GUEST EDITORIAL: ROB ONEKEA
“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:1
OUR NEW SILVER SPRING BIBLE TALK LED BY CAREY REMO AND ALICIA PRESCOD HAVE THEIR FIRST
BAPTISM! OUR NEWEST SISTER IN THE FAITH MORGAN HORAN REJOICES WITH OUR ENCOURAGING
SISTERS AT THIS PAST MIDWEEK SERVICE!
Walking with God is not something for just a chosen few. His desire was for all of mankind to walk with him. When we walk with someone, we share a bond of closeness and a time of intimate connection. We notice things together, we share things, point things out and talk about them. My firsthand experience of walking with someone would be with my wife. We’ve walked together for 23 years. We’ve shared everything with each other, the good and the bad. I’ve leaned on her at times, and she’s leaned on me. Simply put, we rely on each other. To me, that’s the epitome of walking with someone. We don’t hold back our thoughts, we don’t hold back our struggles, and we definitely don’t hold back our sins. It’s a special connection with no barriers or apprehension.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 tells us “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Fortunately for us, God never falls. He is the most solid foundation imaginable, yet for us, we’re “fortunate” to have him there when we fall.
If you’ve ever watched a child play, we notice how care free they are. Smiling, laughing and going about their business. If that child should stumble or fall, the first thing he or she does is look around for mom or dad, then, the tears start. As parents our first instinct it to protect, nurture and care for them. It’s that comfort that let’s them know everything will be ok. It’s the same way with our Lord. When we fall, and notice I said when, if we have God to catch us and lift us back up, we’ll be fine. But if our relationship with Him is faltering or non-existent, then we’re just like that child looking around and mom or dad is nowhere to be found. Immediately we get a sense of fear, followed by self-preservation. That same self-preservation leads us to not relying on God and more on ourselves, and that is never a good place to be at.
MORGAN WAS ENCOURAGED TO HAVE HER MOM AND HER SISTER THERE AT HER BAPTISM!
When the Bible speaks of walking with someone, there are a few people that immediately come to mind. The first person to be recorded as walking with God was Enoch. Not a lot was said about him, except that he walked faithfully with God for 300 years then in Genesis 5:24 it reads “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” There is a lot to be said when it comes to walking faithfully. He never took his eyes off the Lord and as a result, the Lord “took him away”.
Additionally, Noah was credited with “walking with God”. In Genesis 6:9 the Bible tells us; “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” Another example of walking faithfully with God. Anyone can walk with someone, but to do it faithfully, through the challenges and storms takes something special. God commanded Noah to build a giant ark in the middle of nowhere, and through his “faith” in God, obeyed. Noah was faithful even though he may not have understood the big picture. He trusted God, and followed his instructions to the letter. As followers of Jesus when we are challenged with certain areas in our lives, are we faithful? Or do we scream and have a temper tantrum when we don’t agree with something or someone. Is our faith based on what we see? Imagine if Noah felt like that and said, “Lord, we’re in the middle of nowhere and building this ark isn’t going to be cheap. Not to mention everyone will think I’ve lost my mind. Can you get someone else to do it?” This doesn’t sound very faithful. Fortunately for us, we can see the miracles that surround us. We can see the relationships, the love and the compassion of the family of believers.
We walk with our brothers and sisters. Through the challenges, through the struggles, through the flaws, and even through the sin. We strive to be there for each other the way that God is there for us. But how can we expect to truly walk with each other if we’re not first walking with God?
In the morning are we walking with Facebook? During our day are we walking with our jobs? At night, are we walking with our spouses and our children? Where does God fit into our busy schedule? If we’re not making time to walk with him, how can we expect him to catch us when we fall?
People love to post these motivational quotes on Facebook, and one of them simply read “It’s better to walk alone, then with a crowd going in the wrong direction”. This does make sense yet we never really have to walk alone. Our God is always there with us. HE is always walking with us. HE never takes his eyes off of us, just like a concerned parent does an infant. At some point, we simply need to be faithful and remember that he is there.
Walking with God requires great discipline from us. That means letting go of distractions, or things that would pull us away from walking with Him. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” Hebrews 12:1
Have you ever tried to hike with a 60 pound backback full of gear? It wasn’t easy. In the same way, we cannot walk with God if we refuse to let go of things that will hinder us. We’re called to “throw off” things that will hinde us. For many of us that could be relationships, jobs or just our desires to do what WE want rather then what God wants. If we’re not walking with God, then we’re walking with the world, plain and simple. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Ephesians 2:1-2
So take some time to reflect on who you’re walking with. Keep in mind that in Psalm 1:1-3 of the (ESV) it tells us “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” We’re called to meditate on his law, to walk with God, and to consider what a delight it brings to the Lord. If we’re not walking with God, most likely we’re walking with the wicked and that path will only lead to destruction. Are you standing in the way of sinners? Or are you walking with God.
Rob Onekea
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