Walk the Walk

Years ago, I was visiting a friend Steve in the hospital. He was relatively young, in his 50s, and had just been diagnosed with three inoperable brain tumors. Not knowing how to pray, I asked Steve, “How can I pray for you?” His answer, “Pray that I would walk the walk God has for me, whatever it may be.”

Our Verse for the Week is:

Ephesians 4:1 (CSB) Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.

To unpack this a bit:

• The words “urge” and “calling” come from the same root word “kaleo,” meaning to summon. We have been summoned by God not just to salvation, but to walk the walk He has given us. Believers are called-out ones. Called out for salvation, and called to live a new life.
• Worthy has the idea of balancing the scales. Salvation cost the life of Christ. What does it look like to live a life that reflects that gift?
• You have received – Salvation is an unearned gift from God, not acquired by our effort.

An expanded paraphrase might be: Even from prison, especially from prison, I’m calling you out to walk worthy of your salvation. You received a divine calling from God Himself! Now live up to it in a way that does justice to the gift.

That’s not always easy, it wasn’t for Steve either, but it is always worth it – and God gives the strength to do it. Be encouraged and walk the walk,

Dan

PS – the idea of “Walking the Walk” reminded me of the application of The Wimp from Bizarre Bible Stories 2! I cut and pasted it below in case you don’t have the book. Remember, it’s for kids ages 10 and up.

The Wimp

The Question:

Dear God, “Why am I not like a regular kid?”

The Passage:

Judges 13-16

What is your favorite Bible story?

Do you remember the story of Samson?

What did he look like?

Samson wasn’t like a normal kid. God doesn’t do normal; God flawlessly and uniquely created each one of us.

Don’t worry about being normal. Instead, be faithful.

N O W  L E T ’ S  M E E T  A  U N I Q U E  K I D . . .

You may remember the story of Samson something like this. He had long hair that made him strong. God used his strength to defend the Israelites against the Philistines.

He had a girlfriend named Delilah who kept trying to figure out what made him strong. Ultimately, Samson relented and told her that his hair made him strong. Delilah had some people come in and cut his hair when he was asleep. When Samson woke up, he just had the strength of a normal man. The Philistines beat him up, even gouging out his eyes. Later they brought Samson to their temple to make fun of him. Samson prayed and pulled down the pillars of the temple, killing himself and everyone inside.

You have the story wrong.

Samson wasn’t strong because of his hair. In fact, Samson wasn’t any stronger than the average person was — maybe no stronger than you or your dad. He may have had daddy-longleg spider arms.

Samson also wasn’t like a regular kid.

Before Samson was born, God sent an angel to meet with his parents. The angel told his mom and dad they were going to have a son. He told them not to cut their son’s hair, and to set him apart to God as a Nazarite. Their son would grow up to help deliver Israel from the Philistines. That son was Samson.

A Nazarite was someone who took a vow to dedicate themselves to God for a period of time. Usually it was 30 to 90 days long. What made Sampson different is that his life was dedicated to God. This dedication wasn’t to be for 30 to 90 days, it was to be for 30 to 90 years. And, this dedication happened even before he was born. An adult Nazarite was odd, but a kid Nazarite? That wouldn’t be a regular kid.

As a Nazarite, Samson couldn’t cut his hair, go near a dead human body, or drink alcohol or grape juice. [Numbers 6:1-8] You know when he was younger other kids laughed at his long, flowing hair. As a teenager, they probably ridiculed his staying away from funerals and not drinking. “Samson, you wonder why girls don’t like you. It’s because you look like them! Get over this Nazarite thing and get your hair cut. Come to our party this weekend. Have a drink. Become a Nazarite when you’re older if you still want to be one. You don’t have to be weird, you know.”

Would you like to be super-strong, like the Incredible Hulk? If you were, what would you do with all that strength?

Samson wasn’t like a regular kid. And, as he grew up, he did some amazing feats, which made him even more unusual. He killed a lion with his bare hands. He killed 1,000 Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey. He caught foxes. He even ripped off the town gates of one city and carried them 37 miles away. But, his strength didn’t come from his hair or from lifting weights in a gym. It came from God.

When Samson did this kind of radical Incredible Hulk stuff, the Bible says, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.” It was the Spirit of the Lord that made him strong, not his muscles or hair. He didn’t even look strong. At least five times people asked what made him so strong. [Judges 16:5,6,10,13,17] If he looked strong, no one would have been asking what made him strong. They would have been able to look at him and see the muscles. He must have looked more like Underdog than Superman.

God promised to be with Samson as long as he kept his Nazarite vow of not cutting his hair, or touching dead bodies, or drinking alcohol. When Samson told Delilah about the vow, she had his hair cut. Then the Spirit of the Lord left him. He was then as weak as his muscles looked. Samson, without God, wasn’t strong. The rest of the story you know.

So, What Should I Do?

BE FAITHFUL

Samson wasn’t like a normal kid, and you aren’t either. No one is normal; God makes us unique. God doesn’t have a “human factory” punching us out like a bunch of identical pennies, where occasionally one is miss- punched, and “not normal.” God is more like a master painter where He flawlessly and uniquely creates each one of us. You’re not normal. You’re a child of King Jesus, totally loved by God, exclusively made by Him in His image. God doesn’t do normal.

Instead of trying to be normal, be faithful. Samson protected Israel from the Philistines for 20 years. When he stopped following God, he lost his hair, his strength, and his eyes. Losing everything brought Samson back to God, but it was a painful process. Skip the process, stay faithful!

Where else is this taught?

Psalms 28:7-9 (NLT) The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his

anointed king. Save your people! Bless Israel, your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in your arms forever.

Psalms 33:16-22 (NLT) The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory — for all its strength, it cannot save you. But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT) That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

John 15:5 (NLT) “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Philippians 4:13 (NLT) I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Ephesians 6:10 (NLT) A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.