My faith journey may have a lot in common with those of other people. I share it only to highlight that I was once relatively without faith and absolutely without a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. That has all changed.
Over the past decade or so, I have reevaluated my priorities and have given my life - the good, the bad, and the ugly - all of it, to Jesus. I can say, unequivocally, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and in Him, I place all my trust and all the love that my mind and heart can imagine and feel.
Unlike some who describe faith coming to them all at once, my conversion was gradual and fraught with my tendency to overthink, question, and doubt. If some could describe their coming to faith as diving off a high cliff into impossibly blue, pristine waters, mine is more like a nervous wimp carefully climbing down the cliff, slowly, and then dipping a toe in the water.
I did not question God, nor would I suggest that this was anything other than my own insecurity. My doubts were never about Jesus or God. I have believed in them since I was a young boy. They were about my ability to listen, discern, interpret, and act on messages received through Scripture and from other sources, and insights I might receive from the Holy Spirit. My doubts were, and still are, about me.
I have had this website and blog for several years. My posts have all been written during this transformation of faith I have been on. Most were about the journey and various things I've learned. Some were about two books I have published about prayer.
I have felt called to write what I've posted, believing that the words might help someone, somewhere, somehow, sometime, whether I could know about the details or not. To me, being 'called' to post something means that there was an idea, an insight, or lesson in what I wrote that came to me, not from my own experience or knowledge. I believe that when I have ideas like that, they are from the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit tells you to post something, you post it.
The driving force behind the work I have done here and, in the books, has been to share what I've learned, since there are many who are where I was spiritually and are looking for a path. The goal for me is to share the path I have taken to help other people find theirs.
In subsequent posts, I will share the path I have followed and how each step has helped me grow and, as importantly, helped me squeeze out of my far-too-narrow comfort zone.
I pray you find something useful in this and the upcoming posts. Feel free to share with anyone you think might be helped by it.
The next post will discuss a fundamental companion text to the Bible which helped organize my spiritual growth.
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