Voices

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Do you hear voices….?  We all do!  All those thoughts and ideas that roll around in our minds, competing for first place, sometimes shouting, others whispering, making us the person we are at the moment …  Most importantly, in all the clamoring and cacophony, are you hearing God’s voice?  God’s voice needs to be the loudest ‘voice’ we hear.

How to really ‘hear’ God’s voice…that is really the question.

Create a place of stillness.  Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still and know Him.  He can’t be heard above the din of the world and the thoughts that go with living in it.  Quiet your mind and your heart.  How does that work?  I have a window in my study that my reading chair faces.  All I have to do is look up and out and there is a tree that personifies God’s creation.  Every season, spring, summer, winter, fall, it’s there.  A spirit of peace, calm, assurance, love, descends to my spot and I know He is God.

Cultivate an attitude of trust.  There is no way to hear God’s voice if we don’t trust that His voice is the only one we want to listen to.  Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in Him with our whole heart.  (Not just a piece of it but every part of it.)  It goes on to say (my words) don’t trust your own understanding (thoughts).  Our culture teaches an attitude of independence that contradicts the dependence on God that allows us to totally trust Him.

Learn of Him.  Do you really know all there is to know about God and His Word?  Probably not!  None of us do.  I suspect that if you’re reading this you want to know more.  Psalm 32:8 tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”  Did you get that?  He wants to be our personal teacher.  Not only that, He already knows what we need to hear and learn.  Wow!  A personal, life coach!  All that’s required of us is to HEAR Him.

Pay attention!  Block that voice that says quit wasting your time on that stuff.  There’s a report that has to be written before the day is over.  There’s laundry, lawn mowing, dishes, dusting, and a zillion other chores and distractions.  Hebrews 2:1 tells us that we must pay closer attention to what we have heard (about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Word).  If we don’t we’ll start drifting off.  We have to use all we have at our disposal to ensure that we are really listening.

It is totally possible and probable that you already know the sound of His voice.  Give it your total attention.  He wants you to hear Him.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Abba, let me hear Your voice.  Let me know and trust You.  Take away outside influence and noise so that my attention can be totally on you!  Make it so in Jesus name.

alatsee-968598_960_720This beautiful song reflects this post beautifully.  Just click on the picture to listen.

 

 

This post is in support of Holley Gerth’s new study, https://player.vimeo.com/video/152491133“>You’re Already Amazing Life Growth Guide.  It will be released on March 1st.  Watch for the review!

5 Prayer Prompts

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Do you have times when what to pray evades?  Of course you do.  I do.  Everyone does.  There are many ways and methods of prayer.  Spoken.  Written.  Thought.  There are acronyms to keep us focused and cover all the things we ‘should’.  (ACTS – Acclamation Contrition Thanksgiving Supplication   PRAY – Praise Repent Access Yield)  How about just going before the Throne and giving God all that’s on, or in, your mind/heart.  Here are some ideas:

Tiny Praying HandsA prayer totally devoted to thanks for His provision.  Do one for each letter of the alphabet.  This could become quite long since He gives us EVERYTHING!

Tiny Praying HandsPrayers for someone who is causing you problems.  Not just what is happening on the surface but the whole story.  Dig in and lay it out.  Like King David did in some of the Psalms.  Don’t forget your part in it.

Tiny Praying HandsPray for our country and its leaders, its people, its problems, its challenges…

 

Tiny Praying HandsPraise Him!  Close the door and sing His praise.  Not just one song but maybe a whole CD.  Write a poem.  Take a walk and focus on His creation.  Draw.  Paint.  Sculpt.

Tiny Praying HandsCall a friend! (Matthew 18:19)  Grab your prayer lists, find a quiet place, and lay it all before God.  Agree before hand to stay totally focused on God.

Pray On prayer warriors.  God wants to hear and respond.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers, incline Your ears, and grant us Your peace.  Help us as we strive to experience Your presence.  Let our prayers and our words be a pleasant fragrance before Your Throne.  Make it so in Jesus name.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

God’s To-Do List

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What if God kept a list?  A ‘to-do’ list of sorts?  I’m sure if He did he would have every name of every person that has ever been.  Let’s clear this up.  God does NOT keep a list.  Both the Old and New Testament attest to that.

“But I, yes I, am the one
    who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do.
    I don’t keep a list of your sins.”   Isaiah 43:25

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.     1 Corinthians 13:5-7 

But what if He did keep a list?  Might it look like this?

Adam     Loved & Forgiven

Eve     Loved & Forgiven

Jael     Loved & Forgiven (Judges 4:21)

David     Loved & Forgiven

Daniel     Loved & Forgiven

The Disciples of Jesus     Loved & Forgiven

The Woman at the Well     Loved & Forgiven

Everyone     Loved

All Believers     Loved & Forgiven

Did you catch that?  Everyone is loved by God.  His heart is broken by those who refuse to believe.  Those who will not recognize they are sinners…  Those who simply say there is no God…   Those who say I am more important, intelligent, talented…than the Great I AM…

Even though God does not keep lists, He loves and wants to forgive every person.  He will!  All we need to do is ask.

Abba, Father, give me a heart to reach out to those who do not know You.  Grant me the ability to know when I should share Your love and what I should share of Your Message.  Let me love like You and forgive with total forgetfulness.  Make it so in the Precious Name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

Signs

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Look around!  They’re everywhere!  Stop signs.  Sale signs.  Billboards.  Not just ‘man’ signs.  God did some pretty spectacular ones.  The rainbow.  The Babe in the manger.  Reversing the sun.  What?  Take a look at Isaiah 38:7-8.

Here’s the story in a nutshell.

~Hezekiah got sick.  Isaiah went to visit him and told him he was going to die.

~Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed, pointing out his righteous life.  He asked for nothing.

~God heard his prayer and gave him 15 more years.

~God said he would give Hezekiah a sign to assure Hezekiah He could and would do what He said He could.  God moved the sun’s shadow 10 notches backward on the sundial.  The near impossibility of that happening then or even now is astronomical.   Even though the people of that time believed the sun moved around the earth it was till going to be a really big event.

Are you watching for His signs?  (I’m not really referring to end times here.)  When God wants our attention He can use several ways to get it.  Working/speaking through other believers – Isaiah spoke God’s message to Hezekiah.  Motivation to pray and seek answers – Hezekiah turned to the wall, toward God in prayer.  Everyday activities, like watching television or listening to music, will start pointing you in the direction God wants you to go.  Discomfort/sickness – Hezekiah was on his death bed.  God signs are visible but we must be watching, waiting, and ready.  All we have to do is look!

Ah, Lord God, open my eyes, my ears, my heart, my mind to where You are working and what You want me to see.  Give me the ability to take all that is going on around me and see it through Your eyes.  Let me hear Your voice as I try to determine the right response.  Give me wisdom and knowledge to see it Your way.  Make it so in Jesus Name.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

I am a part of Holly Garth’s Launch Team for her new book, You’re Already Amazing.  From time to time you will see some of her work in this spot on the blog.  Enjoy it with me.  She is a very gifted writer for such a time as this.

With Jesus

You can also find this post in Pondering and Prayer.

Abba’s Child | Book Review

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Abba's ChildDo you wonder about God’s personal love for us?  Do you have a background of little to no love as a child and have always been searching for it?  Are you a perfectionist with thoughts of I’m just not good enough?  This book might be for you.

God’s love (and grace) has nothing to do with not living up to your own or other’s expectations.  It is simple in its complexity.  It has little, to nothing, to do with you/me and everything to do with the One who forgave every complex bit of ourselves on the cross.  We are so wrapped up in what we think is expected that we choose to lay the burden on others and of course the media.  He loves us and He wants us to converse (i.e., pray) with Him without judging ourselves or letting others judge us.

This book is really about understanding the characteristics that are not particularly valued in our society.  Love, gentleness, lowliness, humility, sharing, tenderness, caring and more.  We have grown up thinking self-sufficiency is of the utmost importance not realizing that the far more important concept (to use an overused cliché) is to ‘let go and let God’.

Forgiveness is another of the characteristics that is not valued.  The book goes into great detail on this subject.  It is impossible to be considered Abba’s Child if we do not learn to forgive.  Whether it is a personal affront, abuse, a legacy of racism, or any other sin against us Jesus says to forgive just like we would be expected to be forgiven.

Abba’s Child is an excellent study in understanding how love, grace, and forgiveness work together.  I highly recommend this book.  It should be read by and on the bookshelves of every believer.

One last thought…Let yourselves be loved!

A copy of this book was provided for me by Tyndale Blog Review Network/NavPress.  No other remuneration was received.  The thoughts and ideas in this review are entirely my own and are based totally on the book.  If you click on the book picture it will take you to NavPress where you can purchase the book. (I am not an affiliate of this company and receive nothing from them for this option.)