Hi, Readers. The first book title is Faith Walk: From Belief in Christ to Total Commitment. Sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? The topic includes shaking folks out of complacency when it comes to things eternal. Even so, your life can include such joy and fun. I play on the floor with my grandsons, for instance. I admit to simple tastes and being a softy for a hug.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us to take his yoke upon us, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Resisting the Gospel and his yoke leads to all manner of difficulty for both believers and unbelievers. Having trouble? Yield to his yoke and learn from the Christ.

Sources of my inspiration include fine Christian mentors–teachers, pastors, employers–that went out of their way to help. One math teacher saw me a few years after I graduated. She stood there talking to me and held my hand. She was about 70 but swung my hand like a schoolchild! Do you think such love would have an effect on me, a skinny, awkward kid who seldom got a second glance? You better believe it!

I read some very good Christian authors, too. Their names include Jerry Bridges, Ron Dunn, Stephen F. Olford, Alistair Begg, and of course the classic authors, C.S. Lewis and John Stott. They all go back to the great biblical passages that move the world to repentance and salvation and fruit-bearing, including the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, John 1:1-14, John 15:1-8, the “Paul” epistles, and the “John” epistles. Calvin Miller introduced me to the Christ of the Table found in Psalm 23:5 and Revelation 3:20. Faith Walk touches on all these, plus my two favorite non-Bible books right now, A Life God Rewards and Secrets of the Vine, by Bruce Wilkinson.

We begin with the core belief in Christ, Son of the Living God. This may be a stumbling block for some, but the arguments for faith are so compelling that I pray you will be convinced–not from my arguments alone, but from the preponderance of evidence. Beyond this first step of faith, the experience of the Lord in your life will bring conviction. The rest of that experience under the easy yoke of our Lord leads to the fulfilled life.