Walking Before God

 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 

I Am Christian's Feet

 

MATTHEW 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your way, take up your cross, and follow Me."

    Just as Jesus called His disciples then, He calls each of us who want to follow Him even now. 

    Calling the disciples:

Matthew 4:16-22; Mark 2:13,14; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 5:1-11; Luke 5:27,28; Luke 6:12-16; John 1:35-51.

    Calling all people:

Mark 8:34 

And when He had called the people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 

 Romans 10:13

For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved. 

    I am Christian's feet and I am a "whosoever". 

    I am Christian's feet and I am beautiful. 

Romans 10:15 

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Isaiah 52:7).  

Nahum 1:15 says to "look to the mountains for the one bringing good news". Therefore my feet have been made sturdy to walk upon these mountains. - - 

Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:19. 

My path is broadened that I might not stumble -- Psalm 18:36. 

    I am Christian's feet and I walk in The Word {Exodus 15:26}. I walk by faith {2 Corinthians 5:7}. I walk in The Spirit {Galatians 5:16}. I walk in The Light {John 12:35}. I walk with wise companions, not foolish people {Proverbs 2:20}. I walk The Way of Holiness {Isaiah 35:8}. I walk the path of life {Proverbs 15:24}. 

    I am Christian's feet and I follow Jesus Christ...wherever He leads me. For I have taken up my cross and I would rather live and die with Him than without Him. 

Matthew 16:25, 26

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. 

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 Peter 2:21

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps.

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS - Lydia Walker

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER 

WELCOME HOLY SPIRIT - Hilde M. Bedsvaag 

WALK WITH YOU - Michael Bethany 

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Commit

 

    Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

    Most of us think we know what 'commit' means. But what is God's definition of commit? 

    To make a commitment to another person is to be faithful in that relationship, whether we are friends, spouses, colleagues or coworkers. 

    To make a commitment to an employer is to make a promise to abide by company rules and regulations; to be on time and do the work for which one is hired according to the pay one is promised. 

    To make a commitment to one's country is to pledge one's self to obeying the laws of the land as long as these laws are not contrary to God's laws. 

COMMITMENT GOD's WAY

    What does it mean here when it says we are to Commit our ways to the Lord? God wants us to trust Him. And talk with Him.

>1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our anxiety on Him, which lines up with Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus tells His disciples to not worry about the necessities of life, but seek the kingdom of God and all His righteousness. 

>Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken."

>Psalm 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah.''

    God wants to meet us in prayer. Committing our way to The LORD means living our lives according to His Word and His Way. When we become born again believers, we stop being the person we were before we got saved and begin to live the life of a new creation, for we are a new person in Christ. 

    When we repent (confess our sins and turn away from them, stop doing those sins), God promises, makes a commitment to, forgive the repentant sinner. Our sins are washed away by the blood of God's Lamb, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We are clean and fresh and new. 

    Making a commitment to God is making a promise to God that we will be faithful in obeying His Word, faithful in seeking Him out, faithful in trusting Him to care for us in everything; faithful in doing the work He entrusts us to do. 

    I, like the faithful servants in the parable, also seek to hear those beautiful words from my Lord and Master, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." (Luke 19:17, 19) I do not wish to hear what He told the unfaithful servant (Luke 19:22-27). 

    Hear the Word of The Lord. Today is your day to surrender your hearts and your lives to Christ. Tomorrow is not promised. And our days are shortened and getting shorter. This, too, is promised. (Matthew 24:22)

 PEACE OF MIND COMES FROM TRUSTING THE LORD

    Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 

SUCCESS COMES FROM A COMMITMENT TO THE LORD

    Proverbs 16:3

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved. 

   A relationship without communication is an empty relationship: you're existing but not living. There are no anchor points to hold together the relationship. 

  We need God. By His Word we are formed and in His Word we are made complete. Let us commit our lives even now to loving Him, obeying Him, adoring Him. Let us live joy-filled faithful lives as we await His return to bring us home with Him. 

CALLED TO COMMIT 

Only Trust Him - Alan Jackson

Down To the River to Pray - Allison Krauss

Trading My Sorrows - 

Baptized In Fire - Ecclesia

Burn For You - Rivers & Robots

Here's My Life - Planetshakers

    

The Necessity of Total Commitment

 Matthew 10:38 " And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me."

Mark 8:34 "And when He had called His people unto Him with His disciples, H said unto them, 'Whosoever will come after Me let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'"

John 19:17 "And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of the skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."

==To 'take up one's cross' is to be fully surrendered to God's will for our life. 

==To 'come after Jesus' is to follow God's Word in our lifetime. 

==To come to the place of death, where the cross leads us, is to live a committed, fulltime life of ministry according to God's Way. 

On the one hand this appears to be an easy task. If life didn't get in the way and cause us to make choices/decisions that interfere with being a fully committed servant of God. We can't live in a box and not interface with other people. That's not living.

We must interact with other people in order for us to fulfill God's purpose not only in our lives but in theirs.

We sing I Surrender All. but do we? We sing I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, but have we? We sing There's Room At The Cross For You, but do we really mean it?

Total Commitment. Fully Surrendered. Have I been found worthy? 

Everything we do as Christians must line up with the Word of God; it is our 'rule of thumb', plumbline, level. Do our words match our actions and God's Word? Are we the hypocrite we despise? Only when we are honest with ourselves will we be able to grow in Christ. And who convicts of our guiltiness? The Holy Spirit. Without His presence in our lives, there is no conviction of sin, no shame, no repentance, no peace and no love. 

We need God's Holy Spirit to live God's Word God's Way in God's Will. We need God's Holy Spirit to live a life of Total Commitment. Scripture tells us that whatever we ask God for must be in accordance with God's Word in order for it to be answered. John 16:23 "Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." John 15:7 "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you."

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Now is the time to seek God's face in order that we may receive God's will for us today. Now is the time to call on God's Name that we might receive God's Word in our lives. Now is the time to ask Him for His Holy Spirit to empower us to live God's Word every day of our lives.