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

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful moms and grandmoms out there. I pray that God’s peace and joy will fill your hearts and minds today. As you celebrate this special day, I would like you to take a few moments to reflect on what it really means to be a mom. In doing so, let me bring a unique mom from the Bible to your attention. Her name is Hannah. Remember her? She was the lady who was tormented by her husband’s other wife because she was barren (1 Samuel 1: 6).

Hannah was embarrassed, frustrated and broken-hearted, but she cried out to God to give her a son and He heard her prayer. However, Hannah didn’t just ask God for a child. She promised that if God answered her prayer, she would give the child back to God (v 11). Doesn’t make sense, does it? Why ask God for something only to give it back to Him? Why ask God for a job only to give it back to Him? Why ask God for a car? A house? A husband or a wife? Do you get the picture? Hannah realized that whatever God chose to "give" her didn’t really belong to her. It was still His. That child, that job, that house, that husband or wife doesn’t really belong to us. We are to give them back to God so His perfect will can be done in them.

Mothers, are you giving your children to God? You don’t have to take them to the church and leave them there as Hannah did, but you are to give them to God even while they are still in the womb. And from the moment they are born, begin to pray and dedicate that precious life to God so that he/she can be used by Him. If you do, God will give you more than you ever asked for. Hannah asked for one son, God gave her three sons and two daughters (2 : 21). He is able to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

Blog Jog Day

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Satan’s Tools To Disrupt Your Life

Something I came across in my Bible reading this morning made me pause and reflect. Jesus was teaching in the temple in Capernaum when a demon-possessed man cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1: 24). Later that same day, Jesus healed other demon-possessed people, but "he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was" (v 34). The demons knew who Jesus was? How were they able to recognize Him when the religious leaders didn't?

The Bible does not give any explanation as to why the demons were able to recognize Jesus. However, the verses above made me think of what happens when we meet someone for the first time and we form an impression of that person. It may be good or bad. We may either want to meet that person again, or wish we'd never met them. Why is that? Could it be that God has placed a form of discernment in us so that we recognize whether someone is a kindred spirit or not? And they in turn identify us in the same way?

This may account for the fact that co-workers, neighbors and acquaintances may not be able to get along. Our attempts at reaching out to a certain person may be rebuffed, while another may receive us with open arms. When Jesus predicted that he would be killed, Peter took Him aside and said, "Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you. But Jesus turned and said unto Peter, Get
thee
behind
me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matthew 16: 22 – 23).

By rebuking Peter this way, Jesus was not addressing Peter himself, but Satan's scheme to use Peter to disrupt the plans of God. Peter, without knowing it, had employed the same temptation that Satan used with Jesus in the wilderness and as a result, earned the same rebuke.

If you find yourself facing persecutions and temptations from others, the devil may be using these people to disrupt God's plans for your life. James 4 : 7 says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

How do you resist the devil?

By staying close to God through constant prayer and Bible study, you gain the power to resist the devil. Soon you will find that those people who troubled you will cease to have any effect on you. They will "fade away" according to Psalm 37 : 2, and you will be able to live your life in peace.