How Do We Walk with God?

How Do We Walk with God? by Anne Peterson "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." - Colossians 2:6-7 I still remember the day I accepted the Lord. I went from hoping I would one day go to heaven, to knowing I'd go to heaven. It stopped being about me and what I did and didn't do, and instead was about the Lord Jesus and all He did. I was immediately instructedto get into the Bible where I'd learn about God's character. Our Bible teacher, Lois, didn't give us a pair of rose-colored glasses and hand out platitudes when we struggled as baby Christians. I remember at times she would say, "Smile, it's gonna get worse." Was that a pessimistic view? No. She wanted us to know that there would be trials coming. And she was right about that, among other things. Those were wise words Lois taught us. Words I've never forgotten. But honestly, it doesn't mean I didn'tsometimes question God when going through difficult times, times that seemed impossible. Most people question God at one time or another. And yet, being in God's Word was the best place to be, to get prepared for the trials of life. Does the Bible have specific answers to what we will face? I can tell you this, the Bible teaches us all about God's character. And when we learn that, we knowthat we can face whatever is before us. For He is with us. Will it be easy? No. But we won't have to face it alone. When I was younger in the Lord, I thought the verse for today meant we received Christ by faith, so we just need to walk in Him like that, by faith. And while faith is the key that unlocked the door, the rest of the verse explains how we're to do that. ...rooted and built up in Him There's no way to be rooted up in Christ without going through trials. And as things we face become difficult, our roots go a little deeper. We learn to trust in God's ability, not our own. And sometimes, that's a hard lesson to learn. We may not be capable of handling the things before us, but our God can. He tells us to cast our burdens before Him (Psalm55:22). Often, we take on things that were not meant for us to carry. But nothing is too big for our Father's hands. When we trust in the Lord, He honors that trust, and we are built up. Not in ourselves, which would make us proud. But instead, we learn that God is the one who gives us strength and power when we merely have 5 stones and a slingshot.Like David, we can face our Goliaths, because God is with us. …strengthened in the faith We can't get strengthened in faith without learning how to flex our faith muscles. Just like the strength of a ship is not known without going through a storm. When we go through hard times, we experience that God is always bigger than what we face. He is,after all, God. …overflowing with thankfulness I don't know about you, but I have a hard time with this part of the verse. It sounds a lot like the verse that tells us to give thanks in all circumstances (1Thessalonians 5: 16-18). Does it mean when you've lost a loved one you are to thank God? I believe we need to thank God for who He is, even when we don't understand what is happening. God understands, and that's enough. Even when I've stood before thegraves of those I've lost, which I've done many times, I knew I was not alone. God promised me that in His Word. And God always keeps His promises. Intersecting Faith & Life: One thing that's helpful in growing our faith muscles is to look back on times that were difficult and remind ourselves how God brought us through those times. David was good at doing that. The enemy of our souls tries to convince us that this time is differentand that God is tired of helping us. The Bible tells us that God is immutable, He doesn't change. And he never grows tired or weary (Isaiah40:28). How do we walk with God? One step at a time. We learn to walk in His steps. And when we're unsure of our next step, we can be thankful God already knows. Lord, help me to trust you when I'm not sure what to do next. Thank you that you are never unsure. Thank you for Your Word, which can light my path when things seem so dark. ------------------------- ActionVerbs “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign uponyour hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write themupon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.” (Deuteronomy11:18-20) This passage is similar to others (e.g., Deuteronomy 6:6-9) throughout Moses’ writings and concerns the preserving and propagating of the news of God’s miraculous protection of the people of Israel and the marvelous legal code He had revealed to them. We can understand better the care by whichthis preservation was to take place by noting the action verbs used in this passage. First, the people were to “lay up” or impress the information in their hearts and souls. Every fiber of their being was to be aware of and in submission to the law. This personal commitment was to be aided by physical reminders “bound” on each person’s handsand clothing, in plain sight, so that it could not be ignored or forgotten. Next, the personal saturation was to move from the family leaders into the family, particularly the children. Parents were to “teach” the law, “speaking” of it at every opportunity, whether sitting, walking, lying down, or rising up. In this way, the personalwould become corporate. Finally, it was to become public, for each was instructed to “write” portions of the law where all could see and know of the personal commitment within. Before God will give us a public ministry, there must be an inner submission to and love for the things of God. This should be obvious to everyone around us. Then God can use us at home and elsewhere to His glory. JDM ----------------------- Understanding the Bible 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 “I just don’t understand the Bible.” That’s a comment I hear quite often, even from believers. We can understand why those without Christ are unable to comprehend biblical concepts, but why do those who know Him struggle? Some people think that a seminaryeducation is the answer, but I have met several trained pastors and teachers who didn’t really understand the Word of God. They knew facts, but they had no excitement for the Scriptures or for the Lord. The key is not education but obedience. As we act on what we read, the Holy Book “comes alive,” and we begin to hear and understand the voice of God. However, if we have not obeyed what He’s previously revealed to us, why would He give us His deeper truths? “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14), and those who fear Him are the ones who obey His commandments and arepromised “a good understanding” (Ps. 111:10). Living a fleshly lifestyle of disobedience to the Lord clouds our eyes, diminishes our ability to hear, and fogs our thinking. Although we have full access to the mind of Christ, our attachment to our own sinful ways keeps us from tapping into the rich treasuresof wisdom that are found in His Word. As you read the Scriptures each day, look for God’s instructions. Then with reliance upon the Holy Spirit, commit to do what He tells you. When you obey His voice, He’ll reveal deeper truths, and your understanding will grow. Soon your time in the Word will become a delight instead of a duty. ---------------------- TheTrinity in Salvation “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot toGod, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews9:14) There are a number of significant references to the work of all three Persons of the Trinity in the great work of salvation. Note the implicit reference to the Trinity in our text: “The blood of Christ...through the eternal Spirit offered...to God.” There isalso a beautiful Trinitarian implication in Ephesians 2:18: “For through [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” The promise of Christ to send the Holy Spirit is a high point of the gospel of John. “I will pray the Father,” said the Lord Jesus, “and he shall give you another Comforter” (Greek parakletos, meaning “one called alongside”), “that he may abide with you for ever” (John14:16). “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things” (John14:26). “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John15:26). It seems very clear from such Scriptures that all three—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—are each distinct persons. Yet that the three together are one God is also clear from the fact that they are identified by name as One. Converts are to be baptized “in the name[note the singular—one name] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew28:19). Note also the benediction formula. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (2Corinthians 13:14). What we cannot fully understand in our minds of this wonderful triune Godhead, we can understand and believe with our hearts. HMM ---------------------- ThePower in Us “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the powerthat worketh in us.” (Ephesians3:20) This amazing assurance of God’s unlimited ability to answer our prayers is related to a unique “power [Greek dunamis] that worketh in us.” Paul had used the same word twice before in this same epistle, speaking of “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe” and “the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power” (Ephesians1:19; 3:7). “Effectual working” in the original is one word, energeia, from which we get our word “energy.” Such power working in us is actually nothing less than the presence of God Himself. Its very first occurrence is in the model prayer. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” (Matthew6:13). It is this “power of God unto salvation” that is received when we first believe on Christ through the gospel (Romans1:16). It has been so ever since the fulfillment of Christ’s promise when He told His disciples that “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts1:8). This remarkable power of God is thus imparted to us and energized in us by the Holy Spirit. Because of this, we can be filled “with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans15:13). He thereby provides impregnable security for time and eternity, for we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1Peter 1:5). With such a resource of unlimited spiritual power working in us, God is able indeed to accomplish far more than we can ever imagine, as He works in and through those yielded to His will. HMM ------------------ A Stubborn Intolerance for Joyless Christianity by Alex Crain "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice inthe LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." - Habakkuk3:17 Should one's relationship with the infinite and personal living God be joyless? Francis Schaeffer didn't think so. Yet there he was, a joyless man. Technically, he was theologically sound, but there was no denying that he had become a completely joylessChristian man. If that had continued, no one would be speaking of Schaeffer or his writings, or his legacy today. Thankfully, he was stubbornly intolerant of joyless Christianity. In True Spirituality, Schaeffer tells how the spiritual reality, which would become the hallmark of his life, came about only after a time of great personal crisis. It was 1952. Schaeffer had become a Christian from agnosticism years before. Afterthat, he had been a pastor for ten years in the U.S. and was now a missionary in Switzerland living with his wife and young children. Over a period lasting several months, Francis worked through the disturbing gap that he saw between the large amount of Bibledata he claimed to believe and the lack of genuine spiritual joy in his life. --------------------- Christthe Foundation “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Corinthians 3:11) The only sure and lasting foundation for either a Christian institution or an individual Christian life is the Lord Jesus Christ. No other foundation will endure in that coming day when “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (v. 13). It is vital, therefore, to build on the foundation that Christ Himself has laid. This is laid in three courses, each of which is essential for its permanence. First of all, we must acknowledge with the apostle that “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid thefoundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews1:10). He is the Creator of all things, and therefore Lord over all. Second, we must acknowledge with Peter that we have been “redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ...who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1Peter 1:18-20). His foreordained work of redemption thus was foundational even to the foundation of the world! Then there is the Word of God, which is foundational to everything beyond creation and redemption. “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them....He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke6:47-48). The Lord Jesus Christ is the true foundation, for He has Himself laid every sure foundation. He created all things, His shed blood is the price to redeem all things, and His written Word, by His Holy Spirit, reveals all things needed to build a beautiful, fruitfulChristian life or ministry. No other foundation will last, and “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm11:3). HMM -------------------------------- A Stubborn Intolerance for Joyless Christianity by Alex Crain "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice inthe LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." - Habakkuk3:17 Should one's relationship with the infinite and personal living God be joyless? Francis Schaeffer didn't think so. Yet there he was, a joyless man. Technically, he was theologically sound, but there was no denying that he had become a completely joylessChristian man. If that had continued, no one would be speaking of Schaeffer or his writings, or his legacy today. Thankfully, he was stubbornly intolerant of joyless Christianity. In True Spirituality, Schaeffer tells how the spiritual reality, which would become the hallmark of his life, came about only after a time of great personal crisis. It was 1952. Schaeffer had become a Christian from agnosticism years before. Afterthat, he had been a pastor for ten years in the U.S. and was now a missionary in Switzerland living with his wife and young children. Over a period lasting several months, Francis worked through the disturbing gap that he saw between the large amount of Bibledata he claimed to believe and the lack of genuine spiritual joy in his life. -------------- AndForty Nights “And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis7:12) There are nine 40-day periods in Scripture, but on only five of these the notation “and forty nights” is added. On the other four occasions (the spies in Canaan, Goliath’s challenges, Jonah in Nineveh, and the post-resurrection ministry of Christ), we can assumethat the activity ceased at night. But on these five it continued unabated. The first of these was the great Flood. The most intense rains ever experienced on the earth poured torrentially, night and day. One can visualize the stress-filled nights for Noah’s family, with the cries of the dying outside, and no light of the sun or moonto pierce the outer darkness. But, of course, they were all safe in God’s specially designed Ark. Many years later, Moses twice spent 40 days and 40 nights in the presence of God on Mount Sinai, receiving the divinely inscribed tablets, with the Ten Commandments and all the laws of God. The mountain was intermittently quaking and breathing fire and smokewhile he was there, and the nights were surely more awesome even than the days, but God was there! Elijah spent 40 days and 40 nights traveling back from Beersheba to Sinai, even though this relatively short journey would not normally require 40 days. Evidently Elijah experienced great hardships and obstacles along the way and many sleepless nights, butGod met him again at Sinai, and it was worth it all. Finally, the Lord Jesus (God Himself!) was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil...forty days and forty nights” (Matthew4:1-2). In weakened human flesh, without food or rest, this was a greater trial than any of the rest, but He was triumphant, and then the “angels came and ministered unto him” (Matthew4:11). HMM ---------------- TheGodhead “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians2:9) The term “Godhead” occurs three times in the King James translation. Each time it translates a slightly different Greek noun, all being slight modifications of the Greek word for “God” (theos, from which we derive such English words as theology). Itessentially means the nature, or “structure,” of God, as He has revealed Himself in His Word. The first occurrence is in Acts 17:29: “We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” Men have been guilty throughout the ages of trying to “model” the Godhead, but this leads quickly to idolatry,whether that model is a graven image of wood or stone or a philosophical construct of the human mind. What man cannot do, however, God has done, in the very structure of His creation. “The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead” (Romans1:20). His tri-universe (space, matter, and time, with each component unique in definition and function, yet permeating and comprising the whole) perfectly “models” His triune nature (Father, Son, Holy Spirit—each distinct, yet each the whole). This analogy can be carried much further, for this remarkable triunity pervades all reality. The tri-universe is not God (that would be pantheism), but it does clearly reflect and reveal the triune nature of His Godhead. The last occurrence of the word is in our text. Although we cannot see the Godhead in its fullness, that fullness does dwell eternally in the Lord Jesus Christ. All that God is, is manifest in Him. “And ye are complete in him” (Colossians2:10). HMM ------------------ ForwardMomentum - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. �Philippians 3:12 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/forward-momentum/- Listen The moment you become a Christian you enter a race. The apostle Paul wrote about it in Philippians 3: �Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which ChristJesus has also laid hold of me� (Philippians 3:12 NKJV). We see from this verse that to win in this race of life, we must be dissatisfied with where we presently are. If we�re spiritually mature, we�ll have this mindset. A modernversion of Paul�s statement puts it this way: �I�m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me� (Philippians 3:12 MSG). We need to be ready to gain ground, not lose ground. But to do that, we need to get rid of extra weight and things that would hinder us in this race. A few verses earlier Paul wrote, �But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of theknowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ� (verses 7�8 NKJV). In the original language the word for �rubbish� that Paul used here actually describes excrement. Paul was saying, �Whatever I accomplished before I was a believer is rubbish.It�s garbage. It�s excrement compared to what Christ has done for me.� We must look at things we do, as well as relationships we have and then ask ourselves these questions: Is it a wing or a weight? Does it speed me in the race of life, or doesit slow me down? -----------------