SEPTEMBER 16

So Walk in Him

Bible Reading: Colossians 2:1-7

Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Christ alone can make the lame to walk.  The lame beggar of Acts chapter 3 was born that way (Acts 3:2).  He had to be carried from place to place from others.  He was miraculously healed by the ascended Christ, as Peter made clear to his audience (Acts 3:6-8; 4:10-12).  We are like the lame beggar inasmuch as it is impossible for any of us to take a heavenward step apart from Christ’s intervention.  Just as we need Him to save us from our sins, we need Him in every subsequent step in our journey to heaven. 

The false teachers in Colossae were espousing their own “walk this way” approach to things—believe them (Colossians 2:4, 8); follow their rules (Colossians 2:16, 21-22); share in their mystical experiences (Colossians 2:18). We’ve inherited from our forebears, Adam and Eve, a sinful tendency to deal with our sin problem according to our own wisdom and self-effort (Genesis 3:7 vs. 3:21).  We pridefully gravitate to solutions of our own making.  Yet no one is saved by human reasoning, or human merit, only by receiving Christ as Lord and Savior!

How did you receive Christ?  As with the church in Colossae, the church in Galatia was also confronted with false teaching (those who were saying that faith in Christ was not enough).  Paul addressed the matter in the strongest terms possible (Galatians 1:6-9).  Paul admonished those believers: “This is the only thing I want to find out from you; did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3).  Christ (and the Spirit) can only be received by hearing with faith.

How did you start walking?  Can you remember how you took your first steps as a baby?  Probably not—you were too young! Can you remember how you were enabled to take your first steps as a believer?  It wasn’t by your own doing, as Ephesians 2:1 makes clear, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”  As a hospice chaplain, who has seen this for myself, dead people can’t walk.  It’s necessary that we become born again and made alive by the One who had the power to call Lazarus forth from the grave, 

You received Jesus by faith, to a walk by faith.  To have faith, to believe, involves more than mere mental assent.  It is to put one’s confidence in, to trust and rely on something, or someone.  Here we are speaking of trust and dependence on the One who is absolutely trustworthy.  You trusted in Him to save you from your sins, so you are to continue in a walk characterized by complete reliance on Him. It is as someone has written: “Lord, I can’t.  You never said I could.  You can and You always said You would” (John 15:5; Philippians 3:3, 4:13).

Wayne Barber has commented on this, “As you therefore have received Him” Do you remember when you were saved and how you felt knowing you could not do anything to save yourself except to trust Christ. Now, how do you “walk in Him”?  You need the attitude of total trust in one Person, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul reminded the saints at Philippi that he “put no confidence in the flesh“ (Philippians. 3:3).  What if we would all have Paul’s attitude in our daily walk, simply allowing the Spirit of Christ to do in and through us what we know we cannot do in our own strength. When you see someone who has stopped thinking about what God can do and started thinking about what he can do for God, he has entered out of the sphere of “in Him” and in essence into the sphere of “in Himself”, walking in legalism. Be very careful in this area. It can be very subtle and sound very spiritual to say, “I’m going to DO something for Jesus.”  Much better to trust Jesus to do through us that which we could never hope to do on our own.  To do according to His wisdom and strength!  To do in a way that is “far more abundantly” beyond what we would ever think possible (Ephesians 3:20-21)!

TRUSTING JESUS

Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain:
Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Brightly doth His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While He leads I cannot fall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

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Author: looking2jesus13

Jerry L. Conklin was born and raised in Hillsboro, Oregon. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program. He was assigned to the USS *Omaha* (SSN-692), a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, where he served as a reactor-plant electrical operator. His military service took him to ports and locations throughout the world and provided extensive technical training, leadership experience, and an enduring appreciation for those who serve in the Armed Forces. Following his Navy service, Jerry earned a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Technology from Thomas Edison State University. He worked at the Trojan Nuclear Plant near Rainier, Oregon, first as a reactor operator and later as a training specialist. After sensing God’s call to pastoral ministry, he left the nuclear-power industry and earned a master’s degree in theology from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Jerry served for twenty-seven and a half years as senior pastor of Lewis and Clark Bible Church in Astoria, Oregon. During those years, he preached and taught the Scriptures, provided pastoral counseling, performed weddings and memorial services, trained church leaders, and served individuals and families throughout the community. He also served as a fire department chaplain and participated in a variety of community ministries. After retiring from full-time pastoral ministry, Jerry and his wife, Laura, moved to Heppner, Oregon. There he served for approximately four years as a chaplain with Pioneer Memorial Home Health and Hospice, providing spiritual and emotional support to more than 150 patients and their families. In 2023, the Oregon Association for Home Care honored him as its Chaplain of the Year. Jerry also helped establish South Morrow County Seniors Matter, a nonprofit organization created to address the needs of older adults following the COVID-19 pandemic. As chairman, he worked with community leaders and volunteers to develop a weekly senior meal program, a monthly veterans’ lunch, and other activities and services. The organization served hundreds of seniors, mobilized more than 200 volunteers, and received statewide and national recognition. In 2025, Jerry was named Heppner’s Man of the Year, and his community service was later recognized by United States Senator Jeff Merkley. International missions have also been an important part of Jerry’s ministry. He has made ten trips to Uganda, where he has taught at pastors’ conferences, preached in churches, participated in Bible-school graduations, distributed Bibles and Christian materials, and encouraged local pastors and ministry leaders. He developed the discipleship booklet *First Steps with Jesus* to help new believers understand and grow in their faith. Jerry is the author of numerous books, Bible studies, devotionals, and teaching resources, including works centered on prayer, Christian hope, spiritual growth, and the person of Jesus Christ. His decades of preaching and teaching reflect his commitment to presenting biblical truth clearly, practically, and faithfully. Jerry and Laura were married for nearly forty-two years and raised four children. They were also blessed with three grandchildren. Laura passed away in August 2025 following an eight-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Jerry currently lives in Hillsboro, where he helps care for his elderly father. He continues to preach, teach, write, and serve others through pastoral and community ministry.

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