Luke 24 w/ Journalin Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B

Luke 24
The Resurrection
1But very early on Sunday morning F115 the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. 3So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5The women were terrified and bowed low before them.
Then the men asked, "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"
8Then they remembered that he had said this. 9So they rushed back to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others. They told the apostles what had happened, 11but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it. 12However, Peter ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened. F116

The Walk to Emmaus
13That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles F117 out of Jerusalem. 14As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. 16But they didn't know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him.
17"You seem to be in a deep discussion about something," he said. "What are you so concerned about?" They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18Then 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 wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. 20But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago. 22Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, Jesus' body was gone, just as the women had said."
25Then Jesus said to them, "You are such foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26Wasn't it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?" 27Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.
28By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus would have gone on, 29but they begged him to stay the night with them, since it was getting late. So he went home with them. 30As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. 31Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
32They said to each other, "Didn't our hearts feel strangely warm as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?" 33And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem, where the eleven disciples and the other followers of Jesus were gathered. When they arrived, they were greeted with the report, 34"The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter F118 !"
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
35Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. 36And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. He said, "Peace be with you." F119 37But the whole group was terribly frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 38"Why are you frightened?" he asked. "Why do you doubt who I am? 39Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it's really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do!" 40As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his feet. F120
41Still they stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he ate it as they watched.
44Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true." 45Then he opened their minds to understand these many Scriptures. 46And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day. 47With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.' 48You are witnesses of all these things.
49"And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
The Ascension
50Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. F121 52They worshiped him and F122 then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

FOOTNOTES:
F115: Greek But on the first day of the week, very early in the morning.
F116: Some manuscripts do not include this verse.
F117: Greek 60 stadia [11.1 kilometers].
F118: Greek Simon.
F119: Some manuscripts do not include He said, "Peace be with you."
F120: Some manuscripts do not include this verse.
F121: Some manuscripts do not include and was taken up to heaven.
F122: Some manuscripts do not include worshiped him and.

Lena Journals to Luke 24
The whole world is looking for” the body” of the Lord Jesus. They inwardly want to know, is He dead or alive? Is the hope, and the promise of forgiveness, of healing, of supernatural power among men, really possible or not?
There is a Body, and it is not in the same form as one would expect the Body of the Lord to be, for it is not as it was before His death. It is now many membered; many people make up what His body is and looks like. Life, resurrection life, came into His body, into anyone after His resurrection who would believe in and receive of His finished work.
In death a life is sown, even buried in the ground as a seed. In resurrection power that seed is given as it is in the form it was, to die so it could change, become another form. Jesus sowed His own life into the ground to be raised a different life! He knew that principle and did it on purpose. So can we.
We symbolically, by faith in Him, must sow our own lives, dead to what we figured life was about. As we give up our own life and let what we thought it was for, to God, who will define it for Himself and for His own use. Only in this intent response will we see the power of God in resurrection form bloom and grow awesomely, into an unrecognizable form!
This never happens without the willing death of self. Jesus willingly died physically, mentally and spiritually to His self life, to His earth life. It even seemed the true reason for His earth life never appeared, for was He not to be the King of kings and Lord of lords? He didn’t reign with royal robes on earth, or did He? Jesus laid down His will to rule and reign forever for His Father and for who His Father loved!
Do we lay our own wills down for who our Father loves? Do we love Our Father as Jesus loved Him, giving Himself for who His Father loved? Do we as His body now, today, give ourselves wholly and completely for who Our Father loves?
The point is the willingness to do whatever love asks for. Not my will, but Yours be done, through my earth life now.
When we love one another, as He also loved us, the world will find the body of the Lord, even if they are not looking!
What are you telling others about the Lord, about His body?
That’s huge. Beware not to speak against the body of the Lord, or his church, no matter what her present condition is. It is His place to identify her sins and shortcomings; it is our place to pray she makes it as a spotless bride prepared for her husbandman.
How we choose to speak of the body of the Lord, is also important to how the world sees her, and whether they will seek to find her or not. Do we speak of His forgiveness of her imperfections or do we hold her sins against her? Do we tell of His great grace and mercy to lead her to repentance, or do we say her behaviors are hopeless and impossible to be changed?
Where is our faith, and who do we have faith for? It is time to pray for and believe our Father for the resurrection life and power to come into the body of the Lord! To stand with Him that she’d desire Him, want to live for and as Him, and that she’d be all out to please Him, preparing herself for His return.
Do we love His body, who He calls His very own, flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, the many membered body we, who call Jesus our Lord, and what we are a part of?
Have you been in communion, in unity with His body, His blood? Do you participate and count your life as one with who He calls Himself one with? In this, in giving of one’s self along with others, as kingdom of God family members, the eyes that were blind will see. I’m speaking of religious well meaning, blind eyes!
In the unity of the body, in willing participation with the members of the body, in the dying of whatever we thought we wanted whatever way we wanted it, is where we will begin to really see Him. We may hear a familiar voice, but the revelation of Him, comes in becoming one willingly with who He has chosen to become one with!
If He chose to become one with an imperfect for now, but by His faith, being perfected - bride, who are we to separate ourselves from her and act as though we know more, and are somehow better than to be called a part of her?
I’ve seen many people separate out from their local churches, because of disagreements with the leaders, and I’ve seen them tire of church “politics”, or programs, but more than anything, because they want to do what they want to do, what they see to do, their way. They may have asked their leaders if they could do their thing at their church, and it was “shot down”, so rather than submit what they saw, and let it die, they separate and go off doing what they saw anyway. I’m sorry to say, this is not unity, and is not pleasing to the Lord. Resurrection life will only occur with death and burial. That does not mean, now die and act like a zombie while still going to that church. It means die to self and live to the vision of the house. Give yourself for that man’s vision wholeheartedly, as though it were your own. In this, you will begin to see the Lord!
Alone, a seed stays as it is, it lives in the lonely form it began as, if it gets planted, it bursts forth into something that looks nothing like it is! It is empowered with life!
Many fear to give their lives, is to not be, but this is not the case. We die to self life, solitary life that He may live through us!
Many of us are way more comfortable to have communion, common-union, intimate relationship, face to face accounting between us and God alone. We’ may even be great with just our family members. It really takes a stretch of faith to commune with a whole body of believers! Especially when that body of believers makes us accountable for our actions that are outside of the behaviors of Christ.
Have you ever given an account because you wanted to? Of sin? Of wrongdoing? Of actions or behaviors? That’s called running into the arms of God! The idea in the kingdom is to adapt this as your kingdom of God lifestyle.
The Lord shows Himself to those who are disciples. Jesus can’t make men become disciples, men make themselves, submit themselves, willingly, to becoming a disciple. Men who do this will see the body of the Lord, will see the Lord!
He doesn’t just appear to anyone.
When I say “see”, it may not be a physical seeing, but it is a seeing, a beholding, a perceiving of who He really is.
Discipleship is costly. When Jesus gave the invitation saying, “follow Me…” they left all they were and became who He is. A seed alone, planted into the ground, that dies and willingly gives its life to become something far more magnificent than any seed alone would ever be.
Do we want to see Jesus? Really? We can say that all day long, but let me ask it this way, Are we willing to do what it takes to see Him? Die to ourselves, live another man’s vision that we barely agree with or barely see, and become a disciple on earth, who is trained by men?
When Jesus says things, they are always much deeper than one can see on the surface. Disciples inquire of the meanings and they count the cost, they ask God to provide them what they need to buy this truth, and then they guard the truth and will not sell out by excuses or the distractions of serving other things.
Jesus asks disciples, is there anything here, among you, for Me to eat? Can you give Me what I’ve come for, what I’m looking for, Do you care to satisfy My hungry and thirsty soul, to do the will of My Father as I have done? Will you serve Me food, as I have so willingly done for you?
Did you ever consider God hungry for anything? Remember Jesus saying My meat and My drink is to do the will of Him who sent Me? Disciples do this for God. They care that He is hungry for souls and their life is about giving Him His due. They appreciate what He did for them so personally, so much that they want Him to have what He sent His Son for. They want to help Him get His anyway they can. They ask Him how to do it best, and they just do it.
“Oh, You mean through being a part of a local fellowship unified with other believers?” Yes, Lord, I’ll do that.
“Oh, You mean help another man You showed to do something with an army of people as one all doing the same type of work?” Ok, Lord, I’ll do that.
“Oh, lay down my own hopes and dreams for earthly (or what I perceive as kingdom) success?” Yes, Jesus, I’ll do that too.
What else, Lord?
How can I as a man with wrong desires do these things?
I have sent you the power to overcome your own flesh nature, to be made new in Me, to be as I am. In the willing laying down of life, you will receive the power of the very spirit of Christ Jesus. In allowing the Lordship of Christ Jesus, you’ll feed the spirit, welcoming His presence in your life. If you take up your old life and follow yourself as your own lord, He’s a gentleman and will be silent, until you choose again to live for and with Him.
I AM THE WAY
I AM THE TRUTH
I AM THE LIFE!