Is it still a small voice?
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
Loading ...God always has had a flare for the spectacular, for getting people’s attention: remember Divine house-guests telling 90 year-old Sarah she would be pregnant, burning bush talking to Moses, Jonah swallowed by the sea monster, Isaiah running around Jerusalem naked for three years warning of God’s judgment, a pregnant teenager named Mary, and crucified savior.
But one of the greatest prophets and the first of the recorded prophets was Elijah. Elijah had done a lot of supernatural miracles for God, but he also struggled with depression. He felt broken and rejected. Now, God has already talked to Elijah one-on-one several times, and Elijah is still suicidal. So he finds his way up to
He needs some help, strength, direction, so he wants to hear from God. And all of the sudden this wind storm comes: an avalanche of rocks tumbles down the mountainside. But no God. So Elijah dusts himself off, gets up, and then this earthquake comes! The whole mountain shakes and trembles. More rocks crash down the mountainside. But no God. Then wildfires burn everything in sight. Elijah, coughing and choking on the smoke, thinks, this is God here; God talked to Moses in a fiery bush. Nope, God wasn’t speaking through the fire.
After all this calm sets in, through the silence God asks Elijah a question, the same question God asked him just a little bit ago: What are you doing here? Elijah still doesn’t get what God is really asking. So he, Elijah, tells God the whole sob story again. “I’ve been going around doing all these great things for you, running around trying to get people to stop doing evil, and all these stupid people want to do is kill me. Now, they’ve killed all your other spokespersons, and I’m the only one left.”
God replies, “Elijah, don’t you think I know this? Don’t you think I’ve seen all the evil and injustice in the world? Don’t you think I’m sensitive to your brokenness and the brokenness around you? Man, you’re not the only one left who loves me. Get past yourself, get up, and finish what I told you to do!”
I heard a preacher the other day say, “After hurricane Rita, God said one word to me:
But of the lessons we learn from the story of Elijah, a lot of times when we want God to speak to us, he doesn’t respond in the way we expect. Winds, waves, fires, floods, earthquakes and avalanches: these can be life changing events in themselves. But let’s let God speak for himself; and in our brokenness, let’s listen within the silence for his response.
brokenness burning bush crash down crucified elijah Evotational great things jonah moses mountainside nope pregnant teenager prophets question god rocks sea monster sob story stupid people supernatural wildfires wind storm Filed under Evotational | Comment (0)Measure for Measure Plus Some
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Mark 4:24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides”. (NAS)
Jesus is telling us that we need to set high standards for ourselves in all areas of our lives. The measure of what we sow is the measure of what we will reap and if we sow with our priorities properly set, then God will be able to bountifully bless our harvest. Our receiving is determined by our giving. William Barclay, a world-renowned Scottish New Testament scholar, suggests that this is especially true in the areas of study, worship and relationships.
STUDY. It is true that the more one applies himself to the study of any subject, the more his knowledge shall be increased in that subject. We find this to be a basic principle in the studying of the Bible. If instead of a casual reading, we would take our time and allow Holy Spirit to reveal the deep meanings and truths of the Bible then we will become more enlightened to what God desires to impart to us.
WORSHIP. When we enter into the worshiping of God, whether it be privately or with the congregation, we need to come in a spirit of adoration and devotion. The more we submit and give ourselves to God through worshiping Him, the more meaningful it will be. There are three important factors we need to remember when we enter into worship. First, we have to come willing to give ourselves to worship, not seeking what we may get from worshiping. If we come with the wrong motive then we will probably find ourselves being critical of the least little thing We must come prepared to give and make a contribution to the worship experience. Second. We need to come with a sense of expectation. Psalm 66:5 in the NAS says “Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men”. We should always be expecting to see God moving in our personal lives and the Body of Christ. Our attendance at church must not be out of habit or just to see and visit friends. We are coming to meet with God and that should be our prime motive. Third, We need to come prepared. We should have spent some quiet time in the scriptures and in prayer lifting up the service.
RELATIONSHIPS. Jesus tells us in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another”. We should be careful not to be critical or fault finding of others, but, rather to encourage and edify each other. If we are to have friends, then we must reach out to each other every opportunity that we have.
Father, please help me to set proper priorities in all areas of my life that will be pleasing to You. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Evotational Filed under Evotational | Comment (0)Prespiration
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...So many Christians are on a continual quest for more knowledge of the Word. I applaud them greatly for that great desire of their heart. The Word states emphatically that, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hos. 4:6). Knowing the Word of God a surefire way of keeping ourselves from sinful things that surround us every day! Knowing the Word of God fills our lives with promise and peace! INFORMATION is the first vital link in the process of receiving anything from our God.
Much is taught nowadays concerning REVELATION knowledge! Christian humorists have tagged those who have this lifestyle as “Name it and claim it…Blab it and grab it” While these words are meant in jest, they often are an offense to many sincere and well-meaning believers. Faith teachers, the Word of Faith movement, and many Charismatics have found that God really does honor a strong and positive confession. God is truly a God of extreme blessings!
However, there is an often step omitted between Information and Revelation…that step is PRESPIRATION! James 2:20 says “that faith without works is dead…”. James also teaches us that we are to be not only hearers but doers of the Word. Doing the Word is WORK…PRESPIRATION!
There are many examples of this process in the Bible. Here are a few:
The colt for the triumphal entry tied at the crossroad (Mark 11)
- INFORMATION: Unbroken colt, at the crossroads, when challenged say “the Lord hath need of him”
- PRESPIRATION: The disciples walk to the crossroads, find the colt, untie him, speak the Word given them to the owner
- REVELATION: “…it was even as the Lord hath said”
The bills are due and the disciples are broke (Matthew 17)
- INFORMATION: “Peter, get the fishhook out and go fishin’. Look into the mouth of the first fish you catch”
- PRESPIRATION: Peter makes his way to the water, makes a cast, and catches a fish.
- REVELATION: Inside the mouth of the fish is a coin that pays the taxes “…just as the Lord hath said.”
The search for the Upper Room (Luke 22)
- INFORMATION: Enter the city, meet a man with a pitcher of water, follow him to the house, inquire of the owner
- PRESPIRATION: Peter and John go and find the man doing woman’s work, locate the house and ask if there an unrented room during Passover.
- REVELATION: There is an upper room available and it is theirs for the asking”…just as the Lord hath said!”
All of us already know much more of the Word than we are doing in faith. Put work with the Word and you too can say “…it is just as the Lord hath said!
applaud charismatics colt crossroads disciples emphatically Evotational faith faith without works faith without works is dead fish fishin grab go hath knowing knowledge movement revelation surefire tagged teachers word of faith word of god Filed under Evotational | Comment (0)Mother Hen
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5) Loading ...Psalm 36.5-9 (TNIV)
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
I think this is my favorite psalm. I love the imagery. It makes me think of the song “Deep and Wide.” The attributes of God found here are striking. When I think of God, I think of omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent…present everywhere at the same time, all knowing, all powerful. But in this psalm the words to describe God yield greater insights into his character than those previous words. His love reaches toward the stars; his faithfulness stretches to the skies; his righteousness stands more commanding than the highest (mighty) mountain; his justice flows like the deep waters of the earth. God is the source of life for all creation!
The psalmist goes on to say that people rest in the shadow of God’s wings. The psalmist compares God to a mother hen. When chickens take their chicks out the roost to eat, the whole family becomes vulnerable to predators. When the hen senses danger, maybe a cat or hawk or owl, she calls to her chicks. The brood gathers under her wings safe from harm. In the PBS series “The Natural History of the Chicken” (2001) there’s a story of how a chicken, who had the brood under her wings, actually sacrificed her own body to protect her young from a hawk!
God, let me acknowledge you as not only the source of my life but the protection of my life. Help me to trust in you and your wisdom, when evil or temptation comes to run to you. Beyond my source and my protection, you are my provider. Let me feast at your house; drink from your river. In you, we find true light and life.
Evotational Filed under Evotational | Comment (0)Prayer…You Can’t Keep A Good Thing Down
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ... 
“Am I the only one who gets embarrassed when religious leaders in America talk about having prayer in public schools? We don’t have even that much prayer in many churches!…
I am sure that the Roman emperors didn’t have prayer to God in their schools. But then, the early Christians didn’t seem to care what Caligula or Claudius or Nero did. How could any emperor stop God? How, in fact, could the demons of hell make headway when God’s people prayed and called upon his name? Impossible!
In the New Testament we don’t see Peter or John wringing their hands and saying, ‘Oh, what are we going to do? Caligula’s bisexual…he wants to appoint his horse to the Roman Senate…what a terrible model of leadership! How are we going to respond to this outrage?’”
–Jim Cymbala, “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire”
Jim is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York. What do you think?
caligula churches claudius demons early christians embarrassed emperor Evotational fresh fire fresh wind god headway jim cymbala new testament outrage prayer prayer in school religious leaders roman emperors roman senate Filed under Evotational | Comment (1)