DAILY WALK AS A CHILD OF GOD Part 5

8 7 12 Daily Walk as a Child of God  Part 5  

DON’T FORGET TO PRAY! 

Yesterday is in the past. Today is the present. It’s in the present that we write our past. Tomorrow how do you want your past to reflect your walk of faith? Did you walk as a child of God?

Your Daily Walk as a Child of God should be based on:
1. “The right kind of belief in Jesus Christ.”
2. “Walking in the newness of life. You are a “new creation” forget the past, the “old you” is dead.”
3. “A continual process of examining yourself in light of your faith position in Christ.”
4. Your heart’s desire to faithfully walk in Christ, seeking first his kingdom and His righteousness.
5. Living a crucified life in Christ, a life of unselfishness and obedience.

Today’s devotion is not easy to accept and very difficult to live out. A part of your daily walk as a child of God is reflected in how you live. Are you living a crucified life in Christ? Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual sensitivity and understanding as you read the Scripture text.

Scripture: Luke 9: 23-24 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Note: Luke 9:23: reveals to us what the daily walk of a child of God looks like. It reveals to us how we are to walk our walk and talk our talk. We must live a life of unselfishness, taking up our cross daily, being willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and grow us up in Christ.            

Mankind’s basic nature is to please self, to indulge self, seeking the pleasures of life. This nature limits them to where they can seek these things…within themselves or in the world. They look to self and the world to provide the things that appeal to the flesh. None of what the world offers has any eternal or lasting significance. Any pleasure we receive, any satisfaction we enjoy, is short-lived. That is why the child of God will deny themselves the so-called pleasures of the world and instead seek the lasting pleasure of those things that honor God. You must understand that while this is a worthwhile goal to pursue, a believer cannot possibly do this in their own strength or on their own. They must operate in the power and under the control of the Holy Spirit.

The faithful walk of a child of God is seen in your willingness to daily take up the cross of Christ. This does not mean you must constantly bear-up under severe hardships, trials and tribulations. That is not what the text is about. When a believer willingly takes up the cross of Christ he is identifying himself with Christ’s death on the cross. To make this personal and easier to understand, when you willingly take up the cross it would be you saying: Jesus gave his life for me; I am willing to give my life to him?

Taking up the cross daily is not to be seen as an object you are to carry or to bear. It does mean you want to die to self daily. This means a willngness on your part to put to death all that remains of your old self and become that new creation in Christ Jesus. You will now want your desires and ambitions to honor Christ. Dying to self means that you want to live for Christ, letting him rule and reign in your heart. This is an act of will, the will of your “new self” your new “born-again self” which is created to be like Christ. Your allegiance is no longer to yourself, to any organization or denomination, to any profession, to any man; your allegiance is to Jesus Christ and Him alone.

This will be the last devotional dealing with the daily walk of the child of God. We have looked at five different things that should be evident in the life of a believer who is growing in the knowledge of Christ. One thing I want to make sure you understand, none of these devotionals were written with the intention of your generating a list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to the faith. That would be legalism. Please understand we are all to strive for perfection but as long as we are in the flesh our perfection will be in our relationship with Jesus Christ. When the relationship is right with Jesus and we submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit, doing the things we have talked about over the last five days will become our natural response because our new nature is the same as that of Christ. My love to you all, David

Word from the Lord: “Beloved, my Son, Jesus lived among you for a short time but it was long enough for him to be an example to you of how to live. His life showed you what living a crucified life is all about. He gave his all in his service to me and to my creation. If you claim Him as Lord of your life, are you willing to give your all to Him? I’m not asking you to appear righteous; I’m asking you to be righteous. I want you to be able to say to others: the life you see me living is not my life but it is the life of Christ in me. To live in this way, to live for the One who gave himself for you is living the “crucified life” life I want you to live. Don’t worry about the opinions of others. You don’t have to impress anyone. Let the Holy Spirit flow naturally through you and relax and enjoy your relationship with my Son. You are greatly loved.”  

Did the Lord speak to you today?  Why not write it down and claim it for His Glory. 

Prayer:  What do you need to pray to the Lord today? Listen to your heart. He loves you!