Unity Brings Joy

     If it's possible, find some men and women who pray. That is the way I found out God still speaks and that I could find out what He is saying. Here is an example of when God spoke through my prayer group. I was once on a run, I was talking to God and asking Him why I don't have as much joy as other Christians and why I don't have as much zeal. Next is the part where people, if not trained, can be confused. It seemed as if I heard myself respond in my head, I didn't here a loud God-like voice, I thought it was Him but wasn't for sure. What I heard was, 'Stop reading so many other books and only read the Gospels.' At this time I was reading maybe five other books, and the Bible.
     When I got together with my prayer group that same night, one guy said he felt God saying to him to start reading the Gospels, and we all should too. I was amazed.  I had another instance where I asked God to give me direction in my life, what He wanted me to do, where to live, what was my calling. When I got together with my prayer group, that same day, the same guy as before came up to me and put his hand on me while we were praying. He then spoke the exact words I asked God about earlier. Except with no answer, to my disappointment. Nonetheless it was still amazing. Now I am better at discerning whether it is my voice, or Gods, and with practice I know you can hear Him too.
     Join other people so they can help you tune your ears, confirm words from God, and motivate you when times are difficult. God designed people to be with one another in fellowship, I believe that was His intention with prayer as well.   


And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.   Romans 8:28

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.  Psalm 133

     

Agree and Be Set Free

Psalm 23
  1 The LORD is my shepherd,
            I shall not want.
      2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
            He leads me beside quiet waters.
      3 He restores my soul;
            He guides me in the paths of righteousness
            For His name’s sake.
      4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
            I fear no evil, for You are with me;
            Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
      5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
            You have anointed my head with oil;
            My cup overflows.
      6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
            And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.


     For smoothed face new born believers or wrinkly old believers, scripture is a great place to begin a prayer, especially the Psalms. Get on-line, or read the commentary in your Bible and find some background information, learn the context, learn about God's promises.
     God is a covenant (promise, testament) God. At the end of verse three it says 'For His name's sake.' Meaning He swears by His name, which nothing is greater than. Over and over again, in spite of people living in opposition to Him,  God makes a way for them to return to Him and He makes a promise to them to save them.
     Life is not easy, and for some you have believed God is not there, or He is against you. That is a lie. If you believe that lie its like making a covenant with Satan. It's true, believing something is like making an agreement with it. But if you believe that Jesus died for you and believe in the promises of God you can then come into agreement with the Father, and you will be set free.

      Living my life for Him has not always been easy, but my soul is at rest, and I live out of that rest. There is a peace in me that allows contentment to exist, a hope that is fixed on Jesus, and a future that is being guided by the very hand of the Creator. What do you have?

Protect Your Words

   Yesterday after Church i was doing a few things to help clean up. As I was about to leave the Bible I held under my left arm slipped out, fell open, crushing a few pages in Mark chapter one. A minute later Tim West dropped his Bible, except nothing was damaged. Why, he had a Bible cover that protected it. When his fell he scooped it off the ground unharmed.
     I was reflecting on a passage today out of Matthew, one of Jesus' parables. While pondering, the incident with my Bible popped into my head. As it did, I wondered if this "coincidence" between Tim and I occurred for a reason. Revelation soon came.
     I believe God was telling me to protect my words and wrap them in a presentable manner. 1 Peter 3:15 "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence," Christians are commanded to proclaim the Gospel to all creation. But each of us has been given a message from God to deliver to different people, and with emphasis on different things. Lately I have felt God calling me to bring unity among believers, and remind people to bless people with their words and do not curse them. 
     I am not saying that you can skip over things in the Bible you don't agree with. I am saying find out what hole God wants you to fill in. What breach does He want you to repair. What words has He given you to speak. Gather those words, marinate them in prayer, wrap them with love, and they will fall from your mouth with a cohesive message of grace. If you don't your words will be muddled and nobody will know what your talking about, making a fool of yourself; I've done it before.

Who's Station Are You Tuned Into?

     Here is my rendition based on five points out of a ten point outline from the book "How To Listen To God" by Charles Stanley. The outline is a list of things he believes hinders people from hearing God.

1. Not Knowing God
      It is imperative to know scripture, to know what God's will is. He will not say anything that contradicts his own word. When Satan throws fiery arrows, arrows of lies, doubts and defeating words, will you know where they are coming from, or how to defend yourself. Lack of the knowledge of Gods word can limit your ability to decipher the message you are hearing. God has given His Spirit to help and guide us, speak a short prayer before reading the Bible asking the Holy Spirit to guide you and help you understand His word.
     Knowledge alone is not everything. If you do not know the Father on a personal level, you will not understand much of what He is saying, and where He is coming from. Many people know volumes about Him, but know nothing about being His friend, or a son or daughter. Everything in the Bible brings greater depth when you know you are His child, and that He works all things together for our good, and His glory.

2. Identity Crisis
     This is significant in hearing God, and one of the most important things in life as a whole. People who don't know who they are struggle for a lifetime, and think very little of themselves, thinking less of what they are capable of achieving. After Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness Satan came to tempt him, and he attacked his identity. Jesus combated with the word, tying this with the first point, along with a confidence in who He was. Jesus knew who He was because He knew the scriptures and because He spent hours and nights with God his Father in prayer. If your are a follower of Christ you have that same Father, go to Him.

3. Clouded Conscious
     If there is valid reason to feel guilty, get it right before God; 1 john 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you have already been cleansed and still feel in inadequate you may have a false sense of guilt. Possibly coming from a past hurt that is still not healed. There is no quick fix, it takes time, but allow God to begin to heal you, try to put aside what you think and find out what He says in His word. Ive seen God breakthrough and do more than any secular psychiatrist, and in much less time.

4. Be Still
     I know impossible right, everything is instant and constant, and right in your face. Though you cannot abandon all your responsibilities maybe some of you could drop a few hobbies. After all hearing from the one who determines your destiny is infinitely more important than any form of selfish indulgence. All of us do some sort of preparation before we leave out the front door, don't neglect your spiritual prep, take even five minutes, and do the same in the evening. Weaving the third point with this one, if you have peace with God, you can be still in your spirit, and soul, praying to God all day long; 1 Thess. 5:17 "pray without ceasing."
  
5. Ignorance Is not Bliss
     Some believe Gods Spirit ceased to speak when the Bible was completed, God says nothing about this in scripture, and they are sadly, tragically wrong. Jesus defeated Satan when He died on the cross, justifying who He was when He rose three days later. Although defeated Satan fights a guerrilla warfare against all Saints daily, and keeps his slaves in fetters with his limited power. The Bible gives us all the direction, teaching, and instruction that we need, but the Spirit gives us specific keys to unlock  the hearts of those under Satans yoke. Again, we need to know what God is doing right now, based on the knowledge of His will (Bible), proceeding from our faith in who we are and who He is.  
   
     The next five will be covered in my next blog...

Petitioning the Provider

     Your day consisted of running errands all day, picking up and dropping off kids, nonstop movement. Or maybe it was the busiest most stressful day at the office this month. Whatever your day consisted of you just want to sit and let someone know how you feel, only a few minutes to express your thoughts on the day. Midway through the moment of expression is seems that on the receiving end the person listening isn't really listening, and maybe are only waiting for you to stop talking so they can tell you about their day, or their opinion. Ive been on both sides. When your spoken words fall on deaf ears you don't feel a lot of love. You begin to think that what happened to you doesn't matter to anyone. Let me tell you that your heavenly Father cares more than you or I can imagine. You might think i am exaggerating, maybe you think I am stressing an attribute past its truthfulness to raise my opinion over your doubts. If you have never been in the presence of God, never read His words and believed them, I could see how this could be a stretch. Your Creator has loved you long before the filling of the seas, and long before the birds or the trees. In the psalms it is written this way;                                                            
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
     
     God listens with care and love to every word that falls from your lips, not a one drops without Him hearing every syllable, and every cry that comes forth from your heart in distress Jesus brings to God with urgent delivery. Sinners pray pleading prayers, a hard day comes, a bone shatters, the hangover strikes early in the morning, and you pray for help, and promise to never do harm to anyone, or yourself again, only get me out of this mess i'm in. Ive been there many times before completely giving my life to Jesus, but once you truly know Jesus and the Father, it is a joy to commune with Him, it is the better part of my days, it brings healing to my soul, and substance to my being. If you are a follower of God and you still only pray when you're in trouble, and need His help, you need to find a way to enter in to a greater prayer life. Because that is life, a constant, never ending prayer to the One you love the most, between the coffee shop and the car, thanking God for blessings, while in the car cruising back to work, praising Him for salvation, hope and joy, waking in the morning, whispering 'Lord let heaven invade earth today, your will be done and not my own.' Pray without ceasing, and before you know it, it is no longer something you have to attempt, it just flows from your heart. 
     Frustration has been common in my prayer life many times. Some helpful advise that i heard recently struck a chord that has helped my prayers ring from my heart to God with a little more ease; do not compare yourself with the great men of prayer who prayed for hours a day, prayed for rain to cease and fall, prayed for revival that changed a land. You will only feel like your falling short. Let their prayers be your aim, and let your focus be on talking to your Father, just talk, tell Him what you think, whats bubbling up in your heart. Don't make it pretty, fancying and tucking your words to make them presentable. God already know whats on your heart, just say it. Lastly, read the psalms, jump around and skip twenty chapters or so each time, they all have different themes, and in there you will see how men that were close to God spoke to Him on a daily basis. 
     God loves you, take some time and find out what He is saying, write things down that you sense He is saying and impressing on your heart, pay attention to things around you, He speaks in many ways, and before you know it you will hear Him speak, or see signs of His hand at work around you, and realize He has been speaking all along. His spoken words filled the deep oceans and the skies, His voice brought life out of dust. Allow Him to speak living words into your life. Lets hear from God. 
 
 

"Is There Anybody Out There?"

     Is there anybody out there, It's a repetitive lyric in the song "Is There Anybody Out There?" from the Album "The Wall" by Pink Floyd. The lead singer sings it multiple times, plays a classical guitar solo, and the song ends. Does this sound like your prayer life; knees face down, testing the spiritual climate with a few words of repentance, paraphrasing the Lord's Prayer, feelings of boredom and frustration ensue, topped off with silence, no response. What did you do wrong, did you not say the right words, enter in with the wrong attitude, leaving with a worse one? Certainly not. In the days of old, before Jesus, if one wished to enter into the presence of God you had to be a chosen priest and follow strict rules and procedures, mess up, and it could cost you your life, seriously. But one came with greater glory than any other, and that man was Jesus; He alone has made a way to the Father. It is by the Son of God's sacrifice alone that allows us to enter that place, where God sits on His throne of grace in the holy of holies. The veil separating God and man was torn when Christ died on the cross, making a way, that was impossible up until that pivotal point in history, to commune with the Father. If you do not accept this reality, or fully understand it, you may want to do some further research of your own. Nonetheless i still believe that even if you are not a follower of Christ, God will meet you where you're at, and He loves all people just the same. Whether or not a child listens, obeys, or does as the father commands, He still loves the child; and do not compare this love with the affections of your earthly father, for your father in Heaven created you, your are His beloved, His joy, the Apple of His eye, please, let Him reveal and release the immeasurable blessings, love and joy He has promised you from heaven, only allow Him to speak. So give Him time, have hope and look for the answer, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. Be specific and read His word. God often speaks to me through scripture more than anything else. Ask, seek, and knock, and if it is the Lord's will, count it as answered.
     I am still learning how to hear God on a greater level, but i can tell you that it is much easier than one may think. I have learned a few things along the way that help, and a few that hinder. If anyone has some advice and wisdom of their own, please leave a comment, were all here on earth together to discover if there is anybody out there, and there is One up there that is waiting for your revelation with more anticipation than you are, He has made a place for you to dwell, will you listen to what He has to say?

Listening to God

     The Lord still speaks today, I am still learning the art, and way of life of listening and waiting for God to speak, but i hope i can help people who struggle with this common difficulty to the best of my knowledge, with much help from the Holy Spirit, thank you Lord.