Friday, October 7, 2011

Faithful Friday - "Walking the Walk"

It’s Friday, which means it’s “Faithful Friday”, the day that Joy and I have set aside to share something from our Christian walk to encourage others along this path of life as we strive to live our lives to honor our Lord Jesus Christ.



Today, I’d like to share what I’m calling, “Walking the Walk”. I often wonder how many times we, or I, have been the cause of someone not choosing the path of Christ. That’s a strong statement, but on the other hand, it’s a big responsibility we have as Christians to live our lives so that others can see Jesus in us. In other words, are we pointing people to Christ by the way we live our lives, or are we a stumbling block?

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness.
Titus 2:7 (NIV)


Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)


I remember hearing someone say once concerning church, “Why go to church?” “I mean, I live a better life than most people I know that go to church.” That statement ought to really bother us, as Christians. If we can go to church and hear God’s Word Sunday after Sunday and walk away and not apply that to our lives in the way we live, I wonder how many people that affects negatively?

Someone is always watching to see if “we are the real thing”. For me, the way I fail in this is being quick to anger, and an attitude comes to the surface which results in snippety words before I think. That is especially true at fast food drive-throughs, when people are just plain rude. But whether they are rude or not, I might be the only Jesus they might possibly see that day. So am I pointing them to Christ in the way I act? No. And I don’t want to be the reason they don’t come to the Lord. I have to pray about this constantly. It’s a hard thing for me. I really do want to be able to do as the scripture says above and “set an example by doing what is good in my speech and in life”.

Another is by being honest in all of our dealings…..people of integrity. We are to be set apart in every way. Someone is watching to see if we are the “real thing”….whether it be the cashier that gave us back too much change and we return that dime to them instead of thinking it’s only a dime, what does it matter. Or it could be our kids that are watching. To me that’s really serious! Are we living our life in such a way that we are being a stumbling block to them by telling them to do one thing and living another, or are we pointing them to Christ?

In other words, do people only hear us "talking the talk" or are we "walking the walk"?

If you have something you’d like to share for Faithful Friday, we’d love to hear it! Grab the button above and leave Joy a comment on her blog, here, letting her know!

Be blessed,
~ Tammy ~

8 comments:

Sharon said...

This was very interesting and gave me a lot of thinking to do.
Hugs

renee said...

We can all take this lesson each day! I know I struggle with that as well. It's not easy to be nice to people all the time. I always ask the Lord to help me, I usually fail somewhere throughout the day!
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Renee

Bittersweet and Ivy said...

Thank you for this... it really makes you stop and think about how many lives we come in contact with every day and how we can each make a difference.
Blessings,
Laura

GranthamLynn said...

So true. Great post.
Thanks for sharing this. It does make you stop and think!
Have a Blessed Weekend.
Sherry

Lois Christensen said...

Wonderfully said! I always say that some people will only come to the Lord by watching how we as Christians behave. Enjoy your weekend!

Blessed Beyond said...

Thank you for this! You always share what I need to hear! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed weekend! I posted a FF post ~ http://blessingsbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/10/faithful-fridays.html
Hugs and Blessings,

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

Mama,

It's like everyone said--this post (and all your others) makes you really think. Are we setting a good example as Christians, especially for our kids?

Thank you for participating in Faithful Fridays! I love you! 8!

Love,
Joy :D

Simple Home said...

This was excellent Tammy, thanks for sharing it. I great reminder that I need on a regular basis :)
Blessings,
Marcia