“God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38; NKJV). Doing good – that’s what Jesus did all day! If we want to be more like Jesus then we should be attempting to do the same.
The Bible encourages us in this endeavour. Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good”. In the New Testament, Paul urges Titus to be, “eager and enthusiastic about (living a life that is good and filled with) beneficial deeds” (Titus 2:14b AMPC). Also, in 1 Tim 6:18 we read, “charge them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share (with others)”. Paul told the Galatians not to get tired of doing good and he told the Ephesians that they were created for good works (Eph 2:10).
Going back to our very first verse in Acts 10:38, did you notice that it says that Jesus did the good works because God was with Him? Well, God is with us too and so if we ask Him, He can help us to do something good today too! Remember it doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, something as simple as a smile or a hug can be a good work. So, do something good today, you’ll be glad you did!
In many places in scripture the word walk is used to show us how we should live as Christians. In 1 John 2:6; (NKJV) we are told that we should “walk just as He walked”, that is as Jesus walked on the earth. We should, “walk in love, just as Jesus loves us” (Eph
5:2), walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8b) and walk according to His truth or the word (3 John 1:3-4). We are to walk carefully, not deviating from God’s directions (Eph 5:15).
God’s people are to “walk worthy of the calling with which they were called” (Eph 4:1; NKJV), with humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity and peace (Eph 4:2-3). We are exhorted to walk as, “children of light” (Eph 5:8; NKJV) in a way that God would approve of “in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (v9). Importantly, the apostle Paul also directed us to walk in the good works that God designed for us (Eph 2:10b). This would include blessing, helping and caring for others and sharing the gospel.
If we are humble, we know that we can do nothing without God and can only walk in His ways through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). This may all seem very daunting, how is it possible for us? The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Gal 5:16; NKJV). We need to allow the Holy Spirit to change us, discipline our flesh (mind, will and emotions) and direct our lives to walk as Christians (Gal 5:16-26). He will do this if we allow Him to.
In 2 Kings chapter 2 we read that the Lord took the prophet Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Elijah’s servant, Elisha knew he was to succeed his master in ministry (1 Kings 19:19) and that Elijah was soon to be ending his time on earth. Elisha was determined to stay with his master in order to receive a double portion of his anointing (2 Kings 2:9b). Shortly before his departure, Elijah told Elisha 3 times to “stay here while I go to another place” but each time Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2b;4b;6b; NKJV). Elisha witnessed Elijah’s departure to heaven and received the anointing to follow in his prophetic ministry (2 Kings 2:15). Elisha showed amazing faithfulness and commitment to his master and his reward was great.
How committed are we in our relationship to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? In Mark 12:30 (NKJV) we read, “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” Jesus called us to put selfishness aside and be sold out for God (Matt 16:24-25). If we follow Jesus with all our heart, He said we would, “have the light of life” (John 8:12; NKJV). If we make God our priority, we will experience all His blessings (Matt 6:33), and walk in His power to shine as lights (Acts 1:8) and be His witnesses on the earth. Are we as tenacious in our relationship with God as Elisha was with Elijah? The rewards are awesome!
When we first started attending a Spirit filled church, we often heard people using the words, “plead the blood.” At first, I didn’t know what it meant and thought it was spiritual lingo. However, over the years I have come to more of an understanding of what this means.
In Exodus 12 we read about the instructions that God gave the children of Israel through Moses. Moses had just announced the last plague to Pharoah, that all the firstborn children would die that night but God told Moses how to protect His people. Verses 3-5 tell us that they had to sacrifice a perfect lamb and then in verse 7, to put some of its blood on the door frames of their houses so that God would pass over them and protect them.
This points to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the spotless lamb of God, whose blood was shed for our salvation. The word salvation includes protection, so every time we need protection, we can “plead the blood of Jesus.” It simply means applying the effects of the blood of Jesus over our loved ones, homes, vehicles etc. We do it in faith, believing in the power of the blood.
“They overcame him (satan) because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony.” (Rev 12:11 AMP).