Your Jesus GPS: Find Direction, Personal Growth, Inner Peace and Joy

By Fred W. Apelquist III

Have you heard of Jesus? No? Whether or not you know who Jesus is and what He said, “Your Jesus GPS” will acquaint you with the messages and miracles, and more. Written not only as a Guidebook but also as a personal testimony, this work catalogs all of Jesus’ major works and words and allows the reader – and student – to pursue the matter further, if desired. The book’s purpose is to provide information, prompt introspection, and encourage action. After reading this book, it is hoped you will find direction, personal growth, inner peace and joy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fred W. Apelquist III
• Release date: Aug 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310997204

Fred W. Apelquist III

The author has been a life-long student and learner. While working in the real-world for nearly forty years, he held various management positions for over two decades. He won the Public Service Excellence award for managing the “Best Federal Government Program” for the year 2000. He is now a retired federal government manager and free-lance writer (www.yetmo.com – now in hiatus) who holds the Master of Education degree from the University of Virginia. He has published dozens of op-ed, management, humor, and general interest articles. Mr. Apelquist was a regular social and political columnist for The Journal Newspapers (Washington, DC, suburbs) and The Flagler Times (Flagler County, FL). He was Treasurer of the Flagler County (FL) Education Foundation. Fred served as the first Contributing Editor to “The Forum” at the Understanding Government Foundation (www.understandinggov.org). Mr. Apelquist is a Lifetime Member of the Professional Managers Association (PMA). He has held many church posts including deacon, elder, chair of the deacons and worship departments, chairman of the board, and Vestry member.

Book preview

Your Jesus GPS

Find Direction, Personal Growth,

Inner Peace, and Joy

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Fred Apelquist

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Revised July, 2014

Electronic adaptation by www.StunningBooks.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Preface

Chapter OneThe Landscape

Chapter TwoThe Parables -- Simple, Yet Profound

Chapter ThreeMatthew Introduces Jesus to the World

Chapter FourMark -- A Familiar Road

Chapter FiveLuke Provides Other Great Insights

Chapter SixThe Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

Chapter SevenActs of the Apostles

Chapter EightCorinthians Hear the Word

Chapter Nine Revelation: Not Just About Armageddon

Chapter Ten Miracles: Concrete Proof of The Power & The Glory

Chapter ElevenSummary -- The Alpha & The Omega

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APPENDIX 1 Jesus' Words by Chapter & Verse

APPENDIX 2 Reference Chart on the Miracles

APPENDIX 3 Reference Chart on the Parables

APPENDIX 4 Master Chart of All Jesus' Messages, Miracles & Parables

DEDICATION

To my wife, Krystal, whose support of me and my dreams is a gift from God. Her Christian faith and spirit give me abiding strength that, I trust, she and I may transfer to our children: Jason, Kristina, Bethany, and Nicholas. And, also to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, without whom none of us would see the full glory of God, through the teachings of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This book was first completed around 1995. It has been so long in the making that I am no longer certain of the actual day, month, or even year in which I first began this work. You would think I would have memorialized the conclusion of such an enterprise, but I did not.

By looking at your calendars, you will notice that it has been some time to get this manuscript from my word processor into your hands. But your reading this note means one thing: my personal mission – to help navigate Jesus Christ’s words in the New Testament – has been completed at last.

Over the decades that I have been attempting to get this primer in print, my patience has been tried. However, I had faith. Faith that something would happen. It did. I decided to publish this work first as an e-book with the hope that someday it may find its way on bookstore shelves as a hardback or paperback product.

Your Jesus GPS… represents a long journey for me in many ways and not only in the length of time elapsed to get this book into print. Life is always about journeys, life-long journeys, is it not? We are told it is not the destination that is important. It is the joy and challenge of the process of getting there.

May God bless your use of Your Jesus GPS… and may He bless you, my dear reader.

PREFACE

This book deals with what Jesus said. His words and His words only. Jesus is the only source. Attention is given to what He said, not what others said about Him or about God. This is not to say that Biblical verses in which Jesus does not speak are unimportant. Rather, the purpose of this work is to isolate His messages so that we may better understand our Savior.

Perhaps the best way to begin a work on the messages of Jesus is to describe what it and the author are not. I am no formally-educated Biblical scholar, but a student, who understands and appreciates the need for a lifetime of study to know and follow better the New Testament and the words of Jesus. This book is also not a grand theological treatise, replete with meaningful profundities, serving as a so-called beacon for spiritual growth and insight.

Now for what this book is. It is one Christian's interpretation of the 2,000 Biblical verses in which Jesus speaks to us. It is one person's attempt to understand and share the possible meaning behind His words. In short, just what is Jesus telling us? Much of what our Lord says sounds figurative. But should we view it simply as that? I think not. I believe the Lord was sent by the Father to inform, instruct and model Godly behavior and values to help us to do the same. By responding to Jesus' messages, we are raised to standards more worthy of the One who created us in His image and died for our sins. This work is a thematic compilation of Jesus' good news to men and women everywhere – and even boys and girls.

Wondering why I wrote such a volume? My wife inspired me, even before she was my wife. I had stopped attending church by the time I entered college – became unchurched as the term of art goes – and remained on the outside for about a quarter of a century until I first met this woman who would become my wife. As we courted and got to know each other, she was clear: this relationship will not go very far if I was not a church-going man. So, that was my motivation for getting back into church. First, I thought, I should re-familiarize myself with the Bible’s main character: Jesus.

Are there not thousands of books written by qualified Biblical scholars who could better instruct and inform? Sure. However, this study is written from a lay perspective and may more closely address concerns and questions of the everyday person, who is busy with home, work, and family but needs to find a way to deal with life more effectively. By reading one Christian's view of Christ's teachings, I hope that His words will be received and understood in a meaningful and personal way.

As a mortal, attempting to interpret and relay all of Jesus' words may seem to some very difficult. Trying to express Jesus' teachings, even as a Christian, is challenging. How can I, or any other person, hope to know even one-tenth of our Lord's profound messages? The answer, of course, is obvious. We cannot. As humans, we are unable to completely understand that which is divine. We can only know that which God chooses to share with us.

Since this book is crafted by a layman, it is only a guide for you to know more about Jesus and God and to use that knowledge in how you live. Fortunately, all that is written here comes from an impeccable source: the New Testament. The meanings and messages that will be shared are personal, but they originate from the world's bestselling book, The Holy Bible.

So, my book's goal is three-fold: provide information, prompt introspection, and encourage action. The expected result is that you, by consulting the referenced verses, will find a more personal meaning of Jesus Christ and draw your own roadmap for traveling the pathways and by-ways of this changing world.

NOTES: There are many versions of the Bible. The author uses The New International Version (NIV) Study Bible from Zondervan Press (Grand Rapids, Michigan).

Therefore, all Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (North American Edition), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Also, in this e-book, I have chosen to display words spoken by Jesus in bold italics. Further, I often abbreviate the books in the Bible as follows:

Mt Matthew

Mk Mark

Lk Luke

Jn John

Ac Acts

1 Cor I Corinthians

2 Cor II Corinthians

Rev Revelation

One final note: I am including four (4) verses in Acts (10:13, 15; 11:7, 9) where Jesus tells Peter that he may eat any type of food. These verses were not highlighted in red in the above cited NIV Study Bible I relied upon when I first wrote this book 20 years ago. However, in the Bible I currently use (Zondervan NIV Life Application Study Bible © 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004, 2005 by Tyndale House Publishers) these four verses are highlighted in

Reviews for Your Jesus GPS

[SandraLTrautwein · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So glad I was able to finally sit down and read this preview. I cant wait to get the entire book downloaded. Mr. Apelquist's descriptions and explanations make a difficult subject very clear for the novice to read and understand. Thank you