Remember what Jesus said as He called His disciples. Peter and Andrew, “…Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” Matthew 4:19-20. Matthew, “…He said to him, Follow Me. So he arose and followed Him.” Matthew 9:9.

Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” This means that He goes before us. He has cleared the way. When we follow in His footsteps we will not get derailed.

I love the words to “I Know My Heavenly Father Knows.” Chorus: He knows, He knows, the storms that would my way oppose; He knows, He knows, and tempers every wind that blows.

David followed the Lord. He wrote Psalm 63. Verse 8 in the Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul wrote, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” The word in Greek means a follower. Paul was following the Lord. Who are you following? When we imitate the Lord, our speech and mannerisms will exemplify Him.

Hebrews 1:3 says, “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of his person…” The Greek word for ‘express image’ is charakter. It means the exact copy or representation.

Character is who we are through every aspect of our lives ~ whether behind closed doors or in open view. Romans 5:3-4 says that the Lord uses our trials to purify our faith. They require endurance, which will also develop and deepen our character. 

Express image can be illustrated through the wax seal of a signet ring. We are made in the image of God for a relationship with Him. At salvation we are sealed, “…with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13.

I love Isaiah 54:17 and often quote it when I am praying. It says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” In order for an enemy to penetrate a man clothed in armor, he had to form something that would fit in the chink. It was the area of vulnerability.

When we hide sin, we are vulnerable to the enemy’s forged weapon. I never drank. Alcohol is not a temptation to me. The enemy would never be able to lure me with that method. He has to attack me through areas that are weak ~  not shored up through hidden Scripture. 

The enemy’s weapons are custom designed fiery dart lies. Ephesians 6:16. He seeks to control through lies of doubt, fear, and unbelief. Be aware that not all your thoughts are of your own origin. Hide verses in your heart now before any attack. That truth will be like a sentinel which discerns the lie the moment it seeks entrance.

I’m reading through the book of 1 Corinthians. I want to share some areas that the Holy Spirit highlighted for me from chapter 10. Verse 11 says “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition…”

What things? They all experienced the power and goodness of the Lord. There were no exceptions. Yet verse 5 says, “But with most of them God was not well pleased…” They lusted after evil things. They became idolaters. They tempted the Lord. They complained. 

Here is a verse that makes me tremble. Psalm 106:15 says, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness to their soul.” 

Here is our warning. Verse 12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” The enemy of our soul looks for chinks in our armor through hidden sin. Achan disobeyed God and then hid what he did. He buried the forbidden things under his tent. Joshua 7.

Peter had just rebuked the Lord. We gather practical application to the nature of an offense from Matt 16:23. It says, “But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men!”

Whew. Here is a question to ask yourself the next time you feel slighted, rejected, or ignored. “Am I being mindful of the things of God right now?” Philippians 2:5 is our template in every circumstance of our lives. 

It says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The word ‘let’ means to allow it to happen or make room for it. In the sense of an offense, deal with it at the moment of the offense. Don’t let it fester until it is systemic. Ephesians 4:26 says, “…do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”

Lord, we need You. Help us to guard our hearts, so that no seed of any offense will not be able to propagate. In Jesus’ name. 

I love Jesus’ words in John 14:30. He said, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” There was no hook that the devil could use against Him.

Proverbs 4:23 warns us to be diligent to guard our heart, “…for out of it spring the issues of life.” Death words will spew out of our mouths when we least expect it if we have buried offenses.

Jesus told His disciples that offenses would come as part of life. Matthew 18:7 says, “…woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” Buried offenses are an enticement to sin. They are the baited trap sticks that are ready to spring.  

James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Remember Samson and how the Philistines lured him in order to afflict him and bind him.

I’m memorizing Philippians 1. Let me give you verses 10-11. They say, “That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Sincere. The bazaar vendors would stand outside their stalls shouting ‘sincere.’ It meant that there was no wax to cover up cracks. According to the Strong’s, sincere literally means tested by sunlight. For us it means: free from falsehood, pure, and without hidden motives.

Without offense means keeping no record of wrongs tacked up on the wall of your heart. There are no unresolved issues that are fed through buried unforgiveness.

Fruits of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11 says that the result of the Lord correcting us in our walk, “…afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Trained is the operative word.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has put eternity in every heart. We will live forever. Matthew 6:19-21 says to not lay up earthly treasures for ourselves, “But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

2 Corinthians 5:18 says that God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 20 says, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

We learned in Ephesians 4:18 that before we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we were alienated from the life of God. Think of others around you who have not come to accept Jesus. As ambassadors, we are commissioned to represent Him through every aspect of our lives.

When I  was a child I loved the hymn “Others” from my record by Tennessee Ernie Ford. The words became deeply embedded in my spirit and shaped my life. One verse: Help me in all the work I do to ever be sincere and true, and know that all I’d do for You must needs be done for others.

The Lord moved me to another state to care for my parents 24/7. It will soon be 20 years full of God-adventures. Two pastors I pray for have been in a horrible prison in Eritrea for over 20 years for the gospel’s sake.

I recently heard a message where the speaker told of visiting an old brother in the Lord just before he died. He told them that he had a plaque that keep his focus on the Lord. It said: Eternity Conscious. We will leave this earth with nothing ~ except for the treasures already deposited in heaven.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Romans 12:16 says, “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” 

In Colossians 3:12 Paul said to, “…put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” Each of these attributes express the character of Jesus. Strong’s defines kindness as goodness in action, sweetness of disposition, and gentleness in dwelling with others. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22.

Note in my Bible: The word describes the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience. The Holy Spirit removes abrasive qualities from the character of one under His control.