Didn't Our Hearts Burn Within Us?

What is the Lord doing in your life today?

Don’t take this question lightly. It is the most important question you can answer, for God is our Creator and the most important one regarding anyone, anything, anywhere at any time.

May I suggest that if you don’t know the answer to that question, isn’t it time to know the answer?

If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is part of his will―a will that he articulates quite forcefully in his Word, the Bible―that we are all a part of the Body of Christ. As part of the Body of Christ, and quite frankly, as members of the human race, God has imprinted into our spiritual DNA a specific calling that we are under orders to fulfill in our lives in our journey in this world. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:26a, “Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters (NET Bible).”

Think about the circumstances of your call.

The Creator of the universe created you for a reason. Are you the least bit interested what that reason is? He brought you into existence for a specific reason. In some mysterious way, eons ago, it was in God’s mind to think about you, design you and your life and then bring you into his world do something.

What is that something? It should be the most important thing in your life to figure that out. And it is not particularly hard to figure it out, for he gives us his manual―his Word―to figure it out. The hard part of that something is the actual doing of it.

That something is the center of your existence. It is impossible to find that something alone. We must engage the Body of Christ, the Church in our unpacking of his calling in our lives. As we unpack his calling in our lives, we need help with that task, for he created us as part of a larger affair, a larger gathering than a mere one. We simply cannot find his full and perfect will by ourselves. We need the love and healing presence of others. That is a fellowship of joy and of trial, for as followers of Christ, we strengthen one another in the crucibles of life. We must do hard things together, just as we enjoy each other’s presence.

On the road to Emmaus, one of the most beautiful events in the New Testament, after Christ had explained the scriptures surrounding his death, burial, and resurrection to them without immediately revealing his identity, their later comment upon him revealing his true identity to them was “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us? (Like 24:32, NET Bible)”

When the Church gathers in his name, our hearts should burn within us!

Later, during his final appearance to them, he told them in Luke 24:49ff, “You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high (NET Bible).”

That is exactly what any church should do before moving ahead. Every one of our gatherings should be an echo of the original upper room. We must pray constantly, allowing him to “clothe us with power from on high.” We must begin there, and out of that the church will proclaim his word, fellowship, worship together and serve. Within that beautiful arrangement we find our calling.

And when we are together in his name, our hearts will burn within us!

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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:

"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”

If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church.

Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.

Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.

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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.

Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.

Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.

Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.

©2018 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.