MEET JOSH
I hope you enjoyed reading The King’s Entryway because I had fun writing it. The biggest reason I wrote this story though is to introduce you to Josh. You find out a lot about Josh throughout the story. He’s a craftsman, an adventurer, and a story teller. He’s strong, kind, and he can do some pretty amazing things!
Josh is not someone you happen to meet every day… BUT…you really can meet Josh because when you meet him, you meet Jesus Christ. Here – let me introduce you to him through some verses in the Bible:
Josh is interested in relationships
Jesus is interested in you (Mark 1:16-17)
Josh is the “Beyond the Hills guy” who helps Farmer find real life
Jesus is the one through whose power and goodness help can and will come for you (Psalm 121:1-2)
Josh rejoices when Wander-Off reunites with his dad
Jesus rejoices when a person who is lost is found (Luke 15:32)
Josh gives Petros and Farmer the power to live a new kind of life full of purpose and meaning
Jesus is the vine who gives you the power to live life full of purpose and meaning (John 15:5)
Josh takes Farmer across the chasm when Farmer believes in him
Jesus is the bridge to real life when you follow him (John 14:6)
Josh gives the Three Blind Mice their sight
Jesus can open blind eyes and help you see the truth about what life is really all about (Matthew 9:29-30)
Josh sets Farmer on North Ridge Road that leads to The King’s Entryway
Following Jesus sets you on the path of right living (John 8:12)
Josh loves the thief enough to take the punishment the thief deserves
Jesus loves you enough that He gave up his life for you so that you can have real life now and forever (John 3:16)
Josh gives Farmer a new name
Jesus gives you a new name that says who you really are (Matthew 16:17-18)
Josh teaches Farmer through stories because Jesus often taught through stories. In fact, you may recognize some of Josh’s stories in the book because they come straight out of the Bible.
The King’s Entryway is really a story about you. And your story is found in the Bible. Now, your story has some bad news and some good news. The bad news is about you. The good news is about God. But the best news is that your bad news can become good news!
The Bad News
The bad news is that you and I are not right with God. Remember when Farmer is up on North Ridge, and he looks down on West Ridge and remembers all the things he did that he doesn’t want to do anymore? When we lie, or hate, or steal it’s called sin and the Bible says that because of even one sin we’re not perfect the way God intends for us to be. And because we sin, we’re in a very dangerous place. Let me tell you why.
Worse News
Sin requires punishment. And the punishment we deserve for sin is death. Remember the thief that steals from the King? What the thief earns – his wages – is a death sentence.
The Bible says that because we sin, we’re like the thief – what we earn is death which is total separation from God forever. Picture you being on one side of a huge canyon and then picture God on the other side. On your own, there’s no way you can jump across and get to the other side where God is. It’s impossible.
BUT…there’s good news! Since there’s no way we can come to God, the Bible says that God comes to us.
Good News
Jesus took the punishment you and I deserve for our sin away from us and put it upon himself when He died on the cross.
Remember in the story what the Prince does for the thief? He takes the punishment the thief deserves and dies in his place, so the thief can live. You see, because Jesus is 100% God, he was able to a perfect sinless life. Because Jesus is 100% man, he was able to pay the price for you and me. He paid a debt he did not owe because, like the thief, we owe a debt we cannot pay.
And just as the bad news gets worse, the good news gets better.
Best News
You can be saved from the punishment you deserve by putting your faith in Jesus to rescue you.
Remember when Josh asks Farmer if he will trust him to get them across the chasm? Farmer knows there is no way he can cross the chasm on his own, but he trusts Josh to do it for him. And because of his trust in Josh, Farmer receives a new life and the promise that one day he will live in the palace with Josh forever.
The Bible says that God saves you when you believe. And you can do nothing on your own to save yourself. It’s a gift from God. It’s not a reward for the good things you do, so you cannot boast that you did it by yourself.
See – you can’t get to God just by going to church, or not doing anything really bad, or even by doing good things. The only way to get to God is let Jesus “take you across the chasm.”
If you would like to be rescued from the penalty of sin right now, you can do it simply by telling Jesus you’re ready to trust him to rescue you and follow him. It is not saying the words that saves you – it is trusting in Jesus that saves you. So if you want to tell him right now, you can say something like this:
“Jesus, I confess that I sin. I know I deserve to be punished for my sin. I am truly sorry for the wrong things I have thought or said or done. But I say now that you are my Lord and I believe that God raised you from death to life. I believe that you died for me and took the punishment I deserve away from me and put it on yourself. Thank you for doing that for me. Right now, I want to turn away from doing life my way and do life your way. Thank you for giving me real life right now! Amen.
If you just said those words and really mean it, Jesus says, “…those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life” (John chapter 5 verse 24). You have real life, right now and you can bet bet there’ll be some dancin’ tonight!
So…what does all this mean for you right now?
One last thing – If you’re reading this and have trusted Jesus, there’s a button below you can click to let the folks at King’s Entryway know about your decision. We would enjoy nothing more than to pray for you as you begin your journey with Jesus toward The King’s Entryway!