A Worthy Walk (Col. 1:10a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/31/2016 12:38 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                      Focus:  A Worthy Walk

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 1:10a

            Message of the verses:   9  For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously;”

            We spent four days looking at verse nine and now we move into the next main point which John MacArthur entitles “The Results” and in our SD for today we will look at the first of five purposes that are fulfilled in the spiritual knowledge we have been studying for those last four days.  The first purpose is a “worthy walk.”

            The following is what is in my Greek/English dictionary on my Online Bible program on the word walk1) to walk:  “peripateo per-ee-pat-eh’-o” Used 93 times as the word “walk” in the KJV of the Bible.

1a) to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities

1b) Hebrew for, to live

1b1) to regulate one’s life

1b2) to conduct one’s self

1b3) to pass one’s life

            As one has their mind controlled by wisdom and knowledge one will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  I know that this is a difficult thing to do as a believer’s life is filled with conflict, conflict in doing right or wrong, but it is possible if we continue to study God’s Word, rely on the Holy Spirit, and pray a lot.  John MacArthur writes “Although it seems impossible that anyone could walk worthy of the Lord, that is the teaching of Scripture.  Paul desired the Thessalonians to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory’ (1 Thess. 2:12).  He exhorted the Ephesians to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called’ (Eph. 4:1).  He told the Philippians to ‘conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ’ (Phil. 1:27).”  Looks like Paul had much to say about our walk with the Lord, seeing how important that is to a believer.

            Do you wonder if God has left us on our own to walk in this worthy manner?  He did not just save us and then tell us that we are on our own:  “"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).”  As mentioned we have the Holy Spirit living in us to aid us in our walk with the Lord as Jesus promised that He would send Him to believers.  “16  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:16-17a).” 

            Martin Luther knew that we as believers could not walk worthy on our own strength as he penned the following verse in “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

Did we in our strength confide

Our striving would be losing,

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He.

Lord Sabaoth His name,

From age to age the same.

And He must win the battle.”

            We must be thankful that the Lord did not leave us on our own to walk worthy in our lives for Him.  As I think about the aid that we receive in our walk so that we can produce fruit in our lives for the cause of Christ, something we will look at in our next SD, I think of Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Notice that God is the One who prepares us to produce these good works, and the reason is that first of all we cannot do it on our own, as what we would produce would not be worthy, and would not give glory to the Lord.  I have said in earlier SD’s that I picture my life as a hose that the Holy Spirit uses to flow His water through me to produce in me what God desires for me to do.  May God always receive the glory from what He does through me.

12/31/2016 1:06 PM