Keep growing in Christ - Part 4

[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy. Colossians 1:11 AMP

There are some things in our lives that require endurance and patience. They may be related to our family, career, finances, sport, a promise or desire that God has put in our heart that is taking time to come to pass. Times when we need to choose each day to stick with God to see what He will do.

But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what God will do. I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me. Micah 7:7 The Message

Times when we need to wait and not get weary.

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;  they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 NKJV 

Times when we to need be still and let God be God.

Let be and be still, and know (recognise and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 AMP 

Times when you know that soaking in His presence daily is what will give you the strength to continue.

Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence (continually) evermore. Psalm 105:4

And I have found that it is in those times of soaking in His presence that I find joy, despite the waiting. A joy that enables me to lift my eyes to Jesus and see what He has done and know that He loves me. A joy that let's His love overwhelm me, more than any negative situations overwhelm me. 

The worship song, How He Loves by the David Crowder Band always takes me to that place of feeling unconditionally loved by God.  If you haven't heard that song, I recommend listening to it, closing your eyes and imagine sitting with Jesus and singing to Him.

Question for today, what helps you to find joy in the times of needing to be patient and have endurance? If you think that is not possible to find joy at those times, I encourage you to ask Jesus to help you to find it. I have found that having a joyful heart helps make the waiting easier, and gives you a glimpse into the eternal purposes of God.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 The Message

 

Keep growing in Christ - Part 3

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. Colossians 1:10 AMP

I don't know about you, but when I read the first part of this scripture ....

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him

... there is some conviction in my heart as I reflect on the previous day and think - ummmmm yes there were some times in the day when what I said, thought, or did would not have been fully pleasing to the Lord. The tone I used when speaking to the children about their electronic devices. The attitude in my heart when my husband asked me to do something for our business, when I would rather work on my book. The packet of M&M's I ate instead of choosing to eat a carrot. Yes, I know I need help! Thank God for His truth in Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1 NKJV

I recognise all my thoughts, words and actions are not fully pleasing to the Lord, but also know in my heart that those stuff ups I make, do not change the truth that Jesus died for me and that I am saved. And they do not change the truth that there is a desire in my heart to do the right thing, to love properly because He loves me despite all my human failings.

We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 AMP

Thankfully I can take yesterday's words, thoughts and actions and leave them at The Cross, asking Jesus for help to do it better today. I can ask for His help to steadily grow and increase in and by the knowledge of God, so that I can understand of how God works. The Message Bible puts it this way,

We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. Colossians 1:10 The Message

It is a daily choice to continue to grow and allow ourselves to be transformed by God, for His purposes, so we can bear fruit in every good work. It is His Spirit in us that teaches us and transforms us. It is not our might or will power.

So he answered and said to me: 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.' says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 NKJV

A final thought, how do you know if you are doing something in your own strength or power? 

For me, one indicator is exhaustion! If I am doing something that I believe God has asked me to do, and I am feeling emotionally and/or physically exhausted, I know I have been using my own strength and capacity to do the task. 

I have not been taking the time to be still, let the Spirit make things come to pass, rather than me engineering it. That doesn't mean I sit back and don't do anything, but rather that I ensure I am spending time with God before I start the task, seeking His wisdom on the how. And then working with Him on the task, so I am doing things in His order and His way. As opposed to charging on ahead, only to find that the work doesn't bear the fruit that was intended.

Learning how to work this way is another aspect of continually growing into that fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition of God's ways.

Some questions for today...

What happens for you when you read the first part of Colossians 1:10? 

What does the Holy Spirit quicken to you about the way you live and conduct your life? 

What do you need to ask Jesus to help you with?

How do you know if you are doing something in your own strength?

These are interesting questions, and not necessarily answered quickly. The wonderful truth is that we have a God who is patient and kind and wants to help us transform into all He has called us to be.

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you - from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. 1 Peter 2:9-10 The Message

Keep growing in Christ - Part 2

For this reason we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9 NKJV

A couple of questions ....

How great is the desire in your heart to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding? 

How willing are you to lay down your own wisdom & understanding and embrace God's wisdom & understanding? 

A little story ....

We have a business situation that requires great wisdom. Between us Ken and I have 55 years of business experience in both the corporate and small business worlds. I have a Masters Degree in Business and Technology. We have plenty of our own ideas about what to do in this situation. But are they the right ideas? Are they God ideas? Will they lead to the outcome that God desires for all involved? 

I have found that these types of situations require immense self-control to lay down our plans and seek and wait for God to give direction or take action. They require a continual choice to fix our eyes on Jesus, and listen and obey what He wants us to do today rather than getting carried away with doing the actions that seem right in man's eyes. It is not easy.  We have to remember and trust that,

For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it up for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity, that He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints. Proverbs 2:6-8 AMP

Another question....

How easily can you discern between man's wisdom and godly Wisdom? 

For me, one of the indicators that helps me to decide whether I am acting according to man's wisdom rather than godly Wisdom, is the amount of peace in my heart.  At times there is a little niggly feeling within me that prompts me to think, no, maybe this is not the right course of action to take. Sometimes I don't bother listening to that feeling and completely override it. And I soon find out that that was not a good choice to make. It is sort of like when you want to say something, but you know you shouldn't, but the words come out anyway - ie lack of self-control! But Praise God I am learning to listen more to that niggle (actually the Holy Spirit) and listen less to my flesh.

The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly]. Proverbs 1:5 AMP 

We are on a life journey of learning God's ways.  Lets make the choice to continue to seek God's wisdom and spiritual understanding in everything we do. As He alone has the big picture, understanding the full implications of all our choices on ourselves and others, here and now, and for eternity.

Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God's Word and life's experiences], for the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, and the profit of it better than fine gold. Skillful and godly Wisdom is more precious than rubies; and nothing you can wish for is to be compared to her. Proverbs 3:13-15 AMP

Keep growing in Christ - Part 1

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, full pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 NKJV

The Easter weekend has come and gone. We have just celebrated our deliverance from the power of darkness, and the new life we have because of Jesus' blood, with complete access to our Heavenly Father. Because of Jesus we are each qualified to be called a child of God.

Let's not quickly immerse ourselves into our busy-ness and sideline Jesus until we have a specific need for Him. Rather, lets continue giving thanks, today and every day.

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins. Colossians 1:12-14 AMP

Let's keep asking God for the those same things that Paul and Timothy prayed for the Colossians to receive...

that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things - 

Colossians 1:9 AMP

How different would our lives look if we had comprehensive insight into the ways of purposes of God?  The Message Bible puts it this way,

asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the way in which God works. Colossians 1:9 The Message

There are plenty of things in my life, for example wasted time and emotion on worrying, that would not have taken place, had I had that comprehensive insight. Let's ask God for that understanding today, and position ourselves to receive it.

Next Paul and Timothy pray for the way in which the Colossians live, and that it will be determined by that spiritual understanding and discernment,

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. Colossians 1:10 AMP

It is good to do a stock-take of our lives and ask the Holy Spirit to show us those areas of our lives that are not pleasing to God, to repent and walk a different way. The purpose of the stock-take is not make ourselves feel condemned, rather it is an opportunity to move forward in to being all that God has called us to be. It is a time to say, 'Okay, maybe I am not on track here. Jesus, I repent. Please help me to walk on your path, understand more about your ways, so I can bear good fruit in this area of my life.'

Paul and Timothy knew very well that perseverance and patience is needed to live God's way, so they included that in their prayer for the Colossians.

[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy. Colossians 1:11 AMP

We all have circumstances in our lives that require endurance and patience. And whats-more, how awesome is it that in Jesus we can wait with joy? From my experience it has taken a long time (years) to learn how to wait with joy, but what an absolute blessing it is once you are at that place. Here is how The Message Bible says it,

We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul - not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is the strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bring and beautiful that he has for us. Colossians 1:11-12 The Message

So yes, the Easter long weekend is finished, but our walk with Christ is far from over. There is so much more for us to understand about Jesus, and authority and power to access, so we can live as He intended us to live. Let's pray that we will always be growing in:

1. Spiritual understanding and discernment

2. The practical way we live out our spiritual understanding and discernment

3. Endurance and patience with joy, until we meet Jesus face to face.

4. Thankfulness for all Jesus has done for us.

"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. John 3:16 The Message

Trust in the Lord - Part 4

'Just trust in the Lord'. How many times has someone said that to you after you have shared a challenging aspect of your life with them? 

They are easy words to say, but in my experience, they are not so easy to live by. As I have shared in previous posts, there are actions we can take to help us increase our trust in the Lord when we are struggling. But we have to be careful that we don't put our trust in doing those actions, but we rather we keep putting our trust in Jesus.

In the Gospel of John, we read,

Then they said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]

Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger]. 

John 6:28-29 AMP

God asks us to believe, cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in Jesus. That sounds like having a relationship to me. As we walk out our salvation, our relationship with Jesus should deepen. It should not look the same today as it did the day that we were saved. Paul expresses it to the Colossians this way,

For this reason also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things - that you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God (with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition). Colossians 1:9-10 AMP

We are to be steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God. This is not just head knowledge, it is also as the Amplified version says, acquaintance and recognition. Knowing the person of God, sensing His presence, recognising His ways, listening to the still small voice and fully receiving His love for us. As we grow in each of these relational areas, so our trust in Jesus grows too. Then, in challenging times we are more readily able to ...

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. Proverbs 3:5 AMP

And therefore walk on God's straight and plain path for our lives, experiencing  His favour and blessing, and empowering us to be a greater blessing to others.

In all your ways know, recognise, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Proverbs 3:6 AMP

So lets go back to that vulnerable area in our lives where we find it a bit more difficult to trust God, where is your trust level at now? If it is still wavering, why not take some quiet time with God today and talk with Him about the barriers holding you back. Ask Him for His help. Then listen to what He has to say. He has the answers and He wants to see each of us increase our trust in Him, so we can do all that He has called us to do.

 

Trust in the Lord - Part 3

Disappointments can be one of the biggest barriers to trusting God. 

What is a disappointment? Simply it is an expectation we had (rightly or wrongly) that was not met.

We can experience disappointment as a result of other people's actions (or inaction), but that should not be surprising to us, as we are all sinners. No one, except Jesus, is exempt from sinning. 

For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.  Romans 3:23-24 NLT

Years ago I remember our Pastor saying, 'We need to lower our expectations of people and lift our expectations of God.'

Since hearing that wisdom, in times of disappointment I have endeavoured to remind myself that we are human, imperfect beings; and taken the disappointment to The Cross. Over the years that has become easier to do as I have learned more about grace.

But what happens when we lift our expectations of God, and yet it seems that we continue to experience disappointment? How can we keep trusting God when our heart is aching and things don't seem to be changing? How do we do what this scripture says,

Trust in the LORD with all  your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

I believe one of the key issues we have regarding processing disappointments and our ability to trust God, is our desire to lean on our own understanding - the exact thing this scripture is telling us not to do! It has been my experience that the moment I take my eyes off Jesus, and look at the circumstances from my own limited understanding, I start to falter. I have found that it is in these times that I have to be single-mindedly focussed on God and His word. There can be no room for any hint of human wisdom or understanding.

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2 The Message

In practical terms for me, this has meant sometimes doing the following ....

1. Putting a guard over my mouth, and not talking about the circumstance.

2. Positioning myself so God's voice is the loudest in my thoughts. At certain times this has meant limiting my social interactions so no well-intended comments have inadvertently adversely affected my trust in God.

3. Being extra vigilant about what I am watching on the television and social media.

When our trust is wavering, we need to be very aware of what we are exposing our mind to. Here is a recent example of how my trust in God was challenged via a television show. 

First a bit of context, a few weeks ago we received the paperwork regarding Victoria's next scan. The arrival of these papers moved that event from the cupboard at the back of my mind to a cupboard a bit further forward. It wasn't consuming all my thoughts, but it was certainly more on the radar than it had been in the past few months.

A week or so later I was watching a show on the ABC. They were interviewing an indigenous lady, with a brain tumour, who was helping indigenous people from remote communities who had been diagnosed with cancer,  navigate the health system. She was doing an amazing job supporting and encouraging these very vulnerable people. 

At one point during the show she said something about not knowing how much more life she had left here on this earth due to what could possibly happen with the tumour.

Those are very challenging words for a mother of a child with a brain tumour, to hear. Thankfully Victoria wasn't watching the show.

It took me a few days to work through those words, taking them to God and reminding myself of His promises. Making a decision to not focus on the disappointments of the past, but rather to focus on the victories we have seen. Choosing to keep my eyes on Jesus and what He did on The Cross. 

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our inquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV

It is so important that we recognise that our understanding of circumstances is limited, very very limited. Our understanding is definitely not a solid post for leaning on. Only God has the full understanding and we need to humble ourselves and yield, every time, to His truth. When we can come to the place of laying down our need to understand the why's, then I have found it is much easier to increase my trust in God. It is a place of living out of the childlike faith.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-5 NKJV

Question for today, how much leaning on your own understanding are you doing today? Is that leaning helping our hindering your trust in God, that He will work all things together for good?

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV

Trust in the Lord - Part 2

Learning to trust in the Lord is a journey. No matter what age we are, we are all on that journey, sometimes we just don't realise it.

On Thursday morning around one thirty, our youngest daughter, seven years old, reminded me that she too is on that journey. Here is the story ....

Just after midnight, early Thursday morning, she is coughing and crying out. I go to comfort her and give her a cuddle. She says to me in a small voice,

'Mummy, I need to say sorry to God for not trusting Him with the bus ride home.'

'Yes', I respond, 'that is a good idea. And then receive His forgiveness, and ask Him to help you keep learning to trust Him more.'

You see, over a week ago our daughter started getting concerned about an upcoming day when she would have to catch the bus home from school by herself. Her older brother and sisters would be elsewhere that day and would not be catching the bus home. And whats-more, most of their friends wouldn't be on the bus because it was school camp week for the older students. She desperately wanted Daddy to pick her up from school on that afternoon. But Daddy said no, she had to get the bus home.

In one of the moments of anxious tears I told her God would have a plan for that bus ride. I recounted a story of a few years ago when her older sister was anxious about going by herself to a kids program at a different church. However, when she arrived at the kids program, even though it was a different city, one of the young adults from our church was volunteering there. Our youngest daughter listened, but still wasn't convinced all would be okay.

On the Wednesday afternoon of the bus ride home, Ken phoned me to say there was a little girl who walked off the bus with a big smile. God had provided not one, but two, friends on the bus that afternoon.

And so her level of trust in God had increased. And importantly she recognised in herself how it felt to not trust God and worry about a situation that He had already sorted out for her. She was starting to understand that worrying served no helpful purpose in her life.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? Matthew 6:30-31 AMP

Further more, our conversation in those early hours of the morning (really designed for sleep), provided a teaching opportunity on asking for forgiveness and God's willingness to forgive us for everything.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. 1 John 1:9 AMP

 

I was able to remind her that we have the responsibility to accept God's forgiveness, knowing that that does not keep a list of our sins.

Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him. Romans 4:8 AMP

And that next time when a situation arises bringing with it the temptation to worry, she can remember back to this event, and trust that God will have it sorted. She had moved a step forward on that journey of learning how of trust God more.

What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. Psalm 56:3 AMP 

In my last post, we thought about a vulnerable area in our lives where trusting God is a bit more difficult. So the question for today is, over these past few days, has there been an opportunity for you move to that next level of trusting God? If so, what has that meant for you and your relationship with your Heavenly Father?

I love you, fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God is keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. Psalm 18:1-2 AMP

Trust in the Lord - Part 1

Pick an area of your life that you are feeling vulnerable in right now. It may be relationships, marriage, finances, children, career, church, friendships or health.

What percentage of that area of your life are you trusting God with? Are you trusting Him 100% to do all He has promised to do? 

Or are you trusting Him with some aspects, say 50%, but keeping control of other 50%, just in case God doesn't come through for you?

 

Or maybe you have given up on God completely in that area and are going it alone. There is little or no trust in God. The trust meter is at 0%.

Over the years of being a Christian, I have learned that it is big journey to move from 0% to that place of 100% trusting God. A journey that, for me, has required me to lay down those feelings, hurts and disappointments and pick up God's truth. It has meant I have had to learn to be okay with not fully understanding everything that is going on. It has involved a gradual process of yielding to God's ways, in preference to my ways.

The journey has essentially been about learning to live as Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Thankfully God is gracious and patient with us as we learn to trust Him with all our hearts and acknowledge Him in all our ways. Over the next few posts I will be exploring some more of what The Bible says about trusting God.

Action for today, for that vulnerable area in your life where trusting God is difficult, ask Him right now, to show you what that next step is in the journey, to take you to the next level of trust.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognise, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 AMP

How does God speak to you? - Part 5

The audible voice of God. 

The Bible gives accounts of God speaking audibly to people. Here are three familiar ones, God speaking to Moses from the burning bush; God calling Samuel in the night; and God speaking to Jesus after He was baptised.

God speaking to Moses from the burning bush

Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of GOD appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up.

Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?"

GOD saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"

He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"

God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from  your feet. You're standing on holy ground."

Exodus 3:1-5 The Message

God then told Moses that He wanted him to led the Israelites out of Egypt.

God calling to Samuel in the night

The boy Samuel was serving GOD under Eli's direction. This was at a time when the revelation of GOD was rarely heard or seen.  One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad - he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of GOD, where the Chest of God rested.

Then GOD called out, "Samuel, Samuel!"

Samuel answered, "Yes? I'm here." Then he ran to Eli saying, "I heard you call. Here I am."

Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And so he did.

GOD called again, "Samuel, Samuel!"

Samuel got up and went to Eli, "I heard you call. Here I am."

Again Eli said, "Son, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." (This all happened before Samuel knew GOD for himself. It was before the revelation of GOD had been given to him personally.)

GOD called again, "Samuel!" - the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, "Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am."

That's when I dawned on Eli that GOD was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, "Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say 'Speak, GOD. I'm your servant, ready to listen." Samuel returned to his bed.

Then GOD came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, "Samuel! Samuel!"

Samuel answered, "Speak. I'm your servant, ready to listen."

1 Samuel 3:1-10 The Message

God then told Samuel of His plan to do bring judgement on Eli's family.

God speaking to Jesus after He was baptised.

Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptise him. John objected, "I'm the one who needs to be baptised, not you!" 

But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it.

The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit - it looked like a dove - descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life." 

Matthew 3:13-17 The Message

If God has spoken to you audibly, it is probably a moment you remember well. That certainly has been my experience. For me, it was a moment in my life that I have revisited many times when things go a little awry, to help myself re-align my thoughts with God's words and stand firm.

The purpose of this post is not to get caught up in the 'have you heard God's audible voice?' but rather to acknowledge that God does speak audibly to some people. And to be open to the possibility that He could speak to you in that way, audibly reminding you that you are chosen, He loves you and He has called you.

And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight! Matthew 3:17 AMP

Of course, He can give you that same message through His word, times of worship, speaking in tongues, dreams and through other people. 

The real question is, do we have ears to hear when He speaks to us?

He who has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing. Matthew 11:15 AMP