My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life,
and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. - John 27-28
ESV
Grace and Peace in Jesus!
I am sorry that I missed you last week. Kim and I escaped to the Oregon Coast for
the weekend. It was a much needed break for both of us.
I have read the Bible several times, I start in Genesis and end up in Revelation.
It is good, but sometimes it can be "Dry". This time I mixed it up a bit. I am reading a little Old Testament, a Psalm, and a little New Testament. I like it quite a bit. I have posted this weeks reading schedule towards the bottom if you wanted to give it a try.
Greetings!
I am sure that you have heard someone say "It is good to hear your voice". Or maybe
you have experienced that feeling yourself? You know the feeling, maybe it has been
a long time since you have spoken to a best friend or family member, and just hearing
their voice brings about feelings of comfort and remembrance of good times.
Life is noisy. It is in two ways, first, you have the non-stop cell phones, TVs,
stereos, iPods, CD players, car radios, airplanes, car engines, lawnmowers....
it just seems like you never get away from the volume of life. Second, you have
the "Noise" of life. You get up in the morning, fight traffic, work a full day with
all the pressures that a job carries, fight traffic on the way home. When you get
home you try and live up to the expectations a being a Godly parent. Maybe you might
find sometime to watch a little TV, then off to bed to start the cycle over again.
Or maybe you have several little ones at home that you take care of. The day starts
early in the morning, trying to do the chores of life while raising children, dinner,
then maybe find time to crash on the couch at night. Maybe GOD has called you to
be a student right now, and trying to balance your studies, a job, and life seems
to fill your entire day and night. Wherever you are in life right now, praying and
reading your Bible seems like a luxury.
Kim and I were feeling the "Noise" of life. It seems like it started when my disease
hit. Our lives changed dramatically. We were dealing with trying to combat the
disease,
raise a very free-willed child, Kim had to go back to work..... life was "Noisy".
Then as my disease stabled a bit we started our own business which lead to a whole
new kind of "Noise".
I can remember feeling very distant from Jesus, I know it is never Jesus that leaves
us, we pull away from Him. So, I knew that it was something that I was doing. I
remember going in my room alone and praying every night trying to hear Him speak
into my life. I remember pleading with Him just to give me some direction in my
life, but I never heard Him speak. Yes, I was reading my Bible, but you know what
I am talking about, that small little voice.
Then it dawned on me, my life had too much "Noise". GOD wanted to speak to me, but
I had so much "Noise" in my life I could not hear. I started to look in my Bible
to refresh my memory of how GOD spoke.
GOD frequently spoke in the silence, one on one. GOD appeared to Abraham near the
trees of Mamre while he was sitting in the heat of the day. (Gen. 18:1)
GOD spoke to Moses at the Mountain of Horeb. (Exodus 3)
Moses was given the Ten Commandments alone on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19)
Moses withdrew to his Tent of Meetings where he met with GOD one on one.
GOD spoke to Samuel while we was lying down in the Temple. (1 Samuel 3)
Then there is one of my favorite stories where GOD spoke to Elijah on top of a
mountain,
in a gentle whisper, after a lot of "Noise" (Powerful wind, earthquake, and fire)
(1 Kings 19:11-18)
If you jump to the New Testament, Jesus withdrew to solitary places to speak to
His FATHER many times. You can go cover to cover of the Bible and find many examples
of where GOD spoke one on one, alone.
So, Kim and I went to Oregon last weekend to get away from the "Noise", and guess
what? I heard GOD speak. I was tired out from the walking we had done during the
day, so Kim went for a walk down the beach, and I hung out alone just taking in
the view at Haystack Rock. Finally, I heard that small voice speaking to me. You
know the neat thing, now that I have heard that Voice again, I can identify it more
easily. Since last weekend, GOD has spoken to me again.
I do not know how long it has been since you have heard that Voice. Maybe you are
new to all this and you have never heard HIS voice. GOD is always by you, waiting
to speak into your life, but sometimes we need to slow down, turn off the "Noise"
so that we can hear HIS voice. I am not saying that you need to go on vacation to
hear HIM. Maybe a visit to the local park, maybe a hike on that mountain trail,
maybe an afternoon next to that river? I think that main thing is to be alone with
your Creator, turn off the "Noise" and listen. Don't you find it interesting how
GOD and nature connect? Have a BLESSED Week and may you hear GOD speak into your
life. - Jim
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to
completion
at the day of Jesus Christ.- Philippians 1:6 ESV
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you that you pursue us with your love, thank you that you never leave us,
that you are always there for us.
GOD please help us find the time to connect to you. Show us how to turn off the
"Noise" of life and listen to you.
Holy Spirit please move and fill up all my friend's lives that are reading this.
Help them find that voice.
We ask these things in Jesus' loving name.
Amen
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