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    Our Spiritual Walk
    Our Spiritual Walk
    Our Spiritual Walk
    Ebook170 pages2 hours

    Our Spiritual Walk

    By Ed Skidmore

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    About this ebook

    The New Testament is peppered with dozens of teachings about the way followers of Christ are to walk. Perhaps the reason so many Christians fail to grow up to maturity is that they haven't figured out what the spiritual walk looks like or how to go about it. This book, which is a follow-up to "Our Spiritual Inheritance", is designed to help a growing Christian move forward in the faith toward the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Once we have learned about all the spiritual riches we have inherited as believers, we are ready to move forward on a lifetime walk to maturity and usefulness as servants of God. The material in this book is not only good for small group Bible studies, but is also useful for the individual follower of Christ who may be looking for a way to kick-start the journey to growth in Christ. This resource can be used in s three-week program of daily readings to explain and encourage the practical aspects of walking the way that leads to abundant life in the kingdom of God.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEd Skidmore
    Release dateNov 26, 2014
    ISBN9780990731719
    Our Spiritual Walk
    Author

    Ed Skidmore

    Ed Skidmore is senior minister of Castle Hills Christian Church in San Antonio, TX. He has been in church related ministry for over 40 years. Ed also teaches classes for Vision International University, and he has also been broadcasting his sermons on KSLR Radio station (630 a.m.)in San Antonio, TX for over eleven years.

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      Book preview

      Our Spiritual Walk - Ed Skidmore

      Our Spiritual Walk

      by Ed Skidmore

      Published by Shipmate Press

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 by Ed Skidmore

      All Rights Reserved Worldwide

      No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the author except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      ***

      To Susan, my delightful wife of forty-two years,

      who has been my partner in all my endeavors,

      both in ministry and personal pursuits,

      I dedicate my third book

      with hope that God will be able

      to use it as a tool for Christians

      on the pathway to growth and maturity.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction: Our Spiritual Walk

      Chapter 1: Making Progress in Our Spiritual Walk

      Chapter 2: Characteristics of the Broad Way

      Chapter 3: Blinded and Bound

      Chapter 4: Four Trees—God’s Provision for Escape from Destruction

      Chapter 5: Putting Off and Putting On

      Chapter 6: The Nature of Our Daily Walk

      Chapter 7: Walk in the Light

      Chapter 8: Walk in Truth

      Chapter 9: Walk in Faith

      Chapter 10: Walk in Love

      Chapter 11: Walk in Wisdom

      Chapter 12: Walk Honestly

      Chapter 13: Walk Worthy of Your Calling

      Chapter 14: Walk After the Spirit

      Chapter 15: Walk to Please God

      Chapter 16: Walk in God’s Calling

      Chapter 17: Walking as a New Creation

      Chapter 18: Walk as Jesus Did

      Chapter 19: Instructions on How Not to Walk

      Chapter 20: Shifting Your Walk into Higher Gear

      Chapter 21: The Endgame of Our Walk

      About the Author

      Introduction: Our Spiritual Walk

      In over forty-two years of church-related ministry, I have come to some conclusions about what really matters when working with people in the church. It seems that much of the effort in church work is expended to bring in people and try to keep them relatively contented so that they don’t walk out the back door soon after they enter into the fellowship of the church. Sadly, this kind of effort often results in turning church folk into clients, and the church congregation itself into a service organization. When a church focuses on placating cranky church members, the true purpose of the church gets lost, or at least relegated to a back burner. The church needs to make the main thing, the main thing.

      We have been commissioned by Jesus Himself in His parting words before He ascended into heaven. This Great Commission should be our number one priority. In Matthew 28:18–20, we read, Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ The process of making disciples, baptizing, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded us is our primary task as individuals and as the church of Christ. All other tasks are side issues. We need to carefully avoid majoring in the minors.

      Since making disciples is our primary task, what should we be busy doing? What results should we see among the disciples? A disciple is first and foremost a learner and a follower. Therefore discipleship will naturally include teaching, modeling, mentoring, encouraging, correcting, and equipping for service. The main tools in this endeavor are the Word of God and prayer. The goal of all this discipleship activity is to teach baby Christians how to walk, and then walk alongside them as maturing, fruit bearing co-laborers for the kingdom of God.

      We can thank God for the many churches that are filled with maturing and productive Christians. However, the distressing truth is that far too many congregations are dominated by crying and whining spiritual babies who have stayed in that condition for far too long. My hope is that more congregations will be able to get back to the priorities of the Great Commission. We need to quit placating the cranky complainers among us, and give our greater energies to the task of walking the road that leads to spiritual maturity.

      This purpose was in my mind as I wrote this book. My former book was a study of what the New Testament teaches about our spiritual inheritance. This book focuses on what the New Testament teaches about our spiritual walk. The former work was a primmer so that new Christians could discover all they have received from our loving God. This is a follow-up study to show us what we are to do with all we have received from God. By looking at nearly fifty passages dealing with admonitions and prohibitions for our spiritual walk, I have attempted to organize and clarify what has been written in the scriptures about our walk so that the church can walk more surely toward maturity.

      How to Use This Book

      The twenty-one chapters in this book have been kept short so that readers could complete a chapter a day in around ten minutes. I’ve learned that it usually takes three weeks of doing something new to turn it into a lifetime pattern. With that in mind, this material is designed to provide a three week program of change.

      The book can also be used as a group study, perhaps covering two or three chapters a week, depending on the length of the study. A ten-week study could cover two chapters each week. A six-week study might cover three chapters a week. Using this book as a group study gives the added encouragement of sharing insights with our fellow travelers on our spiritual journey.

      In reading these chapters, you will be encouraged and given scriptural guidance in walking the path that leads to maturity in Christ. Here are some suggestions that may help you get the most out of what you read:

      1. You can read most chapters in less than ten minutes, but setting aside about thirty minutes to review the questions at the end of each chapter and to meditate and pray, will benefit you greatly. Choose a quiet place without distractions.

      2. Pray before you read. Ask God to teach you something you didn’t know before, to challenge you to begin doing something you’ve never done before, or to break through any resistance you have to walking this new path.

      3. Read slowly and resist the urge to skim over what is before you. Pay special attention to the scriptures, for they provide the supernatural power that is essential for our spiritual walk.

      4. Take time to ponder the practical suggestions for things to do differently, and consider specific ways of making changes to your daily habits.

      5. Read the Prayer Thought of the Day (out loud if you are able), and allow these words of praise and request to renew your mind and set you on a pathway to greater obedience and growth.

      6. Use the questions at the end of each chapter to review what you have just read and to bring new insights to mind.

      7. Consider what you will do differently each day on the basis of what you have just read.

      8. Keep walking the Way!

      Chapter 1: Making Progress in Our Spiritual Walk

      Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

      Matthew 7:13–14

      The human body was made for walking. As soon as they can manage, toddlers pull themselves up and toddle. The delight on the face of a toddling toddler when taking those first steps can only be surpassed by the delight on the parent’s face. From that point on, walking becomes a constant in daily life. People need to walk and want to walk. If they have trouble walking, they will go to all kinds of trouble, even knee or hip replacement, to be able to continue walking.

      Our spiritual walk is equally essential to the Christian life. From the many references to our spiritual walk in the Bible, it is evident that our spiritual walk may include all the purposes of a physical walk.

      Measuring Progress

      So we might ask, how do you measure progress on a walk? It may depend on the purpose of the walk. If you are walking merely to get somewhere, then progress is measured by how close you are getting to the destination. If you are walking for exercise, then progress may be measured by the speed or duration of the walking or by the calories burned. If you are walking for enjoyment, then progress may be measured by your pleasure in the experiences of your journey.

      The same applies to our spiritual walk. We walk toward a destination. We walk for our spiritual health. We walk for the joy of the journey. This book will explore the mile markers and measurements that define spiritual progress. I might explain that a spiritual walk could imply movement and making progress. I am reminded of the quote attributed to Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Jesus spoke about movement in the Sermon on the Mount when He compared the wide gate and broad road leading to destruction with the narrow gate and equally narrow road leading to life. He also taught that many would follow the destruction path while few would find the path leading to life (see Matt. 7:13–14). The fact that a gate and road were placed together and taught as twin truths implies to me that the work is only half done when one enters the gate.

      A Gate and a Way

      In Christian circles today, I notice a lot of emphasis on entering the gate (what some call getting saved). In fact, the way the gospel is often presented, one might assume that entering the gate is all that matters. Once you’re in, that’s it. Say the sinner’s prayer, sign the dotted line in the back of the book, and it’s all over. But if that is the situation, why did Jesus bother with preaching about a road? What if there is a gate . . . and a road? What if getting in is not all there is to it? What if, once having entered the gate, we must keep walking down a certain road? That is exactly what Jesus said —and meant. The New Testament has much to say about our walk, and this book will focus on what Jesus, the Apostles Paul, John, Peter, and even Jude had to say about our walk.

      So what is the purpose of all this walking? The answer is simple; we walk so that we can get somewhere. Going back to Jesus’s preaching, we learn that by walking down a narrow road we find it leading us to life. Compared with destruction, we may consider the objective of our walk to be worthy, worthwhile, even satisfying. So is this walking for the purpose of eventually winding up saved? No, that was accomplished when we entered the gate. Our walk is a post-salvation walk.

      But if we are saved already, what is the purpose of walking down a narrow road? The purpose is to take us somewhere wonderful that only saved people can go. While I don’t want to give it all away too soon, I think it is safe to say early on that the objective of all our walking will make all our forward motion worthwhile. Though we can never do anything to make us more saved than we already are, there is something delightful we can add to our saved condition by means of our spiritual walk.

      The Dual Purpose Walk

      Years ago, when living in Arcadia, Texas, we lived about a half mile from the elementary school my girls attended. My daughters were too young to walk there themselves on a gravel road with no sidewalks, but there was no need to drive them there in a car. So each day I walked them to school and deposited them in their classrooms. I could have just walked back home, but after walking that far, I decided to turn the walk into an exercise routine and take a circuit that would turn it into about a two-mile

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