Aww, spring is in the air! And that means Spring Break is just around the corner and with that, for many, ROAD TRIP! Yes, many will take advantage of this week to get out of the cold of Indiana and travel to a warmer climate like Florida or Texas or some other sun-drenched paradise. But spring break lasts for only a week then it is back to the grind and, who-knows-what-kind-of-weather Indiana. But we have the possibility to take an even more amazing journey -- one that will last a lifetime and bring more joy and greater memories than any “one-week” excursion would ever bring. “The Journey from Fear to Security” -- In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in the city of Philippi, where they are preaching and leading many to faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, some of the local businessmen were not happy and had Paul and Silas thrown in prison. God provides a miracle and Paul and Silas and all of the prisoners are able to escape and get away. Great fear comes upon the jailer, because he is responsible for the prisoners. He is afraid he will lose his life. In fact, he is at the point of taking his own life when Paul tells him that they are all there. As a result, the jailer and his entire family come to faith in Jesus Christ. Many, like the jailer, are paralyzed by fear: fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of eternity. This fear has caused people to do some pretty outrageous things like freezing themselves upon death in the hope that in a later time they be unfrozen, cured and live a regular life. Some, in their fear, have denied the existence of God or the truth of the Scripture that leads to eternal life, hoping against hope that the Scriptural teaching on salvation and eternal life is not true. But, like the Philippian Jailer, belief in Jesus conquerors that fear. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31 NKJV) The fear of death can be replaced by the calmness of security. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b NKJV) We can go on that amazing journey from fear to security! “The Journey from Lostness to Salvation” -- Zacchaeus. If you have spent any time in Sunday School, you know the story of Zacchaeus. You probably even know the song: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he”. Well, you know. Zacchaeus was not only a little man, he was an extremely wealthy man. He was a tax collector, hated among his fellow Jews, but done correctly (illegally) could make one very wealthy. In all of his wealth Zacchaeus discovered something: all the money and all the stuff in the world could not fill the emptiness he felt in his life. Too many have found that the security they put in money and possessions is never enough and the fear is that they will never be filled. Enter Zacchaeus, the man who had everything he wanted, except peace. Zacchaeus knew that his money was not going to get him to heaven. He had heard of Jesus, like many of us. But unlike too many of us, he beat a path to find Jesus. He couldn’t see Jesus from the sidewalk but he didn’t let that obstacle keep him from getting to Jesus; he climbed a tree. Jesus sees him, goes to his house for supper, and declares that salvation has come to his house. Not because of his money or his possessions but because “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:13 NKJV) The journey from lostness to salvation for Zacchaeus led to a complete change in lifestyle and a life that was so much happier with so much less. “The Journey from Confusion to Faith” “I’m not what I ought to be, I’m not what I’m going to be. But, thank God, I’m not what I was!” This could pretty much said of the man called, many times, the Gadarene Demoniac. How unfair it is to him! But his journey is one from “Confusion to Joy.” We meet the Gadarene in Mark chapter 5. He is a man that society has given up on. He has serious, very serious mental and emotional problem. He is a danger to himself and society so he is placed in a place where he cannot hurt anyone -- a grave yard. It is this man, a man that everyone has given up on, that Jesus makes a special point of seeing, telling us that no one is beyond the healing, saving hand of the Lord. The Gadarene is not only mentally and emotionally unstable, he is also confused. When Jesus meets him his response is, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mark 5 NKJV) This man is confused, society has abandoned him, what does Jesus have to do with him? Nobody cares about him, they would just as soon he died as anything else. Yet, here is Jesus, reaching out to him. Who do you and I need to reach out to? Jesus heals him. All of the demons that ravaged him are cast out and the man reclaims his right mind. In his joy he begs to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go home and tell his friends what has happened to him. To many who are confused: confused by too many voices telling them too many different things. To many who have sought different ways to find peace and joy and are just left confused, Jesus is the answer. “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6a NKJV). Many may take a well-deserved, much needed trip during Spring Break but it will not take away the fear or fill the lostness, or clear up the confusion we have in our lives. I encourage to take a truly amazing journey -- the journey of life in Jesus. It will be an eternal journey!
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