Our journey to Jerusalem

Our Christian life is a journey, it's a trip that we embark on the very second we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We take off on that journey and we are on our way to our Jerusalem. What is our Jerusalem? What in the world could that mean for us? I'll tell you.
Luke 18:31 says, Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled."
JEsus was telling His disciples that it was time to start the journey to Jerusalem. Along that path were several things, but first we need to know what Jerusalem represented. Jerusalem represented God's will for Him in His life and the culmination of His Father's plan for our salvation. Jerusalem was the place where He would be crucified on a cross for our sins, for our salvation, and for our lives. Along the way on this journey Jesus never stayed too long where He was praised and He never rushed through areas where He was persecuted. He simply allowed His Father to guide Him through the journey.
As Christians it is very easy for us to want to stick around and witness where we are receiving blessings and where everything is going as well as we can imagine. It's easy for us to think that we are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing, but, we cannot go on just feelings. We must spend time with God and allow Him to guide us through it all. We also must make sure we don't avoid witnessing and working in areas where we are being persecuted. This is a tough one for sure. When given the opportunity to witness, to preach or teach in an area that is growing with Christians and blessings versus an area that is full of people persecutuing and against Christianity flesh says go where it's easy, where there is no persecution to slow the spreading of God's Gospel. BUt, the truth is we need to find out where God's will and plan lead us and get there. We need to spend time alone with God each day on our journey and follow His lead. Regardless of how fruitful our efforts are we must follow God to our own "Jerusalem", that place where He uniquely put us together in the womb to reach. It could be the workplace, your neighborhood, your church, your kids' leagues or clubs, whatever the place we must do it God's way and be persistently reaching out to the lost.
A shoe salesman went to a remote part of a third world country and returned to tell his boss there were no sales to be made, no one wore shoes. THe company sent a second salesman a few months later, he came back and said, "We have hit the jackpot, there are nothing but sales here because no one wears shoes." One salesman had a worldly view of things, the other represents God's view. He most certainly wants us witnessing in the midst of the lost.
Have a great day and thanks for reading.