Weekday Devotionals

Christian= living Christ-Like
By Rick McCotter

1 John 4:17…And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
 
Did you know that the word Christian was given to the Disciples/Apostles?  It is not a word that the church adopted.  At that time, the pagan society labeled them Christians because they were living like Christ did when he was here on earth.  

The Disciples/Apostles, were living so much like Christ, they were called Christians.   How did they do that and are we living like Christ every day?  If you or I were in a court of law, based on how we have lived our life, would there be enough evidence to convict us of being a Christian?  Let’s unpack this and discover some truth.

Truth #1:God is Love!  God is on a mission to do one of the most important things in you…Conform you into the image of his son, Jesus.  1 John 4:17 tells us that as we live in God, our love grows more perfect…we become more like God/Jesus!

Truth #2:Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit when he left earth to be with God the Father.  It is the Holy Spirit living in and through you that allows you to have the power to live in God and have his love perfected in you.  The process is called Sanctification, becoming more like Jesus.  It is impossible to live in God by using the power of your human nature which is sinful.  Realizing and admitting to God you are powerless to live a Christ-Like life, that you can’t do it in your own power, releases the power of the Holy Spirit living in you to live that Christ-Like life in and through you.  

Truth #3:It is possible and Gods desire for you to live like Jesus here and now on earth.  It requires you to do two things that Jesus told us to do if we want to follow him and be his Disciple.  Here are the two requirements:  Matthew 16:24…Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Simply put Jesus is saying you must completely surrender your life to me.  It is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in and through you. Galatians 2:20.  

In summary, God is love and he wants to perfect his love in and through us using the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.  This will produce a Christ-Like life in us; we will become more like Jesus here and now in this present life.  Us living here and now as Christ did, will bring many unsaved people to Jesus!

- Rick




Recent

Archive

Categories

no categories

Tags

no tags