Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:22-23

Jesus isn’t talking about our eyesight. He is talking about faith. Can you see what God is up to in your life or are you so skeptical that feel all alone?

Read this again from another translation…

Jesus said, “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!” Matthew 6:23

Jesus encourages us to not only look… but to also see God’s activity in our lives and in the world. 

Doubt, fear and anger causes our “spiritual eyes” to go bad.

I want to be your spiritual eye doctor so that you may see clearly the most important things. 

Doubt subtly suggests that Jesus really is NOT the Son of God instead a great teacher. Many who have reservations believe Jesus was a great man but that is all.

I don’t know if you know this, but the Old Testament is filled with all sorts of predictions about the Son of God coming to be with us including his death and eventual resurrection!

Jesus fulfilled each of these predictions written hundreds of years before his birth.  It is difficult to be “just a normal guy” and fulfill every prediction written about a Messiah (a savior). 

Seriously, what are the odds of one person fulfilling all the prophecies written about them? 

Well, let me tell you…

Cover the state of Texas, all 268,597 miles of it with silver dollars, three feet high. This is about 7.5 billion cubic feet of silver dollars. 

Now mark one of those silver dollars with an “X” and throw it anywhere into the pile within the state of Texas. 

Now, let’s drop a blindfolded person from an airplane over Texas (with a parachute), and tell them to reach down anywhere, and pick up one silver dollar after he lands. 

The odds of them picking up the silver dollar with the “X” out of all those coins are the same as one person satisfying all of the predictions about the Son of God in the Old Testament. 

And that is exactly what Jesus did (fulfilled the predictions, that is, not the dollar thing)!

That helps clear up some of the darkness in our eyes, doesn’t it?

This past Sunday we celebrated the most important event in human history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Had that not happened, human history would be completely different, and I wouldn’t be writing to you in this moment!

Do you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus? I do.

Do you believe that the same divine power that resurrected Jesus from the dead is available to us today? I believe that too.

That is the difference between belief and faith. Believing is knowing that divine power raised Jesus from the dead almost 2000 years ago. Faith is knowing that resurrection power is available to us as well. 

Belief is the first step… faith is the last step. Belief is good but faith is better. 

It is the resurrection power of Jesus that comforts me when I am sad or scared.

It is resurrection power of Jesus that gives me courage to lead.

It is resurrection power of Jesus that gives me the strength to share my faith and even serve others. 

Never forget: That power is only a prayer away. 

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!

God bless you,
Pr. Ben