Connect said:
Hello all,
Now that we have established that there are some behaviors that assist us in walking closely with God, I'm wondering how much is dependant on our motives/attitudes/behaviors/etc. that actually contribute to our walk with God? Do we actual play a part or is it only the Holy Spirit in our lives? Any ideas would be welcome.
Thank you,
Connect
That's a good question. I am going to simplify the answer to make it basic and easy to understand.
The Bible teaches that everything good that we do, we do by the grace of God, that if it were not for God's grace, we would not have done that good thing. So really, we can't take any credit for the good things that we do.
First, we need God to have mercy on us and
grant us the grace to do the things we know we should do.
Secondly, we need to
respond to God's grace and do the things we know we should do. So when the idea comes into your head, "I should go read my Bible now,"
you have a choice. You can say yes to the grace of God and go read your Bible, or you can say no to the grace of God and go watch tv instead (as an example).
When I was a relatively new Christian, at one point, I had committed to worship and pray for one hour every day (Mon-Fri). It used to irk me that God got all the credit for that. I mean after all, I'm the one making the sacrifice, discipling myself, etc. Don't I get any of the credit?! It wasn't until after I stopped, and couldn't get started again (by my own will power) that I realized just what it means to be at God's mercy, and that I should be more appreciative of the grace of God.
By the way, my favorite definition of Grace is: "the desire and the power to do God's will".
