3rd January

The point is that we are doing two things at the same time. We are not just taking exercise or travelling. As we walk together we are in communion with one another. Both Enoch and Noah ‘walked with God’ (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). They didn’t just sit, kneel or stand with God (the kind of actions we would often associate with spending time with God), but they were also in communion with God when doing something else. While you are doing other things – working, eating, exercising or relaxing – you can be in communion with God at the same time.

Brother Lawrence ..... The presence of God ...that constant awareness and communication

God’s desire for you is that you walk humbly in a relationship with him (Micah 6:8). This is what Jesus has made possible – for you to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). You may stumble from time to time, but one day you will walk with him ‘dressed in white’ (Revelation 3:4).

Jesus identified with us, sinful human beings, right from the start. He did this so that he could bear our sin on the cross for us. As a result, you are able to experience the Holy Spirit in a similar way and walk ‘in step with the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:25). We see here something of what it means to walk ‘in step with the Spirit’:

• Get refined in the fire
  John said that whereas he baptised with water, Jesus would baptise ‘with the Holy Spirit and fire’ (Matthew 3:11). The Holy Spirit will come like a refining fire to bring power and purity in your life. 
• Be filled with peace
  When Jesus was baptised and came out of the water, ‘heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him’ (v.16). The dove is a symbol of peace that the Holy Spirit brings to your life. The ‘fruit of the Spirit is… peace’ (Galatians 5:22).
• Be assured of your adoption
  A voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son’ (Matthew 3:17). Jesus is the Son of God in a unique way. However, the Holy Spirit assures all of us that through what Jesus has done for us, we too are sons and daughters of God: You receive the spirit of adoption. And by him you cry, ‘Abba, Father’. The Holy Spirit himself testifies with your spirit that you are a child of God (see Romans 8:15–16).
• Know that you are loved by God
  The voice from heaven said ‘… whom I love...’ (Matthew 3:17). The apostle Paul writes that God’s love for you is poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
• Feel his pleasure
  The voice from heaven says, ‘with him I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17). Again, it was supremely true of Jesus but as you walk in step with the Spirit, you too can experience this sense of God’s delight and pleasure 

In the midst of corruption and evil, it is possible to be different and to make a difference.