When you know you felt what you heard

makes it even more painful…

13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.

17He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

19 “What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter. ~luke 24~

there has been definitely moments in my life when i heard something and knew it was meant for me. how many times when a sermon has been preached, a lesson taught, a podcast explaining, fellow Christians sharing, on a topic that clearly spoke to you even though you didn’t know what was going to be covered ahead of time. sometimes you wonder if someone close to you shared information that they were not supposed to or that someone was “spying” on you and shared your dirty little secrets.

because it’s happened often, it just couldn’t be coincidence. what does that show or tell me - God listens, shows up, speaks to us, and reveals things that we need to pay attention to, be it now or for times in the future. the “didn’t our hearts burn within us….” is exactly how i felt when convicted about my sin-filled lifestyle when i was much younger and hearing pastors wayne cordeiro, rick warren, greg laurie, and others speak on topics like lust of the flesh (pornography, adultery), desire of riches (love of money), pride (wanting to be known), etc., all of which were areas i focused on for a long time.

that feeling when you get hit in the chest, kicked in the lemu, a slap on the face, as a serious wake up call for you to pay attention and check yourself. verses like:

1 Timothy 6:10 - For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Hebrews 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Matthew 5:28-29 - But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Psalm 10:4 - In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Daniel 5:20 - But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.

as i previously shared, money was a big driver for me in my young adult life, 20s & 30s, which led to much deeper problems. wanting more, i took drugs (ice), to stay up believing i could work longer and do more to make more, instead of focusing on The Lord and that He is the provider for all our needs. regardless of how bad of a situation i got myself and family in, we never lacked nor was abandoned. i, on the other hand, forgot what God had done for my family and i when things were good. pride does that to you - i’m the sheet, i did this, i did that, they couldn’t or wouldn’t be successful without me, and all the other crazy talk that would come out of my mouth, not realizing that all can be taken away at any time. fortunately for me it did; as much as it hurt hearing those scripture versus and living out the consequences of my actions, i needed to go through those things to wake up, change, and then grow up.

i heard the words, i understood (opened my eyes) God was speaking directly to me, Jesus met me at my lowest and darkest days and pulled me out of my mess. from there it was a rehabilitation process - acknowledge my sins, ask for forgiveness, making amends, growing, sharing The Gospel, then helping others who are going through what i did.

dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who met me where i was at when things were very much out of control in my life. thank you for speaking into my life, teaching me to trust you and not of my own works and understanding. may my heart burn like an inferno for you, wanting a deep meaningful relationship that cannot be put out. thank you Lord Jesus for saving me and those you’ve placed in my care. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!