A Little Walk With God

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

Jesus showed us by example how best to spread the good news. He went to the homes of those who needed to hear it most. He went to the people who needed Him. He didn’t wait for them to come to Him. He didn’t expect them to approach Him, He traveled the countryside and went to them. The crowds gathered around Him, but those crowds came from the nearby villages, not from half way across the country. The crowds were locals that sought Him out when He came to their town.

We in the church are sometimes afraid, or maybe, like the Pharisees, too proud or pious, to associate with the notorious sinners. But how else will they hear that Jesus loves them just as much as He loved us when He offered us the chance to have our sins forgiven and an opportunity to attain eternal life with Him. How else will they come to know Him as Savior unless friends carry the message to them.

So the questions for us today: Do you know any notorious sinners? Have you made friends with them? Have you share the good news of God’s love with them? If not, what are you waiting for? Jesus showed us how with Zaccheus as a great example for us. You might help win a Zaccheus today if you try. Let’s get at it.

Read it in a year - Revelations 12-17

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

And guess who will get the trophy! Me. You guys can join in on the fun later, but I’ll get the trophy and all those guys that thought they won because they scored so heavily on Friday will just stand there with their mouths open. They won’t believe they lost the game, but that’s the way it goes. They didn’t write the rules. The owner of all the teams writes the rules and if you don’t play by his rules, you can’t win. He doesn’t care about scores, he cares about how you play. And since I did everything he asked me to do, I win. Period. End of conversation.

Well, it’s not a super bowl. And it’s not a game. But I hope you get the point. God gave us the rules a long time before any of us were born and He’s watching. He’s the one that determines who wins in the end. In fact, the winner has already been declared. Doesn’t it make sense to be on that team?

Read it in a year - Song of Songs 5-6

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

Why would Jesus give us great wealth and put us at great risk of losing our soul forever? Can a rich person make it into the kingdom? Yes. Nothing is impossible for God, but Jesus points out that it is hard. It is improbable. Why? Because the rich look to themselves for everything instead of looking to God. Food is bought, not sought from God. Shelter is bought, not sought earnestly in prayer. Work is provided to others, not sought for themselves. Health is paid for through the wisest physicians and best medicines, not petitioned in prayer. The rich too often think themselves self-reliant instead of relying on God, the real source of all things.

So why would God put us in that position? Why would He purposely challenge us in a name it or claim it religion if He knows most will succumb to the temptations wealth brings and loose their salvation because of it? No. God will give us something better. He’ll give us Himself and He’ll give us eternal life with Him. What could be better than that?

Read it in a year - Psalms 146-148

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

So Jesus looked around at the children in the crowd and told the adults, including us, we need to receive the kingdom the way they do. We need to see God as really big. Bigger than any problem we might face. Bigger than any task He gives us. Bigger than anything we can imagine. He is God, so don’t put Him in a box and limit Him in any way. Come to Him with enthusiasm and energy. He will help you with the energy part, but you need to bring the enthusiasm. And why wouldn’t we? He is our Creator and lets us come into His presence without destroying us! He welcomes us into His house. Can you imagine that? No ruler on earth does that for everyone, but the Creator of the universe does. So show some enthusiasm when you come to the kingdom.

Then, like a child, don’t be afraid to ask those questions. God isn’t afraid of them. He doesn’t shy away from our questions. He wants us to learn about Him and to know Him intimately. How else can we do that if we don’t ask questions? He’ll answer. When you come to God as a child, I can guarantee an adventure! And I can guarantee joy. There might be some sorrow and pain and struggle along with it, but their will be joy because God lets us participate in His kingdom. What else could we want?

Read it in a year - Esther 1-5

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

If ISIS showed up at my church’s doorstep this Sunday, I’m not sure how many of those in my congregation would stick around to lose their head for Christ. A lot say they would, but when the knives come out and blood starts flowing, I’m not so sure about those Christians in name only any more. I expect there would be some mass exodus out the back doors if the choice was denounce your faith or lose your life. I expect it’s the same in your church. You probably don’t want to hear that or admit that, but I’m afraid it’s true today. We like the sound of the words, but we don’t want to make the sacrifice necessary to really be like Jesus.

So now that I’ve bashed all of our churches, all our denominations, what do we do? Where should we go? If all the churches are full of hypocrites, should we stop going and start another church? No. Jesus didn’t stop going to the temple because there hypocrites and sinners there. He just worshiped the way He knew the Father wanted Him to worship. Like that man who prayed humbly and recognized his broken state. Our churches are full of sinners and hypocrites and that is a great thing. Where else can they hear the message that God loves them and has a better way of life for them? Go, worship, be an example to others of how to live like Jesus. But to do that, you must live like Him. And to do that, it takes a lot of soul searching and letting Him have complete control of your life. Something that’s not always easy in a world that tells us we are the number one and can do anything we set our mind on.

Well, let’s get real, I will never be number one and neither will you. God will always hold that place whether you give it to Him or not. And you can not do anything you set your mind to. Only God can do that because He is God and we are not. Now, any questions?

Read it in a year - Deuteronomy 29-31

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

I think our cities today are in much the same place Sodom and Gomorrah were. We abuse physically, emotionally, and spiritually those that come to our cities. We laugh at those who contend that Jesus is the only way to heaven. We push aside those that dare to tell us how to act and speak and love our fellowman. We think those that really follow God’s rules a little on the insane side. Surely God doesn’t expect us to follow those archaic laws in this modern era. Things have changed. He can’t expect us to worship Him like Abraham and David and Daniel. That was Old Testament stuff. We have been enlightened in this age, right?

Not so fast. We haven’t changed. We have the same DNA. We have the same basic desires as our ancient ancestors. We need food and shelter just like they did. We want to be loved and we want to love just like our forefathers. We have this spiritual makeup that craves to worship something whether we want to recognize it or not. Oh, we have new toys and disguised idols rather than gold and silver images of some deity, but if you watch our behavior, we have raised a lot of things as our gods today. Jobs, houses, sports, money, leisure, even our families tend to get our worship instead of our Creator. We set things up as gods and worship them as surely as those in ancient times bowed to those wood and gold and silver icons.

So Jesus question today is as critical as it was 2,000 years ago because God will come as He did in the days of Noah and Lot. “When the Son of Man comes, will He still find anyone who has faith?”

Read it in a year - 3 John

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

Jesus return will happen in an instant, He says. You won’t be able to climb down off the ladder if you’re working off the ground. You won’t be able to make it to the house if you’re out working in the yard. You won’t have time to go anywhere or do anything because His coming will happen faster than you can blink. As fast as the speed of light, He will come, take His own, and be gone. it will all be over. Judgment will come. Your standing with God will be fixed at that point and He will judge you for what you believe now, not that day. Everyone will believe on that day. Everyone will bow before Him on that day. Everyone will acknowledge that He is God and Lord and Master on that day. But if you don’t believe before that time, it will be too late.

Like in the days of Noah or the days of Lot, normal was evil. Normal opposed God’s laws. Normal tried to substitute things other than God to satisfy a spiritual need only He can satisfy. Normal then sounds a lot like our normal today. We live in a dangerous time. Not from the threat of the evil around us, but because if your heart is not right with God, there might not be much time to make it right. The flood came without warning. People wanted in the ark then, but God had shut the door. Fire and sulfur fell from the sky and there was no where to run.

We don’t know what it will be like when God comes again, but it will be fast and violent and there will be no escape for those He does not take with Him. Get ready now.

Read it in a year - Acts 25-26

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

Why do I talk about all these political constructs? To tell you that none of these mean anything to God. He doesn’t care if we live in a republic, a democracy, a dictatorship, a theocracy, or chaos. He doesn’t care what kind of government surrounds us because all of them here on earth are poor substitutes for the kingdom He first envisioned for us and the one that awaits those who recognize Him as king. His kingdom has no physical boundaries. You won’t find the kingdom of God outlined on any map. You can’t find it listed on any legends or indices. You can’t drive to it or sail to it or fly to it. You can’t put the kingdom of God on your vacation list or find any pamphlets telling you about real estate for sale there.

Jesus warns against anyone trying to tell you where it is. Because if they tell you, they are lying to you. Because no one knows the kingdom’s physical location. It has no physical location because it is everywhere. It is here. It is where God is. And Jesus said where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there with them. So there is the kingdom of God. He also said He lives in us, so there is the kingdom of God. Where is it? Here, in me and in you. It’s all around us, shaping us, convicting and convincing us, guiding us, making us into the people God wants us to become.

The flag of God’s kingdom? There isn’t one except the banner that says Jesus is Lord. The national anthem? Maybe the Hallelujah Chorus. The pledge of allegiance? How about, I surrender all? God’s kingdom is very different than anything on earth because it isn’t physically here on earth. It is where God is, but then He is everywhere. Unbounded by space and time. Now go figure out the dimensions of His kingdom and try to point to its borders. Not possible, is it?

Read it in a year - Revelation 12-17

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

And then there is salvation. Can you think of what God did for you and not be thankful? When things begin to get tough here, just think about what’s ahead. We are promised an eternity with Jesus if we have let Him into our hearts. He died for just that purpose. He gave Himself so we can live with Him forever. He came to pay the penalty for our sins so they might be forgiven and our guilt might be swept away. If that doesn’t make you thankful, then what will? We no longer carry the sins that keep us from God’s presence. They are removed and cast away as far as the east is from the west.

I like the way David said that in the Psalms. I’m not sure David understood the north and south poles and the fact that when you got to the north pole you could go no farther north. From that point you can only go south. And from the south pole you can only travel north. But when you travel east or when you travel west, you just keep on going like the Energizer bunny. You never stop, there is no end. And that’s just how far God casts away our sins when He forgives us.

Paul told us to be thankful. Jesus told us to be thankful. Science tells us the benefits of being thankful. Have you figured out yet that giving thanks, being grateful for even the little things is good for your health. So turn up that thanks meter and improve your health today.

Read it in a year - Song of Songs 3-4

see the whole year's plan here

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

We might get a glimpse of what Jesus was talking about if you think about going to your favorite restaurant instead. You’ve sat down at a booth and can see the hot line from the kitchen. The waiter brings you a glass of water and a menu. He takes your order, but then sits down at the table across from you and begins to eat his lunch. In a few minutes the chef puts your food on the hot line under the lights to keep it warm and signals your waiter that your food is ready. But instead of getting your food, he keeps eating, pulls out his smartphone and reads a few messages. He sends a few texts and then goes and gets a piece of pie for dessert. All the while, your food is getting either nice and soggy or overdone under the warming lights.

Would you tell the waiter he was doing a good job? Would you leave him a generous tip? Would you ask specifically for his table the next time you come because he has become your favorite waiter? No, of course not. If you haven’t already said some choice words to the young man, you’ll probably want to see the manager on the way out and give him your opinion of his worthless wait staff. You might even ask for a refund on your meal since you had to watch it ruin under the warming lights while your waiter enjoyed himself eating on your time.

The waiter should have served you first, right? Customers first in the customer service world, right? Pay attention to those who are paying your salary, right? The waiter obviously didn’t get the memo on what his duties and responsibilities were. He should have been happy to have a customer sitting at one of his tables. It meant money was coming into the restaurant. It meant he would get paid for doing his job and if he did it well, he would probably get a tip from his customers. Besides, he took the job. If he didn’t want to wait tables and serve people, he shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. But he did and now he was shirking his responsibilities.

It’s a good thing he wasn’t a slave. He’d be beaten or sold or just killed. As a waiter, if this was a normal pattern, I expect he won’t be a waiter very long. He’ll probably find himself on the outside of that restaurant pretty soon. But if he wants to keep his job, he’d better shape up.

So what about our responsibilities as Christians? We have duties and responsibilities God gave us when He commissioned us to go make disciples. Should we complain about it? Take a lesson from the slaves and the waiter. If you don’t like what He asks you to do, remember who He is and who you are. That should put things in perspective pretty quickly. It’s time to serve, you can eat later.

Read it in a year - Psalms 143-145

see the whole year's plan here