Dr. Rick Mandl - October 12, 2020
What Do You Think Of When You Hear The Word "Kiss"?
Devotional Manuscript: What Do You Think Of When You Hear The Word Kiss?
Message by Dr. Rick Mandl, October 12,2020.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Depending on how your mind works, you might be ready to rock out with Gene Simmons. . . Or maybe it would motivate you to go and grab hold of your sweetheart. Let me try and take your mind in a different direction – which is to the acronym that someone developed many years ago in which K.I.S.S. stood for …. Keep It Simple Stupid. It was a challenge to THINK and SPEAK as if the listener knew nothing of what we are explaining.
One of the few positive side effects of the pandemic that we’ve been going through is that it has helped some of us to evaluate our priorities so that we can focus on what's really important in life? When it comes to our spiritual life, it's hard for us to focus when we're constantly on the move. So God calls us to slow down, To catch our breath, To let our souls catch up with our bodies, and pause and listen to what He's saying to us personally.
I was reminded of what Jesus told the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2: To them he said . . . (Rev. 2:2-4 NKJV) “I know your works. . .Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Somehow they had lost sight of the simplicity and intimacy of their walk with God.
One biblical figure, who we really don’t know a lot about, but who demonstrated the simplicity of a walk with God was Enoch. He’s mentioned twice in scripture. First in the book of Genesis . . . and then again in Faith’s Hall Of Fame, in Hebrews 11. Probably the main thing Enoch is known for is that he didn't die a physical death. Don’t ask me to explain it – because I can’t. It’s one of those cases where the Bible says it, and I believe it. But beyond that, Enoch left an incredible legacy. Genesis 5 tells us that "Enoch walked with God three hundred years" (v. 22). And Hebrews 11 says that "before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (v. 5).
The example of Enoch reminds us that spirituality, at is core is simple: It is just having daily, intimate communion with God. . . Consistently hanging out with Him. . . Letting Him in on everything, and living to please Him. And Enoch did that. When pleasing God becomes the determining factor for the decisions you make— When the disposition of your heart is to say, "Whatever God would have me do, I'm going to do it." Then everything else becomes simple.
Jesus put it this way. He said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33 NKJV). In other words . . . All you have to do is look to glorify Him, live to please Him and walk with Him, and the rest will fall into place.
So let me ask you… Are you walking with God today? Are you living to please Him? Or are you just kind of casually, aimlessly meandering through life with little thought as to how he would have you to live? Think about this: If you lived to be over 300 years old like Enoch, could it be said you walked with God all that time?
Don't complicate your walk with the Lord. Keep it simple. Keep your eyes on Him, and do your best to walk with Him. It really is that simple.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
From Series: "Daily Devotional Videos"
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