Jesus’ Journey to the Cross

Have you received Jesus? (DJJ Journey 001)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | Direct Download

I learned about Jesus’ journey to the cross when I was about four or five years old, sitting in a Sunday school class in our little Baptist church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The year was approximately 1959. The teacher was one of the Snook family girls, probably a teenager at that time.

She explained that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and that if we wanted Him to, He would forgive all our sins and allow us into heaven one day. She asked if we would like to pray and receive the gift of salvation right then and there. How could I say no?

Jesus’ Journey to the Cross teaches us about salvation and includes two videos from the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

So, although it was decades ago, and I don’t remember many details, I do remember that she led my sister and me in a prayer in which we invited Jesus “into our hearts.”

Since that time, I have been a life-long Christ-follower. I’m not saying I’ve done so perfectly—I’ve done things that I should not have, and I’ve not done thing I should have. But I know that I am forgiven from all sins; past, present and future. All of that happened when I was saved that day.

That’s my salvation story. Do you have a salvation story? Have you been born again (see John 3:3)?

If not, I encourage you to trust Christ today. To learn how to do so, just click HERE for some clear instructions.

If you are saved, are you following Jesus, or have you strayed? And if you are following Jesus, are you half-hearted, lukewarm, or wandering? Furthermore, are you fulfilling Jesus’ parting instructions commonly called “The Great Commission” in which His central command was to “make disciples?” Are you discipling others?

But how do you do all that you might ask? It’s a big job and can be daunting. That is why we created Discipleship Journeys with Jesus (DJJ). DJJ is a plan for discipleship that takes people from A to Z in what it means to follow Jesus, from both the New and Old Testaments. Anyone from teenagers on up can do it.

When completed, there will be 104 journey lessons, which will take two years if done weekly. However, disciples can follow any schedule of frequency desired.

The studies are divided into eight quarters, with 13 journeys in each quarter:

New Testament Studies

Quarter 1, Foundational Journeys with Jesus (The Gospels)

Quarter 2, Church Planting Journeys with Jesus (Acts 1-16)

Quarter 3, Journeys to Maturity in Jesus (Acts 17-28)

Quarter 4, Deeper Journeys with Jesus (The Epistles)

Old Testament Studies

Quarter 1, Journeys with Jesus in Pre-History and the Beginning of Human History (The Pentateuch)

Quarter 2, Journeys with Jesus in the History of God’s Chosen People (The Historical Books)

Quarter 3, Journeys with Jesus in Wisdom and Emotions (The Poetic and Wisdom Books)

Quarter 4, Journeys with Jesus in Prophecy (The Major and Minor Prophets)

All lessons are being accompanied by two videos, one introductory and one closing, recorded on location in the lands of the Bible.

Just go to www.djjministry.org to sign up for the free materials and click where it says “START YOUR JOURNEYS HERE.”

CONCLUSION:

Journey 1 of DJJ, based on Mark 15, tells us about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again to overcome sin and death! In this Discipleship Journeys with Jesus study of Jesus’ Journey to the Cross we read, reflect on and interact on that passage and the events recorded there. People can use it to help them trust Jesus as Savior from sins and Lord of their lives.

Please take advantage of these free Discipleship Journeys with Jesus lessons at djjministry.org, as are thousands around the entire world!

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Who Needs Jesus, I’m a Good Person

• 4 Powerful Proofs Jesus Lives

• Facing Death Fearlessly

• What Caused Me to Doubt My Salvation

• How I Moved from Doubting my Salvation to Assurance

• Five Questions for Those Who Think Many Roads Lead to Heaven

• Please Don’t Call Yourself a Christian If…

• Please DO Call Yourself a Christian If…

• Podcast: Will someone lose their salvation if they commit terrible sins?

• Podcast: Have I committed the unpardonable sin?

• Podcast: Isn’t Christianity arrogant to claim to be the only way to heaven?

• What is the Worst Sin in the World?

• Podcast: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

• Video vlog: Self Realization Fellowship

• Podcast: Is salvation found in various religious traditions? (Pluralism)

• Podcast: Since Jesus paid the price, is everyone heaven-bound?

• Why it is Better to Spend Time at Funerals Than Parties

• Why Your Sincerity Can be Deadly

• 3 Motives for Rejecting Jesus

• Podcast: What exactly is hell?

NOTE: Social media is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won't miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You'll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

How do we know we're filled with the holy spirit?

How can we know that we’re filled with the Holy Spirit? Recently a new Christian

studied the Discipleship Journeys with Jesus lesson on “Jesus Journey to Pentecost.” It’s

about being filled with the Holy Spirit, which is a command in Ephesians 5:18, “be filled

with the Spirit.” But the study didn’t answer every question and one that was unanswered

was how to know if they are filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s a great question.

Scripture tells us that when we are born again, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, “For in

one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all

were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13 ESV) Christians are thereafter “a

temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

However, while we are thereafter indwelt by the Spirit, that does not mean that we are

filled with the Spirit.

We hear that so-and-so is a “Spirit-filled believer,” but what does that mean, and how do

we know it is true? We also hear that certain churches or Christian groups are “Spirit-

filled” but again, how does one determine that to be the case? Furthermore, how do we

know that other groups are not “Spirit-filled?”

To answer, I went to Scripture and came up with a list of biblical ways to know we are

filled with the Holy Spirit. While there may be more, I came up with five.

Five Ways to Know if You are Filled with the Holy Spirit:

1. FAITH

First and foremost, we know because God would not command us to be filled

with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and then deny us the Spirit’s filling.

But yes, there is a hindrance that must be removed as we practice “spiritual

breathing” (Luke 11:13).

What is spiritual breathing?

1. Exhale: First we must exhale sin through confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

2. Inhale: Then we inhale the Holy Spirit through invitation in prayer. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13)

(Thanks to Dr. Bill Bright of Cru for this teaching on Spiritual Breathing.)

2. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.” These fruits are the natural outgrowth of being yielded to the Spirit and they result in noticeable improvements in our character!

If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, people are going to notice exciting

differences from the old self to the new self.

“So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.” (Ephesians 4:22-24 Good News Translation)

3. BOLDNESS IN TESTIFYING

Acts 4:31 tells us that “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” These were disciples who had cowered in fear when Jesus was tried. Peter had even denied ever knowing Jesus when speaking with a lowly servant girl.

But after the coming of the Holy Spirit, they testified boldly, risking their lives and according to church history, eventually dying for Christ. Being spirit-filled doesn’t mean you’re going to die a martyr. But it does mean you’re willing to testify boldly without concern for your personal reputation and sometimes your safety. “Because of Christ we are thought of as fools…” (1 Corinthians 4:10 CEV)

4. SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

The Gospel was confirmed by signs, wonders and miracles in Bible times, even before the apostles (Luke 10:9) and without their presence (Acts 6:8). God still performs supernatural signs, wonders and miracles today, as He chooses: “And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.” (Hebrews 2:4, NLT)

We should pray for God to do them as the disciples prayed (Acts 4:29-30). But we cannot demand them, since they happen if and when God chooses. We must not allow seeking for signs and wonders to become a diversion, as Jesus described in Matthew 12:39 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign….”

5. THE PRACTICE OF SPIRITUAL BREATHING

We know that it is possible to suppress the Holy Spirit since 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says “Don't quench the Spirit.” We quench the Spirit when we ignore Him or sin. This does not mean that believers lose the Spirit, but that we stifle His work, until we “exhale sin through confession” and practice spiritual breathing as explained above.

CONCLUSION:

My final recommendation is: Don’t make being Spirit-filled more complex than it needs

to be. While some will have a dramatic supernatural experience of the Holy Spirit, that should not be our standard. Welcome those experiences if they happen. But don’t depend

on them for your walk with God. Rather, use the five concrete biblical ways above to

know if you are filled with the Holy Spirit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord

and Savior, that’s the place to begin. Click HERE for how.

To get all the free lessons discipleship lessons from Discipleship Journeys with Jesus, go

to www.djjministry.org and click where it says “START YOUR JOURNEYS HERE.”

The journey mentioned above is “Jesus Journey to Pentecost” (Journey 14).

Help Spread the Word!

If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media

or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical

guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Five Ways God Speaks to Us

• How to Hear From God

• Strategies for Hearing from God

• So You Think You Can’t Take a Prayer Retreat?

• Adjust Your Plans Based on God’s New Direction

• Quote card: The will of God will not take us…

• How to Know God’s Will in Difficult Decisions

• 3 Wonderful Joys of a God-sized Vision

• How to Tackle a Mountain-Sized Goal in Faith

• Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

• Podcast: Will someone lose their salvation if they commit terrible sins?

• Podcast: Have I committed the unpardonable sin?

• How I Moved from Doubting My Salvation to Assurance

• What Caused Me to Doubt My Salvation

• Please Don’t Call Yourself a Christian If…

• Please DO Call Yourself a Christian If…

NOTE: Social media is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won't

miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You'll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to

Unlock Heaven on Earth.

How To Memorize Scripture

It's probably not as nearly difficult as you think

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | Direct Download

Do you memorize Scripture? Let me guess; you think you’re a poor memorizer. Most

everyone thinks that. However, the truth is that almost everyone can be a good

memorizer. The problem is that we just don’t try. If we try, we’ll find that memory is like

a muscle, the more we develop it, the stronger it gets.

Photo credit: Debbie Hudson @dhudson_creative

In addition, studies show that the stronger our memory, the smarter we are in many

arenas. It pays to develop your memory!

Recently I wrote on the subject, “Why I Still Memorize Scripture.” Please check it out.

Here’s a summary of why we should memorize from James 1:25 (NIV): “Whoever looks

intently into the perfect law . . . and continues in it — not forgetting what they have

heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.” Memorizing = blessing!

In this article I’d like to share some tips on HOW to memorize.

Ten Tips for Memorizing the Bible:

I hope these tips help and encourage you!

1. Memorize passages that are most meaningful to you.

I find that I’m far more energized to memorize when I work on verses that speak

to an issue I’m concerned about or a problem I’m dealing with. Do you have a

habit you’re trying to develop, or a bad habit you’re working to overcome?

There’s no better passage to memorize than one that addresses what you’re

seeking to accomplish.

2. Use a Bible version you can understand easily.

I normally memorize the King James Version. But the only reason for this is that

it is what I started memorizing as a child, and I don’t want to switch midstream.

Nowadays there are so many easy-to-understand Bible versions, if I were starting

over, I would certainly choose one and memorize it. (I actually switch versions

when the KJV is so awkward I can’t hardly understand it and therefore enjoy it.)

God wants the Word to be sweet, like the psalmist described:

How sweet your words taste to me;

they are sweeter than honey.

Your commandments give me understanding;

no wonder I hate every false way of life.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:103-105 NLT)

A “sweet” passage is certainly one you can understand!

3. Make access to your Scripture memory passages easy.

The harder it is to access your verses, the less likely you’ll be to memorize.

Conversely, the easier they are to access, the more likely you’ll be to memorize.

Here are some ways to make access to your verses easy:

a. Put your Scripture on cards or sheets so you have them with in your wallet

or a purse.

b. If you are electronically inclined, put them on your phone or other device,

using Evernote, or some other app.

c. Use a memorization app. If you search online, there are several apps made

specifically for Scripture memorization.

4. Start small and build confidence.

Learning in smaller bits and pieces can be encouraging and help to keep you

motivated.

Learn the reference first and then memorize a short phrase at a time. You’ll begin

to recognize that you CAN memorize. It will become easier and easier.

5. Schedule memorization

Things that are haphazard often don’t get accomplished. But “What gets

scheduled gets accomplished.”

If you’re serious about memorizing, have a set time to do it.

For me, it’s part of my morning routine. But don’t think thirty minutes, or even

ten minutes. It’s less than ten minutes. This might seem brief, yet the power of

regularity builds to accomplishment.

Or perhaps you have a commute where you can make memorization part of your

commuting routine. Or maybe while you’re at the sink in the morning. Or on your

lunch break. Or the final thing you do before falling asleep—what a great thing to

meditate on your Scriptures during the night!

6. Say verses and passages out loud to involve more senses.

If you speak the Scripture aloud, you will hear your own voice, you will

physically verbalize it and you will find it easier to focus on the task of

memorization.

Repeating silently is OK if necessary, but far better to do it out loud.

7. Try reading a verse or passage aloud 50 to 100 times and you might find you have it memorized.

It’s funny what repetition can do. If you read a passage aloud over and over, you

will get a great head start on memorizing it. In fact, you might never have to work at memorizing since just reading it aloud might do the magic of memorization for you automatically.

8. Memorize for a few minutes, and then take a break to allow your brain to rest.

Like the rest of our bodies, our brains need rest in order to function most

efficiently. They rest during our sleep and they also need rest in the midst of our

work. And memorization can be intense work.

Find your own rhythm and include regular rest.

9. Review your verses frequently to thoroughly fix them in your mind.

We have short-term memory and long-term memory. Just because a passage is in

our short-term memory doesn’t mean it is fixed in our long-term memory! To fix

it in our long-term memory means reviewing verses frequently.

10. Incorporate verses into your Scripture meditation and prayers.

Of course, the whole purpose of memorization is to meditate on God’s Word and pray over your memorized passages. Ask God how He wants you to apply His Word and then allow the Scriptures to transform your life.

CONCLUSION:

Dallas Willard wrote; “If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life

and take only one, I would choose Bible memorization.” (The Great Omission:

Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, p. 58. HarperCollins. Kindle

Edition.)

Why did he say this? It’s because when we carry God’s Word with us all the time via

memorization, it has the greatest ability to benefit us and change our lives.

Let’s do it!

Help Spread the Word!

If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media

or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical

guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

•  5 Reasons God's Definition of Success Is Wonderful

•  How to Medal In Every Event In Life

•  5 Fantastic Spiritual Senses That Lead To Faith

•  Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

•  How To Tackle A Mountain-Sized Goal In Faith

•  Five Ways God Speaks to Us

• Have You Written Your Own Bible?

•  Why Thanking Prayers Are So Important

•  Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered? (Podcast)

•  Does God still speak today? (Podcast)

•  How can I hear God’s voice? (Podcast)

•  Who Needs Jesus, I’m a Good Person

•  How Biblical Thought Replacement Creates Time and Energy

•  The Desperate Need for Discipleship

•  The Goal of the Great Commission is Disciples

•  Video: The Great Commission is for ALL Christians

•  How to Know if You are Truly Saved

•  How to Know if You’re a Powerful, Fruitful Christian

•  5 Reasons God’s Definition of Success is Wonderful

NOTE: Social media is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won't

miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You'll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to

Unlock Heaven on Earth.