Walking in Him (Part 2)

 

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” 

Colossians 2:6

I read this verse a couple of days ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. We are to walk in Him, and so, I had to ask myself, “What does Jesus walk in?”

           Righteousness-Philippians 3:9          

           Integrity-Proverbs 20:7a

           Gladness and an upright heart-Psalm 32:11

           Prayer-1 Thessalonians 5:17

           Thankfulness-1Thessalonians 5:18

           Kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness- Ephesians 4:32

           Truth- Psalm 86:11, Ephesians 5:8b

           Light- Psalm 89:15

           Liberty- Psalm 119:45

           Newness of Life-Romans 6:4

           Faith-Romans 4:12

           Courteous and compassion- 1 Peter 3:8

           Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance-Galatians 5:22-23

           In the Spirit- Galatians 5:25b

           Honesty- 1 Thessalonians 4:12

           Wisdom- Colossians 4:12

           Holiness-1 Peter 1: 15,16

           Worthiness- 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 4:1

           Humility- 1 Peter 5:5

And that is just the tip of the iceberg!

After I asked myself how Jesus walked, I had to examine my own heart to see if I was walking IN Him, the same way.

I will be honest, I fell short, but that’s where God’s Grace and Mercy come in...

    and then I can show grace and mercy to others who have let me down as well...

        But that's just me!

"We cannot walk in God's wisdom without walking in His Word."

    Dr. Paul Chappell

Walking in Him

"As ye have therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." Colossians 2:6

Just as Christ is received by faith, the believer is to walk (live) by faith, acknowledging the lordship of Christ over his life.  (Ryrie) 

I remember when I was a little girl, I would run up to my dad for a hug, and while having my arms held tightly around his waist, I would place my feet on top of his, and everywhere he walked, I walked.  Sometimes he would dance around, but as long as I kept my feet planted on top of his, I went everywhere he went.  He was in total control, and I was safe.

Now, being all grown up and living in the North, there are times when we get such heavy, deep snow, that my husband will walk before me and I will step into his footprints while walking behind him, holding on to the back of his coat.  He's already made a place for me to set my foot and as long as I place my feet into his footprints, I know that I will have sure footing.  He's leading us to our destination, and I am safe.

When I place my hands into the hands of my Saviour and allow Him to lead me, I know that I am always headed in the right direction, I remain in His will, and I am safe.

We are to walk in Him...

        He is in control...

                And we are safe...

                            But that's just me!

"To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere."  C.S. Lewis

"Those who walk with God, always reach their destination."  Henry Ford

The Power of Christ may Rest

" And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

I've had a rough week.  For those of you who suffer from chronic illness or chronic pain, you know what I'm talking about.  A debilitating pain leaves you wondering how you are going to manage your responsibilities; it leaves you guessing whether or not you will be able to keep a scheduled appointment or have the strength to make it through the day.  Just when the pain begins to ease up and you think the battle is over, a flare-up occurs, and like the Apostle Paul, you find yourself begging God to remove this affliction from you.

But sometimes removing the affliction is not what is best for us.

I must have read the above verse a thousand times and yet God showed me something new.

The words that jumped off the page are, 'that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'

I saw these words in a new light.

Paul accepted his affliction because he knew that it was in his affliction when the power of Christ rested on him.

Think about that for a minute.

God could have healed Paul, like He healed so many before him, and yet God chose not to heal him.

Why?

Because having the power of God resting on Him was far better than healing.

My friend-that transformed my thinking this entire week.

In pain, God allowed me to manage my responsibilites.

In pain, God allowed me to keep my scheduled appointments.

In pain, God gave me the strength to make it through the day.

How?  His promised power rested on me.

Every time I felt my pain, I praised God for His power resting on me.

And like the Apostle Paul, I realize that because God's power rests on me, everything is going to be OK.

God's power...

    in my weakness...

        makes me strong...

            But that's just me!

The Potter

“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”  Isaiah 64:8

I remember taking a Ceramics class in Junior High school and getting to use a Potter’s Wheel.  Making a lump of clay into a bowl was hard work for me.  It was time consuming, it was messy, and I had to keep adding water to the clay to prevent it from drying out and keeping it moldable.

Creating what God wants me to be, is not hard for my Father the Potter.

His hands have created beautiful things, just look around.  He also has all the time in the world to work on me and He continues to work on me every moment of every day.  Sometimes He has to splash water on me to remind me to confess the sins that have crept into my life, because my sin will harden me.  Sin in my life will resist the hands of the Potter, I will want to become what ‘I’ want, instead of what the Potter wants.

A friend recently told me, "This verse brings a lot of memories from when I had Ceramics Class.  If I could not center the clay on the wheel, there was zero chance of making anything close to what I needed it to be.  I think it is that way with the Lord.  He needs to be what centers us, or we just cannot do anything in this life that is good or pleasing to God." TB

God wants to mold us to become what He purposes for us to be. (Do we let Him?) He is constantly turning and shaping us in the palms of His hands.

Have you ever walked into a Ceramic studio and seen lumps of clay?  They are all different shapes, sizes and colors. The clay that have been on the shelves too long have become hard and unmold able.  They are left on the shelf because they cannot be formed into the image the potter had planned for it.    

          Has sin in my life caused me to harden?  

          Have I placed myself on the shelf? 

          Un-useable?

          Do I resist being formed by the hands of my Potter?

Once the clay has been formed and shaped, designs are added to make their work individual pieces of art.  We have a Personal Potter.  We will all be shaped differently for different purposes.

And then the clay is put in a fiery kiln.  A shiny seal turned the dull clay into something worth looking at.  And all those who look upon it, will turn to the Artist and say, ‘Wow!  That is beautiful!  Your work is magnificent!’

You see, the clay doesn’t make itself beautiful, it becomes beautiful in the hands of the Potter.

Sometimes the Potter has to put us in the fire to remove our impurities.  To allow his own personal design to rise to the surface.

And then when people look at our lives, they can look to our Father and say, ‘Wow!  I see YOU in them.  You are a wonderful Creator, your are Almighty!’

So-

Do I allow the Potter to mold me into His image?   Or have I become hardened to the Holy Spirit of God?

Do I want to be molded to serve His purpose, or do I want to do what I want.

Am I a work of art that points others to Jesus, or have I become a lump of clay that sits on a shelf?

God is our Potter and we are the clay, not the other way around. Recognizing that we are the clay shows complete submission to our Father, the Potter. 

We are so blessed to be held in the palm of our Father's hands...

     being molded into useable vessels...

        For His honor and glory...

            But that's just me!

"You see, a potter can only mold the clay when it lies completely in his hand.  It requires complete surrender."  Corrie ten Boom

Other references of the Potter and the clay are found in Jeremiah 18:1-6,

Romans 9:21 and Revelation 2:27

 

Behind Enemy Lines

"And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."

Jude 23

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1-2

"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:10

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another."

Galatians 5:14-14

So, why all the verses today?  I couldn't pick just one.

My brother and I were talking on the phone awhile back about an incident that happened at his church.  It was grievous; and it all happened during a Business Meeting.

Sad how brothers and sisters in Christ who have different opinions about a situation suddenly become one another's enemy.

The following words are from my brother, so, thanks Mark!

"Have you ever noticed that First Responders are the first to run into the burning buildings, running towards the danger, the calamity?  During 9/11, the Firemen, Police, Paramedics, even strangers, ran toward the collapsing buildings, risking their own lives to save just one more person caught in danger.

Those who serve in our Military will risk their own lives to go behind enemy lines and retrieve those prisoned and those held captive.  The wounded, fallen Soldier, will be carried out on the shoulders of those serving beside him.  Their inner souls are wired to save as many as they can at the cost of their own lives.

And yet when a brother or sister in Christ are in sin, in despair, have decided to throw in the towel, the very ones who need rescuing, are left where they are with no help.  The very ones who are called to help the brethren end up turning their backs on the wounded and retreat."

Beloved, this ought not to be so.

We were close to tears by the thought of such cruelty and lack of love among the brethren.

In opposing views, we have forgotten Jesus' own words in John 8:7b, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..." 

We ended our call and I just kept thinking about our conversation.  It was all sad but true.  We can see others heading down the wrong road, and yet we don't hold up a sign (the Word of God) redirecting them.

Someone is going through a rough time and our first thoughts are, 'Well, they ARE reaping what they have sowed.'

Have we really grown that callous?  Are we really too busy to help those who are opposing themselves?

God forbid.

When I see others sinking in the pit of sin...

        or see others with their feet stuck in the miry clay...

            God help me not to judge...

                But to rescue....

                    But that's just me!

Words of Peter, 1 Peter 3:8,9 17 "Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing...

For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing."

It Started with a glass of Lemonade

 "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

The words of Jesus.  Matthew 10:42

I went to the Post Office today, opened my mailbox, reached inside, and pulled out a thin, yellow manila envelope.  It was addressed to me with a return address label with my brother's address.  It was an unexpected surprise!  I drove home, opened the envelope and reached inside.  A DVD. " The secrets of Jonathan Sperry."

I didn't have a clue what it was about, so I sent him a quick text.  He responded by saying, "This is a movie about a man who begins mentoring three middle school boys about Jesus.  The life lessons he teaches them will inspire you and make you cry, it's one of the best Christian movies I've ever seen, and it shows how mentoring others is a great investment."

So, I sat down to watch this based-on-true-events, movie. 

I was inspired.

And I cried.

This elderly widower reached out to three young boys, a bully, and a recluse neighbor.  He taught these boys life lessons, principles from the Word of God that not only changed their present circumstances but changed the direction of their entire lives, and their eternal destiny.

And it all started with a glass of lemonade.

One simple act of kindness...

    one person at a time...

        Can change the world...

            But that's just me!

"Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Shortcuts

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Words of Jesus, John 14:6

Man is always looking for shortcuts.

Math teaches us that the shortest distance between Point A and Point B is a straight line, so how come we think detours will get us some place faster?

Our GPS often takes us off the Highway for a more Scenic Route expecting an earlier arrival.

Popping something in the microwave provides a meal in a minute and thirty seconds, instead of an hour in the oven.

Drive-Thru allows us to eat in the car on the way home; why set a table and wash dishes when you don't have to, right?

Last Sunday I over-slept.  I didn't intend to, but I did, and it just so happened that we had an early choir practice that morning.  My mind immediately opted for shortcuts.  What could I cut out of my morning routine to get me to church on time?

I will be honest, I did not skip my morning devotion, but I did find my prayer to my heavenly Father shorter, and instead of reading an entire Chapter in His Word, I only read a few verses.

Shame on me.

Why does it seem our Saviour gets cheated by our shortcuts?

If we aren't careful, our shortcuts not only cheat our Saviour, but they cheat us as well.

I couldn't help but think of the Children of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land.  It could have been an easy trek, after all they were being led by a Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night.  However, their murmuring and complaining led them on a Scenic Route in the wilderness for 40 years.

Has my straight path been detoured because of my murmuring and complaining?  Have I delayed my arrival for blessings because of ungratefulness?

What about a 'works' shortcut?  Friend, are you placing your faith in your works to get you to heaven?

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it."  Words of Jesus, Matthew 7:13-14

There are a lot of shortcuts...

     but shortcuts are not always what is best...

        there is only One Direct Way to Salvation, and that is Jesus Christ..

            But that's just me!

"Christ was never in a hurry.  There was no rushing forward, no anticipating, no fretting over what might be.  Each day's duties were done as each day brought them, and the rest was left with God."

-Mary Slessor

"God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself."  -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"We must remember that the shortest distance between our problems and their solutions is the distance between our knees and the floor." -Charles Stanley