NEW SERIES: "PRAY FOR....RIGHT ALIGNMENT WITH GOD"

A NEW SHORT SERIES ON PRAYER

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The most important relationship any human will ever have in this life is the one with God. I am not talking about the gods of your choosing, but the One True God of Heaven - Yahweh. Our heavenly Father has made this journey with Him even simpler and more intense, when He - Abba Father (Daddy) - sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth some 2000 years ago. 

This same Jesus, in the most important discourse in History on the Christian Life - the Sermon on the Mount said the following (Matthew 6:33) "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble". To get the full context of this verse, click here for the entire chapter of Matthew 6.

What the Lord is teaching us is this - our Faith is an intentional daily walk with Him which has to be recharged daily. We know from experience that several things occur during one 24 hour period which can alter the course of a life, change circumstances and even affect our worldview.  In life, we have more valley experiences than mountain top ones. Bad things are more apt to happen to a person, and especially a Christian, than good ones. Sometimes a good day is when things are status quo.

So God is calling for us to wake up each day with a certain mindset of overcoming those not so good days, when our vehicle of life is out of alignment. At those times we must fall back into zone coverage. That is, our relationship with God through Christ and its strength must be such that it can withstand incoming. This is the testing called for and it comes from recharging with Spiritual Food - a Holy Breakfast, if you will, when we wake up recharged physically.

But more than this, God is calling here in 2 Corinthians 13:5 for a testing the tensile strength of our relationship. This is why the Lord does not mind you and I asking Him questions, even in doubt. Because then, we can say to Him "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief". If more and more and us, search our hearts as Psalm 139:23-24 says "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting"...and call for God to cleanse us and purify us and that the precious Supernatural Blood of Christ can make us clean as the wind-driven snow, we will pass this daily test with flying colors, and the rest of the day's events will pale, as we sail!

The steps here are really simple to a spiritual daily diagnosis - praising God for a new day and then checking to see if our heart, mind, body and soul are all pointed north to Him, by praying for the same, as indicated above. This gives us such comfort and rest in the promise, that we cannot help but say like Jeremiah shouted out in praise in Lamentations 3:22-25, the immortal words which became the great hymn of the Faith (Great is Thy Faithfulness): "22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him."

PART 1 - ENOCH "WALKED WITH GOD"....

In a world, where life is lived at warped speed, it is profoundly difficult to fathom our Life's Journey as a "Walk" with the Lord, our God. "Walking" implies an activity which is done at a steady and/or measured pace. It is even more delightful if done with someone whom you love or admire, such as a spouse, your children or a close friend. Even more precious, though, is our "Walk with the Lord".

We get a hint of how wonderful walking is when we read in Genesis 3:8 that ... they (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Three things stand out here here: 
- The Lord (Jesus Christ the Creator) walks 
- His garden welcoming and comfortable with cool and full of trees
- The Presence of Him Who made us was in the Walk.

This may challenge theological thinking from seminaries and other man-made formulas, but I know now, that even when I was not walking with the Lord in my rebellious days, He was with me. I know that now, looking back at all the times He rescued me from the pit and those who would do me harm.  It is obvious that before they sinned, Adam and Eve walked and fellowship with the Lord. The above-mentioned verse confirms this.  But it was not just this truth, but the fact that Jesus also WALKED WITH them before the Fall! He was present and was with them as they did the work He called them to in the Garden.

The open and vile sin of both Adam and Eve of listening to a filthy serpent when you are accustomed to being the Presence of the Creator of this amazing Universe, is truly stunning. We all know the current state of the world is because of that sin, but for the purposes of "Walking with the Lord", what does this look like and what does it mean for us?

A much overlooked Biblical hero is a man named Enoch, a direct descendant of Adam and the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Genesis said this about Enoch: "Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:22b–24).

Going back one verse to Genesis 5:21-22a, we see that something happened to Enoch at age 65...and this should be an encouragement to us, no matter how old we are...or even if we think we are TOO old and God cannot use us! This verse says in part "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years." After Enoch became the father of the oldest man in the Bible - Methusaleh - it says that he walked with God for the next 300 years!

Methusaleh is important as his name literally means in Hebrew "his death shall bring judgment".  Methusaleh lived 969 years and at his death, the Great Flood was sent to cleanse the earth of all human degradation. Enoch means "dedicated" (Chanokh in the original Hebrew) and by his 300 year Walk with the Lord, his dedication led to his unique translation into Heaven. Enoch is only one of two men in the Bible who did not experience physical death. Elijah is the other one.

When God gives a name in Scripture, He is directly communicating something by that designation. He changed the name of Abram to Abraham. He changed the name from Saul to the Apostle Paul and called His chief disciple (Simon Barjonah) to Peter. When God caused Jared to name his son Enoch, the Lord knew that the latter would be dedicated to Him.

Since words mean thing, we need to look at the word "dedication" from whence Enoch's name was derived. Websters Dictionary described "Dedication" as the following:
- a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty to someone or something 
- an act or rite of dedicating to a divine being or to a sacred use
- self-sacrificing devotion
- the quality or state of being dedicated to a person, group, cause
- the act of officially saying that something (or here, somebody like Enoch) was created for a particular purpose (such as worship) or to remember or honor a particular person.

Webster's has described the perfect Walk with God, without knowing it! A man (Enoch), whose name means dedicated, walked for 300 years as a loyal man of God who saw the evil of his day, and gave up worldly pleasures (in self-sacrifice) to remain true and loyal, having been set apart (or dedicated) for God, as one of His own. Being set apart like this is a perfect example of the sanctification, which the true woman or man of God is experiencing right now, due to our surrender to Jesus as Lord.

The man or woman of God was (and is) also created for the most particularly important function and that is to worship, honor and obey the Father. All of this is directly implicated in the name of Enoch!

Do we have this kind of dedication? If we do not, we are not walking in Spirit, Truth and Righteousness! Have we dedicated our life to walking with Him, in the fullness of His Presence?
Does our Walk glorify Him?
Are we walking behind or away from Him, by sins of omission as well as commission? 
Are we even walking ahead of Him, but not waiting on His prompting, guidance and direction which can only be gotten through prayer? By doing this, we are chasing windmills.
Are we?

These are questions which each individual has to answer on his or her own.  There is a benefit for the Christian to be walking in sync, and in God's timing and pace, rather than behind or ahead of Him. 

When we walk behind Him, we lose the blessings of His Presence and Power in our lives. We may even be at risk of backsliding and losing fellowship with Him.

When we walk ahead of Him, we short-circuit His wonderful plans and purpose for us and put ourselves in a world of hurt, due to our impatience. There is nothing more perfect than God's Timing. So why blow it by doing things your own way and not waiting on the Lord? 

We have all committed these errors and paid the price of stress, anxiety and failure. Isn't it time, therefore, to have the kind of walk - like Enoch - so that we too can say like the Psalmist "In Your Presence, there is fullness of Joy"!  This kind of fullness can only come, by walking daily and keeping pace with, the One Who saved us by His Grace.

WEDNESDAY MUSING

TODAY: DILIGENT

Over the next two days, we look at two words - Diligent and Negligent. We do this for their stark contrast in relation to each other and especially in its descriptive attributes, as regards the Faith and Walk of the Believer. Too many modern church-goers are engaged in the latter while God demands the former.

Websters defines DILIGENT as an effort which is earnest, steady and energetic. The best description though, is, as usual, found in the Bible! Here is 2 Peter 1:10 (ESV) "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall" The actual word for diligent here is "spoudázō" in the original Greek and carries even more urgency with it!

We see how swift and evil the times are! We are heading towards a cliff of disaster not only as a people, but individually if a person is not saved - by Repentance and putting their complete Trust and Faith in Jesus, the Lord and Savior! So the actual literal meaning of Diligent here to the Christian is the following:

- Look, time is short, act swiftly and check yourself against God's Word daily to make sure you are both walking with Him and in the Faith.

- Do not linger or waste time, because who knows when God will demand our souls of us. This could your last day, are you ready to face your Maker?

-  You had better fully engage all your senses - from the visual to the spoken - and do so with energy, because you were assigned a Commission on Conversion. This Commission has to be executed with energy which exhibits your love for the Savior or else, step aside and let those who will, do!

All of this is tied up in this ONE Greek word (spoudázō) in 2 Peter 1:10!!!  So here is the task for this day. Please look over this verse again and what the word DILIGENT really means and see if the description of its meaning is reflected in your own lives.

Then read these three verses from Proverbs, where the word DILIGENT is the SAME Hebrew root word "Charuwts" and walk in that truth, on a steady, consistent and yes - DILIGENT basis! Amen:

The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. Proverbs 12:24

Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth. Proverbs 12:27

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:4

TOMORROW: NEGLIGENT

(image by google)

EMMAUS HEARTBURN by LYNN MOSHER

They want to leave it all behind; take the road out of it all. So, the two men depart from the hills of Jerusalem to get away from all the reminders of a heartrending crucifixion on the hill of Golgotha. Just as the road slopes down from Jerusalem, so their souls now slope down, reeling from dashed hopes of an empty tomb.


With the Sabbath now past, the two men somberly amble their way to the village of Emmaus, just a little more than seven miles away. 

One would think that the crisp, clear sky, the warm afternoon sun, and the aroma of spring buds in the air would revive their souls. Not so. 

LYNN MOSHER,
AUTHOR
WEBSITE

In their attempt to leave behind the pain and disappointment, they find they yet carry the heartache with them: the lashings of punishment strike at their emotions; the nails of hatred pierce their hearts; the thorns of a mocking crown penetrate their thoughts. 

Numb from it all, Cleopas and his friend stroll along the way discussing the dreadful events of the past few days and try to make sense of it all.

“Passover will never be the same. No Passover lamb can ever be eaten with the same savor; the herbs will be much more bitter; and the bread, oh, the bread of brokenness.”


A stranger comes from behind to join them and interrupts their conversation. “You seem to be in a deep discussion. What concerns you so?” 


They abruptly stop. A look of bewilderment blankets their faces. 


“Are you a stranger in Jerusalem? Do you not know the things that happened there these last three days?” asks Cleopas.


“What things? What has happened?”


They recall to the stranger all the anguish: the judgment, the whipping, and the crucifixion of an innocent man named Jesus. 


Cleopas says, “We thought He was the glorious Messiah come to rescue Israel.”


The other man says, “Some women from our group of His followers were at His tomb early this morning and rushed to tell us that His body was gone; the tomb was empty! And they also saw angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and, indeed, Jesus’ body was gone, just as the women said.”


“But we did not see Him,” sighs Cleopas. “We did not believe the report, so we left the city.”


“Do you not understand?” the man asks them. “Are you so slow to believe what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures? Didn’t they predict that the Messiah would have to suffer these things before He entered His time of glory?”


The stranger attempts to rekindle their embered hopes by quoting them the prophets, starting with the book of Genesis and going through the Scriptures, explaining what they meant.


Listening so intently to what the stranger says, the men do not realize they have reached the outskirts of the town. The man acts as if he is going on but they beg him to stay. 


“Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” 

Agreeing to go with them, he joins them as they head toward their lodging place. As they sit down at the table for their meal, the man takes the bread, blesses it and breaks it, giving a portion to each one. 


Suddenly, the veil of obscurity vanishes from their eyes and they recognize him! It is Jesus Himself! And at that moment, He disappears from their sight.


“It was Jesus! It was Jesus!” they both shout. 


So exhilarated, they begin to remind each other of their Emmaus walk, “Didn’t our hearts burn as He talked with us along the way and opened up the Scriptures for us?” Grasping it all, their hearts blaze again with the Emmaus heartburn.


And so it is with us as we travel the road of life and leave behind the pain not only of the past at the foot of the cross but also of the tomb emptied of hopes and dreams, for our hearts cannot stay at the site of death and resurrection. We must take that daily, life-road walk, and, as we do, we find Jesus walking with us in fellowship every step of the way. 


As we walk with Him, talk with Him, invite Him to be our guest, and spend time with Him, sharing the Bread of the Word, the true unveiling comes, and, we have a celebration of revelation.


May your heart be set ablaze with His presence, as with the Emmaus heartburn.

(IMAGE BY GOOGLE)

THANK YOU, MY WONDERFUL SISTER LYNN!