faithfulness

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Walking in Christ

How does one know if they are walking in Christ or walking in the flesh? Walking in Christ is not based on a long list of religious activity, but rather it’s really a matter of allowing Jesus to live His life through you. It’s a matter of intentionally laying down self-effort Christianity and being led by the Spirit. It is the daily awareness that you are going to allow your words, actions and thoughts to be directed by the Holy Spirit.

This way of life is not, “I’m just going to wake up every morning and see how I feel” kind of living. It is an intentional act of the will whereby you declare that you are going to allow Christ to be manifested in all that you say and do.

There are some indicators along the way that let you know which way you are walking. Here are a few questions to consider that might be an indicator that you may be walking in the flesh.

We may be walking in the flesh if your conversation with others is inconsistent with how you would like to be treated. Do you have a habit of speaking down to someone as if they were beneath your status? If you are person of authority, how do you speak with those who are under your authority? Do they detect the love of Christ in your actions and your manner of speech? How do you treat others who may live “on the other side of the tracks”?

Walking in Christ is being able to display nothing but grace. How we respond to conflict and people who irritate or offend us is an indication of our Christ likeness.

We may be walking in the flesh if there is a lack of personal transparency? I am not referring to wearing your feelings on your shoulder and sharing all your fears and troubles with every person who will listen. I am referring to having the courage to admit you are wrong and also make mistakes. It is a willingness to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Are you trying to appear more knowledgeable or spiritual than you really are? Do you try harder to hide your weakness, more than you do to be transparent and real?

When people encounter you do they walk away with an opinion that you are humble and approachable, or do they sense you have an emotional wall around you that makes you unapproachable?

I am convinced that the single most important trait that attracts unbelievers to a believer is a transparency that cries out, “I’m approachable, I care for you and you can tell me anything”.

You may be walking in the flesh if you have a judgmental spirit. The world is looking for someone who is real and understands their struggle. Most people know when they are failing at life, and they don’t need someone to remind them of their failure. It’s a refreshing thing for them to encounter someone who understands, cares and loves them just as they are.

I have been around those in the workplace who could quote much of the Bible. They were known as the religious guy or gal. However, their display of knowledge created such a judgmental spirit that they were unapproachable. Their daily walk was inconsistent with their Bible knowledge.

Bottom Line

Walking in Christ treats others like you would like to be treated. It’s displaying love and compassion in your communication, even when you are being disrespected. It’s learning to walk in transparency and humility, helping others understand that they are not alone, you also struggle from time to time. Walking in Christ is developing a listening ear that exudes love and compassion. Those around you care less about how much you know, and more about how much you care.

Walking in Christ is showing the essence of God’s grace in every situation, with everyone we encounter. That’s because every encounter is a God moment. It’s like the British preacher and author Roy Hession would say;

“Every person who crosses us, every person who discourages us is God’s way of breaking us. It creates a deeper channel in us for the life of Christ. The only life that pleases God is His life, never our life. Our self-centered life is the exact opposite of His. We can never be filled with His life unless we are prepared for God to bring our life constantly to death.”

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O  lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NLT)

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Practicing Grace

One of the benefits of being a committed follower of Jesus is that we are a receiver of God’s grace. He pours out His favor upon us because we are one of His children. We can’t earn it by our good behavior or by performing good deeds. His grace and His righteousness were imputed to us the moment we put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Because of God’s grace, we are placed into Christ, and He in turn, is placed into us. (John 17:21-23) Not only does God demonstrate His grace by saving us and bringing us into His family, but He then refers to us as “His children” and “His workmanship”.

This grace also provides us an identity and a oneness with the God of the universe. Added to all of this, we have perpetual forgiveness and cleansing, just for the asking (1 John 1:9). God forgives and cleanses us and then removes the sin from us, remembering it no more.

The depth and breadth of God’s love and grace is unmeasurable. All of this was freely given to us because we are His children. Those of us who have experienced God’s grace will quickly testify that the world has nothing that can compare to God’s undeserved favor. We are truly blessed to be receivers of His grace.

But there is another aspect of God’s grace that we must also recognize. The scripture says that “to whom much is given, much is required.” Just as we have been a willing receiver, we must also be a willing giver of this grace.

When we demonstrate God’s grace to others we are revealing the character of God. This might come in the form of a casserole or a meal, a kind word or a smile. It might appear as a gift of money for someone who is having trouble finding a job. Or, it might appear in the form of forgiveness for someone who has cheated you out of some money. It could come in the form of a helping hand.

In other words, we are to pour out the same measure of grace to others as we have been extended by God. God’s shows His grace to us not because we deserve it or have earned it, but He extends His love and grace just because He loves us. He is not paying us back for something we did for Him. He is not trying to gain our favor because He is setting us up to do some deed in the future that no one else is willing to do. He shows us His grace and favor because that’s just who He is!

Bottom Line

As the old saying goes, “We may be the only Bible someone may ever see.” If we are committed followers of Jesus, God has equipped each of us with the ability to be His grace to someone who needs hope, help and encouragement.

Please don’t waste His grace. Be a demonstration of the grace of God to someone who needs an encounter with our loving Father. Will you join me in asking the Lord to show you those people who need a touch of His grace, and then be willing to be a conduit of His grace to a hurting and needy soul?

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Will the Real You Standup?

There is an old saying, “The real you is who you are when you are alone and no one else is around.”

If this saying has merit, and I believe it does, then when no one is around, who are you? Does your public persona match who your are when no one else is around? Are you as sensitive toward spiritual matters in private as you appear to be in public?

I think that is one of the challenges of living the Christian life, that we are as consistent in our private life as we appear to be in our public life. We certainly don’t want to be known as “ who you are speaks so loud that I can’t hear what you are saying,”

Jesus addressed this issue in His sermon on the mount. In Matthew 6 He speaks about man’s tendency to “showboat” when it comes to good deeds. He said, “Don’t do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others…don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matthew 6:1,3 NLT)

Further on in that same chapter, Jesus addresses the issue of prayer. He said don’t pray in public so that you can be seen, but pray in private. He said,“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly…I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get…but when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Matthew 6:5-6 NLT)

Jesus’ implication throughout this passage is authentic faith. It involves being consistent outwardly with who you are in private. They should be the same person. This kind of life yields transparency, authenticity and consistency. It’s at this point that our life becomes salt and light. Those we encounter will see real faith in action and it will draw them to Jesus.

Bottom Line
How do we make sure that who we are in private is who we want to be in public?

1. Live out of your identity in Christ. We have been given the life of Christ within us, so walk in that identity. (Romans 6)

2. Endeavor to practice humility. Humility is not a spiritual gift, but occurs as we surrender more of out life to Christ’s control. (John 15:5)

3. Practice surrendering your rights and expectations of others so that you can love and serve them without expecting something in return.

4. Practice trusting God daily and having a thankful heart. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

5. Make regular prayer a priority. A personal private prayer life is usually an indication of the depth of spirituality and the degree of trust in God. It’s not how long you pray, but prayer is the communication gateway to fellowship with your Heavenly Father. (Philippians 4:6-7 )

The end result will be “who you are in private will be who you become in public – a humble, authentic follower of Jesus.”

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less, and others more.

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What’s In Your Hand?

“She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” … (Jesus said) “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to… She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.” (Mark 14)

What a great life lesson for the disciples as they were about to be cast out into the world without Jesus’ physically being with them. It is apparent from the life the Apostles led after the resurrection that they took this life lesson to heart.

This lesson is for us also. Our attitude is to be “doing what we can,” but it may not be as you think. This lesson is not about “doing something for God,” but it is about being faithful to trust God for every moment of your life.

We are to take whatever the Lord has placed in our hands and use it for His glory. Ecclesiastes 9:10 reminds us, “Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.”

In other words, the Lord never intended for us to look for things to do for Him, but just be faithful in those things that He places in our hands and brings across our path.

Instead of saying, “Lord I think I want to do this for you”, it should be “Lord, what would you have me to do?” If we will learn to live every day in obedience to Him, and let go of our life in full surrender, He will bring thoughts, circumstances and people across our path that will lead to spiritual fulfillment and abundant fruit.

That’s a difficult lesson for me to learn. I am a doer/performer by nature. My life motto is “You are holding up production, get out of the way and let me do it.” Waiting on God is not one of my virtues. So brokenness for me has been to learn to back off, wait till God speaks and then join Him in what He would have me do. I am sorry to say there have been too many instances when I took things in my own hands and have gotten ahead of God.

While we are waiting on God to lead us we can be like the servant woman in Mark 14, “we can do what we can.” We can love those who are hard to love. We can practice giving away our life to others. We can provide Bibles for those who have never seen or read a Bible. We can bake cookies for our neighbors. We can help someone who is struggling. We can identify a single mom and give them a helping hand. You get the idea, we can give what we already have in our hand and God will open more doors for us than we can ever imagine possible.

During the late 80’s I left the full-time pastorate, received some additional training and opened a pastoral counseling ministry. I was immediately covered up with counseling clients. As a matter of fact, there were times when it would take several weeks to get an appointment with my office. I was perfectly content with spending the rest of my life in this ministry.

I wasn’t impacting a whole community nor ministering to the masses in a pastoral role, but I was reaching a few, one counselee at a time. I was doing what I could and being faithful to what God had placed in my hands.

One day I was approached by a mission leader and asked if I would allow him to translate my conference material into Russian and then go Moscow to teach several hundred pastors. This was just after the curtain had fallen in the communist Eastern Bloc countries. I must admit, I was a tad uneasy about this new opportunity. First, it was Russia. They had been our enemy for most of my life. Secondly, other than a Caribbean cruise, I had never been out of the country. Besides, what could I possibly teach pastors who had been persecuted and thrown in jail for their faith?

But God had once again placed something in my hand and I must use what He had placed in my hand and trust him for the results. On that trip, God took what was in my hand and used it for His glory, far exceeding my expectations.

God used this event to open up a whole new world to me, literally. During the next couple of decades I had the privilege to train thousands of pastors and church planters on five continents, all because I used what was in my hand and trusted God for the rest.

Bottom Line

The Christian life is about surrender. It’s about surrendering all that we are, and all that we hope to be. The Lord wants us to be faithful using what He has already placed in our hand. He wants us be like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet, so it can be said about us “we have done all we could.”

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Maintaining a Sense of His Presence

The Scripture teaches us that under the New Covenant the Spirit of the Living Christ is placed within each believer at the time we give our life to Him (John 17;21). The Scripture also teaches in John 16 that the Holy Spirit resides within us to teach, guide and lead us into all righteousness. Therefore, God can give us the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Since we have the promise of God’s omnipresence in our life, we can live with the assurance that wherever we go, God is there. He fully understands the gravity of our situation. This distinguishes our Lord from all the false gods of the world. Our God is a personal god. He knows us by name, He knows all about our life and He allows us to commune with Him. What a wonderful privilege to be a child of the living God.

God wants to move us to the next level by growing in our degree of intimacy. I don’t think there is a theological word that adequately describes this level, but I like to refer to it as “Maintaining the Sense of His Presence.” Some may refer to this as Abiding.

As mentioned above, God is always with us and dwells in us, and He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. That’s a great truth that brings us comfort. However, beyond that knowledge, there is personal intimacy with the Father. We should always seek to maintain and enhance that personal intimacy.

This personal intimacy is not gotten by good works or acting more spiritual. Nor is it obtained by good works. It is realized by a deep longing to “know Him.” When we seek personal intimacy we turn our affections toward the Jesus within us, and have a deep longing to know and commune with Him. We begin to pass into another spiritual dimension. We are immediately challenged to have a fresh look at our sinfulness and examine our motives. We develop a longing for a deeper level of holiness. It’s like a thawing of our spiritually cold heart. We may even acknowledge that our outward spiritual activity has masked the inward coldness of our heart.

Madame Guyon says it best in her book Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, where she comments on intimacy; “(For a believer) The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where He dwells. The Lord once promised to come and make His home within you. (John 14:23). He promised to there meet those who worship Him and who do His will. The Lord will meet you in your spirit. It was St Augustine who once said that he had lost much time in the beginning of the Christian experience by trying to find the Lord outwardly rather than by turning inwardly.”

All true believers have been to the place where they sense His abiding presence, but they have a difficult time staying there. In the busyness of life we let little things creep in that slowly hardens our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. When we lose this sensitivity our speech resembles the world’s language, our attitude reflects our culture and we slowly begin to lose the sense of the Lord’s presence. We become satisfied just to know that He will never forsake us, but give no thought to the fact we have lost the sense of His abiding presence.

Maintaining a sense of His presence is a deliberate and willful act of our will. It is an act of surrender and abandonment. Surrender is the willingness to surrender all those things that drive away the sense of God’s presence. It’s surrendering our worry, doubt and fear as well as those things that we know grieves the heart of God. It’s surrendering not only what the Lord allows to come your way but it’s also surrendering your reaction to what He allows to come your way.

Abandonment is forgetting your past and leaving the future in His hands. It is being satisfied with the present moment and laying all your concerns at Jesus’ feet. It is being fully immersed in His presence.

Bottom Line
Are you like me? I have a problem staying in that sense of His abiding presence. I know I am not there when my behavior and my thought life is inconsistent with my identity. I know that I have stepped out of that fellowship when I am full of fear, or when I snap back with cutting words to someone who was rude to me. Sometimes I quickly repent but sometimes, I’m sorry to admit, I enjoy my moment in the flesh too much to immediately confess my sin. But my desire is to live every moment guided by a sense of His daily presence. I think this is God’s intention for us, to continually dwell and live with a sense of imminent presence.

Do you long for a daily sense of His abiding presence? If so, make a deliberate turn toward the inward Savior. Ask Him to show you what is hindering you from having that daily sense of His abiding presence.

I am reminded of a gospel chorus that was written in 1972 by Stephen Adams, Where the Spirit of the Lord Is. It speaks to the subject of experiencing His presence. Perhaps you remember the little chorus.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is peace
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is love.
there is comfort in life’s darkest hour,
there is light and life,
there is help and power
in the spirit, in the spirit of the Lord.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

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Radical Christianty

 

“Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.” (Jeremiah 10  New Living Translation)

The above verse is an account of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah telling Israel to turn from the false wooden and stone idols and return to Jehovah, the only true God.

When I read the accounts of the Israelites constant turning from the one true God and worshiping wooden and stone idols, my first response is “what’s wrong with these people?” Have they forgotten their rich history of God’s faithfulness? Have they erased the memory of His multiple, miraculous deliverance? How could they snub God for a wooden or stone idol?

However, when I think of our present day society, aren’t we guilty of a similar thing? No, we may not be erecting wooden and stone idols, but we are guilty of turning to other things that become our gods. Our hobbies, possessions or even our recreation can replace our affection and devotion to the supremacy of Christ in our lives.

The Christian life is not about how many times you attend church in a week, nor how many hours you spend in prayer and Bible study. Even though it may include those things, the Christian life is about personal intimacy. It’s about developing a continual and constant dependency on the sufficiency of Christ. It’s about abandonment and surrender to the supremacy of Christ in all things. It’s giving God permission to lead, guide and develop every aspect of our life.

Total surrender is not giving God 10% of your money, time and talents; it’s giving Him 100% control of all you have and all you are. It’s yielding everything to the Holy Spirit’s control. It’s metaphorically laying every aspect of your life at Jesus feet and acknowledging that all you are, all you have and all you will ever be is vested in Him.

You see, God’s point in our utter abandonment is for us to acknowledge that we are created for a purpose. We are not just a biological happenstance created to wander about on the earth. As committed followers of Christ, we become “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 4:20) We really do figure into God’s grand scheme of things. We are created for this moment in history to be a demonstration of what God is like to your world.

The Bottom Line

You may be thinking, “This is radical stuff.” Yep, you are correct; this is radical Christianity, designed by God to impact our cultural for eternity. Anything less could be a form of idolatry. Will you take the challenge to lay your life at Jesus feet and be a radical follower of Christ and change your world for eternity?

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ( Jim Elliot, Martyred Missionary)