Trail Guide for the Narrow Path: How to Live an Abundant, Blessed Life as a Christian

By Linda C. Franco

Where will you spend eternity?
How do you become a Christian?
How do you live as a Christian?

Find answers to these questions as you hike down the narrow path with Linda. Wide is the road that leads to destruction, but narrow is the path that leads to eternal life. This book serves as a complete guide to the Christian faith. As you hike along with Linda, you will discover how to live an obedient life as a follower of Jesus. You also will discover Gods perfect llove for you, learn how to forgive, and how to pray, as the Lord desires. Be challenged to trust God with your entire life as you sit back and relax into Jesus arms. Enjoy an unfathomable peace as you marvel at Gods creation with Linda and strive to do Gods will through obedience. However and whenever you begin your life as a Christian, you will find help in turning away from a life of sin to take hold of the promises of God. These pages will help you embrace an eternal life in paradise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449776565

Linda C. Franco

Linda C. Franco has been a Christian for 40 years. After suffering a disabling injury, she suffers from chronic pain that threatened her faith. A retired nurse and nursing professor, Linda lives in New Jersey with her husband, Bob, and three children, Peter, Bobby, and Lilliana.

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Introduction

Psalm 27:11 says Teach me your way O Lord; lead me in a straight path. One evening when I was on a date with my then-boyfriend, James, we got into a discussion about Christianity. Although we had been dating for several months, he did not know that I was a Christian. ‘How could that be?’ I thought. He knew I was kind and good hearted, but he didn’t know that Jesus was in my heart. So we talked a little bit about my faith, and I am sad to say that as a 17-year-old girl, I was a terrible witness for Christ. When he asked me what it meant to be a Christian, I replied with something stupid to the tune of you have to do God’s will. James replied, Well, what is God’s will? At this point we could actually hear crickets over the blank silence. What a wasted opportunity. But truth be told, I had no idea myself what God’s will really was. I went to Sunday school for many years and attended church all my life, but I had never read the Bible myself. I only received knowledge of the Bible in fragmented stories without knowing how those stories fit into the bigger picture. I also was never put into a position where I had to witness for Christ, and I was certainly not knowledgeable enough to seek out opportunities to witness to others. This was the first time in my life I ever felt that I had failed God.

After several more years of goofing off in college, getting married to my husband Bob, and having three children and a nursing career, I finally got down to the business of reading the Bible from cover to cover, as I would a thrilling romance novel. I dedicated myself to studying God’s Word, and my life has been forever transformed. The purpose of writing this book is to present Christianity and God’s will to you in simple terms and answer those questions for you that I should have answered more than 20 years ago in James’ car.

In our lives some of the most important questions we must ask ourselves are these: Where will I spend eternity when I die? Or how do I become a Christian? Some of you may have to even back up a bit more to the following question: Are God and Jesus really real? Maybe some of you are already Christians or are brand new Christians, but like me some 20 years ago, you have no idea how to present Christ effectively to others in a simplified, easy-to-understand way. This book will help you answer those vitally important questions and hopefully, help you make a decision for Christ!

1

Jesus Loves You!

(Yes, You!)

Before we examine this bold statement, let’s get a brief overview of the Bible and some concepts we will be discussing, just so that we are all on the same page. For some of you, this may be a review, but remember that others may have no idea as to what it says in that big black book. Okay? Let’s start hiking the trail! In the beginning of time as we know it, there was just God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who reside in heaven. They are widely known as the Trinity, or three in one, although the Bible never uses the actual term Trinity. The important thing to know, but probably more difficult to understand, is that all three are the same. It is kind of like water in that it comes in three forms. It can be liquid, vapor, or ice. But, whatever the format, it is still always water. Present with the Trinity were God’s angels. All were supposed to be holy and perfect in every way, just as God and Jesus are.

Heaven is a beautiful, peaceful place that is described as a paradise. There is no sin, pain, tears, or anything unpleasant in heaven. One particular angel, Lucifer, was very wicked. He wanted to be like, or greater than, God, and because he couldn’t, he set himself against God. So God cast him out of heaven along with a third of the other angels who were Lucifer’s followers. Lucifer is now known as Satan or the Devil, and his fallen angels are referred to as demons. After all the angels who were not holy and good were cast out, they were sent to hell, a horrible place. We may have an image of hell as a fiery place with pitchforks, but it represents a place of eternal torment and agony. But more on that later.

In the beginning, after all that drama, God created the whole earth, including man (Adam) and woman (Eve), who were formed in God’s image. In essence, God looks a lot like, well, us.

God then placed Adam and Eve in the beautiful garden of Eden and provided them with everything they needed. Life was good until Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived them into disobeying God’s command not to eat fruit from a particular tree. My son, Bobby, asked Why would God put that tree there in the first place if he didn’t want them to eat from it? Well, I don’t have a good answer for that question. Maybe it was there for the same reason we have those tempting but forbidden cookie jars on our kitchen countertops. Anyway, this disobedience angered God, and sin and death were subsequently introduced into the world. God then cast them out of the garden as punishment for their sin of disobedience.

Sins, as many of you may know, are the things that we do that displease God and will lead to death and an eternity in hell. If we do not sin, we are able to go to heaven. But God tells us clearly that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Fortunately, God left us with His Word, the Bible, which tells us exactly what we can do to please or displease Him.

What can be done about this sin problem? After many attempts to eradicate sin from the world, the solution was that God would send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This means Jesus took the punishment that should have been ours for our sins, so that we would be able to spend our eternity in heaven. All we have to do to get to heaven is to believe that Jesus was God’s Son and that He died for us so that our sins could be forgiven. We also need to accept Him into our hearts as our personal Savior and live our lives to please Him. If we do this, we are guaranteed to go to heaven when we die (a much better alternative).

Moving forward, the Bible is divided into the Old Testament and New Testament. Each is divided into separate books, chapters, and verses. The Old Testament details the events leading up to the coming of Jesus (also know as the Messiah, the Christ, or our Lord and Savior). The New Testament begins with Jesus born to the Virgin Mary. Jesus was born in a humble, lowly stable. When He was born, there was an unusually gigantic star positioned just above the stable. The three wise men followed that star to find the baby Messiah. You have probably seen this image many times during the Christmas season, celebrating Jesus’ birth. When the wise men found Jesus, they gave gifts and worshipped Him.

The first four books of the New Testament-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John- are known as the Gospels or good news about Christ. Each of the four Gospels gives an individual account of the life of Jesus. Many of you may already be familiar with John 3:16, which is the Bible’s signature verse summarizing what I have just explained. It reads: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is probably the most well-known verse (or Scripture) in the Bible. When we accept Christ into our lives, we not only are given the gift of salvation, but also become children of God and receive the joyful and abundant life that is only available to those who have accepted Christ (that is, Christians).

I recommend that you get a copy of the Bible for yourself so that you can familiarize yourself with it as we embark along the narrow trail together. Please do not get a King James Version (or KJV)! This version has dated wording such as thee and thou art and eth after every verb. It can be very difficult to understand. I recommend a more modern, readable version, most notably the New International Version or NIV, because this is my preferred version! Actually, it is the version I will be quoting from here on. There is also a great cell phone application, The Holy Bible, that will put the entire Bible right there on your phone. My husband is a police officer and not much of a reader. He works a lot of night shifts. So when he has trouble sleeping, he reads the Bible on his phone. That’s pretty amazing. If you want to get a great understanding of the person of Jesus quickly, I recommend starting with the gospel of John. It takes about an hour and a half to read, but if you have never read from the Bible before, this is a great place to start.

So let’s talk a little bit more about Jesus. His formal ministry began as an adult after He was baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. After this, He performed many miracles including multiple healings and casting out demons, to name a few. His first miracle occurred at a wedding feast that He was attending with His mother at which He turned water into wine. Basically, the host family ran out of wine and would have suffered disgrace had it not been for Jesus creating wine from water. Have you ever invited guests for dinner and ran out of food? That level of panic reached a fever pitch in this case. After Jesus’ public ministry began, He chose His 12 disciples (or followers) to help Him spread the Gospel of how to receive eternal life. After Jesus’ death on the cross He arose from the dead after three days. This is widely known as Easter Sunday, but has nothing to do with bunnies, chocolate, or dyed eggs. After He rose, He appeared to many people including His disciples. After 30 days He ascended into heaven. Shortly after His ascension, He gave the world His Holy Spirit and called upon His apostle friends to set up His Church to continue to spread the Gospel message.

I hope this review answered some questions, or filled in some gaps you may have had regarding your basic knowledge of the Bible and of Jesus. With this foundation in mind, let’s strap on our hiking boots and begin this journey down the narrow path together toward a blessed, abundant, and eternal life with Jesus. I will begin with Mary’s deeply meaningful words to the hosts of the wedding feast after she asks Jesus to help them. Listen to Him and do whatever He tells you.

2

Jesus Still Loves You!

(And we’re walking, we’re walking…)

Let’s continue our discussion with the topic of Jesus’ love for you! Jesus loves you, yes I said it again! I know that this proclamation of Jesus’ love may seem cliché to some of you, but this simple sentence may be the most difficult for someone to believe when making a choice to walk down Jesus’ narrow path. But we must accept this simple truth about ourselves if we are to even consider embarking on this journey as a Christian and child of God.

I had so much difficulty believing in Jesus’ love it has taken me more than four decades to internalize this fact. Sure I sang the song in Sunday school, but after years of various abuses and heartbreaks, I did not have the self-esteem to really believe this profound truth. Maybe you feel this way too. I think our enemy, Satan, works tirelessly throughout all our lives through other people and/or circumstances, to make it as impossible as he can for us to grasp that we are loved by God and Jesus.

Satan is still working to this day through my sins, the sins of other people, and a serious attack on my health to get me to stop believing that I am loved by our Creator. How could God ever love me? I asked myself. There are so many people in the world, how could Jesus care enough about me to die for me on a cross? As I was pondering this, Jesus spoke to my heart and said, I would have done it if you were the only one. Think on this for a moment and, if you can, let it get into your heart. The same is true for each and every one of us. Jesus loves you so much that He would have paid the same price if you were the only one. We just need to believe that and accept His free gift of salvation. We also need to cast Satan’s lies to the contrary out of our hearts and minds.

No matter who you are, or what you have been through, or have done in your life, it doesn’t matter to Jesus. He loves you! When we accept him into our lives, He forgives us of everything we have done that was wrong and