Not long ago, my wife and I were on a short road trip with some friends when one asked to use my smart phone to view an online video of a product she was reading about in a magazine. So, I handed her the phone and we all anxiously waited while the video was loading. Once it launched, the quality wasn't that great and the video intermittently cut in and out while the next portions of the video were being loaded. It was a little frustrating, but then I thought, "Two years ago, we wouldn't have even been able to make a cellular phone call where we're driving, and now we're trying to connect to the internet and stream a video while driving 60 mph down the highway in the middle of nowhere?!" It put things into perspective for a moment. It made me think of the Verizon guy that's constantly asking, "Can you hear me now? ...Good!"
When I read through 1 Samuel 3:1-10, I can't help but imagine God asking young Samuel, "Can you hear me now?" And then, immediately, I wonder, "Would I recognize the voice of God if he spoke to me?" I understand that in those days the word of the Lord was rare, and that there weren't many visions, but how is that different than most people's experiences today? Even most church experiences? I know that Samuel did not yet know the Lord; that the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The question remains: Do you know the Lord? Do you recognize His voice? How can you be sure?
There’s a couple of things you can do to better your reception when it comes to hearing God’s voice:
First, pray Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God.” Let God put you through any test that would reveal hidden sin. If that test reveals anything offensive in you, you must admit it, give it up, turn from it and submit to God.
Second, evaluate your present situation. Take a look at Colossians 3:17. In everything you say, do, think, or enjoy, you must ask the following: Can it be done for God’s glory and honor? Can it be done “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (with a complete awareness of who He is, all He stands for and that you are to represent Him), and could you ask His blessing and approval for the activity? Can it be done while sincerely giving thanks to God? Is it a Christ-like action? Would Jesus do it? Could it cause another Christian to compromise his or her devotion to Christ? Will it strengthen or weaken my desire for spiritual things, God’s Word and prayer? Could it weaken or hinder my influence for Christ on others who do not know him or who may look to me as an example of Christ-like behavior?
Finally, be still and listen. Check out Psalm 46:10. You have to get to a point of saying, “Enough is enough!” You have to stop and let go of the things that are holding you back. You have to quit holding on to things that may be distracting or weighing you down spiritually – things that keep you from honoring God and giving him his proper place in your life. Then, when God speaks, you’ll be able to answer, “speak, for your servant is listening.”
My family loves geocaching! If you haven't heard of it, geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. Tons of fun!
As much as we enjoy following the direction of our GPS receiver, we realize that finding the treasure we're looking for would be a lot easier if we had a guide. Someone who had been there before, knew exactly what we were looking for and how to find it. When it comes to geocaching, that may be less fun, but it would be easier! It's not unlike when you travel to a new city, and rent a car and follow a map or a GPS. It's not as easy to navigate as it would be if someone local picked you up from the airport and drove you to your destination; someone that had been there before, knew exactly what they were looking for and how to find it.
What are you following? Are you trying to navigate through life by following signs left by others or are you following Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit? Are you asking for signs to follow yourself or are you leaving signs for others to follow? As many "signs and wonders" as the disciples witnessed Jesus performing, when they asked Him to teach them something, they didn't ask for instruction about performing the signs. They didn't ask how to turn water into wine, or how to heal a man born blind, or how to raise the dead. They asked Jesus how to pray! (See Luke 11:1-13) They seemed to understand that it wasn't about the signs, it was about the Savior.
Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing. Mark 16:17 indicates that signs will follow those who believe. John 11:40 says, "Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?'" Take a moment to pray today that God would teach us to leave signs that others may follow instead of asking for signs that we may follow. (See Acts 8:5-8; 1 Corinthians 11:1; John 4:48-53)
In the news this week, football coach Urban Meyer, University of Florida, retired after the Gators' 37-24 win over Penn State in the 2011 Outback Bowl on January 1, 2011. No big deal, right? Head coaches retire all the time! Height of their career, moderate, but winning season, 100+ career wins in relatively short order.
Nothing extraordinary here, or is there? Afterall, he's walking away from a lot! Meyer signed a six-year, $24 million extension in 2009, meaning he's walking away from about $20 million in guaranteed salary! Why? To spend more time with his family; to focus on being a better husband and father!
"At the end of the day, I'm very convinced that you're going to be judged on how you are as a husband and as a father and not on how many bowl games we won," Meyer said at a campus news conference. "I've not seen my two girls play high school sports. They're both very talented Division I-A volleyball players, so I missed those four years. I missed two already with one away at college. I can't get that time back."
What kind of regrets are you living with? What's currently keeping you from doing something more important with your life? What matters most must never be at the mercy of what matters least! We give a lot of lip service to trusting God, and doing whatever He wants, and following Him to the ends of the earth, but do are actions really match our words? Do our actions serve to illustrate what's really important to us?
I'm sure there are a lot of people giving Coach Meyer a hard time about quitting his job to focus on his family. I'm sure that there are a lot of people that believe he's being unwise. In my opinion, he's doing an honorable thing. 1 Peter 2:12 says, "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world." Take a moment and pray today that God will teach you to harmonize your words and your actions.
Willow the Wiccan: Willow's worldview is called Wicca, which is a loosely organized set of beliefs that are rooted in mystical traditions, including but not limited to Celtic or Norse paganism, Greek and Roman goddess worship, ancient Egyptian spirituality, Eastern Shamanism, or even Native American spiritual practices, depending on the group. Willow was attracted to Wicca because of the strong connection she felt with the world around her and in particular with nature. Willow is generally tolerant of other religions, but she does not welcome anyone trying to 'convert' her.
Willow and other Wiccans vary in their beliefs, but the majority of them would hold to the eight beliefs listed below:
- Everyone has the divine (or Goddess) within, and everyone has a 'life-force'. Willow believes in a male counterpart to the Goddess, who could possibly be the Christian God or the God of Islam.
- One should develop natural gifts for divination or occult magic (often spelled 'magick' by occultists.)
- Divine forces or nature spirits are invoked in rituals.
- The Goddess, as either a symbol or a real entity, is the focus of worship.
- Nature and the earth are sacred manifestations of the Goddess.
- Everyone has his or her own individual spiritual path to follow.
- Rituals and celebrations are linked to the seasons and moon phases.
- Meditation, visualization, invocation (calling on forces or gods/goddesses), chanting, burning candles and special rituals trigger a sense of the mystical, which typically reinforces their core belief system.
Things to Remember:
Like Tara the Typical, Willow is extremely sensitive toward anything that sounds intolerant and/or judgmental, so approach with extreme caution! As well, she sees Christianity as an oppressive religion, so be sure and show her love and respect.
Ask Willow what she believes about Christianity, because she might have a distorted image of what Christianity is. Try and use this as an opportunity to help her develop a correct understanding of true Christianity.
Don't confuse Wiccans with witches, because anyone can practice witchcraft, but Wiccans follow a strict code. Also, don't confuse Wiccans with Satanists, because most Wiccans don't believe in Satan or the devil.
Outline the strengths and reliability of the Bible (accuracy, consistency, fulfilled prophecy, etc.) because Willow rejects it as unreliable.
Stress your personal relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ and what impact that has on your daily life.
Whether Willow knows it or not, she is in the grips of Satan, so like Sid the Satanist, be sure and cover your relationship and conversations with her in a ton of prayer.
Read Matthew 12.
Take a closer look at verses 1-12. In our house, we refer to Sunday afternoon as "Jammy Nap Day." We come home from church, eat lunch, put on our jammies (i.e. PJs, pajamas, etc.) from the night before, crawl into bed and take a nap; and I'm not talking a 15-20 minute nap either...it's more like a several hour, entire family hibernation in our house. Sure we get some flack from our kids from time to time about not being able to go out and play with their friends, or taking a shorter nap or not taking a nap at all, but we rarely budge on this. Hopefully, we're teaching our kids to stop everything, abandon their own desires, and take a day of rest. Later, when they begin to work and take on greater responsibilities as an adult, hopefully they'll remember this valuable principal and continue its adherence.
It's not to say that we CAN'T do other things on this day, or that we SHOULDN'T, just that activities are the exception rather than the rule this one day a week. A day of rest, established by God from the beginning of time (Genesis 2:3), was given for our spiritual and physical well-being. FOLLOW His example. Take some time to rest, relax, rejuvinate, and recharge this week!
Tara the Typical: Tara the Typical holds to the same typical worldview as the majority of Americans. This typical worldview varies some with each individual, but at the core are several commonly held beliefs that were shaped from a variety of sources such as religious background, personal friends, school, entertainment choices (this is a huge factor) and family background.
At the heart of Tara the Typical's worldview is tolerance, individualism, self-expression, self-effort and self-gratification (can you say myspace.com!). Tolerance is the overriding principle that guides everything else in Tara's mind, so she sees all religions, lifestyles, sexual preferences, etc. as equally valuable and valid.
Tara believes it is wrong for any one religion to claim they are the only way to heaven, nirvana, etc., and it is also wrong to judge other people in their lifestyle and choices unless they are really bad. One of Tara's highest values is sincerity - as in it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere (genuine and honest) in your beliefs. Tara feels that her worldview is what will get her what she wants out of life without hurting others.
Things to Remember:
Warning - Tara is extremely sensitive towards anything that sounds intolerant and/or judgmental, so approach with extreme caution! The best route to take is to first get her to see the inconsistencies and contradictions in her worldview. This is best done by asking penetrating questions like:
- Every major religion contradicts the others on major issues like who God is and how we get to heaven, so how can they all be right?
- If getting into heaven is a matter of being good and sincere, why did Jesus come to earth, die on the Cross, and come back from the dead?
- Osama Bin Laden claims to be a strict Muslim who planned the Two Towers attack partially out of a sincere religious belief called a Jihad. Do we have a right to judge him for that? Will he be in heaven as well?
- There are many areas in the physical life where there are absolute truths, like mathematics and science, so why wouldn't there be absolute truth in the spiritual world?
Also, your personal testimony will be helpful in helping establish the credibility of your message.
Read Matthew 11.
Take a closer look at verse 28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." FOLLOWING Jesus offers freedom and relief from the busyness and heaviness of life.
Some Christians are experts at making nothing happen...and doing that very slowly. Others act as if the work of Christ lies solely only their shoulders. Sometimes, too much of a good thing can still be a bad thing. Both extremes lead to weariness. Every day of your life you'll face demands marked "urgent"; demands that carry the potential to change busyness into weariness and bring spiritual and emotional burnout. But, there is nothing inherently spiritual about busyness. Jesus reserved some of his strongest rebukes for the Pharisees - the spiritual workaholics of the day. They were so busy working for God that they had forgotten to FOLLOW Him.
At the same time, there is nothing inherently sinful about "unproductive" moments, if they are used to refresh and energize you to continue FOLLOWING Christ. Even God, the Creator of the Universe, set aside His work for a day of rest. And the beauty of it all? While you rest, God is at work!
