3 Practical Things I do to Follow Jesus

 Sometimes it's hard to know how to actually follow Jesus in our day-to-day lives. Obviously we need to be reading His word and living our lives according to what it says, but how do we practically do this on a daily basis?

I have found a few things that really help me stay grounded on Jesus throughout my day, and I want to share those with you.

1. Listen to only Christian music 95% of the time

I put 95% of the time because not all secular music is bad. A sweet love song might make a husband and wife feel closer, or a clean country song might make summer evenings more enjoyable. I will say however, that the majority of secular music has lines that can entice a person to sin. Some songs make sin sound fun or not so bad, and if we aren't careful, we can easily become numb to the wickedness of sin. Any song that makes light of the sins that sent my savior to the cross, is not a bop I want to indulge in. This is why I prefer Christian music that glorifies Jesus. When I pour the things of God into my mind, the things of God will radiate out of me into this world. In the Old Testament the Israelites would offer burnt offerings to God. These burnt offerings were a type of sacrifice that was meant solely for worshiping and surrendering to God. The Bible describes these offerings as, "A sweet savour unto the Lord."  

"It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD." Leviticus 1:13b

 When I get a worshipful song in my head and I'm humming it all throughout my day, it is like those offerings meant for worship. It is a sweet savour to my Lord. Try to listen to nothing but Christian music for a month. I promise you will be changed.

2. Unfollow all social media accounts that are not edifying

About once every six months I go through Instagram and unfollow any accounts that have become too raunchy. This can include (but isn't limited to) celebrities, meme accounts, pop-culture news accounts, fashion accounts, and even people I know. I can (almost always) control what I allow to pop up on my feed and thus what I allow in my mind. It becomes so easy to, once again, become numb to the things that break God's heart. Before we label this as being judgmental, let me make it clear that we are allowed to control what we look at for entertainment. The Bible actually gives us a filtering system that we are to use on anything we would potentially let into our minds.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."  Philippians 4:8 

If it doesn't fall into ALL of these categories then you probably shouldn't be letting it into your mind. When you get done reading this post, take a few minutes and unfollow accounts that are not wholesome for your walk with Christ. You could even replace the accounts you unfollow with accounts that will encourage your walk with Christ.

3. Spend time daily seeking God

I put this one last, not because it's the least important, but because it's so important that I thought it would be obvious and so I almost didn't include it. When we seek God, over time, we will begin to look more and more like Him. All of these other things will fall into place as we spend intentional time in His word. It is not an overnight fix. Seeking God is a lifelong commitment. It is daily denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him.

"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." Luke 9:23

It isn't always easy to spend time in His word every day. This is why I wrote the Digital Bible Study Guide. I want to help you establish a routine of Bible study. Seeking God is the most important thing we can do in life. The only way a Christian can waste their day, is if they didn't do anything with Christ in that day.

These three things are little steps I have taken, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to focus my day on Christ. I encourage you to apply these steps to your life. Little actions that we do each day to honor Christ is what creates a lifetime lived in service to Him.