Quiet Time: A Walk With God

A Walk With God
 
Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. – Genesis 5:24
 
Imagine being so close to God that instead of everyone seeing you grow old and die, God just showed up one day and took you home to be with him. That’s exactly what happened to Enoch.

As a boy, I would read this passage in awe of Enoch. It seems that by sheer faith Enoch skipped the process of dying all together. We also understand that Enoch was known by those around him as a man with whom God found pleasure. That’s how we know that Enoch had great faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God.

A reasonable question then is, “In what exactly did Enoch believe?”

Enoch believed that anyone who wants to get close to God must believe not only that He exists but also that God actually desires to get involved in the lives of those who are looking for Him (Hebrews 11:5-6).  

I think that Enoch was a man who saw God intimately involved in every aspect of His life. So much so, that he walked with Him from earth right into eternity.

That’s how I want to know God, don’t you? Intimately.

Quiet Time: Cliff Hanger (Grab my arm!)

Cliff Hanger (Grab my arm!)

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:12

Have you ever watched a movie where the hero yells down to someone he’s trying to save from falling? Invariably he screams, “Trust me; grab my hand!” That’s the picture I get in my mind when I read this passage of scripture.

I see Jesus screaming, “TRUST ME! GRAB MY HAND!” while grasping the sleeve of a falling man or woman who is slowly slipping out of their coat toward a bottomless pit. Now I know, theologically this isn’t exactly perfect, but stay with me for a minute.

Paul says:
“I press on” I keep moving forward, I don’t stop.
“I… take hold of” I grab, I lock arms.
“I was laid hold of” I was grabbed first.

See the picture? Christ reaches for us before we reach for Him. But, it’s in the reaching out for Him that we realize just how deep the ravine really is. And, like a drowning man we then frantically grope for Him to pull us up; to “save” us.

So, let me break it down “spiritually”.
1. God helps us see our sinfulness and then we agree with Him that we are indeed sinful (the ravine is deep and we are falling)
2. God reaches out and grabs our attention by offering salvation through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. He says, “Trust me; I can save you.”
3. At that moment we have a decision to make. Fall or Climb
4. Once we accept His rescue our job is to keep clinging to and climbing up His arm. Not because He may let go of us, but because the struggle gets us closer to His face-His presence-His peace (2 Corinthians 3:17) until we’re safely home.

So, that’s the perspective from someone who is falling, but what about the Christian who’s already walking with Jesus; how does this scripture encourage him?

To be continued…

Song Series: The Greatness of Our God

The Greatness of Our God

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:6-8

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

 - 2 Corinthians 4:7

A month to live. What would you do?

Keith is the worship arts pastor at Woodland Baptist in Bradenton. I don’t really know him, his name popped up in my e-mail this morning as someone who needs our prayers. Now, I’m not trying to bum you out, because neither Keith, his wife, nor his kids seemed crushed by this recent news. To the contrary, Keith is fully engaged in the life of his family, as well as, his church. However, what really caught my attention was the line in his recent update that reads, “Keith has been busy planning his funeral.” Planning his funeral, are you kidding me? Keith’s wife finishes the paragraph by writing, “I have to tell you that God's peace has surrounded us every step of the way. Week before last especially I felt closer to God than I have in my entire life.”

I think that we Christians sometimes take our walk with Christ and the accompanying peace for granted. Perhaps we’ve been saved so long that the presence of Christ has become mundane and blasé; nothing more than just another part of our personality. Then, one day, we are confronted with life’s frailty and we remember that God is real and is above it all giving us grace to see beyond the moment here. 

I’m sorry for Brother Keith’s battle with cancer. I hate what disease does to us physically, but I’m so glad for what it brings out in us spiritually. Sure, I’m praying for a miracle, but it seems a miracle has already occurred. Keith is getting ready to go home; his real home. Neither life nor death has power over him because he is walking in the presence of His Lord.

Keith’s wife asks that we agree with her in prayer. She says, “We are praying for God's grace and mercy. We are praying that Keith's mind will stay clear until the end.” Amen, Lord Jesus, make it so.

The Greatness Of Our God
Authors: Jason Ingram
Reuben Morgan
Stuart David Garrard

Verse 1
Give me eyes to see more of who You are
May what I behold still my anxious heart
Take what I have known and break it all apart
You my God are greater still

Chorus 1
And no sky contains
No doubt restrains all You are
The greatness of our God
I spend my life to know
And I'm far from close to all You are
The greatness of our God

Verse 2
Give me grace to see beyond this moment here
To believe that there is nothing left to fear
And that You alone are high above it all
You my God are greater still

Bridge
And there is nothing that could ever separate us
There is nothing that could ever separate us
From Your love
No life no death of this I am convinced
That You my God are greater still

LINK TO KIETH'S UPDATES: http://www.gowoodland.com/keith