Have you ever seen a bracelet or a T-shirt or hat with the letters WWJD? It is What Would Jesus Do? But do you know where that came from? There was a book written by Charles Sheldon back in 1896 about a town that had a church that was moved by God to take seriously the challenge to walk in the steps of Jesus. At each decision point in their daily lives, they pledged to ask: “What would Jesus do?” It is a book of fiction but I love it. But even more so I love the scripture that the title comes from… “In His Steps”. The scripture goes like this… “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you and example, that you should follow in his steps.” That puts a different cast on that WWJD. To follow in his steps means to take a hard road when it comes to living out your faith. In the book, all the main characters are confronted with situations where it costs them something to stay true to their pledge to follow in His steps. The verse, 1 Peter 2:21 tells us about following and then the next verses give us examples of what Jesus actually did for us. If you follow the verses it says that he never sinned, never deceived anyone, didn’t retaliate when he was insulted nor
threatened revenge when he suffered. He had faith in his father that he would judge everyone justly. And then it says that he bore our sins in His body, on the cross so that we could be forgiven, declared righteous and healed from the poison of sin. So Peter gives us a pretty good start on what it will mean to follow in his steps. And Jesus himself said that “If anyone wants to come after me…let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” So ask yourself each day WWJD? And go for it. But never kid yourself about the cost of this quest. The question always will be “Is it worth it?” We are all going to die one day and the Bible says that the words we want to hear when we step over the line out of this life and into the next are the words “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” Yeah, it’s worth it. Here is our Bible verse for today…
1 Peter 2:21 BSB For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
threatened revenge when he suffered. He had faith in his father that he would judge everyone justly. And then it says that he bore our sins in His body, on the cross so that we could be forgiven, declared righteous and healed from the poison of sin. So Peter gives us a pretty good start on what it will mean to follow in his steps. And Jesus himself said that “If anyone wants to come after me…let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” So ask yourself each day WWJD? And go for it. But never kid yourself about the cost of this quest. The question always will be “Is it worth it?” We are all going to die one day and the Bible says that the words we want to hear when we step over the line out of this life and into the next are the words “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” Yeah, it’s worth it. Here is our Bible verse for today…
1 Peter 2:21 BSB For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ