Walking With Christ

⚓ Floatie:  The Two-Move Turn

James 4:7–8  (7)Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (8)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.(ESV)

Repentance is not one motion.  It is submit + resist; draw near + depart from.  Aim toward the King, then move your feet.  The point is not to feel different, but to face Jesus and obey in ways your calendar and habits can verify.

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✒️ Forge: Aim Your Eyes, Not Your Emotions

Don’t vs. Must vs. Instead

• Don’t:
  • Romans 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.(ESV)
• Must:
  • Matthew 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.(ESV)
• Instead:
  • Revelation 2:5  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.  If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.(ESV)

Case:  Perfectionism leads to small obedience
Cliff:  “When it’s perfect, I’ll start”—which meant never.
Turn (24h):  I broke the task into a single 20-minute action and did it before lunch.
Fruit (30–90 days):  Momentum replaced shame; projects actually finished.

Ecclesiastes 11:4  He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.(ESV)

Godly grief vs. worldly grief

2 Corinthians 7:10  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.(ESV)

Godly grief moves you toward Christ with hope and action.  Worldly grief keeps you staring at the wreck.

Case:  Guilt becomes gratitude
Cliff:  I kept replaying my mistakes long after God forgave me.  Shame felt holy because it looked like humility.
Turn (24h):  I wrote down the sin once, confessed it aloud to God, tore the page, and thanked Him for mercy instead of replaying the moment.
Fruit (30 days):  Gratitude replaced guilt.  The memory stayed, but the weight was gone.

Psalm 32:5  I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah(ESV)

Sight sets direction

Colossians 3:2  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.(ESV)

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.(ESV)

Case:  Noise becomes a calmed and quieted soul
Cliff:  Constant inputs kept my heart loud and proud.
Turn (24h):  I created a 10-minute “quiet window” with no screens, reading one Psalm or other passage.
Fruit (30 days):  Lower reactivity; easier prayer; steadier trust.

Psalm 131:1–2  (1)O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.  (2)But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.(ESV)

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⚒️ Anvil:  The Look-Then-Go Repentance Drill (with friction installers)

Step 1:  Stop and Name the Cliff (1 minute).
Write one clear sentence:  “If I keep doing ___, it will produce ___.”

Example (Parenting):  “If I keep correcting fast and listening slow, it will produce a discouraged child.”

Colossians 3:21  Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.(ESV)

This is one that I’ve personally struggled with as a parent.  My lovely wife has been a huge help to remind me to step back and listen to what our kids are really saying instead of just giving a quick response.  To be fair, I have started being able to do the same for her when our roles are reversed.  This was actually pretty difficult at first.  I didn’t want to slow down to listen.  I didn’t want to take the time to hear what was behind the words.  Now, it’s becoming second nature for both of us.  We might still give the quick response but we also almost immediately follow up with questions to make sure we understood the conversation as they intended.

This is just one practical example that relates to parenting.  The cliff can be anything that doesn’t point directly towards Jesus.  The result of this exercise—if done correctly and often enough—will be near instant calibration any time we stop.  It can become second nature—a thing we do without conscious thought.  At that point, when we think of an action the likely consequences of that action will jump out at us.  If we don’t stop to consider the potential consequences for actions then we are blind to them and ultimately more likely to see the results of those consequences.

Step 2:  Orient with the Word (5 minutes).
Open one passage that names the right direction for this domain.  Read it twice.  Pray once.  Pray again.  Repeat as needed.

Example (Worship):  Read Psalm 131 aloud; ask the Lord for a calmed and quieted soul.

Each of us needs to build a list of verses that help us with the things that we struggle with.  Even if it’s just notecards or post-it notes with a key word for the struggle and verses that help to remind us of the proper orientation.  A lot of verses can be used for a lot of different struggles.

Step 3:  Triangulate (2 minutes).
Text one Scripture-submitted friend:  “I’m turning to ___ this week (verse: ___).  Check me Friday?”

Example:  “Turning to patient presence with my son—Proverbs 15:1.  Ask me Friday if I gave him 15 minutes of undivided attention.”

This is something that my wife and I have been trying to do on a more consistent basis.  We have the basic structure of it down, but it’s still pretty fluid.  We try to focus on each kid just a bit each day.  There are some days that we just don’t see each other even though we live in a pretty small house.  A day is fine.  Two or three?  We follow up.  We understand that time alone can be just as important as time spent together.

This is part of fellowship and discipleship.  Both parties need to be responsible and held to account for their part of the bargain.

Step 4:  Take a Bearing in 24 Hours (choose one or more as appropriate).

• Confession/peacemaking:  Request a conversation; confess your part first; ask one sincere question.  Romans 12:18.
• Restitution:  Make the call, repay the amount, replace what was broken.
• Boundary:  Install a filter, unsubscribe, change a route, decline an event.
• Habit swap:  Replace the old cue with a godly action.

Example (Hospitality):
Cliff:  “Busy” excused withdrawal.  Loneliness deepened.
Bearing (24h):  Pick one simple, repeatable meal and invite one person/family this week.

Romans 12:13  Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.(ESV)

Example (Diligence):
Set a 20-minute timer labeled “Sow anyway” and complete one small step today.

Ecclesiastes 11:4  He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.(ESV)

Step 5:  Friction Installers (so the old road is harder than the new).

• Move the phone to another room during the parenting window.
• Put “hospitality night” on a recurring calendar.
• Pre-script your “no” and put it on your calendar.
• Anchor moments:  verse-on-wake, prayer-on-commute, examen-before-bed (examen:  prayerful self-examination to review thoughts, choices, and motives with the Holy Spirit’s guidance).

Step 6:  Fruit Checks (7/30/90 days).

Galatians 5:22–23  (22)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23)gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.(ESV)

Ask:  “Did this turn increase love, peace, and self-control?”  If not, re-aim—do not re-shame.

Without follow-up there is no room for accountability.  If there is no accountability then there is no push or commitment to the changes.  This will mean slipping back into old habits and neglect patterns.

Leadership lens:  Brand loyalty switches to Christ loyalty (use at your 30/90-day review)
Cliff:  “Repent” calls funneled people to events and personalities.
Re-aim:  Acts 20:32  And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.(ESV)
Check:  In 90 days, are people quoting Scripture and obeying Jesus—or repeating slogans?  If platform shows up in the fruit, re-aim your calls-to-action.

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🔥 Ember:  Overcommitment turns to rest with God
Cliff:  I said yes to everything “for the Lord” and quietly resented everyone.
Word:  Psalm 90:12  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.(ESV)
Turn (24h):  I reconfirmed my priorities (God, wife, kids) to put things in the proper order.  I started acting like those were set in stone.  Lower priority things could wait until time permitted for them.
Fruit:  Within a month my relationship with God was wonderfully better.  My relationship with my wife and kids was noticeably better.  Stress at home became more manageable through these healthier relationships.  This allowed me to rest when at home.  Rest made room for joy again, because my family stopped getting the leftovers.  By recognizing that time, once spent, can’t be regained I saw that I had to reassess where I was spending that time.

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🌿 Covenant Triumph:  Predictable Mercy, Predictable Fruit
When we face the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Father draws near.  Not because we performed perfectly, but because He promised.  Submit and draw near today.  Take one bearing within 24 hours.  Recheck the landmarks in a week.  Keep your eyes on Jesus, and your feet will follow.

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[⚓ Floatie] [✒️ Forge] [⚒️ Anvil] [🔥 Ember] [🌿 Covenant Triumph]
This post follows the Forge Baseline Rule—layered truth for the discerning remnant.