The WAY Back

By John Dahl

The WAY Back: If you have walked away from Jesus, if you are struggling to find your way back to Him after going your own way, or just trying to stay the course; you will encounter an army of different forces stemming from the world, the devil; and yes, even your own self that fight to keep you from Him. But, there is a grace, a peace, an abundant joy, and victory waiting for us to merely take hold of It and experience the power over those evil forces we have been given. Yes, the Word of God, the Bible. The WAY Back looks at many of those evil forces that fight against us and the pitfalls and tricks that are used to keep us from returning to the One who died to save us. It will also look at how to apply the Word of God in our lives that we might enjoy the victory over those forces that seek to destroy us. "Brethren, I do not regard myself as laying hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead." (Phil. 3:13)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781641147255

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The

WAY

Back

John K. Dahl

ISBN 978-1-64114-724-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64114-725-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by John K. Dahl

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 1

What are the reasons people leave God? They are too numerous to count and as different as the people who leave but, they ultimately all fall into one category, sin.

The corruption of sin very rarely starts out in a big way. It sneaks around attempting to remain unnoticed waiting for the perfect opportunity to plant its seed of evil. Once evil has taken root, the growth begins and spreads, creeping into every part of the mind, heart, and body, until it has all, but choked out everything else.

We are all born with a free will. Our free will to choose between God and what I refer to as the big three: the world, the devil, and our own flesh. From these three, grow the reasons or sins which drive us to leave God. At this point, we could discuss all the different sins that put us on that path away from God, but they are as many as the stars in the sky, and each of us already know the sin or sins that steered us away from God to our own path (IF) we are honest with ourselves.

For me, my sin was ultimately God’s fault that I ended up going down the path of evil, and I had Scripture to back it up! At least that’s what I told myself for years.

So there we were, or maybe you still are. Our souls attempting to cry out for help but, our hands of sin clasp tightly over its mouth so our ears could not hear it. Wallowing in the deceitful passions of sin, satisfying our evil desires, quenching the Spirit attempting to lead us out of the bondage we chained ourselves to.

Sin is a selfish god who takes without giving, who destroys without rebuilding, who leaves us with nothing but the shell of a human wasted away by the fleeting evil pleasures derived from its influence.

In this sinful, cynical, and unforgiving world, the way back is often filled with pitfalls, snares, and a host of people still being led by sin. That, combined with the possible remnants from our sin in the world, and the guilt that the big three love to hurl at us, makes the way back seem destined for failure. For these and other reasons, some believe they have gone too far, committed to many sins, and mocked God and His grace to the point of no return. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Beaten down by the unforgiving hammer of guilt for a life consumed by sinfulness, we come to the end of ourselves. With a gasp, our soul cries out to God, our only hope. God, help me!

It is then that His outstretched hand becomes clear; and as we begin to reach, He takes hold of us and so begins the way back.

Chapter 2

Now that we have painted the picture of decent into the world of sin, we can begin to paint the picture of the assent out. When a person starts with nothing, they must start at the beginning so, that is where we will start.

"In the beginning was the Word and the