Travel Blog

So, we have the basics down, maybe.  Are you a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?  Have you laid your life down for him and walked away from your wicked ways? 

Those sinful ways are also called wicked.  Here's the definition of wicked...    

1 :  morally very bad :  evil

2 a :  fierce, vicious <a wicked dog>b :  disposed to or marked by mischief :  roguish <does wicked impersonations>

3 a :  disgustingly unpleasant :  vile <a wicked odor>b :  causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble <a wicked storm>

4 :  going beyond reasonable or predictable limits :  of exceptional quality or degree <throws a wicked fastball>

 

2 Chronicles 7:14 says: if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

 

How do we make this U-Turn and get out of our wicked ways?  Some may have a harder time than others.  But, you have to make a conscious choice to do so.  You have to decide if things are really working well in your life and if you are satisfied with it.  If not, start pushing out those things that don't belong. 

 

We are to live as though God's temple is in us, because it is.  

 

Romans 12:1

[ Living Sacrifices to God ] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 

1 Peter 2:5

you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 

Sometimes we can't see our own value and it's hard to see what God values in us.  But it's there, deep within the walls of the hardened heart.  Many times "man" has knocked us so far down, but we are a royal priesthood.  We are His Children, princes and princesses of the King.

 

John 12:44 says ⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,^[i] I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” 
 

When we started this journey and I am sure some have raised their eyebrows as to what the content of this blog was to be, it's a travel blog, but not the type you would think.  It's a travel blog as we travel through a journey of knowing Jesus in a personal way.  One that drives our lives and we don't drive it.  We come together as a family of believers to live a life according to the Word of God. 

 

This journey is more than wheels on the ground, it's more than walking through some pages, it's about knowing who God is so we can take in a real glimpse of heaven.  It's knowing who we are in Him.  Why does He love us so much?  Why does he count me worthy of undying love?  This is the journey we will take on.  If you are willing... and even if you are not, the journey will continue.  

 

When I first fell in love with Jesus, I was a kid.  But I didn't really know him.  I tried to read the Word of God but I started in Genesis and got through that okay, but then I got to the genealogy and those names and the connections lost me.  It's only later that I began to see the reason for the genealogy and later we will climb into that, but right now, let's take this journey down the road a little bit further.  You can take your seatbelt off, put on your comfy socks, and get ready for the journey.

 

So, let's revisit the beginning a bit here, we know Jesus and we believe He knows us.  But how can we be sure? 

 

Matthew 25:11-13New King James Version (NKJV) ¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour^[a] in which the Son of Man is coming.

 So, how do we get Jesus to know us? First, we NEED to get into the Word, because getting to know him, he begins to know us.  So, let's go into James, continue to go into 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, ( I know that seems like a lot, but they are short books but with real life, right now,  woven into them that will take you to the right journey),  then John, then Acts, then Colossians, then run into Galatians, and Ephesians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonian's. 

 

   Read a chapter and ponder on it, ask God what did he mean by this or that.  Then sit still and listen for an answer.  Sometimes it will come audibly and sometimes it will come in seeking another scripture.  Write down your questions, your thoughts, or a request from your heart, when you do this, it says you are important and what you wrote is important, ask the Lord to come and help you with it.  Sometimes those things will be answered in a way you have no idea how, but they will be.  Watch and wait.  

 

 

Now, I know that this seems impossible to write it down and wait, but let me share with you how this has worked for me.  When I was walking home one day from work, about an 8 block walk.  I was praying about my future and said "Lord, I don't want to be married again to someone that hurts me".  "I want to be important to someone".  The Lord said, "If you build a house, you have a plan and you want specific things in your house, you hadn't asked before, so I never gave it. So, this time, to build your house, ask me for specifics, then we will build this house you desire and I will make a way!"  So, I began to write a list, I mean a list!  It was 1 8x11 sheet of paper, two columns and specific.  I thought okay Lord here it is.  I set it aside, I didn't go out looking for any of it.  I just left it up to the Lord and He did what He said.  I worked with Steve but I never, ever would have thought this is the person the Lord had for me.  I went to a friends house to play cards, I am not really a card player- I know how, but it isn't my favorite thing.  So, Steve and another guy, Bob, along with Sharon were there.  We didn't really talk and I left pretty early.  They said let's go out dancing the next Friday, I said, okay.  I had not been in a bar for years!  I don't drink because I believe in keeping my temple clean.  So, there was Steve, Sharon, Bob, and a few others.  I sat next to Steve and we talked, and talked, and talked.  We danced a little and on a slow dance he said "I could spend the rest of my life with you", I thought "WHAT!"  I was not ready for anyone in that place in my life.  I had to leave.  We exchanged numbers and we began to talk.  About the 3rd time, the Lord said "get the list!"  So, I did.  I began to ask him questions that went along with the list.  There were a few things that didn't fit, but they were fixable, at least one was, the other, I can live with.   I showed Steve my list a few weeks after and believing that God did this, not me.  I didn't go looking for him or anyone.  It's been 11 years and that list has been replaced by other lists or goals. 

 

I always have ongoing lists, things that I believe are important and want answers to.  Since this is the year of Impossibilities becoming Possibilities, write down what you think is impossible and believe that with God all things are possible.  

 

So, next on our journey is knowing Jesus personally.  Dig into the Word.  A book that is absolutely awesome is Francis Chan's Crazy Love. Forgotten God is another one that is powerful.  It's about the Holy Spirit and how He is entwined with Jesus in your life.  Let's go back to the Word of God.  We took a side road there and the view was wonderful, but we must journey on.   1 Peter 1:3 says...

This book is awesome and it will lead you closer to the cross.  It will show you who Jesus is and why we follow Him. 

 

When people think a Christian is judging, we are not, we are doing what Jesus told us to do.   

 Matthew 18:15-18 says...

 

¹⁵ “If your brother sins^[d], go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the ^[e]church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector. ¹⁸ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth ^[f]shall have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth ^[g]shall have [already] been loosed in heaven.

 

In 1 John 1:24-27 says Let Truth Abide in You²⁴ Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. ²⁷ But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will^[e] abide in Him. ²⁸ And now, little children, abide in Him, that when^[f] He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹ If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. 

As you dig deeper, you will see more clearly the Word and what's on this journey. 

What ways in your journey do you need to make a U-Turn, a right or left turn or are you ready to go straight ahead and see what else is beyond your sight? 

Now, in this trip you will see maybe some bumps, hiccups, burps, or maybe it will be a non-stop journey.  Maybe a stop for the restroom, maybe just to capture the view.  But be sure we are still driving this journey and it will one day bring us closer to the Lord.

 

So, continue to come with and let's see what God has in store for all of us. 

 

For me, why am I writing this?  Well, I need to have 4 one hour classes written for my next class.  So, I figure let's do this together and see what we find in scripture.  We will dig through more and find more of his truths for our life and see what He does as we write our list of prayers, concerns, hopes and/or dreams down and see him work. 

 

So, let's go!  Open your Bible up and let's start in James.  It's a short book and yes, the Lord wrote the Bible, ALL Scripture is inspired by God and written to teach us what is true. 

 

Lastly, remember in the middle of this journey, I said let's write it down.  Let's figure out what the Word is telling us, as the Lord, here is a great way to do that.