Faith Filled Family Magazine March 2017 | Page 8

Your example is everything . You may be the only person walking with Christ someone knows . If that is true , then how they see you will be how they see Christ . What example of Christ do they see in you ?
How do you treat your spouse in front of others ? Again , this shows the love of Christ in you . Do other people see the love of Christ in you with how you treat your spouse ? How about behind closed doors ? Do you treat your spouse as a God-loving man or woman or do you just put them down like they are trash ? Remember , God gave you your spouse so when you treat them poorly , you are also putting down God . They are God ’ s children and God loves them way more than you ever could .
How about your children ? Do you treat them in a God-loving way but still with discipline ? Do you tell your child that children are to speak only when spoken to ? That is one of the worst things you could say . It robs their creativity from them .
They need to know three things . The first is that you love them . The second is that you are proud of them . And the third thing is that you guide them to see their God-given talents . They sometimes need to be shown by you what they are good at .
Sadly , in our society this is a challenge . Most parents work full-time and finding time in the day can be a struggle . You have to spend not just quality time with them but they need quantity time as well so you can guide them .
Many people believe as long as you have quality time together then an hour here or there is all you need . Don ’ t believe that lie ! That is what the enemy wants you to believe . Time or the lack thereof , is what is destroying our families .
Also , there is also the idea of influence . If you aren ’ t there , then they will follow anyone who is there whether good or bad . You never know when your kids are about to open up their hearts to you about things so if you make your time limited then you may end up shutting them out of your life . Then they will open up their hearts to the wrong people .
All of this has everything to do with walking with Christ . Walking with Christ is what you do each day . When people see you , do they try and get away before you see them ? Do they say “ here is the judgmental person coming ”?
Walking with Christ is all about what you do each day . I have to repeat that because it seems a lot of people forget that . Once they are away from church they go back to living like there is no God .
Walking with Christ is also about growing in Christ . The closer you grow towards Christ , the less sin appeals to you . Will you still sin ? Of course , but it becomes less appealing to your heart . The day you leave this world should be the closest you have ever been to Christ , if you are growing every day .
It is all about your spiritual journey each day and not year to year ! Your spiritual journey happens each day . If you take care of today , then a year from now you can look back and say what an awesome journey of growth . If you can say that today you are better and growing more than yesterday , then you are on the right track . When you have said enough of those then you can look back over a five-year span and be able to see amazing growth . We might not be as good as we can be but thank God we are better than we used to be ! Make spiritual and personal growth a priority and watch your life change for the better .
One last thing , this does not mean you are perfect because this is what holds many back . People beat themselves up because they are not perfect or they feel that they have failed God . We all fail God on a daily basis ; the key is to do it less as you grow towards Christ . God knows your heart and he knows that you are working on this daily . Once you have repented on issues then leave that in the past and move on because God did . God does not hold something over your head that he has already forgiven you on ! Live each day the best that you can and the next day you will be able to live even better and the more you do that , the closer you will start to move towards being Christ-like .
Ask God to help your spiritual walk . Ask Him to guide you each and every day . Let Him know that you are tired of being just a “ Sunday Christian ” and you are ready to take this journey to the next level by walking with Christ in everyday life . Ask Him to give