The psalmist writes, Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The English term Almighty comes from the Hebrew El Shaddai. The name can also mean the overpowerer, pointing to God’s ultimate power to accomplish all he wishes. It’s impossible for anyone, or anything, to stop him from doing what he wants to do.

Don’t stand in the way of the Almighty.

But the beautiful aspect of this psalm is that we can settle in close to El Shaddai. He casts a long shadow, with plenty of room for all of us. Go to your knees under his gentle care, and find a place to rest.

Psalm 91 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2023

Photo by adrien olichon

One never drifts too far away from the Lord to be restored. Take Peter for example, denying Jesus three times in the hours before the crucifixion. Only a few days after his resurrection, Jesus met Peter on a beach and asked the same question three times:

Simon son of John, do you love me?

Peter answered over and over, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

Peter screwed up the night his Lord was taken, then struggled with guilt and shame and frustration. But Jesus specifically took Peter to his place of struggle and cleaned out the gunk. Peter responded zealously until his own crucifixion in Rome, upside down (by his request) because he felt unworthy to die like his Savior.

It’s never too late to return to the Lord, or rather, let the Lord return to you.

After Peter’s collapse Jesus sought him out, found him out fishing, and restored their relationship. Peter’s gruff exterior masked a deep wound of the heart which Jesus addressed.

Jesus returns and forgives. Again and again. Like he did for Peter, he looks to do the same for you and me.

John 21 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Motoki Tonn

I don’t believe the shiny new phone touted across my screens will make me into a hip dude. That’s going to take a lot more than an expensive gadget in my pocket. I’m skeptical of politicians promising change, diets leading to six-pack abs, and gluten-free bread.

So when Thomas expresses his doubt about the resurrection of Jesus, I follow with a hearty Amen!

The most famous doubter of all time said, 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 only took a week to call his bluff. The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, turned to Thomas and said, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe.

Thomas responded, My Lord and my God!

How gracious of Jesus to confront Thomas in the midst of his doubts. Thomas responded enthusiastically, spreading the good news of Jesus’s resurrection far and wide. Tradition holds he was martyred in India by a spear in the side, much like his Savior on the cross. Once his doubts were settled, Thomas never turned back.

I like knowing I can doubt. Jesus knows how to handle doubt, and it’s best to take our doubts straight to the Lord. Thomas challenged what he heard about Jesus, who then met him in his doubting state. I can take my doubts to Jesus in a similar way, converse and argue with God, then see if and how the Holy Spirit settles my questions.

Maybe not as dramatic as Jesus showing up in my room and asking me to poke him in the side, but I’ll never know until I ask.

John 20 in reading the Bible in 2023

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, 1601

Lazarus lay dead in the grave several days before Jesus showed up. A big reveal in mind, Jesus loitered along the way. But after he arrived it didn’t take long for the place to erupt.

Martha, Lazarus’s sister, ran out to meet Jesus. She looked to Jesus for comfort in this time of pain. Jesus told her, Your brother will rise again. Martha agreed—I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Martha believed that all who follow the Lord will resurrect someday in the future. To her first hearing, Jesus’s words brought a bit of consolation, like we might say, someday you’ll meet him again in a better place.

But Jesus didn’t mean someday, he meant today. He told Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?

The one who resurrects looked into Martha’s eyes. Then Jesus moved to the tomb and gave a hint of his power, a foretaste of what’s to come, by calling for Lazarus. Resurrected, Lazarus staggered out to the joy and confusion and fear of the crowd.

Martha stood between her brother peeling burial shrouds off his face and a laughing God in the flesh. What a moment to be alive. The lightning bolt of Jesus seared her life and she worshipped.

Jesus is still the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Jesus live, even though we all eventually die, and his question is still appropriate:

Do you believe this?

John 11 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Tony L