Heading Home

They want to leave it all behind; take the road out of it all. So, the two men depart from the hills of Jerusalem to get away from all the reminders of a heartrending crucifixion on the hill of Golgotha. Just as the road slopes down from Jerusalem, so their souls now slope down, reeling from dashed hopes of an empty tomb.

With the Sabbath now past, the two men somberly amble their way to the village of Emmaus, just a little more than seven miles away.

One would think that the crisp, clear sky, the warm afternoon sun, and the aroma of spring buds in the air would revive their souls. Not so.

In their attempt to leave behind the pain and disappointment, they find they yet carry the heartache with them: the lashings of punishment strike at their emotions; the nails of hatred pierce their hearts; the thorns of a mocking crown penetrate their thoughts.

Numb from it all, Cleopas and his friend stroll along the way discussing the dreadful events of the past few days and try to make sense of it all.

“Passover will never be the same. No Passover lamb can ever be eaten with the same savor; the herbs will be much more bitter; and the bread, oh, the bread of brokenness.”

A stranger comes from behind to join them and interrupts their conversation. “You seem to be in a deep discussion. What concerns you so?”

They abruptly stop. A look of bewilderment blankets their faces.

“Are you a stranger in Jerusalem? Do you not know the things that happened there these last three days?” asks Cleopas.

“What things? What has happened?”

They recall to the stranger all the anguish: the judgment, the whipping, and the crucifixion of an innocent man named Jesus.

Cleopas says, “We thought He was the glorious Messiah come to rescue Israel.”

The other man says, “Some women from our group of His followers were at His tomb early this morning and rushed to tell us that His body was gone; the tomb was empty! And they also saw angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and, indeed, Jesus’ body was gone, just as the women said.”

“But we did not see Him,” sighs Cleopas. “We did not believe the report, so we left the city.”

“Do you not understand?” the man asks them. “Are you so slow to believe what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures? Didn’t they predict that the Messiah would have to suffer these things before He entered His time of glory?”

The stranger attempts to rekindle their embered hopes by quoting them the prophets, starting with the book of Genesis and going through the Scriptures, explaining what they meant.

Listening so intently to what the stranger says, the men do not realize they have reached the outskirts of the town. The man acts as if he is going on but they beg him to stay.

“Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.”

Agreeing to go with them, he joins them as they head toward their lodging place. As they sit down at the table for their meal, the man takes the bread, blesses it and breaks it, giving a portion to each one.

Suddenly, the veil of obscurity vanishes from their eyes and they recognize him! It is Jesus Himself! And at that moment, He disappears from their sight.

“It was Jesus! It was Jesus!” they both shout.

So exhilarated, they begin to remind each other of their Emmaus walk, “Didn’t our hearts burn as He talked with us along the way and opened up the Scriptures for us?” Grasping it all, their hearts blaze again with the Emmaus heartburn.

And so it is with us as we travel the road of life and leave behind the pain not only of the past at the foot of the cross but also of the tomb emptied of hopes and dreams, for our hearts cannot stay at the site of death and resurrection. We must take that daily, life-road walk, and, as we do, we find Jesus walking with us in fellowship every step of the way.

As we walk with Him, talk with Him, invite Him to be our guest, and spend time with Him, sharing the Bread of the Word, the true unveiling comes, and, we have a celebration of revelation.

May your heart be set ablaze with His presence, as with the Emmaus heartburn.

One of hubby’s and my very favorite restaurants is Romano’s Macaroni Grill. When we are able to treat ourselves to dinner out, nine times out of ten, we will choose to go there.

We order our most favorite item on the menu, Chicken Scaloppine with artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto, lemon butter, and capellini, or our second favorite, about to push into the #1 spot, Parmesan-crusted Sole, which is served with lemon butter, capers, and sun-dried tomato orzo. These two items are so delicious.

While we wait for our meal to arrive, we delight in a loaf of freshly baked rosemary bread, dipped in olive oil, and a shared Caesar salad.

With the first bite of our entree, we look at each other, roll our eyes, and go, “Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!” Any meal at an expensive restaurant could barely compare!

If we split the meal, and still have room for dessert, we share a wonderful tiramisu. We savor every single bite of our meal and we go home with bellies full and satisfied!

There are two others who savor their food: our two youngest granddaughters. They will eat anything. They love to eat! On the occasion that they come to our house after pre-school, they are starved and the first thing they ask for is “pink” or “purple,” meaning the pink (strawberry) or purple (blueberry) yogurt.

The older one would eat three containers (or more) of it if we’d let her. She usually scarfs down two. Both of these little ones (2 ½ and 3 ½ ) will lick their bowls clean. They savor every single bite. And with the other food we give them, they bellies are satisfied.

The word savor also means to delight, enjoy, or relish.

Our hearts should take delight in God and His Word as Paul’s did, “My inner being delights in the law of God.” (Romans 7:22 GNT) The Greek definition of delight means to delight with oneself inwardly in a thing, to rejoice in with oneself, feel satisfaction concerning something.

*We savor steak, chocolate, and homemade bread.
*We delight in vacations, pay raises, and ball games.
*We enjoy concerts, movies, and books.
*We relish being patted on the back, winning a game, and beating out the other guy for that big promotion.

Why is it that we tingle with delight for our taste buds to savor that delectable, warm-out-of-the-oven piece of bread or piece of chocolate, but we cannot tingle with delight to savor God’s delectable Word, that Bread of Life?

As the Bread of Life, Jesus said, “There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach” (Luke 12:23a Msg), and there is more to your inner life than the things you do.

We are to savor the Life within us, filling ourselves with that Bread so our spiritual bellies feel full and satisfied.

My prayer is as David’s, “Blessed Lord, teach me Your rules. I have recited Your laws and rejoiced in them more than in riches. I will meditate upon them and give them my full respect. I will delight in them and not forget them.” (Ps. 119:12-16 TLB) Is it your prayer as well?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Mmmm...I’ve chosen to savor His Word and His presence. Have you? Is your belly full and satisfied?

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"(Ps. 34:8a NKJV)



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“Give us this day our daily bread.”Matt. 6:11 NKJV

(This is the fifth segment of The Model Prayer series.)

Daily. Interesting word. The word source for daily in this verse has been debated by scholars. The Greek word seems to be a compound word (epiousios), which has perplexed commentators because it occurs nowhere else in either classical or sacred Greek.

In one old manuscript, only Matthew uses the word epiousios. Luke’s account in Luke 11:3 uses the word epiousa for daily. It means following, next, or the ensuing day or night. Some experts say that the same word epiousios is used in both verses in other manuscripts.

According to the separate elements of the word used by Matthew, epi is a primary preposition, which means of time, place, order, over, upon, at, on, towards, upon, etc. Ousia means substance, property (possessions), or goods. Even this, say the experts, is questionable.

The Greek word for bread used in both verses means not just bread but food of any kind, that which is needful and sufficient for our nourishment. In other words, grant us this day our necessary nourishment.

In ancient times, bread held a great deal of significance in the lives of the Israelites and in their worship, being offered at feasts with other sacrifices. Bread was the confirmation of God’s presence. Being called showbread, meaning bread of presence or bread of face, it was placed in the Holy Place of the tabernacle and the temple.

God told Moses to “put the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me continually” (Ex. 25:30 Masoretic Text), as a perpetual symbol of His presence and provision.

Life depended upon the harvests of the grains, which depended upon the rain. As the sustenance of life, bread was, in a sense, also considered sacred, as a gift of God through His benevolence to allow the rain and the harvests. It remained a daily reminder of man’s unbroken dependence upon God for His provision.

The loaf of bread back then was thinner in shape and crisper than ours today, hence the term “breaking bread,” which signified sharing fellowship at a meal. The giving of bread symbolized hospitality, or as it was called, the bread of fellowship.

Breaking bread meant sharing the fellowship of a meal, which bound the participants in strong ties of friendship, as in covenant, and represented a pledge of reconciliation and peace. According to the law, one was expected to give a stranger or traveler water, food, shelter, and protection.

Bread was the best a poor man could give as his duty of hospitality to a guest. As a guest, to decline an offering of bread violated the sacred law of hospitality. In essence, it said to the host that his bread was unfit for use.

Eating with someone and then betraying them was one of the most despicable acts in the ancient world. As well as Obadiah (Ob. 7) and David (Ps. 41:9), think Judas.

And the writer of Hebrews reminds us from the time of Abraham, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Heb. 13:2 NKJV)

As the principal food, bread was called the “stay of bread,” or the support, protector, or sustenance of life. Or, as we would say, the staff of life.

As Jesus came from heaven to give life to the world, He said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35a NKJV)

We need not only our daily physical bread but also, and even more so, our daily spiritual Bread, our Staff of Life. Do we refuse the Bread that sustains life that Jesus offers? Do we then convey to Him that His Bread of Life is unfit for us?

The Bread of Life is the Word of Life. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4 NKJV)

“Lord, give us this bread always.” (John 6:34 NKJV)