This summer marks the anniversary of our first visit ever in the Czech Republic. for a concert! Concerts like ours are seldom staged in this country. We visited the former communist nation on the day of their National Youth Gathering in the city of Tabor. We had an audience of more than 7,000 Czech young people who jumped, clapped and sang their way through our entire concert—it was like a massive sea of people in motion. The show that night was phenomenal. During the song “Forgive Me” almost all raised their hands in surrender to God. From what the organizers said, I'm sure for many in the crowd this was their first experience with Christianity.
Europe is almost like a second home to us. I always love going there because there's such a fresh enthusiasm. We've visited a number of countries several times and have built up a kind of supportive family—it's like coming back to visit relatives. We've felt a real sense of community with them, and through them our hearts have been “strangely warmed” by Jesus' love. After returning back home we're refreshed, much as the two men were who walked with Jesus on the way to Emmaus.
Jesus ended up staying with the two men and eating dinner with them. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” (24:30-32).
Whether we're communing with the saints on another continent, or sharing the Lord's Supper in our local church, something powerful happens when we gather with the body of Christ and partake of His goodness.
Spend a few moments thinking about some of the best times you've had sharing life with other members of the body of Christ. How have you been refreshed by spending time with them? Give thanks to God for that kind of fellowship that is possible because of what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross. Then, drop a card in the mail thanking someone for sharing authentically with you.
Rebecca
