NEVER TRAVEL ALONE: Goodbook 02-17-12

Goodbook messages arrive every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a Scripture reading and ideas for how to apply the reading in our lives. We are reading through the book of Acts. For additional Scripture reading, you can follow the Advanced Track.

Reading: Acts 16:3a (Advanced Track: Judges 8-15)

³ Paul wanted to take him (Timothy) along on the journey...

Application:

Have you seen the movie 127 hours? It tells the real life story about Aron Ralston, a canyoneer who became trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Robbers Roost, southeastern Utah. Aron unfortunately was traveling alone, a big no-no for hikers and canyoneers. Therefore, he had no one to help him and no one to call for help.

The moral of the story is never travel alone. That’s a good principle to live by, especially when you are traveling the journey of faith. Never travel alone!

The apostle Paul never traveled alone. All of Paul’s missionary journeys and adventures were taken with others. So far we’ve heard about his travels with Barnabas and Silas. Now Paul is taking along a new travel buddy: Timothy. Timothy was a young believer. Paul took him under his wing, mentored him, showed him the ropes, provided him with opportunities to serve, and encouraged him in ministry.

It’s never a good idea to travel alone, especially in our journey of faith. We need each other. Hopefully you are traveling with a lot of other believers. Getting involved with a ministry or connection group is a great way to develop travel buddies.

If you do not have a large group of travel buddies, you should at least strive to have these three types of travel buddies. Everyone should have a “Paul” - someone who is farther along on the faith journey than you, someone who can share their wisdom and experience with you, someone who can mentor you, show you the ropes, provide you with opportunities to serve, and encourage you in ministry. This could be a pastor or a mature Christian in your church. In addition to a “Paul,” everyone should also have a “Timothy” – someone who is newer than you to the whole faith thing, someone you are mentoring, someone with whom you are sharing your faith, your discoveries, and your life. Everyone should also have a “Silas” – someone who is in about the same place as you in their faith journey, someone who can relate to what you are going through and take steps forward with you. If you don’t already have these people in your life…

1) Find a “Paul,” “Timothy,” and “Silas.”

Comment with your faith thoughts and applications...