A Little Walk With God

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

In Jesus day, families didn’t build separate houses. When a son became engaged, those were arranged marriages, by the way, his father had him start building a room or two on the family home for his new bride as a place to begin their new family. The family property was often bounded by a fence or wall to keep wild animals out and the families animals in, so the son would build within the confines of that structure. The extended family would share kitchens, common areas, storage space, usually only bedrooms were separate. And the son, his wife, and as many children as would fit in the bedroom slept together in that room.

The father determined when the son’s room was sufficiently prepared to house his new bride and accommodate the making of his new family. The wedding date wasn’t up to the bride, the son, the in-laws, the father made the decision. People in the village knew it was getting close as the new room got closer to its finished construction, but the wedding didn’t happen until the father said, “Son, go get your bride.”

And on that day, a wedding happened. No six-week notice in the mail. No engraved invitations. No twitter or Facebook save the date. The father said, “Go get your bride.” And that was the day.

Read it in a year - 1 Kings 5-9

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.

It doesn’t take a calendar for us to know what time of year it is. Just look around and you can tell. So it is with the end times, Jesus tells us. His word gives us all the signs. He tells us to watch and those who look around can see the seasons change and know that His coming is not far off. The signs are cascading all around us. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, earthquakes, natural disasters of all types, famine, diseases, out of control weather patterns - what else do we need to see to know that the signs are all pointing toward His coming back?

The seasons are changing in God’s plan for sending His Son to come back for His bride, the church. Jesus told us the signs. He told us to watch. He doesn’t want us to be surprised when He streaks across the sky to gather us together to take us home with Him. So, are you watching for Him?

Read it in a year - Exodus 37-40

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.

Can you imagine a world with no restraint on evil? Our world is a pretty wicked place right now, but there is still a strangle hold on evil for the sake of God’s faithful. God’s spirit is still in control of this place. He hold reign over Satan and his minions and will not let them loose to do as they please. But imagine if He opened the gates and let Satan do whatever he wished for a time.

We think about some of those seemingly soulless people we imprison for the rest of their lives - serial killers, serial rapists, those with no conscience that seem to thrive on the performance of evil and terror against others. Imagine a world full of those people running loose to do whatever they choose. That’s the world after the faithful are taken home with Christ.

There is coming a day when Jesus returns to take His faithful home. The question to ponder today, Will I be part of the crowd His heavenly messengers gather to be with Him, or part of the crowd left behind? It’s my choice as to which side I’m on. He’s ready to take Me with Him on that day fateful day, if I just repent and follow Him today.

Read it in a year - Galatians 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.

Thunderstorms remind me of these verses in Matthew and Paul’s description of Jesus’ coming again in 1 Corinthians 15. Jesus says everyone will know of His return. Like lightning in the East is visible in the West. That’s the way it is on my hilltop. Sometimes I don’t know where the lightning is, I just know it’s really bright because it stuck somewhere around us and whole sky lit up when it did.

That’s how it will be when Jesus returns he says. His coming will be like lightning. Paul says it will happen in the blink of an eye. Just think about how fast the blink of an eye. It’s measured in milliseconds. And just that fast, Jesus will come, take His redeemed with Him and be gone at the rapture. That’s fast. It’s like a lightning strike He says. Ever try to capture a lightning strike on film. You almost have to take a move and then capture the one or two frames within the movie on which the strike occurs. If you wait to push the button to activate the lens when you see the strike, you will already have missed it. That’s how fast Jesus’ return will be.

Read it in a year - Luke 9-10

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 how should we approach the debate when Christians begin to argue among themselves so fervently about pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation rapture? We should probably sit back and laugh at the brawl that ensues or perhaps weep for our misguided brothers and sisters who spend so much energy on such an unimportant thing.

What does it really matter after all? The question really is, “Will I be part of the rapture when it happens?” As long as I’m right with God, He will see me through the tribulation. Will I suffer during those times? Probably, as will every other human being on the planet. Will I suffer as much as those not right with God? Probably not. But for sure, if I’m right with God, I will not spend eternity in hell, separated from Him. If I’m right with God, I will be part of the rapture whenever it occurs and that’s the more important question. Not when it will be, but will I be part of it?

Read it in a year - Lamentations

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.

Growing up, I always wondered about that part Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples that the end would come after the good news of God’s kingdom is preached throughout the whole world. It always seemed that’s what He was saying in the words He gave to His followers. They must have thought that would be a long time coming since news traveled so slowly in His day.

It took months and years to get news from one end of the known world to another. Modes of transportation were as fast as a horse or a ship or a man’s feet. And the path from east Asia to Spain to Egypt and Africa was a long treacherous one. Surely it would be a long time before Jesus returned if this was one of the things that must happen before His return.

But God’s message goes where He wants it to go. One day, and it’s coming closer every day, it will spread around the world and then, as Jesus says, the end, the consummation of all things, will come. Be ready, it’s not far away.

Read it in a year - Proverbs 1

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.

How much should we concern ourselves with Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples about these end time happenings? What do we need to look for ourselves and how can we know if we are part of that group Jesus talks about or are we okay with God as we listen to His predictions? Have we let our love grow cold? Have we let ourselves be taken in by false prophets? Are we slipping into wickedness instead of righteousness?

Those are serious questions we need to answer for ourselves as we think of Jesus’ words today. So lets take a look at ourselves over the next few minutes.

Should we concern ourselves with His words? Absolutely. Many will fall away. Can I fall away? I could if I fail to listen to Him and read His words and follow Him closely. So can you. Be careful in these days.

Read it in a year - Psalms 63-65

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.

The promise Jesus gives in these two verses doesn’t sound so good does it. You might wonder who “they” includes in Jesus’ comment. Go back to the previous description of the signs of the times and you find it’s the people that claim to come in His name as the Messiah. He says some who call themselves Christians will hand you over to your enemies. If you really follow Jesus, you will be tortured, killed, hated by all nations just because you obey what Jesus says.

His words to us may not sound like the most pleasant prospect for us right now. But remember, these things usher in the best days. Jesus is coming soon. And when He does, those that remain faithful to Him will join Him in a party that never ends. We will worship around the banquet table of God rejoicing with Him forever. With that in mind, what are a few days of discomfort in exchange for an eternity with Him?

Read it in a year - 1 Kings 1-4

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.

These verses from Matthew that give us the description of the events that happen before the end comes can be a little disconcerting. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, kingdoms fighting against neighboring kingdoms. These are standard headlines today. Famines and earthquakes. They are everywhere.

But Jesus tells us all these things are just birth pangs. These are not the end, but signs of its coming. These are the events that will tell us He is returning soon. So what should we do?

We have a lot of people to warn and help them understand there is but one way to escape the coming wrath God will pour out on this earth and those who fail to recognize Him as God. We don’t have much time left to do our job. We’d better get to it!

Read it in a year - Exodus 33-36

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 allowed Solomon to build a temple. Solomon dedicated it and made some promises that he failed to keep.

Solomon’s son, Reheboam lost the northern tribes of Israel from the kingdom because of his father’s and his disobedience. The nation continued to falter in their faith and the temple finally was destroyed after it had been ransacked several times in the nation’s history. Ezra came back to lay its foundation four hundred years before Christ came, but it was nothing compared to the splendor of the ancient temple of Solomon or the awe inspiring edifice of Herod’s temple. And through all that time, the people continued to look at the building as the place where God resided.

They put Him in that box and assumed He stayed there. Just like we too often put God in our sanctuaries and assume He stays there. We leave after the worship service and live our lives pretty much the way the Israelites did when they left the temple. We forget God is the God of everyone and everything. That means He is in control of your home, whether you want Him to be or not. He is God in control of your job, whether you like it or not. He is God in control of who sits in the White House, whether the President is in your party affiliation or not. He is God in control of the terrorists, whether we want to think so or not.

Read it in a year - Galatians 1-3

see the whole year's plan here