How to Be Christ-like

Prayer – Lord, we want to be like You. Help us to know You well enough to know just how You would respond to challenges and temptations. You were pure and sinless to the end. We’ve already sinned—so forgive  us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-119

 

Meditate. Consider choosing to be like Christ.

 

How to be Christ like:

  Acknowledge God.

  Respond to God’s promises.

  Be faithful.

  Be morally excellent.

  Seek knowledge.

  Be self-controlled.

  Endure patiently.

  Pursue godliness.

  Love other Christians.

  Love everyone.

  Know Jesus Christ so that you can be productive and useful in your knowledge of Him.

This seems pretty simple—but can we ever be Christ-like this side of Heaven? We can strive to be like Christ—but without submitting to Him and giving up our own selfish desires we will never attain that. With each step in our day—we need to seek to do things the way Christ would. How would He respond to temptations—like just one more donut? How would He react to a verbal or even physical attack? We can see how He responded to spiritual attacks by Satan when He was confronted with spiritual temptations to be powerful, protected and fed. Jesus used scripture to respond to all of Satan’s temptations. Can we do the same? Do you know scripture well enough to use it as a defensive weapon?

Seek to know Christ…as Savior and mentor. Seek Him not just for the reward that God the Father has promised, but seek Him to know and worship Him as creator, savior, lord, servant, teacher, healer, and friend. We become like those we hang out with—there is no one better to become like than Jesus Christ.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:11

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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