Is that a wolf I hear?

But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. (Romans 6:23)

Have you discovered that you no longer need to listen to sin tell you what to do anymore? If you are like the millions upon millions of others who have said 'yes' to Jesus, you likely still have a bit of a struggle in this area. Sin just doesn't 'go away' when you say 'yes' to Jesus - the ability for it to control you does, but the enticement to sin is still presenting itself. The issue is not whether sin still entices, it is really an issue of which voice we will listen to the most frequently!

We can listen to our own inward lusts (desires), or we can listen to the still small voice of God guiding us through those challenging places. The unfortunate thing for many of us is that the loudest voice is oftentimes the one we hear the clearest! The still small voice of God is heard best when we take time to get to know his voice better. We are able to sort out the noise and hear the important message better when we become more familiar with his voice.

Jesus told his disciples that his 'sheep know his voice'. He likened himself to a shepherd watching over the flock of sheep. All manner of 'calls' came in the wilderness, but there was one voice (call) they needed to respond to immediately. It was for their protection and guidance that the shepherd spoke to them. All the other calls were from 'prowling animals' out to disturb the restfulness of the sheep. That is how Satan works in our lives - he comes with different 'calls', trying to disturb our rest in Christ.

The sooner we recognize God's voice above all the other voices that may call for our attention, the better we will be at navigating our own lustful desires, the enticements to sin that the world presents to us, and the pull of 'popular opinion' that tries to dissuade us from walking uprightly. How do we get to know that voice? We have to spend time with him. The shepherd talked with his sheep, so they'd become accustomed to his voice. If we never spend quality time with him, quiet long enough to hear his speak through is Word, times of worship, or in quiet meditation, how do we ever expect to get to know his voice? Just askin!

Let me be clear here...

What are the ways you are influenced? Where is it you turn to when you need to be updated on the state of affairs in politics, the weather, or the results of the football game? It used to be we had newspapers, but more and more of those have gone by the wayside. We used to huddle around radios and listen with intent as the latest events were crackled from the airways. Now we are likely to read our social media posts, quick one liner tweets, and updates on our 'electronic' news feeds. As times change, so do the ways we receive our influences in life. We might not realize it, but the things that need to have the greatest influence in us are actually being suffocated out of their place of influence by all the things that vie for influence in our lives today.

"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 have many opportunities to listen and to respond to many voices each day. There are individuals we admire that speak words of advice - easy to embrace as a voice we actually want to listen to. There are individuals that are passing acquaintances in our lives - we listen to them, but are more selective in what we act upon when they speak. Then there are individuals that are only influential because of their position, prominence, or popularity - we'd be surprised how often we lean toward their voices without even realizing it. Each voice represents a unique place in our lives - some are more intimately "in tune" with the deep spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of our lives. That is what Jesus was referring to when he said the sheep hear his voice. As a matter of fact, they listen for it! Why do they know his voice? Simply because they have become familiar with it. It is a pretty well-accepted fact that we respond to what we are most comfortable with. If we are comfortable with the voice of Jesus, it stands to reason that when he speaks, we will respond.

Look at what Jesus says about the "other voices" we listen to:

• They are deceptive - they don't come at you with honest intentions. There is an agenda in mind that is contrary to your good.
• They are misleading - they promise one thing, but end up leaving you in a more chaotic place than you were in the first place.
• They are not reliable - they are not only deceptive and misleading, but they cannot be counted on when the rubber meets the road.

The voice of God is entirely different:

• It is trustworthy - his voice is well-known by his disciples. He comes with words that encourage, exhort, and direct. As he speaks, the words settle in deeply and 'bear witness' within our spirit. 
• It is directive - his voice gives clarity, never bringing chaos or uncertainty. In fact, his voice is instructive to those who know him.
• It is loving - his voice comes at times when we need to know his presence, oversight, and care the most. His words are those which uplift, keep us safe, and afford us the opportunity for shelter.

Today is an opportunity to clarify the source of the "voices" we listen to. The voice of God - simple, direct, and loving - comes at us "straight on". As our shepherd, he has direct access to our lives - no need to weasel his way into our lives because he has been granted open access to our hearts, minds, and emotions. If the voice we are choosing to listen to is coming at us in a forced, uninvited way, it is likely not the voice of God. There are many choices in life, but none so rewarding as choosing to listen to the still small voice of our loving God. Just sayin!

My feelings speak very loudly!

Long ago, at different times and in various ways, God’s voice came to our ancestors through the Hebrew prophets. But in these last days, it has come to us through His Son, the One who has been given dominion over all things and through whom all worlds were made. (Hebrews 1:1-2 VOICE)

You listening? Do you hear him speaking? Is there a tug at your heart unlike any other? Can you see evidence of his words deeply affecting who you are and the choices you make? If the answer to these is yes, you are doing well, but if it is "not really" or "uh uh", then maybe it is time to just stop to consider which voices you are listening to!

I find that the loudest voice I hear at times is not his, but mine! I am whining, just downright complaining about something not going my way, or I am disappointed because I didn't get something I thought I wanted or deserved. Have you ever noticed just how loud the voice of complaint can be? In fact, I'd have to say it is the loudest voice around me, but it shouldn't be the loudest coming from me!

I guess we might register our complaints at such a loud pitch because we think we aren't being heard, or because the frustration behind those complaints is so deeply felt that we cannot help but get a little worked up about what is at the root of them. The truth of the matter is that God is speaking, but as long as we are complaining, his voice is likely going to be the one we don't hear as clearly!

God's voice tends to be "quiet" or "still" - isn't that what scripture declares? Yet, his voice holds the very universe together, creates all that exists, and can produce overwhelming peace in one or two quiet words. Didn't he look into the fearful storm that made the disciples who were a rockin' and rollin' in the ship one night and simply tell it to "be still"? God's voice may simply be hard for us to hear because we focus so much on the storm and so little on the simplicity of God's solution to the storm!

We are drawn to the storm - we even help create some additional chaos in the midst of the storm - lending our own sense of "storming" into the mix. Why? Our feelings are easily escalated. We find ourselves "giving into" those feelings of fear, mistrust, anger, frustration, or disappointment because feelings demand some sort of action - they are hard to ignore!

Instead of focusing on the storm, we might do well to settle our emotions, looking instead to hear not the winds and the waves, but the soft steps of one walking on the water! When feelings give way to escalated emotion, we aren't going to be listening for a "still small voice", nor are we going to think the solution may be as "simple" as Jesus telling the storm to "be still". Just sayin!

The voices in my head

 ^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 have many opportunities to listen and to respond to many voices each day.  There are individuals we admire that speak words of advice - easy to embrace as a voice we want to listen to.  There are individuals that are passing acquaintances in our lives - we listen to them, but are more selective in what we act upon when they speak.  Then there are individuals that are only influential because of their position, prominence, or popularity - we'd be surprised how often we lean toward their voices without even realizing it.

Each voice represents a unique place in our lives - some are more intimately "in tune" with the deep spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of our lives.  That is what Jesus was referring to when he said the sheep hear his voice.  As a matter of fact, they listen for it!  Why do they know his voice?  Simply because they have become familiar with it.  It is a pretty well-accepted fact that we respond to what we are most comfortable with.  If we are comfortable with the voice of Jesus, it stands to reason that when he speaks, we will respond.

Look at what Jesus says about the "other voices" we listen to:

• They are deceptive - they don't come at you with honest intentions.  There is an agenda in mind that is contrary to your good.
• They are misleading - they promise on thing, but end up leaving you in a more chaotic place than you were in the first place.
• They are not reliable - they not only deceptive and misleading, but they cannot be counted on when the rubber meets the road.

The voice of God is entirely different:

• It is trustworthy - his voice is well-known by his disciples.  He comes with words that encourage, exhort, and direct.  As he speaks, the words settle in deeply.  
• It is directive - his voice gives clarity, never bringing chaos or uncertainty.  In fact, his voice is instructive to those who know him.
• It is loving - his voice comes at times when we need to know his presence and care the most.  His words are those which uplift, keep us safe, and afford us the opportunity for shelter.

This is a new year - an opportunity to clarify the source of the "voices" we listen to.  The voice of God - simple, direct, and loving - comes at us "straight on".  As our shepherd, he has direct access to our lives - no need to weasel his way into our lives because he has been granted open access to our hearts, minds, and emotions.  If the voice we are choosing to listen to is coming at us in a forced, uninvited way, it is likely not the voice of God.

There are many choices in life, but none so rewarding as choosing to listen to the still small voice of our loving God.  Choose wisely who and what you will listen to in 2011.