Walking With God

We often hear someone say, "I am walking with God," or they may talk about their spititual walk. What does it mean to walk with God? The Bible gives several examples of people who walked with God and if we study their lives, we will see that they didn't take their walk lightly.

Walking is a mechanical action we perform everyday, but what does it really mean? According to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, to walk means to "move along on foot"; to "advance by steps"; "to pursue a course of action or way of life". Therefore, if we are walking with God, we should be moving, advancing and pursuing. It's impossible to walk and stay in the same place.

The men and women in the Bible who "walked with God" were never static. They were constantly moving, advancing and pursuing. Moses moved, albeit reluctantly, to persuade Pharaoh to free the children of Israel from bondage. Noah moved in obedience to God and built an ark to rescue the people from the flood that God said He would bring on the earth. Noah didn't know what rain was, but he moved. Abraham moved in obedience to God to a land he had never seen before and became the patriarch of the Israelites.

How are you walking with God? What does it require for us to walk with God? From the examples above you will see that the men had one thing in common. They were all obedient to God's commands. In order to do that they had humble themselves and have faith. The Bible says, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

Moses, Noah, Abrahman and others all walked humbly with God, obeying what He asked of them. Are you humble? Are you obedient? Going to church is not the only walking you must do. You have to move when God speaks to you, so you can advance in His purpose and pursue His will for your life. Then, and only then, you can say you are walking with God.

Almighty God, teach us to be obedient to Your will and pursue those things that will give us a meaningful walk with you. Amen

Proud To Serve

I arrived at church this rainy morning to find my pastor impeccably dressed, wearing a black overcoat, and with a broom in hand sweeping away the water that had collected on the porch. I said, "Pastor, what are you doing?" He replied, "I'm just trying to get rid of some of this water." Minutes later, he stood in the pulpit and delivered a dynamic sermon.

His action reminded me of Jesus' words: "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20: 27-28) Jesus spoke these words after the mother of James and John had requested that He allow them to "sit, the one on thy right and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom"( v 19). Jesus' reply was to remind this woman of the grave responsibility that such a position carries.

Many of us aspire to lead in the church and elsewhere, but are we prepared to sweep the floor or take out the trash, if necessary. Or are we like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, who expected to be given the best seats in the synagogue and to be bowed and catered to. Jesus reminded them, "But he that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted" (23: 11-12).

Being a leader is an awesome privelege, but it carries with it certain responsiblities. If you are a leader today, try to emulate Jesus' example. Humble yourself and become a servant first as He did.