Walking With God

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As many of my friends know. I take morning walks frequently as part of my devotional time and at the same time I pick up trash along the roadways. I am very intentional to remind myself that my walk is a walk with God first and trash gathering is secondary. I really want the time to be an act of worship. Frequently, as I’m walking, I will notice something along the tree line that I think may be a piece of trash and when I walk over to it, I find that it’s just a leaf or a tree branch. But then as I look beyond or around that area, I do find trash that I had not noticed before.  It always makes me smile because I believe that is what God is doing in my life daily. I may not know the trash and the junk in my life that is not apparent to me, but God will see it and clean it up as I walk with him.  If we acknowledge that God is walking with us throughout the day, every day, we may find ourselves in situations and places where we can do acts of kindness and service as acts of worship. 

We are born into condemnation.

 ““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The World in which we are all born into will try to deceive us every moment of every day. Satan quoted God in his deception of Adam and Eve and he quoted God in the temptation attempts of Jesus.  The only defense we have against the attacks and misleading attempts of Satan is belief in Jesus.  When we cry out to Jesus to forgive us and to deliver us from the lies of this world, we will use God’s word and the grace and protection of the Holy Spirit to lead us in righteousness.  We can no longer accept and ignore the sinful nature that we are born into. 

Sadly, too many people do not want to face the truth that evil rules their hearts and they not only live with the consequences of sinful living, but they embrace it.  They intentionally reject God and His Son, Jesus, and in doing so they reject the salvation and eternal life in Heaven. It breaks God’s heart to be rejected, but He will not drag unbelievers into heaven against their wills. 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God’s Peace Is A Blessing

 ”“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God is a God of peace, kindness, patience and order. Satan brings chaos and disorder.  We must bring our thoughts, our words, our actions into alignment with God so that we can be the peacemakers God has called us to be and which the world desperately needs.  God blesses the world with peace through His believers and Satan brings chaos through ungodly people. The violence and turmoil we are witnessing in these days is the result of decades of unchurched,,,godless parents, educators, leaders and churches which fail to share the love of God and the fruit of that love… ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.“

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬, ‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Receive and Enjoy the Gift of Christ

 ”For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Since the day we are born, we have the gift of Jesus available to open and enjoy all the days of our life and for eternity. The process of opening the gift of Christ consists of our believing that He is the son of God, who came to redeem us, and forgive us of our sins. It requires our belief and our confession of sin which leads us to the knowledge of our salvation. Once we have received Christ, we are filled with His Spirit and through His Spirit, we will have a lifelong relationship filled with His love, His guidance, His conviction, and His love for God. 

The Holy Spirit will  open our eyes to see the world differently. He will open our hearts to receive, and to share God‘s love beyond measure, and beyond our own strength and ability. It does not mean that we won’t stumble and fall into temptation, but it does mean that when we realize the sin in our lives, through the convection of His spirit, we will want to turn to Him and receive His forgiveness and freedom from the guilt and burden of sin.  If you are weighed down with guilt, fear, hopelessness, just reach out to God and call on Christ to come into your life and enjoy Him forever.

God,…Guard My Heart

 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

During these days with turmoil and evil seen in Israel, I am struggling to not add to the hatred and anxiety on display in the world. I cannot keep my heart in check.  I pray that God will guard my heart and He will make me a light in the darkness. Jesus prayed…“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Only by keeping my eyes on God and recalling His Word shared in the Bible can I cope and recognize that truth is true: good is good…confusion fades away. Satan is the father of lies, chaos, and confusion.  False reaching and aligning yourself with liars and deceivers will plunge you into darkness. Seek God and His Truth and be free of the burden of hopelessness. 

Delight In The Lord

 “You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭22‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Our default attitude should be to Delight In The Lord.  In all situations and at all times we can find delight and thankfulness in knowing Jesus.  When we begin to recognize and realize the nearness of God, through Jesus, every day will become a day of service, worship, and gratitude.  If such attitudes are evident in us, we will bring hope to those around us, and in that hope, the lost will find Jesus and His love 

What the world needs now…..

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬, ‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The world needs what only the Holy Spirit can produce and as believers in Jesus we are the conduits  God loves us and His desire is for us to discover and feel His love.  The confusion and lostness of the world is evidence of Satan’s work.  The Holy Spirit will overcome the lies and confusion that Satan brings, but the Spirit of God is only given to those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Call on Jesus and He will respond  Spend time searching your heart and calling for God to fill you with His love and the gift of His Son and the Holy Spirit and your life will be forever changed  

Jesus brings calm to the storm.

 “And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

1 Corinthians 14: 33... For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—

In a Bible study I was in, the question was asked, "What is Satan's goal?"  Two or three people said in unison "chaos" which surprised me.  I expected to hear sin or temptation, but as we discussed this, it became clear that chaos really describes what we face every day...the confusion, the distortions, the lack of clarity, the doubts that surrounds us.

When we are confronted with life's challenges and trials, if we focus on all that is challenging us, we soon become overwhelmed.  We become so focused on our problems that we forget that Christ is beside us.  Psalm 23 1-2: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

Jesus Christ is the only One who can bring order and peace into this world of chaos.  Fox News, CNN, government are all contributing to the chaos because they tend to come between us and Jesus. 

The wonderful thing is that as we focus on Jesus when we are in the midst of chaos, we allow Him to be our Shepherd and the chaos of Satan is put in it's proper place...behind us.

Sin Is Lurking At Your Door

 “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

God saw in Cain’s face his anger and sin lurking…before he murdered Abel. His reaction to Abel was making him aware of the sin and telling him to master it…to resist it.   God didn’t blame the rock, the club, the hands or whatever Cain used in the murder, He saw the sin that was attacking before and naming it after the act. 

I’m not against tightening laws and addressing the ease of obtains weapons, but if we want to get out in front of senseless murders, we must equip people to master (resist) the sin of murder.  That equipping begins and ends with the Word of God and a relationship with Jesus….LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.!

WE ARE BORN TO CHOOSE AND TO SEEK

God created Adam with choices to be made. Adam was asked to choose names for all the animals.  Adam was free to choose from what tree to eat, but God did make him aware that His will was that Adam not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   God didn’t put up a fence or wall it off to prevent Adam from choosing to eat it’s fruit, but He made known His will.  (Genesis 2: 4-17)

I think that it is interesting that God told this to Adam before Eve was created, so I assume that Eve was told by Adam what God had said regarding the tree, but Eve, followed by Adam, chose to ignore God’s will and chose to seek their own will. Of course that seed was planted by the serpent (Satan) and that has been his purpose ever sense. 

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We are born to choose to seek the will of God….it is what Jesus demonstrated every day of his life and ministry. If we are not seeking God and His will, we are choosing to ignore Him and His will. We are born with a conscience to steer us to the good and right choices that are evidence of His will; however, to often we choose to ignore our conscience and choose to put our will or the will of others above God’s will. 

From the very beginning God used others to make us aware of His will…which is motivated by His love for us.  Adam shared it with Eve.  Prophets shared His will throughout the Old Testament.  Jesus and the Apostles shared it with Jews and Gentiles and He continues to share it through the Bible and by His Spirit to those who choose to believe that He is our Savior. 

We are either seeking His will or we are choosing to not seek it.   One thing it certain…it is being shared and can be found. It is our choice!  Choose Christ!  

Is God or Satan smiling?

At the end of the day, we should ask ourselves, “Did I bring smiles to God’s face today or is Satan smiling on me?”  What a miserable  day and life it would be to confess that at the end of the day and at your final breath, Satan is smiling on my life.  Everyone needs to begin and end their day reflecting on this question.

Psalms 119.133-135.NASB2020

“Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any wrongdoing have power over me. Redeem me from oppression by man, So that I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes.”

The Word of God awakens our soul…bringing order to life.

 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭ESV‬

This verse explains why God gave us the Ten Commandments. His Word exposes and gives us discernment in regards to our thoughts and intentions. His Word, these Commandments, are the trigger to our conscience. We cannot deny wrong and/ or evil when His Word takes root in our soul.

Do you walk in the Light or in darkness?

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12

Jesus is Light. He doesn’t need to have a spotlight shined on Himself to be seen. As we live each day, we are lured and led by the spotlight that Satan shines on the temptations, the fears, the confusion of the world and if we allow the world’s spotlight to lead us, we will find ourselves in darkness as the world’s spotlight dims.

But in Jesus, we have an eternal light that leads us along the “path of Righteousness” …His Righteousness…where we discover and receive God’s love, His Forgiveness, His Provision, and His Eternal presence.

Ask Jesus to come into your life and you will never walk in darkness again. He will never leave you and His Light will always bring you back into His loving embrace. His Light will never dim.

God’s plan is for us to soar with Him.

 “He found him in a desert land, And in the howling wasteland of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, And hovers over its young, He spread His wings, He caught them, He carried them on His pinions.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32:10-11‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

God, like an eagle, tends and cares for its young by making the nest comfortable and stays close as the young mature.  He rescues us as we tumble and stumble when we leave the nest and we learn that we can depend on Him. His wings shelter us and lift us. He has created us in His image with the wings to soar with Him.

Set our eyes on Jesus

 “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-2‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Look ONLY at Jesus as we run the race set before us.  It is so easy to look back, at our surroundings, or down the road in anticipation of the finish line, when the joy along the journey is found in Jesus…walking, running, and carrying us along the way.

The love of Jesus revealed in the words of Paul

 Acts 26: 28-29  Then King Agrippa said to Paul, “ Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Paul replied, “ Short time or long, I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

The apostle Paul was on trial and he used that time to witness for Jesus. Eternity in heaven was Paul’s desire and prayer for anyone who would listen.  That kind of love of others only flows from a personal relationship and love shared with Christ.  Seek Jesus and repent of your sins and the love of Jesus will flow into you life and overflow into others around you…Jesus loves you!

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

““Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:9‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/2692/mat.5.9.NASB2020

If there was ever a time that the world was crying out order and peace, it is now. As Christians, we can help the world bring order to the chaos. 

We should be identified and bring to our families and communities what God produces in us…Galatians 5: 22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Salvation is God's Desire for All

 John 17: 4 Jesus prayed to God (before His suffering and crucifixion), "I glorified you on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do.”

His work was complete before he died.  Jesus came to reveal God’s love and desire that everyone had a way to salvation.  Before His ascension He commanded the Apostles to spread this good news throughout the world opening the door for all who believe to salvation…John 3:16. This goes along with His command to love God and one another.

I think it is astonishing that when Jesus died, He had only a handful of followers and believers, yet within a few weeks, the Apostles had thousands come to believe and find salvation through Jesus.  The Apostles, in obedience to Christ, embraced his desire for salvation for all people and became instruments of the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the good news.  Those who came to belief in Jesus were filled by that same Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit then finished the work by guiding, conviction, and revealing God’s love and grace.

We Christians need to embrace Jesus’ desire that all should receive salvation and proclaim the good news, so the Holy Spirit can finish the work of saving the lost.  We will never be able to fix people, make them righteous and without sin.  We need to lead them to Christ so His Spirit can make Jesus’ desire a reality.

We are Souls with a body…not a body with a Soul.

 Our bodies have a shelf life, but our souls can live with God for eternity.   We must spend more time on the health and wellness of our souls….prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, and praising God.

Jesus said…

“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:28‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

John 15: 13. “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.” ‭‭

 God is my friend. One thing I have found as I get older, is that my friendship with God has become more profound and brings me greater peace and overwhelming joy. His presence is nearer and His leading is easier to submit to. Perhaps I’ve discovered over the years that the fact that His ways are not my ways is a good thing. 

I have given God many reasons to turn His back on me over the years, but I now appreciate the Grace and Patience that is manifested by His love. He was building a relationship and friendship when I was walking away.  I thank Jesus for being that Savior and Redeemer who has brought me into this friendship.   Because of His Spirit, I will draw on His Love to treasure the relationships and friendships I’ve had over the years.  Jesus did not turn away and neither will I.