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.

Radical Transformation

When Almighty God moves into a life, we can expect a radical transformation. The speed at which this occurs depends on our willingness to totally surrender to His will.

Our spirit is immediately changed, brought from the state of death in sin to alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). The next step is sanctification in our soul, which takes a lifetime for most people (1 Corinthians 6:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

We come as we are, and jump up on the operation table of God's grace; so that His Word can separate our soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). We facilitate the process as we actively decrease, so that He may increase (John 3:30).

God calls us to die daily to our fleshly desires and to work out our own salvation; but at the same time He makes it clear that it is His Spirit that actually does the work (Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 4:22-24).

God created us to imitate Christ and to walk in true holiness by repenting of every sin. We cooperate as the Spirit sanctifies us. We live, move and have our entire being in Him (Acts 17:28).

He forgives us and calls us to submit to the Spirit as He transform us into the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). We mature spiritually and this conversion consumes every area of our life (Galatians 2:20).

We relinquish our cares to Him, because He really does care for us (1 Peter 5:7). We stop worrying and walk in His peace. When we pray, we give thanks for all that God already did in our life (Philippians 4:6-7).

Jesus encouraged us not to work to attain the things of this world that rust and spoil; but to seek food that endures throughout eternity (John 6:26-27; Isaiah 55:2). We long for Him like the deer panting for the water brook until we joyfully experience His presence within us every moment of the day (Psalm 42:1-2; Acts 3:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You made it possible for us to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus Christ (Psalm 34:8). Taking Him into our being and consuming Him in an intimate relationship where we two become one. This provides us with eternal life now, and You will also raise us up on our last day on earth in order to dwell with You for eternity (John 6:34). 

Only You can satisfy our longing and fill our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9). Your Word gives us milk as new born babies (1 Peter 2:2). Jesus is the Bread of Life on which we feast as we mature (John 6:35). Then, like Jesus, our food is to do Your will every moment of our life (John 4:34). Prepare our hearts, lead us, fill us with Your presence and Spirit and provide for our every need as we make the radical transition from worm to butterfly.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, His whole body fits together in perfect harmony, supporting one another, growing together spiritually, loving one another as Christ loves us, and all of us functioning in the ministry into which He calls us. - Ephesians 4:16, 2:10

No Longer a Sinner - Predestined to be Conformed

God predestined those He foreknew to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). He will present us to Himself as His glorious Bride, the Church without spot or wrinkle, glorious and blameless through Christ in us (Ephesians 5:27).

The process of conforming us to Christ's image is what most people shy away from in their journey of surrendering to God. We fear the pain of being molded or that God will send us to some unfavorable place on the earth to serve in His Kingdom.

At first, what we do not realize is that He is molding us into His grace by His mercy and love. If we completely submit to His ministry in our life, this is painless and even joyful (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Once we gain experience in the molding process, we stop fearing the unknown and embrace it with faith. We experience the glory of His transfiguration in us and are stunned by the splendor of His majesty (John 14:3, 17:24).

As the elect of God and the Body of Christ, we willingly surrender to Christ, our Head, in the process of election and sanctification. We gradually conform to the image of God, which Adam enjoyed in the Garden (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:3; 1 Corinthians 15:49).

He gives us His fruit and His gifts in order to take our place as healthy, viable members of His family. His spiritual life flows through our spirit and enables us to function in His calling for our life.

According to His eternal promises, He replaces our human nature with Christ's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). He creates us as a new creature in Christ for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and gives us His power as His glorious Body (Philippians 3:21).

Prayer:

Father God, we look forward to seeing Christ as He is and being made in His likeness (1 John 3:2). Thank You for Your holy Word, which does not leave us clueless on this earth, but which reveals to us everything we need to see and know to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). Carry us through any suffering and persecution, and strengthen us in every tribulation, which we experience for Your righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:18-27; Philippians 3:10).

When we suffer with Christ, we will also be gloried with Him in the day of our resurrection (Romans 8:17) and share in Your Kingdom as co-heirs of all that is Yours. Hasten the day of Your coming and take us to live with You in Your holy City of New Jerusalem.

Thought for the Day:
When Christ, who is our life, appears, we will also be revealed in all of His glory. - Colossians 3:4