One part of practical living
is how to behave in a more Christ-like manner. I have written a couple posts
about barriers to Christian behavior, and I want to continue more along that
line. We know that we are saved by God’s free gift of Grace and not by our own
actions. We don’t have to do anything to earn it. We know also that Christ died
on the cross for us so that our sins would be forgiven. Yes, our sins are
forgiven and we don’t have to do good works to earn salvation. But, we LOVE
CHRIST and because of that love, that relationship with the Holy Spirit, we
want to be more like Him. We long to be more like Jesus as he walked and lived
among us on earth.
What are our priorities as
Christians? Are we interested in pleasing God or pleasing ourselves? Our
society is becoming increasingly secular. We are busy seeking self-esteem and
happiness when we should be seeking God’s Kingdom. We should be actively,
consistently trying to please God, to be more Christ-like. He came to earth to
teach us to lead as an example. Are we following that example? Do we behave in
a way that would make Jesus smile?
Gail Purath and I must read
some of the same articles and blogs, because she said she recently read an
article identifying Christ-like behavior versus Pharisee-like behavior. I read
that too and I like the perspective Gail got from it. In her recent blog post, she
said that you can’t share the Gospel without talking about personal sin. She’s
right. NOW I have the outline or focus that I’ve been craving for writing for
my own blog. God realizes that my little touch of OCD needs to be fed with a
bit of an outline, a plan for where I’m going, so in answer to prayers for more
focus, I think I’ve got it:)
I’ve written about criticizing others and gossip. I also knew I wanted to write
about being humble not prideful, materialism, and living in our secular
culture, But I wasn’t sure how they fit together, what made them a cohesive
unit of thought. Gail is right, they are sins. These are personal sins that, if
we are being honest with ourselves, we have all committed. These are personal sins
that I have put on my front burner, as my Mom used to say, because they are
characteristics and attitudes that I am actively working to avoid, to stop
doing.
I also want to share what I
find around the web as I am discovering the amazing women out there who share
Christ in so many beautiful ways. Bible journaling, Bible study, daily
devotionals, blessing books, faith journals, scripture cards, prayer cards,
scripture bookmarks, the list is practically endless! There are so many
wonderful free resources out there that are being shared by other women. I love
the ways that creative women are sharing their activities with us all. There
are so many ways to weave our love for Christ into other activities that we
love. If you love Jesus and you love scrapbooking for example, why not combine
the two? If you are a lover of God and
you have an artistic talent, why not combine them?
I greatly admire the Bible
journaling that I have discovered. I had no idea that there were Bibles being
published with large blank margins just so people could journal, take notes,
doodle and draw in them. While this is not something I personally would find
appealing, I LOVE knowing it is out there for those who need to take notes and
draw; to have an artistic outlet that helps them as they study the Bible. Yes,
I am a creative person and I do a lot of arts and crafts, but I know me, and my
OCD tendencies mixed with Doodling… oh that would NOT be pretty trust me! I’d
have to invest in tons of white out, and erasers and I would drive myself batty
trying to produce doodles and artwork that was perfect and neat which would
cause me to miss the whole point of Bible journaling.
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