I believe Jesus, now what?
We walk as He walked¹.
Jesus’ goal is my goal²:
the glory of God,
to make Him known -the beginning and end of everything good.
When we present ourselves and allow Him, God achieves this through His Holy Spirit in us³ by leading us to
go⁴,
proclaim the good news⁵, declaring forgiveness of sins, peace with God and freedom from oppression,
seek and restore⁶, issue the call, speaking with His voice and the heart of the Good Shepherd, going to the ends of the world, losing not one soul⁷,
make God real⁸ through His love,
destroy the works of the devil⁹ —tearing down the lies that block His love
that people may know and believe the love of the Father¹⁰,
share in that love¹¹, enjoying the eternal life He gives abundantly —loving God and others as we are so greatly loved,
and be One¹²,
to the ultimate end of glory —weight; weight that draws everything into His redemptive orbit¹³,
these things He did for our glory,
because our glory is His,
achieving ever increasing glory to God¹⁴ —the beginning and end of everything good¹⁵.
References:
¹ 1 John 2:6
² John 20:21, 2 Timothy 1:8-9
³ John 16:13, Philippians 2:13, Romans 12:1
⁴ Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 10:7, John 6:38, Matthew 28:18-20
⁵ Luke 2:14, Luke 4:18, Ephesians 1:7
⁶ Luke 19:10, Matthew 9:13, Psalm 42:7, John 10:27
⁷ John 10:11, Matthew 18:11-12, John 6:39
⁸ John 14:9, John 1:14
⁹ 1 John 3:8, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
¹⁰ John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:16
¹¹ 1 John 4:11, 1 John 3:14, John 10:10, John 17:3, John 17:26
¹² John 17:23, Ephesians 4:3-6
¹³ John 12:28, John 12:32, Colossians 1:19-20
¹⁴ Matthew 5:16, Romans 8:18-21, 2 Corinthians 4:15
¹⁵ James 1:17, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, Revelation 21:3-7, Revelation 21:23, Revelation 22:5, Isaiah 11:1-9
The Way is a pilgrimage that begins with God’s purpose and is done by His power that I submit to. It’s His work, not ours.
Our participation is more of an anti-work, that is, we strive **not** to do things according to the old nature nor embrace what resists His work (such as idols, lies or worldly thinking and desires [flesh]) which then frees us to be available to the working of the Holy Spirit.
The flesh and the Spirit cannot sit on the throne simultaneously.
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”
— Romans 6:20-22
So a great question to ask daily is, “Am I moving by the Spirit, or am I grieving Him?”
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”
— Ephesians 4:30-31
Am I harboring sin that resists His operation in my life?
“You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
— 2 Corinthians 6:12
A good test is whether these practices of the Holy Spirit mentioned above are present in my life.
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
— Galatians 5:17
If these practices of the Holy Spirit are not present in my life, I can cry out, repent, asking God to reveal and cleanse me of the restricting sin and be intentional about offering God motion that He can use by my following Christ.
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:1
So, go.
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
— Matthew 24:13