WALK WITH GOD THIS YEAR

WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL

JANUARY 10, 2021

TOPIC: WALK WITH GOD THIS YEAR

BY T. O. BANSO

“This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9 New King James Version).

As it is used in different Bible translations, to walk with God means to walk in close fellowship with God. It also means to walk habitually with God, conduct your affairs according to God’s will, be the close friend of God, live close to God, or to please God.

Walking with God is a decision nobody can make on your behalf. You must make it yourself.  And it shouldn’t depend on the decision of another person, or persons. You don’t have to wait for anyone. If you walked with God last year, you shouldn’t be complacent. Walk closer with Him this year also.  If you didn’t walk with God last year, decide now to walk with Him this year.

The Bible gives us examples of people who walked with God, notwithstanding the condition of the society in which they lived.  Here are some of them:

1. Enoch walked with God. Genesis 5:21-24 says, “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (New King James Version).

Enoch lived 365 years on earth and the testimony is that he walked with God and He took him away. He didn’t taste death. Walk with God, whatever your age, and no matter how others in your community or nation live. The first thing to do, if you are not born again, is to surrender your life to Jesus. Admit you’re a sinner and that you cannot save yourself. Repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Invite Him into your heart today.

2. Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:9 says, “This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God” (New King James Version).

Noah took a decision to walk with God in a wicked generation. He chose to be different. The Bible tells us the condition of his society then: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5 New King James Version).

Verses 11-12 give us additional information on that so that you and I don’t have any excuse not to walk in close fellowship with God: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (New King James Version). Despite this sad commentary, Noah was different; he walked with God. No matter what others do this year, walk with God.

3. Abraham walked with God. Abraham was 75 years old when he set out of Haran to obey God after the death of his father, Terah (Genesis 12:4). And in Genesis 17:1, God told him “walk before me and be thou perfect.”  To walk before Him is expressed in other Bible translations as walk habitually before Him, go in His ways, walk before His face, walk in His ways, be well-pleasing in His sight, live ever mindful of His presence, and behave yourself in His presence.

Abraham walked before God so much that he was called the friend of God.  2 Chronicles 20:7 refers to this: “Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?” (new King James Version). You can’t be someone’s friend without walking with Him. Therefore, it’s right to say that Abraham walked with God.

Whether you’re young or old, God wants you to walk before Him.  Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the LORD appeared to him and introduced Himself as the Almighty God. He told him to walk before Him and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). In other words, God said this to Abraham 24 years after he had left Haran in obedience to God.

I should think that Abraham had been walking before God already. But God’s command to him shows that walking with God must be a continuous thing and must be pursued no matter one’s age.

4. Isaac walked with God. Though there is no Bible verse that specifically states that Isaac walked with God, we can deduce this from his life. The LORD appeared to him and gave him specific instruction, which he carried out. I believe God gave the instruction to him because he had a walk with Him.

Genesis 26:2-3 says, “Then the LORD appeared to him and said: ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father” (New King James Version).

The LORD continued: “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws”(verses 4-5 New King James Version).

 Apparently, because Isaac walked with God, He was also with him. King Abimelech, king of Gerar, and the two people who came with him to make a covenant with Isaac after he had been ejected from the land of Gerar said, “We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you” (Genesis 26:28a New King James Version). Walk with God and you’ll enjoy His presence.

5. Joseph walked with God. His walk with God made him not to do what would displease Him. In the midst of corrupt people, Joseph chose to live for God. In Genesis 39, he refused the sexual offer of Potiphar’s wife saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Verse 9b New King James Version).

Because he steadfastly walked with God, Genesis 39:2-4 said earlier, “The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand” (New King James Version). When you walk with God, you’ll enjoy His presence in every situation.

This is not a complete list of those who walked with God in the Bible, though the phrase might not have been used to describe them.  Let your name be added to the list by making a personal decision now to do so. Notwithstanding what others do, your past mistakes, or previously failed decisions, etc., make a new decision now and receive the help of the Holy Spirit to walk with God.

Walk with God this year and beyond. Study your Bible, meditate upon it, and obey God’s Word. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit and with fellow believers and share your faith with others.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Jesus, I repent of my sins and confess You as my Lord and Saviour. Father, I receive the grace to walk with You intimately this year. Holy Spirit, help me so that my walk with God this year shall be better than the previous years.

(For over 400 in-depth and powerful messages by T.O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org