Jon Cash Ministries

John 20:24-29 “Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

–Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, had been with Jesus for years seeing miracle after miracle and yet this miracle was too much for him to handle. Thomas had also been privy to Jesus reminding His disciples that He would die for the sins of the people and rise from the dead. In our own lives, most of us have seen the Lord move in a mighty way yet we still have a hard time believing that He can do one more miracle for us. What are you holding back from God in your personal life? What sin are you allowing to stew in your life not believing that He can give you victory? Jesus did rise from the dead. He has the power to take the dead part of our spiritual lives and bring life, and life more abundantly to it.

–Jesus waited a full week before He appeared to Thomas and the other disciples. Why wait so long? I believe that He was waiting for Thomas to repent of his unbelief and believe what his friends told him. Though His heart was hard, Jesus decided to seek Him out by miraculously appearing to them “with the doors locked.” When we don’t move toward Jesus in an area of our lives that needs fixing, eventually God will make the move toward us to restore fellowship with His people. When He does, make every effort to respond to His move of mercy in a positive and repentant way.

–Thomas had to see Jesus before he would believe that He had been raised from the dead. God wants His people to believe without seeing the proof of His existence. This is the very essence of faith. Jesus reminds us “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” What kind of faith do you have? How is your trust in the Lord? His greatest desire for each of us is to establish a love relationship with us where we can worship Him in truth and spirit without the physical proof to back it up. The spiritual proof of His existence is so great! God does not want us to be a “doubting Thomas.” He promises to bless our socks off when we trust Him with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits.

John 18:36-40 “Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a King then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.”

–Jesus told the Roman Governor Pilate that He was a King but not a King in the standard understanding. Pilate wanted to discern if Jesus was plotting treason or the overthrow of the Roman government in Israel. While Pilate was focused on maintaining power and control over the people, Jesus was concerned about souls. Where are your priorities? Do you spend most of your time and energy on worldly things, or are most of your talents spent on furthering the work God wants you to perform on earth? God blesses those who love the Kingdom of heaven more than the kingdoms of this world.

–When Jesus began to talk about truth, Pilate mockingly uttered, “What is truth?” This cavalier attitude toward spiritual truths can be found in every crevice of America. From many churches, to corporate boardrooms, to the family dinner table, to the things you watch on television, truth is mocked as old fashioned, narrow minded, and even bigoted. The new America culture wants to unshackle itself from the truth of the Bible and teaches that “every man or woman should do what is right in their own eyes.” This concept is found in the Old Testament when Israel had strayed from God and wanted to do things their own way. This always ended badly for Israel and will end badly for America if we do not repent.

–Pilate did not want to have Jesus executed. Why? Because He did not see any law broken by the Lord. The Pharisees wanted Him dead because they were jealous of His popularity and angry at the rebukes often hurled their way in Jesus’ parables. At this point, the passion and lies of the enemy crowded out any sense of justice and fairness. They choose to release a hardened criminal as an annual act of mercy instead of Jesus, a sinless Man from God. Are you living a life of truth? Jesus said, “everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Get on the side of truth, justice, mercy, love, and eternal life today by listening to Jesus Christ. You can find His Words in the Holy Bible and in these daily devotions. It’s time we take the winning side today!

John 18:2-9″Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

–The moment had come. It was night and Jesus and His disciples were resting in a garden on a hill. Judas had accepted some silver coins for payment for Jesus and led a group of soldiers and Pharisees to arrest Jesus. Notice Jesus “went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’” Jesus did not run and hide. He did not fight. He accepted the Father’s will for His life knowing He would be brutally beaten and hung on the cross. He did not look forward to this! He was fully human and fully God. When God shares His vision and will for your life, what is your reaction? Do you run from it or willingly and happily embrace it as God’s plan for your life? We are losing our country! Stop running away from God and run to Him today.

–Why did they “draw back and fall to the ground?” This is important! Nobody is sure why Jesus allowed this power to emanate from His body but I believe I have a clue. We know that Jesus said that He could call a legion of angelic soldiers to save Him and wipe out His enemies if He wanted to. Jesus intentionally sent a signal to these men that He had the power to wipe them out without batting an eye. Don’t think they forgot what happened to them when He spoke. How many of them would eventually become Christians knowing the power that knocked them down but chose to submit to the execution anyway. Jesus is no wimp! He has unlimited power at His finger tips and wants to use some of that in your life today.

–Jesus also displayed this power so they would let His disciples go free. The scripture about their safety here had to be fulfilled and the Lord had a plan for each of their lives to propagate the gospel to a lost and dying world. God has the power to protect you and me from the devil and man. He protects us to prove His love and to place us in a position to spread the Kingdom of God into the darkness of this world. Jesus has your best welfare in mind. Trust Him with your life and do not question His love for you. He has the power and the will to lift you up out of the muck of life and place you on a spiritual mountain of blessings.

John 16:33 ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

–Once again, Jesus Christ reminds us of the importance of reading His Word. He tells us that “in me you may have peace.” Then can not happen if He does not “tell us these things.” As we allow God to move in our lives and as we draw closer to God, He grants us a “peace that goes beyond any understanding.” As we become more like Christ, our hearts become more aligned with God and more at peace with Him controlling our lives. People will pay anything for a little peace and quiet in their lives. Most of the time, Americans seeks peace through worldly things like, alcohol, drugs legal or illegal, food, power, money, or fame. Nothing satisfies the human soul like Jesus.

–”In this world you will have trouble.” Many Christian develop a false belief system that God will take away all of your troubles. That can’t be further from the truth. He didn’t promise to take them away, but rather, to walk with us through them so our faith will be tested by the fires and trials of life so that we can become more like Jesus. Don’t listen to prosperity preachers promising you lots of riches, an easy, “blessed” life, and all of your wildest dreams coming true. This thinking does not come from God. Your blessings will come in the “peace” to get through the troubles, and not the abolition of the troubles.

–God wants us to know that Jesus “overcame the world.” He won the perfect victory for us by living a sinless life and doing exactly what God the Father wanted from Him. Therefore, we can place our faith and trust in His work on Calvary. In other words, we can live a victorious life in Jesus and perform the ministry duties He has for each of us. The last thing Jesus wants is for us to live a defeated, sin-soaked life of pain and depression. Take heart! You can do this! You can rely on Jesus to help you get through the day and have hope for tomorrow. The enemy wants to defeat you! Jesus is stronger than the devil. Don’t fight Satan on your own! Allow Jesus to fight for you today and watch your life be blessed and a blessing to others who will follow your example.

John 16:1-3 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.”

–Jesus Christ spent much quality time with His disciples getting them ready for their respective ministries. He told them “all this I have told you so that you will not fall away.” This has two meanings. The second meaning we will cover in the next paragraph. Do you want to ‘fall away” from God? Do you want to turn luke-warm in your faith? Do you want to turn your back on Him or lose your faith? Of course not! Jesus has given us the secret to not allowing this to happen! We must allow Him “to tell us” everything we need to fight the battle ahead of us. When we study the Bible, we are filled with His truth and power to get through the extreme tests that soldiers of God must face to prove our faith genuine.

–Jesus warned His disciples that they will kick them out of the synagogue. This was a spiritual, social, and cultural death sentence for Jews in Israel. The Pharisees controlled their church memberships and would not hesitate to “kick out of the club” anybody who did not do things their way. Today, the same evil spirit surrounds “some” “churches” in America. In these country club churches, the pastors are not interested in speaking the truth, the leadership is only interested in controlling the pastor and people, and the truth is kicked to the curb because of church politics. When Spirit-filled people are involved in such churches, they are often castigated for their beliefs and are considered outsiders by the leadership in church.

–Why is there such an intense struggle for control in churches in America? Simple! When you control the church, you control the message. If you control the message, you control who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. While there are many wonderful churches in America and many super church folk out there who love the Lord, there are also wolves in sheep’s clothing who do not “know” Jesus or the Father. Remember, the word “know” is a term of intimacy, a term of personal relationships. Jesus warned His disciples and He is warning us to the spiritual battle inside churches for the hearts and souls of people. The frontlines of the spiritual battle is inside the church, not outside it!

John 15:16-19 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

–God looked down from heaven and chose you to be in a love relationship with Him. Without His prodding, nobody could choose Him and worship Him on their own. It is true that He “calls all men to Himself.” In other words, He “wishes none perish, no not one.” He calls everybody to His side but sadly, only a small, chosen few choose the narrow road that leads to life. He did this so that “you might go and bear fruit.” He has given you one mission in life, and that is to do His work on earth so that more people may choose Him as Lord, Savior, and Friend. This fruit “will last”. It will follow you to heaven where you and I will be rewarded accordingly for the things we did for Jesus.

–What do you ask for in His name? What prayer will God more likely answer? It is tied to this fruit. God always answers prayers that are unselfish in nature, that are spoken from the heart that will lead to us becoming more like Jesus, and leading others to the Cross. Many Christians miss this. They think God promises them a new car, a new house, an easy life and so on. This is a lie from the enemy. God’s focus is on people getting saved and you and I becoming more like Him on a daily basis. He has commanded us to “love each other.” This is the most important thing you can do as a Christian. Every prayer uttered with this as the purpose and outcome will be heard and answered by God. Why? Because it furthers His spiritual kingdom.

–Don’t be surprised by resistance and hostility from the outside world. These people do not understand God nor can they. The anger and hatred toward people standing up for biblical marriage is a perfect example of this principle. Does the world and non-believers love you? Do they agree with you? If so, this is a bad sign for your walk with God. You are light and they are darkness. You represent the truth and they represent a lie. The world hates Christians because they stand for the truth of God and that truth convicts people of the sin and darkness in their lives. Consider it a badge of honor and proof of your salvation when you “suffer persecution and trials of many kinds.” Nothing strange is happening to you. It goes with the territory.

John 15:11-15 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

–Do you want to be happy? Who does not want to be full of joy? The secret lies in the beginning of this sacred text. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” When we listen to what God tells us through Bible study, God grants us a supernatural joy that the world and circumstances can not steal from us. When the Spirit of God indwells you, the peace and joy that He gives you goes beyond human understanding. In fact, nobody can understand it, you must experience it. There is no way to understand romantic love, one must experience it to know how intoxicatingly beautiful it is. Jesus offers this joy to those who will honor His Word and ways.

–God’s love is powerful. God’s love is unconditional. God’s love is very different than human’s love. God’s love is loosely defined as doing for others with a servant attitude and expecting nothing in return. If more people could tap into this type of powerful love that is available from the Holy Spirit, many divorces would never happen. Many churches would never split. The world would be a better place to live. Are you willing to die for your neighbor? You can take this literally but the real working meaning on a day to day basis is found symbolically. Are you willing to lay down your desires and wants to please other people, including your enemies? This is the kind of love and faith that can move mountains. We need some of these mountains moved in America today!

–Jesus is our Master but more importantly, He also calls Christians His friends. This friendship is an intimate friendship that is likened to marriage in the Bible. We will marry Jesus in heaven at the Great Marriage Supper of the Lamb. While we are on earth, we are engaged to Him. This is why Christianity is not just a religion, but a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Jesus has revealed all of His secret truths to Christians, truths that were hidden since the foundation of the earth. He wants us to take these truths and use them to spread His message of salvation, love, and truth to a world lost in sin and shame. Do you love Him enough to tell others the good news? He hopes so!

John 15:5-8 ““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

–”Apart from me you can do nothing”. What a statement by Jesus! When you die, only what you did for the Lord will last and make it into heaven. Your gifts and rewards will be calculated by what you did for Him. Too many people in church today try to do great things for God without relying on the power of God to do it for them. They do it in their own power, their own flesh, and oftentimes fall on their face in the process. Don’t jump ahead of Jesus in your life and begin ministries without His full direction, support, and empowerment or you will be doing it for yourself instead, in a vain attempt to please God. You can do nothing of value without God, and everything with Him guiding, directing, and strengthening you along the way.

–It is critical that we “remain in Jesus.” Many start their Christian lives strong but end very weak and defeated. Since the Lord sees you as a branch on His vine, you get “thrown away and wither”. We often get weary and wither away spiritually because we are not tapping into His nutrition source, the Word of God. Other times sin enters our life and strangles away the refreshing, renewing, and rejuvenating power of God. The last thing we want is to be “picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” God’s judgment is a serious thing and it’s critical that more preachers of the gospel warn people to stay right with God.

–What is the sign that “you remain in Jesus?” Simple! “My words remain in you.” Since the power and passion of God is found in us allowing the Bible to transform us from the inside out, is it any wonder that the God-haters in this country are trying to remove every resemblance of the Bible from our daily living, even down to the definition of marriage? How do we “show ourselves to be His disciples”? What’s the proof? People can say anything but God knows the truth. People can do anything including walking a church aisle and getting dunked in baptismal waters. The proof is when you “bear much fruit” for the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:28-31 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

— One of the main ways that Jesus helped His disciples believe in Him was to do miracles and predict the future. Has this philosophy of ministry changed today? God still does miracles to a people who believe in them. God still predicts the future, primarily through the Word of God and prophecies relating to the end times. The Lord has also given us specific directions in the Bible about countries dropping their Godly faith and becoming more and more like the world. The warnings are plain as day to even the casual reader of the Bible. Jesus wants to do miracles in your life and He wants you to study the Bible so you can understand the times we live in and the future of America if we do not repent.

–Who is the “prince of this world”? Of course it is Satan. Jesus said that Satan “has no hold over me.” The Devil can only have a hold on an individual who sins. Sin is the hold or connection that humans have to this fallen angel. Unrepentant sin in your life is a ball and chain that Satan holds onto you with. When you repent wholeheartedly, you are free from the chains and the hold on your life. Satan could not hold Jesus in the grave or in death because once again, the Lord did not sin. Since He did not sin, and the penalty of sin is death, Jesus had to come back from the dead. Has Jesus given you the freedom to come back from the dead? Do you have peace? Has the Lord conquered the sin in your life? There is joy in freedom!

–Jesus has a very interesting perspective on Satan coming after Him and the evil in the world in general. “He comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father.” God uses the evil that Satan commits and turns it into good for those who trust Jesus. In this instance, Satan was preparing to have Him executed by inciting the mob and whispering to the Pharisees. Jesus used this great struggle to free humans from their sins and sends a powerful message that He is willing to do whatever it takes including dying for us to get us to heaven with him. If your heart and attitude is right, God will use each and every Satanic attack to build your faith and the Kingdom of God. This way, the “world may learn” that Jesus is your Lord and the Creator of the world.

John 14:15-21″If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

–How do you know that you love Jesus? In other words, where is the proof? Twice in the above text Jesus connects our love and devotion to Him with obeying His commands. A life characterized by obedience is a person blessed by God Himself. Men, if you show no love or compassion to your wife, if you do nothing around the house to help, if you do little to help raise the kids, your wife will naturally and rightfully question your love for her. Love is not an emotion but an action verb. James says that faith (love) without deeds (action) is dead. We can be fooled on this issue. The proof is in the pudding.

–We can not do this in our own power. Jesus promises to give us an “advocate to help you.” The Holy Spirit is our helper, our empowerer, to obey God in our daily lives. Without the Holy Spirit living inside our hearts, we can only go through the motions of religion and so called “righteous” living. Jesus promises He will not “leave you as orphans.” Jesus would never command us to live a certain way and not give us the tools and resources to accomplish His will and goal in our lives. How are we to live? We must follow “the Spirit of truth.” This is only found in the Holy Bible. Too many people are totally disregarding God’s Word today for political purposes. This will backfire badly on America if good men and women do not stand up for the truth. When good men do nothing, evil prospers.

–Do you want Jesus to “show Himself to you?” The secret is in getting serious about obeying Him in your life. “The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.” There is a cultural civil war taking place in our country between people who believe the Bible and those who don’t. With the President coming out for gay marriage, the battle lines have been clearly drawn. Those who do not keep the commands of God, those who willfully flaunt sinful behavior in the face of society and God no matter the type of behavior, will be judged harshly by God Himself. Jesus is the truth. The Bible is the truth. Don’t allow society or politicians to determine this for you. Walk in the truth and be set free to live a blessed life through God. God does not, will not, and can not bless sinful behavior.