This past weekend, I attended the TrueWomen2025 conference in Indianapolis. Approximately 7,500 women gathered together to worship and to draw closer to the God of the universe. It was an incredible experience. The theme this year was “Behold the Wonder”, with a focus on Psalm 119. Each speaker brought a different insight, and I found myself searching the bookstore for a journal so I could take notes. My soul was refreshed, my conscience was convicted, and my heart was renewed.

I have been struggling with the idea of this blog over the last 6 months or more. I had considered setting it aside. My passion had left me and I was questioning the motivation I had when I began writing. Was I writing for myself, for the attention and recognition? Or was I writing for Jesus, to show Him to the world. During one of the speakers lessons on Luke 24, I jotted down in my new journal, “Seeing, The Word”. I have always understood that the Bible is God’s word, but this time I was looking at it with fresh eyes, searching for Christ in each verse.

 ¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Luke 24:13-35

As these two disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, Jesus drew near and went with them. He was with them in their grief and their confusion. Their confidence and expectations had just been crucified and I imagine that their sorrow was great and their hope had been extinguished. But as Christ broke the bread and gave it to them, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. I wrote in my journal–

vs 44 – These are my words
vs 45 – Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures
vs 46 – You are witnesses of these things
I am a witness > Testify > Action > these are His words

I felt convicted. How was I testifying about who God is? He has given me the ability to write, and I shouldn’t shut it up in a drawer. I should be using it as an opportunity to share His Word with everyone I know!

The disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, didn’t just douse their lamps and go to bed after their encounter with Christ. They rose that same hour and walked back to Jerusalem. They found the other believers, who were deep in sorrow and hopelessness and they proclaimed the good news, “He has risen!”

The bible isn’t just a bunch of fables written thousands of years ago. It is His story, illuminating the truth of who Christ is. From the first verses in Genesis to the triumphant return of the King in the book of Revelation, the bible walks us through who Christ is, why it was necessary for Him to die on the cross, and what will happen when He returns. It’s not a rule book but an instructional manual on how to walk with God, just as those disciples walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. As followers of Christ, as we walk through this life, through our times of celebration and our times of defeat, Jesus will draw near to us, walk along side us, and if we will listen, open the scriptures to show us the wonders of His grace, power and mercy.

-Amen