W. Tozer said these words—“When He returns [the “He” refers to Jesus] is not as important as the fact that we are ready for Him when He does return.”

Today, I wonder—In what ways do we see our lives “centered “In” Christ”?

I also wonder—When we think back to when we first accepted Jesus as our Savior, have we continually “put off our old self” as we have continually walked the faith journey, “putting on the new self”—only possible through the grace of God.  SEE WITH ME—GOD’S WORD.

We hear our walk with Christ described as a “faith journey,” but what does that really mean?  What does that mean as we tie up, slip on, or buckle on our daily shoes?  A walk.  A journey.  A hike grabbing our hiking stick, our container of water, our compass, and our backpack filled with essentials necessary for our hike.

First—our hiking shoes.  How can we hike if our feet are not placed inside the correct shoes?  We can try to “hike” through this life, wearing the shoes we own, but we will fail miserably.  We need shoes only the King of Kings provides.  We need our feet to be “properly shod,” so that we are prepared to step onto the streets of gold one day when our earthly hike is finished.  If we have ever attempted to hike in flimsy shoes, in incorrect hiking shoes, then we remember quite well the fatigue and blisters that came to our feet.  Walking with Jesus requires that we lace up our “hiking boots” God provides and trusting Him as we go—step-by-step.

Next—our hiking stick.  Every hike brings a different terrain, which means, our lives will not always stay exactly the same.  To live, allowing ourselves to be “sanctified” as we go means we are continually “growing up “in” Christ.  To live this way means we are willing to allow God to direct our path, the way we are to go, to not push away from God’s direction but to embrace where He leads us.  God is God & We are His.  Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become a child of God, and that means we are to listen and obey our heavenly Father.  Obey means Obey.

We never walk our path alone—NEVER!  Daily, Jesus walks with us.  Daily, our Savior is there, right beside us, and He allows us to “lean IN on Him” as we go, providing us an “assurance of step” only God can provide.  This life journey may require we hike on difficult terrains, so that means we will need to rely upon our Father—Often—Daily!

Then—our container of water.  Living Water is what God has poured into our beings.  LIVING WATER.  The precious blood of Jesus covers the multitude of our sins when Jesus came into our life, and now we are covered by the blood of the Lamb.  Blood & Water.  As a Believer, As a Christian, As God’s Child—we are filled with His Life-Sustaining Water.  As we “drink in” more and more of Him, we should become so filled that the Living Water of Jesus Christ sloshes out of us as we walk.  Others should always KNOW the TRUTH about WHOSE we are, about WHO is our FATHER, about WHO is our SAVIOR, & about WHO we call LORD.  Living Water!  Without the Living Water, we are famished in our thirst.  Without the Living Water, we are not God’s.

Of course—our compass.  God’s Word is our compass.  Through His Word, our steps are directed, so how can we know “where we are to go” if we are not reading His Word?  We cannot.  How can we know “what we are to do as we go” if we are not reading His Word?  We cannot.  How can we know “who we are to share the gospel message with” if we are not reading His Word?  We cannot.  How can we know “when we are to go” if we are not reading His Word?  We cannot.  Finally, how can we know “who we are to share God’s love with” if we are not reading God’s Word?  We cannot!!!!!!

Finally—our backpack.  We cannot save anyone’s soul.  That is the work of God.  We cannot even convict anyone’s heart to see their sin against God.  That is the work of the Holy Spirit.  So, what is our work, someone might ask.  Our work is the “tell the world.”

To live so we have evidence in our daily lives that shows the world we are Christians.

These “essentials” will help us to “be ready for Him when He [Jesus] does return.”

This hike through life will help us live out the years of our life—Centered “in” Christ.

God sent His Only Begotten Son to this world to provide Salvation.

Jesus Christ has finished His Work.

The Holy Spirit leads us to Salvation & the Holy Spirit leads our steps as we go.

Our work, our responsibility is to OBEY God’s Commands, to GO wherever HE leads, to FOLLOW God’s will for our day(s), and to be 100% ready when we are called to come Home to Heaven.