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February 21, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." Colossians 2:6
What do you think "practical biblical faith" is as it applies to our daily lives? Practical biblical faith in Christ means that we find the meaning of our life in Christ. He is the focal point of who I am, where I'm going, what I'm about, what my purpose is, and what my goals are. All of these are tied to the fact of my being in Christ. Faith in Christ means that Jesus Christ is the center of my belief in life and myself. He is the one who shapes, directs, and controls my life. He is the Lord of my life and is in sovereign control.
Don Fletcher, in his book on faith, gave this definition: "Faith is a radical commitment of the whole person to the Living Christ, a commitment that entails knowledge, trust, and obedience." Let me ask you: Do you find the meaning of your life through your relationship to Jesus Christ? Is He simply an appendage to your life, unnecessary to the daily routine of your life? Or do you believe in Him to the extent that you are under the constraint of the one to whom, by faith, you have committed your life? Practical biblical faith is having Jesus Christ as the object of our faith, when our faith becomes so significant and convincing that we cannot but believe. It is then that Paul's admonition "to so walk in Him" becomes the hallmark of our spiritual journey. We walk in continual dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ for all we stand in need of, incorporating Christ into every phase of our life. And what do we need in order to walk circumspectly before others? Grace to sanctify and renew us every day, wisdom, discernment, strength, peace, love, comfort, encouragement, direction, knowledge of His will, the consciousness of His presence, and many other attributes of our blessed Lord.
So how do we make all of this become a reality in our life? In 1 John 2:6 we read, "He that abides in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked." We are to abide in Him even as the "branch abides in the vine." That implies incessantly deriving our strength and nourishment from the Lord, from His Word, and from our communion with Him in prayer. We will begin our walk with the Lord in His glorious companionship.
To so walk necessitates our commitment to a life of holiness. This means being set apart to the Lord, dedicated to His will, His Word, His Way. It involves not only the removal of sin and evil from our lives, the "putting off of the old man," but also the positive cultivation of "putting on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness." We are to be "renewed in the spirit of our mind."
God's desire for us in our walk is to be "conformed unto the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Being submissive to the Holy Spirit in all things. God so molds our lives and effectively changes our perspectives, priorities, and attitudes that we begin to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our daily walk. As God has sovereign control of our lives, the Holy Spirit does the supernatural transforming work of grace. Our walk will then "be a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service." And we will "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1,2).
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-02-21&print=1
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