DEVOTION

Theme: Empowered in the Holy Spirit 

Text: John 20:19-23

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Jesus did not just reveal Himself to His disciples spontaneously but did it little by little so as to draw their mind to the fulfillment of the Holy scripture. He appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women, then some disciples on their way to Emmaus and in today's text, to the disciples in exception of Thomas.

The doors were shut but the Lord appeared before them. There's nothing to limit Christ from carrying out His assignments. You can't flee from the presence of God, He's omniscient and omnipresent. Though the master was filled with power, His disciples were clouded with fear. This fear brings nothing but chaos in the physical and spiritual being of these followers as their minds are unstable. To calm their unstableness, the Master greeted them; "Peace be with you". You must understand that the kind of peace Christ is giving them is not as the world gives (John 14:27). His Shallom is to quiet every condemning voice of the accuser and give hope unto them. When Christ's peace comes into your life, you'll experience divine inner peace. He also showed them His hands and sides to revealed He really has gone through the pain in the flesh that they may be empowered. This gladden their hearts and countenance.

Having awoken them, He extended His divine peace once again unto the disciples and then empowered them in the Holy Spirit. They were to go and proclaim the gospel. Christ knew He will be leaving them but not as orphans. He therefore breathed on them to receive the Truth, Teacher, Advocate, Power and Helper the Holy Spirit. By this strength, they can now distinguish good from evil and as well the power to forgive sins on earth. Take note, distance isn't a barrier to be a partaker of this empowerment, so though Thomas was absent, yet he has also been empowered. God has shown in the past that, once He has called you, His touch of empowerment on you can't be limited by anything (Numbers 11:24-30). We see Stephen the first to be martyred praying the sins of his persecutors should not be counted against them (Acts 7:60). You have been empowered to proclaim Christ, use every available means to tell the world that Christ is the Saviour of the world.

Prayer: Holy Spirit divine, let your nature rule in me. Let truth proceed from me and the power of forgiveness to forgive freely in Jesus' name. AMEN!