“And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple.” (1 Peter 2:5a NLT)
As I reflect on some of my posts, the Lord is enabling me to see a couple of things that are critical that I understand. First, I’m not the “judge” of another person’s lifestyle or character. I cannot know another person’s heart, thus have no business trying to figure out why someone does or says something that I don’t understand or with which I may not agree.
My goal in these posts is to share what the Lord shares with me, believing He alone knows whose eyes will read the words He gives me. If I can bare my heart, I’m not writing to receive credit or recognition, I only want to exalt Jesus and point others to Him. HE gives me the words, so if any credit is due, it should all go to Him. So, to that end, today I’d like to share a few things that have helped me in my walk with the Lord, things that I trust will be useful to you and others with whom you do life.
In John 5:24 Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, 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.” Our eternal life in Christ doesn’t begin when we die, it begins the moment we “listen … and believe.” Further, just as Jesus did only what He saw His Father doing, in our lives we should be doing only what we see Jesus doing. He IS our life, thus the life we live should give visibility and, on many levels illustrate what living the Christ-life should look like.
For example. In John 17:16-17 Jesus said: “My message is not My own; it comes from God who sent Me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own.” If we desire to do God’s will, God’s Spirit within us will give us insight and understanding that what we’re reading in His Word is from God. I believe the same principle applies to those of us who are following Jesus. OUR words should be from the Spirit of God, modeled after the patterns of Jesus’ words. What might that look like?
Beth Moore wrote: “It will become increasingly vital that we learn to distinguish between what is pro-Christian and what is actually Christlike.” Jesus, in John 8:12 said that He is “the light of the world.” We can believe that statement without walking in the light ourselves. In other words, we can be “pro light” without leaving the darkness.
If I’m walking in the light of Christ’s life, I, too, must bear His light. If His life resides in me through the power of His Holy Spirit, it will be reflected, not only in my words, but in my life. To walk in light is to leave the darkness behind. How do I know that? Because Jesus said in the same verse: “If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Corky Calhoun wrote: “A journey only becomes a journey once you’re clear about the destination; otherwise, it’s just aimless wandering.” Walking with Jesus is a journey that begins the moment we step out of the darkness of sin and disobedience and begin to walk in the light of His loving grace and forgiveness. Trying to live with one foot in darkness (sin) and the other in the light of Jesus is like trying to hold onto the tails of two wild stallions headed in opposite directions.
To faithfully walk the Christ life doesn’t mean we’re perfect and will never sin again. But it does mean the longer we walk in His light, the less we desire the darkness.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 