Hearing God's Voice

I wrote this a few years ago, when a friend asked me what I thought about a certain situation going on in their life. I think they wanted a much different answer than I gave them, but I thought taking them to the word was the best thing a friend could do. Here it is.

There have been times in my life when I know I have heard God’s voice. Whether it be a specific event that He has spoken to me or a peaceful assurance. There have also been times when I was sure He was speaking to me and I have found out I was clearly wrong. A specific event that God spoke to me concerning was when I was 8 or 9 and God told me that He would heal me from a congenital kidney defect. Which He did in fact heal me of. The times of peaceful assurance were instances when I would pray about issues concerning me and afterward I could just feel Him telling me it would all work out. Specifically I can remember a couple times when my older sister lost her wallet, I prayed and then I just knew she’d find it and it would be alright. That is exactly what happened. But honestly how do we have any idea it’s really God we’re hearing and not our own desires, or fears for that matter.

First of all if it’s from the Lord it’s going to be 100% accurate and true. I know somewhere in the scriptures it tells us that a prophet was only from the Lord if his predictions always came to pass. We also know that God is incapable of lying:

Numbers 23:19

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Titus 1:2

“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”

Another thing we must consider is what kind of fruit does this knowledge bear. Is it something that is drawing you closer to God and farther away from yourself? Is it something that is making you stronger in your faith or is it causing your focus to slip away to something incidental? If it’s from God your focus will remain on “Christ and Him crucified.” If it’s from God it will always glorify God and strengthen your walk with Him:

James 3:16-17

“16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

My assumption from this verse is that if it’s something spoken from God it will not bring you fear, impure thoughts, or anger. If you feel God has spoken something to you and it’s causing you to feel any of these things it’s not from God.

God promises that He gives us wisdom liberally if we ask it of Him (James 1:5). And yet, Christ also said, “ be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matt 10:16). So how do we figure it all out?…

Psalm 119:11

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

Hide His Word in your heart and remember God will NEVER tell you anything contradictory to His Word. If it’s from God it will be backed up in the Word.

Give Thanks

I have no real reason why this popped into my head tonight, but it did. When I was 12 or 13 I read The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom for the first time and I've read it a few times since. In fact I think it's probably a good time for me to read it again, if you've never read it you should. I would have to say it is my favorite book, and it has definitely been the most impactful book in my life, second to the bible. There's an incident that Corrie recalls while she and her sister had just been relocated to Ravensbruck the notorious women's concentration camp in Germany. (As a side-note: I grabbed my copy of The Hiding Place to find the passage I wanted to share and guess where I turned? To the precise page I needed, wow. To me that's confirmation God wants me to share this.) The women are forced to sleep in multi-leveled bunk bed so close together they could hardly move and just as they were getting settled in their spots Corrie gets bit by fleas and scrambles down from the beds to where there's a little light. Here is the conversation that follows:

___________________________

... I wailed. "Betsie, how can we live in such a place!"
"Show us. Show us how." It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more, the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
" Corrie!" she said excitedly. "He's given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!"
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. "It was First Thessalonians," I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen. In the feeble light, I turned the pages. "Here it is: 'Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all...'" It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
"Go on," said Betsie. "That wasn't all."
"Oh yes: '...to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus -"
"That's it Corrie! That's His answer. 'Give thanks in all circumstances!' That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new baracks!"
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
"Such as?" I said.
"Such as being assigned here together."
I bit my lip. "Oh, yes, Lord Jesus!"
"Such as what you're holding in your hands."
I looked down at the Bible. "Yes,! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages."
"Yes," said Betsie. "Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!" She looked at me expectantly. "Corrie!" she prodded.
"Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds."
"Thank You," Betsie went on serenly, "for the fleas and for --"
The fleas! This was too much. "Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea."
"'Give thanks in all circumstances,'" she quoted. "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us."
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.

_________________________

We all have fleas in our life, things we feel God has no purpose for, things we feel we're completely justified in being ungrateful for even bitter towards. Corrie even mentions that not even God can make her grateful for such a horrid thing as fleas. But just as her sister spoke to her God wants us to be thankful for all things, not just the things that we reason in our minds worthy of thanksgiving, but all things. I'm going to be very vulnerable right now and say I don't always want to thank God for my singleness or my loneliness, though I can see the benefit of it at times. I have to hold out that God sees the road ahead. He knows what's coming and nothing is in vain with Him. His ways are not our ways, they're so much better! There's more to Corrie and Betsie's story, here's the part that just leaves me speechless. You see Corrie and Betsie would read the little New Testament (that miraculously stayed hidden from every guard at every concentration camp they were sent to) in the evening when everyone was forced into their sleeping quarters. Amazingly the guards never stopped them or came near to see what all the women were huddled around doing. It got to be such a big gathering of women listening to what they were reading that they could hear women translating the text from Dutch to German, French, Russian, Polish, Czech and still no guards to stop them. Later on Betsie figures out why, and here it is:


_______________________

"You know we've never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room," she said. "Well--I've found out."
That afternoon, she said, there'd been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they'd asked the supervisor to come and settle it.
"But she wouldn't. She wouldn't step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?"
Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: "Because of the fleas! That's what she said, 'The place is crawling with fleas!'"
My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie's bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for.

__________________________

What can be said but that God knows and He sees and everything, even the fleas, can be used for His purposes. Give thanks to God for all things and wait to see Him use the fleas in your life. It may take a while, but His greatest works have been done through our greatest trials giving Him great glory and you His great strength. Tina C.

Glory Days

I matured pretty early spiritually and emotionally in life. Through different circumstances I learned to heavily rely on God and in this I developed a strong dependence and thirst for Him. I did not have the typical teenage rebellion, nor did I want it. I knew what was out there, I chose not to enter into it. I don't feel that this was accomplished by my strength, but by the sanctification and carrying power of the Lord. At the age of 14 I taught Sunday School non-stop up until I was 19 and I loved every minute of it. I quit because I went off to Calvary Chapel Bible College. I was not a typical teenager. I know I had a deep walk with the Lord and there are times I'm very jealous of that child I once was.

It seems that as I've gotten older that intensity, that earnest relationship I once had with the Lord yoyos more frequently than I'd like. Distractions come in and I find it harder and harder to say no to the small things that eat up my time and draw me away from the sweet presence of the Lord. Sometimes instead of dealing with the here and now I find myself still patting myself on the back for all the things I DID. It's like the old quarterback that keeps re-living the game winning touch down fifteen years after it happened because he's too afraid to take stock of his dead-end life in its current situation. He's still a star, a hero in his own mind because at one point in time he did one great thing, but the rest of his life has passed him by and he's stuck with nothing now.

This is not were God wants us to reside. It's not about what we did for God, but about living fresh in the moment with Him now and being obedient to His guidance day by day. He will call us to things outside of our comfort zone and just because you did something that one time that doesn't exclude you from completing the work He sets before you. Though it is a tempting excuse that many of us use from time to time. However, if God we're done with using us here on earth we would be gone, but obviously He still wants to use us because were here. So learning; growing; and serving God, our brothers and sisters, and the world around us is not something we retire from. Daily He has always and will always give us His strength to do what He wills and desires if we in obedience heed His call. The job is done when He calls us home, for the glory of the Lord stop living in the glory days of the past and start new say,"here I am Lord, what do You will for me now."

Lamentations 3:22-23
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

Speaking Out

If you know me you know there's one thing I can't stand and that's being lied to and people who incessantly lie to manipulate or get ahead. Another pet-peeve I have is double standards. It's injustice when you slant things one way, you jump on someone's back for one thing, but you don't hold someone else to the same standards just because you're trying to sway public opinion (Katie Couric). And yes I'm talking about Biden's idiotic FDR/depression statement, if you're going to make a point at least fact check so you can sound somewhat intelligent. I decided to post some articles here so there's another side to the story if anyone's willing to listen and think beyond the propaganda. Thank you for your time and investigation.

In regards to Biden's statements during VP debate
http://minx.cc/?post=274757

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/10/and_now_the_mother_of_all_bide.html

Biden's ridiculousness with Katie Couric
http://www.anncoulter.com/

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

http://hennessysview.com/2008/09/15/franklin-raines-criminal-enterprise-and-barack-obama-his-accomplice/

Obama and Ayers Connection
http://www.barackbook.com/Profiles/WilliamAyers.htm

Hope

I watched the Harvest Crusade today and was deeply touched. This year was different than most, because only weeks ago Greg Laurie lost his oldest son, Christopher Laurie suddenly and tragically in a car accident. Most men would find that a good reason to take a year off from doing their normal routine, but you can see that Greg has a passion in his heart for that Lord. It seems that in the tide of this tragic circumstance in his life it has only deepened his resolve to preach the gospel more earnestly. They showed a very touching tribute to Christopher Laurie right before Greg gave his message and the first thing Greg said was, "That's my boy." It made me cry hearing him say that and still does just writing it down. Oh the pain and sorrow that family has suffered through and what they're still going to go through. They know that their sorrow is only for a time and they will have eternity together, they are praising God for His sweet salvation and that Christopher accepted Christ as is his savior.


Here is an article on Greg's reflection on the sudden loss of his son.
http://www.harvest.org/chris/articles/you-choose-dad.html

Lyrical Corner 8-27-2008

SPOTLIGHT CAEDMON'S CALL

"Valley's Fill First"

This is the valley that I'm walking through
And if feels like forever
since I've been close to you
My friends up above me don't
understand why i struggle like i do
My shadow's my only,only companion
and at night he leaves too

Down in the valley, dying of thirst Down in the valley, it seems that I'm at my worst My consolation is that you baptize this earth When I'm down in the valley, valleys fill first

Down in this wasteland I miss the
mountaintop view
But it's here in this valley that
I'm surrounded by you
Though I'm not here by my will
it's where your view is the most clear
So I'll stay in this valley it takes 40 years

Down in the valley, dying of thirst Down in the valley, it seems that I'm at my worst My consolation is that you baptize this earth When I'm down in the valley, valleys fill first

And it's like that long Saturday
your death and the rising day
When no one wrote a word,
wondered is this the end
But you were down there in the
well, saving those that fell
Bringing them to the mountain again

A Good Tree Bears Good Fruit

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Test all things; hold fast what is good.

Matthew 7:17-23

"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

One night I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I was thinking about what my next topic would be to blog about. In my mind I heard, "a good tree bears good fruit." In the above scripture Jesus likens man to a tree and our deeds to the fruit being produced by that tree. A good healthy tree will produce good healthy fruit, but a diseased tree will only produce fruit that is toxic to the body and unfit for consumption. You cannot call a tree that produces diseased fruit "good" nor can you call a tree that produces healthy fruit "bad." There is only one way to know if a tree truly is good or bad and that is by the fruit it produces... "Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
When I was a child we had an orange tree in our back yard that had a rough year, it didn't yield a very good crop at all. What oranges did grow weren't very good. I remember my grandparents and my father talking it over and they decided to give it one more year. Throughout the year they would water it, nurture it, watch it and see what it yielded. If it gave a good crop they would keep it assuming it had just a bad year, but if it had another bad year they knew the tree was no longer good for fruit and needed to be chopped down. At the end of the year the crop seemed to be the same or worse than the year before so my dad chopped it down.
We as people have a little more time than the orange tree to prove ourselves "good" or "bad." God is very gracious in His dealings with us as flawed man...

2Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,* not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

-and-

Romans 2:4
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?


However, we also know that God is just and true to His word. We know that "fruit" is a metaphor for the deeds in a persons life, so what deeds does God classify as bad fruit? For this I found Galatians 5:19-21. Notice it states in verse 21 "that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Meaning that those who make a continual pattern of behavior, those who constantly produce "bad fruit" "will not inherit the kingdom of God" or as Matthew 7:19 puts it "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." I also feel that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 delves into this as well. Romans also tells us that we have a sense within ourselves of what is right and good and what is wrong. This we know the minute we feel our rights encroached upon.


Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness[unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence ], 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.



What is the fruit that God finds "good" and sweet and healthy to the body, those deeds listed in Gal. 5:22-23. We also find what good fruit looks like in 1 Corinthians 13 (look it up). Jesus also said in Matthew 22, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 22:37,39-40) Good fruit is characterized by love and how it is exemplified in your life. First of all do your actions honor God and second of all do your actions bless and show love to others? Then that my friend is good fruit right there. If not, we must look within ourselves and do some pruning or God will do it for us.


Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

My final thought is this...
1John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.


It's sort of a side bar but I feel it's important. I guess I've seen some bad fruit and I wanted to point it out. To me it seems to go against the very fundamental principals of doctrine and it leaves me scratching my head in wonder that anyone can fall for it's debase nature. Todd Bentley is not a prophet or an apostle (or whatever he's calling himself) from God. If you don't know who he is look him up on you-tube. From what I've observed he physically abuses people under the guise of the movement of the holy spirit and manipulates people into thinking he's got some sort of "new message" about an angel (read 2 Corinthians 11:14). All I can tell you is love is gentle and love is kind, it is peaceful and is self-controlled and none of these things are contained within the way that this man is practicing his ministry. Know the word of God and be diligent to seek after Him and Him alone and He will protect you from stumbling.


1Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.