Are You Listening?

 

(photo from vedictruth.com)

I’m going to be transparent with you today. Maybe a little too transparent.

As a child, we see things differently than we do as grow ups, but sometimes those childhood thoughts stick with us. Even when we have the perspective of an adult, silly thoughts from yesteryear can wander through our minds at the most unexpected times.

I’ve always processed my thoughts differently than most people around me. In our decades of marriage, Dave has often told me he doesn’t know anyone who thinks like I do. I never took it any other way than complimentary. Sometimes, he even seems to admire the way I think.

I would guess, though I’ve never looked into it, that I’m somewhere on the autism spectrum. But perhaps we’re all somewhere on the spectrum. They say there’s a fine line between autism and genius. I’m not saying I’m a genius, but maybe I dance on that fine line. I’m not talking about common sense or even intelligence, but the way my brain processes my thoughts.

As a child, I just saw myself as different. Most children probably go through that phase at some point. But, I’ve carried the thought, intact, with me for the past 60 years or so. In childhood, I was convinced that I was “retarded” (the word used in that day), but that no one would tell me or admit it to me. Silly? Perhaps.

Over the years, the thought has crossed my mind from time to time.

Last night I was worshiping God with other women as praise music filled through the room and I prayed for those I love most. (I’m guessing your name was whispered to God, backed by volumes of faith for your every need.)

At one point, when God spoke to me, He shared a little secret with me. He said, “You know, Dave would still love you, even if you were retarded.” (I’m guessing He chose that word because it’s the word I used as a child.) It instantly took me back to feelings of insecurity. But then just as quickly, filled me with laughter.

(picture from coolcatteacher.com)

Yes. Dave loves me that much. He’s definitely the man God created to be my husband. No one else would do. Not everyone marries the person God created specifically for them. Some of us get ahead of God or don’t even consider asking Him if the person they plan to marry has His approval.

Somehow, even though I didn’t know the voice of God way back when, I knew on our first date that Dave was the man I’d marry. There are plenty of times when we frustrate each other, even to this day, but neither of us has ever second-guessed our decision, even in the hardest of times.

The whole point in my vulnerability today is to tell you that God really does speak to us. His Word states, “Anyone with ears to hear, should listen and understand!” -  Matthew 11:15 (NLT) God isn’t merely saying that if you have globs of skin to hold up your glasses, you’ll hear Him. We have spiritual ears. We need to learn to listen with THOSE ears.

As a teen, on our first date, did I know I was hearing from God? No. But that didn’t stop Him from speaking to me. Like me, He always has something to say. Not so much like me, what He has to say is always worth listening to.

So, whether there’s praise music on or not, whether you’re alone or in a crowd, He’s talking to you. If you’re listening for His voice, you’ll hear Him. Listen! His Word also tells us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” - John 10:27 (NKJV)

(photo from alabamasinus.com)

You may be tempted to say that you never hear Him. Or that He doesn’t bother to speak to you. You’re mistaken. There’s so much He wants to share with you. He wants you to know the depths of His love for you. It’s His desire to impart to us His knowledge, His wisdom and His understanding.

Pay attention. Listen. You’ll hear. It may surprise you. But, you’ll hear Him!

Marvel - ous!

(pinterest.com)

There’s a story in the Bible that always catches my attention, one that sends my brain into a tizzy of ponderings.


When you’re in the presence of someone you perceive to have greatness, there’s a secret longing in your heart to capture their attention, if only for a moment.


While at a Reba McIntire concert a few years back, my youngest son screamed out to her from the crowd at the foot of the stage, “I love you Reba!” To his great pleasure, she looked right at him, pointed and said, “I love you, too, darlin’!” For an instant, he had Reba McIntire’s attention. He’ll cherish the memory forever. Reba? Maybe not. She just doesn’t know the greatness of my son!


The Bible story (here) is one that most of us will quickly recall. Jesus was talking with a crowd of people when an unnamed Centurion approached Him, asking for healing for his servant. Jesus made Himself immediately available and said that He’d come heal the servant. The Centurion stopped the whole incident in an instant when he stated simply that he wasn’t worthy of the Master’s presence in His home, but that because of Jesus’s authority, His Word would be enough to heal the servant. 


What happened next? 
What was the reaction on Jesus’s face? 
Where did the conversation go after such a statement?


We don’t get to see the faces in the crowd, or of the disciples, but we can conjure up imagery of what splashed across the face of Jesus. The Bible tells us that He marveled.


Ponder that.


Jesus marveled. 

Jesus marveled over the faith of a believer. Other versions of the Bible say that Jesus was amazed, or that He was astonished, or taken aback; surprised.


We don’t have any record of this Centurion ever interacting with Jesus again. 

The story is brief, but always commands my attention, every single time I read it. How could I make Jesus marvel? What about my faith would cause amazement to rise up on His face?


What was it about this Centurion’s faith that allowed him to take Jesus at His Word?


We don’t read that he sat at the feet of Jesus, listening intently to every teaching He shared. We don’t have any other account of how this guy chose to believe on Jesus, but he clearly demonstrates faith like few of us have, or have even seen.


If we could grasp ahold of this, and simply believe, like the Centurion, we might just cause Jesus to marvel. And we’ll definitely see what we ask for come to pass, because this is the kind of faith Jesus is looking for. 

Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see. - Hebrews 11:1 (NIRV)


Who believes like this?

Expecting?

(letterpost.nl)

“Answered prayers are all about one thing, us drawing closer to God.” – An enlightening line from the young man’s sermon tonight at Friendship Assembly of God here in Colorado Springs, Pastor Brad.

“We keep knocking, seeking and asking to keep maturing.” – Pastor Brad.

This young man says some really good stuff! And better yet, what he says makes me think. I love that!

God is looking for our faith, not the beauty of our prayed words. Are we trusting in the wording of our cries – or the God we’re calling out to?

Sometimes a thought crosses our mind that surprises us. Well, it happens to me, anyway.

In pondering the faith that fills my prayers (or should fill them), a prickly thought crept in: Am I looking forward to a day I’ll no longer need faith? Or to the day when my faith is all-consuming, abounding everywhere, always?

(virgin.com)

I savored the thought like a sip of old wine.

This would be the difference between looking at faith from the outside-in, as through a window at something we want to obtain vs. walking in that faith.

Our prayers can’t be uttered in faith when our lives are littered with sin. I wonder, what does God see when I pray without expectancy? Do I find myself in the same boat with the disciples when Jesus declared, “Oh ye of little faith…”

When I pray, “Heavenly Father, I want your peace, Your joy, Your power, Your presence…..” – How do I respond when He asks, “What will you do with it, Helen?”

Ouch! How would it feel to be praying and hear God call you out as a hypocrite? As the young preacher pointed out tonight, God isn’t afraid to speak plainly. Jesus instructed us not to pray like the hypocrites. As He taught us to pray, He was frank about those who prayed empty prayers for show.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others…” – Matthew 6:5 (NIV)

(bestsayingsquotes.com)

What do our prayers look like to God?

Another tantalizing line from Pastor Brad: “We’re praying because we know we’ve won!” I suppose too many of us are praying with hopes that we “win” – but the risen Christ is all the hope we need; we’re on the winning side!

Well, then what?

When God answers “this prayer” of yours – then what? For example, in response to a prayer for healing of some sort, “If I’m pain-free I can serve You better, Lord….”

Perhaps if we serve Him better, our pain will disappear. And by better, I mean, with a more open heart; willingly, not begrudgingly – with love. Maybe we need to walk out the “then what” as we pray…

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” –Mark 11:24 (NIV)

And to drive home the prayer of expectancy, Pastor Brad used this verse:

“But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.” – Philemon 1:22 (NKJV)

Roll a few of these tasty nuggets around in your head – then in your heart; ponder them with me. What are your thoughts on the matter?

(theunboundedspirit.com)

Here Comes 2015

(photo from whatiflearning.com)

What if?

You can say it any way you’d like. You can tack on anything imaginable.

What will you imagine?

Human nature often begs us to imagine something bad or negative to finish the question with, such as, “What if – something bad happens to me or to my children or my finances, etc…?”

But, what if – it’s something good? What if it’s something great?

(photo from flickr.com)

God’s Word tells us it IS something great! “But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV) The writer is quoting Isaiah 64:4 from the Old Testament.

Our frail, human hearts can’t even begin to image all the good God has for us; good things, good plans, good beyond our finite comprehension. He does go on to say in verse 10, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

So, though we can’t imagine it without divine intervention, we can know what God has in store for us. And we can be reassured that it’s all good. A verse that many consider to be their favorite is in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” In the NIV we read, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

I’ve included both versions because I want us to know that God’s thoughts toward us include His plans for us. He didn’t just map out our lives and then walk away, hoping we get it right. He’s here with us every single step of the way, unfolding His plans and loving us, whether we allow ourselves to accept and feel that love or not.

(photo from michelewoodward.com)

Our pastor defines imagination as image-formations; the images we form in our minds. When we allow God to take hold of the images we form there, we can see the good; our minds won’t always impulsively run toward the bad. Instead of what if something bad happens today, we can ask, what if something great happens? Then, we can begin to dwell on the good and form good images. Ah, yes, my favorite scripture instructs us to do that: think on the good things!  (In case you don’t know it yet, that’s Philippians 4:8.)

Even humanists that don’t call on the Name of Jesus chime in with the knowledge that what we think will determine what we are. (“for as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7 NIV)

I count at least seven times in scripture where Jesus asks, “What do you think?” (Mt 17:25, 18:12, 21:28, 22:17, 22:42, Luke 10:36 and 13:4)

How cool is it that He cares about what we think? He cares about it, because He knows the power involved with our thoughts and words.

When we form images in our minds around what could happen today or tomorrow – or this coming year, 2015, what will we allow? Yes, again, I bring up choice. We get to choose what we allow into our minds!

What if – [negative] = worry

What if – [positive] = peace

Which would you rather live in, worry or peace?

(picture from balancedandbarefoot.com)

“…for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” – 2 Timothy 1:12 (KJV)

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultess before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” – Jude 1:24-25 (KJV)

Where She Intersects With Me

(Photo from: mnn.com and Echo Energies)

Do you ever talk about yourself as if you were someone else? Or is it just me? I see little scribbles throughout my notebooks referring to myself as, “she” and “her”. Perhaps I’m not ready to own everything I say about myself.

‘It began to dawn on her just how powerful she really is……’

Her words, ah yes, it comes back to her words… and of course, the intentions and conviction behind them. Does she really mean what she says? Or better yet, do I really mean what I say? If so, those words are powerful!

I make up my own phrases; my very own terminology, when I talk to myself about myself. Occasionally, I apply these phrases to others.

One such phrase is “sensory perception overload”. I don’t think it’s a real thing, but perhaps I should Google it. Okay, I just Googled it, maybe I’m not making it up. Hmmm….or maybe someone else just stole my idea (again). From the bit I read, we’re not actually talking about the same thing, at least, not exactly.

For me, this sensory perception overload is simply a matter of the way my senses sometime perceive things and can cause me to temporarily short-circuit, or overload; rather a hand-in-hand idea with “too much of a good thing”. When I’m reading a book, for example, and it gets too exciting or too intense for me, I can get flustered and need to slow down or reread the paragraph a time or two. When listening to someone talk on a topic I find exceptionally fascinating, I can’t always put them on pause or replay what they’re saying, because sometimes it’s in real-time, in real life, as opposed to watching and listening on YouTube or some other internet site. When the information they’re feeding me tantalizes the senses I’m using to understand it, I can get a bit overwhelmed. Since I can’t stop them from adding more information so quickly, I sometimes block them out. That’s a lose-lose situation for me, because I then lose the points they were making in the first place.

Am I being too transparent? Or do you encounter this as well?

Going back to what I quoted from a notebook earlier, ‘It began to dawn on her just how powerful she really is……’ I can perceive the power; it’s just beyond my reach. It’s a little too exciting to grab onto – yet. But, I will. It’s not far beyond my reach, I can see it. I’m just in the process of wrapping my head around it. Perhaps that’s what keeps it at arm’s length….my need to understand it before I depend on it.

Must we always understand everything we use? No. I don’t understand how electricity works. I simply flip the light switch and the darkness is instantly banished from the room. I don’t understand how my body heals itself when I obtain an injury, but in a matter of days, I can behold a cut become a scar and most often, disappear entirely. I don’t understand how I can spend so much and still have a positive balance in my checkbook, but praise God – I haven’t been overdrawn in decades.

Where does understanding intersect with faith? Is it even necessary to draw that line?

Are even the faithless faithful? Are those who question the very concept of faith, actually walking in faith daily but refusing to see it?

Personally, I’m quite convinced I don’t need to understand God completely before I can, by faith, believe Him. And sometimes, He totally blows my perception circuits!

“Trust in the LORD with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Hanging on to Hope

What happens to hope when we let it go?

When I’ve hoped for something and I begin to see tell-tale signs that what I’m hoping for just isn’t going to happen, I admit, I sometimes let go.

Did I not want it badly enough? Or did letting go of hope result in the weakening of my faith to the point that I could no longer call it faith, therefore I stopped believing I’d receive?

Remember, Jesus said, “I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:24 (NKJV)

Perhaps like in so many children’s stories brought to life before our eyes on the big screen, in surround sound and Technicolor, we just need to hang on a minute more.

The magic comes when it looks like the hero can’t hold out any longer, in the breathtaking, intensified moment that occurs just after the hero is emptied of himself, when defeat is upon him, and the sparkle of life in his soul looks like it’s extinguished.

But, as if hope itself has a hold on the hero – the light deep down inside of him that gave him hope in the first place is rekindled; now comes the breakthrough!

Some things we’ve hoped and believed for didn’t happen. Life’s events didn’t have the outcome we anticipated. Could it have gone the way we so wished it would if we’d have hung in there one minute more? We can’t relive it to find out.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

The things we’re hoping for are made of a substance we can’t tangibly hold in our hands, but a real substance nonetheless, called faith; not mere plastic or cloth or stone or wood – but faith. Is faith an imaginary substance? No, but it’s not something we see with our eyes. There’s plenty we can’t see, and it’s all as real as anything we can.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” – Hebrews 11:3 (NRSV)

What we see around us didn’t come “from nothingness” – but what it was created from is hidden from our carnal eyes.

So by faith, we can cling to hope.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

Prove Yourself, God!

A thought that enters into many conversations in various forms comes out in a question that begs: Why doesn’t God prove Himself if He’s real?

If I stand beside a nonbeliever and compare what I have with what they have, looking for who has the most ‘blessings’ – I won’t necessarily see that I have more with my natural eyes. But natural eyes are all the nonbeliever has to see with.

If God always showed the world how He blesses the believer, nonbelievers would find it easier to want those blessings, too, and accept that He is. But God doesn’t want any of us seeking Him simply because of what He can give us.

If I say I prosper more because I’m a Christian, and a nonbeliever sees that his bank account puts mine to shame, he’s likely to say that he prefers his prosperity over mine.

If I go into a third world country and expect God to provide me with a large house with clean running water, grand furnishings and more food supplies than I could distribute, many might believe it’s my God providing for me and seek after that same God. But would they be seeking Him, or merely what He has to give?

God wants us to love Him, to seek after Him – for who He is, not just for what He can provide for us.

Old movies show a king or millionaire making himself out to be a commoner to find the love of his life who will love him for who he is, not for the riches he has. Why would God want any less?

Seek His heart – not His hand.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..." Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Trusting

“See, I knew it! I knew you’d do it again,” she screamed in a fit of rage, storming out of the room. “Once a cheater, always a cheater," her voice trailed off behind the slammed door.

What do you harbor in your heart – so that you can be “right” later? What do you hide there “just in case” you might need to fall back on it later?

You can’t truly trust someone if you’ve tucked that fear into the back corners of your heart.  You don’t want to be “right” later, you want that fear to never come to pass. You want to be free of it. Letting it go won’t necessarily be easy, but waiting for it to show up and slap you in the faced hinders your ability to live in the here and now.

Do you remember what Job said? “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”  Job 3:25 (KJV)

Don’t collect fears in your heart, there’s too much life to be lived in trust.

Hurts may come your way again, cross those bridges when you come to them. But the hurt you’re secretly dreading may never happen. And honestly, if you’re hanging onto that fear, you’re not living in trust, and if you’re not trusting, you’re not really living.

Pull that fear weed out of the garden of your life – and give it over to God or it may grow and consume you. Once it’s gone, you’ll be able to see beauty blossoming everywhere. A negative, “I knew it!” is a blinder keeping the finer things in life at a distance.