Weekend Words

 From Be Still and Know...

Artwork by Robin Elise

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and please God, so ye would abound more and more" (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

It has been said, "Our walk is what we are, translated into what we do."  It is character expressed in conduct.  It is made up of all of which our life consists, our business, our pleasure, our conversations, our trials, our problems.

Our spiritual walk begins at our new birth and continues to the end of our journey...

The Lord has set certain standards for our daily walk. "... that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God."

Following are enumerated some of God's standards.  One standard is to please the Lord in our walk.  "For this reason also, we make it our ambition, whether at home or away, to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9 Weymouth).

Our walk is to be worthy of God.  "We told you from our own experience how to live lives worthy of ... God" (2 Thessalonians 2:12, Phillips).  To bring honor and glory to Him in our daily walk is to walk worthy.

Love should characterize our daily walk. "Live your lives in love" (Ephesians 5:2, Phillips).  Walking in love is to love as Christ loves.

We need wisdom on our walk.  "Walk in wisdom towards them that are without" (Colossians 4:5).

Our walk should be worthy of our vocation. "... to live and act in a way worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these" (Ephesians 4:1, LB).

Good works should accompany our walk. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

As you check your spiritual walk today ... how does it measure up?  God's standard for our walk is Jesus Christ. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him" (Colossians 2:6).

From Behold The Lilies...

Artwork by Shrawani Bose

"Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." - 2 Kings 20:1

When I am expecting company, I set my house in order.  I put away the things that I neglected to put away earlier.  I run the vacuum cleaner over the carpet and sweep the kitchen floor.  The dishes stacked in the dish drainer are put away.  Even though they were covered with a dish towel, their presence on the countertop would have been visible.

Someday Jesus will call me away, whether by death or by His coming.  Then nothing will be more important than having my spiritual house in order.  I do not want to have things lying about when he comes - the neglected prayers, the ignored voice of the Spirit, the postponed spiritual disciplines.  I do not want to have a build-up of impurity in my life, an accumulation of things stacked up that should have been put in their proper place a long time ago - the grievances, slights, and misunderstandings that have not been forgiven.  I may have managed to cover them with a cloak of pretense, but to the Lord they are in plain sight.

The residue will not have a chance to form if little things are swept away at their first appearance.  Regular spiritual maintenance will ensure that I am ready whenever he calls me to Himself.

Artwork by Asia Spettell