| Walking as Jesus did... |
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1 John 2:3-4
3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Wow, we read some words that may seem harsh to some, in 1 John 2. The man who says “I know him” but does not do as he commands is a liar. Have you ever claimed or been around someone who claimed to know how to do something and you/they really did not know how. It would be like me saying I know how to speak Hebrew, eventually you are going to find out I can not speak Hebrew. This all goes to the fact that we need not put on a show. We do not have to pretend to know how to do something just to fit in. If you were in a room full of doctors, in order to fit in would you volunteer to do surgery? Well of course not. If a pilot on a plane suddenly passed out would you tell the passengers you know how to fly a plane even though you do not? Well I guess if you played your airplane game on the PS3 that would be ok, no of course you would not. You would not want the lives of all those passengers in your hands when you did not know what you were doing.
So why does John tell us this? Are there really people out there pretending to be Christians just to fit in or to please someone? It is a possibility. Sometimes it may seem easier to take the level roads of life. You know the ones, say yes when they want to hear yes and say no when they want to hear no. I have seen it before, you are at a youth function and an invitation is given. Youth start to come up knowing that Jesus is what they have been missing. Then you see the young man come forward, he says all the right stuff, does what he is supposed to, but after he is done he does nothing to change his life. He continues to live a life outside of God’s will. He continues to walk in darkness. But wait, he came forward, he accepted Jesus, he dedicated his life. Yes he did do that, but did his life change, no. Upon talking to this young man about his decision, he said that he only came forward because every one else was doing it. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. He just wanted to go with the crowd. He didn’t mean what he said when he dedicated his life to Jesus. He was just trying to fit in. He said he did not know or believe in what he was doing. So, if he believed or not is between his heart and God. We must believe in order to receive. Belief in Jesus as your Savior starts with your heart, you must believe Jesus is Lord.
Look at Romans 10:9-10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
So how did John tell us we would know someone who really knows God? Look at verse 5 and 6.
1 John 2:5-6
5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
If we are in His Word and obeying His Word, that is when God’s love is made complete in us. We know we are in God’s will when we walk as Jesus did. Yes, your Jesus walk. So you can have your “fire insurance”, you can act a good act, but to truly be in God’s will for your life you must walk as Jesus did. Let your Jesus walk be your testimony to others. This young man that came forward at the youth function, yes he could have had his “fire insurance” but was He really living his life for God? No, he was still unchanged by the events that had unfolded that night. Our Jesus walk is not only about accepting the gift He so freely offers but it is also about us becoming a new creation in Him.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
And we see in Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Did you catch it? We are new. The old is removed and the new is revealed. Are we pretending just so we can fit in? You have to give your life to God, not just your Sunday life but your everyday of the week life. Give God everything you have, seek His will in all you do. Live in such a way as to have others look at your life and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are a child of God. Do not just hear the word but do what it says! I am no doctor, I am not a pilot but I am a Christian and in being a Christian I must live my life for God. So if you are pretending, turn to God and seek His will for your life. No more fitting in, no more conforming to the ways of this world, no more following the crowd. Stand up and let others know you are a child of God, a follower of Jesus. Proclaim it to the four corners of the earth.
In Christ’s Love,
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