Union with Christ – The Testimony of Enoch

 

Enoch is my favorite character in the Bible. He walked with God; and "he was not, for God took him." I would love to have this intimacy with Christ (Genesis 5:22-24).

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived; and the great grandfather of Noah. He prophesied the flood and helped his great grandson to prepare for this terrible day of judgement.

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).

His claim to Biblical fame is that after his son was born, he “walked with God” for about three hundred years. His life with God paints us a panorama 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).

Police statistics estimate that one person disappears per minute around the world. How many of those who disappear, like Enoch, walked with God and God translated them home?

Enoch foresaw the destruction of the wicked and the peaceful dwelling place of the righteous. 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 Him. So, he pleased God in his thoughts, words and deeds (Hebrews 11:5).

In His foreknowledge, God prepared both a destiny and a destination for the soul of every person before He ever brought us to the earth (Ephesians 2:10). His call for us is to walk in it with Him.

Prayer:

Father God, like Enoch, Adam and Eve enjoyed the cool of the day in the garden walking with You (Genesis 3:8). You also revealed yourself to Moses; and the face of this hesitant deliverer of Your people shone with Your glory after His mountain top experience with You (Exodus 34:35).

Abraham also walked with You (Genesis 24:40). Jesus walked with You and embodied You in person (John 14:7-9). Remind us that You love to walk with all of Your Saints. We are Your Temple and You commune with us every moment of the day by Your indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Thought for the Day:

Enoch saw Christ as the light of the nations, the hope of troubled hearts, the name by which we are saved, and the one that the righteous lean upon without falling; we too can enjoy this intimacy with Jesus through His Holy Spirit abiding in us.

Our Righteous Judge

Serving God as a Pastor's wife is a unique position. People at our community pool will apologize for their language when I'm around. One lady said, "Oh you brought your husband with you today. I'd better watch what I say and do."

Yet, the Psalmist said, "You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me. You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. You notice everything I do and everywhere I go" (v. 1-3, CEV).

People will do before God, who is our only righteous judge, what they would never do before the preacher and his wife. I actually tell people, "I am not your judge, God is; and He is watching you all the time." (James 4:12; Romans 14:4)

This makes them pause and think for a moment. Hopefully, it will make them realize that they answer to God for every thought word and deed (Revelation 20:12). I pray they will come to repentance and be saved (Isaiah 33:22).

The choices we make on this earth will determine our eternal destination, and God is the only judge who will make that final ruling (Matthew 10:28).

If our sins are covered under the blood of Christ, He paid their penalty for us. If we are not Born Again by the blood of the Lamb, we condemn our self already (John 3:18).

No one has an excuse (Romans 1:20). When we stand before God, He will not hear our pleas and explanations. It will be too late for apologies and repentance then.

Now is the time for salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). We are not guaranteed one more breath of life. We may enter eternity and meet our righteous judge before we repent; and then it is too late.

There is no purgatory in which we can pay for our sins. There are no indulgences which we can pay to convince God to allow our loved ones to enter into His Kingdom. Jesus already paid the debt we owe. Come now and repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

Prayer:
Father God, our carnality has desensitized us from realizing Your awesome holiness and fearing You more than we fear people. We do not want anyone to tell us what to do or how to behave or what to think; yet You already removed the burden of righteousness from our shoulders by giving us the righteousness of Your dear Son.

No one is capable of fully obeying the law. You gave it, not for us to keep, but for us to realize the futility of our trying to make our self holy by attempting to conform to it. You provided the law to show us our need to accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord (Galatians 3:1-19; Romans 3:20). We thank You for giving us this way to know You now and throughout eternity (John 17:3).

Thought for the Day:
Once we surrender our life and destiny to God through repentance and salvation, His Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ one step at a time. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Courage to Surrender

Who is really in charge of your life? Can you actually find fulfillment or control your destiny by living life “your way”? Life has a way of destroying our plans. We delude our self when we think that we can manage or direct our life. In the decisions we make, we will either obey our selfish flesh, the deceitful devil or God. It is totally unprofitable to surrender our life to anyone other than God.

We humans have a need to make our own way in the world, so we often reject the teachings of our youth and incorporate what we learn in college and in the workplace as our own philosophy. We deludedly think that we can do with our life whatever feels good to us. We often dabble in various venues to see how they fit. Deciding who we are and how we blend into our world often takes a lifetime.

We make what we think are wise decisions, but the consequences of those choices, along with unforeseen events, may end up crippling us. There are so many ideals, philosophies, needs and powers at work in our world. Thankfully, God continually provides us with a fork in our road. He gives us many opportunities to walk away from the world and into His waiting, everlasting arms.

If we have the courage to surrender to His love, we have God's peace. However, God does not accept half-hearted devotion. He wants the dedication of a bondservant (Deuteronomy 15:16-17). He came to earth in human form to lay down His life for us, and He wants an equal commitment from us. So, we voluntarily lay down our life for Him (1 Corinthians 7:22-23), and surrender our pride and rebellion to Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, throughout His lifetime Jesus frequently prayed to You. He communed with You in the same way that we do – without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can enjoy sweet fellowship with the Trinity as we carpool the kids, clean the house, work at the office, build homes, repair cars, wait on tables and perform every other aspect of our life. You sustain us through whatever life brings our way.

Thought for the Day:

“The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” - 1 John 2:15-17

 

 

 

 

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

In John 13, we read about Jesus preparing for Calvary. He met with His apostles and washed their feet. He shared His last supper with them. Then, Jesus assured His apostles that He would give them anything they needed in order to carry out their work of the gospel (John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-24, 16:26). His best promise was of our continued relationship with Him and a deeper relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).

 

Jesus guaranteed His disciples a home in heaven, and prayer as a tool of communicating with Him, the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth, His future return for His Bride and then His second coming with His Bride. After the last supper, Judas left the room on his way to fulfill his destiny of betrayal, impetuous Peter made a bold statement of faith in Christ, and Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times.

The same Jewish people, who lauded Jesus as King when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, insisted on His crucifixion and death. They ultimately did not recognize Him as their Messiah. However, the fact that Jesus is God is indisputable (Hebrews 1:4-14). Eye witness accounts and even secular historians document the fact that He lived, died and rose again in order to free us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Now, He fulfills the role as our High Priest in Heaven (Hebrews 2:17,3:1).

Jesus already went through the veil of death. He can sympathize with every trial and temptation we ever experience on earth, because He already suffered these same issues (Hebrews 2:5-18). Even living back in His glory in Heaven, He is always involved in our daily life, because He lives in us (Acts 7:55; Colossians 1:27). Jesus is the first fruits of the children of God (James 1:18). We are coheirs with Him of the glory of God (Romans 8:17). He ministers in Heaven on our behalf as our advocate (1 John 2:1).

This all gives us confidence in our faith, because He provides us with His mercy and grace (Hebrews 11:1). Jesus described his relationship with us as the Vine and the branches (John 15:1-8). His life flows through us each moment of our life. He did not leave us helpless on this earth, but provided the Holy Spirit to comfort and indwell us (John 14:16,17). The Bible is full of prophecies and promises about and by Jesus that give us hope for our resurrection.

 

We stake our spiritual life on these prophecies, and we live in abundant life because of His promises (2 Peter 1:4). God also gave us His Word to settle disputes of dogma (Matthew 21:42). He uses it to increase His spiritual influence in our life, and to give us hope for the future (Mark 11:17; Jeremiah 20:11). His Word is a light and a lamp, which gives us direction and clarifies our walk in Him (Psalm 119:105). His Word endures forever (1 Peter 1:25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the assurances You gave Your apostles comforted their fearful hearts when You promised that their sorrow at Your loss would soon turn to joy (John 16:20).  After a time of agonizing prayer in the garden, You concluded with the words, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Your submission to the Father is an example to us of how to live a life of victory and joy, regardless of our circumstances. As we submit to our Father’s will for our own life, we will gain eternal life through You.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus employed the Bible to resist temptation and He gave us this example to employ in our life as well. - Matthew 4:4,7,10