Tag: walking with God
Pleasing God by faith!
Scripture reading for December 15th: Hebrews 11-13
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3
One of the foundational aspects of our faith is trusting God as creator of all things. This particular aspect of faith is attacked in our land today by those who put their faith in the theory of evolution. Evolution is a type of religious system that puts time and chance as key ingredients to finding the basis of beginning in all things. A creator is ruled out in favor of man’s invention of ‘truth’.
We who trust God’s word know that He spoke a command and it happened. Faith trusts what God has said. The Bible records a number of human beings who trusted God’s word and were commended by Him. Enoch is one such person recorded in Hebrews 11.
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)
Enoch was a man who walked with God. He was a prophet who warned of the coming of the Lord in judgment. His only recorded message is found in Jude 14-15. Enoch began to walk with God after the birth of his son, Methuselah, whose name tells of coming judgment. (Genesis 5:21-24) The flood came in the year Methuselah died and he lived longer than any other man recorded in Scripture. Enoch so walked with God that he was snatched up to heaven and became a type of ‘faith-walker’ that would inspire others throughout the ages!
There is no other means of pleasing God! Jesus is coming again. Will you walk with God today as if that were true and warn others about this coming event? God has promised to “snatch up” those who walk with Him! ( 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Sunday Rest and Reflection
January 4th–Sunday of Rest
Each Sunday, the devotional Bible I am following this year offers a time to catch up and reflect on the journey so far. I liked the idea and thought it was good. Catch up today and rest in the Lord. This walk is not a race. We are involved to build a relationship with the Lord and want to know His heart.
As I reflect on these first three days, I am excited at what I am learning and insights that I have gotten that help me on the way. God created the heavens and earth and man and then he took one day to rest. That day was man’s first full day on earth and he was to spend it with the Lord, enjoying creation and the loving God who created it for his pleasure.
I think about Enoch who walked with God so closely that God just took him to be with Him. The birth of a child to Enoch and his wife, caused him to begin to prophesy about the Lord coming again in judgment. He was 365 years old when the Lord took him directly to heaven–one of only two in the Old Testament who didn’t die physically! Oh, for that close a walk! In fact, this is just what we are to be ready for today in the rapture of the church at the last trumpet! Noah walked with God and rode the ark over the waters to a new world! What an exciting walk! The God we serve is worthy of our worship and service. It’s just a drop of worship compared to the oceans of his mercy!
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Revelation 22:20
“In the Beginning, God”!
Today’s reading: Genesis 1-2
The journey begins! May the Lord bless your new year and walk with you each step of the way!
I am so thankful that you have chosen to trek with me through the Bible this year. We are starting at the beginning and I just love these first chapters of Genesis. To think that Moses recorded this for us about 1500 years before Christ is amazing! According to Scripture, he was moved on by the Holy Spirit and wrote down a message given him by God. (2nd Peter 1:19-21) This record of creation is given to us by the only one who was there to witness it all! Without this record, we could only speculate about where we came from and why we are here in the type of world that we live in. In fact, that kind of speculation is what is going on with many intellectuals today who deny God exists or that He can be known by us. It is being taught in our school systems to our children and they are confused!
God made all that is simply by speaking! What powerful words! As He spoke, out of nothing, creation appeared! Psalm 33:6 states: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” We serve a God who breathes out stars, constellations, and galaxies that stretch out for countless millions of light years in every direction from the earth! (Recommended Resource–How Great is Our God by Louis Giglio)
Even more amazing is man himself! Man made in the image of God! Man created by God for a relationship! Man walking with God and sharing rulership of creation with God. The Trinity is implied here in the “our image”. God creating man as male and female for a relationship with each other is also noteworthy! His design has brought companionship and pleasure to man, who could not find what he needed with any of the animals! We are special and unique! Thank Him for your uniqueness and His purpose for your life. Invite Him to walk with you today and this year! It will be the most exciting way to begin a new year! In His Love, Pastor John
Then God said, “let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them.”–Genesis 2:26-27