Do You Hear What I Hear?

Let's talk about God talking. Every day we go around crying "God has forsaken us. He doesn't answer our prayers. He doesn't speak to us the way He did to the people in the Bible. They must have been extremely special. More so than me." Baloney! This is a cop-out. A "reason" not to exert ourselves spiritually.

God speaks today the same as He did 2,000+ years ago. Back then a lot of people spoke to God and He responded. The only differences between then and now are the listeners and the external noises.

Two thousand years ago people wanted to hear what God had to say - if not directly from Him (out of fear), then from His prophets and priests. They actively and regularly (daily) sought His presence. They didn't sit around and wait for Him to seek them (as many people do today). Nor did they want to hear God rephrase their own thoughts.

Two thousand years ago there were the sounds of nature (wind, sheep, birds, etc.), peace (people talking with each other, praying, laughing, etc.) and fewer Satan worshippers, witches, atheists, etc. God spoke in a quiet, gentle, assured voice (see I Kings 19:12).

We speak loudest when we are trying to convince ourselves or others of something. But God is God He doesn't need to convince anyone of anything. He knows what is. God still speaks in the same voice.

Only now there are the sounds of destroyed nature (machinery, factories, traffic, etc.), strife (people arguing & screaming, guns, bombs, etc.), distractions (TV, radio, movies, computer, video games, etc.) and the growing population of Satan's followers, witches & atheists loudly denouncing God. There is so much noise we can barely hear ourselves think.

Plus people - Christians - have become arrogant and lazy. We sit around and wait for God to come to us and request an audience with us. We wait to hear God speak our own words & thoughts. We wait for Him to shout above the noise. And then we cry "Why can't we hear Him?".

He's still talking. Yet we say "He must have forsaken us. We're not special enough. He doesn't answer our prayers. He never speaks to us. It must not be for today. It must be a thing of the past."

Who the heck are we to expect God to seek an audience with us? Who are we that He should raise His voice so our tiny ears can hear Him? God is speaking to us - right now - the same as He did to Samuel, Moses and Ezekiel. We're just not listening the same way they did. Instead of us being so arrogant that God should shout above the worldly noises and our own distractions so we can hear, we should be humble enough to tune out the world, turn off the distractions and strain our ears so we can hear His constant, steady, quiet voice.

Too Much of a Good Thing

There was a wonderful lady who was deeply concerned with helping others. Out of this concern came the need to get involved. She realized that the best place to start was in her own city. One of the greater problems in her city was the growing number of people with little or no food. She began by making donations. This quickly led to her asking for donations from co-workers and neighbors. These she would take to the local missions and food banks. Soon she began working in these places. This grew to the point of her using her own kitchen to prepare food for the hungry. She would awake early in the morning to start cooking and continued late into the night. She then began delivering this food to the people personally, often staying hours to minister to or counsel them. Her every thought was to help these people.

They found her in her own bed. Apparently she had died in her sleep. She was a shadow of a human being - barely skin and bones. The autopsy confirmed that she had died from prolonged starvation. She was so busy feeding others, she neglected to feed herself.

Be very careful. Always check yourself spiritually. Don't be so preoccupied with feeding others spiritual food that you neglect to feed yourself. Otherwise you will shrivel up and die - spiritually. Don't be so laden with spiritual anchors to help secure others to the Rock that you fail to check your own, making sure that the constantly shifting tides haven't loosened it from the Rock.

A Rose By Any Other Name

You hold in your hand a piece of fruit. Inside that fruit there are orange seeds. Will the outside be red, smooth and shaped like an apple? Or long, thin and yellow like a banana?

No, of course not! The skin will be a bumpy, orange rind!

So it is with the seed of the Lord. If you truly have the seed (His Spirit, His Word) of the Lord inside you, then your outside appearance will not be that of a worldly person.

If your feet are pointed north, but your eyes are looking south, you may think you are reaching your destination when you are actually going in the opposite direction. If you continue walking in this manner, most of the time your eyes will turn in the direction of your feet - not the other way around. And you may possibly get hurt...or hurt somebody else.

So it is with the Lord. Your eyes (heart) may be on the Lord, but if your feet (actions) are turned toward the world you are going in the wrong direction and will never reach your goal of accomplishing God's will in every area of your life. Nor will be able to answer the call He has on your life and fulfill your true prupose. You will probably get hurt. You will probably hurt others. Eventually...your eyes will turn in the direction of your feet...then where will you be??

First Love - What Will You Choose?

Rev. 2:4 - Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

I don't know about you, but I've heard this scripture preached numerous times. And usually the context is how we usually abandon our first love and move on to others. Rarely do any of us stick with - and marry - our "first loves".

But this morning, the Lord showed me a whole different meaning to "first love".

Think about ALL the times you were (or thought you were) "in love". With each and every one - it starts out the same. You're passionately "in love". The other person can do NO wrong. They have NO faults whatsoever. Nobody can convince you that this isn't THE greatest person on the face of the earth. They don't have to do anything - give you anything. But if they do, no matter how insignificant, it becomes the greatest treasure you ever had. They could pick up a rock in the street, scrawl your name on it, give it to you and all you can see is a gem greater than the Hope Diamond. You absolutely adore them. As far as you're concerned this is THE one and nobody can say ANYthing at all to make you doubt that.

However, as time passes, and you stayed with that person past this "fairytale" state (whether you marry or not) you start noticing things...differences. You start listening to other people's opinions...thoughts...impressions. You start looking for faults...questioning their motives...accusing them. You begin to doubt your feelings...your future. You start expecting them to give you things...do things for you...and when they don't...regardless of how viable their excuse is...you begin to doubt their feelings for you. At this point, most people bail - regardless of whatever commitment they may have made. Nothing the other person can say or do matters or can change your mind - you're moving on. Some move on physically. Some physically stay, but move on emotionally.

If you're one of the very rare and few who sticks it out past this stage, you realize that nobody's perfect. You look at yourself and see your own faults. And you CHOOSE to stick it out. You CHOOSE to work at it. You realize that true love is deeper than you ever imagined. You also realize that you can still have that wonderful "fairytale" love...but you have to "work" at it...continue "courting" each other...spend time with each other. You look into their eyes and somewhere from deep within that familiar "fairytale" feeling comes bubbling up.

That's what God showed me this morning. Now before anybody gets their feathers ruffled - I am in NO way saying that God is not perfect or that He has flaws or faults. Nothing could be further from the truth!! But as "new" Christians we have that "fairytale" love and acceptance of the Lord. We just want to be in His presence. We don't expect ANYthing from Him - salvation was more than enough. People call us "radical"and we just fluff it off - "they just don't understand". You look at flowers blooming and gush that He did that just for you. Nobody can say anything to make you doubt your faith or your future. His Word is golden. And you will NOT accept anything the world has to offer any longer - it's ALL God or nothing.

But somewhere along the way - for whatever reason - many of us start listening to the "popular opinion". Start "toning down" our faith to a more "acceptable" decible. Flowers are just weeds that popped up because seeds happened to be scattered there by some passing bird. We start looking for faults and flaws - in His actions...in His Word. We question His motives. We start expecting Him to do things for us...give us things. We try every "10 step program" to get health...prosperity...and then get frustrated and angry at Him when it doesn't work. When adverse things happen to us or around us we accuse Him of letting us down or deserting us. We start looking to the world for comfort...entertainment...advice. At this point, many walk away. Not to the point that they denounce Christ (although some do). But rather they let it become a "marriage of convenience" - no longer do they read or study God's Word...church becomes a duty they perfom once a week for appearances sake....worship is merely the 3 songs they are obligated to sing at church on Sunday.

But the Lord wants you to know it doesn't have to be that way. But you will have to CHOOSE for it not to be. You will have to CHOOSE to stick it out. You will have to CHOOSE to work at it. That means spending time with Him...in His Word..in His presence...in worship - when you don't "feel like it"...when it's not convenient...when it's not popular. Close your ears to the world's "political correctness". Turn to Him for advice...comfort...love. And you will look on Him - in your thoughts...prayers...worship - and somewhere from deep within will come bubbling up this feeling that is so familiar...and sweet!

Do it today...as His return is nigh! I love how The Message Bible puts it:
Rev. 2:4-5 - "But you walked away from your first love—why? What's going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall! Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle."