Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
1 John 2:6
2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Walking as Christ Walked—
Those who walk even as Christ walked, who are patient, gentle, kind, meek and lowly in heart, those who yoke up with Christ and lift His burdens, who yearn for souls as He yearned for them—these will enter into the joy of their Lord. They will see with Christ the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord (The Review and Herald, May 29, 1900). {7BC 949.2}
The Imitation of Christ—
True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self, take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience to all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders. Christ is our model. To copy Jesus, full of love and tenderness and compassion, will require that we draw near to Him daily. O how God has been dishonored by His professed representatives (Letter 31a, 1894)! {7BC 949.3}
It may sound cliché but rings so true that one that talks the talk must also walk the walk. When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had, give the money to the poor, take up the cross, and follow Him, he could not do it. He was sad at that saying, and went away grieved for he had great possessions. Christ Jesus said to His disciples “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” Christ asked James and John “can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They answered yes, they could. Jesus told them all “And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” We are to imitate Christ in every way. Deny self, take up the cross, and follow Him. Jesus’ message to all those who believe on him is, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Free from sin. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
We come joyfully into Your presence with thanksgiving, praise and prayer. We are sinners that inherited a sinful nature from our parents in the garden whereby Satan imputed his sinful nature unto them. We are so thankful and eternally grateful that we have You Christ Jesus the righteous as our advocate with the Father. We thank You for being not only our propitiation for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. We pray to know You better by keeping Your commandments. Please take away any greed or selfishness and to love and do to one another as we would do unto ourselves. For You are the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by You. We pray for Your truth to be in us and to have the love of God perfected in us. We pray that we abide in You and You in us that we may walk as You walked. We pray to be like You and walk with patience, gentleness, kindness, meekness, lowly in heart, have a yearning for souls that we may enter into the joy of our Lord. We pray to follow Your way and deny self-daily, take up the cross, and walk in Your footsteps. Help us to overcome sin and live in obedience to Your commandments. Help us to overcome the wicked one. Help us to give up the things of this world, as we are in this world but not of this world. For the things of the world are not of the Father but are of the world. The world will pass away, but he that does the will of God will abide forever. We thank You for the promise of eternal life at Your second coming, and will know when You appear that we will be like You and we shall see You as You are. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
