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Friday, December 28, 2007
We Had Hoped!
That same day two of Jesus' followers were going to a town
named Emmaus. It is about seven miles from Jerusalem. They
were talking about everything that had happened. While they
were discussing these things, Jesus himself came near and
walked with them. (But the two men were not allowed to
recognize Jesus.) Then Jesus said, "What are these things you
are talking about while you walk?" The two men stopped. Their
faces looked very sad. The one named Cleopas answered, "You
must be the only person in Jerusalem that does not know what
has just happened there." Jesus said to them, "What are you
talking about?" The men said to him, "It's about Jesus, the
one from Nazareth. To God and to all the people he was a
great prophet. He said and did many powerful things. But our
leaders and the leading priests gave him away to be judged
and killed. They nailed Jesus to a cross. We were hoping that
Jesus would be the one to free Israel (the Jews). But then
all this happened. And now something else: It has been three
days since {Jesus was killed}, but today some of our women
told us an amazing thing. Early this morning the women went
to the tomb (grave) where the body of Jesus was laid. But
they did not find his body there. They came and told us that
they had seen some angels in a vision. The angels said that
Jesus was alive! So some of our group went to the tomb, too.
It was just like the women said--{the tomb was empty}. They
saw the tomb, but they did not see him (Jesus)." Then Jesus
said to the two men, "You are foolish and slow to realize
what is true. You should believe everything the prophets
said. The prophets said that the Christ must suffer these
things before he enters his glory." Then Jesus began to
explain everything that had been written about himself in the
Scriptures. Jesus started with the books of Moses and then he
talked about what the prophets had said about him.
-- Luke 24:13-27 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
What do you do when hope is gone? This passage gives us a pretty good
example to follow. Even though the disciples did not realize that they
were doing it, they confessed to Jesus their disappointed hope. As a
result, he helped them to understand the scriptures related to what
they thought were their dashed hopes. We also need to take our problems
to Jesus, and then go to the Scriptures and ask the Lord to teach us
the truth about our disappointments. You see, the resurrection ensures
that Jesus is the Messiah who saves us. Jesus' resurrection ensures
that he teaches truth. This truth, however, is far more than a set of
facts. This is truth we can trust in the face of our disappointments
and disillusionments … and yes, even in the face of death.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Holy God, there are places of disappointment and discouragement in my
heart. Please have Jesus open my heart as he draws near to me. I want
to understand your truth and live faithfully in response to that truth,
but I'm not sure that my faith is strong enough to stand with all I
sometimes have to face. I believe, dear Father, but help my confusion
and unbelief. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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http://images.ultracart.com/aff/ACU9/1414/108/185/575/0/index.html
>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/1228-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Luke+24:13-27&sr=1&t=erv
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