Character Of The Worthy Walk

What does it look like to live a life that is worthy of the call?

Ephesians 4:1-3  Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  2  Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  3  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

John 17:21  I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one--as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me.

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In the previous post we learned that we have a responsibility to live up to the position that we have in Christ, there needs to be perfect harmony between who I am and how I live, if I do not walk worthy of the position that I have in Christ then God is not being glorified in my life.

My conduct needs to bring glory to God but what does that look like in practical application? Contrary to popular opinion it isn't about keeping a checklist of things that you are allowed or not allowed to do. We tend to tell people that they need to pray for this much time or read your Bible for this much time or don't do these things but the things that Paul told the Ephesian church to be concerned about are all inner attitudes or characteristics of their heart.

The attitudes that we need to cultivate in our heart include:

✔  Humility
✔ Gentleness or Meekness
✔ Patience or Long-suffering
✔ Forgiving Spirit
✔ Peaceful Spirit

That's what the world needs to see in God's people, we have been called by God to live a very peculiar life-style, but instead we look just about the same as the world. Our divorce rate is the same, the number of God's people that are dealing with anger and pride is not radically different from the rest of the world. The devil has a lot of nice, friendly, caring people that have better hearts than some of God's people.

Remember that it isn't about checking off a list of good things to do and determining in our head that we will live with filters and stay away from doing bad things. It is about heart modification, the Holy Spirit will put these into your life, your human effort will work for awhile but permanent change comes from within.

Walking worthy is a very big issue and one that doesn't get talked about enough. Does the world see the unity that Jesus prayed for us to have? Jesus prayed that we would have the same unity as he and his Father had so that the world would believe. The church should not look like every other human organization, there should be a supernatural difference, a unity that can not be brought about by human effort.

Our evangelism methods often fail because the church has a bad reputation, the message of love, unity and oneness gets lost because God's people don't walk worthy. We cannot have an influence on our world if they cannot see any benefits in our lives. Let's make the world take notice of us and wonder why we are so different.

Thank you Lord for your forgiveness and grace, I need to extend forgiveness and grace to those around me, help me rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to show me how to be radically different from the rest of the world.

You Can Make Things Better

Christians need to influence the world for good.

Jeremiah 15:17-19  "I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because Your hand was on me. I was filled with indignation at their sins.  18  Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry."

19  This is how the LORD responds: "If you return to Me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve Me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be My spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!"

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Jeremiah was having a party, not the kind of party that everybody else was having, Jeremiah was having a pity party while the rest of the nation was having a good time. Jeremiah was trying to live to please God, he knew how unhappy God was with the rest of the nation of Israel, he knew that nobody else cared about God.

The prophet complains to God again because of the unjust treatment he suffers, he has done no harm to the people, and in fact he has pleaded on their behalf for God’s mercy upon them, yet they still hate him. All alone and discouraged, Jeremiah feels that even God has failed him, he feels like he has lived to please God for no good reason.

You must influence them; do not let them influence you!" -Jeremiah 15:19

Standing up for what's right isn't going to be easy most of the time. God said to Jeremiah that he needed to live a life of faith no matter what the circumstances were and without regard for the way the rest of the world lived, they shouldn't influence him to turn his back on God rather he should be the one that uses his influence to urge the people around him to get right with God.

Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. -Proverbs 14:34

There are advantages as individuals for living to please God, to have his favor and peace and blessings in our lives, there is also a great benefit for the nation that seeks to live for God. Imagine what our nation would be like if a massive number of individuals lived to please God then our nation would enjoy great blessings and peace.

We don't have the ability to force the country to return to Godly values but we do have the responsibility to let our light shine in our area of influence. Just like in Jeremiah's day, the rest of the country may not choose to go with God but that doesn't change our God given duty to exert our influence for good.

Why should a Christian get involved and vote?

America At The Cross Roads

This election will prove which path America wants to take, will we take the Godly path?

Jeremiah 2:5-6,11 This is what the Lord says: "What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?'

11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

Jeremiah 8:4-5  “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.

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Choices, they are so important, each election that we have is an opportunity for good choices and for bad choices.

God's people have been known to make good choices and then quickly turn away, the earliest leaders of the nation of Israel warned them that their choices had huge consequences, advice that they took for a short while. Moses told the people that they had a"choice between life and death, between blessings and curses" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) and later Joshua told the people to make up their mind (Joshua 24:14-21). It wasn't long before they turned against what they had decided and went their own way.

Just like the people of Israel, America has made bad choices, we have pushed God out of our lives, out of our government and even out of our churches. We have decided that the size of our wallets and the pursuit of our own desires is more important than the timeless truths of God's word. Are we going to live by God's moral standards? That is the issue that will be decided with this election.

"People wonder whether guys like me... would only support a fellow evangelical? Well, friends, I want to tell you something. Of the four people on the two tickets, the only self-professed evangelical is Barack Obama. And he supports changing the definition of marriage. Believes that human life is disposable and expendable at any time in the womb, even beyond the womb. And he tells people of faith that they have to bow their knees to the god of government and violate their faith and conscience in order to comply with what he calls, health care... I care far less as to where Mitt Romney takes his family to church than I do about where he takes this country."

- Mike Huckabee

I wish that Mitt Romney were a Christian and I wish that Barack Obama were a better Christian if he is one. No matter what errors I see in each man's faith and belief system, I need to be sure that I vote for the man that will lead America back toward the Godly path that this nation started down. I am responsible to to be a good influence on the culture that I live in.

We will never have the perfect Godly man to vote for, after-all they are mere humans, I have to look past their flaws and vote for someone that will take us closer to God's standards. I need a man in the White House that can say:

"As President, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion."

Can your candidate say that?

Our choices for this election are just as clear as the choices that the Israelites had during the time of the Old Testament. I pray that we make the right one.

Influence, Be Careful Who Does It To You

Men of the Bible Series - Solomon didn't realize that we are all under the influence of somebody.

1 Kings 11: 1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3 He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

4 In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.

9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. 11 So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. 13 And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”

14 Then the Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary.

23 God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon’s adversary.

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Solomon was such a wise man and yet he missed an important piece of wisdom that parents try to teach their children, we are always concerned about the people our children hang-out with, we know better than Solomon did that if you hang with the wrong crowd they will establish influence over you in a negative way. Our friends have influence over the things that we see, hear and say.

Solomon neglected to listen to God's advice, he was warned that his close association with people that were not committed to his God were going to influence him for evil. Solomon allowed himself to be swayed by his wives and then Solomon's influence affected the nation as a whole and all of Israel suffered.

I will be wise and remember to be careful about who has influence on me, especially in the area of devotion to God because that is not an option.

Lord help me to be in the world but to not be influenced by the world. I want to be in your word each day so that I will be influenced for good works.

You might like to read: Men of the Bible blog series.

Shine Your Light

No sincere and humble Christian lives in vain.

Matthew 5:14-16  "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  15  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

16  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Ephesians 5:8  For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

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Attempting to be an undercover Christian is a difficult task. After all we are supposed to be different and then if we are not different the question can be asked were you ever a Christ follower to begin with? Being a Christ follow just naturally says that you are going to stand out, cause if you are living your life with any concern for "What would Jesus do?" then you will not be able to hide much better than he did.

Let it be seen that you are a real Christian but be very careful about the motivation. The proper motive to influence us is not simply that we may be seen (Matthew 6:1), but it should be that our heavenly Father may be glorified. When we are seen humbly working, doing good deeds we are a strong testimony for the gospel, we shine out through the darkness with the hope that the world is so desperately longing for.

I will bring glory to God by working on the mission that he has called me to live out, working with the motivation of advancing the kingdom.

Help me Lord to always be humble in ministry, thank you for finding me useful, I want to shine to bring you glory.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him -1 Timothy 1:12

Related articles

• Let us trim our lamps (thedailyspurgeon.com)

Impact The Darkness

I need to make a difference in the world around me.

Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

John 12:46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.

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Yesterday we saw that being a leader requires good character, one that is above reproach, a leader's character should set the moral standard so high that those that follow will have no reason to doubt the integrity of their leader.

A leader is somebody that has influence on others, by now it should be obvious that every Christian is supposed to be a leader, we are commanded to have an influence in other people's lives that will point them to Jesus.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus used two illustrations to tell his followers about the impact that they should have on this world.

Salt has two beneficial characteristics, it preserves and it gives flavor. When salt comes into contact with food it gives it more taste or it can also be used to keep the food from rotting.

As a Christian am I whetting someone's appetite and causing them to want to know more about Jesus? Am I behaving in a way that will leave people hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus? Is somebody developing an appetite to experience God's love first hand?

Are my actions encouraging moral decay or is my living up to God's standards helping to preserve and slow down the moral decay that is all around us?

Don't forget that salt is not neutral it exerts influence for good just by its nature but we have to actually apply the salt and cause it to come into contact with the food. As Christ followers we tend to isolate ourselves and minimize our contact with those that need the salt. We have to mingle with those that need the salt just like Jesus did.

Not only are you supposed to be salty you are also supposed to be a shining city on a hill. The Christian should be shining the light of the gospel to everyone around, peirceing the darkness so that the world will be able to see and they will be drawn to the Jesus.

In either analogy the point is clear that God wants us to be a positive moral influence for all to see.

Too many Christians either avoid contact with non-Christians altogether, or they conceal their faith in a manner that provides no salt or light. I need to be a lot more salty and I need to become a light house that can save people from the dangers in the dark.

Help me to be salty and full of light so that I can have an influence on somebodies life today.