Category Archives: scripture

The Emmaus Road

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Easter, Jesus Christ, Revelation 2021, scripture

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

“That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. He asked them, ‘What were you discussing as you walk along?’ One of them, Cleopas, said to Him in reply, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?’ They said to Him, ‘The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that He was alive.’ And He said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!’ “ — Luke 24: 13-55

https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianpak/5217693560

Did you know that Easter is not just one day? It’s actually a 50-day period that ends on Pentecost. It marks the time of Jesus’s ministry from his resurrection to his ascension. It’s an important time for Christians to reflect upon their baptism and how their lives are meant to change as a member of God’s Kingdom. It’s a time for us to examine how Jesus is included in our daily lives.

For me, it’s impossible to think of Eastertide without thinking of the Emmaus story. This story of two disciples encountering Jesus, on the road to Emmaus, is one my favorite scriptures. Two men were walking toward Emmaus on that first Easter. They were grief-stricken over Jesus’ death. Along the road they encountered a stranger, the unrecognized Jesus.

Cleopas and his companion were surprised that the man had not heard of the recent events that had Jerusalem in turmoil. They proceeded to tell the stranger of Jesus’ crucifixion and the report of His empty tomb by the women that morning. Jesus responded, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Even as he said these words, the two men failed to see Jesus in front of them. They failed to see the truth that they faced. They chose to ignore the presence of God in their moment of grief and fear.

The word “Emmaus” means “an urgent longing”. Is it really surprising that of all the places for Jesus to have this encounter, it would be Emmaus — an urgent longing? Of course not!

I believe that the road to Emmaus is a road that must be walked, in one sense, by every Christian. If you are a Christian, then your urgent longing for Jesus Christ is the driving force of your life. We should long for him in the joyful moments as well as the despair. But woe to us. How often do we fail to see Jesus Christ in our daily moments? How often do we choose to ignore the truth of all the scriptures because our eyes are not open? We aren’t so unlike the two men on the Emmaus Road. And we even know the ending!!

In this account, we know that one of the men was Cleopas. But the other is not named. What if that companion is you? What if the story of the walk to Emmaus is about you and your failure to see the risen Christ … to really see him by your side?

This story ends with an awakening by these disciples as their eyes were opened upon the breaking of the bread.

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?”

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The crucified and risen Christ comes to meet us on our daily walk, to restore joy to our heart when we need it. The road to Emmaus becomes a symbol of our own faith journey: the Scriptures and Holy Communion are the incredible ways we have be given to encounter the Lord. We too carry worries, difficulties and disappointments into our worship time, preventing us from seeing Christ before us. So we go away feeling sad, towards our ‘Emmaus,’ turning our backs on God’s plan. We distance ourselves from God. But the scriptures invite us into God’s heart while Communion gives us strength. This is what happened to the disciples of Emmaus: they received the Word; they shared the breaking of bread and from feeling hopeless and defeated they became joyful.

Are you on the Emmaus Road right now? If so, is your heart burning? Perhaps you are urgently longing for the only One you will ever need.

Lent Day 16: Pride is no celebration

08 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by in apologetics, faith, forgiveness, Jesus Christ, Lent, Revelation 2021, scripture

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. — Mark 10:46-52

Pride is the great enemy of humility. And yet pride is encouraged, nurtured, and even celebrated in our culture today. Bob Thune observes: “The brashest expressions of pride are easy to spot: the athlete who boasts about her talent, the arrogant entrepreneur who flaunts his achievements, or the well-connected neighbor who name-drops in every conversation. Most of us are smart enough to avoid appearing prideful in these obvious ways. But that’s just the problem. We can avoid looking prideful without actually killing our pride.”

What is pride? It’s not something to put on a flag or dedicate a month to. The Bible gives us the information we need. Pride often manifests itself as arrogance: the Apostle John refers to this as “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Pride can also manifest itself as self-centeredness, looking out for your own personal interests (Philippians 2:4). In other words: the essence of pride is self. Regardless if it’s arrogance and boasting or as self-protection and fear of people, it’s pride.

In our life as a Christian we are asked to put on humility while putting our pride to death. How? Simple. Look to Jesus.

Jesus is our model, because though he had every reason to be prideful (he was perfect), he chose instead the path of humility. Scripture commands us to follow his example: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7).

Here’s the thing. Jesus doesn’t want us to mimicking him. If we do that, we miss the gospel. The heart of the good news is that we can be more like Jesus only if, and because, we are united with him. We are united with Christ by grace through faith in his life, death, and resurrection. Because we have rebelled against God, we deserve to be crushed by his divine wrath. Jesus “humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8)—taking our shame and guilt upon himself, and enduring the wrath of God against our sin, so that those who humbly come to him can be forgiven and reconciled to God. This is the Good News of Easter! This is why we have to be in the wilderness. We can’t put down the pride without wrestling with satan first.

Are you ready to be free from your pride? Do you truly want to know Jesus Christ? It’s time to stop running and start repenting. It’s freeing, my dear friends. So the next time you think pride is worth celebrating, ask God what He thinks? I’m pretty sure He wouldn’t hold a parade.

Lent Day 9: Beside Still Waters

27 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by in Being Still, faith, Jesus Christ, Lent, Revelation 2021, scripture

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. — Psalm 23

Do you ever feel like the world is too noisy? Too demanding of every moment? There are meetings to be at, functions to attend, demands to be met, and if we’re not careful, our calendars and busyness can separate us from God.

Psalm 23 invites us to take a step or two away from the demands of the world. The psalmist’s words invoke an image of peace, rest, and tranquility taken next to a stream of quiet beauty—an image that has resonated with souls over millennia.

I find soul rejuvenation when I’m near a large body of water like a lake or the ocean. And though I don’t always have the means of picking up and physically traveling to a body of water, I do have the ability of becoming lost in Psalm 23. Scripture can do that for us. It can take us into a place of complete safety if we only allow His word to enter into our soul.

I encourage you to take a moment and ask our Good Shepherd to lead your spirit next to a place of green pastures and quiet waters—so that he may restore your soul. In this time of pandemics and quarantines and riots and divisions, we NEED restoration more than ever. God has invited you. Are you ready to say, “Yes?”

The Word of God

18 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by in faith, Jesus Christ, Lent, Revelation 2021, scripture

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

“All Scripture is God-breathed” — 2 Tim 3:16a


It is impossible to respond unless there is something to respond to. For instance, you can’t hit “reply” to a message you never received. It’s the same thing when you enter into worship. You can’t respond to God’s Word if His Word is never given. When I was leading worship, I would say to the people after the scripture reading, “This is the Word of God for the people of God.” They would respond, “Thanks be to God.” But what are we really referring to by the Word of God?


Scripture? Yes. But it’s more than that. We are referring to the person of Jesus Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).

This Word is how God reveals himself to the world. As John points out, it is how God created the world and, as the rest of the gospel goes on to describe, it is how God reconciles the world to himself. Notice though that the Word in these opening verses feels other-worldly. It does not belong to this world, but is outside of it.


And then John 1:14 is presented to us and it changes everything! “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God, God’s perfect self- expression. Scripture proclaims and ultimately points to Jesus Christ, God’s personal Word to all. Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God, and Scripture, as the written Word of God pointing to the incarnate, reveal to us who God is and who he has created us to be. While we are not able to see Jesus physically today, we still may know him through the Word of God, our Scripture, as his Spirit speaks in our hearts.

We are invited to respond to the Word in many different ways. But in order to do so, each of us must choose to say, “Yes.” Yes to the Word of God. Yes to salvation. Yes to suffering for the sake of Christ. Yes. Throughout this Lent season I will be making consistent invitations to you to say “Yes” to the Word- maybe for the first time or perhaps a renewal. And when you do, let me know so that your new journey is not one you do alone.

REFLECTION
When have you had a spiritual experience as a result of responding to the Word of God?

Are you ready to say yes?