Convincing Proofs!

Acts 1:3” After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

SUFFERINGS: Look at the above scripture, it starts with talking about the suffering of Jesus, He was able to very clearly feel suffering and pain because He came down as a human, suffered for us so that our sins may be washed away by His blood. Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded[ for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes[ we are healed.” Say Amen. Hallelujah! Hey friend, today is a day of victory because God has forgiven our sins and by His blood our sins are washed away. That is why it is called GOOD FRIDAY! We don’t need to go on a pilgrimage on a long and difficult journey, dip in a holy river for atonement of sins, all we got to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent for our sins, submit ourselves to be washed by His blood. Amen.

A couple of days back I was reading Exodus 3:7 it says: The Lord said, “I have seen the suffering of My people in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of the men who make them work. I know how they suffer.” I was so touched by these words, sometimes we feel, ‘is God aware of my sufferings, does He notice the injustice being done to me? Does God care for me? Why this long delay in my life?..’ Nevertheless, this scripture pristinely talks about our God, He has seen the sufferings of His people, heard their cry and how they were oppressed, having seen and heard, He did not turn His back but He approached Moses to go to them. Amen. Look how God operates behind our back, anybody there?

Apostle Paul said: Romans 5:3,4”……we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..” Here’s a message for tea aficionados! If you have a crush for tea, remember, after careful hand-plucking “two leaves and a bud”, there is a five stage process where the harvest is withered, rolled, fermented, fired, sorted and graded. The flavor is brought to the fore through crushing, thrusting, pressing and finally fermenting! Behind every refreshing sip of tea that we take, there has been a lot of tossing and rolling! The good news! The more you are rolled, pressed, tossed and pressed, the more juice comes to the fore! Glory to Jesus!

Friend, God at times does not come to your rescue immediately but allows you to go through turmoil, agony, heavy burden, persecutions and much more to make you strong and mighty! Believe me, you would come out refined, purified, stronger, humbler and more lovelier! An untested novice goes through the process of experience, training, beating, humiliation, lack, criticism, pressure, strain and finally comes out as a champ that can now shoulder anything!

Can we say like Apostle Paul “we rejoice in our sufferings!” Remember the crushing that happens behind every sip of tea that you take!

B) HE STAYED: Author Luke explains that Jesus just did not leave them or forsake them, He lingered long enough to prove to them that He was alive, He stayed for 40 days and kept talking about the Kingdom of God. His heart was beating fast, He was not able to leave His children without being sure that they got the message (Kingdom of God). The disciples would be able to live a successful life only after they comprehend the entire picture behind the crucifixion and Resurrection. Likewise, even today Jesus would like His people to know the scenarios connected with His resurrection and thereby live accordingly. Glory to Jesus!

Illustration: As I was writing this portion, I remembered my English teacher Angela back in School, who was also my principal who would take great efforts to teach us English language. Back then I did not understand her value but later in retrospect when I think of her dedication, I was grateful to have had such teachers who groomed me to be what I am today. In grade 10, we were asked to come as early as 6 am for extra classes, she would take me separately and give me breakfast like sausages, ham etc that I could not afford those days. Look at her love for her students, such was her passion to teach her students.

Recently when I was reading the description of ‘heavenly city ’ found in Revelation 21:21, as being made of "pure gold, like transparent glass", my heart skipped a beat to think of its purity, holiness, loveliness and divine beauty. When we see advertisements and promotions of gorgeous holiday destinations, where they enhance the beauty of the place so that your eyes feast on it and trigger your desire to visit that place. You start saving money for it, you start dreaming about it and you start preparing for your vacation; however, once the vacation is over, the joy perishes when you get the huge bill. But I am talking today of the ‘everlasting joy’ that we receive through Christ. Say Amen.