“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6 NLT)

I have a problem when I walk with my wife. I always walk a little faster than she does. Every time we go out together, I find myself walking ahead of her. I have to stop and wait for her to catch up. I make a conscious effort to walk more slowly—at least for a while. But the next thing I know, I’m walking fast again.

Many believers face a similar challenge when it comes to walking with God. Some people want to run ahead of Him. They grow impatient waiting for Him to answer a prayer or reveal His will, so they take matters into their own hands. Other people lag behind Him. They’re reluctant to act when He prompts them. They’re hesitant to step outside their comfort zone without two weeks’ advance notice.

Our goal should be to move in harmony with the Lord. We need to stay close to Him and adjust our steps so that they match His. Enoch is listed in the Faith Hall of Fame (see Hebrews 11:5). Yet we know little about him beyond this note in Genesis 5:22 (NKJV), which is repeated in verse 24: “Enoch walked with God” (NKJV).

Referring to our daily relationship with God’s Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 NIV).

But what does that mean in practice? How do we do it? What does it look like to “keep in step with the Spirit”? It means that we prioritize the things of God. It means that when we get up in the morning, we take time to read the Bible. If we neglect the Word of God, it will show in our lives. Keeping in step with the Spirit also means that we spend time in fellowship with God’s people.

The apostle John put it this way: “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6 NLT). In short, make time for the things of God. Be proactive in your walk with the Lord. Don’t wait for spare time simply to materialize. Be deliberate about carving out room in your schedule. If it means one less hour of sleep, so be it. If it means delaying a meal, put your appetite on hold. If it means missing a television program, deal with it. Do what you need to do because these things are essential to spiritual growth, to abiding with God, and to bearing spiritual fruit.

Never lose sight of what a privilege it is to walk with the Lord. Any sacrifice you have to make for the sake of that walk will be well worth it. Your walk with God will bring indescribable richness to your daily life.

Reflection question: What would keeping in step with the Spirit look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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“These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.” (1 John 2:19 NLT)

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus delivered some sobering words to the people who followed Him: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21 NLT).

Many people in the audience that day believed that upholding the Law of Moses—that is, being “good enough”—was the ticket to the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus helped them see that changing their entire outlook was necessary. They needed to repent.

Four chapters earlier, He said to the Pharisees and Sadducees—the people whose entire lives were dedicated to upholding the Law of Moses—“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8 NLT). The proof of a changed life is found in a person’s response to sin. Those whose faith is genuine will be profoundly affected when they give in to sin. They will repent and restore their relationship with the Lord.

Look at David’s words after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed. “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night” (Psalm 51:1–3 NLT).

Look at the apostle Peter’s reaction after he denied being a follower of Jesus three separate times: “And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly” (Luke 22:62 NLT).

The cost was too great for us to take sin lightly. Isaiah 53:5–6 says, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (NLT). First Peter 2:24 says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed” (NLT).

People who claim to be believers, but then fall away and never come back, were not, in fact, believers. That’s the point John makes in 1 John 2:19: “These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us” (NLT). True believers will be miserable in sin and eventually will beat a path back to the cross of Calvary. True believers will repent and receive God’s forgiveness.

Reflection question: What does genuine repentance look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” (1 John 3:2 NLT)

Human ingenuity has devised countless ways to transform the human body. From plastic surgery to weight-loss drugs. From tattoos to piercings. From hair dye to colored contact lenses. Many people, it seems, will stop at nothing to have a new body.

In the third chapter of his first epistle, the apostle John addresses the topics of transformation and new bodies from an eternal perspective. His point is this: Every believer will have a new body in Heaven. Those who are disabled on earth won’t be disabled in Heaven. Those whose bodies are broken by the ravages of age or disease on earth won’t experience that brokenness in Heaven.

John says that our resurrection bodies will resemble the resurrection body of Christ. Think of it! In 1 John 3:2, we read, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (NLT).

What were the differences between the resurrection body of Jesus and the body that was put to death on the cross? When Jesus walked among us on this earth, He voluntarily exposed Himself to the limitations of humanity. Just like everyone else, He got sleepy, thirsty, tired, and hungry. In His resurrected body, there were similarities to the old body but major differences, too. His disciples recognized Him, yet something in them wondered, “Is it really You, Lord?”

Then again, Jesus did things in His resurrection body that He never did in His old body. He suddenly appeared in a room without using a door. He ascended through the air until He disappeared into the clouds.

Will we be able to do similar things in our resurrection bodies? No one can say for sure, but we can know this: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT).

That’s why Paul wrote, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:1–4 NLT).

Reflection question: What is most exciting to you about having a new body in Heaven? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.