The Daily Devotional Podcast

Risen - 10 | John 20:30–31 & 1 Corinthians 15:12–20

• Waypoint Church

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0:00 | 4:23

This reflection shows that true belief is not vague agreement but trust rooted in the reality of the risen Jesus, upon which everything else depends. It invites us to live as though He is truly alive, allowing that truth to shape our faith and daily lives.

The Daily Devotional Podcast

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“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”


SPEAKER_01

Today I'll be reading John twenty, verses thirty and thirty one, and first Corinthians fifteen, verses twelve through twenty. The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. But tell me this, since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there's no resurrection of the dead. And if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost. And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first great harvest of all who have died.

SPEAKER_00

Unlike the doubt that we looked at yesterday, belief can be easy to talk about.

SPEAKER_01

It commonly is perceived as agreement, that we're acknowledging something is true in a general sense. But Scripture describes belief in a way that's far more direct. John ends his gospel with a clear purpose. Jesus performed many other signs, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you will have life in his name. Everything he wrote led here. The signs were not meant to impress, they were meant to point. Each moment, each conversation, and each miracle was revealing something about who Jesus is. Belief is the response to that revelation, not just recognizing it, but trusting it. Paul adds another layer in 1 Corinthians. He addresses what happens if the resurrection is removed from the story. If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. He does not treat the resurrection as a symbol, he treats it as the foundation. If it did not happen, everything else collapses. If it did happen, everything changes. The anchoring statement is this, but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. Belief is not built on a feeling. It's not sustained by your circumstances. It rests on a reality that stands outside of us. Jesus is alive. That is what the disciples began to discover. The empty tomb disrupted them. Mary encountered him. The disciples saw him, and Thomas touched his wounds. Each moment brought them closer to the same conclusion. Jesus is who he said he is, and that reality reshaped everything. Belief, then, is not just about accepting information.

SPEAKER_00

It's about entrusting your life to the one who has overcome death. Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.

SPEAKER_01

Teach me to trust you as the risen Lord and shape my life around the truth that you are alive.