So what exactly does it mean to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light’? (1 John 1:7)

Let me first give you two good reasons as to why we should know this, let alone 'do it'... 1- If we are not walking in the light as He is...then we are not being washed, or cleansed by His blood; and I would hope you would understand the importance of that one aspect. And 2- we can actually be overtaken by the darkness, which is not a good thing (John 12:35).

For those of you who would dispute that second point, wanting to claim that ‘no one can pluck us from the Father’s hand...please take note to whom that promise was given to in John 10:28- it was to “His sheep...who not only ‘hear His voice’...but they ‘follow Him’ (27).

Why bother calling Him ‘Lord’...if we are not going to do the things He says? (Luke 6:46).

I’ll give you the number one reason why so many sincere believers continue to struggle today with sin, discouragement, despair...and even ‘destruction’ (Hosea 4:6). They lack the true transformation that Christ came to do IN us, as He conforms us into His likeness and image...making us a ‘new creation in Him’ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:17). And here’s a PSA for anyone who desires to see this happen: The only way it can take place is if/when we ‘take up our cross and follow Him’.

Do you recall the very first miracle of transformation that took place when Jesus began His earthly ministry? It involved changing water into wine; remember that story? Do you know what the  #1 takeaway lesson we should learn from that miracle is? It came from the lips of Mary, the mother of Jesus: “Whatever He says to you: Do it!” (John 2:5). If those servants failed to follow through in obedience...the wedding celebration would have ended much earlier, no doubt. ;-)

Jesus did not just suggest we ‘trust Him’ or ‘believe in Him’...we were advised, if not commanded to ‘follow Him’. That’s what true ‘sheep’ do, as we just read. And for everyone who loves to quote that 23rd Psalm...we seem to overlook that line about how ‘He leads us in the paths of righteousness’ (3)...which would suggest that we are ‘following Him’, yes?

Would you care to guess what's the very first thing He begins to do as He ‘leads us out of darkness’? They usually don’t whisper this into your ear after you ‘pray that prayer to accept Christ’; but the Holy Spirit begins to ‘lead you into the wilderness’ to have your heart tested...to see how serious you were about what you prayed when you ‘gave your heart to Jesus’...making Him ‘Lord of your life’ (Deut. 8:2; Luke 6:46; 1 Thess. 2:4).

And this ‘wilderness’ journey involves a ‘cross’ where the Spirit is going to lead you to ‘put to death all the deeds and works of that sinful flesh nature’. (Rom. 8:13-14). If you are looking for a ‘shortcut’ where you can bypass that unappealing venture...there are plenty of churches out there that will welcome you into their fold. Good luck with that.

Here’s a thought to chew on: Continuing to yield to the ‘flesh nature’ is fruit of an un-surrendered life in submitting to the Lordship of Christ....

Sure, you can profess all day long that you know Him....but it’s in your actions that you are ‘denying Him’ according to Titus 1:16. All your ‘charitable works’ and ‘acts of service’ are meaningless and profit you nothing...if you fail to demonstrate the genuine love of Christ (1 Cor. 13:1-3; Matt. 7:22). And you can’t do this if that ‘old man’ is still alive, no matter how hard you try.

How serious is this? Well you can start with the words of Jesus who said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven...but those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven”.(Matt. 7:21)

Then, Paul would later drive home the point in Gal. 5:19-21 after rattling off a lengthy list of those ‘evident deeds of the flesh’...by reminding us that those who continue to practice these things will NOT...inherit the kingdom of God”.

We are told in Eph. 5:11 to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness...”. Now, jump back to Romans 13 and read vs. 11-14. Once again...we are commanded to ‘cast off the works of darkness’ (12) and Paul even gives a few examples of what he is talking about in vs. 13. Are we not advised to ‘put on the armor of light’ ...as well as ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make NO provision for the flesh...to fulfill its lusts’?

Also, please note how he began with “it’s time to awaken out of sleep”. Seems I remember some ‘virgins’ who fell asleep in Matt. 25 that needed to be ‘awoken’ if they had hopes of going to some ‘wedding’? And for those who are hearing this ‘alarm at midnight to wake up from our slumber’ (Matt. 25:5-6)...this is usually the place where we come to grips with the fact that most of us have fallen asleep...if we are willing to let God’s word convict our hearts and we just agree with Him. This should be followed by a prayer of confession and repentance for ‘falling asleep at the wheel’...and then being thankful we are still around to acknowledge this. And guess what usually follows a sincere prayer of confession and agreeing with God? He comes and ‘lifts us up’ (James 4:7-10) and then the ‘times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord’ (Acts 3:19). FYI- that ‘refreshing usually is accompanied by a boat load of peace and joy; trust me on that one! ;-)

Guess what? That ‘peace’ will now be your ‘guide’. Hold on to it and guard it closely (Col. 3:15; Luke 1:79; Rom. 3:17-19), because if/when you stumble or ‘mess up’, you’ll lose that peace. This is how we are ‘chastened’ by the Lord (Heb. 12:5-14). Then...you become much more aware of His voice, which is a good thing (John 10:27) as we are advised repeatedly to not ‘harden our hearts when we do hear it’ (Heb. 3:7-8,15; 4:7). This is where the walk begins to ‘get real’ and yes...there will be some ‘suffering’ involved; but not the kind of ‘suffering’ we’ve been conditioned to think or believe. The suffering we are called to involves the ‘suffering’ when we put this old man to death. Flesh hates this walk with a cross. Go read 1 Pet. 4:1-2...and then meet me back here tomorrow for some ‘real life practical’ lessons.