God's Talking: Are you listening?

Often in the hectic paces of life, it may seem that God isn't talking to us. We read the Bible, but it doesn't have the same effect. We pray and find ourselves wondering if we were heard.  We try to stay faithful, but find doubts creeping in. We know that God speaks through His word and answers prayers. But how do we know God’s will? How do we know if it is not expressed specifically in black and white scripture what God is saying to us?

  "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God." 

Job 37:14     

We may have our issues, that Job’s friends weren't such good friends to comfort a suffering man. Yet, that doesn't make everything that they say erroneous. The statement above is a good case in point, as it offers some very good advice. When we’ve tried everything else and we still don’t think we can hear God, you often have to be quiet in order to hear God speak. This means sitting down – you and God – and you listening quietly. Turn off the cell phone! Turn off the TV!  

One of the reasons why God may never speak to you could be because you’re never quiet. Cultivating a quiet mind takes practice and has to become a habit. God may actually be revealing His will to you, lighting your path, enlightening your wisdom, you’re not hearing because He’s getting a busy signal from you. You've got to reserve time alone with God. So, here are some things to think about....

• Is getting God’s dream for your life, voice in your life, will in your life worth one day of your life? 
• Have you ever taken an entire day and done nothing but be alone with God? 
• Have you taken advantage of Sunday worship, to get yourself in tune with the Spirit of God? Let God talk to you through the Bible. Relax. Think. 
• Have you tried writing down the thoughts God puts in your mind? 
• Have you determined to set spiritual goals that you know that God wants you to achieve? 
• Look through your schedule for the week – is God there? We work, do things that we consider important – is God there in your priorities?

Recently, someone determined to spend one day saying nothing negative about anyone or anything. They found this to be a great challenge, yet in doing so they heard God’s voice telling them that they had let their lives become controlled by this type of thinking. We go here..go there – have you ever asked God, “God, where do you want me to go? What direction do you want me to go?”

God speaks to people who take the time to listen — not just for a day, but also on a regular

basis. This is called a quiet time. We exercise it best, when The Lord’s Day is the most important day for us and we wouldn't miss it for anything.  You think you don’t have time for this? We’re talking about figuring out why you’re here on Earth, so you've got to make the time.

• Do you want to hear God speak to you? What are you willing to do about it?
• How much time do you actually spend being quiet and waiting on God to speak to you?
• What distractions need to eliminated so that you can spend more time with God?

          "Hear this, O ; stop and consider the wondrous works of God." 

Jim

Prepared to Answer

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet.3:15)

This advice is given by Peter in his encouragement to the Christians of his day as they came in contact with people on a day to day basis. Many read this scripture and experience fear. Fear that they have to become bible scholars in order to teach someone.  Unfortunately, this is a fear that has been instilled into believers for over 1800 years, when religious leaders told people like you and me that we could not do this because we were not “professionals,” or part of what became known as the “Clergy.” This however is NOT biblical teaching.  Paul considered himself a “brother” and “fellow servant” with Tychicus (Col. 4:7). The same was true for Paul and Epaphras (Col.1:7). Ephroditus was Paul’s “brother, co-worker and fellow soldier” (Ph’p.2:25). Paul and Timothy called themselves the “servants” of the Corinthian church (1 Cor.4:5). Peter viewed Silas as his “faithful brother” (1 Pet. 5:12). The apostles never talked in terms of “us” and “them” in the context of serving Christ. They considered themselves to be fellow laborers with all believers in the church.

The truth is, that everyone you come in contact with needs a reason for hope.  We all want the world to be a better place, yet, few do anything about it to make it better for someone other than themselves. That is why Peter states what he does. Christians should be and appear in public to be people that look beyond life and its drudgery to something better.  A happiness in their step, a smile on their face, an encouragement in their talk.  The hope that best helps people is the hope from somebody who says, “Been there, done that.”

Most think “give an answer to every man” in Peter’s passage means they have to explain why Jesus died on the cross, quote Scripture verses from memory, and know a bunch of Greek or Hebrew. We are not Lawgivers – there is only one with that authority – Christ (Jas.4:12).  We are not Attorneys or Lawyers of the Bible, again, that role belongs only to Jesus (1 Tim.2:5).  It’s not your job to convince people to accept Christ, and try as you can you cannot convert anyone (1 Cor.3:7). God does that. So what does this mean? It means simply that you tell others what has given you hope, a reason to smile, an outlook that today is good even though it has evil things in it.  He wants you to say, “Pain really got my attention. Let me tell you what I learned. I learned that God is all I need. You don’t know God is all you need until God is all you’ve got. I learned that God’s going to hang with me no matter what.” You simply share what you have learned through your own difficulty and experience. You tell people what changed you!

We all recognize others that have difficulties by the looks on their faces, the demeanor they carry – that “aura” that says “I need a friend right now.” What are the good and bad experiences in your life that God can use to impart hope with someone else? That’s what God wants you to do.

Can you think of one person in your life that you can share experience from your life with this week?  

Jim

TEACH ME!

 Psalm 119:12 "Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!"

Paul told Timothy to "be diligent to present yourself approve unto God (2 Tm.2:15)."  The King James Version translates this "Study to show yourself approved unto God." We take the KJV side of things a lot of times and use this to prove that we need to study (as in school work) God's word.  While this is not a wrong concept, this is not what Paul intended Timothy to understand. He wanted him to understand that being approved of God could come only from being diligent to present yourself everyday as God's workman.  With diligence in approaching God's Word, we also need an attitude of dependence.   Proverbs 2:2-5 states, "making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."  Notice the statement in this..."call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding..."   This is an attitude far different from a more usual perfunctory prayer for God to teach us as we go to weekly Bible study.

Do we really believe we're dependent on the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding or do we  depend on our own intellectual ability in our study of Scripture?   I suspect that many of us, while giving lip service to dependence on the Spirit, actually depend on our own intellect.

It's difficult to maintain an attitude of diligence to be coupled with dependence. Yet, we must do this if we want to learn of God. He does not reward laziness, yet, neither does he reward a sinful self-confidence. Diligence when it is pursued with a sincere attitude and a reflection of total dependence on God. What we're talking about here is not just acquiring more knowledge of biblical truth. We have that.  Rather, we need to develop Bible-based convictions by which we are to live.  You might say, "Well...I have that." Unfortunately, too many Christians seem to approach Bible study in the same way they would approach academic subjects. We go to church, get our assignments, do our homework and move on to the next. When we do this, we're more apt to become proud over our "superior" knowledge of biblical truth"  than be humbled by what God would reveal to us. Our prayers should be to pray for knowledge of truth that will change our lives rather than simply inform our minds. Paul warned the Corinthians in 1 Cor.8:1, "we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up." 

We need to pray with the psalmist, "Teach me, o Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end" (Psalm 119:33).

Jim

Handling THE TRUTH!

Handling THE TRUTH!

"Don't believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God;

test it first to see if it really is!"

1 John 4:1 (LB)

When we get an idea in our mind, how do you know if it’s from God? How do you know it’s not your own desire or even a lie from Satan? The answer is given in the scripture itself - "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1Jn 4:1"

So how can I tell if something is from God or not?

• The first test - “Does it agree with the Bible?” God’s truth is consistent. He is not going to tell you one thing in the Bible and then tell you something different somewhere else. This is where we must be careful, because of several things:
• First - 2 Co 11:13,14 "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." We must be aware that even though the scripture is God's word, there are men that will wrest and twist the scripture to their own devices (2 Pet.3:16). Satan himself, quotes scripture in the tempting of people (Mt.4:1-10).
• Second, it is MY responsibility to make sure that what is being said is in agreement with God's word (Acts.17:11). Just because someone quotes the Bible or says that the Bible says or teaches something does not mean that it does. It is up to me to search it out and make sure that it does.
• Second - Pro 12:19 "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Truth stands the test of time. At the time that Jesus spoke it, more than 2000+ years or more had passed from the time of creation to that point. Yet, Jesus points out that what was true in the beginning of creation regarding marriage, was true in His time and continues to be true today (Mt.19:8). TRUTH in God's word DOES NOT CHANGE! Mal 3:6 "For I the LORD do not change.."

If you want to know God’s voice, the only book you need to read is the Bible - PERIOD! You do not need priests, people, magazines, or anything else. All you need is God, His word, yourself and time - to know for certainty what God has said. You need to memorize the scripture, study it, and meditate on it. John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me..."

When you know God’s Word you will not be fooled by lies (Heb.4:12). But you will always get into trouble when you doubt the Bible.Paul reminded the Galatians as well as us, Galatians 1:8 "Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed" (NLT). So if anyone ever comes up to you and says you need the Bible plus another book to find truth, they are wrong. Rom. 3:4 "No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God, "Your words will be proven true, and in court you will win your case."

Jim

CRUELTY!

CRUELTY!

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up,

as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Eph 4:29

Cruelty is a deliberate infliction of pain or suffering, an action that displays a quality or characteristic of being cruel. We associate cruelty with people that are evil and void of conscience, someone with malicious intent. Murder is a cruel act in and of itself but in certain circumstances can be even more heinous and cruel by things that take the act itself to the extent of torture. We don't often associate godly things with cruelty, because of the negative its nature.

We have the truth, God's word that can set us free! Its wisdom can show us the paths to walk, and its pages testify to the grace that God gives. You and I are told to study it, examine it, search it, and live it. We are told in 2 Tim.3;16,17 "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." Yes! -- reproof (to convict) - we're going to slap them in chains! Correction - we're going to take a stick to them! Instruction in righteousness - for all that evil living that they are doing, we're going to rake them over the coals of God's word! But -- is this the attitude that Jesus tells us to have? I agree, that there is a time and place for all things. There is a time, when someone is doing wrong, that we need to convict them of the wrong, sometimes more sternly than others. Yes, there is a time to correct, again sometimes more sternly than others. And....there are times to rake people over the pointed edges of the word of God! But, I find these times few.

We wax bold with God's word because it makes us righteous, but we should take care to heed Paul's warning in 1 Cor.8:1, that"..knowledge puffs up.." The same word that tells us to do the things that we mentioned above also warn you and I as followers of Christ

1. Eph 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
2. Col 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
3. Jas 3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
   

Just because we "have" the truth, does not mean we can use it indiscriminately. Again, God's word itself reminds us, Heb 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." It is two edged, meaning that what I use, can come back and cut me as well. If I use God's word in judgmental, harsh, and cruel ways, I may be speaking truth, but what does God's word reveal of my own intention?

Let's take care in our zeal to defend the word of God, that we do not under the guise of proclaiming "righteous judgment" inflict with our voices, actions, and mannerisms a cruelty that God does not. It is true that we must let the Bible speak for itself, and it does so very clearly. But it does not need our emotional embellishment, nor does it need our baggage attached. This is why Jesus warned the Pharisees, Matt. 7:5 "You hypocrite! First, take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye! "

Jim

REVIEW: Influencing Like Jesus by Michael Zigarelli

Lately, I have been trying to "improve my serve" so to speak, looking into ways that I can be a better teacher, mentor, person. This set me on a quest for knowledge and I didn't want to approach things the old standard way. I've seen too many books out there that treat teaching the gospel like selling the latest "Bando buy it now for only $19.95" commercial. I wanted something genuine, that helped me to think.

Enter Michael Zigarelli's book "Influencing Like Jesus" that was recommended to me. So I did the cautious thing and went to Amazon to check it out. I wanted to see what others had said about it, and if I could to get a sneak peek inside. I found that I was able to download a sample, so I did. I liked what I saw, but initially thought that this was sort of the "same ol'" that I have heard. So, I bought the book - the actual book not a digital copy.

Now, I'm a slow reader because I like to process what I read. I like to catch the snipits and dwell on them, think about them, and study them along with the Bible if they are a spiritually oriented book as this one is. And I have been processing.

• Much of what he has written, I already "know" and a lot of it I have done. What I found intriguing was the genuineness behind the book and the encouragement I felt to do and be what he was recommending.
  
• Another thing that stood out to me in the book was the parallels to biblical examples to what he was citing. This - struck home with me!
  
• The more I read, the more intrigued I became. I also now have the workbook, and find it equally stimulating.
  
• Each section offers opportunity for reflection and discussion (especially if you are in a small group) and a worksheet - which I loved and have implemented.

My overall opinion on this book if you have not gathered by now, is good. I heartily recommend it to those trying to teach others the gospel or to lead group studies within their congregations. I believe you can be bettered by reading it. Its intriguing and not some boring "sales manual" type of book. It is engaging and I recommend it for your own library and personal development. You won't be sorry.