‘If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.’ This is a lyric of a popular worship song that came out a few years back. It stretches the mind and the heart of a believing Christian on just how amazing God’s grace really is. We have the consolment of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our path; and when we struggle, He is there to bring the necessary conviction to address our issue(s). My challenge is to live right and do right in these last of these last days.
The lie from the enemy is that a believer will miss the Rapture because they still struggle with a habitual sin or lack of spiritual discipline regarding that sin. The truth is that Jesus has forgiven our sin and He has cleansed us from our unrighteousness, even in our struggle. That fact that we wrestle with our flesh issues at times tells us that we’re signed up for the fight and destined for heaven. As we fight the good fight, we need to seek appropriate accountability and prayer according to God’s Word (James 5:16) regarding our battles. The fact that we’re ‘in this to win this’ tells us that the Holy Spirit is still working on us. As far as ‘missing the Rapture’ goes, Jesus said it best, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ We need to keep on keeping on; fighting, struggling, and winning, because in the end we’re not alone in this pressure cooker called life and we will NOT be left behind when the Master returns for us. His grace has already made a way for us; trust Him and press on!
The Apostle John said it this way, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:5-10
- The word ‘walk’ (Greek: peripateo) is used here ‘figuratively, it signifies the whole round of activities of the individual life; both of the unsaved and the saved. The word peripateo is applied to ‘the observance of religious ordinances and moral conduct.
As believers in Jesus, we are to walk in the newness of life, (Romans 6:4) after the things of the Spirit, (Romans 8:4) in honesty, (Romans 13:13) by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) in good works, (Ephesians 2:10) in love, (Ephesians 5:2) in wisdom, (Colossians 4:5) in truth, (2 John 4) and after the commandments of the Lord. (2 John 6) In the negative light, believers are not after the flesh, (Romans 8:4) not after the manner of men, (1 Corinthians 3:3) not to act in craftiness, (2 Corinthains 4:2) not to ‘walk’ by sight, (2 Corinthians 5:7) or in the vanity of the mind, (Ephesians 4:17) and not disorderly.’ (Vine’s p.664)
While this biblical definition for ‘walking in the Spirit’ is clear, we as believers in Jesus, do struggle in our walk with Jesus at times. Because the Holy Spirit lives within us, He will not allow us to continue in our sin and enjoy it. The Holy Spirit brings the necessary conviction to us for the purpose of drawing us back into a correct manner of walking. The Spirit will also draw us closer to Jesus as we continue to read the Word and pray.
We are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus; positionally we are in right standing with the Lord. However, we still need to maintain a proper walk with Jesus; ‘walking in the light as He is in the light.’ This is not about ‘works righteousness;’ rather, it has more to do with living and walking in a right standing with Jesus, knowing that at times we will fail. The key is to try and fail less, and rightly walk more.
Solomon said it this way, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” – Proverbs 24:16
In my own life I struggle with my perception of the world in these last days. I struggle with the distractions that come with that perception, and the many ‘what if’ scenarios that present themselves.
I tell myself, even in my lack, that I need to trust the Lord and move forward by faith. I trust that if I am doing something wrong, He will make me aware of it and I will make the necessary changes and course corrections. It’s not a perfect walk, but I do my best to be my best, in spite of myself.
Let me put this another way, I drive a school bus (among other things). Sometimes I roll my rear tire over a curb, or I drive up on a curb to properly position the bus, or I go over the speed limit by 5 miles per hour or so at times. While these mistakes are minor, they are still mistakes. I try not to knock off side view mirrors of vehicles that are parked to far from the curb. I try not to bump or back into other busses when parking or when lining up and such. I try not to crash the bus, roll it into a ditch, or run over deer as they cross the road. For the most part, I have done pretty good; but I am not perfect. As I drive my bus, so I walk with Jesus. I have somehow managed to keep the bus on the road and safely and efficiently covered my routes for the past few years. So it is with my walk with Jesus; I drive as I walk, and I am constantly improving my serve. I have made a lot of progress and improvements over the past decades in my walk; but I am still on the faith journey.
In our walk with Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us in both our good times and in our struggles. We must not allow ourselves to become the person that the devil wants us to be; rather, we must strive to be the person that God is shaping us into, a person who reflects His Son Jesus.
Brother, you’re going to struggle at times, but you need to let the Spirit do what He does best in getting you back on the right track, the right path, the right road, and headed in the right direction when it comes to your faith walk. We are so close to the Rapture and we need to be walking right in God’s sight; all of us. This is not the time to drift or slip into an unsteady gate in our walk. We need to straighten up and fly right; or walk right.
The path to heaven begins with the blood of Jesus cleansing us from our sin. From there it’s all about walking out our faith in Jesus each day. We need to be growing and maturing in Christ as we witness for Him and long to be with Him. As long as we are in this sin-filled world, we will struggle with the effect of sin and sinful people. The goal is not to be a sinful person, even though ‘all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.’ As believers in Jesus, we are to pursue holiness in faith, believing that as we walk out our faith in Jesus, so He continues to work on us in the process.
This close to the Rapture, we need God’s amazing grace to be flowing over our lives, which is not a license to sin; rather, a challenge to embrace a right walk with Jesus because we are in a right standing with Him. Our place of right standing is not because of what we do or how we act; rather, it’s because of what Jesus did on the cross. The flesh of this world will always have something there for us to be distracted by or to lust after. The goal here is to appreciate the process of our sanctification and embrace a righteous pace in our walk with Jesus.
A final thought to my brothers (and sisters) in Christ. The enemy knows that we are close to the Rapture, and he will ‘turn up the heat’ on us with a variety of unwholesome thoughts and desires. This is where we must determine to embrace God’s grace and live our lives with intentional faith, submitting to God, and resisting whatever the devil throws at us. If you have been feeling the burn lately, this is why. The devil knows where you’re going because he has been there. He doesn’t want you to experience what he can’t anymore. You must be strong in this last lap, press in and press on in your walk and remember that God’s grace is sufficient to get you all the way home, even from this side of the Rapture.
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northwest Missouri. He lives with his wife of 35-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 