The true picture

If words are but pictures of our thoughts, what picture are you painting? It is possible the picture painted would enthrall some, put off others, and not even faze the rest. It is quite possible the words we choose to speak, as well as the ones we choose to never speak, allow others to see 'into' our hearts. God wanted us to know his heart well, so he gave us his WORD to reveal it!

My son, pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Don’t let them out of your sight. Never stop thinking about them. These words are the secret of life and health to all who discover them. Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life. (Proverbs 4:20-23)

God tells us to pay attention to what he says because it reveals his inner thoughts, purposes, and power. Herein is the rub - we hear without really listening - not really coming to understand how he works, what he desires, or what is available to us in him. Maybe it is time we learn to put away or pull ourselves away from those things that are distracting us from really listening!

He reminds us we have to listen closely - meaning we might actually miss what he says or misunderstand it all together. When we listen closely to hear something, what do we do? If you are like me, you remove as many of the 'interfering' things as possible in order to 'zero in on' that which I am attempting to hear. I open the door to hear the noise outside. I turn off the TV volume to hear the wind roaring. If we want to hear, perhaps we need to remove some of the 'barriers' to hearing.

Part of hearing is achieved in reconsidering or pondering what it is we have heard. I have a friend who has lost part of her hearing, not able to hear some pitches of sound, and she can miss those sounds totally. There are times she has to ponder the words I speak in order to make sense of them because of that hearing deficit. Maybe we each have a bit of a hearing deficit that we need to deal with, my friends. Ponder for a while the things God is revealing in his Word and you might just decide you haven't been seeing the 'true picture' he wants you to see. Just sayin!

Life Hack #22: Listen Again

Life Hack #22:

It’s better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day. Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel. (Proverbs 24:5-6)

Back in the day, it was not uncommon to witness kids squaring off on the playground, then announcing: "My dad can beat your dad any day"? One child trying to prove something - that he or she has an advantage. Advantage is something we have been trying to "get" ever since we took our first breath. We are after any opportunity or circumstance we can "work our way" into to ensure success or a particular desired end. I remember learning some hand-to-hand combat maneuvers in the military, somehow thinking knowing the maneuvers would give me some advantage over another if the situation arose. I know I would have zero advantage over a black belt in karate, let alone a 250-pound angry military man! Why? What I was putting my faith in as "advantage" was pretty unreliable! Advantage is really not in what we possess or what we declare to be at our disposal - it is in what becomes an ingrained, worked-in, practiced part of our daily lives.

Advantage is really determined by things other than military might or the size of your muscles (or your dad's). We must realize the advantages we have in this life are entirely because of who and what we know. We have the wise counsel of scripture - giving us an advantage over those who rely upon their own devices to get through in this life. We have the determined tutelage of the Holy Spirit in our lives - giving us the advantage of receiving immediate feedback before any decision is made. We also have the excellent advice of wise counselors - those in the faith who have walked where we walk today and have learned a thing or two along the way. Advantage is in who and what we know - the way knowledge is a powerful tool in our hands only when we put it into practice enough to know it is tested and true.

To win, you need a lot of good counsel - not just one word you will hang your hat on out there on the playground. I cannot tell you the times I have just listened to the first voice that came along and found myself "burned" in the end. At times, things turned out miserably for me, while at others, they just kept getting worse as time went on. This tendency to get "burned" comes from the over-reliance upon that "first voice" information. We get burned because we did not use the advantage of putting that "voice" to the test. 

There is much wisdom in not always listening to the first voice we hear. I don't think God is affronted by me asking if it is his voice I am hearing, because he knows I am really saying I don't want to go into something blind - I want him with me! I begin to recognize the voice of my Lord, but at first, I may find myself questioning if it is him. Why does time make a difference? In time, I learn how he speaks, when he speaks, what things he values and directs my life toward. It comes by spending time with him and listening to the counsel he gives through the Word, sound biblical teaching, and even a worship song. Time with him develops a set of trusted principles in my life which I can refer to when considering the next step to be taken. In other words, I have a set of "counsel" principles which I know to be wise and trusted - foundational to my life. We can go a long way in this life with "true advantage" when we allow the counsel of the Lord to be the guiding influence of our lives. Just sayin!

More than casual conversation

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Ephesians 4:29)

We might just forget that 'words' are a gift. Each and every one we speak has the power to build up, encourage, point someone in the right direction, confirm, or enable. How many times do we hang onto the ones that do just the opposite? We get all hyper-focused on the ones that didn't actually 'do much for us', or actually weren't meant to 'hurt', but we internalized them as something that hurt us. As important as it is for each of us to watch how we talk (the words that come out of our mouths), it is equally as important that each of us begins to 'weigh' the words we hear for their true value and stop focusing on what it is we thought we heard.

We can 'take' words so many ways, can't we? I could tell you the sky is cloudy today, and you take it to mean we are going to be stuck inside not doing the things we hoped to do outside today. You form a negative 'feeling' based upon the fact I told you there were clouds in the sky. If we were honest about this 'weather report', we might just realize clouds might make for a muggier than desirable day, but it might just hold the temp down a few degrees, making it easier to do those outdoor tasks. Words taken differently - totally dependent on the point of reference we assign to them. If our words are gifts to each other, we might have to change our 'point of reference' on occasion so that we aren't so easily offended when someone says something without thinking it through!

Try as we might, we don't always think before we speak. In fact, there are times when our emotions kick in full-force, and we just get all wrapped up in what we want to say back. We begin to think of ways to 'get back' with our words - something most of us can do without much thinking at all! Although there is a time and a place for casual conversation, it is wise to learn to 'read the moment'. There is also a time for peace and quiet. Words don't always have to be spoken - especially when we can see someone is struggling with something - ruminating over and over again in their minds with something that is bugging them or has them a little concerned. Casual conversation may not be the best in those moments - we may want to remain still until we feel the urge of the Holy Spirit giving us the words we should speak that might actually help the individual sort out what is bothering them.

Words can go very wrong or very right - depending on our point of reference when they are spoken and when they are heard. Indeed, we need to watch them well - being vigilant to consider their impact before they are spoken. We also need to be vigilant in our hearing - so that we don't 'take words' in ways they weren't intended. Casual conversation may just involve words that weren't well thought out and probably wouldn't have been spoken if the other person had of really thought how they could come across to the one hearing them.  Just sayin!

A memory dump is needed

Hey, does anyone else out there ever feel like your life is just unraveling a bit? There are days where my ends seem a little frayed - how about yours? Those days don't always come that frequently, but when they do, man oh man...they can leave you exhausted! Some of mine come in the form of being there when the Department of Health walks in for an unannounced inspection or complaint investigation when I am the sole occupant of the office! Then maybe there is that moment when you see deadlines fast approaching, but you have put off that project you just didn't want to get to - now it looms like a spider coming closer and closer while you have no shoes on! You know the feeling - that moment of panic and dismay - wondering how you will ever get past it! What we must always recognize is that God is still in control - even when we have lost it!

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words! (Hebrews 1:1-2 MSG)

I put that last portion of the passage in bold font for a purpose - we need to hear and appreciate the importance of those words. There is also something I'd like us to recognize from this passage - God speaks to us through various means - he doesn't just use one tool in his box! If we cannot see something one way, he helps us see it via another venue. If we don't heed his wisdom when it comes in one form, he delivers it in a different form, but it is the same wisdom! The very nature of God is to oversee and secure everything in his creation. That includes us. In fact, we are probably the most significant part of his creation - for we were created in his image and he desires for that image to always reflect him well.

What's God been saying to you? Those words aren't meant to tickle our senses - they are meant to hold us together and give us powerful anchorage. The words of God are not aimless or without purpose - they are creative and sustaining. As such, when God speaks, we need to listen! That's not easy, though, because we sometimes don't recognize the vessels he uses to speak to us. He even uses the looming deadline, unannounced visitors, and creepy crawlers of the world to speak into our lives! The thing is that we have to be open to hearing how he speaks through these various vessels. The openness of our heart is directly linked to the openness of our ears. We can hear and not do - link between ears and heart being broken somewhere. The broken part is usually our mind!

The mind is instrumental in trust because it is the center of our memory. What the memory files away often becomes the most influencing factor when the vessel God uses begins to speak to us. We fashion some type of response - sometimes even before he finishes speaking - all because of what we have stashed away in the recess of our minds. The mind is like the conduit between the ears and the heart. If the conduit is closed off or clogged, his word isn't getting through! Sometimes we need a memory dump in order to let his word get through to the part of us that most needs to hear it - our heart! Just sayin!

Zero to sixty in thirty seconds or less

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (James 1:19 NLT)

Do you know anybody who can go from "chill" to "overkill" in somewhere under 30 seconds? Uh oh...did I just hear someone say, "Yep, that's me"? You aren't alone, my friend - there are lots and lots of us, sometimes more than we want to admit, that can lose our cool quicker than ice melts on an Arizona sidewalk in summer! Most of the time, the challenge isn't in not reacting - it is in choosing what it is we will react to.

Three concepts are outlined in our passage here, but before we explore these, let's look at something that gets overlooked - the introduction to these words. James has just spent some time speaking about how God blesses those who endure testing and temptation with something called patience. He adds to that thought the reminder it is "when" we are tempted, not "if" we ever get tempted.

This gives me a pretty significant hint that I (and this also means you) am not above temptations to do or say the wrong things. They don't come from God, but from within - because we ALL have a sin nature that gives us just a little bit of a "tangle" now and again that we must work through or get snagged up royally. As James develops this idea of choosing the right actions and not always listening to the selfish desires of our heart, he reminds us that anger is not to have a place in our relationships - because it will destroy the unity we share.

The truth of the matter is that you help me get beyond certain temptations and I help you. We need each other - so when we allow words to get in the way, destroying relationship and driving a wedge between us, we find that our ability to withstand temptation is "altered". We needed the other person, regardless of what we may think about our ability to "overcome" these temptations. We are designed to relate - to stand together - not be lone wolves.

Anger usually emerges when we think we know better than someone else, making it less likely that we will actually listen to what it is they are saying or advising. There are times when advice comes my way and I choose not to embrace it - usually ending up with me wearing egg on my face somewhere down the line! Anger also has a way of manifesting itself within relationship when we are too quick to respond - thinking we knew where the other person was going with an idea or had in mind.

The temptation to follow some desire that may not be the best one for us to follow is there everyday. It is quite possible we are being warned by either the actions or words of another to work hard to avoid those pathways that lead us into deeper and more lasting problems. It is also quite possible we are less than willing to admit we need help and more willing to do things our own way! Let me just say this - if you want to always get what you have always got, then keep doing things the way you have always done them! If not, you may just want to become a little slower to answer, quicker to listen, and less eager to react than you have been in the past! Just sayin!

Open ears, open heart

“And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful. Listen to my instruction and be wise.  Don’t ignore it.  Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. 36 But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:32-36 NLT)

The call is to "listen" - not absent-mindedly, but with deliberate attentiveness to what is being said, how it is said, and even when it is said - for all God says has a purpose and a plan and a specific timing.  God's instruction brings joy. You might ask how that can be since his Word sometimes brings conviction. The end result of conviction is repentance - the result of repentance is a "do-over" - a chance to do again what the heart had not done well the first time. How many times in this life do we actually get a "do-over"? In the natural sense, it isn't very often. In fact, even when there is a chance to do again or set something right that was done wrong, there is much work trying to do again that which wasn't done so well in the first place. As we look again at what is said to us in our passage, it reminds us that when we "follow his ways" we are joyful. Maybe it is because following requires watching with expectation - waiting with open hearts. This is what truly brings us joy - not the work required in the "do-over", but the trust declared in the hope and expectation of waiting on him.

Listening is probably one of the hardest things we have to do in this lifetime, not because it has anything to do with how well our ears "hear", but because of how poorly our heart actually pays attention! We might be sitting alone right now as we consider these words. If so, we likely don't hear much more than the words rolling around in our minds as we consider them. Now that I called your attention to what it is you are hearing, you probably hear that hum of the air blowing overhead from the vent, or even the low pitched hum of the refrigerator and the crackling of the coffee pot as the coffee drips slowly into the pot. You heard these things because you were attentive - but how long does it take for you to forget them - to allow them to become what is coined as "white noise" once again? Probably not very long! I wonder if this might just be the cause of some of our heart problems - the tendency we have to "forget we were listening" and drift into some other pursuit without even noticing.

There is likely no specific way or plan for how we "listen" to God's direction in our lives - it simply happens because we actually turn our attention to him for sometimes even a fraction of a second. Imagine what it might be like if we actually took that fraction of a second and multiplied it by a thousand or a couple thousand seconds! We might actually find our hearts settling into his timing, understanding his purpose, paying close attention to his warnings, and getting caught up in the joy of getting to know him a little better! There is something to be said for "purposeful listening" - paying attention because you don't want to miss what is right there at your doorstep or fingertips. To listen with this kind of "intent" opens the heart to actually being affected - and when the heart is affected, trust is built. God is after trust - the purpose of listening is to allow a trust to develop in someone other than ourselves. When we take in the Words he brings, we are opening ourselves to the possibilities of some other answer other than our own.

Perhaps the greatest means of building trust comes in the exchange that happens when two individuals actually get to know the ins and outs of each other. No one really does this apart from listening - for your sighs even declare something about our level of fatigue, contentment, and even the depths of our hope. The words of God are everywhere, but they aren't heard with the ear alone. They are caught in the sighs of the wind, the movement of the grass on a lazy afternoon, and the buzzing of the bees busily gathering nectar from the newly opened blossoms on the plants. They are intercepted in the happy laughter of children at play and the tender tears of a broken heart weeping with deep agony over loss. They are multiplied in the melody of a song of praise and cultivated in the moments we actually open the pages of the Bible to seek out his plan. Trust in God isn't just an attitude - it is an action - a desire to focus our attention toward another other than ourselves. If we really want to listen so that we will know the joy of the Lord to the fullest extent, we need to do more than open our ears - we need to open our hearts! Just sayin!

I cannot hear you God!!!!

"God speaks to me not through the thunder and the earthquake, nor through the ocean and the stars, but through the Son of Man, and speaks in a language adapted to my imperfect sight and hearing." (William Lyon Phelps) 

I want God to speak to me in the thunder - because I could be sure I heard him then. I want to feel his voice penetrate me like the quaking of the earth's crust. I desire to feel his current pulsing within me as the waves of the ocean. I even wish for just a sparkle of his presence in times when I don't feel him all that close. These are the ways I want God - but you really know how it is I hear and feel him? Yep - in the still small voice, or the peaceful repose of just resting in his presence when I don't know what else to do.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 NLT)

As with any other relationship, hearing God's voice is easier when we have grown in "conversational relationship" with him. First and foremost, we grow in conversational relationship with God when we believe he actually WANTS to speak to us. Yes, we might not recognize his voice, nor will we respond to it immediately, but when we actually begin to believe he wants to carry on conversation with us, we will approach him differently. Think for a moment about a small child who doesn't know for sure if that adult reading the paper at the table across from him in the diner actually likes children. If the child wants to know, what does he do? He starts talking to the man! He asks questions. He poses ideas. Then he waits for a response.

What is the child doing? At first, he is testing the waters a little. He poses a simple idea or question - like asking if the man likes pancakes. To the small child this is a relevant subject worthy of discussion because he likes pancakes. God doesn't expect us to come to him to talk about great theological subjects - he wants us to approach him with the things which are relevant to where we are today and what we are going through in this moment of time. As the child poses the questions, initiating the conversation, he then waits. Why? He expects an answer! He might even move a little close to the man at the table by leaning over in his own chair, or turning to face him in the booth. Why? His "posture" suggests he expects a return of conversation. Sometimes we pose questions and walk away - forgetting that our posture might actually play a part in us hearing the response we so desperately desire.

The other thing you will observe about the small child is his fearlessness. He isn't intimidated easily - he believes he is worthy of spending time with and he positions himself so the man will be able to give him what he desires - attentive conversation. Now, I know God doesn't always speak in audible ways, nor does he always answer us in just the ways we expected. Sometimes we pose tough questions that really are answered not so much in a simple yes or no, but in us being willing to address some of the things in our lives that actually brought us to the place we are asking these questions in the first place. Some of God's answers may be to just call us back to "center" in life - to redirect our attention to what matters. Herein is the beginning of the conversation - not in that we get our immediate question answered, but in that we are set again upon the path that will lead to the answer.

What does the child want more than anything? Is it really to know if the man likes pancakes? Probably not. In fact, what he desires more than anything is just to be able to interact with this one he considers "bigger than him". It is how we approach God most of the time when we first start to talk with him - as though we just want to know we can interact with someone we consider "bigger than us or our problems". God might just speak to us more through the simple nudges of the Holy Spirit prompting us to do something unexpected, or to read a particular book by a good author. He may help us find fulfilling conversation with a sage adviser. He might even just lead us into quiet repose and reflection, bringing us to the place we kind of just "sit on his lap" a while. Some of the most memorable times I had with my dad were times when we just "hung out" together - not really talking so much as just observing each other.

We might think the heavens are brass and God doesn't desire us, but this is the furthest thing from truth. We first position ourselves to hear, then we pose our questions and make our observations. In turn, we wait for the answers. They most likely won't come the first time we ask, or in the way we'd hoped to have received them. We all want "clear cut answers", but God usually goes about answering us with more questions! Why? I think it might be that he doesn't want the conversation to end! He wants us to be fully unburdened and totally free to share - then he wants us to be comfortable just sitting in his lap a while - still, comforted, and attentive. Just sayin!

Leading or Following - who's on first?

Lead and follow - two directional words, each conveying a little different action from us.  To lead, one is guiding something in a certain direction - the direction already being predetermined and the course understood.  To follow, one moves behind, but in the same direction as the one who leads.  It is most hard to get our ears to be leaders and our tongue followers, isn't it?  Most of the time, we allow our tongues to lead and then surprise our ears with whatever our tongues say!

Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.  (James 1:19-21 MSG)

This passage makes it quite clear why we might just have some of the issues in life we face today.  It is in the "order" in which we conduct ourselves!  Have you really stopped to consider this passage?  James tells us to POST this at all intersections of our lives - simply because the point he is making is valuable in ALL relationships we have!  If we listen first, speak second, and let anger take a seat very far back on the bus, we might just fair a little better!

There are so many passages in the scriptures about our words - if something is spoken about so much, it is important for us to pay attention to what is written for our guidance.  So, let's tear this down a little...

1. Lead with your ears.  I think this is where we get into trouble most of the time.  It isn't the "not listening" which always does us in, but it is also in the "who" or "what" we are listening to.  Yesterday, I focused on having God at the center of our lives - keeping him foremost in our minds, hearts, emotions, and spirit.  As long as self is in the center, sin will get a foothold.  We will be following a fickle leader!  For self is not "stable" in any of its choices - it lives for the whims and fancies of today.  When we finally come to the place of stopping the "self-improvement" campaigns in our lives, we begin to place ourselves in a position of being spoken to by the Spirit of God.  This is the voice we should heed - not our own.  Get under the right authority and the following becomes easier!  I once heard someone say we need to turn our thoughts into a discussion with God.  If we become proficient in this practice, the voices we hear will be trustworthy and fixed on the best for our lives.

2. Follow up with your tongue.  James is focusing on the damage of the reverse - leading with the tongue - speaking before thinking.  If our thoughts become discussions with God, allowing him to lead us down the paths he would have us follow, we will be less likely to make rash statements, promises we never intend to fulfill, or commitments which are just too burdensome to ever complete.  

3. Let anger straggle along in the rear.  Now, look at this - he doesn't say if we hear first, answer second, there will never be any anger in the mix.  He simply says it doesn't even bear a close place within the relationship because there is less likelihood of anger being a strong "contender".  

So, how do we get to this place of leading with our ears, following up with our tongues, and seeing anger actually being in a win, place or show in our lives? The answer is found in the next portion of the passage - we let God landscape us with his Word.  If you are a daily follower of this blog, you probably already have a desire to have your life "landscaped" with his Word.  Do you know what a landscaper sets out to do?  He alters the contour of what he is given, adding to it things of beauty and depth in order to improve not only the appearance, but the general well-being of that which he works with.  God is doing this in our lives with his Word.  He sometimes has to smooth out some rough spots in us - at other times, he has to dig deeper so some things will take solid root.

The Word is a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled landscaper such as the Holy Spirit.  When we listen first, allowing ourselves to be lead in our actions, we find the follow up is quite different than we imagined!  It is like when I go to the subject-matter-expert in a particular industry - if I listen intently to what they are teaching, I get a different perspective on the possibilities of what it is I will do with the tools they give me.  God's Word is merely a tool in the hands of a skilled landscaper.  Isn't it about time we allow a little landscaping in our lives to begin the transformation of barren ground which needs a little altering of its contours?  Just askin!

Skip the bells and whistles on this one!

Ears that hear and eyes that see—we get our basic equipment from God!  (Proverbs 20:12 MSG)

If you have ever looked into buying some new appliance, a new car, or even a new home built to your specifications, you probably have had to consider just how many "bells and whistles" you wanted (or could afford).  The basic model comes with just the minimums - the more you add, the more the costs add up.  Soon, the $299 "deal" you saw advertised becomes $599 because you just could not imagine life without the extra spin cycles, and the automatic sensor for this or that!  Sometimes we find the "extra" stuff we just "had to have" gives us more headaches than they are worth in the end!  

Our passage today speaks to us of the "basic equipment" given to us by God. Ears that hear and eyes that see - basic equipment.  I wonder just how many times we take the "basics" for granted, focusing more on the "bells and whistles" we'd want to have?  Whenever I hear someone say they are "not equipped" for whatever it is God is putting in their path, I just have to remind myself they have probably bought into the lie they need more than the "basic equipment" to begin their travel down the path.  In fact, in the spirit of being totally transparent, I have done exactly the same thing - believing what I "possessed" was not good enough for what it was I was facing.

The opposite is actually true - we possess all we need to begin the journey.  Anything else we might need, God will provide!  Our basic equipment is what actually helps us navigate the journey - ears that hear, eyes that see - these are both "navigational" tools!  If you have ever played one of those games where someone places a blindfold over your eyes, plunging you into absolute darkness and leaving you at the mercy of what you could hear, feel, etc., you probably came to understand how important it was to have both of these pieces of "basic equipment" operating!  Try as you might, the hands might help us sense the objects in our path, but you travel at quite a different speed when you don't have the faculty of sight, right?

Basic really means that which is fundamental - it is an essential ingredient - something needed.  So, when God reminds us he gives us the "fundamental" equipment, he is calling our attention to the importance of the two things which actually will give us exactly what we need to take the first steps toward anything he asks us to pursue.  Ears to hear - the attentiveness to his voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Eyes to see - the ability to look beyond the obvious and see the obscure.  We often find the basic equipment we have been given might just get a little complicated by the "other equipment" we have "added" to our list of "qualifications".  For example, when we count on our emotions as part of our "fundamental" or "basic equipment", we get a little different perception of what we are seeing or hearing, huh?  God never said we should add this "equipment" to our "basic equipment" - he just tells us to count on what we have been given.

Fundamental parts - the basis upon which all else gets "filtered".  Here's the rub, isn't it?  The way we "filter" what we hear and see is often "clouded" by the "bells and whistles" we have insisted on adding into the equation!  Whenever we add in the emotions, we start saying things like, "I think God might be telling me this, but I just don't feel like I can."  The basic equipment we have been given is what God needs us to use - plain and simple!  To rely upon anything else is to begin to operate outside of the "plan" God has.  In fact, all learning from scripture is based on us seeing and hearing.  I think God may just be reminding us this morning of the need to keep life simple.  We complicate it with the perceived need to align what we are seeing and hearing with what it is we are feeling.  Truth be told, if we see as God sees and listen only to his voice, we have all we need for ANYTHING our day holds.  Just sayin!

Cry Wolf One Too Many Times?

^11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."  ¹⁴But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? 

(Romans 10:11-14 The Message)

You may find the fact that calling out to God ensures a listening ear - each and every time - a little hard to believe, but it is true!  God listens AND he hears!  As a little girl, I learned the story about "crying wolf" too many times.  The idea of "crying wolf" was really a symbol of sounding a false alarm.  In other words, you think you are in trouble, but really the threat is not real.  The most amazing thing about God is that he really doesn't differentiate between us "crying wolf" and really being in trouble!  He just listens and responds to each and every request we bring before him!  

-  How can people call for help if they don't know who to trust?  This is the question of our times, is it not?  We just don't believe what we hear anymore because we have heard so many different stories, so many lies, and been duped so many times.  It is a sad fact, but true.  Trust has been broken so many times by those we hold close to us, or those we really should be able to trust by nature of their position.  No wonder society asks, "Who can we really trust?"  So, the first thing we must establish clearly is that God has not changed!  He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  He is the unchanging one and as such, can be counted on to remain faithful in all he does and says (Deuteronomy 7:9).

-  How can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted?  There is a tendency to "be in the dark" about things until someone shares with you what you have been missing.  When that moment comes, there is a release that comes (I call that our ah-haw moment).  That release causes us to see things in a totally new light - we move from a lack of awareness to a fresh awareness (light).  There is a responsibility to share our foundation of hope with those around us - not "hoard" Jesus to ourselves.  The scripture is clear - if no one tells the world, how are they to know?  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a "stand on the street corners, shouting repent to the world" kind of gal!  As a matter of fact, I have tried this at one time or another in my walk with Jesus and found it to be very unrewarding and a little useless. The fact is that Jesus came to tell us about his father in heaven, and he asks us to tell others about him, as well (John 8:26).  How can they hear if nobody tells them?  Telling is the ability to give an account, to report what one has done.  All Jesus asks of us is to share what he has done in our own lives.  It is an "accounting" for the hope we have.  The hope we have is based on the testimony of ONE - Jesus.  He came to tell us the way back to relationship with God - our testimony is to point others to that same hope (I John 5:11).  It is our goal to be a living message of the truth that Jesus sets lives free.

-  How is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?  What many of us really resist is the fact that we have been "called" and that "calling" includes being "sent".  To be called simply means that we have been invited to be part of the family of God.  To be sent means that we extend that invitation to others.  Plain and simple.  

Just as we confide in a close friend, Jesus is standing ready to have us confide in him.  He invites us to bring our hurts, our hopes, and our cries for help.  He sorts through each of them to "weed out" the perceived threats from the real ones.  He is not concerned that we may "cry wolf" now and again - in fact, he uses those times as "teachable moments" to show us how he can be trusted, that he has things in his hands, and that there is NOTHING that can stand against us.  There is a process of learning to "tell Jesus" our concerns, allowing him to bring out those things that really are at the core of our complaints and our concern.  In so doing, he is teaching us.  

That process of "telling" Jesus is more than just "telling" him what we think he wants to hear.  Too many times, we learn to "tell" like we think it should be rather than the way it really is!  Jesus relishes our honesty - even if it comes with a tendency to "cry wolf" on occasion.  So, if we want to learn to "tell the world", we must first learn to "tell Jesus".  No testimony to the world will be as effective as that which has already been discussed at the feet of Jesus!

The Shepherd's Voice

^1-5 "Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he's up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won't follow a stranger's voice but will scatter because they aren't used to the sound of it."

(John 10:1-5)

We don't see too many sheep around my neck of the woods, but whenever I see them in the fields, grazing just prior to "lambing" season, I love to stop for a few minutes to watch them.  The ranchers have a few fields they bring them to just at that time, and those fields are usually rich with some type of crop that has been recently harvested.  The sheep appear to be eating the remaining "stubble" of the cut harvest.  They are purposefully brought there for that season - probably because of the opportunity to eat whatever that crop leaves for them.

As we read our passage today, Jesus is called the Shepherd and we are his sheep.  As our shepherd, there are some things that Jesus does that ensure our safety and provide for the "seasons" of our lives.  First, the Shepherd enters through the gate.  When we invited Jesus into our lives, we really were giving him free access to our hearts.  He is the "gatekeeper" of our hearts.  He comes and goes as freely as he desires, exploring deep within the confines of our hearts.  As our "gatekeeper", he also ensures that nothing else passes without his notice!  

He knows each of us by name.  Now, that is no small task!  He has a huge flock - how well can you keep track of the names of those in your church alone?  He doesn't stop with a "name" only - there is something of a connection he makes with each of us by the very mention of our name.  He intends for the mention of our name to attract our attention, to alert us to danger, and to keep us focused on him.  

He leads us out of the protective surroundings of our "pen".  The shepherd has a tremendous task in front of him anytime he "moves" the sheep.  With movement, there is always the danger of being distracted by what lies ahead.  Sheep are silly that way - if something catches their eye, they follow it.  In moving us forward, he also has an eye out for the distracting forces that will play upon our minds, hearts, and souls.

He walks ahead of the sheep - not because he sees himself as better, but because he knows himself to be their protector.  A guide has a responsibility to point out the path, to give insight into the surroundings, and to ensure the safety of those on the journey with him.  Jesus is always watchful over us and leads us with the knowledge of what lies ahead.  The sad thing about sheep is that they sometimes forget who they are following, getting caught up in the "side-shows" along the way!

He brings new sheep into the fold - allowing the fold to grow and expand.  Each new sheep is an infusion of new life into the fold.  They bring new dynamics that need to be understood and accepted.  Yet, without the infusion of these new members of the fold, we'd be a pretty static bunch of sheep!  

What about the sheep?  That's you and me, in case you hadn't gotten the drift of where I was going yet.  We can infer a lot of things about the sheep from what it is the Shepherd "does" for and with the sheep.  He even goes all the way to the laying down of his life for them.  That means that there is such extreme value in our worth that the Shepherd is willing to give the ultimate sacrifice - life!  

Besides hearing his voice, the sheep recognize that voice.  God's voice is quite distinctive.  For those who tell me that they have never really learned to hear the voice of God, I ask what "voice" they are hearing.  Usually they will describe some vague "feeling" that they know what to do, where to go, etc.  Well, the Shepherd's voice is not well-known to the newest members of the flock, but it is to those who have been hearing it for a while.  It is natural to not feel sure about the "voice" of God to begin with, but as you become more familiar with God through his recorded voice (the Bible), you begin to recognize his voice when he is calling you!

Last, but not least, because the sheep spend so much time in the care of the Shepherd, they come to trust him for their protection.  The simple truth is that when an imposter enters, the evidence of him being just that is plain enough through the very evidence of his voice!  The "poser" is identified through the familiarity we have with the voice of God.  That is why it is so important that we begin to learn all we can about the Shepherd - taking special care to learn his "voice" through his Word, his teachings, and the leading of the Holy Spirit! That familiarity will be the very thing that causes us to be alert when a "poser" voice attempts to get us off-course!

Our five senses

^9-10He said, "Go and tell this people:  "'Listen hard, but you aren't going to get it; look hard, but you won't catch on.'  Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, so they won't see a thing, won't hear a word, so they won't have a clue about what's going on    and, yes, so they won't turn around and be made whole."

(Isaiah 6:9-10)

Imagine the surprise in Isaiah's eyes when he hears these words from the one who has just called and anointed him to be the prophet to the nation of Israel.  He has stepped forward, hearing the call of God, in obedience....and this is the first message he is told to deliver to the people!  No easy calling here!  I think I would be reconsidering if I took one step backward when everyone was taking one forward!  

Isaiah is asked to bring the message that reveals the heart and spirit of the nation - you listen, but you don't hear; you see, but you don't have clarity in your vision; you deliberately stifle my voice and block my vision.  Wow!  Not an easy message right out of the shoot!  I'd like us to consider something this morning - the power of our senses in the ability to perceive.

For those who are sighted, vision is a thing we take for granted.  For those who have never seen, vision is a thing that is not understood.  For those who have sight failing, the loss is astronomical!  What once was clear suddenly (or gradually) becomes clouded, shaded, and difficult to interpret with our sense of vision.  We call that person "blind".  In the spiritual sense, blindness is equated to the inability to be conscious or aware of your surrounding, events, or self.

For those who have the ability to hear, that ability is a tool whereby we take in information (often without even realizing we are - like background noise).  We use this sense to supplement our other senses - if we cannot see well, we know the location of an individual merely by the sound of their voice, using what we hear to help us interpret our surroundings.  In a spiritual sense, the lack of hearing is equated to being unreasonable, self-determined, and unyielding.

For those who can taste, the enjoyment of food is quite a blessing.  The sweetness or saltiness of an item can alert our taste buds to interpret what it is we are experiencing.  We get pleasure (or displeasure) out of what we take into our bodies via our mouth.  To the one who has lost their sense of taste, food is bland, and the experience of taking it in is no longer enjoyable.  In a spiritual sense, when we no longer enjoy what we are taking in, we are like the one who is losing their sense of taste.  God tells us that his Word is like honey - sweet, pleasurable, and life-giving.  To lose that sense of enjoyment is to lose a special thing.

For those with the ability to touch and feel what it is they are in contact with, the moment of touch can be both an enjoyable experience and a sense of warning of danger.  Touch alerts us to things that may not be good for us - as in when we sense heat from the stove.  Touch also brings great pleasure when it is received at the end of a difficult day (as in a hug or a pat on the back).  It can also help to guide us.  In a spiritual sense, losing our ability to sense the touch of God on our lives leads to us going our own way, living by our own rules, and isolating ourselves from what can bring total healing.

The last sense we could examine this morning is that of smell.  It is in this sense that we interpret the enjoyable odors of life (like the blooming rose or the fresh cut grass).  It is also this sense that gives us an awareness of those things not so pleasant (like the odors of the landfill or rotting food).  Both give us an awareness of our surroundings, alerting us to things we both might find enjoyment in experiencing, or want to avoid if we don't want to have the displeasure associated with the negative odors we are interpreting.  In a spiritual sense, when we experience God fully, there is a sweetness to his presence that our senses all take in.  

No wonder God focuses Isaiah on the senses of seeing and hearing!  The senses do so much to assist in us knowing that God is real, he is present, and that his is moving in our midst.  Even one sense out of use in our lives can greatly impact how we interpret what is happening around us - especially in the spiritual realm.  So, tune up your senses!  They were given for a reason!