Last night I was thinking about a person who has walked around the World! His name is Arthur Blessitt. In the early 70's he came walking through Birmingham, Alabama dragging a cross over his right shoulder. He ended up preaching at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham before he left town.
I was in those series of meetings with him and it is there were Jesus was first preached so I could understand that a person could have a personal relationship with God and that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life in this equation! I distinctly remember being taught in my local Methodist church that all you needed to do was ... 'to be good' and 'do good' to make it to Heaven...so I was a "good kid" and "did" good things. But my heart was black as tar!
As Arthur preached Jesus and told stories of how Jesus was working in people's lives... it made me awfully hungry to know what he was talking about on a personal level!
Arthur told us that if we would turn away from what was killing us as people... (in my case there was not much to turn from because I was a good Methodist) but Arthur was referring to sin and we know that this is a plight for everyone who breathes!
So I said to my self..."that is what I want...!" When I did that, I discovered two very real things! 1.) Jesus was real! 2.) The devil was for real also!
Immediately I was barraged with very loud and caustic thoughts that said things like...'you are an idiot, don't do that...! You see, as soon as I decided to ask Jesus to forgive me and come into my life, hell became irritated! So a hail of 'opposition' kicked in!
Up to that point, I had never heard such aggravated and irritated words in my life! This all happened as I began to respond to Jesus! The suggestions were so forceful that I just settled back from my resolve to accept what Arthur was preaching! Then all of the sudden, I experienced a presence that I had never known before. I can still remember the sensation! It was like someone coming down out of the ceiling in the middle of the room and just covered over me. It was like they were placing their arms around me in such a loving fashion that my heart and mind settled down and I went back to entertaining what Arthur was talking about! There was peace!
Wow! All the time Arthur was still talking, I continued to wrestle with this 'thing' that was not wanting me to respond to Jesus! Then it started again but this time that soothing presence was there. 'People are going to make fun of you...' it said! 'You're not going to have any more friends...', 'you are going to be all alone in this, you will be the only one...!' It was really intense for a 14 year old boy! But that 'presence' just remained steady over me as if having arms wrapped around me and just holding on! Then as sweat from the emotional conflict was pouring off my face I finally said, OK, enough... 'I want you JESUS', I want what he is talking about!' When I said that... Those loving, comforting arms lifted me up from the place where I was sitting and I when I opened my eyes to see, I was standing...! That voice that was badgering me was now being pulled away from me in a harried protest and I can still hear the screaming and protesting! Those loud wranglingers that had been so irritated that I would be 'so stupid' as to listen to this 'crack pot' 'hippy preacher', carrying a cross, faded away with their irritated screams until there was nothing left except 'that loving presence' holding me and waiting on my response to Jesus!
So I looked to the left and to the right and realized that I was in the middle of the pew with at least 10 of my friends on each side of me that I was going to have to step over to go down to the front of the church where Arthur was preaching. He had asked for those who wanted to be "born-again" to come down to the front of the church where he was and that he would pray for us to accept Jesus' offer of forgiveness that would come through His blood that he shed on the Cross so long ago.
That was a start for me! New life for a good kid! My testimony is that Jesus saved me.... from.... uh... sin! My 'tar black' heart was transformed! I was made alive and good by Jesus' blood! Earlier I was "good and dead" There is a difference!
So, last night as I was thinking about Arthur Blessitt... because he has walked around the world carrying that Cross, I looked him up on the web and found an e-mail. Not knowing if it would work or not...I wrote a short letter of introduction and spoke briefly about what I was doing in walking to Mackinaw and by the time I got to the office this morning, an e-mail in response was there, in my 'in-box!' I thought to myself, "wooo!" could this really be him?
I wrote again just to make sure... and asked if I could re-post some of his suggestions about walking that he has written about on his web site to be re-posted on this blog site.
It was him! He wrote back and said...
"...great to hear of your being saved in that meeting... Sounds like you are walking in power in following Jesus." He also said "...we are in Poland carrying the cross just now..."
Praying for your mission,
Blessings,
arthur
So I looked at that and said to myself... 'could that really be him! 1971 was such a long time ago. So I wrote him back again. He said that I should post a link for the site so folks can go there instead of me re-posting all that he has written. So that is what I am going to do right now!
For all of you who are going to walk with me at one time or another. I am supplying a web link to Arthur Blessitt's "ADVENTURE WALKING" web site. I have scanned over it and it has some really good suggestion in practical terms about walking! I hope you enjoy the site and can make good use of his suggestions! I know... that I will!
Copy this web address into your brouser
http://www.blessitt.com/AdventureWalking/AdventureWalking_Page1.html
Simply Trey!
