A Little Walk With God

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

That tells me Jesus loves us all. Saint and sinner alike, Jesus loves us. He gave His life for all of us. If He calls Judas His friend, He calls all of us friend. We are part of His creation and so He cares for us. He loves us and would do anything for our good. In fact, He did. He gave Himself to pay the penalty we should pay for our sins. Jesus doesn’t count anyone as His enemy, only His friend.

So what does that say to us? How can we spew the vitriol that sometimes comes from the mouths of so-called Christians against this group or that group when Jesus taught us to love our enemies? Does that mean Jesus condoned their actions? Never. Does it mean we condone a sinner’s actions? Never. But how can you win someone to Jesus unless they understand that you see them as a friend, not an enemy? Jesus gave us the example to follow when Judas came to Him in the garden and placed the betrayal kiss on cheek.

The other thing I see in this short exchange is Jesus’ desire that we not procrastinate in our business with Him. Judas was a betrayer and would give His identity to those who would carry Him away to be humiliated, flogged, and crucified. We would probably want to delay the betrayal. Buy ourselves time to avoid the pain and the cross. We would try to push away the agony that was coming. But Jesus just said, get on with it. Stop playing around. Quit trying to pretend things are okay. Stand up and be counted. You are either with Me or against Me. Just own up to who you are. See, it’s only then you can see yourself and let God change you. It’s only then you can truly repent and turn toward Him for forgiveness.

Read it in a year - Leviticus 7-9

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’m convinced the time is getting short for us to fulfill the mission He gave His disciples that is passed to each of us who call ourselves His followers. He told us to go and make disciples. We cannot do that by sitting within the four walls of our churches. We must share the good news of His sacrificial death for our sins and His resurrection power that demonstrates the truth of His ability to forgive us. We must bring others to Him so they might find forgiveness and enjoy the peace only Jesus can give in these days of evil and violence and terror.

Expect when we share and stand on the truth contained in God’s word that others will hate us. When you tell someone their lifestyle doesn’t stand up to the test of God’s sovereign command, they will hate you. When you share with the world that their end is eternal punishment unless they repent and turn from their evil ways, they will hate you.

And yet there is another problem the early church encountered and we will encounter as the end of time draws near. Did you hear it in Jesus’ words to His sleeping disciples? “…here comes the one who’s going to betray me.” I’m pretty convinced that as the end draws near, many who call themselves Christian will be happy to betray those who are Christian to save their skin. They will be happy to shed the label and reveal who they really belong to so they can live another day. Brother will turn against brother and fathers against sons. Jesus predicts it because we live in an evil world and labels really don’t mean anything. It’s what’s inside that counts.

Read it in a year - Philippians 1-2

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.

You can point to situations, circumstance, events in you life you’d not walk through if you could avoid them. I know I would. Painful times that I want to forget. Yet it’s in those painful, almost unbearable times that God seems to call to us and makes us stronger, like iron forged in the furnace. Tempered by the heat it becomes stronger and more durable. That’s what God often does to us in those difficult times we sometimes face.

At other times, I think God takes us through those valleys to prepare us for the next challenge we might face or to give us the tools we need to help someone we will meet on our journey of life.

We go through those difficult times for a reason. We may never know this side of eternity in many cases why God let us endure those things. But looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I can almost always see where God has drawn me closer to Him, helped me grow spiritually through the ordeal, or taught me lessons I could use to share with others once I’d been through the problems myself.

Read it in a year - Luke 15-16

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.

God understands our physical limitations. But He also helps us even with those physical limitations. I’m convinced it was His hand on me physically that let me work the grueling schedule I worked in Desert Storm without collapsing until after our return from the front. His sustaining power gave me the strength to endure all those months until my planning skills were no longer immediate concerns for medical support on the battlefield.

We will all face times of testing as the disciples did in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and as I did with the constant pressures of planning in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. But prayer was high on my list and I felt the prayers of those who were home lifting me to God both for my safety and my ability to perform my tasks well not even knowing what my tasks might be. I knew friends and family were on their knees with my name on their lips.

Now twenty-five years after that conflict, I lift those planners and service members in my prayers daily. Some of them I know by name. Most are nameless to me, but not to God. Are there times my body fails me? Yes. Just passing my sixty-second anniversary of my birth, my body fails more often than I’d like, but I’ve learned to lean more on God so He can empower my spirit to keep at the fight. How about you?

Read it in a year - Ezekiel 13-18

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.

Have you ever had God not answer your prayers the way you wanted Him to answer them? If you haven’t, then you probably haven’t prayed…ever! I’m pretty positive that everyone who ever prayed more than once has asked God for something He didn’t grant. You see, God isn’t in the business of being a cosmic Santa as too many want to believe. Instead, we need to recognize God as our heavenly Father. Jesus talked about the fact that a father gives good gifts to his children, so if a son asks for a fish, he wouldn’t give him a snake, right?

But we never stop to think that the reverse is also true. When my kids were little, if they asked for a race car, I would probably give them a toy race car. But if they wanted a real one, there is no way, that as a good father I would give them real race car. That would have been foolish. Granting them that request would mean injury or death. They certainly didn’t need a race car and to give it to them would have been a cruel gift to them as their father.

The same is true with many of the things we ask from God. He knows what is best for us. We do not. Sometimes we think we are smarter than God and know all the answers, but we don’t God answers our prayers in a way that is best for us and brings glory to Him. He knows the right answers in every circumstance. He knows how to make every bad situation turn for our best. It may not seem like it at the time, but as a good Father, He gives good things to His children. Always.

Read it in a year - Proverbs 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.

Prayer was such an important part of Jesus’ life. We see Him getting away from the crowd and even from His disciples whenever He had important decisions to make. We find Him alone on hillsides, in the mountains, in gardens, slipping away in the night, rising early in the morning. Jesus got away to pray by Himself. He wanted time alone with His Father to discern the best course to take at critical junctures in His life.

In this scene just before Judas comes with a squad of soldiers to place the kiss of betrayal on the Master, Jesus once again slips away to pray alone. But in this instance, as He did when Peter, James, and John witnessed His transfiguration, He asks these three to watch with Him and pray. They cannot understand the incredible strain Jesus is enduring at the moment, but they can still join with Him in prayer…if they will.

They just finished a meal. They consumed some wine. It’s getting late. They’re not sure what they’re praying about. We know what’s about to happen. Have you ever had that problem? Jesus asks them to watch and wait, but their eyes get heavy and they don’t watch very well. But there are a couple of things I think we can learn from the small exchange we see in the first part of this garden scene with Jesus and His closest friends.

Read it in a year - Psalms 72-74

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.

p>Have you ever made Peter’s type of declaration about one of your snares to temptation? “I’ll never miss my devotions again. I’ll never frequent that den of evil again. I’ll never look at that filth again. I’ll never drink that stuff again. I’ll never smoke that stuff again. I’ll never …” Name the temptation that plagues you most and you’ve probably made the same promise Peter made to Jesus. “Even if everyone else falls away, I’m so devoted and so determined, I’ll never do that because I love you so much.”

What happens next? The tempter comes with just the right shiny bait and suddenly we find ourselves falling to the temptation once again. The bait looked so good and so delicious we just couldn’t help but bite and we didn’t see the hook hidden just beneath the surface. Now we’re pulled along by the angler who wants to take our soul.

Read it in a year - 1 Kings 14-18

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.

Is it easy to let your mind wander to what’s for lunch as communion is being served? Yes. Is it easy to think of the ballgame starting in a few hours? Yes. Is it easy to think about what will happen at work this week? Yes. But if we try, we can also focus on the bread, a symbol for His body, broken for us. We can focus on the cup filled with the fruit of the vine, a symbol of His blood, shed for us. His sacrifice ushered in a new covenant. One in which we can have a personal relationship with the creator. He promised that if we ask, He will live not just with us, but in us, to help us be the person He created us to be.

Next time you come to the Lord’s table, stop, think about the bread and the wine. What does it mean for you? Really think about it. Don’t let go of the beauty of the moment as you share this special moment with others.

Read it in a year - Leviticus 4-6

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.

There are three things I learn from the disciples in these short exchanges. First, all of us are susceptible to temptation and can betray Jesus if we do not keep our faith strong and our eyes on Him. Second, all of us know our position with Him. We know if we are the one selling Him out to others. Third, there is always a way of escape if we will take it. And most of the time, God points us to it pretty clearly. He makes the exit sign pretty bright, but we have to move toward the sign to get out the door. Judas answered his own question, but he still had a way out if he had chosen it.

Read it in a year - Ephesians 4-6

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.

I like this about Jesus and the relationships He has built in His thirty-three years on earth. He told a few of His trusted disciples to go find a certain man. No doubt one of the many friends He made along the path of life He traveled over the last several years. Maybe the man was a family friend who didn’t berate Mary and Joseph for the son born to early to them to be Joseph’s legitimate heir. Maybe he was one of the guest at Cana who witnessed Jesus’ first miracle and became a close and trusted friend after believing Jesus was the Son of God. Maybe he was one of John’s followers present on the day John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

We don’t know who the man was, but Jesus sent His disciples to this particular, person to let him know He was coming with a bunch of His friends. And when Jesus’ disciples came to that man and told him what Jesus said, he didn’t even flinch. He set up the room. He got provisions for them. He welcomed them in. He was happy to see Jesus and meet whoever Jesus brought with Him.

I often wonder how many of those kinds of friends Jesus made in His wanderings throughout the territories of Judea and Galilee. I think of people like Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Zaccheus the tax collector, and others who probably gave Him an open door invitation to welcome Him into their home any time He was in the area.

Read it in a year - Luke 13-14

see the whole year's plan here