Union with Christ - Enoch Walked With God

 

Enoch walked with God. This was the testimony that Enoch exhibited before God and his neighbors. Enoch also instructed his family in the ways of God, even his great grandchildren.

Scholars tell us that Enoch saw great visions from the Lord about heaven, Satan’s rebellion, worldly nations throughout the ages, as well as the consequences of wickedness and the rewards of the just.

Jude tells us that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam, and that he prophesied about the Lord returning with His Saints and executing judgment on the ungodly for their unbelief (Jude 1:14-15).

Enoch walked in the ways of the Lord and all went well with him and his descendants (Deuteronomy 5:33). He lived to around the age of 365. He saw a vision of the great flood and told his children about it.

Noah lived by his great grandfather’s example, and walked with God as well (Genesis 6:9). The more Enoch knew God, the more he loved Him, and his love for the world dwindled (1 John 2:15).

Enoch was a man of integrity and a pure heart. He saw righteousness flowing like water, and mercy scattered like dew over the whole earth. In a wicked and perverse world, Enoch longed to dwell with the righteous.

He realized that the Lord strengthens the spirit of the righteous for the sake of His own righteousness, and that many actually see Heaven without tasting the sleep of death.

Therefore, rather than allowing Enoch to enter heaven through the path of the grave, God translated Him to Heaven and he did not see death (Ephesians 5:10; Hebrews 11:5).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to walk with You, commune with You, listen to Your wisdom and direction, and walk by Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Reveal Yourself to us in Your secret places, and teach us to walk in Your ways (Palm 91:1). Your mercy is great as is Your patience with us.

All of your powerful works are wondrous for us to behold. You reveal all things to Your Saints, to Your elect. You write all of our deeds in Your books, and nothing we do escapes Your sight. Let us walk in justice and righteousness for Your name’s sake now and forever. If our ways please You, translate us to Heaven as well.

Thought for the Day:

If Enoch can walk with God in this devoted intimacy, we can too.

Awesome God

In the midst of all the galaxies in our universe, God singled out the planet earth to inhabit with His people. He will bring New Jerusalem, His 1500 mile cubed city, down out of heaven and dwell with us here for eternity (Revelation 21:2).

This city, paved with streets of gold, shows us that what we value more than anything in this world in which we now live will be common place in the city of God (Revelation 21:21; 1 Corinthians 2:9).

We revel in nature as we see it on earth; yet, God will give us a new heaven and earth which resemble Paradise before Adam and Eve fell into sin. This is something else which we cannot imagine.

Even more awesome than any of this, however, is that God gives His Saints the gift of His divine presence abiding in our life now and forever.

There is no longer any separation between God and humanity, because Jesus bridged the gap by His death and resurrection.

He left the glories of heaven to include us in His inheritance of God's Kingdom.

Yet, we take this illustrious fact for granted, and spending time with God is the least of our priorities. We know He will always be there for us, so we only visit Him when we have a problem we cannot handle on our own.

God is jealous for our time and attention (Exodus 34:14). He created us as His own special people. He calls us out of the world to abstain from the evil desires of sin and to seek only His will and way for our life (1 Peter 2:9-12; Proverbs 3:5-6; Ephesians 2:10).

Daily Bible devotion, Christian fellowship, hearing the Word of God preached and singing the high praises of God all bring us into fellowship with God Himself (Psalm 95:2, 100:4; Romans 8:29).

We walk in His presence continually; and even at night, our spirit communes with the Spirit of God as we sleep (Psalm 16:8). We pour out our heart to Him daily; not only with our needs, but primarily with our praises in both good times and bad (Psalm 62:8).

Prayer:

Father God, in Your presence is fullness of joy and in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). There is nothing which we need that You will not provide for us (Matthew 6:33). You have our best interest in Your heart and You love us faithfully. We continually abide in Your love (John 15:9).

Forgive us for foolishly running after the things of this world to improve our station in this fleeting life (James 4:14). We get new homes, cars, clothes, hobbies and expensive toys that take even more of our time away from You.

Yet, You continually call us back to Your presence; to spend more than an hour of devotion, and to abide in You all day and night long. There is nothing worthy of our attention beside You and we desire nothing on earth except Your presence in our life (Psalm 73:23-26).

Thought for the Day:

The Spirit of our awesome God goes with us always and He gives us continual rest for our weary soul. - Exodus 33:14

Unity with God's Trinity

God already knows when the world as we know it will end, and our time is in His hands (Is 46:10; Ps 31:15). He is eternal with no beginning or end. As Believers and followers of Christ, we start to see life from an eternal rather than an earthly perspective. We do not regret the past or fear the future. We live in the here and now in the precious arms of God (John 5:25).

We walk in His light, just as He is in the light (1 John 1:7). There is no lack in our life, because He supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Our old nature molts away, layer after layer with each new season of Biblical revelation. We walk in the truth that it is no longer I, but Jesus Christ who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

As the hectic pace of life increases, we need more alone (all-one) times with our Lord and Christ. We schedule times of the week as a priority to spend with God. We may not have an entire day, but we can find several hours where we rest and breathe in His presence (Psalm 46:10). The Spirit will open up opportunities for us if we will watch for them.

After hearing from God in our quiet place, there is no need to strive to walk in the Spirit. We are used to hearing His voice and He loves to commune with us. As we delight in the Lord, He puts His desires in our heart (Psalm 37:4). He works out His will in us for His glory. God's Spirit controls our thoughts, words and deeds more and more often.

Intimate communication with God will nurture peace in our soul. If we make the time and effort to be still before the Lord, His strength infuses our spirit (Psalm 46:10). We have no need to fear, even if our whole world turns upside down (Habakkuk 3:17-19). Jesus Christ becomes for us our refuge and our tower of strength to help in any time of trouble (Psalm 46:1-3).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to allow You to crucify our flesh so that we can walk in unity with Your Trinity. You commune with us, not in a loud oppressive voice, but in Your still, small voice that confidently tells us which way to go. As we follow Your directives, we end up walking in Your Spirit to accomplish Your will on the earth, rather than living to fulfill the lust of the old, dying fleshly human nature (Galatians 5:16-25).

Thought for the Day:

Even while playing Scrabble I learn to discern the voice of God as I obey that still, small nudge to form letters into words that I do not even know; and this carries over into every day life as I read His Word and follow His direction throughout the day.

A New Way of Life

 

God loves the prayers of His Saints. In fact, God considers our prayers, and our gifts to the poor, as an offering directly to Him (Acts 10:4; Matthew 25:45). God does not require us to pray in any certain way, at any certain time or using any certain words. The Bible suggests that we pray from our heart in Jesus’ name, in order to invoke all of His power behind our words (John 14:13). In reality, prayer is not an action, but a way of life. It is our communication with our Living Lord.

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. This means that we live every moment of our day as a prayer to God. We commune with His Spirit to find out what He has planned for each moment of our day (Ephesians 2:8-10). In fact, the Holy Spirit actually prays for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). We really have need of nothing, because He promises to provide all of our needs, as we seek first His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

Christ makes us complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). Prayer enables us to separate our self from the roller coaster of life by entering into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:10). He lives in us and also through us at home, work, church and in our community. He gives us the gifts and spiritual fruit we need to accomplish His will for our life (Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; Galatians 5:22-23). He even enables us to forgive others, so that He can forgive us (Mark 11:25).

We cannot overcome this world, unless the Spirit does it for us (1 John 5:4). Therefore, walking in the Spirit is the foundation for every other discipline and gift God desires for us to receive. The more we walk in the Spirit, the less we desire anything offered to us by the world, the flesh and the devil (Romans 5:16, 25). This works on the same principle as dispelling darkness from the room. The only way to accomplish this feat is by turning on the Light (1 John 1:5-7).

Prayer:

Father God, the closer we walk to You, the further the devil stays away from us, the less we want to sin and the more we accomplish Your will for our life. You chose us before You created the world. This both humbles and excites us. Help us to walk holy and blameless in Your sight (Ephesians 1:4). Teach us to develop prayer as a way of life, which never ceases. Draw us close to You, and never let us go (James 4:8). Remind us that You created us to work for Your Kingdom, not for our own goals, ambitions and desires (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

We desire to walk firmly rooted and built up in Christ, living in His will and brimming over with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:7

Enoch Walked with God

"And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." - Genesis 5:22-24

Police statistics estimate that one person disappears per minute in the UK and USA. In Australia one person every 18 minutes is reported missing. It is the same around the world. Then there are those who disappear and are never reported as a statistic. Many are kidnapped, or die unnoticed and undiscovered. How many of those who disappear, like Enoch, walked with God and God translated them home? In His foreknowledge, God prepared a destiny and a destination for the soul of every person before He ever created the earth.

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived; and the great grandfather of Noah. His claim to Biblical fame is that after his son was born, he “walked with God” for about three hundred years. This paints a portrait for us of two intimate friends unhindered by the lusts of the flesh and the world around them and totally immersed in one another’s fellowship (Amos 3:3). Scholars tell us that many of Enoch’s writings had the poetry of the Psalms and the wisdom of Proverbs.

Enoch was honorable, he loved mercy and He walked humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8). With his will totally submitted to his Lord, Enoch learned from God. As a man of faith, Enoch knew it was impossible to please God without trusting in Him. He also pleased God in his thoughts, words and deeds (Hebrews 11:5). This was the testimony he exhibited before God and his neighbors. He saw great visions from the Lord about heaven, Satan’s rebellion, worldly nations throughout the ages, as well as the consequences of wickedness and the rewards of the just. Enoch instructed his family in the ways of God.

Jude tells us that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam and that he prophesied about the Lord returning with His Saints and executing judgment on the ungodly for their unbelief (Jude 1:14-15). Enoch walked in the ways of the Lord and all went well with him and his descendents (Deuteronomy 5:33). He lived to the age of 365. He saw a vision of the great flood and told his children about it. Noah lived by his great grandfather’s example, and walked with God as well (Genesis 6:9). The more Enoch knew God, the more he loved Him, and his love for the world dwindled (1 John 2:15).

Enoch was a man of integrity and a pure heart. He saw righteousness flowing like water, and mercy scattered like dew over the whole earth. He longed to dwell with the righteous. He realized that the Lord strengthens the spirit of the righteous for the sake of His own righteousness, and that many see Heaven without tasting the sleep of death. He saw Christ as the light of the nations, the hope of troubled hearts, the name by which we are saved and the one, which the righteous lean upon without falling. He foresaw the destruction of the wicked and the peaceful dwelling place of the righteous.

Therefore, rather than allowing Enoch to enter heaven through the gates of endless sleep, God translated Him to Heaven and he did not see death (Ephesians 5:10; Hebrews 11:5). Like Enoch, Adam and Eve enjoyed the cool of the day in the garden walking with God (Genesis 3:8). God revealed Himself to Moses and the face of the deliverer of God’s people shone with the glory of the Lord (Exodus 34:35). Abraham walked with God (Genesis 24:40). Jesus walked with God and embodied God personified (John 14:7-9). God loves to walk with all of His Saints. We are His Temple and He communes with us every moment of the day by His indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to walk with You, commune with You, listen to Your wisdom and direction, and walk by Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Reveal Yourself to us in Your secret places, and teach us to walk in Your ways (Palm 91:1). Your mercy is great as is Your patience with us. All of your powerful works are wondrous for us to behold. You reveal all things to Your Saints, to Your elect. You write all of our deeds in Your journals and nothing we do escapes Your sight. Let us walk in justice and righteousness for Your name’s sake now and forever, and if our ways please You, translate us to Heaven as well.

Thought for the Day:

If Enoch can walk with God in this devoted intimacy, we can too.

 

 

 

Thank you, Stephanie Bentley, for the use of your photo.