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"Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10).
We often feature photos from Doris High's blog on our posts and some will be able to guess where she and Cerwin are traveling, based on her featured photo today. Brooksyne observed that the giant boot must have been created in recent years since it was not there at the flagship LL Bean retail store in Freeport Maine when we last visited over 10 years ago. It reminds me of the giant rocking chair our family sat in at Branson several years ago!
As followers of Christ we have some mighty big boots to fill based on today's call in Scripture, "Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." I suppose if I was writing this at the time of Christ's walk on earth I would write, "We have some mighty big sandals to fill…"
The apostle Paul uses this theme of walking worthily several times in his writings: "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). "Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12b).
Let's spend a few moments examining today's main text and the nature of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. This involves:
1) Seeking to "please Him in all respects." This is certainly an all inclusive statement! We are also told to "find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). As followers of Christ this is an ongoing pursuit and the main source of finding out what pleases Him is the Holy Scriptures. Increasing the effort to walk with and please the Lord will run contrary to the world's way of thinking. It would be an extremely rare media interview where the "expert" directs us to dig into the Scriptures to find the Lord's answer for the problem at hand. Additionally, we are moving into an era where "good is called evil and evil is called good" (Isaiah 5:20).
2) "Bearing fruit in every good work." Jesus Christ called His disciples to fruitfulness and good works. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8). "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). All over the world today my brothers and sisters are doing this, often unseen and normally unheralded. Their personal reward on earth is seeing changed lives but their greater eternal reward is yet to come. Whether it's in the tough prison setting or the lonely nursing homes; whether you're the hospice volunteer or pregnancy crisis counselor. Actually it's any door you walk through where you can brighten the darkened circumstance by shining the light of Christ through your words or deeds.
3) "Increasing in the knowledge of God." To do so we must read, meditate and even pray the Scriptures. Always read the Scripture text itself but then carefully supplement your Bible readings with studies that might help you better grasp and understand the Bible. Avail yourself to Study Bibles so that you become familiar with the historical settings or benefit from viewing timelines and outlines of a Bible book. Character studies of familiar and not so familiar Bible personalities are commonly featured. Of course, solid Bible believing churches should be eqipping the saints with good studies and supplementary learning materials as well. Peter concluded his final letter with this: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
To summarize our text: We must submit our ways to God in our walk, in our behavior, in our productivity and in our godly knowledge. Let us be faithful so that we nurture our walk and bring honor to our Father in heaven!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, we want to continue to live in You; our faith being rooted and built up in You and strengthened through teaching from the Holy Scriptures and from following the example of godly believers. Help us to be faithful in our walk, in our talk, in our actions, and in expanding our spiritual knowledge so that we will walk in amanner that pleases You and honors Your holy name. Amen .
Brooksyne's Note: As I was writing today I couldn't help but think back to the early 70's when I got my first cassette tape recorder for Christmas. It came with the tape by Nancy Sinatra singing a very popular song at the time, "These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." Talk about a musical message that is so contrary to the walk God wants us to have in lifting others up along life's pathway!
Today's Suggested Music
Thursday, January 8, 2009
How's
this for a big boot?
"Walking Worthily"
"Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10).
We often feature photos from Doris High's blog on our posts and some will be able to guess where she and Cerwin are traveling, based on her featured photo today. Brooksyne observed that the giant boot must have been created in recent years since it was not there at the flagship LL Bean retail store in Freeport Maine when we last visited over 10 years ago. It reminds me of the giant rocking chair our family sat in at Branson several years ago!
As followers of Christ we have some mighty big boots to fill based on today's call in Scripture, "Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." I suppose if I was writing this at the time of Christ's walk on earth I would write, "We have some mighty big sandals to fill…"
The apostle Paul uses this theme of walking worthily several times in his writings: "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). "Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12b).
Let's spend a few moments examining today's main text and the nature of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. This involves:
1) Seeking to "please Him in all respects." This is certainly an all inclusive statement! We are also told to "find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). As followers of Christ this is an ongoing pursuit and the main source of finding out what pleases Him is the Holy Scriptures. Increasing the effort to walk with and please the Lord will run contrary to the world's way of thinking. It would be an extremely rare media interview where the "expert" directs us to dig into the Scriptures to find the Lord's answer for the problem at hand. Additionally, we are moving into an era where "good is called evil and evil is called good" (Isaiah 5:20).
2) "Bearing fruit in every good work." Jesus Christ called His disciples to fruitfulness and good works. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8). "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). All over the world today my brothers and sisters are doing this, often unseen and normally unheralded. Their personal reward on earth is seeing changed lives but their greater eternal reward is yet to come. Whether it's in the tough prison setting or the lonely nursing homes; whether you're the hospice volunteer or pregnancy crisis counselor. Actually it's any door you walk through where you can brighten the darkened circumstance by shining the light of Christ through your words or deeds.
3) "Increasing in the knowledge of God." To do so we must read, meditate and even pray the Scriptures. Always read the Scripture text itself but then carefully supplement your Bible readings with studies that might help you better grasp and understand the Bible. Avail yourself to Study Bibles so that you become familiar with the historical settings or benefit from viewing timelines and outlines of a Bible book. Character studies of familiar and not so familiar Bible personalities are commonly featured. Of course, solid Bible believing churches should be eqipping the saints with good studies and supplementary learning materials as well. Peter concluded his final letter with this: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
To summarize our text: We must submit our ways to God in our walk, in our behavior, in our productivity and in our godly knowledge. Let us be faithful so that we nurture our walk and bring honor to our Father in heaven!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, we want to continue to live in You; our faith being rooted and built up in You and strengthened through teaching from the Holy Scriptures and from following the example of godly believers. Help us to be faithful in our walk, in our talk, in our actions, and in expanding our spiritual knowledge so that we will walk in amanner that pleases You and honors Your holy name. Amen .
Brooksyne's Note: As I was writing today I couldn't help but think back to the early 70's when I got my first cassette tape recorder for Christmas. It came with the tape by Nancy Sinatra singing a very popular song at the time, "These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." Talk about a musical message that is so contrary to the walk God wants us to have in lifting others up along life's pathway!
Today's Suggested Music
and
Supplemental Resources
(Click
on the link to open and play. In some cases you may also need to click
again to start the song.)
"Today I Choose" Video A great song of whole-hearted commitment.
"He Who Began A Good Work In You" Video A time-honored song based on Philippians 1:6 assuring us that God will be faithful to complete the work He began in us when we surrender our hearts to Him.
"Trust And Obey" Video "When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way. When we do His good will He abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey." What a great message from an old hymn but sung with a newer upbeat contemporary arrangement. We believe you'll enjoy it.
"Today I Choose" Video A great song of whole-hearted commitment.
"He Who Began A Good Work In You" Video A time-honored song based on Philippians 1:6 assuring us that God will be faithful to complete the work He began in us when we surrender our hearts to Him.
"Trust And Obey" Video "When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way. When we do His good will He abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey." What a great message from an old hymn but sung with a newer upbeat contemporary arrangement. We believe you'll enjoy it.
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references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.
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Personal
Mission Statement:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ
I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord.
My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and
to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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