On the Road

Hope International finds water for people who walk hours each day to bring this precious commodity to their families. We saw a film where the crew went to a village and changed the lives of its people with a well of clean, spring water. But before that could happen, they had to build a road just to get there.

Most travelers appreciate roads. Last year on our trip to Italy we were amazed at the road system with hundreds of tunnels through the mountains so people could easily go from one place to another. I’ve seen films of just the opposite, where the roads were deeply rutted or looked more like a squirrel track. Often buses and other vehicles crash or fall over a cliff because the road is narrow or nearly impassable.

When Jesus was born “in the fullness of time” part of God’s plan included good roads. The Roman system of roads were an important contribution to the task of sharing the Gospel. Jesus told His followers . . .

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

To get to the ends of the earth, the disciples needed the measure of ease and safety of a good road system so they could travel back and forth across the Roman empire. These roads were well paved, well drained, and usually patrolled.

When I think of the NT and roads, several come to mind. The road travelled by Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The roads Jesus walked as He made His way through the many places where He ministered to people. The road to Damascus where the man Saul was confronted by the resurrected Christ and transformed into the Apostle Paul. The road where an Ethiopian man met Philip and heard the Gospel, was baptized and took the good news with him to his homeland. The wise men travelled from the east on a road.

The word road can also be translated with highway, etc. However, this word is also a metaphor. God’s prophets told about the Messiah who would come and about John who would prepare people for His coming:

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” (Matthew 3:3)

Jesus also referred to following Him as a way, sometimes a path. He said, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14)

Roads also remind me of maps. I often use them to get from here to there. Today, the Holy Spirit reminds me that the Word of God is a road map. It shows me life’s destination and God’s route, also the sidetracks, detours, and dead ends I must avoid. My travel from faith to greater faith, from here and now to heaven and eternity requires reading the map, studying it, staying off the roads that go nowhere or lead to destruction.

Reading God’s map means trusting it (not like the GPS that puts you in the center of a lake). There are many roads, but only One Way:

Jesus said . . . “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, the Roman roads seem like a side issue, but they were important to Your plan. Even more, the Word of God gives me greater understanding of the way I should take and helps me along that way. Yet even more than that, You are the way to my Father, the One I can trust even when the path seems twisted or dark or unsure. You hold my hand and You guide me on the amazing road of this life taking me safely to my final destination.

“I AM . . . .”

Yesterday, buoyed by a good night’s sleep and rich anticipation, we spent the day with a distant cousin and his wife, the second time I’d seen him as an adult. We had a wonderful day filled with conversation without ceasing or awkwardness, as if we’ve known one another our entire lives.

They are not Christian, yet a similar upbringing made for a unity that would normally not be present. We were in harmony even on the things we didn’t agree. I have to say much of this happened because of who my cousin is — a kind, engaging, objective, and transparent person.

Chambers writes today about my relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship of the greatest intimacy. He says there are times when God cannot reveal Himself any other way but in majesty, which has the effect of putting us on our faces. John wrote in the last book of the New Testament . . .

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17–18)

John knew Jesus well, but this was different. Jesus appeared in incredible glory and the apostle fell before Him, unable to rise apart from the right hand of the Lord and hearing the words of who He is and His power over death.

This made me remember the times where life’s awfulness brought me to the feet of Jesus. I fell on my face, not because He initially appeared in glory, but because my needs were so overwhelming. The similarity was the hand of the Lord, His touch. It was not to hold me down or correct me, but to bring peace and comfort, to drive away the terrors. As with John, He says, “Fear not, I am . . . .”

In John’s case the “I am” was about the power of Christ over death. No matter what he saw in the revelations to come, John had that assurance that Jesus Christ was in charge of death and the grave. These do not mean the end simply because Jesus conquered both.

In my case, the “I am” utterances that He makes declare realities that sustain me in the dark and troublesome trials of life. Here are some of them . . .

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)

When I work yoked alongside Jesus and learn from Him, whatever hardship and toil is happening do not have the same effect on me as they once did. Jesus makes a difference, even when the challenges remain.

 . . . And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

I never need to ask Jesus to, be with me. He is always here, always holding my hand.

For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:27)

This is the Son of God speaking! He came not to be served, but to serve His people in humility. He calls me to a lofty position as His child, a saved and set-apart person, yet to be like Jesus, I am to serve others!

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35) . . . . “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Both these verses give promises of satisfaction in life, of having what is needed when feeling empty and in the dark. So many times, Jesus has said to me, “Fear not, I am what you need.”

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Jesus is my source of life. I could say more, yet He says it all. Apart from Him, I can do nothing, for He is what I need and all I need.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Some say Christians are narrow-minded or other less polite names because we claim Jesus is the only way to God. They say there are many ways, but if that is true, then Jesus is either a lunatic or a liar — but all evidence declares His integrity; He speaks and lives truth. While His claim is offensive to many and wholly dogmatic, He said it — not that He is a way, a truth, a life, but the way, the truth, the life. He has forgiven my sin and taken my hand so that I can stand before His father and my Father with joy.

The right kind of fear

After Moses brought God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, he took them on a journey to the land God promised them. Part of that story includes God calling Moses up a mountain where He gave him the Ten Commandments. After this man came down from the mountain, the people were terrified.

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:18–20)

“Do not fear” and “the fear of Him may be before you”? How can they not fear and yet fear? The first fright was the wrong kind. God wanted them to see His holiness and His great power so that they would be in awe of Him and not sin. Instead, they were afraid of God and didn’t want to listen to Him. I wonder what they thought He was going to say?

Chambers says we all fail to pay attention to God. Could the reason be our preconceived ideas of what He is going to say? The enemy would have us believe that God is a killjoy who does not want us to enjoy life. Is He going to put a clamp down on our fun? Certainly God knows that sin beguiles us into thinking we are having ‘fun’ but much of that ‘fun’ is destructive. It is not rational to keep doing destructive things, fun or otherwise.

Instead, God wants us to realize who He is, what He is like, and that He loves us. Knowing His love means loving Him in return. As He says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” In other words, being afraid of what He will ask us to do is also irrational to anyone who knows and loves God.

Of those Ten, the first commandment is key. Loving God and having no other gods before Him makes keeping all the other commands possible. However, fearing God and refusing to listen to Him is totally crippling. I cannot obey God if I don’t put Him first.

Listening to Him is also vital. I can go to church or turn on the radio and listen to sermons from His leaders, but that is not the same as hearing God speak. The Israelites erred in being willing to listen only to Moses. This man was not their source of life; God was.

The Bible talks about man not living by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. This “word” is not “logos” – the usual term for “word.” Instead, it is “rhema” which means God speaks a word that fits the need of the moment. These “rhema” words are conveyed in a personal relationship where God knows and speaks to my heart and my needs. For instance, this week I asked about my imagination and He spoke directly to my questions.

Those without a personal relationship with God are fearful of listening to Him. They don’t know how good He is or how He speaks to us according to our needs. Without that personal knowledge of God, some assume He is a tyrannical rule-maker.

That personal relationship is available through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life; no one can come to the Father but by Him. He forgives our sin, gives us His own life, and lives with us forever. By Him we can live in awe of God, not in terror of Him. By Him, we are “sheep” who hear His voice and are only too happy to listen to every word that He says!

The Way Out

Imagine being in a burning building, confused by smoke and not knowing the way out. Someone comes up and says, “I’ve worked for six years here in this building. We go up and left. Follow me.”

Right then, another person approaches. He says, “I designed and built this building. The only way out is down and to the right. Follow me.”

Many religious systems claim to be the right one or the only one. Some are classified as a sect that deviates from a more traditional form. These may call themselves Christian but have abandoned traditional Christian beliefs, even the Bible as their final authority. 

I’m not sure about the basis for those exclusive claims. A group comes to mind that claims their founder had a vision. Another is told that their organization provides the only way to God seemingly because their leaders find this helps them have a good hold on their fearful adherents. Whatever the reasons, I’ve always been told to watch out for those religions that claim they are the only true way to God. 

Yet I’ve learned that those who say there are many ways to God are just as dangerous. Even logic says that two opposite views cannot both be correct (unless they come from two blind men both describing what they can touch on the opposite ends of an elephant). Even if they sound good or are obviously faulting, all these claims can be confusing.

From examining the voices out there, my decision about the way to God is not based on any teaching from others or the claims that they might make. I follow Jesus He made the building. He created the universe. He did what no man can do — besides miracles of healing and turning water into wine, He died for the sins of the world, was buried, and after three days rose again. Not only that, it was not His followers but Jesus who made the claim . . .

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Jesus also made promises. One of them is that those who believe would experience conviction of sin, confession, repentance, and then forgiveness, freedom from guilt, and ever-increasing victory over sin. He also said that His followers would receive answers to prayer, peace with God, and fullness of joy.

He kept all those promises giving me reason to doubt that He will keep this one about being the way (not a way) to the Father. 

Christians have been accused of being dogmatically exclusive, yet it isn’t our idea. Jesus made this “no one except” statement. He claimed to be the way, the only way. Yet He made another one that takes the exclusive out of faith in Him. He said,

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. (John 11:25)

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Lord, I’ve been particularly amazed this week that You save anyone. We are sinners stumbling around in the smoke of our self-centeredness and sin. By ourselves, there is no way out. Many simple will follow the first person that comes along making a claim that sounds good. Yet like the creator of a burning building, You know more about our need regarding sin than we do, and certainly more about the way out. In fact, You simply invite us to take hold of Your nail-scarred hands and You become the Way for us.

(Clip art source)