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    • Walking with Jesus

      Posted at 8:10 am by sneuhofer, on June 22, 2018

      Proverbs 14 gives a contrast between the life of the wise vs. the life of a fool (or the unwise). As I read through this Proverb, there were several verses that caught my attention and forced me to ask the question “Am I choosing to live by the standard of God’s word in every area of my life?” and if not “Am I changing to align every area of my life with the word of God.”

      Our life is a daily journey to learn what God’s word says and then walk it out-loud for others to see so they may come to know the saving grace of Christ’s love. So the first verse that stopped me dead in my tracks to do a little self assessment was verse 9.

      “Fools don’t care if they sin, but honest people work at being right.”

      I got out my journal and wrote down my thoughts to the following questions:

      • Is there anything in my life that doesn’t align with the word of God and if so, am I staying there?
      • Do I refuse to accept God’s truth about an area of my life? Maybe it’s not a refusal to accept the truth, maybe it’s just not trusting God to know what’s best for my life in that area.

      • Have I fallen into repeated patterns where I know my actions, words and deeds speak negatively about my walk with Christ? [I guess what I mean by this question is: what do others who don’t know the truth of God’s word see when they watch the way I live my life? When I come to realize what others are seeing in me that don’t line up with God’s word, I ask God to forgive me of (the specific sin) and give me the courage to  to change so my belief align with His word.]

      Verse 12 also had me looking inward,

      “Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death.”

      Is there anything in my life that I think I’m doing right, but I haven’t checked  against God’s word?

      Since accepting Christ as my Savior, I have so desired to live the abundant life He has for me and I strive to walk in His truth in everything I do…from the way I act around others, conduct myself at work, raise my child, and treat my spouse. [I know I’m not perfect…and I know God’s grace is sufficient for me every day of my life. When I mess up…I fess up.] My prayer is that I will continue to grow daily in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ so that I may life a life worthy of the gospel. Thank God that my walk with Christ is a “marathon, not a sprint!”

      My prayer is also the same for you. I pray you will live your life according to the truth of God’s word and when sin in your life is revealed, I pray you have the strength to lay it down at the foot of the cross and trust Jesus to help you grow and change.

      Related reading: Gal. 5:22–23; 2 Peter 1:5-6; Titus 2:2-6; 1 Cor. 15:58

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      Posted in christian living, Christian walk; Christian growth, pressing on | 0 Comments

    • Forget what’s behind and focus on the future

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on April 4, 2018

      Philippians 3:12 – 14 “I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.”

      Reading over these verses in Philippians, I couldn’t help but think about the Olympic games back in February of this year. Throughout the games reporters showed those back home watching how individual Olympians prepared for their event. We got to hear all about how they made it to PyeongChang. The commonality between all of the interviews that I heard were their dedication to training. Some of them had a mental picture of their event, with their end result in mind. I can’t remember if any of the athletes actually said this but I wonder if they have even envisioned winning one of the top three prizes so they could stand on the medal stand and see their country’s flag raised. The one thing I do know is these athlete never quit.

      Like the athlete, we should take the same approach on our own walk with Christ. In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul writes that “he hasn’t yet reached the goal.” When I first read these words I had to stop for a minute …Paul of all people surely had it all together, didn’t he? Look at how his life had dramatically changed since bumping into Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:2-3). He went from persecuting Christians (Acts 7:54-60) to being persecuted himself for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. He was hungry to know Christ and teach other to do the same…didn’t he have it all together? Well, in chapter 2 of Philippians we see Paul encouraging the church at Philippi to continue to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. We should never think that we are mature enough in our faith or we have it all under control. This thought could allow pride or another sin the opportunity to creep in and gain a foothold.

      Like Paul, we should “press on” by forgetting what is in our past. The past is gone. We can’t do anything about it – don’t dwell there. If you haven’t asked God to forgive you for your sin you must start there. If there is any restitution to be made with others then certainly you may need to begin working through and healing in that area, but don’t allow that to hinder your Christian growth. Jesus has a plan and purpose for your life – so get out there and start doing what God has called you to do. As we begin to trust Christ more, the more we learn about him and the closer we will draw to him.

      Focus on the prize ahead (eternity with Christ) and allow Jesus to help heal to wounds of the past.

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      Posted in Philippians 3:12 - 14, pressing on | 1 Comment

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