The first step is hearing about the things Jesus did and said, discovering his nature and purpose.
There’s an idea out there among some people that the first step towards following Jesus is going to church, or developing a faith, or taking vows or something like that.
Click to enlarge
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The first step is hearing about the things Jesus did and said, discovering his nature and purpose, finding that he is a likeable, kind, and helpful person to everyone who gets to know him. Everything follows from that. It’s where the adventure begins!
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.
I’m posting an image every two days (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.
Warmth from a fire
Fire is both beneficial and dangerous. There’s nothing better than a nicely controlled fire in the living room on a cold January day; but there are few things worse than an out-of-control fire consuming your entire home! Even if the fire brigade arrives quickly and manages to save the house, they will do so by pouring hundreds or thousands of litres of water into your home. What is saved from burning will be wrecked by water.
If you read the Bible you’ll soon understand that the Holy Spirit is sometimes described as fire. The Old Testament describes Isaiah as being touched on the lips by fire. Ouch! (Though he comes to no harm.) And in the New Testament flames flicker on the heads of the believers when the Spirit falls on them in the upper room where they’re meeting in Jerusalem. (Again, they come to no harm.)
But both Isaiah and the believers in the upper room are changed, they are changed at a fundamental level and they are changed permanently. So let me just add that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, he is the very nature of Jesus, he is a person, one of the three who live together in complete harmony – the Father, the Son (Jesus), and their Spirit. It’s not possible to know any of them without being changed fundamentally and permanently. And when I say ‘know’ I imply more than some casual meeting. If you get to know any one of them you will soon realise that you know all three.
My only advice is not to be put off by the idea of fire, yes it’s dangerous, but life itself is dangerous. Living a normal life in this world always leads to death, for nobody lives for ever. If you reach 100 you are doing really, really well. But seek first the heavenly things, welcome the fundamental and permanent change. It’s nothing to be afraid of.
How to begin? Find out about the life of Jesus. Read one of the gospels, they were specifically written about him. If you don’t know where to start, try reading Mark. If you want to see my thoughts along the way, you can join me in Cruising the Gospel.
Themed image collections
The links below will take you to the first post in each collection
If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome!
Articles that dig deep into where we are going, why, and how, what is expected of us, our fears, hopes, failures, successes.
This is a quick heads up for my readers, a mention of another website you might like to take a look at.
Chris Dryden’s website
There are a multitude of websites out there, often on very specific topics, so many that there’s something for absolutely everyone. So many that it can be hard to find what you need. My online friend DaManCD (aka Chris Dryden) runs one of them, and I run another. We’ve been aware of one another since we both contributed a chapter in a collaborative book, and we’ve interacted from time to time over the years, especially recently (though we’ve never actually met).
Chris’s website is called Life with CD and it’s well worth a visit. Chris draws on his life experience as a follower of Jesus to produce articles that dig deep into where we are going, why, and how, what is expected of us, our fears, hopes, failures, successes. His focus is always on the King who leads us. Why not take a look at a recent article starting a great series on the theme of 40 days?
Useful? Interesting?
If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome!
Journeys of Heart and Mind 