Do You Know Jesus As A Personal Companion?

Jesus Is Alive!

Jesus Is My GPS!

We all have an awesome opportunity to cultivate and enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus! We can look to him as if he was sitting by our side.  As we go through our day, we can invite Jesus to walk with us and guide us.

Let Jesus be your GPS! (Gōdnes Provision Source)

The Bible tells us that Jesus died for our sins on one day, which we now refer to as Good Friday and on another day we now call Easter Jesus rose from the grave!

Matthew 28:5-6

 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he had laid.

  

Mark 16:6    

 6“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

Luke 24:5

5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

John 20:16-17

 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (This means “Teacher”).

 17Jesus said “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

The Bible tells us that Jesus ascended into the heavens and sits beside God. This is not to say Jesus is no longer available for us. It just says that he has returned to his father also called our father, to his God and our God!   

There has never been anything ever written since to tells us Jesus died again. Therefore, the conclusion can only be that Jesus is alive!

The importance in this understanding for me in my life is the additional emphasis it places on prayer and meditation. These two acts are not one we would do to gain an understanding of a dead historical figure. Going forth with the mindset the Jesus is alive the prayer and meditation I do is in the context of having a conversation with a living Jesus!

In addition, it is very easy then for me to know that as a living Jesus I can have him with me through my day. When I ask him to join me I can do this as if he is a friend and would enjoy being with me. I can allow him to guide me through my day and teach me lessons as he sees them not I.   

God gave his only begotten son!

I say embrace this gift and enjoy all the benefits a relationship with Jesus can bring into each day! Yes, Jesus died for our sins but he rose and gave us a mission to love each other and keep our fathers commands. Jesus’s purpose for his time on earth was for more than a battle with sin. Much more vase then the battle between good and evil, Jesus came on to us to be a guiding force in all things, to be the perfect example of all things. He came to save us from ourselves, so reed of him, pray to him, listens to him and enjoy the true piece that will come from your personal relationship with the living Jesus!    

"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." 

"Poor In Spirit," Means To Be Humble.

Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. He who humbles himself is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us to Conversion. 

It Is Pride, The Opposite Of Humility That Brings Misery.

For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended.

If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!

ST. PAUL ON CONVERSION

Conversion is the heart of the Christian experience. The Bible is filled with figures that sinned, became repentant, and underwent conversion, such as Simon Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene. Saul, the persecutor of the Church after his conversion became Paul, the great missionary to the Christians, heathens and pagans. Conversion is best described in his thirteen letters to the churches. “Known as the Letters of St. Paul, we find them in the Bible.” (1Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy and Hebrews)  this is with very good reason for - no one experienced a more dramatic conversion than St. Paul on the road to Damascus! 

While reading St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light”. (Romans 13:12)

St. Thomas Aquinas, describes St. Paul's conversion as a sudden reception of grace "Paul, in the midst of sin,” suddenly his heart was perfectly moved by God¹.

As recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus himself called for conversion when he announced, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).

Simon Peter denied three times that he was an Apostle of Christ during the Lord's Passion; a rooster crowed; Then Simon Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” He then went outside and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75).

Mary Magdalene was a woman of ill repute before Jesus drove out seven devils from her (Luke 8:2); she became an ardent follower, and was the first to see Jesus following his resurrection (John 20:16-18).

St. Augustine describes his own conversion in his Confessions.²

Jesus reinstates Simon Peter

The third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he arose from the dead. Simon Peter accepted Jesus’s command. In the same way, Simon Peter disowned Jesus three times, Jesus asked him to profess his love for him three times and commanded him three times to “feed my lambs” “Take care of my sheep” and “Follow me!” (John 21).

¹The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas written 1265–1274 

²The Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398

The secret to true success and happiness

This initially must sound overly simplistic at first glance but hold on this could be the most important thing you ever read!

I consider myself an expert and more over this is the only thing I am certain I am truly good at! Here it is the big secret! Showing up!  

There are four levels to this simple concept:

Show up:

1.       Physically

2.      Mentally

3.      Emotionally

4.      Spiritually

Physically defined~

·         Get a good night’s rest! Without proper sleep, all other efforts will fail!

·         Be early, a good rule of thumb is 15 minutes. Use five of the 15 in the parking lot preparing yourself to show up.

·         Dress the part if a suite and tie is the order of the day then take the time to ensure clothes are, clean, pressed, properly fitting, and matching.

·         If proper attire would be jeans, shorts or business casual you should always make the pre-effort to know what is expected!   

·         Your appearance does not haft to be prim and proper “I have tattoos I cannot cover up” but I always show the effort it takes to look the part!  

Mentally defined~

·         Get a good night’s rest! Without proper sleep, all other efforts will fail!

·         Think about where you are going before you leave, ask yourself what mindset you will need to be in, in order to be open, observant and perceive things, as you would wish to be perceived.

·         Always think of what you can bring to every situation instead of what you can gain from being there.

·         Leave your troubles and life’s distractions at the door. Those troubles will be waiting for you when you’re ready to attend to them

·         Be teachable, people do not wish to hear about what you already know rather they would like to be assured you can learn their way it is to be known!

Emotionally defined~

·         Get a good night’s rest! Without proper sleep, all other efforts will fail!

·         Attitude is everything in life! When dealing with people things are more about what you project rather than what you do. People like happiness and positivity!

·         Be emotionally available, able to invest yourself into the situation. Being vulnerable is not a product of weakness but rather a way of confidence and strength.

·         Be humble! Over confidence will be your undoing. Fell it in your heart, you do not have all the answers.

·          There is a bright side to everything find it and let the bright side be your side!

Spiritually defined~

·         Get a good night’s rest! Without proper sleep, all other efforts will fail!

·         Spend time getting to know your God before you spend time getting to know new things or new people!

·         Pray for God’s will to be done for you in your day. The day will have too much for you to handle without divine help “spiritual armor if you prefer” ware it at all times.

·         Have faith that the situation you are going into is an opportunity for you to be of service to him!

·         Have faith that without him you would not have the opportunity you are about to enjoy.

·         Use five of the 15 minutes you arrived early in the parking lot preparing yourself spiritually. Having a Bible available is necessary for this process. Reed a short passage and pray for God to be with you!    

When I have been able to SHOW UP on all four of these levels great things have happened, all things are possible and miracles await me at every turn! Good luck to you and yours and always God bless!