Romans 10:17 (NIV)-… Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Many of us know the Kings James Version of this passage that says faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God. So i guess if this is real (and i believe it is) then how do i hear the Word of God? Is it just on Sunday? or Easter and Christmas? or have you taken the daily time for you and Gods Word (The Bible) to hear His Word.

It crazy how many people who claim to be “Christians” that have put their eternal faith in someone they know very little about. Digging into the Word every day, reading Christian literature for growth and enjoyment or just listening to more encouraging music is Gods way of talking to us and convicting us in the areas of our lives that are not pleasing to Him… Remember, we are created for one purpose and that is to bring Glory to His Name and make disciples. I hope you don’t believe that God is going to yell from the sky when your messing up or not lining up with His purpose (though in the Old Testament He did several different ways). The way to know Him better is to seek after Him,and you will find Him, to knock on the door and it will be opened and to remain steadfast in our Hope and faith in Jesus…. not man! (Jesus Talking)Matthew 7:8- For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one whoknocks, the door will be opened.

As i have read the Word, sought after His Face (not just His hand), and resolved to take His Word seriously, He has been faithful always to be there and to speak to me when i am REALLY ready to be real with Him (and even more often than i’m worthy of). I want to recommend a couple of amazing resources and links, besides the Word of God, the 2 most influencing books and Pastors for my recent re-affirmation, dedication, commitment and diligence to my walk has thus been:

Pastor Francis Chan: He was the head pastor of Cornerstone Church and has a Gospel oriented, Christ focused Word. Words cannot express his passion, visit his main church website archive here http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/special/media_player.html, and look for His messages or youtube Him. Also he has 2 books i would recommend to anyone who is serious about knowing the True Gospel taught by Jesus and then left to be spread by common folk like you and me, not the “church”. His 2 books are “Forgotten God” & “Crazy Love”. These resources will fan the flame of truth in you and get the Holy Spirit moving in your life. I got both here at amazon SUPER CHEAP http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_26?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=forgotten+god+francis+chan&sprefix=forgotten+god+francis+chan.

Author David Platt: I believe as do hundreds of thousands of Christians that this is rhe realest book you will find on how the American Church has “watered down” the Gospel message and teach “blessings” more than commitment and instead look at the ministry of Jesus & uses scriptural truths to reveal this.. I ask you to read this with an open mind and ask God to do the rest… check it out at http://www.radicalthebook.com/.

1 John 4:16-17 (NIV):

We know how much God loves us, & we have put our trust in Him. God IS LOVE, & all who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect…

In the recent few weeks, God has moved very powerfully in my family. My wife (and bestfriend) has, for the past few years,  really taken a back seat in her faith walk and was going through a season i believe many of us face at one time or another. Fairly deep into her faith walk, she experienced a season of what the Bible calls, Laodicea, (losing her 1st love). The love i refer to is not something we find here on Earth, but rather found only in an intimate relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. All glory be to God, because this past weekend, through circumstances God can only orchestrate, my wife has found her 1s love and God has soo ignited her spiritual flame.

Something that we are all bound to experience at one time or another is the “hypocrisy” or lack of true love and compassion in the church. Too many “believers” talk a very good talk, but unfortunately their walk does not always match up. Now i’m not saying anyone is perfect because God specifically says that everyone of us sins, and if someone says they are without sin then they are only fooling themselves and refusing to accept truth (1 John 1:8). But if we looked at the body of Christ and took a real assessment of ourselves, we have all fallen short of loving others the way Christ tells us to.  Look at this: Mark 12:30-31: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

I will say, if you like most of us have fallen victim to either a hurtful Christian or a bad “church experience”, its pretty easy to just be like “forget this” or “if this is what religion is i don’t want it”! I beg you to take a look not at man or religion, but a Christ Jesus and what He said and taught. The Jewish people had “religion” pretty locked down, this is why it was soo important that Jesus be born a Jew. What the Jewish people lacked was not “religion”, but true faith and true love. Many of us know God as the Creator or Judge of this world, but Jesus continues to focus our eyes on the fact that because of His sacrifice, we should look at God more as “Abba Father”, which translated is “Dear Daddy”.When God see’s those of us that have accepted His Son as Lord, the Word says  we are given the right to be called Children of God (John 1:12)! Hallelujah, how exciting is that!

The love the Word of God refers to here is the Greek root word Agape. Fundamentally, this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love as a true, and unconditional. This love is not one based off of circumstance or season, but rather based off of a deep seeded parent/child style love, which even from a human perspective isn’t perfect. However God cannot lie, He must remain truthful (Titus 1:2). This type of Christian love is not a feeling, but is a continual choice. We can choose to be concerned with peoples well being and treat them with respect, whether or not we feel affection toward them. If we choose to love others, God will help us express that Agape.

The Apostle Paul takes this one step further and says that even if he could speak in tongues and have the faith to move mountains, if he did this without love, then he is nothing and it was for nothing (1 Corinthians 13). God wants us to experience that type of love and the only way to do so is through His Son (John 14:6).

People are human and we are flawed, but God isn’t. If you ever had one of this “bad experiences” or “un-compassionate Christians”, realize that you weren’t dealing with Gods love in that situation, but probably someone who just tried too hard under their own strength or out of routine and forgot the real meaning of our Christian Hope… THE LOVE. I pray that you would not judge Christianity and the Sacrifice Jesus endured for you and me off of an experience or circumstance with an admittedly flawed human being. Dont look at man, church or people but instead look at Jesus and look for the most important of these… LOVE!

To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, i pray that you evaluate the way you treat others and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the Agape in you. The world looks at us closely hoping to see true sincerity and love, DO NOT be a stumbling block (Romans 14). We are all commanded to be doers and not just hearers, DO NOT allow the condemnation of our lost love to be written on the dust of our Bible covers!!! Always be prepared to give an answer to the hope that we believe in, but do so in love, gentleness and respect. Allow the love of Christ to flow through you into those around you, always be open to be that vessel God may use to speak to or show Himself to another. If we can all just focus on one word- LOVE….. we can change the world for Christ!

Be Salt, Be Light…. Spread Truth!!!

I have writing recently on some awesome things God has been doing in my life and in the

For those of you close to me you may know that I recently (7 months ago) went through a period of 3-4 months starting to questions the “why God” in my life. I had moved to an area further (more “inconveniencing”) from my home Church (Calvary Chapel FTL) and started questioning unimportant things like childcare, drive time, Pastor, and kinda most shameful of, worship bands.

I had fallen into the stereotypical “weekend warrior Christian” without even going to Church sometimes. I stopped reading the Word and started wondering “why God was forgetting me” and “why he wasn’t answering my prayers”. Since the middle of December I began attending, what I am proud to call my home Church, Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, known as Sheridan Hills Christian. The head Pastor is Mark Haumschilt and I am honored to be a member of his congregation. What I immediately fell in love with is the passion Pastor Mark ministers with and the vision of his Church, GO & MAKE DISCIPLES!!!! Based off Matthew 28, which is the VERY last command Jesus gave to His disciples before leaving this Earth. The passage reads as follows:

The Great Commission: Matthew 28:16-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 If you look closely at this passage, there is a POWER to it that most people overlook. It says that ALL AUTHORITY was given to Jesus, this means everything and every power God has was given to Jesus and then passed onto US to Go and make disciples. This wasn’t limited to just Pastors or Bishops, “surrendered Christians” or the real serious ones. This commission was given to ALL OF US! We are to in our everyday lives make disciples and teach people the Good News. Whether at the food store, gas station, or school campus, people should see that you are set apart!

If each of us took one or two people under our wings and built a relationship with them, with the purpose of ministering to them the Good News of Christ Jesus, we could impact the world… One person at a time! It breaks my heart when a large majority of Americans “considers themselves Christians,” but can walk by a homeless man who hasn’t eaten in days and not help them…. Would Jesus do that?

Stop holding back, stop thinking you’re not capable or worthy to do so. Stop thinking “how can little old me make a difference”. This mentality is not of God but of the enemy, that would love nothing more that for us to sit on the sidelines moaning and groaning on how crappy the world has become.

 The very power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, unfortunately not many of us tap into that type of power, why?…. because our American Dream says “be all that we can be”, “Dream Big and go for it”, whereas the Gospel says, DIE TO YOURSELF, so that all glory goes to God. The day we learn this and CHOOSE to be different and to make a difference, you will see change!

 I encourage each of you to read a book called Radical by David Platt.

As I write this post and prepare for my daily regimen, the Lord yet again re-assures me of why? I am reminded of His Holy Word and what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church & the early believers in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31(NIV) - Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Jesus purposely chooses those individuals society would normally write off, or count as unexpected. This was done SOLEY so that all glory would go to God and NOT on some wise knowing “religious” person. I sit in tears thinking that this past week 3-4 people in the office I manage have asked to speak to me in private. Expecting them to complain about sales leads or something job related, these men have seen something in me that speaks to their heart, they have seen what I can imagine to be only a small glimpse of Christ through me. They have been so sincere in seeking God, and of all people coming to me for answers, Hallelujah & all glory be to God!

This past week I have blessed to minister to a 50+ year old man who has been in the Word for 25+ years, a single dad going through some tough struggles in his life, a husband and devote Catholic really seeking Truth and going through the “why is God doing this to me” mentality. I have been inspired by High School & College kids coming up to me after church and introducing themselves to me, saying that I (of all people) inspire them! If they only knew the old me, they would probably be walking the other way, but I have been made new, the old me is dead and gone and I have been Born Again! These kids are in the toughest times of their lives and are trying to be bold for Christ. What an example to my faith walk, I pray that I can remain as bold as these kids are.

As I commit my faith walk to a more diligent and intentional effort, I see God moving so significantly, I mean 2 days ago the Senior Pastor of Sheridan Hills Christian (my new church home since I moved) asked me if I would go with him on a short terms missions trip to Venezuela to minister the Gospel in a very remote area that has rarely heard of Jesus before, none-the less coming from a Puerto Rican American with tattoos covered over most of his body. You see, that neither me nor my Pastor… that’s God! And that’s why! Because we all have been put on this Earth for something bigger than a paycheck, we have specifically been placed here for such a time as this!

God has chosen you to impact the world for His Glory and to spread the Gospel. Most of us felt this way at one time or another, the proverbial “on fire” for God, however the majority of us WILL NOT walk this out. Why, because it is not easy, because it always doesn’t make sense, because the wildernesses of our life make us question God instead of trust in Him.

I am NO better than anyone reading this post! I think about my brother Rey and how many people he has inspired (especially me) and even led to Christ through his faith walk (though currently walking in His wilderness), my sister in law Lisa who has soo dedicated her life to the Word that it is evident in almost every area of her life, my brother in faith Shawn who is now deeply involved and leading a Juvenile program aimed at reaching kids in the prison systems and streets. The 4 of us have at one time or another been addicted to drugs, ran the streets, VIP’s the clubs, spent countless dollars on the fast life and where once pawns being used by the enemy to defeat us. Today, by the Glory of God and the Salvation offered by His Son’s sacrifice, each of us have turned our lives over to God and are attempting to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to bring him Glory! We will mess up, we will fail under our own strength, but through Christ who strengthens us, all things are possible.

Dear Christian, we have all been created to perform a mighty work for His Kingdom. Look at your life and ask yourself if there is any difference between you and your unsaved friend or neighbor, if not, I pray that you are bold enough to come out of your comfort zone and make a commitment TODAY to listen and follow Him. Dig into the word each day, make it intentional and apply it to your life, not only in the good times but more importantly during the tough times. DON’T GIVE UP! God wants to use you too (if He isn’t already)!

Deuteronomy 8:2 (Amplified Bible)

There comes a time in EVERYONE of our faith walks where God is going to lead us into the wilderness, (times in our life that don’t make sense to us or feel like God is with us). What we need to focus on is not the “why” we are in the wilderness, but that He IS in control and He is faithful to lead us OUT of that place. His Word says He does this to humble us and prove us (Duet 8:2

Humble and prove us? Think about that for a second, why is it soo important that we be humbled and proved? I mean, its really easy to praise God during the “highs” or our lives, but is it still that easy during your “lows”?

As American Christians, we have it pretty easy. We walk into multi-million dollar buildings, led by some of the best speakers in the world. We worship to what are “professional bands” and have dozens of group studies and reference materials at our resource. The “American Dream” makes it VERY easy to FORGET what faith is really all about, that He is in control of our lives… It makes it easy for us to become “self-focused” on our accomplishment, only to forget that God has been in control the entire time.

Look at the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people… For hundreds of years, God sent prophet after prophet to speak into Israel’s life, after rescuing them, He found them complaining and grumbling while they were in the wilderness. The land that God promised them was only a journey that should have taken just over 7 days, but it took them 40 years to get there…. Why? To humble those who felt that God “owed” it to them as His chosen people and He did this to prove (through real life issues) if their faith was REAL and not dependent on their circumstances. Though the wilderness is necessary, it isn’t something that is easy to digest. I mean, most of us “hate” when we are in that “proverbial wilderness” of our lives.

Maybe we don’t like the wilderness because it often reveals the worst parts of who we are, the parts that we have spent years trying to hide from. The trials of the wilderness certainly uncovered the worst parts of the Israelites. Their years spent wandering in the wilderness revealed their lack of faith, their tendencies towards idolatry, and how easily they could wander from the Lord, even as His presence guided them.  Maybe the wilderness reveals the same sinful core in us and we hate that! The deserts of our lives are no fun and difficult by their very nature.  Wilderness times steal our laughter, break down our confidence, and expose our anxieties about making it through life.  The wilderness leaves us worrying about our bills, our future, and our families.  Most of all, it is in the wilderness that we often wonder the most about God…and maybe that is the main point.

God’s purposes in the wilderness are really, very clear if we will just open our eyes. He desires to push us to our limits in order to reveal what we are made of. He proclaims, through wilderness testing, our inner strength and purifies us as through His fire. He also tests our faithfulness to Him in the wilderness. He uses the wilderness to test whether, under pressure, we will continue to draw near to Him or succumb to our natural desire to go our own way.

Instead of fighting against the deserts that God puts us in, instead of complaining to Him about how hard everything is, instead of taking matters into your own hands before the Lord gives you the go-ahead……EMBRACE the wilderness.  Take the Wilderness Walk and wait…

Trust Him instead of you

Be humble instead of proud

Be alert to how HE shows up and provides

Many of us say “God is in control” but it is hard to let the reality of “we really don’t control our lives” go. We want to control our circumstances to bring about ease in our lives… NOBODY said being a Christian is easy, but if God is for us, who can be against us. Use your wilderness walk as an opportunity to examine your faith and see where you really stand. If you find yourself “lost” to your understanding…. You are probably EXACTLY where God wants us to be!!!

Be Salt, Be Light… Spread Truth!

It’s been on my heart lately how many of us (including me) Christians are living soo short of God’s intention for our lives. Now, in no way am I being envious or coveting, however my question to myself is… What is the difference between the impact the Apostles had or the impact me & you are having? Or if we look at current figures of Christian influence, what’s the difference between me and my pastor, or Bishop TD Jakes? Is it more the calling or more the surrender?

I’ve been participating in an 8 week Bible study on a book called Radical (on week 3 now) by David Platt. The back cover reads like this “What is Jesus Worth to you”?  In Radical, David Platt invites you to encounter what Jesus actually said about being his disciple, and then obey what you have heard. He challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated a God-centered gospel to fit our human-centered preferences. The book is authored by the youngest Pastor of a Mega-Church which was convicted by the Holy Spirit about how “surrendered” the messages in today’s modern churches really are. He comments being on the other side of the Globe hiding in homes with the local pastors of these countries praying for hours and teaching them for days at a time on the scripture. These people where hungry to hear and follow TRUTH!!! While he is pastoring a mega church in the US, these pastors are praying for COMPLETE surrender, protection, superhuman ability & praying for the members of their home congregations that were murdered or maimed for professing the Gospel. The type of faith and power that raised Jesus from the grave is what they were praying for! And God has shown up soo superhumanly in these areas. China, India, Latin America & Africa are among the top countries, where millions of people are coming to Christ and to the knowledge of the Savior at superhuman rates. GLORY TO GOD!!

So, as I read the Word and meditate on His will for my life, the question I ask myself is? Perhaps the difference has much less to do with the “calling” and WAY more with the surrender. I mean we are all Children of God when we accept Christ into our lives (John 1:12). The Bible says He predestined us, that we have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).It is not that we chose Him, but that He chose us and we are now His child (Ephesians 1:3-8). When I read this I wonder, what can I say or do? Jesus tells us specifically that we are to pick up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). I know for me, I have no choice but to offer my heart COMPLETEY to Him. So I stand with my arms high and my heart completely abandoned to His will in my life.

Now every one of us is not going to feel some “major calling” on our lives, many of our callings may be our jobs, homes, skills, etc… There is a ministry in every area of life. I know I feel the “Calling” on my life, I CANT deny that!!! Know it now has EVERYTHING to do with the surrender. I pray each day for His grace to cover me because I WILL MESS UP! And I trust that my sins where covered at the cross, past, present and future. No matter how many times I mess up my Heavenly Father NEVER looks down on me, but gently lift my face up to Him! I can never fall from or be separated from His love (Romans 8:39).

Dig into the Word people!!! Look at Jesus, not Church. Don’t listen always to what the Pastor is saying; take a listen to what he isn’t saying. God doesn’t exploit or weaknesses or downfalls, in fact, His strength is ONLY made perfect in our weakness. The “American Gospel” says “this is what Jesus can do for you” (ie. Prosperity, good health, blessings, etc) BUT are you also being taught that this REQUIRES a surrender heart. To Trust in completely, that His grace IS sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). NOT to hold onto our faith with pure grit and strength, but to just let go… He is the vine and we are the branches, if we abide (continue in and wait on) in Him, then we will produce good fruit (John 15:5). And that fruit He speaks of is what we are all mostly praying for…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

Father God- Give me the strength to be radical for you. Teach me to look at your Son and to trust in your promises, help us to see what your Holy Word is asking of us and not only relay what we are needing from you. You hear our prayers, I know this! Help me always remember Lord; the surrendered heart is what you’re after. I hear the calling lord, now teach me to surrender!    In Jesus Name – Amen

, it is virtually impossible to really know who is who!

In a society ruled by Botox injections, plastic surgery and self absorption, how are we to know who is for us and who is really against us? I mean nowadays, with a little money, we can look like something we are completely not…

Do you know that Facebook is now being used by 1 in 10 people in the WORLD…? So can it be? Do more people really know about Facebook than the sacrifice that Jesus Christ endured for our salvation?

As Christians, Jesus calls us to be different. He calls us to be in this world, but NOT to be of this world… So how are we supposed to do so without being corrupted ourselves? Unfortunately a lot of “religious” people try to create these “righteous bubbles” that they try to stay in their entire lives, only to become so self absorbed in their “spirituality” that they forget why Jesus came and what He called us to do…. MAKE DISCIPLES!!! 

Matthew 28:19- Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… this command was for ALL OF US!

Well, consider me to be the needle to the Christian bubble, because it is time to GET REAL! There are people who need to hear of the Good News of Jesus Christ! There are people that never found Christ, but instead got caught up in a false “Churchianity” and now have abandoned what they once believedL.   There is doctrine being taught in churches around America that is not Biblically sound, I mean even the Catholic Church no longer teaches Creationism (that God created the Heavens and Earth by His handiwork), but instead have allowed the world and “political powers” of this world to infiltrate and water down the message of the True Gospel! SO……… who are we to believe?

Check out what Jesus said and taught about this:

Matthew 7:15-20 (The Message) - Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

Here is the original version of that scripture translation Matt 7:15 (NIV) – “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing means they look like and act like the other sheep. They eat, hang around and even fellowship with the rest of the herd, but really they are plotting against us… WE CANNOT believe everything we hear just because someone says it is a message of God. We must check that their message is Biblical!!!

If you have never read 1 John, I recommend you do so. It is a quick read, maybe 15 minutes top, but it was written by the Apostle John, who felt, ate with, talked with and fellowshipped daily with Jesus (GOD IN FLESH).  1 john was written to early believers and sent as a Pastoral letter to all the Gentile (non-Jewish) churches SPECIFICALLY to reassure Christians in their faith and to counter false teaching that had crept into the early Church by an early group of a “Christian style cult” called the Gnostics. These Gnostics claimed to be Christians, but where really leading people away from the Truth of the Gospel.

Some people believe everything they read or hear. Unfortunately, many ideas printed and taught are NOT TRUE. Christians should have faith, but WE NEED NOT BE GULLIBLE! Verify EVERYTHING you hear, even if the person who brings it says that they are of God. Test it to the scripture, to the life and ministry of God Himself, Jesus Christ. If the message is truly of God, it will ALWAYS be consistent with Christ’s teachings.

If you claim to be a Christian, I pray that you are making an attempt each day to learn more of Christ. Don’t follow blindly; don’t just listen to everyone, take time out for yourself and God! Test everything to the scripture and if you still are confused, then ask yourself one very simple question…

What Would Jesus Do! 

Then you can stand firm in the knowledge and promises of our Heavenly Father, not the teachings of a misguided “religious system” intended to bind you to falsehood! Jesus came to give us truth….

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!

Check out the words to the Worship song-  “I do not belong” by Kutless 

Check Out The New Scripture & Worship of the Week!!!

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! —Psalm 46:10

When God spoke to Elijah on Mount Horeb, He could have done so in the wind, an earthquake, or fire. He could have sent His voice across the sky in a loud thunderous roar but He didn’t, He spoke with a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Sometimes, if we can’t hear God, maybe it’s not that He isn’t answering, but it may be that there is too much going on for you to hear.

To tune in to God’s voice we must tune out this world’s noise.

Often times, we go to God with the distractions of this world still in our hearts and minds, which can distract our ability to receive from and hear from Him. Have you ever wondered why most church services begin with praise and worship? It’s not because church people are that  music, but it is to help us tune out the world so that we can tune into God. The sooner we focus on Him and His power, the quicker we will see relief from our concerns and receive answers to our questions.

The more that will fill our mind and heart with the Word of God, the less space we give the world to fill us with desensitizing materials. The enemy would love nothing more than to keep us so distracted with things of this world, that we have trouble hearing the “still small voice”.

Remember that when we confessed Christ as our Lord and Savior, He took up residence inside our heart. He is always inside giving us advice, we just need to be looking inside ourselves more and be willing to hear (and trust) in that voice. The world will call it your conscience but I once heard someone refer to it as our God sense. When you listen to the still small voice, the answers to all your questions are there. When you seek satisfaction, the source of it is right there inside you. When you need your own guidance on which way to go – this way or that way – your answer is within. Look within first and be still, tune out the world and tune into God’s still small voice.

Most of us know of this “voice” I’m talking about but we don’t use it enough because frankly, it seems too simple. The still small voice within is just that – still and small. It is quiet. It cannot compete with the loud voices in the world around you. As the world around you becomes increasingly more confused. There will be increasingly more voices telling you what to do. They will be telling you what THEY think is right. The thing you must recognize is that most of these voices will be speaking from a place of fear – not a place of love and regard for you. God loves you and regards you; His sense will never lead you wrong.

I remember as a child watching cartoons where the character had an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. This character would battle back and forth trying to figure out what choice to make. Though the creator of the cartoon made this humorous, the truth is this happens every day. The enemy will always try to be in our ear telling us what to do and trying to drown out Gods voice, however if you remain still enough for long enough you can hear the still small voice.

Take some time today and tune out the world. Don’t fill your mind with all the secular music and bad news on TV, instead fill yourself with the Word and tune into God. He is waiting for you to listen to His still small voice.

I came across this online, take a second and read it. I hope you enjoy!

CLICK BELOW:
The Still Small Voice

The other day I asked my wife,

“If we believe that God is real, that He created the heavens and the earth, that He sent His Son to die for our sins. If we believe that by the leading of His Holy Spirit God inspired over 40 authors on 4 different continents to write the Bible, then shouldn’t we believe that the bible is God’s real Word?”

She said, “Yes”.

I then asked, “Why would God go through all that trouble just to leave us guessing how to live? Would a sovereign and holy God leave our victory in Christ just out of arms reach until we die?”

Both myself and my wife emphatically said “NO!”.

So the next questions were then why don’t we live victorious and walk in our callings? Why does it feel that God sometimes doesn’t answer us? Why don’t more Christians pick up their cross daily and deny their selfish ways? If I’m supposed to have the Spirit in me, why do I still feel guilty, sadness and condemnation? My wife answered it perfectly. She said it’s our own pride that separates us from the victory that we have in Him. Pride, WOW! That has to be the Golden Flaw! The enemy will use our pride to tell us that faith isn’t real and that God isn’t answering. Pride is a direct manifestation of the enemy and it creeps up in all of us at one time or another. The Word is very specific about self pride and it leading to our destruction.

I had to ask myself, “ Wow, do I really have to work at this every day?” I mean my exact words where, “Do I have to become some full time bible thumper in order to reap the blessings?” Well I will say, though we don’t have to become “Bible Thumpers”, we do have to work at our relationship with God, as much as we work on anything else that means something to us. Marriage, raising children, maintaining employment, all of these relationships require a daily constant and diligent effort put forth in order to be successful. So why is it so hard to believe that our relationship with God requires the same attention? I mean, when all is said and done, the first thing we need is faith! Faith allows us to receive the Spirit, which in turn will help us discern the things of God. Faith is what tells us we know, when we don’t feel it. Faith is what assures us He is there when it seems He isn’t. I love the way the Amplified Bible defines faith, Hebrews 11:1- “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” When we receive Christ we are born again. When you add to that equation a diligence in study and understanding of the Word, you build a desire for it that is unquenchable.

I firmly believe that Jesus Himself understood that faith is not always the easiest to hold onto. In Luke 22 He tells Simon Peter that Satan has asked to sift the Apostles like wheat (basically to mess with them real bad). Instead of Him telling the devil no, or granting the Apostles superhuman strength, He prayed earnestly that their faith would not fail. This theme of holding tight to faith is re-occurring over and over in the New Testament, In 2 Timothy 3 the Apostle Paul pleads with Timothy and urges him to “remain faithful in the things that he has been taught.” You see, we are not ever going to be perfect! We have all fallen short and no matter how much knowledge we have of spiritual things, or how mature we may be as Christians, our faith will get tried & tested and we are to keep pressing forward fighting the good fight of faith. Don’t get it twisted, we are in a fight, and the enemy prowls around just waiting for us to slip.

I’m currently reading a short book from John MacArthur called “How to study the Bible”. I got this so that I can get a better fundamental understanding of properly learning God’s word. He refers to our obedience to God’s Word as being gracious. Gracious obedience says if God sees in your heart a spirit of grace; He sees a sincere and loving and humble willingness to obey; if He sees a positive response to His Word- even though there are times when we fail- then He counts us as obedient. Even though our gracious obedience may be filled with defects; it’s the proper attitude that God is after. The Word of God is a source of life that helps us mature and grow stronger; then we are able to defeat the enemy and we come to know more about God and His character.

In Christ we are loved, forgiven, and secure. In Christ we are adopted, justified, redeemed, reconciled, and chosen. In Christ we are victorious, filled with joy and peace, and granted the true meaning of life. What a wonderful Savior is Christ! The God that I’ve grown to love, Jesus Christ Himself doesn’t want you to feel guilt or shame. He wouldn’t condemn us for our shortcomings and failures, He died for them! He did not make Victory unachievable, nor did He leave it just out of arms length. In fact, He gave us a blueprint! We have to make it a daily decision to say “YES, I will follow you”! We have to make it a point to dig into the Word and to get around other Christians to help build us up. My hope is and my faith rests in the knowledge that GOD IS REAL! I pray that each of us put forth effort in the Word and that we all stir up the flame that is inside us! His Word never returns void! I have to do it now, because I don’t want to look back on my life, years away and ask myself, “What if I had given everything… instead of going through the motions.”- Matthew West

Its been a while since I’ve written, but what God has been laying on my heart lately is a particular name. Our God has a name a lot of us may not be aware of… That name is Jehovah Rohi, which translates as Shepherd or God of the Lost! Throughout the Gospels and all through scripture we see stories of people who at some point strayed or got lost, only to be found, restored and promoted to a deeper knowing of God, which results in greater joy, peace and love which are all fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Whether it be the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14) or the lost coin (Luke 15), the Word over and over assures us that when we are lost, if we seek Him, He will find us! He will not be mad or “curse” us for not being perfect. The blood that His son shed on Calvary cleanses us of not only our past sins, but our present and future sins as well. Our unconditionally loving Father in Heaven is waiting with open arms to accept us back. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus is telling parables about the lost being found, He says, “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 12:7). I mean how much more clearer of an example you can find of unconditional love?

Psalm 23 is one of the better known pieces of scripture in both religious and secular circles. It has becomes so popular because it tends to be an area of scripture people recite or meditate on when in deep struggle, or in a situation of grave fear. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want (He provides all our needs)…. Wow, how much clearer can this be!… He lays me in green pasture (comfort) and leads me besides quiet waters (peace), He restores my soul (rest) He guides me in paths of righteousness (leads us) for His names sake … What an amazing God He is and that is why He is The Shepherd, our Shepherd. To understand the role of a Shepherd we first have to understand the mind of the sheep.

The truth is that sheep are rather dumb animals, not because they are unintelligent, but sheep are this way because they have such a strong herd instinct, which is stronger than their reasoning and intelligence. If one sheep goes over a cliff, the whole herd will go over the cliff as well. Do you know that is literally true? Or do you know that if we took a pile of food over here, and if the lead sheep did not eat from that pile of food, all the other sheep would die of starvation even if they were in the same immediate area. Its not that sheep are just stupid, their herd instinct is stronger than their intelligence. Likewise, we as human beings often suffer when our herd instinct becomes stronger than our intelligence. We too follow the leader. We too can get caught up following the crowd and getting led away from the right path, which inevitably ends up taking us away from the Word and what we know to be right. This is why it is so important that we look to GOD for our direction, not our friends, not our family and I will even go as far as saying, not even our pastors. Remember people, we are all human and Gods word says we all fall short (Romans 3:23). The only one who walked this Earth and did it perfectly was Jesus Christ Himself, and He is to be our example of Christianity as a whole! Jesus would never neglect someone because they make the same mistake over and over or have trouble with a certain vice or habit. Jesus would never discriminate for color, race or creed and He was the LAST, not first to pass judgment and this is how I believe He would want us to be today. You see the average “religious” person considers the lost to be the people in the street, on drugs, maybe in the clubs and bars…. but i believe that there too are many “lost people” inside the church walls as well and this is why we need to look for our Shepherd as our example. I love how John 3:16-19 reads in The Message Translation:

John 3:16-18 (The Message)- “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

….You see, if the Shepherd was not there at all times to lead, instruct, provide care for and to keep the flock safe, the sheep would easily be susceptible to the wolves and other hazards during their “walk”. As humans, if we don’t maintain a strong focus on our Shepherd, reallying and trusting in His provisions and His lead, then we are fair game for the “wolves” in this world that are here to seek, kill and destroy us (John 10:10). If our focus isn’t on the Word, then its on the world, which will inevitably lead us off the narrow path and onto the wide road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

I know one thing…. My God PROMISES, not suggests or recommends, but PROMISES that those who trust in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. So you see, we all end up in the same place, Heaven with our Heavenly Father. The path there isn’t easy and may not necessarily be completely straight, but while we are in the care of our great and almighty Shepherd, when we get lost or stray off the path, He is not only waiting, but He is diligently looking for us.

What we can rest on is this……

Romans 8:35-39 (NLT): Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Be Salt, Be Light….. Spread Truth!!!