Walking With God

Focus verses: Genesis 5:24 and Genesis 6:9

Enoch and Noah had this in common. They are recorded as having "walked with God." What an epitaph! He walked with God.

But exactly what does that mean? How does one walk with God? Amos says: Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? Agreement simply means that both parties are of one mind as to the destination and the route.

If we want to walk with God, we must agree with God. He never changes. So we must change to fit His plans.

Our destination is eternity with Him. Our route has been laid out for us. Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Study of this Book, the Bible, will lead us to a closer walk with God. Making time to be in His presence alone will give us the strength to lean on Him in the trials of the world. As we grow in His grace and favor, He will lead us gently to our destination, no matter if the scenery around us is sometimes wild and terrifying.

Let us determine to carve out personal time for Him in our daily busy-nesses.

Father, God,

Strengthen our resolve to spend time with You alone. Grant us the favor of Your presence in the midst of the chaos of our lives. Reassure us that You have a plan, no matter what the scenery around us looks like.

In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Are We There Yet?

Focus verses: Genesis 11:27-13:18

Are we there yet? Every parent who has taken a driving trip with children knows this question. The answer is easier with a stated destination and a road map showing the landmarks along the way. Without that map and those landmarks, the answer is more nebulous.

Abram set out with his father, Terah, to go from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan. But they didn't go there. They stopped at Haran. Scripture doesn't tell us when they arrived at Haran, but Abram left his father there when he was seventy-five and Terah was a hundred and forty-five years old.

Terah had set out for Canaan, but stopped short. Abram set out for "the land I will show you" and arrived at Canaan. It seems a continuation of his father's journey. We can trace it on a map.

There are other journeys that are harder to trace. The journey of our life has different landmarks and a different path. For some, we begin at birth, travel through youth, make a stop at marriage and parenthood, progress on to old age and finally arrive at the beginning of eternity, otherwise known as death.

The beginning of eternity can occur at any point on this "typical" journey. But our destination is the Kingdom of God. The only map we have is in this book, the Bible. We can only gauge how far we have come and how far we have yet to go by examining ourselves in light of the Word of God.

We are told several times about the Kingdom of God. Studying these landmarks will help us stay on the right path for our destination. The question is not "are we there yet?" Are we closer than we were yesterday?

Father, God,

Shine the light of Your truth on our path. Keep us faithful to the journey, walking closely in the footsteps of Jesus. Help us to grow in grace and righteousness.

In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.