journey onWord with us

Do you ever find yourself trying to control issues of life that are in fact uncontrollable? My daughter helped remind me of my control issues last week as I visited with her in Los Angeles. On my flight across the country, I had determined my seat assignment would be too tight and uncomfortable. So I paid $69 for a seat with extra leg room. I was ready to sit back and enjoy the ride, until I realized that my attempts at comfort had placed me in an aisle with a mother, baby and fourth grader. Don’t think that I am against children traveling, because my wife and I traveled when our daughter was young. But I wanted to be in control of my journey! There is One who is in control, and I am far better off when I rest in His sovereignty and quit trying to make life fit my way. How about you?

As you and I travel through Scripture, we are given a picture of His majesty, power, grace, love and yes, control. In my reading of Revelation this week, the ultimate control of God is in full view. Although Revelation is not the easiest read of the Bible, it presents Jesus as: “the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End”. Jesus is the beginning and end of all creation, and has given us the right to be His children. With Him as our Savior, God’s Word as teacher and the Holy Spirit as our guide, we don’t need to worry about controlling.  Simply trust the Controller. For me it is a work in progress, but as I fill my life with His Word, and listen to His leading, controlling life becomes less important. How about you?

At Journey OnWord, we are committed to challenging you to be full of His Word. We know it takes discipline, but the results are life changing. In The Knowing Jesus Study Bible, I found words that convey our heart to you better than I could express it.

“God has furnished us with explicit instructions to guide us, many wonderful promises to encourage us and an exciting mission for us to accomplish. All of this and more is recorded in the Bible. When we are devoted to God, we cannot get enough of His words. While it is helpful to read Bible Study notes, commentaries and devotionals it is better still to immerse ourselves in the Bible itself –because it comprises God’s letter directly from himself to us.”

You would probably agree that one of your most difficult challenges is to make God’s letter to you a priority. I can promise you that there is value from reading God’s Word, that can only be attained by consuming it. Devotionals, seminars and good books can literally hinder your progress in the Word. But today is new, and the Word is still the Word, and God still has lots to say to all of us. None of us can control life, and all of the circumstances that we encounter, but our Teacher is in control and will guide us through each and every one of those circumstances.

Once a quarter we challenge you to re-engage in the life changing consumption of God’s Word. Your commitment to His Letter is personal, and we just want to encourage you to continue, or begin a new adventure of reading through the New Testament with us this quarter. If you have another plan, that’s great and keep going. Read with an open heart and just trust the Controller.

By the way, the kids on the plane slept most of the way!