Christ Followers

“Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10 NKJV

I have been trying to get into a routine of walking for several weeks now. I know that walking will not only help me lose the weight I’ve been trying to shed, but it will improve my overall health and stamina. However, there is one problem…my lack of will power. I just can’t get up in the morning early enough to get the household chores done so that I’ll have time to walk after I take the kids to school.

Sometimes I have the same problem when I’m trying to follow Christ. I just don’t have the will power to keep on going. I know that following Christ will be beneficial for me and for His Kingdom, but there are some days that it’s hard to follow Him. When this happens, I try to re-focus my thoughts and remember what God’s Word says about being a Christ follower.

First, when I realize that I am following the world more than I am following Jesus, I remember that Exodus 23:2a says “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” I examine my thoughts and actions to see if I am following the crowd more than I’m following Jesus.

Next, Psalm 119:166 reminds me to follow God’s commands. “I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.” I search God’s word for His commands so that I know what He wants me to do.

Finally, I heed the words of Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I test my thoughts and actions to see if they are in line with God’s requirements.

Over the next month, we will explore each one of these elements of following Christ in depth. Then the last week of February we will see how the life of Paul was changed as he became a Christ follower.

My prayer for you is that you will allow God to work in your life and show you what it means to be a Christ follower. He alone is the Hope for your home.

What's Your Story?

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4 TNIV

2009 is here, so what are you going to do? Are you going to spend your time spinning your wheels trying to get more accomplished in less time? Or, are you going to allow God to direct your path and show you what He wants you to do? The new year always brings an opportunity to "start over" and begin anew. There are so many things I would like to accomplish this year, but I know that not all of those things are what God wants me to do. My number one priority this year is to spend more time in His Word learning all I can about Him so that I will recognize when He is talking to me and showing me His will.

God was so gracious last year in opening many significant doors of opporunity for me. Looking back, I realize that I would never be able to guess all that He was going to do in my life last year. So, that makes me all the more excited about 2009. As I glance at the calendar for this year, I have no idea what God has in store for me. All I know is that there will be some good and some not so good. But, whatever He chooses for me, I have the confident hope that He will work things according to His purpose.

We read in Romans that we have stories in the Bible to show us that we have hope no matter what we go through. When your story is told this year, will your life reflect that hope? Remember that future generations will be looking back to see what we did with our lives and how we handled whatever came our way. What's your story going to be?