Who is Jesus, and what does it mean to follow Him? It seems like a simple question, and yet I’m amazed by the number of answers I’ve heard from professing Christians. Contrary to what the world will tell you, there is a right answer and a wrong answer. Thankfully, God has not left us to figure it out on our own. He has given us the Holy Bible, the Word of God and our map to following Jesus, not the world.
The end of summer is here and fall is upon us. A new school year has started and all the things that go along with it. It’s been a hard summer for me, and I have to admit it has taken me a minute to get back in the swing of things. However, God has been faithful to point me back to the path He has me on.
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! Psalm 128:1
I am finishing up my next Bible study called, drumroll please, Walk His Way. Lord willing, I will have month one to you the first week of October. After that I will have a new lesson each month until May and will start writing weekly again on my blog. Before next month, I wanted to take a minute to share with you why I write yearly Bible studies and the inspiration behind Walk His Way.
Walking Humbly
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
About ten years ago, I began holding a women’s Bible study in my home. My life has been changed by the Word of God, so I desire to see other women changed by His Word. Every year as I start a new season, I question if I should continue. And every year, God reminds me to continue walking humbly with Him. It’s not my job to measure success. I’m called to serve others where God has me and to trust Him with the outcome.
My women’s Bible study meets monthly and takes summers off. For years I came up with topics to discuss each month. I would create lessons on my own or use a trusted Bible study. However, trusted Bible studies and trusted Christian writers are hard to come by these days. A few years ago, I began writing my own Bible studies. I like the idea of studying a particular topic each year, and writing gave me the opportunity to seek God’s Word for answers to my own questions.
Through these monthly gatherings, I have developed life-giving friendships, had hard conversations about hard topics, and have even seen professions of faith. A year ago when I started this blog, I thought why not share these resources I create for my monthly Bible study at my home with the women who read my blog. My prayer is that they would encourage more women to experience real life change through the study of God’s Word. I pray they are also discipling tools for women to disciple other women.
Walking In The Ways of the Lord
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. Hosea 14:9
I was first inspired to do a Bible study on walking in the ways of the Lord while studying the Minor prophets. One day when reading Hosea the words, the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, seemed to jump off the page at me. After that, everything I read in God’s Word was a promised blessing for walking in God’s ways or a warning of what would happen if we stray from them.
I was also inspired by the many misconceptions around who Jesus is and what it looks like to follow Him. We are truly living in a time when people have itching ears. I am amazed by the number of churches who call themselves Christian and reject the truth of God’s Word. Professing Christians all over social media are proclaiming Jesus is more like us than He is like God. Many are advocating for things God calls an abomination and calling it following Christ.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 2 Timothy 4:3
Who is Jesus
You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. Deuteronomy 5:33
Who better to answer the question, who is Jesus, than Jesus himself? I knew I wanted to study the gospels and Jesus’ own words for this study. I’ve always loved the Gospel of John. Not only does it record the life and teachings of Jesus, but it points to how His life and teachings prove that He is God.
The Gospel of John records seven I AM statements that Jesus made using a metaphor in each to proclaim His deity. Progressive Christians typically ignore or attempt to redefined these statements. However, if you look at these statements in light of the rest of Scripture, we see that Jesus is clear about who He is and who He is not.
Before coming to Christ, I remember thinking that simply speaking the name Jesus was furthering the Gospel. I believed television shows and movies about Jesus, whether they were Biblically accurate or not, were good because they encourage people to think about salvation through Christ. I now know that people who spread false information about Jesus are false teachers and enemies of God. It is important to have a Biblical understanding of who Jesus is and to share that truth with others. Each month of Walk His Way, we will consider each of the I AM statements Jesus made and explore what they mean in light of the rest of God’s Word.
Following Jesus
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, Colossians 2:6
Many churches and influencers would rather focus on physical healing, social justice, and financial blessing than focus on being justified by Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Churches are called to equip the saints for ministry. Saints are called to make disciples and teach them to observe all that God has commanded. Why have so many churches and Christians abandoned these things and still claim to be following Jesus?
The reason so many are not walking His way is because our source of knowledge is no longer the Word of God. We are believing false teachers who tell us we need a pastor to interpret God’s Word or that God’s Word is not sufficient. We would rather read the latest book on the Bible than read the Bible itself. Nine out of ten of those books are complete heresy or at least contain something heretical. That’s why I stopped reading them. Most of my favorite authors have gone to be with the Lord.
Because of this many have been led astray to believe things like the demands of motherhood are an excuse to strangle three children. Many have thrown all rationality and logic out the window (no pun intended) to justify the murder of innocent children or the murder of anyone they just don’t agree with. Each month of Walk His Way, we will look at how we should walk based on God’s commands and in light of who Jesus is.
Walk His Way
There is the Lord’s way and there is the world’s way. The world’s way leads to destruction and the Lord’s way leads to life. That’s why it is so important that we know the Lord’s way so that we may walk His way and so that we may not lead others astray.
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:10
My prayer for us as we take this journey through God’s Word is the same as Paul for the people in the Colossian church. I pray that we too will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God. I also pray that we will have a better understanding of who Jesus is, why He lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, rose on the third day, and why He wants us to follow Him. Let’s be people who walk God’s way, following Jesus, not the world.
Be sure to check out my Resource Page for Bible study and prayer resources. I would love to hear from you. Send me an email through my Contact Page.
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