Lessons Learned from... the Road to Emmaus

Scripture Reference: Luke 24:13-27

Earlier today, I was reading through Luke 24 and found myself fascinated by the wording of the passage about the Road to Emmaus. There are so many great things to learn from this piece of history.

Right before two of Jesus’s disciples were traveling by foot to a village named Emmaus, they had learned that Jesus was not in the tomb he’d been buried in three days prior, but was said by an angel to be risen. As they journeyed, “they talked together of all these things which had happened” (Luke 24:14 NKJ).

“While they conversed and reasoned, … Jesus Himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15).

Okay, so how amazing would it be to have the Risen Lord just come up and start walking with you as you traveled down the road? I think I’d be shocked and fascinated that He’d choose to walk with me, of all people, but I’d be honored too, definitely.

If I knew Who He was.

The thing is, these two disciples didn’t know.

Lessons Learned from... Ruth (Part 1)

The previous article in this series was Part 1 about Naomi. This current article (Part 1 on Ruth) builds upon that one but does carry its own lessons learned.

Scripture Reference: Ruth 1

We first meet Ruth when it’s told that she married one of Naomi’s two sons (Ruth 1:4). She was married for about ten years, verse 4 says, but we aren’t given any emotions for that time. Was Ruth happy, content, dissatisfied or anything in between? We have not a clue.

The next verse tells us that her husband and brother-in-law both perish. The focus in this verse is upon Naomi, but I must wonder what heartache Ruth and her sister-in-law (by marriage), Orpah, must have experienced as well. To have their husbands, their security stripped from them so suddenly surely knocked them into a spurt of insecurity and lack of confidence in their futures. What an unsettling time!

Favorite Passage Spotlight: John 1:1-14

“1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

This section at the beginning of John has always been a big favorite of mine.  There’s so much in it!    What an introduction to the story of our Savior.

Are there any parts of it that confuse you?  What are your favorite parts of it? 

Lessons Learned From... Jairus

Welcome to the Lessons Learned blog series! I gave an introduction to this series in its previous installment (located on Writing to Inspire; link to follow this article), and Hannah gave me a beautiful intro over here.

Let's just dive right into the goods, shall we?

Scripture Reference: Mark 5:21-43

Further Reading: Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 8:40-56

What does faith look like in the midst of a parent’s worst nightmare?

When Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter lay dying, he chose to leave her side to seek help from Jesus, Who had recently performed many miracles and healed a plethora of people. Considering Jairus was “one of the rulers of the synagogue” (Mark 5:22), it may have been a tough choice from where he stood in the community. Synagogue leaders would have been expected to be knowledgeable about the Old Testament as well as the Jewish rules and customs. To admit that he had no answers as to how to help his own child might have been a blow to his human pride. Yet, he not only sought out Jesus but also “fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly” (Mark 5:22-23) to save his daughter’s life. The setting aside of pride made way for a beautiful display of sincere humility. Jairus didn’t care what the multitude of onlookers thought of one of their religious leaders begging on his knees on the dusty road; he only wanted his daughter to live.

Five minute theology: The Trinity, part one

A Crash Course on Beliefs: The Trinity

We'll talk more about this later, and in more detail, but here's a summary about some basic doctrines of the Christian faith.  References and such will be added more in depth in later articles, but feel more than welcome to ask any questions now!

God

The Christian God is a triune one: three distinct personalities, but so entirely in harmony and so entirely the same that He is one.  A very faulty and inferior analogy is that of ice, water, and snow--which are all the same element in different forms and functions.  These personalities are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  

God, unlike us, is not subject to time, space, distance, or any other limitation that we feel; this is where all the "omni" (Latin for "all") words come in: omniscient, omnipresent, and so on.  There is nowhere you can go that God cannot reach.  There is nothing you can think that God will not be aware of.  There is nothing you can see that God will not also see. 

Because God came first and will come last, and the world was made by Him, He has authority over it all.  Does He always use this authority?  Not all the time with man—often He gives us enough rope to hang ourselves or to make our own right choices; other times we do indeed see Him every day, but He has given us the choice to follow or to ignore (contrast the life of Abraham, who followed God, to the life of Pharoah, who defied God).  

Creation itself speaks to witness of an intelligent Creator; we can see His amazing intelligence in how everything in the environment works together, and many elements cannot hope to survive without each other.  We can see His provision in the earth and the sun, how the sun is exactly far enough away to continue to warm the earth, but not close enough to melt it.  

The most amazing thing to me, though, is that God created a fallible, mortal human and did so knowing that the relationship would cost Him the death of the perfect Son Jesus in order to redeem us from our own sin and to give us eternal life in His own Heaven.  He didn’t even have to create us...but He did.  Knowing all that!

Introduction to Andrea’s work: Blog link

A Note from Andrea and Hannah

This is a quick mid-week announcement about Andrea Cox, who is my co-conspirator in this blogging endeavor, and who will be sharing some of the posts via her blog Writing to Inspire as an introduction of the sorts of posts we’ll be featuring here and of her ongoing series that will fluctuate between her blog and this one.  She posts on Monday mornings there and her series here will run the first Sunday of each month for the near future.  Head on over and check it out to get the first taste of what is going to be shared on this blog on March 3!

Head over to this post to start Andrea's series at the beginning!

Welcome to a New Place!

About Stones on Fire

We are a blog dedicated to sharing about the Christian life--what it entails and short doctrinal explanations--and sharing inspiring true stories and testimonies.  We aim to be scholarly and correct but to remain easily accessible for a wide audience.

The blog name gave me a bit of trouble, because I wanted to find something easily memorable but also representative of the passion behind the posts here.  I found this passage in 1 Peter that really stood out to me:
1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

So that's where the idea of being stones came from!  As for fire, we're studying Acts in church at the moment, and this passage from Acts stood out to me as well:
2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I've always considered myself a much better communicator when it comes to fiction than to nonfiction, so I definitely need some Heavenly help with communication over here, and I also long to be "on fire" for God and to be willing to open up and share about my faith: what it means to me and what it can mean to you.