Walking with God Requires One Thing Most of All

We start strong. Determination and strength come easily. Faithfulness flows from our hearts. Then life happens. We didn’t plan to grow cold spiritually. But we did.

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Somehow, we can wake up after a number of years and discover that our lack of passion for God has gradually shifted Him away from our hearts. We then find ourselves living in the ruins of once-vibrant spiritual lives.

How does this happen? By forgetting this one thing.

Distractions While Walking with God

When life gets busy (including ministry), it’s often tempting to view God as good for salvation but a little lacking for our real lives.

We didn’t start out walking with God only to ignore Him when we grew up. The reality is, growing up shows us how much we really do need God. Like the prodigal who longed for freedom, we come to our senses and realize that life apart from the Father isn’t the freedom we imagined it would be.

The soul of man bears the image of God; so nothing can satisfy it but He whose image it bears. —Thomas Gataker

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How Walking with God Gets Sidetracked

Christians never outgrow the basics. We either build on them or we overlook them. How?

• This often occurs when we content ourselves with maintaining a level of godliness that makes cultural Christianity our standard.
• In other words, compared to most Christians, like Jim or Susan or Pastor Ted, our spiritual life meets the standard. We seem in great shape.

3 Questions for Walking with God Every Day

The pattern for the Christian life has never been other Christians—it is Christ. How easily we can forget that.

Getting back on track could begin by answering 3 questions:

1. Do I strive to become like Him or like my Christian culture?
2. Do I give my all to Him—or do I just give what’s necessary to keep up appearances?
3. Do my Bible reading, prayer, and other disciplines serve to draw me to Him—or are they to sooth my conscience that I’m spiritual?

It takes guts to answer those questions honestly. It takes even more courage to change.

Walking with God Requires This One Thing Most of All

Godly behavior and orthodox doctrinal statements are important, but that’s not the hub of the spiritual life. Jesus Christ wants our affections—He wants to be our first love (Revelation 2:1-5).

In every situation in which we live and serve, in every action, our motive should find its root in love for Jesus. The goal is love, and love expresses itself in those ways we often confuse as the goal (1 Timothy 1:5).

Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is still the greatest commandment.

Because it is the most essential.

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