Jesus has this way of saying something that seems in the beginning to be simple, and yet it can be applied at multiple levels. How do you hear?

It was crowded in the house. It seemed that the whole town crowded into Mary and Martha’s home. Those who could not fit into the house stood by the door and outside the windows. Everybody wanted to see Jesus, to hear Him teach, or to watch Him heal.

It is easy to look back on the Scriptures and with arrogance say, “If I could have seen Jesus do this or hear that, I know I would have responded differently than the disciples.” But neither you nor I can really ever know that.

Suffering is not a subject that excites most people, yet glory is something we are all interested in. The Resurrected Christ teaches us that suffering and glory are linked. Jesus did not suffer at the hands of an angry God but from an angry religious system.

Have you ever felt like Jesus forgot you? Like He left the church and locked you inside? He promised He would never leave.

On a seven-mile stretch of old, rocky, dusty road that joins Jerusalem to Emmaus, two men journeyed and talked. Nothing else was worthy of discussion in light of the last couple of days. From behind them, a man who had recently caught up with their pace asked, “What are you talking about and why does it make you so sad?”

This may be very simple, but when Mary and the others were confused and did not know what to do, they went to the last place they saw Jesus. When Peter heard something he could not believe, he went to the place where he heard others had encountered Jesus.

Sometimes, like Mary, we do not recognize Christ. We pray and present our requests, but oftentimes, He answers us in practical ways we may not expect.

Out of all the things He said to us that day, I remember the look in His eyes when He confronted our pride and unbelief in Him and the others. I will never forget that day. I should have listened to my heart. I knew Mary was not a liar, and the Emmaus guys have never given me a reason to doubt their integrity. Now I understand.

Have you ever had really good news that you couldn’t wait to share with someone, and when you finally did, their response was disappointing? Maybe they were not as excited, or it was just bad timing?