I was tempted. I was tempted to look at something online that I knew was very, very bad for me to look at.  I wanted to look so badly. I wanted to see. It was like a little box I could open in secret.

That box is thrill…I stared at it.

And between me and that momentary treasure, a finger seemingly popped up, beckoning, “Come here, Kelly, what harm is there in the looking?”

Who will it hurt?
How much does it matter?
No one will know.
You can decide when to stop.
God knows, you aren’t perfect.
It won’t really hurt.

Except it does – hurt. I have done those things before, I knew I shouldn’t. It always hurts. It hurts like a platoon of bees in attack mode. You see, because even if it is the smallest transgression, even if it is one I can easily write off – it follows. It chases.

It chases saying…
“You little failure.”
“You horrid little mess-up.”
“You will never get things right.”

It leaves you nauseous, like that huge slice of cake you knew you shouldn’t have downed at midnight. Blah.

You feel sick. Then you run. Far. From God. Fast. Maybe inadvertently, but still, you do. Because you want to hide under your bed, so he can’t see you anymore. You don’t want him to see your shame.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Gen. 3:8

When you turn your back on God,
you become convinced God turned his back on you.

He never did, though. 
He never will, though.

He can’t. 

God is with me, even when temptation wants to beat me.  

Father was with Jesus, even when devil tried to tempt him. 

If only I can remember this.

Perhaps, then, I might be able to do these four things:

1. Look for God’s way out for me.
   When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Cor. 10:13
   
2. Pray and ask him to make this different way apparent.
   …knock and the door will be opened to you. Mt. 7:7
3. Identify the lies that are leading me to want to sin in the first place. 
   I can ask, “What am I seeking to fill that only God can?”
4. Find scripture that relates to this heart issue and let it consume my mind. I can speak it, repeat it, hold it and pray over it until it becomes sturdy within me.

Temptation has no power when you say no.

And, when all else fails, I can confess and convince my heart to run back into daddy’s arms. He waits. He waits not with hands on hips, head cocked and an exasperated sigh, but with relief that we are reunited.

He wants me back, even when I have turned my back. He wants you back too. 

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And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. 1 Cor. 11:1

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you Eph. 5:1-2

These verses both intrigue me and scare the beetle juice out of me. Trying to be like Him- it is no joke. It takes some ability. It takes some power. It takes some mojo. I don’t know if I have it.

Normally, when I stand right up against a large goal like this, and see it towering over me, I nearly freeze at its immensity.  I duck down and curl up fetal position. Tall orders make me shake, freeze and prepare to fail. I fear them.

Do you?

In business, the only way I ever accomplished anything of importance, was by breaking it down into daily chunks. It was by tackling it in a way where it was so small that it was possible.

So, when I think of imitating Christ, rather than seeing the big picture (to look exactly like Him), I consider how to break it up in smaller ways, so that 40 years down road, I surprise myself and land at “project practically completed.” Small things – I can do.

Even more, I step back and consider – it is only through grace, through submitting, through praying and through experiencing God’s love that I will ever arrive at destination massive. This also relieves some pressure. It helps me get ready to go.

Now that we moved that out of the way, how do we really imitate Christ?

What does it look like to be him, rather than us, insecure messes of selfishness?  

20 Ways to Imitate Christ in Your Daily Life

1. Ask.
Why are you terrified? (Matt 8:26)

2. Wait.
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. (Lu. 3:23)

3. Sit down.
That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. (Mt. 13:1)

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. (Mt. 5:1)

4. Pray.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Lu. 6:12)

5. Praise.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. (Mt. 11:25)

6. Go.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Mt 4:23)

7. Be kind & forgiving.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Eph 4:32)

8. Be humble.
He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:7-8)

9. Fight back.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” (Mt. 4:10)

10. Seek holy.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; (1 Peter 1:15)

11. Expect suffering.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps… (1 Pet. 2:21)

12. Lay down love.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  (1 Jo. 3:16)

13. Know his words.
Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. (1 Jo. 2:5)

14. Fear not the poor, ugly, dirty or crazy types.
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. (Mark 2:15)

15. Be a uniter, not a divider.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 Pet. 3:8)

16. Seize faith.
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Lu. 22:42)

17. Fight flesh, surrender to Spirit.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Ro. 13:14

18. Die to your needs, live for others.
We are to walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Ephesians 5:2). 

19. Give what people don’t deserve.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 22:34)

20. Know where you are going.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. Jo. 6:40

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Pet. 5:4

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