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Speak
It Out!
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Pastor Howie Stewart, Oklahoma
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Burning Hearts
Written
By Howie Stewart
And they said to one another, “Did not our
hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened
the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
I think it is quite interesting that
43% of Luke’s last chapter is devoted to this, the story of the burning hearts.
Luke only wrote a total of 53 verses to describe events starting with Christ’s
resurrection all the way through to His ascension. The chapter summarizes an
amazing amount of material, but here, sandwiched in there, is the highly
detailed story of two disciples, a walk with Jesus, and burning hearts. How
amazing! 23 of the 53 verses are devoted to this experience with Jesus. Could
it be the Lord wants us to see something important here?
If you look at the post-resurrection
accounts in all the Gospels, you may be struck with the brevity of their
descriptions. Matthew devotes only 25 verses, Mark just 20 verses. John
included the most detail with 56 total verses across two chapters. The gospel
writers squeeze a lot of happenings into a short space.
Under the circumstances—and under the
guiding hand of the Holy Spirit—the story had been told. Not much further
elaboration was needed at this point. Jesus was risen! Further details
would come from Luke’s sequel Acts and the Epistles that would be authored by
Paul, Peter and others. In light of this brevity, however, Luke spends what
seems to me to be a disproportionate amount of time on the story of the burning
hearts. Does the Lord have something special for us here?
As the two disciples walked and talked
with the resurrected Christ, they reported that their hearts “burned within us.” (Verse 32) This
reminds me of John the Baptist’s words when he said that Jesus would baptize us
with the “Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke
3:16) What a phenomenon! Hearts burning with fire from God! Jeremiah described
God’s Word within him as “burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah
20:9)
The old hymn written by Margaret J.
Harris many years ago puts it this way:
Then God’s fire upon the altar
Of my heart was set aflame
I shall never cease to praise Him
Glory, glory to His name
Is it possible for today’s believers,
removed 2000 years from that walk to Emmaus, to experience the inner fire of
the burning of God’s presence in their lives today? That inner witness of the
Spirit of God; testifying to the sacrificial burning on the altar of God in the
heart?
I believe we must have the fire
of the Holy Spirit burning in our hearts. Look at God’s instructions to Moses: “A fire shall always be burning on
the altar, it shall never go out.” (Leviticus 6:13) This was not a
suggestion or a mere observation. It was (and IS) God’s command that the fire
on the altar continue to burn.
We must keep our relationship with
Jesus fresh. We cannot allow the fire to cool. It must be tended.
It must be stirred. Old ashes must be removed, fresh fuel must be added, and
the flow of air must be unimpeded.
How to care for the fire? How to make
sure you burn brightly with His presence? Look at what happened that day on the
way to Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn
within us while He talked with us and while He opened the Scriptures?”
Herein lies the key for us—it’s still true today:
First, be in a place where Jesus can
talk to you. This is more than rote or mechanical prayer. It is when Jesus and
you commune on the altar of your heart. Let the Holy Spirit to get involved.
Second, allow Jesus to open the Word
to your heart. “Your word is a lamp unto
my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105). A lamp also produces
heat. Again, let the Holy Spirit to get involved.
“Lord, sustain the fire upon our
hearts. May we burn bright for You!
And may we never be the same!”
