Thank you for your study, Laura! What an appropriate beginning for this blog. It made my mind travel along the lines of, “This woman sounds so wonderful – how could I ever be like her? How could I glorify God through my very being?” Pondering your three-step process, the following words sprang to mind: “I am week but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong. I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, dear Lord, close to Thee… Just a closer walk with Thee; grant it, Jesus, is my plea. Daily walking close to Thee; let it be, dear Lord, let it be!” It became the title for today’s study.
First thought: do I really mean it when I sing or say, “JUST a closer walk?” I tend to storm my Father’s throne with so many petitions. And although Jesus told us that it’s ok to do so, once in a while I need to stop and re-assess my priorities… Well, walking more closely with Jesus is definitely at the top of my list, but HOW do I actually do it? Once my mind started down that track, many verses came to mind and began to form a story line further to Laura’s three-step process. I decided to put them into a slideshow for you, but you may wish to keep reading first to get the bird’s eye view before pondering the slides at the end of this post.
What do I need for my daily walk? First, I need a solid foundation. In order to trust God, I need to know that He and His word are absolutely trustworthy. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 tells me that this is so. If I believe it, then I also know that God’s word supplies everything I need for every good work. And furthermore, that it keeps me from sinning against Him if I hide it in my heart (Ps. 119:11).
Do I need to produce ‘good works’? Yes! Not in order to be saved, but because I am. Good works are the evidence of my new nature. You see, I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for this very purpose. Just imagine, God actually prepared those works for me beforehand that I should walk in them (Eph. 2:10)!
What constitutes a ‘good work’? A ‘good work’ is not just doing a specific thing like being a Good Samaritan. In essence, it means doing absolutely EVERYTHING to the glory of God – whether I eat, or drink, or do anything at all (1 Cor. 10:31). Glorifying God in all that I do is the outward expression of my inward faith. The Bible warns believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together because they need one another to stir up love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25).
Why are good works so important? Because God’s light shines through them, and He gets the glory generated by them (Matt. 5:16). Obviously, every Christian undergoes a growth process before their mind is renewed by Scripture. But even older Christians tend to retain some corners of their minds (and thus their bodies) that remain conformed to the world. The thing is, the more my mind is conformed to what God’s word tells me, the more closely I will walk with Him, and the more effectively I will prove in practice what is His good and acceptable and perfect will (Rom. 12:2). And thus (in some small measure, of course) I become God’s light in this dark world!
I am no longer my own - ouch! I grew up being ‘my own woman’, doing my own thing. I like planning and deciding and… But I don’t want to do that any more because I have been bought with a price – the ultimate price: Christ’s blood. My body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit (how awesome is that!) and I am to do His bidding (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Paul begs us to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, purely because this is our reasonable service (Rom. 12:1). It is for this purpose that I want to walk with my Savior every day, no, every moment. I want Jesus to be magnified in my body in every situation (Phil. 1:20-21). I want Him to live through me in a very obvious way (Gal. 2:20).
How can I tell whether I am actually walking with Jesus? It’s definitely not a fuzzy feeling! When I esteem others more highly than myself and don’t do things through selfish ambition or conceit (Phil. 2:3), I am getting closer. When I cover the sins of others by exercising love (Prov. 10:12), I am doing well. But when I follow Christ’s commandment to love others as He loved me, then I am walking in His Spirit (Jn. 13:34-35). Whenever I ask, “What would You have me do, Jesus?” and walk accordingly, His Spirit will display godly fruit in me (Gal. 5:22-23), and this fruit will give all honor and glory back to Him.
My resolution: To let the things of this earth grow dim in comparison to God’s glory and grace, and to treat each fellow Christian as though I were dealing directly with the Lord Himself. I need to remember that He lives not only in me but also in them, and that He therefore takes my behavior toward them very personally. Acts 9:4-5 refers to Paul’s persecution of Christians, yet the Lord said, “Why are you persecuting ME?” (no slide for this one).
Please visit again next week to read Meredith's study on... surprise!
And finally it's time for the slideshow (you can click on the 'full' button to watch full screen :-) I hope that your hearts will be encouraged with a yearning for our wonderful Savior.
Wishing you every spiritual blessing for the coming year,
Margaret
First thought: do I really mean it when I sing or say, “JUST a closer walk?” I tend to storm my Father’s throne with so many petitions. And although Jesus told us that it’s ok to do so, once in a while I need to stop and re-assess my priorities… Well, walking more closely with Jesus is definitely at the top of my list, but HOW do I actually do it? Once my mind started down that track, many verses came to mind and began to form a story line further to Laura’s three-step process. I decided to put them into a slideshow for you, but you may wish to keep reading first to get the bird’s eye view before pondering the slides at the end of this post.
What do I need for my daily walk? First, I need a solid foundation. In order to trust God, I need to know that He and His word are absolutely trustworthy. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 tells me that this is so. If I believe it, then I also know that God’s word supplies everything I need for every good work. And furthermore, that it keeps me from sinning against Him if I hide it in my heart (Ps. 119:11).
Do I need to produce ‘good works’? Yes! Not in order to be saved, but because I am. Good works are the evidence of my new nature. You see, I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for this very purpose. Just imagine, God actually prepared those works for me beforehand that I should walk in them (Eph. 2:10)!
What constitutes a ‘good work’? A ‘good work’ is not just doing a specific thing like being a Good Samaritan. In essence, it means doing absolutely EVERYTHING to the glory of God – whether I eat, or drink, or do anything at all (1 Cor. 10:31). Glorifying God in all that I do is the outward expression of my inward faith. The Bible warns believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together because they need one another to stir up love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25).
Why are good works so important? Because God’s light shines through them, and He gets the glory generated by them (Matt. 5:16). Obviously, every Christian undergoes a growth process before their mind is renewed by Scripture. But even older Christians tend to retain some corners of their minds (and thus their bodies) that remain conformed to the world. The thing is, the more my mind is conformed to what God’s word tells me, the more closely I will walk with Him, and the more effectively I will prove in practice what is His good and acceptable and perfect will (Rom. 12:2). And thus (in some small measure, of course) I become God’s light in this dark world!
I am no longer my own - ouch! I grew up being ‘my own woman’, doing my own thing. I like planning and deciding and… But I don’t want to do that any more because I have been bought with a price – the ultimate price: Christ’s blood. My body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit (how awesome is that!) and I am to do His bidding (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Paul begs us to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, purely because this is our reasonable service (Rom. 12:1). It is for this purpose that I want to walk with my Savior every day, no, every moment. I want Jesus to be magnified in my body in every situation (Phil. 1:20-21). I want Him to live through me in a very obvious way (Gal. 2:20).
How can I tell whether I am actually walking with Jesus? It’s definitely not a fuzzy feeling! When I esteem others more highly than myself and don’t do things through selfish ambition or conceit (Phil. 2:3), I am getting closer. When I cover the sins of others by exercising love (Prov. 10:12), I am doing well. But when I follow Christ’s commandment to love others as He loved me, then I am walking in His Spirit (Jn. 13:34-35). Whenever I ask, “What would You have me do, Jesus?” and walk accordingly, His Spirit will display godly fruit in me (Gal. 5:22-23), and this fruit will give all honor and glory back to Him.
My resolution: To let the things of this earth grow dim in comparison to God’s glory and grace, and to treat each fellow Christian as though I were dealing directly with the Lord Himself. I need to remember that He lives not only in me but also in them, and that He therefore takes my behavior toward them very personally. Acts 9:4-5 refers to Paul’s persecution of Christians, yet the Lord said, “Why are you persecuting ME?” (no slide for this one).
Please visit again next week to read Meredith's study on... surprise!
And finally it's time for the slideshow (you can click on the 'full' button to watch full screen :-) I hope that your hearts will be encouraged with a yearning for our wonderful Savior.
Wishing you every spiritual blessing for the coming year,
Margaret
A Closer Walk With Jesus
View more presentations from Dr Margaret Lepke.
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