Let’s walk together

Though I am not much for physical exercise, I have good memories of evening walks with my wife. After dinner, she would insist that I put on my walking shoes. As we meandered through our neighborhood, often holding hands, we talked about the day, our children, our church.  We wondered about the future. (Oh, how thankful I am we had no idea of the sorrows to come!) We encouraged each other. Mostly, we were simply together.

In my Genesis reading I came on that enigmatic little paragraph about a man who ‘walked with God.’ That is just about all we know about Enoch. "And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." (Genesis 5:22-24, NIV)  His close relationship with the LORD is all we know about him and yet it was enough to earn him an entry into the Hall of Faith. "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5, NIV)

The most basic requirement for walking with God is agreement!  

"Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?" (Amos 3:3, NLT)  If we contend with the Lord, resisting His direction, we cannot enjoy the fellowship that comes when we walk with Him.  Jonah received the call of God to go to preach in Nineveh. He refused to walk with God and ran the other direction, to a ship sailing west, and straight into the discipline of God.

Paul teaches us this truth about the life of the Spirit to which we are invited. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)  From Him we find direction and pace, both important if we want to know intimacy with the Father. We must go where He leads and in His time. Sometimes He says, “Move!” Sometimes He says, “Wait!”  Will we be like those toddlers we see in the supermarket, tugging at their mother’s arm, crying to go the other direction, or trying to run off?  Or, will we be mature, walking hand in hand, so to speak, with the Lord?

Walking with God allows us to begin to know Him better as we share life.

If we, figuratively speaking, leave Him at the exit of the church building on Sunday morning, only to acknowledge Him consciously the following Sunday as we enter, there will be no life-changing relationship. Being led by the Spirit requires time with Him: to listen, to pray, to learn, to love. Will you walk with Him into each day, taking some time as the day begins to pray? Will you close the day with Him, thanking Him, presenting the petitions of your heart to Him?

The mystery of Enoch is wrapped up in that phrase that says, ‘he was no more.’

More than a natural death is indicated, as we learn explicitly in Hebrews.  Somehow, one day when Enoch was walking with God, he walked right through the barrier between time and eternity, this world and Heaven. As I think about that, I am intrigued. Did he just suddenly disappear? Was he ‘caught up’ like Elijah on a chariot from the skies?  Did he suddenly ascend to the heavens like Jesus when He returned to His Father?  The answer will have to wait until I am in the Eternal Presence of God.  But, I know that those who walk with God, though they physically die, do pass from death to life, into the home prepared by the Savior.

Here is a word from the Word. "For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:16, NLT)

Let’s walk with Him, all the days of our lives, straight into the Presence for eternity.

___________

King Of My Heart
(let Him love you as you listen and worship)

Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh He is my song

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

Let the King of my heart

Be the wind inside my sails

The anchor in the waves

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the fire inside my veins

The echo of my days

Oh He is my song

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

John Mark McMillan | Sarah McMillan

© Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Let’s walk together

Though I am not much for physical exercise, I have good memories of evening walks with my wife. After dinner, she would insist that I put on my walking shoes. As we meandered through our neighborhood, often holding hands, we talked about the day, our children, our church.  We wondered about the future. (Oh, how thankful I am we had no idea of the sorrows to come!) We encouraged each other. Mostly, we were simply together.

In my Genesis reading I came on that enigmatic little paragraph about a man who ‘walked with God.’ That is just about all we know about Enoch. "And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." (Genesis 5:22-24, NIV)  His close relationship with the LORD is all we know about him and yet it was enough to earn him an entry into the Hall of Faith. "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5, NIV)

The most basic requirement for walking with God is agreement!  

"Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?" (Amos 3:3, NLT)  If we contend with the Lord, resisting His direction, we cannot enjoy the fellowship that comes when we walk with Him.  Jonah received the call of God to go to preach in Nineveh. He refused to walk with God and ran the other direction, to a ship sailing west, and straight into the discipline of God.

Paul teaches us this truth about the life of the Spirit to which we are invited. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)  From Him we find direction and pace, both important if we want to know intimacy with the Father. We must go where He leads and in His time. Sometimes He says, “Move!” Sometimes He says, “Wait!”  Will we be like those toddlers we see in the supermarket, tugging at their mother’s arm, crying to go the other direction, or trying to run off?  Or, will we be mature, walking hand in hand, so to speak, with the Lord?

Walking with God allows us to begin to know Him better as we share life.

If we, figuratively speaking, leave Him at the exit of the church building on Sunday morning, only to acknowledge Him consciously the following Sunday as we enter, there will be no life-changing relationship. Being led by the Spirit requires time with Him: to listen, to pray, to learn, to love. Will you walk with Him into each day, taking some time as the day begins to pray? Will you close the day with Him, thanking Him, presenting the petitions of your heart to Him?

The mystery of Enoch is wrapped up in that phrase that says, ‘he was no more.’

More than a natural death is indicated, as we learn explicitly in Hebrews.  Somehow, one day when Enoch was walking with God, he walked right through the barrier between time and eternity, this world and Heaven. As I think about that, I am intrigued. Did he just suddenly disappear? Was he ‘caught up’ like Elijah on a chariot from the skies?  Did he suddenly ascend to the heavens like Jesus when He returned to His Father?  The answer will have to wait until I am in the Eternal Presence of God.  But, I know that those who walk with God, though they physically die, do pass from death to life, into the home prepared by the Savior.

Here is a word from the Word. "For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:16, NLT)

Let’s walk with Him, all the days of our lives, straight into the Presence for eternity.

___________

King Of My Heart
(let Him love you as you listen and worship)

Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh He is my song

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

Let the King of my heart

Be the wind inside my sails

The anchor in the waves

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the fire inside my veins

The echo of my days

Oh He is my song

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

John Mark McMillan | Sarah McMillan

© Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055