He Knocks at your Door

 Rev. 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
The iconic visual of Jesus knocking on the door has been illustrated by hundreds of artists through the centuries.  A simple Google search will show that in almost every picture there is no door handle on the door. The knock is soft and gentle. I can imagine Jesus speaks as He knocks, “Hello, anyone home? Can you hear my voice? Can I come in? I would love to sit down with you, have fellowship with you and dine.” We live in a culture that once feared and regarded God’s word, but now, Jesus is put on the shelf and treated as a relic of the past. Self sufficiency and self reliance is the mantra of humanistic thinking. “You don’t need God's help, you can do it!” Positive thinking is a good mind set, but outside of God it is vain. Jesus knocks, and desires to be the center of your life,  the hope that keeps you going and believing that all things will work together for good.  He is knocking at the heart of your door, wanting to have communion with you. Only you can let Him in, He will not enter uninvited. Don’t allow the worldly things of this world to crowd out the voice of Jesus. Listen, and open the door, and break bread with the one who loves you.

Follow The Lord

Deut. 13:4

 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him

This scripture is full of things to do: follow, fear, keep, listen, serve and cling to the Lord. Many follow the world and its progressive thinking, many fear the Covid virus and fear for their life. People will keep and commit to causes to save the earth, but neglect to keep God’s word to save their soul. Voices come from all directions, and many are led astray by people who give out a voice that appears to be good, but it leads to destruction. There are those serving the world and the pleasure of sin, and they cling to the sin that they love, and refuse to let go. Living for God is a full abandonment to be all that God wants us to be. It requires all of our energy and surrender to Him and His will. Serving God is not a “go to church once a week thing”. It is a day by day walk that requires us to live a life filled with the Holy Spirit. The commandment given in the OT is also given in the NT. Be filled with the Spirit, draw close to God, and walk in His word.

A Still Small Voice

 1 King 19:11,12
a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
It is most often in the still small voice that God speaks to us. Pulled away from the hustle and bustle of life. During our trysting place, alone with God, He speaks to our heart. He assures us that He is in control, and everything will work out according to His will. It may not be the way we think it should be, but God is good and He knows what is best. It is ours to trust Him. There are a lot of things that clamor for our attention, that is why we need to find a place of solitude, a quiet resting place to listen to what God has to say. “Speak Lord, thy servant is listening.”

The Still Small Voice

1 Kings 1912  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Life is filled with a lot of noise, and we are in need of finding a place where we shut out the world and the

 clamor. The world vibes for our attention and keeps us from listening to the still small voice of God. The responsibilities of work, the amusements and entertainment of life, and everyday conversations with others. All are part of life, and are good and acceptable, but if not put in their place, they can keep us from hearing the voice of God. We need to find our cave, open our ears and hearts, and hear what God has to say to us. It is here that we find solace and begin to know God in an intimate way.

I Am Well Pleased

Mat. 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus laid down His God powers to become man and live and walk this earth as a human being. And in all points was tempted as a man, but without sin. The God-Man lived His life to please the Father. At no time did Jesus use His powers to serve himself, but always to serve others. He could have turned stone into bread, called the angels from heaven to destroy those who meant Him harm, but he choose to live and suffer as a man. The voice from heaven affirmed the work that Christ and it pleased the Father. Each one of us has a calling from God to fulfill that which is well pleasing to Him. We but need to listen to His voice and follow His will. May we also hear from heaven those words “My son, my daughter, I am well pleased with you.”

The Lord Told Me

1 Kings 13:17  For it was said to me by the word of the Lord.

Be weary of those who say, “The Lord told me”, especially if it affects the decisions you make or need to make. Counsel is good to seek and should come from someone who is living close to God. A person who not only knows the word of God, but also lives in the word of God. There are many voices that call out to us, but the one voice we must listen to is the one that speaks to our heart through the word of God. God will not have us do anything that is contrary to His word. It matters not how much or how long a person prays, God will NOT command anything that is not consistent with what He has spoken through the written word. Satan will come as an “angel of light” and twist the word of God to misdirect our steps, we must be diligent to seek the truth and ask God to reveal the light of His word to our hearts. The Holy Spirit will not led you into temptation,sin, and disobedience to His word. He is our guiding truth, and will not lead us astray.

Hear The Voice of God

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

To truly hear the voice of God one needs to be a follower of Jesus. God speaks to all of humanity to entreat them to be followers, but the intimacy of fellowship and communion with a God that is divine, comes from living close to God. He will speak to us anytime and anywhere, but we can hear Him better when we are able to shut the world out around us and take time to get alone with Him. Finding a trysting place, to shut out the things that beg for our attention is not always easy.  We can hear His voice and know His desire as we read His word and meditate on His truths. We shall know Him more intimately as we listen and follow His commands. 

The Voice of the Lord

Psalm 29:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

God’s voice speaks to all men to come unto Him for His yoke is easy and the burden is light. No matter where we live or where we go the voice of God can speak to us. His voice speaks when we are in a crowd of people or alone in a solitude place. His voice can come like a bolt of lightning or like the settling mist of the morning dew. I long for the day when His voice say, “Well done my faithful servant…enter into the joy of the Lord” Many today do not hear the voice of God, they have allowed the things of this world to captivate their attention. But God is faithful, and He will give everyone an opportunity to open their hearts and listen to His voice. I love to hear Him speak, through the reading and preaching of His word, through the lives of others, and His Holy Spirit that quickens our mind and heart to hear what God has to say. 

Talking to God

2 Chron 6:19 “Have respect therefore to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee:”

Basically, prayer is just talking to God. When we say, “I’ll be praying for you”, we are telling that person that we will talk to God about them and their needs. Prayer implies that there is a relationship established. It is not likely that we would be approaching strangers and start up a conversation. That is not to say that we never do, but it is not something we normally do. But, if we see someone we know, we visit and talk about what is happening. Having a relationship with Jesus, gives us an open door to talk to Him at anytime of the day. Continue always in prayer is to continue to speak to Him no matter where we are or what we are doing.  Depending on our needs, this conversation with God can take on different facets as we enter into conversation. God desires us to come to Him and make our needs know, He hears our voices as we lift them up heavenward. It is good to take time out of the our busy day to talk to God, putting aside the busyness of our day and just have an intimate talk with Him. May we always have an open heart and listen to the voice of God and take time to stop what we are doing and have a quiet visit with the lover of our soul. 

God Speaks

Heb. 1:2 “ hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds,”

God “speaks” to us in various ways. When something “speaks to the heart”, we normally assume that our heart was touched and a message was received that significantly impacted us. We hear a message, or read a book about showing love and compassion, it speaks to our heart, and we are motivated to show more love and compassion to others. When God speaks, He uses the Word, the Holy Spirit quickens our mind to receive the Word. That is why it so important to take time to read His Word and pray for the Spirit of God to reveal His truth to our hearts. God does speak through our conscience, but we must be careful for it is possible for our conscience to be mislead. If our conscience speaks, we must make sure that it is consistent with God’s Word. God speaks to us through Christ, Jesus, our Savior and elder brother has trodden the path before us, showing us the way to the kingdom of God. Through Christ, we can speak to God, for He is our Mediator to the Father. Hearing God speak will not be by some audible voice, but we must keep our ears open, for the voice of God can be heard at any time of the day.