Becoming Like Jesus: Confession and RepentanceSample

Walking the Walk

Today’s Scripture is a challenging passage from 1 John written to show us that following Jesus is about a whole lot more than just saying the right words.

Keep reading.

Pray…

Heavenly Father, help me to love you with all that I am: all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And help me to love others the same way you love me. I want to take my faith seriously and truly give you my very best. Teach me how to make obedience a habit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6 NLT

Consider….

According to John, anyone who actually knows God will obey His commandments. While none of us will ever obey perfectly, we’re all sinners in need of Jesus after all, the real question is whether or not we even attempt to obey God’s commands. We can all point to times where we’ve seen people treat God’s commands the same way they would the commands of some random dude on the internet: completely ignoring them.

John calls people like that liars who are not living in the truth. What would John say about you? John tells us when we obey God’s word we are showing how completely we love Him.

We show God how much we love Him by doing what He says.

The final sentence of this passage tells us that anyone who says they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. Another translation puts it this way, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6 NIV)

In other words, don’t talk the talk if you won’t walk the walk. John’s not being legalistic. He’s being logical. If you say you’re following Jesus but decide to turn left when He goes right, you aren’t following Jesus. If we claim to have committed our lives to Him, but nothing in our lives actually changes, then we aren’t being honest. God doesn’t want empty words. He wants your whole life.

Practice…

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be obedient to God today.

Where have you been disobedient to God? What decisions can you make differently today to show God how much you love Him by being obedient? Who can you ask to pray for you and hold you accountable to it?

Start by picking one thing. Make that your focus for today. Repentance happens one step at a time.

Listen…

Find a quiet place where you can continue to spend time with God. Maybe you have a favorite chair, a certain spot in your backyard, or a particularly cozy closet. Wherever you need to go to limit distractions, do it.

Set a timer for five-ten minutes. Ask God to speak to you. When you get distracted, come back to God by praying this Scripture:

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Psalm 86:11 NLT

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you spent together and go into your day looking for opportunities to love Him and love others.