I am the Way, The Truth, and The Life

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. I read a book by Eugene Peterson which is entitled the Jesus Way which speaks directly to this scripture. I have come to realize that the scripture is very intentional about what it says as well as strategic. The progression for this scripture speaks to the path of discipleship. The progression that this scripture speaks of is having Jesus as the Way, the Truth, then the Life.

1. Way - In order for us to come to the full knowledge of God and deeper understanding we must change our way of living. Although God has the ability to change a persons life, it is up to that individual, because of free will, to change their way of life. When we begin to model the Jesus way of life it directly flows into understanding Jesus as the Truth. - Jesus the way represents our relationship with God.

2. Truth - A deeper understanding of the knowledge of God is found in the truth of who he is. When Jesus asked Peter, Who Do You Say That I Am, Peter's response was, Thou art the Christ. Because of the way, or the relationship that Peter had, it brought him into the depth of a deeper knowledge of truth. Jesus the truth represents our understanding of the doctrine of God.

3. Life - The Jesus life is a life of abundance, for he said, I am come that you might have life more abundantly. I have learned the freedom that is found in life when I am walking the Jesus way and when I have the revelation of Jesus as the truth. It leads you into a life of freedom! Jesus the Life represents our life on purpose through the freedom that we find in Him.

My Last Sunday

Today marked the end of an era, as well as the beginning of new things. We had service this morning one last time at New Life Church in Marietta. There were a host of emotions that whirled through my mind leading up to today. Their are mixtures of sadness, but also excitement about what God is doing in Marietta, as well as what God is doing in our ministry. The reality of the matter is that there are certain things in life that must come to an end if God is going to position us to begin a new season. We have a tendancy to hold on to things, and today was a massive step of faith as we officially resigned as the Pastors of New Life Church. New Life Church is a wonderful church and I am looking forward to hearing great things from this congregation as they are walking in to all that God has for them. They will now be under the capable Leadership of Bro. David Ward who I know will follow after the things of God.

We are wrapping up a few items of business in Marietta and moving our stuff to Cleveland tomorrow for it to be in storage for the time that we are traveling. Then on Wednesday I am preaching at the Ohio District Jr. High Youth Camp. We close on our house officially on Thursday morning. This next weekend I will be ministering in Athens, OH in the morning and then Mt. Vernon, OH Sunday night. Then on monday we are heading up to the state of Maine for deputational services. We appreciate all of the prayers and support that we feel on a continual basis, and we are believing that God will expedite our travel time so that we can get on location and fulfill what God has called us to do.

What Am I Doing?

Hopefully at some point in your life you have asked the question, What Am I Doing? I have learned that being busy does not necessarily mean that anything is being accomplished. God has not called us to be busy, but he has called us to be effective. Sometimes we mistake being busy for being effective. Although being busy can make one feel good about himself, what God has truly called us to do is to be actively involoved in being fruitful.

We need to stop and ask the question of What Am I Doing periodically so we do not crowd our schedule with things that are not producing fruitfullness in the kingdom. One good example of this is found in the subject of prayer. Everyone knows that one of the keys to revival is prayer. If you were to ask any pastor what he felt was necessary to spark a revival flame in his congregation, he would probably answer, More Prayer. Yet how infrequently do we spend that extra time in prayer for revival, but rather spend our time focusing on the business of ministry.

Take a moment, ask yourself the question! It may surprise you how time is being spent. One of my prayers is that I would not be busy, but be effective!

Graduation Night

Last night I was given the distinct honor of being able to be the commencement speaker at Apostolic Christian Academy in Toledo, OH. Whenever I go to a graduation ceremony it automatically moves my thinking into the possibility and potential that every individual graduate has. I heard one person say once that potential in a person means nothing unless they actually become potent. What an incredible thought. Every event in our life marks to oppurtunity for a new potential, but how much of that potential is never realized because we are afraid to either end something or begin something. At the graduation last evening every graduate was ready to end there primary education and head to College. The Graduates understood that if they stayed in what was comfortable,and if they resided with where they were familiar, they would never realize their potential. It would require a step into a deeper education and an expanding of their world. It makes me wonder how many times we never realize our potential because we are afraid to end what we are familiar and comfortable with to take that step of faith into realize our potential. Every beginning first begins with an ending of something else.

What Do You Live For?

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of life is? Although there are many things that people dedicate their life to, we all have wondered from one time or another what the purpose is. As a Pastor, I have thought, wouldn't it be nice if people would come to church, experience conversion and immediately be lifted up to heaven to be with the Lord forever. Although this seems like the perfect situation, that is not reality. One of the issues with this is that at conversion the process of transformation then begins. In Romans 14:8 the Bible says, For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. This scripture tells us the reason for our existence on this earth, we live unto the Lord. The scriptures tell us that we are not our own, but we are bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. To find the truest purpose and meaning in life is to dedicate yourself unto the Lord and become His agent of change on this earth.



What does it mean to live unto the Lord? I can only imagine what my life would look like if all of my personal pursuits were placed on hold and I completely lived unto the Lord. How many pursuits are mine and really not the Lord's? What would I start doing if I truly lived unto the Lord? Or, maybe a better question would be, what would I stop doing if I truly lived unto the Lord? These questions truly begin a transformational process in your life. Understanding that life is to be lived unto the Lord helps clear the clutter of busyness that we all get involved in and truly focus on what is important in life.

I AM

I could go in detail about all of the thoughts surrounding the phrase, I AM, but while I was reading through the book of Romans for a study that I was doing, I noticed that the Apostle Paul made three very clear statements in Romans 2.

First, in Romans 2:14 Paul says, I am debtor... Then in vs. 15 he says, I am ready... Then in verse 16 he says, I am not ashamed. As we look at the progression of these three strong statements, it brings about a revelation of what Paul really was. When you make a statement of I AM, you are talking about your state of being, what you are, not what you would like to be in the future.

When Paul said, I am debtor, Paul was opening a window in his heart to expose the way that he felt about the grace of God! Because of the great price that Christ had paid for his salvation, he understood that he was in debt to all that he came in contact with!

Paul then says, I am ready! What a statement to make. Paul was ready, I guess we could say he was equipped. God has equipped each of us to make us ready! Some feel that they are never quite ready to do what God has called for them to do, but I love the faith of Paul, he was ready! Are you ready to do what God has called you to today? The Eagerness of Paul breeds faith and excitement into the believers heart!

Paul then says, I am not ashamed! Standing with Paul's eagerness was boldness. He understood that it is more important to please God than to please man! Luke tells us, do not fear them that can kill the body, but fear him who can kill body and soul! Paul had a revelation that was so rooted in God that shame was not even a consideration. What would you do for God today if you pushed through feelings of embarrassment and relied on the Holy Ghost to work through you? How would you change your behaviour if you were more focused on pleasing God than worrying about what others thought of You?

Massive Consolidation

Yesterday we went and picked up the keys to our fifth wheel RV. It is amazing to think that we are going to be moving from our house into a fifth wheel which will consist of 32 feet of space. It really makes you evaluate what is and is not important. Although I know there is much in life that is not important that i hold onto, I am learning this lesson all over again. For the next months I have to evaluate what is and is not valuable. It is so easy to think that our value of life consists in non essentials, but I have come to understand the only essential things are God, Family, and friends. The realization is that everything that is important has to do with relationships and not things. It makes me wonder what type of consolidation can begin in my inner world, what can I let go of and what should I hold on to?

A Hectic Moment

I finally have my blog up and running. We are packing our house up and getting things ready for this monumental move! Check this blog frequently, I will use it to discuss what we are doing, where we are at, how things are going. Also, this blog will more than likely feature thoughts that I am thinking and things that God is dealing with me about. I look forward to an awesome journey!