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Mapping
Out Your Course
Have
you ever been lost?
I have! On
one occasion, I was part of a group that went hiking
on a mountain trail in Northeast Georgia.
The scenery was breathtaking!
The view from the top of the mountain was worth
every effort in reaching it.
But on the way down the mountain, we decided to
take a different trail.
We walked and walked for miles, hoping that the
trail would lead us to our proper destination.
The longer we walked, however, the more we
realized that we were lost.
We had an appointment that evening, so time was
of the essence. We
didn't have time to backtrack, so we kept walking,
looking for familiar surroundings.
Then we found something that revealed to us not
only where we were, but also where we needed to go to
reach our proper destination.
It was a map!
If it weren't for that map, we might still be
in those mountains!
Neal
Pollard has made the following observations about a
map:
1.
It cannot assist until it is consulted.
2.
It will not help those who ignore what
it says.
3.
It is composed by those who know its
subject.
4.
It can be misread.
5.
It will yield the same directions for
anyone who picks it up
and properly uses it.
6.
It completely allows for the free will of the
user.
7.
It is meant to be practical rather than
abstract.
8.
It has helped many successfully reach
their final destination.
9.
It is not meant to predict unexpected
occurrences for the
traveler while it
is in use.
10.
It shows borders, boundaries, and what is both
possible and
impossible in travel. *
These
ten factors are especially applicable to the use of
Heaven's
Road Map, the Bible.
God's Word informs us that ALL of us are lost
due to SIN (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
However, God's Word also reveals the way of
salvation. That
Way is through a proper relationship with Jesus
Christ, God's Son.
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John
14:6). The
Bible gives us the following directions to reach our
proper Destination (Heaven): place your trust
in Christ (Acts 16:31), repent
of sin (Acts 17:30-31), confess
the deity of Christ (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized
(immersed) for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38).
Then we must continue to follow Heaven's Road Map for
the rest of our lives, being careful not to "veer
off course" (1 John 1:7).
We must continue to follow that narrow and
difficult way which leads to life everlasting (Matthew
7:13-14).
The
Psalmist declared, "Your Word is a LAMP to my
feet and a LIGHT to my path" (Psalm 119:105).
The
RIGHT course has been "mapped
out"
for ALL.
Will YOU
consult the "Map" of God's Word, and follow Jesus all the way to
Heaven!
God bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
* Neal Pollard is a
minister of the Cold Harbor Road church of Christ in Mechanicsville, VA,
and the author of "Daily Bread," a Bible-based daily e-mail publication.
See www.Cold-Harbor-Road.org
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