Living Up to the Name

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 10:32, 33

We can confess Christ with our mouths but deny Him by the way we live our lives. We claim to be Christians. But what does that really mean? What is a Christian? A Christ follower. A representative of Christ, an example of His transforming power and grace. So how do we make sure what we claim matches who we are?

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Cor. 3:18

As we spend time with the Lord, in prayer, in His Word meditating on His character, we become more like Him. That is why it is so important to make having our own private devotions a top priority. If  we don't "behold" Christ, how will we become like Him? How will we have the ability to rightly represent Him to the world? How will the Spirit transform us without our willingness to place ourselves in connection and communion with Him? I pray we do not neglect the privilege of being shaped by the Lord daily.

Another question to consider is: What are we "beholding". Into what/who's likeness are we being transformed? For it is by beholding that we become changed. This is a powerful reality. Are we beholding wickedness? In our entertainment, are we watching violence, sex, perversion, unkindness, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery? A steady diet of these things affects us, shapes our character, transforms us. No, maybe we won't become mass murderers from watching murder, but we may become desensitized to it and even begin to normalize it and fail to realize the horror of it. We also tend to emulate our heroes and so we will naturally become like the people, celebrities, and friends we highly admire. What are their lifestyles like? We need to put a filter on our minds and not let just anything come in to influence us. Sometimes I even wonder how God can even compete with all these things? We need to give Him first place.

When we come into contact with the world, what are they seeing? A road-rager? A theif? A liar? An unkind person? Are we showing them Jesus in us? We can say, "Hey, I'm a Christian"out of one side of our mouths and cuss and scream out of the other. What's wrong with this picture? Are we a right representation of Love? God is love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The Bible is full of teachings and principals to help us develop into what Jesus means for us to be. As we avail ourselves to these teachings and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will be become transformed so that our lives match our confession. This is important. We may be the only "Jesus" some people will see, let us strive to show them His glorious beauty lived out in us.

So what happens when we mess up? When we deny Christ in our everyday lives? Should we just quit and go hide under a rock somewhere and give up? Should we allow discouragement to overcome us? No, we just simply need to acknowledge our weakness and sin by confessing it to the Lord in prayer and asking for His help. He knows our frame and remembers we are dust. He forgives a person who is truly sorry and repentant.

So let us remember to put ourselves in the best possible position to grow spiritually. Keeping that which is good and helpful and tossing what is harmful and destructive goes a long way in developing a lifestyle and character that will not deny Christ.


May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14