Journey With His Voice: Adventuring With Jesus

By Becca Gunyon MCC

This is the sequel to Journey to His Heart. In each book the main character takes an adventure with Jesus by personalizing Scripture. Self reflective questions are essential to this adventure. If you are looking to grow deeper in your understanding of the love of God displayed in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus - then you will enjoy this journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385003839

Becca Gunyon MCC

Becca Gunyon, MCC loves moments with her family laughing, learning, sporting, serving, growing, and walking through life’s adventure together. Writing, counseling, mentoring, speaking, parent coaching are elements of ministry that she enjoys as Executive Director of The Way Counseling.

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ISBN: 979-8-3850-0384-6 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023913685

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/28/2023

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright ©

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Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,

New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale

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Scripture quotations marked MSG or The Message are taken from

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2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible,

English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing

ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version.

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Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified®

Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission

Scriptures quotations marked GNB or GNT are from the Good News Bible © 1994

published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News

Bible © American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.

God is Spirit (the Source of Life, yet invisible to all mankind) and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth. (John 4: 24 AMP)

To worship Someone, truly worship Someone, it is essential to get to know Him.

Join with me as she adventures listening to His Voice.

CONTENTS

Prelude

The Adventure Begins

Come…

The Miracle at the Celebration

The Crowd

His Voice Captured

Passion

Living Water

His Healing Words

Hopelessness

Feeding of the Five Thousand

Conversation with God

Walking On Water

His Closest Friends

He Stooped

The Light

Quenched Thirst

Sight for the First Time

Now I See

The Good Shepherd

New Life

If You Would Have Been Here

The Heart of Jesus

Life Restored

The Wilderness

Reacting to Jesus

Hosanna

To See Jesus

The Voice of God

Wholeheartedly

He Knew

Serving

Betrayal

The Way

The Helper

Remaining

Love and Surrender

Don’t Let Your Heart be Troubled

His Prayers

Glory

The Ravine

The Betrayal

The Arrest

The Truth

The Crown

The Authority of Jesus

The Crucifixion

Devastated

The Empty Tomb

Jesus Among His Disciples

Doubt

Revealing Himself

Do You Love Me

Journey to the Real

Author’s Note

Thank Yous

Resources

Excerpt from sequel

PRELUDE

In this journey, the main character walks through the book of John, living in the Scripture. At the end of each section, there is a place to reflect on the passage, and a transition to apply any reflections into everyday real life.

It’s my hope that as you read, you can visit the stories, hear His Voice, imagine the miracles, and receive healing, embrace forgiveness, and soak in the tender powerful unconditional love of God revealed in the heart of Jesus.

Purpose

"[They] began to recognize that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13 AMP)

Isn’t that the cry of every Christ-followers’ heart? To be recognized as one who has been with Jesus. Personalizing Scripture is one way to make our faith come alive. This means embracing, owning, and even living in verses and stories in the Bible. The mystery of the word of God being living and active (Hebrew 4:12 ESV) astonishes me. It’s almost too much for my brain to embrace, and yet His Spirit leads us even deeper to adventure, Restoring [me] you like a cool wind on a hot day. (Acts 3:19 AMP)

I encourage you to journey with His Voice. Let’s begin by taking a deep breath and listening for His whisper, You are loved. His heart of love overflows for each of us.

Take a moment to imagine He has more for you. Adventure with me. Is it possible to sense His essence in a new, fresh way by imagining the look in His eyes and the tender, strong tone of His voice as we enter into the stories where He heals the blind, forgives sins, feeds five thousand, and conquers death?

Come, come to My heart, Remember the ocean and the waterfall. My love is deep, wide, continually flowing. Remember you gave me your burdens. Trust, rest, seek Me. Nestle yourself close to My heart. Do not fear the adventure or the journey, for I am leading you and My heart for you is good. (Journey to His Heart)

Stop to ask yourself, Do I believe His heart for me is good? Do I really? Deep down? Nestled in His heart is where I want to be, yet I resist, why?

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalms 91:1 NIV)

She (the main character, which could be YOU or ME) wanted to dwell. She had been on the Journey to His Heart through the cave of unknowns. She adventured to the ocean to know the depth of His love. She had gone through the desert and experienced His realness. She had climbed the mountain to find the waterfall with Him. She learned to sit in the green grass with Jesus, to embrace and give forgiveness. She had traveled the road to the real, the everyday. Yet, she wanted to live in the adventure with Him in the day to day. She wanted more than just a verse to own. She wanted to know more of Jesus. The visible image of an invisible God.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. (Colossians 1:15 NLT)

She considered, How can I dwell with God? How can I deeply know God? If I am to be His reflection, I must study Him in a new way. I must encounter Jesus, the Jesus of the Scripture. What do I know about God? He is safe, He is all-knowing, He is all-powerful, He is always good, He forgives continually, His essence is love.

Reflection:

I will use the term nestled in His heart throughout this book. I think of a child nestled in the arms of their parents or a newborn held close to his mother’s heart. When I reflect on God’s great love, I am reminded that I am His and He is mine. This mysterious place quenches every longing with the cascading waters of His heart. Here my weariness is soothed, my bitterness transformed to grace, my hunger quenched, my soul refreshed.

In The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning states, If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who have lived in the course of human history, all their goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength, and love and united all those qualities in a single person, that person’s love would only be a faint shadow of the furious love and mercy in the heart of God the Father addressed to you and me at this moment.

Yes, to be fully loved, fully known, fully me. In the safety of His arms, I face my reflection through His eyes of compassion. Here, anger at what I am not is replaced with His tenderness and compassion. The mirror transforms as I now see His reflection. He is changing me, the broken, messy, and hidden, all turned into His masterpiece. Nestled in His heart, vulnerability becomes safe, my reflection is captured by His love, and I am able to see myself and my world through His lens of compassion, love, and grace. Living, breathing, and existing nestled in His heart, regardless of what life throws at me, this is real life. This is the place where my heart is full.

The Real:

At times, letting go of our own control and living nestled in His heart feels too vulnerable, too good to be true, or too mystical. Am I imagining that I can stay here, nestled in His heart? Is this where He really wants me? Not doing, working, or serving—but resting, listening to His heartbeat, wrapped in the safety of His arms. Yes! This is real life, life that fills the core of my soul, life that captures me, transforms me, filling me with a perfect peaceableness. Real life is found here and I am rescued from myself—my self-sufficient, stubborn, selfish, success-seeking self.

Here I am. Fully known and fully loved.

Join me on this adventure.

You may be saying to yourself, I don’t know how to get there! Here is a daily prayer that invites the Spirit to lead your time with Jesus. Praising God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is a powerful mystery. Continually praising God makes us aware of His power.

"...Praising God continually and having favor with all the people." (Acts 2:47 AMP)

Prayer:

God You are my Father, You are my King, You are my God, You are the Almighty, the Lord of all, the Creator of all, The I AM.

Jesus, You are my Savior, my Friend, the Source of Love, my Shepherd, The Rescuer, My Brother, My Friend, The Chosen One, Savior, Emanuel, Prince of Peace, the Originator…

Holy Spirit, You are the Spirit of Jesus that lives inside of me, You are the Lover of my soul, You are Holy and Powerful, You are the God of Fruits, Gifts, and Fire. You are the Counselor, Comforter, Intercessor, the Advocate, the Strengthener, the Standby.

I praise You, God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. I invite Your presence into my life: I give You me. Come, fill this place, drive out all darkness with Your light. Jesus, forgive my sin, I accept all the love and grace You have for me. Cover my family and myself in the blood of Jesus. Banish and bind Satan and all evil away from me, my family (insert their names), and my home In Jesus’ name. I invite the Presence of Jesus, Your Holy Spirit, and God the Loving Father to help me in every area in life. Speak to my heart, soul, and spirit. In Jesus’ name.

The Lord is my strength and my [impenetrable] shield; My heart trusts [with unwavering confidence] in Him and I am helped. (Psalms 28:7 AMP)

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Her favorite place on earth came into view—the scent, the sounds, the feeling of comfort, the incredible sights. God is in this place. She closes her eyes and just is. In this spot she is captured by the heart of God, she is rescued from herself, she is ready to embrace His Heart and hear His Voice. In this place, she is given the gift of restoration.

She hears the Whisper inviting her to imagine.

What would it be like to enter the stories?

What would it be like to hear the Voice of many waters?

What would it be like to watch immediate healing happen from His touch?

What would it be like to daily see the tender healing powerful love of Jesus?

How do I do this? She thinks to herself. "Is this okay? Am I too _________ to imagine?

Yet, Adventure calls to her and she must follow.

She is ready for the adventure.

Come, and you will see. (John 1:39b AMP)

Yes, I will come and see! She answers. She closes her eyes and can almost hear His Voice inviting her, calling her, transforming her. She will adventure with Him, as if she is traveling through time, to embrace a deeper understanding of Him. To seek, to ask, to listen. She will walk through the book of John to gain a deeper knowledge of His heart for her. She desires to know Jesus and be known.

"We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals, and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross." (Colossians 1:15-18 MSG)

Reflection:

Learning to live nestled close to His heart means fully embracing Jesus, possibly in a new way.

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’ (John 14:6 AMP)

The Real:

Living nestled in the heart of God is a place His Spirit takes us. Here’s a disclaimer: our own brain can try to convince us of things that are not Scriptural, the enemy tries to persuade us to believe things that are not true. The best way to distinguish what God is revealing to us is to assess it with Scripture. As we embrace and personalize Scripture, we must stay in the Truth–His Word. As our imagination pictures being with Jesus, it must be the Jesus of the Bible, not a created character.

Will you adventure the Jesus of the Scriptures with me?

Prayer:

God, may Your Holy Spirit be my Helper, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby, Advocate, and Intercessor as I experience the life of Jesus.

COME…

The calling of the first disciples.

"As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ‘Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.’

"Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example]. And going on [further] from there He noticed two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them [to follow Him as His disciples].

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example]." (Matthew 4:18-22 AMP)

She entered Galilee. The streets, the clothes, the smells, so different from her modern world. What will I see today? She pondered.

She continued on to the sea, so many people are out fishing for their livelihood. Above the cacophony of the waves and wind, she heard a life-giving voice, different from any voice she had ever heard. The voice of many waters, so rich, so pure, so strong, yet so tender. She hears Him say, Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk]. (John 1:43 b AMP)

This Voice carried a sense of strength and confidence like none she had ever heard, a sound that created a desire to hear more. This Voice speaks with authority and knowledge. This is a Voice of tender and unyielding strength. This Voice drew her closer.

Curious about Him, she considered what it means to walk the same path He walks? It sounds like a risk. The unknown called to her, yet the desire for security kept her feet firmly planted. Where would He ask her to go? What would this unknown path lead to? Would she flourish there, or would she experience struggle?

The simple invitation, Come, follow Me. (Matthew 4:19 NIV) drew her to Him. Even though He had not directly invited her, His invitation hung in the air causing her to wonder, Is He asking me, too? She desired to follow Him. She wanted to hear more of His voice and what he had to say. She watched a few fishermen leave their nets. It seemed spontaneous, even reckless. She could tell there was a resolve in them to follow Him. Her brain told her that they should ask questions, yet her heart knew His Voice was safe. She couldn’t explain how or why she knew this. Yes, she knew the story she was visiting, she knew who He is. But being here and hearing His voice created a sense of wonder, trust, safety unlike anything she had ever experienced. To some the fishermen’s choice seemed irresponsible, yet she understood why they set aside their nets and followed him.

The Voice was calling to something deep inside of her. His Voice awakened a part of her that she didn’t know existed. Drawn to Him, she took one step, then another, and another…

Reflection:

• Have you ever met someone and left everything to follow them into the unknown?

• What about Jesus is revealed knowing that He drew people to follow Him immediately?

• What do you think the voice of Jesus sounded like?

• What would it be like to hear His voice?

• What would He say to you right now in your situation? What verse would He speak to you?

• What would taking a step toward His Voice look like?

Most of us have thoughts about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Many of these thoughts are shaped by other Christians and maybe even the church. What if we put all of our hesitations aside while adventuring with His Voice? Taking an adventure with Jesus requires we set aside religious thoughts and read the Scripture in a new way using this simple prayer, I want to see, hear, and know the Jesus of the Scripture.

This might feel a little freeing or possibly scary, yet something deep in us is curious. May we possess the same curiosity of His first followers, He continually whispers the invitation to all, Come.

The Real:

The invitation from Jesus is simply to, Come.

Where? I can’t see what’s ahead! Letting go of control seems scary and unknown. To some degree, don’t we feel this way? I’ll come… but I’m uncertain, where are we going? Give me more details.

While I was wrestling with these thoughts, my phone alerted me of an incoming text. I can hear the sounds of my kids waking up and starting their morning routines and I think, what does Come mean in my modern-day Christian life?

What does coming to Jesus mean in your life?

I imagine His Voice, gentle but strong, authoritatively speaking to my heart. As a mom and wife, getting ready to launch another child off to college, fears of the unknown and financial strain echo in my mind. There is always something new to face.