F – WALKING WITH JESUS – 6
As a Christian our greatest
desire must be to walk with Jesus. This
involves our speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. 1
Tim.4:12 We walk in Truth for Jesus
is the Truth. Jhn.14:6 Not only is Jesus
the Truth, He is the Way that we walk when we walk with Him. He knows the Way.
As Paul prayed for the
Colossians, he prayed that they would be filled with knowledge, spiritual
wisdom and understanding as they bore fruit in every good work to please Jesus
and walk worthy. Col.1:9,10 This should be a
picture of our walk with Jesus as we strive to please Jesus in every way.
We are walking with Jesus because
we love Him. Loving Him means that we
are going to put Him first. Matt.6:33
When we put Jesus first, we will want to please Him and in turn we
will want to do His will which means obedience to His every command. If we walk with Jesus we have to know
Him. 1 Jhn.2:3,4 By keeping His
Word, our love of Him is perfected and this becomes a blessing for we then know
we are in Him. 1 Jhn.2:5
We can’t walk with Jesus with
love for Him and still love the world at the same time. We put off that old man and things we loved
in the past. 1 Jhn.2:15,16 Old habits,
worldly success, types of entertainment, friends of the world all are set aside
in favor of pleasing Jesus with whom we walk.
A great blessing follows as we know those things of the world will just
pass away but the blessing of those that do God’s will have eternity in view. 1
Jhn.2:17
If we are walking with Jesus we
will strive to imitate Him. Jesus had a
servant heart. He saw the needs of
others in physical, emotional, and spiritual ways. We cannot walk with Jesus if we also do not
have a servant heart. We all have been
given a gift with the purpose of using it for Jesus. 1
Pet.4:10 Whether our gift is
speaking or serving or both, the purpose is not for our own glory but for the
glory of God. 1 Pet.4:11
We can obey; we can serve; we can
walk with Jesus. This must all be done
with all of our heart and not just in a mechanical way. The word, “heart”, is used often in both the
O.T. and N.T. It certainly is not the
organ of our physical body. The heart is
used in the sense of our emotions, desires, thoughts, and decisions. We love God with all our heart. Our desire to walk with Jesus involves all of
these.
As God looked upon the sinfulness
of man before the flood, He saw the thoughts of their hearts were very
wicked. Gen.6:5 As God commanded
the Israelites to obey His laws, He added that they were to do so with all
their heart. Deut.26:16 David prayed
that the meditations of his heart would be acceptable to God. Ps.19:14 God’s law is stowed away in our
heart. Ps.40:8 In walking with
Jesus our paths will be made straight as we trust in Him, but we must do so
with all of our heart. Prov.3:5,6
The Lord knows our heart like an
open book. He senses our emotions; He
knows our desires; He searches our thoughts; He is very aware of our
decisions. Heb.4:12,13 We cannot hide
from our Lord.
Where is our treasure? What thought consumes our mind the most? That is where our heart will be. Lk.12:34 Our desire and purpose cannot be on
material things nor things that would be to please men. Eph.6:6 As we work in an earthly capacity, we
work with a sincere heart as if working for the Lord rather than for man. Col.3:22,23;
Eph.6:5
Many times our words show what is
in our heart. Matt.15:18 We may “look”
religious and seem to be religious but in a moment of stress our mouth detracts
from our sincerity. Our words show our
walk with Jesus. Rom.10:8-10
Our purpose centers in our
heart. This is true whether in giving,
serving, speaking or in whatever capacity we are striving to please our
Lord. 2 Cor.9:7,8 We were created
to serve our Lord. Eph.2:10 This is the way we
walk.
Our heart is involved in many
facets of our walk. Reasoning or
thinking comes from our heart. Mk.2:6-8
Grieving is part of life and centers in the heart. Jhn.16:6 Not only does grieving come from the
heart but also does rejoicing. Jhn.16:22
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