About | Fellowship With God in the Sixth Path

About the Author

My name is Jim Phillips. You are reading here to find out who I am. But the words I chose to explain who I am depend greatly on who you are. I am from the west. I did not choose this. I was born in the west. But two-thirds of my readers are not from the west.

Who am I? I believe in Jesus Christ as He is described in the Bible, having the Spirit of the creator of the universe living within me, being spiritually alive by grace and through faith. That is who I am. That is a true Christian. I was not born this way. If you define the term Christian in any other way, then I am not a Christian as you define the term.

I was born in the 1950's, in the west, into a nominally Christian culture... a culture in which almost all would have called themselves Christians... But if by their definition of the word Christian, they meant that they believed in God and tried to live a good life, they didn't mean the same thing as I by the word Christian.

As I said, I am from the west. If you are one of my Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Jewish friends or acquaintances, your understanding of the word Christian will be very different from mine. Kings, presidents and politicians all over the world have historically used the religion of their culture to motivate their citizens to various actions, including wars and otherwise. We should not define Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism by actions of governments. We should define religions by their sacred scriptures.

With that said, then who am I?

I am a believer in Jesus Christ, having the Spirit of the creator of the universe living within me, being spiritually alive by grace and through faith, walking by His Spirit, not in the Old Mosaic Covenant of the Law, but in the New Covenant of the Spirit, making disciples the easy way by repeating the words of the Father and prayer, all as Jesus exemplified, all as described in the Bible.

By vocation, I'm what is called "a retired business executive". For thirty-seven years I have been a husband to my high school sweetheart... and for thirty-four years a father. All of my children call often. There is a closeness and unity in my family that I did not learn in my childhood family. This is a gift of God. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2014... and by God's power and grace have lived with it, without fear of it.

I came to know God at the age of 14, and have been a follower of Jesus Christ since that time. Over the next 48 years I have belonged to multiple congregations, led countless Bible studies, and am currently serving as a deacon in my church. My life story encompasses tension, conflict, and physical pain... and at the same time... the love, power and grace of God. The guidance of the Holy Spirit through these personal experiences is what led me to write this book.

Knowing Him

I came to know God after eight years of great turmoil which brought me to the edge at the age of 14. If you have been to the edge, you know what I mean. My family was in continuous trauma, physically and emotionally. There is more about that in the account of my conversion at the beginning of the book. Since then I have walked with God in evangelical and disciple-making ministries as a layman, during and after college. I received an accounting degree, with honors, from the University of Texas in Austin. My studies included Economics and many technical disciplines: Formal Logic, Business Law, Oil and Gas Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law and Classical Greek. Although receiving understanding of the scriptures is a spiritual experience in the spiritual realm, Greek has been helpful in technical aspects of studying the scriptures, since the New Testament was written in Greek. My legal studies trained me in technical, precise, unbiased interpretation of wording in contracts, statutes and court opinions.

These disciplines have also been helpful in studying the scriptures in intimate contact and communication with my Lord as I practice Psalm 119:99, prayerfully meditating on entire books of the Bible, many times deep into the night, praying and meditating, praying and meditating, praying and meditating, over and over and over, again and again, sometimes forty times or more. So, when I hear a teaching about God which I haven't seen in scripture, I ask:

Where does it say that in the Bible?

Acts 17:11

Making Disciples

While in college, I taught Bible studies in my secular fraternity. When I was involved in the food and beverage business, I made devotional tracts available to bartenders. I remember seeing one of the bartenders setting up in the morning with a devotional tract in her hand. She held it up and said, "This is how I get through the day."

No Stranger to Stress

For more than 40 years I have worked in small businesses. I have served in oil and gas exploration, food and beverage, real estate development and financial publication industries... in various capacities including vice president, president and director. There was a high degree of tension in my work as I handled conflict resolution, arbitration and litigation. I have spent quite a bit of time in the witness stand including federal, state, civil and criminal courts.

By the Grace of God

I've been through many financial crises over many decades. There were many times when I concluded there was no way to survive. One time in particular was when the price of oil fell to $9 and our real estate sales fell 95%. Almost all of the banks in Texas failed in that crisis. One dark day I went home, knowing we would not be able to make a debt payment the next day, thereby committing default on one of our debts and possibly bringing about the death of the company. Companies in our city were going broke, employees were losing jobs and there were no jobs to be had in our industry. The next day I walked into the office and everyone was happy. I asked why everyone was in such a good mood and was immediately told that a mystery check was received for nearly the exact amount as the debt that was due that day. It was a very large sum of money. No one in our company knew that money was owed to us until the check appeared. That was when I began to believe that, possibly, God does interact in the affairs of men.

I've seen my boss go to federal prison, participated in a corporate coup, and been fired more than once. In recent years I have endured cancer and severe prolonged pain to the point I asked God to take my life on two occasions. And by the sovereign grace of God, I'm here to serve you today, having been set free from that pain.

I have never attended a religious school of any kind.

His light, life and power came into me in a dark room, in a dark time when I could no longer bear the burden of life. To read about my conversion, click here.

My name is Jim Phillips.
4/22/20