Navigating The Highway To Holiness

WHERE ARE YOU ON THE HIGHWAY TO HOLINESS? Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby we grow to be more and more like Christ. When we no longer desire to grow and please our Lord, we stifle the work of the Holy Spirit by telling Him to move out from behind the steering wheel and into the back seat; essentially telling Him we are happy to have Him along for the ride, but we want to maintain control of our lives. Christians are only as holy as they want to be. John the Baptist addresses this thought head on when he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Here in this short scripture John identifies the main battleground for all Christians - to become more like Christ while simultaneously conquering our sinful nature. The church as a whole has pulled off of the Highway to Holiness into a rest area where we have become comfortable parked under the shade tree of contentment. We have become satisfied with our spiritual growth telling ourselves that, while we are not what we are suppose to be, we are much better than what we use to be before Christ. We have grown weary of battling our own flesh which has extinguished the passion and desire we once had to pursue holiness and righteousness. However, complacency with Christ is the graveyard where Christians go to die. Supported by numerous scriptures, "Navigating the Highway to Holiness" identifies areas within the church that have been weakened by false doctrine and the spirit of compromise, while simultaneously challenging Christians to continually move towards perfection through the power of the Holy Spirit, and by allowing Christ to assume His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.

You were born on earth in holiness but as you walk along life's road and become buffeted with life's trials you lose the knowledge of the holiness with which you were born. Join Judith Lawrence along her soul journey as she considers God's grace, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the abundance of Christ's love, and many other blessings received along life's road. Discover your soul's qualities, discern your soul's voice, and follow your soul's leading along your spiritual pilgrimage. Become a contemplative without a cloister, keep God at the center of your life, and find God's open doors along your pilgrim way. This book will take you through paths of prayer and assist you to become aware of your soul's presence within; it will guide you towards a unique relationship with God, take you along your path to spiritual maturity, and give you a realization of your holiness and oneness with God. The spiritual journey is one of awakening to your soul's presence, rediscovering the holiness with which you were born, and being transformed into spiritual beings.

Paul said to examine yourselves, whether ye be in faith, and prove your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? The Great Commission command us to extend God's kingdom to all people. Believers should clothe themselves with Christlike characteristics such as truth, righteousness and peace. Communication with the Lord effectually convinces and humbles a saint, and makes him glad to part with his most beloved sins. We throw ourselves on God's mercy, knowing that unendurable suffering comes with a sense of God's absense.

Child of God, do you realize how much God loves you? I have endeavored to write this book to share with everyone who reads it the words from the heart of God's heart, to His body, His bride, His children. Come away, let God speak to your heart, as you listen.....to His heart. I encourage you. Do not grow weary, do not be discouraged, press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14 I have grown to realize how desperately I need God's guidance and love and I only hope this book will help shine the light for you as you walk the "Highway of Holiness."

After we’ve come to faith in Christ, God leaves us in this world for a very clear purpose: his own glory. But how are we to glorify God for the rest of our lives? The Bible reveals that God has laid before every Christian two infinite journeys which we are to travel every day: the internal journey of growth into Christlike maturity, and the external journey of worldwide evangelism and missions. This book is a road map for the internal journey, laying out how we are to grow in four major areas: knowledge, faith, character, and action. In this book, we’ll learn how God grows us in knowledge, faith, character, and action. We’ll also discover that spiritual knowledge constantly feeds our growing faith, faith will transform our character, our transformed character will result in an array of actions more and more glorifying to God, and our actions will feed our spiritual knowledge. This upward spiral will lead us to become more and more like Jesus Christ in holiness. And not only will this book help us understand Christian growth in detail, it will also give us a passion to grow every day for his glory.

This book was written to help people grow closer to, and participate more fully in, their personal relationship with God. The road to spiritual maturity is often a long and involved process, which I believe is outlined for us in John’s Gospel. John says at the end of his Gospel in 20:21: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The life he is talking about is our spiritual life. Our spiritual life starts when we begin to truly believe in Jesus and accept him as our lord and Saviour. It comes to ultimate fulfillment when we cross over from physical death into eternal life in Heaven. In between, is a long and often difficult but rich and involved journey. On this Road to Holiness we learn many things. We learn to give up old ways that are not life-giving, and to adopt a more deeply true spiritual outlook. I believe we go through various stages, that I have outlined in this book and as found in the Gospel. We learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as wonderful new opportunities present themselves. As we grow in our spiritual maturity, we develop new spiritual strength that helps us to overcome a whole variety of obstacles and difficulties that would have previously sent us running for cover. Our ability to love deepens and is enriched so that we can appreciate and enjoy all of God’s creation and creatures in a new way. Spiritual growth may take a lot of work at times, but the rewards are definitely worth the effort. As we gain a solid faith in our own worth in the sight of God, we also begin to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God in our midst. This helps us to discover new ways to prepare for our eventual arrival into the Kingdom of Heaven.