Surfing through the Internet the other evening I was most surprised to come across a cooking site with the basis of this piece below which had been written some weeks previously.
My task in life is to speak and preach and teach and write so as to reach people who may not otherwise be reached with the vital message of the good news of Jesus Christ – that Jesus Christ shed His Blood an died on the Cross to wash away all our sin and give us a fresh start.
How many people have said to me over these past 30 years – “If only I could have a fresh start! If only I could begin all over again. I have made such a mess of things.”
A man says to me in Edinburgh prison, “If only I had listened to what you said three or fours ago, I would not be here in this place today.”
Well, it is possible to have that fresh start and it can start today. We do not need to wait until New Years Day to make New Year Resolutions.
So, how did the sentiments expressed below arrive on a Web Site dealing with cooking? Let me explain how electronic wires got crossed – but then again they may not have got crossed.
What actually happened may have a very real significance about which I may never know.
On the day Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, two disappointed dejected men are walking out of Jerusalem. They had seen Jesus Christ crucified. Understandably, they sense it is all over.
A third ‘walker’ joins them. It is the risen Jesus, but they do not recognise Him, even though He has drawn so close. They never expected to see Him again.
An animated emotional conversation ensues as they express, in great detail, their dashed hopes and expectations. They had looked to Jesus to rescue them from their personal problems and political predicament. They feel badly let down.
Listening carefully to these broken men, Jesus gives them, of all things, a Bible study, citing passages, which bore witness to Himself.
O, to have had a recording of that incisive discourse.
Approaching their home village at dusk, they invite their ‘new friend’ to come in for a meal and rest the night. A meal is prepared and at the table the risen Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, and hands it to His hosts. Seeing the marked hands, their eyes were opened and they recognised that this was Jesus. Yes, risen from the dead. Everything suddenly changed.
Disappointment and dejection disappeared. They remember that enthralling conversation as they walked.
There was something so very different as He opened up the significance of certain Scriptures. They even mention to each other, that as He spoke, our hearts burned within us.
A decision was made to hurry back to Jerusalem to inform the others that Jesus is indeed risen from the dead.
Events in Jerusalem had also been developing rapidly. When they returned to that room in Jerusalem, they discovered the disciples already knew that Jesus Christ is risen and alive. Do you?
One never knows where one’s words may appear nor do we ever know what eternal consequences they might have.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
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