John Bunyan, who wrote The Pilgrams Progress in the latter part of the 17th century, portrayed the Christian life as exactly what it is - a journey. For many years I did not understand that my salvation was only a beginning - that if I was going to live the Christian life, I must journey from salvation to friendship with my Lord (John 15:15 & 16). I did not know that I needed to know Him personally - the journey, for me, had not even begun.
As I later thought about this great old classic called The Pilgrams Progress, I began my journey. I began to read the scripture in a search for a personal relationship with God. The more I read, the more I realized that this is what the whole Bible is about. From Genesis to Revelation and especially the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels; the underlying message is that God loves us and earnestly desires that we love Him and fellowship with Him. I also realized that we seldom trust someone we do not know and that the way to trust God is through a close personal relationship with Him. More and more I am realizing that this relationship is the pathway in a journey to peace, joy, fearlessness and all the abundance of God's grace.
I did not think I would ever write about this journey in a such a detailed way because none of us have "arrived" - at best, we are on the pathway to more and more fellowship with our Lord. What you are about to read is a compilation of a series of articles that I have written and later drawn together to form a complete volume on the subject of knowing God personally in a world that is characterized by sorrow and pain.
I believe that, as you read through these pages, you will become more aware of the reasons that, next to salvation, a personal relationship with God is the most valuable thing we can ever possess. If your journey has not begun or if you have turned aside, I hope you will join me on the pathway. I will be sharing with you the things the Holy Spirit has shown me thus far. As you tread this pathway I hope He will show you any other things you may need in your life and things you can share with others (we are all such "babes" in the Kingdom of God). In the meantime, let us undertake this life-changing journey.