Why Aren't You Walking Together?

"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
Amos 3:3 (NKJV)

Recently, when I was out for a walk, I saw two other people walking.  These were people I had seen before, and it seemed to me that they were probably husband and wife.  But, in this recent time when I saw them, they were not walking together.  The man, presumably the husband, was walking about five feet in front of the woman, who I took to be his wife.  But for some reason on this day, they were not walking together.  It made me wonder what had happened that they did not want to near each other, and I hoped that it was not some permanent problem.

In the Bible, our life and relationship with God is compared to, and even called, a walk.  And our walk with God should be with God, not separated from Him.  Sometimes Christians talk about how they do not feel as close to God as they once did, but God is not changing, and if anyone has moved, it is certainly not Him.  It should be that what we do in our life is done in unison with God, and that we walk along with Him in our life, following His plan and direction, and not wandering off on our own way, which would definitely be a bad thing.

Amos 3:3, says, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"  Sometimes Christians do not "walk" as close to the Lord, so to speak, as they might at other times, but why is that?  Are there times in our relationship with God where He changes or somehow moves?  Or could it be that there are times that we are not in such a close relationship with God because we are somehow not really in agreement with God?  Our goal should be to have a life, a walk which pleases God, where we are walking along with Him and not somewhere behind Him. and certainly not ahead of Him. 

What Is Our Source?

"Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."
2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV)

Many times, when reading a story, listening to a report, or researching something, you can find sources listed for the material that someone is writing or talking about.  To be accurate with a story, a news account, or any information that is being shared, a reliable source needs to be quoted or made note of.  Anyone can say something or cite some information that has no actual basis in truth, so to be certain that what is being said is worth paying attention to, a good source for the given information is necessary.

There is so much information that we have access to, and that is both good and bad, because while there are good things available, there is a lot of information being given out today that is not correct.  This is true in every area of life, and unfortunately it is also true with Christians and people who talk about God and the Bible.  There are so many things I have seen and heard from various sources, talking about some supposed Bible truth, which is not right, and it sometimes goes into completely wrong teaching.  To be accurate when talking about biblical things, we need to base what we say and teach on God's Word.

God's Word has to be our source for what we believe and for what we use to teach and share with others.  As Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, we must "Preach the Word!" to not only be accurate but also helpful.  Paul encouraged Timothy that if he was going to be helpful to others, he could not preach about his own ideas or opinions, but Timothy had to be sure to use God's Word as his source.  What is the source for what we do and say?  Is our source really God and His Word, or are we taking our source materials from someplace else?

If I Had That, I Would Do This

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."
Luke 16:10 (NKJV)

Have you ever heard someone say, "If I had a million dollars, I would ..." talking about something that person would do with a large amount of money.  Or maybe someone talks about what they would do with more time, a certain ability, or if they lived in some other place.  If we are honest about it, we have all probably said, or thought, something like this at some time in our life.  But the point is not what we would do if we had something different or we were in some other place, the question really is, what are we doing right now with what we do have?

It is easier to talk about doing something than it is to actually do it, and it is easier to talk about what we might do in the future, rather than looking at what we can do now.  This is really something that is a universal type of thing, and pretty much everyone, including Christians, are guilty of this kind of thinking.  We can all fall into the trap of looking at something someone else has, wishing we had that thing, and dreaming about what we would do if we had it.  But rather than looking at something we do not have, we need to see what we do have and make use of that.

In Luke 16:10, Jesus said that if someone is faithful in a little thing, they would be faithful in a big thing, and if someone is not faithful with something small, then that is how they would deal with something bigger.  This relates to all of us in some way.  If we are not making the best use of our time, our resources, and our abilities now, then what makes us think things would be different with more time, resources or abilities?  Instead of looking at what we do not have, and dreaming about what we would do if we had that, we need to see what we can do now, where we are, with what we do have.

Our Weekly Report

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

My smartphone and tablet are made by the same company, so it is not surprising that they have similar features.  Both of these devices have what they call the Weekly Report.  This report pops up on my smartphone and tablet every week, showing me how much time I have spent on these devices, what apps I used the most, and how long I used them.  It is somewhat interesting to me to see what I was doing on my smartphone and tablet in the past week, and what apps I have been getting the most use out of.

Unless someone lives in a nation that does not have some of the basic freedoms that most people in the world enjoy, having access to a Bible is not a difficult thing.  Personally, I have several physical copies of the Bible, Bible apps on my smartphone and tablet, a Bible program in my computer, and there are websites I can go to where I can read the Bible, or have it read to me.  That is all great, unless I never make use of those things.  It would be strange to have all this access to the Bible and never make use of it, but unfortunately that is the case for some people.  

In John 8:31-32, Jesus said that to truly be His disciple, you had to abide in His Word; then you would know the truth, and the truth would make you free.  But what if someone only referred to what Jesus said on a rare occasion?  And what if Jesus' disciples then, and now, had a weekly report, just like the one my smartphone and tablet have every week, that showed how much time we spent in God's Word?  What kind of disciple would our weekly Bible report show we are, and would that help us see why we may not be living in the benefits that Jesus provided for us?  Reading and studying the Bible is something we should do on a daily basis. 

Being Immersed

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

Immersion schools develop children in a specific language through an education program done in another language.  This means that classes dealing with things like math are done in another language.  So, while the children are learning the different subjects, they are also developing their language skills.  Another example of immersion would be if you were underwater scuba diving or deep sea diving and doing something while you were underwater.  You are involved in some activity, and the entire time you are doing it you are immersed in the water.

The word immerse means to submerge something, to be put into something that entirely covers and surrounds a person or a thing.  If someone or something is immersed in something, then what they are being immersed in covers every part of the person or thing.  In a sense, being immersed in something could also be used to describe someone who is so caught up in, and focused on something that this thing dominates who they are and what they do, such as someone involved in training for a sporting event, or someone studying in a university.

In Colossians 3:16, it says we need to let the Word of Christ, God's Word, dwell in us richly.  This is talking about our making God's Word a priority in our life so that our thinking, our actions, and our words all have their roots in biblical principles.  We have to immerse ourselves in God's Word on a daily basis so that it is the main influence in our lives.  If we are not immersed in God's Word to the point where it dwells in us richly, and it guides our life, then what is the governing factor of our life?  We need to be immersed in God's Word so that it makes a difference in every area of our life.