We live our lives walking in Jesus’ name. This daily devotional looks at building patience and endurance to walk in Jesus’ name.
Nuggets
- Walking with the Lord is a choice.
- As children of God, we walk in Jesus’ name.
- Walking through trials in Jesus’ name teaches us patience.
Devotions in the In Jesus’ Name series
We are called to live our lives honoring God. We do that by walking in Jesus’ name.
We are looking at Wilkinson’s sermon entitled Doing All in the Name of Christ. Let’s see what he has to say in this section.
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Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
We Will Walk in Jesus’ Name
“For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever” (Mic. 4: 5 ESV).
Walking with the Lord is a choice.
Walking is the term used to describe how we live our lives. Walking with God means we are humble, reverent, teachable servants of God.
Let’s do some substitution.
- For all the peoples live each in the name of its god, but we will live in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
- For all the peoples live each in the name of its god, but we will live humble, reverent, teachable lives in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
There is usually no shortage on who this world considers a god with a corresponding religion. Goodman addressed this by saying, “It will be very hard, if not impossible, to find any nation or people that have lived without a God.”
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Unfortunately, that leads them to believe that it is okay to worship any god, even if it isn’t the One true God. Worship is our personal or corporate response of admiration (confession, thanksgiving, praise, etc.) based on our attitude to God’s presence and our imitation of His character.
Giving admiration to some other god isn’t what God has in mind. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Ex. 20: 3-6 ESV).
When we live for our God, He supplies us righteousness, peace, and protection. He does this by being present with us 24/7/365. We know we can trust His promises.
We Will Walk as Children of God
“But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity’ (II Tim. 2: 19 ESV)
As children of God, we walk in Jesus’ name.
God seals us as His own. Disciples are sealed as God’s by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
We are sealed because of our faith. Being sealed is another way to show that we are set apart from the world.
Our being sealed by God gives us assurance of His love, His watchcare over us, and our salvation through our belief in the sacrifice of Jesus.
Glossary
We are children of God when we ask Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer. Only when God has forgiven us of our sin can we approach Him on His throne.
Forgiveness is, when we ask, the act of God pardoning us because we have shown repentance for breaking His laws and commandments, which allows us to become holy as He is.
- Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to changing ourselves through obedience so that we no longer do the wrong things.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
Glossary
God knows exactly when we genuinely come to Him in faith and repentance. Faith is a gift from God that enhances the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives and distinguishes us from others.
Glossary
It is great to know that God does not have favorites among His children. “For there is no favoritism with God” (Rom. 2: 11 CSB).
We have to make sure we don’t gloss over the second part of the verse. “… ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity’ (II Tim. 2: 19 ESV).
We have to turn away from sin. Salvation is not a license to keep on sinning.
Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
Instead of continuing to sin, we navigate the Sanctification Road. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration; gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit; and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal new birth and requickening that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
Glossary
We cannot be God’s children until we submit to becoming as He is.
We Gain Strength When We Walk in Jesus’ Name
“I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary” (Rev. 2: 3 ESV)
Walking through trials in Jesus’ name teaches us patience.
Walking with God is challenging. Because we are following God’s Will, we encounter trials where Satan tries to tempt us.
Those trials teach us endurance and patience.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
We have to watch when we are faltering in our walk. There can be several things tripping us up.
Let’s talk about our disappointment with the amount of success we have been encountering.
Let’s face it. We think we should only find success after we submit to God.
Anything less would mean that we are not doing God’s work.
We need to watch that. We are only told to do the work — that which God calls us to do.
God does the rest and gets the results.
That means we may not be seeing the results. Remember what Paul said: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (I Cor. 3: 6 NIV).
We each have our part to play — nothing more, nothing less. Only God saves. Only God makes us bloom.
Only God has success.
Making the Connections
Let’s look at this another way. Since God tells us that there is a right way to walk, it is logical that there is also a wrong way to walk.
It is wrong to serve other gods. It can either be other religious gods or it can be worldly things.
It is wrong to be morally corrupt. We tend to think that is limited to bad behavior. I think not having God’s character is moral corruption.
How Do We Apply This?
- Search for and Seek God
- Be a humble, reverent, teachable servant.
- Patiently wait on God to work.
- Endure the trials that grow us closer to Him.
Father God. We want to spend our lives on this earth walking with You. We humbly submit to You as Sovereign God. We worship You for being the eternal, self-existent, unchangeable Ruler that You are. Lord, You are omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Help us as we navigate the Sanctification Road.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
What do you think?
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