Everyone wants to hear from God, but many do not recognize it when He speaks. Just like Elijah in I Kings 19, we look for God to come in the fire, the whirlwind, the earthquake, but God mostly comes in the quiet whisper.
We come to God & talk to Him. We read the scriptures & get revelation on them. We sing & worship Him. These things are good. We need to do these things; they are essential. However, it is very important that we set aside time to listen.
It is very difficult in this day & age to find the quiet & then to quiet our hearts & minds once we do. However, we can start small & expand daily until we come more & more accustomed to it.
Try this for a week: In your normal quiet time, take 15 minutes to sit in stillness. Just ask the Lord to speak, then listen. You will find lots of things coming up & it will be harder than you think, but you might be surprised what you hear. Afterwards, journal what you heard & felt in those 15 minutes. Begin to practice this on a regular basis & take 5 minutes throughout the day to just listen. It will take a while to be able to quiet yourself enough, but once you make it a habit, you will find it easier & you will be able to do it longer & hear the Lord more.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Fear of the Lord & Comfort of the Holy Spirit
"Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, & Samaria had peace & were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord & the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied."
Acts 9:31
Once the Fear of the Lord & the Love of God--or "comfort of the Holy Spirit" connect to every area of our lives, everything begins to fall into place.
Life without these two things is like a tall building with a foundation, walls, and floors, but no electric or plumbing. The structure is there, but will not be useful until every room has been connected to electricity (fire of God/fear of the Lord) & plumbing (river of God, love of God).
Only then does that structure become useable & can be filled with people and multiplied. Lord, give us the Fear of the Lord & the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9:31
Once the Fear of the Lord & the Love of God--or "comfort of the Holy Spirit" connect to every area of our lives, everything begins to fall into place.
Life without these two things is like a tall building with a foundation, walls, and floors, but no electric or plumbing. The structure is there, but will not be useful until every room has been connected to electricity (fire of God/fear of the Lord) & plumbing (river of God, love of God).
Only then does that structure become useable & can be filled with people and multiplied. Lord, give us the Fear of the Lord & the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Perspective Change
It is necessary for us to constantly lift our eyes back to Jesus. Under every circumstance, He is still sitting on His throne & He still reigns supreme. Everything in the world exists for His glory. Everything revolves around Him. Praise God that the world does not revolve around us! What a mess that would be.
Realigning our focus back on the glory of Jesus is absolutely necessary on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis. We have such a tendency to focus on ourselves, & this causes way more pain than is necessary.
Setting our focus back on God actually lifts a huge weight off our shoulders. It is only then that we realize how small we really are & how big God really is. When we get things into perspective, all the difficult circumstances seem smaller & the preeminence of God is restored in our hearts & minds. It is actually a place of rest, life, & peace when we see Him as He is.
Realigning our focus back on the glory of Jesus is absolutely necessary on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis. We have such a tendency to focus on ourselves, & this causes way more pain than is necessary.
Setting our focus back on God actually lifts a huge weight off our shoulders. It is only then that we realize how small we really are & how big God really is. When we get things into perspective, all the difficult circumstances seem smaller & the preeminence of God is restored in our hearts & minds. It is actually a place of rest, life, & peace when we see Him as He is.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
From Pressure to Passion
The Lord knows exactly how to squeeze you through a hole that you don't fit in. He likes to do that actually. We call it refining. It is a much cleaner sounding term than what it feels like.
Sometimes, the Lord allows all kinds of external pressures to cause you to move into a certain direction--or come to a certain conclusion. His leadership is like know other--it is perfect.
We are so fortunate to have a Good Shepherd who knows exactly the right amount of pressure to add--not to much, not too little. The end result is eternal diamonds--things that will not pass away forever. His fire burns everything that is not eternal & purifies the eternal things.
God allows the pressure that pushes us into our eternal destiny as sons & daughters. It creates such a passion for Jesus in us that will never be crushed. Thank You for Your leadership, Jesus.
Sometimes, the Lord allows all kinds of external pressures to cause you to move into a certain direction--or come to a certain conclusion. His leadership is like know other--it is perfect.
We are so fortunate to have a Good Shepherd who knows exactly the right amount of pressure to add--not to much, not too little. The end result is eternal diamonds--things that will not pass away forever. His fire burns everything that is not eternal & purifies the eternal things.
God allows the pressure that pushes us into our eternal destiny as sons & daughters. It creates such a passion for Jesus in us that will never be crushed. Thank You for Your leadership, Jesus.
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Father & Fear of the Lord in Malachi
Lately, I have been alternating between reading Ephesians & reading Malachi quite a bit. It is interesting because both books reveal the Father in various ways, but one reveals the love of the Father & the other one reveals the honor & reverence required toward the Father--the Fear of the Lord.
It is necessary for us to see both dimensions of the Father in a healthy way. The word "fear" as in the fear of the Lord primarily means "honor, reverence, awe." The Hebrew word used for fear is yire & it also connotes other dimensions of fear as well, but this is because it involves real human emotions--the soulish kind of fear. However, the pure fear of the Lord is clean & involves only the spiritual sense of the word--awe, reverence, honor.
Twice in Malachi, the Lord rebukes the priests for not honoring the Lord as a father. He repremands them for not taking care of their wives, for leaving their children, for divorce, & for despising marriage. He admonishes them to come back to the Fear of the Lord & ends with turning the hearts of the Fathers to the children & children to the Fathers.
The Fear of the Lord & the Love of God are both necessary elements in a correct view of God. Try alternating reading Ephesians & Malachi this week & noting every instance the Father is mentioned. Also note when the Fear of the Lord or Love of God is mentioned. Ask God to reveal the Father to you. It only takes around 20 to 30 minutes to read each book.
It is necessary for us to see both dimensions of the Father in a healthy way. The word "fear" as in the fear of the Lord primarily means "honor, reverence, awe." The Hebrew word used for fear is yire & it also connotes other dimensions of fear as well, but this is because it involves real human emotions--the soulish kind of fear. However, the pure fear of the Lord is clean & involves only the spiritual sense of the word--awe, reverence, honor.
Twice in Malachi, the Lord rebukes the priests for not honoring the Lord as a father. He repremands them for not taking care of their wives, for leaving their children, for divorce, & for despising marriage. He admonishes them to come back to the Fear of the Lord & ends with turning the hearts of the Fathers to the children & children to the Fathers.
The Fear of the Lord & the Love of God are both necessary elements in a correct view of God. Try alternating reading Ephesians & Malachi this week & noting every instance the Father is mentioned. Also note when the Fear of the Lord or Love of God is mentioned. Ask God to reveal the Father to you. It only takes around 20 to 30 minutes to read each book.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Book of Ephesians
The Book of Ephesians is such an amazing book. The more I read it, the more I see how parts fit together & form a fluid whole. It begins by speaking our identity in Christ. Then, it teaches us how to relate to one another. It also covers how we relate to the spiritual world.
The first two chapters speak on our identity as sons, our nearness to God, our relationship to the Holy Spirit, our relationship to the throne of God, & our authority over powers of darkness through Christ.
Chapter 3 lays out the love of Christ as being our foundation for relationship with each others as living stones, & chapters 4 & 5 show us how to relate to each other in family relationships and in the church relationships--all pointing back to Christ as the example.
Then chapter 6 gives us points on spiritual warfare & practical exhortations for life. I love that book! I recommend taking this week & reading it once through everyday as a whole, & ask God to speak to you about it. It can be read out loud in 30 minutes.
The first two chapters speak on our identity as sons, our nearness to God, our relationship to the Holy Spirit, our relationship to the throne of God, & our authority over powers of darkness through Christ.
Chapter 3 lays out the love of Christ as being our foundation for relationship with each others as living stones, & chapters 4 & 5 show us how to relate to each other in family relationships and in the church relationships--all pointing back to Christ as the example.
Then chapter 6 gives us points on spiritual warfare & practical exhortations for life. I love that book! I recommend taking this week & reading it once through everyday as a whole, & ask God to speak to you about it. It can be read out loud in 30 minutes.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Seated with Christ in Heavenly Places
So many evil circumstances can befall us in life, but we must always be rooted in the identity of who we are in Christ. No matter what happens, we are seated with Christ in Heavenly places through the blood of the Lamb (Eph. 2, Heb. 4).
We must realize that Satan has already been defeated, & even though bad circumstances can still happen for now, nothing can touch our eternal destiny in Christ Jesus. He has already conquered sin, death, & the grave.
To live in this reality, we must constantly stay in touch with our identity in Christ, & His awesome splendor on that throne. No matter what happens, we can sit there with Him far above the circumstances. That is the eternal reality. The circumstances of this life are temporal & add pressures that push us into our eternal destiny (II Cor. 4:17).
Just like Paul & Silas in prison, we can set our eyes on the Beauty of Jesus in every circumstance & watch prison doors fly open & the kingdom of heaven being made manifest on earth (Acts 16).
We must realize that Satan has already been defeated, & even though bad circumstances can still happen for now, nothing can touch our eternal destiny in Christ Jesus. He has already conquered sin, death, & the grave.
To live in this reality, we must constantly stay in touch with our identity in Christ, & His awesome splendor on that throne. No matter what happens, we can sit there with Him far above the circumstances. That is the eternal reality. The circumstances of this life are temporal & add pressures that push us into our eternal destiny (II Cor. 4:17).
Just like Paul & Silas in prison, we can set our eyes on the Beauty of Jesus in every circumstance & watch prison doors fly open & the kingdom of heaven being made manifest on earth (Acts 16).
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