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Many Voices

Jeremiah 7:23 (AMP) But this thing I did command them: ‘Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.’ 

Many people want to hear God on the direction to go in life. Do we take a certain job? Do we enroll our kids in this school? Do we move to this city? As I see it, there are three voices speaking to us at all times. There is God’s, there is the devil’s and then there is ours. Which one will you listen to?

John 10:4-5, 10 (AMP) When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

The sheep are brought out in the presence of not just their shepherd. This let’s me know that the stranger does not need to be absent for me to know the voice of God. The stranger was present, not absent. They can lead us to food and drink also. What is the devil’s motive? To get us distracted, to get us in offense, to get us away from our purpose. When I read the parable of the sower, I can also see that the seed of the Word is planted even in the midst of satan (Mark 4:15). We have to get to know Christ to know the voice of God.

Looking at Jeremiah 7 again, verse 24 says, “But they did not obey Me or bend their ear [to hear Me], but followed the counsels and the stubbornness of their [own] evil heart (mind), and [they turned and] went backward instead of forward.” This reminded me of the story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24. Balaam was a prophet and the King of Moab called after him so that he could curse the Israelites. Each time Balaam was approached they offered more and more treasures. Balaam went to God on each occasion. The third time God told him to go. Why? It was in his heart that he wanted to go anyways. On the journey Balaam was riding a donkey. The donkey kept leaving the trail. Why? An angel was in the way. Balaam was beating the donkey each time and finally the donkey spoke. Talk about God making you listen. The donkey was trying to save Balaam’s life because the angel was sent to kill him. Balaam was not able to curse Israel, instead he blessed them at every turn. It no longer mattered about the silver and gold that had been offered to him. He had to follow the voice of God.

Isaiah 30:21 (AMP) Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Listening for His direction often comes in a still quietness within you. I have to go back to the Word. Is this going to line up with what Christ told us to do (John 15:12)? Is this going to glorify God (not me)? Is this going to benefit others? I recently came into a situation that required me to talk about someone that I have not had contact with in many years. The still voice in me has been nudging me to go see them. Why? We are called into the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). There is nothing in our lives to keep us from loving others. We cannot keep an account of all the wrongs they have done to not see them reconciled to Christ. How do I know that it is God? It is not something I would have chosen to do. I am making a step of obedience. Do I know what the outcome will be? It is beyond me. I can reason it away: “they have not asked me to come,” “they pulled through,” “what happens to them does not affect me.” That is not how Christ responds to us. Love always hopes.

Whose voice are you listening to today? God’s, ours or the devils? Many times we want to be selfish and that leads us to listen to the other to voices, ours and the devil’s. God’s is going to lead us to a life we could never have imagined for ourselves. I love how John talks about the Word (Christ): “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men (John 1:1-4).” Then in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.” I am going to keep listening out for the voice of my Shepherd (God).

Jehovah Nissi, our Banner, our Maker, we see You in Your Glory and Majesty. We call You Holy. Thank You for Your Son for being our Prince of Peace and and our Prince of Wholeness. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we know Your Voice. We are thankful for Your Word and the direction of Your Voice through all that You have given us. We repent for falling into the deception of selfishness, for listening to other voices including ourselves. We repent for the lure of the strangers voice to the things that look good, but truly are not for our benefit. We want to glorify You in all that we do and say. Thank You for seeking the best for us and others. You gave Your best when You sent Your Son. Let us remember what He left us to do, to go out and make disciples of Your ways. We surrender our hearts to You so that we can Love the way You Love. Grow that Love deeper withing us so that it is all that pours out of us. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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To Know His Heart

Luke 22:42 (AMP) “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup [of divine wrath] from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.”

My husband and I just celebrated twenty eight years of being a couple. We met on a blind date as teenagers and have been together ever since (we did not become official boyfriend/girlfriend for almost a month). In those twenty eight years we are still getting to know different areas of each other. We have changed and grown. To show you love someone is to get to know them over and over again. You will join in on things they enjoy. You will want to speak their love language. If they do not know your love language, then you should help them discover it. 

Gary Chapman describes our love languages in five different areas: 
Words of Affirmation - words that communicate your love, appreciation, and respect for another person. They're positive words and phrases used to uplift someone. What's more, these compliments and words of encouragement don't have to be said directly to the person. 
Quality Time - centers around togetherness. It's all about expressing your love and affection with your undivided attention. 
Giving Gifts - involves tangible items with thoughtful meaning. Gifts do not have to cost a lot of money. They simply show, “Hey, he was thinking of me today.”  
Physical Touch - expressing and receiving affection through touch, physical closeness, and other forms of physical connection. 
Acts of Service - doing something for your partner that you know they would like, such as filling up their gas, watering their plants, or cooking them a meal.

I was praying over our worship team and over what my husband and I have been teaching about and I kept hearing “Know Your Heart” over and over. God wants us to know His heart. I went to look up the words “know” and “heart” in my Bible’s concordance and all the verses showed up about God knowing our hearts. What does it say about us knowing His? We know Jesus knew His heart. There is another man in the Bible that it talks about being after the heart of God.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (AMP) Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for [if you had obeyed] the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

Acts 13:22 (AMP) And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

David was a shepherd when he was anointed to be king. There are many photos depicting shepherds and often they are of light-hearted and laying in the grass next to sheep. They depict them as laid back and day dreamers. This is not the truth of what shepherds were like. A shepherd was looked at very lowly and doing menial tasks. Sheep are stubborn, prone to stray and are defenseless animals. This was a full time job, yet David still spent time with the Lord in the fields. I often look at it like motherhood. Being a mother does not have any off days, neither did being a shepherd.

The very first shepherd mentioned in the Bible was Abel. Genesis 4:2-7, Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground. And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and he looked annoyed and hostile. And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.” What is pleasing to the Lord? We should not come to Him without wanting to know His heart. If we do not do this we will ignore His instruction, and could become disobedient, hard-hearted and rebellious. Cain actually murdered his brother. You do not think murder can enter yours with envy, jealousy and slander?

In order for me to know His heart, I need to listen and obey. There are many ways that God speaks to us. He speaks to us mainly through the written Word of the Bible. He speaks to us in the messages that we hear through our pastors. He speaks to us in the conversations we have with others. He speaks to us through what we watch. He speaks to us when we are doing our day to day tasks. How do I know His voice? We often want it to be loud and booming. He can speak to us that way, but is that the only way He can get your attention? Do you need a prophet to say, “thus says the Lord,” in order for you to have heard from God? If that is the case then we can be easily led astray and have not really desired to know His heart.

What if I only spoke my love language to my husband they way that I received love? I really did not want to know what his was because mine should be good enough. I was doing something right? That is what it is like when we depend on someone else for revelation knowledge. That is what it is like when we say that giving is better than serving. That is what it is like when we say words are better than presence. Nothing is higher than the other. It is in our preference that we have approached God. How about we do all of it? It’s not about our preference, it is about His. It is not my will, it is His will that I want.

Lord, our Jehovah, our Creator, our El Shaddai, we honor Your Holy Name. We stand in awe of You. There is nothing greater. Thank You for sending Your Son to be our Good Shepherd. He paid the ultimate price by laying down His life for us. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Thank You that we can hear Your voice. We repent for the ways that we have come before You, or lack of. You said that we can come boldly into Your throne room of grace and mercy. We will not take that for granted again. We want to be close to You. We want to know Your Heart. From Your Word You have revealed Your heart and it is through our obedience that we tell You we love You. Please take the goggles of envy, jealousy and covetousness from our eyes so that we can love the way You created us to. We surrender our will to Yours. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose faith today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Closer by Bethel

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Do not let the roar of the lion drown out your voice

Amos 3:17-18 (AMP) Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret plan [of the judgment to come] to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared! Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken [to the prophets]! Who can but prophesy?

Did you know that when you speak you are prophesying? There is a difference in the five fold ministry of a prophet and a born again believer being a prophetic. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.” If my words have power, then that would mean that they are prophetic. My favorite words to speak are those found in His Word.

I love the words in Ezekiel 37 when God tells him to prophesy to the dry bones. He did not just say “get up, dry bones.” He said, “dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.”

The question regarding whether we really heard God can be like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). Although a lion roars, a true servant of God listens to the voice of God above the roar of the lion (John 10:27). If it lines up with His Word, do it, and in boldness, say it. It might look foolish to others (believe me, I battle this too). Often I will argue with God before delivering a hard word. I do not take it lightly. As a teacher of the Word, I know I will be held accountable far greater than those who are not (James 3:1). The call to follow God in obedience should be louder than the roar of defeat.

He speaks through us to others, encouraging them and affirming them, and upon occasion, giving a word of correction for them (this is the part I wrestle with). I have learned to dust off my feet after I have been obedient (Matthew 10:14). My heart is to see people grow and to be blessed. It is not my job to make sure they receive it. My job is to deliver it. May I add a little thought provoking question? If you sit through services and listen to your pastor and it does not prick you to take an evaluation of yourself, has your heart become hard? Being sweet has nothing to do with the status of your heart. Love will propel you to seek the best for others, unselfishly.

Here are some questions I ask myself. Does it line up with His Word? That is not the same as it making you feel good or stroking your spiritual ego. Does it line up with His character and nature? Not how I want Him to be. Sometimes we want God to conform to our image of Him. Finally, will it bring freedom (even if it is correction)? We are called ministers of reconciliation. If you can answer ‘yes’ to these questions. Then be obedient. Do not let Sanballat’s (Nehemiah 4:1) in your life deter you from what God told you to do. Be bold and courageous. Here the voice of the Lord and go!

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Whoever has ears, let them hear!

Acts 2:17 (MEV) ‘In the last days it shall be,’ says God, ‘that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Why does God choose to speak to us in different ways? Some have dreams, some see visions, some see angels…how does God speak to you? The bigger question is, are you really hearing and doing what He speaks to you?

When the Holy Spirit pour out on your life, He will inspire dreams and visions, which will picture not just your present and future, but those you are to impact for His glory. Dreams and visions always conform to biblical truth. They will not present individualism. They will not cause you to fight against flesh and blood. Their purpose is to establish His Kingdom here on earth.

What if you say, “God does not talk to me.” What if the real reason is because we have become selective in what we choose to hear? For Mother’s Day I have this big pile of giveaways for our church, enough to require a table to be brought out to display them all. I had asked for my oldest to come with me and instructed him to grab the small table in the room we were in and that I would be on my way with a table cloth to put on the table. As I walked into the room, and the place we put the table, I see the large table and them placing the items on the table without table cloth. My son heard “table” and that is what he went on.

A lot of the times God is speaking, but we are selective in what we choose to hear. Or, we do not like how it is being brought to us. We want to hear His audible voice like he spoke to Samuel in (1 Samuel 3). God is not a human being. He is God. He can talk to you however He wants to, not the way you want Him to. Humans are limited, God is not. He can communicate through other followers, through experiences, through your gifts, through dreams, through visions, through nature…the list is endless. When you have ears to hear.

Matthew 11:15 (NIV) Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Hebrew word for hear is shama. It means to hear, to listen, to pay heed, to obey. The voice of God will always line up with His Word. Here is my test: 1) Will it cause division? This is me being self seeking, the benefactor is me and it does not matter what division it will cause in the body of Christ. This will not line up with God. 2) Will it help establish His kingdom here on earth? This is the heart of a servant. My actions benefit God’s plan and purpose in others and me. This glorifies God and I can believe that it is His voice (no matter if it is out of my comfort).

If you get the chance today, read Acts 10. It is a great example of how God speaks to us and what happens when we obey. He can speak to us in different ways. He speaks to me in different illustrations of His Word. He speaks to me to be generous. He speaks to me to bake and deliver goodies. He speaks to me to buy flowers and deliver them. Whoever has ears, let them hear!