed fear to fill your hearts? Haven't I told you, ‘Nothing shall ever separate you from my love, and no weapon formed against you will prosper?’ Remind yourself of my words, and you'll discover that you do have faith.”

Turning to the howling storm, he calmly spoke to the waves with absolute authority, “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhsh, be still.”

Then he returned to his pillow and laid down to rest. Moments after he had fallen back to sleep, the storm ceased and there was a great calm.

We were astonished. What sort of man can speak to a storm and it obey him?

Days later, we walked past a certain tree on the way to Jerusalem. Seeing the tree, Jesus began teaching us, “For truly I tell you, this is how you use the faith that comes from God: Speak to this tree, or to this mountain or to any storm that is attacking your life. Tell it to stop and then rest. Be confident in my love for you. It will be just as you say. Don’t be afraid. Just speak and rest.”

***

DAY 23 – MOMMA DON’T CRY

I clung to my son's casket, unable to breathe. My husband's death had eviscerated my soul. But now, losing my only son was more than any mother should bear.

I was totally alone. I no longer had any identity. I used to be a wife. I used to be a mother. Now who am I? What have I done to be so cursed?

As we trudged our way through the gate of the city of Nain, another crowd trying to enter the gate stopped us. Emerging from the press of the crowd, a man named Jesus bent over, gently touched my shoulder, and urged me, “Momma, don't cry.” As I turned to see his face, the compassion in his eyes took from me the little breath that remained within me. He went over, touched the stretcher and commanded, “Young man, get up!”

I gasped as my son sat up and began to speak. Heaving contractions drove me to my knees. I was unable to think, unable to comprehend what I was seeing with my own eyes. For a moment, there was a mysterious silence from the crowd, followed by screams of joy and celebration. I could not stop shaking as I clutched and kissed my son.

Like a little girl searching for her daddy, I turned to see Jesus.

His eyes announced to my soul that I am someone special, important and greatly beloved.

He told me that I was not cursed, that I had done nothing wrong, that I would never be alone, and that it was his great pleasure to give me the desires of my heart and restore everything stolen from me.

Years later, my son and I had the most amazing dinner with Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

***

DAY 24 – THE DISCIPLE OF LOVE

No longer novices, we went from village to village preaching the good news and performing all kinds of signs and wonders among the people. It was a glorious time and the people esteemed us highly. What we didn’t discern, however, was just how much we still judged like mere men and not like God.

Seeing a blind man as we walked through a city, we asked Jesus, “Rabbi, was it this man’s sin or his parent’s sin that caused him to be born blind?”

Jesus answered, “You judge unjustly because you believe incorrectly. There was no such cause and effect here as you indict. Man judges according to the flesh, but your heavenly Father judges the heart and judges righteously. If you would have beheld the Father instead of the blind man, you would have perceived the glorious healing the Father wants to perform on this man. Then your judgment would have been righteous.”

Another time we stopped to eat in Samaria and the Samaritans refused to serve us because we were going to Jerusalem. James and I asked Jesus if he wanted us to call down fire from heaven and consume them as Elijah had done. But Jesus turned and rebuked us declaring, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. I did not come to destroy men’s lives. I came to save them!”

Another incident happened after we argued on the way to Capernaum. When we entered the house Jesus asked us, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” We kept silent because we had been arguing about which of us would be the greatest.

Then the most embarrassing incident happened right in front of the rest of the disciples when our mother went up and asked Jesus if James and I could sit with him in his kingdom, one at his right hand and the other at his left.

So don’t be condemned if you’ve made bad mistakes. We’ve made lots of them. But his grace is far greater than all of our mistakes.

More than anything else, and in spite of all my mistakes, I am still the disciple whom Jesus loves.

***

DAY 25 – STRIPES FOR A CUTTER

It is almost incomprehensible what emotional torture can drive you to do.

As I receded into the depths of my despair, what began as rejection had become a cruel, solitary confinement of self-loathing. By stealth, a rage pierced into my darkness and breached my soul. Legions of demons, disguising themselves as fortitude, gave me the strength to break the chains of anyone who attempted to bind me. Day and night I was in the tombs, patrolling the mountains and crying out as each cut I made on my body provided temporary relief from my emotional torment.

That was, until Jesus came for me.

From a short distance away he declared, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”

Though I realized he wasn’t actually talking to me, my body still shook violently and began to writhe in pain.

I retorted, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”

It was as if I was detached, watching a conflict between others. In terror, the legion of demons within me relinquished my body and entered the pigs. I felt so sorry for the pigs.

For the first time in a long time I could feel again. Wave after wave of his compassion filled and refilled my vacant soul. I broke my vow to never love anyone again and I sobbed in his loving embrace. Jesus comforted me and encouraged me to sit and rest. I needed to rest.

Seeing his joy at my deliverance, I felt valued and loved.

A couple of years later this same Jesus, who had delivered me from all my torment, was scourged and crucified. The soldiers who scourged him used whips tipped with sharp bones that cut and ripped flesh from his back with every stroke. Then they nailed him to a cross.

But on that cross he took all of our sorrow, grief, sickness and pain unto himself. He was wounded for the evil we committed, and bruised for the evil we envisioned. He took the punishment we deserved, so we could have peace instead. And by the stripes of every cut the whips left on his back, we were healed.

When I looked at Jesus and saw the cuts on his back, I knew I would never cut myself again.

***

DAY 26 – THE CENTURION

How do you describe the day you crucified the Son of God?

I was a soldier, a centurion, and I did what I was told. I was not religious. I despised religion and all religious fanatics. To me, this Rabbi was no different from all the rest, except for the wild display of hatred and contempt the chief priests showed for Him. When I heard a chief priest declare that he had no other king but Caesar, I was stunned. What a fraud!

As far as I was concerned, I was glad to get rid of one more religious fanatic.

It was the usual gruesome scene as we nailed the two thieves and Jesus to their crosses. But the vitriol coming from the crowd was more than even I could stomach. The mocking was so severe a mob mentality took over and even my soldiers joined in. They offered Jesus sour wine to quench his thirst and gambled for his clothes in front of his mother.

Then Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

I had never heard anyone speak with such grace and power. While one of the two thieves mocked him, I heard Jesus speak mercy and comfort to the other.

At noon, an evil darkness covered the whole land for three hours while Jesus writhed in an agony totally beyond my comprehension. When the darkness and evil had passed, he was still alive.

Triumphantly, he cried out, “It is finished!”

I knew something far greater than I could comprehend had just transpired. I remembered a fable I once heard as a child about a prophet who called down fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. Only this time, it was Jesus, the sacrifice, who had consumed the fire.

He spoke his last words as if he was in charge of everything that was happening, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

The magnitude of his grace overwhelmed me. His words burned in my heart, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

That was when I realized Jesus had forgiven me also.

I gasped, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

***

DAY 27 – GRACE FOR THE DOUBTER

It is unfair that the media call him “Doubting Thomas” as if the rest of us believed by faith. Yes Thomas did say, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” But the media leave out the fact that none of us believed until we saw Jesus in person.

The first morning after he had risen, Jesus appeared to Mary. He told her to tell us that he had risen from the dead. But neither Peter nor I would believe her without seeing it for ourselves. So we ran to the tomb (I arrived first) and his body was not there. Neither of us, nor the rest of the disciples, knew exactly what to believe. It wasn’t until that evening when Jesus appeared to us and showed us his hands, his side and ate fish with us that we truly believed.

And that was the same thing Jesus did for Thomas a week later.

Did Jesus condemn Thomas for having doubts? No!

Jesus did not condemn Thomas because he did not believe without seeing. Instead, he graciously showed Thomas his hands and his side and said, “Don’t be unbelieving. Believe!”

Jesus did not desire to test or shame Thomas. Jesus was willing to do whatever Thomas needed so that he would believe and receive the rest that comes from believing.

Jesus also said that there was a special blessing for all those who believed in him even though they had not seen him.

And the media completely ignore the fact that Thomas was the one who replied to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Not only did Thomas repent in response to the grace of Jesus, he also prophesied that Jesus was God.

By extending grace to Thomas instead of condemnation, Jesus transformed Thomas from a doubter to an apostle.

So if you are struggling with doubt, rest assured that Jesus loves you anyway. He does not condemn you. And Jesus will continue to reveal himself to you so you can believe!

***

DAY 28 – AN UNPARDONABLE SIN

Everywhere I go people ask me about the fact that I denied our Lord three times. I know their intention is not to condemn me. They just want to understand how I could be forgiven of my sin when Jesus so clearly stated, “Whoever denies me before men, I will deny before my Father.”

I assure them it doesn’t hurt my feelings to talk about it. My hope is that my testimony will help anyone who is afraid they may have committed an unpardonable sin.

The law is just and unbendable. And I am certainly guilty of breaking it. The purpose of the law is to reveal sin. And it does that very well.

No one can be justified by the law. The law disqualifies everyone. So if you have ever had hatred in your heart toward your brother, the law condemns you as a murderer. Even if you have only stumbled at one point of the law, the law judges you as guilty of breaking it all.

The truth is the law condemns us all. We have all committed an unpardonable sin. But because of his great love for us, Jesus died on the cross, paying with his blood the debt we owed, but could never repay. We are saved by his grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus has appeared to me several times and confirmed his great love for me. He has convinced me that he has forgiven me of all my sin and cleansed me from all my unrighteousness. In fact he has convicted me that I am righteous, his gift imputed to me. Our brother Paul has also helped me to understand this new covenant of grace to which I now testify.

According to the law, I was already condemned that night whether I denied him or not.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness of Christ in which I now stand is not conditional upon my performance because I did not receive it as a result of my performance. I have been freely justified by his grace, through faith in Jesus Christ – His blood being the propitiation, the full payment and the ultimate atonement for my sin.

Therefore, there is no such thing as a sin that is too big for God to forgive. The blood of Jesus is greater than all of our sin put together. God’s grace is MUCH greater than sin!

I have received his forgiveness. I have found rest in his love. I am able to breathe again. Praise be to the glory of his grace!

***

DAY 29 – WHAT A TRANSFORMATION

It had been a wonderful yet tumultuous three years, and we all knew we would never be the same after having been with Jesus. So when Peter announced he was going fishing, we were all enthusiastic to join him.

It was invigorating to be fishing again. The fragrance of the boat and the salt water filled the moonlit breeze, though we silently questioned the purpose for our lives now that Jesus had risen.

We fished the entire night and caught nothing.

Perhaps we had all wished we could return to our old lives, but not catching any fish that night was a stark reminder that the good-old-days weren't really all that good. So we decided to quit and go home.

As we prepared to come ashore, another fisherman told us to go back out and cast the net on the right side of the boat. We didn't know who he was, or why going out again would help. But we were all hungry, so we did as he said. As soon as we cast our net in the water we caught 153 large fish. I knew then, it was no ordinary fisherman who spoke to us from the bank. I told Peter, “It's the Lord.”

Peter immediately jumped into the water and swam to Jesus. A wave of emotions and gratitude flooded my chest as I watched him swim to Jesus.

It was only three years ago that Peter would have recoiled from even the thought of being near Jesus, condemned by his own sin. Now this same Peter, even after having made so many mistakes as a disciple, races to be with him.

I thought, “Peter knows how much he is loved.”

What a transformation!

***

DAY 30 – GRACE FOR A TERRORIST

You hear about it every day. Some religious fanatic murders an innocent person, purporting to protect the reputation of his God.

I was that man.

If your God requires you to “protect” his reputation, he is no God.

If your God compels you to “defend” his truth, you are not defending his truth, you are only indulging in your own narcissism.

Perhaps like you, I was determined to excel beyond all my contemporaries. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. Concerning the law, I was proudly a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, I gladly terrorized anyone that didn't believe. Concerning the righteousness that is of the law, I considered myself blameless. I had become a legend in my own mind.

Unabashedly, an untrained Nazarene named Jesus began teaching in the synagogue and stole my thunder. He began mesmerizing the people with his lying signs and wonders. I could not believe my porcelain ego was so threatened with fracture because of this uneducated carpenter!

I knew from the very beginning that every word Jesus said and every miracle he performed conformed to the scriptures. His light was pure, but it exposed my darkness. I refused to admit my need for a savior. In my mind, my God needed me.

Fear had pierced my soul and brought with it demons of hatred, violence and murder. The more I rejected his words of grace, the more bitterness and wrath consumed me.

I thought it would finally end when we crucified Jesus, but it only became much worse. Now every uneducated Jew thought he knew God. And as much as I was obsessed with destroying this war against my religion, I was privately tormented by demons. They mocked my imperfections, divulged my weaknesses and repudiated my achievements.

Then one day, on the road to Damascus, grace knocked me off my horse. Though I had been persecuting him, Jesus rescued me from the torment of my insecurity. I had been obstinately assaulting the very good news of grace I so desperately needed. I had not been protecting my religion or my God. I had become a terrorist.

Jesus was the only one with enough mercy and grace to forgive a terrorist like me.

***

DAY 31 – THE THINGS CONCERNING HIMSELF

Three days after Jesus was crucified, two of us decided to go to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. We talked about everything that happened to Jesus, how Mary said she saw him that morning, and about how disappointed we were that Jesus had not redeemed Israel.

As we traveled, a stranger joined us who seemed to know nothing about what had happened. We tried to explain it to him, but he only smiled and said, “It was necessary for the Christ to suffer all these things.” Then starting with Moses and going through all the prophets he interpreted for us all the things concerning Jesus.

When we reached Emmaus, he sat at dinner with us, took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to us. That was when we realized he was Jesus!

But as soon as we recognized him, he vanished. So we immediately came back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples.

After we told them we had seen Jesus they asked, “Why do you think he vanished the moment you recognized him, Cleopas?”

I said, “I believe he vanished because it was more important for us to recognize him in the scriptures than with our eyes.”

While we talked about all these things, Jesus suddenly stood in our midst and said, “Peace be with you!”

After proving to us he was not a ghost he said, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me.” And he opened our understanding that we might comprehend the Scriptures.

Our hearts burned within us while he revealed his glory. He was the one that spoke and created the heavens and the earth. He was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

He revealed how the scriptures were also types and shadows that pointed to him. Like Joseph, he was rejected by his brothers. Like Moses, he delivered his people from bondage. Like the bronze serpent, he was lifted up to save the people. Like Joshua, he led his people into the Promised Land.

Every story, every type, every shadow, it was all about Jesus.

Did you recognize Him?

###

OTHER BOOKS BY ROB GORE

Enjoying The Goodness Of God

ISBN: 978-1310999383

God wants us to be able to enjoy life, not just survive it. Enjoying the Goodness of God is not a Christian self-help book, though it will help you. It is not a bible study, though you will learn about the bible. It is not designed to motivate you to try harder, though you will be motivated. It does not contain the steps to achieve personal actualization and success, though when you discover who you are in Christ Jesus and all He has done for you, you will find great success. The purpose of this book is to point you back to Jesus and allow Jesus to reveal Himself to you once again. The more you see Jesus, the more He will change you, from glory to glory. Not behavior modification, but heart transformation. It results in great success!

About The Author

Rob Gore is an author, teacher and former pastor of Faith Fellowship Church of McKinney, Texas. Having grown up in the goodness of God and the integrity of His word, Pastor Rob’s life and ministry was touched mightily in 2011 by the message of God’s grace.

Rob and his wife Toni are available to minister at your church, conference or gathering. Please send a written request to mailto:pastor@robgore.org

Find out more about Rob Gore Ministries at http://www.robgore.org

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