Sunday, April 20, 2014

EASTER STORY - TEN IMPORTANT FACTS

On the road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13. . .
"Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him."  Luke 24:15

Jesus dead, hanging on the cross. God Himself, the sacrificial lamb, who came to pay the wages of sin for those who believe in Him. The death of Jesus is meaningless unless you understand that He was resurrected to life. Only God could come back to life after death. Jesus told His followers while he was still with them in Galilee...

"The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day, be raised again." Luke 24:7

 Fact is, we have a living Savior. Almost immediately after His resurrection, He spoke to two men who were walking along a road. They didn't recognize who He was. Did His resurrected body look different than the one they'd seen? Maybe so. They invited Him to come stay with them as the day was almost over. Jesus shared a meal with them...Luke 24:29 - 31. Notice, these men were drawn to Jesus, they wanted to have a relationship with Him.

An amazing thing happened when Jesus broke the bread, which represented His body, and began to give it to them.

"Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight." Luke 24:31

Jesus prepares our heart to receive Him as Lord. When He comes to us, we will be receptive, and know who He is. By inviting Him into their home to share a meal, these men were actually inviting them to be a part of their lives. We invite Him into our life so we can have a relationship with the living Lord. Jesus also appeared to his distraught disciples who thought He might be a ghost. Jesus told them that ghosts don't have flesh and bones like He did and pointed out the nail holes in his hands and feet - Luke 24:39.

 Jesus asked the disciples if they had anything to eat. They gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He told them that everything written about Him must be fulfilled. And then, another amazing event; He opened their minds so they could understand the Scripture - Luke 24:45

        We can learn so much from so few verses in Luke 24.

1 - Jesus rose from the dead.

2 - He appeared to others.

3 - They recognized Jesus only after He had opened their eyes.

4 - Jesus prepares those who will receive Him as their Lord.

5 - When we recognize Him, we desire a relationship and invite Him into our life just as the two men on the road to Emmaus did.

6 - The risen body of Christ was of flesh and bone. Our risen body will also be of flesh and bone, and we will eat in heaven.

7 - Jesus may seem to disappear from our lives. He will not always make His presence known. He wants us to walk by faith, trusting Him, not by sight. 

8 - We can understand Scripture only after our eyes have been opened. We may freely love those who don't believe knowing the Lord is the One who opens our eyes and hearts.

9 -  We will be "clothed with power from on high" - vs. 49. God will send the Holy Spirit to live in us.

10 - Jesus was taken up to heaven, vs. 51. This is called the 'ascension'. We who believe will also ascend to heaven when our earthly body dies. In fact, God sends angels to come for us. We'll never die alone, Luke 16:22.   

 I do hope all of you readers have had a blessed Easter with family and friends. I pray this blog post will help you hold on to these spiritual truths and share them with others.

Lord, 'thank you' is such an insufficient way to acknowledge what you have done for us. I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit we can live a life that glorifies You and Your life will be evident in our own life.