I know His voice

Showing my age, I remember the commercials of a guy with with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other; both telling them contradicting advice.  I don't remember what the advertisement was for, but even the Simpsons (which I don't watch) pick up on this image as has Apple and many other companies.  

Like the picture, the guy can see the little images and choose which voice he wanted to obey.  In reality, we hear the voices, but don't always know the source.  In 1977 a movie came out that caused some ridicule from the churches, "Oh, God" , staring John Denver and George Burns; the church could not picture George Burns as God.  Watch a minute of the movie at this You Tube link.  Oh, God  I'm not defending or promoting the movie, but unlike the movies of recent years of naughty angles, etc., this one did have a message (if you could get beyond the actors).

Last night I was reflecting on a young man, a friend, who was confronted with the fact that he didn't know God's voice or at least wasn't sure when he heard that small voice telling him what to do.  There were no images sitting on his shoulder like the commercial.  He narrowly escaped a perilous trap.


Jesus instructed us about His voice; here are a couple of passages of the Bible, God's message to us:
"Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"" John 18:37-38 NASU


"The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."  Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. John 10:3-6 NIV  Jesus often referred to those of us that follow Him as sheep and that we know His voice; if others called, we would not follow.  But knowing His voice takes practice and it takes concentration to listen and block out competing voices that want to harm the "sheep".

Growing up on a farm with animals and doing my pre-vet work, I learned a few things about sheep (the real ones).  They are not the brightest of animals, they are defenseless, if stuck on their back - they can't get up on their own, they smell, and their gestation period (pregnancy) is five months.  They need to be cared for, sheared, their feet dipped to prevent infection, their tails docked (cut short), and many other necessary things.  Christ's figure of speech of portraying us as sheep is quite accurate in the animal kingdom; we need a watchman or shepherd.

But Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, not only wants us to know His voice and follow Him, but He has a deep concern and love for those outside of the fold.  In this passage Jesus again was using sheep as a figure of speech but of mankind.  Jesus talked in "parables" or stories because in the culture that was the communication style and the people understood because they related to the story and remembered them. 
"Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep .' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."" Luke 15:3-7 NIV  I found this video clip for kids, but in this way, I never want to grow up; take a look by clicking the link: 

One Lost Sheep

Bottom line is that we were created by a God Who loves us and wants to care for us.  He has given us a free will to love Him or not, but He calls to us and searches for us and sent Jesus to walk the face of the earth that we might know Him and hear His voice.  We were created to be a part of His Kingdom, not of this earth alone; the choice to follow Him is ours.

Seeds to Harvest - Innocence Lost and Found

The innocence of a child is precious and when it is lost or is stolen it is not just a loss for the child, but for all mankind.  I think that is why I like snow, it reminds me of my childhood and of innocence even as an adult.  It is white, soft, cool, clean and sent from a gracious God from the heavens.  I was never one who saw heaven like the middle ages picture of fat little angelic beings playing harps on clouds; that may have been the dream of those back then when life was extremely hard.  I see it for what it is, that which God has made for me; I don't pretend to dream of what it will be or think heaven is for all "good" people, only those that answer God's call.

Ready, but not finished, my life is as fragile as the snow and will remain as long as my gracious LORD desires; in some ways I am like a snowman crafted by the hands of God.  In other ways, simply a tool in His hands that is happiest when used and used up.  I relish the strong hands of God grasping me and thrusting me into work He has to accomplish; yet I know He could speak it done and I am used only at His pleasure.  He cleans me off, sharpens me against the grinding wheel, coats me with oil over the paint that is the blood He shed that made me new, made me His.

As a gardener, I love to dream of selecting the exact seeds, planting the seeds, watching them break through the soil and picturing the end results, the fruit or flower.  The smell of rich, clean, soil is a reminder of the earth in which I was created and that which I will return.  How precious a life that is filled with dreams, of use, of giving rather than taking; so many people are alive, but seem like walking dead.  It is so overwhelmingly sad to witness those whose innocence have been stolen or sold to the things of this world.  Yet how overwhelmingly joyous to be just a small part of those who regain their innocence and become as a child in the hands of their Creator again.

I have been enjoying several books and highly recommend an updated English version of the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a'Kempis which can be found at: The Imitation of Christ, 2003.  There is something to be gained from the writings of several classics like this one.  The depth of devotion and separation from the trappings of the world are heard in the words of this wonderful treasure and of the mystics.  Though I question some of the mortification of the time, the call of Christ is upon us all that we are to be in the world, but not of the world.  Here are His words to the Father:   "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world , even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." John 17:15-19 NIV

This week I've received several electronic messages that have brought tears to my eyes, one from a grateful mother and one from a grateful college student.  Their words testify of God's redeeming work that is being accomplished through simple tools like my wife and I.  We are humbled and strengthened.  The bends and dents that come with the task are now cherished and borne with a sense of honored purpose.  I know that when I do see Jesus face to face, He will restore me in His image; until then, I am ever more encouraged to stay the course which He opens before us.  We do not walk alone, but follow the Creator of the universe that knows all things and has all power; we follow Him that never changes, never lies, never stops loving me, and will never leave me.  This is the hope that drives me to the finished line.  "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.  Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.  Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.  Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true.  I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."  John 4:34-38  NIV

There is much to do, much to spend time on our faces seeking after the will of the Father for; I brought nothing into this world and I will take nothing out... except the knowledge that those that I have helped, I will see them again.  My heart is patterned after the Father's, that all would come to know Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Part of a Different Dimension

Last night, I pondered the things of the universe like the number and names of the billions of stars and the placement and shape of each grain of sand; more importantly, I pondered the God who created it all and holds it all together. He alone knows each of the names of the stars and each particle of sand on the shore.  Lofty thoughts for a simple man, but experiencing God in a close relationship is so much more than simple knowledge.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

To explain that statement let me share a few excerpts from Henry & Melvin Blackaby's book, Experiencing the Resurrection, lest you think I am alone in my passion.  In today's society, as in the time of Christ, the question is the same, "what is Truth?"  The pendulum continues to swing down through the millennia of the degree of which there is absolute Truth.  However, I share the same position as the Blackabys on this point, "The key is not to "discover" truth, but to come with an open heart, into which the Holy Spirit will reveal truth. And that truth will set you free."

The pursuit of knowledge is rampant in our world with a belief that knowledge is power.  Though it may provide for a position of power among those that have less knowledge, it is not real power.  This search for knowledge is a religion all its own and is no more than simple gnosticism of 2000 years ago.

On the other hand, those that desire absolute Truth come empty handed except for their open heart and desire to yield all that this life has in exchange for the treasure of God.  Through the Holy Spirit, God reveals Truth that is to be experienced by daily living.... these that seek God's Truth are the souls that tap into the ultimate renewable power source. 


Unfortunately, the vast amount of Christians, at least those in  western culture that I have witnessed, are living a life with only a fringe of the vastness of experiencing Christ; they never venture beyond simple knowing about Him, believing Who He is ( but even the demons do that).  Until we embrace Him and the power, placement, and potential that He want's to (and has) bestowed on Christ followers, we are like runners in the race that never move their legs; we are in the race, just not doing anything or going anywhere.

Wind battered Tree at the Coast

The Blackabys pen, "When you become a Christian [Christ follower, more than just a label], you're set in a wholly different dimension in which you can see what others don't see.  As Jesus told His disciples, "It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kindom of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (Matthew 13:11)." [clarification mine]


Allow me to paraphrase, from their book, a nugget and expand from their next thought. Since we, who want to be more than religious activity doers, we must use what God has given us through Christ, through His death on the cross, and through the power and hope of His resurrection.  It is then that we have the capacity to detect and participate in the activities of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in another dimension: His Kingdom here on earth.  If we are experiencing less than this, we are simply like the world, ignoring God until we need Him to help us; save us from another problem; or how religious 'christians' most normally pray: give me, give me, bless me, bless me, help me, help me... until I need you later.  My God is more than a geni in a lantern waiting to be rubbed.  He is a God who made everything and yet He wants to have a relationship with you and me.  Why does God, Who is so big and incredible, want us?  Because He loves us and wants us to love Him.


This is what this God communicates to us:
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:24-27 NIV
 
"you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:12-13 NIV