Walk and Talk with the Lord #7

 

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3)

This was obviously not a typical walk and talk with the Lord, but sometimes God really needs to get our attention. Like Moses, God may have called you to something special, but you ran away - far away - to where you think God cannot see, or you cannot hear, what He has to say. But He interrupts your day; He has something to say that you need to hear. It's life-changing.  More than any other personality in the Old Testament, we find a lot of times Moses walked and talked with God. Some were very dramatic, like this. Others were very frustrating, hard, and even humiliating. But all were necessary conversations. Stop trying to run and hide, not listening, not talking with God. Take a walk with Him and really listen - especially if you think life has become a meaningless, purposeless rut. That is about to change.

Walk and Talk with the Lord #6

Genesis 28: 

15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
    the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
    and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
    and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 

This is the blessing Jacob, grandson of Abraham, gave to his son and his sons, as he prepared to pass into eternity.  He realized that his father and grandfather had walked and talked with God, which had brought blessing into his own life.  He had been led and provided for by the Great Shepherd.  He had the privilege of witnessing the fact that his son, Joseph, had walked and talked with God, and found his place in God's plan, ending up second in command to Pharaoh, to make a big difference in the survival of his people and many others also. He now hopes and prays that this line of walking and talking with God will continue into the next generation and beyond.  We need to walk and talk with God not just for ourselves - though that is extremely important. We need to walk and talk with God for the sake of those around us - family, friends, and even strangers, who God wants to bless through us.  We cannot do it without Him, our great Shepherd, Redeemer, and LORD.  Walk and talk with Him today; hear His voice; heed what He says.

Walk and Talk with the Lord #5

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.(Genesis 12)

Abram, later renamed Abraham by the Lord, is a great study when it comes to walking and talking with the Lord.  When we are told here that the Lord said to Abram, we do not get the sense that all of a sudden out of nowhere God spoke; there was this ongoing relationship there of Abram walking and talking with God. But during this discussion, God says: "Get up and go." Abram obeys, and later finds himself at a crossroads in life. He allows Lot to take the pick of the land, then he listens as the Lord speaks again in Genesis 13:14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord. God speaks again and says arise and walk, to which Abram responds again and moves. There is this flow of life in walking and talking with God where sometimes we are walking and looking, but seem to be going nowhere, while others there is definite motion.  Listen to our next passage: Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” All of this walking and talking, 24 years later, the Lord says walk before me. That does not mean run ahead of God, but walk, knowing that God is watching you and watching over you.  This phrase comes to describe Abram and other men of faith: They walked before God. Walking before God - this life lived under His direction and care - is a direct result of walking and talking with God consistently, over time, day after day, year after year. If you haven't started it yet, there's no better time to begin. He's waiting to walk and talk. 

Walk and Talk with the Lord #4

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died. (Genesis 5)

When we read numbers like the above, it is almost beyond our comprehension. Some of us are glad just to be walking in our sixties, let alone three hundred or 900. But the effects of the Fall had not yet affected the lifespan of man or its toll on the earth.  What is most important here is this long walk with God. Not that it's the only reason, but notice Enoch walked with God after having a son - kids are motivation enough. But there are so many reasons in life to walk and talk with God: relationships, career, understanding the effects of sin in the world around us, even understanding ourselves and how twisted our thinking can be. God is in this for the long haul; so should we.  You'll never be too old to stop walking and talking with God - in your twenties, forties, sixties, eighties, or beyond. And when you get to that point that Enoch did, and God' takes you, guess what you're going to want to do? Walk and talk with God. So if you haven't done so already, start taking a stroll today. Just talk, and listen.  Get the conversation going.

Walk and Talk with the Lord #3

 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. (Genesis 6)

We saw yesterday how to spoil our walk and talk with God. But God continues to desire these conversations where we talk with Him about His plans, and our plans for life.  Noah obviously observed all the violence and corruption around him, and was burdened about it. But what to do? God had a plan, and since Noah was in the habit of walking and talking with God, the Lord talked with Him about it. God's plan became Noah's plan.  Often I hear people say: "I just wish God would tell me what He wants me to do!" We know deep down God made us for a reason.  But we don't give God opportunity to tells us; we haven't learned to listen by walking and talking with Him, no matter what is going on around us. If we will only do that - make walking and talking with Him a priority, we will be amazed at the plans He has, and the vision He will share, and the details He will give.  Then, may we like Noah, do all that God commands. 

Walk and Talk with the Lord #2

It has often been said that "Golf is a good walk spoiled." I don't agree with that, but in Genesis 3 we find the best walk was spoiled. We begin with the same verse as yesterday:

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 

Sin made all the difference in the way Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. Instead of anticipating their time together, they hid in shame. Instead of talking openly and truthfully, they made excuses. Instead of bringing them closer together, they argued with Him and one another.  The fall was a great walk spoiled.  The good news is that in Christ we can walk and talk with the Lord in a meaningful way. God still wants us to anticipate the conversation, and to always be willing and ready to walk and talk with Him. We just need to not talk back to God they way Adam and Eve did. We need to be willing to admit our sin. God was greatly grieved by their decision to disobey, but He was also frustrated by their refusal to admit it.  We often tell our children that when they disobey, and then try to hide it: We want not only obedience, but honesty.  If you find it hard to enter into God's presence for a conversation, begin this way: "I'm sorry, Lord. I messed up." That will set the tone for a much more meaningful conversation, and you will sense a far deeper discussion than you have had in a long time. Turn the great walk spoiled into a refreshing walk and talk with God. 

Walk and Talk with the Lord #1

 

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, (Genesis 3:8)

I know I am pulling this verse out of context, but in a way it sets the context for what the passage is all about. We are presented here with a picture of something established by God earlier back in chapter 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” God had created man and put him in the garden He had created for him, and God talked with him. God then made Eve, put her in the garden with Adam, and made it a habit of talking with them.  As hard as it is for us, try to imagine having a relaxing stroll with God, talking about the day.  Then you live the next day anticipating the next conversation, rehearsing what you will say when you talk again.  God is on your mind. And you know you are on His mind.  This month we're going to walk and talk about walking and talking with God.  Let's start today talking with Him, then going through our day thinking about what we will say to Him (which in fact, we don't need to wait to do; we can do it right now, at this moment), and let us live life with Him on our minds, knowing we are on His mind.