esus set the platform for us to live by in Luke 9:23 – 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.” Jesus knows that the only way to be a true follower is to “walk with Him on a daily basis”. Being a follower of Christ involves a daily examination and renewal of our relationship with Him. We don’t “arrive” but continue daily to seek to follow Jesus’ example in how we life. Satan is daily tempting us to turn our backs on Jesus, be selfish and indulge in sinful behavior. We must constantly be in close contact with Jesus in order to say “NO” to those temptations and remain faithful in our daily lives. Throughout the New Testament, we are called to work on our relationship with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our “walk” as a Christian is a daily walk. He writes in I Thessalonians 4:11-12 – Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul advises them that they are not walking as mature Christians, but as “babies” that need to learn the basics. We don’t realize how immature we are in our walk with Christ until after we have studied His life and teachings and observed how He taught us to live. I Corinthians 3:1-3 – Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? Our purpose as Christians is to be an example to others “…so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-16 – It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. It’s not about you, but about how you can be a teacher to others and an example of what a Christian should be like by how you live your daily life. We need to be in a daily relationship with Jesus to become more like Him. We eat daily. We should also pray daily, read the Bible daily – especially the words of Jesus. We do not want to continue in any of the sinful behavior that we had before declaring Jesus as our LORD. As it says in Hebrews 3:12-14 – See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. Way too many Christians have grown lax and careless in their faith and walk with Jesus. Are you one of those? Examine your life from God’s perspective. What are you doing right and what is something that you need to change? Are you growing in your walk with Christ, so you are a living example to others? What are you doing to teach others how to know and follow Jesus? Hebrews 5:11-14 – We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Peter closes us with a call to action – I Peter 2:1-3 – Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. Ask God to show you in what ways you are not walking with Jesus and change you from the inside out to be more like Him so you...
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