Today you should read: Luke 24:13-35
In 2000, one of the pastors at my home church invited me on a trip with him, along with another close friend. He was speaking at a youth camp in Oklahoma, and the church that invited him also provided the funds for him to bring some family. Due to various circumstances, his wife and kids couldn’t go, so we took their place. WIN! It was an incredible week. I still have connections from it, and many great memories of my time with all of them still fill my mind.
On the way home, we were on a packed flight. Our seats were a few rows separated. We struck up conversation with a few guys whose seats were also separated from each other. When we got off the plane, we were glad to be reunited and heading home. Something clicked, though, as we realized who those guys were. It was our moment of Christian celebrity. We were all sitting with Chris Tomlin and his band. This was unreal to me at the time, since most of my trip down, I was listening to the then brand new “One Day” album. The guys that recorded it were chatting it up with me on my flight. I was like a kid at Christmas. My pastor talked the entire way home with Chris Tomlin and didn’t realize it until I made the connection when we de-boarded.
That personal anecdote falls WAY SHORT of the stories the disciples could tell of their encounter on the road to Emmaus. They had, walking alongside them, the Risen King! But their eyes were shielded from realizing it until Jesus was ready.
Have you ever had an encounter like that? No, I don’t mean with Chris Tomlin. Have you ever been going through your day and then realized that God’s hand had been with you the whole time? That the Lord ordained your steps? That His Spirit gave you wisdom?
Imagine how the disciples must have felt when they realized it was Him. They were still living in the horrid reality of His cross. Now they could see the tangible proof of His resurrection.
What can we learn from this passage?
1) Christ is risen. Doesn’t get any more important than that, folks.
2) Jesus really did mean that He is “God with us”. For those on that ancient road, it meant Him walking among them. For us, it is the fact that His Spirit is with us everywhere we go – His Spirit whom He sent to live in us.
3) Everything in Scripture either points forward to Him (OT) or points back to Him (NT). When you read your Bible, read it through the lens of Jesus Christ. He tells us we can (v.27).
4) Pay attention. The King of Kings, risen from the dead, is with you everywhere you go today. Do you see Him?
What insights did you glean from today’s Jumpstart reading?
By: Todd Thomas — Worship & College Pastor
JumpstartCPC.com 
I’ve known you this long and I’ve never heard that story? Wow! Their hearts burned within them being in the presence of Jesus. Does my heart long to be in His presence like that? Do I walk close enough with Jesus to make others see Him in me?
This is a favorite passage where you can make the clear connection from Moses to OT prophets (Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah) to Jesus — and ultimately to today’s believers. Wow, that’s thousands of years and hundreds of generations. Jesus is REAL! You and I can know Him and we can relate to others our experiences of a great Savior! (v.35)