A Journey With Jesus

A JOURNEY WITH JESUS

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Jesus Christ." Phil. 3: 12.

Life is a journey in which we always have someone who travels with us if we have made Jesus Lord of our life. We are never alone as He promised to be with us always. Our goal in our Christian walk is to be complete and whole in Christ as instructed in His Holy Word. As we follow Him, we can mature and grow in grace each day in the steps we take following the Savior. We are to walk in the light of the Lord and the Word of God and are assured success and victory if we do so.

**It has been said there are three stages of progression to being perfect in Christ. Our complete perfection will not occur until the time that we are glorified and enter into our heavenly home. Each phase of perfection is grounded in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done, not in what we can do for Him. We can never perfect ourselves, as only God can work through and in us until His task is finally completed in the day of his return.

We must first seek to have a perfect relationship or union with Christ who is the only perfect one. When we are saved and declared his children, he takes our sins away and makes us righteous in Him. It is this perfect relationship which gives us the guarantee that one day we shall be completely perfect. We must be one with Him and stay in fellowship and communion to have the relationship God desires us to have in Christ. He is the only perfect One but can make us complete and whole as we abide in Him and let His Word abide in us.

After we are saved, we must have perfect progress, or mature spiritually, as we grow in grace. We continue to trust in Christ and learn more about Him as we draw closer and obey his commands. Our progress will be changeable in contrast to our relation, because it depends more on our daily walk. There will be times in our life when we will mature more than at other times. As we "work toward our goal" we are growing in grace until the day of Christ's appearing when we will be perfected and glorified. Good works can never perfect us, it is God alone who can perfect us. We must keep following the Spirit which convicted us of our sins, saved our souls, and will lead us in right paths. We are sanctified daily as we seek to become more Christ like and follow after holiness, without which no man will see the Lord.

One day we will be completely whole and made perfect in Christ. We will be given a new glorified body at the resurrection of the just in the Day of the Lord. Until that day, we must seek to be in a perfect relationship with our Lord, make perfect progress and expect to be made completely perfect one day by the power of our Lord. Perfect means 'to be complete and whole' in the different stages of our growth in Christ until the day we are caught up to be with the Lord to be glorified and perfected in Christ for all eternity.

All along the journey, we have one who works within our hearts and lives to make us what we ought to be. He is not finished with us when we surrender our lives to Him, He has only just begun. As we yield to God, He will work in our lives daily. We are always "growing and going forward" by his grace and as He gently guides us on in his love. Thank God for His Spirit which leads and guides us and for being the Potter who continually molds the clay to make us more like Jesus.

Blessings In Christ,

Jo Ann Kelly

J. P. 's Inspirations

References: Life Application Bible Footnotes