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Arthur Blessitt
Arthur Owen Blessitt (1940–2025). Born on October 27, 1940, in Greenville, Mississippi, to Arthur Sr., a cotton farm manager, and Mary Virginia, Arthur Blessitt grew up in northeast Louisiana, where he embraced Christianity at age seven during a revival meeting. He briefly studied at Mississippi College and Golden Gate Baptist Seminary but left to pastor Baptist churches across the U.S. In the late 1960s, he evangelized Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, earning the nickname “Minister of Sunset Strip” for preaching to hippies, runaways, and addicts. In 1968, he opened His Place, a coffee house next to a topless club, where he hung a 12-foot wooden cross, beginning his lifelong mission. On Christmas Day 1969, claiming divine inspiration, he started carrying this cross, walking from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and eventually to 324 nations, island groups, and territories, covering over 43,000 miles by 2019, a feat recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest ongoing pilgrimage. His “cross walks” took him through war zones like Lebanon and Cold War-era Soviet states, meeting leaders like Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham, though he faced 24 arrests and dangers like stoning in Morocco. Blessitt authored books like The Cross: 38,102 Miles, 38 Years, One Mission (2009) and A Walk with the Cross (1978), and was featured in documentaries, including The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story (2009). Married to Sherry Anne Simmons in 1963 after a three-week courtship, they had six children—Gina, Joel, Joy, Joshua, Joseph, and Jerusalem—before divorcing in 1990; he then married Denise Irja Brown, adopting daughter Sophia. A 1976 Democratic presidential bid ended after minor primary showings. Blessitt died on January 14, 2025, in Littleton, Colorado, saying, “I’ve really been looking forward to this walk in Glory.”
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Arthur Blessitt preaches about the glory of God and how it relates to us, emphasizing that as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into His image by the Spirit, becoming reflections of His likeness. He highlights the importance of being filled with the Spirit to live a life that glorifies God, doing good works and spreading the message of Jesus. Blessitt encourages surrendering to the Holy Spirit for transformation and emphasizes that God's power works in us to fulfill His good pleasure, giving us the desire and ability to live according to His will.
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Glory - Part 3
Now, In the New Testament... from the angels as they welcomed the birth of Jesus: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14). And from the lips of Jesus, as He taught us how to pray: Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name... Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. (Matthew 6:9, 13). My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19). Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God thy Father. (Philippians 2:11). To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Jude 25; Revelation 4:11). Oh is that enough! Not yet; there is more; from the beginning of the Bible to the end there is this thrilling revelation of that which is to come: And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Revelation 21:10, 11, 23). God is glorious --- of this there is no doubt or question! Glory, glory, glory! God is glorious. But how does the glory of God relate to us, to the world? Hang on; listen to this: Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:17-18). Now get this picture: We stand like before a mirror looking into the glass and as we look, we see the glory of the Lord reflected in the mirror. There before us is revealed the glory of God. We are thrilled and almost overcome with awe in the presence of such glory. Then, as we are looking at the glory, "we are changed into the same image." I almost burst with joy at this thrilling --- how awesome! ... to see in the mirror the glory of God and then "to be changed into the same image!" How can we stand it! Praise the Lord! How awesome, how wonderful to look into a mirror and see the glory of God. God is glorious, but what is so staggering is that He wants His glory in us! As we look we are changed into the "same image"; we start looking like Him!! We become mirrors of Him: reflecting in our lives, work, deeds, and spirit the likeness of Jesus! If your business fails - the glory is there. Even if friends forsake you - the glory is there. When you are all alone, and feel you are in a vacuum you are not alone - you are not in a vacuum - The glory is there. When the crisis of life Almost overwhelms you - When the unexpected disappointments seem beyond explanation --- The glory is there. Beyond reason, circumstances, Fear or pain --- the glory is there. in abundance --- the glory is there. Oh Praise Him. We are changed into the same image, from "glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord" --- that is what it means to be filled with the Spirit! Changed by the Spirit to look like God --- to live like Jesus! So when people meet you, they meet Christ living in you! Note Matthew 5:14-16. You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. You then become a reflection of the glory of God. You are the Light of the World. The glory of God revealed in you means that you become a light that people may see your good works, and glorify the Father. Those filled with God's glory don't just sit down and praise the Lord --- they do the works of God. They preach the good news of Jesus! They witness to the world of salvation. They do good! Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, a bed to the stranger, clothes to the naked, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, for Jesus said, As ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40). You see, those filled with the glory of God are not sitting down singing, "Glory, glory, glory," singing, "I'll fly away." No . . . those filled with the glory of God are saying, "I'll work till Jesus comes." They are involved in doing good things, living a glorious life. As you live in the way of Jesus, the world sees your good works and glorifies God, the Father in Heaven! Have you ever been around a beautiful child or teenager, full of love, dedication, kindness, and strength? They are a reflection of their parents --- you say they must have a beautiful father or mother. When we live in the way of Christ, we reflect His glory! We have a wonderful Father!! We are changed from glory to glory by the Spirit. This means that you can't become glorious by your power, but by the Spirit. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6). For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works... (Ephesians 2:10). Only the Spirit can make us in the image of God! Some people say to me, "Arthur, I try to live right, try to do good things, but the more I try, the more I fail; I want to be victorious." I say, "That is the very problem! You keep saying, 'I try.'" It's when you give up and say, "I can't live right, I can't have the right desires, every thought that is of me is vain; but Jesus Christ has saved me; His Spirit is in me. So, Holy Spirit of God, you give me new desires --- the desires of Jesus. You transform me so that I want to live the way you want me to live!" Note what is meant In Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. It is God giving you the strength, the power and grace. You are free --- there is liberty; your nature is that of holiness, not of corruption. To serve the Lord and obey Him is your true, deep and real desire, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (II Corinthians 3:17). Now look at this truth: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." As I look at this verse, my heart is staggered by the awesomeness of it. How can we see the glory of God? In the face of Jesus Christ! In a world of darkness and doom --- of no hope --- the light broke through the darkness! --- to give light, life, and glory to us. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). Oh, praise the Lord! "The light shineth out of darkness into our hearts!" Hallelujah! The light of God in Jesus can shine in you! All the darkness of the world cannot put out the light from one small light. Psalm 4:6 says, Lord, lift up the fight of thy countenance upon us. The countenance of a person is what we see, what we feel, the total being. Now get this: God wants us to have His glorious countenance upon us and in us!!! The light is us --- the light upon us --- shining to the world like a city on a hill. Those who know Jesus let their light shine! Maybe that's why I love that song, "this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!"
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Arthur Owen Blessitt (1940–2025). Born on October 27, 1940, in Greenville, Mississippi, to Arthur Sr., a cotton farm manager, and Mary Virginia, Arthur Blessitt grew up in northeast Louisiana, where he embraced Christianity at age seven during a revival meeting. He briefly studied at Mississippi College and Golden Gate Baptist Seminary but left to pastor Baptist churches across the U.S. In the late 1960s, he evangelized Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, earning the nickname “Minister of Sunset Strip” for preaching to hippies, runaways, and addicts. In 1968, he opened His Place, a coffee house next to a topless club, where he hung a 12-foot wooden cross, beginning his lifelong mission. On Christmas Day 1969, claiming divine inspiration, he started carrying this cross, walking from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and eventually to 324 nations, island groups, and territories, covering over 43,000 miles by 2019, a feat recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest ongoing pilgrimage. His “cross walks” took him through war zones like Lebanon and Cold War-era Soviet states, meeting leaders like Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham, though he faced 24 arrests and dangers like stoning in Morocco. Blessitt authored books like The Cross: 38,102 Miles, 38 Years, One Mission (2009) and A Walk with the Cross (1978), and was featured in documentaries, including The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story (2009). Married to Sherry Anne Simmons in 1963 after a three-week courtship, they had six children—Gina, Joel, Joy, Joshua, Joseph, and Jerusalem—before divorcing in 1990; he then married Denise Irja Brown, adopting daughter Sophia. A 1976 Democratic presidential bid ended after minor primary showings. Blessitt died on January 14, 2025, in Littleton, Colorado, saying, “I’ve really been looking forward to this walk in Glory.”