Are you practicing what you have learned?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:9 (NIV))

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, do you flatter Jesus?

When Paul wrote his letter to the church at ‭‭Philippi, he was encouraging the believers there to take what they have learned from him about Jesus and put it into practice. In other words, he was encouraging them to imitate Jesus by following His teachings. Two thousand years later, that is still the very best advise that anyone can give.

How are you living up to imitating Jesus in all that you do?

It isn’t easy, is it?

No matter how sincere we may be in our desires, human nature keeps getting in the way. Our sinful nature keeps raising its ugly head and we soon find ourselves doing things that we truly wish that we could avoid. Perhaps we need to truly take a lesson from Jesus and pay attention to how much time that He spent in prayer with the Father. I would venture to say that if we start practicing this lesson more often, the other things that we are called to imitate would be so much easier to actually imitate. Spending time in honest, heartfelt communication with the Lord will lead to a stronger relationship, and a better understanding of and a stronger desire to be like Jesus!

There is only so much that we can learn if we don’t start practicing what we have learned. Obedience is critical. Obedience means doing what Jesus instructs us to do. Obedience means putting away our sinful nature and following Jesus. Obedience means that we imitate Jesus by putting into practice what we have learned.

Are you practicing what you have learned?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you setting a good example for others to follow?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV))

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It is also said that the word “Christian” originally was used to refer to someone as a “little Christ,” for they imitated Jesus in all of His actions. In essence, the early Christians were trying to be exactly like Jesus in all things!

Can the same be said of us?

Jesus came into the world to show us how to live. He came into the world to give us an option to the way the world says we should live. He came into the world to overcome the enemy, the thief of our very souls.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

If we profess a faith in Jesus, we are saying that we believe. We are saying that we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior. We are saying that we desire to follow Him with all of our heart and with all of our life.

Is that what we are doing? Do our lives lead people to Christ? Do our lives present a good example of what being a follower of Christ truly means?

Preach always. When necessary, use words.
(attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)

Are you setting a good example for others to follow?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook