The Practical Walk

People have varying degrees of skill, aptitude and interest in athletics.  Some people who are fit, healthy specimens have no desire to play ball sports, and others who are not ideal pictures of fitness love to participate often.  We all have limitations when it comes to the fastest we can run, jump, lift and throw.  Even the best professional athletes who push themselves to a maximum far beyond other mortal men can only go so far.  The same is true for intellectual pursuits or physical work.  There are some things we will never understand and building skills we will never master.  No matter how hard we labour even maintaining the skills and fitness we once possessed can prove difficult.

The spiritual, inner man is in contrast to the outer man that is perishing because we are being renewed by faith in Jesus day by day.  Our understanding concerning God and His wisdom can expand after our minds and bodies are well past their prime.  By the power of God we are enabled to do things as we mature in faith in Jesus we could not do in our earlier days.  God does not teach "old dogs new tricks" but He makes old men new.  Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Contentment was something Paul needed to learn, and he did.  Experience coupled with conviction of sin through fellowship with God moved Paul to repentance and rest confidently in God's sovereignty.  This is not something only apostles or Paul could learn, but this is God's will for all believers.  Let us not imagine contentment is a hurdle only Paul could clear because he was a superhuman Jesus-freak, for the God who helped and taught Him is also our Helper and Teacher.

Another aspect of the Christian walk we are to embrace is that of sexual purity.  This purity of mind and body isn't just essential for pastors or those in ministry but for all believers.  Paul wrote this in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7:  "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ² for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, ⁵ not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness."  Paul was not given special knowledge no one else could attain, for it is the will of God that all believers know how to abstain from sexual immortality and how to keep our bodies pure in sanctification and honour without falling prey to lust.  This requires faith and agreement with God's definition of sexual immorality, repenting of our sin and walking in union with the Holy Spirit.  Knowing how to control our minds and bodies in sanctification is an ability from God we learn to walk in.  Since the Holy Spirit is holy, He will always lead us to walk in holiness.

The Christian walk of faith is not theoretical but practical and supernatural empowerment from God we are called to labour to choose.  Like that long jump distance which surpassed our natural ability to leap or that maths equation we could never solve, contentment and sexual purity is always beyond our natural man.  But praise be to God Jesus Christ is able to make us new creations and renew our minds to believe He can do what we cannot.  May it sink into our minds and hearts we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and this includes His will for us to live in purity and contentment.

When It Wasn't God

One of the challenges of our walk with God is knowing when He is speaking to us or not.  Being fallible people with limited understanding and knowledge we do not always discern God's voice clearly or correctly.  We can look for a big-picture answer when the LORD would have us deal with one decision to honour God or to forsake sin which prevents us from taking the first step to enter into His will.  It is a sobering reality many believers have laboured long under a misunderstanding of God's will for them that has hamstrung their perspective and possibly kept them from obedience.  People have believed they received a sign or direction from God which they ultimately decided was misguided, and this ought to be a warning to keep us from leaning on our own understanding.

When someone says they have prayed and believe they have heard and received an answer from God, it typically works to prevent any further discussion of the subject.  They have "felt a peace" with an idea or a decision; it was not their preference and thus it must have been of God--making how we think or feel a primary determination of God's will.  Making our feelings a guide is a snare we do well to avoid.  With a desire to honour and glorify God, those closeted from fellowship and convinced of a spiritual or personal truth can close themselves off of input from people who love God and them.  This desire to follow God at all costs is admirable, yet what may pass for honouring God can at the same time disregard the revelation of the scripture and the wise counsel of other Spirit-led believers.

One major hindrance to hearing the LORD clearly is the presence of besetting sin in our lives we have refused to forsake.  Galatians 5:13-16 reads, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! ¹⁶ I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  Paul reminded believers of their freedom from keeping the letter of the Law of Moses and it was fulfilled in their love one for another.  Denial of the lusts of the flesh was borne from walking in the Spirit.  If they walked in the Spirit, they would not fulfill the lust of the flesh because the Spirit of God is pure and holy.  Should the sinful lust of the flesh be evident in their lives, what would this show?  They were not walking in the Spirit or following His leading.  How can those who walk in the flesh be an trustworthy authority of God's wisdom and guidance?

When a person is unrepentant in sin before the LORD, they are made spiritually insensible and deluded because their relationship with God has been severed.  This does not mean their salvation is in doubt, but their sinful posture absolutely hinders their communication with God though they may continue spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading the Bible, fasting and going to church.  Like Samson with his locks shorn, they lack the spiritual power and discernment they possessed even earlier that day.  If we are walking in the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life, how can we claim to be led by the Holy Spirit?  Humble repentance for sin is a necessity for us to return to the LORD in fellowship.  In sin we are in a fog:  confused, bumbling around, circling back to sin, imagining we are making progress by efforts of the flesh to avoid sin when we are blind and miserable.  When God seems silent it is not always due to our sin, but given the foolish human precedent it would be silly to rule it out.

To have a healthy relationship with the LORD we must first respond to His initial call to salvation to repent of sin and trust in Him.  We must also continue walking in humility, repentance and faith after trusting in Jesus, for the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.  If we are walking according to the flesh, leaning on our own understanding, following signs, dreams, feelings or what we think God said, we will be led astray.  There are times people think God has spoken when it wasn't God, and praise God He has given us the Bible so we can be assured of the truth.  Thank the LORD He has placed us in a body of loving believers who truly love God and us, who care enough to walk alongside to encourage, strengthen and edify.  Glory to God for being our Redeemer, for even when we have gone astray He has graciously come to us to reveal He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

God Looks at the Heart

Being a prophet doesn't make someone perfect.  God corrected the prophet Samuel's assumptions concerning Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse who had a "royal bearing."  He looked at Eliab and thought, "This must be the LORD's anointed!"  1 Samuel 16:7 says, "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  Physical height was no qualification to be king when the heart of a man disqualifies him.  It is good for us to realise that we, like Samuel, can be led astray by first impressions and what can be seen.

What is true for individuals rings true for the Body of Christ, the church.  As long as I have been a part of the church there have always been people who come and go.  It is interesting to hear their perspective and how it impacts their decision to return or look elsewhere.  Some see a young pastor as one lacking necessary wisdom, and an older one as out of touch.  A large congregation is overwhelming to some, while a small congregation can be met with curious suspicion:  if it was a good church, why is it still small?  I am convinced any church you decide to regularly attend will have it faults and flaws because it if filled with people, and we all make our contributions.  But praise the LORD His grace, love and mercy is sufficient for us, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. :)

Trees provide a fitting illustration of how we cannot base our judgments primarily on what we see with our eyes.  Growing up we had a massive evergreen pine tree in the back yard which became infested with borers.  We were shocked to see grubs carving out paths under the bark which killed the tree in a season:  height provided no protection.  Fruitfulness is not always a sign of health either, for we had a peach tree heavily loaded with fruit which fell during the night.  The weight of the ripening peaches revealed the trunk had been eaten by termites.  Years ago I had a lemon tree that produced many green leaves but no lemons because the wild root stock had been allowed to flourish from under the graft.  Height, fruit and green leaves does not mean a tree is healthy, and I was surprised on all three occasions I based my judgment on sight alone.

Jeremiah 17:7-10 states, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. ⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. ⁹ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."  Only God can know the hearts of men, so let us not be presumptuous to think we can know the hearts of others.  Based upon God's promise the spiritual health of God's people is not dependent upon the age of their pastor or the size of a congregation, but is assured for those who trust in the LORD.  Those who look to Jesus Christ are made spiritually healthy because they are connected to the vitality of Jesus Christ.  Such will remain fruitful in heat and drought because of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit who empowers us.  Times of pruning comes for the fruitful which temporarily ceases production, but in time will flourish again.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD and hopes in Him!  This is the one whose heart is pure before the Father by grace through faith in Jesus.  Our eyes and heart can deceive us, but the LORD will give us the insight, strength and vitality to be fruitful wherever He plants us.  We use our eyes to observe others, and the LORD searches our hearts and tests our minds:  will the good fruit of the Spirit be found in us?  Great reward is ours, not primarily due to the church we attend, but when we are personally fruitful for His glory by His grace.

Going for a Walk

It is wise for us to work towards obtainable goals.  A goal can be a motivation as well as a guide to focus our efforts and remember why our labours will be worth it in the end.  Whether your goal is to fit into last year's pants again or to make the perfect pavlova, there can be great satisfaction in accomplishing what we set out to do.  It is also wise to consider our motivations in setting goals:  one could want to slim down for health reasons and another out of vanity and pride.

This need to examine our motives can ring true with goals like planting a church or increasing church membership.  People can be enthusiastic to obtain their ends like a dog that chokes himself on the lead his master uses to restrain him.  I have walked dogs that pulled so violently on the lead during a walk it almost resulted in their own strangulation!  Outside the confines of the yard some dogs are so excited to walk and explore they frankly lose their minds.  Why?  Because they have never been been trained to heed verbal commands.  Such dogs cannot be trusted to have the lead removed because they would never "come when called" or pay their master any heed but to run when their begging owner drew near.

It is interesting a dog can be so forceful to pull in a direction and not even know where he is heading.  Perhaps without the fence in the way the instinctive goal is escape!  When my brother took our dog through obedience training, it made walks much more enjoyable for dog and owner because our dog realised who was in charge.  How we need this reminder as sheep of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, as fellow labourers under His yoke!  The shepherd has plans the sheep cannot comprehend and daily provides for all the needs of the sheep under his care.  A sheep that trusts the guidance of the shepherd does not need to set goals for itself, and in following the Master we are led into new pastures and to still waters, to explore vast horizons we never imagined existed.

Going for a walk is basically taking a series of steps, one after another.  Walking the dog is good for exercise and training yet in itself never really accomplishes anything because the starting and finishing point is the same.  The walk of faith in Jesus is very different because we are fundamentally changed and transformed from within as we walk by Christ's side.  He takes us to places we never imagined and helps us navigate all manner of obstacles and difficulties through His wisdom.  He has goals for us we perhaps shrink from and has plans that are greater than our grandest dreams.  Every day is an adventure in His grace as we learn obedience by what He allows us to suffer.  Jesus' sheep hear His voice, He knows them, and we follow Him.

If pursuit and obedience to Jesus Christ by faith is our goal, we do well to labour to accomplish this.  All other goals we set for ourselves may be nothing more than resemble a dog straining at the lead to sniff a plant on the other side of a street busy with traffic.