“Is Your Walk WORTHY of the COST He PAID?”

Colossians 1:10-13, “That you may WALK (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner WORTHY of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (AMPC)

I’m a huge Tom Hanks fan, and one of my favorite movies of his is ‘Saving Private Ryan’. In the movie, Tom Hanks portrays an Army captain whose unit is assigned to find a private named Ryan in the dangerous aftermath of the D-Day Invasion. Ryan’s brothers have both been killed in combat, and, unbeknownst to him, he is his mother’s only surviving son. The mission involves the captain’s unit in brutal battles with the Germans. Eventually, Private Ryan is located and his life is saved by his captain who dies in the process. As Private Ryan attends to his mortally wounded rescuer, the captain speaks his last words in a hoarse whisper – “Earn this.” The camera merges from the young private’s face to the face of an old man, standing by a white cross in the cemetery at Normandy. It’s Ryan many years later, near the end of his life. He kneels by his captain’s grave and says: “Every day of my life, I’ve thought about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I’ve done my best. I hope at least in your eyes that I’ve lived up to all you gave for me.“

Now, there’s a man who tried to live his life in light of what was sacrificed for him. I understand that…and I sincerely hope you do too. You see, you and I were paid for with the blood of God’s one and only Son when He died on the cross for every wrong thing we’ve done and will do. Listen as the Scriptures speak:

John 3:16-17, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” (AMPC)

Isaiah 53:5-10, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living [stricken to His death] for the transgression of my [Isaiah’s] people, to whom the stroke was due? And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick. When You and He make His life an offering for sin [and He has risen from the dead, in time to come], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring, He shall prolong His days, and the will and pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” (AMPC)

John 15:13, “No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends.” (AMPC)

Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!” (AMPC)

Luke 22:42, “Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.” (AMPC)

This is the love, life, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice that were given for US. But what have WE given to HIM?

Like the chorus says, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay – I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, ‘Amazing Grace’; Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”

Now, unlike the Captain from ‘Saving Private Ryan’, Jesus will never say of His death for us, “Earn this.” Because truth is, we couldn’t even if we tried our absolute best! That’s why He died. There is nothing we could ever do that could pay our sin-bill with God. Jesus alone did it all! Yet, the Bible does talk about living a Life that’s Worthy of the Cost our Savior Paid! Here’s what it says:

“That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord…” First, ‘Walk’ is PRESENT TENSE, letting us know that this is to be done on a Continual basis! Day in and day out we are to walk out this lifestyle of Christ-like Discipleship. Which requires quite a bit of daily discipline.  Secondly, our lives and conduct are to be lived out in such a manner that it is worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ! The word “Worthy” is defined as “deserving or good enough; deserving effort or attention or respect.” Can we honestly say that’s descriptive of our lives and conduct on a daily basis? Are we giving Him what He deserves? Is what we’re giving Him good enough? Is what we’re giving Him reflective of effort, attention and respect? Everyday? In public and private? In church, at home, at work, at school, at the laundry, at the mall, stuck in traffic or in the presence of foes?

The Bible goes on to read, “…fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things…” The word ‘Fully’ is defined as ‘completely and entirely’.  With that as a thought, do we honestly live our daily lives and conduct ourselves in such a way that Christ is Fully Pleased with it and us? And not just our Sunday-Go-To-Meeting ‘Form of Godliness’, but when we’re in traffic and get cut off, is He still pleased with our words, actions and thoughts? Is He pleased with us completely…entirely…and in ALL things? Are we pleasing to Him in how we handle conflict, crisis, disagreements, anger, bad news, disappointments, let downs, even betrayal? Are we still pleasing to Him when someone else gets the pat on the back; the word of encouragement; the support? Are we pleasing to Him when we’re overlooked; under-estimated; under-valued; passed over; ignored or rejected? You see, when we’re pleasing to Him in ALL things, that means the success and the failure; the promotion and the demotion; the marriage and the divorce; financial increase and financial decrease; when the doctor’s report is favorable and when it’s unfavorable; when someone else gets the house while we’re still trying to pay for the studio; when they drive the car off the dealership while we’re scrapping to get coins to go on a Metrocard; when we can keep the utilities on and when they’re cut off? Are we pleasing to Him in our daily lives, no matter the mood, feeling, circumstance, situation, trial, struggle, unfairness, accusation, attack or painful experience? Or are we well over-due for an attitude adjustment that’s more in line with His characteristics?

The Bible goes on to say: “…bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]…” Are we bearing fruit or are we rotting fruit? Are we doing work for the Spirit or just works of the flesh? Are we steadily growing or stagnant? Are we increasing in knowledge applied to our lives; or just knowledge sitting in the dusty attic of our minds? Are we getting fuller and deeper or are we still shallowed and surfaced? Do we have clearer insight, acquaintance and recognition of the Presence of God or do we just know what we’ve read and heard, yet not experienced by personal encounter with growth and development? How unfortunate that in this day and age of the church we’re growing in titles, positions, degrees, initials, chairs, rings and robes, but if we were asked how are we growing in righteousness, holiness, servitude, humility, obedience, and submission we’d all look like Dysfunctional Kindergarten Adults! When instead we should be able to look back over our lives and see growth, development, and maturity. Our attitudes should be better; our emotions should be better; our discipline should be better; our character and integrity should be better. Marriage says, “for better or for worse”, but as Christians, are we becoming, ‘better or worse?’ Do people look at us and want what we have? Do they see God? Do they hear God? How do we represent Him? How do we present Him? How do we reflect Him?

My mom was a phenomenal cook! But my absolute favorite dish of hers was her baked turkey wings! Now, this is going to sound real fat of me, but what I’m about to say is the truth! Even if I went out to eat and stuffed myself to the brink of passing out, if I dared to walk into my mom’s house and smell those turkey wings…I Promise You, I Would Eat Again! You see, as soon as you walk in the house, the smell draws you in! Which makes me think, are we like that as believers? Truth is, the world has so much to offer, and so much of it is appealing and attracting, but do we present Christ in such a manner that they want Him too? Do we live and walk in such a way that people want the Savior we say we serve? As His waiters and waitresses do we serve Him up well? Do we make Him appealing and attracting? Does the very scent of salvation flow through their nostrils, or does our funky attitudes give off a disgusting stench instead? Can they smell the very scent of Christ on us? Are we attracting or detracting? The word ‘attract’ is defined as ‘to draw in by offering something interesting or advantageous.’ Its Latin Origin ‘attrahere’ literally means ‘to draw near.’ However, the word ‘detract’ is defined as ‘to cause something to seem less valuable or impressive.’ Its Latin Origin ‘detrahere’ literally means ‘to draw away.’ Is our Christian Conduct, Character, Lives and Lifestyles Pulling People Nearer to Christ or Pushing Them Further Away From Him? Let’s be honest now, some people will not receive Christ, and not because of HIM but because of US.

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” (Mohandas Gandhi)

Is this descriptive of us? Have we so warped our walk with God that people aren’t following Him, and not because of Him, but because of US? Believe it or not, but how we live, how we act, how we speak, how we dress, how we behave, matters. We represent and reflect Christ…everyday…everywhere…before everyone!

2 Corinthians 5:20, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.” (AMPC) In essence, we are Christ’s Brand! And a “brand” is defined as, ‘a type of product manufactured by a company under a particular name; an identifying mark.’ We function under the name of Christ and our conduct and lifestyles are the identifying mark of Who He is. Acts 11:26, “And when he had found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they assembled together with and were guests of the church and instructed a large number of people; and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” (AMPC); John 13:35, “By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].” (AMPC); Genesis 1:26-27, “God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our Image, after Our Likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His Own Image, in the Image and Likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (AMPC)

We are Christ’s Brand! We are in His Image and Likeness; We are Christians; We are Believers; We are Sons and Daughters of the Most High God; We are Ambassadors and Personal Representatives of Christ…Therefore, How Do You Think We Should Live? How Should We Act? How Should We Behave? How Should We Speak? How Should We Dress? In a Manner That is Worthy of the Price He Paid!

1 Corinthians 6:16-20, “…Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, SQUANDERING WHAT GOD PAID SUCH A HIGH PRICE FOR? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” (AMPC) People of God, DO NOT SQUANDER WHAT GOD PAID SUCH A HIGH PRICE FOR! Listen: the word ‘squander’ is defined as ‘to waste in a reckless or foolish manner.’ And Church, our Savior paid to high a price for us to have us in turn treat our life of salvation so cheaply, recklessly and foolishly! Let’s do better, both the Kingdom and the World are watching, listening and taking notes!

Our text goes on to say: “…[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (AMPC)

Our conduct, lives and lifestyles should produce manifested evidence of being strengthened with all power! Now, does that mean we don’t experience weak moments? Absolutely not, we’re still frail and faulty flesh. However, we should never walk around day-to-day with a defeated disposition and miserable mindset! We are strengthened in the might of His Glory, therefore, let’s sound, act, live and look like it!

Furthermore, we can go to the gym all we want, however, the exercise we need to make sure is a part of our daily regime is to exercise endurance and patience, perseverance and forbearance! Like it or not, we are not exempt from the trials of life because we belong to Christ! John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” (AMPC) So, we’re not to be easily intimidated by trials, tribulations, struggles, suffering, stress, situations or circumstances! So how are we to handle such times? Well, listen to James advice: James 1:2-4, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (MSG)

Which is why we can move on with the conclusion of our text:

“…with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (AMPC) Life’s challenges are not designed to bring out the worst in us but the best! We can face challenges and still maintain our joy give thanks to our Father who has qualified us and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people in the Light. (That’s Talking About Us!) God loved us so much to sacrifice His Son, and His Son loved us so much that He was a Willing Sacrificial Offering, for no man took His life, He laid it down on His own, Just For Us! So We Should Walk and Conduct, Our Lives and Lifestyles in a Manner that is Worthy of the Price He Paid for it! He Paid With His Life, We Honor His Life With Our Lifestyles! The Father delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of Light and Love. Now is the time that we reflect and represent that in our daily lives.

We can never earn what Jesus sacrificed for us. But we can live each day of our life in light of it. Which means we live to please only the One who gave His life for us. Galatians 1:10, “Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah).” (AMPC) We are to live in such a manner that we Please Him In All Things Everyday! We are not here to please people, no matter who they are, or think they are. We are here to Please Him! Romans 11:36, “For from HIM and through HIM and to HIM are all things. [For all things originate with HIM and come from HIM; all things live through HIM, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in HIM.] To HIM be glory forever! Amen (so be it).” (AMPC) In case you didn’t catch it, It’s All About HIM, Not Us, Not Them…Just to Please HIM!

2 Corinthians 4:7-12, “If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!” (MSG)

And because of that, no cross should be too heavy for you to bear for Him. No demand He makes could possibly be too much. No sacrifice you make for Him can be too great. Not after what He sacrificed for you! Not after what He paid because of what it cost. Your life wasn’t paid for at a discount price, no half off, no buy one get one free, no deals, no coupons. But Full Price Life and Death Was the Debt He Didn’t Owe…But Paid In Full! Therefore, Jesus deserves better from us than a discount discipleship! You don’t have to visit a grave to remember what you owe Him – He’s not there anyway. But each new day, in your heart, visit that cross where the Son of God loved you and gave Himself for you. And then, with a heart full of love and gratitude, live that day to please Him.

Today’s Selah Moment is Simply This: “Is My Walk Worthy of the Cost He Paid for it?” Remember, No One Can Answer This But You!

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine #EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged
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