May 2024 of the Northern lights in Utah Picture by Brad & Teresa Laney
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nail marks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Emphasis mine JN 20:24-29
Let’s back up a few lines in John 20.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Jn 20:19-20
How many times have you heard or read John’s Gospel and blew by the words,
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
Where was Thomas?
He was out.
God is working in our lives because the Bible also told us that The Disciples were behind LOCKED doors for FEAR of the Jews.
Thomas didn’t have that fear. Thomas was out!
Why?
Because Thomas was needed to come back and say what he said about believing Jesus actually rose from the dead.
Jesus could then say a powerful prayer that applies to all of us who believe and haven’t physically seen Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
The Joy is not criticizing Thomas for his doubt; the Joy of realizing that God is working in our lives because Thomas was not with them when Jesus came, and we are Blessed because we have not seen but believe.
A prayer you might consider learning
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.
Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.
I hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
Psalm 131
We are going to include the Psalms we pray daily in the order we pray them. This all started when I read that Billy Graham read five Psalms daily. The Holy Spirit encouraged me to memorize five Psalms over a period of years. The first Psalm we pray is Psalm 91, and the next is Psalm 131. We put in Bold the part that The Holy Spirit called my attention to. Psalm 131 is a prayer for an increase of Peace. If you want the list of all five Psalms, email me. Over the following months, we will bring your attention to all of them.
Sidebar:
I was encouraged by the Holy Spirit to buy the book The Real Faith for Healing by Dr. Charles Price.
Dr. Price is a minister who had a conversion experience at a Free Methodist mission in Spokehan, Washington. His conversion changed Dr. Price, and he became a blazing flame of Evangelism and a channel for divine healing wherever he went.
I have gained a few thoughts from Dr. Price’s book and am only a third through it.
The churches are full of the sick and dying who listen to sermons on healing, and yet they are not healed when they are prayed for.
Jesus said, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Emphasis mine Mt 17:20
Dr. Price goes on to say that people BELIEVE that Jesus can heal, BUT they don’t have the FAITH Jesus WILL HEAL.
Dr. Price continues, “We have made faith a condition of the mind when it is a divinely imparted grace of the Heart.”
The Holy Spirit had me recall when I had my Prostate problem. We prayed the prayers we had discussed, and we reported that I felt Peace throughout the four months it took to be healed.
Was I healed instantly? No! I have been in the past, but not this time.
I believe God let the four months go by to bring me closer to Them, and it did!
The prayers we have discussed since the start of our blogs are to help us grow in FAITH, and I, yes, I, now realize how important FAITH is.
We have talked about Faith, but before this book, I had never linked the Faith of a mustard seed to Jesus’s ability to heal me.
We are mentioning this book because I know several people looking for healing, and we believe it could help.
We will continue this conversation next week.
Picture:
The picture below was taken in May, 2024 of the Northern lights in Utah. We drove out of town a few miles to better see the lights, and we were not disappointed. Picture by Brad & Teresa Laney
Please keep Snapping!
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
By submitting a picture, you agree to let us include it in our next God Thoughts 2024 book.
