Luke 24:15-16 NLT
'As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.'
The pursuit of God is a journey. We are invited to travel its winding pathway in conversation with God, who is always with us. The challenge is that we may not always recognise God’s presence. Another complicating factor is that what once seemed so clear when I first determined to follow Jesus becomes confused when faced with the realities of life’s many challenges.
Here, two followers of Jesus begin their walk home to Emmaus when an apparent stranger falls into step alongside them. They fail to recognise it is Jesus, in part because they know Jesus has been killed and, like the disciples, have no experience and little expectation that Jesus has risen from the dead. We all have to learn that God is free from the constraints of mortal life and can intervene in unexpected and surprising ways.
Having expressed their bitter disappointment at recent events, Jesus opens the scriptures to them. It is easy to read scripture out of duty, rather than with any expectation of meeting Jesus within its pages. My life remained rooted in the culture and customs of my peers, Christian and non-Christian, for many years, rather than appreciating the countercultural nature of scripture.
In more recent years I have appreciated the potency of scripture as God’s living word. After years of coasting as a Christian, I have begun to act upon scripture and respond to what I discover, allowing Jesus to accompany and open its truth to me, much as he did to these two followers. I have also taken to praying scripture in search of deeper understanding of its truth – and to read carefully every day, not as duty but in search of a deeper companionship with Jesus who’s always beside me.
QUESTION: Can and will you respond and build your life upon scripture? This is the way to deepen your friendship with God.
PRAYER: Thank you for easy access to your living word. As I come to read it, help me to hear, obey and follow your instructions for life.

Released on 16 Apr 2020