Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

Believe in Him and have life in his name!  As I think of my own walk with God, and life in Christ, the least that I can say, as a 90-year-old believer, is that this is a truth that is above all truths!  Jesus invites me to believe in him and to live the new life in his name, not mine!

I know this but need to keep it before me as the great blessing of God as I live in the joy of fellowship with him and with others.

Through the years when so much was shaken in my life, this truth stood when so much fell away.  Life offers so many nice things, gifts of God, certainly, but nothing compares with my belief in Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord.  This is a precious gift of God to me, more precious than life itself.

Amen and amen!

Anna Ruth knows how to turn out the corn!  Here she prepares for our weekly Friday noon feast for our children and Dwayne.  This is our first bi-colored corn of the year.  Mmm!

Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31b

To believe that Jesus, God’s Messiah, God’s Son is here in me this morning as I write these words is truly amazing!  But true!  The key is to believe.  That is not simply some nod of the head and then getting on with life as it is, belief implies much, much more than that, it is life itself!

This is the final message of the Gospel of John.  But it is not the last we hear from this dear brother in Christ.  No.  We see him as a prisoner of Rome on an island of the Mediterranean Sea.  He is an old man. I suppose I could have expected John to throw up his hands in despair thinking, is this what believing is all about?  At the end of John’s Gospel the offer to believe is as clear as one can make it.  Fine.  Then, what happens when we truly believe?  All sorts of things, some magnificent, some very disturbing like seeing John, now an old man, as a prisoner of the Roman Empire on the small island of Patmos in the Mediterranean.

It is coming clear to me that belief in Jesus and who he is becomes the one unalterable fact in my life.  That does not mean that my belief is not tested – sometimes hugely. What It means is that I believe one thing, Jesus is mine and I am his!  Whether that belief brings joy or sorrow is not the point.  The point is, Jesus is exactly who he said he is no matter what.  I know no other way.

In this regard, nothing has changed. As it was for John it is for me.  As it is for Peter, it is for me.  May I never waver.  Jesus is in me to make sure of that!

Our first bicolored corn of the season.  We did enjoy the white early corn, but these fellows are considerably bigger and just as good, if not better.  In any case, this is the day our children have lunch at our place.  Always a good time.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

John is writing to me, to all who will read his letter.  He makes it clear that the purpose of his writings is that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I note the progress of belief, first I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and secondly believe that through his name I have life!  It could not be more simple, nor less difficult.  We are called to simply believe in Jesus and believe that in him we have life.  By doing so we declare that there is no other way.  Our entire hope is in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.  This excludes the many voices that deny that truth.

The hardest part is to believe.  It looks easy at first but becomes extremely difficult when we face its meaning.  But that is the only door to the new life.  Lord, make me a believer!

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 John 20:28 – 31

It is not easy to believe!  Yet that is the essential thing!  If we do not believe we build life on nothing.  By belief, I am not suggesting nodding the head in consent.  That is easy.  What is difficult is believing God and what he has done for us and acting on that belief.

So, I am not surprised that the Gospel of John ends with this appeal to believe.  Believe what?  That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  This world has produced many good people, and bad ones, too, by the way.  Jesus is not one of many, he is the Messiah, and there is only one!  As I hear the voice of the Spirit of God, I am reminded of the fact that Jesus cannot be equated with any other.  He is the Messiah, the sent one, sent by God himself to reveal him to us.  That is the essential theme of John’s Gospel.

If we can truly believe that we are changed completely, now having life in his name, we are changed from living for self to living for God!  I admit, it is hard to believe!  But the truth remains.  “We have life in the name of Jesus.”  In other words, there is no other way to have eternal life.

My soul, believe, believe, believe!  Believe when all seems to contradict that belief.  Keep believing until the end!

 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:24-28

I see myself in Thomas.  He was one of the 12 apostles, a twin of whom we know nothing.  I need proof!!

He needed tactile proof, shall we say, in order to be sure of the truth.  It looks like the other apostles did not need this kind of proof to convince them that the person that had appeared to the apostles was really Jesus.  I think Thomas was honest when he said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” That was a week before Jesus did appear to show himself to Thomas.   It is as though Jesus knew what Thomas was thinking so he appeared and showed himself to Thomas, saying, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”  Thomas, bless him, believed with all his heart!

I recall my surprise when in India I learned that Thomas brought the Gospel to that great land – a doubter turned into a believer who blessed many.  Pondering that thought, I asked the Lord to give me the gift of belief!  There is so much to disprove the love of God but we believe no matter what!

Is it true?  Can it be?  How can I praise God and those around me for allowing me to be this venerable age?

I think I am doing well until I think of my sister, Twila, now 104 and as bright as a tack, a blessing to me and many others.  I can not even imagine 104.  Whewh!!

Anyway I praise God for his love, for the love of Anna Ruth, the family and many precious friends around the world. I am heavy with thankfulness on my 90th birthday.  I remind myself that my mother lived until her 95th.

I found this old picture of myself about age 8 or so.  How agout that grin?  May I have that all my days. I think I was pleased with my sailor suit that I may have got as a birthday gift, at least a nice thought.   I have no idea about my shorts!  Crumbled!  Oh, well, ’tis me!

July 5, a day to remember in our family, the day we welcomed Jane Elizabeth into our family and into the world.  As our first child, born at Shirati Hospital in Tanzania, she has a special place in our memories and hearts.  We can not even begin to be thankful enough for this gift of grace.  Jane has been in step with us for all of her 63 years and fills a huge place in our lives as next-door neighbor.  She brought Glenn into the picture, her devoted husband, another gift of grace.  Our lives have been entwined in a beautiful way through the years, especially the last 16 years, as neighbors.   The rooms that they built on for us when we need to scale down have served many people since built.  Bless these dear ones.

So, as we celebrate Jane’s birthday today we do so with joy, gratitude and a full heart.  She has been a gift to us for all these many years and continues to be until this day.

Here she is squeezed between Mom and Dad as we board the motorcycle for our visit to the lake shore, an outing we enjoyed often.  Our house is in the background.  This is before Paul was born.  Jane is our first born and the only daughter.  The joy she has brought into our lives is beyond telling, until today, her birthday.