Month: August 2019

Which Way to Go?

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But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:11 NIV

Don’t you wish that following God’s guidance could be like entering an address into your GPS? Then knowing the right direction would be as simple as listening to the calm pleasant voice alerting us to turn at the next intersection.

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But finding the right career path, soul-mate or next apartment is not about knowing which way to turn. God’s word is clear that what matters to Him is in how we treat the people around us. In fact He tells us that we are stumbling through life because we are mistreating, manipulating or using others for our own advantage in ways that God calls hate. When we treat anyone with hate then we walk straight out of the presence of God and down a dark path. It reminds me of when we were driving home from Northern Vermont. The GPS in our car kept saying, “Satellite transmission lost”. We kept going the wrong way and sometimes even in circles until we stopped at a gas station and asked directions.  In the same way finding the right spiritual direction means following directions from someone who can show us the way. That someone is Jesus Christ, who loved us even when we were his enemies and showed us the way to His Home.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11 KJV

Jesus Cleans House

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And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:17 ESV

The same man who forgave a woman caught in adultery and happily ate with sinners became angry when He went to the temple to pray. But Jesus shouted as he drove the buyers and sellers away saying indignantly, “Is it not written My House shall be called a house of prayer?” Now a case can be made that Jesus was upset because of where these vendors were set up; but more importantly was that when Jesus said the word “House” he also meant family. In other words when God’s family meets they should be identified as brothers and sisters who come together to pray. Of course it is easy for us 2,000 years later to be critical, but are we any better today?  We have youth events, senior ministry and worship services but we are still first and foremost a family of prayer?

But if we maneuver our way into desirable positions or try to take unfair advantage of others we are putting ourselves right back at the money changer’s tables. Special events are great. Fellowship is important. But can we say that prayer was the main thing that happened at church last Sunday? Then also notice that Jesus went on to say that His family was supposed to be for all nations. Are nations are showing up at our places of worship?  Jesus wants to clean His house of anything that keep us apart. Then when everyone brings their own inheritance into God’s family then together we can be the richest folks on the block! And when not one is missing we are also His family indeed!

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Listening Ears

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Why is it that a child who didn’t hear you ask them to pick up their toys hears the song of the ice cream truck two blocks away?

person wearing ice cream

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As I have gotten older my hearing has dimmed so that  sometimes I just politely nod though I am not really catching all of the conversation. An even a bigger problem for me has been my tendency to ignore other people’s advice. “I’ve heard it all before!” I hear myself saying. A big danger for all of us is that we grow calluses over our ears so that we don’t even hear when God speaks. When Jesus ran into people who had grown dull of hearing like me, He left a short but important counsel.

He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Mark 4:9 ESV

Our biggest difficulty isn’t uncovering some miraculous way of hearing from God such as angels or visions. Our greatest challenge is to listen to the truth and then put it into practice. Remember that God gave us ears for listening. Most often God speaks with His still small voice. May we have the grace of a quiet spirit ready to listen to His advice!