Searching for God, or stopping to respond to his invitation?

"In fact, our search for God is only our response to his search for us. He knocks at our door, but for many people, their lives are too preoccupied for them to be able to hear." - Cardinal Basil Hume

There is so much truth in the words 'too preoccupied' - how many times have we felt so overwhelmed by all that we have to do, and all the noise that preoccupies our minds, that we can't hear the voice of God?

Instead of us trying to bash down imaginary doors to find out where God is hiding, why don't we pause for a while and listen where he is already knocking?

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." - Revelation 3:20

 Living in Grace

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Wisdom has no expiry date - it remains a gift throughout the generations

Wisdom is something that is timeless. And when we read the Bible, we note that there are thousands of words of wisdom, instruction, good news and grace. The book of Hebrews ends off offering the early believer's wisdom about contentment and money. In my opinion these words are timeless. They have spoken the Truth to countless generations of Christians, and they will continue to speak long after we have gone. 

Hebrews 13:5 - "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5)

I have left the Old Testament references in this post, because the readers of Hebrews would have known Deuteronomy and Joshua off-by-heart. This challenge was not something new to them, it was just that they were struggling to live it out. The same can be said for us. Knowing something to be wise and true, is one thing - but living it out, is the hard part!

Thought: Are you wrestling with contentment at the moment? How do the quotes from Joshua and Deuteronomy help you?

"Wisdom has no expiry date!"

Living in Grace

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Expectancy

"Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship." - Richard Foster

There is a big difference in going to church because we feel that we need to 'tick the box', and worshipping with a great expectancy that the Spirit wants to commune with us. Developing an attitude of holy expectancy is the starting point of this transformation - once we arrive for worship with this expectancy, then we are more open for God to speak to us. Obedience is then our sincere response to 'hearing' from the Spirit during our times of worship. 

What are your thoughts on this? What is hard about this? 

"But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams." - 1 Samuel 15:22

Living in Grace

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Have you never heard about this?

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah's words came to me this week, at just the right time. I was grateful that they lifted my spirits and encouraged me. I pray that they may also offer you an oasis in the midst of your dryness.

God has not forgotten you. 

Living in Grace

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Acknowledgement of request

I had to write an email to a corporate institution this week and was pleasantly surprised to immediately receive an 'acknowledgement' email in return. That in itself was not amazing, but what did surprise me was that the email stated: 

• I had made contact with the right department
• They were experiencing a high volume of queries
• They would get back to me asap

Somehow their email made we feel 'at peace' - almost as if I had been helped already or that my query would be dealt with soon. Strange, but true! 

And then I thought to myself - what if God could do that with my prayers? We could pray and God could get one of his angels to send us an email stating:

1. We have sent our request to the right department

2. God was experiencing a high volume of requests

3. He would get back to me asap

Wouldn't that make us feel more at peace? I could probably carry on without bombarding God with more requests if I just knew that he had heard me the first time. 

Or is it just me?

And then I read these words, which put me straight:

Psalm 6:9 - The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.

Psalm 40:1 - I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

Living in Grace

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Unblock our ears

 
"It is not given to men/women to make God speak. It is only given to them to live and to think in such a way that, if God's thunder should come, they will not have stopped their ears." - A.M. Hunter

Holy week is such a special time for the Christian community, but it is also a time where we pray that the Gospel reaches the hearts and ears of many other people. 

It is my prayer that all of us would be mindful of the things that block the message of God reaching our inner being. God desires to speak to all of us  during this most sacred season. 

Matthew 13:15 - "For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."

Living in Grace

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What would it mean for you to hear these words?

What would it mean for you to hear a messenger of God speak these words into your life?

·       “God has heard your prayer…” - Luke 1:13

       I am sure that these words would fill our hearts with great delight, just as they must have encouraged Zechariah and Daniel. We pour out our hearts to God with the deep hope that God will answer those prayers, but there are times when we feel a little despondent in the slowness of God's action. 

      Can you remember a time in your life when you prayed and prayed for something, only for there to be a period of complete silence? What motivated you to keep on trusting in God's goodness? Was there someone who encouraged you to keep believing? 

      I am sure that Zechariah may have been close to giving up, but he held onto his knowledge of God's goodness. in the end he must have been ecstatic to hear the whisper: "God has heard your prayer my friend!"

      Living in Grace

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I 

Ears open and mouth shut

There are so many brilliant thoughts in today's reading, but the first line really got my attention! 

"As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few." - Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

How often do we get this wrong? We keep our ears closed and open our mouths, instead of the other way around? It should be 'EARS OPEN and MOUTHS SHUT!"

Solomon seems to have made a special mention of our attitudes in worship. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we treat God as we treat others - we keep talking all the time and don't pause to listen to His voice.

• "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." -Doug Larson.

What does is mean for us to "let our words be few?"

Living in Grace

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Excellent sayings

"Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
    apply your heart to what I teach,
for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
Have I not written thirty (excellent) sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?" - Proverbs 22:17-21

In a world saturated with information, social media and technology, it is very hard to hold people's attention for long. The writer of Proverbs 22 wants his readers to 'pay attention' to the sayings that are share because they are LIFE-giving. 

Jesus urged his hearers to listen to his parables and words, because they were also life-giving. Jesus had told them that he had come to give them 'Life in all its fullness."

If you had the attention of your friends and family, what would you want to tell them today?

"Pay attention to the beauty surrounding you." - Anne Lamott

"Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon." - Booker T. Washington

Living in Grace

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It is more than listening

"Listen to me, young people, and not only listen but obey; don’t let your desires get out of hand..." - Proverbs 7:24-25

It is so frustrating when you speak to someone and it seems like they are listening to you, but they are actually in another world. I am sure that this has happened to you before and, if we are honest, we have also been the ones ignoring someone else. 

The reason I bring this up today is because 'listening' to the word of God is only half of the process. We must take the time to listen to what God says, but we must also have the desire to obey these life-giving words.

Coming back to the lockdown we are all experiencing at the moment - there are many people who listen to the instructions of the government (which are given for our safety), but who can't be bothered to obey them. Take for example, the guy who tried to smuggle his girlfriend into another province - it was almost comical to see her lying in the boot of the car while the TV camera's were taking pictures and footage of their transgressions. She looked so sheepish and embarrassed.

Listening and then obeying God's word is not only important for our spiritual health, but also for our relationships and community well-being.

What do you think?

"It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey." - Saint Ignatius

"The ship that will not obey the helm will have to obey the rocks." - English Proverb

Living in Grace
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11

“Are you listening to me? Really listening?" - Matthew 11:15 (Message)

There are two remarkable parts in Matthew 11 for me (amongst many others). When you read it in the Message, we are asked a probing question by Jesus - "Are we listening? Really listening?" 

Lent is certainly a time of listening in to the things of the Spirit. And so, I ask all of us the same question today - "are we listening to the voice of Jesus?" Not just hearing, but actually LISTENING.

Later on in the same chapter, Jesus seems to suggest that the mysteries of God are concealed from those who think they are clever. It is only the humble and ordinary people who will truly discover the gifts of God, because they realise their great need of them.

^25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

“There's a lot of difference between listening and hearing.” - G. K. Chesterton 

Living in Grace
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Ten

Are you afraid of the dark?
The fear of darkness is called Nyctophobia and there are many people who struggle with this phobia. Night time, darkness, silence, fear - they all have their own combination of anxiety and unknowns, but it is often during these times that God speaks clearly to us.

“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." - Matthew 10:26-27

Jesus promises to speak to us in the dark and to whisper his words of Grace for us. During this Lent season may we learn to listen in the dark.

Os Guiness writes - "Jesus does not say we will never walk in the dark, but that we do not wander in the dark or have a way of life at home in darkness. To anyone not knowing the anguish of such a situation, the distinction may sound trivial—the darkness appears as dark and the dilemma as agonizing. But neither is ultimate, for the outcome lies with God.”

Living in Grace
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Attention

"Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!    Let the earth and everything in it hear." - Micah 1:2a

The call to Attention is probably most commonly associated with soldiers being called to get in line and prepare themselves for action. Just one loud shout of the word Attention is enough to have everyone ready to receive their next instructions. 

When Micah uses the same word he is calling everyone to a similar place of readiness. He is wanting us to gather our minds, bodies and spirits to listen to the instructions from God. God has something important to say and Micah wants people to hear it!

There are other definitions of Attention that may be helpful for us in this season of Advent. They all speak into the noise of our world and call for us to listen.

'the act of applying the mind'
'condition of readiness'
'sympathetic consideration of the needs of others' (Miriam-Webster Dictionary)

As we move deeper into Advent let us be conscious of God's invitation for us to pay Attention. God wants to speak to us - we just need to place ourselves in a condition of readiness.

Living in Grace
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Confiding

We have probably all confided in a friend at some point in our lives. The reasons may have been unique, but we needed to know that we could chat to another person, knowing that they would listen to what was happening in our hearts.

Have you ever considered that God may confide in us?
Yes, it does sound a little strange, but God does confide in his children. This is not usually because God needs our listening ear, but rather because God is confident in our love for him. It is in response to this that God reveals his covenant with us.

Amazing, don't you think?!

"The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them." - Psalm 25:14

Thought: As you draw near to the Father, to confide in him, reflect on how much He is willing to confide in you too.


Living in Grace
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We have no Earlids!

 

Marshall McLuhan makes an unusual observation about our ears and how they relate to 'hearing' and 'listening.' In his comments he states the obvious that God never created any 'earlids' for humans. We have eyelids to protect our eyes and to help us 'block out' anything visual, but we can't do the same with our ears.

"We hear sounds from everywhere, without ever having to focus.
Sounds come from “above,” from “below,” from in “front” of us, from “behind” us, from our “right,” from our “left.” We can‘t shut out sound automatically. We simply are not equipped with earlids."

The reason I share this with us today is because there is a profound difference between 'hearing' and 'listening.' Barring those who are hearing-impaired, most people will 'hear' things, but tune out the sounds they don't want to engage with. However, when there are sounds we like or are prepared to focus on, then we start to listen more attentively.  

This principle then applies to our Christian faith too. We can't use the excuse that we couldn't receive God's message, because our 'earlids' blocked it out. That is a poor and unfounded excuse. What tends to happen is that we choose to receive some messages from God and then ignore those that don't seem nice. Essentially we are in danger of having Selective Spiritual Hearing!

Proverbs 8:32-35 -
Listen to my instruction and be wise;
    do not disregard it.
Blessed are those who listen to me,
    watching daily at my doors,
    waiting at my doorway.
For those who find me find life
    and receive favor from the Lord.

Living in Grace
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Lost in translation

One of the most humbling conversations a Pastor can have is around the Sunday sermon - and in particular what a person has "heard" from the message. It is quite a test to see if what you preached got across to the hearers in the way you intended. It can either be a "good" conversation or a "distressing" one, especially if the message gets LOST in translation.

But, I guess, it is not just Pastors who experience this anxiety? Employers wonder if their workers have actually listened to the crucial instructions. Teachers hope their pupils are listening to the classes and lectures. Parents pray that their kids get the right message. Sadly, too many messages get lost along the way and end up causing confusion.

What message do we need to listen to today? How can we prevent it getting lost along the way?

"But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it." - Matthew 13:23

Living in Grace
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I am Simeon

The account of Simeon's response to the birth of Jesus is very profound. Here was a man who had waited his whole life for the arrival of the Messiah and when this tiny baby boy (Jesus) arrived at the temple in his mother's arms, Simeon knew that this was the Messiah. Luke 2 says that:

Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
    as you have promised.
³⁰ I have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared for all people.
³² He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
    and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

What is also very meaningful for me, is that the name Simeon can mean: Obedient, Listener and "God-Receiver."  What a wonderful word for us as we embark upon another New Year. Let us be "God-receivers" - Let us be like Simeon - ready to receive Christ in our hearts.

Living in Grace

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Lent #5 - Knowing when to speak and when to shut up!

One notices that after Job had lost everything, his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar went to comfort him. However, when they saw Job they hardly recognised him because of the stress and grief he had been through. In their wisdom they chose to sit on the floor with him and not to utter a single word. This they did for 7 days!

So, for one week they sat in the room with Job showing their solidarity with him and they never even tried to say anything. This is remarkable. There must have been some thoughts going through their minds, but the chose to keep quiet.

"No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was." - Job 2:13

Of course this didn't last into the second week, because they were soon sprouting forth their thoughts to him, but at least they didn't bombard him from the beginning. How often do we just need someone to sit with us, not to offer advice, but rather just to 'minister' to us through their presence?

James 1:19 - "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry..."

Living in Grace
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Listen to the Silence

 

"The word LISTEN contains the same letters as the word SILENT." - Alfred Brendel

Sometimes we just need to be silent in order to listen to the voice of God. That may mean even stopping our 'shopping list' prayers and simply standing in the presence of Jesus.

Stop!

Be Still!

LISTEN.....

Luke 10:39 - "She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said."

Proverbs 18:33 -  "To answer before listening— that is folly and shame."

Have we got into the unhealthy habit of speaking too much? Perhaps it is time to listen to what God is saying to us?

Living in Grace
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Speed up, there is a Zebra crossing ahead!

As I was driving home this evening, I drove passed the Liberty Mall and noticed a scary thing. It seemed that as all of the motorists in front of me, saw the Zebra crossing (with the patient guy standing at the side of road), they simply sped up. The poor guy was about to step in the road, but he realised that he would have been toast, so thankfully stepped back onto the pavement.

So, as I got to the crossing and slowed down for him to cross, he looked at me as if I had just saved his life - yet, all I had done was obey the traffic law. Wow, we are so bad at obeying these laws in South Africa!

I share this with you, not because I am a good person, but rather to remind us that sometimes God asks me to slow down, but I 'speed up' instead. Speeding up, when I should be slowing down, is not only dangerous for me, but it could harm others too.

Are you approaching a Zebra crossing in your life?
If you are, then be aware of your speed.

God bless you.

Living in grace
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