Introduction:
Think back to a time when you took a trip, it is important that you have all the necessary tools to get you where you are trying to go. You might need a map, compass or some other tool to be able to navigate and you have to know how to read and understand the instructions to get you to your destination.
Likewise in your Christian walk, the Bible is a guide to help you navigate through life but we have to read it in order to take in the instructions that God has given to us. In Psalm 119:105 it describes God’s word as a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Walking down a path in the dark is very difficult but with the Bible as a guide our spiritual walk is made easier.
In this devotion we will look at the journey we should be taking as Christians to go from seeking worldly wealth, fame and riches to seeking God with all of our heart.
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY?
1. THE WAY TO SALVATION IS ONE DIRECTION
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Reflect:
During a trip one of the things that you might consider is what are the roads that are going to get me there the fastest. There are many roads to choose from but only a few will get you close to your destination. That number gets smaller and smaller until finally there is only one road to choose. .
Spiritually there are many roads that we can choose but as we begin to study God’s word and come to a better understanding of the instructions that He has for us the number of roads we choose to take gets smaller because that is the fastest way to get to our eternal destination.
We have been saved by grace, which is an unmerited, free gift of salvation, through faith, which is believing that God can do what he says he can do, and not by works, in other words not because of anything we are able to do. This verse perfectly describes the one way path to salvation through Jesus Christ and not because of our own ability.
2. THE WAY IS HARD
Read Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Reflect:
Maps can’t lie about the difficulty of a trip.. Everything is laid out in black and white showing all the hills and valleys. From 1953 to 2000 only 1383 people had summited Mount Everest. We may have an aspiration to scale a mountain but unless we are willing to do the training and the work we will not reach the top.
Being a Christian and living a Christian life is not going to be easy. We are constantly going to be tempted and lured back into our old life. The difficulty of the journey builds up our faith in God, trusting that He will get us through and help us get to our destination.
We are called to be different than those who go down the wide path that leads to destruction. The wide path requires no effort or change in our life. We are called to be transformed (Romans 12:2) changing the way we think and act from worldly to Godly.
3. THE WAY TESTS US
Read James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Reflect:
Even though we might use a map to determine what difficulties are down a given path, that does not mean that there will not be unexpected trials that we will face. Some will challenge us with everything that we have but in Matthew 19:26 we are reminded that “with God all things are possible.”
Faith is believing that God will move in situations that seem immovable to us. God wants us to get to the destination but in order to do that we have to have complete faith that God is going to do what he says he will do.
4. THE WAY WILL END UNEXPECTATLEY
Read Matthew 24:42-44
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Reflect:
Imagine not knowing when you were going to arrive at the edge of a steep mountain. As you moved down the path you would be cautious and vigilant to make sure you didn’t get to close. The amount of time that we have here on earth as Christians is not known to us so we have to stay cautious and vigilant that we are staying on the right path and not heading straight off the side of a cliff.
We have already determined that God’s word will guide us and be a light to our feet but too ofton we stray away from faithfulness with God thinking we have it all under control which leads to stress and frustration when we are not able to fix every problem that comes our way.
5. THE WAY IS REWARDING
Read James 1:12
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Reflect:
Climbing a mountainous path requires perserverance, a momentum to push through to the end even though your body is telling you to quit. Spiritually we are tested with trials that we know that we cannot face alone and we have to decide whether to surrender them to God or try to push through on our own.
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;” Romans 2:5-9
There is a great reward for staying on the path laid out in the Bible, the reward of eternal life. Even though the way is hard we know that if we perservere there is an eternity with God at the end.
6. THE WAY IS PEACEFUL
Read John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Reflect:
It is very easy to get anxious when you are driving somewhere you have never been before, not knowing the street names, how traffic will be or if you will make it to your destination on time. It’s easy as Christians to get anxious about situations we cannot control or have never dealt with before but when we surrender those things over to God we find peace.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6
7. THE WAY IS JESUS
Read John 14:5-7
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Reflect:
Sometimes it might feel like we have lost our way, we don’t know where we are going and we have to ask for God’s guidance. We will from time to time get on other roads that will not lead us in the direction God wants us to go but using the Bible as a guide and prayer as our mode of transportation, He will direct your path.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” Romans 3:23
God knows that we are sinners, but by His grace we will bring us back from whatever we have done or could do like a shepherd leading his sheep. The ABC’S of becoming a Christian are: Admit you are sinner and repent (turn away from your sinful life), Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior.
Though it seems like we have moved hundreds of miles from the road that God has laid out for us there is always a way back to him by simply remembering the ABC’S of salvation, following the roadmap God has laid out for us in the Bible and praying for God’s guidance in our life we will be right back where God wants us to be
Think back to a time when you took a trip, it is important that you have all the necessary tools to get you where you are trying to go. You might need a map, compass or some other tool to be able to navigate and you have to know how to read and understand the instructions to get you to your destination.
Likewise in your Christian walk, the Bible is a guide to help you navigate through life but we have to read it in order to take in the instructions that God has given to us. In Psalm 119:105 it describes God’s word as a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Walking down a path in the dark is very difficult but with the Bible as a guide our spiritual walk is made easier.
In this devotion we will look at the journey we should be taking as Christians to go from seeking worldly wealth, fame and riches to seeking God with all of our heart.
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY?
Day 1
1. THE WAY TO SALVATION IS ONE DIRECTION
Read Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Reflect:
During a trip one of the things that you might consider is what are the roads that are going to get me there the fastest. There are many roads to choose from but only a few will get you close to your destination. That number gets smaller and smaller until finally there is only one road to choose. .
Spiritually there are many roads that we can choose but as we begin to study God’s word and come to a better understanding of the instructions that He has for us the number of roads we choose to take gets smaller because that is the fastest way to get to our eternal destination.
We have been saved by grace, which is an unmerited, free gift of salvation, through faith, which is believing that God can do what he says he can do, and not by works, in other words not because of anything we are able to do. This verse perfectly describes the one way path to salvation through Jesus Christ and not because of our own ability.
Day 2
2. THE WAY IS HARD
Read Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Reflect:
Maps can’t lie about the difficulty of a trip.. Everything is laid out in black and white showing all the hills and valleys. From 1953 to 2000 only 1383 people had summited Mount Everest. We may have an aspiration to scale a mountain but unless we are willing to do the training and the work we will not reach the top.
Being a Christian and living a Christian life is not going to be easy. We are constantly going to be tempted and lured back into our old life. The difficulty of the journey builds up our faith in God, trusting that He will get us through and help us get to our destination.
We are called to be different than those who go down the wide path that leads to destruction. The wide path requires no effort or change in our life. We are called to be transformed (Romans 12:2) changing the way we think and act from worldly to Godly.
Day 3
3. THE WAY TESTS US
Read James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Reflect:
Even though we might use a map to determine what difficulties are down a given path, that does not mean that there will not be unexpected trials that we will face. Some will challenge us with everything that we have but in Matthew 19:26 we are reminded that “with God all things are possible.”
Faith is believing that God will move in situations that seem immovable to us. God wants us to get to the destination but in order to do that we have to have complete faith that God is going to do what he says he will do.
Day 4
4. THE WAY WILL END UNEXPECTATLEY
Read Matthew 24:42-44
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Reflect:
Imagine not knowing when you were going to arrive at the edge of a steep mountain. As you moved down the path you would be cautious and vigilant to make sure you didn’t get to close. The amount of time that we have here on earth as Christians is not known to us so we have to stay cautious and vigilant that we are staying on the right path and not heading straight off the side of a cliff.
We have already determined that God’s word will guide us and be a light to our feet but too ofton we stray away from faithfulness with God thinking we have it all under control which leads to stress and frustration when we are not able to fix every problem that comes our way.
Day 5
5. THE WAY IS REWARDING
Read James 1:12
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Reflect:
Climbing a mountainous path requires perserverance, a momentum to push through to the end even though your body is telling you to quit. Spiritually we are tested with trials that we know that we cannot face alone and we have to decide whether to surrender them to God or try to push through on our own.
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;” Romans 2:5-9
There is a great reward for staying on the path laid out in the Bible, the reward of eternal life. Even though the way is hard we know that if we perservere there is an eternity with God at the end.
Day 6
6. THE WAY IS PEACEFUL
Read John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Reflect:
It is very easy to get anxious when you are driving somewhere you have never been before, not knowing the street names, how traffic will be or if you will make it to your destination on time. It’s easy as Christians to get anxious about situations we cannot control or have never dealt with before but when we surrender those things over to God we find peace.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6
Day 7
7. THE WAY IS JESUS
Read John 14:5-7
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Reflect:
Sometimes it might feel like we have lost our way, we don’t know where we are going and we have to ask for God’s guidance. We will from time to time get on other roads that will not lead us in the direction God wants us to go but using the Bible as a guide and prayer as our mode of transportation, He will direct your path.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” Romans 3:23
God knows that we are sinners, but by His grace we will bring us back from whatever we have done or could do like a shepherd leading his sheep. The ABC’S of becoming a Christian are: Admit you are sinner and repent (turn away from your sinful life), Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior.
Though it seems like we have moved hundreds of miles from the road that God has laid out for us there is always a way back to him by simply remembering the ABC’S of salvation, following the roadmap God has laid out for us in the Bible and praying for God’s guidance in our life we will be right back where God wants us to be