Habits of Highly Effective Christ-Followers
Keep the Saw Sharp – Part V

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:17-32 NLT

Key Verses: Ephesians 4:21-23 NLT
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

For this final devotional on the subject of “Habits of Highly Effective Christ-Followers”, remember that we seldom feel like highly effective Christ-followers.

Just like God does not want us to feel powerful, God does not want His children to be full of pride. Pride leads us to feel we can manage anything, and it makes us less dependent on God’s presence and power. If we feel highly effective, we soon become highly ineffective for God and His Kingdom!

The point of this monthly devotional is not to make us “feel” something, but rather help us “know” something. In other words, I am praying that we can see what things we may be doing that hinder our effectiveness for God and His Kingdom. Once we have this knowledge, then we can remove these things from our lives.

For most of us, this is not an easy change. For most of us, things that the Holy Spirit points out take time and effort on our part to rid them from our lives.

As we learned in yesterday’s devotional, it is not about just dropping things from our lives but also adding things that help our effectiveness for God. This is a lifelong learning process that God Himself helps us make. Hebrews 13:20-21 NLT helps us understand God’s work and heart:

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

These two verses give me hope, especially when I am “feeling” ineffective as a Christ-follower. I remind myself that it is God who does the equipping, so I need not fear that He will fail. These verses remind me that God works in me the things that are pleasing to Him because Jesus Christ lives in me. Again, I need not fret about whether my life is effective or whether it is doing anything good for Him.

These thoughts do not produce pride but rather praise for all God wants to do and will do in all of us who are in Christ! Once we have asked Jesus into our lives God will complete the work:

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

Father, I rest in Your care and work in my life! In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.