JANUARY THE JOURNEY TO DATE

Where We Have Come Since May 23, 2018

January 1, 2019

I began “Walk with God the Journey” seven months ago. Over these months, we have taken steps toward reaching our earthly goal—to walk with God.

My objective isn‘t an attempt to prove anything. It is about inviting you to travel as far as you like and for as long as you care. I write the blog to challenge you to reexamine your relationship with God.

The degree of success of this blog is a measurement of the positive difference in your life. Let this be a guide for you to one day hear God say, “Well done (your name) thy good and faithful servant enter into My rest.” (The purpose for walking with God).

In the beginning, I presented two shocking facts about the spiritual maturity of the current church. First, Dr. Billy Graham estimated the number of church members lost at 85%. Second Dr. W. A. Criswell said, “He would be surprised to see even 25% of his church members in heaven. While these percentages are not exact, I believe the disparagement between the names of people on the church rolls and the people destined for heaven is clear.

Recorded church membership declines each year; many churches are closing their doors and large numbers of pastors are seeking employment elsewhere.

Why?

Many reasons are offered for this decline. But, I believe one of the most prominent is, people aren’t challenged and expected to live a life pleasing to God (to walk with God), they aren’t spiritual trained or equipped to handle God’s Word, they lack concern for introducing neighbors to Jesus, and are unmotivated to do so.

No business could survive without a goal, a clearly defined mission, focused strategies, action steps that support the strategy and employee training to carry out the organization’s mission.

Our goal is to walk with God, and the reason is when we get to heaven, we hear God’s “Welcome Home good and faithful servant. The two strategies for achieving the goal is 1. Love God and 2. Love our neighbor. The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes give the actions steps for carrying out the two strategies.

People can walk with God as illustrated by the OT characters: Enoch, Noah, and Levi. They lived lives pleasing to God. We also can walk with God when our lifestyle is pleasing to Him.

I wrote that all Roads do not lead to Rome. Christians know all roads lead to Jericho, and spiritually, there are four roads:

  1. The Road to Jerusalem or the “Road of Salvation” where we experience a rebirth.
  2. The Road to Emmaus or the “Road of Revelation” where God reveals Himself to us.
  3. The Road to Damascus or the “Road of Designation” where God gives us a mission.
  4. The Road to Jericho—the “Road of Participation” where our faith is tested. Somewhere on the road, Jesus asks the traveler, “Who is your neighbor?” Our answer and reaction to His command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” decide whether we hear, “Well done thy good and faithful servant, enter into my rest.”

The life we live reflects our values; what’s happening on the outside is a replication of what’s going on in the inside. If we are to walk with God, we must have godly values and allow these values to dictate our actions. The Psalmist wrote, “O that my actions would consistently reflect Your principles” (Psalm 119:5)

The September article began the series on “The Power of Values.”

Next week my discussion is, “Everyone Wrestles with Two Sets of Values,” followed by the “Nine godly Values.”