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.

Relationship of Love

In my early years with the Lord, I worked hard so that God would love me. In my human relationships, I had to earn love; so I thought I had to earn His love too. 
 
I wanted to meet His expectations and to make Him happy with me. I tried desperately to earn His approval, not realizing that I already had it through Christ in me.

It took me ten years to learn that He already loved me, even when I was still lost in sin and prior to me ever surrendering my life to Him (Romans 5:8; Genesis 2:17).

His love is a free gift (Romans 6:23). He is not interested in our human efforts. We prove our love to Him by our obedience to His Word and His Spirit, as well as our faith in His faithfulness (John 14:15).

He will allow our best human endeavors to fail, simply to teach us to trust in Him and to follow His Spirit each moment of the day. He wants absolute control over our thoughts, words and actions.

God is not looking for puppets with no will of our own. He wants dedicated servants with no agenda of our own. He does not need our energy and efficiency, but our submission and adoration (Isaiah 31:1).

We cannot earn favor with God. He gives it to us voluntarily as His endowment to His children. God's Spirit leads us in a victorious life of fulfillment, joy and blessings.

We bring God glory, honor and praises with a life dedicated to His Kingdom. He works in and through us as we empty our soul of earthly attachments and goals, lay down idols which cause negative emotions and surrender our life to His love.

Jesus loves us with our Father's love; and we can trust in His love to meet all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19; John 15:9). We abide in Him as the branch on the Vine (John 15:5).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to speak to You in prayer, focus on Your will, meditate on Your Word and walk in Your Spirit. We delight in You and we thank You for leading us in Your way (Isaiah 30:21). Jesus is the only way, truth and life (John 14:6). Let people see Christ in us and to desire the same relationship of love that we enjoy.

Help us to imitate Your character, to adopt Your perspective on life and to abide in Christ each moment of our day. Remind us to persist in prayer, because of the spiritual forces of darkness, which come against the fulfillment of our requests (Daniel 10:1-13).

Thought for the Day:

Our relationship with Christ is not about our works, or we could take pride in it; but has everything to do with Christ's finished work on Calvary's cross. 

- Ephesians 2:8-9; John 19:30

Who Needs God Anyway?

 

 

 

The reason secular religions are so popular today is that they do not require us to give up control of our life. They give us permission to attempt to perfect our own self through a series of mantras, religious activities and self-denial. In contrast, authentic Christianity requires total surrender of our entire body, soul and spirit to the ministrations of God's Holy Spirit.

Surrender is much harder for the human mind to accept than the concept of working for one's own salvation. Most people are too busy for God anyway, except when life gets too hard to handle. When we get in distress or some type of trouble, we quickly turn and run into God’s everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:26-28). We soak up all of His love and comfort until we feel strong enough to face life.

We use Him like an Aladdin’s Lamp to grant our three wishes. Then, we leave God in our prayer closet and come out with the false confidence that we can do all things on our own again. We quickly get side tracked by life and its demands and forget all about God until we need Him again. We even forget to thank Him for His blessings in our life (Luke 17:17).

God desires fellowship with His creation. All of nature knows this and even the trees of the fields clap their hands in praise to our Creator God (Isaiah 55:12; 1 Chronicles 16:30-34). Most people, even some Christians, are not conscious of God’s continual presence in the life of a Believer. Only authentic Believers relinquish our will to God and submit to His plan and purpose for our life (Ephesians 2:10).

Prayer:

Father God, even though You never give us more temptation than we can handle without giving us a way to escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), You often give us more trials than we can handle in order to prove to us that we need You in our life. These trials are never more than You can handle, however. Teach us to walk in Your Spirit every moment of the day and to perform only those works, which You created us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

Self-effort is the enemy of an intimate relationship with God.

The Blessings of Relationship

The world in which we live has values, which they hold dear. People in our world judge each person according to their worldly standards. However, if we live in order to be accepted and esteemed in this worldly system, we end up as an abomination to God (Luke 16:14-15). If we follow Biblical admonitions, we cannot earn the world’s respect and admiration, although we will earn God’s pleasure (Ephesians 1:6).

There are a few people, like Mother Teresa, who honor God and also manage to earn the world’s respect. She gave up her life for the indigent and abused, making their life better in any way she could. God gave her a gift, and she responded to His call for her life. God has a special purpose for each of us too. It is up to us whether or not we fulfill His desire for our life (Ephesians 2:10). We may not reach world fame, but God will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Our self-righteous attempts to please God with our natural efforts and accomplishments are worthless. They give off the terrible stench of human nature as we offer it to the Lord (Isaiah 64:6). It is not pleasing to Him, because He only accepts the sacrifices of those who rely only on the righteousness of Christ for their salvation (Romans 3:22). In God’s eyes, our good deeds are nothing more than dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6).

We cannot earn salvation or justification by our works (Titus 3:5-7). However, Jesus gives us His holiness as a free gift in exchange for our humanity. He took our sin and nailed it to the cross, triumphing over both sin and death (Colossians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:57). We trust in Christ alone and possess His righteousness as our own (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then, we radiate the love and light of Christ to the world around us.

Prayer:

Father God, we live in Your joy and take pleasure in each moment of our relationship with You. Christ is our only life (Colossians 3:4). Remind us to allow You to use us to bring reconciliation to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Many people will reject our message and may even reject us. However, You will delight in our ways. Remind us to use all of the resources You have given us, not for our own advancement in life, but to further Your Kingdom in the earth (Luke 16:1-18).

Thought for the Day:

If I think I am somebody, then God is not everything to me; but when I realize that I am nothing, God becomes my all in all. That is when He fully reveals Himself to me.

Entering God's Rest

 

When we enter our rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:10), we do not cease from activity, but enter a state of perfect tranquility as we perform only those works, which God prepared for us before we were born (Ephesians 2:10). We live, move and have our being in Christ (Acts 17:28); therefore we live in mental, emotional and physical harmony with His divine will. We discover His will by quieting our soul and listening through ceaseless prayer to His voice in our spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

 

Ignoring human reasoning, we live in the Spirit rather than in the flesh (Galatians 5:16,25). Our labor ceases to be work because we carry out the will of God and work in the power of God’s Spirit. Our employment is no longer for our employer, but for our Holy God. We give our employer our very best efforts, because we serving a Higher Power. God holds us up and inspires our weary labors. We do not bear our burdens alone. He gives us joy in our work.

 

We think only about concepts, which are true, gracious, honest, authentic, undeniable and courteous. We focus on the best rather than the worst scenarios, on the beautiful instead of the ugly and on good news, which deserves praise, rather on evil and damning information. As we put Biblical principles into practice, God works out everything for our good in peace and harmony (Philippians 4:8; Romans 8:28). Buried with Christ, we are alive in God (Acts 17:11).

 

Functioning with clarity of mind, rather than thoughts fueled by panic and anxiety, we prosper. The Bible is no longer a closed book to us. We understand its precepts and its words are life to our spirit and soul. When a carnal desire or thought disturbs our peace, we know that from anywhere on the earth we can run to the Rock of Christ. He is our towering Rock of safety (Psalm 61:2). It is better to wait on God than to manufacture any solution from our flesh (Matthew 6:28:30; Psalm 37:3; Isaiah 30:7).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we are pressed within and without by adversity, but not crushed or broken. We are confused and do not understand why life treats us as it does, but we trust in You. We are abandoned and abused, but you never leave or forsake us. Life shoves us down, but by Your Spirit we get up and keep on serving you. We are persecuted and ridiculed, but You use it to show Your Power through our suffering. We face fears within and without, but You, our living Lord, keep us safe always. Even when we die, we live on eternally with you (2 Corinthians 4:8-12).

 

Thought for the Day:

Our troubles will soon be over, but our joys in the Lord will last forever. - 2 Corinthians 4:18