WALK WITH GOD

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

JANUARY 01, 2023

TOPIC: WALK WITH GOD

BY T. O. BANSO

“And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24 New King James Version)

Happy New Year! I pray that the presence of the Lord shall go with you in 2023 and He will give you rest (Exodus 33:14). I don’t know what goals you have for the New Year but let your number one goal be to walk with God. Walking with God means living to please God. Collins English Dictionary defines “walk with God” as “to lead a godly, morally upright life.” But I must add that this should be based on the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible tells us about some people who walked with God. That does not mean that others whom the Bible does not specifically say walked with God did not walk with Him.

1. Enoch. Genesis 5:22 says, “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters” (New King James Version). You most probably will not live as long as this! Walk with God, for the remaining of your years on earth. Make it one day at a time.

Verse 24 of Genesis 5 says, “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (New King James Version). Enoch walked with God until God took him home. He didn’t taste death just as Elijah didn’t. 2 Kings 2:11 says concerning Elijah: “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (New King James Version).

2. Noah. 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). You must take note of the way the people of the generation of Noah lived to appreciate Noah’s walk with God.

Noah’s generation was wicked and corrupt, yet Noah chose to be different by walking with God. “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). Also, verses 11-12 say, “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).

It was in this wicked and corrupt generation that Enoch walked with God. You, too, should walk with God despite how your spouse, relations, neighbours, colleagues at work, or society live their lives. When God destroyed the world then, Noah and his household were exempted because he was righteous before God in his generation. “Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation’” (Genesis 7:1 New King James Version). 2 Peter 2:5 says God did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. Walk with God. It is a personal decision.

3. Abraham. Genesis 17:1 says, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless” (New King James Version). Take note that he was Abram then, not yet Abraham, and he had already answered the call of God to get out of his country and from his family and father’s house, to a land that He would show him (Genesis 12:1, 4).

It is evident that God was calling him to a deeper relationship. Walking with God is a continuous process. If you’re born again, your walk with God this year should be better than that of previous years. Abraham must have walked with God in obedience to Him. James 2:23b says he was called the friend of God. That tells you the level of his relationship with God.

Abraham’s servant, whom he sent to look for a wife for Isaac, quoted him in the house of Bethuel, Rebekah’s father, thus: “But he [Abraham] said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house’” (Genesis 24:40 New King James Version). Abraham was the friend of God; He walked before God. You should walk with God too.

4. Isaac. Isaac, Abraham’s son, also walked with God. The Bible says he walked before Him. The father must walk with God and the children must also walk with Him. Nobody can do your walk with God for you. You cannot walk with God by proxy. Each person must do his walk. Nobody should allow anybody’s wrong decision not to walk with God to influence him or discourage him. And no one should be deceived that another person’s walk with God will compensate for his lack of walk with God. Each child whose parent is walking with God must walk with God himself or herself. Everyone must develop intimacy with God.

When Joseph brought to Jacob (Israel) his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, whom God had given me in Egypt, Genesis 48:15 says, “And he blessed Joseph, and said: ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day’” (New King James Version). Notice that he said Abraham and his son, Isaac, walked before God. You must walk with God whether your parents did/do or not.

5. Levi. Levi walked with God. Levi was the name of the third son of Jacob by his wife Leah. God gave the priesthood and the service of His altar to the tribe of Levi. The priests were from the family of Aaron who was of the tribe of Levi while others who served as assistants to the priests were generally referred to as the Levites.

Talking about Levi, Malachi 2:6 says, “The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity” (New King James Version). The tribe of Levi walked with God in the past but the priests of Malachi’s day departed from the way; they caused many to stumble at the law and corrupted the covenant of Levi (verse 8). Walk with God; don’t depart from the way.

How to walk with God

1. Be born again. Come into a personal relationship with Him (John 3:3, 7). You cannot walk with God if you don’t have a living relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

2. Love the Lord and obey Him. You cannot walk with God if you don’t love Him. And the mark of loving Him is obeying Him. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (New King James Version). Mark 12:30 puts it this way: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment” (New King James Version). Jesus quoted this from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5; 30:6b).

The proof of loving God is obeying Him. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (New King James Version). He also said in verse 21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (New King James Version). Love the Lord. 1 John 5:3 says this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.

Deuteronomy 26:17 records that the Israelites proclaimed the LORD to be their God and that they would walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commandments, and judgments, and obey His voice. But they later disobeyed Him many times. Love the Lord and obey Him.

3. Ensure there is effective communication between you and God. There can’t be a healthy relationship without good communication. A communication gap destroys relationships. Talk with God and listen to Him. This includes praying, studying and meditating on the Word of God, hearing His Word, and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. According to Paul in Romans 8:14, as many, as are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God.

Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (New King James Version).  

4. Trust in Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (New King James Version). The Bible tells us many times to trust in the Lord or put our trust in Him (Psalm 4:5; 37:3; 115:9, 10, 11; 118:8, 9;  Isaiah 26:4).

Lack of trust destroys relationships. If you want to walk with God, you must put your trust in Him. You must trust Him even when you don’t understand what He is doing. You must trust that He has your best interest at heart, and, in every situation, He will work for your good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 New International Version).

5. Do what pleases God and do everything to His glory. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (New King James Version). You must agree with God if you want to walk with Him by doing what pleases and glorifies Him. God’s will must be your will. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 New King James Version).

If you walk with God, you will not walk in the ways of the people of the word. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 New King James Version). Friendship with the world is enmity with God; whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4). You can’t be a friend of the world and, at the same time, be a friend of God. You must choose one.

You exist for God, not the other way around. Revelation 4:11b says God created all things, and by His will, they exist and were created. That includes you. According to Psalm 100:3, God made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Therefore, we must live for Him.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we should do all to the glory of God. This applies to other things that you do, not only what you eat or drink. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (New King James Version). Live to please God. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:14).

6. Be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Yield the control of your life to the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says you should live or walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. And verse 25 says since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. If you walk with God, the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit which the Holy Spirit bears will be evident in your life (verses 22-23).

Walk with God this year and beyond. Make this your number one goal.

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 that 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 God raised Him on 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 a palm tree and grow like a 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: Father, thank You for bringing me into the New Year. Holy Spirit, help me to walk with God this year. I pray that I will have an intimate walk with God. My walk with God this year shall be better than the previous years in Jesus’ name.

(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

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