I Declare – I will allow for the light of the love of Christ to shine brightly through me. I will work hard at not allowing doubt to creep in for I am blessed of my Lord, for I believe in him without physically seeing him.

This is what I believe and boldly declare! 

John 20:24-29 (ESV)

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Friends, you are one of those “blessed ones” our Lord just referenced, because you have believed in Him, yet have never seen Him. How do we know He’s real and is who He says He is if we have never laid eyes on Him? Well, we have experienced Him. We’ve been touched by His love, healed by His mercy and changed by His presence. It’s an inward knowing, not an outside seeing. It’s as scripture says, “taste and see that the Lord is good”. This is where you have to experience Him for yourself, to really know what I’m talking about. The resurrected life has undergone a metamorphosis that has forever altered the trajectory of our lives. We bear witness to our Savior’s reality, “as lights shining brightly on a mountain top” and because of this, folk around us will have an opportunity to experience Christ for themselves. Keep shining my friends, keep shining.