The Simple Way

I was sitting at a table at my job, and a lady who generally isn’t in the area I am in, asked me what I believe after my coworkers expressed that I am also a believer in Jesus. After responding, she asked what I believe in regards to denomination. I said non-denominational, but realized she was asking for more. I tried to create this complex explanation of all my beliefs that I have learned and studied about Jesus. Overall, they were in alignment with the house and I felt relatively confident in the explanation given. Unimpressed, she responded she went to the Church of Christ and she was Pentecostal. 

As work started to progress the Holy Spirit was showing me that it doesn’t have to be complicated, it's just about Jesus. Out of fear of appearing ignorant, I was overcomplicating the simplicity of the gospel to try to prove something of my own knowledge to her. The reality is it's not what I know, but about who I know. I could eloquently study every story in the Bible, and not know Jesus. Sometimes we have such a vast amount of knowledge, yet the basics are what's needed. Sometimes we think that we have to arrive at a certain place spiritually to testify about Jesus. It is as simple as “I was dead, but now I am alive.”  One of my favorite verses is “They overcame by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony. They loved not their own life even unto death.” You don’t need this profound testimony, but one encounter with the King can change everything in just one moment. Sharing what Jesus did for you, and others is so simple, yet so profound and people are longing to hear the truth. 

When I was in my Bible this week I noticed something I have never seen before. I have been in the book of Acts and while just listening to my audible Bible play while getting ready I heard the words, “those who belonged to the way.” Immediately I had to stop and go back and reread. I began researching only to find that “The Way” is what they referred to as a follower of Jesus as in the early church! I was absolutely baffled. Jesus' words from John 14:6 immediately came to mind. He said, “I am THE WAY, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” He stated clearly that He is the way before His crucifixion. 

The definition in the Strong's says way translates to a journey/travel, a road, and implication of progress. Our walk with Jesus is a journey that leads us to a path to follow Him to wherever He leads us. During our travels we become who He has called us and purposed us to be in Him. It is a process where He strips us, and we become like Him. When we follow The Way, we are going the right way. 

Saul was on his way to persecute those who followed “the way” only to become a believer. He was spoken to by Jesus, blinded physically as he had been spiritually, and waited for three days. Ananias obeyed the Lord and went to pray for the one who days before would have killed him. Ananias laid hands on him and spoke what the Lord said, which was, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately the scales fell from his eyes. He could see and he was baptized and ate. Then within the next verses Saul is proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God! It wasn’t fifteen years for him to open his mouth, but very quickly. He was testifying about Jesus, and how He had healed, delivered him, and set him free! There was a season of refining before He led many, but he was immediately sharing the encounter and testimony from when He met Jesus. 

Another example is the woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well. I love how just one encounter with Jesus changed the trajectory of her life. We understand her life had quite the past, yet Jesus was there in the middle of the day for just her. He exposed her sins, but then revealed who He was to her. She joyfully raced into town saying, “He told me everything that I had ever done and said He is the Messiah”.

She evangelized that Jesus is the Christ, and many in Samaria who dismissed her days before saw a drastic difference and listened to what she was saying. Many came to listen to Jesus from the proclamation that came from her mouth. 

Reflecting back, what was it like for you when you first came to know Jesus as Lord? Did you weep at His goodness? Did you share your salvation story with others? Were you once blinded by the world systems, then able to see clearly? I want you to think about what you felt in that moment that you knew Jesus paid your debt, and saved your soul from hell. I ask God to take me back frequently. My Mother in Law always uses a similar analogy to when you get married. She says, “do you remember the emotions you felt as you walked down the aisle?” When things feel mundane, think of that moment, and rekindle that love you felt. 

I was very bold for the world, and I was even bold for Jesus at first. I remember getting filled with the Holy Spirit in the small home mission church, and it felt like a mighty rushing wind as the Bible explains in the book of Acts. I could hear a swirling and as soon as it hit and was released, weeping filled the atmosphere. Jesus literally changed my life overnight. I could see so clearly. The word was like a living book where the pages magnified off the paper and I could understand so much. Peace, joy, and laughter filled our home like it had never been. God miraculously changed our life. Then within the years to follow we settled down, quieted down, and stopped being as zealous. We both settled into religious mindsets and scales began to form over our eyes and hearts. 

As I have been studying in class about praise and worship, the Lord has been reinforcing the basics over and over again in me. I know faith, hope, love, trust, prayer, worship, and praise, but God is going deeper in those simple concepts. We often are looking “for the more”, but the simple thing is where God has me, and I'm amazed at how much I am learning.

My heart's cry in this season is “ Lord, do it again”. As our church is seeking Revival, I am praying that God starts a personal one back in me. I am asking that I would see so clearly again, that the scales would fall from my eyes and I would be restored to that childlike faith again. I am asking that my joy would be full, and my praise would be unhindered once again. Fear that crept in would dissolve as I share the testimonies He has done in my life. I am asking that my intercession be filled with the Father’s heart, and that evangelism would be all about Him, not just works, and that He would fill my mouth with what He wants me to say to those in need. I am praying for Revival in the church, but I am so desperate for it personally. 

Jesus is with you in the process. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He goes before you and has a plan for you. Rest assured, He will guide your steps. He wants a surrendered and pure heart that loves Him, and everything else flows from that place. Don’t worry about the words you are going to speak, or try to make it seem so complicated, just be who God has created you to be.  I want to encourage you. You don’t have to become a scholar to share what Jesus has done, and is doing in your life. Be like Paul who immediately declared that Jesus is the Son of God, or the woman at the well who proclaimed Jesus is the Messiah! When you evangelize, it doesn’t have to be a 5 point sermon, just talk to people, and allow the Holy Spirit to open the door. The word says, open your mouth and He will fill it. The simple gospel is enough. Jesus is enough. People are waiting for you to tell them about the God who bankrupted heaven by sending His only Son for their souls, because He loves them so much. Keep it simple, keep it pure, and love others as Jesus loves you. Share the good news.