Greetings to all of you, my sweet sisters in Jesus Christ. “It was for freedom that Christ set you and I free…completely liberated; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be hampered and ensnared or allow sin to put a leash on you which Jesus Christ has removed. There is no sin that can hold you captive unless you give in to it.” Galatians 5:1 personalized
This life we are living…the relationship we have with Jesus and others are as vital as the very air we breathe. There are specific elements to our relationship with our Savior which are also necessary in our earthly relationships. A couple weeks ago our youth pastor at Generations Church, Pastor Jesse Jamerson, spoke some words of Truth on this very subject. Here find my takeaway from Pastor Jesse and God’s Truth.
God’s Word pours out the elements of our relationship with our Creator, His Son, and His children. Let’s explore each of these elements so that you and I might find the Truth concerning a more intimate bond with God and others. This has always been God’s Plan from those first days when Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden until Jesus returns…God’s primary concern has been our relationship with Him.
We know from God’s Word (Genesis 1:26-28) we were created in His image. Unfortunately, that image was twisted and distorted by sin. Jesus came to restore that image, His sacrifice paid the price for our sin once and for all…past, present, and future. Now this opportunity is for this moment, here in our earthly bodies, to experience God’s Love through a relationship with Jesus. To claim our Kingdom position as His Children, the daughters of the Most High King. This position can only be manifested in your life through a thriving relationship with Your Savior and Heavenly Father.
This relationship I am speaking of has elements or attributes, without them we CANNOT receive the love God intends for each of us. These very elements also must be found in our relationships with others. Let’s take a close look at what is required…
Be Yourself – There is no need to try and make a false impression on God, He already knows…also be real with those around you. The Apostle Paul puts it right out there…”And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come as someone superior in speaking ability or wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I also was with you in weakness and fear, and in great trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NASB We also find in 2 Timothy 2:15. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” False impressions to impress quickly fade. Remember, God made you so let others see the real you.
Further study; Psalm 139:14, 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Romans 12:1-21, James 5:15
Spend Time – It is said what you spend time with what you value. Your relationship with God and others is dependent on the time you invest. How can we know someone, or they know us if we don’t spend time with them? God is passionate about a relationship with you. God wants us to spend time with Him! In fact, the more time we spend with God, the more He will be involved in our lives. James 4:8 MSG says “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud “NO” to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet YES to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”
More than anything, spending time with God not only builds your relationship but your faith. “Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!” Isaiah 1:18 TLB Our personal relationships also require time and conversation…How are we to know one another if there is no investment of our time.
Further study: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Hebrews 10:25
Communication – 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” The Bible warns us that what we say and how we say it is important to God. Conversation like spending time is crucial in every relationship. God loves to hear our thoughts and ideas after all He created us to be unique and have a life purpose. Through our conversations with Him that purpose is revealed. With others God’s Word, speaks clearly about how through our communication we build or damage relationships. “Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.” Proverbs 18:13NLT Also, Colossians 4:6NLT says, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” What we say and how we say it makes all the difference. “ If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.” 1 Corinthians 14:9NLT
Further study: Proverbs 13:17, James 1:19, Psalm 19:14, Proverbs 15:1
Humility – This word often is confusing for us even the dictionary doesn’t really define what it means to walk in humility, in fact it is completely a world’s view and not Gods. Simply stated to walk in humility is to fully understand “It’s NOT about you!” Humility is better defined by servanthood, that is the way in which we serve others and God. In fact, to serve God is to serve others without expectation of reward or recognition. A true believer gives with a cheerful heart, quietly without expecting something in return. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 NASB, Here it is so plainly put…meditate upon these words, “Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.” Romans 8:5-8 When we are unable or unwilling to humble ourselves we are saying we don’t trust God.
Further Study: 1 Peter 5:6-7, James 4:6, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 18:4, Ephesians 4:1-3
Trust – Putting your trust in God is the way forward. Set aside your anxieties and doubts and turn it all over to the Lord. God says “Trust in me, your Father, the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to me, and I will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6personalized “You will keep the man in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NLT How can you find peace without trusting God, in this world with so much uncertainty. In those you love as well, there must be trust, without trust every single other element in the relationship will fail.
Further study: Psalm 9:10, Proverbs 28:26, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 5:7
Listen – Are you a good listener? Listening is one of the easiest things you’ll ever do, and one of the hardest.
In a sense, listening is easy, or I should say hearing is easy. It doesn’t demand the initiative and energy required in speaking. That’s why “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ”. Romans 10:17NASB. We must make listening to God a priority. God is speaking to us continually; we must train our spirit to hear His Voice. But despite this ease — or perhaps precisely because of it — we often fight against it. In our sin, we’d rather trust in ourselves than another, amass our own righteousness than receive another’s, speak our thoughts than listen to someone else. True, sustained, active listening is a great act of faith, and a great means of grace, both for ourselves and for others. This happens when we invest time. It is through reading His word, fasting, and praying we increase our ability to listen to God. In our relationship with others the same applies, if you are so busy talking how can you know what your loved one is feeling or thinking. Humility is at work in listening as well as having good communication skills. So, learning to listen well won’t happen overnight. It requires discipline, effort, and intentionality. You will get better with time. Here are seven steps to becoming a better listener (1) Good listening requires patience. Remember it’s not about you. (2) Good listening is an act of love. (3) Good listening asks perspective questions. (4) Good listening readies us to minister words of grace to precisely the place where the other is in need. (5) Good listening can be a greater service than speaking. Lean in express concern with your body language. (6) Put more emphasis on affirmation than on answers. (7) Good listening should reflect our relationship with God.
Further Study: John 10:27, James 1:19, Matthew 7:27, Proverbs 12:15 and 18:13
Intentional – We must pursue God with intention. Let’s be honest, the fast pace of life can easily whisk us away and into the busy grind, leaving the day void of conversations with God. This is true for our relationships with others as well. “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17NASB Our deepest friends should be committed Christ-followers that encourage us spiritually, and whom we are actively encouraging. We are to be a light in our relationships and conversations with non-believers. “and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25NASB We must actively pursue two types of relationships: ones that contribute to our spiritual walk and ones to whom we can contribute, both believers and non-believers. “Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:13-14
Further Study: Ephesians 4:15-16, Philippians 2:2-4, Colossians 4:2-6, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Proverbs 13:20
Intimacy – “Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth..” Psalm 26:2-3NLT When writing to the church at Philippi, Paul said this, “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.” Philippians 3:10 When we look at this word “know” in its fullness of translation we see there is or was nothing more intimate, more personal, this is experienced through the Holy Spirit residing within us. We can confidently say when we know God we are never alone. Jesus had such an intimate relationship with God that He knew He was never alone. No matter the circumstance, no matter who was around Him or how people felt about Him or treated Him, Jesus was at peace, confident, and able to overcome. This is what it is like to experience intimacy with God. God is the starting place for this kind of intimacy with others. If we cannot be intimate with our Savior, then we will surely struggle to be intimate with people. Yet if we can be intimate with God, He can and will show us how to be free to encounter the kind of intimacy in relationships that we all desire.
Further Study: John 15:4-6, Zephaniah 3:17, John 17:3, Colossians 3:1, Romans 5:8, Matthew 10:30
When you are pursuing a relationship with God built upon these elements, it affects every aspect of your life. You’ll love differently, treat people differently, you will see the world and others through Jesus’ eyes.
In closing here are a few more scriptures to meditate upon…
“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” 1 John 3:18NLT
“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.” 1 Peter 1:22NLT
“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 NLT
Finally, this is my desire for you sweet sisters…“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.” Colossians 2:2 NLT
Blessings, Sister Laurie
If you would like to reach out to me, I welcome you to do so. I would love to share what God is speaking to me and pray for you, pour into you so that you may grow your relationship with our loving Savior Jesus Christ. It is in the sharing and studying of God’s Word that we find the freedom only God, our Forever Father can bring.
Instructions For Life According to Jesus Christ 