It's Practical Results in the Daily Walk and Conversation

Chapter 16

Today's excerpt is brought to you by pastor Nick Willke—one of my partners in arms here at Kapahulu Bible Church. Before you read further I'd encourage you to take some time to talk to the Lord. Ask Him to shine the light of His truth as a floodlight onto your life and practice so that He can create a new and clean heart in you today.  

“The standard of practical holy living has been so low among Christians that the least degree of real devotedness of life and walk is looked upon with surprise, and often even with disapproval, by a large portion of the Church. And for the most part the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are satisfied with a life so conformed to the world, and so like it in almost every respect, that to a casual observer no difference is discernible.” 

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

 
What a powerful statement by our author here. She cites the verse from 1st Peter 2:11 here, I believe she is on to something with this verse and statement. Do our lives look different than our non-believing family, friends, or co-workers? I have to ask myself daily: Is my life satisfied and conformed to the world in the practice of how I live? What is different about my actions since I claim to view life through the lens of Scripture. 

“Have you not begun to feel uneasy with some of your habits of life, and to wish that you could do differently in certain respects? Have not paths of devotedness and of service begun to open out before you, with the longing thought, ‘Oh that I could walk in them!’ All these questions and doubts and this inward yearning are the voice of the Good Shepherd in your heart, seeking to call you out of that which is contrary to His will. Let me entreat of you not to turn away from His gentle pleadings! You little know the sweet paths into which He means to lead you by these very steps, nor the wonderful stores of blessedness that lie at their end, or you would spring forward with an eager joy to yield to every one of His requirements.” 

I believe this is a great question to ask of ourselves, but it requires honesty, not only with ourselves but with God. God is longing for us to examine ourselves, to practice and to evaluate if our lives align with His calling for us as believers. God has the power to help change and transform our lives, He is seeking those who can fully surrender everything to Him, even if it means we change our jobs because it pulls us away from Him, the body, church. It may mean changing our spending habits in order to tithe. It requires sacrifice in order for our lives to look different than the world. 

Thoughts and Questions for Interaction 

• Does your life look different than non-believers around you? 

• What is God asking you to change, even if it's the smallest of details in order for your life to align with his purpose? 

• Do you find God speaking to you daily, day by day? How does this practically impact your life?