The voice of the crowd...

Sometimes people are quite cruel in the way they speak to us or about us. Often it is because they want to make themselves look better or try and prove that they are superior to others. The voice of the crowd can make us lose confidence in our abilities or in our God-given purpose.  Take this scripture passage as an example - Sennacherib's men tried their hardest to strike doubt and fear into the minds of the Israelites, calling out all kinds of lies and threats. They made the fateful error of ridiculing Yahweh and claiming that God was just like all the other 'fake' gods.

2 Chronicles 32:16-18 -^"Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ The king also wrote letters ridiculing the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: ‘Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.’ ¹⁸ Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world – the work of human hands."

Remember that the first voice worth listening too is the voice of Christ. Jesus seeks to speak TRUTH, HOPE and LOVE into our souls.

The crowds may shout louder, but they often don't have our best interests at heart.

"The longest sword;

The strongest lungs,

The most voices,

Are false measures of TRUTH." - Benjamin Whichcote

Living in Grace

D3LM3

 

Speak Lord

The season of Lent helps us to tune into the voice of the Spirit., but we need to be intentional about listening for the voice of God. It is much easier to listen to the words of others or even of the ‘biblical prophets’, but it is the voice of Jesus that we need the most.

Perhaps a simple, but profound prayer during this season is Samuel’s prayer:

“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” – 1 Samuel 3:10

Thomas a Kempis wrote:

“The Prophets may speak words, but they cannot give the Spirit.

Their language is beautiful, but if you are silent it will not set my heart on fire.

They give words, but you give the words meaning.

They present mysteries, but you unlock what it hidden.”

Listen for the still small voice of the Spirit today.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The voice of God

Aesop, told the story of a donkey who found a lion's skin. He tried on the skin and then began to frighten many of the other animals. One day a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. However the fox was not so stupid - after hearing the donkey's voice, the fox said, "If you want to terrify me, you'll have to disguise your bray."

 We will be confronted by the voice of many "donkey's" this year. Many of them will threaten us or even offer us tasty temptations, but they will not be the voice of Jesus. Listening to the voice of God is tough when there are many imposters, but we need to tune into the Master's voice.

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” - John 10:3-5

May God speak clearly to you this week.

Living in Grace

D3LM3 

The voice - Lent 29

What kind of "Voice" does God have?
Does God perhaps speak with an accent?

Just stop for a moment and think about that. We all are recognisable by our voices. Even if we haven't spoken to someone in a while, we may instantly recognise their voice on the phone.
But what about God. Can you imagine how he might speak?

The Bible often uses speech as a way of relating how God communicates with us, but very few people have actually heard the audible voice of God. In Psalm 29 David uses the word "voice" many times to explain how God communicates with the Israelites.

Why don't you reflect on these verses and see what comes to mind:

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
    Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the Lord strikes
    with flashes of lightning.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
    the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
    and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’

May we all listen for the voice of God today and may it be a sweet sound unto our ears. May we be prompted to act on God's voice.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Godincidence or what?

I love the way God speaks to us. I used an illustration in my sermon on Sunday about Leo Buscaglia's family. If you don't know anything about Leo, perhaps you can look here if you have a moment. Anyway, this morning I wrote something in my journal and I glanced at the bottom of the page. Every page of my journal has a quote and today's quote was written by none other than Leo Buscaglia - coincidence, no ways! Godincidence, absolutely!!

"What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life." - Leo Buscaglia

May God surprise you today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Bombarded by noise

We live in a world that is very noisy. From the moment we open our eyes in the morning, until we fall asleep at night, we are urged to listen to many different voices. Do yourself a favour and complete this exercise - count how many different 'voices' you will hear before 10am everyday. For me, there are many!

Now, ask yourself if God has managed to get a word in at all, during this time? 

If God has had a chance to speak to you, then well done.

If not, what can we do to make a change?

We will continue to battle to hear the voice of God, unless we listen for his voice - that means intentionally making time to listen.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." - John 10:27

Listen carefully! God wants to speak today.

Living in Grace,

D3LM3

Do you love me?

As I was putting Josh into his car seat this morning he asked me the big question:
"Do you love me daddy?"
Oh man, it was hard to be all macho when he asked this question!
"Of course I love, my boy." I replied.
He was happy with that response and then proceeded to tell me all the people he loves - which even included our crazy Labrador!

So, here's what I was thinking.
There are times in my life, when I want to ask God the same question:
"Do you love me daddy?"
I know that the answer is yes and that I can read about God's love in the Bible (or feel it in my spirit), but what I wouldn't give to hear the words clearly...
"Of course I love you, my boy!"

What are you thinking?

Luke 11:11-13 - “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Listening to the voice of God

How hard is it for you to hear from God?
Come on now, don't evade the question!
... give yourself a score between 0 and 10.

I know that honesty hurts sometimes, but if we admit that it is hard to hear from God then maybe we can get to the root of the reasons for this.

Russel Norman (one of our Young Adults from Wesley) preached an awesome sermon on Sunday where he reminded us that one the reasons we fail to hear from God is 'Busyness.' He is spot on!

For me, when I am busy running around doing 'things for God', I end up being distracted and then slowly cutting out God's voice.

"I think God's going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding." ~ Steven Wright

Is this what happened to Solomon and David? Were they so busy running their Kingdom's 'for God' that they stopped listening to God for direction?

What do you think about 'busyness' and hearing God's voice?

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Does God Speak?

So, here is the million dollar question for today?

Does God Speak?

The Bible clearly says, "YES!" Many Christians say, "YES!" I say "YES!"

BUT.....
...let me be honest and say that I haven't actually heard God's voice, but I am convinced that God has spoken to me. That sounds weird hey?
Let me clarify.

Although I have never 'heard' God speak audibly to me, I have heard God speak to me through the following means...
1. Scripture
2. Another Christ-follower
3. Through the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit

If you have ever received a letter (or email) from someone you care about then you will be able to understand that they have 'spoken' to you, although you may have not heard their voice.

Dallas Willard - "How lonely life is! Oh, we can get by in life with a God who does not speak. Many at least think they do so. But it is not much of a life, and it is certainly not the life God intends for us or the abundance of life Jesus came to make available."

The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. - Psalm 50:1

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Thanks for photo