Christianity – A Joyful Walk
with God!
By
Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you
lands!
Serve Yahweh with gladness. Come
before his presence with singing.
Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is
he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, Into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his
name.
For Yahweh is good. His loving
kindness endures forever, His faithfulness to all generations. [Psalm 100]
I am eager to discuss Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who loved us and died for us so that we may be
saved from sin [and self]. God has made
us to sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus! [see Ephesians 2:6.]
There were many doubts in my mind
because life has been harsh and hard and difficult. But thanks be to God Who has been my Shepherd
[my everything] and has brought me to a place where I am learning to trust
Him. He is teaching me many things as I
walk with Him and talk to Him and seek His will, daily. The key is TRUSTING GOD. Carefully consider the following:
“Thus says Yahweh: Cursed
is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from Yahweh. For he shall be like the heath in the desert,
and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the
wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited” (Jeremiah 17:5-6)
“Blessed is the
man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose trust Yahweh is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters,
who spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes,
but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
See the contrast! How cursed is the man who trusts in man (including in himself) and departs from God! How barren and empty his life is! How blessed is the man who trusts in God! How full to overflowing!
When we trust God, we tell Him EVERYTHING [we even share our weaknesses with Him - the bad things about ourselves – bad thoughts, lusts, fears, desires, etc.] and look to Him to work things out in our lives. HE is EAGER to do so and He will because He is faithful and also because He is Love! Consider how He has loved us in that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. He wants to save us so that we may have an abundant (spiritual) life that is of better quality than the life in the flesh.
I now understand that Christianity
is "walking with God, in the Lord Jesus Christ." Thereby we
know God from experience! This is much more exciting, thrilling and
fulfilling than knowing about Him. As someone has said: "The Bible is
evidence about God. We need to be rooted and grounded in love and God IS
love" [1 John 4:8b]. In order
words, we need have our foundation in Jesus, Who Is God and the expression of
His Love!
Consider Paul’s prayer for the
Christians in Ephesus [Ephesians 3:16-21]:
“He [God]
would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through
his Spirit in the inward man; that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted
and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ's love
which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of
God. Now to him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, to him be the glory in the assembly [church] and in Christ
Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Did you notice what He says
[prays]? He prays that God may grant
them [Christians at Ephesus] strength through His Spirit in the inward
man that Christ may dwell in their hearts [the inward man] through
faith so that they, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be
strengthened to comprehend [realize] the enormous dimensions of Christ’s
love for them which surpasses knowledge [can’t be fully
comprehended, just realized wordlessly, wondrously and humbly enjoyed] and
thereby be filled with all the fullness of God, Who is able to do EXCEEDING
ABUNDANTLY MORE that we ask or think!
Each day that we consciously walk with God, allowing His will to be done in our lives, we know Him that much better [from experience]. Theology is theories and hypotheses about God. We don't dwell on theories and hypotheses, we KNOW from experience WHO GOD IS. And just when we think we know Him, He does something unexpected, something startling and strikes us with awe and makes us realize that we don't really fully know Him. He shows us that He is FAR ABOVE human theories and hypotheses about Him! God Himself has said : “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says Yahweh. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” [Isaiah 55:8,9].
Just walk with Him daily; [talk to] commune with Him with each breath that you take and trust Him to do the best for you and you will KNOW WHO HE IS! Not everything, but what He chooses to disclose to you! Abide in His Presence. There is more to life that the physical – God has made us in His image and given us the ability to KNOW HIM in a wordless way, in the inner man, deep within our souls. That is the individual’s experience of God for himself. No one can explain it to you. It is between God and you. It will be a dynamic experience, an adventure! Remember to read and meditate on His word [by reading the Bible, the evidence about God and His wonderful dealings with, and promises to, man]. Humbly enjoy your walk with God on this earth until the time that He calls you all the way to His home to be with Him always! Yes, through thick and through thin, over the mountains (high points in life) and the valleys (low points in life), He will encompass you by His love and carry you in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His own name [because He wants to], if you will only allow Him! Enjoy life with your God, Who desires to be your Father, and Jesus Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory!” (Hebrews 1:3), Who leads [and helps you] by His Spirit through His Word.
As our Father, God loves to surprise us! And, being Love, He seeks our good and
loves to see us happy as we walk with Him, seeking His will. Oh, there are sad
days and there are dreary days; but, we learn from walking with Him that these
are to be expected on this earth. Through these difficult times and
circumstances, we learn that GOD is our support, our comfort, our ROCK and that
He is faithful and that we need to trust Him.
However, in our Father’s house things are totally different! There's no
sorrow there; no tears, no pain. Only worship, and praise, and joy and
happiness as we behold Him in His glory, His goodness. What a Wonderful God we
have!
To GOD be the glory now and always, in Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen.
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