The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

I love walking. Apparently, it is one of the best forms of physical exercise. Of course, walking is also a means, and for some people their only means, of transport.

Walking for whatever reason is more enjoyable with someone else. Walking and talking is a great way to communicate with family, friends, and also with God.

The point is that we are doing two things at the same time. We are not just taking exercise or travelling. As we walk together we are in communion with one another. Both Enoch and Noah ‘walked with God’ (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). They didn’t just sit, kneel or stand with God (the kind of actions we would often associate with spending time with God), but they were also in communion with God when doing something else. While you are doing other things – working, eating, exercising or relaxing – you can be in communion with God at the same time.

Personally, I also find it the best way to pray. This has been my pattern for the last few years. After reading the Bible each day, I go out and walk around our local park – which is almost deserted early in the morning. I note down anything I sense the Holy Spirit saying as I pray. You can pray as you walk to the bus stop or walk from one activity to the next. Talk as you walk.

The Bible has a great deal to say about walking with God. It is how you were intended to live. God’s desire for you is that you walk humbly in a relationship with him (Micah 6:8). This is what Jesus has made possible – for you to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). You may stumble from time to time, but one day you will walk with him ‘dressed in white’ (Revelation 3:4).

‘What is your first question going to be?’ I was preparing my cross-examination for one of the first criminal trials in which I was involved when I worked as a barrister. A senior and experienced lawyer was helping me prepare. He showed me the significance of a first question.

I belong to a squash club that is also a gym. Each year on 1 January they bring in extra gym equipment. The place is packed out. By about 7 January, they move out all the extra equipment, as most people have given up their New Year’s resolutions, and the club returns to normal!

Get fit

Lose weight

Reduce drinking

Stop smoking

Get out of debt

There is nothing wrong with making these common New Year’s resolutions. Of course, all of us make resolutions that we fail to keep.

The good news is that each year is an opportunity for a fresh start. But then so is each week. Every Sunday is the first day of the week – a new beginning. Actually, every day is an opportunity for a new beginning.

The first three words in the Bible are, ‘In the beginning…’ (Genesis 1:1). Each of the passages for today tells us something about new beginnings and new opportunities, and suggests some possible New Year’s resolutions.