A walk With God

God is looking for not only a clinging bride but also a walking partner. From the very beginning, God had a relationship with Adam and Eve that found them "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8).

God created man for the enjoyment of a walking relationship that involved companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint decision-making, mutual delight, and shared dominion. God longs to walk with you, which is why his arms of grace have been pulling you into a closer walk with him.

Martin loves to go walking with his friend, Eric. They talk the whole time. Nonstop. The walk not only makes exercise fun, it also deepens their friendship. Jesus went on these kinds of walks with his disciples, and he still likes to walk with us this way today.

The secret place is not the destination; it is only the catalyst. It is designed of God to establish us in an intimate friendship with him that is walked out through the course of our everyday lives. The goal we're after is an everyday walk of unbroken communion with our Lord and friend.

Enoch was the first man in the Bible who walked with God:

After he begot Methuselah, 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 5:22–24).

Even though men began to call upon the name of the Lord in the early days (Genesis 4:26), Enoch was the first man to uncover the true delight of walking with God. He found something even Adam didn't experience.

He pressed into God until he learned how to commune with God through every facet of life. To find that dimension of relationship certainly required an intense spiritual pursuit, and then when he found it, the Lord made a graphic statement by taking him up to heaven.

By taking Enoch up to glory, God wasn't trying to get us impressed with Enoch's piety. Nor was God saying, "If you get to be as spiritual as Enoch, you'll get taken up to heaven, too." This was a unique experience God used to emphasize a specific point. God's point was, "I love to walk with man! Enoch was the first man to truly walk with me, so I decided to highlight his example by doing something extraordinary with him. I took him up to paradise to underscore how much I value and desire a daily walking relationship with my chosen ones." Enoch's example continues to witness to all generations of the great zeal God has to walk with man.

When the zeal of God captures you, it will ignite you with a great passion to walk with God and to be his friend. Imagine being Enoch and living 365 years—and having this growing relationship with God! One can only wonder what glorious depths of intimacy Enoch uncovered.

Perhaps Enoch's heart longed so deeply for more of God that God grew weary of withholding himself. Maybe God's heart was saying, "Enoch, you love me with such a pure and sweet passion, I don't want to say 'no' to you anymore. I'm going to answer your prayer and show you my face. Come on up!"

As you draw close to God, he will not likely take you up to heaven as he did Enoch. However, he does desire to reveal the beauty of his face to you. As we walk with him, he will open the Scriptures to us through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and reveal to us the light of the glory of God that is to be found in him.

When we walk with God, we enter the dimension where God unfolds the secrets of his kingdom. These are the paths that the ancients trod before us. Noah knew the secret of walking with God (Genesis 6:9), as did Abraham (Genesis 24:40). Through Christ, you can explore the glorious riches of knowing God like they did—and to even a greater degree because of the Spirit which has been given to us!

God wants to walk with us before he works through us. So he will wait to act until he finds the right man or woman through whom he can work. To put it bluntly, God works with his friends. When God has a friend, divine activity accelerates. When God has a useful vessel that has been prepared for noble purposes, he will use that vessel.

To illustrate, if you put a riding lawn mower in my garage, I promise you this—I will use it! Similarly, God will use the one who walks with him. But he's looking especially for three crucial qualities: humility, faithfulness, and loyalty.

He wants to work with friends who are loyal to him, no matter what. Even when circumstances would suggest God is unjust, his true friends continue to walk with him. So the Lord will test our fidelity. When we prove ourselves his friends through the greatest calamities of life, we qualify as useful vessels.

Jesus was the quintessential example of a man who walked with God, he walked so closely with God that he was always in the Spirit, even when shaking himself awake from a groggy sleep. When I first wake up, I'm sometimes grumpy or dopey. But when they awakened Jesus out of a deep sleep, he silenced the storm! What an amazing attainment, to be awakened out of a dead sleep and be instantly in the Spirit.

The secret place is where we develop a walking relationship with God. We must develop a secret history with God before he gives us a public history before people. Hidden in the secret place, we learn what he's looking for in friends, and we find out what pleases him. Our inner chamber with him becomes our training ground for a life that is rooted and grounded in love.

Jesus told us that he confides his kingdom purposes to his friends (John 15:15). Lord, I want to be your friend, your confidant, loyal to the death. I want to walk with you, talk with you, listen to you, hear your heart, and participate in your activities in this momentous hour. Teach me. Lord, to walk with you!

E.M.P

Revelation's End-Time Judgement

There are three facts about end-time judgment as revealed in the book of Revelation.

1.God’s final judgment reveals God’s justice and mercy

The final judgment says something about God’s love and the law. It speaks of His grace to save and His power to deliver. It reveals to a waiting world and a watching universe His provisions to save all humanity.

The judgment is part of God’s ultimate solution in the great controversy between good and evil in the universe. It answers the charges of Satan that God is unfair and unjust. When our names appear in the judgment before God, Jesus will as the entire universe, “Could I have done anything more to save this individual?”

Heaven’s infinite, exact, minute, detailed records will be opened, and it will be shown once and for all time that there was nothing more Jesus could have done to save us. The father and the son have done everything possible to save this fallen planet. If we are lost, it is because of our deliberate choices to reject the love that longs for us to be saved eternally.

The entire universe and the unfallen worlds will see the countless times that God sends His Holy Spirit to our hearts. They will see the numberless times Jesus drew us to Him. They will then clearly understand how He sent angels to beat back the forces of Satan from our lives.

They will also realize how He arranged the circumstances in our lives so that we could get to know Him and how He revealed His majesty in the natural world to impress us with His goodness. He took our place on the cross so we could share His throne in heaven.

2. God’s final judgment establishes Christ’s throne forever

Throughout history, God allowed sin to go on for only so long before His judgment fell. Although He has created us with a freedom of choice, He is sovereign. Our choices can never supersede His overall plan for this world. Sin and rebellion have their limits.

In the days just before the flood, God appealed to humans through Noah for 120 years. Every [person on earth had an opportunity to accept or reject Noah’s message of warning. Once all were given an opportunity to accept or reject heaven’s message, the judgment of God fell as the rains came.

-When was the last time you were confronted by something in the word of God?

-When was the last time that the word of God disturbed your security?

-When was the last time the Holy Spirit convicted you of some sin in your life so dramatically that you knew you had to make a change?

Babylon was a thrill-jaded, pleasure-centered society worshipping the idols of their own making and turned away from the true God. Its immorality and drunkenness dominated its culture. It worshipped the gods of its invention and exalted its so-called wisdom above God’s divine revelation.

God is merciful. He always sends a message of warning and repentance before His judgment falls. Before His final judgment, He sends the message of the everlasting gospel to the ends of the earth. Every person on the planet will have his or her final opportunity to accept the truths of His word and prepare for His soon return.

Our choices will determine our final destiny. God has done everything possible to save us. Soon the judgments of God will fall upon this earth, and the wicked forces of evil will be destroyed forever as Jesus Christ establishes an everlasting throne

3. God’s final judgment reveals the saving righteousness of Jesus and His triumph over Satan and the powers of hell

The description of judgment in Revelation 4 and 5 is wonderful. The apostle John writes: “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the … voice which I heard was … saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’” (Revelation 4:1). Jesu invites us to look through the open door into heaven's sanctuary to view eternal scenes in the great controversy between good and evil.

What sense captures the attention of the entire heavenly host? We see a throne set in heaven (verse 2). God sits upon His throne as the rightful ruler of the universe. The scene is one of the enthronement of Christ after His resurrection and ascension to heaven. The rainbow around the throne reveals God’s justice and mercy. His love and His law.

We need not fear. Jesus stands for us in the judgment, and the powers of hell are defeated. Through the ceaseless ages of eternity, we sing the praises and glory of Jesus. He redeemed us. He shed His blood for us. He sacrificed His life for us. He is our savior and redeemer. We need not fear judgment _it is good news.

A Journey Of Hope

It has been said that you can live weeks without food, days without water, seconds without air, but no time at all without hope. The human heart craves for a hope that transcends human limitations. It longs to know that God is in control and that ultimately He will fulfill His eternal plan for us.

Humans want to know there is a way out of the challenges, difficulties, and obstacles that we confront in life. We want to know whether there is something more and better than the pain, suffering, sorrow, and disappointments we experience in this world.

When there is hope, our hearts are gladdened and strengthened today, and we can face tomorrow. True hope is found only in God, a God of hope. From the depth of his being, David cried out, “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you” (Ps. 39:7).* Hope that is rooted in God is a hope that will never let us down. As Christians we can “rejoice in hope” (Rom. 5:2).

We need not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). We are “called in hope,” “saved in . . . hope,” and exhorted “to lay hold of . . . hope” (Eph. 4:4; Rom. 8:24; Heb. 6:18). The Bible is a book filled with promises of hope. It points us from what is to what will be. It lifts our eyes from the temporal to the eternal. It leads us from what is around us to what is above us.

Christians ought to be a people of hope. We believe that the loving God who created us cares for us. We believe that the Christ who came once to die was resurrected, and has ascended to God’s heavenly dwelling, where He is now ministering before the Father for us. We believe that the Christ who dwells in us will soon come to take us home to enjoy His loving presence forever.

We believe in “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), the hope of the soon return of Jesus. To us, this is no make-believe or illusionary dream. It is a reality. Jesus is coming—really, literally, audibly, visibly, dramatically in the skies, to end all evil and triumph gloriously.

Our hearts beat with eager anticipation. Soon worry, want, and war will be over. Soon suffering, sorrow, and sickness will be no more. Soon disease, disaster, and death will be vanquished. Soon pollution, pestilence, and pain will be defeated. Soon He will come.

Always, let your heart rejoice in hope. The word of God is saturated with the hope-filled promises. He loves you more than you can imagine. Rejoice in hope. He is concerned about your concerns. Rejoice in hope. He is coming again for you, so read on and rejoice in hope.

06/03/2021

E.M.P

PART 2: WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND?

Continuation…….

What’s in your hand? 

Give it God, and you will see miracles in your life.

II. What I Have Is Not Enough

Some think they don’t have enough TIME, ENERGY.  I could be faithful to church but that cuts into my time.  I could teach that class but I don’t have enough energy

Let’s look at a lady who learned to give all that was in her hand. Elijah, the man of God, had been dwelling by a brook and was being fed by ravens. Then the brook dried up and God told him to go to a city called Zeraphath and to find a widow woman who would feed him. Elijah found the widow woman and told her what God had said. But when she looked at what was in her hand, it didn’t seem to be enough.

1 Kings 17:12-13 (KJV) 1Kings 17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

1Kings 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  Elijah said, “Do that which God said." The widow obeyed God.

I Kings 17:16 says “And the barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruse fail, according to the word of the Lord."   What would have happened if she had hoarded that which was in her hand?  They would have starved.

What happened when they gave it to God?

He multiplied it over and over.

Christian, are you hoarding your time?  You are using it for yourself instead of giving it to God.  You can spiritually starve to death. Give what you have to God and let Him multiply it and you will be spiritually full and running over. The reason many think they are starving in a church is because they are keeping their time and energy for themselves.

III. That Which God Has Placed In My Hand May Make Others Laugh.

You desire to be used of God.  You desire to win victories for Christ.  You desire to fight a good fight. But what God has given you is just laughed at by the world. How can one person make a difference with what God has given you?

The Philistines were set to do battle with the Children of Israel... A Philistine giant challenged Israel day after day to send out a man to fight him. No one was willing to fight him except a Shepard boy named David.

1 Sam. 17:42 .And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 

43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. And when David when out to do battle, the giant laughed at him.

All David had was a sling shot in his hand.  But when the giant fell from a stone in his forehead no one was laughing any more and a great victory was won.

People may laugh at what God has given you. They may tell you it is impossible for you to do anything for God. But you remember David and say, people may laugh at what I have but God it’s yours. And He will use it to defeat some great giants.

IV. What God Has Placed in My Hand is OLD AGE and UNQUALITYFIED in an Unimportant Place.

Look at Moses: 80 years old working for his father-in-law, keeping sheep, on the back side of the desert, in a foreign country. Look at the EXCUSES • 1] Who Am I?! - Exodus 3:1-12

• [2] Who Should I Say Sent Me?! - Exodus 3:13-22

• [3] What If They Don’t Believe Me?! - Exodus 4:1-9

• [4] But I’m Not Eloquent! - Exodus 4:10-12

• [5] Lord, Send Someone Else! - Exodus 4:13-17

Exodus 4:2 (KJV) And the LORD said unto him: What is that in thine hand? And he said; A rod. We all know the Rod was something that he used every day controlling the sheep but when Moses gave it to God, it lead the Children of Israel to the Promise Land.

What do you have in your hand?

1. Does it seem insignificant? Tell that to Samson. God wants to use small things.

2. Does it seem not enough Time or energy to share? Tell that to the widow. Little is much when God is in it.

3. Does the world laugh at what God has given you? Tell that to David. Your sling shot will defeat giants.

4. Do you think age and former failures will stop you from being what God wants?

To Moses, an old rod became a Symbol of Authority of God. It’s not what’s in your hand, it’s what you let God do with it!

PART 1: WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND?

There are many Life Changing Questions that God asked. i. “Where are you?” ii. “Who said you were Naked?” iii. “Why are you laughing?” iv. “What is your name?”

Today the next Question is “What is in your hand?” Exodus 4:2 (KJV) And the LORD said unto him: What is that in thine hand? And he said, a rod.

Christians are unfruitful because they believe they are not qualified to do what God calls them to do! We look for something that will help us feel we can do the job God calls us to do....but that something is usually something we don’t now have. Satan’s fear is not our being a Christian, it is our getting involved in ministry as a Christian...for if we stay unproductive or sedentary, Christianity will quit spreading.

There is no doubt about God’s call on our lives...it is a call to be active in ministry...the question we struggle with is "how to do it". The Bible will teach us that we possess whatever is necessary to do what God calls us to do, we just need to let Him touch those areas of our life supernaturally to become effective for Him.

There was a young boy who was the son of a drifter. This boy worked as a store clerk for a while, but the store failed. He bought a partnership in another store, but it failed also. He ran for legislature and lost both times. He ran for vice-president and lost. He became the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

There was another boy who was called a "slow learner." A teacher recommended he be withdrawn from school because of his seeming inability. He tried to go to school in Switzerland, but failed the entrance exam. He was fired from three teaching jobs. At age 26 he won the Nobel Prize. He was Albert Einstein.

Success comes after failure not once but severally. Keep the dream Here were men who suffered serious setbacks in life, road blocks if you will, but they did the best they could do and to and become great in their fields. How much more important is it for a child of God to use the ability God has given them? God put us here to worship him.

Secondly, we were made for God’s family. He fashioned us to live in fellowship with others. Believers need the support and encouragement of others in the family of the church. We are shaped for God’s service. The Bible terms this purpose—ministry. Yet many times the very things God has given us to use for His glory, get laid aside, get hidden away because the devil sidetracks the people of God.

The devil knows he can’t take away that which God has given you. Your time, talents, and treasures are yours from God. But the devil desires to keep you from using them for Christ. If the devil can keep us from doing that which God has commanded us to do, through fear, discouragement, self-pity, or any other thing he has been successful,

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might....

I. What I Have is Insignificant to God

Let me tell you about a man who took something insignificant in his hand, and God made it miraculous. There was a man of God named Samson. God had set him apart and made him a judge over Israel. Samson had super-human strength which was given to him by God and God had given him many victories. Samson finds himself in real trouble. He has been bound and is going to be delivered into the hands of his enemies, the Philistines. As he was being delivered into their hands, God’s Spirit moved, and the ropes which bound him broke.

Judges 15:14-15 (KJV) Judges 15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. . Yet he was still surrounded by a great host of trained and armed fighting men.

If you and I had been there we would have said “Samson, give up. You don’t have a sword or a shield.’ But the Bible says Sampson grabbed a near by object and used to kill 1,000 fighting men. What did he grab? Was it a sword or a spear? No, it was the jawbone of a Donkey. You might say what Samson could possibly do with a jawbone. Samson couldn’t do anything with it, but it was all he had in his hand and he trusted God with it. And God took that insignificant object and wrought a great victory.

Judges 15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. What brought that victory? Was it the jawbone? No it was the man who held the jawbone who was willing to let God use what was in his hand. No matter how insignificant it seemed.

The devil is telling you that the thing which God has in your hand, time, talent, or treasure is insignificant. And it is insignificant if you try to use it in your own strength or hide it away. But take that which seems to be insignificant. That which seems to be nothing but a jawbone, and give it to God. And God will take that which He has placed in your hand to bring a great spiritual victory.

Don’t hold back our mouth from witnessing to others because we feel inadequate. Give it to God. Read our Bible even if our understanding seems limited compared to others. Give it to God. Pray even if we feel we don’t know how. Give it God.

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE FINAL JUDGEMENT: PART 1

 

PART 1: THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE FINAL JUDGEMENT

There are many brilliant people in this world: People with the ability to captivate audiences, and that has made them popular speakers of our day. One of these great speakers was asked what he regarded as the greatest thought that ever occupied his mind. He replied: “The sense of my individual responsibility to God”.

 

In elaborating his answer, he said: “This thought is not pleasant to those who are living in their sins and out of relationship to Him, and consequently are not prepared to face the tremendous issues involved. However, whether the issues are faced or not, the fact remains: “So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). So then, we are responsible to God, as the word of God declares, and … cannot escape our responsibility.

 

These words of the speaker lead us to consider our choices carefully. Our character is formed as we establish repeated habit patterns as a result of the consistent daily choices we make. Choices are the stuff that life is made of, and our choices will determine our eternal destiny. God has created us with free will, and we are responsible for the choices we make. The judgment implies moral responsibility. It speaks to the fact that we are not mere machines or products of biological chance. 

 

As Paul states: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he or she has done, whether good or bad”(2 Corinthian 5:10). But the judgment is more much-more much-than about us. It has to do with a universal struggle between good and evil. It focuses on a cosmic battle for the control of the universe. 

 

The judgment is primarily about God. Is God fair? Is He just? Is He loving and merciful? In the great controversy that is raging in the universe, Lucifer, a rebel angel, has declared that God is an authoritarian tyrant. This fallen angel has defamed the character of God. He has portrayed God as selfish, desiring obedience and giving little in return. The evil one has claimed that God’s laws restrict our happiness. He has charged God with the mismanagement of the universe. 

 

Do not misunderstand this!

There is no question that we are accountable to God. 

There is no question that we are responsible for our actions. 

There is no question that the decisions we make will determine our eternal destiny.

There is no question that we have free will and that the choices will determine our fate.

 

But in the larger picture, we need to understand the judgment that will powerfully impact our lives. The book of Revelation is all about the war that Satan has declared upon God. Revelation focuses on the end of the age-long controversy between good and evil. Satan claimed that God is unfair and unjust in the way He has administered the universe.

At the very center of this conflict over the character of God is Revelation’s final judgment. John states, “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach . . . to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and the springs of water’ ”

 

Notice especially in the light of the everlasting gospel there is the expression” The hour of His judgment has come.” This is the hour of the entire universe to see the goodness of our God. For the last time, the beings of the unfallen worlds will see, in the light of the judgment hour, that God has done everything He can to save every human being.

 

Check out part 2 as we reflect on Revelation’s end-time judgment. 

AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN LIVING : PART 2

                                             

                                   

                                                WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR?

Philippians 1:19-26

¹⁹ For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 

²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 ²²  But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[a]cannot tell

. ^23 [b]  for I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 

²⁴ Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

 ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,

 ²⁶ that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

 

What are you living for? Your answer to this question will determine the direction of your life. If your purpose is wrong, your direction will be wrong. If your purpose is vague, your direction will be vague. If you do not know your purpose, you will just be swept along by the currents of our age, doing what seems to bring you happiness. It is crucial that you be clear and correct in answering the question, “What are you living for?”

 

The apostle Paul was clear and focused on his purpose. I believe that the purpose for which he lived is the only purpose that takes the eternity into account, so that whether we live a long life or whether it is cut short, that purpose will be fulfilled. In short, Paul’s purpose is, “For to me, to live is Christ” (1:21).

 

The sentence in Philippians 1:21 is not only a statement of the apostle’s true experience, but also it is a standard of judgement which confronts us with the most thorough test of our Christian faith we will ever encounter. Every person who professes Christ as Savior must grapple with the question,” Can I honestly say, ‘For me, to live is Christ’?” The purpose of Paul’s statement means, every Christian should aim at being able to say truthfully, “For me, to live is Christ”.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “LIVE CHRIST”?

The concept of “being in Christ” was vital to Paul’s understanding of what it means to be a Christian. He addresses this letter “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (1:1). The instant a person truly believes in Jesus Christ as savior, he is joined organically in a living, real union with Christ the Head as a member of His body, the church.

 

To be “in Christ” means that all that is true of Christ is true of the believer. As Paul writes (Romans 6:10,11), “For the death that He died , He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives , He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The believer is in union with Christ.

 

While that is our true understanding before God, we must grow in our experience of the reality of that understanding, so that in our daily lives, we live in fellowship with Christ, communing with Him and depending on Him for everything. It means growing to know Christ intimately (Phil 3:10) as we continue to await for His second coming.

 

Nowhere else can we attain salvation except through Him and Him alone. Let us live each day as if it were our last day on earth always bettering our relationship with Christ.