Are you real?
by Pastor Mark Gierus
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While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’ (Luke 24:36).
Read Luke 24:36b–48
When last did you touch someone with the love of Jesus? When last do you remember being touched by Jesus’ love through someone else?
You might be at that place in your life where your daily walk has little meaning or love in it. You might have come to the point of crying out, ‘Are you real, Jesus?’.
When Jesus appears to his disciples on the beach after his resurrection, he begins with these beautiful words of comfort, ‘Peace be with you’.
Asking them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?’, Jesus knows their hearts, and the disciples are troubled and frightened, thinking they have seen a ghost.
Jesus knows your heart, too. He knows your thoughts, your dreams, your feelings of failure. He knows your disappointments and your hurts. He knows you. But maybe you wonder if he is real. Sometimes, it seems like the more you pray and seek Jesus, the further away Jesus feels.
But Jesus comes to us. He comes and says, ‘Peace be with you!’ When you feel Jesus is so far away, he is closer than you realise. For Jesus lives in you by his word. Jesus is the word that is planted in your hearts and grows by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When you are feeling lost, alone, scared and in need of comfort, call on the name of Jesus, who answers prayer. As you pray, know that the Lord has answered your prayer even before you finish praying, and he knows exactly what you need even when you can’t put it into words. You might just find you will meet Jesus in the people he sends your way to encourage you and share words and acts of love.
Jesus works in us and through us, and as we grow in Jesus, spending time in his word, he sends us out to those around us who are feeling lost, alone and hurt to share the same love of Jesus that comforts and heals us. Know this peace Jesus gives you, and know that as you love others in Jesus’ love, they too will come to meet Jesus and know just as you do that Jesus is real.
Dear Jesus, come and be with me and bring your words of peace. Comfort me and show me how real you are in all I do and in the people around me you have blessed me with. Help me be your hands and feet, Jesus, by showing your love to others you have sent me to. Amen.
Pastor Mark lives with his two daughters aged 11 and 8 in Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane. He currently serves as a pastor in the LCANZ and is passionate about sharing Jesus’ love with those around him. Pastor Mark loves to travel with his family to see the wonders of God’s creation and meet people who share their stories of what God has done for them.
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