Walking in the Light of Jesus

By Rosalie Cowick

God promises victory over the world and supplies every need to live triumphant as Christians. Walking in the light of Jesus will take you through daily communication and devotion with our Savior and bring you into a closer, more loving, and intimate relationship, one that will allow you to really get to know God and to walk through this life in the light of Jesus, honoring, obeying, and serving him in wondrous joy.

We can live kingdom lives now! We don't have to walk in misery and despair until we get to heaven. God doesn't leave us to work this life alone. We can live in the presence of God now as his Holy Spirit dwells within us. But how can we know this? Through time spent in the things that honor God. Doing the will of the Father, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, reading God's Word daily, and spending precious time in prayer to our heavenly Father.

We don't need to see these as chores or rituals but as times filled with delight and awe at God's breathtaking power, faithfulness, and willingness to be with us. He showers his lavish love upon us. Through this book, find the joy of seeking God's will to realize abundant spiritual living. Truly meet with God in prayer. Use the gift he supplies to us of talking with Jesus. Be assured that he hears and is faithful to answer. Learn more and more about him through his glorious Word, the Bible.

What he has done before, he will do again. Learn that you can trust the absolute truth of God's Word which never returns void. Having an encounter with Jesus, we can never be the same again. Draw close to him today, then get up and change the world!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639034093

Book preview

cover.jpg

Walking in the Light of Jesus

Rosalie Cowick

Copyright © 2021 by Rosalie Cowick

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All biblical verses in this book are cited from the King James version of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Why Should I Read the Bible?

Believing the Word of God

Reading God’s Word

Living the Word of God

Does God Have Plans for My Life within His Word?

A Scriptureless Relationship

A Call to Repentance

An Eternal Hope

Lord, How I Love Your Word (My Testimony)

Preface

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

—Ephesians 2:10

Thank you for purchasing this book. What started out as writing for myself to experience a closer walk with the Lord has ended in actually writing three books that fit together so well. As Christians, we were created to worship God. It is essential that we worship him in the following ways:

Seek and follow God’s will for our life.

Pray daily.

Read God’s Word daily.

These are all a priority for a beautiful and fruitful walk with Jesus. As we walk these paths, we are worshipping our Creator God as he desires we do. As long as we live on this earth, we need to persist in reaching a more intimate relationship with the heavenly Father. We will never be too old, too knowledgeable, or too experienced enough to stop praying, to stop reading God’s Word, to stop seeking God’s will. We should expect to endure to our last day when we leave this earth, closing our eyes here as our last breath is taken to opening our eyes and entering the heavenly kingdom to be in the presence of Jesus for eternity. It is in continuing to do these tasks that God will continue to mold and change us into the image of God’s Son in preparation to meet Jesus face-to-face.

God created us to be in full relationship with Him. We were created to worship God. When we pray, when we read his Word, and when we seek his will for our lives, committing to fully follow him, we are worshipping and glorifying him. God calls us to be his hands and his feet here on earth, bringing the Gospel, his love, and his light to all nations and peoples. This includes our families, neighbors, and our communities.

Psalm 34:8 tells us, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." We can only walk fruitfully with God when we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. We cannot simply follow our own ways of seeking the Lord. His Word and prayer with him show us the value and purpose of life.

There is an additional reason why we should obey God, pray continually, and read his Word daily. We become an example to others such as our children, our siblings, our friends—showing them the importance we place on godly things and following what God teaches us to do and showing how committed we are to this God we talk so much about.

This world is spiraling out of control, going faster and faster. There will come a day if we live long enough that I believe we will no longer be able to openly go to church; we will not be allowed to own a Bible, and we will not be able to pray openly. There will be persecution. I know that many would say that this can never happen in this country, we live in the land of the free. But look around you. As a nation, we are in a very dark time. Evilness is all around us. Our sins are so deep, and we keep sinking further and further. While we can, we need to be in constant prayer for this country. God is sovereign, and only he can rescue us. If not, the world will come after us. We will be considered intolerant and against the government. How will we stand? Standing on the truth of the Word of God and being in constant prayer will give us strength and the will to stand fervently and not waver.

My prayer is that in reading this book, there will be something that is new to you or gives you a new or better understanding of what our personal relationship with God should be and that it would be the greatest desire of our hearts. May you be encouraged to become more fully enmeshed in the activities that bring glory to God and draw you closer and closer to him day by day.

Part 1

God Will Never Leave You (Sitting in the Easy Chair)

1

God Loves You Just as You Are

Let me start out by talking about why I wrote this book. This book is not a theological work but is straight from my heart to yours. It has been written through God’s direction in my life. When I first felt God’s leading me to author this work, it seemed that it was about what God wanted me to learn about doing his will. At the beginning, it was not necessarily about anyone else reading these words but what My Father would teach me as I wrote these words through his guidance, prayer, and his Word. He has been training me in how to discover his will in my life and then giving me the wisdom, strength, and knowledge to obey his leading and accomplishing the plans that he created specifically for me, at this time, and in this place, just as he does for each of his children.

Please think on this. God created us, determined our time of arrival on this earth and established that it would be in this time and in this season. He has purpose and direction for our lives. His desires will always be accomplished as he wills them, and he will use his people to do this. But should we not want to get involved, he will still accomplish every single plan that he makes. But it will be without us. How sad our world and life will be to have turned away from the Father.

My heavenly Father wants me to experience all that he has prepared for my life. He wants everyone who comes to him to do the same, to get the best out of this life, and in the life to come. Not as in what the world describes as being the best, having fame, fortune, and health, but having a life rich in the fullness of God. This can only be found by living your life in the shadow of God, seeking his will, and obeying his calling.

Through this book, he has taught me to take the steps in the journey with him and how to be at the complete center of his will. If you are seeking after God’s heart, this book may encourage and inspire you to get up from where you are at, search his will for your life, and actively obey him. It will prepare you for the journey of your life with absolutely no regrets.

If you’ve decided that you are going to go through life, calling your own shots, living by your own rules, believing you know what is best for your own life, earning your own fame, this book is probably not for you.

Oh, but wait a minute. It undoubtedly is for you. You’ve lost your way, and maybe God will use this book as one of the means to return you to your heavenly Father. It’s not too late. Let the Good Shepherd who knows tomorrow, who is not surprised by what the future holds draw you back close to him and guide you to triumph in your life, redirecting you toward the eternal things of importance.

And by the end of this book, if not lost or floundering, you can rest secure that you are already there in the center of God’s will and can prayerfully thank God for your victory. God bless you!

John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever should believe on him shall not perish, but have eternal life. You are included in this verse. You are a part of the whosoever." So what do these words mean to you? To believe on him for eternity means that you have knowledge of him, a reason to believe. Part of that is not only in knowing who he is but in establishing and understanding your relationship with God. It is to know the meaning when you say he is your heavenly Father. It is to understand how you fit into God’s plan both now and into the future. To search out and recognize the will of God for your life requires that you know Jesus Christ personally and fully, not just as a God somewhere far out there but in a very intimate and close way.

Why do you think that God created you? You can be assured of this: that God determined your creation before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4 tells us, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

Begin thinking about this. God knew he would create you before the foundations of the earth were laid. He knew your name, what you would look like, how you would grow up and live your life. He knows the number of the hairs on your head, every last detail about you. And he loves you just as you are. God does not require that we change or become a certain way or be good enough or do enough good deeds so that he can accept us. We cannot make ourselves good enough. We cannot do enough. He created us in every way and will accept us just as we are, just at this very minute. We don’t have to change to come to God. But the minute we say, Yes, Lord, his plans begin. He begins to change us, molding us in the fullness of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Have no doubt about it. God hates all sin, but he loves you enough that he made a way, the only way, for your sin to be wiped out so that you could become clean before him. Jesus’s blood on the cross covered your sin. Two thousand years ago, he hung on the cruel cross; every sin you would ever commit was placed upon him so that you could be freed from the verdict of the death sentence you have earned. Now you just have to accept the gift of what he did. So many people think that they need to clean up their life before they seek God. But the fact is, we can never be clean enough to be justified before our Holy God. You cannot do enough good works to vindicate you to be holy before God.

God knew you before you were formed and what your coming life would be. God has a personal interest in your life. This life is not about being comfortable in our own ways, in our own eyes. God wants you right now, right where you are at, who you are right now. If you say yes, his grace will do the rest. Through the death and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the price of your sin was paid. When you accept Christ into your life, asking for forgiveness of your sins, turning from them, and asking Jesus to be Lord of your life, God gives you his free gift of grace and your sins are removed. As Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. And in Hebrews 8:12, it continues with: For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

So whoever you are, wherever you are, God has plans for your life, richness and fullness in his Spirit. But God will never force you. He gives you the choice because he has such an immense love for you, a love greater than we can ever imagine, and he wants you to choose his love. He wants you to yearn and crave his love. He wants you to finally see that he is truly God and worship him only.

Friend, set aside all that the world tells you is truth…it is a lie. Set aside all that the world tempts you with…it is temporary and has no real or eternal value. Tomorrow, it is dust. The world will pull you as far away from God as it possibly can. But the world can never satisfy you, no matter what it offers or gives. The things of this world are temporal. They do not last. Whatever you gain, there will still be an emptiness inside of you. Only God can and will fill that emptiness with his Spirit. You can find wholeness through and in him. God says in John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

In 1 John 4:19, it says, "We love him, because he first loved us. Memorize this verse and let it continually minister to your heart. And he wants you right now…right this minute…just the way you are. Say yes! He will do for you what you couldn’t do. He will begin to change you to become alive together with Christ Jesus, transforming your heart and your mind. Difficult to imagine, isn’t it? But what man cannot accomplish, God can and will do! He says in Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." So, please, say yes to Jesus now.

I started this book with this verse in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." God is continually changing us. He is renewing our minds to focus on him and on the things that are important to him. He is refreshing our heart to care about what he cares about. He is doing this so that we may become pure, holy, like-minded to godly matters.

It is important to understand that God will show us his will and guide us to obey him if we have given our lives fully to him. But until you make that decision for Christ, it is impossible to do God’s will, to live as he wants us to live because we don’t have a personal relationship with him. It is broken. There is a chasm between God and us. The cross bridged that gap. Don’t delay. Don’t let another day go by without coming to know the joy of a love relationship with Jesus Christ. Today is your day to begin to live in Jesus and gain eternal life!

Before going further, I want to add some clarification here. We talk about seeking the will of God, and that is what this section of the book is about. I would like to offer two assessments in seeking God’s will:

The Bible directs us in the way that God wants us to live our lives on a daily basis. This direction comes out of reading his full Word, not just bits and pieces or chapters or books that make us feel comfortable. The Bible is also not full of multiple-choice lists but a complete guide of what we each need to do or not do. These instructions are for everyone and never change. God’s expectation is that we will obey his commandments and follow his precepts. Psalm 119 guides us to this path. This is an essential pathway we must take to always be in the will of our heavenly Father. For instance, his Word tells us that we are to be a light to the world. It tells us to love others as he loves us, that no greater love can we have then to lay down our life for our brother. We are to encourage each other in the Lord. We are always to speak truth in love. Despite persecution, we are to walk steady in the Lord’s path. This is just a taste of what God’s Word directs us to spend every day doing.

God also has ministries or particular work for each of us to do. What he wills for my life in this area will not be the same as in your life. Through prayer, reading of the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit, God reveals these callings or purposes to us. And throughout our life of living in his will, there may be several ministries. There might be something that God wants you to do that is a onetime instance while another may be a life calling.

Keep both of these in mind as you continue reading!

2

Don’t Expect to Spend Your Life in an Easy Chair

But I’m nice and comfortable right where I am. Jesus has saved and cleansed my heart. I am his. I now go to church every Sunday. Whenever I can find the time in my hectic life, I read my Bible and spend a few minutes in prayer. But when I get home from work, I am tired. I still have to take care of my spouse, children, family, friends, and others. So when I have a free moment, I sit in my chair and relax. I even have thoughts of heavenly things. I am doing just fine with Jesus and my life, right? If this is your life, are you doing just fine? Are you sure?

Let me ask you a question. What did you focus on today? Where were your thoughts? Where were your actions directed? What things are you putting in front of God? Did you hear God’s voice speaking to you through his Spirit today? Or was your life drowning him out? Before I go further into this chapter to try to wake you up to life in Christ, I need to say a few things that some are going to resent and may deny these truths. But if you base your Christian walk in Jesus Christ on God’s Holy Word, you will see truth in these words.

We are being distracted in so many directions and ways, both through the physical world but also in the spiritual realm. There is a spiritual battle going on in which the devil is trying to take us away from godly principles and morals. We don’t see or feel it because we are so caught up in what is physical, what we can see and touch. These distractions are causing us to turn our heads from side to side, looking at what is going on horizontally, and by what we are seeing, we feel defeat. We can feel there is no hope, that maybe it is too late. Turn off all the noises and sounds around you that are interfering in your life, and look up to God. Remove those distractions out of your life through the help of the Holy Spirit and continually look vertically to our only hope.

We must submit to God’s authority in everything! This means all that we have, all we do, all the people in our lives, and our will. He is God, and man is not. Today, people try to raise themselves up to God’s level or even above him. But we will fail every time, for we are God’s created beings. He is above all for all eternity.

What does this have to do with submitting to God’s plans for our lives? Submitting to God’s authority means it is not a matter of if we feel like it, want to, or are comfortable about what God is asking us to do. We absolutely need to because he is God Almighty, Creator of all things, mighty in all power, sovereign in all things. He alone is worthy to be praised, glorified, and obeyed. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and there is no other.

In today’s society, we do not use the word submit very often. For many, it seems offensive. We want to be in charge of our lives and the path we are on and do not want to trust it to anyone else. We want control. But our heavenly Father calls us to submission before him in all things. While many may view this as being obstructive to what we want, yet relinquishing our control is absolutely freeing, living our lives in total surrender to our Savior. Submitting to God’s will means we must obey what he tells us in his Word, but we are in his shelter, in his care, the most wonderful place to be. In 1 Peter 1:15–16, it tells us, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy."

This is God’s commandment for us. It means doing things to become more Christlike, to move closer and closer to him. We can do this because of the grace and salvation of Jesus Christ. This tells us we must do these things intentionally, not haphazardly. Becoming holy as God is holy must become a lifestyle at all times, not obeying him at convenient times, in some ways, and sometimes in other ways being in the world. The truth is, if we are obeying God, we are not going to fit into this world. Because this world does not see or understand the things of God. They see it as foolishness. But in his power, every day, we should be in him anew, a refreshing rather than just at the time of our rebirth in him.

To walk in the light of the Lord and obey his will, we are to:

obey his Word and commandments,

seek the works and deeds that he has planned in our life.

We must understand that God has put us here at this time and season for his purpose. We are in very difficult times, but this is even all the more reason to seek his will and obey, to become the light that this world needs. Walking in his plan for us will bring us such a heavenly joy and peace, even in turbulent times, even in persecution and marginalization.

Ouch! That kind of struck a nerve, didn’t it? You don’t want it to be rough. You want God to swoop down and save the world. Do you know the real Jesus? Are you putting God first in your life above all others and all things? Are you willing to? Then we must live for the heavenly kingdom, not this earthly realm.

I find that sometimes I have to ask myself these same hard questions. What do I see in my future? Being in the same place as now or heading for God’s kingdom? Being a part of this world and seeing it as my home or just traveling through, making my way home? Maybe we’ve become too complacent, and it’s time to run back to the cross.

I Run to the Cross

I run to the cross

And kneel at its feet

With my face bowed to the ground

I cry out for mercy and grace

In agony for my sins

To the Savior Who gave his life

Upon that very tree

As he hung there on the cross

My sins that I would commit

2000 years later

Were laid upon his shoulders

And in agony and love, he bore them all

Because his love stretched out

Through the centuries

To reach and touch me

To bring me to the cross today

For his saving grace

As he reaches down

And heals my life

Cleansing through Calvary

Once and for all

My tears at that cross

Wash his precious feet

As he cleanses and makes me whole

Through praise and adoration, I will

Worship him throughout eternity,

For the precious gift

Of his wondrous love and grace.

As mentioned earlier, there are two ways to serve and obey God. The first is to live your life everyday according to his Word and guidance. The second way is using the special talents he gave us to do the tasks he has for us to do. Unfortunately, we like to separate these out, and we cannot do that. They are the way of life in Christ.

Don’t you just have such a strong desire to do things for God, to shine for him, to glorify him in your every circumstance in thanks for what he has done for you? Again, in Psalm 34:8, it says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." Through his compassionate love for you, doesn’t it move you to love others as he loves you?

We can never do enough to equal what he did on the cross for us. Yes, he did that for you. Yes, you. So isn’t there a want to do things that will honor, praise, and please him? Let’s seek God diligently. Let’s represent his kingdom. In Micah 6:8, it says, "He had shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Has he shown you but you just don’t want to see? Are your eyes closed so that you cannot see? Are you tired, wearied by all you do? Let God’s strength fill you up and overflowing to follow his way and to witness for him to a lost world. Or maybe you feel that you are no longer up to his plans. He will provide the power and courage to continue. Don’t have a fear or worry. We can be confident in God that whatever he starts, he finishes. For it says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Not that I deserve any of his gifts, but out of love, he gives them freely. But we will each choose whether we will recognize the talents God gave us, use them, neglect them, or refuse to even identify them.

But some of you might be saying that you don’t have any talent. There is not much in you that God could possibly use. Lose this thought. God does not make mistakes. When he tells us in his Word that he has given each of us talents, I did not see in parenthesis (except for me). He says he has given special gifts to everyone. Seek him, pray about it, and let him show you specifically what he has endowed in you. Remember these important words: God did not shower his abundance of gifts upon us and then walk away. He gave them to us so that in his power and might, we could be fruitful in his eyes in everything we do.

God, in his great wonderfulness, has given each of us these talents and gifts so we may do his will for our life. Romans 12:6–8 says:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith, if it is serving, then serve, if it is teaching, then teach, if it is to encourage, then give encouragement, if it is giving, give generously, if it is to lead, do it diligently, if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Oh, let’s not waste them. If we let him use these talents he has imparted to us, we will not only reach out and touch other lives, but he will use them in the work of transforming us. Can you just imagine that? But what can you, one person, do? Everything that God has on his heart for you to do, more than your mind can imagine.

We must start with the need to know who God is and what he does so that we will discern his will. Come to know God through his Holy Word. Ask God to show you who he is and how you fit into his big picture. God will not make it difficult to see what path and tasks he requires of us. He is waiting to show us if we will open our eyes and ears.

But you say, I am comfortable just as things are. I love God, I go to church, I tithe, I teach Sunday School, and then I work all week. When all of my daily chores and tasks are done, Lord, I really need time to sit down and relax. I need that time to put my feet up, to calm down after an eventful and hectic day, time to let my mind wander. Lord, would you or are you asking for me to just walk away from my job to work for you? I have a family to support, I have bills to pay. What more can God expect from me?

A whole lot more. He wants you! All of you! He says in Luke 9:23–24, "And he said to them all, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it."

He expects everything from you because he gave you everything. So why should you get out of your easy chair? Hmmm…let’s think

because of God’s everlasting love for you;

because you were made to worship God;

because God wants you to be his hands and feet;

because you truly love God;

because you want to have an intimate relationship with him;

because of Jesus’s love for you, you have developed a love for the lost world;

because through Jesus, you can affect other people’s lives;

because of your praise and thankfulness to God;

because those around you are dying in their sins.

I’d just like to insert a note here that we in the United States tend to shy away from sharing the Gospel, our hope, and our faith, living the way that God wants us to because someone might make fun of us, criticize us,