The Upward Path

By Dave DeBlander

The Upward Path was originally written to Braeden and Maddy, Dave DeBlander's grandchildren, that they might see the importance of God in their grandfather's life. In the book, he describes the lessons learned along his life's journey as a star athlete, hippie, preacher, evangelist, world traveler, businessman, health food devotee, and radio and TV host.

From his morning quiet time, Dave discovered wisdom and understanding from stories and quotes by Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and others, including many from his pastor, Brother Dennis, which he has added to this book. These insights helped to take him from a life of sin and searching to discovering the joy of walking with God and letting Him be in control of his life.

The Upward Path takes us on a journey to find purpose and to discover the richness in our lives. It asks important questions such as "What is the key to all knowledge and truth," "What is the secret to the Christian life," "How to deal with worry," "What is the most important thing I have to do," and many more, while providing scriptural answers to these questions. Questions are great and wonderful, but answers are even better. With powerful quotes, stories, and essays on the human condition, the book winds its way to eternal truths and conclusions.

The book can be read in its entirety from beginning to end or picked up at any point to reflect on a topic.

The book will inspire and challenge you to answer the question, "Am I on The Upward Path?"

You guide me with Your counsel,

And afterward receive me into glory.

--Psalm 73:24

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887512815

Book preview

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The Upward Path

Dave DeBlander

ISBN 979-8-88751-280-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-282-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88751-281-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Dave DeBlander

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

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Stories collected by Dave DeBlander. Copyright Dave DeBlander 2023

All scripture quotes contained herein are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

All quotes in this book by Dr. Dennis Brunet, pastor of Midway Baptist Church, Gulf Breeze, Florida, unless otherwise noted.

Quotes and stories by Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest.

Quotes from Charles Spurgeon from Morning and Evening, a Daily Devotional.

Quotes from Rick Warren from The Purpose Driven Life.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Saved

Chapter 2

What You Receive When You Get Saved

Chapter 3

Salvation

Chapter 4

Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota

Chapter 5

The Key to All Knowledge and Truth

Chapter 6

Victorious Living

Chapter 7

West Berlin, Germany

Chapter 8

What Really Matters Most

Chapter 9

Relationships

Chapter 10

The Organic Bakery

Chapter 11

Dealing with Worry

Chapter 12

Worry

Chapter 13

The Final Yin

Chapter 14

The Answer to Philosophers' Big Questions

Chapter 15

Encouragement

Chapter 16

Basketball

Chapter 17

Correct or Redeem?

Chapter 18

Fear

Chapter 19

Classical Education

Chapter 20

What Education Ought to Be

Chapter 21

Wisdom

Chapter 22

Bible School

Chapter 23

What Is the Secret to the Christian Life?

Chapter 24

Brokenness

Chapter 25

Pro Clean

Chapter 26

Accountability Scorecard and Five-Question Daily Devotional

Chapter 27

Power of God

Chapter 28

Thirty-Day Juice/Detox Fasts

Chapter 29

The Most Important Thing I Have to Do

Chapter 30

The Danger of Positive Thinking

Chapter 31

Money

Chapter 32

Around the World

Chapter 33

Final Thoughts

Chapter 34

Jesus

About the Author

The path of the just is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

—Proverbs 4:15

There is no rhyme or reason as far as the order of these thoughts, stories, and quotes. You can certainly read the book straight through if you choose, but feel free to look at the table of contents, and if a topic speaks to you, by all means, check it out, turn to it, and hopefully, it will be helpful.

This book is dedicated to my wife, Kate, who has put up with me all these years and still loves me! I love this journey with her. A kindler and nobler person I do not know.

Introduction

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a tremendous writer. He was a storyteller for adults. Within his short stories and novels, he was able to discuss, dissect, and thoroughly analyze the human condition. His daughter described his writings as consoling the mortal anguish of sinners. Vast questions of life were pondered by him, and he left the reader thinking about the moral lessons contained in his stories. In his short story, The Intelligence Office, searchers come to an office looking for answers. They come looking for their true place in the world, looking for truth, for love, for tomorrow, for peace and joy while encumbered with great riches or great sorrow, wanderlust, and/or any number of issues. The story resonated so much with me—as do many of his stories—because I have always been searching for my purpose in life. How you get the most out of life is something that has always gnawed at me, and I suppose many others. Some are not all that interested in such a question and are quite happy to merely go through the motions and let fate and chance run their lives. This book is aimed toward the former group—those who want to be all that God would have them to be and are not willing to live with regret because at the end of life, they know they could have done so much more.

My desire is to bring to light the rich life that comes with believing and acting upon the promises of God. A wonderful thing about the word of God is that it provides answers. The great writers of the past are magnificent in asking and posing the questions of life, but in far too many instances, they provide no answers. I appreciate their writing skills and their ability to analyze and contemplate the issues of life and to pose great questions. Great questions can lead to great answers. But answers are necessary and aside from the Bible, answers are elusive, missing, and hidden. I hope this book is full of answers that are meaningful and beneficial.

I am no Nathaniel Hawthorne, and unfortunately, unable to put such a discourse in story form as he could do, but by weaving my life story among the truths I have found, I hope I can produce something that is readable and palatable to the reader. God's promises revealed in His word are readily available to all, but not realized, appreciated, or enjoyed by the vast majority of humanity. Sin, wrong teachings, laziness, sorrow, pain, and a host of other reasons keep people from experiencing what God has for them. I know because I ran from, neglected, could not see, flat-out disobeyed, and missed those promises for years and years. Many of those years I was an ordained Southern Baptist preacher.

I do not blame the devil for keeping me from God; my problem was me and my own selfishness and pride, the root cause of all sin. Now, I must give the devil credit for knowing how to capitalize on my sin, but I was the one who gave him the license to do his dirty work. Once I finally yielded to God, surrendered to Him, and gave Him control of my life, everything changed. The stories and musings I have collected in this book are truths that God has given to me since I surrendered to the Lord. They have been instrumental in my life, being free, joyful, peaceful, and full of meaning. Questions I had for all those years have, for the most part, been answered, and a great many of them are presented in this volume. Do I have more to learn? Yes, indeed I do. As a matter of fact, every time I think I have reached some sort of spiritual nirvana, God, in His grace and love, points out the next issue I need to deal with. He usually does it with a still small voice that resonates with peace, joy, and meaning.

Have I found the meaning for which I was searching? Yes, I have, and it gets richer and deeper every day that I let God be in control and run my life. God has a wonderful purpose for you, and He has put you on this earth to fulfill your purpose, and when you are living within your purpose, the questions disappear and the answers come to light. Are you satisfied with getting by, or do you desire to have Him pour rivers of living water through you (John 7:38)?

My hope is that my journey—and the stories and thoughts contained within—may be helpful in your search for purpose, meaning, and peace and answer some questions that may have been gnawing at you.

Many answers in this book come from my pastor and friend, Dr. Dennis Brunet, aka Brother Dennis. The vast majority of quotes and stories contained herein come from him, and as you read them, I believe you will find him to be a wonderful man of God. I learned much from him while sitting in the pew and listening to his sermons, sitting by him, listening intently as he would converse with people. Time and time again, I would be amazed at the wisdom, love, and efficacy contained in his responses. Most of the time I would also kick myself and wonder why I had not thought of that. He is a man who knows how to put broken people back together again. There are a lot of broken people, and I was one of them. He is effective because he loves people, knows the word of God, and communicates with the Lord through prayer. The Lord works His will through him, especially in His ability to heal the brokenhearted mentioned in Isaiah chapter 61. He has been the pastor of Midway Baptist Church in Gulf Breeze, Florida, for over thirty years, which is quite a feat in itself.

Although I am weaving stories of my life throughout these pages, much of the depth, richness, and profundity herein will be found emanating from the thoughts of Brother Dennis, which you will find to be full of the essence of the Christian life. Many of the quotes will jump off the page into your heart and mind and cause you to pause and reflect. Try not to hurry through them; let them speak to you and enrich your life. The revealed wisdom in these quotes and stories has been a tremendous blessing to me, and I pray they are a blessing to you.

One more thought—which hits at the heart of this book and its purpose—to close out the introduction. This, from Oswald Chambers:

The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been struggling for utterance in you.

The pictures I have added come from travels around the world with my wife, Kate. I hope they are a blessing and add to the truth, goodness, and beauty contained within.

May the spiritual food in these pages fill your soul and spirit with joy, peace, love, and clarity and help arm you in the battle we face daily while serving the Lord.

Monarchs on Pensacola Beach, Florida, resting before their journey across the Gulf of Mexico.

Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7a).

Chapter 1

Saved

I looked at the clock, and it said twelve midnight. I was in great distress and turmoil. I had finally recognized, after all these years—despite being a Bible school graduate, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, and someone who had read through the Bible at least ten times—that I was the king of pride and selfishness. I had fallen away from the