[Darris McNeely] Sometimes you just have to know your own experience, and you have to be bold. One of my favorite stories is in Luke chapter 24. It's the story of two disciples on the road to the little village of Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem in the morning after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Christ comes up alongside of them. They don't know who He is. And He begins to talk to them, and talk about the events of the death of Christ, the resurrection, and then Christ begins to explain to them from the scriptures about himself who He is, but these two disciples, they don't know who He is, they have not recognized the risen Jesus.

And then after a meal, they break bread in their home, their eyes are opened, and they understand that they have been conversing with the risen Jesus Christ and they are so excited. And it's late at night because they have walked seven miles, they've turned into their home, and they're so excited that they wanna run back into Jerusalem and tell the other disciples Peter, and John, and Nathaniel, and the others gathered in the room, that they have seen the risen Christ. And so they go back seven miles late at night. They're tired, but they're excited. And in verse 33, it says, "They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together and they began to explain that they had seen the Lord." They said, "The Lord is risen. And He is indeed appeared to Simon." In verse 35, "They told about the things that had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread."

Now, this story is full of a great deal of teaching and inspiration. But one of the points that I just was struck by as I read it again recently, was the fact that these two disciples one of them named Cleopas, the other is unnamed, were so excited so bold about what they had experienced that they were going to share that with the other disciples who themselves were riddled with doubt and fear at that moment and not understanding what had happened. But these two went back in, tired, late at night, to share their good news. They also had to share in a sense what they had experienced.

That's what we have to do. That's how bold we must be with the gifts, with the talents with the strengths, and even with the experience that we have had in our walk of faith in our relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to be bold enough to overcome someone else's doubt, someone else's fear, someone else's attitude, that might be dragging us down and be bold with what we know and have seen and what we have experienced, and declare it like these two did. If we do that, then we're having a road to Emmaus type of experience. And we are following along as a disciple of Jesus Christ in a very, very important way as we come to understand the role of Christ in our life and what He is doing in the church.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.