All Roads

I seem to be stuck on the travel/guide theme!
I talked about Jesus being the Guide...and fathers guiding toward a Godly path...now I am going to focus on the path.

"When all's said and done, all roads lead to the same end. So it's not so much which road you take, as how you take it."

Charles de Lint

But do they?....I don't think so, not in the Christian walk.

📖 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:17-18 

If there is a highway that avoids evil...there must be one the drives right through it and it sounds like Pride is leading the way! 

📖 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.  John 14:5-6

To me it is pretty clear...

He is THE only Way...His path is the only way to eternity! 

I believe the Christian path is more like "the road less traveled" in the poem The Road Not Take by Robert Frost

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost 

The world's path will be filled with people, will seem the easiest to navigate, may even promise love, life, riches, beauty ...
that path may even deliver on a few of these ...but it always leads to a bitter end.

📖  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

The world's destination is destruction.
Though it may seem difficult, maybe even impossible the Lord's path is the one we should seek.

📖 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5

As two men, one being named as Cleopas, walked the road to Emmaus following Christ's death and burial, Jesus joins them...though they did not recognize Him.  They were sad that it seemed as though Christ wasn't who they had thought He was;
📖 ..."but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel." Luke 24:21

📖  He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27

If we walk with Him on His road in this life....He WILL show us, teach us, ALL we need! He will open our eyes! 
He will guide our feet on the right path...He WILL watch over us!

📖 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber

indeed, he who watches over Israelwill neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:3-8

The Lord Is Your Keeper Todd Fields click to listen to the scripture in song! 

My prayer Is that you have taken the "road less traveled"...and it has made an eternal difference in your life! 

Leaving a Legacy

Last week I wrote about having a guide for a journey to a foreign land.  About Jesus being our BEST guide!  And then we sang the song "Only Jesus" by Casting Crowns at church. ( I know I have used this song before, but this is a bit of a different twist)

SO...being Father's Day this past Sunday got me thinking about our earthly fathers.  I came across a poem I had written in 1999 about the earthly father my children have been blessed with.

Honor thy Father….

I have an earthly father that

I am thankful for,

God provided him for me

to show me love and so much more;

To ride a bike, to tie a shoe,

what it means to provide and love,

how to work and how to share

and to honor the Father up above.

But today when we honor our fathers

I must remember the one

who is Father to so many

by giving His only Son.

His hands may not have tied my shoe,

but they have been there to catch my fall,

when I learned in whom I had to trust,

that on His name I have to call.

Though I have strayed and

thought I knew best,

His love and mercy

have never been at rest.

And now He has been gracious

to find a man for me,

a sweet and wonderful father

for our precious three.

And with his hands

he tends the bike, and ties the shoe,

he will teach and he will love.

But the most important thing that he will do;

Is put God’s word in his 2 hands

and read the Bible truths,

Or clasp them together in humble prayer

seeking what to do.

He will show our children he is a man

who puts his faith in no other,

that he alone can never stand

                  without honor for the Father.                                                                                                                                                              ©Tracey Thompson 1999

So I was thinking about the legacy that my father would leave, my husband would leave, father after father popped into my head.

I hope fathers realize that they need to guide in more than just the earthly tasks, but in heavenly ones as well.  

BUT not just fathers, all the men who have influence over the younger generation, you are being watched more than you probably realize.  What kind of guide are you being?

📖 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness  and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:7-8

^📖  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

In everything you do, you can have a positive influence.  You can point/guide those who are watching to Jesus and all that He represents;

📖 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

Humility

📖 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
 to the glory of God the Father.       
                                  Philippians 2:5-11

Love

^📖  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:9-10

Compassion

📖 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:6

📖 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:15-17

Mercy

 ^📖  On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13

📖 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50

What legacy are you leaving those who are watching you? 

If  we could ALL point our younger generation...anyone we meet....to Christ....wouldn't that be a wonderful legacy to leave behind!

My prayer is that my legacy is…...only Jesus...I pray it is yours too!

Only Jesus Casting Crowns   Click on the link to hear this powerful song!

Follow the Guide

Doing a study by Gwen Smith, Psalm Adventure, she sited Psalm 48 and told a story about traveling in a foreign land and the need for a guide...
📖 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14
Someone who speaks the language, knows the customs and culture....
Got me thinking...
It also made me think about my husband who is an Adirondack Hiking guide...he knows the trails, the terrain, the peaks.  When he plans a hike there is much preparation to know as much as he can about where he is going and what to expect, and to be prepared for the unexpected.  The other individuals with him trust that he knows where he is going, trust he is prepared.
You can probably see where I am going with this!

We can trust the Lord as our guide...
📖  Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.    Psalm 25:8-10

ALL His ways are loving and faithful!

📖  I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 1 Corinthians 10:1
God guided in the Old Testament! Then He sent Jesús to lead, to teach His ways.  To guide mankind toward the Father...Jesus was/is THE guide to follow...we just have to choose to do so!
📖  Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19
At least 21 times in the 4 gospels Jesus said "Follow me."  How great to have had Him as an actual physical person to follow!! 
But don't despair, He didn't leave us stranded! When  He was leaving the earth ..He gave the disciples a contingency plan ...actually gave way more...

📖  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. John 16:23-14

He promised the Holy Spirit....they were not going to be without a guide!

And the Holy Spirit's information all came directly from the Source....all the knowledge about "customs and culture"...all pertinent information!

📖 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The Holy Spirit wasn't a replacement but an addition, to Jesus Himself AND He was telling the disciples that He had given them what they needed to guide others toward the Father, and His Son!

We weren't just given the Holy Spirit as a guide, we are also given a road map!

📖 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

What this verse says to me...is that even when we are navigating in dark times we can still see what we need to...still see where we need to go! It is all there in scripture!

I know I have used this verse many times but to me it is all the things the best guide would do.

📖 The Lord is my [guide] shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,  
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever.    Psalm 23

You see?! He leads us to places of refreshing, He guides us in the way we should go.
He walks with us. He has the tools needed to guide us and bring us comfort. He prepares/provides nourishment, spiritually and physically. He blesses us even more than we need or can imagine. As long as we are walking with Him His love and goodness will follow us.  When we allow Him to be our Guide we have the promise that we will be with Him for all eternity. 

As I worked on the blog this week this song kept coming into my thoughts:

Potter's Hand

Beautiful Lord, wonderful saviour
I know for sure, all of my days are held in Your hands
Crafted into Your perfect plan

You gently call me, into Your presence
Guiding me by, Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord
To live all of my life through Your eyes

I'm captured by, Your Holy calling
Set me apart
I know You're drawing me to Yourself
Lead me Lord I pray

Take me, Mold me
Use me, Fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hands
Hold me, Guide me
Lead me, Walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

Songwriters: Darlene Joyce Zschech

My prayer is that you can let Him guide you...all of your days.

The Potter's Hand Hillsong
Click on the link if you would like to listen to the song.