Following in Your Footsteps: With Your Help

The last post in the series, I talked about how living a life following in Christ's footsteps can be difficult. Wouldn't you agree?
 I mean that is a tall order to live like Christ, right?

In my opinion, my answer to that question would be a simple, "yes".
Jesus is perfect, while I, on the other hand, have never been perfect one day in my life. So how am I expected to follow in Christ's footsteps?

Thankfully, I don't think God expects me to be perfect.
In fact, He has sent us a helper. Did you know that?
We call that helper, the Holy Spirit.

God knows that we can't do this on our own. Because He is so loving, He wanted to help us out, so God has sent Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16-18 says, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

This should offer us confidence and comfort to know that the Holy Spirit is with us...to guide us, to comfort us, and to love us. Stepping out of our houses and into the world would normally cause us anxiety, but knowing that God has sent us a Helper should motivate us to go out and walk in Christ's light.

How gracious and loving it is, that Jesus would not leave us out on our own to live in a chaotic world, but to be by our side every minute of the day.
I don't know about you, but I often forget this truth.

Rachel Held Evans says in her book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood (which I will talk about later ;), "The same applies to faith. One need not to be a saint, or even a mother, to become a bearer of God. One needs only to obey. The divine resides in all of us, but it is our choice to magnify it or to diminish it, to ignore it or to surrender to its lead."

 I think I would be a better follower of Christ if I woke up every morning and said, "Christ in me, give me the tools and the confidence to live out your love today. May I align my life with Your characteristics so that people will come to know You. Help me to hear Your voice, feel Your love, and see Your will. I can only do this with Your help. Amen."

 

 Readings for the week:
Monday: Proverbs 13-15
Tuesday: Proverbs 16-18
Wednesday: Proverbs 19-21
Thursday: Proverbs 22-23
Friday: Proverbs 24-26
Saturday: Proverbs 27-29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I need more fruit!

 

I need more fruit. Plain and simple. Did you know that the recommended amount of fruit for adults is a minimum of two cups a day. Fruit is an important part of healthy living because it gives us vitamins and minerals that help fight of illness, strengthen our immune system and give us energy. 

Are you getting the recommended amount of fruit a day?

That's not the only fruit I need more of...I need more fruit of the Spirit.

 

Have you heard of the "fruit of the Spirit"? If you haven't, that's okay because you are about to learn them! We learn about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23..."But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." So basically the fruit of the Spirit is an attitude, a lifestyle, a result of living in the Spirit, not an actual fruit that you eat. So you may eat a cup of strawberries and an apple a day, but are you forebearing the fruit of the Spirit? I'll be honest with you...I sometimes (well, more than sometimes) struggle with the fruit of the Spirit. I've noticed, however, that the more dedicated I am to serving God, the easier it is to live by the fruit of the Spirit. For example, the days where I have dedicated my whole self to God and have immersed myself in the Word, I feel this joy and I think, "Why do I feel so free and so happy?" Or when I'm at the store and it's so easy for me to be kind to others, I think "What has gotten into me?!" God then reminds me, "Hellooo!! It's my Spirit! Duh Chelsea!!" The more focused I am on God, the Holy Spirit intervenes and gives me the ability to live in "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodnesss, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect when that happens (because I'm not), but it becomes possible to bear that kind of fruit when I'm living by the Spirit. When I'm loving, kind, faithful, gentle, etc., that is NOT me...it is the Holy Spirit living IN me. The Holy Spirit can live in ALL of us. It's definitely a choice to follow Christ and to live as He has called us to live, when we do that the Holy Spirit kind of "takes over". Can you imagine if EVERYONE produced the fruit of the Spirit? Oh my goodness, that would be AWESOME! This world would be a MUCH happier place! We can't change other people and the decisions they make, BUT we can change the way WE think and the way WE live.

 

So think about this...are YOU bearing the fruit of the Spirit? Are you focused on God? If not, ask God to give you the hunger to seek Him, to live out His calling on your life, and to bear the fruit of His Holy Spirit. He wants us to live that way! So I challenge you to really dedicate yourself to God and His teaching. Trust me, you will produce some AWESOME fruit (of the Spirit, which is better than an actual fruit!). Plus, people like that kind of fruit (of the Spirit)...I mean, who wants to be around someone who is hateful, sad, impatient, rude, unfaithful, aggressive and impulsive? Um, I know I don't!

 

Pray this with me...Dear God, I thank you that you make it so clear in Your word what you can produce in me when I live according to Your will. Help me to hunger for Your Word and to live the way You have called me to live. Move your Spirit within me and produce fruit that will bring others to You. Thank you for the many blessings you have given me. In Christ's name, Amen.

 

P.S.- If you are following along with the read-your-bible-in-a-year plan, today's reading is Matthew 17 & 18, yesterday's was Matthew 15 &16. Also, if you're memorizing a verse, don't forget to practice it and hold it close to your heart!