Still Skeptical?
Dear readers,
When does random stop being random? This little thing happens to you and you think to yourself, well that was odd. Or, you might say to yourself when events warrant, "that was a coincidence". They happen. I know they do. Some things are just coincidence like thinking of someone then running into them someplace a short time later. That's probably happened to everyone once in a while. But what if a long series of random things started happening to you and as you listened to them they pointed you down a path you never, EVER dreamed you'd be going down. Would you listen?
I hope you had a chance to read my "Going Around" post because I think it's going to lead nicely into this one. I talk about how I believe that God is influencing my life in a very visible and positive way. This really started happening in a noticeable way in the middle of September and I've shared with you bits and pieces of the not-so-random things that would, by themselves, just appear to be random.
I know for a fact that one reader of my blog is skeptical. Not just of my belief that God talks to us, but quite honestly, in God Himself. I'd be willing to bet more than one of you has asked yourself something along the lines of this: "Oh, how does he know it's God talking to him?" Today, my friends, I have an answer for the skeptics among you.
I found this website several months ago called GotQuestions.org. I signed up for their question of the week. Here's the text of an e-mail I received from them on Friday about how we know when God is talking to us. It' their content, not mine, copied and pasted exactly as it appears in the e-mail:
Question: "How can we recognize the voice of God?"
Answer: This question has been asked by countless people throughout the ages. Samuel heard the voice of God, but did not recognize it until he was instructed by Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-10). Gideon had a physical revelation from God, and he still doubted what he had heard to the point of asking for a sign, not once, but three times (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40). When we are listening for God's voice, how can we know that He is the one speaking? First of all, we have something that Gideon and Samuel did not. We have the complete Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read, study, and meditate on. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we have a question about a certain topic or decision in our lives, we should see what the Bible has to say about it. God will never lead us or direct us contrary to what He has taught or promised in His Word (Titus 1:2).
Second, to hear God's voice we must recognize it. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him—those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd and they know His voice. If we are to recognize God's voice, we must belong to Him.
Third, we hear His voice when we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more time we spend intimately with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. Employees at a bank are trained to recognize counterfeits by studying genuine money so closely that it is easy to spot a fake. We should be so familiar with God’s Word that when God does speak to us or lead us, it is clear that it is God. God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. While God can speak audibly to people, He speaks primarily through His Word, and sometimes through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other people. By applying what we hear to the truth of Scripture, we can learn to recognize His voice.
This is me again. I highlighted the last part of this e-mail to get your attention. It's important! When random started happening in my life, I talked to my pastor about this and he pretty much told me the same thing. I always check what I think God is telling me in my life against scripture. I wanted to make sure I was on the right frequency so I could understand the communications. The random things in my life started to make sense to me when I realized the things from the above e-mail.
Here's my random story for today.
I like this page on facebook called "I'm Proud To Be Christian". I found this link from a friend's facebook page and liked it, so it shows up on my "wall". I enjoy reading the verses from the page and often times they're nice to hear things that pertain to my life. I don't always think God is reaching out to me personally because I'm obviously not the only fan of the page.
This is from my facebook page today:
H.I.S: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I've mentioned several times about e-mails I get from divorcecare.org. These are very inspiring e-mails and often times they're timed perfectly to events in my life. Is the timing of an e-mail a coincidence? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. I'm sure the Mrs. isn't quite sure about this herself. This, my friends, was in my daily divorcecare.org e-mail just a couple of hours ago:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
This isn't the first time I've heard this particular verse. It's very familiar to me. I knew I'd seen it before so I searched my e-mail folder and sure enough, it's one I'd e-mailed to the wife on November 8th.
To be sure, my trust is in the Lord, with all my heart. I don't understand half of what happens in my life but I know that He's got me on the right path. How do I know this? Because I asked Him about sharing a particular Bible story with someone today. I went in prayer and asked if I should share it and what I read in the Bible was pretty much the New Testament version of trusting God and following Jesus. I don't need to share the story I wanted to with the person I wanted to share it with. God will do it in His own way and in His own time. I needed to trust Him and not me. I'm glad I asked and I'm pleased to share this little bit of a story with you on a Sunday.
Fresh in my mind of late is the story of Jonah and the fish. Jonah tried to run from God, tried to not go down the path God told him to, and spent three days in the belly of a big fish, where he had a chance to think things over.
Friends, TIVO the early game. Get up, have coffee, or your morning beverage of choice. Pull out the fancy, go to meeting clothes from the closet and visit the Lord's house today. It's the second Sunday of Advent today. If you're looking for a church, I know this great little Baptist Church in Ogden on 25th Street. Services start at 11:00. Please feel free to join us. You can sit by June and I so you won't feel uncomfortable or like you don't know anyone.
As for me, I just want to pubicly Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! And praise Him for allowing me to share the wonderful things happening in my life with you. I couldn't make this up, folks. Let's face it, I'm not that smart.
When does random stop being random? This little thing happens to you and you think to yourself, well that was odd. Or, you might say to yourself when events warrant, "that was a coincidence". They happen. I know they do. Some things are just coincidence like thinking of someone then running into them someplace a short time later. That's probably happened to everyone once in a while. But what if a long series of random things started happening to you and as you listened to them they pointed you down a path you never, EVER dreamed you'd be going down. Would you listen?
I hope you had a chance to read my "Going Around" post because I think it's going to lead nicely into this one. I talk about how I believe that God is influencing my life in a very visible and positive way. This really started happening in a noticeable way in the middle of September and I've shared with you bits and pieces of the not-so-random things that would, by themselves, just appear to be random.
I know for a fact that one reader of my blog is skeptical. Not just of my belief that God talks to us, but quite honestly, in God Himself. I'd be willing to bet more than one of you has asked yourself something along the lines of this: "Oh, how does he know it's God talking to him?" Today, my friends, I have an answer for the skeptics among you.
I found this website several months ago called GotQuestions.org. I signed up for their question of the week. Here's the text of an e-mail I received from them on Friday about how we know when God is talking to us. It' their content, not mine, copied and pasted exactly as it appears in the e-mail:
Question: "How can we recognize the voice of God?"
Answer: This question has been asked by countless people throughout the ages. Samuel heard the voice of God, but did not recognize it until he was instructed by Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-10). Gideon had a physical revelation from God, and he still doubted what he had heard to the point of asking for a sign, not once, but three times (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40). When we are listening for God's voice, how can we know that He is the one speaking? First of all, we have something that Gideon and Samuel did not. We have the complete Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read, study, and meditate on. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we have a question about a certain topic or decision in our lives, we should see what the Bible has to say about it. God will never lead us or direct us contrary to what He has taught or promised in His Word (Titus 1:2).
Second, to hear God's voice we must recognize it. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him—those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd and they know His voice. If we are to recognize God's voice, we must belong to Him.
Third, we hear His voice when we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more time we spend intimately with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. Employees at a bank are trained to recognize counterfeits by studying genuine money so closely that it is easy to spot a fake. We should be so familiar with God’s Word that when God does speak to us or lead us, it is clear that it is God. God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. While God can speak audibly to people, He speaks primarily through His Word, and sometimes through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other people. By applying what we hear to the truth of Scripture, we can learn to recognize His voice.
This is me again. I highlighted the last part of this e-mail to get your attention. It's important! When random started happening in my life, I talked to my pastor about this and he pretty much told me the same thing. I always check what I think God is telling me in my life against scripture. I wanted to make sure I was on the right frequency so I could understand the communications. The random things in my life started to make sense to me when I realized the things from the above e-mail.
Here's my random story for today.
I like this page on facebook called "I'm Proud To Be Christian". I found this link from a friend's facebook page and liked it, so it shows up on my "wall". I enjoy reading the verses from the page and often times they're nice to hear things that pertain to my life. I don't always think God is reaching out to me personally because I'm obviously not the only fan of the page.
This is from my facebook page today:
H.I.S: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I've mentioned several times about e-mails I get from divorcecare.org. These are very inspiring e-mails and often times they're timed perfectly to events in my life. Is the timing of an e-mail a coincidence? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. I'm sure the Mrs. isn't quite sure about this herself. This, my friends, was in my daily divorcecare.org e-mail just a couple of hours ago:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
This isn't the first time I've heard this particular verse. It's very familiar to me. I knew I'd seen it before so I searched my e-mail folder and sure enough, it's one I'd e-mailed to the wife on November 8th.
To be sure, my trust is in the Lord, with all my heart. I don't understand half of what happens in my life but I know that He's got me on the right path. How do I know this? Because I asked Him about sharing a particular Bible story with someone today. I went in prayer and asked if I should share it and what I read in the Bible was pretty much the New Testament version of trusting God and following Jesus. I don't need to share the story I wanted to with the person I wanted to share it with. God will do it in His own way and in His own time. I needed to trust Him and not me. I'm glad I asked and I'm pleased to share this little bit of a story with you on a Sunday.
Fresh in my mind of late is the story of Jonah and the fish. Jonah tried to run from God, tried to not go down the path God told him to, and spent three days in the belly of a big fish, where he had a chance to think things over.
Friends, TIVO the early game. Get up, have coffee, or your morning beverage of choice. Pull out the fancy, go to meeting clothes from the closet and visit the Lord's house today. It's the second Sunday of Advent today. If you're looking for a church, I know this great little Baptist Church in Ogden on 25th Street. Services start at 11:00. Please feel free to join us. You can sit by June and I so you won't feel uncomfortable or like you don't know anyone.
As for me, I just want to pubicly Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! And praise Him for allowing me to share the wonderful things happening in my life with you. I couldn't make this up, folks. Let's face it, I'm not that smart.
Just an update on random. I wrote this at about 1:00 a.m. I couldn't sleep. When I got up this morning and checked my online stuff, that very verse was at the TOP of my facebook page again. I showed June just so I had a witness!
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