Chapter 3 – The Way
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
He meant that… He meant every word that He ever said, and it will all come to its fulfilment. ALL of it. I used to think that as long as you believe in God, it didn’t matter what religion or how you worshipped. That was just how you were taught. But, that’s not what it says.
NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME. Period.
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
That first verse is hard for us to comprehend I think in our limited flesh brains. The Word was God and has been around since the beginning.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
God literally sent His word, His Son, Himself to you to rescue you and teach you how to survive in these flesh bodies and to KNOW Him. That is the entire purpose of your existence in this life. To come to know Jesus and be perfected in Him so you can live in eternity forever with Him. Without that, you cannot be in His holy presence and will die.
And how do you know Him? Through the Word. When Jesus taught us to take communion at the last supper. He said this is my body broken for you. Eat it. He was talking about the Word of God. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”. You are expected to “eat” it. When He said this is my blood. Drink it. He was talking about your inheritance into that blood family. How beautiful it is.
Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
You may think you have other priorities in this life. I hear people quote the following verse a lot in the sense that God just wants us to be happy.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
God does want to give you the desires of your heart. But our flesh confuses what that is. It is not a Christmas list that we pray, and he gives us everything on it like Santa. The desire of your heart, whether you know it or not is Him. Again, only He can fill that hole where He was designed to be.
I remember as a child my mom asking her best friend who was dying in the hospital if she had ever felt truly loved. That confused me because she was married and had kids! What on earth was she talking about?
But I understand now… There is only one thing in this life that will give you that security and eternal and complete love. That is your relationship with your heavenly Father. He is your creator and your closest relative, father and husband. No one will ever love you and understand you like he does. He is the creator and lover of your soul. Not this body but your everlasting soul… the essence of you that you don’t even know or understand in these flesh bodies.
The bible is God’s love letter to you. Do you remember that book going around several years ago talking about knowing you and your partner’s love languages? This is His love language to you! AndyoursbacktoHim,whenyoureaditandprayforunderstanding.Itwillfulfillyour every need and give you true and lasting Joy.
The desires of your heart are to be in love with Jesus…To be in a holy marriage with Him, forever! If you don’t understand that holy marriage yet, just put it on the shelf for now…
If I had a pill and gave it to you and told you that it would solve ALL of your problems. Would you take it? Of course you would! THIS IS THAT PILL!
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
That is why you are sick and unsteady in this world always… but,
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The bible is literally an owner’s manual on how to live in these flesh bodies. Would you operate your car without reading the manual? Well, many of us do… Maybe that’s a bad analogy. Would you try to put something together from IKEA without using the directions? You shouldn’t live without reading how to live right!
Practically every page is an assurance and promise of love on the beautiful forever you will have with the love of your life! IF (a lot of preachers skip over that part) you repent of your sins and ask forgiveness for them and love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and mind AND, love your neighbor as yourself. You have to turn completely to God… the Jews call it teshuvah. It’s not only asking for forgiveness, repentance, but to return completely as if going back to something that you have strayed or looks away from. You are not able to do this of your own power. You need to pray for that desire and strength as well.
Philippians 2:13 God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.
Studying the bible is not only obedience, but it brings God JOY!
Nehemiah 8:10 For the Joy of the Lord is your strength
And when you are strong in the Lord, it brings you joy! Not fleeting happiness as earthly pleasures, but life giving, sustainable soul joy. That’s what He wants for you and the only way to experience that is to know the Father and the only way to know Him is to study His Word.
That joy is also contagious! That joy that you spread brings fruit. Joy is the oil that never runs out… It flows to us and through us to others and back to our Father and back down to us in a beautiful joyful perfect circle of LIFE!!
Before the first trip that I will be discussing in the next chapters, I watched a movie called “The Way”. It’s funny how Jesus guides us to things. This is a movie from 2011 with Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen. I had three people bring it up in conversation within the same week and then it was suggested to me on Netflix. Duh. I guess I need to watch it.
It was about a man who lost his son, and he had to go recover his body. The son had been doing the walk of the Camino de Santiago, which is a pilgrimage route through France, Portugal and Spain that ends at the supposed burial place of the apostle James. He ends up completing the walk with the ashes of his son. But, “the way” is about all of the lives that he touched and that touched his along “the way”. How every connection, no matter how brief, matters; and is divinely woven into this tapestry of our lives.
Have you ever considered that we are all still stuck here in this God forsaken place because God is waiting on you? Or your father, mother, husband, kid, neighbor, cashier, mechanic, friend, co-worker? Anyone that you have been assigned to plant a seed with. If you think one seed from you can not only help God get that one, but help bring in God’s Kingdom faster wouldn’t you be rushing to do it? We are not only responsible for ourselves, but each other.
That is what they call the great commission:
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The fact that we aren’t all in spiritual bodies with Jesus means there are still strays out there!
I’ve always studied but I haven’t always seeked Him. Those are two very different things. I grew up going to Sunday School and went to Baptist high school and college. I studied intellectually but not really to know Him.
Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
If you ask Him, the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what He wants you to know every day. He will give you just enough… I think if He were to give us everything at the same time our heads would pop off. Give us this day our daily bread isn’t just for physical food, but spiritual food. And you do need to feast on it every day to stay connected to Him.
John 6:57-58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
The word for disciple in both Hebrew and Greek means a student. That is what you are called to be all of the days of your life. A student of God’s word. Like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha was working. She chose wisely. And so should you.
Did you know that there are over seven thousand promises in the word of God?
Psalms 145:13 The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.
Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord HIMSELF goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.
He even says:
Isaiah 43:26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Do you think He forgot His promises? Of course not! He wants to know that you have studied and understand how much He loves you so He can call you His own and justify you. Then he can give you the desires of your heart which is literally and figuratively HIM!
How precious it is.