Scripture: Mark 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 16:9-14 (NLT)

9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

12 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God really highlighted this passage to me this morning, particularly the point of unbelief that the disciples had surrounding His resurrection. At the first reading of this we might feel pity or feel sorry for the disciples for such unbelief. In closer deliberation I thought about who it was that struggled with unbelief. These were the men who were handpicked by Jesus; they were closest to Him during His ministry here on earth; they witnessed miracle after miracle which showed them firsthand the power of Jesus, and they heard Jesus speak about how He would rise again after the third day. Further, I am sure that the prayers that went up by these men after Jesus was arrested was probably very intense, for they had lost their Master, their friend, their leader. So why then would they be surprised to hear that Jesus was alive? Friends, we are just as bad today even after all we know from God’s Word, and even after all that we have prayed about, and even after all that we have witnessed and/or heard about Jesus doing here on this earth. I believe that Jesus can easily say to us today, “Oh ye of little faith”. Having just celebrated Easter, we know that Jesus is alive. We know that He is the same miracle worker that we read about in His Word and witnessed in so many cases here on this earth, so let us therefore place our faith and trust in Him. Let us expect the miracles that He has the power to perform and not be surprised when we witness the answers, but instead celebrate the power of God and His willingness to hear and respond to our prayers. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. Near enough that we could have a relationship with Him and witness His answers to our prayers and perform the miracles that we could only dream of. Have faith in God!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I believe in You. I believe in Your almighty hand. Please help me to always pray in faith, believing that You have the power to do all things. Let me therefore not be surprised when You answer my prayers, but instead be ready to rejoice and lift up Your name above all names. Please help my unbelief!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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