Jesus Christ

Does your life reflects Christ?

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As one who strive to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, I try to focus on the big picture–the crown that awaits me at the end of my journey. Still, I realize it is a steep climb, and I cannot do it on my own. Therefore, to be successful, I must pay close attention to Jesus’ teachings, and the things He stood for, and most importantly what He did on the cross at Calvary.

Hence I most certainly cannot allow myself to get distracted by trivialities, like, what is right and what is wrong. Instead, I should attempt to let my life be a mirror that reflects Jesus Christ.

Too often Christian folks get embroiled in social fights that result in heated exchanges. And sometimes these back and forth arguments and name callings get so out of hand that it is hard to differentiate the saved from the unsaved.

The apostle Peter says Christians should

Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it (1 Peter 3:8-9).

I especially like what Paul wrote in one of his letters to the Church in Philippi:

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining as bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, you will be proud that you did not run the race in vain and that your work was not useless (Philippians 2:14-16).

Sing for Jesus

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“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” Colossians 2:11-15).

Are you ready to meet with the Bridegroom?

imagesng3cik3l1.jpgJesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 7:21). Even so, one would have to search long and hard to find a professing Christian, who does not think he or she is ready to meet the Bridegroom. 

The truth is, Just like unrepentant sinners; many people who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior–are in danger of getting shut out of the banquet hall when the Bridegroom returns. Not that they are bad people, but humans like to do things their way and not God’s way. The prophet, Isaiah, talking to his country men and women, declared: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

Surely, many of us have intentionally detoured from the path that Jesus walked. We have turned to our own way. Then, we convince ourselves that we can get back on the right path in time to meet the Bridegroom. In fact, the five foolish virgins who went to buy oil for their lamps also thought they could get back in time to meet the Bridegroom. They were wrong..

Of course, one could argue that the five foolish virgins were not bad people. On the surface, it seems they did all the right things, and they were just as excited about meeting the Bridegroom, as the five wise virgins. However, they came up short when it matters most.

There is only one way to prepare for the Bridegroom, and that is, Follow the step-by-step plan that Jesus has laid before you. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Therefore, friends, If one walk as Jesus walked, rest assure that a seat awaits you at the banquet table when the Bridegroom returns.

Have you been changed?

Every Christian strive to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, but I often wondered whether that is ever possible for many of us. It seems one cannot begin to walk in Jesus’ footsteps without first learning to walk in His shoes. The problem with that though is this: Too many of us who profess Christianity have not been changed. How do I know this? Many of us continue to hang on to bad habits, old culture and tradition long after we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Let’s be honest–the old man cannot walk in Jesus’ shoes. The person must go through a transformation process. The writer of 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it this way:

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Saul, the notorious tax collector and Christian persecutor, never went back to his old ways after his transformation. As a matter of fact, he has some very good advice for us:

“Therefore, since a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith surrounds us, let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily trips us up. Hence, let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Face your giant head-on–Don’t cower.

At times the problems we face get so big that they seem to tower over us like an aggressive giant. In the midst of trouble, fears stirred, understanding becomes darkened, and joy evaporates. Yet, rather than look to God for solutions, one leans on his or her own understanding; and as a dark shadow looms over us–we either run away or cower and fold.

In fact, if we learned to face problems like young David confronted the giant Goliath, no one would become paralyzed by fear,  and cower just as the Israelite soldiers did before Goliath and the Philistine army.

On the whole, it was David’s faith and trust in an all-powerful God that allowed him to view his opponent in a different light. Therefore, instead of seeing a giant, David saw an uncircumcised Philistine, whom he defeated.

In Psalm 121 David writes the following:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore