WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!
Congratulations, Driver! Now that you have repented of your sins to JESUS, (1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9-10,13), (*All scripture is printed at the bottom of the page) I want to welcome you into the family of God.
You have just signed on with the greatest company going! As a matter of fact, the owner-operator of this company also designed and owns the entire universe! There’s NEVER a thought of it going bankrupt, our company will NEVER sell out to the competition, nor is there a chance they will EVER merge! You see, the only competition to our company is satan and his demons. There was one that went before us, called Jesus of Nazareth. On the cross, He single-handedly conquered satan (Rev. 1:18), who is called “our enemy” (1 Peter 5:8), robbed him of all his power and authority, and gave it all to you and me (Luke 10:19)! Yes, satan will come to you to tell you of all the “good times” you are missing by becoming a born-again Christian, but he fails to remind you of all the heartache, marital problems, etc. that living for him causes. God promises that we can have peace, even during the trials and troubles that come to everyone (Matthew 16:33).
This page is written to help you as you begin what can be the most exciting trip of your life! As a matter of fact, it is a lifetime trip! If you go from the east coast to the west coast, there are several routes you can take and still end up at the same destination. On the trip to Heaven, it’s a different story. The ONLY way to get there is God’s way, and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Following are some of the things you’ll need to know in order to get your new lifestyle on the road and to keep it between the ditches (and believe me, satan has plenty of ditches for you).
What happened to my sins?
Who am I in Christ?
What does God expect from me?
What can I expect from God?
Remember, the Christian life is somewhat like a computer—you cannot expect to get anything out unless you take the time to put something in. That’s done by a daily study of the Bible.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SINS?
Like me, some of you waited until you were grown to become a born-again Christian; therefore, you had already formed and begun to live in a non-Christian lifestyle. What is now beginning to take place in you is a reprogramming. God has what I call a flushing mechanism. That is, now that you have asked Jesus, who is God the Son, to forgive your sins, God the Holy Spirit has come to live in your heart (or spirit-man). 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The second you asked him to, Jesus forgave every sin you have ever committed! Instantly they were gone— totally eliminated— as if they had never existed! When I was young, I heard people say that sins were put “in the sea of forgetfulness.” This is not true; they simply don’t exist anymore! You see, if there was a place called “the sea of forgetfulness,” then you, satan or anyone else, could go there and retrieve them. Here is what God says concerning your sins in Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Did you read that!? GOD FORGETS THAT YOU HAVE EVER SINNED! No, you won’t forget; satan will see to that. However, when—not if—when you are reminded of something from your past, remember Hebrews 8:12* and 1 John 1:9. So, when satan tries to remind you of your past, REMIND HIM OF HIS FUTURE!
This is where God says He sends your sins: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”(Psalm 103:12) Since there is no place where the east meets the west, confessed sins no longer exist.
WHO AM I IN CHRIST?
God’s Word says that you are a new creation; the old lifestyle has gone, the new lifestyle has come (my paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 5:17). Now one of the biggest problems you will have is training your mind (Romans 12:2) to act according to God’s Word rather than the ways of the world (Ephesians 2:2).
Your spirit-man is immediately born-again; that is, if you died the next second after asking Jesus to forgive your sins, you would go straight to Heaven. Since most of us don’t die right away, we must learn to live a Christian life here on earth.
The ONLY way this is possible is to develop a daily prayer and Bible study time. Before you start your day, whatever time, take a few minutes to ask God for understanding of the Bible, then read the Bible aloud. At the end of your reading time thank God for His Word, then meditate on it during the day. Also, the Bible is available on CD so you can listen to the spoken Word as you drive. You will be amazed how much you learn by listening to these recordings! You can use the Trucker’s Prayer Line for questions that come up. We will get you a Biblical answer from the scripture, not from tradition.
WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT FROM ME?
God wants you to learn to walk in holiness. Holiness is NOT something worn on the outside, such as the style of clothes, or the style or length of your hair; holiness is the way you live every day. It is how you respond to the temptations and trials in your life. Holiness isn’t something you lord over someone else, it’s something you share with everyone. 2 Chronicles 7:14 explains walking in holiness like this: “If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” [Caps mine] The key here is turning from your old lifestyle. The word “repent” means doing a 180-degree turn. If you were going west, it means you are now going east, and you cut all the ties with the past.
When you became born-again, sin was removed from your life; there was a void where the sin was. Something will replace it. You have the option to fill it with the Word of God (though Jesus won’t force you) or satan will definitely refill it with his thoughts, leading you back into a lifestyle which you already know won’t work. What you should do is get into a habit of a daily prayer and Bible study time. My best time is before I start my day. If you are like me you will have to force yourself to do this for a while, because satan will give you a hundred different reasons not to. When you pray, PRAY OUT LOUD, and as you study the Bible, PLEASE READ IT OUT LOUD. Yes, at first it will seem a little strange but the Bible says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”(KJV) So you need to HEAR what you are praying and reading. Then during the day think about the scripture you studied that morning. The Bible teaches us to “meditate” on the Word, which means think about it. Joshua 1:8 puts it this way — “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (KJV)
When you hear the Bible, the Word of God goes into that void in your spirit-man where sin used to be and begins to fill it with LOVE instead of hatred, POWER instead of fear, etc. 2 Timothy 1:7 — “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Remember the scripture we read before in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing,” and so does fear! Satan knows this principle very, very well. He puts all the anti-Christian things in other music to lead you away from the Bible and the things of God. Not all other music is bad; there is some wholesome secular music, but it’s very rare.
The Apostle Paul talked about this flushing system in Romans 12:1-2 — “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (KJV)
This renewing of your mind is what I call God’s flushing mechanism beginning to work. Notice the suffix ”-ing” on the word “renew.” This tells me that it’s an ongoing process. Your mind (that is your intellect) will NEVER be born-again. It will ALWAYS want things that aren’t good for your Christian lifestyle. Galatians 5:17 says: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you don’t do what you want.”
The mind has to be constantly retrained, reprogrammed, or, as Paul put it, renewed. How does this happen? Through daily prayer and Bible study. As we mentioned earlier, when you study, read aloud so that the Word goes down into your spirit-man and not just in your memory. When you read silently, the information goes into your memory; what you hear goes deep down into your spirit-man. Memory can be lost for various reasons, but what goes into the spirit lives forever!
Some of you reading this should be in what I call “spiritual intensive care.” If you were in as bad of a shape physically as you are spiritually, you would be in the hospital in intensive care. You would not be allowed to eat just anything on the menu; rather, you would receive only the things necessary to build you up again. Spiritually, now you need to hear only the things of God so that you will be built up quicker. In other words, you absolutely will not be built up spiritually and the problems at home will not go away listening to things like “Tonight the bottle let me down” or “Laying here, holding her and loving you.” Try “Amazing Grace,” “Love Lifted Me,” or good praise music. What kind of music do you listen to? The movies and programs you watch and the music you listen to will have a dramatic effect on how fast you develop your Christian lifestyle and how strong you remain in it because it also is going into your spirit-man. Basically, if it doesn’t lift up Jesus, if it doesn’t bring glory and honor to Him, you don’t need to be listening to it. There is plenty of good gospel music of various types to suit your particular taste buds. Go into a mall and find a Christian book store. If you need help, or maybe a suggestion, call our Truckers Prayer Line (1-800-248-8662).
Begin your Bible study with the book of John. It’s the fourth book from the beginning of the New Testament. John gives a complete and easy to understand description of Jesus — who Jesus was and is. Don’t set a goal of so many verses or chapters per day; just read each line, each verse, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you the Word of God. Before you start, say a prayer asking Jesus to help you understand the Bible. After you finish for the day, ask Jesus to reveal the truths of what you have studied that day. Of course, if we at Truckstop Ministries can be of any help with any question you have, please call us.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM GOD?
In addition to your daily reading in John, read Psalm 91 at least once per day. It is your ASSURANCE policy, describing who you are in Christ and your rights as a born-again Christian. All the promises detailed in Psalm 91 hang on the first verse. Verse 1 states, “He [put your name in here] that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”(KJV) The key word here is “dwelleth,” or another version uses the word “abides.” Why that word? Because the word “abide” or “dwelleth” means to stay, not just to visit. In other words, you cannot expect the promises to work in and through your life if you only visit occasionally with God or if you only pray when something is wrong. The “secret place” is symbolic of your private prayer time with God. How much time you choose to spend with Him there will have a dramatic effect on how strong your Christian life is. Just in case you don’t have a complete Bible, I have included the whole 91st Psalm for you to read aloud daily.
“1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (NKJV)
I have prepared a recorded series on Psalm 91. You may want to call for information on how to obtain it. Also, read Psalm 103:1-5.
Another of God’s promises to ALL born-again Christians is found in Isaiah 53:5 concerning physical healing: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (KJV) Isaiah prophesied before the crucifixion that by Jesus stripes we ARE healed.
Then Peter, looking back at the crucifixion said these words in 1 Peter 2:24—“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (KJV)
Notice the phrase has changed from “are healed” to “were healed.” It is now in the past tense, meaning something that has already happened. Through Jesus’ crucifixion and ressurection, he provided far more than our salvation; healing is one of the precious blessings Jesus bought for us with the stripes on his back. Sometimes God completely heals us by allowing us to come home to Heaven. Just remember, God’s delays are not necessarily God’s denials.
Just like salvation, none of God’s promises are of any use if we don’t learn what they are and accept them by faith. And remember what the writer said in Hebrews 13:8—“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” We may change but he sure doesn’t! One of satan’s favorite tricks is to tell you how unworthy you are. He will constantly bring up memories of sins from the past, and try to condemn you. When you feel this condemnation, remember Romans 8:1—“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”(KJV) Then tell satan to get lost!
There’s a great lesson in this verse pertaining to the daily prayer and Bible study time I mentioned to you earlier. Romans 8:1 ends by saying “who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” It’s very difficult to “walk after the spirit” listening to filthy jokes or looking at and reading pornography. That’s “walking after the flesh,” or doing what the sinful nature wants to do. All of us have a sinful nature. Those who study the Bible become strong enough Christians not to do what the sinful nature desires. “Walking after the spirit” means to wake up each day asking God’s direction in your life for that day. His “voice” is ALWAYS in line with the Bible, so if you don’t make it a habit to study the Bible you probably won’t hear His voice when He speaks to you. John 15:7 says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”(KJV) One version uses the word “remain” instead of “abide.” Again, to abide or remain means to stay, not visit! The question we each have to ask ourselves is, do I remain in the word, in God’s will for my life, or do I just visit sometimes?
Notice the promise at the end of John 15:7. It is for those of us who choose to “abide” or “remain.” “You shall ask what you will and it SHALL be given to you.” Also there is Psalm 37:4; “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (KJV) Imagine that! God said if I delight myself in Him, I can have the very desires of my heart! When I first saw this great promise, I thought “WOW! Whatever I want!?” But as you begin to remain in the scriptures, seeking God’s will for your life, your perspective changes a lot. I heard a minister on TV say it best. He said it this way: “When you remain in Him, you won’t want what He don’t want, and you will want what He wants, therefore, our desires will line up with God’s will for our lives.” Or as my mother would say, “as you grow in the Lord, your ‘want to’s change quite a bit.” In my own life, I found that when I got to the point in my Christian life that I “delighted myself in Him,” according to Psalm 37:4, instead of wanting more material things, the desire of my heart was to delight myself in Him more!
We all want God’s richest blessings and God wants us to have them, but are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary to receive them? Jesus certainly sacrificed for you and me! How do I sacrifice, you say? When you are laying over in a strange city, you make some new friends over coffee or while watching a game on TV and they decide to go “have a few drinks.” What is your response? How do you get out of going without sounding real religious? How do you make your Christian stand without offending someone? Look what 1 Corinthians 15:58 says to do: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (NKJV, capitalization mine) Rather blunt, right? Let nothing move you, not the cares of this world, not the wooing of a “friend.” A simple “no thanks” usually works fine. If they persist, tell them, “I’m a born-again Christian and that type of place doesn’t help me in my spiritual walk.” Some will respond, “Oh, I’m religious too!” Then ask them if there is anywhere they want to go that will glorify God. Besides, when YOU willingly go into SATAN’S territory, you walk out from under God’s umbrella of protection; you have stepped outside Psalms 91—plus you are putting yourself in a position to be tempted a lot more.
Another thing I observed in my 20-plus years on the road — when I made a stand and casually said I didn’t want to go, sometimes others would say the same thing! Maybe God wants to use us to be an example to others who are too weak to resist alone.
No condemnation to those who decide to go, just pray that God will use your example of not going to win them to Him. I have also seen where EVERYBODY except me went, but I still didn’t go. When this happened, I would use the time to study my Bible and pray, preparing to minister to them when they returned. In the book of Mark, Jesus tells His disciples to come with Him to a quiet place and get some rest. When we get to a quiet place where we close out the world and all it’s temptations, trials, and troubles, we can best hear from God. In Luke 5:16 it says that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” That somehow reminds me of a sleeper on a truck in a strange city. I have done some of my best talking to God in such situations!
Resisting the temptation to go to places you know aren’t good for you to go is learning to “walk in the spirit.” (Romans 8:1 — see below) When you do it, I can almost see God looking down from heaven, smiling at you, and telling the angels, “THAT’S MY BOY!” or “THAT’S MY GIRL!”
Again, welcome to the family! If you are a Trucker, or in a Trucker’s immediate family, you may use the toll free Trucker’s Prayer Line for your prayer requests and Bible questions. We are in the office from 8:00am until 5:00pm Eastern time Monday through Friday, which is the best time to call. However, this line is manned 24/7 and there will always be someone to talk or pray with you. We also have a free Bible Study Program. Just call and request to be enrolled and our Bible Study Co-ordinator will send you your first lesson.
I want to bless you with the priestly blessing God told Moses to give to Aaron and his sons to bless the people with:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) (NKJV)
“MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU IN HIS WONDERFUL LOVE FOREVER” is my prayer for you.
Rev. Joseph H. Hunter
“Chaplain Joe”
Founder/President
Truckstop Ministries, Inc.
All verses from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9-10
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”(KJV)
