My Walk

All Things

"Let all that you do be done in love."

Showing and sharing the love and truth of Christ is not merely a goal to be accomplished, nor merely a thing to be done. For one... it is never finished, for the Christ-follower, while we are still in the world. It is lived out, daily, as we walk through life. Likewise, it is not intended to be passive, or only as it is convenient to you and I. There is certainly something to be said of sacrificial love; even sacrificial acts of kindness. It is, at least, a foundation toward building Christ-likeness.

But be careful! Guard your ego, your pride. Check your motivation. It won't, necessarily, lessen the act of kindness. It just might lessen, in you, Christ-likeness. Stunting your own growth.

But how do I even gain a heart that is selfless enough to do good ... for goodness own sake; His goodness? Oswald Chambers said it this way... "We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him." This happens with surrender, abandoning our best path and plans for our lives ...allowing Christ ti begin a work within us

Be yourself, indeed. But be willing to allow Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to change the desires of your natural heart. Be willing to be transformed. Our best goodness isn't good enough, lest Christ died in vain. Only Jesus' sacrificial love, through His giving up of Himself on Calvary, can transform our self-made goodness into His glorious, truly useful, goodness

Credibility, Integrity, Believe-ability

This morning's study is very poignant, and provoking. As an aside... I mostly use the devotional just to follow a yearly scripture reading. Yet, I always read the devotional itself. But today... the devotional, itself, screams at me. All parts, including the "Wisdom from" quote at the bottom. Try and soak it up with me.
https://utmost.org/identified-or-simply-interested/

My reading, this morning, provokes another, conjunctive, thought. And not just an aside. Maybe this is confessional, rather than just thought-provoking.

Credibility, integrity, believe-ability... is a many-laned road. That is... I have trouble trusting "people" as it comes to their interpretation of trusting and following Christ. Not (so much) trusting Christ, Himself. That demands a whole lot of unpacking, which cannot be performed here,, and is possibly even starkly contradictory to trusting Christ ...in some ways, at first glance, at least. Though not overtly intentional. In simple terms... just hoping it rings of an authentic truth, or just plain reality, to any reading this. A paradoxical statement, isn't it? As I ask you to "trust" things I say, or someone else says. :) Hmmm.. actions, love actions, truly do speak louder than words. Trusting me, or anyone else, comes with time and a track-record.

And before I sound too neuvo-Christian... I hold an historic, firm, belief / conclusion that Hell is real; based on scripture itself. Sounds from out of left field doesn't it? Hang with me. This is a truth, or surely I wouldn't even bother with these things ...would I? That is a sobering, self-inflicting, wound ...too. But I think of my children, my family, my beloved friends, missing who Jesus really is. The stranger, the wanderer, missing who Jesus really is. Heavy, weighty, burden-ful. Some coming posts, from a book I'm reading, will make this make more sense to some. He is worth putting oneself out there for. He is worth risking one's perceived credibility for.