"The Road Well Traveled"

 "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." (Ecclesiastes 11:9 KJV)

  "So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy - their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols." (1 Peter 4:1-3 NLT)

 We have a mission field, whether you realize it or not, the journey you have taken in this life has led you through things which have made you who you are; what you were is still what defines you, but in a whole different way. Look at the life of Paul, who was Saul of Tarsas. He was extremely passionate about hunting down Christians; but after his encounter with Christ, he became extremely passionate about making Christians!  

 Peter was a fisherman, who made his living catching fish; but Jesus changed his life, making him a fisher of men! There are so many examples of this in the lives of people we see, here in the life we live now; so many that have been caught up in something that ruins lives, but they get converted, and those same things become the opportunities to change lives, making them whole...

"Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead. That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead - so although they are destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit." (1 Peter 4:4-6 NLT)