Walking With Jesus

Trap and Ransom

*Please read this story thoughtfully, as I have numerous times, seeing yourself as the man walking down the trail. Though the author is a dear friend, they wish to remain anonymous, so I will honor their request. Blessings, Ed 😊

There was something; not sure what it was.

It was hazy or misty or foggy, so not clearly seen.

There was a man walking down a trail.

Just off the trail was something beautiful.

It was the thing that the man on the trail wanted most.

It might have been Fame, it might have been money, it might have been gold, it might have been a house or car, it might have been sex, or it might have been Revenge. Maybe an addiction.

It glistened, and it was pretty.

The man rushed off the trail and grabbed this thing he wanted so much.

As soon as he did, a trap closed, and he was caught by the arm and hand. The man screamed in pain.

A demon walked out of hiding and laughing, put a collar on the man, and then a leash. The demon opened the trap and pulled the man away. “I knew what you loved most in the world,” the demon said.

The demon had a sharp stick, and he poked the man several times until he was bleeding and crying. The man begged, “Please don’t hurt me,” which made the demon laugh even more.

The demon laughed and said, “This is going to be fun.”

Then another person came and spoke to the wounded man on the leash. “Do you want to be free he asked?”

“Please help me.” He cried.

The second man spoke to the demon. “Let the man go.”

The demon said “no I caught him. He’s mine.”

The second man asked, “What are you going to do with him?”

The demon replied. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with him. I’m going to torture him. I’m going to poke him and hurt him in many ways. When I get tired of him, and I eventually will, then I will kill him.”

“Let him go and take me instead.” said the second man.

The demon laughed. Then the second man said, “Yes, really, let him go and take me.”

The demon said, “Okay, I’ll do that.”

So, the demon put a collar on Jesus and then a leash. Then the demon set you free.

Jesus is your Ransom.

How Offensive Is Your Sin to You?

“’But we are descendants of Abraham,’ they said. ‘We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, “You will set us free”?’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.’” (John 8:33-34 NLT)

When I first began to walk with the Lord I didn’t know how not to sin. I hadn’t yet learned how grievous my sin was to my heavenly Father, how offensive my thoughts, words, attitudes, as well as my behavior, were to God. Today, I have no excuse.

We had company from out of town a few weeks ago and we were sitting in our family room talking when someone rang the doorbell. Instinctively I jumped up to see who it was, and when I opened the door there were two young women with clipboards standing there. I assumed they were wanting to sell me something and I wanted to get back to my company, so I brushed them off in a not so kind way.

Before I even got back in the house the Lord said: “What was THAT about? Don’t you realize I sent them to your door so you could be kind to them and treat them in a manner that is worthy of a child of God? Do you not realize they bear My image and when you’re offensive to them you’re offensive to Me?”

BUSTED! Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: “The nearer a man gets to God, the greater he sees his sin.” The longer I serve Jesus the less tolerable I am of my own sin. My sin grieves my heart and damages my effectiveness for the Lord. Later I went looking for those young women but couldn’t find them. What if they were having a bad day and someone who was kind to them could have changed everything for them?

Fellow Jesus followers, we mustn’t let ourselves off the proverbial hook, especially when we mistreat another human being. A friend of mine who was in law enforcement much of his adult life told me about a time he went into a biker bar looking for a suspect in a crime. He was counting on his partner to come in the front as he entered from the rear, but his partner didn’t come in.

As a result, my friend took a severe beating. I asked him why he didn’t pull his gun to defend himself, and he told me he would rather take a beating than risk having to take another person’s life. Some would say he did the wrong thing, but to me he’s a hero.

In my mind we’re much too prone to “defend ourselves” rather than risk, not only bodily harm, but criticism, especially on social media. We’re so much more “self-focused” than Jesus-focused, and it shows in more ways than we realize. The grace of God becomes our excuse for misbehaving rather than the catalyst that turns our heart and mind from sin.

Sometimes I view the Cross of Christ and I loathe the fact my sin put Jesus there. In this season of my life, I cannot be casual with sin. It’s my lethal enemy and to take my sin lightly is to slap my Savior in His face. It’s to ignore the price my sin cost Him and to forget the price it would have cost me had He not been willing to die in my place.

Child of God, please saturate your heart, mind, and spirit in the truths of Scripture, so much so, that as every word flows from our mouth, Jesus is honored and not dishonored by our offensive lack of respect for His glorious Name. Remember Jesus’ instruction as we pray: “Father, may Your name be kept holy.” These are not words to pray in a hurried way, then forgotten, but an attitude of our heart that seeks to magnify Jesus with our every breath.

Would you allow your young child to speak to you disrespectfully? Why do we think it’s okay to live disrespectfully before the King of kings and Lord of lords? It’s absolutely not!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s Most Important to You?

“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 NLT)

When considering the question of importance, some have suggested we consider what we’d be willing to run into a burning building to rescue. Certainly family, friends, pets, pictures, heirlooms, and other material items that can’t be replaced. But do those things really speak to us in terms of what’s MOST valuable to us?

Perhaps the real question becomes: “For what are you willing to trade your soul?” Jesus asked the question in Matthew 16:26: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” The implied answer is, of course, “No!” In Jesus’ mind there’s absolutely nothing more valuable to a person than that part of us that will live forever.

However, the plot thickens when every second of every day someone sells their soul to the devil for a trinket this world offers. Sin is rampant in our world in ways that our ancestors literally couldn’t have imagined. The inhumane and vile ways we treat each other as adults is beyond comprehension, but when pre-born babies are murdered in order that their tiny organs can be harvested, and children are sold and violated in ways unimaginable not that many years ago, that’s beyond evil.

Some reject Christianity because they can’t conceive why God would allow anyone to go to hell, yet that’s exactly the “sentence” God the Father pronounced on His only perfect, sinless, Son so that those who place their trust in Him wouldn’t have to go to there. You are most important on God’s agenda, so much so that He was willing to trade the life of His Son for your life and mine. Why would God do that?

Because He knew that we could never in eternity ever pay the penalty for our own sin. Every day many, if not most people in our spheres of influence choose slavery to sin over forgiveness and new life in Christ. As a Jesus follower for more than 60 years my heart’s cry is “WHY?” Why would anyone in their right mind choose eternal damnation over forgiveness and newness of life? It makes no sense to me.

The only conclusion to which I can come is either ignorance, misinformation, or blatant rebellion – they simply don’t want to know the Truth. Satan cannot tell the truth, but he can lie in such a way that it sounds plausible, so much so, everyone from Eve and Adam to you and me have believed his lies to the detriment, not only of our own lives, but those whose lives matter the most to us.

Kirk Cameron wrote: “There is nothing more important than your eternal salvation.” And when we read that it makes perfect sense, until we get distracted by the glitter and glamor of this world. Fellow Jesus followers, can we become an “army of one” for our families, neighbors, co-workers, classmates and others in our spheres of influence? Can we allow prayer to become our first language, lifting to our loving Father the needs of those we love the most.

You’d likely risk your life to enter a burning building to save a loved one, so why not enter the throne room of your heavenly Father on behalf or your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, neighbors, friends – near and far – and anyone else who comes to mind. Call, text, write, visit, invite them for a meal or take them out – whatever it takes to get their ear.

Life is too short, and heaven and hell are too real to waste time on your phone or tablet when you could be engaged in Kingdom work. Just imagine if we would pray as long as we spend time on our phones or other mobile devices each day? What’s REALLY most important to you? If it’s Jesus then let’s let the things that break His heart break ours!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Who or What Do You Worship?

“Next the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to You,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:8-9 NLT)

We often read Scripture so quickly we miss important words. Have you ever wondered what Satan meant when he showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory?” “Glory” is the Greek word “doxa,” which means “honor, praise, dignity, worship.” Think of the “doxa” we render to wealthy people and politicians who use their resources and position to further evil.

“doxa” is a word that should be reserved exclusively for Jesus, who is God, but what Satan was asking Jesus to do is essentially the same thing he asks you and me to do today – to direct glory, honor, praise, and worship to that which was created rather than to the Creator. We’re so mesmerized by the glitter and glamor of this world we miss the Treasure who really owns it all and made it all possible.

On some levels it’s not unlike the toddler at Christmas or on their birthday when they find the box more appealing and entertaining than the gift that was in it. When I was selling insurance years ago one of my supervisors made a comment in passing that really stuck with me. He said, “I never leave the house without at least ten grand in my pocket.” That sounded really impressive to me in that season of my life but reminds me how easily we’re attracted to almost anything we don’t have.

Sometimes our faith is so shallow we’re easily tempted to believe being able to carry 10 thousand dollars around is more prestigious or appealing than having a relationship with the Creator of this world. How often we give our praise and respect to people who live extravagant lifestyles irrespective of the evil they invest their wealth into. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are responsible for doing the most harm and causing the most misery to others.

Tim Keller rightly noted: “We all worship something, religious or non-religious.” Some worship the gods of this world to their eternal demise, but the real question before us is: “Who or what do YOU worship?” And before you jump to a wrong conclusion, look at your calendar and your checkbook. Where do you invest your money and time?

On judgment day we’re each one going to give an account of how we invested our lives in eternity. On any given day we’re either pointing people to Jesus or to something or someone else. We ultimately answer to only one Person, who ironically, is the One to whom if every person who has ever lived or ever will live worshipped and sought to honor and praise Him for all His attributes, could worship for all eternity and still not exhaust the reasons for our “doxa!” Francis Chan insightfully asked: “Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?”

Did you notice in the verse above what Satan asked Jesus to do in exchange for “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory?” He asked Jesus to “kneel down and worship me.” Do you find it ironic that the one who owns the kingdoms of the world would trade them all in a heartbeat to receive worship from the King of kings and Lord of lords? What does that tell us? First, there is no One greater than Jesus. When life on this planet ends and every person comes before the Lord Jesus, the Bible says that “every knee will bow, and every tongue confess to God.”

And, secondly, what Satan was so willing to give away is what most people today are selling their soul to have. But Jesus said: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” What’s so special about our soul? Why is it so valuable? It’s the only part of us that lives forever and has the capacity to know, love, and have fellowship with Jesus.

When will we wake up to realize that what Jesus offers us when He invites us to know and love Him is infinitely more valuable than the trinkets of this world? When will we come to terms with the fact that worshipping Him is the only real path to satisfaction, joy, and life as it was always meant to be?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Is Ministry?

“Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” (Acts 6:4 NLT)

Did you know the word “ministry” isn’t used in any of the four Gospel accounts in the King James Version of the Bible? It seems ironic on some levels that the first use of the word in the KJV is in Acts 1:17 in reference to Judas when Peter is recalling his part in their ministry with Jesus, and their need to replace him.

What comes first to your mind when you hear that word – “Ministry?” We commonly connect the members of the Clergy, those who have chosen to serve the Lord vocationally, as Ministers, and we’re right to do so. But we also use the term in reference to those who serve in other ways within the context of the Church – i.e., Elders, Deacons, Missionaries, even volunteers.

“Servant of All” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Ministry basically means to serve or, as Strong’s Concordance says: “those who execute the commands of others.” When seen in its purely Biblical sense it can have reference to anyone who serves by Christ’s directive and to His honor and glory. Unfortunately, there have been and are those who use their “ministry” credentials to force their will on others irrespective of what the Lord clearly teaches in His Word.

Acts 6:4 in the KJV says: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Ministry, in its best usage, is serving the Lord by giving visibility to His Holy Word through correct teaching and holy living. Ministry is that to which every believer is called, because we’re all called to serve and to illuminate the life of Christ through not only what we say, but how we give credence to our words through the way we live.

H. B. Charles, Jr. said: “Ministry is about fulfilling a calling, not practicing a vocation.” Across the years, as a pastor and since, I’ve met professional clergypersons who were a disgrace to their title. They cared very little about those they were called to “serve,” but milked their sacred position for its every advantage for themselves. I’m grateful, at least in my experience, they were few and far between.

Most men and women who serve the Lord vocationally are rock-solid and I sense the presence and power of the Lord when in their presence. They’re overworked and underpaid, but the joy of Jesus radiates from their countenance.

The Pastors and lay leaders of the church of which I’m privileged to be a part of in this season of my life, are among the absolute best I’ve ever met. They exude character, work tirelessly and love deeply. They’re an honor to their Lord and an immense blessing to those under their spiritual care.

We minister in Christ’s name to give, not to receive. Of course, serving pays rich dividends, but that’s not the goal of our ministry, it’s a very appreciated byproduct. We serve through whatever means possible to exalt our risen Savior and to point others to Him. He is the goal and prize of everything we do, say, or think as a child of God.

Paul wrote in Acts 20:35: “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Regardless of how many hours we labor to the Lord’s honor, the blessing of serving always outshines whatever our service costs us, even to the giving of our life.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Dream or Command?

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:13-14 NLT)

Did you believe that when you came to Christ, He would make all your dreams come true? That’s actually possible, depending on what your dreams are, but unless pleasing and obeying Him is your dream, you may be disappointed. Dean Inserra wrote: “Christian, God doesn’t have a ‘dream’ for you. God has a command for you. To be part of His mission.”

When I came to the Lord I had very few aspirations. I sometimes wonder what was going through the minds of the early disciples when Jesus invited them to: “Come, follow Me!” That’s essentially the same invitation He extends to us today, and what He has in mind for us, while it may look different in some ways, is still in essence the same – to join Him in His mission to “fish” for men and women, boys and girls.

Fishing, at least for professional fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, wasn’t sitting on the dock of the bay with a few worms and a fishing pole. They used nets and it was their goal to catch lots of fish at one time. So, how might Jesus’ words have translated for them? Did they envision casting a net over a crowd of people? Probably not, but if Jesus’ “model” was what He was asking them to follow, it would certainly include large crowds.

What was Jesus’ model? How did He go about “fishing for men?” Initially, He touched the lives of individuals secretly. He turned water into wine but didn’t seek to make it known. Only the servants who drew the cup full of wine out of what they knew to be only water knew for sure. Obviously, it became known to a broader audience, but what might that teach us about our mission?

Should we rent a huge stadium and invite people to come and hear us speak about Jesus? I suppose if you’re well known that might work, but not for most of us. For the majority of us following Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all the nations…” is much more personal. Although our “world” is becoming much smaller with radio, television, and the internet, we’re still somewhat limited in ways to carry out the desires of our Master.

The Church is God’s idea, and it’s one of the most practical ways we can join our efforts with others to carry out God’s mission. When we begin to understand the implications of what the Church is supposed to do and be, it gives us many more options for exercising our individual gifts and abilities to maximize our efforts to extend God’s eternal Kingdom.

Being a part of a ministry team, a small group, or taking advantage of opportunities to deepen our faith and learn how to share our faith most effectively are just a few advantages of being a part of a healthy church. But that still doesn’t exempt us from sharing our faith with our family, friends, and others with whom we have contact.

When I was pastoring, training others to share their faith was a priority, but even in retirement I want following the commands of the Lord to share my faith to be a priority. How about you? Is your dream to splash in the waters of the Caribbean, follow trails into the mountains or forests of the world, bungy jump off the highest bridge? Or is your dream to learn to win your friends and loved ones to Jesus? Which do you believe will pay the highest dividends in eternity? I hope your dream is to be a “fisher” of lost people.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Do Unbelievers Anger You?

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:10 NLT)

When my sister, Patti, was in the hospital for the last time, we knew she was dying, so we were very concerned that whoever cared for her – nurses, doctors, even the people who came in to gather the trash – were kind and respectful. She was in a special unit that was supposed to limit the number of visitors at any one time to only two, but they quickly learned the circumstances and let as many as wanted to come in to visit her. We were especially appreciative of the nurses who cared for her.

One of the nurses would pray for Patti and us and would take time to let us know what was happening and seemed genuinely caring and interested in taking the very best care of her. We took turns spending the night with Patti, so when I had the opportunity, I would speak with the nurse on duty to share our family’s appreciation.

One nurse, who made it known that she was a believer, shared with me that unbelievers made her angry. It took me aback and has caused me to think about my own response to those who are pre-believers. Since I didn’t know her well, I didn’t push, but in my mind “anger” and “unbeliever” don’t belong in the same sentence.

Toby McKeehan wrote: “Always leave people better than you found them. Hug the hurt. Befriend the lost. Love the lonely.” According to Jesus we’re to be salt and light, thus leaving unbelievers with a better impression of Jesus followers. The “religious” were the ones who angered the Lord, He had mercy and kindness for those who were lost.

As Jesus followers it’s our responsibility to live in a manner that is inviting, ideally leading to gospel conversations that arise out of the context of our love for those who don’t yet know the Lord. Amisho Baraka Lewis wrote: “You can’t fake love when you are harboring hate.” Think of the many conversations Jesus had with those who were, in the minds of the religious Pharisees, “scum.”

Tax collectors, adulterers, and other “sinners” flocked to Jesus, often to see what they could get from Him, but I’m convinced many came because Jesus was “safe.” They knew in His holy presence they wouldn’t be berated, ridiculed, or turned away. Jesus even touched lepers, which astounded the religious leaders, but delighted His followers.

In my mind’s eye I envision Jesus allowing lepers and many others to hug Him as they sought to express their appreciation for what He’d done for them. I can’t wait to hug Him, but I suspect I’ll need to bow in worship before I’ll be able to stand long enough to hug Him. He’s approachable, tender, loving, kind, caring, and every other word that expresses accepting. He never turned anyone away who came to Him in humility and honesty.

If you get angry with unbelievers, how do you ever expect to win them to Jesus? Or maybe that’s the issue. Maybe you don’t believe they deserve Jesus after all the ways they’ve hurt you. When I take time to recount just a few ways that I’ve hurt Jesus and others in things I’ve said and done in my life, I hang my head in shame.

Paul said of himself that he was the worst of all sinners, and I wholeheartedly concur as I view my own life. Jesus didn’t die to show us how good we are, but to enable us to see how very needy we are without Him. Toby McKeehan said: “If you spend time praying for people instead of talking about them, you might just get better results.” And you might also see that, if you’re angry with unbelievers, your anger is misplaced.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Seeing Yourself in the Picture?

“Jesus replied, ‘I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.’” (John 1:50 NLT)

When I was in youth ministry, I took a lot of pictures and Super-8 movies (yeh, I know, I’m really old). The movie camera didn’t have sound, so a couple of the guys in the youth group would add their own soundtrack. One of the most well attended services we had at the church was when we showed pictures or had a movie of one of our recent activities. Why was that?

Because the kids wanted to see their own pictures. We’d invite parents and prospective students to attend as well, hoping to entice them to become a part of the youth group. Why was seeing their own pictures such a draw? Because that’s how we’re wired. With few exceptions we’re the most important person in our universe. Ron Hutchcraft made an interesting observation when he said: “I find that people never really get interested in a picture until they see themselves in it.”

Do you realize you’ll never be compelled to love and serve Jesus until you see yourself in His “picture?” Until you envision yourself walking with Him, loving Him, serving Him. For far too many today the idea of being partnered with Jesus is unimaginable, but for me, in this season of my life, I can’t imagine NOT being with Him every second of my day.

Jesus has had His eye on you since before the foundation of the world. He envisioned you receiving His invitation to follow Him, and joyfully yielding your life and allegiance to Him. When Philip, the one whom Jesus saw under the fig tree, understood that the Messiah, God in human flesh, saw him, knew him, understood who he was, how he felt, and what his God-inspired dreams and aspirations were, he gladly responded to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him.

He courageously invested everything he was into everything he believed Jesus to be. He couldn’t wait to stand by His side and yield his life to Jesus’ Lordship. Wherever Jesus was that’s where Philip wanted to be.

How about you? Can you see yourself walking life’s pathways with Jesus? He sees you! Just as clearly as He saw Philip under the tree, He sees you in the activities of your daily life. Just like Philip, we have dreams, desires, hopes, aspirations, and for Philip they were all satisfied in his walk with the Lord. I’m not sure I had many dreams when I was younger.

Being a very average student, I didn’t see myself as “college” material, but when I met Jesus, He had plans for me that I never imagined for myself. And it doesn’t matter your age or station in life. If you’re alive you have a purpose. Jesus is the real deal.

It’s not about religion, keeping rules, or checking boxes, it’s always and only about Jesus. Following Him becomes the adventure of your life. Anyone who believes life is boring doesn’t know Jesus. He’s the only One who can give your life meaning, purpose, adventure, a reason to get up in the morning.

Being in the proverbial “picture” with Jesus is all that matters to me. Submitting to His authority in my life has freed me to be more than I ever imagined I could be. Over the years I’ve written hundreds of sermons, and it was challenging and, on many levels, deeply satisfying. But having the privilege of sharing these posts with you is a dream come true.

Are you seeing yourself in His picture yet? He loves you and will fill and empower you to become the person you were always meant to be.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Intellectually Aware or Spiritually Engaged?

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT)

There are many things we can’t understand intellectually. On a lot of levels even Christianity doesn’t make sense. How can we wrap our mind around God becoming a man, born of a virgin, laying down His sinless life in our place, then rising from the dead to overcome sin, death, and the grave for everyone who would believe what He did was for them, offering them forgiveness of sin and new life in Himself?

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:21: “Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” It’s interesting to me that while, yes, of course, we seek to explain the Gospel in ways that hopefully make sense to our hearers (readers 😊), human understanding alone won’t translate into salvation from our sin.

It occurs to me that there are those in our families, churches, and spheres of influence that “talk the talk,” and to some extent even “walk the walk,” who have never yielded their hearts and lives to Jesus. They think they have, but in their mind 2 + 2 just doesn’t equal 4. How so?

How can a loving God allow such heart-wrenching tragedies like those that fill our daily news feeds? “If God exists,” they reason, “why doesn’t He stop the blatant defilements that human beings commit against one another?” And I get it, I really do. But we can’t simply view all the horrible things we see and hear every day and not also take note of the ways God is seeking to redeem the hearts and lives of men and women, boys and girls.

A person can sit in their proverbial “ivory tower” making mental note of everything that is wrong with the world and the God who created it, while at the same time professing faith in Jesus, but to me that’s a contradiction. No, of course, faith doesn’t blind us to the unchecked evil in our world, but neither should it result in bitterness, anger, and disdain toward God.

We mustn’t forget we’re in a war and every war has casualties. Satan is a defeated foe who will never surrender; thus, he’s bent on taking as many people to hell with him as possible. He thrives on inoculating people with an intellectual awareness of Jesus, while at the same time doing everything he can to prevent them from becoming spiritually engaged.

It grieves me to see the ways sin cripples and controls those who have become Satan’s agents of destruction – raping, extorting, murdering, lying, violating people young and old. He’s no respecter of anything or anyone and can smile while he’s sticking a knife in your back. And the tragedy to me is that Satan has planted his agents in religions that have “Christian” wrappings but are far from honoring to His glorious name.

Even within solid churches that teach the Bible and are Christ-focused, not only in their preaching, but in and through virtually everything they do, there are those who regularly attend who have intellectual understanding of what they hear, but their faith is an inch deep and a mile wide.

The only antidote to the evil that is rampant in our world and the shallow faith of so many, is the love of God ignited in the hearts and lives of those of us who love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and are seeking with everything within us to be spiritually engaged in making Him known in our spheres of influence.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Listening?

“But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry to Him reached His ears.” (Psalm 18:6 NLT)

Why is it sometimes so difficult to hear God’s voice? Jesus said in John 10:27: “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” The word Jesus used that we translate “listen” means “to hearken or to give audience,” but can also mean “to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.”

Could it be we fail to hear His voice because we’re not listening? So often in the hectic schedules we follow we’re constantly texting or calling or receiving texts or calls while we’re doing other things. We might like to think of it as “multi-tasking,” but it can also be called “not listening” or “partial listening.” I’m old school and I’m doing well if I can listen to the radio while I drive.

When I’m reading the Bible, studying, or writing, the shuffle of my wife’s feet as she walks through the house distracts me. It’s not unusual for me to have to re-read something two or three times to make sure I’m “hearing” what’s being said.

Lisa Lakey, a Family Life devotional writer said it this way: “Truth? I naturally tend to tune in to what interests me most … and tune out everything else. But sometimes it goes even deeper. Resentment and unresolved conflict also seem to have a noise-cancelling effect when I’m listening to my husband. If I know my husband is really hearing me, I feel loved, cherished, valued, and understood. It communicates that I deserve his attention and he desires to understand my heart. And that sense of priority cuts both ways. Listening is a practical, everyday way to place the needs of others above my own. God Himself listens to my cries when I pray to Him, as David reminds us in Psalm 18:6. Just as God listens to me, I long to listen to my spouse—beyond the sound waves hitting my ears.

Foundationally, hearing God’s voice, or anyone else’s for that matter, requires not only attention, but desire. We have to want to hear God speak. We have to believe what our spouse, child, friend, or anyone else says is worth hearing. And this isn’t a simple process. How we listen often depends on what we want to hear.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

When I was younger, I had kidney stones far more often than I care to recount. I remember being in such agony by the time I reached the ER, then having to wait to be seen, then wait while they took blood, then wait for the results, all the while begging them to give me something for my pain. I didn’t want to hear “we’re just making sure that’s what you need.” All I wanted to hear was: “This shot will help you with your pain!”

It’s not so different when someone has lost a loved one or has a chronic condition that medicine no longer addresses. All we want is an answer, not “spiritual mumbo jumbo.” “Why doesn’t God DO something!” becomes the echoing cry of our heart! And the answer that is reverberating in my spirit is so simple, yet, so profound when the Master’s voice responds: “I have! I’m here!”

Spiritual “mumbo jumbo?” No! His presence! It’s the relief that begins when the doctor comes in and says: “We found the source of your pain, and this is what we’re going to do about it!” Even before the medicine is administered, there is a sigh of relief that you’ve been heard, and help is coming.

You’ve been heard, my friend, and help is coming! You’re not alone in your pain. Jesus, the Healer, is with you, but He’s also engineering circumstances to put someone with “skin” to intersect your life. It may be a doctor, a person at church, even someone in your family who has dealt with what you’re experiencing, but God’s presence will be made manifest in someone to love and care for you. Please don’t miss them because you’re not “listening!”

Blessings, Ed 😊