Follow Me As I Follow Christ

In this Christian Living UPGRADE, I (Dawn) want to inspire readers to inspire others in 2020—all to the glory of God!

One of the most difficult comments I received several years ago was this: "Who do you think you are? Do you think you are on some sort of pedestal?"

It was a hard comment to receive. At first, I reacted. "And who do you think YOU are ....?"

But then—upset that I reacted so quickly—I chose to respond in prayer.

I asked the Lord, "Is there some element of truth here?"

As it turned out, there was. The Lord showed me a strong streak of pride.

I did have a lot to be proud about.

But I was proud of the wrong person.

I should have pointed people to Jesus—the One who enables us to accomplish great things for His glory.

Since that time, I've been intrigued by the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (NIV). Or in the Amplified version: "Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."

From the human standpoint, Paul had every reason to be proud of himself and his accomplishments.

Even before his conversion, Paul was a deeply religious man. A model Jew. He wrote, "If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more"—and he described his high religious pedigree (Philippians 3:4-11).

Paul wasn't being arrogant or smug. He was just being honest.

But then, becoming a Christ-follower changed Paul's heart. He saw his incredible spiritual heritage in a new light.

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ," he said. "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:7-8a).

He saw his good works as "rubbish" (v. 8), because he knew his true righteousness would only be found in Jesus.

"... not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith" (Philippians 3:9).

Paul trusted only in the work of Jesus for him on the cross. He no longer wanted to boast in good works and accomplishments.

Rather, he boasted in his weakness so that Christ's strength would be perfected in and manifest through him (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

And he said, "Follow Me."

As I read of Paul's change of heart, I find his invitation to believers to follow him as he followed Christ so beautiful.

It is the humble spirit that best points to the One who deserves true praise.

God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5b-6). And out of that undeserved grace, we praise Him. We exalt Him.

No one but Jesus is perfect, but we are made righteous in Him (Romans 3:22a; 5:1).We are not yet sinless, but hopefully we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit and growing into Christ-likeness (Romans 8:29).

Certainly, we will fail the Lord many times this side of heaven, but He still calls us to follow Him. Trust Him. Obey Him. And make Him known.

We should want our words and deeds to inspire others to follow Jesus.

When we fail, we confess our sins to God and if need be, to others (1 John 1:9; James 5:16) and we continue to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18a).

At the beginning of this post, I wrote about a comment that revealed to me my strong streak of pride. But many things have changed in my life since then. One of the biggest changes is the unexpected "gift" of disease that has taught me to follow Jesus more closely, so aware of my own needs.

A recent comment to me—and I give God all praise and honor for this—shows how the Lord can use us as we are vulnerable and honest about our struggles and yet trusting in Christ's sufficiency.

A friend said something like this: 

"Thank you for encouraging me to follow Jesus. Your faith and obedience have inspired me, and I love Jesus more because of you."

Those words brought tears, because I know my heart's new desire is to put Jesus on the pedestal He so highly deserves.

So yes, friend.... follow me as I follow Christ.

I may trip and fall, but I am on the right path. And I want you to walk with me.

How does your life inspire others to follow Jesus? What might need to change so others will want to walk with you?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, at Revive Our Hearts, a blogger at TrueWoman.com, writes wiki-type posts at  Christianity.com, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, Footprints in the Snow, Wallpaper courtesy of yesofcorsa.com.

Goals to Dig Deeper in Your Faith

Almost from the moment I met Cathy Horning, I knew two things about her: She loves the Word of God, and she is a powerful encourager. In this New Year's UPGRADE, she encourages us to dig into the Word and grow our faith.

“Happy 2018! It’s a New Year, and my very favorite holiday,” Cathy says. “A time to remember. To reflect. To look ahead. To refocus. To prioritize. To set goals.”

That sounds like a big order, but I (Dawn) think Cathy knows how to fill that order!

Cathy continues . . .

I was surprised to discover, as the holiday season ramped up this past fall, a yearning in my soul. A quiet ache. A longing to go deeper in my faith.

In the flurry of activities, I realized I was being swept along the river of life by the relentless currents of an extremely full and demanding schedule.

If you have ever been river rafting, you know what I mean.

One of my fondest memories is riding an inner tube on the Salt River in Arizona. On hot, summer days, my friends and I kept cool as we were carried down the river by the strong current. Occasionally, we were even pulled into an eddy along the way, and were forced to paddle our way out to keep from being stuck there or, worse yet, being pulled under.

Floating down a river is great fun! But, it’s not a place you want to stay!

So, as the new year approached, I knew I wanted off my raft of busyness—to paddle away from dangerous eddies, to swim out of my river, and to plant my feet on solid ground.

I needed a plan:

• to stop being swept along by the currents of busyness,
• to avoid the dangers of a spiritual eddy,
• to be intentional, and
• to stop drifting along.

Instead, I wanted to be firmly planted on fertile soil, and to go down deeper in my roots of faith. 

The New Year seemed the perfect time. Although, to some, it is simply the next day on a calendar, to me the New Year is very special. It is an opportunity to begin again. To start afresh, with a clean slate.

And in my own story, it has been a time of momentous life changes.

It is the holiday when I surrendered my life to Jesus at a midnight church service, 39 years ago. Then four years later, it became the holiday when I walked down another church aisle and became a new wife.

So, for me, the New Year is a time to celebrate not only a clean slate, but also new life.

For four decades now, my faith and my family have grown! Each year has brought many changes like children, moves, teenagers, college, weddings, travel, grand-babies, aging parents, and so much more.

However, with the changes have come challenges. And the challenges of the past few years have found me in survival mode.

You know, going through the motions. Doing the right things. Getting by.

My faith remained steady, yet my soul was not satisfied.

Thus, the longing to go deeper, instead of simply holding steady or just staying afloat.

This year, that is going to change. I will no longer be swept along or, worse yet, become stagnant and stale. As I prayerfully considered my goals, I chose ways to dig deeper in my faith. In order to achieve this, I came up with three simple goals.

In 2018 I choose to—

1. Spend More Time in God’s Word

• I will spend more dedicated time in God’s Word, reading, studying, listening to, meditating on and memorizing it.
• I will reserve set times for social media, because, honestly, it is one of the strongest currents which robs me of going deeper.

2. Pray Bigger and Bolder Prayers

• I will take each worry and turn it into prayer.
• My prayer requests will be bigger and bolder.

I will not allow myself to get stuck in an eddy of worry. Instead, I will ask, and praise God, for audacious answers which will bring Him glory!

3. Listen To and Follow My Shepherd More Closely  

• I will more intentionally seek to listen for the Lord’s direction throughout my day.
• I will follow His lead, even if it is contrary to my own plans and inclinations.
• I will not be swept away in the currents of routine and order or by the imagined urgency and needs of others.

“Now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots go down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NLT).

Dear friend, this New Year, let’s be on our guard against being swept along by the currents of life. Or, worse yet, getting stuck or pulled down in an eddy.

What goals can you make and what intentional steps can you take to dig deeper in your own walk of faith?

Cathy Horning loves the Word of God. Nothing brings her greater joy than encouraging women how to walk in His ways. She is a popular speaker, blogger, and writer, as well as a beloved wife, mom, Grammy, mentor, encourager and friend. Her first two books will be released in 2018. Learn more about Cathy here.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Marboon at Pixabay.