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Walk Forrest… Walk On

Posted on March 13, 2023 by expressyourself4him

When I first became a high school Bible teacher at Red Lion Christian Academy, I was surprised by how much television that my students watched outside of school. Apparently, most Christian families at this school had premium cable with several channels devoted to movies. One of the most quoted movies in my class was Forrest Gump. As a junior high cross-country coach, ” run Forrest, run” was a daily occurrence at practice while running on campus.

When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters, Genesis 5:21-22.

While the apostle Paul does compare faith to running in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, you have to learn how to walk before running is possible. As bullies began to throw rocks at Forrest, Jenny, his only friend, introduced the world to this classic line, “RUN Forrest, RUN.” From a spiritual perspective, the Book of Psalm starts with a powerful analogy which illustrates who you walk with dictates the person you ultimately become in life.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the Almighty God; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete), Genesis 17:1.

There are only two human beings who never experienced death according to the Bible. The first was Enoch and second, the prophet Elijah, 2 Kings 2:11. The one trait these two men shared was a willingness to habitually walk with God. If Forrest Gump was re-written from a Christian perspective, the words Jenny uttered would change from Run, Forrrest Run to Walk Forrest, Walk on with the Lord.

by Jay Mankus

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Be a Positive Trend Setter in 2023

Posted on December 31, 2022 by expressyourself4him

One of the major choices you will have to make in life is if you want to go with the flow or become a trend setter? Jesus touches on this subject near the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:13-14. The analogy Jesus uses is based upon who you walk with in life. Are you following the masses on the highway to hell? Or as Robert Frost once penned are you taking, “the Road Less Traveled?” Jesus appears to be referring to Psalm 1:1-3 as who you surround yourself will dictate the choices you make in life.

When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him], Genesis 5:21-24.

After the earth’s first family got off to a rough start with one scandal after another, the first trend setter came 7 generations after Adam. According to the passage above, Enoch wasn’t like most of the men on earth. While others were trying to please their peers, Enoch had his heart on habitually walking with God. Rather than a casual relationship, Enoch daily prayed and drew closer to the Lord. This example set by Enoch appears to have inspired Noah to become a positive trend setter in an evil society.

But Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked [in habitual fellowship] with God, Genesis 6:8-9.

Apparently, everyone but Noah was heading down the highway toward hell. The life and example set by Enoch had been forgotten by followers of God. Rather than take the less traveled path, everyone but Noah went with the flow in a society becoming morally bankrupt with each passing day. Sound familiar? As bad as the media and news makes America and the world sound today, it only takes one trend setter in 2023 to alter the course of history. May the lives of Enoch and Noah inspire you to make a difference in 2023.

by Jay Mankus

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Walking in Habitual Fellowship with God

Posted on December 22, 2022 by expressyourself4him

When you read the four gospels in the New Testament of the Bible, the majority of the travel over land occurs while walking. These trips throughout the eastern Mediterranean region of the Middle East often occur in groups. Jesus sent the other seventy disciples in Luke 10 in pairs of two. Meanwhile, the twelve disciples walked together from place to place, observing and watching their spiritual leader. As Matthew, Mark, Luke and John reflect upon Jesus’ life on earth, He walked in habitual fellowship with God.

Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him], Genesis 5:22-24.

After the first six generations of descendants of Adam were mediocre at best, a shining star is born to Jared and his wife not mentioned by Moses. While the first boy in the Bible called Enoch is Cain’s first son who he built a city in his honor, Moses does not reveal Jared’s inspiration for naming his first son Enoch. The key point to remember about this second Enoch of the Bible is that he habitually walked with God daily. Enoch made the Lord his best friend on earth, praying to Him without ceasing.

And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a [u]deserted place, and there He prayed. 36 And Simon [Peter] and those who were with him followed Him [[v]pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out], 37 And they found Him and said to Him, Everybody is looking for You. 38 And He said to them, Let us be going on into the neighboring country towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out. 39 [So] He went throughout the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons, Mark 1:35-39.

The best example of what habitually walking with God resembles comes from the passage above. John Mark recalls an account from one of the disciples who went searching for Jesus early one morning. As the twelve disciples became stressed out, Jesus was receiving instructions from the Holy Spirit on where to go and what to do, Galatians 5:25. Jesus modeled how to keep in step with the Holy Spirit by his spiritual discipline of an early morning walk and time of prayer. As 2023 approaches, may you be inspired to devote next year to habitually walking in fellowship with God.

by Jay Mankus

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Vanished

Posted on December 20, 2022 by expressyourself4him

If you have ever lost something valuable in life, certain things seem to vanish. When I was a child, I asked my parents if I could hold the money for a local ice-cream shop at the beach. On the final night of our vacation, I was given the cash for everyone’s ice-cream. I remember grasping it tight, walking with my hands in my pocket. Yet, when I went to pull the money out of my pocket, it was gone. Despite desperately retracing my steps, the money vanished from sight, blown by the wind into the night.

And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him], Genesis 5:24.

One New Testament author speaks of Enoch, living seven generations from Adam, Jude 1:14. The author of Hebrews includes this same individual in the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11:5-6. According to Moses, one day when Enoch was 365 days old, about 36.5 years old if you consider the Open Canopy Theory which slowed down the aging process from the sun, this man vanished from the face of the earth. There were no milk cartons back then, but if there were his picture would have been on the back of one.

And when they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 10 He said, You have asked a hard thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you—but if not, it shall not be so. 11 As they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire parted the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces, 2 Kings 2:9-12.

Jeremiah is much more descriptive when a similar event occurs several hundreds of years later. After Elijah had finished grooming his apprentice Elisha, Jeremiah writes about an event out of a science fiction film. According to Jeremiah, a chariot of fire and horses appeared in the sky. This wasn’t Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, but a spiritual prophet escorted by the Lord into heaven. Enoch and Elijah are the only two individuals who simply vanished from earth, never to experience death. May these two accounts make you a believer in an Almighty God this Christmas season, Romans 10:9-11.

by Jay Mankus

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A Child Who Can Alter Your Legacy

Posted on December 18, 2022 by expressyourself4him

If you haven’t learned this from watching cable news, it only takes one act to alter your legacy forever. When earth’s first couple participated in original sin by breaking God’s only boundary placed in the Garden of Eden (not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge), the sinful nature was conceived. Subsequently, when Cain, the first-born child on earth, had his own moral dilemma, a peptalk from God couldn’t alter the decision he had already made in his mind. Cain eliminated the source of his jealousy, Abel.

So Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod [wandering], east of Eden. 17 And Cain’s wife [one of Adam’s offspring] became pregnant and bore Enoch; and Cain built a [f]city and named it after his son Enoch, Genesis 4:16-17.

According to Jude 1:14, Jared’s son Enoch lived seven generations after Adam. When you take into consideration Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, Eve gave birth to two girls. Each of these two were likely women Cain and Abel eventually married. Since Abel’s life was struck down before he was able to have children, Cain’s wife gave birth to the first Enoch. This is what I call a God instance, not a coincidence as Enoch would go on to alter Cain’s legacy as a man and a father.

When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him], Genesis 5:21-24.

Since the earth’s population was reduced from six to five people following Abel’s murder, God didn’t give Cain the death penalty. Rather than cut the earth’s population back to four, Cain was sentenced to a life as a vagabond. However, Moses does record his family’s lineage in the passage above. Instead of dwelling upon and being haunted by his grave error in judgment, Cain devoted his life to raising Enoch. Like Solomon in the book of Proverbs, Cain did all he could to point Enoch in the right direction by avoiding the same mistakes he made in life. As Paul Harvey would say, “and now you now the rest of the story” of how just one child can alter your legacy on earth. If a murderer can raise a godly child who Cain built a city to honor, anything is possible.

by Jay Mankus

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The First Tentmaker

Posted on December 9, 2022 by expressyourself4him

Six months following my graduation from the University of Delaware, I was floundering as a social worker and youth director. Based upon my interactions with ministry leaders in Delaware, I reached a point where I didn’t know what to do anymore. Since my life experiences were limited as a twenty-one-year-old, I scanned the internet to see if there was an organization that could help me. I stumbled upon Tentmakers Youth Ministry based in Hopkins, Minnesota. After a series of phone conversations and interviews, I was selected to participate in a relatively new extensive seven-week leadership training program. When I arrived, this was like a spiritual bootcamp who anyone interested in making the ministry their fulltime career.

To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methusael, and Methusael the father of Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah and of the other was Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle and purchase possessions, Genesis 4:18-20.

Some days when I arrived on campus of the host church, people I talked with the day before were gone. As this training unfolded, a few quit and others were asked to leave because they didn’t possess the necessary ministry skills to survive this difficult career path. What I found out later, leaders were sitting in the back of the room observing our behavior and daily interactions. While this seems cut-throat, it’s better to exit before you fail than end up being the next headline in the latest church scandal. Although the workload was grueling, pressing the limits of my comfort zone day after day, Tentmakers Youth Ministry transformed me. This was the closest I ever came to experiencing heaven on earth, becoming close with people like Phil and Otis, both gifted ministers.

After this [Paul] departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently arrived from Italy with Priscilla his wife, due to the fact that Claudius had issued an edict that all the Jews were to leave Rome. And [Paul] went to see them, 3 And because he was of the same occupation, he stayed with them; and they worked [together], for they were tentmakers by trade, Acts 18:1-3.

This organization is based upon the apostle Paul’s philosophy about ministry. Paul believed that missionaries shouldn’t rely mainly on donations from sponsors. Rather, Paul encouraged Christian leaders to find a trade you are gifted in and use a portion of these funds to support your ministry. One of the reasons why Aquila and Paul became close friends is that they shared the ability to make tents. As Paul traveled throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean Sea, others were impressed by the tent Paul made for himself and wanted one as well. The first recorded tentmaker in history is Jabal, a descendant of Enoch. God blessed Jabal who traveled from field to field with his cattle, living in tents he made. If you have any aspirations to start your own ministry, follow the tentmaker model so that God will begin to make your dreams a reality.

by Jay Mankus

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The Third Child is a Charm

Posted on December 6, 2022 by expressyourself4him

The origin of the expression the“ third times a charm ” dates back to the 17th century in Great Britain. Likely based upon their spiritual heritage and knowledge of the Bible, the English believed the number “3” was lucky, bestowing fortune on a person when they encountered it in their life. This couldn’t be more evident when you consider the third boy mentioned in the Bible. While Jude mentions that Enoch was seven generations from Adam, the rest of Adam’s descendants are skipped by Moses, Jude 1:14.

And Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord. 2 And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground, Genesis 4:1-2.

The first child born to Adam and Eve was Cain which means “I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord.” This help was followed by Abel who went on to become a successful shepherd before his life was cut short, murdered by Cain. Despite receiving harsh punishment from the Lord, Moses does mention his family lineage beginning in Genesis 4:17. Cain was allowed to have a wife who gave birth to Enoch. While Jared was the father of the second Enoch, but Cain was so proud of his son that he built a city and named it after Enoch. Perhaps Jared named his son after the first Enoch.

 [Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. 5 Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God, Hebrews 11:4-5.

One of the first three boys mentioned in the Bible end up in the Hall of Faith. While Hebrews 11:1 and 11:6 receive most of the headlines in sermons, the passage above highlights the faithful nature within Abel and Jared’s Enoch. As a parent who understands the power of prayer, I’m sure Cain’s daily prayer for Enoch and his other children was to avoid the same errors, mistakes, and sins he committed. Rather than write a book like Proverbs, Cain invested his remaining days on earth to become a godly father. May the story of Cain and Enoch inspire you to not give up on your own children, intervening daily like the persistent widow in Luke 18.

by Jay Mankus

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Living Forever Take 3

Posted on November 16, 2022 by expressyourself4him

Part of any Hollywood blockbuster movie are dramatic shifts in the storyline, like a roller coaster with unexpected twists and turns. Viewers are immediately grabbed, their attention is gained and locked in until this two-hour ride ends. Due to original sin, the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, breaking God’s only rule, the Lord’s initial plan of living forever on earth is derailed. The apostle Paul writes about God’s backup plan in Romans 5:12-21, sending a second Adam to restore that which was lost.

And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die, Genesis 2:15-17.

Life expectancy went from 800-900 years all the way down to 120 following the flood. Christian Scientists point to the Open Canopy Theory, an atmosphere without rain which sheltered human beings from direct sunlight thereby slowing down the aging process. This is the most practical way to explain the steep decline in life expectancy. Meanwhile, the curse bestowed by God upon future men and women in Genesis 3:16-24 also points to the gradual decay of the earth as well.

When men began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives of all they desired and chose. 3 Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not forever dwell and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be 120 years, Genesis 6:1-3.

According to the Old Testament, Enoch was the only believer to not experience death on earth, Hebrews 11:5. The key to Enoch’s success and ascension into heaven was due to a consistent relationship with God, Genesis 5:22. From time to time, God will extend someone’s life like Hezekiah. This form of a blessing is addressed by Moses in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, with a simple equation: obedience to God results in blessings.

 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent [Himself] and the Lamb [Himself] are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance (glory) of God illuminate it, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations shall walk by its light and the rulers and leaders of the earth shall bring into it their glory. 25 And its gates shall never be closed by day, and there shall be no night there, Revelation 21:22-25.

When you read the final chapter of the Bible, living forever takes on a new shape and form. Take 1 caused life to end before 1000 years. Take 2 allowed Jesus to restore that which was lost, Luke 19:10, to redeem all who have sinned and fallen short of God’s given. Take 3 begins with the creation of a new Jerusalem. When this city of gold is placed upon the new earth, heaven will be limited to this holy city. All of those in the Book of Life will live forever on earth residing in the New Jerusalem.

by Jay Mankus

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The Comfort and Encouragement of the Holy Spirit

Posted on June 6, 2019 by expressyourself4him

A first century doctor makes an interesting observation about the Holy Spirit.  While initially described as the Holy Ghost in the original King James version of the Bible, Luke describes the feeling and sense new believers experienced following their baptism.  Despite being an invisible force, those who walked with God daily received an inner peace in the form of comfort and encouragement.  When I read the passage below for the first time, I pondered “what does it mean to walk in the comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit?”

So the church throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace [without persecution], being built up [in wisdom, virtue, and faith]; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to grow [in numbers], Acts 9:31.

The term walking with God is found 62 times in the Bible.  One of the first references of this phrase occurs in the passage below, a command from God to Abram to activate his faith by arising and walking to fulfill God’s calling.  While Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 5:22 mentions that Enoch walked faithfully with God.  Subsequently, Enoch was spared death, taken up into heaven like Elijah.  Perhaps, this shines light on the comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

Arise, walk (make a thorough reconnaissance) around in the land, through its length and its width, for I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the Lord, Genesis 13:17-18.

The comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit could also originate from teachings from Moses.  Deuteronomy 28 lists acts that result in blessings and curses from God.  The blessing list lasts 14 verses, followed by 54 verses on curses due to acts of disobedience.  Common sense tells me that if you are walking with God or as the apostle Paul puts it in Galatians 5:25, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, blessings will abound.  Moses states in Deuteronomy 28:2 that” all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God.”  Therefore, as individuals walk with God, blessings will bring comfort and encouragement to ensure believers that you are on the right track.

by Jay Mankus

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