“There is a gap between where I am and where I need to get and God has to fill that gap”…..Ronnie Baker, US Olympian

In life I believe all of us are trying to “get” somewhere. Kind of like we are running a lifetime race. In the Bible, the scripture Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” Our lives last for 70-80 years on the average and our hope is that we find meaning and purpose in our lives. If someone asked me what is my greatest achievement in life I would say my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Jesus continues to fill the gap for me everyday. My entire family has answered Jesus’s invitation to trust him with their lives and believe that He is the Truth and the Way. Jesus is Word and the Word is God. I pray that Jesus continues to fill that same gap that Ronnie Baker talks about every day because I am broken and need a Lord and Savior everyday and Jesus is the one! The Great I Am!

1Corinthians 9:24 – Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

If one does not have a faith in Jesus, who does he turn to in tough times, times of uncertainty and grief. When the world just flat out sucks…….who does one turn to. If one does not believe in Jesus and His Truth, where does he go for answers….In her song “Hold on to me”, Laura Daigle sings “when doors are closing, when one is sure they have reached the end, when one is tired of pretending, when the weight of expectation is ready to break one and when one doesn’t feel like they are worth defending, she turns to Jesus to “hold on to her'” Think about it. Life is a rocky road. We all struggle in this world. At some point the weight of this world seems unbearable. So who does one turn to. The Truth of Jesus or some temporary “fix” to our problems. We all have to figure this out. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord Jesus. No one loves us better than Jesus. God Bless and stay safe.

Joshua 24:15 – As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

As I live in this imperfect world and watch as people fail constantly I have come to realize that there is two ways of doing things…..my way and God’s way. God is perfect so obviously his way of doing things is perfect. I am imperfect, so you guessed it! Yes, my way is imperfect. No matter how hard I try I can never do things as well as God. So it seems to reason I should tap into that perfection of God and have him help me do things better. Guess what, it works. When I pray and read the Bible and try to live out my day and my doings according to the word(Jesus) of God things are better. I am not saying that if I follow the word of God that everything will always work out. But what I am saying is when I don’t follow the word of God things seldom workout…..I fail! I really believe that if I follow the Word of God, His way and His truth, that my life will prosper and have meaning and my plans will succeed. God is perfect, no question about it.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

For the last 2,000 years or so Jesus has been on a rescue mission. His targets are you and me. Everything Jesus is about is seen in his steadfast unconditional love and grace for us. No matter who we are or where we are, if we will open our hands to Jesus he will be there. In her song “Rescue” Lauren Daigle sings, “I (Jesus) will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night….Its true, I (Jesus) will rescue you.” I believe this because that is who Jesus is. He is our King and Redeemer. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega. His love is unconditional. He loves and forgives us not because we earn it, but because that’s who He is. As Lauren Daigle further sings, ” I (Jesus) will never stop marching to reach you in the middle of the hardest fight….its true, Jesus will rescue you.” Thank You Jesus!

2Timothy 4:18 – The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His Heavenly Kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen

James Bryan Smith writes, “In Jesus’ death we see God’s desire to forgive us. His offer of forgiveness is extended to all people for all time. There is not a person, living or dead, for whom Jesus did not die for.” This statement has been polarizing for people for thousands of years. So did Jesus say everyone is redeemed regardless of their actions? Are atheists forgiven and on their way to heaven even though they don’t believe in God let alone believe in Jesus and his death on the cross for our sins. Who is in and who is out one might ask? Personally, I believe that Jesus did die for everyone. I believe there is redemption for everyone of every race, color, religion, etc. HOWEVER, there is one more important part to salvation. It has to do with another important aspect of this subject. It is called free will. Smith further writes, “There is nothing left for us to do other than open our hands and receive god’s gift.” This is the key, open our hands. It is an act of acceptance. In summary, God rejects no one but many, many people reject God. That is what needs to be impressed on people. The problem isn’t God, its us. I pray that you will “open your hands”.

Revelation 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

I was listening to one of my favorite musical artists today. His name is Brandon Lake and he reminded me to keep “running to the Light”. That Light is Jesus Christ. In my life I set my eyes on the Light of Jesus. I will never be perfect. I will continue to make mistakes(sin) along the way, but because of Jesus’s unconditional love and forgiveness…… Because of his amazing Grace…… Because He is God and King……, I will keep running right to him and when I arrive I will experience something that is so good and amazing that it defies words. Some call it Heaven, I call it God’s Kingdom and Jesus is King and that is right were I want to be when my time here on earth is over. And by the way, its never….never too late to start running to the light.

John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”

If you are reading this to object to it, then don’t bother. If you are reading these words to oppose what is being written, then don’t bother. If you are reading this because you are curious about who Jesus is or would like to bump into him, then read on. You see Jesus will never force his ways or his truth on anyone. He says that he will stand at your door and knock, but you have to OPEN THE DOOR AND INVITE HIM IN IN. No one else can do this for you , no one else can answer the knock for you. You and you alone must open the door and invite him in. This is who Jesus is. He will stand at your door for a lifetime knocking if that what it takes. No one else——whether it be mom or dad or your wife or your best friend can answer the knock. My hope is that you will at some point in your life open the door and invite jesus in and be changed forever.

Revelation 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with that person, and they with me.

Writer and author Bob Gass put into words the disconnect that people have with Jesus because we don’t fully understand who Jesus is and what he is all about. Bob Gass writes, “God is not interested in religion: He is interested in having a relationship with you. Religion only becomes significant when it enhances that relationship, which it doesn’t always do. Often, religious rules and regulations become a deterrent to a relationship with God. The Bible is filled with religious people who missed connecting with God altogether. Sometimes we are so preoccupied with our religious ideologies, teachings, doctrines and principles, that we fail to understand that what really matters most in life is a personal, intimate, daily, talking-and-listening relationship with God.

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well..

I am just an ordinary person trying to find my way in this jungle of a world who bumped into an extraordinary person who calls himself Jesus and my life has been changed forever. As I learn about this man named Jesus, I have learned that He is the Truth and the Way. As I pursue him and this truth, my life has taken on new meaning and purpose. As I learn about his ways through the reading of his word in the Holy Bible I have learned That He is the Word. Not only is He the Word, He was with God and is God in the Beginning. He is the Creator of the Universe. How He created this world is still a mystery to me but I believe he did it. I believe everything He says, has said and has done. He is incredible, awesome, majestic, etc, etc. Words do not come close to describing him and his story that is told in the Holy Bible. I feel that there is so much more to know about Jesus and feel that I will never stop learning about his mysteries.

John 14:6 – I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus is misunderstood. He was 2000 years ago and he still is misunderstood today. The greatest force in the universe is one who means you well and brings you hope, meaning and purpose into your life. Yet most of us ignore him. What is wrong with us? How can we ignore a person of this magnitude. Why do we ignore Jesus? I’ll tell you why. Its because we are broken. The Bible calls it sin. You can call it what you like, but it is the truth. Our sin and brokenness keeps us from believing in the one person that can heal our brokenness with a unconditional love and grace that nothing else in this universe can equal. God is real, Jesus is Real, Heaven and Hell are real. We may not understand these things, but it doesn’t make them any less real. Jesus is a real person who died on a real cross and went through a real resurrection to defeat death. He offers the same to anyone, ANYONE who believes in him. So this is the message to us. Check him out, bump into Jesus, answer his knock at your door and change the trajectory of your life forever.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.