The Christian life is a pilgrimage: a guided journey out of the world toward a fixed, glorious destination, God's Kingdom, the city of the living God. Pilgrimage runs through both testaments, from Abraham, who left his homeland not knowing where he was going, and Jacob, who called his life a pilgrimage, through the Exodus and Isaiah's Highway of Holiness to Jesus' road to Jerusalem and the early church known as "the Way." The Days of Unleavened Bread mark Israel's hurried departure from Egypt as a type of the church's spiritual exodus, and removing the old leaven of malice and wickedness is how pilgrims live as sojourners who abstain from fleshly lusts (I Peter 2:11; I Corinthians 5:6-8). Pilgrims know the destination but not every turn of the path. They walk by faith, trusting God's continual guidance, flexible and obedient when the direction is unclear. The way brings struggle, suffering, and dry valleys, but God supplies strength (Psalm 84), so pilgrims go "from strength to strength." They must keep growing in grace and knowledge to avoid being led astray (II Peter 3:17-18), and they must not look back like Lot's wife or grow so attached to this world that they cannot move at God's command. Like the faithful of Hebrews 11, who died without receiving the promises, they stay fixed on the heavenly country. God goes before and behind them, delivers them from temptation and trial, and will bring them safely home, refined and rejoicing.

On this Last Day of Unleavened Bread, we reflect on a journey that mirrors Israel's deliverance from Egypt, a physical exodus that prefigures our spiritual path from the slavery of sin to the Kingdom of God. Just as Israel was guided through the Red Sea by the miraculous intervention of God, we too have passed through the waters of baptism, burying the old self to be raised anew with Jesus Christ. Yet, our wilderness journey continues as we battle the carnal nature that accompanies us, knowing through Him that our citizenship is already in heaven with the Father and the Son. The Word, who was with God from the beginning, faithfully directs us toward Their purpose. As He guided Israel out of bondage, He now leads the elect out of sin's captivity, preparing places for us. He is not only our guide but also provides everything necessary to complete this journey. Despite the cost to Him, we too must bear the cost to succeed, staying behind Him, receiving grace upon grace, keeping our eyes focused on Him to reach the journey's end determined by the Father and the Word from the beginning. Our journey parallels the pioneers of the American West, who faced perils and hardships with a singular focus on reaching their goal. Like them, we must unload unnecessary burdens to cross the turbulent rivers of this world. The journey is our job, and we must move forward, as Israel was instructed to do, trusting in God's salvation and presence, whether through a pillar of fire or His Spirit within us. God provided Israel with physical possessions and skills for their journey, not for self-satisfaction, but for His glory and to maintain order in their walk through the wilderness. Similarly, He has given us innate talents and, more importantly, His Holy Spirit with diverse gifts to serve the Body of Christ. These gifts are tools for the journey, meant to keep our focus on the end while working together in unity, learning to think and live as He does, ruling over sin. The journey teaches us to lay aside every weight and sin that ensnares us, running with endurance the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Despite the struggles, God remains faithful, ensuring no temptation overtakes us beyond what we can bear, always providing a way of escape. Our job is this journey, using the gifts He has given, with our focus steadfast on Jesus Christ, striving to enter through the narrow gate into the Kingdom of God.

The way, or that way, was the term the early apostles used to describe our spiritual journey, spiritual pilgrimage, or perhaps our wilderness wanderings. Although believers end up in different campsites, they are all travelling the same spiritual journey, and if they travel into one another's campsite, they should make sure that they make one another welcome. In the vast number of splinter groups called the greater church of God, many of the pastors realize they do not have exclusive dibs on doctrinal truth, and in the current state of splintership, believers should keep their docking mechanisms in good shape, offering help to lost fellow travelers. Having lived in the Big Sandy area provides assurance that floating has always taken place ever since the Church of God was blown apart, yet the Lord knows who are His, and who the tares are. Remembering that Jesus washed Judas Iscariot's feet requires kindness even to those suspected as tares. The concluding scene of a joyful reunion with their father pictures the reunion of many splinter groups on the current spiritual journey through the desolate wilderness. The covered wagon image or motif applies to the spiritual journey, as believers find themselves heading across a wilderness in a foreign or unknown land heading toward the promised land, with a visual image like Father Abraham implanted in their imaginations. As Abraham's and Jacob's descendants, believers have collectively been on this journey since God told Abraham to leave his home. The many articles, sermons, and blogs on the spiritual GPS identified the following grounds of comparison, all emphasizing course correction, guiding someone back on track, encouraging a steady course toward the destination, and gently correcting if the pilgrim should get lost or stray off course. Any entity, thing, person, or event which steers the wayward traveler back onto the right course could serve as grounds of comparison for the GPS. The principle upon which the GPS is based has already had precedence in the Bible. God was already using His created heavenly bodies to regulate the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days in which God's plan for all mankind has been revealed. The navigation systems that God Almighty has wired into birds and fish make the GPS look crude and unsophisticated in comparison. God had provided Israel a visual display with the cloud that accompanied them by day and the pillar of fire that accompanied them by night. The Bible has been identified as functioning like a global positioning system. God's Word illuminates the path of our lives. If believers keep God's Word shining along the way, then they will be far less likely to trip. The Law, Prophets, and Writings served as the principal beacons and satellites before the Son of Man arrived on the scene. Solomon's Proverbs serve as God's Positioning System, encouraging believers to follow certain paths and avoid other deadly paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 refers to another GPS, a God Positioning System, a foolproof system that is based on trusting God and living out that trust. When believers choose to trust God, although it may sometimes seem counter-intuitive, God will always direct their paths. The conclusion, when it has been heard, consists of the following: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. God's Law was designed to give believers an awareness of sin in their lives in order to cause them to recoil in revulsion. The conscience God has given every human being resembles a wired-in GPS regulating ethical behavior. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. One method of measuring spiritual progress or feedback is to pay attention to emotions or feelings. Feelings can give vital feedback on the spiritual journey, giving insights that intellect might miss. The Psalmist David thanks God for affliction as a matter of course correction. God has made it clear that believers cultivate and maint