“For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’”
Philippians 2:9-11 (Good News Translation)
God’s encouragement…
In the afterglow of Easter, I am awed by Jesus as my Savior. I surrender my past to Him and open my arms wide to receive His forgiveness, drawing close to His sacrificial love. In His welcoming embrace, my soul is soothed and I am filled with hope. I surrender my eternal future to Him because I believe it is secure—with Him, in heaven. I want to be in His presence forever. I’ve believed this for a long time now, but it wasn’t always so. God recently reminded me how He worked this miracle of belief in my life, by connecting two passages of Scripture that bookend the ministry of Jesus. They link to a specific intercession when He revealed His active presence in my life.
Just after His Baptism, Jesus is tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread following a 40-day fast in the wilderness—if he is the Son of God. Jesus responds, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:1-4) Then, on the day of His resurrection, Jesus walks with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. They have not believed the eyewitness accounts of the women who saw angels that said Jesus was alive, or His tomb found empty, just as they said. Jesus responds by opening for them, the Scriptures that foretold the events that occurred during the Passover celebration just ended. Jesus began with Moses and proceeded through the Prophets. (Luke 24:13-34) (Complete passage texts below.)
These two passages explain why we struggle to believe the eyewitness accounts of Jesus and His ministry apart from the Scriptures that foretold them. Connecting events to God’s plan prevents us from doubting as the disciples did on the road to Emmaus. My personal experience with this truth is the intercession I write about above. It wasn’t God’s first intercession in my life, but it was the first time I was certain I was hearing from Him. Why? Because I was instructed to read the Bible.* Only God would instruct me to do this. He knew where I needed to begin: with His Word.
What a joyous awakening that was for me! I had been surrounded by God’s presence, blessings, guidance and intercessions all my life. Yet, because I didn’t know what to look for, I had missed they were from God. This is why, in the present, I fall on my knees to Jesus my Lord, in the light of His presence, with my Bible close at hand. While my efforts to live according to His teaching will not be perfect, I trust Him to intercede as often as needed to direct me to His kingdom purpose.
*Robin’s Journey (linked here): God opened my eyes to His presence through intercession #3 God Comes Knocking.
To assemble a list to link to other posts from a category, click the category tag at the top of the page, or visit the Posts page.
Click the arrow → to access an online English Standard Version Bible.
Image: original color pencil drawing by Robin Lybeck: Jesus, My Lord
Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Luke 24:13-35
On the Road to Emmaus
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
