Your Greatest Journey Has Began Pastor Jeff Wickwire

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Part One

Saved By Faith Alone

The first important fact to understand as a new Christian is that salvation is by faith alone. Your salvation is not based on your own strength or abilities. Salvation has not been given to you because of your own good works. There was nothing you could do to save yourself. Salvation is a free gift! The Bible states:

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”

(Ephesians 2:8, NLT)

Imagine yourself falling off of a large ocean liner and plunging into the deep. Desperately thrashing about, you are weakening quickly and beginning to sink. Death is imminent. Sharks are circling, sensing their opportunity. You are without a life jacket, and there is no way to climb up the side of the vast ship. Only one thing can save you—the actions of somebody else.

Seeing your plight, the sea captain throws you a life preserver while grasping the other end of the attached rope. “Grab hold, and I will pull you

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Train

Salvation By Faith, Not Feelings

In the same way, we are not saved by our own good works. Our feelings or emotions don’t save us. Once you place your faith in Christ, you are saved by faith whether you “feel” saved or not. This is why it is important to learn to put complete confidence in God, not in what you feel. The more you trust God, the less stock you will put in your feelings!

Think back to our ship illustration. When you were lost in the sea of sin, it “felt” like you were about to go under. You weren’t going to make it, and the end was near. But despite what you felt, Jesus Christ, the “captain” of your salvation, pulled you up to safety. Despite your feelings, God saved you. And despite what you feel, He will lead you by faith from this day forward. So if you wake up one day and don’t “feel” saved, don’t put stock in it. Trust God! The Bible warns:

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

(Proverbs 2**8:26, ESV)

Your Daily J

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Walk Your Talk

It’s been said that Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven. That’s true! However, God does want His children to learn to walk in the new nature His Spirit has given us (see 2 Cor. 5:17) by consistently receiving, believing, and obeying God’s word. This step in your faith journey is about embracing the Lord’s ongoing process to grow you into maturity. I call this “walking your talk.”

First, I encourage you as a new believer to begin “walking your talk” by following Jesus in water baptism. This is not an option; it’s a command from the Savior! The New Testament opens with John the Baptist baptizing scores of repentant people in the Jordan River. The Bible describes this unusual, intriguing man.

“John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he ba

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Develop Holy Habits

By now, you’ve probably noticed that with each step of faith, you are drawing closer to God and farther away from your “old” way of life. Old desires, thoughts, and habits are beginning to disappear from sight as you move forward in your journey. This is all part of God’s daily plan for our spiritual growth. Your love for God and faith in Him have ignited a deep desire to obey His Word. Like a child loves, trusts, and wants to please his parents— who gave him life and love him in spite of his weaknesses—your love for God compels you to do pleasing things in His sight.

This daily process is called “sanctification,” which means “to be set apart.” The ongoing process of sanctification distances you from the sinful thoughts and behavior that are displeasing to God. My prayer for you lines up with the Apostle Paul’s desire for the believers in the Colossian church:

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge o

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Pbpginfwmy

You are probably wondering what the above chapter title means! Each letter is an acronym representing an important fact about the Christian life.

PLEASE BE PATIENT; GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH ME YET.

This chapter will help you remember that being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re perfect or won’t make mistakes. It means that you are forgiven of sin and aim to live like Christ, not according to your old sinful ways. So do your best to reject the devil’s condemnation if you stumble or make a mistake.

The Bible teaches that when a Christian sins, we should quickly turn to the Father in repentance. God promises,

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

(1 John 1:9, NLT)

His will is always that we get back on our feet and continue walking with Him! Condemnation is Satan’s favorite tool. Never let other people or the devil heap condemnation and guilt in a moment of failure. God

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Part Two

Your Awesome Helper

Let’s briefly recap what we’ve learned so far. Before knowing Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you were like a person drowning in a sea of sin with no way to save yourself. The situation seemed hopeless and only grew darker. But just when you thought you were going down for the last time, a life preserver appeared from nowhere with a message scrawled on the side:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16, KJV)

Upon reading these stirring words, by faith, you grabbed hold of the life preserver and its wonderful message. Immediately a strong, unseen hand pulled you into the beautiful ship of salvation. Jesus, the captain of the ship, greeted you with open arms. Peace flooded your soul when you knew you were saved from sin and its deadly consequences.

Soon many wonderful truths came into view. You learned that the ship of salvation is headed toward a beautiful

Chapter Six 509 words

You Are God’s House

“If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!””

(John 14:7, NLT)

Picking up what we learned in the previous chapters, let’s take a closer look at what God says about your soul. The Bible teaches that we are comprised of three parts—a spirit, a soul, and a body. Your spirit is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and is the core of your being. Your soul is the seat of your mind, emotions, and will. And your body is what houses them.

Jesus taught that of all the riches on earth; your soul is worth more than it all. He warned that to lose one’s soul is the greatest tragedy a human being can experience:

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

(Matthew 16:26, NLT)

Jesus came to the earth to save our soul.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.””

(Luke 19:10, NLT)

“When Jesus

Chapter Seven 912 words

God’s Guarantee

“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.””

(John 14:8, NLT)

When someone enters a business deal, they must sign on the proverbial dotted line. The business partner wants a guarantee that you will do what you’ve agreed to. Once signed, it is an official written contract. This is exactly what God did with the New Testament! Testament means covenant. A covenant in the Bible consists of two or more parties coming together to make a contract. They agree on certain promises, stipulations, privileges, and responsibilities in the contract.

In the Bible, a blood covenant was the strongest, most binding of them all. And that is what God did for us through the shed blood of Christ. He cut a blood covenant with all who place faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, promising to forgive, redeem, deliver, and save their souls for heaven. This includes the Holy Spirit’s unfailing presence coming to live within us. And more! The Holy Spirit is a type of “down payment” of

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The Power to Walk It Out

Many people decide against becoming a Christian for one simple reason—they don’t believe they can live it. “I will fail!” they claim with certainty. “I’ll never be able to live by all those rules!” This attitude stems from the misguided belief that living a Christian life depends on our own strength and willpower. But that’s not true. If it were up to us to do it alone, there wouldn’t be any good Christians anywhere in the world! But it’s not up to us. God, Himself, has given to us the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

Christianity is not the call to a burdensome set of rules and regulations; it is a supernatural life lived out through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Before returning to Heaven, Jesus promised his followers they would soon be filled with the amazing power of the Holy Spirit.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria,

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Burn On, Not Out!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)

Since the day you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, all things are new. That is, you are a brand new person inside! You’ve learned that instead of going about things your way, you can live by his power through the Holy Spirit. He helps you to fulfill your responsibility in this new relationship!

But we must also cooperate with the process. Allow me to illustrate. No one has to tell us to feed our stomachs every day. When hunger bites, we do something about it. We know that if we don’t eat, we will die. In the same way, once we become born-again with the Holy Spirit living within us, we will experience another kind of hunger pang known as spiritual hunger.

“Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,”

(1 Peter

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The Spirit of Truth

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”

(John 16:13, NLT)

Not only did Jesus promise the Holy Spirit would take up residence within us, empowering us to live the way we should, but He also promised that He would guide us into all truth. We live in a world filled with very convincing falsehoods and deception. The culprit behind it all is Satan, the evil source and father of all lies. Jesus shot straight about exactly who and what Satan is:

“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

(John 8:44, NLT)

When the devil sets out to ruin your life, he begins with a lie. Behind every one of his

Chapter Eleven 835 words

God’s Peace! God's Guiding Peace

Another important way the Holy Spirit will help you is by the inner peace he brings or by removing it. While this is not the ultimate, final test that something is right or wrong, it is one way God guides us. Always remember that the final arbiter of all truth is reserved for the authority of God’s Word.

Here’s how it works. When a Christian turns in the wrong direction, he or she can feel “checked in their heart.” The inner peace with God you routinely enjoy is withdrawn. This is one way God puts up a roadblock, a divine stop sign, a faithfully placed red light saying, “Don’t go there!”

The Apostle Paul writes that as we pray over the various directions and decisions of life, the peace of God will literally act as a guard over our hearts and minds

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:7, NIV)

The Greek word for guard means “to act like a military guard, lik

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Now that you better understand the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit God has given to those who trust in Jesus, you can be confident that:

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

(Philippians 1:6, NLT)

Remember, the captain of the ship of your salvation is at the helm, guiding and directing your way, helping and strengthening you. The Holy Spirit that dwells within you will never leave! Don’t be discouraged if you feel your spiritual growth is too slow or make too many mistakes. You are in a marathon, not a hundred-yard dash. Don’t forget that it’s your job (in response to the Holy Spirit) to water your soul with His Word, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians. It’s His job to bring growth!

“It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”

(1 Corinthians 3:7, NLT)

Welcome to God’s family!

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