And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am The Almighty God; walk before Me, and be perfect.
To walk before God is to be sincere with Him. To live a life of integrity and honor. Not lying to ourselves, nor anyone else, especially God. For God knows our hearts before we do. He can see what we're thinking, so He knows what motivates us to be who we are.
This life we live is ours to live, yes. But when Christ lives in our hearts, then this life we live is no longer ours to live however we want to live; this is a surrendered life. We give our hearts to Christ when we believe that He is, indeed, The Messiah, The Holy Only Begotten Son of God, Who died on the cross as punishment for our sins, our transgressions, our iniquities and walked out of the grave to give us new life in Him. The least we can do in this new life is surrender what we want in life for what God wants in our life.
Many rush into a saving faith but are unwilling to give anything more than lip service, for they choose to live in their comfortable sin, instead of living for Jesus the way God desires us to. Let us not be lip-syncers, just moving our lips, but not our hearts. Let us put God first in every day that He allows us to live. Wake up thankful.
When God makes His presence known to each one of us, He declares (introduces) Himself to us, regardless of our age and circumstances. Here in this verse we read that Abram was 99 years old; thirteen years after he had Ishmael -- the son given but not promised -- but just in time to have Isaac, the son of promise.
Sometimes when we receive a promise from God we become impatient when the promise doesn't arrive or appear when we think it should. We go about our lives, at times making unwise decisions that are in direct violation of God's Word and Promise. Until God comes to us, heart to heart, face to face, voice to ear.
I have been in the depths of despair in my life. There was a point when I was so sad and discouraged by the life I was trapped in that I had lost all hope for a better one. And Jesus made Himself known. In my kitchen in my home a little over 30 years ago. I was not alone. Jesus made Himself known and called me to Himself and I ran into His arms by faith. And I never left.
My faith in Christ Jesus is certainly stronger and more voiceful now than it was in the beginning of my faith, my walk before God. My physical voice may be dimming but my spiritual voice is calling out to all of you, "Come. Come to Jesus Christ and be saved by God's grace, healed by God's mercy, filled with God's Holy Spirit and walk with us."
Now is the time to turn your back on sin and make the decision to live a holy and uncorrupted lifestyle, seeking to please God and not ourselves. Let us put God first in our thoughts, our days, our lives: speaking His Word aloud in our hearing, hearing His Word from a Holy Spirit-filled man or woman who also lives their faith out loud. Let us turn to God and seek His face, His kingdom, His glory as never before. Let us walk together in our most holy faith and stand strong in these last days before His return to bring His bride, His church home.
LIVE OUT LOUD - Steven Curtis Chapman
