I Hated Christians… Then Jesus Changed My Life Forever

Devotional

Day 1: Empty Grave in the Desert Night

The man stood alone at a grave bearing his name. Warmth pressed his shoulder as a voice cut the darkness: “This grave is empty—and so is mine.” No human hands touched him. No wind stirred the sand. Only the risen Christ spoke hope into his funeral of abandonment. The same voice that called Lazarus from death now declared life over a rejected disciple. [02:57]

Jesus interrupts despair with resurrection reality. He walks into graveyards—literal and emotional—to prove death’s defeat. The empty tomb isn’t just a historical fact; it’s a present promise. When others bury your identity, Jesus rewrites your story.

You carry wounds from those who’ve declared you dead—rejection letters, betrayal’s knife, silent graves. But Christ’s empty tomb outshouts every lie. Stand where your shame was buried. Hear Him rename you. What tombstone have you believed over His voice?

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one lie His resurrection cancels today.
Challenge: Write the words “Empty Grave” on paper. Burn it as a declaration of Christ’s victory.

Day 2: Firelight on the Emmaus Road

Two disciples trudged home, faces downcast. A Stranger joined them, igniting Scripture’s meaning as they walked. Their hearts burned at His words, though eyes stayed veiled until bread broke. Only then did they recognize the Guest who’d walked seven miles into their doubt. [04:58]

Jesus meets us in displacement. He doesn’t wait for us to return to “holy places” but invades our aimless roads. The Emmaus journey shows He’s present even when unrecognized—in job loss, divorce papers, or diagnoses. Broken bread becomes the lens to see Him.

You’re on a road right now. The Companion walks beside you, His voice hidden in sermons, songs, or a friend’s call. Stop demanding neon signs. Listen for the spark in your chest when Truth speaks. Where have you missed Christ’s nearness because He wore ordinary skin?

“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’” (Luke 24:25-26, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for three “ordinary” ways He spoke to you this week.
Challenge: Text someone: “I see Christ in you when…”

Day 3: Scars in the Locked Room

Thomas thrust his hand toward the disciples. “Unless I touch His wounds…” The door didn’t open. Jesus materialized, scars first. “Put your finger here.” The doubter’s terms were met not with shame but with flesh-and-blood proof. [06:36]

Jesus honors honest doubt. He enters barricaded rooms—of fear, addiction, or theological crisis—offering His wounds as answer. Resurrection power wears nail marks. The disciples’ locked doors couldn’t keep out grace that breathes through walls.

Your locked rooms don’t intimidate Him. He’ll meet your “unless” demands with scars, not scolding. Stop hiding your doubts in shame. Bring your “I need proof” to the One who kept His crucifixion tattoos. What door have you double-bolted against His approach?

“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.’” (John 20:27, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one doubt aloud. Ask for Christ’s tangible presence.
Challenge: Draw a cross on your palm. Let it remind you: His scars answer yours.

Day 4: Charcoal Fire on the Shore

Peter smelled the charcoal fire before he saw Jesus. Flames mirrored the courtyard where he’d denied Christ. Now the resurrected Lord cooked fish, not accusations. “Feed my sheep,” He said—not “Explain your failure.” Three denials met three grace-filled commissions. [07:11]

Jesus restores through repetition. He doesn’t erase our past but redeems its soundtrack. The fire that once crackled with Peter’s betrayal now crackled with breakfast and a new calling. Resurrection turns our worst moments into launchpads for love.

You’ve rehearsed your failures more than His forgiveness. Christ stands at your shoreline, not to interrogate but to invite. Bring your ash-filled memories to His redeeming fire. What shameful “charcoal moment” needs His breakfast invitation today?

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’… ‘Feed my lambs.’” (John 21:15, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to rewrite one memory with His redeeming question: “Do you love Me?”
Challenge: Cook a meal today. As it heats, pray for someone who needs restoration.

Day 5: Eleven on the Sending Mountain

The eleven climbed, counting the missing. Judas’ absence throbbed like a severed limb. Yet Jesus appeared not to theologians but fishermen, not to the flawless but the forgiven. “All authority…go.” Their brokenness became the launchpad for global revolution. [14:23]

Jesus specializes in sending scarred teams. The Great Commission wasn’t given to superstars but to those who’d fled, doubted, and buried each other. His authority, not their ability, fueled the mission. Eleven imperfect hearts ignited a wildfire that reached Sudan—and you.

You disqualify yourself while Christ qualifies you. Your family failures, career missteps, or secret sins don’t veto His “go.” The disciples’ worst hour became history’s hinge. What “eleven” inadequacy have you let silence His sending?

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee…When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said…‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’” (Matthew 28:16-19, NIV)

Prayer: Tell Jesus, “I’m available” before listing reasons you aren’t.
Challenge: Share your testimony with one person this week—by voice, text, or letter.

Sermon Summary

A testimony opens with a life shaped by Muslim upbringing, hostility toward Christians, and a dramatic encounter with the living Jesus that brings conversion, imprisonment, exile, and restoration. The narrative insists that Jesus seeks the lost, breaks into dark places, and replaces shame with a resilient identity that cannot be erased by family rejection or a symbolic grave. A series of post-resurrection scenes frame a larger claim: the resurrection is not an end but the inauguration of a missionary movement that sends imperfect followers into ordinary places. Scripture reading from Matthew highlights the mountain commissioning in Galilee, where authority and presence accompany the command to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. The mission does not belong to the church as an institution; the church exists to participate in the mission that God has initiated.

The Eleven serve as a theological case study: wounded, scattered, and inadequate, they nevertheless receive restoration, authority, and a sending that proves God uses broken people for global purposes. Galilee becomes a theological symbol for the ordinary ground of mission—mixed, marginal, and populated by working people—where the kingdom repeatedly starts. Discipleship receives a practical definition: a life formed to love, think, and act like Jesus, sustained not by human strength but by the risen Lord who promises presence until the end of the age. Testimonies of healing, conversion of neighbors in the desert, and surprising reconciliation with a former enemy underscore the power of prayer, perseverance, and intercession to transform personal enmity into lifelong ministry.

The closing challenge centers on availability: Jesus calls the restored to be sent, and obedience by ordinary people fuels future generations of faith. Invitations to speak the gospel to friends, to return to one’s Galilee of first love, and to embrace the everyday contexts of work and neighborhood portray mission as both personal and communal. Worship and mounting moments prepare the heart to receive commissioning, and the risen Christ’s promise of presence reframes fear, failure, and past sin as materials God uses to build a sent people.

Key Takeaways

1. Resurrection meets the outsider Conversion can begin in the most unlikely places; the risen Christ interrupts religious prejudice and personal hostility with a sovereign, personal encounter that reorients identity. Shame and symbolic death give way to new life when Jesus manifests his presence as warmth, voice, and promise, proving that spiritual sight often follows an act of compassionate witness. The living Lord seeks and finds those who never sought him. [00:13]
2. The mission belongs to God The church does not invent mission; the mission of God finds a church to carry it. That framing shifts responsibility from institutional preservation to faithful participation: obedience flows from being sent rather than from organizational ambition. This recasts every believer as an emissary of God’s purposes, not merely a consumer of spiritual goods. [10:26]
3. God sends the restored Authority to go arrives after grace restores the broken and forgiven. Sending does not wait for moral perfection or complete competence; it follows healing, forgiveness, and renewed availability. This truth frees failure from finality and makes past wounds potential platforms for mercy. [11:54]
4. Galilee is the mission’s starting place Mission often begins in ordinary, mixed, and marginalized contexts where everyday people live and work. Returning to Galilee recaptures first love, renews calling, and grounds evangelism in real relationships rather than elite venues. The kingdom advances through simple presence at tables, workplaces, and neighborhoods. [20:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:13] - Encounter in a Muslim home
[01:08] - Family rejection and burial symbol
[02:57] - Empty grave and resurrection presence
[03:31] - Post-resurrection journey overview
[05:18] - Fear, doubt, and locked doors
[08:46] - Mountain commissioning from Matthew
[10:26] - The mission belongs to God
[11:54] - Imperfect disciples sent
[20:31] - Why Galilee matters for mission
[25:22] - Discipleship: love, think, act
[33:00] - Reconciliation and lasting testimony
[35:12] - Invitation to be available and pray

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Observation Questions

What specific instructions does Jesus give to the disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, and how does he frame their authority to carry this out?
Why does Jesus specifically send the disciples to Galilee (Matthew 28:16) rather than Jerusalem or another religious center? [20:31]
How does the sermon describe the disciples’ condition when Jesus commissions them (e.g., their doubts, failures, or wounds)? [14:09]
What two actions does Jesus pair with “making disciples” in Matthew 28:19-20, and why might these matter for everyday mission?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus emphasize his authority (Matthew 28:18) before giving the command to “go”? How does this shift responsibility from human ability to divine power?
The disciples are described as “worshiping” yet “some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). How does Jesus’ commissioning of doubters challenge assumptions about who is “qualified” for mission? [14:23]
Galilee is called a place of “mixed, diverse, and marginalized” people. How does this setting redefine where and how God’s mission advances? [21:07]
The sermon states, “The mission of God has a church” rather than the church having a mission. How does Matthew 28:18-20 support this reversal of perspective? [10:26]

Application Questions

Jesus sends the disciples to their “Galilee”—ordinary, familiar places. What is your “Galilee” (workplace, neighborhood, family)? What would it look like to intentionally see it as a mission field this week? [24:19]
The disciples were restored before being sent, even with lingering doubts. What past failure or wound might God want to redeem as a “platform for mercy” in your life? [14:48]
The sermon shares a story of praying for an enemy leading to reconciliation. Is there someone you’ve struggled to love or forgive? How could you intercede for them this week, even if silently? [34:34]
Jesus’ command to “make disciples” includes teaching others to obey him. Who in your life could you intentionally encourage or mentor in faith—not just through words, but by sharing your journey?
The sermon challenges believers to “invite a friend” with doubts or fears. Who in your circle needs an invitation to experience Jesus’ love, and what practical step could you take to reach out? [27:56]
The disciples’ obedience impacted future generations. What small act of faithfulness (prayer, conversation, service) could you do today that might ripple into someone else’s story of faith? [18:04]

Sermon Clips

This is grace when God meets us and commission us. So Jesus does not wait till they are perfect, does not wait till their theology is being formed, does not wait till they can talk elegantly. He does not wait till they know it all, but he sends them. Jesus sends the restored. He sends the forgiven. He sends the broken who have encountered mercy in the name of Jesus. He sent the weak who have seen strength, the strength of Jesus Christ. He sends the wounded who have been healed by his wounds. [00:14:23] (41 seconds) #GraceSends

But this hand was so real and so warm. And not only that, I heard the voice. And this voice said to me, you are sad because you think your family buried you. You know exactly this grave where you're standing is empty. And guess what? My grave is also empty. And I knew these words could only come from Jesus Christ. And because he's alive, he met me and he changed my life, and I'm here this morning not because of anything Yeah. But because of him. [00:02:41] (34 seconds) #EmptyGraveAlive

He's in our midst, and he is here. Today, we can surrender our lives to him. If you don't know him, come to him and say, Lord, I would like you to come into my life. And if you are wounded today, you can say, Lord, I would like you to restore me. And today, we can say to him, Lord, I'm available to be sent. And because somebody obeyed, I'm here today. And because somebody obeyed, we are blessed today. Today, we want to say to him, Lord, I obey you. [00:35:16] (33 seconds) #SurrenderAndObey

The mission of God has always been carried by imperfect people. Yeah. Yeah. Jesus looks at you as church, looks at all of us, and he says only one word, go. Go. Go. Go. The mission of God has always been carried by imperfect people who have been encountering the grace of the perfect perfect savior. So it is Jesus. It's not you. It's not me. It is him. Yeah. [00:16:19] (36 seconds) #ImperfectButSent

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I Hated Christians… Then Jesus Changed My Life Forever | Bishop Dr. Yassir Eric