The King's Highway.

It is late afternoon, and I am typing this post at a campsite, in the area of Lagos, in the Algarve, Portugal. Yes, my wife and I are having a wee break before returning to Gardonne, then to Scotland, and back to Gardonne to prepare to put our house there "on the market", in preparation for a permanent return to Scotland.

Portugal is a beautiful country, and we are sorry that this will be, almost certainly, our final visit. This time we made much more use of the toll roads and were amazed at the number of miles/kilometres of road that are built well above 'ground level'. One particular stretch went on for many miles/kms and, as we drove along, I remarked that: "This really is a "highway"!"

That throwaway comment caused me to think of a song, from my early life, that was entitled "The King's Highway". It is, I believe, an Afro-American song - and the YouTube search would support that belief! The words are:

Refrain:

It’s a highway to heaven.  None can walk up there, but the pure in heart.

It’s a highway to heaven. I am walking up the king’s highway.

1. If you’re not walking, start while I’m talking. Walking up the King’s highway.
There’s joy in knowing with Him I’m going. Walking up the King’s highway.

2. My way gets brighter; my load gets lighter. Walking up the King’s highway.
If you be confessing, there is a blessing. Walking up the King’s highway.

(Christ walks beside me; His love to guide me. Walking up the King’s highway.)

Music and Lyrics by Mary Gardner and Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey

So what is "the King's Highway"? Well, in the U.K. it is the public highway, on which anyone may walk because it is under the control, and in the ownership, of the king! I found myself thinking: "Is my life showing that I am walking up the King’s highway - that of the King of kings? Am I living under His control? Is it clear to others that I belong to Him?" That should certainly be my constant aim! Paul doesn't mince his words when, writing to the believers in Rome, he states that: "Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him." (Rom 8:9; emphasis added). If God the Holy Spirit is not seen working in my life, evidencing that He inhabits my life, then I do not belong to the Saviour!

I would respectfully suggest, therefore, that walking up the king’s highway means living my life in accordance with His Word, and His will, and doing so by the power of God the Holy Spirit Who dwells within me. 

But, of course, any highway will lead to somewhere! We drove along those Portuguese highways in order to arrive at Lagos. When we return, DV, next week, we will follow highways through Portugal, Spain, and France - in order to arrive at the destination of our current home. So what about "the King's highway"? Well, the ultimate destination for the disciple of Jesus, the Christ, is the eternal home that has been prepared for us. But, just as, on the way back to Gardonne, we will pass through multiple places so, on the journey of life, we pass through many situations and circumstances. This is why seeking the Lord's guidance is so important. Mind you, I know from my own experience, that it is not always easy to receive, and understand, that guidance. When we travel to somewhere that we haven't previously visited, we make use of our SatNav (GPS). Regretfully, I have been known to miss the turning, or the roundabout exit, that I should have taken. Sometimes, it takes quite a detour to get me "back on track"!

All too often, in the past, I have taken a wrong turning; made a wrong decision; taken the wrong road! Yet, in His amazing mercy, and love, and grace, my heavenly Father has brought me back to His pathway - His highway - for my life. 

As we are still at the beginning of this year, it seems not inappropriate to quote those words used by George VI, the father of the late Queen Elizabeth, in his Christmas broadcast of 1939:

"I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’" (Minnie Haskins).

Yes, if we are walking in the King's highway, we are on the safest road for life - and the only road that leads to the destination of eternity* in His sweet presence. May you be walking that highway - for your good, and to His glory.

* This is one of the "Great Words of the Faith" with which I deal in my first book - link above!

Before my recent absence, I was able to add YouTube clips to my blog posts! There appear to be some changes that now deny me that opportunity. However, if you wish to hear a lively performance of "The Highway to Heaven", by the late, irrepressible, Jessy Dixon, and the Gaither Homecoming Friends, then this is the URL - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xi6oQyJ_ik

Guidance

When I am out in my car, I have a sat-nav (GPS) system to guide me to my planned destination.  (I also have a wife-nav - often more dependable!).   Life, however, does not come with a sat-nav, and knowing which direction to take can be one of the most difficult, and one of the most frustrating, decisions that one has to make on a daily basis.

As a disciple of Jesus, I am particularly concerned that I know God's will for my life.  I have often said that what I would really like is a postcard, delivered every morning.  It would be postmarked "Heaven"; signed "G,O,D,", and have a list of bullet points outlining Father God's will for me for that particular day.  Sadly, that is not the way in which He works.  Guidance comes - but I must be willing to look for it, and able to recognise it when it does!

The long gap in posts has been because my wife and I have been house-hunting - in France.  Although we are normally based in the static caravan that we have in the Gironde area, we are looking for a house in the Dordogne - as close to Bergerac as we can manage.  To facilitate our search - and the countless viewings that were being arranged, we spent a lot of our time stopping with friends who live much closer to Bergerac and, of course, it would have been rude of me to spend too much time in the evenings, ignoring the chat, and concentrating on my computer!

We still haven't found the 'right' house, at the 'right' price, in the 'right' area.  We are convinced that the Lord has a specific property for us - but He hasn't revealed it to us, yet!   We believe that our more permanent move to France is in His will - there have been many confirmations of that, even at times when we were beginning to question it - but to be what we believe He wants us to be, we really do need that house!

So what do we do?  Well, we pray about the situation.  We keep looking at potential houses.  We discuss the various possibilities - with each other, and with trusted friends.   We continue to trust our loving heavenly Father that He will lead us to the right place, at the right time.  On a very practical note, I monitor (usually on a daily basis, ex Sunday) the Pound Sterling to Euro currency exchange rate.  At the moment it is favourable - and it may be that the Lord is simply holding us back until it reaches a level that will allow us to purchase the house of His choosing.

I wonder if you, too, find guidance to be difficult; if you wonder about the decisions that you make; if you long for something clearer, day by day?   I wish that I had a simple solution!   I don't.  All that I can recommend is what my wife and I are seeking to do.  It's called trust, or faith.  However, it is not the faith that is of greatest importance - it is the Object of that faith.  Put your own trust in Him.  Be assured that He does have a perfect plan and purpose for your life.  Then, while doing all that is necessary from your own perspective (like us looking at all of these houses!), leave the final solution to Him.

When I was a young student at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, so many years ago now, I learned my first Greek language phrase.  It was the motto of the College: "Pistos 'o Theos" - which means "God is faithful".  I proved that, on innumerable occasions.  I am still proving it today.  I commend my faithful God to you - and you to my faithful God!

Finding the Way!

Well, I've finally joined the club!  After many years of total dependence, when travelling, on my "wife-nav" (i.e. my wife with a good old-fashioned road map on her lap), I have purchased a proper SatNav!  It was the experience of driving home last year, without aforementioned wife, from the eastern side of France, that finally convinced me that I should "take the plunge".  Having said that, we have already decided that we will have the old-fashioned back-up with us as well.  We've heard too many tales of people ending up in narrow country roads, unable to make a turn - not the sort of situation in which we want to find ourselves, in the middle of France, with twenty-seven feet of caravan hitched to the tow-bar!

So far, however, I am quite pleased with "Charmaine" (it's a female voice, and the make is Garmin, which rhymes with "charmin'", leading to the now designated name!!!).  We do, we have discovered, have to keep an eye on her.  She seems to be programmed to avoid motorways - and in the UK we use them a lot!  We are assuming that, when we download the manual, and read it through, we will be able to make the necessary changes!

The first thing that I am asked, when I have switched the power on is my destination. That seems, to me, to be an eminently sensible request.  A SatNav, or a map, is useless unless you first know where you are, and then, where you're going.  Okay, so the SatNav is a wee bit cleverer, and quickly informs me as to my current location!  

Life is often likened to a journey.  Sadly, it would appear, many people don't know where they are, or where they're going!  They're just drifting through life on the river of routine; wasting their lives on that which is, ultimately, worthless; existing, rather than enjoying a life that is positively full.  However, there is one thing that is certain, and that is  that we are, each o us, going to go somewhere in the end - even if we just casually canter along life's pathway.  It begs the questions: "Where are you going; and how will you get there?"

The message of the Christian Gospel (the Good News) is, of course, that Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, has a plan for each one of us.  His desire is that every individual spend eternity (and that is not endless time, but timelessness!) in His presence in that dimension that we usually refer to as 'heaven'.  However, He loves us so much that He has given us the freedom to choose our own destiny - to be with Him, or to be without Him.  That's a choice that we must make in this life - it's too late to make it after that experience that we call physical death.

Wherever you are on life's journey, I would encourage you to consider Jesus (God the Son) and the life He offers you - life "... in all its fulness" (John 10:10; NEB).  If you come to Him, confessing your own sinfulness, He has promised that He will forgive you, and take loving control of your life - giving you a brand new start along life's road.

You will then be on a journey that has a purpose, and that will last for eternity.  Now that's Good News!