Welcome to Spirit Bread
Spiritual Bread for the Spirit Bred
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
SPIRIT BREAD WEEKLY
RECOGNIZING JESUS
By Jerry D. Ousley
By Jerry D. Ousley
Recognizing Jesus
By Jerry D. Ousley
Recognizing Jesus is a big problem, not only in our world of today, but even right after His resurrection. Let me explain. Luke 24:13-35 tells us of the two men who left Jerusalem traveling seven miles to their hometown of Emmaus. Apparently, they left Jerusalem right after the women had witnessed the empty tomb, had heard from the angels, and Peter and John had ran to the tomb to witness it for themselves. At this time, no one but Mary Magdalene had seen the risen Lord.
As the two men, one of them called Cleopas, traveled, they spoke about the events of the weekend in Jerusalem. On Friday, Jesus had been crucified. They couldn’t travel the seven miles home on the Sabbath so they had spent the day, sad as it was, in Jerusalem. It was now Monday – the first day of the week. As they went, a man caught up with them, asking them what they were talking about. It wasn’t unusual. There were many travelers on the road that day. Remember, this had been the weekend of the Passover so many from Emmaus and beyond had been in the city. Most were on their way home from the event.
When this traveler asked them about it, they were astonished that He didn’t know anything about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. They began to explain the events to Him, ending with their disappointment because they had thought Him to be the One who would deliver Israel from their Roman oppressors.
Although they had seen Jesus, His identity was hidden from them. He began going through the scriptures, explaining just what the mission of the Messiah really was. It wasn’t just to free Israel, but to bring redemption to the entire world.
They arrived home, and Jesus pretended that He would go further but the two men insisted that He join them for dinner that evening, even asking Him to bless the food. This Jesus did and as He passed the food to the two men, suddenly they finally recognized just who Jesus was.
When they did, He disappeared from their sight. They left dinner on the table and ran the seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what they had experienced.
Usually, when this story is told, they stop with verse 35. But verse 36 tells us that while these men were telling these things to the disciples, that Jesus appeared in the room without going through any door or window. He was just there! We don’t usually think about these two men being with them when this happened, but they were. This time, they had no problem recognizing Jesus.
We all are on a road. A road in life that we daily travel. We seem to have direction. We have planned as to what we will to today, but none of us really know what the day holds for us. Will we fulfill our plans or will some unforeseen circumstance change the course of our day? It happens. It could be a good thing that changes our course. It could also be something horrific or tragic. We just don’t know for certain what we are going to face when we climb out of bed in the morning.
It can be extremely frightening, and downright scary. If we get up in the morning expecting the worse, our lives will be filled with dread and worry. Without Christ as our Savior, when we realize the uncertainty of life, it can be like we are in an ongoing horror story.
But, if we are believers in Christ, if we know Him as our Savior, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us, then all we need to do is to recognize Jesus in each and every circumstance in which we find ourselves. He is there you know. I don’t know exactly how. My finite mind can’t comprehend the infinity of Christ. I can’t explain or even completely understand how He can be with me and care about the most minute of things in my life, while He does the same for you and every born-again believer on planet Earth, all at the same time. My mind can’t possibly reach the depths of that truth.
Just because we can’t understand it, doesn’t make it any-the-less true. If you are a Christian, Jesus is always with you by way of the Holy Spirit. The problem lies in that life gets so busy and we become consumed with things that really may not even matter, that we fail to recognize Jesus with us in those situations. But He is. He wants us to know that He is there and that we don’t have to waste our lives with worry and concern.
That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t care, but it does mean that we don’t have to be consumed in life. Stop. Take a moment. Find Jesus in your situation. Trust me, you won’t believe the peace that it can bring into the turmoil of your life.
On the other hand, if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, if you are not a Christian, if you haven’t placed your full trust and faith in Christ, frankly I can’t understand how you cope with life. Any hope you may have is at best a false hope. Your life will end in tragedy. Sorry about the negative observation, but it is true. Regardless how much money you may have, how great your job is, how successful you may think you are in life, without Christ you will be disappointed one day. How can I know this? Because I know Christ and I know what the devil has to offer -Absolutely nothing that is lasting. All he has for you is worry, depression, deceit and finally, eternal death.
But you can find Jesus. You can recognize Him in your situation too. All you have to do is to believe that He is God in the flesh, that He died for your sin, that He was resurrected to give all those who come to Him the gift of eternal life, and the Bible tells us that we will be saved (See Romans 10:9-10). Come to Jesus now. Recognize Him in your situation. You won’t regret it. Then you are on your way to Recognizing Jesus.
By Jerry D. Ousley
Recognizing Jesus is a big problem, not only in our world of today, but even right after His resurrection. Let me explain. Luke 24:13-35 tells us of the two men who left Jerusalem traveling seven miles to their hometown of Emmaus. Apparently, they left Jerusalem right after the women had witnessed the empty tomb, had heard from the angels, and Peter and John had ran to the tomb to witness it for themselves. At this time, no one but Mary Magdalene had seen the risen Lord.
As the two men, one of them called Cleopas, traveled, they spoke about the events of the weekend in Jerusalem. On Friday, Jesus had been crucified. They couldn’t travel the seven miles home on the Sabbath so they had spent the day, sad as it was, in Jerusalem. It was now Monday – the first day of the week. As they went, a man caught up with them, asking them what they were talking about. It wasn’t unusual. There were many travelers on the road that day. Remember, this had been the weekend of the Passover so many from Emmaus and beyond had been in the city. Most were on their way home from the event.
When this traveler asked them about it, they were astonished that He didn’t know anything about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. They began to explain the events to Him, ending with their disappointment because they had thought Him to be the One who would deliver Israel from their Roman oppressors.
Although they had seen Jesus, His identity was hidden from them. He began going through the scriptures, explaining just what the mission of the Messiah really was. It wasn’t just to free Israel, but to bring redemption to the entire world.
They arrived home, and Jesus pretended that He would go further but the two men insisted that He join them for dinner that evening, even asking Him to bless the food. This Jesus did and as He passed the food to the two men, suddenly they finally recognized just who Jesus was.
When they did, He disappeared from their sight. They left dinner on the table and ran the seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what they had experienced.
Usually, when this story is told, they stop with verse 35. But verse 36 tells us that while these men were telling these things to the disciples, that Jesus appeared in the room without going through any door or window. He was just there! We don’t usually think about these two men being with them when this happened, but they were. This time, they had no problem recognizing Jesus.
We all are on a road. A road in life that we daily travel. We seem to have direction. We have planned as to what we will to today, but none of us really know what the day holds for us. Will we fulfill our plans or will some unforeseen circumstance change the course of our day? It happens. It could be a good thing that changes our course. It could also be something horrific or tragic. We just don’t know for certain what we are going to face when we climb out of bed in the morning.
It can be extremely frightening, and downright scary. If we get up in the morning expecting the worse, our lives will be filled with dread and worry. Without Christ as our Savior, when we realize the uncertainty of life, it can be like we are in an ongoing horror story.
But, if we are believers in Christ, if we know Him as our Savior, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us, then all we need to do is to recognize Jesus in each and every circumstance in which we find ourselves. He is there you know. I don’t know exactly how. My finite mind can’t comprehend the infinity of Christ. I can’t explain or even completely understand how He can be with me and care about the most minute of things in my life, while He does the same for you and every born-again believer on planet Earth, all at the same time. My mind can’t possibly reach the depths of that truth.
Just because we can’t understand it, doesn’t make it any-the-less true. If you are a Christian, Jesus is always with you by way of the Holy Spirit. The problem lies in that life gets so busy and we become consumed with things that really may not even matter, that we fail to recognize Jesus with us in those situations. But He is. He wants us to know that He is there and that we don’t have to waste our lives with worry and concern.
That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t care, but it does mean that we don’t have to be consumed in life. Stop. Take a moment. Find Jesus in your situation. Trust me, you won’t believe the peace that it can bring into the turmoil of your life.
On the other hand, if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, if you are not a Christian, if you haven’t placed your full trust and faith in Christ, frankly I can’t understand how you cope with life. Any hope you may have is at best a false hope. Your life will end in tragedy. Sorry about the negative observation, but it is true. Regardless how much money you may have, how great your job is, how successful you may think you are in life, without Christ you will be disappointed one day. How can I know this? Because I know Christ and I know what the devil has to offer -Absolutely nothing that is lasting. All he has for you is worry, depression, deceit and finally, eternal death.
But you can find Jesus. You can recognize Him in your situation too. All you have to do is to believe that He is God in the flesh, that He died for your sin, that He was resurrected to give all those who come to Him the gift of eternal life, and the Bible tells us that we will be saved (See Romans 10:9-10). Come to Jesus now. Recognize Him in your situation. You won’t regret it. Then you are on your way to Recognizing Jesus.