Day 20 of 21 Day Challenge

John 20 begins with Mary Magdalene discovering the empty tomb. When she saw that the stone had been rolled away, she didn't enter the tomb. She ran to tell others about it. The first disciple to reach the tomb didn't enter the tomb either. Simon Peter arrived second and he was the first to enter it. I would have thought the disciples would have been excited and realized that all Jesus had told them was true, but they were confused and didn't seem to understand what had happened. They left, but Mary stayed there. She continued to think that someone had stolen Jesus' body even after she looked in the tomb and saw two angels. Then she turned around and saw Jesus, but she didn't recognize Him. It wasn't until He said her name that she realized who He was. She again ran to tell others about it. When you know Jesus, you shouldn't keep it to yourself. You should go and tell others about Him!

I gained a new appreciation for verse 19 today which says, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said 'Peace be with you!'" First, I realized that the disciples were still afraid of the Jews. They probably didn't know if the Jews would still try to kill them because they had been followers of Jesus. I'm sure the fact that Jesus' body was "missing" added to their fear because the Jews thought the disciples had stolen Jesus' body. When Jesus prayed for the disciples right before His arrest, He prayed for them to have peace. Now Jesus appears to them for the first time since His death and resurrection and the first words He says to them are "Peace be with you!" He says it a second time in verse 21. Jesus knew that His disciples were afraid and He didn't want them to be afraid anymore. He wanted them to be at peace. He knew that they needed to be bold so that they could be effective witnesses, and they can't be bold if they are afraid. When you know Jesus, don't be afraid to tell others about Him.

As I read Proverbs 29, I had to smile when I read verse 25. It says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." I immediately thought back to what God had been showing me in John. The disciples were afraid of the Jews and this would have proven to be a snare to their witness. They couldn't be effective witnesses if they were afraid of speaking the truth to others. The good news about Jesus wouldn't have spread like it did had the disciples continued to be afraid, so Jesus came to the disciples and told them "Peace be with you!" What are you afraid of? Failure? What others will think of you? Not being able to say things clearly? Fear usually leads to inaction. It stops you from doing what you should. What we need to do is simply to put our trust in the Lord. When He tells you to do something, have faith that He is going to help you and then go do it!

I have really loved doing this 21 Day Challenge and seeing how often God would reaffirm that I was learning exactly what He wanted me to. I always began by reading a chapter in John. I would then journal my thoughts on that passage before moving on to Proverbs. Many times, God would show me a verse in Proverbs that went along perfectly with what I had just learned in John. I received a lot of confirmation that I really was seeing or learning what He wanted me to see and learn. Our God is so awesome!