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Walking with Jesus – Week 2 / January 7th
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself to
Walk just as He walked.”
1John 2:6
For the real Christian life is about walking with Jesus; this means being in step with Jesus or walking like Jesus! The true Christian is then in pursuit of Jesus and he or she does this by availing themselves of the means by which His life is truly brought to us by the power of His Spirit. In the book of Acts these ‘means of grace’ are referred to as Bible study, prayer, fellowship and the breaking of bread or Communion. (Acts 2:42) We should all embrace these as a regular part of our daily lives and doing this requires commitment or discipline. Paul, knowing this wrote, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” (1Timothy 4:7) The grace of God is definitely appropriated by our commitment to all that it promises us in Christ. We all have one shot at life and this chiefly means allowing Jesus to create us in His image. (Ephesians 2:10)Those who miss this calling miss the very purpose of their existence. Their lives will end up being squandered or wasted. How sad it is that many choose this pathway. Jesus called it the “Broad Road” that leads to destruction” and then He went on to say “many are they that travel by it.” (Matthew 7:13) This is truly sad; but sadder still is the fact that many who know the way of life do not walk with Jesus. They hear the word, accept the word initially but bear no fruit. Jesus also spoke about these people. (Matthew 13:18-23)
Walking with Jesus however means also recognizing that by the Holy Spirit you are already with Him in heaven. You have been raised up with Him and now sit with Him in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:4-6) You have power over in-dwelling sin (Romans 6:11-12) and you are vitally linked with Him by His Spirit in heaven now. (John 16:13-15) It is the closeness then of your relationship with Him that frees you from all fear and particularly from the fear of what to expect at His judgment seat when you finally appear before Him in a resurrected body to give an account of yourself. (Romans 14:10) (1John 4:17-19) The truth is when Jesus steps out of heaven to come again you will step out of heaven with Him and suddenly be found with Him in a perfect body. This is what it really means to walk with Jesus and this is why Paul wrote:
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with
Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4
Walking with Jesus is then more than just a quiet time or church attendance no matter how good and essential these things are. It is ensuring that these good spiritual habits bring us into a real and vital relationship with Jesus. It means being warmed by His sweet presence and having a conscience so sensitized to God that we do not grieve His Spirit or quench His Spirit. (Ephesians 4:30; 1Thessalonians 5:19) It means that we have such a real relationship with Jesus on a daily basis that when He comes what was real by His Spirit is now real by bodily fellowship. Happy are the people who walk with Jesus in this way. I suspect that there are all too few!
Malcolm Hedding
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2014Devotional Blog