Tell Him All About It

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and read the questions at the bottom of the post.

1-3 I’m determined to watch steps and tongue
    so they won’t land me in trouble.
I decided to hold my tongue
    as long as Wicked is in the room.
“Mum’s the word,” I said, and kept quiet.
    But the longer I kept silence
The worse it got—
    my insides got hotter and hotter.
My thoughts boiled over;
    I spilled my guts.

4-6 “Tell me, what’s going on, God?
    How long do I have to live?
    Give me the bad news!
You’ve kept me on pretty short rations;
    my life is string too short to be saved.
Oh! we’re all puffs of air.
    Oh! we’re all shadows in a campfire.
Oh! we’re just spit in the wind.
    We make our pile, and then we leave it.

7-11 “What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?
    Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping
You’ll save me from a rebel life,
    save me from the contempt of dunces.
I’ll say no more, I’ll shut my mouth,
    since you, Lord, are behind all this.
    But I can’t take it much longer.
When you put us through the fire
    to purge us from our sin,
    our dearest idols go up in smoke.
Are we also nothing but smoke?

12-13 “Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my
    cry—open your ears.
Don’t be callous;
    just look at these tears of mine.
I’m a stranger here. I don’t know my way—
    a migrant like my whole family.
Give me a break, cut me some slack
    before it’s too late and I’m out of here.” Psalm 39 (MSG)

Do you think it's OK to feel uncertain about how things are going? Is it OK to wonder what God is up to and how he's working it out? Do you think it's OK to have days where you question? David did. He had them a lot and Praise God, some of them are listed in the Bible. You are in good company. So go for it, tell God how you feel. He wants you to.

The Hard Road

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT)

If I were to describe the narrow gate, I would say it's not well marked. There are no flashing lights, no huge signs, it looks rather uninteresting and it's probably not easily found. I think you'd have to really look for the entrance. You have to want to find it. And in my mind, when you enter in there are these tall walls that make it hard to get through. Sometimes, it feels like they are lined with sandpaper. Entering in is difficult because you have to squeeze in, sideways.

Why? Why does the bible say many will try to enter but fail (Luke 13:24) Matthew says the road it difficult.  Why?

Maybe this is because you cannot enter this gate with anything but your desire to please God. All the 'stuff' we carry with us has to be left outside. Your backpack of belongings like your house, your car, your bank account are not important on this journey. You have to let them go. Letting those go is harder than you think.

And why the super narrow entrance that I describe as sandpaper when you squeeze in? Because not only do we have to leave all our 'stuff', we also have to leave our pride and our of success and what is right according to the world. We must be made over again with a heart like Jesus.

Following God is not a one-time statement saying "I believe in Jesus." That will not get you through the narrow gate. It is a life change, and more importantly it is a cutting away of the parts of your heart that that keep God from being first.

Sounds hard doesn't it? It is. Matthew says it is and folks who live with God first know it is. Want to know how to do it? Grab hold of Jesus' hand and hold on. Don't let go no matter what. He will never let go of you. You may come through that gate battered and bleeding but you will not do it by yourself.

Of course, you can always go through the wide gate.  You will not be alone there either.

Walking The Walk

So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NLT)

In one day I had a success and a failure. Except true to human form, I noticed the success but not the failure. That's because I am talking about in my behavior. It's easy to recognize when we've done something good but totally miss when we didn't. Let me explain.

On this day, I was emailing with my accountant. She was asking me questions about taxes and asked a question about something. I sent her the answer.  Later, as she questioned again I started thinking about the fact that really I could still be technically correct but word the answer in such a way that I would get more money back on my refund. I started to type and then the Voice asked me if I was being honest. Completely honest. I backspaced over my response and was completely honest. Success! I listened to the Voice.

Later in the day I was talking to someone and they made an unfavorable comment about someone I knew. It wasn't a bad comment but it wasn't a totally positive comment either. The conversation went on and I contributed with a comment here and a there. We finished talking without any super negativity and I went on with my day.

The next morning as I was reflecting with God on the day before, he brought this to my mind. He revealed to me (as only God can) that my heart was in the wrong place. That in my heart I was holding a grudge against the person mentioned and that my heart was glad something unfavorable was said about them. He pointed out that while I didn't say anything wrong, my intentions were not his. Failure.

You know the really cool thing? During this same quiet time with God, the text he brought to me wasn't a text about where your heart is or how you should love one another. The text he brought was Galatians 2:20. This text reminded me that no matter how many times I fail, while I walk this earth, my trust should never be in my own behavior but in Jesus. It reminded me that while I live in this earthly body, I will have days--no, fleeting moments--when I am more Christ-like and I will have moments when I am not but as long as I stay focused on Jesus I am good.

During that conversation with God, I talked to him about why I reacted the way I did and we worked through it. I talked to him about my perceptions and he revealed how my perceptions might not be reality. There was healing in my soul. My heart overflows with love for a God who loves me enough to work with me in my failures. And because he takes the time to do it, I trust that I should listen when I hear his Voice.

Ch-Ch-Ch Changes

There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”
Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.” “How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit. John 3:1-6 (MSG)

This whole being born again thing can be a little confusing. I like the way The Message puts it. You have a body. You have a spirit. The body, whether it is a baby or an adult, can be seen and touched. The spirit cannot be seen or touched. The spirit is going to grow and become something. And that is the key, right? What is the something it will become?

That is the job of the Holy Spirit. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior and invite him into our life, the Holy Spirit gets busy. He starts to talk to us about lots of different things; how we love each other; the activities we are doing that keep God at a distance and so on. He talks to us about who God really is and shows us how involved he is in our lives. This process begins to change us from the inside out.

Often we say that God is not talking to us or we can't see him but if you look at your life and your thought patterns, I bet you could recognize how you've changed. If you have been convicted of a behavior that needs adjusting, if you've recognized God in anything, if you have had a change of heart about people or sin, God is working in your life. You are being born again.

Being born again is sometimes very subtle. It is a quiet changing of who you are into what God wants you to be. In my case, it has happened over years. Don't be fooled. This is still a God thing. You are experiencing him. You are experiencing his power.  He is intimately involved in your life. And, oh by the way, it's a process. Sometimes it is super messy. It will go on until Jesus comes again so relax and let God be God. He loves you too much to give up on you.

God Doesn't Talk

The sheep recognize his voice and come to him. John 10:3b (NLT)
I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know my Father. John 10:14-15 (NLT)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 (NLT)

Question for you. Do you think God talks to us? Do you think you can hear his voice? I do.

When I talk about this with people they usually have a couple of standard responses. The first one is "What does his voice sounds like?", i.e. Is it audible? Is it loud? Is it masculine or feminine? My answer to that is "It can sound any way it wants." It's God. He is not limited by our finite minds - He talked through a donkey after all! Now that we've established that what it sounds like really doesn't matter......

The next statement is "God doesn't talk to me." I think he does. I think he talks to all of us. I also think whether you hear him or not is dependent on if you are listening for him. If you are not looking for him, if you are not listening for him, you are going to be less likely to hear him. Think of it this way. When you get married, if you are in a crowded room and your spouse calls your name, you hear them. Your ear is tuned to their voice. It's the same thing if you are a parent. If your child calls out "Mom!" you recognize that voice right away. When you are listening for God and begin to tune your ear to his voice, you hear him and just like with your spouse or your child, you respond.

The next question that we all ask is "How do I know it's him?" Very good question. We all struggle with this one and as far as I can tell the answer is 'Practice' and 'Constant Communication.' I know God has spoken to me and I know I hear his voice. The messages are never the same and sometimes they sound downright illogical. When I am unsure, I keep going back to him and asking questions. I ask for confirmation. I ask for more information. I ask for flashing neon lights with an arrow that says "Go this way." (I don't ever get that response.) I don't think God ever gets tired of us trying to find him. So keep practicing and keep asking questions.

A lot of this article is about what I think from my own personal experience. What does the Bible say about it?  First, there are way too many statements about God talking to people to put them in a short blog. But, we can talk about a couple of them. We know God says "If you seek me, you will be found by me" (Jeremiah 29:13), so he wants to be in a relationship with us. We know that in John 10 (above) Jesus said he knows us and we can know him. He also said we can know him like he and the Father know each other. That's pretty intimate knowing. He also said we can know his voice. So it is possible to 'hear' him.

This is so important you can't take my word for it. You have to listen for yourself. Start talking to God. Tell him you want to find him. Tell him you want to hear him. And keep talking until you do. I know he will show up because he's promised. Maybe he's just waiting for you to start the conversation. 

Your Personality Type Doesn't Matter

Do not be unbelieving, but believing. John 20:27 (NKJV)

Thomas was a pessimist. Most of the few recorded comments from him demonstrate this. But, he loved Jesus. He was even willing to die with him. When Jesus announced in John 11 that he wanted to head back toward Jerusalem, the disciples were trying to talk him out of it. "They want to stone you. Why go there?" Thomas' comment was "Let's go. We may as well all die together." In other words, if he was going to die, he might as well do it with Jesus.

When the disciples told him they had seen Jesus, he didn't believe them. And true to form he said "I won't believe you until I touch his wounds." Interestingly, Jesus takes him up on the challenge. He shows up, focuses on Thomas and says "Go ahead. Touch away."

It blows me away that here is this pessimistic, doubting person and Jesus makes sure he's on board. He had already talked to the other 10, why spend the time to convince this one? Most of us would look at someone like that and assume he's not going to amount to much so we should move on. Jesus was listening to Thomas. Thomas' comment about not believing wasn't said in a prayer. He didn't ask God to prove anything; he was simply talking to his friends. Thomas received individualized, crafted just for him, attention from Jesus. We all do.

After Jesus addressed Thomas' concerns he said "Do not be unbelieving, but believing." In other words "OK. I addressed your concerns. What is your excuse?" Whether you are an extrovert or introvert, a pessimist, optimist or realist, Jesus is showing up each and every day talking to you in just the way you need to hear him. Why? Because, it is important to him that each and every one of us believes in who he is.

What is your “Thomas” excuse? Jesus is listening.

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 (NKJV)

Monday, Feb 6

From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end.
A long time ago I told you things that have not yet happened.
When I plan something, it happens.
What I want to do, I will do.
Isaiah 46:10 (NCV)

There is a lot of talk about hearing what God says and following his leading. Ever wonder what would happen if you heard wrong? I have thought about this. I wonder as I’m asking him what he wants “What if I hear wrong?” or “What if I think I heard him but it’s not him but my own thoughts?” And then, I remember. It’s not really up to me to control what happens. It’s up to God. My role is to seek him. My role is to talk to him, to listen and then do what I think he says. If I get it wrong, guess what? He’ll fix it. God has a plan. He is always working out his plan and if we get it wrong, he’ll still get what he wants done. So, relax. Enjoy the relationship and the communion and the adventure that comes from following what you hear!

Thursday, Feb 2

…..there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. 1 Kings 19:12-13 (NLT)

A gentle whisper. That gentle whisper was God talking to Elijah when Elijah was scared and burnt out. Think about it. God was reaching out to Elijah, to talk. Sometimes God’s call to us is gentle and simple. Sometimes his instructions to us come in the form of a whisper. As one of his kids, I am beginning... to realize that the power of God is not in the fact that he can call lightening down and destroy a city, it’s not that he can heal with a word, God’s power – his hold on my life is that he wants to talk to me. He wants to whisper his thoughts and share his plans with me. The all-knowing, all-seeing, able to do anything God of the Universe initiating and continuing a conversation with each one of us – now that is powerful.