Seeking To Walk As #Jesus Walked #JesusFollowers

Does God wish us to live lives of disobedience and lawlessness, proclaiming His Name, Yahweh, with our lips, but our hearts remaining far from Him?

Will God reward with eternal life those who disobey and ignore His moral statutes and the one He sent to proclaim and live them as our example, Jesus?

If the Hebrew Scriptures and teachings of Jesus are right, it's easy to believe that God wishes us to not only pledge, but actually DO the Good Works Jesus said God wants us to perform every minute of every day upon this earth.

Jesus tells us that God doesn't want our empty words - vain cries of God's name, or the name of his chosen one, Jesus.

Jesus said, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Mark 7:6; Isaiah 29:13.)

God does NOT want a human or animal sacrifice that "stands in for" and excuses our past and future failings.

God seeks only a humble spirit and a repentant heart (Psalm 51:17.)

He wants our joyful, enthusiastic love and this same love given to others. This love leads DIRECTLY to God's Kingdom here and now upon the earth, and to our eternal salvation.

Jesus teaches it is the person who DOES the will of the Father who is worthy of the Kingdom to which we are called to build, and to eternal life (Matt.  7:21-23).

And Jesus told us that only the one who does righteousness is righteous. Without the act of DOING, we are not entitled to call ourselves "righteous."

Simply professing with our lips the belief that Jesus actually lived and died, then went back to God, is a cold and sterile faith - a faith of bare facts and mere words, perhaps genuinely felt ones, and perhaps ones spoken with great emotion - but empty words, nonetheless.

Mere words, without accompanying them with active Good Works, is not enough (James 2:19.) Striving to obey God’s chosen spokesman, Jesus (John 8:51; 14:23) and wisely remaining true to his teachings and following them (Matthew 7:24; John 8:31) is what is required of us.

As John rightly says, if we say we love Jesus, but do not actively serve others, we are liars and our faith is a lie. (1 John 2:6.) Jesus clearly says that "anyone who loves me will obey my teachings." (John 14:23.)

Honest Jesus Followers, therefore, will seek to walk just as he walked.

We will seek other's needs above our own.

We will seek heavenly treasure above earthly treasure.

We will actively seek to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and care for widows, orphans and others needing our love.

We will pray for our enemies, and return love for their hatred.

We will actively do Good Works as an example to others, but humbly, not just to receive praise from them.

In short, we will joyfully take his yoke of obedience upon us daily.

This is the path of the Narrow Gate, and not the wide path of belief divorced from action (Matt. 7:13-14.)

If we truly believe Jesus' actions and teachings represent the perfect way God wishes US to live, how can we do anything other than to model every day of our lives around his?