How does one live a Christ like life?

Blaine, I hope many more will find this post as I would love to hear from those here who know God deeper than I do.

Here is one thing that I have learned: We must be willing to give up everything. Most of us would readily agree because Jesus made that clear, but I see very few Christians actually living like it, yet Christ didn't live His life for Himself and we shouldn't either.

In practice it means that we surrender to the Lord in prayer our possessions, our health, our children and loved ones, our ambitions, careers, plans, lives, and then truly no longer consider them our own. For years I knew this, but never fully understood and certainly didn't live like it.

It comes down to trust. Are we afraid that God will take away what we give over to him? He may or He may not but in full surrender it doesn't matter anymore. This is how you check your level of surrender: Ask yourself if it would be ok if God took this particular thing from you (your house, career, social circle, sports, etc.). I spent years building up a business, it brought me respect in the community and was pretty much my identity. When I realized how important it had become for me, I told the Lord I would let it all go if He wanted me to and within a year it was gone. The Lord placed a door into ministry in front of me and I have never looked back.

While the surrendering is a daily thing in so many ways, having truly given over your life means that disaster, sickness or death hold no threat. It means that I do not make plans for what I will do in the coming years, where I will live and how I will spend my money. It doesn't matter, I lay no claim to it. I will go where He wants me to go and do what He wants me to do and it will be enough.

Jesus lived like that and we know it. Had He lived like many of His followers today, He would have talked much about His carpentry skills, put money aside to buy a house by the lake, insisted on hanging out with the old friends from Nazareth and spent time going to camel races. While doing some preaching/teaching of course. One or maybe two days a week, if it fit His schedule.

Greetings Blaine

How does one live the Christ like life? Wow that is a wonderful question and for me the answers are in the BIBLE and the examples we see in the lives of the disciples. I believe its about truly living my life in submission unto the LORD every moment of the day. Yielding all that I am and have unto HIM. Its about asking and seeking first the KINGDOM of GOD and then following HIS leading as I go through the day. Its about being a servant and putting the desires of others above my own, and caring for them enough to love them and be honest with them. Its about holding on to JESUS and dieing to the flesh. Its about letting HIM truly be LORD of my life, over my time, my family, my choices, every aspect of my life belongs to HIM. Its about walking it out every moment of the day, and not just talking about it. Now I can not say honestly I live this daily but the desire of my heart is to do so. I seek to walk with HIM and to submit myself unto HIM and daily HE helps me in doing so more and more. Living for GOD and loving HIM mean I have a willingness to obey HIM. I place my trust and faith in HIM, knowing no matter what tomorrow might bring HE has got it all covered. Will the day ever come when I can say, "ok I have arrived, I have made it and I don't need you LORD." No! Never! That day will never come because living a CHRIST like life is all about dependency on GOD our FATHER!

Just my heart on this, thank you for allowing me share it with you.
God bless
mj

by sermonindex on 2014/4/12 7:54:58

- showing mercy
- listening to God's voice

__________

I can add to that:

-seeking God's KINGDOM first when I wake
-seeking God's KINGDOM last before I sleep
-extending myself to others

We desire to be followers of the Lamb in the word and prayer.

These are the most practical things, daily in the word and prayer. The key though is the motive behind these activities; if I think that because I do these things I am more spiritual then they are like wood, hay, and stubble. If however I do these things to meet God; if I expect that He will speak to my heart from His 66 letters to me, and if I expect that he is really present and hears my prayers, then there will be gold, silver, and precious stones.

I expect nothing of myself, I expect everything of Him. Anything more is just self-effort. There's been a lot of wood, hay, and stubble in my walk but thank God He has shown me this now (before it all goes up in smoke on that day), so that I can build on the right foundation those things that will last.

In Christ,

Ron

- Keep a mindful watch over your feelings and pray in your heart as often as you can.

- Watch that your physical diet doesn't starve your spiritual revelation.

- Silence is sometimes much better than a trail of jesting and joking.

Pray pray pray

Confess all your sins to Him .
Ask not only for forgiveness.
Ask also that He will purify you completely of all sins , iniquities and transgressions .
If you dont see your sins ask Him to show them to you
Crave to be cleansed of sins in all forms.Sins of thought, of words and deeds.
Sins of all types . Lust of the flesh.Lust of the eyes and vainglory of life

Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit .
Fill you with His thoughts , His Mind , His passion.
Be saturated with Him.

Desire earnestly for Him to make you like Him.
Never try to be like Him without abounding in prayers .

Meditate on His word daily. It fortifies us in holiness

Persevere and be patient. All of us are infested deeply with sins .Sin is a bondage . It does not release its prey willingly. So dont be disheartened when you seem not to be making much headway. Remember Jesus took 3.5 years to refine his disciples

An absolute conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ is everything.

On a practical level, its making the Lord Jesus Christ the obsession of your life.

The peripheral stuff will take care of itself.

It helps to be around other believers who also want to burn for the Lord. I do not think this can be stressed enough.

Being obedient in the little things; God reveals Himself to us as we obey. Good intentions are not enough. Jesus taught a practical faith. We must do the practical things.

Worship, worship worship. While in the car, cutting the grass, or cooking dinner. I find that if I go through a season where I have not worshipped (outside of a church service) then I have slipped backwards.

Denny your will and take up the cross everyday. Jesus took the cross everyday of his life. He did not do his will but his fathers will. Cross is a symbol that when my will and god's will cross each other I yield to do his will. There is no short cut to christlikeness other than taking up our cross. Every temptation that we face is simply this whether we do our will or his will. A broken man will acknowlege that he cannot do God's will all the time by his own strength but by God's grace alone he can be an overcomer.

How to live the Christ-like life?

First by recognizing that it can't be done.

That is, can't be done apart from Christ living in me.

The Christ-like life... is Christ.

He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 1 John 2:6

ADisciple wrote: How to live the Christ-like life?

First by recognizing that it can't be done.

That is, can't be done apart from Christ living in me.

The Christ-like life... is Christ.

There is an excellent book by Watchman Nee entitled "The Secret of Christian Living".

I believe that this book is at the heart of how we are to live the Christian life.

The first thing that we need to realize is that only Christ can live the Christian life. We cannot do it by attempting to copy or imitate Christ or by any effort of the flesh or through will power.

We need to know that we are in Christ and that Christ lives in us.

"For me to live is Christ." (Philippians 1:21)

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20).

If we are to live like Christ, then Christ must live in us. He is living in us so that He can live through us.

In order for Christ to live His life through us, our minds must be renewed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Our part is consecration. Submitting ourselves to God in total obedience to His will.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1,2).

In order to live the Christ life life, we must deny self, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. (Luke 9:23).

We can't follow Jesus unless we are denying self and taking up our cross.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.… (Philippians 3:13, 14).

It is impossible to live Christ like in this present age without abiding in the Vine. We not only have to recognize the fact that we are in Christ and that Christ lives in us, but we need to receive the life that is in the Vine. This speaks of having deep fellowship and communion with the Lord. Much prayer, keeping our eyes on Jesus, meditating on His Word. Allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in us. Only the Holy Spirit can make us like Christ.

Mike

Thanks everyone for your responses and thanks Blaine for the question.
Encouraging and refreshing.
:-)

Thank you Blaine and all of you that participated in this discussion. We can all benefit as each member of the Body gives forth his or her portion.

This subject of being like Christ is of upmost importantance in the plans and purposes of God for every child of God.

God is going to have sons and daughters that are conformed to the image of His Son.

There is no greater witness to the world and sinners than a saint that is allowing Christ to live, to love, and to manifest Himself through them.

Mike