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.

Dying of Thirst

This modern world is a dry, hot desert and our fellow humans are dying all around us, even though Authentic Christians contain the water that they need to give them life and enable them to live victoriously on this earth.

Yet, we often withhold from them the very information they need in order to find the endless well of God's life-giving water. We fail to tell them about our loving Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3).

As we seek to follow God's Spirit each moment of the day, they will see His fruit in us, which is the divine nature of Christ, who lives in us (2 Peter 1:4). The living water in us can also nourish fellow Christians going through a dry spell (1 Corinthians 16:18; 2 Corinthians 7:13).

Our source of water never leaves or forsakes us. He cares for every issue which we cast on His shoulders (Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7). As we share the living water within, we never run dry.

Rivers of living water satisfy the longing of our soul (Psalm 107:9) and overflow to those around us who need His special touch in their lives as well. If the flow is a mere dribble, then we have some work to do.

We start by taking our focus off what we want from life and concentrate instead on what God wants from our life. We walk in the Spirit and we do not fulfill the carnal desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

When Jesus walked on the earth, many recognized Him as the boy from Nazareth (John 5:23). Therefore, they did not believe He was the Messiah. They did not know God and did not recognize Jesus for who He truly is (John 5:42-43).

Yet, others recognized His Godly nature and believed in His divine calling in their midst (John 8:19). We too can recognize our need for Christ in our life and allow Him to flow from us into the lives of those all around us (John 5:37-38).

We choose to live in God's will for us - not to seek our own glory, but to seek God's glory instead (John 7:17-18). We willingly share the living water within us with whomever chooses to come and drink from our well.

Prayer:

Father God, You offer for us to come and drink, because You desire that not one person perish in the eternal flames of hell. You provide Your free gift of salvation to the entire world (Matthew 23:37; John 2:16-18); but many are caught up in their own plans or in the devil's lies and are sidetracked from any pursuit to follow You. They use counterfeit methods to attempt to quench their thirsty soul.

Remind us that we are more than our mortal body. We are also a never-dying soul - emotions, thoughts and choices - as well as a spirit (Luke 16:19-31). Help us to take advantage of Your great wisdom, power, goodness, justice, love, peace, joy and holiness. Remind us to feast on Your Word and to drink from Your wellsprings of living water (John 4:14, 6:35). Draw us close to You and never, ever let us go.

Thought for the Day:

The ache in our heart and the thirst in our soul are only filled by coming to Christ for His salvation and fulfillment. 

- John 1:12

God Haters - Why Serve a God Who Kills

Some people ask, "How can you worship a God who started wars, commanded that women and children and animals be killed, and who causes trials for His own people?" This is an interesting question in light of the fact that humans have killed many more people through murder, human sacrifice and abortion than God ever "killed".

To answer the question: God is the God of justice, as well as mercy and grace (Job 37:23). He wounds, but He also heals (Job 5:18; Hebrews 12:10). When whole nations turn against God, after He gives them many opportunities to come to Him, He sends warnings of judgment for years (Ezekiel 3:17-18). Some nations turn from wickedness, like Nineveh when Jonah preached to them.

However, when nations refuse to repent and come to God, He uses other nations to judge them, or He uses nature, like with Noah's great flood (Psalm 119:71). It is interesting that Noah's great-grandfather, Enoch, knew there would be a flood. God warned people for hundreds of years that a flood was coming.

Then, Noah himself warned the people for 120 years that God wanted them to repent and to turn to Him. God even used the ark as an object lesson that a flood was actually coming. Yet, people mocked Noah and ended up perishing.

God is love and He cares about every one of us (1 John 4:8; John 3:16). God loves us so much that He became one of us to pay the penalty of our sins (John 3:16; John 1:1). He made His laws for our benefit, not His. He does not want us to hurt one another, and He wants us to honor Him for who He is, what He does for us and for our very life. He is waiting for you to come to Him.

Prayer:

Father God, You amaze me with the abundance of love, which You showed over and over again on the nations You had Your prophets warn. You warn modern humanity too by your prophets' Biblical history and through the preachers of your Word. The problem with the human race is our pride and self-reliance. Our penchant for giving Satan control of our life allows him to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). This grieves Your heart (Lamentations 3:33). Thank you for always turning around every negative aspect of life for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

What Satan means for evil, God always uses for our good. - Genesis 50:20

End-Time Events

It is so exciting to live in today's world. Many Biblical prophecies are falling into place all at the same time. In the year of 1948, Israel became a nation, the Roman Empire revised in the European Union, and religious leaders launched The World Council of Churches (Jeremiah 30:1-31:40; Isaiah 11:12; Daniel 2: 41:42). God was lining up everything to set the stage for His end-time events.

God's prophetic Words are fulfilled more and more rapidly in these last days. Natural disasters increase every year in record number and magnitude (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:25). Russia made a pact with the Middle East and will come against Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Technology can broadcast around the world now, and everyone can see events simultaneously, no matter where they live (Revelation 11:9).

A one world government and currency is also discussed in order to unite the world (Revelation 13:2-7). The Anti-Christ is the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelations 6:2). The Anti-Christ will make peace between Israel and the Middle East, which no Politician has ever been able to do. He will set up the one world government and eventually set up His throne in the Jewish Temple and desecrate God's house (Matthew 24:15).

We all experience tribulation in our lives every day; however, the Bible describes these as just "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8). Jesus describes the Great Tribulation period in Matthew 24:21. God uses the Great Tribulation Period for three reasons: (1) To judge the ungodly nations (2) To put an end to Satan and his demons, and (3) To save Israel.

Prayer:

Father God, all through the Bible, You warn us about the time of Great Tribulation described as "the day of the Lord", "the day of Jesus Christ", "that great and terrible day", “the day of God’s vengeance”, "the great day of God’s wrath", "the hour of His judgment" or the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Isaiah 34:8; 63:1-6; Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 6:17, 14:7). I pray that the casual Bible reader will plainly see these references and realize them as warnings. You never send judgment without warning, because You are a God of compassion and grace. However, You are also a righteous God of justice and You never lie (Numbers 23:19).

Thought for the Day:

God will not pour out His wrath on His Saints. The Lord always delivers His people and reserves the punishment of the unjust until the coming Day of Judgment. - 2 Peter 2:9

In Times of Trouble

 

In this life full of trials and tribulation, we often adopt an angry attitude and walk around with a huge chip on our shoulder. We had noble and worthy expectations coming out of high school; plans and dreams and aspirations of health, wealth and success. How dare life stand in our way? We often blame God for our failures, never realizing the magnitude of blessings He actually, already provided for us. 

We struggle on, hoping that tomorrow will be different; that we get our bonus, raise or promotion soon. We pray for a baby; and when God answers, we wish He’d take it back – sleepless nights and a mountain of dirty diapers were not in our original bargain. Humans are never satisfied, always upset and rarely ever happy. We take out our disappointment on those we love, expecting them to forgive us.

God’s antidote for this poisonous existence is for us to search for Him and His strength, to seek Him in every area of our life (1 Chronicles 16:11). He allows us to struggle and to attempt to succeed on our own. However, He patiently waits for us to call out to Him in our times of trouble. He is anticipating that we will need Him to rescue us. When He comes, we are filled with praise and we give Him all the glory (Psalm 50:15).

There are so many people in other countries that are not reaping the blessings provided for them, which our ancestors guaranteed for us in America (Exodus 20:6). If you think that your life is poor and miserable, take a trip to a third world country. I guarantee that you will return with the high praises of God on your lips. Remember, in the times of blessings in your life, that many people need your help in theirs.

Prayer:

Father God, You reign forever. You established Your throne and You judge the world by Your righteous standards. You govern us with justice and mercy and provide for all of our needs. You are a refuge for the abused and neglected. You are a fortress and you protect us in our times of trouble. Anyone who knows You will put their trust in You, because You have never, ever, not one single time, by no means at all, forsaken those who seek Your will for their life (Psalm 9:7-10).

Thought for the Day:

The Bible has the answers for us, if we only take the time to ferret them out.

My Soul's Portion

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never end; they are fresh every morning. His faithfulness is great and never ending. My soul received the Lord as my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him. The Lord provides every good and perfect gift for those who wait on Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Salvation is not something we must grasp at or steal away. It is a free gift that comes to those who patiently wait on the Lord (Lamentations 3:22-26).

My soul waits for the Lord more eagerly than a night watchman waits for the morning light to dawn (Psalm 130:6). I plant my hope in His Word, because He is my help and my shield (Psalm 28:7). He brings joy to my soul because He showers me with His unfailing love. Both riches and honor come from Him, and in His hand is all the power and might we need to live fulfilling and spiritually vibrant lives (2 Chronicles 20:6).

The Lord longs to be gracious and rises to show compassion on the whole earth. I will never finish singing His praises. I will never stop testifying to anyone who will listen about what He does for me, and what He longs to do for them. I will always give thanks to the Lord, and never fail to call upon His name in any time of distress. I will constantly sing praises to Him, and tell of all His wonderful acts (1 Chronicles 16:8-9).

He does not treat us as our sins warrant, nor does He repay us according to the punishment our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). He restrains His anger over our sin, time and time again. He is so merciful, because He repeatedly forgives our sins (Psalm 78:38). He who promises salvation to us is faithful; therefore we can cling to our hope in Him (Hebrews 10:23). His eyes are always on those who honor and respect Him, and who hope in His unfailing love (Psalm 33:18).

Even the heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they are a testimony to His goodness, and night after night they prove His existence (Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:20). I trust in God’s loyal love. My heart rejoices in His salvation. He blesses me bountifully, which makes my soul break forth into singing and rejoicing (Psalm 13:5-6).

During times of deprivation and abandonment, we can cling to the fact that God has big plans for His children. He brings us prosperous blessings and protects us even in times of trouble and trial. He is our future and our hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We can take courage from Him and from His Word. We have no need to be afraid, no matter what life throws at us. The Lord Jesus is with us - no matter who we are, where we live or what we do for a living on this earth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, let Your unfailing love rain down upon us, even as we put our hope in You. Bring us to a place of surrendering everything to You, so that we may live according to Your will. You have only our best at heart; so help us to trust in Your mercy and grace forevermore. We praise You for Your great love and compassion, which never fail us.

Thought for the Day:

God is love; and His love demands justice for the wages of our sins. Yet, in His love, He gave His only Son to die to pay for us the penalty of our sin.