Reminder to Walk Worthy

"We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory."

1st Thessalonians 2:12 NLT

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..."
Ephesians 4:1

What does it mean to walk worthy? Is it something we do or say that can make us worthy? One teacher describes it this way,

A clue is found in Colossians 1:10 which says, "Walk worthy of the Lord, to please him." But Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him." So the call to walk "worthy of the Lord" is at least a call to walk by faith.

Paul lays it out for us in Colossians 1:9-14, praying for us as we should pray for others... thereby walking worthy. "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that

• you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
• that you may walk worthy of the Lord,
• fully pleasing Him,
• being fruitful in every good work
• and increasing in the knowledge of God;
• strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power,
• for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
• giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
• He has delivered us from the power of darkness
• and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
• in whom we have redemption through His blood,
• the forgiveness of sins."

Prayer:

Father,
           May all the spiritual wisdom and strengths that Paul prayed for the church in Colosse come to fruition in our lives today. We want to please You, Father. Help us to walk worthy of You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

To Die For

And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.
Matthew 12:36 NLT

I can’t get away from our text for today. It scares me to think about all the idle words I’ve spoken in my lifetime. With that Scripture in mind, I am amazed at how many times a day I hear, “Oh, it’s to die for!” usually referring to some great recipe or a scrumptious dessert. To be completely honest with you - as much as I love to eat - I hate that phrase!

I cringe inside every time I hear someone say that about food or some insipid situation. I think about every person who ever served in the armed forces. What about the police force and the firefighters? These are people who daily put their lives on the line, ready to die for my safety and/or freedom, and then there are others who think a shrimp or pie is something to die for.

Personally, outside of my family, there’s very little I would die for. I’m not trying to be the word police or Sister Super Spiritual, but when someone uses that phrase in that manner, I have to bite my tongue to not make some smart-aleck remark like, “Really? You would die for that? Actually, lay down your life just so you could eat that?”

I think about this Scripture in Romans 5:6-8 NLT, When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

He died for us so that we can live forever in eternity with him. He loved us so much He deemed US worthy to die for. Now THAT’S something to get excited about and to share with everyone!

Prayer:

Father,
            Forgive us when we lose sight of what is truly worthy of honor and glory and praise. Only You, Father. Only You. Keep us ever mindful of this truth. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen