Read Luke 24:13-30
Have you ever opened your Bible in the wee hours of the morning and had all the desire, passion, and inspiration to climb back into the nice warm bed you just left? Yet, you sit there and, bleary-eyed, force yourself to study with your trusty cup of coffee and still felt nothing. Right? My friend, I’ve been there!
I know it’s easy to get into a routine where Bible Study becomes a to-do instead of a privilege. When this happens to me I find it helpful to focus not on the task, but what the Bible is: A personal message to us from God himself.
For three years the disciples witnessed Jesus perform miracles, teach in ways never seen, and testify to his identity as the Messiah: the Son of God. Yet, in Luke 24 we find them without hope – a terrible place for any Christian – after Jesus was crucified. While they walked, he appeared and walked with them.
Asking about their troubles, he rebuked them and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (v27 NIV)
When they came to Emmaus, they obviously loved everything he taught because they “urged him strongly” to stay with them. When they finally realized who he was, he disappeared.
They were discouraged and downtrodden, but Christ used Scripture to testify who he was. He didn’t give a new command, perform another miracle, or give them a pep-talk, he used the Bible – the Word of God – and that was enough to lift their spirits and renew their strength. When he left, they exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (v32 NIV emphasis mine)
When we take the time to set our hearts right and listen to the Word as a personal message for us each and every day, won’t our hearts burn within us? This attitude makes the Word come alive for me and I hope it does for you as well.
