Walk With God and Live!

I'm taking a class right now on the Old Testament books Genesis - Joshua. In the lecture on Genesis chapters 4-11 titled "The Outworking of Sin" my professor pointed out something that I have never noticed before. Chapter 5 of Genesis lists the generations from Adam to Noah, using a set pattern for each individual. The pattern goes: When (name) had lived (#) years, he fathered (son). (Name) lived after he fathered (son) (#) years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of (name) were (#) years, and he died.

After 6 of these repetitions it is understandable to want to just skip the rest because they all say the same thing. The only problem is, they don't all say the same thing. When we get to the 7th repetition we read,

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Gen. 5:21-24).

The rhythm of death is broken with Enoch and therefore death no longer has the final word. This glimmer of hope is included in a story that is sandwiched between some pretty grim chapters in the history of mankind. Walking with God leads to breaking of the curse of death. The author of Hebrews picks up on the story of Enoch in the famous chapter on faith and even adds a bit of his own insight that Christians would do well to heed,

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:5-6). 

With the curse of death now broken through our Savior's substitutionary death, let us walk by faith and not by sight, expecting to be reward by the One we seek.

Brothers and sisters, let us walk with God and live! 

My Birthday - No April Fool's Joke!

10 years ago, a punk college student was wasting his life and his brain cells engaging in some serious tomfoolery. On April Fool's Day night after returning from some crazy partying, a friend sat him down and talked about the One who came to rescue him from sin and exchange the fool's filth for the Savior's righteousness. That night, a fool who was throwing away his life became a fool for Christ!

I praise God for these last 10 years and for all that he has done in my life. I have an amazing family that I don't deserve and a life that I wouldn't trade for anything.

When I got home today I had some great surprises waiting for me! Lily wrapped up a bunch of things, mostly from her kitchen set and gave them to me. This cake was also waiting for me, though the everyone was little too excited to be able to keep it a surprise. Lindsey accidentally let it slip, but her slip wasn't as funny as Lily's. Lily said to me, "Dad, when we say close your eyes you have to because we're going to surprise you with a cake!" Ha! Kids :).

On another note, this morning before class I was reading through Deuteronomy and came across three reminders that Moses wrote to the people of Israel, reminding them of their slavery in Egypt (15:15; 16:3, 12). While I don't want to dwell on past sins and stumble by thinking too much about that time in my life, I would do well to "remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God has redeemed you" (15:15). Obviously I was not a slave in Egypt. But I was a slave to sin, bound up and held captive by my own wickedness and fleshly desires.

With Easter Sunday a few days away, what better reminder that I have been redeemed from a life of slavery to sin! In Romans 6:17-18 the Apostle Paul writes:

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

It is certainly a battle to daily kill sin and to live as a slave of righteousness. Praise be to God for His redemption and His Spirit that dwells in us, giving us the power to press on and fight the good fight of faith!

Killing Sin - Part 2

Sin never stops whispering in our ears. As a matter of fact, sometimes is shouts! And as God told Cain, “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7).

John Owen, the 17th century Puritan pastor and theologian may have said it best in his classic work, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers. Commenting on Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live,” Owen pens this challenge to the believer:

                          Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work;
                          be always at it while you live;
                          cease not a day from this work;
                          be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Is this our habit, to daily without ceasing battle against our flesh, by the Spirit, so we may kill sin before it kills us? Brothers and sisters, sin is always crouching at the door and whispering to our hearts. It is always ready to jump out and control us or to speak deceitfully and trick us. Don’t be fooled! Pray that the indwelling Spirit of Almighty God would help you to be killing sin before it kills you!