Let me continue making ten suggestions to leave a spiritual legacy. The first was to share the hope of the gospel and be a channel through whom God can bring light and hope to others who will do the same for others.
2. Continually Correct Stinking Thinking
We correct stinking thinking by pursuing wholesome thinking. The Apostle Peter wrote, “This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory” (2 Peter 3:1 NLT).
Stinking thinking is self-oriented thinking. That is where we all start. Leaving a spiritual legacy requires moving progressively from self-central to God-central thinking. Only the latter is wholesome. We can’t write a spiritual legacy with secular ink.
We transform our thinking by feeding ourselves spiritually with God’s word and prayer. Those two disciplines empower us to see life from God’s perspective increasingly. “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment” (1 Peter 2:2 NLT).
Following Jesus ever more closely requires reprogramming our minds. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NLT).
Pay no attention to what the world wants you to be, say, think, and do. “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:15–16 NLT). Marching to its beat distracts us from being, saying, thinking, and doing what is eternally significant.
More mature believers can be the sandpaper that smooths the stubborn, rough areas of our self-oriented thinking. They help us see our blind spots. This works best through one-on-one relationships with them or in a small group. “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT).
3. Fulfill God’s Purpose
To leave a spiritual legacy we must cease behaving like life is about us. It isn’t. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we could make a name for ourselves but to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.
“He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them” (2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT).
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT).
4. Love God, Neighbor, and Other Believers
Love is self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. Love prospers in an atmosphere of self-denial (Luke 9:23).
Jesus said that loving God with all our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves summed up all the Old Testament laws (Matthew 22:37–39).
His new commandment was to love other believers as He loved us (John 13:34–35). “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6 NLT). Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Without love, it is impossible to claim faith or to leave a spiritual legacy. Ten Suggestions to Leave a Spiritual Legacy--Part Three. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
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