Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 20:20 “And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”
And so will we! There is a day and a time when we who believe and trust in Jesus will see the Lord in His body. What a day that will be! The author of Hebrews wrote of this moment. Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
The last time some of the disciples saw Jesus He was bloodied from head to toe with gashes and nail and spear wounds. Imagine their joy at seeing Jesus alive and well within 3 days. What do you think they saw when He showed them His hands and side that made them rejoice?
Seeing Jesus’ wounds, most of them to a great degree healed, in His resurrected body meant He had been to the Father and had returned as He promised with the Holy Spirit. I wonder if any of them recalled His words from the previous Thursday.
John 16:19 Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'?
John 16:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
John 16:21 Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
John 16:22 Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Today as we live to love with Jesus, let us rejoice and be filled with joy. Jesus who appeared to them lives in us.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 20:19 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’"
I wonder if the disciples remembered the last words Jesus had said to them as a group in His last discourse? He had said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Before perhaps they were just words, but when the resurrected Christ appeared in the room and said, “Peace be with you,” His overcoming power was on full display.
I don’t think Jesus walked through a closed door, rather He materialized on our side of the veil between heaven and earth. He had gone to the Father as He had told Mary.
Let’s not miss this verse. Jesus lives to bring peace on earth to His disciples. When He came to earth, the heavenly host said, Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Jesus atoned for their sins so they could have peace with God. The resurrection is God’s declaration that peace has been made through Jesus Christ, His Son. That’s what the love of God produces—peace. Peace be with you today.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 20:18 “Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ’I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her.”
John declared his source for his account. It was Mary. I wonder if Jesus just disappeared, and then Mary went to the disciples or if she left Him there in the garden. We aren’t told, but she did what she was told.
Mary’s testimony can be a example for us all. “I have seen the Lord.” Living to love entails more than just good deeds and service. We are to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light as Peter wrote in 1 Pet. 1:9. We not only have seen Jesus, He lives with us. We are testimonies of His resurrection life and His mercy and grace.
If you have yet to see the matchless excellencies of Jesus Christ, read the Bible, keep His story before you, and let Him know you are seeking Him—like Mary did. Wait upon Him to make Himself known to you just like He did to Mary. Listen to this Scripture and be encouraged. Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Mary was rewarded and so shall you be if you believe and seek Him.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 20:17.2 “Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”'"
Before Jesus was crucified He told His disciples that He was going to the Father. It is interesting that between the time He was resurrected and the time He showed Himself to Mary that He had not yet gone to His Father. It was as if she was preventing Him from ascending to His Father, and it was time for Him to go. By the time she got to the disciples, He said to tell them He had ascended to His and their Father and His and their God.
This means that the delayed ascension was for one purpose, namely to launch the testimony of His resurrection with Mary. Once that was accomplished, He ascended into heaven to celebrate the glorious work of redemption with His Father.
Jesus is now not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11).
Join me with our brother Peter in blessing God today for His great love. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 20:17 “Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”'"
I want to encourage you today to look at the events of that resurrection morning from this perspective. God moved Mary into Jesus’ path because He planned to love her in a special way and use her for His glory. He wanted her to see the resurrected Jesus.
Today, God is doing it again in all the lives of those in whom the Son dwells. He will put people in your path so they can see the resurrected Jesus in you! Then they will go and tell the world that Jesus lives and is risen. That’s how the Father builds His kingdom. Mary is the first in a series that won’t end until the last one of the elect of God trusts in the resurrected Christ. That last one might be in your path today. Be ready to love with Jesus.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com