Tag Archives: live like jesus

July 8, 2026 · 5:52 AM

The Accent Of Heaven

I went to high school with two girls who had British parents. While talking with them and their parents one day I noticed something strange. The girls had an American accent while their parents had a strong British accent. I didn’t understand it back then, but since that time there have been studies on this phenomenon. It turns out that while kids learn their first words and such from their parents, they learn and adopt the accent of the people they’re around the most. All kinds of psychological factors play into it, but what it boils down to is who they are around the most.

In Acts 4, Peter and John had just healed the lame man that the gate Beautiful. They had taught about Jesus in the synagogue just after and won over many converts. The local Jewish religious authorities brought them in for questioning. They demanded to know by whose name they had healed the lame man. Peter, with all boldness, reminded them about Jesus and what they had done to Him. He then told them there is salvation in Jesus. Verse 13 says, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (NLT). The disciples no longer spoke like ordinary men. They had been in proximity to Jesus and that changed how they spoke.

Colossians 3:10 says, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Paul was reminding us that just because we were born into sin, doesn’t mean we should adopt that way of living. Instead we should put on our new nature. That means we should adopt the new way of living that reflects someone who has been around Jesus. The more time we are with Him, the more we know Him and become like Him. Your new nature isn’t put on by trying harder, but instead by your proximity to Jesus. Can people recognize you as someone who has been around Jesus? Your words and life reflect who you’re around. Put on your new nature daily and develop the accent of heaven.

Photo by Luz Mariana Gonzalez from Pexels.

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October 27, 2023 · 5:26 AM

Living A New Life

When I was in my early teens I heard a preacher ask, lIf you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you?” I started thinking about how I talked, who I hung out with, where I went, what I did and my spiritual disciplines. I remember putting my life on trial that night and deciding to make sure my life matched my faith. When we accept Jesus, we accept a life that is lived differently than we lived before. Our life should no longer be to please ourselves, but Him. Our old life passes away and we are given new life, a fresh start. Growth in the new life requires that we pray, read our Bible, love others, renew our mind and be led by the Holy Spirit rather than our flesh. Paul constantly wrote about this new life to the churches. He called them and us to live a life that pleases God. It’s a life that would get you convicted for being a Christian if you were ever put on trial for it.

Here are some Bible verses on living a new life.

1. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness!

Colossians 1:10 TPT

2. For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3 AMP

3. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Colossians 1:10 NLT

4. For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness [to be dedicated, and set apart by behavior that pleases Him, whether in public or in private].

1 Thessalonians 4:7 AMP

5. We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 GNT

Photo by Peter Dlhy on Unsplash

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November 29, 2018 · 5:00 AM

Prove It

I think we can all agree that there is a difference between saying something and proving something. When we were kids, we all had that friend that told tall tales. He was related to famous people. He was going to be on TV. He had a hundred dollars. You name it, he either did it or had it. After a while, we found the phrase, “Prove it!” It turns out, he could tell you just about anything, but he couldn’t prove any of it. Without proof, we had no reason to believe the things he said.

When I was younger, I heard someone ask, “If you were to be convicted of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to prove it?” That’s a tough question we should all think about. A court can’t convict anyone unless there is some form of evidence against them. In some cases, that evidence comes from first hand witnesses. Other times it comes from physical evidence left behind. What evidence are you leaving behind for others to know you are a Christian? Can eye witnesses tell by how you live that you’re a Christian?

In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist was out at the river baptizing people when the religious leaders came to take a look. One of the things he said to them was, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (NLT). He knew they were manufacturing false evidence to try to prove they were righteous, but their lives contradicted that evidence. Jesus later said they were whitewashed tombs. They looked good on the outside, but were full of death on the inside.

Today’s devotion is not to say that you earn salvation by your works – that’s what the religious leaders were trying to do. It’s saying when you truly experience the power of God in your life, it changes you. Your life changes inside and out. You find that going to church isn’t evidence that you’re a Christian – living for God is. When you experience the power of salvation, you begin to leave evidence everywhere that you have repented and followed Christ. My challenge to you today is to take an honest look at the evidence in your life. What does it point to? Is it manufactured or is it natural from a changed heart and life?

Photo by Peter Dlhy on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a new feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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May 23, 2018 · 5:33 AM

Platinum Override

I’ve stayed at a certain hotel chain enough that I’m Platinum Elite with them. One of the privileges that comes along with that status is called a Platinum Override. If I try to get a room in one of their hotels and it’s full, I can request a Platinum Override. They usually keep one or two rooms open for that, but if those are gone, they can bump another guest to make room for me. I’ve had to do that on a couple of occasions when I really needed a room and all the hotels were booked. When I apologize for asking for it, they remind me that I’ve earned that privilege with them.

I love how Philippians 2 talks about Jesus. It reminds us that He is God’s Son and had the privileges that come along with that. Verse 8 says, “Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion” (MSG). Jesus could have played His Platinum Override card when the time came to die, but He didn’t. He endured the suffering because of His love for you and me.

Philippians 2 also reminds us to be like Christ in this manner. We are to live selfless lives that aren’t intent on getting ourselves ahead at whatever cost. Instead, we are to help others get ahead. Verse 4 says, “Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” Each of us have the ability lend a helping hand to someone else. There’s always someone else who is worse off than we are. Look for them today, put down your Platinum Override card and help them get ahead. In doing so, you’ll exhibit selflessness like Jesus.

Photo by Akshay Paatil on Unsplash

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October 29, 2014 · 7:31 AM

Live Expansively

I had a conversation with a coworker recently about doing good for others. I told her that I believe each person has a void that needs to be filled. I can choose to put something positive in it or let them go about their lives and run the risk of someone putting something negative in it. I told her that I do my best to put positive things into other people’s lives whenever I have the chance. She replied, “My mind doesn’t think like that. I don’t think I really have anything to give so I don’t look for those opportunities.”

I assured her that she has a lot to give and that she needs to be more generous with the abilities she has. I’m afraid that so many Christians think along the same lines she does. They believe that because they’re not in front of a lot of people, they can’t make a difference. They think that they don’t have anything to give or offer others. They let the lie of “I’m a nobody” keep them from doing good for others. That’s just not true. If you are a Christian, you have everything and need to give it away freely.

The believers in the Corinthian church were falling for the same lie. It frustrated Paul because he knew better. In II Corinthians 6:11-13, he told them, “Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way… Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively! (MSG)” The only limits your life has when it comes to affecting others are the limits you self impose. Your life is bigger than you think. It’s far grander than you can imagine. It just seems small because you’re living it in a small way.

The way to open up and live a bigger life is through giving what you have. It can be the smallest of gestures that create the biggest impact. On one of my trips to Haiti, I was humbled as I watched one of our teenagers give a cup of cold water to a paralyzed orphan. All of the other kids and teens were out in the fields playing. She recognized that this child couldn’t go out there and also that they were thirsty. She left the “fun” in order to spend time with one who couldn’t be like all the other kids. That’s living expansively. She got a glimpse into the idea that she had something to offer even if it was a cup of water or a conversation.

Jesus gave us the example of true servanthood. He taught us how to invest in the lives of others through listening, sharing and giving. He knew that living an open and expansive life starts with giving of yourself. When we recognize as verse 10 says, “We own nothing, and yet we have everything,” then we will stop seeing our lives as small. We will start to see them as large, God created lives and begin to serve others in a way that points them to the cross. Your life has meaning. Your life is not small, so quit living life as if it were.

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